Jul 16 2016

Aliens: Looking Back At The Sci-Fi Action Classic

When James Cameron’s classic Aliens was releases 30 years ago, it was instantly regarded as one of the best sci-fi films of all time. It is a fantastic blend of action, futuristic war, as well as a followup to another genre favorite, Ridley Scott’s Alien. The strengths of this sequel comes in many forms.

First is the continuation of having many interesting and iconic characters that inhabit this universe. The most famous is of course the only returning character from the first film, Ellen Ripley played to perfection by Sigourney Weaver. Her portrayal of Ripley as strong and reliable is balanced by her affection for the little girl Newt who is the only survivor of a distant colony overrun by the horrific Xenomorph aliens. Michael Biehn from Terminator fame plays the stoic colonial marine Corporal Hicks, and is a great counterpart to Ripley. The strong cast also includes Bill Paxton as the brash but somewhat bumbling Hudson, Paul Reiser as the slimy company man Burke and Lance Hendriksen as the android Bishop, someone Ripley hates and distrusts at first but later comes to see as an ally. This group of loud and tough space marines contrasts to Ripley’s apprehension and fear of what is coming when they travel to the colony Hadley’s Hope to investigate why contact was lost. Cameron’s depiction of futuristic soldiers was highly influential and has resulted in countless imitations in movies and video games that continues to this day. Everything from Doom to Halo and the film version of Starship Troopers all owe some debt to this film.

Another brilliant aspect of the film is its perfect blend of action and horror. While Aliens is much more action packed when compared to its predecessor, it still has moments of tension and fear, especially when the marines first land on the colony and try to find any signs of life. The audience (as well as Ripley) already know what happened to everyone there, and the anticipation of finally seeing the deadly creatures definitely raises the tension level. When the aliens do make their appearance, an all out battle ensues with the marines suffering greatly despite their enormous firepower. The movie can go from quiet and nervous to chaotic and hectic in a flash, and yet it all works. Later in the film after another big battle between the marines and aliens, the film suddenly takes on another scary tone when Newt is kidnapped and Ripley has to journey into the Alien Queen’s lair to rescue her. This foreshadows the epic climax when she fights the Alien Queen in a souped-up power armor/construction device while onboard the ship after the colony is vaporized after a pulse pounding countdown to its destruction. Ripley’s victory against the creature helped to cement her as one of sci-fi’s best heroines and added to her characterization as the ultimate survivor and great example of human ingenuity succeeding despite all odds. The quiet note on which the film ends again parallels the first movie and seemed to set up future adventures with Ripley and her new surrogate family of Newt and Hicks. Unfortunately this didn’t happen with the next film taking on a different direction.

All of this is set against the backdrop of the fascinating Alien universe that has kept audiences coming back and not just in films. Many books, games and comics have explored this world and perhaps the star attraction of it all is the alien creature itself. H.R. Giger’s unparalleled design that is both disgusting and captivating has kept fans always anticipating new adventures set in this universe. A universe of bleak distant worlds, corporate intrigue, and insidious alien beings that are perhaps the most deadly ever seen on film. Aliens was the first time that so many of these creatures were seen at once. Dozens of them swarming all over the place was terrifying and a sight to behold. The design of the Alien Queen was also new and the size of it was simply staggering. None of the subsequent films in the franchise have yet attained the level set by Aliens, but with a new Alien film by Neill Blomkamp on the horizon that is supposed to be a direct followup, hopefully another sci-fi epic will continue the story of Ripley, Hicks and Newt. Regardless, Aliens will always be seen as an absolute high point of the genre, one of James Cameron’s best films, and will be well remembered even 30 years from now.

C.S. Link

Dec 30 2015

Best Of 2015

Best Sci-Fi TV Show

By the end of its third (and final) season, Defiance had become completely engrossing and well developed thanks to memorable acting and character arcs. It’s too bad that Syfy cancelled the series about a town in the future populated by struggling humans and aliens trying to get along with each other.

