Oscar night is nearly upon us. Many awards have already been handed out and there’s just enough time for a few more before the big night. In case you were wondering, my vote doesn’t have much sway with the Academy. Nevertheless, this will not stop my own awards season prognostication and two-cents-giving.
2012 was a great year at the movies. The prestige films exceeded expectation almost across the board and even the blockbuster crop was inspiring. Below is my list of Honorable Mentions and the all-important Top 10.
Recently, Collider (one of my favorite sites), ran a series of reflections written by a Star Wars neophyte as she watched the films for the first time. A link to the last entry containing links to all the previous entries can be found here. Anyway, it was an entertaining read and one issue I think many Star Wars fans take for granted is the proper order in which to introduce the films to a newbie. Do you watch them in episode order (I-VI), or in theatrical release order (IV, V, VI, I, II, III)? Or is there an even better way?
This will certainly be an easy decision for some but reading about the decision-making process in the Collider series introduced me to a new way of experiencing the story. Behold “Machete Order:”
Episode IV – A New Hope
Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back Read more…
When thinking of science fiction, it’s easy to forget the past and a lot of the seminal stories that made everything to come after possible. Recently, I was irrevocably reminded of the genre’s roots by a book. The novel is The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (1966) by prolific author Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988), a.k.a. the “Dean” of science fiction.
![http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/devilwrites/media/Book%2520Covers/Reviews/9780312863555.jpg.html?filters[term]=the%20moon%20is%20a%20harsh%20mistress&filters[primary]=images#/user/celtic_devil90/media/TheMoonsaHarshMistress.jpg.html?filters%5Bterm%5D=the%20moon%20is%20a%20harsh%20mistress&filters%5Bprimary%5D=images&_suid=1357404741098030137923315004183](https://ourplanetburke.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/the-moon-is-a-sharsh-mistress-cover.jpg "http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/devilwrites/media/Book%2520Covers/Reviews/9780312863555.jpg.html?filters[term]=the%20moon%20is%20a%20harsh%20mistress&filters[primary]=images#/user/celtic_devil90/media/TheMoonsaHarshMistress.jpg.html?filters%5Bterm%5D=the%20moon%20is%20a%20harsh%20mistress&filters%5Bprimary%5D=images&_suid=1357404741098030137923315004183")
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is a story of friendship and revolution in 2076. The revolution takes place on the Moon, a.k.a. “Luna,” and the primary friendship is the bond between computer technician Mannie and “Mike,” a supercomputer he performs maintenance for. Read more…
Skyfall hits theaters tonight so I’ve been working tirelessly to revisit the entire 007 canon. Just so we’re clear; by canon, I mean all the films including 1967’s Casino Royale and 1983’s Never Say Never Again; and by tirelessly, I actually mean that I fall asleep during every movie I start after 9:30 p.m. What’s my age again?
While all the stories represent escapist spy fantasy, about half have a pronounced element of science-fiction, so it’s not too much of a stretch referring to the series on the whole as sci-fi.
The idea of franchise filmmaking didn’t start with Bond but the spy franchise certainly perfected it and helped usher in the modern blockbuster/tent-pole era.
Well, I’ve taken long enough to get around to wrapping up my LOST Diary but here we go: the last two seasons. If you haven’t seen any LOST yet and somehow still plan to, what are you waiting for? If you are one of those people, I think I’ll manage to be generally spoiler-free.
The storylines of season five follow the conclusion of season 4 which left our favorite castaways divided. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun, Ben and Desmond manage to get off the island and Sawyer, Jin and Juliet (among others) are stuck behind. And oh yeah, Locke is somehow both on and off the island. Read more…
Before getting into my comments, I want to make a small confession. I finished watching the series months ago and I’ve been sitting on this post for months as well due to procrastination a.k.a. graduate school work. No hard feelings?
OK, now that Season Three is behind me, I’m confident that the season’s first half is where LOST started losing viewers. Despite having all of the episodes at my fingertips, even I could feel the series come to a screeching halt at times. Fortunately, the first two seasons were so darn good that their fumes alone were enough to keep me pushing the button every 108 minutes (or 43 minutes in my case) until Season Three could find its footing.
Season Three finds Jack, Kate and Sawyer in the clutches of The Others. “Henry Gale” turns out to be the cover name for Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) who appears to be in command of The Others. The hatch has been destroyed, leaving Locke with a lot more free time and meanwhile, the beach residents continue on without having Jack around as a leader.
There’s no mistaking it, the first handful of episodes here are a bit lacking. With Jack, Kate, and Sawyer all in captivity and Locke bumbling around without much direction, the season simply felt frustrating. Fortunatley, once the captives start making moves to get away from The Others, Season Three picks up quick. Speaking of Locke, I’m sad to admit that I may be getting a bit bored with him. Don’t worry, I won’t give up on him that easily.
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