Category Archives: science fiction

Chaos Walking

“Chaos Walking” Ridley and Holland Star, Trust and Relationships

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Chaos Walking

Directed by Doug Liman from the best-selling young adult novel The Knife of Never Letting Go, Chaos Walking starts in the distant future. Todd Hewitt, played by Tom Holland, befriends Viola, played by Daisy Ridley. She is a mysterious girl who crash-landed on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and are afflicted with “the Noise,” which forces men to display their thoughts.

In this dangerous landscape threatened by her life, Todd vows to protect Viola. He will have to discover his inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets. 

I am not sure which book of the trilogy the movie follows. Some say it’s a combination of two of the books. Another exciting aspect when comparing the book and the film is that Viola and Todd are 12 years old in the first book, while the film has them as adults.

The film is streaming on Amazon so that you can watch it. These two actors are talented, but the storyline, I’m sorry to say, didn’t capture the audience.

Liman also directed suspense thrillers The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow. The movie also stars Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas, Kurt Sutter, and David Oyelowo.

Bill & Ted Face the Music

Unconditional Last Chance Magic “Bill & Ted Face The Music” Trailer

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Bill & Ted Face the Music

Directed by Dean Parisot, the franchise returns with writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon—Bill and Ted Face the Music. The film will continue to track the time-traveling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle-aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. 

Watch Bill and Ted Face the Music

They will also include their daughters, who help them along the way. A new batch of historical figures join the fantasy, and a few music legends seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony to the universe.

Bill & Ted Face the Music
Bill & Ted Face the Music

Dean Parisot also directed Galaxy Quest, and as mentioned earlier, the second installment script is by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. 

These two guys seem like they are having too much fun time traveling.

The featurette moves quickly through clips of the original movie and the sequel. There are interviews with the director and producers who explain what happens when Bill and Ted are older with daughters a lot like them.

This featurette is fun to watch and talks about the large cast.

watch tenet

Nolan’s Exciting and Powerful “Tenet” Trailer

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watch tenet, nolan's latest movie

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet follows John David Washington’s character (no name revealed yet) in the sci-fi action movie utilizing a mixture of IMAX® and 70mm film to bring the story to the screen. Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real-time. Not time travel— Inversion. 

The trailer tells the main point of the story of the inversion Washington’s character can cause. We also see Robert Pattinson as a clean and posh looking guy. That is a first for a long time. 

The cast includes Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, with Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh. 

captured the young mutants try to escape

Young Cast Highlight “The New Mutants” Trailer

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Forming a strong group of young mutants, they go agains establishment.

Co-written and directed by Josh Boone, The New Mutants follow five young mutants who are just discovering their abilities. Yet, held in a secret facility against their will. They do everything in their power fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.

Using their powers, the young mutants plan their escape

Knate Lee co-wrote the screenplay with Boone. Boone is best known for directing The Fault in Our Stars. The cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Antonio Banderas, and Charlie Heaton.

The trailer explains the story pretty well. 

Surging High Tech “Bloodshot” Poster, Trailer, Images

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Watch Bloodshot with Sam Heughan from Outlander

Directed by David S. F. Wilson, Bloodshot follows the story based on the bestselling comic book. Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation.  

With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force –stronger than ever and able to heal instantly.  But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not – but he’s on a mission to find out.

Vin Diesel and Sam Heughan

Bloodshot is Wilson’s first feature film. He has an extensive career in visual effects from games to movies like Star Wars and The Avengers games.

Outlander‘s Sam Heughan

Eric Heisserer and Jeff Wadlow wrote the screenplay based on the comic book series by Yvel Guichet, Bob Layton, Don Perlin, and Kevin VanHook. Heisserer’s credits include Arrival and Bird Box. Waldow’s credits include writing and directing Truth or Dare and Kick-Ass 2.

The comic-book movie also stars Eiza Gonzalez, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell, and Guy Pearce.

Watching the trailer, we see Heughan, who plays Jimmy Dalton as the robot man with mechanical tentacles.

The second trailer is not all that different from the first trailer, but clips show subtle humor and lightness, which lets the public know it’s not all violence and death.

“Ad Astra” Posters, Trailers, Clips & Featurette

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Co-written and directed by James Gray, Ad Astra follows Astronaut Roy McBride, played by Brad Pitt, who travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father, Tommy Lee Jones.

Brad Pitt plays an astronaut in search of his father.
An interview with Brad Pitt at the NASA premiere in Washington, D.C.

His and the space program’s reasons are more than finding his missing father. He is sent to unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

The trailer, with tearing music, sets up a thriller, magical story about coming to terms with our concepts of the mysteries of the universe.

