Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Sorry for my prolonged absence this part of the year is the very busy time at my day job, six days a week, ten hour day are quite common. (I don’t even work retail, it boggles the mind.)
star-wars-7-trailerFor my first post in weeks here is my no spoilers review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
First off let me say that Star Wars is back. This film vindicate my theory that J.J. is a far better fit for the Star Wars universe than he ever could hope to be for the Star Trek setting. The Force Awakens is fun, fast, and takes placed in the familiar lived-in look that permeated the frame in the original trilogy.
TFA takes place many years after the end of the original trilogy and starts off with new characters and new situations. In the years since the Rebellion’s victory over the Empire the victors have reestablished the Republic, but a number of system defied the Republic and have formed the New Order, a government that seems to follow the precepts of the Empire but does not claim a direct lineage. The Two government appear to be co-existing in a cold war sort of peace that is disturbed by a Resistance force with the New Order.
Non of that is spoiler and should have been clear in the film’s opening crawl, sadly it is not.
As I stated earlier the movie quickly reclaims the sense of fun, grandeur, and adventure that the original trilogy mined so well and that the prequel trilogy simply forget existed. The new characters are fun, interesting, and have more fascinating backstories that the original characters. The film has many callbacks to the original films, performing superior fan service.
The weaknesses of the movie really come down to two major points.
1) It is very much a retelling of A New Hope, much as Terminator 2 retold the story, and less well, of . Here is may be that Disney and the film makers are taking time to assure us that they know what Star Wars is supposed to be. If the next movie charts fresh territory then this film will be tonally perfect, if the next film is a remix of The Empire Strike Back, then the new series will be damaged goods. (Much as J.J. damaged Star Trek by remixing The Wrath of Kahn.)
2) There is an extended sequence involving bounty hunters and underworld criminals that is utterly unneeded. You cot has action and laughs and gag but it is waste of valuable screen time that could have been used exploring the characters and their situations.
Aside from those two points I think the film works and was a lot of fun to watch. Do see it and see it in a theater.

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Movie Review: Victor Frankenstein

1-Victor_Frankenstein_2015I have always been a fan of  Frankenstein, through the Universal series, the Hammer series, the novel, and various interpretations and derivatives this is a story I have enjoyed. Naturally a big budget version comes along my sweetie-wife and I made it a Thanksgiving event.

This time, the story has been transported to victorian England and we witness the event from the point of view of Igor. (There are occasional violations of the POV, but aside from the odd side trips everything is about what Igor sees and hears and his reactions.)

If you are going to see a film about the monster rampaging about you will be sorely disappointed. Like many recent versions, the script focuses on the characters and what drives them to such lengths of mad action. There are plenty of hat-tips to earlier productions and the novel. For example, you’ll find both the names Victor Frankenstein and Henry Frankenstein used as characters in the film. Also, Victor refers to himself as a modern Prometheus, which is not a reference to Ridley Scott’s terrible movie but the subtitle for Shelly’s original work. There is even a throwback to the Gene Wilder’s Young Frankenstein.

Andrew Scott plays a brilliant detective trying to piece together the events from the outside, and in in his performance I found he played a better ‘Sherlock Holms’ styled character than a Moriarty, which of course he plays in the BBC production Sherlock.

Sadly while the film has many fine performances and is well shot and produced the script is a bit of a muddle. The author didn’t seem to have a final version in his head for what story he wanted to tell. Elements come and go without much impact on each other and there is a love interest that seems to exist solely so the film can have a female character.

In the end I enjoyed watching it and I enjoyed the references for sharp fans of the material, but I can’t say it will become part of my collection. The plot is too unformed and there are too many elements that feel forced into the story.

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First Draft Done

So last weekend I completed the first draft on my latest novel-length project.  It has been an interesting journey, though not a terribly long one. Actual writing started on August 10 and finished Nov 15. Not too shabby for 80,800 words and primarily working just 5 days a week.

What are my thoughts here as the end of the first draft?

One, I’m happy I was able to pull of 80,000 in first person. While I have written several novel all of them have been in various flavors of 3rd person. This was my first attempt tp do a novel in the tight confines of first person. When I started I was far from confident I’d reach the goal.

Second, this book is an SF/Noir and to me one of the essential elements of noir is cynicism. At their hearts in my opinion noirs area bout flawed characters making poor decisions. They are about the desires that turn people bad. the vast majority of my fiction is not cynical and it was a challenge maintaining the outlook a noir required, but I believe that I did it.

Third, I am pleasantly surprised my the accuracy of my predictions. I outlined the novel, because I am a plotter, and estimated a word count of 80,000 words. The first draft landed at 80,850, so I was nearly 99% accurate in my length prediction.

Fourth, I like the book. I had fun writing it, it hit me on an emotional level, it even, lightly, touches on a few deeper themes such as how much do you owe your culture and how much does it owe you? I have no idea if another person on the planet will like it, but I am happy with the result.

My nerves continue to run high as this will be the first book my agent has seen from me after I signed with the agency. My short story agent has seen a number of pieces and I think it starting to get a sense for how I like all sorts of different kinds of stories and setting. For my book agent this will be a very different experience from the Hornblower in space that he read and enjoyed. That makes me very nervous.

