Tag Archives: Science Fiction

How to Build a Better Boy (2014)

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How-to-Build

Disney seems to be having a good time mining the eighties lately with their original movies. First we had “Zapped!” which took the title from the raunchy eighties comedy along with a variation of the plot from “Love Potion No. 9,” while “How to…” is really just “Weird Science 3.0.” Except this time its PG rated, and much more based around feminism than misogyny. And rather than building on the entire “Frankenstein” idea, the writers set their sights on the US government surveillance and their plans to build a top secret robot that can infiltrate any setting.

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Envoy (2014)

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E-N-V-O-Y

For now, David Weinstein’s “Envoy” is really just “Iron Giant” meets “Predator,” but I think with a wider scope and feature length, “Envoy” could be so much more. The short film from director Weinstein acts simultaneously as a spec film for a more fully realized follow-up and I’m anxious to see where he takes this premise. “Envoy” feels like Weinstein took Spielberg, “Iron Giant,” and The Zeta Project for one really good, but menacing science fiction adventure.

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“The Flash” Season One, Episode One: City of Heroes Review

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It’s great to see DC and Warner bros. finally giving The Flash his due after so many years in limbo. “The Flash” has always been a wonderful character from the DC universe that was way too science fiction based to ever become a respectable series or movie, so for years fans had nothing. Surely John Wesley Shippe’s “The Flash” was a solid adaptation, but beyond that, it was merely table scraps. “The Flash” fully realizes what an amazing character the titular speedster is and completely sets up nothing but storylines and sub-plots in the pilot, while also telling a great origin tale of how a scientist became the fastest man alive.

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Similo (2014)

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In a dying world how far would you go to keep the environment you loved? And more importantly, in a world where you’ve lost the only person you’ve loved, can you ever really get them back? Is it worth trying to pretend you’re still where you were decades ago, or isn’t it just easier to let go and accept your fate? “Similo” is a brilliant and beautifully directed science fiction short that uses the world our character Heve lives in as an allegory for the relationship she lost a long time ago.

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Marvel Knights Animation Presents: Eternals (DVD)

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It’s mind blowing how mind numbing “Eternals” is. The really bad John Romita Jr. art matched with the convoluted dull story make this animated comic a task to sit through. Granted, I love the idea of normal human beings actually being engineered superheroes and completely oblivious to their powers. There’s also a moment where a party is besieged by terrorists and character Mark Curry discovers his ability to slow down time, thus allowing him to stop the bullets, and steal the guns, but has to find a way to take the bullets without burning himself or blowing them up in the air. It’s a nice sense of logic to fantasy.

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Marvel Knights Animation Presents Eternals (DVD)

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It’s mind blowing how mind numbing “Eternals” is. The really bad John Romita Jr. art matched with the convoluted dull story make this animated comic a task to sit through. Granted, I love the idea of normal human beings actually being engineered superheroes and completely oblivious to their powers. There’s also a moment where a party is besieged by terrorists and character Mark Curry discovers his ability to slow down time, thus allowing him to stop the bullets, and steal the guns, but has to find a way to take the bullets without burning himself or blowing them up in the air. It’s a nice sense of logic to fantasy.

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Godzilla (2014) [Blu-ray/DVD/Digital]

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Warner Bros. Pictures were wise to hire Gareth Edwards to film what is essentially a reboot of the Godzilla series for American audiences. Director Edwards displays a knack for depicting giant monsters as forces of nature that affect civilization, and he carries a lot of the sensibilities from “Monsters,” over in to the reworking of “Godzilla.” His version of “Godzilla” is less monsters stomping around and fist fighting, and more of a disaster film with a slew of human beings affected by the chaos that two monsters inflict when they rise from their gestation to feed on radiation around the world and wreak pure chaos. “Godzilla” is a sterner and dramatic approach to the lore, offering a very interesting dynamic between characters, all of whom carry through the themes of family and unity among the human race. Particularly fatherhood.

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