Best Horror TV Show

The Walking Dead continues to chomp up the horror competition on TV. It’s been a long road for Rick Grimes and his battered and worn troupe as they battle undead zombies and savage humans, but the show still delivers the chills and excitement.

Best Fantasy Show

Game of Thrones rightfully won the best drama Emmy, making it one of the few genre shows to accomplish this honor. What helped make the show so captivating is that it outpaced the novels from which it’s based on with new character and plot developments, providing new territory for fans.

Best Cancelled TV Show

Defiance came into its own when it was regrettably cancelled. At least we got three full seasons and the final episode provided for the most part a sense of closure…except will Nolan ever come back from space?

Best Animated Show

Star Wars:Rebels is a fun and engaging TV show that captures the mood of the original Star Wars films as it fills in the gap between the original and prequel films.

Best TV Character

This is a hard one since 2015 featured many terrific and memorable characters. With that said the best character has to be Jessica Jones from the TV show named after her. Hard boiled, weary and sporting a tough exterior to mask her pain, Jessica Jones was your typical private detective with superpowers struggling to get by with her life.

Most Missed TV Character

The Walking Dead is noted for the constant death of regular characters. Each time this happens, the other characters lose more and more of themselves every time. The slow death of semi-gentle giant Tyreese after he was bitten by a walker wasn’t an exception and came to viewers as a sad surprise.

Best TV Superhero

Thanks to an inspired performance by Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, his alter ego of the Flash has quickly become one of the best superheroes featured on a TV show. Fast, quirky and full of wonder and angst, this version of the Flash combines the traits of many different superheroes and became his own unique character.

Best TV Villain

The most memorable and unsettling aspect of the Netflix show Jessica Jones was the chilling performance by former Doctor Who actor David Tennant as Kilgrave, the sociopath who can control people with his voice alone. Spoiled, petulant and with a savage streak, Kilgrave was one of the best supervillains ever shown on TV.

Best Fight Scene

The highlight of the second episode of Daredevil (“Cut Man”) and in fact the entire first season was this long, continuous fight scene that took place in a hallway between Daredevil and some Russian thugs. It was brutal and ugly but became a standard bearer for an unforgettable fight scene.

Best Guest Appearance

Even though Constantine was cancelled earlier this year, that didn’t mean that the title character was forgotten. To fans’ delight, he turned up later this year on Arrow and proved that a cancellation couldn’t keep a good sorcerer down.

Best Sci-Fi Film

There were some great competitors for this category like Mad Max: Fury Road and Ex Machina but Jurassic World just edged them out with its roaring dino action, some food for thought and that unforgettable moment with Owen riding his motorcycle flanked by his raptors sealed the deal.

Best Horror Film

Crimson Peak was a nice throwback to old-fashioned Victorian-era ghost stories that raised viewers hairs while adorned with spooky modern touches.

Best Fantasy/Animated Film

One of Pixar’s two offerings in 2015, Inside Out, quickly won over the hearts of viewers over the summer as they witnessed the inner psyche of a young preteen girl. It was so easy to identify with and delight in the way her inner feelings were represented by such amusing archetypes.

Best Action Film

Director George Miller showed today’s generation of action junkies how to do a real action film without CGI. Mad Max: Fury Road was jammed with non-stop excitement and gasp-inducing action scenes that rarely let up.

Best Superhero Film

Despite its many behind-the-scenes obstacles, Ant-Man defied low expectations, continued Marvel Studios winning streak and proved to be a more fun film than the other Marvel Studios offering, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Best Superhero on Film

Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, turned out to be the most memorable and fun superhero to star in a superhero film in 2015. He has many downtrodden tropes of a hard-luck superhero like Spider-Man, but witty dialogue and solid acting by Paul Rudd who added just the right amount of humor made Ant-Man a character to watch out for in future films.

