I saw about 20 movies in the theater between January 1st and December 31st, and I have
to say I think I chose pretty well. With the limited time I have, I don't make it to the theater
nearly as much as I did in my moviegoing salad days (My record is 54, set in the glorious
movie year of 1994.) and I have to be more discerning. More often than not, though, when I waited
till Netflix to see something I missed, it turned out to be the right move.
But only seeing such a low number of films makes it hard for me to do a traditional top ten
list. So in choosing the cream of the crop, I fell short by a few titles. There are also a few
films I have not yet seen that may have made the list, but if i waited then put them on the list
it wouldn't be the Best of What I Saw in 2012 anymore, would it?
I can relate to Bilbo Baggins. He’s a quiet, peace-loving hobbit who has no interest in adventure because adventure makes you late for dinner. It takes you away from comfort and throws you into all kinds of unknown, possibly dangerous situations. Then again, moving beyond comfortable boundaries to experience more of what the world has to offer can be appealing. It can even be a calling.
As you can imagine all of us at GFR are still spinning over the Lucas/Disney announcement and now it's time to start speculating about future plotlines (that we've been dreaming about for the last 30 years!) Will they pull anything from the huge EU universe encompassing a treasure trove of novels and comics? Or will they go in an entirely new direction? On today's episode Carlos and Steve V. will discuss some possibilities and special contributor James will weigh in with his thoughts. Jax the Rabbit can't be any worse than Jar Jar Binks!
Not only do the Americans save the day in the fact-based new movie “Argo,” but they do it without firing a shot or dropping a bomb.
At the start of the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 when revolutionaries stormed the American embassy and took 52 people hostage, six U.S. diplomats managed to escape the embassy before the revolutionaries took over. They found a safe haven in the home of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber) who risked his own life by taking them in and hiding them. The CIA finds out about the hidden diplomats and knows that if they’re discovered, everyone involved will be executed in the streets. So how can they get them out of Iran?
For four seasons, the TV series “Fringe” has been a family drama under the guise of a sci-fi and horror show, with the themes of man, science and God running throughout. Specifically, it presented viewers with questions about how far is too far when it comes to creating scientific breakthroughs. Can human beings break the laws of physics and nature in the name of scientific progress without negative consequences? The character who originated many of those experiments, Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), learned the answer is no.
“We need water! Fill the sinks and tubs. We don’t have much time…It’s all going to turn off, and it’s never going to turn back on!”
Those words launch executive producer J.J. Abrams’ new NBC series, “Revolution,” which debuts on Monday Sept. 17 at 10pm Eastern/9pm Central.
The “it” to which Chicago resident Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee) refers in those lines is power: not just a loss of electricity that keeps the lights from working, but power in general. Car batteries die, water supply systems stop working, planes fall out of the sky. In an instant, the luxuries and necessities the world has become used to disappear, returning everyone to the days of “Little House on the Prairie” by way of “The Hunger Games.”
For years I’ve known about the I-Con science fiction convention held annually at SUNY Stony Brook located in Suffolk County on Long Island. Its’ stated goal is to offer attendees as broad an experience as possible with regard to all aspects of science fiction – books, gaming, media, costuming, etc. They host authors, actors, game developers and critics of every stripe and it attracts all kinds.
With all the excitement surrounding Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, and the esteem with which it is held, we tend to forget the absolute mania surrounding Tim Burton's 1989 version of Batman.
In the light of Nolan's films Burton's version (considered extremely dark for its day) seems quaint by comparison. While Frank Miller's oppressive "Dark Knight" graphic novel was released only a few years before Burton's version, it has more in common tonally with Nolan's films.
I vividly recall the breathless anticipation created by the brilliant pre-Internet, pre-viral marketing WB hype machine. A full year before the movie came out, t-shirts, toys and trinkets started appearing everywhere. DC Comics was in the midst of a Batman renaissance with stories such as "Batman: Year One," "A Death in the Family" and "The Killing Joke."
When “The Dark Knight” – the second film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy – opened in 2008, I went to see it opening day because, like a lot of guys, I grew up reading Batman comics and was excited to see where the story would go next. Though that film was technically good , it was also the bleakest movie I think I ever saw. I actually felt jittery on the inside after it was over because it conveyed palpable feelings of despair. That was largely due to the character of The Joker who who didn’t have any redeeming qualities whatsoever. This wasn’t an evil-in-a-comic-bookish-way villain like Loki in “The Avengers.” The Joker was like the devil personified, calmly and enjoyably spreading evil wherever he went. He may have been a movie character, but there was something frighteningly real about him. “The Dark Knight” received lots of acclaim, especially for Heath Ledger who won a posthumous Oscar for playing The Joker. My feelings about the film were mixed though, because I like my superhero movies a little more superhero-y.
I’m usually more than ready to come home by Sunday because, while these cons are great fun, they’re also exhausting. Sunday started quietly with appearances by astronauts Wally Schira and Alan Bean. Both were fascinating speakers but their connection to the world of sci-fi is somewhat oblique, and I thought we’d be better served with performers, which is not to say I didn’t enjoy their talks.
