This was originally published in Watch The Skies Fanzine, May 2021 issue.
Space Sweepers – Netflix
In the year 2092 the Earth is suffering. The planet is distressed to the point that humans are looking for a way out. Some lucky (or chosen) few get to ascend and become UTS citizens living in orbiting homes around the planet. The UTS corporation sets strict controls and financial arrangements for citizens and non-citizens alike. This is the where the crew of the salvage ship Victory scrounges out a living.
This movie is filled with action, suspense, comedy and even heart. It clocks in around two hours and fifteen minutes but it really didn’t feel that long. Watching the crew of misfit scavengers attempt to make ends meet while dealing with their own issues would have been interesting enough, but then Dorothy gets thrown into the mix. Dorothy looks and acts like a child, but the UTS has declared her a weapon of mass destruction and has set off an all out hunt to get her back. The Victory crew just happen to pick her up as part of one of their salvage missions.
As a South Korean film, I was fully prepared to read subtitles the entire time I watched this movie. I did, but not in the way I expected. I found it wonderful that the film makers included a quick bit about universal translators and then proceeded to allow everyone to speak in whatever language was their own. Space, and all the humans from all over the planet could just speak their own language. Yes, there were subtitles, but there was as much in English as there was in any other language. I could identify five different languages through the course of the film. This is wonderful and we need more of this in our science fiction. People will find a way to communicate, then language and background become less of an issue.
Beyond the language aspect, this film had well done special effects. I’m not going to claim they’ve got some kind of mastery or that the effects shots disappeared in a seamless way. You could tell there were special effects in this movie, but they didn’t get in the way. I never had a moment when I thought, ‘well that wasn’t very well done’. I just sat and enjoyed the action. The action likely works out the way you’d expect, but even that didn’t hurt the enjoyment of this story. This was a movie that has less of a dystopian downer feel and something a little more refreshing and hopeful.
If you’ve got access to Netflix, grab your popcorn and go check this movie out.
Whenever I’m writing I try to give some focus to creating an antagonist that is particularly good at thwarting whatever it is the main character wants or needs to accomplish. Creating the best possible villain for any piece serves to make your hero that much better. I also love to study other bad guys to inform choices I make when creating my own. Movies tend to be an excellent place to find these examples. There are all sorts of villains out there trying to bring the plans of the hero to a grinding halt. The very best villain is a fantastic subject for debate.
Some time ago I saw this article claiming the top spot for cinematic villainy. It’s a difficult position to refute. I absolutely love the movie Highlander (for those of you that make claims that further movies existed I will simply say, ‘there can be only one’). The premise is great. One of the clearest examples of a man out of time happens in this movie when Connor talks about the year 1783 while opening brandy for his date. It’s a fantastic piece snuggled between sword fights. I’m not going to put the Kurgan at the top of my list though. There are better (or is it badder?) villains out there.
~Quick side note: I am sticking to fictional characters. There are far too many real world evil doers out there, and that’s just depressing. I prefer to stay with made up people.~
This list is my top five bad guys in cinema from five to one.
I’ll admit that the top 4 were easy for me. The real challenge was filling the last spot in my top five. Should it be Keyser Soze from The Usual Suspects? A man so scary that even other criminals fear him? Should it be Thanos or the Alien or the Terminator? What about Annie Wilkes from Misery. The hobbling scene haunts my nightmares still. None of those folks have the impact the ones that make my list do. It’s a flat out debate in my head between the two in spot five, so I’m going to call it a tie.
#5. The fifth spot is a split between Captain from Cool Hand Luke and Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate…” that captain. If you haven’t seen the film, go look it up. It’s an excellent film. I suspect that anyone who’s been around in the 2000s will recognize Delores (and likely have a seething reaction to her – sign of a great villain). These two are remarkably similar. They are mean; just downright nasty with people around them. They do what they do because they think they’re helping the people around them to fit in better and not make waves. They are desperately cruel while attempting to force conformity. That desperation pushed them toward making terrible choices and inflicting physical harm on others in the name of ‘betterment’. Punishment at the highest level without death. Torment, agony and trauma in the name of getting better definitely put these two on the list together.
#4. The Joker ~ The Dark Knight (2008) I put this one on here specifically for Heath Ledger’s masterful performance. There are a number of issues one could take with this film, but his performance in this part is an all time cinematic standout. The type of man that will do anything to get what he wants. Anything, including setting up various people to die just to see what choices they, or those who love them will make in order to save lives. What rules are you unwilling to break? What does it take to make you break them? Does he want the death of the hero? Absolutely not. Who would be his opposition without the hero? He lies, he intimidates, he kills… and he does completely terrifying magic with pencils.
