Tag: science fiction

Stranger Things – More King Than King

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The Netflix series that flew in pretty much under the radar and is now the water cooler show of the summer feels like one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever – even though the author has nothing to do with Stranger Things.

Of course the eight part series doesn’t just reference King, there are a lot more ingredients mixed into this charming concoction – everything from Alien and Aliens, John Carpenter movies (plus a massively Carpenter-inspired score, by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein), The Gate, The Monster Squad, Blow Out, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scanners, Videodrome and a whole lot more. It’s also a love letter to the 1980s movies of Steven Spielberg, particularly E.T.; The Extra Terrestrial and The Goonies, as well as to the decade itself (during which the show is set).

But most of all, the film calls back to Stephen King books, films and TV series such as Firestarter, The Tommyknockers, Stand By Me and many more. Creators/co-producers and directors Matt and Ross Duffer get to the heart of what makes King’s work so successful, by giving us ordinary, down-to-earth (and decidedly blue collar) characters who we come to care for. It seems like a simple trick, but it’s one that proves elusive to many.

When 12-year-old Will Byers vanishes, his mother, Joyce, becomes frantic and tries to find him, while the local Police Chief, Jim Hopper begins his own investigation. The very next day a mysterious girl with strange abilities appears. These events soon start to involve others in the small town, including a dark government agency with their own agenda involving these two children.

The casting here, by Carmen Cuba, deserves special mention and is superb. The children give really likeable and heartfelt performances, with special mention going to Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Finn Wolfhard.

Every character gets moments to shine, and even those we’re supposed to dislike get real moments of humanity. The biggest exception to this is chief antagonist Dr. Martin Brenner, played by Matthew Modine (channeling David Cronenberg in Clive Barker’s Nightbreed, perhaps?), who remains cold and unknowable. I’m not certain if this is a deliberate choice of the production but it serves to leave something of a hole at the centre of things.

Of the adults, both Winona Ryder, as Joyce, and David Harbour, as Jim Hopper, give very strong, anchoring performances. Hopper really is the quintessential Stephen King protagonist, the cracked and frayed working man who becomes heroic despite his frailties.

Mixing horror and science fiction with big dollops of humour and heart (the relationships between the four central children are not only relatable but warm and very funny, and there are some real tear-inducing moments between them), Stranger Things, despite a small, niggling feeling of anti-climax, tells a mostly satisfactory, self-contained story – though I’m sure its surprise success will have many viewers calling for more – and there are certainly enough threads left hanging.

While there’s nothing startlingly original here, the way these ingredients are prepared feels both fresh and familiar, and the show is a hoot for those who know and love any of the productions I’ve mentioned (or just the 1980s) but more than stands on its own feet to provide a summer surprise which will keep you glued to your sofa.

King himself took to Twitter to praise the show, saying “Watching STRANGER THINGS is like watching Steve King’s Greatest Hits. I mean that in a good way”, and if it’s good enough for the master of horror, well…

Look out! It’s the new Godzilla Resurgence trailer!

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One of Japan’s biggest exports (probably falling somewhere behind motor vehicles and sushi) is Godzilla, and I’m very excited about the prospect of a brand new movie featuring the grumpy, radioactive monster.

The first Toho production of their most bankable star since 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla Resurgence will trample through Japanese cinemas on July 29, helmed by filmmakers Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi (known for their work on Neon Genesis Evangelion and the live-action Attack on Titan). Anno also wrote the screenplay for the film, while Higuchi oversaw the special effects.

While little is currently known about the storyline, it’s a fairly safe bet that there will be a huge amount of property damage, the Japanese army will waste vast amounts of ammunition and Godzilla is unlikely to tell any jokes.

Higuchi has previously revealed they will utilize CG technology for the film, calling their monster the “most terrifying” version of Godzilla to date.

Toho have just released a second trailer for the film (see above) through their YouTube channel and it looks massively impressive, with some wonderfully atmospheric shots of the big guy (and a lot of very worried looking people in a variety of offices), set against a suitably portentous score by Shiro Sagisu.

Having just returned from a trip to Tokyo, it’s clear that Toho are really getting behind this latest production, as there is a veritable avalanche of Godzilla promotions and merchandise available everywhere, from department stores to restaurants to art galleries.

