Top 10 Science Fiction Films

In honour of "May Fourth" ("May the Force Be With You") -- and even though "Star Wars" is not "science fiction" (but rather "science fantasy") -- here are my top 10 sci fi films:

Blade Runner

The Thing

Alien

Children of Men

Aliens

The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2)

Fury Road (Mad Max 4)

12 Monkeys

2001

Looper

Honourable mention: Dune 1 and Dune 2.

(Perhaps I would end up with a slightly different list if I thought about this for a few hours -- but I'm sure that nothing in the "top 5" would change.)

As for Star Wars, my favourite two films are The Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One. I regard the "Andor" series -- Andor seasons one and two, and Rogue One -- to be the best thing out of the Star Wars universe (and not really like anything else in it).

Have a good May 4th!

Best Wishes for 2023

I hope that all reading this old blog had a pleasant holiday time and that the year ahead brings them much happiness and peace.

 

My wife kindly got me these cookies. Obviously, she knows me well! I felt a bit guilty eating them but comforted myself in the knowledge that more could be obtained in the future.

 

 

I haven’t been too active here over the past couple of months. Hopefully my posting rate will pick up in the spring, as I thankfully will not have to travel so much for work.

 

In particular, I’d like to catch up on the following items:

 

§  Update the log for my regular “Greyhawk” (D&D 5e) campaign. A lot has happened since I last posted, some of it even a bit entertaining (I think).

o   The adventurers finally managed to defeat Lareth and clear out the Moathouse (more or less); soon they will be moving beyond Hommlet.

 

§  Update the status of my irregular “Against the Witch-King” (Against the Darkmaster) campaign.

o    Most of the characters have been created – and they’re an interesting mix: a Dúnadan lady of Arthedain (a champion or “ranger”); two Lossoth brothers from Forochel (one a scout, the other a shape-shifting animist or “shaman”), and a Dwarven scholar from the Ered Luin (sage).

 

§  Post descriptions of my characters for the Mythic Babylon campaign I played in over the past few years (which wrapped up last summer) and the Return to the Mountains of Madness campaign I’m currently playing in (using the Mythras rules).

o   I’m not keeping logs for these campaigns (I generally only do that for the games I’m running) but I think that these characters may be of some interest to others, especially people interested in the Mythras system and its associated settings.

 

§  Return to my top-10 list of fantasy and science-fiction films. (I’ve only covered number 10 so far!)

 

§  Write up some final reflections on The Rings of Power series (which I found to be very much a mixed bag).

 

I’m watching Andor right now and finding it to be excellent. I had skipped the two most recent Star Wars series (the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan ones) but I quite liked both seasons of The Mandalorian. This series is even better, in my view. It doesn’t really feel like a “Star Wars” show to be honest – but that’s probably a good thing, given how badly the movies degenerated in quality after The Empire Strikes Back. The notable exception in recent years is Rogue One – the best Star Wars movie since Empire in my judgement – and so perhaps it’s no surprise that Andor is of such high quality, given that it’s a Rogue One prequel. Check it out if you haven’t already!

A brief reflection on the Witcher and the Mandalorian

So I've been watching "The Mandalorian" and "The Witcher" over the past couple of weeks, and enjoying both quite a bit. (I'm not done either yet, but probably will be by the end of this week.)

I suspect that one reason for my enjoyment is that both series strike me as (heavily edited) post-play role-playing game campaign reports. (In the case of "The Witcher," the campaign is the story-line involving the main character and his bard sidekick, at least through the first 6 episodes or so).

Speaking of "The Witcher," this interactive timeline is pretty amazing. (But this alternative opening credits is ... less so.)

Dark Rumblings for the Rise of Skywalker

Based on this review, The Rise of Skywalker sounds like a real mess.

I’ve liked—but not loved—the recent movies well enough. They’ve certainly been an improvement over the prequels! However, the intense feelings they’ve generated amongst some of the fans, especially The Last Jedi, mystify me. (And I simply don’t care enough about Star Wars to learn about the various criticisms and grievances to become ‘de-mystified’…)

I suspect that I’m somewhat unusual in this respect, but of the recent Star Wars films I’ve much preferred the ‘standalone’ films—Rogue One and Solo—to the trilogy. Rogue One in particular is excellent. I suspect that one reason for their superior quality is that they are not embedded in a trilogy that must somehow be ‘epic’ in nature. Their themes are quite different. Moreover, they take place around the time of the original series, which strikes me as a more coherent setting than that of the current trilogy.

Anyhow, perhaps Rise will turn out to be decent after all. I’ll see it eventually in any case. But I’m certainly not ‘invested’ in it. Once the Ewoks first stumbled into the Star Wars universe in The Return of the Jedi, I realized that I was really not a Star Wars fan after all. I like it but I don’t love it. I’ll take Nazgûl over Sith any day.

May the Fourth be with you

Jedi master 'Spinoda' trains Jedi apprentice Immanuel Kant (from Existential Comics):

Check out the full Star Wars themed comic here!

The Last Jedi is solid

So I just saw The Last Jedi... Here is brief (spoiler-free) review.

It’s a fun film. Like The Force Awakens, it captures the spirit of the original trilogy. Unlike TFA, it does not retell a story we’ve seen already.

The acting is strong—especially Adam Driver as ‘Kylo Ren’. And it has some nice humourous moments in it. ‘General Hux’ (played by Domhnall Gleeson) in particular is delightful.

But it’s a little too long. The middle drags a bit. Fortunately, it ends with a bang—and has some nice twists in it.

Of the new Star Wars films, I think it’s the second best one so far. (Rogue One remains my favourite—indeed, it’s tied with The Empire Strikes Back as my favourite Star Wars episode of all time.)

