sci-fi
The 20 Greatest Summer Blockbuster Movie Trailers
Blockbuster Month is celebrating the true titans of the genre. In the weeks ahead, you’ll read through a variety of features digging deep into the greatest hits of Hollywood, from popcorn classics to underrated gems. Today, we head to the theater early with Editor-in-Chief Michael Roffman to revisit the greatest trailers in summer blockbuster history. Hype begins with the trailer. Sure, there’s the studio announcement, the lobby poster, even the intellectual property itself, but there’s nothing like first seeing those epic few minutes. If you’re lucky, you get some glimpses of the action, a sense of the film’s tone, maybe even pieces of a score, and a tagline that sends shivers up your spine. Yeah, that’s when the magic sets in. Today, we take the trailer for granted. We not only know ther...
Dreamers on Being Influenced by Nirvana and Sci-Fi
Kyle Meredith With… Dreamers Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public Dreamers frontman Nick Wold calls into Kyle Meredith With… to talk about the band’s latest single “Heatseeker” and the alternate version that features their friend Grandson. In fact, it’s not the first time the two have collaborated, having teamed up earlier this year for Grandson’s “Whole Lotta”, which inspired Wold to take a more philosophical and political turn within his own lyrics. Wold discusses what this new phase for the band means for his upcoming songs, taking influence from Nirvana and Royal Blood to go heavier, his love of sci-fi, and learning to play piano during this downtime. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview...
Netflix’s Dark Traverses Time, Space, and Understanding in Its Final Season: Review
The Pitch: When will the sleepy German town of Winden finally catch a break? When we last left the chronologically-challenged cast of Netflix’s Dark, the apocalypse, the product of two warring factions battling for control of time travel across two centuries, is finally here. And if that’s not enough, young lynchpin Jonas Kahnwald (Louis Hofmann) learns that the scope of this battle is bigger than he previously thought when he’s swept away to an alternate Winden where he never existed — his recently-killed girlfriend Martha (Lisa Vicari) now wears the yellow raincoat of responsibility for this temporal conflict. While Jonas tries to return to his reality and stop the apocalypse from coming to both versions of his world, the rest of Dark‘s four main families — including Charlotte ...
Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone Returns with All the Same Issues of Its First Season: Review
Welcome (Back) Travelers: Last year, Jordan Peele, Simon Kinberg, and Marco Ramirez tried their darnedest to bring back the magic of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone for CBS All Access. They hid Easter eggs in every episode (clearly, they loved “Nick of Time”), they remade a fan favorite (see: “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet”), and they even digitally resurrected the man himself (see: “Blurryman”). Some of it worked, some of it flopped, but mostly, it went from arriving with a big bang to shuffling away with a soft shrug. Even so, it was an intriguing enough run for a second season, and naturally, CBS kept the series’ trademark door open for 10 more episodes. Looking at the slate ahead, there’s a lot to be excited about: Peele went solo at the typewriter for “Downtime”; award-winning genre writer...
Animorphs Film Adaptation in the Works
Animorphs, the popular ’90s children’s book series by K.A. Applegate, has a plot that’s as engrossing as its legendary book covers. The sci-fi collection follows five teenagers — Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias — who can morph into any animal they touch, a secret ability that helps them fight in an ongoing alien invasion. Now, seemingly unprompted, Scholastic Entertainment has announced they’re teaming up with Erik Feig’s Picturestart to adapt those Animorphs books into a feature film, according The Hollywood Reporter. Animorphs will be a live-action movie co-developed by Scholastic and Picturestart. Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman will co-produce alongside Picturestart’s Feig and Lucy Kitada. Development of the script will be handled by Scholastic’s F...
Mark Hamill Has a Secret Cameo in The Mandalorian as a Cantina Droid
Eagle-eyed Star Wars fans love to boast that they could spot Mark Hamill anywhere thanks to the wide range of voice and acting roles he’s accumulated over the years. That’s not always true though. The Luke Skywalker actor made his coolest secret cameo yet last year that nobody noticed: he was a droid in the fifth episode of The Mandalorian. During the finale of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, a behind-the-scenes docuseries about the making of the smash hit Disney Plus show, it was revealed that Hamill appeared in the series as the cantina bartender in Episode 5, reports Deadline. The droid — named EV-9D9, according to creator Jon Favreau — was uncredited and Hamill masked his voice for the role. In the scene, the Mandalorian walks into the cantina and approaches the bartender to ask about...
