By Roy Mathur, on 2014-01-10, at 02:37:00--03:07:32 GMT, for Roy's Rocket Radio, Listen
I need a break from writing (outlining), so I'm taking a podcasting "break".
Sadly, I can't review Ender's Game, because it's already been and gone at the cinema.
Other nerdly behaviour? Well I've been buying up books from a local charity bookshop in an effort to replenish my book collection.
Today I managed to get the HHGTTG trilogy, Colin Greenland's Seasons of Plenty (3rd in the series) and two Gollancz Top 50: Terry Pratchett's Eric and Richard Matheson's I Am Legend.
Not reading them, yet... too much work to do!
Remember Asoka (2001)? The movie about Mauryan Emperor Asoka, played by Shahrukh Khan? Well, the sword in it is a dead-ringer for Elric's Stormbringer.
I noticed this when the movie first came out years ago, but no one else seem to make anything of it, but now I've found another blogger (war games) out there who's noticed this.
Wonder where that prop sword is now? Can I have it pleeease!
It's 1978 and Richie Di Maso (Bradley Cooper) entraps con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and his partner/girlfriend Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), and then uses them to pose as advisers to a fake Sheikh, so that they can try and bribe a New Jersey mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). This is all complicated by a Mafia connection (Robert De Niro) and Irving's insanely unstable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence).
Very well acted by everyone, but particularly by the two female co-stars. Amy Adams is incredibly alluring and Jennifer Lawrence absolutely terrifying.
The hair is almost a character in itself. Elaborate coiffures. Amazing.
Loosely based on the real FBI's ABSCAM, anti-corruption sting operation.
The Bale character, in real life, was a guy called Mel Weinberg.
This is Shane Carruth's (Primer (2004)) second feature.
The film follows the life-cycle of a worm-like creature that has the effect of connecting, and also transmitting, the memories of people infected by it.
I particularly enjoyed watching Amy Seimetz's deeply affecting portrayal of a victim of forced infection.
I must admit, although I watched the film closely, I did have to read the Wiki later to clarify the story in my mind.
Despite a few initial unfavourable comparisons (mainly by professional critics) to Terence Malick's awful (in my opinion) The Tree of Life (2011), it is, in fact, a straight sci-fi horror and seems to be picking up a lot of acclaim. I can well imagine this becoming a cult classic like Primer.
This lasted a single season on SyFy before being axed.
It is a found-footage type of drama, not surprising as it was made by the creator of Paranormal Activity (2007).
A nature filmmaker goes missing on the Amazon and his estranged family, accompanied by a reality TV film crew, try to track him down.
The I watched the first episode and, initially, I found it engrossing, but it suddenly descends into utter hocus pocus. If they had taken the time to slowly draw the viewer in, it might have been different. It is not credible to expect us to believe that a bunch of modern humans would suddenly buy into mysticism and folklore.
According to the producer, Stephen Moffat, a fourth and fifth series are planned.
The last episode of the current series will air this Sunday (12 January 2014).
I am enjoying the way they are continuing to tweak the work of Conan-Doyle, though I have a couple of gripes. The little Jack the Ripper scene from episode 1 and the stabbing plot of episode 2 seem a bit silly to me.
This is one of my, and many other people's, favourite Sci-Fi stories.
The basics are that a couple are convinced, by an eccentric architect, to hire him to build a house based on a complicated topology. There is an earthquake on the night before the viewing and the house has collapsed into a weird transdimensional configuration.
The thing is that it is a short, funny, pleasant story where no one dies, yet is still great sci-fi.
Apparently it was optioned for film quite a while ago and a script was written, but that's it. I think the problem is that we don't have a programme like the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits any more because I'm not sure how you could stretch this out into a full-length movie.
Still, the story is still a masterpiece and can be found here.
Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. A sort of violent mixture of sci-fi and fantasy. A bit Star Warsy/Game of Thronesy (according to Wiki) and not for kids.
Alana (winged human) and Marko (satyr-like human magic-user) are a couple of deserters from opposing sides in an space war who have fallen in love and married. The are on the run from both sides and one particularly tough bounty hunter very reminiscent of Bobba Fett (without the Mandalorian battle armour).
Well received, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on V.2.
Remember a superior handheld console called the Neo Geo? I can't remember the games, but I remember the demos, back in the 90s.
Anyway, I was flicking through a gaming mag that I occasionally read and I noticed that it's back with games, a docking station, and an external arcade joystick/controller.
I would like to thank you for downloading this podcast. I know because I regularly check my AWStats logs and I can see that I'm getting a few people out there downloading. Not a lot, but at least I'm up to double figures now!
Secondly, I'd like to thank fellow podcasters over at SciFiTechTalk who gave me a little plug in their last show. Thanks people!