#3. The Kurgan ~ Highlander (1986) We meet him with a glorious intro of the immortal wearing a bear skull. This wonderful portrayal of a madman shows what happens when the consequences are removed and the dark desires remain. Yes, there’s the sword fighting, the killing by beheading, and the blasphemy. The true nature of this guy’s evil shows forth when he steals a car. He has no fear of injury or death and he takes that with him as he screams along with his kidnap victim and runs over people on the sidewalk. It’s precisely what a remorseless killer would do.
#2. Thulsa Doom ~ Conan The Barbarian (1984) A warlord who gains power and becomes the head of a cult that challenges the authority of kings. A sorcerer. A cannibal. This is a man of power who make suggestions that become the orders that kill or enslave many. He has no qualms or hesitations about killing others. He calls a woman to her death just to demonstrate his power. He has one of the best quotes ever, “Now they will learn why they fear the night…”. That is a villain.
#1. The Operative ~ Serenity (2005) This guy tops the list based, at least partially, on his stoicism. The difference between his stoic nature and the nature of Doom in the second spot is the lack of ego. He has no name of his own. He has no rank, just authority. He will do anything to complete his work, without hesitation. He expects others to see, feel and understand his position. Violence is simply a tool among many. Death is useful. A good thing, without shame. His ruthless devotion, his absolute belief is the perfect foil to the hero of the film. IF by chance you’ve not seen the film, you should. It’s not terribly spoilerific if you go and check out his introduction here.
That’s my list. Who are your favorites? Do you have anyone that didn’t make it onto my list?
I lament the challenges I see with Hollyweird productions on here quite frequently. Last year I posted up a list of my top ten favorite fantasy movies. Number 9 on that list is a movie from 1984 called Sword of the Valiant starring Sean Connery (among many others of note). The movie is the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Today, I saw the trailer for the “Gorgeously Dark Fantasy Epic” Green Knight… about new movie about Sir Gawain and the Green knight… The trailer is available here:
This feels to me like yet another example of “Oh, that looks like it could be a cool movie but we’re going to make it really dark and moody and…”
And I’m so tired of hearing that sort of thing. It’s another Arthurian remake. Granted, it’s a lesser known one, but still a remake. I AM actually interested to see what they do with it. There’s a lot of potential in the story. I fear that it will get a treatment similar to what happened to the Hobbit, but perhaps there’s hope? Modern special effects will be fantastic for a lot of things that flatly didn’t hold up well over the years. A great deal of my love for Sword of the Valiant is nostalgic I think. I hope this new movie doesn’t over do it. The very best special effects are the ones you don’t notice. Practical effects really do look better when it’s a viable option. The trailer looks like the scenes are physically dark. I understand that could be part of the mood, but we really need to get past this aesthetic where you can’t actually see what’s happening on the screen in order to portray mood. Dark, we get it. Light the damn scene so we can see the actors at their work.
A remake. Arthurian legend. Again. I will go and see this one in the theater (probably). It’s fantasy and I want to encourage more of that. I don’t have a ton of hope, but I have a little. Let’s hope they really pull this one off.
I had the opportunity to submit a story that I had published previously. There was going to be a reprint anthology and I had a story that just fit right in. I was pleased with this idea ~ I had already made the money from the first sale (almost enough to buy lunch!) and this was a chance to get another lunch!
I sent it in and I waited. I suppose the wait time wasn’t terrible compared to some things, but it seemed like a long time. Maybe I was just impatient? Perhaps I am used to my rejections arriving faster than that. I waited some more. Then I got this:
Regretfully … We will not be moving forward with publication.
While we have received some great submissions for this collection, we feel that we haven’t received enough to proceed. We prefer to publish a good anthology, rather than a mediocre one, and we hope that you’d rather be published in a good anthology (rather than a mediocre one), as well.
In the past, our re-print anthos have filled very early in the submission process. We can only conclude that our timing must be up for this subject. We’ll revisit dark military science fiction in the future, when there may be more reprints to choose from.
This rejection is not a reflection on the merit of your story. Though, if your story has been held for a long time, it would have likely been selected.
I guess it’s a nicer rejection than normal? It seemed like they held my work for long enough that I should think it would be considered? I’m honestly confused by this one as I haven’t had anything like this before. So, rejection, but different.
Then I thought I should probably look at some of the other things I’ve got hanging around out there. Turns out the other things I’d sent out had been rejected and I’d simply never actually been notified. The contest and the other works were published and I was not part of them. It certainly makes a canceled project sound a lot better.
Then I got an update on a work of mine that was actually accepted for publication. The publication has been delayed and no firm date can be given at this time for when it will actually come out.
