Posted on by Alexander Case

Film Review: Interstellar

Sometimes, science and scientific concepts make for great story hooks. Time Dilation – the idea that as you approach the speed of light, time slows down for you while moving normally for everyone else – is one of those concepts. One of the few high points of Flight of the Navigator was how it used time dilation to create pathos with the main character’s family having out-aged him. Makoto Shinkai’s Voices of a Distant Star did it with a couple being separated by not only distance, but time (a theme that would carry over to much of Shinkai’s other work). Interstellar does this with a parent and child. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Movie Review: Gravity

Gravity is, quite possibly, the tensest film I’ve ever seen, and is one of the most profound combinations of imagery and music (chronologically) since the Star Wars films and Koyaanisqatsi, and only eclipsed by Mad Max: Fury Road. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Movie Review: X-Men – Days of Future Past (Rogue Cut)

When it comes to comic book films, and adaptations of comic books to the screen, there are questions about how you adapt certain comic book concepts to the screen, and as cinematic universes get more involved, there is no question that has lingered in the background more than “How do you clean up a cluttered universe?” How do you not only pull a retcon, but a big universe altering one?

Days of Future Past not only attempts to pull such a retcon, but succeeds, by creating a situation where the X-Men films can change course to a new path different from the first 3 films, while still giving credit to where the earlier films worked. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Movie Review: Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 is an incredibly impressive film from Disney. It’s a film that, I’d argue, tells a better superhero story than The Incredibles, with a very interestingly beautiful world, with gorgeous animation and interesting characters. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Book Review: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster

The old Star Wars Expanded Universe wrapped up, now that I think about it, several years ago – being set aside in favor of a new EU which would tie more closely to the new Star Wars films. The Old EU got a lot of crap – some justified (Jedi Academy Trilogy), some maybe less so. Thus, I’ve decided to go through the old EU, in order of publication, to see how things evolved, and whether the good parts hold up, or if the bad parts have any redeeming qualities. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Movie Review: Damnation Alley

I’m a fan of the Fallout series. I love the world those games build, and consequently when I discover a work that is formulative to that universe, it tends to give that work a little extra appeal for me. It’s part of the reason why I like some of the later portions of The Martian Chronicles and why I enjoyed A Boy and his Dog, which is a review for another time. Damnation Alley is a little less known portion of the sub-genre, but is still a remarkably enjoyable film. Read more