Category: SciFi

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Scamper from THE LONG WALK

WAKING WALKING || SPOILERS AHEAD || HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE? || SIMILAR DIFFERENCES || CELLULOID BLUNDERING || INELEGANT ENDING Mistakes Were Made Along the Way . . . My review of THE LONG WALK 4/10 WAKING WALKING I could see why it took decades to make a feature film of one of Stephen King’s earliest stories. Although from what I’ve seen, his novel The Long Walk was drafted at roughly the same time as his first published novel, Carrie, it was among the works he later released under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was collected with other stories in a...

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3 New Movie Reviews

BLOOD RED SKY || MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING || KNEECAP Vampires, Rappers and Daredevils, Oh-My! It’s been a while since I’ve been able to lay down an original post on this blog, what with responsibilities galore, stresses of everyday life and health concerns with myself and family, involvement in political causes, etc. I have ideas I do not have time to put to paper, but I have, while commencing my laboriously long drives for my beloved job (I mean it, I love my job) I have used voice dictation to lay down several movie reviews which I have posted below,...

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The GOP is The Most Dangerous Organization in America

guest opinion Opinion: Just cowards, enablers, and fascists in matching flag pins, Joan Westenberg writes Joan Westenberg 08 Apr 2025 3 min read The Republican Party is a hollow, decrepit husk. It is not a political movement. It is not a governing apparatus. It is not even an ideology with any internal coherence. It is a decaying vessel for a set of impulses: authoritarianism, greed, cruelty, nostalgia, and fear. And now, with the party marching in lockstep behind a man openly exploring how to violate the Constitution to seize a third term in office, it is fair to say the Republican Party...

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Diary Entry, 2101.20: Inauguration Edition

Biden, Harris and the Hope for America  ||  Parler  ||  Questions about Rudy Giuliani ||  Movie Review: WONDER WOMAN 1984 ||  Movie Review: THE MIDNIGHT SKY || Media Review: The Mandalorian Biden, Harris and the Hope for America As of 11am today, Central time, America once again made me proud. With the inauguration of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr as the 46th President of the United States, I once again have hope for us, our country and even our planet. It will undoubtedly take the vast majority of the next 4 years to undo the damage done to our planet, our country,...

Skywalker When? 0

Skywalker When?

Life at Amazon has been — hopefully understandably — crazy.  Check back after whenever for my review of The Rise of Skywalker. I’ve seen it twice so far, and might have something to say about it.  [ feigning Shock and awe ] 2001.14: Since I never did a review of The Last Jedi, my review of Rise will include a review of Last.  That is the only way, I figure, to explain why I am such a defender of Last, especially as compared to Rise.  Should be finished before May 1st.

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The Bad Physics of Ad Astra

a review of Ad Astra MULTIPLE SPOILERS AHEAD, IF YOU CARE TO SEE A TRUE STINKER When Brad Pitt’s newest sci-fi flick was forthcoming, it looked chock full of promise: an intriguing plot, Tommy Lee Jones as the long lost father, beautiful photography and special effects, and the trailers didn’t give away too much of the story, just enough to keep it interesting. In it’s attempt to be a legacy film, Ad Astra takes/steals/borrows straight plot points and even imitates shots from legendary entries in the sci-fi cinema corpus, most notably 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar, Gravity and others.  That’s not...

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China Takes to the Skies

a review of The Wandering Earth NO SPOILERS AHEAD Recently, Netflix released the Chinese blockbuster sci-fi epic The Wandering Earth (May 6, ’19). Having made over $700 million worldwide, the film made good bank on what has been called “China’s first full-scale interstellar spectacular”.1 As you would expect, it is a mixed bag, with moderate highs and usually unintentional lows. Science-wise the file is problematic, but epic in scale, heroic in scope. One of the main problems is when the Earth — which is Wandering (duh) — is approaching Jupiter.  There is a sudden, unexpected burst of gravity from Jupiter, called...

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US and Peele

a review of Us NO SPOILERS Us (2019) is the 2nd major film from 5 season “Mad TV” comedic actor Jordan Peele.   After the maddening demise of that beloved variety show, he collaborated with (Detroit’s own) Keegan-Michael Key on the Comedy Central sketch series “Key & Peele” (2012-15).  His breakout “black horror film” Get Out (2017) is only the 2nd horror film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Wow. He could rest on his laurels, but that just wouldn’t be the route of a talented and maybe even brilliant filmmaker in the tradition of his heroes, including Rod Serling, Alfred...

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Not So Marvelous

a review of Captain Marvel SPOILERS MAY ME LURKING IN THE NOOKS AND CRANNIES OF THIS REVIEW Think of a comedian. The material is fair, but brought down a few notches by the delivery. Several of the comedian’s jokes are colorless, lifeless, even shockingly lame.  Let’s not even discuss having more gaps in logic and continuity than the Old Testament. Welcome to Captain Marvel, the latest contribution to the MCU, the Marvel Comic Universe. While still not nearly as bad as the first Iron Man, CM – first of all – has one of the great hallmarks of origin stories, asking...