This is an excellent sci-fi war epic as good as you will find coming out of over-rated Hollywood. Having watched the film in 2023 with the current invasion of Ukraine transpiring, I understand now why their military invasion has proven so fruitless. They lost all of their military armament in 2019 making this film and didn't have anything left for the real war. This is well produced and realistically portrayed with excellent CGI, the actors are decent for an action film and it moves along at a steady pace. The tone of this film will remind you of any good zombie film or first person game shooter.
Reviews
14 Reviews
Crimes of the Future
(2022)
Arthouse horror that is difficult to watch
3 October 2022
Cronenbergs latest horror scifi future where the world has stagnated and in a state of decay but still has access to advanced bio-mechanical technologies. The acting was excellent and visual style was good with the story of mankind rapidly undergoing mutagenic change that is leading to a change in the human condition.
To explore this idea he focuses on the exploitation of ideology that relates to self harm for pleasure. Consequently you will see an excess of gore, mutilation, and surgery. This is not enough to carry the film and I found I had to skip some of the more bloody scenes as I did not find it entertaining or necessary. The exploration of how mankind adjusts to becoming less human was basically interesting up to a point but otherwise unpalatable.
To explore this idea he focuses on the exploitation of ideology that relates to self harm for pleasure. Consequently you will see an excess of gore, mutilation, and surgery. This is not enough to carry the film and I found I had to skip some of the more bloody scenes as I did not find it entertaining or necessary. The exploration of how mankind adjusts to becoming less human was basically interesting up to a point but otherwise unpalatable.
Nope
(2022)
Tedium is the winner
31 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
If you are familiar with the anthology series remake of Twilight Zone, then you may recall that Jordan Peele was the narrator and co-writer of those episodes. This time he has written and directed this lengthy 2 hours 10 minutes full feature film called Nope. This film should have been a 50 minute Twilight Zone episode. The first 30 minutes are a complete miss where we are introduced to the main characters,OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and sister Emerald (Keke Palmer). After 30 minutes we are still waiting for the film to "start" but still nothing happens.
The story then takes a bizarre side step when we are introduced to Ricky Park (Steven Yeun) who runs an outdoor amusement centre. In a completely random idea, Ricky has an infamous place in child acting history as the sole survivor of a rampaging killer chimp during the shows sitcom recording. The most interesting part of the flashback was the single shoe that was sitting upright but it is clear now that this part of the film has no bearing to the main story line of mysterious UFOs hanging around the countryside.
This tangent aside, the crux of the film's story revolves around a floating alien creature that lives in a cloud where a visual sighting results in an invitation for it to come to dinner.
I could go on about this moribund tale suffice to say that the heroes decide to make money with a documentary of the events in addition to "saving the world".
Like its erstwhile Twilight Zone remake, Nope is a recommended miss.
The story then takes a bizarre side step when we are introduced to Ricky Park (Steven Yeun) who runs an outdoor amusement centre. In a completely random idea, Ricky has an infamous place in child acting history as the sole survivor of a rampaging killer chimp during the shows sitcom recording. The most interesting part of the flashback was the single shoe that was sitting upright but it is clear now that this part of the film has no bearing to the main story line of mysterious UFOs hanging around the countryside.
This tangent aside, the crux of the film's story revolves around a floating alien creature that lives in a cloud where a visual sighting results in an invitation for it to come to dinner.
I could go on about this moribund tale suffice to say that the heroes decide to make money with a documentary of the events in addition to "saving the world".
Like its erstwhile Twilight Zone remake, Nope is a recommended miss.
Love, Death & Robots
(2019– )
Best anthology sci-fi series to date
31 August 2022
Its not often that short film anthologies for adults are created that best reflect the short sci-fi stories that were found in the pulp pages of "Astounding Science Fiction" and "Amazing Stories". Normally you would need to read a novel or watch a full movie before the writer got to the crux of the matter. These episodes are typically less than 22 minutes and there is never a minute that is not justified in the storytelling. The stories in this series are varied in style and presentation as would be expected from the variety of creators and producers. Typically they have a high quality concept and deliver animation, script and voices of the highest calibre. Recommended for lovers of science fiction, fantasy and adventure.
Star Trek: Discovery
(2017–2024)
LGBTQ+ finally get their Sci-fi Show
21 July 2022
Watched 4 Seasons and they have gradually tightened the cast somewhat but its basically not traditional Star Trek. Its soap opera with some sci-fi. Want to see gay characters openly sharing their tribulations as a great portion of the content, then this is your show. Want to see how women now dominate the Trek universe in the future and are the leaders in that world then this is your show. Want to see a Picard or Kirk type character in this universe, well (other than Capt. Pike two extra stars for him), they don't exist simply because you would need to employ writers that understand straight men and Kurtzman is unlikely to do that in this show. If you are a straight young adolescent then it will be impossible to relate to this show.
