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Category Archives: Sci-Fi Reviews

Doctor Who: A Christmas Special Promo Image

TV Review: Doctor Who – A Christmas Carol

Joseph Savitski March 14, 2011

It’s been announced that new episodes of the fave Time Lord will be hitting screens April 23rd, an eternity for fans who’ve been facing withdrawal symptoms that rival those endured by heroin addicts. At least they have the latest Christmas special to ease their suffering, released in BBC logic shortly after Valentine’s Day. It’s not a perfect offering, but it is an entertaining spectacle to while away an hour or so. On their honeymoon, Amy and Rory find the passenger ship they’re on experiencing a slight problem. Namely, it’s about to crash and kill everyone aboard. The only chance for survival is to land on the planet beneath them; it’s a world controlled by the cruel and heartless Kazran Sardick who doesn’t have the remotest interest in handing out humanitarian aid. But The Doctor takes a page from Dickens, deciding to give Sardick a “Christmas Carol” of his own, in hopes of persuading him to save the doomed ship. But… Continue Reading »

Old Man's War Novel Cover

Book Review: Old Man’s War (by John Scalzi)

Nix March 13, 2011

John Scalzi’s 2005 sci-fi/war novel “Old Man’s War” made news recently when it was optioned by Paramount Studios, with director Wolfgang Petersen (“The Perfect Storm”) attached to direct. While it has shades of Joe Haldeman’s “The Forever War”, Scalzi’s novel is, for the most part, a wholly original work that will both intrigue and entertainment with its fictional, but very well-realized future. In the far future, our hero, John Perry, is 75 and retired; the love of his life, his wife Kathy, is dead, and he’s very lonely. Without much of a future left, he signs up to join the Army. Well, not really the Army, but the space army, if you will. The Colonial Defense Force, which exists entirely offworld, hidden away from Earth’s populace. Everyone knows that the CDF exists, that its singular goal is the advancement of the human species at all costs, and most important for men like Perry, the CDF have incredible technology, one of… Continue Reading »

Battle: Los Angeles (2011) Movie Poster

Battle: Los Angeles (2011) Movie Review

Nix March 12, 2011

Alien invasion movies usually come in two varieties — the stealth approach and all-out war mode. Stealth usually involves sleeper cells, men in black, and lonely heroes trying to expose the pending invasion. The stealth approach is popular with TV shows about alien invasions like “First Wave” and “Dark Skies”, where it can be done for relatively cheap. All-out war mode, well, speaks for itself. You have your “Starship Troopers” and your “Independence Day”, to name just a couple. Basically, big-budget movies. (Though TNT’s “Falling Skies” may change all that.) The second variety is definitely more expensive, so they’re more “event” films. Jonathan Liebesman’s “Battle: Los Angeles” certainly qualifies as being in the mode of the latter group. Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent from “The Dark Knight”) fronts “Battle: LA” as that favorite of war movie staples — the world/battle-weary grizzled Staff Sergeant. As a result of having seen it all, Eckhart’s Staff Sergeant Nantz is worn down, and still traumatized… Continue Reading »

Skyline (2010) Movie Review

Nix November 12, 2010

“Skyline”, from the brothers Strause, is the second alien invasion movie to come down the pipe this year, following in the footsteps of Gareth Edwards’ “Monsters”. It will be followed in the next few years by “Battleship” from Peter Berg and “Battle: Los Angeles” from Jonathan Liebesman. And that’s not counting the half dozen or so other alien invasion movies already under development for 2012 and beyond. I must admit that I had high expectations for “Skyline”, which may be my fault, because the finished product, while entertaining enough, left me feeling very unfulfilled. Rumor has it the Strauses are already at work on “Skyline 2”, which makes sense given the cliffhanger ending of the movie. Of course, “working” on a sequel and making it happen is not the same thing; mostly, though, the possibility of a “Skyline 2” will depend entirely on the box office returns for “Skyline”. As “Skyline” opens, aliens have already begun harvesting humans up into… Continue Reading »

TV Review: Doctor Who: Music of the Spheres

Joseph Savitski October 24, 2010

It’ll be at least three more months until fans get a new episode of “Doctor Who”, but they’ll be relieved to know there’s still some hidden nuggets that’ll help tide them over until the annual Christmas episode. “Music of the Spheres” is just one of those, an entertaining eight minute short created for the 2008 “Doctor Who Prom” held at the Royal Albert Hall. One of the least seen performances by David Tennant as the 10th Doctor, it’s certainly one fans will enjoy. We find The Doctor sprawled out on the floor of the TARDIS, quill in hand and busy writing on sheets of music. He’s busy composing a symphony based on the gravitational patterns of the universe, a veritable “music of the spheres”. Unfortunately, he’s been so busy he’s left the shielding down, and a Graske teleports in. A diminutive and pesky alien, it claims to have come to warn him about a wormhole that has opened into the… Continue Reading »

