Prometheus – Movie Review

Prometheus raises a lot of questions, starting with whether or not this is really a prequel to the Alien trilogy. Let’s call it a loose prequel because there are no direct connections between this movie and the Alien movies. There are definitely a lot of echoes (prechoes?), including the self-serving super-corporation, untrustworthy androids, deadly creatures…

Snow White and the Huntsman – Movie Review

I don’t know about “fairest”, but this Snow White was by far the dullest and most disappointing movie I’ve seen all year. It may be difficult to give a new spin to a classic story that everyone already knows, but it’s not enough to simply throw familiar actors, fancy costumes and special effects at it…

Men In Black III – Movie Review

Does the role of Agent J allow Will Smith to be cool, or is it Smith’s coolness that makes the role? Either way, Smith’s reprising his role as Agent J seems to have restored some of the Fresh Prince mojo that seems to have been lacking from recent roles (which have tended to be on…

Fall TV Preview 2012

A year ago, when I previewed the new shows that debuted last fall (gosh! has a year passed already?) I separated the previews into sci-fi and non-sci-fi. This fall, I’m sad to report that there will be so little in that first category that it doesn’t warrant a category. Last year saw the last show…

2012 TV Season Wrap-up

Nowadays, courtesy of the Internet information machine, we are privy to what used to be considered “insider” info about the TV biz. We find out in May (courtesy of the “upfront” presentations where the networks unveil their fall schedules) which shows will be returning in the fall, and which ones won’t. We also get a…

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – Capsule Book Review

All over the tents, small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies. The waiting crowd quiets as it watches this display of illumination. Someone near you gasps. A small child claps his hands with glee at the sight. When the tents are all aglow, sparkling…

The Avengers – Movie Review

When I heard that Marvel Entertainment was planning to do individual superhero movies that would culminate in The Avengers bringing all the characters and cast together in a superhero team movie, it seemed ambitious to say the least. Thank goodness they got a capable director like Joss Whedon, who’s also a genre/comic book fan himself….

Cabin In The Woods – Movie Review

Most of the hype around this movie is about two things: how it defies (or plays with) conventions of the horror movie genre; and how it took (courtesy of the fall of studios) three years to see the light of movie screens. I don’t have much to say about the second topic, but the first…