Tag Archives: Science Fiction

Avatar: Fire and Ash – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Avatar is pomp and circumstance like no one else in the business is doing at the moment, except maybe the other Avatar films, which are doing the same thing very much.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Wind Traders.

Avatar: Fire and Ash Review Introduction –

Truly, there is nothing out there at the moment with the ambition and multi-coloured excellence like Avatar. Just three hours of non-stop visual excellence for your eyeballs with a sheer tenacity that we don’t see come out of Hollywood much anymore. But, this is the third outing in the series, and the question is: can it keep feeling fresh coming back to the same world again and again? Before we jump in, I do want to make clear that for this review, we watched the standard presentation, so no 3D, 4DX or other extras other than the meal I ordered halfway through because I splurged on the nice seats. So, we won’t be able to comment on whether the 3D, etc., is worth the ticket price.

So, to set the scene, everyone is still reeling from the end of Avatar: The Way of Water, where to save his family, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri’s (Zoe Saldaña) son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) sacrificed himself to save his family, and Spider (Jack Champion) no less. Everyone is grieving in their own way, and most of those ways are not very helpful. However, after some battery mix-ups show how vulnerable Spider is out here in the wilds. The parents decide it’s time to send Spider back to the researchers, where he will be closer to humans and safer. It is a long trip back, full of dangers, but not just from humans/sky people. For within the Navi, there are the Mangkwan clan led by Varang (Oona Chaplin), who are raiding and killing all those they come across.

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Foundation: Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This season has started to diverge considerably from the source material, and among its bombast and stunning visuals are some creeping worries.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service to view this episode.

Looking at a sun.

Foundation Introduction –

When I first started watching the third season of Foundation with A Song for the End of Everything, I was concerned they would be trying to force all of The Mule’s story into this one season. While they avoided that particular pitfall, the season still shows signs of strain as it pushes further from Asimov’s framework, as you can start to feel the show beginning to wobble a bit and potentially head towards disaster as we move farther away from the source material.

So, to set the scene, it has been 152 years since the Second Crisis, and while the Empire continues to collapse, the Foundation grows, expanding further out of the outer reach. Now both the Empire and The Foundation are fighting to control Kalgan, a pleasure planet, and the key to controlling The Middle Band. But there may be a third player out there, ready to tear everything up. For after much prediction, or perhaps, not enough prediction, The Mule (Pilou Asbæk) is on the move, and both sides should fear him because with him comes calamity, and the galaxy is not prepared for what he is about to wreak. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Silo: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – The sophomore season suffers from some significant pacing issues, but when it clicks together, it is like no other.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Juliette Lives.

Silo Review –

As it is the end of the year, it is time to catch up with all the shows that I didn’t get a chance to finish during the year, and the first on my list is Silo. Conceptually, I love this show, the brooding treatise on humanity, control, and rebellion. However, I dropped out halfway through. Well, today, I go back to see why.

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 that 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. But there is no time to wait as she escapes death by entering a dead silo. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Fallout: The Golden Rule [S2E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A riot of whimsy as we delve into the world of Fallout, as the characters try to make sense of everything that goes on.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

The destruction of Shady Sands.

Fallout: The Golden Rule Review Introduction –

One of the great things about Fallout has been its ability to be filled with contrasts, yet still manage to keep the whole from being ripped apart. Which, as we have seen from a multitude of adaptations, is a difficult thing to pull off. Grounding something this inherently silly is a rare skill, and the show pulls it off again here.

So, to set the scene, many years before the time of the show, there lived a town called Shady Sands. Life was still hard, but they had found their niche in the wilderness, and they were starting to rebuild the world that had been lost during the Great War that rained down nuclear fire on the earth. However, their success drew the attention of forces they did not know were out there, or in this case, under there, which is why they may not have acted quickly enough when the trader walked into town acting odd. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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The Great Flood (Daehongsu/대홍수) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A wildly ambitious film about a catastrophe in motion that struggles with its scope as it explores deeper emotional constructions.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

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

Water reaching the 10th floor.

The Great Flood Review Introduction –

There is a reason that floods get the moniker “biblical”, and it is not just what was described in Genesis. Water has an immense, indiscriminate power behind it at the best of times, but when rivers break their banks or waters surge from the ocean, nothing can stand in its way. It forges canyons, it cleaves buildings, and it kills with little effort. It is that power that guides the story today.

So, to set the scene, it is a day that started as typical as anything else as Gu An-na (Kim Da-mi) wakes up to find her son Ja-in (Kwon Eun-seong) already in her bed wanting one more day diving in the pool. But the normalcy was interrupted by rumbling sounds in the distance that the rain could not account for. Rice gets spilt, heads get hit, and a parent is overbearing. It’s honestly not a great start to the day. But when water starts seeping into her apartment from outside, when she lives on the third floor, Gu An-na realises something is very wrong, even if her son thinks this is the best day in the world.    

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Fallout: The Innovator [S2E1]– TV Review

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TL;DR – The first episode back ramps up the wackiness and brutality of the new world.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

End Credit – There is a mid-credit sequence.

Los Angeles before the fall.

Fallout: The Innovator Review Introduction –

We have gotten a lot of video game adaptations, and to be honest, most of them have been trash. But back in 2024, a miracle happened, we got an adaptation that not only had a decent story with compelling characters, but it also was not afraid of the game it was adapting. Because it leapt into that world, warts and all, with some monumental deep cut lore knowledge and care. It is in that space that we jump into the first episode of the second season to see if they can keep that power going.  

