Film Review: Stalker (1979)

Next time you take a roadside picnic and throw something away in the grass, take a moment to consider what happens next. Ants will come out to pick up and carry the crumbs away. Birds will peck at seeds and fruits. Maybe some badger will grab a wrapper and get his head stuck in it. Suppose you chuck an alkaline battery away, or a canister of oil? Mere leftovers for us become mysterious and deadly artifacts for lesser creatures.

This was the basic premise behind Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's book, Roadside Picnic. What if aliens landed on Earth and left some junk behind? People and governments would surely covet it. It could become a whole new kind of black market. But what effects would such artifacts have on lesser beings like us?

1979's Stalker adopts this premise into a one-of-a-kind vision. From its opening credits onward, the film is seeped in hard, gritty textures and drab colors. In this bleak setting, the nameless Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky, notably bald, scrawny, and kinda alien-looking) takes a job to escort two clients into the Zone--the place where a meteorite crashed and became quarantined by the military. One man is a writer (Anatoly Solonitsyn) looking for inspiration. The other, a professor (Nikolai Grinko) looking for scientific discovery. Despite the heavy guard and the threat of never coming back, the three break through and progress through the Zone. We never see any psychical threats, but the trio always react with fear and anxiety over invisible traps and unseen entities. Passing through dark corridors and ruins, truths are unearthed about each character, which puts their whole endeavor into question and endangers them all.

This is a long and mopey film. Gone are the pulp fiction roots of the original story--Tarkovsky sought to craft a meditative experience out of this, sculpting viewers' time as he always did to draw out each moment and force you to think about what's on screen and what's being said. It might be agony for some viewers, because each shot lingers for long, long, long stretches of time. It kills the pacing, especially when the characters stop moving and decide to discuss philosophy for minutes on end.

Fortunately, this film will reward patient viewers. The combination of dreary visuals and sharp writing directs the audience to contemplate greater implications of the journey. It's not so much about three guys walking through the woods--it's an allegory to religious pilgrimage, and synonymous to living life itself. The entire trip challenges each characters' faith, as they question the existence and validity of an all-powerful Room that promises them happiness and fulfilled wishes. Each performer puts on melancholy and understated performances, accentuating the stillness of the cinematography and the quietness of the soundtrack. The sheer mood suggests cynicism towards society, the arts, science, religion--the entirety of mankind. Viewers can infer any number of conclusions, as the Stalker himself distresses over how people lost their way.

This is one of the ultimates in arthouse cinema. Stalker has cinematography like no other, showcasing places and people so dark, but with a delicate touch that implies greater beauty in nature and power of forces above and beyond mankind. Best of all, the film offers content worth contemplating and reflecting on. Tarkovsky and the crew suffered toxic environments to realize this vision. Then, the film was destroyed--the Soviet laboratories were unfamiliar with the film stock and it was improperly developed. Tensions with the cinematographer (who was subsequently fired) only accentuated the frustration and cynicism Tarkovsky felt, before having to re-shoot the entire film again. What's left might be a reflection of his own anguish. And we are given a chance to stare into his abyss, to see what stares back at us.

If you have the interest, the patience, the willpower, the film is a must-see.

4/5

Video Game Review: Doom (2016)

"Weaponizing demons for a better tomorrow."—UAC slogan.
---------------------
Video games have come a long ways in 23 years. In the 90s, Doom was one of the biggest game-changers of the industry. It was a smooth, rip-roaring demon-slaying experience, with its own unique texture and style. It paved the way for hundreds more FPS games to follow in its wake. Isn't it strange that after all this time, there's only been two official sequels? Since the release of Doom 3, shooting games fell into a pretty generic niche, thanks to a plethora of military-themed titles. We've seen more innovation out of Bioshock, Tomb Raider, The Last Of Us, Heavy Rain, and other odd places. Where has Doom been all this time?

As it turns out, Doom 4 was in development for a while, but had to be scrapped because it just wasn't cutting it. Developed from the ground-up, 2016's Doom is made as a return to form. It's not the harrowing horror/survival ordeal that game #3 was, this was designed to tap into the energy and spirit of the original saga. So the question now is, did id and Bethesda succeed?

I was honestly afraid to play this game, remembering how unsettling Doom 3 was. I wasn't sure I could handle the new Doom, especially after hearing that many levels would force you to clear out hoards of demons in large arena-style levels before being able to move on. It sounded punishing.

It's not. Like all great games, 2016's Doom is empowering—the game offers you immense firepower, speed, and abilities to turn you into a fast and vicious demon-slayer. It's challenging, but hardly impossible—the game is smooth and fast, and you have to stay fast to make it past each area. You get a pretty nice arsenal of guns (everything from a puny pistol to a chainsaw to the Super Shotgun to the BFG and everything). You get upgrades that can make you a faster and better marine. You get powerups at key spots. One really wicked feature that makes this game even more empowering is "glory kills," which allow you to rip demons apart with your bare hands. The game might seem imposing when you start, but once you unlock weapons and upgrades, it's a breeze (unless, if you're a real hardcore gamer who craves a challenge, you can always play the campaign on nightmare mode). Each level is immaculately detailed and well-designed, with secrets in many interesting corners, and a lot of awesome scenery to behold. Populated by so many recognizable creatures (everything from imps to the Spider Mastermind), the game is a massive throwback, but its experience is genuinely fresh and awesome.

The games wastes little time in developing its story. From the opening onwards, you snap into action, finding yourself in the middle of a ruined Martian base overrun by demons. As you progress, you'll catch on to what happened. There are just a few characters to the game—there's not much development to them. I wish there could be more substance to the story, but for Doom, it's fine for what it is. Just like the original two games, story is not the main draw, its just a way to string levels together. In this case, the story's a little better than the original game, but not quite as complete as Doom 3.

On top of that, the game offers a few solid multiplayer options. The classic game modes—deathmatches and such—are available and are fine for what they are. It's pretty standard: you join a match, you shoot people, you level up and keep going. You can choose some loadouts, but it's far simpler (and less refined) than a Call of Duty game. A far more interesting feature is the Snapmap mode, which allows you to construct levels with modular tools. The array of rooms and objects available is limited, but logic tools let you design games with countless possibilities. It can be quite adventurous and intriguing to see what inventive levels users have published using these simple features.

The game itself looks pretty sharp and polished. It sports decent textures, lighting, rendering, and very smooth animation. Sounds and voices are good—music is smashing. This game is well-written, more in the sense that the game shows you its ideas through the gaming experience rather than dialogue.

Just when I thought Doom wasn't for me, this game comes along and reminds me of what it is that made the originals so appealing. Far less clunky and more polished than its predecessors, I'd say this is the best one of the lot. It successfully empowers and immerses you in the hellish fantasy of a demon-stomping marine. It can't get much more awesome than that.

4.5/5

Film Review: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

"The light — It's always been there. It'll guide you." - Lupita Nyong'o
--------------------
It's easy to become burned out over Star Wars. 38 years ago, the original film whetted audiences appetites for escapist adventure and fantasy, with spectacles the likes of which had never seen before. The original magic and charm became buried beneath the vitriol and controversy surrounding the sequels, prequels, revisions, spin-offs, and more. With George Lucas selling his company to Disney in 2012, the floodgates suddenly opened for a wave of new talent - writers, directors, actors, and more - to pick up the legacy of this troubled series and take into the next generation.

The Force Awakens is certainly the experience Star Wars fans crave. It has spectacular action - it starts off hard and fast with stormtroopers razing a village and fighters clashing in the skies. The most spectacular sequences include a breakneck chase scene over deserts and through the heart of a crashed spaceship. The last act is an all-out battle that shows X-Wings battling TIE fighters while the characters duke it out with blasters and lightsabers. It's all fast and it's some of the biggest scenes in the series.