What does all this mean? Back to the keys. Keep writing, keep creating stories and keep trying to find the right place that’s looking for my kind of story. I’d say fingers crossed, but it’s really had to type that way…
The story of Csorwe, the bride of the Unspoken god and sentenced to die is a fantastic journey. I found it refreshing to hear the story of a character with tusks. I know this seems like a small detail, but the smallest diversity struck me as important. I enjoyed the journey from priestess to sacrifice to warrior, assassin, spy and so much more. There was real character growth through the course of the book.
I could have stopped at a couple of points in the story. It felt like there might have been more than one “book” in here… or maybe it could have been broken out into novellas or serialized somehow. It was a minor distraction, but it was there.
I was put off by the list of names up front, but I am always put off by those so this was not unique to this book. I made up my own names for characters as the fantasy names just didn’t hang together for me. Csorwe became Crow – visually close and an easy to keep the flow of the story – is just one example. Some people will struggle with that, some won’t – but I think the ability to actually say the name of the main characters matters.
I enjoyed the world building. Having various worlds connected by the maze was an interesting concept. There wasn’t a ton of detail about the ships, the gates or how the various parts worked but it was enough to spark the imagination and make the story / journey flow.
I’ve been away from here for a while. It happens. There’s probably some kind of wave pattern here, but I’m not going to find it. I have had a lot of feelings about so called “productivity” and what that means. I’ve been working hard at doing the things that I’m moved to do as I feel like doing them. Sometimes I practice niksen. Niksen is the Dutch art of doing nothing. Sounds silly, but it matters. Taking time and just letting my mind wander. Staring at the screen saver on the TV and just watching the fish swim. Breathing, closing my eyes and listening. Trying to get all the junk signals to quiet down and focus on the ones that matter.
I recall posting about this before, but I’m going to say it again in case there are folks that have missed it in the past. At one point I was reading a regular column from a local new source. This is someone holding the job of writer at an actual news source. Yes, writing the “local view” type columns, but still a pro. Then this writer filed an entire column that said, “I have nothing to say. Seriously, there was a deadline and I came up empty…”
I was furious. This person could have relinquished the weekly spot to somebody with something to say. Could have put in anything at all and it would have been better than “I got nothing”. I stopped reading that persons work (yes, still employed at that new source) and constantly question the managerial choice of keeping this person on board.
I will never do that here. IF I’ve got nothing to say, guess what? There won’t be a post here.
The biggest issue for me here is that I have things I want to say frequently but they tend to be time sensitive type things and by the time I get the chance to type something up it feels like the moment is past. So, for right now – I’m riding the wave. There maybe be a flurry of posts, there may be a gap. Perhaps I’m trying to change the wave pattern of my production by going to stare at some fish.
This was previously published in Watch The Skies fanzine – April 2021 issue.
Boss Level – Hulu
For folks that have loosely monitored things in the film industry over the past decade or so will know that Mel Gibson has had some rough sledding. Of course, when the “rough” is based on who you are and how you act toward your fellow humans it won’t garner a lot of sympathy. I have been just fine with Mr. Gibson dropping out of prominence and staying off the screens I watch for entertainment. Then I bumped into this Looper article that said he was having something of a resurgence to his career. I’m not a fan of that, but I wanted to listen to the reasoning. What I did not expect was praise, and was more shocked at the film that was being heralded as something positive for him. Boss Level is a Hulu original film – and yes, Mr. Gibson is in this movie. I decided based on this positive review that I needed to at least check out a science fiction/action film to see for myself.
In this movie Frank Grillo (you may remember him from his stint as Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) plays Roy Pulver, a former special operations soldier who is caught in a time loop. He wakes up every morning to the same thing. He moves through his day hitting the same beats and changing up little parts in order to see what happens. It is every bit the same concept as any other time loop movie ~ think Ground Hog Day (Bill Murray) or Edge of Tomorrow (Tom Cruise), just add more crazy violence. As the name implies there are a lot of video game like things going on in this movie. There are other notable characters (played by the likes of Michelle Yeoh and Ken Jeong) but Frank Grillo is the main focus. He carries the movie and does it well. This kind of action is exactly the sort of film somebody would expect to see him in. It was tight, the clues and keys to the loop were clever and the action just didn’t stop.
As for the previously mentioned Mr. Gibson, yes, he was in the movie. I won’t deliver any spoilers on the part he plays (it’s very obvious, very quickly) but it does seem to be a fitting part. It’s not a long acting stretch from the days when he starred in a movie called Payback, but he does it well. The reviewer from Looper seemed to indicate that he should have been given more to do or that his role should have been expanded. I disagree. I think we got just enough of him, and that might be too much as far as I’m concerned.
