The Star Wars franchise is many things; a space opera, a retelling of ancient myths and societal archetypes, an allegory of political and current events. But one thing the very first Star Wars film was noted for was being a space western. This aspect has been revered by fans for decades but the films have moved away from its space western roots aside from the last Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story. But now, Star Wars firmly embraces its space western roots with its first live-action TV show, The Mandalorian.
The new streaming show on Disney+ stars Pedro Pascal as the titular character, a mysterious bounty hunter with no name (actually he is called Mando fleetingly in one episode) who dons the same suit of high-tech armor worn by the villainous Boba Fett seen in the original films. Unlike that bounty hunter, the Mandalorian has a certain warrior code he lives by. The Mandalorian takes place five years after the events of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and the Galactic Empire has fallen. It takes place in the lawless Outer Rim Territories which are rife with criminals, loners and other desperados. When The Mandalorian begins, the title character callously hunts down his prey without mercy and speaks very little as he strolls into seedy alien bars.
He is hired by a mysterious Client (Werner Herzog), once affiliated with the Empire, for an assignment to capture, dead or alive, a fifty-year-old target on another planet. After a Wild West-type shootout with guards in a remote town, the bounty hunter finds out that the target is actually a cute and adorable infant child of Jedi Master Yoda’s species. Already the Internet is flooded with images and memes of this cuddly Baby Yoda. Come on and give us the toys and plushies of this charming baby already!
The moment he encounters Baby Yoda, the Mandalorian appears to be torn over the child’s welfare. He takes to the speechless infant who already displays a great affinity with the Force. Baby Yoda is also is wanted by the Client for unknown but obvious nefarious purposes, so the bounty hunter’s protectiveness of the baby puts him at odds with the galaxy. What is so remarkable about this development and the show itself is that we never see the Mandalorian’s face, it is always hidden behind a helmet. Yet, with few words and Pascal’s subtle performance, the bounty hunter displays deep character. Maybe it’s because he sounds a lot like Clint Eastwood from those spaghetti westerns, maybe it’s because his expressionless visor forces us to read into how the bounty hunter is feeling or what he is thinking. It could be that his reluctance to allow any harm to come to Baby Yoda lets us know that he is more dimensional than the more famous Boba Fett. This is why the character and the Disney+ show itself has taken everyone by storm. Continue reading →
The streaming wars is at a fever pitch with the unveiling of Disney+, Apple TV+, and of course, the current TV streaming king Netflix going full out with its offerings. A great benefit for us fans are the plethora of genre shows that various streaming services are producing. The most talked about sci-fi streaming show is The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars show, but there are other upcoming shows that could rival The Mandalorian’s buzz and production values. Here are the most anticipated shows. Keep in mind this list will only cover upcoming original programs. So no revivals like The Orville or The Expanse. With that out of the way, let’s get started…
10. Dune: The Sisterhood (HBO Max):
A companion piece and prequel to next year’s Dune, this series will focus on the Bene Gesserit. Dune director Denis Villeneuve will direct the pilot and executive produce it along with Frank Herbert’s son Brian.
9. Foundation (Apple TV+):
Isaac Asimov’s classic science fiction saga about attempts from exiles in the far future to preserve their galactic civilization will finally be adapted into live-action. Rivaled only by Dune, Foundation might be a big draw to the streaming service with fans if adapted correctly.
8. Raised By Wolves (HBO Max):
The premise alone is reason enough to pique anyone’s interest. Two androids carefully raise human children on a mysterious world and have to deal with belief systems and other hardships. Ridley Scott is one of the show’s executive producers.
7. Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix):
Due to be released in 2020, this live-action adaptation of the revered Nickelodeon animated fantasy series looks to avoid the controversy and failure of the 2010 live-action film. Unlike that film, this series won’t whitewash the characters and will be executive produced by the creators of the original show.
6. Green Lantern (HBO Max):
Greg Berlanti is noted for his numerous DC superhero TV shows on the CW and for his harder-edged Titans on the DC Universe streaming service. He will spearhead this attempt to reintroduce the ring-wielding superhero to general audiences and hopefully make everyone forget the 2011 film that starred Ryan Reynolds. Thankfully for him and us, he is busy with Deadpool these days, which is a role that fits him well.
