14 May 2012
At the end of World War 2 the Nazis fled to the dark side of the moon, built a Lunar base in the shape of a giant swastika and established a Fourth Reich. For decades they have quietly constructed a space...12 May 2012
It's not often that SF and Fantasy literature gets the serious attention it deserves from critics and the academies of higher learning, and what attention has been received over the years has tended to...10 May 2012
Doctor Who is back in September this year with head writer Steven Moffat guiding the show once more. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill (Amy and Rory Pond) will leave and be replaced in the Christmas Special...10 May 2012
Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright recently finished the second draft of The World's End, the final part of their Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (also referred to as the Blood and Ice Cream...07 May 2012
Came across another Prometheus trailer today (another day, another clip, photo or trailer it seems!). I think this is the third official trailer and the longest at two and a half minutes. The more I...30 Apr 2012
The on again off again big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book appears to be on again. According to Deadline, Disney resurrected the project last Friday with a high six figure bid for...29 Apr 2012
Working with cutting edge science and technology must be a fascinating experience. Sebastian Thrun, founder of Google's mysterious Project X research labs and self-driving car project, appears to work...29 Apr 2012
The Dark Tower film project, an adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower novel series, is back from the dead after Warner Bros. announced they would provide financing. Universal Pictures pulled out of...Genesis, aliens, Inkheart and the website
- 19 April 2009
- Gerard Wood
What a relief that the rebuild of the website is over! While the end result makes the time and effort worthwhile, it's taken way too long. Now, finally, we can get back to writing articles.
Although writing a review of Inkheart is nowhere close to the top of my list. We saw the movie last night and were underwhelmed to say the least. The problem I think is plausibility. If you're going to set a fantasy novel (or movie) in the real world, there needs to be a fit between the fantasy elements and the "real" world: in Inkheart there are individuals called silvertongues who can draw out from a novel (make it real) anything that they read: such power would make them gods amongst men and yet none of them appear to have succumbed to the desire to use their power for personal gain (or to rule the world for that matter).
Imagine what would happen if they read the Bible!!!
A review of Bernard Beckett's Genesis is forthcoming however - this is a gem of a novel, science fiction at its very best. And I'm reading James Murdoch's Gray Apocalypse for review. Although I enjoyed watching the X-Files, alien conspiracy fiction isn't really my cup of java; that said - and despite the inclusion of all the familiar / tired ingredients you'd expect from an alien conspiracy - Murdoch has written a compelling story. If you expect polished and sophisticated writing, you'd be disappointed, If you want a page-turner, Murdoch delivers.
Featured articles
Written by Gerard Wood
25 Mar 2012
No movie release in 2011 was more misunderstood and unfairly maligned as a result of misunderstanding than Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. Odds are you’ll disagree with that statement. An indication of the movie’s reception by “audiences” (non-professional reviewers) and the critics can be found on Rotten Tomatoes, where audience approval is calculated to be 47%, and of the 196 critical reviews... Read more
25 Mar 2012
No movie release in 2011 was more misunderstood and unfairly maligned as a result of misunderstanding than Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. Odds are you’ll disagree with that statement. An indication of the movie’s reception by “audiences” (non-professional reviewers) and the critics can be found on Rotten Tomatoes, where audience approval is calculated to be 47%, and of the 196 critical reviews... Read more
Written by John Howell
09 Dec 2007
After 25 years since its original release, a definitive version of Ridley Scott's science fiction masterwork Blade Runner, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, has arrived. So what exactly has changed? And is it worth all the fuss? After attending a recent screening I can report that there are significant differences, mainly improvements, between this new version and Ridley's first Director's Cut released... Read more
09 Dec 2007
After 25 years since its original release, a definitive version of Ridley Scott's science fiction masterwork Blade Runner, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, has arrived. So what exactly has changed? And is it worth all the fuss? After attending a recent screening I can report that there are significant differences, mainly improvements, between this new version and Ridley's first Director's Cut released... Read more
Written by John Howell
30 Jan 2012
If you own an iPhone 4S you may have impressed your friends (or perhaps not) with the built in, voice-driven personal assistant called Siri. You can ask it to book appointments, call people, search nearby restaurants, make calculations, and a great deal more. Most of the time it gets it right too. Now Siri has an Android rival called Evi, and if first impressions are anything to go by, it's an impressive... Read more
30 Jan 2012
If you own an iPhone 4S you may have impressed your friends (or perhaps not) with the built in, voice-driven personal assistant called Siri. You can ask it to book appointments, call people, search nearby restaurants, make calculations, and a great deal more. Most of the time it gets it right too. Now Siri has an Android rival called Evi, and if first impressions are anything to go by, it's an impressive... Read more
Written by John Howell
10 Mar 2012
