By Roy Mathur, on 2025-04-28, at 23:11:19 to 00:11:28 BST, for Captain Roy's Rusty Rocket Radio Show
None-sffh content has gone because life's too short, though I'm still reporting the odd bit of personal UK geek life.
The show notes are also deliberately becoming briefer and less purple to give me space for spontaneity.
Riya wakes up alone on strange planet with no memory and violent flashbacks. Aaron Paul arrives with a rescue ship and her memory unfortunately begins to return.
I first thought Pandorum from the trailer, which is exactly my kind of film because I can relate to a protagonist lost, alone, haunted, in mortal terror, facing a terrible twist at the end and that is what we get. Clearly influenced by FPSs like Quake, some of the acting is wonky and FX silly, as is the unnecessary alien dialogue, but I liked it because the creature design filled me with 80s nostalgia, particularly when Aaron Paul morphs into something reminiscent of Rob Bottin's Thing from The Thing. Dark, bloody, brooding science fiction horror, with no happy ending and a very funny cheery Japanese autodoc with a hammer in the head animation representing blunt force trauma. The ash is never really explained.
Bong Joon Ho's (Snowpiercer, Parasite) 2025 science fiction film based on Mickey7 novel by Edward Ashton, in which loser Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) signs on as a Expendable, cloned each time he is killed, working on a dangerous colony world led by a disruptive entrepreneur pastiche of Elon Musk, L. Ron Hubbard, and Donald Trump (Mark Ruffalo).
Steals from Blade Runner (Print Job instead of Skin Job), Red Dwarf (printing crew/jam, Pattinson's evil 18's teeth and mop look like Dawayne Dibley), Multiplicity (clones), The 6th Day (illegal clones), Moon (expendable clones), Repo Men (double chainsaw violence), a supposed comedy, but grim rather than funny, though the anti-migration movement parodying anti-immigration made me laugh. Making a alien tentacular beetle-slug cute is quite the feat. The fur helped.
2025 science fiction film by the Russos, based on Swede Simon Stalenhag's titular 2018 art book, which I recall flipping through years ago. Stars Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and a host of distinguished actors.
Helped by cute robots and loveable rogue Pratt, Brown attempts rescuing her sick little brother from a Bezos/Jobs/Musk/Zuck-alike using him as a supercomputer, through a burnt out, retro-futuristic, post-robot war, alternate history America.
Overly schmaltzy and the script is lacklustre, though there are funny lines, e.g., "Touch my hair and I'll kill you." and, "The peanut has the keys to its peanut". I love sci-fi art and thought the eye-candy wasn't bad, but nowhere near evocative as the book, which works because it relies on illustration more than story. Seriously, stop blaming robots!
Season 2 is upon us. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) returns as the doomed spy in this Star Wars: Rogue One prequel. NB this, classic Doctor Who, New Who, and The X-Files (mytharc), are all the TV I'm currently watching.
In the first 3 episodes, Cassian steals prototype TIE-fighter, but is captured by disorganised and paranoid rebels, while Bix and crew await, hiding from Imperials on agricultural planet. Meanwhile, Mon Mothma is enduring her daughter's arranged marriage (cool/corny throwing shapes rave scene), while intrigues abound. On Corusant, Dedra is promoted, living with Cyril, and they have an excruciating dinner with his repulsive mother... triple urgh.
The tension is unbearable, even though we're not in an Imperial prison this season. I have also come to the realisation that I would not be a heroic rebel in Star Wars, Dune, or Blake's 7---as I have often fantasised aloud---but a cowardly, skulking rat, eking out a lonely existence in a forgotten flea pit corner of the galaxy. Has everyone, except me, already realised Varada Sethu (Belinda Chandra on DW) is Cinta Kaz?
The Fifteen Doctor is Ncuti Gatwa, his companion is Belinda Chandra played by Varada Sethu. Written by RTD and Sharma Angel Walfall, directed by Amanda Brotchie. This is episode 3 of season 15 of New Who or season 2 on iPlayer and Disney+ (story 315), c.45 minute running time, released Saturday the 26th of April 2025.
Doc and Belinda and troops investigate sudden massacre at mining operation. The planet is actually Midnight, the invisible monster now hides behind the deaf sole survivor and will and does kill all who see it. The officer lets herself become attached to it and jumps into the pit from whence it emerged.
With that title, I was hoping for proper sci-fi horror and, to an extent, it was, so thank you. Britney's Toxic in space fetish wear was mildly amusing, but the rapid Mr Ben costume changes are annoying as I'd like to revisit the dressing room. The station lighting should have been more dramatic. Murray Gold needs to take a chill pill. I don't care that RTD, an ex-Eastenders writer, loves Anita Dobson---she was great as Angie---I'm sick of Mrs Flood. Blow her up, disintegrate, or laser her, please. A mildly distracting unmemorable adventure, derivative to the point where it not only dipped into IP like Aliens, but it cannibalised itself (The Satan Pit, Midnight, Turn Left, Listen). Finally, the vindicator having them trip all over time and space to get Belinda home is a weak arc, though I am currently revisiting The Trail of a Time Lord, so plus ca change, etc. Davies' 73 Yards, like Moffat's Blink, whose fandom Davies satirises in Lux, remains his best episode and that too is, ironically, largely Doctorless.
Since last time's bicyle news and copyright issues... I'm walking much much more and I started kayaking again on Friday evening and everything hurts. Add a social media blowout from feeling under appreciated as a podcaster, stupidly failing to install Ubuntu in dual boot mode, and a wonderful macro I took of a bee on a dandelion also on Friday afternoon, then that about sums up my wildly out-of-kilter mentality.
Sunday was a tiring day of editing the last podcast and squeezing in a tour of Bradwell Priory and Pilgrims' Chapel. I finally saw the interior of the chapel with the only artistic depictions of Medieval pilgrims in England. A guide jokingly said the area is the most haunted area in Buckinghamshire, but I've walked past many many times at all hours and have not been lucky enough to bump into a spook yet. Should I tell them about my imaginary friend Lucius, so proud of his grapes at Bancroft Villa? It was a beautifully sunny day, too sunny, I think I burnt my right ear. I conked out after lunch.
This pod is late because I couldn't find a quiet time, so instead I decided on a motorcycle ride, but the garage door jammed again. By the time the noise had abated, I was suffering from a pulled rib and was in a bit of a huff, which is a problem when flying solo because passengers can tell when their captain is bananas.
Hoovered and finally scrubbed Dad's bedroom carpet that looks like ritual sacrifice had taken place. A man came to unjam the door this afternoon and immediately I vroomed the bike up the road like it was a Nimbus 2000. Later, I took Darth's TIE to Asda to buy my lunch and a man saw my Bauhaus T-shirt and said Pete Murphy's coming to the Bowl. I think my belly-up mental state didn't vibe. I'm too genuinely peculiar and miserable to be a proper goth.
I forgot to mention the first evil god, the Toy Maker.