This was originally published in Watch The Skies January 2023 edition.
The film makers captured ‘bleak’ very, very well.
This month is much more in line with what many people traditionally think of as science fiction. The movie The Colony on Netflix is a far future dystopian film. It’s grey and gritty. The action starts right away.
In the distant future, the elite of earth flee a dying planet, making a new home on a distant planet. This new home proves to have road blocks to humans continuing to create more humans, so a mission is sent back to earth to determine if having the colonists return is viable or not. The previous mission has not communicated back. This is the second mission, and it struggles right from the start.
The movie has a little bit of the Mad Max feeling with marauders and technology scrapped together from the past. It also has a little bit of Water World with everything being effected by a sea level that has risen enough to make everything wet and endangered by the tide. The futuristic space technology gives our hero a little bit of an edge, but she is outnumbered and spends a significant part of the movie struggling just to survive.
I think that struggle is the part that wins me over. This is not a macho, blow things up kind of survival. It’s a thought provoking, yet action packed movie with diverse concepts and problems that require the characters thought and reason, rather than simple actions. This is definitely one you should be watching.
This was originally published in the Watch The Skies November issue.
I’m doing two things with this recommendation that I wouldn’t normally do. First, I’ve not finished all of the episodes of the show in question. Second, it’s a little bit of genre mixing but there’s enough quasi Lovecraft in what I’ve seen to make me thing readers here might be interested. What am I talking about? Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix.
To the first point, having watched the first two of the eight episodes, I feel confident in my recommendation. There is a bit of a Twilight Zone vibe as each story has an introduction at the physical representation of the cabinet. The stories have been well written and paced for a shorter time frame, with episodes averaging around an hour (the shortest being 38 minutes, the longest at 1 hour and 3 minutes). The special effects are well done, in that they don’t detract from the story. I think that says a lot in the day and age where the computer is leaned on so heavily for effects that it can have a negative impact on the story telling. Beyond the actual effects is the aesthetic of it all. This show is appealing on the strictly visual level. The details are not lost in this show.
To the second point, it’s the little details. Giant rats, summoned demons, and statues of great Cthulhu (in a blink and you miss it moment) are among the things that lead me to genre mix here. There is nothing expressly or specifically “science fiction” in this show, but there is a lot of the fantastic and I think that’s worth taking a look at.
I intend to follow through and finish all the episodes. I think you should be watching it too!
This was originally published in the Watch The Skies July issue.
The multiverse. A certain MCU character has brought this theory to the attention of the public in recent months. Multiple universe theories, quantum physics, philosophy and all the other Schrodinger equations are generally WAY past my understanding. A version of this theory that I understand is that each choice we make during our lives causes some sort of branch to happen. The alternate choice sort of spins off and becomes another world where our other self continues on that other path. It’s more complicated than that, but that basic thought is the core of this film. What if we made that other choice? Where would that other path have taken us? It’s a thought that runs through most peoples’ heads at some point. I recommend this movie to a science fiction / fantasy based group purely on the strength of using this multiverse theory in an absolutely bonkers way.
What if you could access the knowledge, emotions, life experience of those other lives you might have had? In this movie, a middle aged woman who is struggling with many of the same sort of things any of us struggle with is suddenly confronted with this access… and is told she needs to use this knowledge to save the world. She needs to reach out and draw from those lives and the knowledge those other versions of her have gained.
Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan are absolutely fantastic in their roles. They are all believable, earnest and relatable, even when the entire world around them seems to be going mad. There is a randomness to this film that would be hard to ride if they weren’t just so good. There is action, humor and romance. I don’t know that any single genre or category would do this movie justice. Absurdist fits, but isn’t fair to the beauty of the performances and the depth of the feelings that show through. There is another big name movie star in the film. This big name star is so deeply into the role that I didn’t realize that’s who it was while I was watching.
Do yourself a favor, stay away from spoilers – even the trailer honestly – and just check this movie out. It’s only just leaving theaters and headed to DVD or home streaming, but it’s worth the effort. You should be watching this movie.
This was originaly published in the June 2022 edition of Watch The Skies.
