Tag: science fiction

When Classics Aren’t Enough

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Recently, while having a conversation with a friend about books, the subject turned to reading what is generally considered to be “classic” literature. These are the books that are taught in high schools, university courses, and other academic circles. While I personally appreciate the academic reasons and approach to examining this kind of literature (which most people characterize as Literature proper), my friend brought up a very valid point: they’re not only a major chore to get through at times, but contain narrative devices and plot points that would be heavily criticized if done today.Read More »

TV Series Review: Rick and Morty Season One

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RickMorty

Rick and Morty is a science fiction comedy cartoon series geared toward adults and produced by Adult Swim. Rick is a genius, alcoholic scientist who has moved back in with his daughter’s family, often recruiting his dopey, kind-hearted, and easily distressed grandson Morty to accompany him on his misadventures.

The origin of the series starts from a Back to the Future parody cartoon done by one of the creators Justin Roiland for film festival Channel 101. Rick and Morty are based on the two characters from this show, but from what I have seen the ties to being a Back to the Future parody are largely shaken, with the series instead taking on ideas from across much of popular science fiction. Their adventures take them across time and space — and even other universes — via Rick’s portal gun, juxtaposed with Morty’s dysfunctional family life.Read More »

Favourites: Far-Seer by Robert J. Sawyer

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Far-SeerCover

The first time I picked up Far-Seer by Robert J. Sawyer it was in a library in my middle school. I had never heard of the book or the author before, but I was drawn to the cover, which unashamedly displayed the image of an evolved tyrannosaur wearing a sash and using astrological instruments. I’ve always been drawn to reptiles — and by extension dinosaurs and dragons — so I was immediately interested. Growing up, I always wanted a story focused on a reptilian character; even series like Redwall, which featured nonhuman characters, were all mammals.Read More »

“It’s Just a Kids Movie” Isn’t an Excuse

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Anastasia Iron Giant

Over the last few months, an argument has been brought to me a few times that I take issue with. My friends and I are fans of a lot of animated movies, so it isn’t uncommon for us to watch a fair amount of movies intended for younger audiences. During one of these viewings we were watching Anastasia, a 1999 20th Century Fox film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman.

Part way through the first act I expressed that I was not enjoying the film because I did not think it was very well written. A friend of mine simply dismissed my criticisms, however, stating “It’s just a kids movie; don’t think so much about it.” This is a mindset I have always taken issue with. The genre or intended audience of something does not automatically forgive its shortcomings.Read More »

Movie Review – Interstellar

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interstellar2

This past week I was finally able to get out to the cinema again, where I managed to catch Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. The film follows former NASA pilot Cooper (McConaughey) in a future decimated by “blight” — an affliction that has been laying waste to crops on a global scale. After receiving coordinates in binary — transmitted via gravity waves by an unknown intelligence — Cooper rediscovers NASA and their plan to launch a mission through a wormhole in space to try and find a new planet for humanity. They recruit Cooper to pilot the spacecraft Endurance along with a team of scientists, forcing him to leave his family behind with the hope of securing their future.Read More »

My Farewell to the Tenth

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Tenth

As I’ve mentioned and written about a number of times already, I have been watching a lot of Doctor Who. I refrained from writing about the show during October, since I wanted to focus more on horror in honour of Halloween. Now that we’ve entered November, however, I feel free to return to the well of Doctor Who once more for a topic of musing.

At this point, my friends and I are almost completed the sixth season, so we are well into the Matt Smith period of The Doctor. Despite this, however, I feel I need to pay my respects to the tenth Doctor, David Tennant, who has easily been my favourite of the three incarnations of the Doctor I have known so far.Read More »

Movie Review – Xtro

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This past week I finally managed to watch Xtro, a 1983 British science fiction horror film directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. I first heard about the film when it was discussed on RedLetterMedia’s show Best of the Worst, where they deemed their selection of the film an accident because they found it to have legitimate quality. This piqued my curiosity, so watching it this Halloween season became a priority of mine.Read More »

Beginning Doctor Who

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As someone who tries to go through as much different content as possible, Doctor Who was one of those shows I was always meaning to get to. In the case of episodic content, however, I can be terrible at actually keeping up, especially in an on-demand age where so much is just at my fingertips. Something about availability has often made going through shows so easy to procrastinate.

Doctor Who is a unique case as well due to its longevity. This presented a significantly higher amount of episodes I would have to go through if starting from the very beginning and made the idea of getting into it more daunting.Read More »