In the 1974 made-for-TV movie and series pilot “The Questor Tapes“, freshly minted android Questor has three days to locate his creator, Dr. Vaslovik. Failure is not an option. Short on time and information, Questor basically kidnaps Dr. Vaslovik’s mentee,…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Enemy Mine
Wolfgang Petersen—Das Boot (1981) In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000)—took over Enemy Mine in 1985. It would be his first English-language film. Enemy Mine was more futuristic melodrama than sci-fi…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Soldier
Writer David Peoples gave us Blade Runner, Unforgiven, and 12 Monkeys. He and director Paul Anderson–Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon–delivered Soldier. Essentially Shane in Space, this Science Fiction, One Man Army actionfest starred Kurt Russell. Critics and audiences hated it. My…
Hooray for Hollywood
Sometimes Hollywood gets it wrong. Sometimes rather a lot really. Sometimes we do, too. Get things wrong. Growing up, I really really really wanted to be an astronaut. I knew the history of the space program, the good and the…
Fakereals, Realfakes
“We all know synthespians are coming. Very soon we will reach a point when we switch on a television or a computer, see an actor or newscaster, and not know if they are flesh and blood and what’s more… not…
Looper – Time Travel Done Right
Looper is jet bike ride into a dystopian not so distant future. Time travel is used by a future syndicate to send their problem children back in time to be eradicated by hit men known as Loopers. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Green Slime
Man has looked out to space in wonder For thousands of years. Sometimes thinking that life could be somewhere And now — now it’s here! Green Slime!!! One of the best worst movies ever. Kind of sacred ground, if you…
Remake, Reboot, or Rest in Peace? Gerry Anderson’s UFO
Gerry Anderson’s classic series UFO had a lot going for it. The first live action foray by Sylvia and Gerry, it contained the iconic miniature props and models we’d come to expect. Unlike a lot of other science fiction shows…