I don’t think I can overstate how much I am taken with this art.
I went back through the list of shows that I have recommended in the history of these articles and was stunned to see that I had not brought up Love, Death & Robots. I don’t know how this has escaped previously, but no longer.
Love, Death & Robots is an animated series, but this is very specifically aimed at adults. The creators original intent was to have something similar in nature to the animated film Heavy Metal (from 1981). Do not for a moment think this is a children’s cartoon. It is NOT. It is brutal, sexy and mind rattling in varying degrees throughout. Netflix loaded up the first season of LD&R back in March of 2019. There were 18 episodes for the series, each coming in with a viewing length under 20 minutes. The second season of 8 was released in May of 2021, and the most recent season of 9 episodes launched just last month (May of 2022).
The stories for these animations all come from some of the best writers in modern science fiction, fantasy and horror. Names like, Bacigalupi, Asher, Scalzi and Sterling. There’s even an episode showing a story written by Harlan Ellison. These stories carry weight and have real punch in such a short time frame. The set up to the closure, if there is any, come right at you. The first two seasons each won an Emmy. The story telling is only rivaled by the pictures that accompany the stories.
IF you dislike ‘cartoons’ for some reason, I challenge you to watch these and NOT become a fan of animation. The art, the shear beauty of so many of these works will make you question how they were created. Admittedly, they are not all hyper realistic, but even the goofiest stories are well animated. The colors, the smoothness, and the pure vibrancy of even the darkest pieces still amazes me. I have some that I re-watch for the story and many that I re-watch just to see them. Just to experience their beauty again. I don’t believe they needed more marketing, but the third season has actually done something neat to accompany all this art. There were some clues hidden in certain episodes of the third season. If you followed the clues, you’d find your way to some computer art from the show. The hunt, and the clues have continued on various social medial platforms since the third season was released.
I highly recommend this show. You should definitely be watching.
This was originally published in Watch The Skies May issue.
I’ve noticed a trend lately toward animated shows. While this show is once again aimed at kids, I have found a number of interesting and fun writing choices being made. The show follows a human girl named Luz who stumbles through a portal into another world. The land known as The Boiling Isles is filled with startling, weird and amazing characters living on the remains of some kind of giant or titan. There she becomes friends with a rouge witch named Eda, also known as the Owl Lady. Luz decides to stay and learn magic from this most powerful witch.
While I have not yet finished the first season, I suspect I will consume the entire series. Yes, each episode is relatively short and contains a ‘lesson of the week’ kind of format, but there are much longer story threads being woven through the background. It’s got some really fun and funny moments that are clearly aimed at the adults watching the show. At one point Eda is relaxing and says (fourth wall breaking style), “Ah, a quiet moment of domesticity… I wonder how long that will last” and in moments she is rewarded with a crash and screams. “Ah, there it is…” and she moves into the story. It was such a small moment, but anyone that has dealt with kids of any age knows that moment, deeply, and would just feel that come right through the screen.
In looking up some information about this show I’ve encountered a few spoilers that I will not share here. Anything beyond an abridged third season seems to be in jeopardy as the comedy / horror vibe (along with a couple of other factors) seem to not fit with the current Disney+ vision. I can say with certainty that I am not the only one believing in the writing for this show. It first aired in 2020 and won a Peabody Award in 2021. Weird, whimsical and believable fun – you should be watching this show.
You need to know right up front that there is cartoon violence involved in what I’m recommending this month. IF that’s not your thing… definitely skip it. IF you’re not put off by the old school Loony Tunes style bashing and blowing up, then this show is for you.
The main characters in this short are /Rowdy (rotten criminal) and Peanut (guard dog). Rowdy is after the most valuable painting in the world and Peanut is trying to keep that painting right where it is in the museum. The catch here is that YOU help decide how it all works out. This animated feature is interactive. There will be a series of questions at various points in the show that require your input via the remote control. Get all the questions right, get one result. Get a question wrong, get something totally different. Run out of chances and you can go back and try again, giving you a completely different result. The run time was listed at something like 12 minutes, but be warned! I ended up going through multiple times to see various options and endings and was watching for far longer than the listed run time.
