Coto mentions Enterprise finale

Anonymous Coward writes, Coto has let slip the
following information about the finale (no plot
spoilers): “It’s a very cool story…Rick Berman and
Brannon Braga are writing it and if they want to
spoil it I’d rather have them spoil it themselves!”
He had to say it, didn’t he. Mind you, it is indeed a
momentous achievement for the Disaster Duo to write a
plot that doesn’t feature time travel – unlike the
finales of both Voyager and TNG.Read the article here.
(No plot spoilers.)

Constantine Review

Anonymous Coward writes,
Thanks To A Friend Of Mine, I Got To Go See An
Advanced Preview Of Constantine. I Thought I’d Share
My Thoughts With You Guys.
Note that this
review is anonymous, so it is a bit hard to confirm
that it actually was a person at a screening. (The
Alexius-like capitalizations are only in that first
portion.) The full review is below.

Continue reading →

Weekly Comics Discussion

This week’s shipping
list
is a light one for me, now that I’m
switching back to trades. I expect Ultimates 2
#3
only. However, other options include new
issues of Aquaman, Batman,
Green Arrow, JLA, JSA, and
Outsiders from DC, as well as offerings from
Marvel that include Captain America,
Incredible Hulk (which is being written by
Peter David once again), Marvel Knights 4,
Marvel Knights Spider-Man, The
Punisher
, and Ultimate X-Men from
Marvel. Marvel’s big push this week is for the first
issue of Young Avengers, which can be
previewed here.

“Fantastic Four” flinches

The film version of Fantastic Four has been pushed back one week until July 8, 2005. Fox claims that this has nothing to do with competition and everything to do with better positioning. Why is it a better position to release your film one week after one of the two highest grossing weekends of the year? (The July 4 weekend was the highest grossing until Star Wars and Spider-Man started coming out on Memorial Day.) Could it be because the loss of general moviegoing traffic is less damaging than coming out two days after the Spielberg/Cruise collaboration of War of the Worlds? I know the conclusions I’ve come to, and they don’t agree with the Fox press releases.

Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian,
or Kevin Smith guests on Degrassi: The Next Generation

No, the Canadian teen soap franchise isn’t exactly SF or fantasy, but Kevin Smith, director of Clerks, Dogma, and other films, and author of many a comic, appears in the next two episodes as himself (Jason Mewes and Alanis Morisette also appear).

I thought this bizarre turn of events would be worth reviewing. Part 2 airs Valentine’s Day.

Continue reading →

The Sirens of Titan

“I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled ‘Science Fiction’… and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics mistake the drawer for a urinal.”
–Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons

The late Douglas Adams acknowledged that this novel influenced him when he wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Alan Moore had been reading it when he wrote Watchmen, given the similarity in some of the plot elements (though Watchmen, like HHG, becomes something else entirely).

When I was a teen, I got into Vonnegut’s writing, and have since read everything he’s written. The quality varies, but his best books have become required reading in some circles, and I plan to review five of his best genre novels over the next couple of months.

Continue reading →