Kwisatz Haderach: The Promised Savior in Dune Part 1 (2021)
I had no experience with Dune before I watched Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 film adaptation, and that lack of grand expectations is probably why I was so happily surprised by how fresh, epic, beautiful, and well made it was. In an…
Imago Droid
Are the droids of the Star Wars universe sentient? As the world’s most popular space fantasy franchise podraces toward its fiftieth birthday, the question is only getting muddier. The ineffable reality that there is something about humans which makes us…
Redemption in the Desert: Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1
Now THIS is Star Wars: Lightsabers, saving the princess, and redemption.
How (and Why) you really should still watch TENET (2020)
This article may seem late to some of you. But, since the film barely made a profit at the box office, and its digital release made few waves, I think it’s safe to assume that most folks have yet to…
“Take, Eat”— Redeeming Consumption in The Platform
The Platform is the English title of Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s 2019 Spanish science fiction-horror film, El Hoyo. Its original title poses “the hole” or “the pit” as the film’s controlling image, whereas the version American audiences have recently become exposed to…
Who Killed the World? | Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
“Who killed the world?” This question haunts the now five-year-old masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road. Though it is only uttered twice in the film, the state of Fury Road’s world demands it be asked. The barren desert landscape bears witness…
Aliens Just Like Us: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) & Under the Skin (2013)
“Every village and small country place is full of people who’ve just come and settled there without any ties to bring them. The big houses have been sold, and the cottages have been converted and changed. And people just come…
"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" – Star Trek: Picard S1E10
I struggled with how to start this review. I’m not only an enormous fan of The Next Generation, but I am particularly fond of Data and his relationship with Picard. Their bond was at the heart of TNG. It was…
The Monsters Have Arrived and We are Them: The Soska Sisters’ RABID
In the history of cinema, several filmmakers have stuck out as memorable, those who left a mark on the industry and have, in some way, influenced generations of filmmakers after them. In the world of horror cinema, in particular, one…
"Broken Pieces" – Star Trek: Picard S1E08
There’s a delightful (if not disconcerting) moment near the middle of “Broken Pieces,” where Agnes Jurati asks Jean-Luc Picard if he believes in hell. Picard’s breathy sigh and casually lifted eyebrow are a wonderful piece of subtle acting from Patrick…