Pre-pandemic, if you’d asked me about the Legend of Vox Machina I would have stared at you blankly. I had heard, vaguely, of Critical Role but that would be about it. The team producing the web hit Critical Role has certainly made a massive impact on media and the route things have to production.
I’ve talked in other places about something people are labeling “the Mercer effect” as it relates to the expectations of people when they play Dungeons and Dragons. The team at CR (and it IS a team, including a lot of production) create a drama that people can follow along with BUT it doesn’t meet the expectations of players when said players get to their own game tables. Most people don’t have a production team to help run their game, nor do they do it as part of their job so even regular old game / planning time is limited. A new players view of the game can be warped by production quality.
Now, take that same story with all the warping. Get professionals to set the script, trim the action, do the voices and then have crazy good animation and you get Vox Machina’s first season on Amazon video.
I have watched the whole season. I can say that I enjoyed it. It is a very well done animated series.
The criticism(s) I have for it revolve around that warping.
I don’t watch CR when they role play their campaign on YouTube. IF I have that many hours, I’m playing or I’m designing my own game for when I’m playing. It’s not a polished show and you’ve got to wade through it all to get to the good stuff. That’s the whole point I hear you saying, but really – I don’t have that kind of time. Am I maybe missing some Easter eggs or not understanding the ‘in’ jokes? Absolutely. Do I care? No. No I do not.
Having watched the show I get what people mean about expectations. They fight and kill a dragon in the first or second episode. I have NO idea what the actual level of the characters are in the CR game, but in MY world dragons are epic, boss level fights that don’t get resolved that quickly. Dragons are part of the name of the game and defeating them like some kind of minor winged reptile without the kind gravitas they deserve just doesn’t seem right to me. It set me off for the whole series. This is made worse by the fact that one of the main bad guys is (or appears to be) a vampire. That in NO WAY works out that way in my world. Are vampires exceptional and challenging monsters? You bet. Do they have more power than dragons? Never. So – my hang up on that one, but I think it ties in with expectations.
Percy has a gun. Yes, it’s demon related and possibly magical in nature, but it’s still a gun. This is not a chocolate in my peanut butter kind of situation. I don’t want guns in my swords and sorcery game. I play fantasy for a reason. IF I want guns I’ll play a role playing game with guns. This was an aspect of the show that clearly worked, but just took me out of the right head space.
Editing the story down to basically half hour episodes is both good and bad. It’s good, because the writers got to the meat of what’s going on without requiring me to wade through all the dice rolling and background decision making that goes with any good role playing game. I really appreciated being able to get through the shows in a timely manner. What they did while doing that is skipped past longer story arc development. I know – can’t have it both ways, but this is the expectation thing again. Part of the joy of the game is working up all those deep character backgrounds and having all the other players know and use that info. It’s that shared aspect that makes the game great. The animated show didn’t give the feeling of weight that all that stuff was in there. It’s not easy to describe that feeling when you don’t know all the backstory, but you KNOW all that backstory is there. You can feel it with little details.
In the end, it was a fun ride. I found myself pointing and laughing on more than one occasion, remarking that actions / choices reminded me of our own game or that we’d had remarkably similar actions in our game. It’s relatable, but it’s just one version of how the game goes. It’s not MY version and maybe it’s not YOUR version either. It’s worth checking out. It’s fun. I look forward to the next season – just don’t expect to see a dragon defeated that easily in any game I run.
I won’t give you spoilers, but the trailers for the movie certainly will. I find that to be one of the most frustrating portions of any movie these days. I used to truly enjoy the excitement and anticipation of upcoming films and would be sure to check out the trailers. These days I want to know a very small amount about the film along with how it’s going to be released – and that’s it. I hate that some of what I think are the coolest parts of the movie are in the trailer. Saw them before the film ever started… and then was underwhelmed when I saw them in the film itself.
