******RETRO-SPACE AGE SPOILERS!****** As they say, fourth time’s the charm, and that couldn’t be more apt when describing the movies spun off from “The Fantastic Four,” a comic book created in 1961 by the legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby that more or less launched the Marvel Comics brand. The comic book property was first…
Author: A Middle Aged Geek
I am a happily married, progressive-minded, middle-aged science fiction geek. My interests included photography, reading, movies, Halloween, and all kinds of nerdy-niche things. After months of prodding from my wife (and my friends), I decided to 'throw down' with a blog of all of my nerdiest of nerdly thoughts and musings... here's hoping you enjoy!
“It Rhymes with Takei” (2025) is George Takei’s graphic memoir of adversity, love and making a difference…
******SOME SPOILERS****** Unlike most columns on this site, this one is about a book, not a movie or TV/streaming series. The book is “It Rhymes with Takei”; a new graphic memoir from famed Star Trek actor, political activist, author and playwright George Takei, who once again collaborates with coauthors Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and illustrator…
“The Fantastic Four,” “JAWS” and “Project Hail Mary” highlighted my San Diego Comic Con 2025 experience…
I’ve Looked at Comic Con from Both Sides Now Returning to San Diego Comic Con (been doing these over 20 years now), I find every year’s experiences to be different. This year, for example, I was nursing a bad knee that’s facing eventual replacement. This led to me to get a first-time ever handicapped sticker…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds begins season 3 with “Hegemony Part 2,” and “Wedding Bell Blues”…
******STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!****** After being renewed for its 4th and 5th seasons, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW) has debuted the first two episodes of its third season, offering two radically different types of stories; a dark alien invasion drama and a wacky comedy. And if the season trailer we saw in April is any indicator,…
James Gunn’s “Superman” (2025) is a superhero movie for this age, though I wish it were more timeless…
******SUPER-SPOILERS!****** My wife and I just saw “Superman” (2025), and I’m going to try to keep this review a lot shorter than most, because it’s too early, and too many have yet to see the movie for one of this column’s usual deep-dives. That said, there will be some spoilers, so with that, let’s get…
Revisiting “Jurassic World” (2015) ten years later…
******T-REX SIZED SPOILERS!****** While I’ve not yet seen “Jurassic World Rebirth,” I sated my summer dinosaur cravings with a rewatch of 2015’s “Jurassic World,” which initiated the second wave of “Jurassic Park” movies; a franchise that began 32 years ago, and which refuses to go extinct. As a dinosaur fanatic from childhood who grew up…
“Open your mind!” 35 years of Paul Verhoeven’s “Total Recall” (1990)…
******TURBINIUM-RICH SPOILERS!****** It was on a June day in 1990 when my sister and I attended a matinee screening of “Total Recall” on opening weekend at yet another in a long line of multiplexes that no longer exist. As fans of director Paul Verhoeven‘s “Robocop,” we looked forward to the Dutch filmmaker’s latest American opus….
The first trailer for “Project Hail Mary” (2026) launches, and it’s spectacular…
******SUN-SIZED SPOILERS!****** As a fan of author Andy Weir (“The Martian”) since the mid-2010s, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his three novels to date, as well as his short stories. It’s safe to say Weir is one of the best sci-fi novelists working today. Each new book of his is an event. Given Weir’s information tech background,…
Personal Log: Taking a brief virtual vacation, but more Musings are coming…
To regular readers, this one’s for you. First, I humbly appreciate your readership, and I’m grateful that this eight and a half-year old column receives an average of around or above 300 visits a day now. So, I just wanted to let regular readers and subscribers know that I haven’t fallen into a Mustafar lava…
Doctor Who: “The Reality War” says goodbye to Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor with a so-so sendoff…
******TARDIS-SIZED SPOILERS!****** Actor Ncuti Gatwa blasted his way into Doctor Who lore following his pioneering ‘bi-generation’ from David Tennant‘s resurrected Doctor in “The Giggle,” the last of several Doctor Who specials from 2023. The returning Tennant’s three specials and Gatwa’s introduction marked the returns of producer Russell T. Davies, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and classic…
“Predator: Killer of Killers” (2025) is a brilliantly realized animated anthology with a few weak spots…
******SLAYING SPOILERS!****** Directed by John McTiernan and cowritten by Jim & John Thomas, 1987’s action/adrenaline-soaked sci-fi flick “Predator” has led to some so-so sequels and a quasi-canonization within the “ALIEN” franchise. To be honest, I’ve only enjoyed the first movie and the last sequel, “Prey” (2022), directed and cowritten by Dan Tratchenberg. Everything in-between was…
25 years later, Disney’s “Mission to Mars” still fails to achieve escape velocity…
******PHOBOS-SIZED SPOILERS!****** 25 years ago, my wife and I went out for dinner and a movie with two married friends of ours to see “Mission to Mars” (2000); a Disney (nee: Touchstone) space opus directed by esteemed director Brian De Palma (“Carrie,” “Scarface,” “The Untouchables”), a screenplay cowritten by Graham Yost (“Speed”) with music by…