Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Samuel Walters
Overview
The Mummy is a classic period adventure film that is wonderfully action-packed, funny, and epic. When it debuted in the weeks just prior to release of The Phantom Menace in 1999, there was little hope that The Mummy would withstand the juggernaut of George Lucas’ much anticipated (and hyped) prequel trilogy. But nearly a decade later, The Mummy has not only withstood the test of time, but it has also spawned its own myriad of sequels – the third of which is due in August 2008. But in going back to the beginning, it’s clear that while the movie has a magic all its own. And despite being cliché, the film manages to be the best cliché it possibly can be.
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Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Samuel Walters
A new review of a Beast Machines Season 1 episode, “The Key,” is now available:
“The Key” advances the plot that has hinted at in the previous episode, focusing on Tankor’s discovery of the Oracle. And in that sense, this is a significantly plot-heavy episode. To add some character, we get a sharply contested conflict between Cheetor and Optimus Primal about whose ideas are best suited to lead the Maximals. And actually, while this is merely a subplot, it is the best element of the episode.
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Topics: Animation, Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
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Posted on July 30th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
Overview
“Ariel” is a moderately entertaining episode – the first time you watch it. But it doesn’t hold up particularly well upon repeat viewings. The episode is primarily framed around a Mission: Impossible! kind of plot which just isn’t very interesting when you know what is going to happen next. There is some humor along the way, but there simply isn’t enough of it. The result is an episode that, while it’s compelling enough from the perspective of wanting to know a little more about why River Tam is so mentally unstable, is unable to deliver a final product that is anything other than average.
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Posted on July 30th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
A new review of a Beast Machines Season 1 episode, “Survivor,” is now available:
“Survivor” is an episode about Nightscream’s history, his potential value to Megatron, and about his character coming to terms with his past. It also provides a continuing subplot from Tankor that is steadily gaining prominence. On the whole, “Survivor” is a thoughtful, purposeful episode with enough action to keep the story moving at a fairly healthy pace. If there is a criticism, it comes from Nightscream’s character who can be just a little too annoying.
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Topics: Animation, Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
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Posted on July 29th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
The trailer for the upcoming film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince debuted today, July 29, at 9PM. I’ve embedded this post with the trailer itself. Also, a few pictures have been released. The two most prominent ones feature a young Tom Riddle and Dumbledore fighting off Inferi. The trailer and pictures are below:
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Posted on July 29th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
The hollywoodreporter.com is reporting that Isaac Asimov’s classic science fiction book, Foundation, will be adapted for film by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne — the founders of the now defunct New Line Cinema company whose biggest success was the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The two are turning to another literary classic, this one a science-fiction epic set in the far distant future.
The Foundation series chronicles the collapse of a mighty Galactic Empire and the Rise of a New Republic. Indeed, the Foundation series provides a number of inspirations for George Lucas’ Star Wars films — from not only the idea of a galactic empire, but also Coruscant (Trantor), Tattooine (Terminus), and the Jedi Order (the psychohistorians).
The challenge in adapting these books to film will be in translating the many philosophical and psychological elements to the big screen. The idea of psychohistory — a branch of science which is purported to foretell large sweeps of human history) — is critical to the series. So being able to convey this abstract concept in a compelling way on screen will likely determine the success of the film.
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Posted on July 29th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
“The Galileo Seven” is an intriguing look at “Spock’s first command.” And in that sense, watching Spock try and use his unrelenting logic to solve an irrational problem, the episode is quite valuable. But there are a number of issues – mostly in terms of pacing and the overall premise – which greatly diminish the overall episode. But even as the episode unfolds, it takes a very inconsistent approach toward Spock – both his character and the logic he uses. The result is an uneven episode that is only suspenseful because of a poorly contrived plot device.