Fortunately, it's not all that exhausting either - the film finds a decent balance between the spectacle, humor, and rolling the story forward. Most reviewers have generalized this as a remake of A New Hope. Undeniably, the film banks quite a bit on nostalgia, and it does repeat the broad story beats of the original films. Despite the notable similarities, I never once felt that I was being beaten over the head by nostalgia. It's merely a knuckle in the overall fist that smashes the face of Star Wars apathy. Even with familiar faces returning, the film's focus is firmly set on new characters, and they are truly a lovable bunch. Finn and Rey are heroes who elicit great empathy in their struggles, and show a lot of personality and character through their various nuances (which is especially phenomenal given the short amount of time they actually have to develop in the midst of so much action). Kylo Ren may come off as a whiny emo kid, but he is far more volatile than any before him, and he's clearly a conflicted soul with depth to him that's begging to be explored. Once the motivations are clear for these characters, one can't help but to wonder what directions they will go next.

Unfortunately, that leads me to wonder what else is left unsaid in the film. Many questions won't be answered until the next episode. Others can only be speculated in the gap between this and Return of the Jedi (I personally wish more was said about the New Republic, the New Order, Snoke, and other odd things). Characters like General Hux and Captain Phasma are great to behold, but are the shallowest characters of the lot and receive very little screen time.

Despite the even flow and attention to characters, the plot itself is fast and loose (come to think of it, all of JJ Abrams' films are like that). There are a few gaps and plot holes that can either be shrugged off, or may become points of contention for fans.  Parts of it seem to be rushed.  The film's biggest issue is that, like a Marvel movie, it is built to bridge a franchise, rather than to craft an original story. It requires knowledge of what happened before, and it sets up what will happen next. The film does its job admirably to revitalize the series with new faces, an expanded universe, and the old-fashioned sense of adventure. With recycled scenes and archetypes, however, some audiences won't be so easily swayed.

Of all the Star Wars films, this may be one of the best-looking ones of the lot. Filmmakers took great care to craft a plethora of authentic new creatures, sets, props, weapons, vehicles, costumes, and more. The film is packed with real-looking places and things, lending it the same sense of realism that made the original so jarring. What computer-generated effects the film has are spectacular and take nothing away from the experience. An even more pleasant surprise is in the acting and the script. Dialogue is often sharp, witty, and provides enough depth to make the story feel more relevant (even if it is a retread). Daisy Ridley brings Rey to life beautifully, with a commanding presence and emotional range. John Boyega's performance is superb and fun to watch. Oscar Isaac is surprisingly playful as Poe Dameron. Adam Driver portrays rage and tragedy very well in his part. Despite his age, Harrison Ford inhabits the body of Han Solo like wearing an old jacket, and he's surprisingly endearing that way. Carrie Fischer still plays it tough as Leia. Lupita Nyong'o plays an alien, and it's interesting. With so many players going all at once, what matters the most is that all of them pull their weight so that every little face, gesture, and word contributes to their respective characterization, giving much more depth to them through the art of showing more than telling. John Williams' music score is notably different, but I believe it lends the movie its own unique style and feeling.

Some might call this an unoriginal sellout, lacking in the boldness that the other films presented. However, it is a well-crafted crowd-pleaser. It entertains not only through its action, but also captivates with its characters. What I like about it the most is that, like many of my other favorites (including the original Star Wars), its nuances show more than tell, to capture and let our own imaginations fill in the gaps. With my own imagination filling with the possibilities of what could happen next, my appetite is now whetted for the next episode, and any Star Wars fatigue I had is gone.

4.5/5

Novel: Rider of the White Horse Now Available!

Rider of the White Horse was the first novel I've ever written.  It was published in 2002 by Authorhouse (formerly 1st Library), and is now being prepared in a new edition for CreateSpace.

It is now available and can be purchased on CreateSpace or Amazon.

Synopsis:
The Earth becomes a wasteland, following an onslaught of nuclear war and environmental disaster.  Most of the world is conquered by the mysterious Klokan Empire.  With advanced technology and an army of clone soldiers, they systematically exterminate all remaining human beings in a terrifying holocaust.

One clone soldier becomes gifted with an insight and spirit that sets him apart from the others, and he sees the Klokan Empire for the evil it is.  He defects and becomes Kurt Stone, a deadly agent for the last human nation on Earth.  He turns the tide of every battle, pushing the Klokan Empire back while confronting political schemes and civil unrest.

As Kurt's battles take him across the world and beyond, he follows in the prophecy of the Rider of the White Horse:  a warrior who will defeat evil and save the human race.

This account of post-apocalyptic war features big-scale battles, explosive action, suspenseful drama, endearing romance, and gripping emotions.  This grand tale is now presented in an all-new edition, with improved quality and new notes on the creation of this epic adventure.

Background:
In the 8th grade, I came up with my first truly original novel idea.  It came to me when the class went on a field trip to the Anne Frank exhibit in York.  I was (am) interested in WWII history, and I knew all about the holocaust.  In fact, I had the sobering experience of listening to holocaust survivors speaking at our school.  But it wasn’t until this field trip that I learned of the term “Aryan,” and realized that Nazi Germany was basically a huge-scale (and very scary) eugenics program. 

The biggest lesson about the holocaust was that it happened once, and history can always repeat itself.  Next time, it could be worse yet.  I had a scary notion I had that I was compelled to explore:  if Hitler had cloning technology, then he could have abused it to create his “perfect” race, and he could have truly taken over the world.  The genocide, and the purposeful reshaping of the human race, would have been terrible.  I suddenly had scary visions of a post-nuclear-war landscape, where clone armies were marching around and slaughtering every living thing.

My first few drafts for this story were pretty awkward; it’s hard to find the right starting point and the right voice sometimes.  In those first attempts, I approached my ideas in a straightforward fashion, using literal Nazis as the villains.  I took a lesson from existing science fiction, and made an attempt to veil Nazism with other names and concepts.  Thus, I made them into the Klokan Empire.  The term Klokan was originally a name I designated for a race of aliens, who would have had boney claws and spikes sticking out of their skin.  Since I abandoned those story ideas, however, I cannibalized the name “Klokan” for this story.

Something was still missing, however.  A certain theme, and plot structure, was lacking, and it got to the point where I didn’t know how to proceed with this story.  One Easter, I was reading the Book of Revelation, just out of interest, and that’s when I came across the passage regarding the Rider of the White Horse.  Many of the passages in Revelations interested me, for their metaphorical ideas and intense imagery.  When I read this specific chapter, I realized that it could align perfectly with my story, and I sought to marry them together.  I found ways to connect characters and ideas from the book in with Revelations, to the best of my ability.

From then on, the book pretty much wrote itself.  I barely even remember putting that much effort into it; you know something is good if you have fun doing it, and it all flies by without much struggle or second-guessing. 
It took about a year or two to draft this entire story, and it was all finished shortly after I graduated high school.

Publishing this story was another animal entirely, and I had absolutely no clue as to get any kind of professional writing career started.  When it came to querying or submitting works for commercial publishing, I was totally lost, I didn’t know where to start, and I never found the motivation to invest much research or effort into it.  After some brief research, however, I did come across some new Print-On-Demand companies, and felt they were easy and fairly risk-free.  I was sold on the concept of it, I went through the process, and I got this book published by 2002.

I made very few sales; probably 100 or so altogether.  Publishing was easy through these companies, but promoting these books was entirely up to the authors, and I was terrible at self-promotion.  I tried to host a book signing at the local library, but only had one person stop by.  In the end, it was just friends and family who invested in this book, and maybe a few random strangers.

What few readers I had before enjoyed the book, regardless of its issues.  Now that I’ve taken the time to fix up the wording and grammar, I expect that I’ll be happy and proud of this creation again, and can present it to willing readers with confidence.

Redux Edition:
Starting in 2012, I went through the whole text line-by-line to fix numerous issues with the text.  Most of the wording was re-arranged and re-written for better readability.  The text is no longer so plain and flat.  Redundancy is reduced, grammar mistakes are fixed, and the dialogue is sharper and flows better.  A few chapters were merged together, one scene was cut out, some scenes were made longer, and a few really cheesy parts were rewritten so they work better.  The whole thing is revamped so that it reads better and is more creditable.

