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Tag Archives: Sci-fi
Review: Okja (2017)
I’ve loved the work of South Korean genre-manipulator Bong Joon-ho since university. Criminally, we never got his last film SNOWPIERCER in the UK (at least not officially), so the fact that his latest, OKJA, has gone straight to Netflix is … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Ahn Seo-Hyun, Bong Joon-ho, Cannes Film Festival, Jake Gyllenhaal, Okja, Paul Dano, Satire, Sci-fi, Snowpiercer, The Host
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12 for Twelve: The Best of the Twelfth Doctor
Series 10 may well be the best DOCTOR WHO series finale of the revived series. It’s certainly one of the darkest stories in the show’s history and a high point for writer Steven Moffat. Now Peter Capaldi’s time as the … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Feature, Television
Tagged A Christmas Carol, Alex Kingston, BBC, Ben Miller, David Suchet, David Tennant, Deep Breath, Doctor Who, Empress of Mars, Errol Flynn, Frank Skinner, Groundhog Day, Heaven Sent, Jenna Coleman, John Simm, Julian Bleach, Knock Knock, Mark Gatiss, Matt Lucas, Michael Gambon, Michelle Gomez, Mummy on the Orient Express, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Robot of Sherwood, Robots of Death, Sci-fi, Scooby Doo, Steven Moffat, The Day of the Doctor, The Doctor Falls, The Husbands of River Song, The Magician's Apprentice, The Pilot, The Thick of It, The Waters of Mars, The Zygon Invasion, Tom Baker, Tom Riley, TV, World Enough and TIme, Zulu
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Review: Alien: Covenant (2017)
There’s a reason ALIEN: COVENANT re-adopts the parent franchise title. PROMETHEUS seemed stuck in an identity crisis, whereas Covenant is proudly a proper Alien movie. You’ll get everything you expect and then some from Ridley Scott’s real return to marshaling … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Alien, Alien: Covenant, Danny McBride, Guy Pearce, Horror, Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender, Prometheus, Ridley Scott, Sci-fi
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Series Retrospective: Scott-directed Aliens
Just in time(ish) for the release of ALIEN: COVENANT, I thought I’d look back at Ridley Scott’s two previous encounters with Xenomorphs, Engineers and Last Women Standing. ALIEN (1979) It’s sometimes hard to believe that this was only Ridley Scott’s … Continue reading
Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Expectations can be a powerful thing. Nobody expected GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY to turn out quite as well as it did three years ago. And yet the batty space-opera starring Marvel Comics D-List characters and directed by the guy who … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Blockbuster, Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn, Karen Gillan, Kurt Russell, Marvel, Mary Poppins, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, Sci-fi, Scooby Doo, Star Wars, Superhero Movie, Sylvester Stallone, Thor: Ragnarok, Vin Diesel
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Review: The Host (2006)
To shamelessly appropriate and warp the catchphrase of a beloved cartoon character, THE HOST is smarter than the average monster movie. I stumbled on this one on DVD years back, and it’s since become a firm favourite along with the … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Black Comedy, Bong Joon-ho, Byeon Hee-bong, Doona Bae, Godzilla, Ko Ah-seong, Monster Movie, Park Hae-il, Sci-fi
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Review: Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Out of the two unnecessary live-action remakes released this month, I’ll take the one with some evident passion behind it. Mamoru Oshii’s anime GHOST IN THE SHELL worked because it allowed you time to think. For every iconic image, brutally … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged 3D, Ghost in the Shell, Kenji Kawai, Mamoru Oshii, Rupert Sanders, Scarlett Johansson, Sci-fi, Takeshi Kitano
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Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Was the emotionally bereft GODZILLA remake just a blip for Gareth Edwards? Thankfully yes it was. There is more genuine humanity, imagination and enjoyment to ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY than there was not only in the ill-advised giant … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged A New Hope, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, Blockbuster, Diego Luna, Fantasy, Felicity Jones, Film, Forest Whitaker, Gareth Edwards, Godzilla, Lucasfilm, Mads Mikkelsen, Movies, Platoon, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Saving Private Ryan, Sci-fi, Star Wars, The Force Awakens
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Review: Arrival (2016)
ARRIVAL is nothing like the way it was marketed (though you can’t blame the marketing guys for trying to get people through the door by making it out to be a disaster movie). Denis Villeneuve’s latest is a razor-sharp conceptual … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged A Nightmare on Elm Street, Academy Awards, Amy Adams, Arrival, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Heisserer, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Jeremy Renner, Oscars, Sci-fi, The Thing, Up
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Review: Doctor Strange (2016)
The problem with Marvel is that a lot of their characters have the same origin story. “Arrogant prig becomes selfless hero” is almost as commonplace as DC’s “Death of family gives hero guilt-driven purpose”. Stephen Strange’s story may not be … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Batman Begins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Blockbuster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Nolan, Dark City, DC, Doctor Strange, Film, Inception, Mads Mikkelsen, Marvel, Movies, Rachel McAdams, Sci-fi, Scott Derrickson, Steve Ditko, Superhero Movie, The Matrix, Tilda Swinton, Warcraft
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