TV Review: The X-Files Episode 2, “Founder’s Mutation”
Published on January 27th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction, TV, TV Reviews |
MILD SPOILERS AHEAD
Boy, do we do things to screw up our children. Some of that can’t be helped; we’re only human, after all. But what if your child isn’t only human? The second episode of Season Ten of The X-Files, “Founder’s Mutation,” is all about the kids.
Today in Pop Culture: Can We Trust the Robots?
Published on January 25th, 2016 in: Science and Technology, Science Fiction, Today In Pop Culture |
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Some readers may recognize the above conditions as Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. They were first published in 1942 and they formed the basis for all of his stories about robots (and there were a lot).
Today in Pop Culture: David Bowie’s Blackstar Birthday
Published on January 8th, 2016 in: Culture Shock, Current Faves, Music, Science Fiction, Today In Pop Culture |
Today is David Bowie’s birthday and I don’t understand why anyone is at work or school. Why aren’t government offices closed? Why is this not a Federal holiday? We should all be in public parks, wearing body paint and having Aladdin Sane lookalike contests. We should put on our red shoes and dance the blues. We should be burning space capsules in effigy in the name of Major Tom.
David Bowie is 69 years old and is still cooler than everyone reading this article, combined.
Five Freaky German Films
Published on October 22nd, 2015 in: Film Festivals, Horror, Listicles, Movies, Science Fiction, Top Five Lists |
Der Nachtmahr
I was a big fan of Der Nachtmahr, which screened at this year’s TIFF. German director AKIZ has said that the film is “New German Fantastic Cinema” with roots in the Expressionist films of the 1920s. Here are a few more freaky German films from the country’s rich cinematic tradition.
Parasites In Cinema: A Listicle
Published on October 21st, 2015 in: Horror, Listicles, Movies, Science Fiction |
“Pssst, do you have any Reese’s Pieces?”
Have you seen Der Nachtmahr yet? Probably not if you haven’t been to the three film festivals where it has screened (Locarno, TIFF, Warsaw).
What’s Der Nachtmahr about, you ask? “After a wild night out, a Berlin party girl finds herself haunted by a twisted, repellent little creature that no one else can see.”
Is he an alien? Is he good or evil? Is he a parasite? You’ll have to see the film to find out (and you can read my review), but in the meantime I thought I’d pay my respects to some well-known (or perhaps underrated) cinematic parasites.
Seven Movies About Possession
Published on October 19th, 2015 in: Horror, Listicles, Movies, Science Fiction |
The Devil’s Candy
When most people think about possession movies, they think about The Exorcist. While that is certainly a worthy film (and my personal favorite horror film ever), it’s not the only one out there to deal with the topic. The Devil’s Candy and February are two recent films that put a fresh spin on the subgenre. Here are seven more movies about possession, just in time for Halloween.
Blu-Ray Review: Contamination
Published on October 6th, 2015 in: Blu-Ray, Current Faves, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reissues, Retrovirus, Reviews, Science Fiction |
When I stated on Facebook that I was watching the 1980 Italian horror-fi movie, Contamination, I got heat from a couple of people.
“Why?”
“How come you’re watching that?”
And I thought, I’ve built a career out of watching horrible films and writing about them. There’s no reason why this should be a surprise.
Then it struck me: maybe there are people out there who don’t intentionally seek out and watch films they know aren’t great. Wow. That floors me. It leaves me wondering how to recommend Contamination, which is a gigantic piece of shit that I adored.
Blu-Ray Review: Cherry 2000
Published on September 3rd, 2015 in: Blu-Ray, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reissues, Retrovirus, Reviews, Science Fiction |By Brendan Ross
The year is 2017 (30 years in the future) and due to some economic turmoil, the United States has essentially turned into a sparsely populated wasteland. Businessman Sam Treadwell (David Andrews), who lives in one of the few remaining civilized communities, comes home after a hard day of businessman work to his “Cherry 2000” (Pamela Gidley), a female love robot. She already has dinner ready for him, and after a healthy dose of preprogrammed ego catering words they are ready to make love. On the kitchen floor. While the future dishwasher runs in overdrive covering the floors, counters, and both of them with soapsuds. Unfortunately, even in the distant future of 2017 electronic water damage still has not been eradicated and Cherry short circuits.
Noomi Rapace Stars In Sci-Fi Thriller Whatever Happened To Monday
Published on August 19th, 2015 in: Feminism, Movies, Pop Culture News, Science Fiction, Upcoming Movies, Upcoming Releases |
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Noomi Rapace movie in theaters. She co-starred in last year’s excellent The Drop with Tom Hardy, while another film with Hardy, Child 44, seemed to come and go with nary a whisper, unless you count the dreadful 24 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Exploring Ridley Scott’s The Martian
Published on June 26th, 2015 in: Movies, Pop Culture News, Science Fiction, Trailers |By Tim Murr
I’m always excited for a new Ridley Scott movie. I saw Alien the same year (1980) I saw Jaws and Jaws 2, which was two years before I saw The Empire Strikes Back (my first Star Wars film). So despite having Star Wars toys for most of my short life, my first sci-fi love came from Scott’s shocking, atmospheric, and dark film. When I was a kid, there weren’t many directors’ names I knew, but I knew George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg, and Ridley Scott. Of those three, the only one I still get excited about is Scott.