I have a confession to make. I'm not proud of it, but there's no use trying to hide it any longer, the damage has already been done. I was an Apple fanatic. Hard core. Completely obsessed. I'm not proud of my behaviour. I have no real excuses. All I can say in my defense is that I have always been a gadget fan, so naturally I was ripe for the plucking. My psyche was compromised, wide open to the fruit... Read more
10 Mar 2012
I have a confession to make. I'm not proud of it, but there's no use trying to hide it any longer, the damage has already been done. I was an Apple fanatic. Hard core. Completely obsessed. I'm not proud of my behaviour. I have no real excuses. All I can say in my defense is that I have always been a gadget fan, so naturally I was ripe for the plucking. My psyche was compromised, wide open to the fruit... Read more
Written by John Howell
19 Oct 2011
After watching the pilot to Fox’s ambitious TV time travelling dinosaur fest called Terra Nova, I am praying that when I watch the next episode the entire cast gets eaten by dinosaurs (in fact, that hope is the only reason I’ll be able to sit through another one). The entire cast’s gruesome deaths at the hands of a frenzied T-Rex or a velociraptor having a bad day can’t come soon enough.... Read more
19 Oct 2011
After watching the pilot to Fox’s ambitious TV time travelling dinosaur fest called Terra Nova, I am praying that when I watch the next episode the entire cast gets eaten by dinosaurs (in fact, that hope is the only reason I’ll be able to sit through another one). The entire cast’s gruesome deaths at the hands of a frenzied T-Rex or a velociraptor having a bad day can’t come soon enough.... Read more
Written by Gerard Wood
16 Oct 2007
Daren Aronofsky’s The Fountain is a movie that divides opinion. During its press screening at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival in September 2006 it was booed; at the public screening the following evening it received a 10 minute standing ovation. To get an idea of just how divided opinion is, take a look at Rotten Tomatoes, a website that rates movies based on published reviews. Of 181... Read more
16 Oct 2007
Daren Aronofsky’s The Fountain is a movie that divides opinion. During its press screening at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival in September 2006 it was booed; at the public screening the following evening it received a 10 minute standing ovation. To get an idea of just how divided opinion is, take a look at Rotten Tomatoes, a website that rates movies based on published reviews. Of 181... Read more
Written by John Howell
05 Oct 2009
Science fiction authors have long been outcasts from the literary world, in some cases critics using the worst examples of the genre as ammunition against it. Unfortunately though, at times even science fiction authors themselves can turn on their own kind: "Science fiction is rockets, chemicals and talking squids in outer space,” mocked Margaret Atwood (The Guardian, 28 January 2009), one of her... Read more
05 Oct 2009
Science fiction authors have long been outcasts from the literary world, in some cases critics using the worst examples of the genre as ammunition against it. Unfortunately though, at times even science fiction authors themselves can turn on their own kind: "Science fiction is rockets, chemicals and talking squids in outer space,” mocked Margaret Atwood (The Guardian, 28 January 2009), one of her... Read more
Written by Gerard Wood
02 Aug 2011
Dan Simmons’ latest novel, Flashback (July 2011), is “[a] provocative novel set in a future that seems scarily possible,” proving “why Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers." So says the publicist anyway. Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers, but sadly Flashback doesn’t prove that. And yes, Flashback is a provocative novel, but it doesn’t... Read more
02 Aug 2011
Dan Simmons’ latest novel, Flashback (July 2011), is “[a] provocative novel set in a future that seems scarily possible,” proving “why Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers." So says the publicist anyway. Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers, but sadly Flashback doesn’t prove that. And yes, Flashback is a provocative novel, but it doesn’t... Read more
Written by Gerard Wood
08 Jul 2010
Almost any time we write anything about Neil Gaiman, you can be sure that someone will feel the need to post a comment “outing” the man as a Scientologist. While we have a fairly relaxed attitude to comments and will publish almost anything that contributes to an article, you won’t find many comments about Neil Gaiman’s alleged ties to the Church of Scientology published on this site. We simply... Read more
08 Jul 2010
Almost any time we write anything about Neil Gaiman, you can be sure that someone will feel the need to post a comment “outing” the man as a Scientologist. While we have a fairly relaxed attitude to comments and will publish almost anything that contributes to an article, you won’t find many comments about Neil Gaiman’s alleged ties to the Church of Scientology published on this site. We simply... Read more
Written by Gerard Wood
07 Jun 2010
Finally having had the opportunity to watch Nicholas Winding Refn’s Valhalla Rising, I now appreciate why it was received so well at film festivals and yet failed to get a wide theatrical release. It’s hard going. On one hand it’s almost unbearably brutal and on the other it is layered with the sort of mind-bending symbolic meaning that leads the viewer to the brink of utter confusion and leaves... Read more
07 Jun 2010
Finally having had the opportunity to watch Nicholas Winding Refn’s Valhalla Rising, I now appreciate why it was received so well at film festivals and yet failed to get a wide theatrical release. It’s hard going. On one hand it’s almost unbearably brutal and on the other it is layered with the sort of mind-bending symbolic meaning that leads the viewer to the brink of utter confusion and leaves... Read more
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