Noted film critic Roger Ebert lost his voice to several cancer surgeries. Unlike others– such as the world’s most famous electro-larynx, Stephen Hawking– Ebert has been given a computer voice that sounds like his original.
Thumb’s up for modern technology.
A true original of genre television and an icon of the late 1980s, Max Headroom, central character in promotional blurbs, the British Channel 4 film Twenty Minutes Into the Future, and his own short-lived but thought-provoking U.S. series, will finally appear on DVD. Prescient, funny, and overdue for a revival.
This week demonstrates the kind of plotting and pacing the show needs to survive, as we jack into Caprica’s version of Grand Theft Auto and witness a key moment in Cylon history.
James Howard Kunstler has written insightful analyses of the inefficient and asinine ways we organize our cities, made problematic predictions about disasters which (thus far) have not happened, and widely disseminated the idea we’ve reached Peak oil. He sets the fictional World Made by Hand, published in 2008, in a post-peak-energy future.
“Very little is real these days.”
The plot, as before, unfolds at quite a slow rate, but this episode manages suspense, world-building, strong character, and remarkable cultural insight.
I’ve not been a fan of Hollywood’s frenzied desire to remake every film, television show, and cartoon that ever succeeded, but a remake of The Wolf Man actually made sense to me. The original film first appeared nearly seventy years ago. It features a great premise and it holds up, after a fashion. However, the hammy period acting, limited special effects, and underdeveloped backstory affect its reception in 2010. A clever director could transform those elements for the present, while composing a kind of Valentine to the great old horror movies.
Does this film succeed?
The quirky Kids in the Hall mini-series takes a haitus next week for the Winter Olympics. This provides a breather and a chance to review the first half of the series, with emphasis on the most recent episode. Its strengths and weaknesses are the series’s.
This week, various characters rallied against Dirtbagneto Samuel, Sylar became a Good Guy, Hiro rediscovered his old love, Peter went all SuperMario after Emma, and geeky shippers waiting for a pay-off to the Claire/Gretchen romance were disappointed.
Heroes‘ ended what will likely could be its final episode with “To be continued.” We have the opportunity here at the Bureau to discuss the episode– and to suggest how the series might have lived up to its initial promise.
Neil Gaiman has confirmed in SFX that he will be writing a forthcoming episode of Doctor Who.
Now if we can only get our act together and post regular reviews of the next season….
You know the drill. You tell all your friends about the cool new show you’re watching. They finally tune in, just as the series broadcasts its worst or least-typical episode to date.
With so few episodes, I cannot, in fact, determine what constitutes “typical” for Caprica, but I hope this isn’t it. “Reigns of a Waterfall” isn’t bad, but it falls far short of the standard set by the first few hours. Let’s hope those hours don’t represent the apotheosis of the show as a quality production.