Author Archives: JD DeLuzio

Flash and Arrow Discussion: “Paradox” and “The Recruits”

The new seasons of Arrow and The Flash continue, with Barry’s actions affecting both universes. “Paradox” is marked by angst and soft reboots, but it does feature appearances by the actual Jay Garrick Flash and the sinister Dr. Alchemy. “The Recruits” showed us Ollie’s past orientation into the Russian brotherhood and his present-day testing of some new recruits. Ragman puts in an appearance– a clear signal that anyone in the DCU might turn up– and Diggle finds himself bound for trouble.

Comments? Reviews? Easter Egg sightings?

Novel Review: The Girls

Last year’s pop-thriller was Paula Hawkins’ intriguing mystery, The Girl on the Train; they just released the movie adaptation. This year, the bestseller sort-of-a-thriller presents a fictional version of the Manson killings. Since there’s no mystery about the killers’ identities, Emma Cline’s The Girls examines what might make an upper-middle-class teen join a madman’s cult.

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October Review: The Blair Witch (2016)

October falls again! Expect polychromatic corn, terrifying masks, and (this year) a spike in the sale of cornhusk-colored wigs and pumpkin-colored foundation. And expect the Bureau to run reviews of horror movies old and new, counting down to the haunted thirty-first.

We’re beginning with a release from this autumn, a sequel to the film that initiated the found-footage horror genre, and demonstrated the power of the internet to convince people horrific fantasy was real.1 And that sequel begins with evidence that Heather Donahue did not die those twenty years ago…

Our full schedule for October appears below.

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Novel Review: The Fifth Season

When the world ends three weeks later, it happens on the most beautiful day Syenite has even seen. The sky is clear for miles, save for the occasional drift of cloud. The sea is calm, and even the omnipresent wind is warm and humid for once, instead of cool and scouring.

We’re a bit late to the party, but we’re finally reviewing N.K. Jemisin’s Hugo and New York Times Notable- winning fantasy.

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Will Elon Musk make it to Mars?

By now, you’ve undoubtedly heard that SpaceX founder Elon Musk hopes to establish a colony on Mars. Eric Mack of Cnet argues that the plan is insane but not impossible, while TheVerge’s Elizabeth Lopatto finds Musk’s plans implausible, but notes that they may lead to other important discoveries.

Assuming the first flights ever get off the ground, they’ll be dangerous one-way trips.

Who wants to sign up?

Or ask additional questions?

Weekend Review: The Green Slime (1968)

We’ll get you something new next weekend when our annual October Countdown begins. Specifically, we’ll have a review of The Blair Witch, currently shaking up theatre audiences.

For now, with summer ’16 just gone and the horrors of the Presidential Debate nigh, we present one more retro review, from a more innocent time.

This film holds a strange place in the history of SF cinema. Made in Japan with a non-Japanese cast, The Green Slime plays like the love child of Star Trek and a 1950s drive-in movie creature feature, presages (and possibly helped inspire) Armageddon and Alien, and was the basis of Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s unaired pilot episode.

That’s probably all you need to know but, if you want more, read on.

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