Doctor Who – Heaven Sent Review (Spoilers)

by Ken Parker.

Everything leading up to this episode hinted at a very bad story. We are at a season conclusion, something Moffat has failed at more than he has succeeded. Even the title, “Heaven Sent” reminds me of last season's finale and that was garbage. And of course Moffat is writing and has not done much really good writing since taking over as show-runner. Until now.

Spoilers

Doctor Who - Sleep No More - Review - Spoilers

By Ken Parker

Oh, boy, where to begin.  First off, I like when series try to do something different and usually found footage formats are entertaining.  In this case the gimmick is wrapped up within the found footage.  There is a reason for why we are seeing what we are seeing.  The found footage concept is part of the plot and this is highly imaginative if not kind of "HUH?

Doctor Who – The Zygon Invasion Review (Some Spoilers)

By Ken Parker

The Zygons are back and right away all bets are off on who is who. Osgood is there but which Osgood, the human or the Zygon duplicate? What are the Zygons up to and is it already too late to do anything about it?

I was not looking forward to this episode because I have not been a fan of the UNIT stories stemming back into last season. I also can't see the whole 20 million Zygons being allowed to live on the Earth as being a viable option but alas, it is fact so let's move on.

Utopia Series Review - Minor Spoilers

By Ken Parker

 

Utopia, the series that debuted in the UK on Channel 4 in 2013, not that ‘reality’ garbage on FOX.

Are you in the mood for a series that is upbeat and positive?  Want a show full of high hopes that the whole family can watch?  Then don’t watch Utopia.  Actually, The Walking Dead is more upbeat than Utopia and that is saying a lot.

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" Review: Which Ones Are the Real Animals?

Andy Serkis is not monkeying around.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked if I had a copy of the "Planet of the Apes" movie starring Mark Wahlberg that she could borrow. She and her teen-age daughter wanted to watch it. When I delivered it to them over lunch on Sunday, I mentioned that the 2001 film directed by Tim Burton is in no way connected to the new release, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes."

She had no idea.

And it really makes no difference.

If you've never seen any of the "Planet of the Apes" movies, going all the way back to Charlton Heston, or the sequels, the television shows or the most recent reboot, 2011's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," the film's opening sequence will quickly bring you up to speed.

It's been 10 years since the outbreak of simian virus in "Rise." Apes are living peacefully in their own village in the woods outside San Francisco. Because they haven't seen a human in two years, they wonder whether any are left alive. Soon enough, they learn that there are human survivors of the man-made plague - and they have guns.

Right way, your know this is not going to go well.

"Snowpiercer" review - Take the Ride

No, those aren't the Avengers standing with Chris Evans.

"You know what i hate about myself the most? That I know what people taste like... and that babies taste the best."

Powerful words. And they carry even more weight when spoken by the protagonist of the story. In this case, we are referring to Curtis Everett (portrayed by Chris "Captain America" Evans) in the futuristic sci fi thriller "Snowpiercer."

The story is simple, if a little far-fetched (well, we are talking about science fiction). In the not-too-distant future (as in, right about now), mankind attempts to reverse the effects of global warming. The plan goes wrong. So wrong, in fact, that Earth is turned into an uninhabitable frozen wasteland. The only humans who survive are riding Snowpiercer, a train powered by a perpetual motion machine that travels the globe.

The fortunate survivors live in the front of the train. They dine on sushi, have access to hot spas and nightclubs, pass the time knitting in lavish gardens and so on.

The less-fortunate survivors live in the rear of the train. They dine on black protein blocks made from ... well, you don't want to know. ... (no, not other humans) ... while living amid squalor under the supervision of heavily armed guards who like their jobs far too much, if you know what we mean.

The time has come for another attempt at revolution, led by a reluctant Everett. Among others, he is aided by his right-hand man, Edgar (Jamie Bell), his mentor Gilliam (John Hurt, looking even more disheveled than during his turn as The War Doctor on "Dr. Who"), Tanya (Octavia Spencer), whose young son has been taken away by soldiers, and a drug-addicted Namgoong Minsu (Song Kang-ho) who has the technical expertise to assist the rebels against the superior military forces that control the train.

