Tag: movies
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Ted Chiang’s sci-fi genius arrives with laser-like precision
The article discusses Ted Chiang’s acclaimed collection, “Stories of Your Life And Others,” highlighting his precision in writing and the profound themes in stories like “Story of Your Life,” which inspired the film Arrival.
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Remember John Glenn by watching this British TV series
Sen. John Glenn’s death prompts reflection on his historic orbit achievement and the space race, a competition symbolizing U.S.-Soviet superiority during the Cold War, showcasing significant challenges faced by engineers.
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Review: Doctor Strange: It’s All Benedict Cumberbatch
The review highlights the author’s indifference towards comic book movies, emphasizing their enjoyment of Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance in Doctor Strange, which showcases his talent in portraying complex characters.
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Why The Martian’s success probably won’t spawn a sequel
The author discusses why The Martian should not have a sequel, emphasizing the film’s unique narrative, its successful avoidance of Hollywood clichés, and the need for more optimistic storytelling in science fiction.
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Mad Max: Fury Road sputters, despite its feminist cred
Mad Max: Fury Road gets a lot of feminist buzz, but this reviewer wonders if the chatter has overwhelmed a pedestrian film with political high-fives. My college-age daughter Emily and I saw Mad Max: Fury Road over the weekend and we left the theater wondering what all the fuss is about. Film review aggregator Rotten…
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Review: Ex Machina and the amoral machine
The movie Ex Machina owes much to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as it grapples with the notion of machines understanding right and wrong. Spoilers ahead… The key moment of Ex Machina arrives when eccentric tech CEO Nathan Bateman tells Caleb Smith, his employee, why the young programmer was selected to deliver a sophisticated Turing test on…
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Review: Has Game of Thrones reached its sell-by date?
The review critiques George R.R. Martin’s A Dance With Dragons, pointing out its excessive length, lack of discipline, and repetitive storytelling while acknowledging some strong characters and vivid scenes.
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Review: How “Interstellar” resembles “How the West Was Won”
Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, is an ambitious sci-fi film exploring themes of hope and survival amid ecological disaster. It struggles with Hollywood clichés but captivates with stunning visuals and emotional undertones.
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Is fiction about climate change for real?
Interstellar, releasing November 7, portrays a future devastated by climate change. Discussing the emerging genre “climate fiction,” the piece reflects on artists addressing environmental anxieties through storytelling.
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Utopia vs dystopia smackdown: Guess who wins.
Are dystopias depressing? The fact is, readers prefer dystopian novels, because they’re more interesting than utopian stories, most of the time.
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Review: ‘On Stranger Tides’? Yo-No-No!
The Pirates of the Caribbean movie series shows no signs of slowing down, though I wish someone would finally hole the franchise below the waterline. Nothing has done as much to revive the popular interest in the Golden Age of Piracy than Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which started in 2003 with Pirates of…
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2010 Moby Dick review: Yarrr… It blows!
You know a movie like 2010 Moby Dick has a problem when you have to watch the “making of” featurette to understand the story. Ok, maybe I’m being a bit harsh: the new “re-imagining” of the classic Herman Melville novel Moby Dick doesn’t entirely blow. It mostly blows. The premise of the direct-to-DVD release from…
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Review: Titanic 2 is a sea’s worth of schlock
Titanic 2, a silly B movie by The Asylum, parallels 1912’s disaster with a doomed sequel featuring inadequate effects and character development.