If you want traditional Trek watch Orville or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
If you want traditional Trek watch Orville or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Jurassic World Dominion
(2022)
Same old Romp and Stomp, Run and Shout Pop Song.
14 July 2022
How to make this movie.
Step One. Take the Dinosaurs and add every surviving actor from the franchise.
Step Two. Take all the previous franchise scripts and select pages at random to create the new script.
Step Three. Add lots of screaming and running. Mix and pour.
Step One. Take the Dinosaurs and add every surviving actor from the franchise.
Step Two. Take all the previous franchise scripts and select pages at random to create the new script.
Step Three. Add lots of screaming and running. Mix and pour.
What We Do in the Shadows
(2019–2024)
A Secret gem of a Comedy Series
14 July 2022
Its been around since 2019 but I had never heard of it until recently. Its the best comedy series out there and you will fall in love with the characters. Very reminiscent of " The Addams family" or " The Munsters" comedy series.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
(2022– )
Finally the Star Trek franchise are writing for the Trekkers.
14 July 2022
When Anson Mount appeared as Captain Pike in Star Trek Discovery he single handed lifted that series from its abysmal low-point. Someone must have clued the clueless Kurtzman that there was an audience that grew up with Star Trek the Original Series and employed a straight writer to present a Captain that is relatable. The result is a series worthy and reminiscent of the original. However its early days, and there are plenty of opportunities for Kurtzman to turn it into another disastrous Star Trek Discovery.
The Orville
(2017–2022)
A modern Star Trek Original Series in new clothes.
14 July 2022
You can see the love that Seth MacFarlane has for Star Trek TOS. The first season the characters and writers are finding their feet and continue to improve through season 2. Watched to season 3 episode 6 the last being a particular favourite that is reminiscent of the STTOS "The City On The Edge Of Forever". Wonderful series.
Mad God
(2021)
Stylish alien world overloads visually at the expense of good story.
17 June 2022
Mad God is an impressive art-style animation but sadly this does not make it a good film.. Whilst the alien world that is created is detailed and lovingly depicted I have the impression that this was no more than an attempt by the director to depict a psychedelic nightmare. It can be difficult and tiring to follow the film as it lacks any dialogue and requires your continuous visual attention to follow the story. In the end it is difficult to relate or care for anything in this film as it is mired in a confusing jumble of bizarre alien scenes.
The Tomorrow War
(2021)
An ok watch, just leave your brain outside.
6 July 2021
A film created by a scientifically illiterate writer with a limited imagination whose education stems from watching other B grade scifi films. Any script writer that does not address the elephant in the room is simply insulting the audience's intelligence. Yes, we do want to suspend belief but this lazy writing requires that you leave your brain at the door and not ask any questions about the plot holes. Other reviewers have pointed out all of the obvious issues and its a shame after creating a film with a good cast and production values.
Having thought about it for 2 seconds here are some recommended fixes.
1. The future people bring back to the present all of their research people and advanced technology to get a head start on solving problem.
2. The time travel machine is built in the present from the alien spacecraft.
3. The creatures are a result of government military trying weaponize alien tech.
4. You cant change the future events so at least one creature escapes.
Having thought about it for 2 seconds here are some recommended fixes.
1. The future people bring back to the present all of their research people and advanced technology to get a head start on solving problem.
2. The time travel machine is built in the present from the alien spacecraft.
3. The creatures are a result of government military trying weaponize alien tech.
4. You cant change the future events so at least one creature escapes.
Wonder Woman 1984
(2020)
Chris Pine needs to stick with Star Trek Franchise
1 January 2021
The highlight of this film was the post credits cameo of Lynda Carter which just makes you "wish" that she had been in the movie to lift the quality of the acting. Unfortunately not even William Shakespeare could save this scripted turkey that mirrored what I would expect from a 1960's Batman episode.
As for Chris Pine, time to do another Trek film because it will be a thousand times better than this pretentious WW.
Unbelievable!!!!!
(2020)
Unwatchable trash even for Trekkers
21 August 2020
Meant to be a comedy but without the humour. I can only surmise that this is the result of the legalisation of weed in America. I am shocked that anybody would put their name on this pile. Made with a $5 budget.
William Shatner puts in a wooden performance. I blame it on Trump and the coronavirus.
Re-evaluating my Star Trek membership and moving to Star Wars..... who am i kidding, Disney have stuffed that up. Now, i need to clean my eyeballs with a scourer.
Another Life
(2019–2021)
Katee... you should have known better.
13 July 2020
I would not want to disparage the science fiction genre by calling this tripe sci-fi. Obviously created and written by a committee of hormonal adolescence who have never heard of Asimov or Clarke. The writing is so abysmal that it makes a turd shine.
Watched the complete series (eventually) hoping that the entire cast would get wiped out by the aliens. They didn't, but lets hope that the ratings prevent a Season 2, for Katees' sake.
Watched the complete series (eventually) hoping that the entire cast would get wiped out by the aliens. They didn't, but lets hope that the ratings prevent a Season 2, for Katees' sake.
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