By Roy Mathur, on 2025-09-03, at 23:00:00 to 00:21:30 BST, for Captain Roy's Rusty Rocket Radio Show
This is a re-recommendation for Simon Hawkes excellent pop-corn adult sci-fi action TimeWars series of books, starting with the above from 1984. It's about time commandos fighting a war against those who would disrupt time.
Imagine a looseMichael Crichton's Timeline/James Bond/Doctor Who crossover. In the first book, there are knights and wizards, but it's not fantasy, but sci-fi.
In my rewatch, which I enjoyed, I was impressed (re-impressed?) at the genius of how the film gathers in all the (web?) strands from the comics so coherently.
Another rewatch in which I'm again more forgiving of flaws. Apart from liking wizards, so much is dependent on how, when, mood, and also MCU films have so much in them and so many Easter eggs, that they require at least a second viewing. I am also wildly attracted to Scarlet Witch.
I revisited Kang's excellent debut and commiserated on the decision to eviscerate the Kang the Conquerer movie and dig up Robert Downey Junior to play Doctor Doom instead, after Jonathan Majors' fall from grace.
As I said in pod 484 that it was lacklustre, but again, see above.
James Gunn gives us an entertaining Superman 2025 movie, with a new actor and unruly CGI Krypto the Superdog is super-cute (this version belongs to party-girl Kara).
The script tries to have it's heart in the right place, but somehow ends up a paean to American exceptionalism. The US government, in cahoots weapons firm LexCorp (literally the military-industrial complex), rendition the alien immigrant to somewhere suspiciously like Gitmo, the portal to a black site in the most no man's land ever. All topical and relevant, if a little late, but then there's the white savourism. Somehow, America ends up still being the land of the free in this and most superhero films, both DCU and MCU, which is something I find rich after Afghanistan, China, Myanmar, Gaza, etc. I'm conflicted. I like the idea of a wholesome good and idealistic Superman, but in this political climate shouldn't the Man of Steel should be booting Trumpians dictators up the arse?
Another ghastly James Wan (Conjuring, Aquaman, Malignant) 2025 schlockfest. This time it's an adaptation of Stephen King's 1980 short story, very much in the comic vein of Final Destination, with a bit of Home Alone.
With the exception of Dev Patel (not in this), pop culture still sees us Asians as cannon fodder, so less than five minutes in, the first kill is an Asian. The kills continue in less probable ways and the cheerleaders reminded me of Robert Altman's penchant for randomness. King fans won't be expecting this.
Gareth Edwards directs 2025 film in which big pharma goon (Rupert Friend) hires scumbag money-grubbing merc (Scarlett Johansson) to steal samples from dinos, while a shipwrecked family tag along.
It's beautiful looking and would actually be exciting, except through most of the film you hope the ex-Blackwater arseholes painted as heroes die because of their puke-inducing morally bankrupt mission. And the showstopping Alien-like kaiju only has minutes of fame in long long movie.
We talked about entertaining Oz horror Talk to Me in pod 510 that gave a present day loose reboot to necromancy with it's hand of glory. By loose, if it works at all (Leonardo didn't think so), that's not how it's supposed to work. Three years later, here's another by the same filmmakers. It's about a dodgy foster mother, who takes in two traumatised teenagers---a protective older boy and his blind sister---after their father dies suddenly. She is also grief stricken over her natural daughter's death and plans to bring her back from the dead, DIY, learning from a necromancy instructional video on how to transfer souls.
As another nonsensical, but imaginative, take on necromancy, it's shocking, bloody, violent, cannibalistic, and disturbing, but stutters unbelievably when the hitherto grooming, gaslighting, abusive, and gleefully manipulative woman suddenly develops a conscience. I believe in redemption, but it's an unearned twist.
Incidentally, I saw a TikTok interview with the filmmakers, which explains exactly why I seldom have guests.
2025 continuation of the original 90s blackly comedic schlock horror films, refreshing in that it's a series that seems based on a line from The Doors' album. This is the last film of deep voiced cult horror star Tony Todd, the original and best Candyman, who plays William John Bludworth, a coroner and death expert in the series. Very sick at the time of shooting, he was asked to improvise his last lines as a tribute to fans. He said, "I intend to enjoy the time I have left, and I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when... Good luck." Goodbye, Tony.
This new film with a new cast is about a family trying to outwit death after the matriarch escapes her fate many years ago. The initial tower disaster is started by a terrible child with a penny; an amusing subversion of the danger of a penny dropped from a height urban myth. As usual, we are meant to think some kills are justified. There's no sympathy for the chopped maitre d at the beginning and obnoxious, pierced, tattooed Erik, who isn't even cursed, survives being hung by the face only to succumb to a berserk MRI (predicting a horrible IRL accident in July). In other words, the multiple kills are the usual ghastly whiz-bang Heath Robinson marble run. There is a scene involving a Swiss Army Knife that an owner like me (two Climbers since the 90s) doesn't need to see.
The building at the beginning with the big silver crab is the Vancouver Museum, with a CGI'd in big tower. I know it well as I volunteered there as an artifact researcher and made a friend (where are they now?) in the 2000s. I remember the huge colourful dragonflies flitting outside.
Stephen King 2025 TV adaptation of his 2019 novel, in which a brilliant, mildly telekinetic kid is kidnapped and imprisoned in a training facility for child assassins, where they stay until no longer needed, whereupon... Luckily, there's a stock Stephen King noble, heroic drifter in town. It reminded me of Carrie, The Dead Zone, Firestarter, The Tommyknockers, and Dreamcatcher, Christopher Pike's The Midnight Club, James Patterson's Maximum Ride books, Minority Report, Stranger Things, and The New Mutants which I have not seen.
The baddies are Mengele-level sadists led by Mary-Louise Parker and I was somewhat reminded me of One Foot in the Grave: Hearts of Darkness S4 E3 (1993). I didn't enjoy the grimness or sadness, but found it engaging. How likely a scenario is this? Liberal democracies do a lot of nasty shit in the name of the greater good; Tuskegee, MK Ultra, Porton Down, but there are easier ways to bump people off than the psychic assassin trope (The Fury, Possessor, etc.)
Ridiculous joint CBS and BBC 2025 historical revisionist history of the run up to the battle of Hastings on the 14th October 1066 and Duke William of Normandy's conquest of Harold Godwinson's England.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is far too old to play William, the acting is tired, the scenery is drab, the language too GoT modern, and Harold's villainous brother is too keen to repeatedly excercise the semi-mythical droit du seigneur without consequence.
2025 Channel 4 miniseries about a stewardess whose son is framed to pressure her into becoming a drugs mule.
The grounded drama goes sky-high potty towards the end as she unrealistically turns the screws on her tormentor.
I've been listening on and off to stand-up comedian Marc Maron's interview podcast WTF for years. After 16 years it's shutting up shop this year. Maron said he and his producer are "burnt out" but "utterly satisfied..." (See Cain, Sian, Guardian, 2025-06-03). Ending the podcast it is not going to damage his career with so much media work he has got largely on the strength of it.
As I long-term listener, I know Maron's story, but if you don't his biographical documentary Are We Good? is out in Autumn.