sci-fi
Wonder Woman review - Gal Gadot shines in uneven superhero yarnThursday, 01 June 2017
After dipping a toe in the new-look DC Comics universe to brighten the otherwise leaden Batman v Superman, now Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman gets a chance to shine in her own Hollywood movie. Gadot makes a pretty fine job of it too, bringing a bit of... Read more... |
Alien: Covenant review - we've seen most of this beforeThursday, 11 May 2017
When Ridley Scott returned to his hideous intergalactic monster with Prometheus five years ago, he brought with him a new panoramic vision encompassing infinite space, several millennia of time and the entire history of human existence. With Alien:... Read more... |
DVD: Slaughterhouse-FiveTuesday, 11 April 2017
“I never saw anything like it,” declares Billy Pilgrim in wonderment. “It’s the Land of Oz.” He has just seen Dresden’s splendour from the train carriage into which he and other American prisoners of war are crammed en route to the city. They’ve... Read more... |
Ghost in the Shell review - 'a mind-bending futuristic dystopia'Wednesday, 29 March 2017
The Japanese Ghost in the Shell phenomenon is celebrating its 25th birthday, and already has a long history in manga cartoons and animated movies. Now Hollywood has clambered aboard, though this live-action version, finally helmed by British... Read more... |
Mass Effect: Andromeda review - 'dialogue trumps visual presentation'Wednesday, 29 March 2017
The latest instalment in this massive open world sci-fi role-playing game joins the 2017 party in full swing, with both Horizon Zero Dawn and Breath of the Wild raising the bar for the RPG genre. But with the Mass Effect games considered the very... Read more... |
Life review - 'knuckle-gnawing moments of panic'Thursday, 23 March 2017
In space, no-one can hear you say “hang on, haven’t I seen this before?” The sprawling, labyrinthine space ship full of ducts and passageways for terrifying creatures to hide in, the laid-back crew who’ve become a little too blasé about life in... Read more... |
LoganWednesday, 01 March 2017
The X-Men films have frequently managed to bring a shot of ethical awareness and emotional engagement to the superhero party, but even so this swansong for Hugh Jackman’s Logan (aka Wolverine) is likely to take your breath away. With James Mangold... Read more... |
PassengersWednesday, 21 December 2016
Despite being kitted out with a full-scale intergalactic spaceship and all known computerised effects, Passengers is essentially a two-hander for its stars Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. Or you could maybe stretch that to a two-and-a-half-hander... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: The Burning/Hell Comes to FrogtownTuesday, 20 December 2016
The reasons for enduring cult status can sometimes be hard to fathom for those not embedded in the minutiae of genre cinema. Take The Burning and Hell Comes to Frogtown, both of which are being given top-notch home cinema releases. The Burning is a... Read more... |
Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryThursday, 15 December 2016
Whether you use its optional subtitle A Star Wars Story or not, Rogue One arrives with a diminutive air. Filling in some infamous but minor dopiness in the original Star Wars – why build the Death Star with such a fatal design flaw? – it’s... Read more... |
Westworld, Series 1 Finale, Sky AtlanticMonday, 12 December 2016
Anyone who expected a simple robots-versus-humans confrontation, like in Michael Crichton's original Westworld movie from 1973, had another think, or bunch of thinks, coming. The final episode of the Jonathan Nolan/JJ Abrams Westworld was more like... Read more... |
Lazarus, King's Cross TheatreThursday, 10 November 2016
When David Bowie first met with the producer Robert Fox to discuss Lazarus back in 2013, you now have to wonder if he was seriously contemplating his own mortality. The clue, of course, lies in the title, and that of Bowie's extraordinary last album... Read more... |