5. The Lord of the Rings prequel (Amazon Prime):
Amazon secured the elusive rights to produce this prequel series which takes place before The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s already noted for being the most expensive TV series ever produced with an estimated cost of over $1 billion. Surely, the budget will make the prequel look like a big-screen epic that will dwarf the competition. But will it be as popular as Game of Thrones? Or match it in quality (complaints about the last season aside)?
4. Battlestar Galactica (Peacock):
This will be yet another reboot of the popular space epic about humanity fleeing their ravaged civilization on a desperate quest to find planet Earth. Some may be disappointed this version of Battlestar Galactica won’t be a direct continuation of the lauded Syfy version from the last decade, but there is the promise it may offer a unique take of the star-spanning story and create a new generation of fans that will revere it as much as the original and the first reboot.
3. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+):
Ewan McGregor will reprise the role he made his own in a Star Wars solo series. Many have clamored for years for more of McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, the noble Jedi Knight that survived the Clone Wars and watched over Luke Skywalker while he was in exile. Originally planned as a feature film, the project has morphed into a TV show on the Disney streaming service. This is the best of both worlds because as we can see with The Mandalorian, the Star Wars show will feature film-quality production, acting and effects and be able to tell fleshed out stories about Kenobi that will hopefully explore the character and his life.
2. The Marvel Cinematic Universe shows (Disney+):
If the announced TV shows featuring established heroes and villains from the proper Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were to be listed individually, there wouldn’t be room for anything else! Unlike past Marvel TV productions, the upcoming shows are produced by Marvel Studios and will star the actors from the MCU films. Also it has been promised that these shows will tie-in closely with the MCU. There are many announced TV shows which range from an animated version of What IF? to direct continuations of situations from the films like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to new IP like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk. The ranking of the most anticipated shows goes like this: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, What If?, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, WandaVision, Loki, Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel. They all sound promising and any true MCU cannot wait until next year when the first one (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) premieres on Disney+
1. Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access):
The recent Star Trek TV revivals spearheaded by CBS All Access got a much-needed boost with the announcement that Star Trek legend, Patrick Stewart, would reprise his iconic role of Jean-Luc Picard. From what we’ve seen of the trailers, the upcoming Star Trek show looks like a winner. What makes Star Trek: Picard so anticipated is that not only does the show brings back Picard, but assorted characters from the ’90s Star Trek shows and its a direct continuation of the original Star Trek timeline. This makes it clear the show is not a reboot and it gives fans what has been wanted for some time now: A Star Trek show that takes place in the future of the ’90s TV shows.
Other Shows:
Always (Netflix), Cassian Andor (Disney+), Amazing Stories (Apple TV+), Brave New World (Peacock), Lysey’s Story (Apple TV+), Cowboy Bebop (Netflix), DC’s Strange Adventures (HBO Max), Marvel’s Helstrom (Hulu), Station Eleven (HBO Max), The Witcher (Netflix)
Terminator Dark Fate is the latest film in the long-running science fiction/action franchise that sees the return of creator James Cameron as a producer and contributed to the story, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor and, of course, star Arnold Schwarzenegger as the famous killer cyborg. The film has been divisive with fans because of rumors about certain plot points and this as such will affect reception of the film. As an action movie, Terminator Dark Fate is decent with some good action pieces and having Sarah Connor back in action is a treat. Unfortunately, the movie also makes the mistake of killing off a key character in the first few minutes. *What follows below will contain major spoilers, so unless you’ve seen the film, read at your own risk.
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In this case, John Connor, the savior of humanity whose existence was at the core of these movies, is gunned down as a child a few years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day by yet another terminator sent back in time to kill him. Just like that, the events of the first two films are basically rendered pointless! The film then jumps to 2020 and shows an augmented human called Grace (Mackenzie Davis), who is sent back in time to Mexico City to protect a young woman named Dani (Natalia Reyes), who now holds the key to the future of humanity. There is, of course, a terminator also sent back to kill her. This model, called a Rev-9 (played by Gabriel Luna) is basically two terminators in one, with a metal endoskeleton and a liquid metal exterior that can separate into a second cyborg. Basically, when John and Sarah destroyed Skynet in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, it created a new timeline where Skynet was never created, but instead has another artificial intelligence called Legion that comes into existence in 2042 that tries to wipe out humanity. When Grace shows up and escapes with Natalia only to be cornered by the Rev-9, Sarah Connor shows up and helps them to flee.
