The original Planet of the Apes franchise, spanning five films from the original 1968 Charlton Heston movie to 1973′s Battle for the Planet of the Apes, was equal parts science fiction and social satire. It turned out that people wearing chimp costumes were remarkably versatile in service of the latter goal, making effective caricatures for [...]
Read MoreThe mixing of the Western and sci-fi genres is nothing new. It goes back at least as far as when Singing Cowboy Gene Autry descended into the super-advanced underground civilization of Murania in the kooky but fun 1935 serial The Phantom Empire. Over the years, it’s been done with varied success, ranging from the “James [...]
Read MoreIf, like me, you’ve been both fascinated and unnerved by the recent articles describing neutrinos that may be travelling faster than the speed of light, you may also have developed a new, less skeptical view of things previously filed under “science fiction,” or at least are no longer automatically chuckling at them. This is one [...]
Read MoreIn 1958, an 11-year old kid in Scottsdale, Arizona borrowed his dad’s 8-mm movie camera to fulfill the requirements of the Boy Scouts’ photography merit badge. His first film was a western in which the big special effect was a staged crash of his Lionel model train set. He caught the filmmaking bug, and never [...]
Read MorePlaying writer Robert E. Howard’s fictional warrior convincingly requires one to possess big muscles, skill with a sword and, apparently, a thick Austrian accent. Because while Jason Momoa, who assumes the title role in this new version of Conan the Barbarian, meets the first two requirements, the film suffers immeasurably for his not being Arnold [...]
Read More“Be careful, don’t be noticed, they say that endlessly in this country.” The first part of this line is an underlying message, if not the outright moral from any classic fairy tale… given those stories were designed to keep children in line.
Read MoreThe funny thing about writing movie reviews for DVD releases is that I’ve often read multiple other critics’ take on the film I’m reviewing, usually months before I start composing my own thoughts. I’m not troubled by the possibility of being influenced by them opinion-wise, but sometimes I do see patterns in the way certain [...]
Read MoreWhen I saw Captain America: The First Avenger on opening day last July in a packed theater, forced to sit in the very front row, slouching down in my seat so as to not permanently damage my neck while looking up at the screen, I thought it was very good, but not great. Now, after [...]
Read MoreImagine for a moment that, back in 2002, when Steven Spielberg was tweaking E.T., instead of changing all the guns into walkie-talkies, he added more guns. And maybe more aliens, too, making them considerably less friendly (and presumably rather less intelligent). And set everything at night in an already-sinister London housing block? To top it [...]
Read MoreNeither as mediocre or overlong as the original film, nor as convoluted and overblown as the second and third installments, On Stranger Tides instead rights the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise by finally being as light, funny and wholly entertaining as star Johnny Depp still is while playing Captain Jack Sparrow.
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