In preparing for a new print edition of the book, some new notes were made outlining the book's creation and history (most of which is in this post anyway), and new cover art was made by artist Keyvan Ebrahimi.

Inspirations:
I was inspired by the various stories and films I was exploring at the time:  L. Ron Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth, James Bond movies, and the film Soldier, have all inspired this story.  The name Kurt Stone was inspired by the actor Kurt Russell.  To help visualize and design the various forts and bases that are attacked throughout the book, I designed them with a level editor for the video game Star Wars:  Dark Forces II:  Jedi Knight; doing so allowed me to map out exactly where these characters go and what they experience when traversing through the high-tech Klokan facilities.

There was some music that helped inspire me during the drafting and designing process.  In those days, the film scores for 1997's The Saint and GoldenEye were the biggest things I listened to; they were both quite moody and had a mystique to them, and Eric Serra's music in particular was very appropriately modern.  I discovered that certain CD-ROM video games had music tracks on them, so I listened to the Mechwarrior 2 music all the time; a lot of that has been inspiring for finding the right tone and atmosphere.  As time went on, I acquired more James Bond soundtracks - Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough - and select songs, including Rob Dougan's "Clubbed to Death," which I first heard on a Nissan commercial and might be the song that I associate the most with this book.  Other fine songs that have inspired me include Rob Dougan's "Furious Angels," Dave Matthew Band's "When the World Ends," Moby's "Everloving," Sting's "A Thousand Years," Apollo 440's cover of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Billy Joel's "Leningrad," Live's "Forever May Not Be Long Enough," PPK's "21st Century," and most recently, Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive." A collection of this music can be heard on 8tracks.

In Conclusion:
The first time I do most anything is usually the worst.  It feels like I've spent more time and effort on this book than any other, because it came out so flawed on the first try, and I had to go back and fix some things.  Now that I've cleaned the work up, I feel more confident in presenting it to readers as a grand piece of post-apocalyptic adventure.  If you do order my book, I hope you'll enjoy it as is.

Book Review: The Melancholy of Mechagirl (Catherynne M Valente)

This short book caught my eye, with the promise of offering a collection of sci-fi that focuses on robots, artificial intelligence, and the human consciousness, with the exotic backdrop of Japan and the surreal tropes of the cyberpunk genre.  The stories definitely offer all of that and more, but it becomes clear very fast that the author's heart and soul is firmly rooted in Japan, and every page is imbued with traces of Japanese culture, myth, and style.  Actual sci-fi storytelling is diminished in favor of the art of pure expressionism.

In spite of this, I found the stories to be utterly convoluted, dense, and bizarre - easily some of the most confusing and frustrating prose I've read since William Gibson's Neuromancer, or William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch.  Like these other texts, Mrs. Valente's work shows a uniquely masterful manipulation of words and sentence syntax, to give each story its own unique texture and feeling.  These aspects make her stories stand out artistically, but like Gibson and Burroughs, the content is so surreal and abstract that it defies the standard conventions of literary narratives.  Thus, the most of the stories went over my head without much resonance.

To be fair, there are bursts of the text that I found engaging.  The opening story, Melancholy of Mechagirl, is a kind of poem told in the perspective of robot with a female consciousness, and I thought it was cool.  Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time is a very interesting 13-part tale that entwines the life of a sci-fi writer with different variants of creation myths (I wonder how much of this story is based on Valente's own life and thoughts).  These chapters include very bizarre but thought-provoking combinations of classical myth with scientific terminology.  Killswitch is an interesting short story (or maybe I found it interesting because it's about a video game; I kinda wish it was a real one).

Unfortunately, I found everything else to be a little too far-out for my tastes.  This includes the very meaty stories of Ink, Water, Milk, Fade to White, and Silently and Very Fast.  They drone on for many pages, but never really engaged me on any level; I found no characters I could really care about, and no conflicts that kept me invested.  Ghosts of Gunkanjima started off well, but I quickly lost interest.  Same for Story No. 6.  I hardly even remember how the other stories - Fifteen Panels Depicting the Sadness of the Baku and the Jotai, One Break One Stroke, Emperor of Tsukayama Park, Memoirs of a Girl Who Failed to be Born From a Peach, and The Girl With Two Skins - they all failed to captivate me personally.

All that being said, I can't deny that Valente's craftsmanship is unique, vivid, and worth a look on its own merits.  Chances are that there are readers who will love her work and find it more engaging than I.  It is an interesting blend of all things fantastic, futuristic, and real, drawing upon inspirations from her own life, her surroundings, and her imagination.

This book is brimming with art in its purest form.  It's not art that I can personally appreciate, except in short bursts, but the more high-brow readers may find it engaging.  I would recommend giving Valente's stories a look.

3/5 (Entertainment:  Poor | Stories:  Mixed | Book:  Very Good)

Film: First Thoughts on Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

It's finally here:  the first teaser trailer for the next Star Wars film.  It's been almost ten years since the prequel movies were rounded off, fifteen years since they were first released, and 37 years since the original came out and rocked most of everybody's world.  Since the prequels, LucasFilm has left Fox and joined up with Disney, much the same way as Marvel left Fox and Sony to join Disney.  You might think it's weird for Disney, the company best known for animated classics like Mickey Mouse, would take the reigns for the Star Wars franchise.  Truth is, George Lucas probably can't ask for a better studio partner, given that Disney will leave creative control to him, but still provide a proactive role as producers, marketers, and distributors.  They are currently planning for a whole slew of new movies, which not only include Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, but also a number of spin-offs for all the different characters (such as Yoda and Boba Fett).  As for the next episode, Lucas has relinquished the director's chair to JJ Abrams, the man responsible for 2009's Star Trek and its sequel.  I know Abrams gets a lot of flack for his jittery camera work and use of lens flares (and fans have griped a lot about the storytelling decisions in the new Trek films), but if Super 8 was any indication, the man has a certain heart and energy that's on-par with the early works of Spielberg.  Letting Abrams direct may be the best decision Lucas has made of late, not only because Abrams will undoubtedly make an exciting film, but also because Lucas' direction has not been all that endearing; the prequels undoubtedly still leave a bad taste in people's mouths, due to the acting, writing, and massive use of CGI.

Even I will say that it's easy to get burned out on Star Wars.  I've always been a shameless fan, and I've ignored most of the movies' shortcomings up till now.  Only now will I admit that, yes, the prequels are rather bland, the acting is rather bad, the Ewoks are kinda dumb; I think it's only my personal maturity as a film viewer that has allowed me to put aside personal preference and recognize the films' critical shortcomings. Above all though, the whole saga has been spread so far and wide, across all manner of films, TV shows, books, games, and more, that it can become hard to get enthused about something that's been done and redone repeatedly.  All that being said, I do think the saga overall has been the brunt of a lot of undue hate, thanks to fans ravenously complaining about the prequels and changes in the original films, causing them to all cry out against George Lucas himself like he's the son of the devil or something.  Seriously, one of the sentences I hate the most is  "George Lucas raped my childhood," and it's regurgitated day after day across the Internet.  Although I understand the meaning - that a person's most influential childhood film has been defiled - I personally think it's flaky that one's entire childhood can be nullified by something new.  As I see it, childhood is an intangible essence that's come and gone, and can never be taken away from someone (unless we develop the technology to alter memories).

In light of the love/hate relationship people now have for Star Wars, I have no doubt that people will look at the upcoming film with reservations.  I do believe that we shouldn't have anything to worry about.  Lucas' role in the next film has been purely in the creative process, leaving the actual film-making to other hands; the things that made the prequels weak shouldn't carry over.  Folks may have their own reasons to hate Abrams' direction, but aside from how he handles the camera, I think we can all count on him capturing the same nostalgic magic that has been desired since the original films.  We can always count on the films looking good, with no expense spared on each set, prop, costume, vehicle, weapon, or special effect.  If there is anything to worry about it's where the story's going.  Rumors about the sequel trilogy have been floating around since the 80s, but from the few who've read the story treatments, the feedback has always been positive.  The real icing on the cake may be the return of the original cast and crew members - they may be aging a lot, but they will be familiar faces playing familiar roles, and they will undoubtedly stir up some kind of emotional fervor in all us fans.