Speaking of trailers… it feels like movie houses are attempting to devour themselves in a desperate effort to get our attention. We were early to the film to be sure we got seats that we preferred. The movie was supposed to come in around 2 ½ hours. We had almost a half hour of previews lined up to watch before the movie ever started. I’m not kidding. I timed it at somewhere between 24 and 27 minutes of previews… to the point that we were sitting there doing the “rolling” motion with our hands in the theater. As in, OK – WE GET IT – you want us to be excited about movies… how about the one we just paid for and want to see? It was ridiculous.
I think it’s wonderful that we have so many options for movies these days. I’m glad the theater experience is still out there. More on that later.
The movie itself. It has a lot of the look and feel of the original. The sounds and colors were all familiar. Some of it was a little too familiar. There was a lot of reused footage from the previous movies, tying things together. There were lots of call backs and continuations. It makes sense in the story for the most part, but it’s difficult to talk about it in depth without spoiling things. What I DID NOT like was the way the action sequences were shot. It accentuated and doubled down on the shaky cam and unlit (really dark) action sequences. They were hard to watch and almost impossible to follow. IF you’re a fan of breaking down film things like this, I suggest checking out this short video on how action scenes are shot. Dark and hard to see, and I’m not sure it needed to be.
The characters were good. Keanu and Carrie Anne were great. I really enjoyed Jessica Henwick as Bugs. I hope to see more of her in the future. Then there was Neil Patrick Harris. I’m not going to say anything about his character. No spoilers. NPH was easily my favorite character and I’d LOVE to see more of him in films like this going forward. He made this movie for me.
I’m glad we went to the theater to see the movie. I don’t know how the combo with home screening will change the box office numbers, but it will be interesting. As I said above, I am glad the theater experience is making a comeback. Things still feel different because of the pandemic. The place was only about half full. That’s far more than recent movies, but far less than I’m betting they hoped for. I certainly thought there would be more people there for a 7 o’clock show on opening night. The movie is worth seeing on the big screen if that’s a thing you’re comfortable with. I expect I’ll be watching this movie again on the small screen at home. There were tons of little details to catch that I’m sure weren’t caught while trying to take in the story itself for the first time. It’s a well done film and I hope it does well.
Also – there is a little something at the very end of the credits too, so don’t leave early.
What movie are you looking forward to seeing on the big screen?
Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s good. I’ve had that thought rolling around among the remaining marbles in my head lately. Doesn’t help that I had another birthday, pushing ME into the “just because he’s old…” category.
I see this in my day job. In architectural design we are frequently called on to save work that is 50 or more years old. It’s important to retain a sense of history, but often times there simply isn’t anything worth saving. I have seen entire walls on the verge of collapse due to shoddy workmanship from the past that has finally pushed that final limit and begun the process of failing. Blocks crack, steel rusts away, bricks bulge, forming something that looks more like a wave than a wall. We can’t ‘save’ it. Maybe we can remake it and allow it to blend in with the other remaining parts. It takes study and careful consideration.
Nostalgia can dominate rational thought in this process. If the building in question has “always been there” from your point of view, there is an attachment formed by familiarity. The same is true of the written word. There have been some older genre books I’ve gone back to. I devoured them when I was a kid. I have these hazy visions and half baked plot memories that fill me with feelings of adventure and inspiration. Then I go back, dig out the old paperbacks and start to read. Nostalgia is often best if allowed to remain as that fuzzy picture. Most of the stories I’ve gone back to based strictly on warm feelings from my youth have been… less than the memory that brought me back to them. A couple of books have been absolute stinkers that lead me to wonder what I was thinking. Of course I was probably a preteen when reading them for the first time and had a… less discriminating palette. I think that’s a good way to phrase it (as opposed to, it didn’t matter if it was shitty, I grabbed every one I could get my grubby little hands on). Sometimes context of when books were written matters, sometimes it doesn’t. I found there are some who agree with the assessment that old isn’t necessarily good as well. I have a copy of this book, and based on this review I won’t be picking it up again soon. I love the cover art… I’ll let that story fade away on the back of the shelf.
