Hilary Swank, Vivian Wu, and Mark Ivanir head the cast of Netflix’s new foray into space, Away. The series depicts the drama surrounding a first crewed mission to Mars. Is anyone watching? Here’s a place to comment.
Author Archives: JD DeLuzio
Movie Review: Tenet
The first Hollywood blockbuster released during the pandemic is a SF techno-thriller, sort of James Bond meets La Jetée, with a second-generation movie hero in the lead. It also received its international release ahead of its American one.
I saw it at an old-time drive-in as a double-feature with Them!
X-Files brings out its “Lower Decks”
The X-Files will return to the small screen, but in a comedic animated cartoon that will depict the B-Team, the agents who investigated “X” cases that are too ridiculous or trivial for Scully and Mulder.
It’s in development at Fox. Although the original series never shied away from humor (remember “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space?”), I suspect the response to this announcement may be mixed.
Review: Tales from the Loop (Season One)
Possibly the best successor to The Twilight Zone dropped its first season on Amazon Prime back in April. We’re finally getting around to reviewing that season. Taking its inspirations from paintings by Simon Stålenhag, the show gives us T-Zone plots with a modern sensibility, a recurring cast, and a world where one bizarre occurrence remains in continuity when the next one occurs.
It’s a brilliantly-made, thought-provoking depiction of an alternate reality where, one suspects, insurance premiums must be terrifically high.
Novel Review: A Memory Called Empire
This year’s Hugo for best novel went to Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, which was also nominated for a Locus and a Nebula. Library Journal and the Guardian named it a Best Book of 2019, while NPR named it a Favorite Book.
How did your debut novel do?
DC Universe content moves to HBO Max…. And other Decidedly Concerning news…
In a move that will surprise no one, DC Universe’s content will migrate to HBO Max. DC Comics, of course, has experienced a serious shake-up in the last week, and the future of the company, once synonymous with comic books, remains in flux.
A quick checklist of known changes appears below:
Weekend Review: Battle Queen 2020
We haven’t done an old-movie Weekend Review for a while, and summer’s more than half-way done. This one seemed a natural, since it takes place in the far-future world of… 2020!
Battle Queen 2020 (2001), filmed in zero degrees and on zero budget, may well be the worst post-apocalyptic movie of all time– and that’s saying quite a bit.
Star Trek Lower Decks Review: “The Envoy”
This is my second and, most likely, my last review of Star Trek: Lower Decks, at least until the inevitable Special Guest Voice ep.
Doom Patrol Review: Final Three Episodes, Season Two
CYBORG: Hey, Larry! You okay?
LARRY: Not since the early 60s, no.
CYBORG: *heh* This is Ronnie
LARRY: Hey.
RONNIE: Hello.
CYBORG: Well, just keep doing… whatever. We’re looking for Niles. Know where he is?
LARRY: Space.
RONNIE: As in, outer?
LARRY: Mmm hmm.CYBORG: Any idea when he’ll be back?
Doom Patrol’s second season comes to a premature ending, as the strangest show on television continues to prove it’s also one of the best.
But keep the kids away. Far away.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review: “Second Contact”
For the second time in its long history, Star Trek is represented by reruns and a new animated show. The last time that happened, there’d only been one series, and the limited animated incarnation used original cast voices and attempted to stay true to the spirit of its inspiration.
This time, they’re going for cheap laughs, in a cartoon that tries to take a humorous, frequently raunchy look at the Federation, as seen from the perspective of its less-heroic members.
Will it fly?