The Girl With All the Gifts (2016)

From Spotlight on Science Fiction, published 2022

The human survival impulse is extraordinary, and apocalyptic fiction could not exist without it. No matter how bad things get, certain characters push on, determined to keep the species going into an uncertain future. There’s no alternative.

The Girl With All the Gifts would like to challenge that assumption. In Colm McCarthy’s virus/vampire/zombie mashup, the girl of the title isn’t entirely human, but she’s certainly the future.

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October 26, 2023 0

The Day After (1983)

From We Belong Dead, Issue 31, published 2022

If you live in a place like New York or Tokyo, you’re used to seeing your hometown destroyed on screen. It’s a slow year if the Statue of Liberty isn’t decapitated in at least one movie.

I’ve spent most of my life in Kansas City, a mellow Midwestern town that’s often overlooked in popular culture. Except that one time in 1983, when we got obliterated in a nuclear war.

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October 27, 2022 0

Panic in Year Zero! (1962)

From Spotlight on Science Fiction, published 2022

Without the title card, the beginning of Panic in Year Zero! could be mistaken for a family road trip comedy. It has a hip jazz score by Les Baxter and features a long-married couple who tease and flirt with each other while their teenage kids complain about being stuck in the car all day.

But as they leave Los Angeles and head to their mountain camping spot, they see a blinding flash of light. Then another. Then a mushroom cloud over the city.

The groovy music sticks around. The happy family doesn’t.

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June 4, 2022 0

In which I advocate for a sci-fi Best Picture

January 13, 2020 0

Rambling Thoughts on “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (2019)

I’m watching more movies for fun, now that I’m not getting paid for reviews. Periodically, I will publish my reactions, just because. Also, you will probably like this more if you’ve seen the film in question. A detailed plot synopsis is on the Wikipedia page, if you want a shortcut. Here, there be spoilers…

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