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Posted on July 29th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
A new review of a Beast Machines Season 1 episode, “Revelations, Part 3: Apocalypse,” is now available:
“Revelations, Part 3: Apocalypse” finishes off the three-part mini-series. The episode is certainly filled with character and narrative moments, along with plenty of action and a healthy dose of mysticism. But much like its predecessor, it doesn’t combine the elements into a seamless whole. The transitions, while certainly understandable, are just too bumpy to help the episode become truly exceptional. That being said, this installment is certainly worth watching, especially for its closing scenes.
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Posted on July 28th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
Overview
The Ghost and the Darkness is one of those films that is just fun to watch. It isn’t exactly groundbreaking, innovative, or even exceptional. But you’d be hard pressed to find a slew of problems with the film, either. In fact, depending on your tastes, there’s quite a bit to enjoy about the film – from its setting in 1898 Africa, its almost supernatural lions as villains, its colorful characters, or its solidly entertaining narrative. Even the cinematography and the soundtrack are capable of pulling in an audience.
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Topics: Adventure, Film Review
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Posted on July 28th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
A new review of a Beast Machines Season 1 episode, “Revelations, Part 2: Descent,” is now available:
“Revelations, Part 2: Descent” finally tells the story of exactly what happened when the Maximals arrived on Cybertron following the Beast Wars. And, too, we learn about the fate of one of the missing Maximals. The story between Thrust and Blackarachnia also deepens, with tragic consequences. On the whole, a lot of exposition takes place in this episode alongside a healthy dose of action. But the whole mix isn’t especially compelling. Indeed, it’s a little rough around the edges due, in large part, to uneven transitions between the various story lines.
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Posted on July 27th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
Overview
Firefly’s biggest asset is the very natural, and compelling, camaraderie of the crew of Serenity. “Out of Gas” successfully draws upon that strength and along with a compelling story the result is the perfect Firefly episode. I’ve often said that one of the biggest drawbacks to the Firefly series is that it never quite knew what it wanted to be: comedy, western, edgy drama, sci-fi, and so on. Most of the time the series unsuccessfully tries to merge all of these concepts into a single episode. “Out of Gas” is an example of what can happen when Firefly succeeds and every element works together seamlessly.
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Posted on July 27th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
A new review of a Beast Machines Season 1 episode, “Revelations, Part 1: Discovery,” is now available:
“Revelations, Part 1: Discovery” is the beginning of a three-episode cycle in which the Maximals begin to unravel much of the mystery surrounding their arrival on Cybertron – and the true nature of the horror which Megatron has brought to their home planet. This particular episode gives us a few answers, as well as focusing on the continuing story arcs from Cheetor and Optimus Primal.
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Posted on July 26th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
scifi.com has a tantalyzing new trailer available for the upcoming Caprica series. The backdoor pilot is currently scheduled for a late 2008 air date. However, there is some speculation as to whether or not Sci-Fi will pick up the entire series before airing the pilot. If that happens, according to digitalspy, the Caprica series (pilot and all) may not air until after the conclusion to Battlestar Galactica’s Season 4.
Personally, I think it makes much better sense to air the backdoor pilot in December 2008 to drum up more hype for BSG Season 4. And then let the wave of enthusiasm over the ending of the series be the lead in to the Caprica series. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Topics: TV News
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Posted on July 26th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
Just a few updates regarding the upcoming Knight Rider series:
- The series will debut on Wednesday, September 24, 8/7c on NBC
- KITT has been redesigned (again) for an Attack Mode to make it look more ridiculous, ludicrous, preposterous, and just plain stupid than ever before (see below).
- There is a one-minute preview of the series available on nbc.com and it looks like they took everything that didn’t work from the pilot and expanded it about tenfold.
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Posted on July 26th, 2008 by Samuel Walters
The best that can be said about “Shore Leave” is that it is *almost* an allegory for lucid dreaming. But I have to question whether or not that was the actual intent of the episode, especially because there is very little explicit evidence to support such a conclusion. The problem for the episode is that, without any sort of underlying thematic foundation, the whole thing becomes a pointless, nonsensical, nearly never ending romp. I certainly don’t mind being led down the rabbit hole once in a while, but I’d very much like to find something other than dark, dirt and roots when I get there.
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Topics: Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
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