Filming has been ongoing over the past year, with extreme secrecy and a lot of rumors floating around (the same tactics Abrams used in the Trek films to dissuade leaks; any rumors you read online should be dismissed as disinformation until you hear otherwise).  Finally, we have a first glimpse of the upcoming film, thanks to the following trailer:

My reaction to this trailer is naturally positive.  It's short and doesn't reveal much, but I personally prefer it that way, so as not to ruin too much of it all when I finally see the film.  I'm especially enamored by the way the camera focuses on a desert, before John Boyega's head appears (it's almost like the way The Good The Bad and the Ugly started off).  The look of panic on his face definitely warrants interest.  The scene with the X-Wings over water is a thing of beauty.  And, of course, the final shot of the Millennium Falcon is incredible.  It does prove that Abrams will use some pretty wild camera moves here, but I was personally impressed by the way the camera tracked it upside down and everything, while still giving us a good view of the ships' details.  It's exactly the kind of thing that made the original films so good - the slick combination of unique camera work, editing, and special effects.  That scene in the trailer generally reminded me of the Falcon's approach to Yavin IV, or the Death Star battle, all of which had pretty wild camera moves for their time.

Here are some more specific thoughts on what I've seen in this trailer:

• John Boyega's brief scene seems to suggest that he's in distress (some would even joke that he's really one of the troopers in the first film, still looking for those droids).  It may be speculation, but the current belief is that he'll be one of the main characters - a stomtrooper who defects and joins the main characters.  Could this mean that he's part of a unit that goes through some kind of traumatic event? Could it be connected to the next shot showing advanced stormtroopers on a dropship?
• I got to admit, the "football" droid is pretty weird.  Not sure what to think of that at this time.
• The design of the new stormtroopers look great; it's just like the classic design, but seems sleeker and more futuristic.  The question now is, can they actually shoot straight?
• Not sure who the woman is who mounts the flying hovercraft and takes off, but it is a cool-looking vehicle, and she looks like an interesting rough-around-the-edges character.  Could she be a merc? A bounty hunter? An assassin? A heroine? Just another working-class citizen of Tatooine?
• The shot with the robed figure seems to have caused some controversy, thanks to his bizarre lightsaber with the added blades on the hilt.  Many people are asking what the point and practicality of that is; others defend it saying that practicality in Star Wars is a moot point.  I personally do think it's a cool-looking lightsaber; it is something new and unique.  I also learned that it's been used before in other media.  The bigger question should be directed at the figure himself.  Who is he? Some have speculated that Darth Revan will be the villain of the movie.  Others have suggested Darth Plagueis.  In any case, it sounds like the Sith are definitely going to be the source of the overall conflict.
• The various designs of the pilots and X-Wings look on-par with the original films.  It is quite refreshing and exciting to see things match up with the older films (I've read plenty of people griping about how the prequels looked "too shiny and new").
• You may notice that the Millennium Falcon now has a square radar dish.  You might think that's odd, but do remember that the original dish was knocked off the dorsal hull while Lando flew inside the Death Star II.
• You may notice that the words "Episode VII" don't appear anywhere.  It remains to be seen whether those words will appear in the film's opening crawl (they most likely will), but the omission in the marketing will likely keep it in line with previous sequels (Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi never had episode numbers; they were really only needed in the prequels, to let people know that they are in fact prequels).  I personally like the way the secondary title squeezes in between the Star and Wars.

That's pretty much all we can extrapolate from this brief one-and-a-half minute clip.  There's still no telling how this new storyline will play out, but after thinking it over some more, I have my theories.  Given that all the trilogies up to now have followed the same basic pattern, then it may be safe to say that Episode VII will follow after Episodes I and IV.  Meaning, it will likely start with some kind of battle, causing a spaceship crash on Tatooine (it was confirmed in some news I read that a ship does crash on a desert planet).  Given that we see a troubled stormtrooper in the middle of the desert, perhaps it's the stormtrooper dropship that crashes or suffers some major incident, causing this specific trooper to desert and find help elsewhere on his own.  Maybe he'll group up with a bunch of new heroic characters.  Of course, the Falcon is seen flying over Tatooine, so maybe it's the ship that crashes (or maybe multiple ships crash, and the stormtrooper winds up allying with Han Solo and other heroes).  In any case, the heroes will undoubtedly gather on Tatooine, before taking off on some new adventure.  There are rumors that Luke Skywalker will become a Jedi so powerful that he can move mountains (which may be true, given that everybody in the original films claimed that he would be more powerful than Darth Vader).  He may even be a recluse up to this point (which seems to fly in the face of what's in all the books, but unfortunately, it is confirmed that the Extended Universe will be ignored for the next batch of films).  Above all though, I realize that the film will have to go above and beyond the normal scope of previous Star Wars films to confront the main antagonists who have always existed, but never really made a full-blown appearance.  The other movies have been about the rise and fall of the Galactic Empire; I believe this next film (and probably the two that follow it) will indicate that the Empire is just a small part of a larger Sith conspiracy to defeat the powers of good or light.  The most well-informed fans will know that Anakin Skywalker was actually the result of a Sith plot by Darth Plagueis, who manipulated life (midichlorians) to create "The Chosen One." Chances are that this will play into the next few stories to create an overarching conflict between good and evil.  This could be similar to the scope of Mass Effect, which started off small (colonies under attack), but eventually ballooned into a galaxy-wide struggle between various forms of life; I can easily see Star Wars going the same route, starting off with the galactic politics scene, but ballooning into a much larger struggle that will put earlier events into a new perspective.

I think it is exciting-looking stuff, I do believe Episode VII will be a great film to look forward to, and I already can't wait for next year when it comes out.  It remains to be seen whether general audiences will embrace the new film or not, but the film will surely make millions no matter what.  As the hype continues to build and I'll undoubtedly be geeking out over every other detail that emerges, I am confident that this will be one of the biggest movie events since Marvel's Avengers (although Avengers:  Age of Ultron will be a huge competing force next year).  I'm certain that I'll love Episode VII all the same, and I'm sure that other devoted fans will too.  It's an exciting time as ever to be a Star Wars fan.

Out of the Blue: Excerpt, Chapter 3

For this year's National Novel Writing Month project, I decided to try and draft a sci-fi detective story.  This is one of those ideas I had that molded into shape with no real plot or characters in mind, until later on; I always fancied that it could be interesting and fun to play around with the tropes and styles of hardboiled detective fiction.  I came up with a simple premise of a pair of brothers who are at opposite ends of the scale - one is a righteous clean-cut federal agent, and other an amoral rough-around-the-edges private investigator - and one day the PI is framed for the death of his brother.  From then on, he struggles to find the truth, which plants him in the crossfire of an intense conflict between powerful corporations.