Star Wars Millennium Falcon 3D Owner's Guide 2

Book Review: Star Wars — Millennium Falcon 3D Owner’s Guide

Joseph Savitski October 22, 2010

Remember how cool it was to be a “Star Wars” fan in the late 90′s, that gloriously heady period between 1997 and 1999? Between the special editions raking in cash hand over fist in theaters and the flood of anticipation over the new film, fans who had over a decade of famine suddenly had more than they ever dreamed of. That all vanished like the morning dew at first light when “Episode 1″ unspooled, and fandom spent the remainder of the summer taking anti-depressant and making frequent calls to the local suicide hot line. There really hasn’t been any product that captured the quicksilver sparkle of that period, but the “Millennium Falcon 3D Owner’s Manual” comes pretty close. Granted, it’s a coffee table book with no actual plot or characters to speak of. But it’s an elaborately done piece of work, creatively constructed with everything you’ll ever need to know about everyone’s favorite Corellian starship. The writing by Ryder Williams… Continue Reading »

All You Need is Kill Novel Cover

Book Review: All You Need is Kill (by Hiroshi Sakurazaka)

Nix August 28, 2010

In a lot of ways, Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s “All You Need is Kill” reminded me of John Steakley’s “Armor”, one of the very first sci-fi novels I ever picked up (completely on a whim, natch), and ended up enjoying the hell out of. There is a lot of “Armor” in “Kill”, in that both books deal with futuristic warriors in, essentially, personal “mecha” suits (in “Kill” they are called “Jackets”, but they’re essentially the same things), and the enemy is, quite literally, an alien infestation that refuses to yield, negotiate, or indeed, communicate. The difference? “All You Need is Kill’s” big detour is that it’s also a time-travel movie of sorts, a “Groundhog Day” with sci-fi war action, if you will. The first 100 pages of the novel is told from the first-person point of view of the young, fresh-out-of-high-school Keiji Kiriya, a Japanese recruit in the UDF — United Defense Force — fighting back the alien infestation known as the… Continue Reading »

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Book Review: I Am Number Four

Joseph Savitski August 22, 2010

The truly great “teen” novels transcend age limits. “Harry Potter” is probably the best example of a book written for young adults with true imagination that attracts readers of all ages like moths to a flame. “I Am Number Four” won’t have to worry about burning insects falling about around it, because it never threatens to be anything more than a novel to be appreciated entirely by a teenage audience. The novel is a decent read, but it becomes forgettable just as quickly. When their home planet of Lorien was invaded by the evil Mogadarians, intent on raping the planet of all its natural resources, nine special infants were sent to Earth for safe refuge. Human in appearance, the infants were to wait until their superpowers developed so they could then return to Lorien to restore the planet. But the raiders have pursued them to Earth for a final mop up mission. A special charm placed upon the nine chosen… Continue Reading »

DVD Review: Being Human Season 1

Dedpool July 26, 2010

It took me a little bit of time to finally get around to watching this show after it was sent to me. The plot seemed intriguing even though it sounds like the set-up for a bad joke. A ghost, a werewolf, and a vampire get a flat in Bristol, England…Yeah see what I mean. But it was the fact that it was listed as a dramatic comedy (Dramedy) that made me waver just the slightest. But my faith in BBC television kept me from shirking my reviewing responsibilities. I mean these are the people who made “Doctor Who,” “Torchwood,” and “Spaced,” so I figured it couldn’t be all bad. Maybe there’d be enough action in it to keep me invested and the writing would most likely be great. Alas I was wrong about the action. But the writing, by God the writing was amazing. This show gets by on the characters and the stories alone. The season was only six… Continue Reading »

Solomon Kane (2009) Movie Review

Joseph Savitski July 21, 2010

Conan wasn’t the only literary bad ass created by Robert Howard; the author was also responsible for the lesser known Puritan hero Solomon Kane. Although possessing a staunch morality, Kane was every bit as fierce as the famed barbarian. It’s a shame “Solomon Kane” sits on the shelf with no US release date, it’s an adaptation that would make Howard grin from ear to ear–wherever he is in the afterlife. When the film opens, Kane is not yet a scourge of evil–quite the opposite in fact. A merciless privateer, he finds himself confronted by the Devil’s Reaper seeking his soul as part of a “deal”. It turns out the deal the Reaper refers to is Solomon’s life of murder and pillage, God has forsaken him and now the Devil wants his due. Fighting off the Reaper and narrowly escaping, Kane dramatically changes. Joining a monastery, he gives all his ill-gotten wealth to the church and renounces violence. But the quiet… Continue Reading »