Sarah Connor reveals that she has been receiving text messages with the locations of terminators who were sent through time and she hunts and destroys them. The three women find the source of these texts, who is revealed to be the same T-800 that killed John, and now goes by the name of Carl. He currently sells drapes and has a wife and adopted son. Carl explains that it had no purpose after killing John and found a woman who was in an abusive relationship and it developed a conscience (!). He has been sending Sarah the texts to give her a purpose. Frankly, this part of the movies was ridiculous! I could see the terminator learning about human behavior similar to T2, but the idea of it raising a son and having a relationship with a woman is just not believable. Anyway, Sarah wants to kill Carl, but is stopped by Grace and Dani, and they reluctantly team up with Carl to take down the Rev-9. Without spoiling the rest of it, the ending is basically a rehash of T2, with a set up for the inevitable sequel.
Some reviews have said that this movie is better than previous sequels, but I disagree. Both Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator: Salvation were better movies because at least they furthered the story in interesting ways. I always wanted the story to continue after the future-set Salvation, where we finally got away from the same trope of terminators being sent back to the past. Time will tell how this latest plot will go forward, if at all, but hopefully it will be something unique. I did like the future war scene at the very beginning that shows terminator endoskeletons rising out of the water and coming onto a beach, but it was all too brief. Another flash forward scene was somewhat interesting which showed how Grace got her augmentations after a battle with tentacled terminator models.
Linda Hamilton’s return as Sarah is great to see as she is now a grizzled warrior mourning her son and determined to get revenge on those who wronged her. Schwarzenegger is fine as “Carl” but the misuse of his character is not a good thing. Seriously, a drapes salesman? But more importantly how was he sent back in time if Skynet was never created? The terminators that Legion creatre in the future are different than the T-800 models. He should not even exist! Also, how does he know about these other terminators and Legion if he is not from that new timeline? It is never made clear.
The main problem with the idea of killing John Connor and just having someone else step in to the role of leader of the resistance is that it makes everything in the original Terminator film and T2 pointless. What if another terminator is sent back and kills Dani? No big deal, someone will just replace her! What happens when Dani and Sarah destroy Legion in the future? Again, so what? Another AI will take over. If they wanted to move on to new characters and settings, I can understand that.
Maybe the studio should have just made a full on reboot with no connection to the other movies. They keep trying to tie these films together and it makes everything awkward and convoluted. Terminator Genisys had this problem, as well. It started with a terminator being sent back to kill Sarah when she was a child, which changed events in the first film and erased the second movie. They should of just had that basic story of Sarah being targeted as a child as the first film in a totally new continuity with no connection at all with any of the other films and It would not have had any baggage to deal with. This is so frustrating since James Cameron developed the story, along with four other writers, and is behind this film. With the other derided Terminator films, it was easy to lay blame on Cameron not being involved. Well, there goes that argument.
As it stands, Terminator: Dark Fate is an okay action film and casual fans will probably enjoy it, but as a continuation of the Terminator franchise, fans will find it somewhat lacking since it makes the franchise’s logic even more confusing.
Alien, Event Horizon, Ship of Fools, Pandorum, Hull Zero Three,Life, Nightflyers,Dead Space, the list goes on. The basic premise of these stories are the same and boils down to a haunted house in space. It may sound like an odd combination, the haunted house in space, but when executed, this meshing of two genres usually produces some imaginative and scary sci-fi horror stories, films, TV shows, games, etc.
Why is this so? It all goes back to the concept that both genres when blended deal with the fear of the unknown. We don’t know what lies out in space, what we’ll encounter. But a core aspect of the classic haunted house story is the location itself. In such stories the protagonist is stuck in an old house and has to confront ghostly or demonic forces. Many of them are very terrifying and what makes them even more unsettling are their alleged basis on real events like The Conjuring films.
With sci-fi horror films the premise is moved out of rickety old houses and into a sci-fi setting, usually a spaceship or space station or a planet itself. Obvious examples include the mentioned films and games. Let’s focus on Alien. On a side note, its premise wasn’t new when the film came out in 1979 as a similar film It! The Terror from Beyond Space hit theaters way back in 1958. Anyway, the crew of the space freighter Nostromo are hunted in their own spaceship by a murderous extra-terrestrial or xenomorph. Here you have the Nostromo, a spaceship, taking the place of the haunted house while the xenomorph is a perfect stand-in for a demonic entity or a ghost that is difficult to track. Adding to the horror element of Alien is the claustrophobic feel the spaceship emits. Corridors are dark and foreboding, hiding unexpected perils.