Best Film Character

Out of all the characters, old and new, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey was the most intriguing with a mysterious back story that has yet to be fully revealed. Thanks to Daisy Ridley’s performance and the way she was written, this future Jedi left viewers with a confident impression that she will carry the torch for the Star Wars saga.

Best Line in a Film

“What a lively day!” Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Film Villain

Indominus Rex was literally the biggest and most terrifying villain/movie monster to come along in some time. His savage rampage across in Jurassic World was one of the reasons why the film became the summer blockbuster of 2015.

Best Special Effects

There was so much to choose from this year from the dizzying size proportions of Ant-Man to the practical effects showcased in Mad Max: Fury Road to the rampaging dinosaurs in Jurassic World. But one film stood out above them all and that one was the seventh film of a long-running franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Best Trailer for an Upcoming Film

There were some cool trailers like the one for Independence Day: Resurgence and some Godawful ones like Star Trek Beyond, but the trailer that stuck was one that was leaked out of Comic-Con and forced into general release to the delight of millions as they met the new Joker played by Jared Leto. That trailer was for Suicide Squad.

Biggest Disappointment

Sure there were many truly dreadful films this year like Fant4stic, but Avengers: Age of Ultron has to take the title for biggest disappointment. It’s not a bad film at all, it’s got a lot going for it, but it lacked the energy and fun of the original Avengers film and failed to live up to the buildup.

Best App

Marvel: Future Fight is a true successor and competitor to Marvel: Avengers Alliance with its wide roster of heroes, inventive game play and thrilling graphics.

Best Video Game

Thanks to a sprawling, post-apocalyptic virtual landscape, involving storyline about a parent looking for a lost child and addictive gameplay Fallout 4 gets the honor for the best video game of 2015.

Best Merchandise

Anything with BB-8 🙂

Best Hallmark Ornament

With Leonard Nimoy passing away this year, this ornament poignantly symbolized the friendship between Kirk and Spock as it recreated their final scene in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Biggest News Item

2015 started off with the exciting announcement that Spider-Man would now be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the news event that sadly supplanted that later on was the unfortunate passing of Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy. His Spock is a genuine cultural icon and Mr. Nimoy is still missed by us.

Oct 27 2015

The Walking Dead: The Next To Die

*EDITOR’S NOTE: Major spoilers ahead

OK, we’re all still digesting the most recent episode of The Walking Dead and over what happened in it. But what happened is actually the norm for The Walking Dead, since major characters get killed off in the TV show (and comic book) all the time, so we should expect death. It doesn’t mean that we have to like it. OK, this is the last warning about spoilers before we get started.

So, Glenn became the latest fatality in the walker-infested world of The Walking Dead. It shouldn’t come as a surprise given that he’s been dead for some time in the comic books. It’s just that we all expected Negan to come along and bash his head in, not fall into a swarm of hungry walkers. BTW, thank you Nick for being a coward til the end and taking out the one person who saw something in you.

Anyway, who’s the next one to die? Will it be fatalities from the comic books like Carol and Abraham or will it be someone who is still alive like Carl? Leaving out the Alexandrians, who we don’t care about, here are the main heroes from the TV version of The Walking Dead. What are the odds they’ll survive the zombie apocalypse?

Rick Grimes: The main character in The Walking Dead, the story is told mainly from his point of view. Creator Robert Kirkman stated that the story will end when Rick dies, so he’s likely to last until the final episode. His hand, though, is another story and it’s already being foreshadowed.

Daryl Dixon: If the show’s creators believe the fans’ declaration: If Daryl Dies, We Riot, then it would be a mistake to kill off the major original character in the show. Then again, what’s been going on with him lately? Most of the time he’s moody, wants to be by himself. Maybe he’ll be written out but not killed so he can come back for the special episodes.

Carol Peletier: The formerly abused housewife has become the female version of Daryl: a complete badass. Robert Kirkman recently said that is the one character he refuses to kill off in the TV show because he loves how she has developed.