Mention of Song Kanh-ho is a good opportunity to note that the film is a Korean-American production, based on a French graphic novel series, "Le Transpercneige." It is directed by Bong Joon-ho ("Mother," "The Host"), who co-wrote the script with Kelly Masterson.

The rebels are up against a stellar cast in their own right, including Mason (Tilda Swinton), and Wilford (Ed Harris), as well as memorable contributions from Teacher (Allison Pill) and Egg-head (Tomas Lemarquis).

Think of the bleakness of "Blade Runner." Think of the imagination of Terry Gilliam (we could not help but wonder if that is where the character played by Hurt gets his name). Subtract the overblown CGI of most modern Hollywood science fiction.

Also think of violence. Lots of people die. Although not overly graphic, many are victims of a key hand-to-hand battle between rebels and soldiers armed with hatchets and other instruments of ugly carnage. Again, not overly graphic but perhaps disturbing to sensitive types.

Also slightly disturbing is the movie's history. Harvey Weinstein, whose The Weinstein Company owns the North American rights to the film, insisted some major changes be made, including cutting 20 minutes of footage while adding opening and closing monologues. Bong refused, so Weinstein arranged for a limited release. Positive reviews, however, have given the film a major boost leading to a slightly wider release.

It marks both a win for Bong and for fans of superior science fiction.

'The Dark Knight Rises' - a mini-review (a couple of minor spoilers)

It's one last ride for Christian Bale as Batman.

You've seen all the trailers for "The Dark Knight Rises."

You've seen all the Internet chatter about unannounced (returning) villains and plot twists.

You laughed your ass off when Rush Limbaugh said the movie was an attack on Mitt Romney.

"The Dark Knight Rises" is an attack, all right - but one aimed directly at your senses. Bridges blow up. Buildings blow up. Gunfire fills the air. People scream. But the film doesn't rise to the same level as the first two parts of the trilogy starring Christian Bale. It strives mightily to top its predecessors, but ultimately falls short.

The returning characters - Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon - fill their roles to our expectations. The new characters? Not so much. Anne Hathaway is a Catwoman who appears to have lost all nine of her personalities. Tom Hardy's Bane is big, tough and annoyingly difficult to understand through his mask.

In the end, it's a movie full of sound and fury, but signifying little more than a clear bat-signal that director Christopher Nolan knows it is time to move on to other projects. It surpasses the too-soon reboot of "The Amazing Spider-Man," yet cannot match the crackling energy of "The Avengers."

Oh, the cast and crew try. And in many ways they succeed. It is not a bad movie - in fact, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre of masked vigilantes and crazed super-villains. The plot - increasingly preposterous as the film moves along - leaves questions big and small while eventually abandoning any pretense for even comic book logic (what happened to Bruce Wayne's limp? 3,000 police officers trapped underground for three months?) But it also takes some interesting twists.

As a superhero movie, "The Dark Knight Rises" is a mess - a glorious mess. As a finale, though, The Batman and his fans deserved better.

The Knights Podcast #2 - The Avengers

Out on the (Time)Lash

First things first, hello! As you will all probably notice, it's my first post here for The Knights, with hopefully many more to come! If you like what you read, please feel free to catch up with me on Twitter @LonelyGod

Along with the general geek news and thoughts, you'll find my posts mainly focusing on Classic Doctor Who. Since last year I have started collecting the DVD releases (or soundtracks where appicable), and working my way through viewing them all, not in any particular order. To date I've seen a vast amount, but starting from today I'll be recording my thoughts and views on some of these older stories.

As you would have no doubt noticed, and therefore probably stopped reading by now, this first post is concerned with a story which has a rather dodgy, and in my opinion unfair, reputation within the fanbase - Timelash.

I want to start by saying that I don't agree with with popular fan opinion, so this won't be the usual list of things wrong with the story, or knocking the production values. You can see what I thought after the break...

Do you have any thoughts on Timelash? Leave them in the comments section below!

