Category: Film
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Some Bad News
It wasn't just 2016. It's not a "bad patch" we're going through. Your beloved childhood media icons are going to keep dying. FOREVER. Here's why. It's about television. Movies have been around for a century. Movie stars have been dying almost as long. But I submit that movie actors, even the biggest and most enduring…
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Movie Review: Arrival
Short version: it's great, go see it. Long version: I confess I was a bit worried when I got tickets to this movie. When I heard that Ted Chiang's great story "The Story of Your Life" was being made into a film I was very pleased and excited . . . but then I saw the…
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Movie Magic
Last weekend the family went out to see Dr. Strange, the latest Marvel Comics movie. This one is the origin story for Dr. Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme and master of the mystic arts. It was entertaining and visually wonderful. It did get me thinking (uh-oh) about how magic is depicted in most modern films — and…
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Game Mechanics (Part 2): Why They Don’t Matter
In my last post on the subject, I wrote about how important it is for game mechanics to replicate the reality of whatever the game is about. And then I left on a cliffhanger by saying that isn't actually true. It's not true because games depend on the players. A game is not a novel or…
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Biology of the Body Snatchers
(Note to everyone who is still sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for the promised follow-up to my last post: be patient. It's Halloween today so I'm doing a Halloween post.) This past weekend I took my son to see the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) at Amherst Cinema. It was extremely…
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The Worst Science Fiction Writer Ever
The time has come to talk about the worst science fiction writer in the history of the field. I'm not talking about any obscure pulp-era hacks, or nameless amateurs chronicling the exploits of Ensign Mary Sue. I'm talking about a writer whose ineptitude has been splashed across movie screens for everyone to see. George McFly,…
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Science to the Rescue!
In the past I have mentioned my love of doing research and my focus on getting things right in my writing. Along the way I've pointed out how frustrated I get when moviemakers don't bother trying for accuracy. Well, it turns out I'm not alone. The mighty National Academy of Sciences apparently also makes angry…
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The Long History of Spin-Offs
It is practically a cliche to complain that modern movies and television are creatively bankrupt. I won't argue the point. But one piece of evidence often used to support that notion is the reliance of Hollywood and TV on spinoffs — shows or movies built around characters introduced in another show or movie. Trouble is,…
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That Show I Watched
This week marks the 50th anniversary of two science fiction icons. One is me, the other is Star Trek. Since we're practically twins, I feel as though I can be brutally honest about the show, the universe, and what has become of them. First of all, it always surprises me how unfamiliar people are with the…
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Congratulations Dragon Award Winners!
For several years now I've been telling everyone who'll listen that the major awards for science fiction and fantasy were in danger of becoming too obscure. The Nebulas are selected by the membership of SFWA, but don't get much publicity because (sadly) the organization isn't well-known outside the fraternity of SF professionals. The Hugo Award…
The Cambias Digression 