You know what else? I have to recommend this movie. There’s a ton of video game level crazy violence. Yes, it’s a time loop story. I still recommend it! If you have a way to connect with a friend on a Saturday night, grab a cold one, sit down and check out this film ~ you’ll have a good time!
I know that being a pro in the field of writing – any writing – requires the ability to write on demand. Deadlines must be met. Words must be produced. Nobody will pay you for the fanciful ideas floating in your head until you write them down (or draw them, or paint them, or build them). Waiting for inspiration is the direct path to never selling anything. Writing takes practice. It means repetition and expansion and edits among many other things.
I often quote a very famous author who has a slick statement about inspiration. “I don’t have a muse, I have a mortgage…” is a great quote. It’s easy to say. It’s hard to back that up.
I am far more attached to my mood than is good for anyone who wishes to be successful as a creative artist of any kind. The combination of creative drain from my day job, my inability to focus on a single kind of creativity and the things that happen in my day to day life often mean I am drained and just have no creative juice left to flow when I get to the keys.
I want to include some kind of declaration here about how I intend to do more, be better or whatever would fit, but the truth is that mood matters. I have made many declarations like this in the past and none of them have ever pushed me past certain barriers. Schedules, task lists, extensive notes are all wonderful and helpful things but none of those produce inspiration. There’s no spark. I’m going to keep struggling along in the best way I can. I’ll keep looking for that moment when a story leaps fully formed from my head, into my fingers and directly through the keys. Mood matters.
I have edged my way into the time of life when I start to lose people. The simple fact is that people get older and eventually they die. The longer you go, the more it happens. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.
I found out this past Friday that another of my friends had died. He was 50. Same age that I am as I write this. He attended the same high school my wife did. I can’t say we were super close, but we were friends and I had known him for years. We hung out. We went to lunches, we played games. I’m not adding specifics about things because I believe sharing those things are the family’s choice, and they didn’t share any of those details in his obituary.
One way people can go on is if we remember them. I’m going to share this very short story because it is my favorite.
Many years ago, Bryan was in the navy. He was a diver and he was training to use underwater demolitions. One of the explosives he was working with detonated too early. Among other injuries this seriously damaged his hearing. He medically retired from the service. He wore hearing aids from that point forward.
While we were at lunch at a busy restaurant one day he expressed his difficulties in hearing immediate conversations when there was so much background noise around him. I know others with hearing aids and understood. Then I remembered this cartoon:
Funny because it’s true…
I leaned in and said to him, “You’re at the doctor’s office and the doc said ‘Yes sir, that was very loud! Now I need to hear your heart!’”
He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. “You have no idea how true stuff like that is!” was all he could muster between laughing bouts. This is how I will remember him. I will miss him. Rest well Bryan.
I once heard a very famous author state that he wanted nothing to do with the internet. He based this (I vaguely recall) on the idea that people would then be able to go back, digging into past comments or opinions he had posted from years ago, dragging them out and trying to judge them by some current standard. It was a prescient commentary from a science fiction author. We are now seeing what can happen when people go digging into the past, looking for any scrap of conversation made by (fill in person of choice) in years gone by. Once on the internet, out in public forever… I try to be mindful of this. Part of this past author’s comments were based around the idea that a person can learn, change and grow. The things that once were a passionate position may have been challenged and defeated. Education can happen. Changes in how a person lives, works, acts or presents themselves are common. This is true of anyone.
It’s also true that technology, truly successful technology, will find it’s way into your life. What was once edgy and new will move into the realm of the commonplace. Exceptional will become expected. Delivery methods of said technology will become streamlined and efficient. I place e-reader (Kindle specifically) in this category.
This amused me
I saw that cartoon and it made me wonder how my opinions on certain things have aged. So I went digging (I am in no way known or popular enough to have people trying to dig things up on me). I was fearful that when I went to look at my posted blog comments they would contain the sort of statements that seem outlandish or desperately funny (or worse).
I was most shocked to discover that it has been 10 years since I first wrote about the Kindle. I got my first e-reader back at the end of 2010. It was a stand alone device. I remember my own hesitance toward the device. I occasionally argued against them. I didn’t like certain aspects, but the convenience very quickly won out. In the decade since the stand alone device has merged into phones and tablet tech. The e-book is ubiquitous and somehow the paperback survives. If you have a deep seeded need for nostalgia, you can check out my original post HERE and then check out the follow up a few months later HERE. The second one would definitely be a different vibe today. I don’t think most people would have any issues letting somebody peruse their book collection, but I don’t know anyone that would unlock their device and just hand it over to a coworker to check out… but that’s a topic for another day I suspect.
What’s on your bookshelf right now? Is it virtual?