Movies fit this category more than anything else. I’ve been trying to formulate a way to describe the feeling of not seeing new things in movies in such a way to still allow space for various media pieces to become my “new favorite”. It’s easy to throw haymakers at Hollywierd for never making anything new. We’re scheduled to get a 5th Indiana Jones movie! Indiana Jones and the quest for prune juice? We’re getting another Dune movie… that looks exactly the same as the last one with updated special effects. We’re getting sequels and “movie universe continuations” and all sorts of things that just don’t excite me. Theaters have lots of issues, but I think the single biggest one is making people excited enough about an actual film (without giving the entire thing away in the trailer ~ but that’s another rant) to balance against the terribleness of actually going and being forced to deal with an increasingly rotten set of theater goers. Another remake? Unlikely.
That brings me to the movie remake – or reboot? – that I really want to talk about. Highlander. The original movie from 1986 evokes that sense of nostalgia. There are so many aspects of this movie worthy of discussion. The concept is fascinating, but limited. An unknown number of immortal men that can only die if they are decapitated. These men battle through time attempting to become the final, remaining immortal that will claim some ultimate prize. I suspect the part film makers hate is that has a built in end point. Eventually, “there can be only one”, and that’s the best place for the film to stop. It didn’t stop them before of course. They welded on or cobbled together an additional four sequels and two television series. I will carry forth the belief that as far as Highlander films, there can be only one and not discuss the others.
The concept works. There are also the characters. Over the top, wildly costumed and speaking forth with accents that absolutely do NOT match anything of where they’re supposed to be from. These men know the goal, learn ways to survive and form bonds that pass beyond normal human life spans. Those who are prone to evil deeds do not hold back – in particular the Kurgan is a monster (and one of my favorite villains). The action works. Sword fights, car chases (sort of) and training montages. The score of the film by Queen has become legendary. It is this mashed together thing that somehow becomes more than any single part of it described on its own. Some minor aspects are showing their age, but given that the movie is 35 years old now that’s to be expected.
Do I want to see another version of this film?
It’s a difficult question. I love the original. I remember (and can quote) almost all of the main characters clearly. I’d hate if they did to this movie what they did to that movie series they called “The Hobbit”. Hate. Lots of hate for that hobbit mess.
I’d be willing to watch the movie. I’m not saying I’m enthusiastic about the idea, but I’d be willing to watch the movie. There are some important things that need to be addressed if this new version is going to happen.
The concept has a limit in terms of film. Unless it’s going to attempt to become something like the MCU (and everyone seems to want to cash in on the Marvel concept). Winning the main goal at the end of the first film is NOT the way to build a franchise. Does the film need to be a franchise? Is there any such thing as a stand alone film anymore? I don’t see many stand alone films in the land of genre these days. If it’s going to be more than one, give us enough of an ending that it can be thought of as a film, but don’t give us the ultimate prize only to try to backpedal on that later.
Don’t try to copy the musical score. Queen was a magical choice that somehow worked. Trying to capture that same spirit and falling short (and you will fall short against the Queen soundtrack) will detract from the movie. Make the music different and unique to this story.
Keep the villain a villain. There are bad guys trying to win the prize. They can’t die. They will think long term and they will be completely willing to do awful things to people who aren’t immortal. They would have died soon anyway, right? Keep that. It’s not going to be easy to equal what has gone before. Please, for the love of all that is holy to anyone, DO NOT turn this into one of those weak ‘but they were just misunderstood’ lame ass bad guy bits. Those are the worst. I’ll walk out.
Update the action and the special effects – but don’t rely on the special effects. Computers can do amazing things, but aging well is not one of them ~ particularly in the realm of visual effects. It’s easy to see the old effects with a modern eye. Do as much of this in a practical way as possible. Don’t go over the top. Over the top doesn’t blend well with a good story.
In the end – keep a good story as the main goal. What would I love to see in a remake? Show me an immortal warrior who is able to fight, but also understands that the world continues to move and evolve. A man who is so alone, but remembers so deeply and so clearly that he drags us with him, willing or not. There’s a moment in the original that shows this off amazingly well. IF they can give me this feeling along with effective action, a believable villain and amazing sound and visuals I’ll love it. See if you agree here:
A man out of time
Do I think they’ll get there? I don’t know. Cautiously hopeful is all we get for right now. There’s only one way to find out. Let’s hope for the best on this one.