Doctor Who 5.11 The Pandorica Opens Recap

Joseph Savitski July 18, 2010

The end is here for this season of “Doctor Who”, with all the dire prophecies coming home to roost. So it’s put up or shut up time for Steven Moffat, time to make an episode that lives up to everything that’s been building up since “The Eleventh Hour”. And boy does Moffat ever put up, giving us a breathless and wild show that’s as clever as it is jaw dropping. Russell T. Davies, ya got schooled. We open with Vincent van Gogh, who has created a painting that’s driven him to raving madness, a painting his companions cannot even remotely fathom. Cut to a World War II bunker, where the painting is brought to the attention of Winston Churchill. He contacts River Song, who breaks out of her prison cell and contacts The Doctor in a manner even he can’t ignore. The TARDIS arrives in ancient England, where time travelers encounter a battalion of Roman soldiers and River masquerading as… Continue Reading »

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Repo Men (2010) Movie Review

Nix July 10, 2010

A pinch of Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil”, a dash of David Fincher’s “Fight Club”, and some sprinklings of David Cronenberg’s “Crash”, and you have Miguel Sapochnik’s “Repo Men”. Made for $30-plus million (though the film looks much more expensive) and dumped into theaters without a whole lot of studio confidence earlier this year, you’ll be hard-pressed to know the film even exists unless you were looking for it. Co-written by Eric Garcia from his novel “The Repossession Mambo”, first-time feature film director Miguel Sapochnik offers up a near-future world where human organs can easily be replaced by artificial versions if you have the money. Or heck, even if you don’t, you can still get one and pay the obscene interests later. Using what can generously be described as predatorial practices, The Union Corporation has such a thriving, lucrative business that it’s able to send out repo men, essentially glorified murderers, to reclaim parts once payment on the organs become past due…. Continue Reading »

Haven Pilot Review

TV Review: Haven – Pilot

Nix July 9, 2010

The SyFy Channel’s new show “Haven” is essentially “The X-Files” if that show was set in one location and Fox Mulder was a spunky blonde, and instead of a doubting Dana Scully you have a doubting Detective who can’t feel pain. Emily Rose stars in “Haven” as FBI Agent Audrey Parker, an agent who tends to let her intuition for the strange guide her on cases, something that has gotten her into trouble with the Bureau. Basically, the kind of FBI Agent that only exists on TV shows. Parker is an immensely cute and loveable agent (she’s also very smart, determined, and takes no shit), who as the pilot opens is sent to the small town of Haven, Maine to investigate the death of a wanted federal fugitive. There, she teams up with local Detective Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant), whose father is also the town’s chief of police. And oh yeah, Nathan has some strange disease that prevents him from… Continue Reading »

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DVD Review: Sanctuary Complete Seasons 1 and 2

Dedpool July 6, 2010

SyFy Channel’s “Sanctuary” is an enjoyable show best described as “Hellboy” meets “Fringe” or “The X-Files” or even SyFy’s own “Warehouse 13.” The show centers on Dr. Helen Magnus, played by “Stargate SG-1/Atlantis” alum Amanda Tapping, and her organization known as “The Sanctuary” that investigate strange phenomena and try to protect those that might be seen as monsters, creatures called “Abnormals.” These creature can be humans with special abilities, or mutations, or just strange creatures like the mermaid and lizard man. The show first aired online as a series of eight, 15 minute webisodes, which were then turned into the two hour pilot and second episode of the first season. “Sanctuary” also stars Robin Dunne as Dr. Will Zimmerman, Magnus’ protégé and a new addition to the staff, and Christopher Heyerdahl as John Druit and Bigfoot, Magnus’ former patient turned assistant. The show does a brilliant job of creating a world we recognize with some subtle differences. If the name… Continue Reading »

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Doctor Who 5.10 Vincent and the Doctor Recap

Joseph Savitski June 28, 2010

We last left The Doctor in a pretty dark place. Rory had just died a senseless death near one of the cracks in the universe, and the cascading time energy erased him from existence. Even worse when The Doctor retrieved a piece of debris from inside the rift–only to discover an exploded piece of his TARDIS. So after those shocking events, it’s nice to have the show settle down and offer us some human drama before leaping back into cataclysmic events. Touring an exhibit of the works of Vincent van Gogh, The Doctor notices something amiss in a painting of a church. There’s the face of an evil alien in one of the windows, and if anyone knows evil aliens it’s The Doctor. So it’s back to the TARDIS and back to the time of van Gogh, to sent this extraterrestrial beastie back whence it came. They encounter possibly the greatest painter who ever lived, although he’s as popular in… Continue Reading »

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