******COSMODROME-SIZED SPOILERS!****** A Brief Synopsis Just saw a new Netflix movie called “Spaceman” (2024), starring Adam Sandler as a lone Czech cosmonaut named Jakub Prochazka who’s been sent to investigate a vast, mysteriously primordial “Chopra cloud” that’s wandered into our solar system and has been visible in the skies above an alternate Earth for the…
How 1973’s “American Graffiti” created a ripple effect still felt over 50 years later…
*****TWIN BARREL-CARB SPOILERS!***** After the arguably unjust box office failure of his arthouse-dystopian sci-fi film “THX-1138” (1971), George Lucas was challenged by his mentor and American Zoetrope producing partner Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now”) to do something challenging to his own avant-garde sensibilities, which, for young George Lucas, meant creating a warm,…
Quantum Leap ends its second season with a two-part finale, “As the World Burns” and “Against Time”…
*****ZIGGY-SIZED SPOILERS!***** NBC/Peacock’s revived “Quantum Leap” just ended its second season, leaving the door wide open for a third, but given its uncertain future, this might be a series finale as well. The original Quantum Leap (1989-1993) was a time-traveling anthology series following the quest of Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) to right past wrongs…
“Welcome (back) to Jurassic Park!” Seeing a modern classic through fresh eyes…
******BRACHIOSAUR-SIZED SPOILERS!****** My wife and I recently invited our longtime friend Kathy over for another of our ‘garage theater’ movie nights with her 12-year old son, Joshua, who is like a nephew to us (he cosplayed as “Luke” to our “Uncle Owen” and “Aunt Beru” for 2022’s Star Wars Celebration). Joshua was born well into…
“Virtual Trek Con 5” begins February 15th, through the 19th…
Are you one of those folks who can’t afford to attend a Star Trek convention, or for whom traveling to one is physically challenging or prohibitively expensive? Well, actors/hosts Ryan T. Husk and Cirroc Lofton from “The 7th Rule” podcast (link: The 7th Rule on YouTube) have got you covered with Virtual Trek Con 5,…
AppleTV’s “For All Mankind” season 4; what goes up, must come down…
******ASTEROID-SIZED SPOILERS!****** I’d like to reiterate my tremendous love for Ron Moore’s “For All Mankind”; it’s a brilliant alternate-reality series, which repeatedly demonstrates a healthy respect for authentic space science as well. The characters (past and present) are deeply compelling, with issues of sexism and racism left largely in humanity’s rear-view mirror as it begins…
“CreepIECon” returns to haunt the Inland Empire once again for 2024…
CreepIECon Returns! Debuting in February of 2022 and returning in February and September of 2023, the Inland Empire’s largest, steadiest and now bi-annual horror convention just gets bigger and bigger with each outing. I’ve covered the previous three CreepIECons for this site, and I bought my weekend pass for CreepIECon Returns, which has now expanded into a three-day event;…
Carl Weathers (1948-2024); heavyweight champion of a galaxy far, far away…
Today began like any other day. It was Groundhog’s Day, and I was preparing to attend another convention this weekend. Then I heard the news that actor Carl Weathers had passed away peacefully in his his sleep last night at age 76, and I was stunned. As of this writing, his cause of death remains unknown. Carl…
My ongoing reasons for owning physical media…
In an earlier column from six years ago, I sang the praises of physical media ownership (“Still crazy after all these years; why I continue to collect physical media”). And I still do. I’ve been watching a few recent YouTube videos which make the case for collecting VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-Rays and 4K discs, even in…
“The Creator” (2023) paints a sympathetic portrait of artificial intelligence…
******SYNTHETIC SPOILERS!****** Directed and cowritten by Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One,” “Godzilla”) with occasional collaborator Chris Weitz, “The Creator” was a movie I was curious to see late last year during its theatrical run. Unfortunately, events conspired to prevent that from happening, and it was gone from theaters before I had the chance. The trailer looked…
S#!t happens in Netflix’s “Leave the World Behind”…
******SUSPICIOUS SPOILERS!****** I have to admit, I took the bait on this one. Last month, I saw an interesting online trailer for Netflix’s “Leave the World Behind” (2023), based on a book by Rumaan Alam, who cowrote the screenplay with director Sam Esmail. Starring Oscar winners Julia Roberts (“Erin Brockovich”) and Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”), along…
A few thoughts on “Oppenheimer” (2023)…
After nearly six months, I finally got around to seeing 2023’s “Oppenheimer” this past week. It’s not that I was avoiding it, it’s just that I haven’t fully regained my moviegoing mojo following the COVID pandemic (I have only seen a handful of movies theatrically this past year, including “Barbie”). Getting my old, arthritic butt…