The Conversation is a feature at PopOptiq bringing together Drew Morton and Landon Palmer in a passionate debate about cinema new and old. For their thirteenth piece, they discuss Robert Wise’s sci-fi classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). LANDON’S TAKE Works of Hollywood genre – be they science fiction, westerns, or gangster films – have received serious …
The companion robot Tim-21, his creator Dr. Quon, and the rest of the supporting cast for writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen’s Descender will return on Nov. 11 with issue #7.
Director Ridley Scott shows amazing restraint as he scales back the pyrotechnics and emphasizes human ingenuity in ‘The Martian.’
Xenosaga, Episode III: Thus Spake Zarathustra Monolith Soft Namco Bandai PS2 With the abridged and anticipated close of the Xenosaga series on the horizon, the final volume had the unenviable position of wrapping up two games of plot, starting and completing its own arc, and cramming in the major beats of the remaining three planned …
A new television series is in development from HBO and Warner Bros. TV that will adapt Isaac Asimov’s science fiction epic “Foundation” Trilogy for television. At the head of the project is Interstellar screenwriter Jonathan Nolan, who will write and produce the series, as reported by TheWrap. It should be noted that Jonathan Nolan has …
Excavating through the vastness of television history to feature programs from broadcast past that were critically maligned and/or lost on the way to home video.
As mentioned in the first part of this series, Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille Zur Macht had debuted to middling sales in spite of its high critical acclaim. Unfortunately, this lead to interference from Monolith Soft, and Episode II was heavily altered leading up to its release.
Sometimes, despite reason and common sense, there is no escaping the kinetic charm of a truly ridiculous creation. If it’s true that we only use 10% of our brains, you’ll need to disengage 9% of it to enjoy Lucy. But what truly wondrous sights that 1% will enjoy!
The Machine Written and directed by Caradog W. James UK, 2013 Some maudlin producers must be kicking themselves given recent events, as the post-credits blurb of the new science-fiction future-shock film The Machine sets the context of a near-future Britain locked into a new cold war with China. Can’t we simply revert back to the 1980s-era Soviet …
While for a long time science-fiction has been something of a secondary genre, the current age of effects-heavy summer blockbusters has turned sci-fi cinema into big business, with movies about aliens, robots and men in spaceships having exciting space adventures among the most hyped and publicized films of the year, with trailers, billboards, comic-con panels, tv spots and every form of advertising imaginable creating anticipation months or more in advance.
Finding the reason for Akira’s resonance with all manner of audiences is not particularly difficult, since it is the zenith of great narrative-meets-dreamlike philosophical reality bending. For all that it blurs the lines of established faux-reality and fantasy, science-fiction and existentialism, it is ultimately a film about the fatal danger posed by one’s own anger.
By now, Alfonso Cuarón has pretty much earned the crown of being one of the best, if not the best, technicians in modern cinema. His last three films—Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, and now Gravity—all demonstrate a playful and intelligent command of space, his camera always roving in, around, and out of locations whenever possible. Gravity raises the bar for technical prowess in mainstream filmmaking, and Cuarón doesn’t shy away from the challenge of a film set entirely in space. This is nothing short of a flawless technical exercise, a frequently intense and relentless theme-park ride of a movie. The real downside is that Cuarón could’ve made more than just a ride.
Fantastic Fest kicked off its eight-day celebration of genre fare last night in style in Austin, Texas. This year’s festival has a new venue, the Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, partly to show off the new digs and partly because the old ones at South Lamar are currently under a whole ton of construction. The opening night …
Battlestar Galactica is so much more than a science fiction television series. Although it may take place in outer space and deal with deadly synthetic replicas, it also beautifully deals with humanity in such a personal way that almost anyone can identify with the story. Five years after the show’s finale, new fans keep emerging, …
Station to Station Written by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman Art by Gabriel Hardman Published by Dark Horse From Corina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman comes Station to Station, an ambitious if slightly overstuffed piece of sci fi action. Collecting a story originally printed in Dark Horse Presents #19-21, Station to Station opens with a mysterious …
Mister X: Eviction #1 Writer: Dean Motter Artist/Cover: Dean Motter Inker/Colourist: Hamid Bahrami Published by Dark Horse Comics When Mister X first came out of Toronto’s Vortex Comics way back in 1983, who would have dreamed its world could still generate quality stories thirty years later? After all, what dates more quickly than sci-fi depictions …
As long-time fans of Sound on Sight may know, many of us here are more than a little fond of Doctor Who. Not only does the Incomparable Kate Kulzick write a column covering the current series but for almost two years now we have been hosting our very own Doctor Who podcast dedicated to reviewing …
Writer: Jim McCann Artist: Janet Lee Publisher: Image In Lost Vegas 1, Eisner Award winners Jim McCann and Janet Lee (Return of the Dapper Men) manage to marry a wacky high concept sci-fi story with deep characterization and unique visuals. On the surface, Roland is just another space scoundrel like Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds. However, he …
Fringe Review, Season 4, Episode 22: “Brave New World (Part 2)” Written by Jeff Pinkner, J. H. Wyman, and Akiva Goldsman Directed by Joe Chappelle Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on FOX This week, on Fringe: Bell monologues, Walter shoots, and Olivia smiles It’s been a mixed season for Fringe. After last year’s shocking cliffhanger, …
Fringe Review, Season 4, Episode 20: “Worlds Apart” Written by Matt Pitts and Nicole Phillips (Teleplay) and Graham Roland (Story) Directed by Charles Beeson Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on FOX This week, on Fringe: Walter and Walternate finally talk, Lincoln didn’t like coffee that much anyways, and Fauxlivia misses rainbows When Fringe introduced the …
Fringe Review, Season 4, Episode 18: “The Consultant” Written by Christine Lavaf Directed by Jeannot Szwarc Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on FOX This week, on Fringe: Walter takes a trip, Fauxlivia has a good poker face, and Foeyles isn’t a shapeshifter after all Last week, Fringe gave us one of their best episodes of …
Fringe Review, Season 4, Episode 17: “Everything In Its Right Place” Written by David Fury and J. R. Orci and Matt Pitts Directed by David Moxness Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on FOX This week, on Fringe: Lincoln spends some quality time with himself, Foeyles is still a baddie, and shapeshifters are people too After …
Fringe Review, Season 4, Episode 16: “Nothing As It Seems” Written by Jeff Pinkner and Akiva Goldsman Directed by Frederick E. O. Toye Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on FOX This week, on Fringe: Olivia is the worst aunt ever, Peter gets some birthday presents, and David Robert Jones builds a zoo After last week’s …