The excerpt below is where the plot really kicks into gear - the PI had previously lost his gun while on a routine investigation.  He then met with his brother, the FBI agent, who warns him that his partner may be dirty.  This whole story represents a lot of experimentation on my part - it's my first time writing in present tense, and I find myself messing it up often.  I really wanted to use more slang in this story, but for now I'm sticking with a plain, straightforward prose (words can be swapped around in editing).  It may seem rather dry for now, but for a first draft, I think this scene turned out swell.  Hope you enjoy it!
--------------------
    It’s not a pleasant feeling knowing that there are people out there with your biometric data and your firearm, capable of planting it somewhere to implicate you for a crime.  I know it’s coming soon, and I need to keep moving to stay ahead of whoever is behind all this.
    When I return to my apartment/office, I find myself slumping in the chair behind my desk.  My legs are tired from so much walking, and the Californian heat makes me want to fall asleep.  Any motivation I had to keep moving suddenly vanishes, and my hand decides to move on its own, opening the bottom drawer of the desk to pull out a half-empty bottle of scotch.  I take a big, long gulp straight from the bottle, and I feel the smooth, burning liquid sliding down my throat.  I start to feel numb and loose.
    Moments pass, before somebody knocks at my door.  I check my phone, which connects to the camera I have mounted in the hallway.  I see a man standing there, flanked by two LAPD officers.  It must be Gabriel’s partner.
    I don’t bother to answer the door, hoping they’d assume I’m gone and leave on their own.  Instead, the federal agent plants a device over the door handle.  It slides a thin rod into the keyhole, and nanites expand out of it to fill up the lock.  The machine unlocks the door in about five seconds, and the man walks through with a look of triumph on his smug little face.
    Approaching my desk, the agent asks, “Marco Salinger?”
    “Yeah?” I say. “What’s the big idea, busting in here like this?”
    “When was the last time you saw your brother, Gabriel?”
    “Before I say anything, can I see some ID?” I demand.
    With an annoyed sigh, the man pulls out a small acrylic slide and holds it up.  A projection of the FBI seal appears, along with the agent’s name, grade, and credentials.  I read the man’s name – Agent Jay Schwab – before he tucks the device away.  He’s a young man, probably freshly-hired by the Bureau, no more than twenty-three years old.  He’s lean and fit, but he has a baby face that looks like it can be punched to a pulp easily.  His jet-black hair is neatly-combed and groomed, and his suit looks freshly-ironed and pressed.  He strikes me as a total newbie, with an air of arrogance and self-righteousness.  I’m certain this must be Gabriel’s partner, and I find it easy to believe that he can be corrupted and coerced as easily as Gabriel feared.   Jay just looks like a pathetic little snob.
    Jay says, “I work with your brother.  Do you know where he is now?”
    “Nope,” I answer.  And it’s true; Gabriel could be on Mars for all I know.  After meeting with him at Century City, we parted ways, totally oblivious to each other’s whereabouts.
    “When did you see him last?”
    I lie this time, telling the snotty agent, “It’s been months; I haven’t seen Gabe since mom’s funeral earlier this year.  You’re in the Bureau, why don’t you tell me where my good-for-nothing brother is?”
    “Well, I can tell you that.  We found him at Santa Monica, on the beach.”
    “So, he decided to take a walk.  Good for him.”
    “You shot him in the back, while he was taking that walk.  Your gun was found at the scene, with your fingerprints on its handle and all over Gabriel’s jacket.  I’m sure that a simple DNA test will place you at the scene.”
    And with those words, the prophecy is fulfilled; whoever stole my weapon has truly also stolen my fingerprints and DNA, and used them to set me up for my brother’s murder.  I feel sick in my stomach.  I would have expected a random stranger or somebody I never heard of to get shot with my weapon – but Gabriel, I never expected anybody to have the gall to shoot a federal agent and get away with it.  But with the evidence stacked against me, the real killer has committed the perfect crime.
    Jay is in on it, I’m certain.  Gabriel suspected him, and looking at the young agent’s face, I’m also convinced that the smug twerp is being paid off.  I can’t arbitrarily accuse or attack him with the LAPD escorts, and without evidence.  I realize how badly this sucks, because Jay and the law have all the evidence to put me away for good, and I have no way to prove my innocence.
    Pulling his phone out, Jay flashes a document on the screen:  an arrest warrant.  He says, “Marco Salinger, you’re under arrest for the murder of Gabriel Salinger.”
    The two cops start to make their move, pulling out their titanium handcuffs.  As they close in, I realize that once those cuffs are put on my hands, I’ll be powerless.  Even if I do go in quietly and peacefully, and get a good attorney, there’s no way to disprove the hard evidence planted against me.  I have only one alternative:  resist arrest, get the hell off the grid, and figure this out myself.
    Like an animal backed to a corner, I feel a burst of adrenaline that punches through the drowsiness from the heat and liquor; I immediately seize the bottle of scotch and smash it against the nearest officer’s head.  The bottle shatters and the liquor pours over the officer, drenching him.  A big gash appears on his forehead, oozing blood.  He shouts in pain, but I kick him in the gut to knock him to the ground.
    The other officer comes around the desk and tries to flank me.  He goes for one of my arms; I pull back and grab one of his arms.  Flipping his hand down, I get him to latch one end of his handcuffs to his other arm.  Thrashing his free arm up, he hits me in the face, and I stumble backwards into the wall.
    Jay pulls out a gun and points it at me.  It doesn’t scare me:  I’ve dealt with plenty of creeps on the street before, and I even took bullets from all kinds of guns.  Sure, they hurt and they get messy, but aiming is everything.  In tight quarters, with so much commotion, Jay’s aim couldn’t be worth jack s#!t, even if he had any kind of fancy FBI training.
    I lunge at the agent sideways, ramming myself into him with my shoulder.  The gun goes off, and a single bullet cuts through the air and hits the wall behind my desk.  With my weight bearing down on him, I slam him into the floor and slug him in the face.  Blood spurts from his mouth, but somehow there’s still a stupid little smile on his face.
    The cop approaches me from behind; I fling my foot backwards and kick him in the gut.  He falls backwards on my desk.  I turn to face the policeman, but he rebounds off the desk fast and throws his fist into my face.  It feels like a brick hitting my jaw; there’s a sudden throb of pain, and a sharp flash of red across my vision.  He grabs my hand, intending to handcuff me, but I yank it away and punch him in the gut.  When he keels over, I grab his arm with the handcuff, and latch the free end of it to his leg.  With his arm attached to his leg, the officer is stuck in place, bent over awkwardly.
    Turning, I see Jay climbing to his feet with his gun in his hands.  I kick him in the @$s, knocking him back to the floor.  With a sharp kick to his hand, I knock his gun free, and pick it up.
    Glaring up at me, the agent says, “Resisting arrest, and your failure to acknowledge the charges, confirms your guilt.”
    It’s true that the Miranda rights were abolished some years ago, and if I was smarter I would have denied all charges before making my move.  What’s done is done though, and I need to move fast.  I quickly move to a closet across the room, and open up a box I have hiding there.  I pull out a wad of emergency cash.
    Jay stands back up, but I point my gun at him.  When he puts his hands up, I tell him, “It’s true I hate my brother, but I didn’t kill him.  Somebody stole my gun and my biometrics, and I think you have something to do with it!”
    “I am a federal agent,” Jay defends. “Gabe was my partner.  Has been for months.  I’m more of a brother to him than you ever were.”
    It’s bulls*#t and I know it; Gabriel told me himself that he suspected Jay.  But Jay doesn’t know that I met with Gabriel already, and I even have a card full of FBI intel that may give me some answers.  Of course, Jay can’t know I have the card; he might spin it as motivation for killing Gabe.
     All I tell him is, “You’re full of it, and I’m going to find out what’s really going on.”
    “Come on, you can’t deny the evidence,” Jay says, stepping closer. “Just give me the gun–”
    I can tell that he’s reaching to disarm me, so I shoot.  The bullet cuts through his hand, drilling a bloody hole through it and exploding out the other side.  Jay shrieks loudly, clutching his arm, his eyes wide in disbelief.  I leave him there, busting through the door and running out of the building.

Film Review: Snowpiercer

It may be a stretch, but just imagine a single train looping around a track, cutting through an Earth that's completely frozen over.  This train has been running for years, and it has its own microcosm of social classes, with the rich and powerful living in the front in luxury, and all the poor and wretched stuck in the back.  When those in the back of the train stage a revolution to take over the front, all hell breaks loose.

That's pretty much what this film entails:  the prologue is brief, setting the stage immediately for an all-out onslaught of bloody fighting, riveting peril, and startling revelations.  It's a rather grim and bleak film that doesn't shy away from the grisly details, but it's rarely trashy or distasteful.  The film is dark, fast-moving, and action-packed.  I personally couldn't ask for a more entertaining picture.

What's even more rewarding is the storytelling.  It's a bit of a weird and unbelievable yarn, thinking that a single train could run endlessly like this.  There are bound to be plot holes to uncover if you really analyze it on the surface level.  However, the film slowly unveils more and more details behind its concept that gives more background (whether it's plausible or not is probably debatable).  Above all, the film takes itself seriously, everything looks creditable, and it provides a self-contained world that's easy to take on its own merits.  In spite of all this, the plot moves fast and reaches an interesting climax (the likes of which would be on-par with the architect scene of The Matrix Reloaded, minus the mumbo-jumbo, but with the same level of plot twisting).  Characters aren't terribly deep or refined; they ultimately serve little more than voices for the issues, plot complications, and conflicts that erupt.

The biggest asset to this film are its themes.  Some folks won't like them, because it's a very blatant, in-your-face allegory concerning the state of the world we currently live in.  The film asserts that we are all headed toward disaster if we continue to run this "train" of ours the way we have been.  Whether you look at it as a criticism of the upper class exploiting the lower class, or the depletion of the environment and resources, the film paints a bleak picture to expose the ugly truths of our cold world.  I find the parallels compelling, although I'm sure there are those who will find them pretentious, obnoxious, stupid, or something else.

Regardless of how you grade the content, the film looks great with its dark and gritty photography.  Editing is top-notch.  Acting is great:  Chris Evans is surprisingly somber as the protagonist, and I enjoyed the performances by John Hurt, Ed Harris, Song Kang-ho, and Go Ah-sung.  Tilda Swinton is awesomely hammy in her role.  Every other actor pulls their weight really well.  Writing is pretty sharp and good.  This production has great-looking sets, props, and costumes.  Special effects tend to look fake, but it rarely detracts from the film's overall quality.  Music is decently somber too.

Snowpiercer is a rather odd tale, but one that is highly imaginative, consistently entertaining, and it's chock full of themes worth exploring (whether you want to or not).  Highly recommended!

5/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Content:  Good | Film:  Perfect)

Film Review: The Maze Runner

A kid wakes up in a cage that's climbing up an elevator shaft, with no memory of who he is and where he came from.  At the top, he finds himself stuck in the middle of a grassy plain, surrounded by trees, and giant metal walls beyond.  Beyond the walls is some kind of massive labyrinth, which closes itself off every night, and there are deadly cybernetic creatures that come out to slay anybody who's stuck inside.  This kid finds himself among a small society of other kids who have been stuck in this place for years, and could never find their way out of the maze...until now!

If nothing else, I think The Maze Runner starts off with a really cool concept and it remains enthralling all the way to its end.  Even if it does fall into the typical tropes, cliches, and formula set up by other adaptations of YA fiction novels (especially The Hunger Games), the film is very consistently thrilling.  It's not just the action scenes, of which there are plenty and they're never really overdone - it's the plot and the methodical way it unravels that captivated me the most.  It starts off so enigmatically, the film kept me glued to the action to see what the heck is going on and what the secret is behind the maze.  The maze lends itself easily to building suspense, as the characters have to maneuver through its winding corridors and evade death at every turn.  Outside of the maze, the film keeps the tension high thanks to an overarching sociological struggle that forces the characters to question whether they should risk their lives to escape or remain alive in their well-organized mini-society.  At times, this takes the characters to darker and savage territory.  The film can be pretty violent and nasty when it needs to be; it's not too distastefully graphic, but it is definitely not all that fluffy either.

The plot runs pretty evenly with minimal drag, thanks to the plethora of conflicts that emerge among the different characters and the events that unfold.  That being said, it's still not a perfect story; I personally found it odd that all it takes place in the course of three days (were it not for the dialogue, I would have assumed that months had passed).  There are moments in the film where you could question why certain things weren't tried to accomplished before the main character's timely arrival.  I found most plot holes easy enough to dismiss, but the film's success in the long run may depend on how the sequels do (and yes, the movie does end with a huge infodump that leaves more questions unanswered, and offers a lead-in for the next movie).  I found most of the characters likable, except for one major antagonist, who may be one of the most unreasonably jerky characters I've seen in a while.  I wanted to slap that Gally upside the head.  The story seems to dig up some very interesting sociological themes, thanks to its focus on the group, the system they built, and their ongoing struggle through the maze.  I have no idea how this movie compares to the original book, but it certainly has me interested enough to read it sometime.

The film looks mostly-good.  Photography is great in many scenes, but a few of the action scenes tend to be jittery and erratic at times.  Editing is decent.  I felt the cast was good, especially considering that so many of these actors are children.  Writing gets the job done; there is a lot of exposition, some of which dumps a lot of new terms on the audience, but it keeps things rolling well.  This production has decent-looking sets, props, and costumes.  Music is okay.

This film is a bit like what you get if you take the death-match scenes from The Hunger Games and crossed it with The Lord of the Flies.  It may look like just another YA adaptation, but I think The Maze Runner is decent sci-fi and it could be the start of a cool new film franchise.

Recommended!

4/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Good | Film:  Good)

Book Review: Alternating Currents (Frederick Pohl)

This thin tome features ten short stories of varying lengths and subjects.  They all offer a small dose of intriguing and imaginative sci-fi, but some stories stand out more than others.  Fortunately, each one is pretty breezy and should entice genre fans sufficiently.

Of the stories, the ones that I found most captivating were Let the Ants Try (a bizarre tale in which we give ants a try at evolving and controlling the planet in place of humans), The Tunnel Under the World (a rather interesting mystery in which a man discovers that his life is not what it seems), and What To Do Until the Analyst Comes (an amusing yarn in which an addictive chewing gum is successfully marketed and it turns everyone kinda stupid).  A few of the other stories I found a little less captivating, but are still worthwhile.  The Mapmakers might be the most important tale here:  a solidly-written and suspenseful thriller about spacemen struggling to map their way across the stars (this story is especially noteworthy in the way it emphasizes the threat of uncontrolled heat in space travel, which doesn't radiate and therefore just keeps building; it's not something I see mentioned in other works).  Rafferty's Reasons is a rather intense tale with some interesting psychology.  Target One is a pretty neat idea (something that actually mirrors the premise of the Red Alert video games).  Grandy Devil seems like an odd inclusion to the collection, but it has its share of charm.  As for the remaining three, I barely remember what happens in Children of the Night, The Ghost Maker, and Pythias.  For whatever reason, I found those stories to drag a lot more, and nothing about them really connected with me.

Frederick Pohl crafted each of these stories with a pretty solid blend of prose and dialogue; his writing tells just enough to set the scene, but he doesn't overdo it with the details.  His characters often show personality, and each story has a unique premise or twist worth telling.

If you're a sci-fi fan, this collection should be worth checking out.  Recommended.

4/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Stories:  Good | Book:  Good)

Film Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

There's hardly a kid born from the 80s who has never heard of this totally bodacious group of walking, talking, pizza-eating, street-fighting reptiles. It has always been a goofy saga, but it was also hip, action-packed, and colorful. Can the same be said about the latest adaptation?

On the surface level, 2014's TMNT at least looks the part. It's a fairly breezy film that never takes itself seriously, packing on generous heapings of goofy comedy, stylish action scenes, and loads of special effects. The first half of the film takes its time to follow April O'Neil around, who inevitably uncovers the secret of the turtles' existence, and the outlandish Foot Clan plot to take over New York City. The last half of the film is pretty much all-out fighting and action, which includes a fight in the sewers, a lengthy chase scene down the slopes of a mountain, and a final showdown on top of a skyscraper. Thus, I found the last half of the film the most engaging.

It's still not without its problems though. Despite the light-hearted tone and all the jokes, very little of it made me laugh outright. The humor is quite low-brow and doofy. Action scenes will be a hit and a miss; fight scenes in the film's first half are horribly shot and edited (on purpose nonetheless). Later scenes are still hectic, but are at least watchable and fairly fun. Scenes in between try their best to keep things rolling fast and without becoming droll, but without any major emotional investment, these scenes tend to drag a bit.
Beyond the surface-level comedy and action, there's not much else to this film. The plot is pretty much a mash-up of typical TMNT fare and 2007's Transformers (also an adaptation of an 80s cartoon where human characters discover some weird life form and gets caught in the middle of a war nobody knew existed; both starring Megan Fox nonetheless). What plot the movie has is riddled with plot holes, and scenes that are simply way too unbelievable (maybe not a valid complaint for TMNT, but with the way the film tries to look believable, the film shoots its own creditability in the foot). The turtle characters are fun to watch, usually, and Splinter is one cool rat. They aren't terribly deep characters, but they are colorful, and there is just enough background to them to keep them from being total caricatures. Other characters aren't as good: April O'Neil is almost annoying as she obsesses over the turtles and shouts her findings at everybody she runs across. Her sidekick is a dork. Shredder is extremely flat, lifeless, and lacking in presence, serving little more than an excuse to have a boss fight at the end of the movie. The film draws some connections between all the characters to give their interactions more backing, but it only strains the creditability of the plot even further.

The film's photography looks good sometimes and terrible at other times. Editing is choppy. Acting is pretty lackluster from the whole crowd; Megan Fox is far from endearing despite her looks, the voice acting can be a hit or a miss, and other actors don't really take their roles seriously, for better or for worse. Writing is pretty daft. This production uses okay-looking sets, props, and costumes. Locales are pretty small-scale most of the time. Special effects vary from good to bad. Music is okay (I got to admit that I found the end credits song catchy).

This incarnation of the Turtles definitely has its flaws, but it tries to be a fun picture, and it is at least partway successful. Not everybody will be quite as easily charmed as I am, so I'm compelled to recommend  approaching this movie with caution.

3/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Story: Marginal | Film: Marginal)

Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

"Why would you want to save the galaxy?"

"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!" - Bradley Cooper and Chris Pratt

Back when Marvel kicked in Phase 1 of its cinematic universe, we all knew who Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America were.  All these films were destined to be hits to some degree.  But...the Guardians of the Galaxy? Who are these a-holes? If you're like me and never read comics, you may be asking the same question.  Seriously, a gun-totting raccoon? A walking tree? David Bautista? And the guy who directed Slither? Marvel is taking some serious risks...

If box office numbers are any indication, the risk paid off tremendously.  The film wastes little time in plunging the audience into the deep end of the most outlandish and far-out reaches of the Marvel universe.  From the desolate ruins of an abandoned planet to the thriving heart of an interstellar civilization, this space-faring adventure cuts across colorful nebulae and imaginative worlds, the likes of which have only ever been topped by the Star Wars universe.  The film has no shortage of action, as characters fight with their fists, knives, and futuristic guns against an onslaught of bad guys.  There is a huge all-out battle in the end, with thousands of space ships filling up the screen.  In between the exciting parts, the film moves fast and fluidly with plenty of spot-on comedy, and just enough drama to give the characters a little more depth.

The story covers pretty basic ground, using the same old type of Macguffin that Avengers and Thor:  The Dark World used.  The villain of this film is a pretty flat, one-dimensional fellow who's best remembered for his presence, and little more.  What makes this film stand out will be the protagonists.  Peter Quill (the self-proclaimed "Star-Lord") has charm, but thanks to the film's opening scene, he provides an emotional anchor we can all latch onto.  Drax is a warrior driven by vengeance, but is so blunt that he can't comprehend metaphors, and hilarity ensues.  Gamora is a fierce fighter as well with an allure of her own.  Rocket is a hard-drinking gun-happy raccoon with attitude.  Groot is a walking tree, who can kick some butt, but also provides some of the most lovable moments.  This whole gang is very much in the same vein of space outlaws as in Firefly or The Cowboy Bebop; each character provides enough emotional investment and attention so that they stand out and become heroes we can root for, no matter how bizarre or unlikely this union seems.  The film is also loaded with a plethora of side characters, who all stand out in their own ways, to the point where I wished they could have had more to them (especially Thanos, who's obviously going to be a major player somewhere down the line; Nebula, who I thought was cooler than anything; the Collector, who's not given that much to do here; and Yondu, who clearly shares a history with Quill).

This film is crafted with solid and precise photography and editing.  Acting is top-notch; you'd probably never expect much from this cast, but everybody does their best to make the characters stand out.  Chris Pratt is not too shabby as the main hero; I enjoyed watching Zoe Saldana; Dave Bautista's performance is surprisingly solid; voices by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel get the job done well.  Everybody else contributes admirably.  Writing is pretty good.  This production spares no expense on the outlandish and imaginative sets, props, costumes, and special effects.  Music is alright.

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most well-rounded blockbusters since Marvel's own Avengers.  It balances action, comedy, and storytelling very well.  It defies all the odds and presents this obscure group of misfits as a thrilling new franchise for the masses.  Best of all, it does so with diligent attention to the characters.

Recommended!

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Very Good | Story:  Good | Film:  Very Good)

Film Review: Lucy (2014)

Popular scientific myth claims that human beings only use ten percent of their brains. Modern research tells us that we really use every part of our brain in subtle ways. And yet, isn't it remarkable to consider the possibility that there is room for human consciousness to become something greater than it already is? In this film, Lucy is an average person who unwittingly becomes the next step in human evolution, who uses more and more of her brain capacity in a struggle to survive and evolve. As she exponentially grows in power, she becomes able to control her mind, her body, other matter, energy, space, and ultimately time. Which, of course, is completely ridiculous and unbelievable, no matter how many neurons Lucy fires off. But it does make for a whimsical "what if" scenario, doesn't it?

The movie's biggest selling point will be in watching Scarlett Johansson kicking a lot of butt with wild superpowers! And there is plenty of action scattered all about: the movie is pretty evenly-littered with big-scale shoot-outs, car chases, and off-the-wall mental powers. However, butt-kicking is not really the movie's primary focus; it's more about chronicling Lucy's journey. Moments in between the action slow down a lot, but it's rarely dull; the film dishes out a plethora of intriguing situations and implications. In doing so, the film will lay out a ton of exposition, which may bore the most critical of viewers, but engage those with a more open mind. Regardless, I found the picture to be trim, to-the-point, and it has just enough momentum to keep it rolling smoothly. I felt it struck the perfect balance in terms of pacing and structure.

Ultimately, the story is an interesting affair, but falls short in numerous ways. The science behind the film's premise is totally unfounded. Other observations are interesting on the surface, but they amount to a few simple messages that audiences may or may not care for. Personally, I was intrigued by the way the film juxtaposed scientific lecture and imagery next to the events. As far as the plot goes, it's a short and simple affair, but with plot holes to be found. The film jumps right into the events without much background to the characters or events (seriously, who manufactured CPH4 to begin with? Who is Lucy and why is she in Taipei to begin with?). A few good scenes keep the characters from becoming total cardboard cutouts, but the film becomes increasingly whack as it goes along, until it reaches a really absurd ending. It leaves off with a rather blunt and empty message.

On the plus side, the film is as slick as they come, with superb photography and editing. Acting is swell: I loved watching Scarlett Johansson, even when she does become monotonous. Morgan Freeman pretty much phones it in, serving the same role as he did narrating Through the Wormhole. The various cops and gangsters are decent. Writing is rather unrefined and blunt, but it gets the job done. This production uses good-looking sets, props, costumes, and locales. Special effects look good in some scenes and bad in others. Music is pretty cool.

Lucy is a pretty neat "what if" scenario. It's not quite as big of a rip-roaring actioner as you might expect, but it's also not nearly as intellectually challenging as top-tier sci-fi pictures. However, as a crime thriller with a scientific commentary, I believe it's a blast.

4/5 (Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Marginal | Film: Very Good)

Film Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

After the apes rose up in rebellion and fled San Fransisco, a plague descended on mankind, setting the stage for the inevitable clash of two cultures.  With human civilization in decline and ape culture on the rise, it is a fragile and fearful time for all.  It would only take a few bad misunderstandings to set off an all-out war between men and apes.

That's pretty much what we get in this follow-up to Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  It starts off a bit slow, but builds momentum and tension as the two sides of the conflict rub together.  By the last act, it becomes a shooting war.  It's not quite as tight as the first film, especially since your enjoyment could hinge on whether or not you care for the human and ape characters.  However, the film doesn't linger too long on the drama, even though the film is attentive to all sides of the conflict.

