• Movies/TV

    Movie Review: The Avengers 

    Published on 05-08-2012 11:43 AM  Number of Views: 54 
    Categories:
    1. Superhero
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 4.5 Stars
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    The Avengers, PG-13 (2012)
    142 minutes
    Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow
    Directed by Joss Whedon
    Rating: (4.5/5)

    My son isn't anywhere near the comic book geek I was when I was his age, but we were both excited to see The Avengers. We'd seen all the prequels and enjoyed them, although I think I enjoyed ...
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    Member Movie Review: The Thing from Another World vs John Carpenter's The Thing 

    Published on 04-19-2012 06:24 AM  Number of Views: 208 
    Categories:
    1. Science Fiction
    2. Movies/TV
    3. Science Horror
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    The Thing From Another World (1951)
    John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)

    This is one of my favorite movies of all time, the original Howard Hawks version of John Campell's story of personal invasion. Who goes there?

    Remade by John Carpenter in his 1982 version which enjoyed indifferent success and recently in another movie version that I have not yet but refer you to the SFReader review.

    Why is the Hawks version my favorite and why does it pull ...
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    Movie Review: The Thing (2011) 

    Published on 03-29-2012 02:52 AM  Number of Views: 252 
    Categories:
    1. Movies/TV
    2. Science Horror
    3. 2.5 Stars
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    The Thing (2011), rated R
    103 minutes
    Directed by Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.
    Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating: (2.5/5)

    I've never seen the first movie from 1951, titled The Thing from Another World, but most often referred to as The Thing. I did, however, see the John Carpenter version starring Kurt Russell, released in 1982. I don't remember when I saw it, but whenever it was, I must have enjoyed it, as I still remember bits and pieces from it. ...
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    Movie Review: Hunger Games 

    Published on 03-28-2012 08:55 AM  Number of Views: 231 
    Categories:
    1. Movies/TV
    2. Apocolyptic
    3. 3.0 Stars
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    Hunger Games (2012), PG-13
    143 minutes
    Directed by Gary Ross
    Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating: (3/5)

    I haven't read the book, nor has my son, but he heard some of his friends talking about it and wanted to see it, so off we went. If I had to sum it up in Hollywood-speak, it would be Battle Royale meets the costume designer from 5th Element with some Running Man tossed in. ...
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    Movie Review: Midnight in Paris 

    Published on 03-13-2012 03:43 AM  Number of Views: 196 
    Categories:
    1. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 4.5 Stars
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    Midnight in Paris (2011), PG-13
    94 minutes
    Directed by Woody Allen
    Starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Marion Cotillard
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating: (4/5)

    Gil Pender and his finance Inez (Rachael McAdams) are on a vacation in Paris, accompanying Inez's wealthy parents on a business trip. Gil is a struggling screenplay writer. Not struggling in the sense of making money, but struggling with what he feels to be a lack of creativity and fulfillment in his writing of cookie-cutter screenplays. He longs for more, though he's not quite sure what he's longing for. ...
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    Movie Review: In Time 

    Published on 03-12-2012 02:24 AM  Number of Views: 156 
    Categories:
    1. Science Fiction
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 1.5 Stars
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    In Time (2011), PG-13
    109 minutes
    Directed by Andrew Niccol
    Starring Justin Timberlake, Cillian Murphy, Amanda Seyfried, Alex Pettyfer, Vincent Kartheiser
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating: (1.5/5)

    Time is money. No, seriously, in In Time, time is money. Everyone has a luminous bio-timer built into his or her left forearm that counts down how long that individual has left to live. Time is also currency used just like money--you work to earn it (or inherit it, or borrow it, or win it), pay your bills with it, can gift it to friends and family, and even steal it. ...
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    Movie Review: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 

    Published on 03-08-2012 07:30 AM  Number of Views: 238 
    Categories:
    1. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 2.0 Stars
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    Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
    Directed by Brad Peyton
    Starring Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzm?n
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating: (2.5/5)

    I'll confess to a quick Internet search to see if Dwayne Johnson had any children, because the only reason I could see him wanting to be in this movie would be if he had a kid that would think it was cool. I dug just deep enough to learn he has an 11 year old daughter, which is right about the demographic where this movie would have the most appeal. So he MUST have done this movie for her. ...
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    Movie Review: The Grey 