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of all Time - #24

My Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of all Time - #24

by Ken Parker

This could be a controversial pick or perhaps more accurately, a controversial omission. The following film is often placed in the horror category but because of the amount of sci-fi elements, I felt it belonged here.

Before I continue I want to mention something about my estimates on how many times I have seen a movie. First off, the number of times someone has seen a film doesn't dictate how much they may like a it. Sometimes one may be content in only seeing the movie a few times or even once. People generally do see a movie more often when they like it but that is not always the case. Concerning my amounts – to the best of my knowledge they are rough estimates that are relatively close but you may notice the numbers may be low compared to other people who claim to have seen certain movies hundreds of times. My estimates are based on the number of years the film has been out and how familiar I am with the movie. Some movies I see every couple of years while others rarely. These numbers are watching the movie completely and not just watching a few minutes here and there. Oh, and very few of these have I seen in the theater, most have been on TV.

Now for #24

Once Upon a Time - Early Thoughts (Spoilers)

Yesterday I visited Storytown, Maine. I was intrigued on how ABC’s TV series about the cursed fantasy characters being caught in the real world would be handled.  A world of characters such as Snow White, Jiminy Cricket and Rumplestiltskin is cursed by the Evil Queen.  This curse propels the inhabitants of the fantasy world into our real world, Storytown, Maine.  Trapped their in the town and in time (no one ages), the characters have all lost their memory and live more mundane lives.

Spoilers

'The Wedding of River Song:' A small sampling of reviews (yes, with some spoilers)

Add the Stetson and he's got a Rooster Cogburn look going for him.

A confession: I have not seen "The Wedding of River Song." I was out all day and returned much later than I had planned. Yes, I will watch the episode - after a good night's sleep.

But I could not go to bed without taking a peek at what other people are saying about the season-ender for Dr. Who. I did not read any of the reviews in depth to minimize spoilers to myself and saw nothing too surprising or that I had not already guessed.

Overall, I'm seeing a positive trend in the reviews. Hmmm ...maybe I'll stay up a little later.

My Visit to Terra Nova (Review of 2 Hour Premiere) Spoilers

It is safe to say that this show was the most anticipated show of the fall 2011 season and would it live up to all the hype?

Spoilers

"Closing Time" - Doctor Who Episode Review (Spoilers)

Doctor Who is running out of time. He has only two more episodes to save the season. Can he do it with the help of Craig in “Closing Time”?

Spoilers

Doctor Who - The God Complex (Spoilers)

Could this season of Doctor Who actually have two good episodes in a row? From the trailer it sure looked to me that this was my type of episode. Or so it seemed.....

 Spoilers

Apollo 18 Movie Review

Recently discovered footage from the secret Apollo 18 mission to the moon reveals an unearthly threat for the three astronauts. Is this edited footage enough to entertain and scare audiences in the theaters?

Mild Spoilers

Super 8 Movie Review (Mild Spoilers)

Remember those hot summers in the 70's and 80's when you went to the movies and experienced the magic of alien contact and innocent fun? Well, prepare to go back in time with Super 8.

A Good Man Goes To War - Doctor Who Review

Here we have the mid season finale and finally we will see the set-up for the remainder of the season starting this fall.  We have the usual "everything but the kitchen sink" type episode but can Steven Moffat salvage a good story out of it?

Major Spoiler Warning - You have to experience this first hand by watching it.  Everything will be ruined if you watch it knowing what was going to happen.

The Almost People - Doctor Who Review

With the Gangers on the loose and looking to rebel against their human counterparts, the Doctor is trying to find a peaceful solution but is he too late?

Spoilers - FYI - this episode does not air in the US until Saturday June 4

Doctor Who: The Rebel Flesh (Spoilers Proceed With Caution)

Doctor Who: The Rebel Flesh

by Matthew Graham

When I heard the news that Matthew Graham was writing an episode for Doctor Who a two parter in fact.  I was eager to see this story by the Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes creator and writer but then my memory recalled back to the David Tennant episode Fear Her and then I was a bit hesitant on seeing the Rebel Flesh.