There are lots of things to like about sci-fi series Orphan Black; they’re all Tatiana Maslany. She plays a range of different characters – a frustrated housewife, a scattered scientist, an English punk, a Russian assassin – for reasons that I probably shouldn’t spoil … but let’s be honest, your first guess (something-something-clones something-something-shadowy-organisation) will…
Watching Prometheus upon release, it was hard not to sympathise with scientist Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green). Having spent years hoping to find the “Engineers” who brought about the genesis of mankind and left cryptic messages painted on cave walls, he found himself filled with existential despair, upon finding only their corpses. I walked out of…
It’s easy to imagine an alternative universe where 2001: A Space Odyssey is a cult oddity, a largely-forgotten curio. Where Kubrick’s iconic sci-fi was met with mystified reactions to its glacial pace and its puzzling, almost religious narrative. That universe is perhaps more plausible than our own, where this thoroughly weird, elliptical film is an…
Guillermo del Toro usually brings his own unique designs to blockbuster filmmaking; Pacific Rim, surprisingly, feels more like a pastiche. It’s visually a hodge-podge of Godzilla, Neon Genesis Evangelion and the Matrix sequels, and is filled with overt references – there’s a Star Wars quote, and GLaDOS from Portal voices the film’s computers. The lack…
(Double Feature is a series of “double length” (400-word) posts where I’ll discuss two related pop culture artifacts) Inception was a critical and commercial success, a cerebral blockbuster nonetheless filled with action. It’s unique in that it’s successful, high budget film from the last decade that’s based on an original idea. The film has even…
I watched Lifeforce with high expectations. After all, it’s a sci-fi/horror B-movie written by the director of Return of the Living Dead, from the director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and adapted from a novel called … Space Vampires. But the first hour of the film lowered those expectations dramatically. Sure, there’s a gorgeous, completely naked…
JJ Abrams’ reinvention of Star Trek is best described as “good enough.” It’s good enough to earn enough money to prompt a sequel, Into Darkness. It’s good enough to balance the expectations of both avid Star Trek fans and those largely unfamiliar with the original series (though the fan service is a tad overdone). But…
Scanners is the first film I’ve seen from David Cronenberg’s impressive filmography that I’d describe as disappointing. It has a promising introduction; an atmosphere of cold disquiet pervading claustrophobic sets suffused with violent crimson. Early scenes are enigmatic and fascinating: a homeless man, strapped to a bed, writhes helplessly as silent spectators slowly march into…
Dark City feels hopelessly indebted to The Matrix, and yet it predates The Wachowski’s sci-fi phenomenon by a year. Both films have a particular feel, very much of their time, a mix of exaggerated ‘40s noir and cyberpunk aesthetic of the video games of the time. They each begin in medias res, leaving a first-time…
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