As much as I enjoyed Gareth Edwards’ 2014 movie, I can’t wait to see Godzilla stomping through his old neighbourhood, as Japan gets ready to crumble!

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Star Trek And Chill!

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In news sure to excite Netflix subscribers around the world, the new Star Trek TV series will head to the channel in 2017.

The still untitled series will air in the U.S. and Canada on the CBS All Access channel, but Netflix has secured worldwide rights (outside of these two countries) for its 188 territories, and each episode will be broadcast within 24 hours of its U.S. premiere.

This is fantastic news to everyone except torrent pirates (who were no doubt expecting a torrent party with the show only airing on the CBS exclusive channel), and adds to the already huge buzz about the first Star Trek TV production since Scott Bakula and crew sailed off into the galactic sunset with Star Trek: Enterprise, in 2005.

Additionally, and in a move certainly intended to build and prime a new audience for the new series, all 727 existing episodes of the iconic Star Trek television library – including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and the previously mentioned Star Trek: Enterprise will be available on Netflix around the world by the end of 2016.

Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller are co-creators and executive producers for the new Star Trek, based on Gene Roddenberry’s original series. Fuller launched his career writing for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, and created highly regarded TV series including Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies and the sorely-missed Hannibal. Kurtzman is co-writer and producer of the blockbuster films Star Trek and, rather less thrillingly, Star Trek Into Darkness.

Set to begin airing in January 2017, we can only hope this show carries on the pioneering spirit of Roddenberry’s original series, which aired from 1966 – 1969 and was followed by a slew of movies and TV shows.

Between this news, positive word of mouth on the new feature film, Star Trek Beyond, and Paramount’s announcement that Star Trek 4 will move ahead with the current movie crew and with Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as Kirk’s father, George (last seen sacrificing his life for his wife and son in the 2009 reboot), it seems there’s still going to be plenty of chances for man and woman to go boldly beyond the franchise’s 50th anniversary!

Source: Netflix

Independence Day: Resurgence – bad, but not bad.

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Let’s get this straight from the start: the very, very belated sequel to Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich’s 1996 blockbuster is utterly predictable, suffers from a mostly leaden script, is occasionally silly, and is definitely not too smart. It is what many would term a ‘bad’ film.

However, for all that, I’m going to defend it for sneaking in a lot of intriguing ideas, and for the fact that not once during its 120 minute running time did I feel bored or was I overwhelmed by Michael Bay/Transformers-style “too many E numbers” compositions or editing. In short, was I not entertained? Well, yes, I was.

The plot itself can be written on the back of a (small) popcorn box – it’s twenty years later, the aliens return in a bigger ship, a bunch of stuff happens, things look bad for mankind and (SPOILER ALERT) we kick their slimy asses.

This all runs pretty much as expected (in fact, exactly as expected). Most of the surviving characters from ID4 crop up and run through their shtick, with the huge exception of Will Smith, who obviously felt this wasn’t going to be his much needed return to blockbusterville. The lack of Smith gives us more time to spend with Jeff Goldblum, and this should always be considered a benefit.

Now, snuck into all this predictable guff are some highly admirable concepts and character arcs, and this is where things get interesting. The world that ID:R posits is that the two decades since the first invasion have seen mankind put aside its petty international squabbling and come together as a unified planet (and boy, as someone from the UK, does that hit home right now), it also expands on the background of the aliens interestingly.

Many of the supporting characters are also shown to be normal people doing good and heroic things in terrible circumstances (above and beyond the super heroics of the chiseled leads): there’s a rather nice arc where Judd Hirsch’s character is saved by some orphaned children and then, later in the narrative, he stops his flight to find his son to save another group of stranded children. It’s a nicely understated piece of karmic business that wouldn’t hope to exist in many modern blockbusters. There’s also a subtle but definite gay relationship gifted to one of the returning characters, it’s a nice addition handled in a nice way.

These positive views of the human race and their heroic acts and ideas shine quite brightly through the otherwise by-the-numbers story and frequently risible, exposition heavy dialogue, and when added to always clear film making (definitely something of a rarity these days), plus some genuinely cool sequences (the climax, involving the alien queen and a whirling fleet of alien ships, while dumb as a box of frogs, is undeniably visually exciting) it shows that Independence Day: Resurgence is far from the complete disaster many reviews have suggested.

For a bad movie it sure has a lot of good qualities.