    Published on 03-02-2012 06:52 AM  Number of Views: 356 
    Categories:
    1. Thriller/Suspense
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 4.5 Stars
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    The Grey (2012), rated R
    117 minutes
    Starring Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, James Badge Dale, Joe Anderson, Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo, Ben Bray, Nonso Anozie
    Director Joe Carnahan
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating: (4.5/5)

    I debated about posting a review of The Grey on SFReader, since the movie doesn't really fall under the banner of speculative fiction, but I decided why not? It's my site after all. While The Grey might be a survivalist man-versus-nature tale, there were definite elements of mysticism and horror that make it hard to do an easy classification. ...
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    Movie Review: Rollerball 

    Published on 02-27-2012 01:13 AM  Number of Views: 216 
    Categories:
    1. Thriller/Suspense
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 1.0 Stars
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    Rollerball (2002), rated PG-13
    99 minutes
    Directed by John McTiernan
    Starring Chris Klein, Jean Reno, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Naveen Andrews
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating: (1/5)

    Netflix streaming is a mixed blessing. Nice because it's incredible easy to browse through hundreds of movies in mere minutes, not nice because this makes it way too simple to kick off a movie I?d probably otherwise never watch, thus wasting my life. ...
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    Movie Review: The Three Musketeers 

    Published on 02-23-2012 05:41 AM  Number of Views: 503 
    Categories:
    1. Historical Fantasy
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 2.0 Stars
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    The Three Musketeers (2011), Rated PG-13
    110 minutes
    Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson
    Starring Luke Evans, Matthew Mcfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Logan Lerman, Mads Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating (2/5):

    Over the years, the popular 17th century novel by Alexandre Dumas has been the inspiration for quite a few movies, some good, some not so much. I'm afraid for most viewers, this newest interpretation will fall into the "not" category. I'll caveat that later. ...
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    Movie Review: Underworld: Awakening 

    Published on 02-23-2012 03:14 AM  Number of Views: 270 
    Categories:
    1. Vampire
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 3.0 Stars
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    Underworld: Awakening (2012), Rated R
    88 minutes
    Directed by M?ns M?rlind and Bj?rn Stein
    Starring Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, India Eisley, Stephen Rea, Theo James, Charles Dance, Kris Holden-Ried
    Review by Dave Felts
    Rating (3/5):

    Underworld: Awakening is the fourth film in the series, with Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two, reprising her role as Selene. Selene is a vampire 'death dealer', a trained warrior created to fight in the war between the vampires and the Lycan (werewolves). With this being the fourth film in the franchise, I'm going to assume you know what you're in for if you watch it. This is a 3D film, but I saw the 2D version, so I can't speak to the effectiveness of the 3D. ...
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    Member Movie Review: Forbidden Planet 

    Published on 02-21-2012 07:52 AM  Number of Views: 209 
    Categories:
    1. Science Fiction
    2. Movies/TV
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    Forbidden Planet
    Directed by Fred M. Wilcox
    Produced by Nicholas Nayfack
    Starring, Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis
    Release date(s) April 1, 1956
    Running time 98 minutes
    Reviewed by Ed McKeown

    Forbidden Planet, directed by Fred M. Wilcox, stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in Shakespeare's The Tempest,and its plot contains certain similarities though I think that the analogy gets a bit over played. ...
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    Member Movie Review: War of the Worlds 

    Published on 02-14-2012 04:21 PM  Number of Views: 220 
    Categories:
    1. Science Fiction
    2. Movies/TV
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    The War of the Worlds
    Directed by Byron Haskin
    Starring Gene Barry, Ann Robinson
    Review by Ed McKeown

    This version of War of the Worlds is not a perfect movie but it is one of the best adaptations of the book, particularly in a visual sense. The movie opens with an ominous voice over a tour of the Solar System using the art work of the great Chesley Bonestell. ...
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    Member Movie Review: Them! 

