8/10 (Good) — spoilers in review
Damnation (1987) not only marks the Hungarian director Bela Tarr’s departure from realist dramas but also his entry into the ranks of the best European directors. Although nowhere Continue reading
A Film Rumination: The Desert of the Tartars, Valerio Zurlini (1976)
7.5/10 (Good)
Valerio Zurlini’s The Desert of the Tartars (1976) is a relatively unknown Italian classic. Zurlini’s other works, most notably Estate Violenta (1959) and Indian Summer (1972), haven’t fared Continue reading
Book Review: The People of the Wind, Poul Anderson (1973)
4.5/5 (Very Good)
Notable Awards: Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1974 Nebula Award nominee, 1973
Poul Anderson’s delightful space opera chronicles the struggle between the growing Terran Empire and the Ythrian Domain (inhabited by birdlike beings). The main action occurs on the planet Avalon, a colony of Ythri but settled by BOTH humans and Ythrians who have managed to create a multicultural Continue reading
A Film Rumination: My Winnipeg, Guy Maddin (2007)
9.25/10 (masterpiece)
Where to start? At one time in my life I hid from the words “palimpsest”, “city”, “meditation”, and even, “experimental.” Then I watched Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, read some Borges, Continue reading
A Short Story Review: ‘The Builder’, Philip K. Dick, (1953)
2/5 (Poor)
For Philip K. Dick, ‘The Builder’ is not one of his better stories — nor is close to the best of his early 1950s works (‘The Preserving Machine’). A man (with the aid of his son) despite the continuous Continue reading
Update: Another egregious science fiction classic movie remake in the works, When Worlds Collide
Another timeless classic, When Worlds Collide (1951) dir. Rudolph Maté, is going to be abused by another incompetent director — Stephen Sommers, who helmed the recent G. I. Joe: Rise of Cobra debacle.
Some off the cuff complaints:
1. The Continue reading
A Short Story Review: ‘The Preserving Machine’ Philip K. Dick, (1953)
5/5 Brilliant
What an odd and profoundly moving (and disturbing) little gem.
A man visits Dr. Labyrinth who, in the past, had Continue reading
A Film Rumination: When Worlds Collide, Rudolph Maté (1951)
6/10 (Average)
The famous science fiction producer, George Pal (Destination Moon, The War of the Worlds, Conquest of Space, Time Machine, 7 Faces of Dr. Loa), vividly brings to the silver screen an adaptation of the famous 1930s novel, ‘When Worlds Collide’ by Philip Gordon Wylie and Edwin Balmer. The visual spectacle is quite Continue reading
A Film Rumination: Underground, Emir Kusturica (1995)
9.5/10 (Masterpiece)
Winner Palm d’Or Cannes 1995
Seldom, if ever, have I been so enamored with a movie. Emir Kusturica weaves a poignant, comic, vicious, madcap, sprawling, and physics defying cinematic experience deftly intertwined
Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 