In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the time for mourning is over. Phase 5 begins with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and launches it with a sense of fun, family, and a reminder that despite our affection and connection to these characters, it’s still just a romp. And who better to lead us in some fun…
Tag: hope
Space Battleship Yamato (2010) – Takashi Yamazaki
When I was a kid I would occasionally come across the odd anime cartoon, I always found them fascinating, there was the Americanization of Gatchaman that I adored until I discovered how much cooler the original was. And every now and then I would stumble across Star Blazers which took what looked like a naval…
TIFF ’22: Good Night Oppy
I love documentaries about space exploration, the sense of discovery, wonder and hope that permeates them, and humanity when we set our sights on a goal. Director Ryan White understands those feelings and shares them, and guides us on a fantastic journey to the planet Mars. In 2003, two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were launched…
TIFF ’22: Women Talking
Writer-director Sarh Polley lends her powerful voice to bringing Miriam Toews’ brilliant and acclaimed novel to the screen. What Polley delivers is a stunning, conversation-starting piece that examines patriarchy, power, faith, hope, and dreams for the future. In a remote Mennonite community, a gathering of women takes place to figure out their future. They’ve been…
The Vast of Night (2019) – Andrew Patterson
The Vast of Night is very much my kind of film, part Twilight Zone, part early Spielberg, there’s a vibe to this film that I just totally dig. A lot of the film feels like an homage to old dramas, encouraging the theatre of the mind, but there is a nice payoff at the end…
Star Trek: Discovery – Wonderlands (2021) – Una McCormack
Una McCormack delivers another engaging Trek novel, and having firmly cemented herself in the role of my favorite Star Trek author, I dug into this one, Wonderlands, now available from Simon & Schuster through their Gallery Books imprint, with abandon. It’s 3188. Commander Michael Burnham has been catapulted some 900 years into the future, as…
Star Trek: Discovery – The Way to the Stars (2019) – Una McCormack
When I read her Picard novel, Last Best Hope, I was completely taken in by McCormack’s writing, with her Discovery novel, The Way to the Stars, she has cemented herself as my favorite Trek author working today. Available through the Gallery Books imprint of Simon & Schuster, Star Trek doles out literary adventures, with both…
The Wandering Earth (2019) – Frant Gwo
Liu Cixin who penned The Three Body Problem series of novels, also wrote the book that is the basis of The Wandering Earth, a massive cinematic undertaking from China. An epic tale that easily stands shoulder to shoulder with the epic end of the world films like Armageddon. In this film, the world is in…
Star Trek: Picard – The Dark Veil (2021) – James Swallow
Simon & Schuster delivers another tale set before the first season of Star Trek: Picard with The Dark Veil by James Swallow, this time centering the story on the U.S.S. Titan, and her captain William T. Riker, its counsellor, and the captain’s wife, Deanna Troi, their young sun Thaddeus (which makes what we learn of…
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 – Blu-Ray Review
Micheal Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the rest of the U.S.S. Discovery are back, boldly going, with season three hitting blu-ray and DVD today. And with the third season, the series may truly have found their groove, no longer stuck in future history, mired in established continuity, the series leaps centuries into the future, following the…
The Mind Reels 