Gary Varner
I, Robot Review, Part 3: Why Must Robots Always Enslave Us?
Even after watching the movie several times when I was younger, I’d still forgotten that Robertson wasn’t the main villainLast time, Spooner’s investigation into Dr. Lanning’s apparent suicide led him to Sonny, the robot who claimed it could dream. It turns out that Sonny’s dream isn’t a dream at all, but an image programmed by Dr. Lanning. It was meant to lead Spooner to a storage area where all the older robots were being kept. Once Spooner finds the exact spot where he was supposed to be standing in Sonny’s dream, he plays the hologram Dr. Lanning recorded before he died. The hologram program is simple. The doctor recorded certain responses that are triggered by the right questions. Spooner begins talking to the hologram until it tells him what he needs to know. Dr. Lanning’s hologram says there’s going Read More ›
Spaceman Review, Part 3: Inside the Chopra Cloud at Last
There has to be a gem inside this film somewhere because, despite all the problems, I still found myself rooting for Jakub and LenkaI, Robot Review, Part 2: The Ghosts in the Machine
Dr. Lanning describes these ghosts as random segments of code and asks questions like why robots choose to stand together rather than alone when they’re stored in a dark placeI, Robot Merges Sci-Fi and Noir Beautifully
Will Smith versus a world of robotsSpaceman Review, Part 3
Sometimes you have to leave what you love to go on a missionLast time, we talked about Jakub’s new buddy, a giant spider that may or may not be real. This potential hallucination wants to help the astronaut with his loneliness because his wife, Lenka, has left him. The trouble is that the spider’s idea of helping poor Jakub is forcing him to remember his past. The writer wanted to give Jakub a redemption arch using these flashbacks; however, the astronaut’s memories were shown in a disjointed order, confusing the story and making Lenka look very bad, which made her and Jakub’s relationship difficult to root for. The chaotic flashbacks, mixed with a variety of plot holes, made for a very irritating story. One of the most glaring plot holes arises when Read More ›
Spaceman: Along Came a Spider and Sat Down… Well, Maybe
The spider is an alien with a somewhat complex relationship to people and toiletsSpaceman: World Is Ending. Worse, an Astronaut’s Wife Wants Out
It’s not clear just what role the threatening Chopra Cloud plays and that complexity dogs the storyNetflix recently released a film called Spaceman, starring Adam Sandler. It’s… interesting. The first time I watched it, I hated it. The second time I watched it, I hated it less. I can appreciate what the movie was trying to do, and Adam Sandler puts on a fine performance… most of the time. But there were just too many plot holes and too much meaningless rhetoric for me to really enjoy the story. The movie is based on a 2017 novel, Spaceman of Bohemia by Czech author Jaroslav Kalfař. It begins with a Czech astronaut flying toward a mysterious, purple anomaly called the Chopra Cloud. The Cloud had appeared in the sky a few years previously, with no known reason. Read More ›
Dune, Part Two: A Good Movie But a Bad Set-Up for Part Three
When Paul avenges his father and settles an old feud, the threads of the story start to connectLast Saturday, we talked about how the writers did an excellent job setting up Feyd-Rautha as a worthy adversary for Paul. However, their decision to make Chani a skeptical antagonist—opposing the man she supposedly loves—has already created numerous problems for the story, and those problems continue to stack up. By the time we reach the conclusion of the film, I don’t know how the writers expect to create a Part Three that will be in any way, shape, or form consistent with the source material. In Part Two, Paul and the Fremen finally launch their final assault on the emperor. As in previous retellings of the story, Paul uses his father’s stash of atomic weapons to blow a hole in Read More ›
Dune, Part Two: At Last, Feyd-Rautha Becomes Relevant
The treatment of Feyd in this version is more satisfactory than in any previous one. We are prepared for Paul’s confrontation with himDune, Part Two: Paul Becomes a Hero — Very Reluctantly
Some departures from the book work better than others. The “reluctant hero” trope simplifies a complex political situation but at a costDune Part Two Succeeds Brilliantly — But Dooms Plans for Part III
The difficulty is that the changes made for the film have warped the core story so much that it’s going to be nearly impossible to follow the source material from here on out.Dune 1984 Offers A Strong Finish to a Unique Adaptation
I’d go as far as to say that, while not all of David Lynch’s adaptations worked, the film is, overall, better than the bookDune (1984) vs the Classic Sci-Fi Novel: What Worked, What Didn’t
For some scenes, the film was an improvement on the book; for others, writer David Lynch might better have stuck with the originalLast time we talked about the opening of Dune 1984. The Hollywood Strike has delayed the sequel to the current remake till March but the classic is worth revisiting in the meantime, both for its successes and failures. The 1984 writer, David Lynch, made various changes to the story that gave the viewer a clearer understanding of what was going on than Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 novel did. After the first two scenes, which help establish the situation in the world of Dune, the Reverend Mother flies to Caladan to test Paul Atreides with the painful Gom Jabbar. I’ve agreed with his choices so far. His opening showed the viewer why the Reverend Mother chose to visit Paul when she Read More ›
Where Did Dune 1984 Succeed? Where Did It Fail?
The Hollywood Strike postponed the release of the sequel to the new film version of Dune until March so, for now, let’s have another look at the 1984 versionAlien Resurrection Part 4: The Good, the Bad, and the… Bizarre
In a single moment, Purvis becomes one of the most heroic characters in the entire franchiseAlien Resurrection (1997) Part 3: Call Up the Reluctant Robot
Amid the harrowing crew escapes, Call survives being shot because she’s a robot. She somehow has sentience and hates being a robotAlien Resurrection, Part 2: Trying to Recover After a Retcon
The writers of the show never seemed to agree on how smart these aliens really are.Alien Resurrection, Part 1: This Movie Pays for the Sins of the Last One
It's better than Aliens 3, but has a host of problems nonetheless.Alien 3 Review, Part 4
Ripley's curtain callIn the third article, Ripley woke up in an all-male prison after surviving a shuttle crash. A parasitic alien tagged along and implanted an embryo in an inmate’s dog. The embryo breaks out of the animal and begins killing people until everyone figures out what’s going on, then they hatched one of the dumbest plans I’ve ever seen in cinema. After that, Ripley begins feeling sick. She goes to her still fully intact cryobed and scans herself. She finds that the parasitic alien has also planted an embryo inside her. The fact that Ripley had an embryo in her the entire time is ridiculous for a number of reasons. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, her cryobed wasn’t broken, so Read More ›