Solaris by Stanislaw Lem and Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh’s stylish psychological thriller, released November 2002 in the United States by 20th Century Fox (and recently out on video), eloquently captures the theme of Stanislaw Lem’s 1961...
View ArticleAngels, Aliens, Atwood and Other Archetypes
In a June 2005 issue of The Guardian, Canadian writer Margaret Atwood tells us “why we need science fiction” in an article entitled “Aliens Have Taken the Place of Angels”. Atwood submits that “science...
View Article2012 World Fantasy Convention in Toronto
On November 1-4, 2012 I did a cool thing: I participated in a world event about the fantastic. Since its inception in 1975 in Providence, Rhode Island, World Fantasy Convention (WFC) has been held in a...
View ArticleWhy “District 9” Should Have Been the Most Important Movie of 2009
Science Fiction is in its very nature a symbolic meditation on history itself—Frederic Jameson, critic We call them “prawns”: bottom feeders, vermin: feared and hated aliens who descended...
View Article2012 World Fantasy Award Winners
The 2012 World Fantasy Awards, held on November 4th in Toronto, Canada revealed some surprises. The World Fantasy award for best novel went to Lavie Tidhar’s “Osama”, published by British small press...
View ArticleAeon Flux: motion picture and animation review
When I was first tantalized by the high-speed head-smashing trailer for the Paramount motion picture, Aeon Flux, directed by Karyn Kusama (Girlfight) and released in late 2005 (now on DVD), I was...
View ArticleEnd of 2012 or the World?
This December marks the end of another year. But this particular year is a little different. Lots of people say it’s the end of civilization as we know it. Some say it’s the end. Some say it’s a new...
View ArticleWelcome to 2013, The Year of the Snake
Happy New Year! Here in Canada, when I entered the post office recently to buy stamps I was reminded that 2013 is also the year of the snake. The stamps displayed elaborate and stylized images of the...
View Article“Unexpected Protocol: A Critique of the “I, Robot” Book and Motion Picture”
I reread Dr. Isaac Asimov’s 50+ year old masterpiece, I, Robot, in preparation for the 2004 Twentieth Century Fox motion picture of the same name, knowing fully well that to appeal to today’s...
View ArticleResonating With the Universe
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Which came first? Story or reality? Do we dream about our past or of another reality? What is déjà vu…really? What came BEFORE the Big Bang? Did time...
View ArticleReview of World War Z
I don’t watch zombie movies. I steer away from them. I find them generally tasteless, unimaginative and lacking anything remotely connected to “story”. Most appear, at least from their trailers, to...
View ArticleReaching for Elysium: Why the movie could have been great but wasn’t
In the “Hero’s Journey” myth, Elysium (or the Elysium Fields in Greek mythology) is the paradise that true heroes go to when they die (think of Frodo in Lord of the Rings and the hero in The...
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