 

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Of Pyramids, Granaries, and Creationism

Of late quite a bit of political talk has been about the beliefs of Dr. Ben Carson, a political neophyte and a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for POTUS. He’s stated unconventional and factually wrong positions such as that the Egyptian pyramids were built by the biblical Joseph to store grain. This is demonstrably wrong. He is also a creationist, disallowing evolution.

Now the current contest is for President of the United States of American and not the president of the Archeological Society or curator of the Darwin estate and trust, so does it matter that he holds these opinions. After all, I have said in the past that all religion look silly when viewed from the outside and shouldn’t we be respectful and tolerate of differing religious views?

Ben Carson the private citizen is one matter, Ben Carson the President is a different one. The critical issue here, to me at least, is that these are facts and his opinions demonstrably wrong. He is entitled to hold an opinion that are wrong on the facts, but it calls into question his ability to judge a situation.

When faced with facts that challenge a previously held opinion, if this opinion id important enough to him, it appears that he rejects reality for his already conceived stance. Puttering about on his ordinary life, this matters nothing to me, but as President he must be able to abandon a previously held opinion when the facts dictate. The world is a place that moves quickly and preconceived notions are rapidly destroyed by reality. Someone unable to make that critical adjustment simply does not have the temperament for the office.

There already a host of issues where people can have honest disagreements about what is best. There are tons of things where there is simply no clear unequivocal right and wrongs answers, but the most important element of wisdom is the understanding that you may be wrong in the beliefs that you hold and courage is being able to change to fit the new reality.

Dr Carson, and many others, fail that critical test.

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Halloween Horror Movies Final post

So I end my Halloween Horror Movies not with an obscure Italian production but an American classic that spawned an entire sub-genre of its own, Them!

1-them-poster-2One thing people know about monster movies of the 1950s is that there were plenty of giant bug movies. Nearly every variant of bug got enlarged and sent to wreak destruction on humanity, but they all follow the footsteps of the big budget production from Warner Brothers. Last week Them! debuted on blu-ray disc, sadly lacking in any real bonus material, just in time for Halloween.

Them! has always been one of my favorite 50’s monster movies, right up there with Creature From the Black Lagoon. The script and the director take their time building up to the reveal fo the giant bugs, and a serious attempt is made the ground the film in a realistic portrayal of events. The plot is not a straight-forward narrative, and there are plenty if surprises for the first time viewer, including right at the end a switch on just who the protagonists of the piece really is. There is not a last second scientific development that saves the day, but rather the dedicated work of lots of people racing against time. The adversary is far from unkillable, but possess advantages that with time will win the day for them.

Originally designed as a 3-D production the practical effects are some fo the best done during that decade and for the most part are still credible today. (It would be interesting if anyone had the money and interest to perform a retro-conversion to 3-D on this movie. I think most of the film would look fantastic in 3-D.)

If you are a fan of 50s monster movies and some how have not seent his, you need to correct that mistake.

 

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Halloween Horror Movies part II

1_planet-of-the-vampires-half-sheet-1965I continued my horror film watching this week with 1965’s Planet of The Vampires. This film is based on an Italian SF short story ‘A Night of 21 Hours,’ but sadly I have never found a translation of that piece. This movie was an international production with American, Italian, and Portuguese actors. I have read that each actor delivered their lines in their native tongue. The dubbing is so-so and the script suffered from heavy exposition and discordant elements, particularly in the final ending scenes of the film.

That said what make this film something I have watched several times if the lovely look created by Italian master Mario Bava. Even hampered by a tiny budget, Bava pulls off a film that that is colorful, stylish, and with impressive in-camera effects.

It is also a subject of vast speculation that this movie heavily influenced Ridley Scott when he directed Alien. From the massive alien skeletons, the landing sequence, the shape of the ships, and the atmospheric tone of the alien world, a great number of stylistic similarities exist between the two movies. (both this movie and It! The Terror From Beyond Space seem like the direct parents to Alien.)

The plot of Planet of The Vampires is rather straight forward. Two starships have arrived at an alien world investigating mysterious signals that may mean intelligent life. Landing on the planet goes badly and the crews find themselves facing threat not to just to their own lives but their homes as well.

Not a great movie but for an genre cinema a must see.

 

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Halloween Horror Movies part I

Here’s a quick post about movies I have been watching this week as part of a celebration of the season.

Up first City of the Living Dead (1980)

1-city_living_dead_posterAn Italian Zombie film made after George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead City of the Living Dead occupies a strange place in the zombie landscape. So many films copied Romero’s zombie take over of the world that it quickly became cliche. (Though still popular as seen in the hit tv show The Walking Dead.) City doesn’t go for the traditional Romero zombies not the traditional arc of action. Here there is a clear cause to the undead, a priest committing suicide in a cemetery, and a third act objective to resolve into a ‘happy ending.’ The film was made in Italy but is set in America. The dubbing is adequate and naming the doomed city Dunwich was a nice hat tip to Lovecraft, though nothing that occurs is inspired by his mythos.

