The first reviews are out for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Read at your discretion! I read the first paragraph or so of both, but will wait to read the rest until the movie comes out.
First audience reactions are in for The Force Awakens!
There has been an embargo on movie reviews, asked for by Disney. That embargo expires at 12:01 a.m. PST early Wednesday morning. So, if you want to read the reviews, or just get an impression on what the critics think, the wait is almost over!
The SyFy Channel had definitely gotten way from sci-fi with aggressively stupid stuff like "Sharknado," etc. But, the channel is trying to return to return to science-fiction with tonight's one-two punch of the adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's classic novel "Childhood's End" and a TV Series based on the novels by James S.A. Corey, "The Expanse." The first episode for "The Expanse" has been online for weeks, and was pretty good, but I'll have to watch it again to see what I think.
For "Childhood's End," I am listening to the audiobook right now. Adapting a classic novel is challenging. So, I would rather listen to the original first. I am DVR'ing the mini-series, and will watch that once I am done with the book. I would recommend doing that!
I just saw both "The Martian" and "Jurassic World" this week. And, here are two movies whose first halves are better than their second halves.
The setup of "The Martian" is very good! Stranded on Mars, Matt Damon must use his science background to engineer his way out of dying on the red planet before a return mission can come and get him.
(SPOILERS BEGIN) His plan goes well, and he meets with setbacks, which you would expect. Meanwhile, everyone on Earth tries to figure on a way to come and rescue him. Everything goes well, in that respect. But, the ending gets a little crazy, including a space- based "Gravity"-type action sequence that defeated the decidedly better science-based opening. (END SPOILERS)
Ridley Scott does have a return to form here, after the muddled "Prometheus." Scott has always seemed at home with science-fiction, and I hope that he continues making more sci fi.
The acting is very good, especially by Damon, who must carry the film by design. The film score is pretty routine, which like "Prometheus" doesn't help the film like it should.
The cinematography is fine. I did have a problem with the visual effects. Those set on Mars are okay enough, even though they occasionally lack polish. But, the space-based ones look worse than those in the superior 2000 entry "Red Planet." That's odd, and might be a reflection of budgetary restrictions. ILM is on board here, but is a minor player. The effects seem more suited to a higher-budget Science Channel program.
With Scott Kelly doing his year in space at the moment on the International Space Station, it is especially odd to not see The Milky Way in the background while the ships are moving though space. As seen from Kelly's photographs, our galaxy should be very prominent, and really impossible to miss. Instead, we just get black, with a few scattered stars.
So, a good, but mixed entry. I am going to listen to the audiobook, and it should be interesting to see how that turns out compared to the film.
A new "Star Trek" TV series will premiere January 2017! It's part of a new CBS streaming service. The new series will feature new characters on interstellar missions, harkening back to the Original Series from the 1960's.
I was very optimistic about this, at first! My one concern is that one of the producers is Alex Kurtzman, who along with "The Decider" Roberto Orci, screwed up the movies with the truly messed up "Star Trek Into Darkness." So, will things be better this time? We will have to hope for the best!
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