Oblivion: Yet Another Heady, Action-Fueled Science Fiction Epic Falls Short of Its Ambitions
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQcgiZwLxVM&w=570&h=321] Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion (2013) is a love letter to every science fiction film you’ve already seen, and a pretty beautiful one, at that, but it nearly collapses under the weight of its own […]
The Rising Tide of Alien Languages
Be warned, this post contains spoilers for this week’s Game of Thrones episode “And Now His Watch is Ended”. This morning I sat and watched Daenerys Stormborn finally grow up as she unleashed hell upon […]
4 modern and completed SF series you shouldn’t miss – Part I
I am a SF addict. There, I said it. I’m not sure when it began because I remember turning my nose up when my parents were watching Star Trek and saying it was boring. BORING! […]
Anime Roundup 4/21/2013: Fee Fi, Ho Hum
More international streaming sites have announced their spring simulcasts, and I’m afraid it looks like the entire world will get to see a couple of high school romantic comedies, but most of the good sf […]
Like Tears in Rain
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_hYs1jBy8Y&w=570&h=321] You can almost smell the rain, feel it hammer the leather of your trenchcoat. Hear the harmonic buzz of blue neon all around you. You can taste the Tsingtao, bubbly and cool on […]
Remembering a Ghastly Legend
Lawson Deming gave us the friendly neighborhood vampire Sir Graves Ghastly, the horror movie host who helped many young impressionable fans enjoy old time science fiction and horror.
ASM Blog Horde Interview with Terence Jackson
Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS! The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with […]
An Unhappy Burtiversary
Ten years ago this past March, I enjoyed the greatest TV moment of my lifetime- the debut of Tremors: the Series, on the Scifi Channel. Two hours of heady, Burt Gummer-fun. Just a few months […]
Enemy Mine – Blu-ray review
Enemy Mine is a science fiction film from 1985, now released in a limited edition Blu-ray by Twilight Time. The film is based on, though greatly distorted from, the novella of the same name by […]
Robots and Cyborgs and Androids, Oh My!
Author’s Note: Last week I wrote about one of my favorite Star Wars characters, Admiral Motti played by Richard LeParmentier. It is with disappointment and sadness that I learned of his death this week. (04/16/13) […]
Are Vampires So 2012?
Vampires have been the top of popular sci-fi culture with the masses for quite a few years now, but are people starting to get bored of them? Moonlight was the first on the scene with […]
From the In Box: Oblivion Already Taking Hits
The latest Tom Cruise vehicle – Oblivion – has hit the theaters outside the US and is apparently doing fairly well – at the Box Office. It’s also doing fairly well as a punching bag […]
A Visit To A Cinema Pub
My family used the occasion of two close family birthdays as an excuse to visit a Cinema Pub. I don’t know how common such things are in other regions of the country, but in the […]
Is This the Greatest Era for Horror TV?
While researching my article on this spring’s horror TV debuts, I was struck by the volume of new programs. Six new horror shows joining a field already somewhat dense with genre series felt unusual. I […]
Anime roundup 4/14/2013: This Will Be on the Test
A big stack of first looks this week, and then it’ll be time to make decisions about what to add for the regular weekly commentary. Those of you worried about the absence of Attack on […]
Individualism, Atheism, and the Search for God in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
The following essay originally appeared in issue number 111 of the quarterly journal Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, edited by Graham Sleight. Revised and expanded, 2nd ed. Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel The Road […]
Cosmopolis – film review
WARNING – THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS Cosmopolis is a dark mainstream drama with thriller elements which is just beyond the edge of the sort of film Amazing Stories would normally review. Except that it is […]
A Little Game of Catch
This week I’m fighting my way past drunken skateboarders and striking cab drivers to get a peek at the latest security and surveillance gadgets the world has to offer. I’ve already spoken with some developers […]
What super-movie are you most excited about?
The sun actually decided to finally show its face in London this week, and that along with me spotting that the 2012/13 season of TV shows is soon coming to an end has made me […]
Blake’s 7 returns!
Exciting news today from The Telegraph newspaper. The classic British SF series Blake’s 7 is to be remade by FremantleMedia and the SyFy network. Blake’s 7 was the brainchild of Terry Nation, inventor of the Daleks […]
Anime roundup 4/7/2013: Stop the World, I Want To Get Off
First, a little awards news: Nominees for the Seiun for Best Media (roughly equivalent to Hugo nominees for Best Dramatic Presentation) include two anime series, Bodacious Space Pirates and Eureka Seven AO. E7AO is a […]
Sense of Wonder #2 – From the Movies
Earlier I wrote about what Damon Knight characterized as “a sense of wonder” that emerges at times in a science fiction story, or as in the case of this blog entry, in a movie. I […]
When You Shouldn’t Read John Scalzi
Like many readers, I became a fan of John Scalzi after reading his Old Man’s War. It’s a wonderful book and it led me on to his others. I’ve now read most of his novels […]
The Safest Place There Is
“The safest place there is. . . .” It’s a dubious, quizzical line, delivered by Lois Smith near the end of her one unforgettable scene as the self-proclaimed mother of Precrime. Dubious because we’re talking […]
11 Things You Must Know About the New Evil Dead
Sequels tend to be the re-used tea bags of film—reminiscent of earlier, stronger experiences now weak and watery. Remakes can be even more dangerous, especially when the original material is revered. There are some instances […]
ASM Blog Horde Interview with Kristina Grifantini
Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS! The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with […]
The Clubhouse: Roger Ebert, Death of a Gafiate
The death of Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago film critic Roger Ebert has already been eulogized far and wide. Most of the accolades concentrate, rightfully so, on Ebert’s storied career as a newspaperman and critic and his […]
John Carpenter’s Christine – Blu-ray review
By the early 1980’s, following the success of Carrie and The Shining in the cinema and Salem’s Lot on TV, Hollywood was falling over itself to film anything from the typewriter of Stephen King. King’s […]
Doctor Who Returns for 50th Anniversary Year
At last Doctor Who has returned to our screens in the lead up to the 50th anniversary episode. Still part of season seven we are officially introduced to the Doctor’s new sidekick, Clara Oswin (even […]
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