Back when Netflix split their services (stupidly but, perhaps, necessarily), my wife and I decided we would stick with just streaming. The kids could be…mercurial in their entertainment desires and Netflix streaming offered quite a lot of acceptable kids programming that would be instantly available. Since then, however, our own movie-watching has ( Read more... )

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One of the great things about flying Air Canada on my London trip was the seatback personal movie screens and the bumper crop of Canadian programming available on them. I took the opportunity to watch (which my sister will appreciate) Men With Brooms, one of the most delightfully Canadian movies I’ve ever seen. I grew up watching curling on ( Read more... )

So, this post by the insightful Aliette de Bodard got me to thinking about an argument I had years ago.

I don’t remember how it started, and I don’t remember the precise ins and outs, but it was a pretty simple argument. On the one hand, there was me, arguing that the most dominant culture on the globe, right now, was American. On the other hand ( Read more... )

How do you know when a movie has set science fiction storytelling and all that crunchy good progressiveness back a few years?

When it’s used as an excuse to roll out a 10 Sexy Sci-Fi Babes “photo essay.”

Sigh.

Mirrored from Bum Scoop.

This review pretty well sums up my apprehension about Avatar, I think. I’d love to go see it for the 3D eye candy and explosions (which, really, are just a subset of eye candy), but I’m afraid the story would make me froth at the mouth.

Although, all elements of plot aside, I think I might have been turned off by the gratuitous use of “You’re not ( Read more... )

Related stuff:

First, is that Roger Ebert criticizes the new Star Trek movie, in part, for its poor and imprecise grasp of science… and uses imprecise language to do so. Such as: “Consider, at light warp speeds, how imprecise it would be to say “At my command … 3 … 2 … 1 …” Between “2” and “1,” you could jump a million galaxies.”

A million ( Read more... )

So, last night, thanks to the most excellent Jay, I got to go see Watchmen early.

Instant reaction: Huh.
( Further reaction and spoilery goodness below )

“Lewis Nixon had some tough times after the war. He was divorced a couple of times. Then in 1956 he married a woman named Grace and everything came together for him. He spent the rest of his life with her, traveling the world. My friend Lew died in 1995.” - Maj. Richard Winters, Band of Brothers

Five really simple sentences that make me cry ( Read more... )

Tarri and I went to see The Dark Knight last night. Very good movie, and highly recommended. The somewhat funny thing is that I spent today reading reviews of the movie, and I found myself agreeing with parts of the few negative reviews that are out there, but I still think it’s a great film. The buzz seems to like Ledger for an Oscar, and I can ( Read more... )