sci-fi
Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of the Imagination, Science Museum review - travel to a galaxy not so far awayWednesday, 26 October 2022Scenes that stay in the mind: Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator peeling back the skin on his forearm to reveal the gleaming machinery within; a beady-eyed, new-born Alien bursting from John Hurt’s abdomen; that all-species bar in Star Wars;... Read more... |
Vesper review - impressively art-directed sci-fi filmMonday, 24 October 2022Vesper is a piece of arty European sci-fi, filmed in the forests of Lithuania (homeland of co-director Kristina Buozyte) and set in a dystopian future conjured up by its French co-director Bruno Samper (a "digital experience designer"). The two... Read more... |
Bluedot Festival 2022 review - science and space travel meet musical frolicking at Jodrell BankWednesday, 27 July 2022FRIDAY 22 JULY by Caspar GomezWhen my regular festival pal Finetime and I have set up the wibbly, inflatable-poled tents he bought from Lidl, we settle to drinks, his from a chill-box, mine from a 35-pint container of Pilton Labyrinth scrumpy... Read more... |
Lightyear review - can infinity be a yawn?Wednesday, 15 June 2022The animation may be stunning, but in every other department, Lightyear is a disappointment. It’s a crying shame for anyone who loved the original Toy Story and its (mainly) excellent sequels. If you were expecting a buzz... Read more... |
Jurassic World Dominion review - extinction eventFriday, 10 June 2022Franchise burnout continues apace, in this asteroid strike of a finale. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness showed the previously agile and humane Marvel machine weighed down by plot mechanics and fan service, and this Jurassic Park/World... Read more... |
Emily St John Mandel: Sea of Tranquility review - time travel, pandemics and the simulation hypothesisTuesday, 26 April 2022Emily St John Mandel’s wonderful novel of 2020, The Glass Hotel, featured people and places from her previous pandemic-themed blockbuster, the brilliant Station Eleven.In Sea of Tranquility, named after the "silent flatlands" on the moon where the... Read more... |
Don't Look Up, Netflix review - hitting most targets in high styleThursday, 13 January 2022Most dystopian satires are located in a nightmarish future, but their scripts build on the worst of our world today. Adam McKay's Don’t Look Up is different: this is now, and the notion of a comet hurtling towards the assured destruction of planet... Read more... |
The Matrix Resurrections review - reboot or remix?Wednesday, 22 December 2021Back in 1999, The Matrix offered something revolutionary. With a heady brew of William Gibson-influenced cyberpunk, Platonic philosophy and Prada, it proved that blockbusters could be both smart and action-packed. Remember those days? Two... Read more... |
Hellbound, Netflix review - supernatural assassins usher in an age of terrorFriday, 03 December 2021Netflix is sometimes criticised for bringing too much of everything to its online feast, but the way it’s opening up previously under-exposed territories is becoming seriously impressive. Suddenly, South Korea is beginning to look like a powerhouse... Read more... |
Claire Tomalin: The Young H.G. Wells review – days of the cometWednesday, 17 November 2021In late 1894 an unknown 28-year-old science tutor and wannabe writer finished a story in his dismal lodgings just north of Euston station. Divorced, after a brief, calamitous marriage to a cousin, he lived with a new lover even though the hostile... Read more... |
Mark Bould: The Anthropocene Unconscious review - climate anxiety is written everywhereTuesday, 02 November 2021Our everyday lives, if we’re fortunate, may be placid, even contented. A rewarding job, for some; good eats; warm home; happy family; entertainment on tap. Yet, even for the privileged, awareness of impending change – probably disaster – intrudes.... Read more... |
Vanara, Hackney Empire review - fine singing, but a plodding book and one-pitch score in this new musicalTuesday, 26 October 2021Two tribes, both alike in dignity in fair Vanara, trade goods and insults in a post-apocalyptic world in which fire is known to The Kogallisk but not to The Pana. When The Oroznah, a shaman respected by both feuding factions, foretells a long winter... Read more... |