Michonne: This modern-day samurai just seems too tough to be killed off…or is she? Rest easy folks, odds are that she’s not going anywhere. She’s on a Daryl level of popularity ever since she was introduced in the comics.

Maggie Greene: The only surviving member introduced in season two and Glenn’s wife. She’s going to have some dark days ahead, lots of fodder for character development. It would be waste to then just kill her, but this is The Walking Dead. Also let’s consider the wild speculation that Glenn somehow survived (yeah, I know that would be far-fetched), suppose it’s true, what would be a greater tragedy than having him go home only to find out she died?

Carl Grimes: Rick’s son has lost an eye and half his face in the comic books and he is a candidate for carrying the torch given his young age. But his infant sister who was killed in the comics is still alive. That means one of the Grimes kids has to die, and killing Carl would be a twist. Like with Rick Grimes, at the very least expect him to lose an eye. Having him waltz around with an eyepatch would be easier (and cheaper) to film than a missing hand.

Sasha: This lady has had a death wish in the second half of season five and who can blame her since her brother and lover died at that time. Now she seems to have snapped out of her funk. All the more reason to kill her off. Whenever someone on the show finds some peace then they’re history.

Abraham Ford: Killed in the comic books fighting Negan’s army, Abraham was always a bit crazy and this season he’s picked up Sasha’s reckless, suicidal verve. Ever since he found out that Eugene lied about having a walker cure, his life has lost meaning. Perfect candidate.

Eugene Porter: This oddball is too goofy to be killed off. I predict doing so will touch off a firestorm on a Daryl level.

Rosita Espinosa: Abraham’s girlfriend hasn’t had much to do lately and is becoming a redshirt. Perhaps she bites it in the mid-season finale.

Tara Chamblers: She was originally part of the evil Governor’s group, but quickly realized her error and has become a staunch member of Rick’s group. Though her story is pretty interesting, and her friendship with Eugene is nice to watch, but she hasn’t caught on like Daryl or Carol. She may be next.

Morgan Jones: The first dude Rick met when he woke up from his coma is a fan favorite given his badassery. But let’s be real here, his let’s-all-get-along attitude is costing the group. He’s in danger of being a liability, then don’t forget he’s already dead in the comics. Can anyone say Dead Man Walking?

T. Rod Jones

Oct 14 2015

Frankenstein Still Resonates Today

Frankenstein’s monster is an iconic horror figure that has terrified and fascinated audiences for generations and has done so in several different formats. The reasons for this are varied and include the ideas that were present in the original novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818 titled Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. It tells the story of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a human being from the body parts of corpses. His reason for doing this is to bring life to a dead body, thus transcending death itself.

This brings to mind the idea of zombies that are so popular right now in society as well as the idea of playing God. All of the fears that come with modern technology that can potentially cause chaos (such as the fears of cloning, or bio-engineered diseases) are all present in this story. Frankenstein’s creation is a hideous creature that wipes out his creator’s family, but is also portrayed as a somewhat sympathetic character. Someone who was brought into this world recklessly and thrown away by his father. The monster’s attempts to integrate himself into human society fail miserably and his subsequent rampage further increases the terror and misery caused by irresponsible scientific actions.

This is reminiscent of the ideas presented in the Jurassic Park movies where bringing extinct creatures to life cause death and destruction. Even if the motives were possibly noble to begin with, who doesn’t dream of seeing majestic dinosaurs live again, the end results are always catastrophic.

The many different movies in subsequent decades about Frankenstein’s monster show the lasting power of this story. The most famous is obviously the classic 1931 film Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff. His great performance as the menacing creature is still remembered today and is the benchmark for any Frankenstein movie. The look and sound of the monster is what everyone thinks of now whenever the name Frankenstein is said. Halloween costumes, and TV shows like The Munsters all show how iconic that original design is.

