Also

Star Trek is a pretty good "reboot" as they say in the current vernacular. Lots of pew pew pew and bang bang bang; Plus Kirk and Spock get their bromance on pretty good. Very well cast all around, I think. And I don't buy the "old series had more thematic depth" at all - even Wrath of Kahn. Yes, I said it! Bring it nerds!

In any case, it's still not that deep and will only really take off in sequel land if they do tie it into something deeper, which seems unlikely. In many respects, it's like the last two Bond movies. (It also has a killer opening sequence, just like Casino Royale)

Life on Mars

I like the ABC remake of Life on Mars, or at least the two episodes I've seen so far. I can't compare it to the British original, but I'd be interested in checking it out now. I'm not sure if the Bowie reference made any sense in the first one, but I doubt it will now. Maybe that will become manifest in one of his magical realism hallucinations. Harvey Keitel is fun as always, and the rest of the cast is solid too - Dean Winters, Gretchen Mol, etc. I'll pretty much watch anything with Dean Winters in it. Michael Imperioli sports ridiculous '70's facial hair.

BUT, like Mad Men, the show pulls a fast one by moralizing over the prejudices of that time. And in Life on Mars, the main character sermonizes for us instead of leaving it implicit. My, aren't we so enlightened compared to those neanderthals... Pot meet kettle, timber in your eye, etc. etc.

Worth a look

I read through World War Z last night, and really liked it. It's written as a serires of interview transcripts with various characters - doctors, smugglers, soldiers, survivors, etc., and their disjointed union tells the tale of a massive outbreak of a deadly zombie virus. It's very War of the Worlds in its style. Easily found at my favorite book store, the library.

Reality vs Total Recall

High-tech portals to aid border screening

Weeds

Via Laura, The Weeden Brother's Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog.

Star Trek (Edward Gorey Remix)

Via the b. in l., The Trouble with Tribbles: A Television Adaptation by Edward Gorey.

Hey Louie, the man is dry.

Adam Savage writes a Valentine to his favorite F/X movie, Blade Runner.

For better or worse, Blade Runner was a big influence on me. I knew it the minute I saw it, and in fact, I was bewildered that it had flopped. Certain things, certain bands or songs or cars or girls, you just know, right away. 25 years ago this year.

1982 also featured E. T., The Thing, TRON, Conan the Barbarian, and Star Trek II (Khan!) (also Tootsie, if you're my Mom). What an excellent year for nerds, even if I only saw most of those films much later. Anyway, Mr. Savage is right that the old fashioned composition effects in Blade Runner are better than the CGI that prevails today. Ironically, the ability to render anything has reduced the realism, or at least it is overused to the point where it breaks the spell. E.G, when actors and cameras move unphysically. (The camera work is always jarring to me - it's too showy and it's a fashion I hope dies out. See also oversaturated colors and choppy video-like editing. Also I am old. Harrumph.)

PS, skip the model Blade Runner gun and get the Korean Blade Runner Umbrella.

Godzilla

It turns out he's scientifically implausible.

Afro Samurai Soundtrack

The ultraviolent, 6-episode samurai steampunk blaxploitation anime Afro Samurai is, basically, okay.

The story is comic-book cliche, not unlike Kill Bill. In fact, there's probably a one to one mapping from the two sets of fans (it's surjective!) But they supposedly spent $1 million per episode on the artwork, and I would say it shows. The animation is cinema-quality Gonzo studio artwork all the way through. Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu, and Ron Perlman star as voice talents. I suspect this is a vanity project for Samuel.

Set the story aside, though, and the best part of the whole endeavor is the Rza's soundtrack. It's probably his best work since Ghost Dog, featuring Gza, Big Daddy Kane, and Q-Tip, among others. Three tracks are on the website to sample, so take a listen.

Enjoyable Bit of Sci-Fi

Sun of Suns, by Karl Schroeder. Nice steampunk swash-buckling space millitary-political mini-Dyson sphere coming-of-age story. Yes, I did that on purpose. Does go around the "war is stupid - can't we all see we are people" bend, but makes up for it with imagination and characters. Reminded me a little of Serenity, except sans the Ye and whatnot anachronisms.