Tag Archives: Science Fiction

Dune Prophecy: The Hidden Hand – TV Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – This first episode is mainly about the vibes, but if you click with it, you will be there for the long haul.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Bing service that viewed this series.

A lone figure in a red dress appears during a nightmare.

Dune Prophecy Review –

One world that I have always loved diving into is the world of Dune. It is a weird and wonderful world full of texture waiting to be explored. It also has a history that stretches for tens of thousands of years, giving you a wide range to place a story without banging up against the story of the films. A world of intrigue teetering on the edge of the abyss for many.   
So, to set the scene, in the years after the Butlerian Jihad against the Thinking Machines, humanity had to find a new way forward. There were many competing forces during that time, one of which was the witches of the Bene Gesserit. On Wallach IX, those same sisters are grieving the death of their first Reverend Mother. The sisterhood is at a future point. Which way forward would they proceed? Shall they point people in the right direction, or should they be the ones controlling things from the shadows? Thirty years after blood was shed in the Bene Gesserit cloister, 116 years after the end of the Great Machine Wars, and 10,148 years before the birth of Paul Atreides. It will be time to see which direction the sisterhood takes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Starbase 80?! – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A weird little fun episode that gets to put the cap off the running joke of Starbase 80

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

Starbase 80.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

One of the recurring jokes on Star Trek: Lower Decks is that no one ever wants to get transferred to Starbase 80. The very joke of it is enough to put a pause on any dubious activity. We have known how bad it was since way back in Season One and now it is time to find out if the legacy lives up to the reality.

So, to set the scene, after cataloguing a bunch of algae on the ocean planet Piskes 9, the USS Cerritos was meant to head to a Captain’s Conference on Casperia Prime. However, after a navigation malfunction, the ship had to drop out of warp because they were flying blind. That is no problem. There is a Starbase they can reach by impulse. The only problem is that base is Starbase 80: Insert creepy music here. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

Silo: The Engineer [S2E1] – TV Review

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – The episode where Rebecca Ferguson gets stuff done.   

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this series.

Juliette walks across the surface.

Silo Review –

I was unsure what to expect when the first episode of Silo, Freedom Day, dropped. I had not read the original novels by Hugh Howey, so when we went down the rabbit hole that was the mystery of the Silo, I was captivated by which turns the show would make. Now that we have seen the first season, I am even more fascinated by where the show can go from here. Well, after a long wait, it is time to see just what they will do as we dive back underground and see what waits in store for us.

So, to set the scene, after being set up by Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) and Robert Sims (Common), Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) was forced to go outside and ‘clean’ in the season finale. However, thanks to some work from Martha Walker (Harriet Walter), Juliette’s suit was fitted with tape that actually worked so that the poisonous air would not leak in. It is here where she discovers not only is there still a barren, poisoned world on the surface, but their Silo is not the only one. Not knowing how long the tape will last, she runs to the next Silo over, only to discover thousands of dead bodies spilled across the ground. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Lower Decks: A Farewell to Farms – TV Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – Crack out the Bat’leths and open the good Bloodwine casks because it is time to visit Qo’noS

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

Lower Decks Title Card looking over a Qo-noS sunset..

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

When you have been watching shows for quite a while, you pick up telltale signs that something big is about to happen. One of those is the lack of a Title Sequence. Wait, the cast names not on the backdrop of a coming calamity of Borg, Tholians, Klingons, Romulans, Pakleds, oh and is that V’ger? But instead, it was on a warm sunset in Qo’noS. Well, you know something big is about to happen.

So, to set the scene, we are on Qo’noS, and Captain Ma’ah (Jon Curry) has been sequestered/banished to labouring work on the family farm. He is making Bloodwine (from worms, most likely Gagh) and raising Targ. He stubbornly avoids the comm call with a Federation signature. But if Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is one thing, it is persistent. He is stuck because the one who stripped him of his captainship is now the one who decides if he can get it back. Although Boimler (Jack Quaid) does know a lot about Klingon Bureaucratic minutia, and the Ritual of J’ethurgh is right there. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

The Wild Robot – Movie Review

Posted on by
16

TL;DR – This is a stunningly beautiful film that hit me with a wave of emotions as if I were standing by the seaside watching them roll in.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit stinger.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Roz surrounded by butterflies.

The Wild Robot Review –

It is school holiday time here in Australia, and that usually means a web of family films gets unleashed into the cinemas. Many are quite average fare, just looking to entertain the little ones for an hour or two in air conditioning. However, every now and again, you find something exceptional, and this is what we will be looking at today.

So, to set the scene, in the potentially distant future, a bunch of otters find a very peculiar item washed up on shore. It is a box with some contraptions. After some exploration, they accidentally set it off to discover it was a ROZZUM unit 7134 (Lupita Nyong’o) personal assistance robot. She is now activated and is not looking for a task. The only problem is that she does not speak wild critter, and they are all afraid of her. But when a bear attacks, she accidentally crashes into a goose nest, leaving only a single egg behind. Roz has to look past her programming with the help of Fink (Pedro Pascal), a local fox who would be happy to eat the issue away and Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara), an opossum who knows about motherhood. Because the little Brightbill (Kit Connor/Boone Storm) needs to eat, swim, and fly, all before winter sets in. Because if he doesn’t leave on migration, he will die.

