Seth McFarlane’s sci-fi series “The Orville” got off to a rocky start. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it based on the pilot “Old Wounds.” Now, the show is (at the time of this blog) about two episodes from the end of the first season, and its leveled off…
Month: November 2017
Pixar’s “Coco” is a warm, colorful movie that truly wakes the dead…
Dia de los Muertos, the ‘Day of the Dead’ is a traditional Mexican counterpart to the Celtic Samhain (“Sah-win”; a 3,000 year old ritual that evolved, through various cultural appropriations, into modern Halloween). Both holidays represent a time of the year when the ‘barrier’ between the living and spirit worlds is thinnest, and the dead can briefly…
“Star Trek Continues” finishes the original five-year mission…
“Star Trek Continues” is, quite literally, the continuation of the prematurely cancelled original series (1966-69); and this non-profit, made-for-love-of-the-game series meticulously recreates the sets, props, lighting and even hairstyles of the original series. The episodes are even framed in the older standard aperture of 4:3; the television standard at the time of the original series’ production….
Star Trek Discovery S1.9, “Into the Forest I Go” (midseason finale)
Well, we’ve reached the halfway mark of the first season of Star Trek Discovery, and tonight’s episode packed the sort of emotional wallop that, to be honest, has been distributed somewhat unevenly throughout the season so far. ******* KLINGON WARSHIP SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD! ******* The story: Continuing from last week’s episode (“Si Vis Pacem,…
Thor: Ragnarok… fun, flashy but forgettable.
My wife and I just saw “Thor: Ragnarok” over the weekend. I was (and am) fighting a nasty head cold, but a steady supply of gel caps helped me through it. We couldn’t get tickets to see it in our preferred Dolby Atmos theater (the one with the plush reclining seats), and our second choice…
Star Trek Discovery, S1.8, “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum”…
This week’s Discovery episode title (translated from Latin) means “If you want peace, prepare for war.” The episode was also written by famed Star Trek novelist Kirsten Beyer, who is on the writing staff of this series. ***** SHIELDS UP! SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE EPISODE! ***** Since this was the first of an apparent two-parter,…
Netflix’s “Stranger Things”’ truly blossoms in its sophomore year…
“Stranger Things” is a horror/sci-fi ‘80s period piece series created for Netflix by The Duffer Brothers (Russ & Matt), and it feels like a genetically-engineered offspring of early ‘80s-era Steven Spielberg and Stephen King, with a generous helping of the late Tobe Hooper spliced in for good measure. I first got into “Stranger Things” last…