Often discussed among fans of zombie movies is the subject which zombies are the worst to deal with. Romero’s original shamblers, Snyder fast runners, O’Bannon’s intelligent and nearly indestructible dead, but this movie presented one that is truly beyond them all. While they feed on the living, and even have a penchant for taking brains out directly through a skull, (the Italian films tend to be more graphic), these living dead unlike any other can teleport and kill you with a look. No crap, people end up very messily dead from zombie staring contests. They are easier to kill. (Impaling seems to be the required technique.) Plus the whole world ending plague can be averted if the right things are done to put king zombie — our transgressive priest – back in his place. Overall, I enjoyed the film but it is not on my buy list. You can stream it on Hulu.

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What’s wrong with the Republican Party?

First off let me set a couple of ground rules if you’re going to comment. 1) If you’re liberal/left/progressive, I am not interested in snarky insulting comments. Insults are not discourse. 2) If you are right/Republican/conservative I’m not interested in ‘Squirrel’ posts where you start pointing a finger at liberals/Democrats and such. This post is about Republicans, not Democrats.

I watching the current primary season and I just can’t fully fathom what if going on with the Republican Party. As I type this the top two leading candidates (Trump and Carson) for president of the united states are polling a combined 48.8 percent and neither is a person who would normally be considered a serious contender for the position.

Setting aside philosophical and policy issues, it perfectly fine to have deep and serious disagreement with many of the stands presented by the Republican Party, heaven knows I do, what going on right now is bonkers.

Look at what has happened already in the race. Two governors, both with re-elections under their belt, were tossed aside, never seriously considered by the general population of the party while a carnival barker and surgeon without any government executive experience rocket to the top. Right now the distance from Carson to the next leading contender (Rubio) is a whopping 13 points. People with real standing and real experience as trailing what should be fringe candidates.

This is not normal. Last presidential cycle we have a parade of not-Romney candidates because the base really did not trust or like Romney. However the establishment backed him, and those not-Romney tended to flame out fairly quickly. That’s not the dynamic this time around.

There is no single candidate that fully has the establishment’s backing, and the summer has evolved into fall with winter coming and Carson and Trump show no signs of crashing. Why?

Has the population of the Republican electorate changed that much? Did younger voters go elsewhere while too many members, like me, left in disgust? Is the field so weak that bombast fills in for seriousness? Have eight years of ‘no compromise’ conditioned an electorate to view anything except rigid purity as unacceptable?

I hold as an article of faith that someone other than Trump or Carson will win the nomination, but I don;t know who or how. In the meantime, I watch as one of America’s two parties thrashes in the throes of madness.

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Bad Movie Review: The Colossus of New York (1958)

I will leave it as an exercise to my few readers to parse if I mean the a review of bad movies or that these reviews are in themselves bad.

1-colossus_of_new_york_xlgA couple of weeks ago Paramount Studios launched a youtube channel the Paramount Vault. On this channel, they present clips from some of their most popular films and for older library titles with sparse home video value the have posted the entire movie. I certainly hope more studios follow suit. By way of this new channel, I watched The Colossus of New York a B SF movie from 1958 than until youtube I was only aware of thanks to Bill Warren’s Book Keep Watching the Skies.

Lots of spoilers ahead, but you really don’t care do you?

 

And here is the film you are brave and true:


The plot is this predictable film is simple. First there is the brilliant scientist, Jeremy ‘Jerry’ Spensser. He’s really really smart. The movie starts with him winning the Nobel prize and this is just a stepping stone. He’s expected to be the salvation of mankind because of his good nature and utter utter brilliance. In fact, his family are geniuses, his father a surgeon unparalleled, and his brother Henry a master of automated machinery. But neither we are told hold a flicker of a candle to Jerry’s intellect.

Well, coming home from the Sweden, Jerry’s son loses his toy airplane to the wind and Jerry, that man with an unmatched mind, chases it into traffic and is hit by a truck.

Father Spensser can’t bear the world losing his saint-like genius son and removed Jerry’s brain, keeping it alive and functioning in a tank. He convinces Henry to build an android body for Jerry. Though henry has reservations about a man without a soul and all that he of course complies. (He also starts an affair with Jerry’s cutie-pie wife, He’s not really a sleaze. He cares about the kid and all that, but you can see where this will end.)

Jerry at first rejects his machine life but finally agrees to continue his work on making the Artic into Earth’s newest farmland. Sadly, Henry was right about that soul thing. Without one, just like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jerry goes evil.

Now, you would think making Jerry a super strong machine man would be enough but apparently henry had to overcompensate in the robot’s design. Jerry can no hypnotize people with his flashing peepers. (Nope this ability is not established at all) Also when he does catch up with his brother on the whole cutie-pie front it turns out those flashing peepers are also a death ray. (Really Henry, what did you think you were designing?)

Manipulating his father Jerry goes to the UN and starts a killing spree. (He takes the high ground and this nasty eye are effective, even if he himself lacks any motivation for such slaughter.) In the end when confronted by the innocence of his son he realized the horror he has become and, because he can’t reach the switch himself, has his son turn him off.

I’ve watched  a lot of bad movies in my bay and this one joins the list.

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