In short, The Last Jedi is definitely worth seeing if you like the ‘Star Wars’ universe (even if only to moderate degree).

I give it 8.6 (out of 10).

Rogue One is very good

I finally saw the new Star Wars film Rogue One today. It was a pleasant surprise! My expectations for the film were quite low, but it now ranks as my second favourite Star Wars film of all time, ranked behind only The Empire Strikes Back (and tied for second with A New Hope).

Here are three things that I especially liked about the film:

1. The character of the droid ‘K-2’. I think that this droid may now be my favourite in any Star Wars film. Sorry Chewy! (And I wonder if the name ‘K-2’ was a subtle reference to Inspector Jacques Clouseau’s sidekick from the original “Pink Panther” movies?)

2. The film explains what always struck me as an obvious hole with the original 1977 movie: namely, why the Death Star would include such a fatal flaw in its design, such that a single well-aimed shot from an X-wing fighter could destroy the whole thing. That Death Star design flaw now has a plausible rationale!

3. While the good guys succeed in their mission (this is no spoiler, at least not to anyone who has seen the original Star Wars film), it is not a traditional ‘happy ending.’ Instead, the ending is both tragic and hopeful.

Two minor criticisms:

a. The computer-generated ‘resurrection’ of Peter Cushing (who died in 1994) as ‘Grand Moff Tarkin’ struck me as rather creepy and even distasteful. Frankly, the film didn’t need to use Grand Moff Tarkin at all.

b. Forest Whitaker’s character ‘Saw Gerrara’ was pretty pointless. I was expecting more from him.

Those quibbles aside, though, Rogue One is my most pleasant movie surprise in a long time.

And the final scene with a young Princess Leia brought a tear to my eye. (RIP Carrie Fisher.)

Fantasy and Science Fiction films and television shows in 2015

2015 is over, and this article does a decent job in covering some of its highlights in terms of fantasy and science fiction pop culture (films, television shows, and novels).

One problem with getting older is that the years seem to blend together.  I now have a difficult time remembering which films, television shows, or novels (or role-playing games) came out in which year.  So I always have a hard time when asked, for instance, what was my ‘favourite film of 2015’.  For instance, I think that Ex Machina is a great film, one of the best science fictions films in recent years, but I can’t remember if it came out in 2015.  (Okay, I just checked Wikipedia: it did.)

Another problem with getting older is that I don’t seem to be able to see nearly as many movies or television shows as I used to when I was a twenty-something with loads of spare time.  (Heck, I haven’t even owned a television in over a decade.  I used to rely on DVDs, and now I rely on internet subscriptions, for most of my television series watching.)  And of the films and shows that I do watch, I often get to them months (or even years) after their release.  So many of the films or television shows that my fellow nerds talk about, whether in person or online, are things that I haven’t seen yet (and in some cases will never see).

All that having been said, I thought that I would mention that my favourite science fiction film of 2015 was Mad Max: Fury Road.  (If you want a fun afternoon, watch The Road Warrior and then Mad Max: Fury Road.  The two films go quite well together.)  My favourite new television series was The Man in the High Castle (about which I plan to write a post once I watch the final episode [I just finished episode 9 last night]).  The Game of Thrones continues to impress, of course, and I quite enjoyed Black Mirror, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil as well (the latter two are surprises for me, as I am not a huge superhero fan).

I still need to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens (I have plans to do so this weekend).  And I want to watch the first season of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (as I loved the book 10 years ago). 

So many great shows are being produced these days, especially for television, it’s a surfeit of riches.  And I look forward to what 2016 will bring…

Building the Star Wars universe

[Image from here.]

I like Star Wars well enough. More precisely, I love episodes IV and V (the original film, "A New Hope," and "The Empire Strikes Back"). I'm lukewarm on episode VI (everything until the Ewoks appear on screen is fine, especially the opening story involving Jabba the Hut). Like most sensible folks, I prefer not to think about episodes I-III at all. Overall, I find Star Wars to be a mixed bag. So I'm not exactly a 'fan'.  But I am looking forward to the new films. I hope that they recapture the spirit of the first two films.

This article on the new Star Wars franchise is quite good.  Not only does it discuss what is happening with the forthcoming films, in a broad sense, it also has a nice discussion of shared 'world building'.

Here are a couple of passages:

"All these people are describing more than just a franchise. What they’re talking about is a paracosm, psychology-speak for an imaginary world. Lots of little kids have them—especially creative ones. So do writers. Think Narnia or Yoknapatawpha County. J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is an obvious example, with its multiple languages, cultures, and thousands of years of history." 

"Lucas was the original keeper of the Star Wars flame, but now we all live in his paracosm. And come to think of it, maybe comics aren’t the best analogy; this is more like Dungeons & Dragons. (I mentioned: nerds.) Shared universes are distributed paracosms. The allusions frame out a world, and our imaginations build the rest—so we become invested in that alternate reality, not only as consumers but as participants."

Only a few more weeks until the new 'episode'!

Fantasy Flight acquires Star Wars license

It seems that Fantasy Flight Games has acquired the license to produce 'Star Wars' games, including (eventually) a RPG.

From the official announcement (available here):

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce that it has entered a comprehensive licensing partnership with Lucasfilm Ltd. for the worldwide rights to publish card, roleplaying, and miniatures games set in the popular Star Wars™ universe!

I've never been a big Star Wars fan (aside from a brief period during my 'pre-RPG' life, around 1977-80), so I'm not terribly excited about this development myself. Nonetheless, it clearly is 'big news' for the RPG 'industry', and evidence of FFG's growing importance.