Continue reading →

A Million Days – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A conceptually interesting film that just never quite coalesced in the way that it wanted.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film

Three astronauts with crosses for eyes.

A Million Days Review –

If there has been one major shift in technology in the 21st century so far, it is the rise of predictive AI. While the whole world is trying to rectify this new landscape, Science Fiction media has been playing in that space for decades. Today, we explore a film that is all about AI and what it means for the future of humanity.

So, to set the scene, in 2041, after decades of unchecked global warming, Earth is on the cusp of complete ecological collapse. The SEED project, powered by an AI called JAY, was created to try and make humanity a multi-planet civilization. Anderson (Simon Merrells) and Sam (Kemi-Bo Jacobs) help run the JAY project as the Lunar Colony is being established. However, when one of the new hires, Charlie (Hermione Corfield), accidentally runs a JAY simulation for a million days, they discover that something is wrong with humanity and its survival.   

Continue reading →

Alien: Romulus – Movie Review

Posted on by
7

TL;DR – Beware of Weyland-Yutani Corp representatives bearing gifts.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Jackob's Star Planet.

Alien: Romulus Review –

I have always had an interesting relationship with the Alien films. When I was a kid, a snippet of people crawling through an air vent and a life sign catching up with them scared the life out of me. It goes without saying that Aliens have the legacy it has for a reason. However, recent entries have always pulled me in different directions. For example, Alien: Covenant was a stunningly beautiful film filled with people acting like they had no sense. However, there is a core of these films that can work, and that was what I was looking for today.

So, to set the scene, life is hard in Jackson’s Star Mining Colony, 60-odd light years from Earth. While the mines are rich, the storms constantly rain, the clouds block out the sun, and the mine continually kills people through collapse or disease. Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) has worked hard to get her quota done so she and her brother Andy (David Jonsson) can get off and go live in an independent farming colony when they discover that The Company has doubled their quota. They must stay for six more years. Rain is distraught, but her old friend Tyler (Archie Renaux) may have found an out. He and his crew, Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu), have discovered an old ship left in orbit that has an intact hypersleep chamber. If they can steal it, they could get off-planet. The only problem is why the ship is abandoned.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Prodigy – Ouroboros, Part I, Part 2, and Full Season – TV Review

Posted on by
12

TL;DR – A beautiful end to a season, and hopefully not an end of a series.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

A time portal opens up over Earth.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Alas, we have come to the end of the second and hopefully not last season of Star Trek: Prodigy. What a season it was. We will take some time a bit later to explore the season as a whole, but before that, we need to dive into this incredible season finale that went places I was not expecting at all.

So, to set the scene, after Asencia (Jameela Jamil) attacked the USS Voyager-A and the USS Protostar, it became clear that something had to happen before she did irreparable harm to The Federation with her time weapons. The problem is that Starfleet is already spread so far that there is no one else about to get out that far to help them. The combined crews need to stop them fast because, little do they know, Asencia has captured Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) and mined his mind for secrets she can use to cause galaxy-wide chaos. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – The Acolyte & Season 1– TV Review

Posted on by
6

TL;DR – While the finale felt incredibly rushed, I did find the series to be a grand entry in the franchise.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Qimir tries to take the helmet of Osha.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, we have reached the end of what has surprisingly become one of the most controversial Star Wars entries since at least The Rise of Skywalker. I am not sure why a series that revelled in the mystical side of The Force that George Lucas loved garnered such a negative response, but here we are. Today, we will first pull apart the season finale before taking some time to explore the season as a whole.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Teach/Corrupt, Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) promised Mae (Amandla Stenberg) that he would tell her what really happened that one fateful night all those years ago. It was a sad series of consequences that led to Sol killing the twin’s mother in Choice. But while Mae has a revelation, Osha (Amandla Stenberg) wakes up in a cave on an unknown planet, where she is captured by Qimir (Manny Jacinto), who wants her to unlock her powers. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Prodigy – Ascension, Part I & Part 2 – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – Honestly, wow, I was sitting on the edge of my chair for the whole episode.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

The USS Voyager-A and the USS Protostar.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Have you ever been sitting watching a show and suddenly thought, “Hey, whatever happened to [insert important plot point here]”, only to get slapped in the face with that plot point a few moments later? Well, if you have ever had that happen to you, then you will know what I felt like as we jump into the episode today.  

So, to set the scene, after getting the USS Protostar back into orbit during the Last Flight of the Protostar and a number of struggles, we finally get back into contact with the USS Voyager-A. While Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran) get a moment to reconnect, things go from bad to worse. First, Starfleet wants them back to Earth so that they can deal with the Protostar themselves. But before that can happen, a danger from the past comes back with a vengeance. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →