“I WONDER WHAT THE VINTNERS BUY…” A Christmas Column Redux
For his last column of 2023, Steve revisits (and revises) one he posted nine years ago. Is it still relevant? You decide.
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THE LAST HARRISON FORD INDY… MAYBE
It is supposed that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth Indiana Jones movie, will be the last one Harrison Ford will star in. But it’s possible that it will not be. It’s almost certain that there will be more Indy movies, but who will star in them? Only Lucasfilm knows!
MIYAZAKI AND SPIRITED AWAY
The name Hayao Miyazaki is almost synonymous in many people’s minds with Japanese anime because of the many high-quality films that he and his Studio Ghibli have put out over the last few decades. (There is lots more anime than they have produced, but it’s not all as exemplary as theirs.) Revisiting some of his best films is always a rewarding experience, especially Spirited Away, for me.
CREEPSHOW Season 4
Up to this season, Steve’s personal opinion has been that it’s okay as a tribute (to Stephen King and the eponymous movie), but rather meh as a show. Steve thinks Greg Nicotero’s show is finally hitting its stride.
REVIEW: PET SEMATARY BLOODLINES
A prequel that stands alone. If you enjoyed the original Pet Sematary, you’ll probably like this. A good October/Halloween movie, in my opinion. See what you think!
REVIEW: THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER
The Bram Stoker novel about a bloodsucker has a short passage about how he got to England. This movie takes that portion of the well-known book and expands it. Steve thinks you’ll like it (a lot).
Resident Evil: Death Island
The latest animated Resident Evil movie is, I think, worth watching if you’re a fan of the game or the movies. If not, you might wonder what’s going on, but it is at least somewhat self-explanatory. I kinda liked it.
SHORT TAKES
Steve does short, personal takes—not necessarily reviews—on four recent genre movies (well, almost all genre). He enjoyed watching them and hopes you will too.
RETRO REVIEWS — ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950) & FLIGHT TO MARS (1951)
I saw two nearly identical movies filmed a year apart (1950 and 1951), but they were different enough to be interesting in an “old sci-fi” way. B-movies, but very much S-F and very much of their time.
ANOTHER RETRO — STAR SCIENCE FICTION #3
As a follow-up to last week’s column, Steve reviews Star Science Fiction Stories #3. It’s got some good ‘fifties SF in it, although it’s not overall as strong as the previous one.
RETRO REVIEW –STAR SCIENCE FICTION #2 (1954)
Steve takes you back to 1954, when newspapers cost a nickel and a bus trip through town was a dime. Back then SF writers were real men and women, not like today’s namby-pamby… er, he finds a lot of old SF fun and involving to read. He hopes you will too.
MOVIE REVIEW (Maybe some spoilers) – HYPNOTIC
The new movie, Hypnotic, with Ben Affleck, William Fichtner and Alice Braga looks like a cop movie, but beware. It’s definitely genre and has one or two twists that may surprise you. (Or not, if you’ve seen several notable genre movies.) But overall it’s worth a bag or bucket of popcorn.
MOVIE REVIEW — EVIL DEAD RISE (Some Spoilers)
As a fan of Evil Dead 2 (Dead By Dawn), Steve feels mildly disappointed in the newest addition to the series. It’s not really good or terribly bad, it’s just… there.
FULL SPOILER REVIEW — JOHN WICK 4
John Wick Chapter 4 is not, contrary to popular belief, the last movie in the series. If you’re not afraid of spoilers, Steve has a few things to say about this movie.
BOOK REVIEW – THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN by Sebastien de Castille
The Malevolent Seven is a dark humourous fantasy that moves very quickly. It’s not terribly deep, but for me it was a quick, fun read. (Bear in mind that my idea of fun is a bit twisted.)
BOOK REVIEW — THE FRAGRANCE OF ORCHIDS & Other Stories by Sally McBride
A new collection of short stories by Sally McBride is being published by Brain Lag Publications. It’s chock-full of terrific SF stories about aliens, people, bats, ghosts (okay, maybe that one’s kind of fantasy) and so on. Steve really liked it.
BOOK REVIEW: Melinda West, MONSTER GUNSLINGER
This week Steve delves into the interesting genre of Fantasy Westerns. This particular book involves creatures of darkness and a gunslinger named Melinda who never misses. Did he like it? Read it and see.
MOVIE REVIEWS: DON’T LOOK UP, OPERATION FORTUNE, THE LAKE (some spoilers)
To make up for missing last week, this week Steve reviews three recent movies, two certain genre and one genre by courtesy. He liked two out of the three. Can you guess which one bored him?
REVIEW/PROMO: POLAR STARLIGHT & POLAR BOREALIS
This week Steve talks about two new, FREE, online genre magazines—one featuring sf/f poetry by Canadian poets; the other featuring sf/f poetry and fiction by Canadian writers and poets.
TV REVIEW: THE PERIPHERAL, Season 1 (Some Spoilers)
The people who brought you Westworld have now brought William Gibson’s The Peripheral to TV, and it’s taken on a life of its own, like another popular series I could name with dragons. Is it worth your time? Steve gives it an unqualified “Yes!”
TV REVIEW: POKER FACE
In a break from his usual book and movie reviews, Steve takes a look at a new TV show, Poker Face, that quite possibly could qualify as genre… but, frankly, whether it is or not, Steve feels you might want to take a look.
MOVIE REVIEW: M3GAN (Spoilers)
Just about everybody but me (and my wife) says M3GAN is a good sf/horror/comic film. I didn’t find it good SF, terribly horrifying, or in the least funny. YMMV. I just didn’t get it.
MOVIE REVIEW: BLACK ADAM
Dwayne (“The Rock” at one time) Johnson has long wanted to play Black Adam in a movie. Unfortunately, he is not well served by the move he got. Read Steve’s opinion on this mess of a wanna-be blockbuster.
MOVIE REVIEW—TROLL 2022
Is Netflix trolling for viewers? This is the first Norwegian troll movie since 2010’s Troll Hunter, so I guess it’s about time, eh? This is a Netflix movie, and it’s got a middling score on IMDB (5.9). But it’s an okay watch, really. Popcorn from the fjords!
Replay – MOVIE SERIALS – ALL IN BLACK & WHITE FOR A DIME!
Nowadays you can often see a cheap movie at the theatre on Tuesdays for about $8-10. But in the ‘30s & ‘40s (and sometimes the ‘50s) you could see two movies and a serial (and a cartoon or travelogue) for a dime! (Of course, that’s probably $15 in today’s money…)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BOT CALENDARS!
Vancouver, BC (Canada) artist Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk has created a unique 2023 calendar featuring her one-of-a-kind “bot” sculptures made from upcycled metal parts!
RETRO REVIEW – SPACE MASTER X-7
While trying to find a “good old” SF movie, Steve stumbles on a 1958 epic called “Space Master X-7,” which is kind of a pre-apocalyptic movie. Will the world end?
ROBERT A. HEINLEIN & BUTLER, MO REVISITED
Remembrance/Veterans’ Day! Today Steve remembers a trip to the hometown of the Dean of SF Writers, Robert Anson Heinlein, himself a veteran of the US Navy (both Steve and RAH). It was an interesting pilgrimage.
NAMETAGS REVISITED (Column 24 redux)
Ah, conventions… and nametags—they go together like ham & swiss cheese! I’ve bookended my convention experiences in a way by showing a 38-year-old Spokon nametag and a new Spocon 2022 tag! Read the column to find out more.
REPLAY – HAPPY HALLOWEEN MICRO REVIEWS
Steve’s “new” (revised) column 240 cum 354, in which he tries to do teeny-tiny reviews of 27 movies. Let us know if he succeeds or falls flat on his face. Boo!
About Author
Steve has been an active fan since the 1970s, when he founded the Palouse Empire Science Fiction Association (PESFA) and the more-or-less late MosCon in Pullman, WA and Moscow, ID, though he started reading SF/F in the early-to-mid 1950s, when he was just a sprat. He moved to Canada in 1985 and quickly became involved with chairing or helping run Canadian cons, including ConText (’89 and ’81) and VCON. As a fan, he’s published a Hugo-nominated (one nomination) fanzine, New Venture, and he’s founded two writing groups (Writers’ Bloc and Writers of the Lost, Ink). He’s emceed and auctioned art at many West Coast and Northwest conventions including one Westercon. As a writer, he’s published a couple of books and a number of short stories (including one in Compostella [Tesseracts 20], and has collaborated with his two-time Aurora-winning wife Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk on a number of art projects. As of this writing he’s the proofreader for R. Graeme Cameron’s Polar Borealis and Rhea Rose’s Polar Starlight publications. He’s been writing for Amazing Stories off and on since the early 1980s. His column can be found on Amazing Stories most Fridays.
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