Starlog For Free

Growing up, there were two magazines that were bibles for me: Cinefantastique and Starlog. In their heydays (the 70s, 80s and early 90s) they provided in-depth, thoughtful coverage of science-fiction, horror and fantasy films. Cinefantastique still exists in an on-line form. Starlog, sadly, is gone...or, is it?

You can find the entire run of issues for free at the Starlog section of the Internet Archive. Now...someone needs to do the same with the back issues of Cinefantastique and the little geek in my heart can wallow in warm, sticky nostalgia.

New Godzilla Trailer Shows Epic Destruction

I've been a big fan of the Big G since I could imagine myself crushing cities full of helpless people...does that sound psychopathic? Hmmmm...

Anyway, the film series has always had a varying quality to it. Highlights like the original or Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack are balanced by lesser efforts like Godzilla vs Megalon and the horrible 1998 US Godzilla. Based on the trailers and director Gareth Edwards effort in Monsters, the 2014 version looks like it's going to be one of the former. Looking forward to May 16.

Red Letter Media Looks At Robocop (2014)

I have not seen the new Robocop film yet. Based on the trailer, I was not prepare to spend $10 on what looked like a charmless, pointless remake. Based on the review from Red Letter Media it appears that my impulse was right.

I'll probably see it; it doesn't sound unwatchable. However, this will definitely be a "2 dollar theater" viewing experience.

Brian Williams Doing "Rapper's Delight"

Pretty darn funny. Check it out.

Her, The Longer Review

I really enjoyed the movie Her. In addition to my One Paragraph Review, I had a longer reviewed published on Yahoo. Check it out here.

New Trailer For Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The new trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier is out. The verdict? Pretty awesome. Unlike the last Marvel film - Thor: The Dark World, which didn't grab me before release and which I had a lot of problems with as detailed here - I've been looking forward to the new Cap film since it was announced that Winter Soldier would feature as the main villain. I loved Ed Brubaker's work on Captain America and his creation of WS was one of the best reintroductions of a dead character in comics history. While we'll have to see how much of comic book character is ported over into the film and how successful the movie is in telling an action-conspiracy story, at least it looks cool.

One Paragraph Review - Oblivion

In the future, humanity has fought a war with an alien race called the Scavs. Mankind won, but Earth has been devastated and the remnants of mankind have fled to Titan. All of Earth's oceans are being converted to energy and then the planet will be abandoned. At least, that's what Jack (Tom Cruise) a drone repair technician and his partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) believe. Jack eventually learns that the truth of the war and its aftermath are very different. The film relies on a couple of twists to propel the narrative, so I'll end the synopsis here. Suffice to say, the "twists" are not surprising, but are not particularly silly either. They work, even if they are telegraphed. Which, is a good summation of the film itself. There is nothing surprising or unique about it, but nothing that makes me want to toss a shoe at the screen. The acting is good and the characters develop along predictable lines. The effects look good and I like the aesthetics. The action sequences have a distinct "seen it before" feel to them, but are well shot. Thankfully, there is no shaky cam. Is Oblivion a great movie? No, it is not. But, it is a pretty good story, told well and worth seeing.

A glamour shot of Jack's VTOL. The technology designs for the film are one of the reasons I recommend watching it.