No, I’m not going to the beach. No, I’m not going to the desert either. I really don’t like that kind of heat and I definitely don’t like that much sand. I’ve been to the desert before. I don’t like it. “It’s a dry heat…” is the common refrain. Yes, so is my oven. I don’t want to climb in there either.
This is about the latest film adaptation of Dune for the big screen.
I know that many folks won’t remember so I’m going to start off with pair of links. Around five years ago I found this film that was all about the version of Dune that never got made. I wrote up a bit about it, but have since reconsidered certain aspects of my stance on that film. It is worth knowing the story of the first attempt to get this movie made because a lot of other films rose from the ashes of that attempt. I posted it here.
Second, I wrote about how loaded 1984 was in terms of movies. I was fourteen that year and it was absolutely the sweet spot for movies for me. There were easily a dozen movies that have had a lasting cultural impact. We’ve got access to a huge number of these films still and a number of the franchises are still going. I wrote it up here, and on that list was a little film called Dune. And they’re making it again.
So, here we are in 2020 (the year of suck) and there’s another version of the movie being made. I get it, Dune is a huge, sweeping story with lots of space (see what I did there, space… ok, I’ll stop) for story telling and interpretation. There is at least one, perhaps two generations of people that have not seen the 1984 adaptation and that’s a lot of money to leave out there. Computer graphics have rocketed forward (… I… I clearly can’t help myself) and give a huge number of options that were certainly not available when the earlier film was made. There are reasons why somebody would want to make another version of Dune.
This relates to another conversation that I’ve had off and on with other fans as well. When you come to something, either film or book, in your life’s journey really matters. I’m not going to attempt to argue for never recreating a film nor will I argue against mining the same thing over again. There are a handful of instances where the version of something I really like is actually a remake of something much older that I didn’t know existed. I don’t like the original as much as the remake version that was the first one I saw, “my” version. It happens.
I wish they’d spend the money on something new. Yes, I know there are all those fans that haven’t seen the old one in a theater. I’m not sure banking on those fans to go to the theater is such safe money these days. It seems like those days of red carpet premieres might be gone for good. Who knows?
I showed the trailer for the new movie to my daughter and one of her friends. I wanted the opinion of young fans. My daughter was aware of the older version (though she told me that she definitely didn’t ‘hang around’ while I was watching it) and her friend had never seen nor heard of the story at all. My wife watched along with us, then I asked for opinions.
“Well, they’ve got money. They’ve got some very famous actors in there.”
“It’s so dark. Why can’t we see any of what’s going on. It needs to be brighter.”
and lastly, from my wife, “I’ll have to see what they do with it. I like the old one, but it wasn’t nearly what the book was. I should pick that one up again and see what in my memory is the book and what has crept in there from the movie”.
I explained to the kids that they’d had money for the old one too. They seemed impressed that that “old guy” from that super old band The Police had been in the movie too. They didn’t really recognize any of the other folks, but they got the idea. Then I ran the video that I’m going to link below. The reactions amounted to, “OK, we see what you’re saying”.
My biggest issue with a remake is just that – it’s going back and using the same recipe. It’s going to have to work extra hard to be fresh and worthy. Things like how horribly dark all the movies are these days (a fad I hope) aren’t substantial changes and are decidedly not good. It’s not just my ‘old eyes’ either. One of the kids asked why she couldn’t see anything on the screen. that kind of dark just doesn’t help the aesthetic at all. It’s a desert planet – the sunlight might make it, I don’t know, super bright? Just a thought.
I was happy to find that somebody had made a video cut using bits of the old movie version and putting them up side by side with the new version. This film person has a host of side by side cuts like that posted to his channel. I think looking at the side by side will show in terms far better than I am able to string together by way of text what bothers me about remakes. Not only have I seen it, but there are in fact parts of the “update” that are not necessarily better. Check it out for yourself and see what I mean:
What do you think? See the new one? Stick with the old one? Watch them both and compare them at length?