So, to set the scene, back in Season One, Lucy’s (Ella Purnell) world all came crumbling down when she discovered that everything she understood about her life and history was a lie. Also, the Golden Rule doesn’t hold much sway in the Wasteland. While walking, or in some cases being dragged through the rubble of a former life, she ran into Maximus (Aaron Moten), a somewhat reluctant squire of the Brotherhood of Steel, and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), a ghoul that is one of the few people left who were alive before The Great War. But the world needs answers, and for Lucy, those answers might be found in New Vegas, where her wounded ‘father’ Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) retreated to. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Surviving Mars: Relaunched – Video Game Review

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TL;DR – if you have never played the game before, this is by far the best version, and you should give it a go. If you have bought the game before, I am not sure there is enough to warrant the price tag.

Disclosure – I paid for this video game.

A Map of Mars.

Surviving Mars: Relaunched Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a bit of an odd duck in that we are looking at what is apparently a from-the-ground-up remake for a game that is less than ten years old, which, for a strategy game, is quite odd. However, as I enjoyed my time with the first Surviving Mars, I thought it was only good to dive back in to see if it was worth the relaunch.

So, to set the scene, in Surviving Mars, as the title suggests, your job is to help manage the first colony on Mars and make sure everything runs smoothly. You begin by picking your mission’s sponsor, the USA, Europe, Blue Sun Corporation, and more. You then choose what type of commander you are going to be, an Ecologist, Oligarch, etc., and then you are off to the red planet. Here you have to pick your landing site on a very detailed map of Mars, you can select from one of the pre-determined locations or go ‘stuff it game I’m landing in the Utopia Planitia’, and then it is just you, a rocket and a couple of automated rovers to start you on building the first place for humankind away from Earth. Where you will face the needs of a growing colony, the harness of the environment, and the risk of declaring independence.

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Vampire Zombies…from Space! – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful parody of 1950s pulp fiction that is unfortunately a bit too long in the tooth.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Vampire Zombies…from Space!

Vampire Zombies From Space Review Introduction –

There are many ways a film can entice you to watch it. In the past, it was through who they cast as their leads, but that seems to be decreasingly crucial as the 21st century progresses. It could be the genre or the premise, or a multitude of things. Or maybe, the title of the film is so absolutely bonkers that you feel almost required to see just what they will do. Today, we are looking at Vampire Zombies From Space, and I think you know what category I would put that under.

So, to set the scene, one night a long time ago in the time of black and white, a dog ran into a tobacco field, and the family followed only to be confirmed by the impossible: a vampire and their flying saucer. While the mother was murdered in a wave of blood, a crucifix saved the rest of the family from certain doom. Ten years later, in a slightly more up-to-date-yet-still-black-and-white time, the family is a pariah in town. Little did they know that they would be the ground zero for something even more terrifying … zombies, sent by Dracula (Craig Gloster) to take over the world.

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Predator: Badlands – Movie Review

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TL;DR – an absolute blast of a film from start to finish. Taking 1980s action sensibilities and bringing them into a modern sci-fi film. Bright, fun, but also thoroughly grounded in the universe they are working in.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-title card scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Dek standing with a sword.

Predator: Badlands Review Introduction –

When you hear that a new entry in a famously American R-rated franchise has been handed the dreaded American PG-13 rating, you cringe a little. You get flashbacks to Die Hard 4 and others who were forced, kicking and screaming, into the lower rating to make it more marketable. However, today we look at a film that bucks that trend by being a fun, family-friendly film that remains grounded in its universe.

So, to set the scene, we open on the Predator homeland of Yautja Prime, where Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is sparring off with his brother Kwei (Mike Homik). While Dek is a runt in Yautja society, his brother sees his strength and worth. Dek should have the chance to go on a hunt and prove himself in Yautja society. Unfortunately, their father Njohrr (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) feels differently. Dek manages to escape and lands on Genna, a planet where every part of the biosystem is out to kill you. However, it is the home of the Kalisk, a creature so powerful that no Yautja has succeeded in killing it, and it even scares Dek’s father. But before you can get to the Kalisk, you need to survive Genna, and maybe the synth Thia (Elle Fanning) might be your only hope to pull that off.     

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Tron: Ares – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it was not the complete disaster I feared, at no point (okay, maybe the music) did it reach the heights of the previous two films in this series.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

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

A Recognizer approaches a real life city.

Setting the Scene

Well, here we are, a place that I didn’t think we would see again, another Tron film. I am on the record as to how much I love it, and even more so, Tron: Legacy. They are films that live rent-free in my brain, and I was heartbroken when the original sequel to Tron: Legacy was canned in the wake of the disastrous Tomorrowland. But the wheels of time turn, and sometimes you get a second bite at the apple. Which means today we see if you can capture that Tron vibe in 2025? Also, can one casting choice torpedo your film?
 
So, to set the scene, in the years since Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared, the world has changed, and two tech companies have risen to prominence. ENCOM is led by their new CEO, Eve Kim (Greta Lee) and Dillinger Systems is run by CEO Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters). Both companies are in a race to find the code that will let items and programs from the digital world stay in the physical world for more than 29 minutes. While Eve goes looking into the past, Julian is not beyond a little dirty underhandedness and sends his chief security AI, Ares (Jared Leto), into the ENCOM systems to find out what they know so that they can steal it first.   

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