R.I.P. Ian Holm, Alien and Lord of the Rings Star Dies at 88
Ian Holm, iconic British actor who starred in Alien, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Chariots of Fire, and countless other productions, has died of Parkinson’s disease. He was 88. His agent confirmed the news Friday morning (June 19th) in a statement to The Guardian: “It is with great sadness that the actor Sir Ian Holm CBE passed away this morning at the age of 88. He died peacefully in hospital, with his family and carer. Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely.” Born in Goodmayes, England on September 12th, 1931, Holm found a start in acting after his dentist, of all people, introduced him to Henry Baynton, a renowned Shakespearean actor who mentored the young thespian. Baynton’s guidance helped Holm secure admission into the Royal Academy of Drama...
Underwater Delivers A Deep Sea Monster Mash
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS “When you’re underwater for months at a time, you lose all sense of day or night. There’s only awake and dreaming.” The Horror Virgin‘s deep sea podloft has been compromised. We’re six miles beneath the surface of the ocean and we’re starting to feel like something doesn’t want us down here. Grab your stuffed rabbit, put on your deep sea space suit, and meet us at the Roebuck for Underwater. Together, we’ll discuss sci-fi horror, dissect the movie’s plot, and talk about a certain giant monster. You know the one. We’re sitting on a lot of energy with nowhere to go. Let’s light this pod up. Subscribe to The Horror Virgin to access the podcast’s full archive! Follow us on&...
The Sounds on the Influence of Blade Runner
Kyle Meredith With… The Sounds Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Jesper Anderberg of The Sounds speaks with Kyle Meredith about the band’s first album in seven years, Things We Do For Love. Anderberg discusses the importance of taking a few years off to keep the band going, contending with fans’ expectations, and nursing their legacy. The guitarist/keyboardist also talks about how vibe plays a big part in their songwriting, citing the Blade Runner soundtrack as a favorite, and using darkness as a writing tool. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Meredith digs deep in...
10 Back to the Future Quotes You Probably Say All the Time
Thirty years ago, the Back to the Future trilogy came to an end. Marty McFly finally made it back home in Hill Valley circa 1985, Doc Brown went off with his family (not to mention, that creepy kid), and the Delorean, well, let’s move on. Since then, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s time-traveling misadventures have become an essential part of our own space time continuum. We still watch the flicks, we still turn up Huey Lewis, and we still have crushes on Michael J. Fox. We also never stop quoting the damn thing. Hell, even amidst the pandemic, we’ve found a way to wield Gale’s prose to our own advantage. And given how we’re living in Biff Tannen’s America, the memes have just been nonstop. Editors’ Picks So, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future Part III, which stea...
Netflix’s Dark Begins Final Cycle In Season 3 Trailer: Watch
Netflix has announced that Dark returns for its third and final season on Saturday, June 27th. If that date sends shivers down your spine, that’s because it’s the same day as the much-touted apocalypse in the series. Based on the fire and brimstone in the new trailer below, it would appear the end times are approaching. Diehard fans will be pleased to see a number of familiar faces emerge from the smoke, particularly Jonas who asks arguably the toughest question of all: “Why am I here?” Odds are the German drama will finally put everything on the table, ending all the cycles that have made it one of the more pretzeled watches in recent memory. Editors’ Picks Catch it down yonder, and start your rewatch. As Alex Huntsberger stated in his positive Season 2 review, “refreshing yourself ...
Homecoming Season 2 Adds More Stars, Builds a Bigger World, But Loses the Mystery: Review
The Pitch: As opposed to the first season of Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg’s Homecoming—which saw Colin Belfast (Bobby Cannavale) covertly feeding returning soldiers a memory loss drug designed to speed their return to active duty—the Geist Emergent Group thrives. The conglomerate has now re-tooled the substance into a stress-reducing product called The Roller. Belfast’s former assistant Audrey Temple (Hong Chau) continues to climb at Geist, even while several fires erupt around her. Walter Cruz (Stephan James) is one such blaze. Now living in a secluded forest, he looks for answers after his repressed memories begin to surface. Meanwhile, an amnesiac woman (Janelle Monáe) wakes up with questions and Leonard Geist (Chris Cooper) plans to take back his company. Forget Me Not: To begin, M...