The story of Frankenstein’s doomed creature has been retold many times since the ’30s. The Hammer film studio in Great Britain produced an excellent version in 1957 starring Christopher Lee as the monster and Peter Cushing as the mad scientist titled The Curse of Frankenstein. More recently in 1994, Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with Robert De Niro as the monster. While it received mixed reviews I think this is a great version of the story and is very faithful to the original novel. De Niro’s performance is both frightening and tragic and the film touches on all of the important ideas that Mary Shelley presented almost two hundred years ago. The idea of the all-too human desire to cheat death at almost any cost still resonates with us. Another theme it explored was that science is seen at first as the way to salvation and a better life, but the characters realize that these visions of ours don’t always come true and sometimes make things much worse.

The fact that Shelley was only 18 years old when she wrote this classic novel is impressive and the fact that almost two centuries have passed since its publication show that great ideas that touch on fundamental themes always stand the test of time, and still have relevance regardless of the genre and the times. In addition, while the novel and movies are seen as firmly in the horror camp for obvious reasons, it can also be said that they are in the realm of science fiction as well with its previously mentioned emphasis on science and research into both biology and questioning what it means to be human. Frankenstein is definitely a story that asks these questions and will continue to both scare and thrill audiences, this Halloween and for years to come.

C.S. Link

Jun 28 2015

Jurassic World Dominates The Summer

For the third weekend in a row Jurassic World is the box office champion having beaten off challenges from Inside Out and Ted 2. To date the film has earned $500 million in North America (and over $1.2 billion worldwide) making it the biggest film hit of the year, which is an amazing feat considering it’s the fourth film in a disregarded franchise.

Think about it. Of the three Jurassic Park films, only the first one is considered a classic, while the two that followed are seen as inferior, even though Steven Spielberg, the director of the first film, helmed the second one. The last film, Jurassic Park III, came out fourteen years ago and is a weak entry in the series. With such diminishing returns, the amount of time since Jurassic Park III came out and the thin credentials of Jurassic World’s director, Colin Trevorrow, not much was expected of the fourth film.

In fact, when the trailers first started making their way through the Internet, many kept snarking about how fake the dinosaurs looked and how dumb the idea was that the film had trained Velociraptors. The Summer of 2015 was supposed to belong to Avengers: Age of Ultron, remember that film? Well, to say that Jurassic World defied expectations is a gross understatement.

The question is why is it so successful? There are many reasons and theories. There’s nostalgia for the first film, which has endured for all this time and now the second film has come around to being recognized as a worthwhile sequel. So the public appetite was there for more adventures at Isla Nublar. Another reason has to do with the universal (no pun intended) appeal of dinosaurs. Out of a crowded summer schedule filled with superheroes and explosions, the sight of majestic and deadly dinosaurs was welcomed by those wanting something different. This leads to another reason; maybe the public is getting tired of superhero films. Avengers: Age of Ultron was over-marketed just like last year’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and although it was a huge success it didn’t match the original film in terms of quality and box office returns. The likely culprit for that has to do with that film’s merits and word of mouth. Then that leads to a final point, the word of mouth about Jurassic World and weaker-than-expected competition gave the film legs.

But the underlining reason for its success is that it’s a downright fun and well-made film. Jurassic World doesn’t have any pretensions and it isn’t a perfect film, but it accomplishes what it was supposed to do, being thrilling and entertaining. The textbook example of a summer film. Some may think it’s too early to declare Jurassic World the King of the Summer, but consider what’s left; Terminator: Genisys, Fantastic Four, Pixels. Seriously, can anyone expect these films to fire the imagination? Maybe Ant-Man and Minions will be contenders, but as of now Jurassic World rules the summer!

Waldermann Rivera

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Starloggers

Observations, Reports & Remarks From Out Of This World & Beyond

Category Monsters

Aliens: Looking Back At The Sci-Fi Action Classic

Best Of 2015

The Walking Dead: The Next To Die

Frankenstein Still Resonates Today

Jurassic World Dominates The Summer

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