    Published on 02-14-2012 01:23 AM  Number of Views: 135 
    Categories:
    1. Science Fiction
    2. Movies/TV
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    Them!
    Directed by Gordon Douglas
    Starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness
    Reviewed by Ed McKeown
    Released June 19, 1954
    Running time 94 minutes


    "When man entered the atomic age, he opened the door to a new world. What we may eventually find in that new world, nobody can predict." ...
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    Member Movie Review: Priest 

    Published on 02-10-2012 12:56 AM  Number of Views: 132 
    Categories:
    1. Vampire
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 2.0 Stars
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    Priest (2010), Rated PG-13
    87 minutes
    Starring Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Lily Collins, Brad Dourif
    Directed by Scott Charles Stewart
    Reviewed by Jaqhama
    Rating: (2/5)

    Priest is set on either another world or the Earth in some dark, apocalyptic future, or an alternate Earth at any rate. Never was quite sure about that. Humans have been at war with a vampire race for decades, centuries maybe. Things weren't going so good for the homo saps until they discovered that some of them have almost super human powers of speed, strength and agility. ...
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    Movie Review: The Darkest Hour 

    Published on 02-09-2012 06:24 AM  Number of Views: 196 
    Categories:
    1. Science Fiction
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 1.5 Stars
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    The Darkest Hour (2011), Rated PG-13
    89 minutes
    Starring Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman
    Directed by Chris Gorak
    Reviewed by Dave Felts
    Rating: (1/5)

    Two young American entrepreneurs, Sean (Emile Hirsh) and Ben (Max Mingella) arrive in Moscow to pitch their web site business to Russian investors in the hopes of a big payday. When they arrive, however, they find a business contact, a Swedish man named Skyler (Joel Kinnaman), has backstabbed them by stealing their idea and already securing the deal for himself. ...
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    Movie Review: Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 

    Published on 01-30-2012 06:27 AM  Number of Views: 268 
    Categories:
    1. Fantasy
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 0.5 Stars
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    Twilight Breaking Dawn, Part 1 (2011), Rated PG-13
    Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
    Directed by: Bill Condon
    Reviewed by Dave Felts
    Rating: (.5/5)

    Okay, it's embarrassing to admit, but my wife and I watched Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 this past weekend. I could say it was a guilty pleasure, but without the pleasure part.

    This is going to devolve into a bit of a rant, so feel free to skip ahead if you want.

    My daughter tore through the Twilight books a few years ago (I guess around age 13-14?). Hey, anything to get kids reading, right? Maybe.... ...
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    Book Review: Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris 

    Published on 12-06-2011 04:37 PM  Number of Views: 400 
    Categories:
    1. Horror
    2. Urban Fantasy
    3. Vampire
    4. Modern/Urban Fantasy
    5. Movies/TV
    6. 3.0 Stars
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    Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier
    Publisher: ACE TRADE
    Year Published: 2010

    First off, I have not seen "True Blood" so I read this without any possible coloration from having viewed that first.

    As everyone probably already knows, this is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. The basic premise is that vampires have been legally recognized and so are now part of the world. Sookie, a waitress in the small town of Bon Temps, has been desperate to see one, so when one shows up in her town, she's instantly drawn to him, mostly out of curiosity. But when young women--all with jobs like Sookie's, and all who associate with vampires--begin turning up strangled to death, suspicions turn on this new vampire, who Sookie has now befriended. The rest of the book revolves around Sookie finding out more about the vampire world while attempting to figure out who is killing these young women, since she is obviously a potential target. ...
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    Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens 

    Published on 09-23-2011 05:50 AM  Number of Views: 282 
    Categories:
    1. Science Fiction
    2. Movies/TV
    3. 3.0 Stars
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    Cowboys and Aliens (2011) Rated PG-13
    Starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell
    Directed by Jon Favreau
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier
    Rating: (3/5)


    This movie was my most anticipated movie of the summer, because it was a new idea, not Smurfs 5 or something. I watched the first trailer and thought, WHOA! and ever since have not allowed myself to see any trailers because they usually spoil a ton of stuff in the movie for me. (One of the disadvantages of being a writer: you can piece together plot fairly easily with little to no details.) ...
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    Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes 

    Published on 09-23-2011 05:01 AM  Number of Views: 59 
    Categories:
    1. Movies/TV
    2. 5.0 Stars
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    Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) Rated PG-13
    Starring James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow
    Directed by Rupert Wyatt
    Reviewed by Joshua Palmatier
    Rating: (5/5)

    I have just returned from the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes. . . and I have to say I really enjoyed it! It was smart, it was thoughtful, and it presented a believable reason for how the apes ended up gaining intelligence and, more importantly, how they managed to take over the earth. The actual "taking over the earth" doesn't happen in the movie, but it does cover exactly how that takeover began AND gave you all of the necessary seeds for how the apes ended up on top, over humans. In fact, it set up the entire Planet of the Apes movie concept as well. ...
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