What matters the most is the story.  Not only is is a sequel to Rise of POTA, but it also borrows the plot and ideas of Battle for POTA (which, ultimately, remains the weakest of the franchise thanks to its cheap and dated look, and poor execution of the story).  Dawn improves on Battle substantially, if for no other reason than it gives the characters a fresh new life and emotional anchor that audiences can latch onto (specifically, regarding Caesar and his ape tribe; the human characters have their moments, but never really take the spotlight enough to make us care).  The story proceeds to underscore the key themes behind the apes' civilization - the moral battle between taking action or enforcing pacifism - and it's a struggle that endures for the entire picture and drives the characters.  It all builds up to a moving tale of treachery; the ultimate turn of events mirror the takeovers and oppression of typical human dictators, and the film provides a stark reflection on how the rage of a few unchecked individuals could ruin peace for everyone.

This film is crafted with decent photography.  Acting is not bad; the ape characters easily steal the show, with Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell bringing their characters to life marvelously.  Gary Oldman is as great as ever, although his role is pretty small.  Jason Clarke is okay.  Writing is good.  This production uses quality sets, props, costumes, and special effects.  Music seems quaint, but it works.

This sequel continues the chronicle of the new POTA saga sublimely, and for anybody who enjoyed Rise, Dawn should satisfy.

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Very Good | Film:  Very Good)

Video Game Review: Thomas Was Alone

At first glance, I didn't think much of this game, where you have to maneuver a bunch of sentient rectangles across a landscape of blocks.  That's right...you control rectangles.  They jump.  That's pretty much all there is to this game:  jumping from area to area, dodging obstacles and dangers in order to get to the exit.  It's a platformer so simple, the only thing simpler would be Pong.

And yet, the game makers did their best to make something special out of this bunch of rectangles.  They all have personalities, more or less, which are mostly conveyed by their shape, color, name, and the cute ethos expressed by the narration (which, in turn, provides a feel-good sentimentality similar to the narration in LittleBigPlanet).  Above all, each shape has a different range of characteristics.  Some jump really high.  Some don't.  One can float on water.  One can make other shapes jump higher.  One defies gravity.  And when you have to move them all to their respective exits, the levels get substantially challenging, because you have to use all the shapes' strengths and weaknesses in inventive ways to complete each level.  As a result, each level is a unique puzzle or challenge that will stimulate some brain cells.

There is a story behind these little rectangles.  They're actually artificial intelligences growing sentient in some company's lab, and the game chronicles their evolution and eventual liberation.  That being said, the story is very understated, and some more explanations, especially in the last levels, would have been welcome.  As it is though, it's a clever enough set-up for an otherwise bizarre game.

The game plays smoothly.  Controls are as easy as they come.  Graphics are minimalistic, but the backgrounds, lighting effects, and particle effects are great.  Each level is designed pretty smartly.  Voices and sounds are good.  Music is quite lovely too.

This is probably the most fun you can have moving rectangles across a screen.  The game is worth playing once.

4/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Pretty Good | Game:  Very Good)

Film Review: Edge of Tomorrow

What if, in an almost video-game-like fashion, a soldier could respawn after death over and over again and relive the same day? Surely, he would learn and alter the events over and over, and continuously hone his skills until victory is achieved.  Based on the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill, this film brings this unique premise to life on the big screen.

The film wastes little time in the set-up, before the big battles commence that pit armored men against crazy tentacled aliens.  It is a pretty hectic and hard-hitting struggle as is.  You'd think these scenes would get repetitive if the main character keeps having to relive this, but the film keeps the backtracking short, so that it always explores new directions in the narrative.  As a result, the action remains frequent, but is always varied.  All the different tangents lead to a suspenseful and satisfying finale.

Given the film's premise, it is an inherently interesting idea.  It probably could have come off as generic, cliched, or repetitive in lesser hands.  Fortunately, the story is well-built and well-told in this film, not only because it keeps things brisk and varied, but also because it has endearing characters and a strong attention to detail.  There are a few instances where I questioned the plausibility of certain things, but it doesn't stop the plot from holding up.

The film features good and straightforward photography.  Editing is pretty good, especially in the way it can string together multiple recurrences of a scene (to show progress, or sometimes for humor when the character dies a stupid death).  Acting is not bad; Tom Cruise isn't always endearing to watch, but he does have moments that help us sympathize with his situation.  Emily Blunt delivers a solid performance.  Everybody else is alright.  Writing is not bad.  This production has pretty good and gritty-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects.  Locales are surprisingly interesting.  Music is alright (the end credits song seems out of place though).

This is kinda like what you get if you cross The Source Code with the Resistance:  Fall of Man video game.  It's a pretty solid piece of military sci-fi that's certainly better than average, offering its fair share of intriguing storytelling and rip-roaring action.

Recommended!

4/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Good | Film:  Good)

Film Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past

It's been fourteen years since the X-Men first hit the big screen, setting the trend for a whole monsoon of comic-book movies. Counting the two stand-alone Wolverine movies, Days of Future Past is the seventh in the series. The X-Men have had so many ups and downs over the years that it's easily become the most convoluted franchise since the original Planet of the Apes.  This film fulfills the same role as Escape from Planet of the Apes, redirecting the story arcs to rectify past mistakes and set the path for a bold, promising future.

Days of Future Past takes after First Class primarily, but there are vague connections to the other movies. Unlike the previous films, this one doesn't have the same light-spirited kick-butt feel. If anything, it starts off looking like The Terminator, swapping out T-800s for Sentinels, with Wolverine standing in for the T-101, Mystique fulfilling the role of Sarah Connor, and Trask standing in for Miles Dyson and Cyberdyne.  However, it never comes off as a rip-off; it's still X-Men to the core. The bleak future we see in the film's opening has always been in the cards, representing the apex of the ongoing conflict between men and mutants; the set-up is laid out very quickly, before launching a double-barreled narrative in both the past and the future with substantial stakes and suspense.

In lesser hands, this could have become a hokey affair (and chances are that the most critical of viewers could nitpick plot inconsistencies, especially when time travel is involved). However, this is easily the most mature film of the series, thanks not only to the complex plot dynamics that unfold with this unique premise, but also because of the characters. Their motivations and relationships are as strong as ever, and drives the story into different directions. Charles Xavier in particular emerges as the heart and soul of the whole film, driving numerous conflicts among other characters and within himself that underscores key themes concerning progress, destiny, and overcoming adversity of any kind. A lot of the lesser characters get sidelined, but Wolverine, Mystique, Magneto, and Beast get plenty of screen time.

Fortunately, as the plot unfolds, it does pull out a satisfying amount of action and spectacle. It's never overblown or overwhelming, and it's not just a bunch of things blowing up just because; it's nicely-balanced action that builds logically from the story. Scenes in the future show some pretty harrowing super-powered fights, while the rest of the film dishes out a lot of cool fights (including one crazy scene entirely in slow-motion, thanks to one super-fast mutant). It all builds up to a double-whammy climax, which not only ramps up the carnage, but also draws out the suspense.

This film features pretty good photography. Editing is fine, although it seemed like there were a lot of scenes in the beginning where a character starts to talk, but then the camera cuts away, and it came off as a little weird, as if the movie didn't want to show you who was talking. Acting is great across the board; James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart both excel as Charles Xavier, while Michael Fassbender continues to dominate as the younger Magneto (unfortunately, I felt Ian McKellen wasn't given enough to do here). It was also great to watch Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, and Peter Dinklage. Writing is good, especially in the way it addresses the continuity of the series and bridges the gaps it needs to, while keeping things fresh and crafting a quality story with quality dialogue. This production has good-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is alright (you can expect to hear a little bit of a reprise of the theme from the first two movies).

Days of Future Past is a movie about saving the future, not only in the movie, but also for the franchise as a whole. Despite certain contrivances, it is a highly nuanced story that rectifies some of the low points of the series. It genuinely kept me interested to see where it was all going. Even after the movie, it kept me interested, leaving just enough questions wide open to leave me wanting more. Best of all, the film accomplishes all this using plot and character more than special effects. So long as you've freshened up on the events of First Class, this film is highly recommended.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good)