This type of setting highlighted the cult classic Event Horizon, a film that its director actually envisioned as a haunted house story in space. The spaceship design of the title ship is Gothic, cold, and even a bit Lovecraftian. Meanwhile, the non corporeal forces the rescue crew face are perfect updates on demonic forces and spirits as the film infers the spaceship Event Horizon actually traveled to hell and back.
What made the concept of Alien and others even more chilling is that unlike the traditional haunted house story, the characters don’t have anywhere else to go. They’re genuinely trapped. They cannot exactly just step outside the spaceship, it’s they’re life-giving oasis in the inhospitable environment of outer space. A common complaint about haunted house stories is that if a house is haunted why not just leave it and move someplace else? This doesn’t take into account poltergeists and demons that follow a victim everywhere, or the financial burden with suddenly leaving a home, but the question does have merit. The alien or other threat is on a spaceship deep in the cosmos? You’re stuck, my friend. Unless you want to take your chances with a lifepod in the middle of space, which ironically is how many of these sci-fi horror stories conclude. It’s that or take your chances and confront the threat head on.
Thinking about the characters’ limitations and the somewhat plausible nature of the threat then it’s easy to see why this type of sci-fi horror story is superior to a traditional haunted house tale.
The continued dissing on the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and other superhero films by prominent filmmakers and actors has gotten ridiculous!
For years as the MCU gained more and more popularity and the films became more and more successful there have been grumblings from various actors and filmmakers who have not being involved in such films. They would pooh pooh the films and claim that they were only interested in real art and bemoaned the death of cinema. Most of us fans dismissed their rants and chalked them up to sour grapes and not bothering to understand the emerging cinematic genre.
But this piling on the MCU and the other superhero/comic book films is now overboard with the recent rants from Martin Scorsese and most recently Francis Ford Coppola. Frankly enough is enough.
Yes, we understand these filmmakers’ frustrations with getting their projects off the ground but to take it out on these films is uncalled for. Of course, everyone is entitled to an opinion and certainly the superhero films won’t appeal to everybody. However, Scorsese recently said he has not watched most MCU films and then went on to make a broad statement about how inferior they are and called them “theme parks”, in other words, inconsequential fluff. To have such an opinion when not having seen many films of the genre is backward. This also infers that Scorsese has not seen superhero films that transcended the genre such as The Dark Knight, Logan, or Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Of course, the genre film he produced Joker does not count (note the sarcasm).
While many superhero films may not be high art and are harmless entertainment, there are many that are high quality films and yes this applies to many MCU films. There is not a need to list the many fine superhero films but it is clear that they contribute to the cinematic art form. Logan was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. It was the prejudice of many old fashioned voters that kept it from getting nominated for Best Actor or Best Picture. The same went for The Dark Knight, though Heath Ledger won a deserved Best Supporting Actor for his classic portrayal of the Joker. Black Panther became the first superhero film to get the prestigious Best Picture nod, though there have been better superhero films. Nevertheless, this is an important achievement.
Superhero films are not alone in being disrespected by elite filmmakers. Sci-fi and horror continue to be disregarded by many of them even though many genre films are well made examples of cinema and have been very influential.
Keep in mind, much of this has to do with resentment. While Avengers: Endgame dominated the box office, Scorsese struggled to get his upcoming film The Irishman made and was forced to have it released through Netflix. The blame for this has to go to the studios who will only bankroll films that they are confident which will be successful, not just in North America but throughout the world. Superhero films happen to be the flavor of the decade. Each decade has a very successful genre that captures the public attention. Last decade it was epic fantasy films like the Harry Potter films or The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the ’80s and ’90s it was action films, sci-fi epics, slasher flicks and disaster films. There was a time when the Western was the most popular genre, it is certain that many filmmakers back in the day grumbled about Westerns and how they couldn’t get their projects bankrolled. That is just the way it is. Sooner or later, some other genre will take center stage at the box office and there will still be complainers.
For us, we should ignore these critics, especially if they haven’t bothered to watch superhero films. As for them, maybe they should open their minds and genuinely give the films a chance. Either way, we know how great superhero films are and that should be enough.
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