The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is arguably its most absurd. That doesn’t mean it’s not fun, and that the actors aren’t having a great time, but there are a number of tonal shifts in the narrative that leaves the film feeling a little unbalanced. But that may be because of the storyteller….
Tag: religion
The Mote in God’s Eye (1974) – Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
I’ve been getting more and more into some classic science fiction books, layering out a lot of the modern science fiction I’ve been finding myself reading, and I recall a friend of mine proclaiming that The Mote in God’s Eye is one of the best first contact books they’d ever read. I trust his opinion…
Prisoners (2013) – Denis Villeneuve
Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal star in the emotional thriller, Prisoners, featuring yet another magnetic turn by director Villeneuve. What starts out terrifyingly enough with the abduction of two little girls turns into something horrific as twists reveal true natures, and narratives slowly shift the viewer’s perspective on what they are seeing. As two families…
Ararat (2017) – Christopher Golden
Ararat is a horror novel that moves along at breakneck speed whether you believe in the subject matter or not. And that puts the reader in exactly the same situation that the characters in the book find themselves in. When an avalanche reveals an impossibility on the mountain known as Ararat a pair of adventurers…
Shards of Earth (2021) – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Before I could dig into Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky, available now through Orbit Books, I had to familiarize myself with the characters of the universe he created by reading the first volume, Shards of Earth, also available from Orbit Books. Within pages of Tchaikovsky’s book, I was wrapped up in the imagination…
The X-Files (2002) – Underneath, and Improbable
Doggett (Robert Patrick) gets pulled back into a case he worked back when he was a New York cop, when the man they arrested as a serial killer is exonerated and released from prison – only to have the murders start up again. Underneath was written by John Shiban and first aired on 31 March,…
Eternals (2021) – Chloe Zhao
The MCU unveils its latest film this week, and Chloe Zhao delivers the most diverse, and inclusive cast and storyline that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen to date. It’s also one of the comics in the Marvel family that I don’t know very well, but that allowed me to go into the film blissfully…
The Witch (2015) – Richard Eggers
Eggers’ atmospheric The Witch, is always an enjoyable Halloween watch, it’s beautifully executed, wonderfully scripted, and has everything you would expect in a classical telling of an 17th century new world fairy tale. A devout family in New England, whose father, Will (Ralph Ineson) has been deemed by the local village to be too extreme…
Apostle (2018) – Gareth Evans
There’s a lot to unpack in Gareth Evans’ film, Apostle, there are concepts of religious tenets, blood, sacrifice, family, worship, deification, and faith, all of it wrapped up in a character driven tale starring Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen. If you try to take it as the straightforward tale that the film’s plotline offers, you’re…
The X-Files (1999) – The Sixth Extinction, and The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
Series creator Chris Carter pens the seventh season opener of The X-Files, which premiered on 7 November, 1999. Scully (Gillian Anderson) is still in West Africa, on the Ivory Coast, investigating the strange, possible extraterrestrial structure (craft?) that the ocean has revealed. The entire thing is covered in text that seems to touch on all…
The Mind Reels 