Category Archives: Uncategorized

Easily one of the most terrifying horror films I have seen in the last couple of years, the reality of the film turned out to be much less traditionally “horror” than I had expected (no real ghosts or zombies to really speak of) and to avoid spoilers, I won’t mention much more beyond that, since I would recommend anyone who was even remotely interested in seeing the film to go and see it while its still in theaters. The thing I found most fascinating about this film is how Jordan Peele has this way, it seems, of making the most “ordinary” of atmospheres unsettling in that we don’t really know why what we’re seeing makes us uncomfortable (for example, Nyong’o’s doppelganger’s laugh at the end of the first trailer), but for whatever reason, they do, and for me, this was one of those rare films where, for its entirety, you don’t really know what could possibly happen next, but you know its not good, and you know, in some way, the “heroes” could lose.

Though not necessarily one of my favorite science fiction series from the mid-20th century, “Lost in Space” does have a particular place in my mind, due to its very particular design, which seemed to combine the contemporary styles of the time with more “futuristic” imagery. I remember watching the series a little when I was younger, and although the narrative, I would argue, wasn’t nearly as interesting as the narratives of, for example, “The Twilight Zone” or “The Outer Limits” there was something appealing, and humble about watching this family’s adventures as they traverse through space. And, as I (somewhat belatedly) discovered, Netflix did end up recreating the series, putting their own mark on the narrative of the Robinson family.

Although not necessarily the most “science fiction”-related news, I was excited to hear that, canonically, one of the newest James Wan films coming out in April 2019 is set in the same universe as his other “The Conjuring” films. I haven’t heard very much about this film, outside of the Sciencefiction.net article I read where it’s been confirmed that these films are all settled in the same universe. However, I am excited to know that the film chronology is expanding beyond the narrative of “ghosts” we’ve seen so far in the series, since each of the films seem to be pretty closely entwined. I’m not sure really how this one will continue in the canon, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing it in April.

Possibly one of the strangest films I’ve ever seen, this silent movie follows the story of a futuristic dystopia (even by today’s standards), and the class struggles which have become the result of progress. I think the story is easy to lose along the way, since there’s nothing really there to explain what’s happening, so if you miss a break for dialogue, or if you miss a particular action sequence, you could lose the entire plot. However, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who likes speculative fiction, and the concept of android-overlords, since I think those were the defining characteristics of this film, which even today seems oddly prophetic for where we’re heading in terms of automation.

According to Vulture, Jordan Peele will be producing a remake of “The Twilight Zone” anthology on CBS, featuring a number of the original episodes, such as “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,” “Rewind,” among several others. So far, the cast will be the same anthology style as the original, and will star Seth Rogan, Adam Scott, Taissa Farmiga, among tens of other actors. Overall, I’m not entirely sure what to expect from a remake of the series, since there have been several flops before, where either the acting was subpar, or they were just poorly made. I have a lot of faith in Peele to make this series different from all the previous remakes, and even the casting itself is pretty impressive, but I think I’ll have a more definite conclusion once the actual episodes start to air, or even when just a trailer comes out.

A quick read, even for a novella, I appreciated that Rand didn’t waste time with slews of exposition at the beginning of the story, and instead made it very clear what the terms and conditions of this dystopia were. The story follows the journey of a young man, living in a world where electricity has not yet been invented. In addition, this society he lives in requires the strict adherence of the individual to work for the greater good of society (and where “I” has been replaced by the plural pronouns “we,” “us” and “our”). The novella’s protagonist, “Equality 7-2521,” though gifted in the sciences, has been assigned to the role of the street sweeper, and the majority of the story addresses his coming to terms with him either doing what he himself would like to, and what he had ought to be doing for society. The story was actually pretty enlightening, and though heavy-handedly alluding to Rand’s more libertarian mindset, has some decent themes about personal responsibility.

Though I’m only on the fourth episode of this series so far, this is one of those rare science fiction mysteries where you don’t really know where the series is going to go next. The story follows the past and present of a blind woman who went missing and comes back with her sight, and calling herself “The OA”. To avoid spoiling much of the plot, I’ll keep the plot vague, but once she returns to her home, there seem to be little to no reasoning, to the viewer at least, as to the motivations of her actions. However, based upon what I’ve heard, the path of this series should take a more “science fiction-y” turn, but to what degree, I’ll have to finish watching season one to find out.

Sunday 3/3: Schedule Sunday

Monday 3/4: Marathon Monday: Netflix’s “The OA”

Tuesday 3/5: Typescript Tuesday: Ayn Rand’s “Anthem”

Wednesday 3/6: What’s Happening Wednesdays: TBH

Thursday 3/7: Thanksgiving Thursdays: Metropolis (1927)

Friday 3/8-Sunday 3/19: Mini-Hiatus

According to The Guardian, a species of moth known for mimicking of a variety of similar looking (and similarly behaving) bees has been rediscovered in Malaysia. This particular species of moth hasn’t been seen since 1887, and had gone missing due to the massive amount of deforestation in the area. What made this story interesting to me, beyond how striking this moth looks, is the fact that the way it has adapted to its environment reminds me a great deal of the way the creatures in something like “Annihilation” would adapt where they become almost this amalgamation of similar, but dissimilar, species, since this moth, while it is a moth, looks nothing like the ones we would usually think of. Also, I think the story also goes to show what a weird dystopia we live in where a species could be extinct, or it could not be; we just really never know since we’re paying more attention to what we can take from these places than what’s actually there.

This film has been something of a wild card since its official trailer came out back in December 2018. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the trailer, aside for the fact that I definitely wanted to see it, and that, something very strange is happening in this cinematic universe. The trailer opens with a typical family vacation. Nothing out of the ordinary, and then, after the son either talks to or is kidnapped by this strange individual on the beach (I’m not sure which), the family encounters their “doppelgangers,” each of whom seem to be the opposite of the “real” family member. The atmosphere of the film is chilling in a way I really haven’t seen recently, but even now, there’s still very little information on what the premise of the film is, who these “doppelgangers” are, and what’s happening for them to want to attack everyone they basically can. However, new details seem to have been dropped in the most recent version of the trailer from Korea. I’m not entirely sure what to make of the “coincidences” Lupita Nyong’o’s character mentions in the beginning, but there has to be some significance I think.