The movie is streaming and is available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Gray’s directing credits are impressive in genres like The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, and Two Lovers. Ethan Gross co-wrote the screenplay with Gray, and it appears they have worked together on most of Gray’s movies, receiving “special thanks” for some. Gross also writes for the episodic Fringe.

The cast includes Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland.

The second trailer shows a decadent society, and whether the location is on Earth or another planet appears unclear. I am sensing a thriller and mystery of a secret society is at play.

As a symbolic gesture, the studio released the featurette on the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon. The featurette shows more clips and gives us insight into the movie.

The IMAX trailer says very little about the movie in general. The prior trailers tell more about the movie – espionage or government secrets. Having phenomenal visuals is cool, but the film will be worth watching if the ending is impressive and not wasted time.

The sneak peek shows how fantastic the movie will be with all the CGI and good guys against the bad guys, including a moon rover chase.

The following movie clip shows a grave, solemn side to the story. I am guessing this clip is where the movie heads toward the third act, where more action will occur.

The following clip, “Lima Project,” is astoundingly intense. Pitt knows how to show the intensity and use the camera to communicate the undertones of discovering that his father is still alive.

“Terminator: Dark Fate” Posters, Clips, Featurette & Trailers

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Directed by Tim Miller, Terminator: Dark Fate continues the Terminator franchise that launched the careers of James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I am sure dozen others who work behind the scenes in the production.

The story attaches several writers to the screenplay with David Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray credited. James Cameron, who produced the movie, too, Charles Eglee, and Josh Friedman credited for the overall story along with Goyer.

The movie follows Linda Hamilton, who played the original Sarah Connor. She joins a group of misfit survivors. Their purpose to keep a particular young woman, who can save the world, alive. They eventually hook up with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays T-800. It appears there are many T-800s or half-human and half robots in this movie. Some are good and some not so good, downright deadly.

Cameron and the two main characters are back.

The excitement of Hamilton and Schwarzenegger returning to their iconic roles is the driving force of the franchise claiming the box office, once again. Miller established himself as a director in the business for directing Deadpool.   Goyer also wrote The Dark Knight and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.

One-page production notes indicate the latest installment follows the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the cast includes Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta. You might recognize Davis who played Tully in the Tully.

The third trailer looks inviting and entertaining. I am thinking about seeing it in the movie theater before it comes out on Blu-ray.

Watching this Spanish featurette, you can see the original Terminator storyline in the new movie. A woman is being chased by a robotic, and another robotic is trying to protect her. She needs to be kept alive to save the world. The scenes look sharp, and the acting is perfect. Call it nostalgia, seeing Hamilton and Schwarzenegger together, again, is way cool.

“Sarah’s Entrance” movie clip is perfect. She knows the lay of the land.

The feedback from people who have seen the movie is positive, and they say it’s similar to T2, which is a good thing.

The next clip is so cool to watch. We see the original Terminator, Schwarzenegger, take on the newest version.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Trailer, Clips, Featurettes, TV Spot & Interview

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I am so excited that J.J. Abrams is returning to direct the final chapter of the saga from a galaxy far, far away.

The standard cast is returning with some new faces, including Lupita Nyong’o, Mark Hamill, Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley, Keri Russell, Adam Driver, Billy Dee Wiliams, and the late Carrie Fisher.

Abrams also co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio, and there appears to be a new Droid.

The red carpet interview with producer Kathleen Kennedy reveals the franchise hasn’t finished yet. Still, the other red carpet interviews with J.J. Abrams and stars talk about this being the last movie of the nine Star Wars movies.

Star Wars is a big box office winner. I side with Kennedy. The space opera stories must continue even if the next one starts with a different group of characters.

The “Special Look” shows the Star Wars past and the movie’s ending. In the middle, we see C-3PO with red eyes. At the end of the footage, we see Rey (or is it Rey) on the Darkside.

The third trailer shows a lot happening in the final movie. All of it is exciting.

Here is a TV spot and yes it advertises to purchase your advance tickets. Not a bad idea considering it will sell out in some locations. The TV spot does offer some clues to the story and new footage. Enjoy!

The Star Wars Culture featurette says it all.

The next featurette is fabulous. Enjoy!

The movie is about legends.

Funny scene, yes, “They fly now.”

“Lucy in the Sky” Trailer, Clips & Poster

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The poster captures my attention like the moon captures Lucy’s attention.

Directed by Noah Hawley, Lucy in the Sky takes us on Lucy’s journey from outer space to Earth and the ever-changing reality of life through her eyes and soul.

Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi co-wrote the screenplay with Hawley adding final touches. The movie trailer spirals in different directions, and it’s hard to connect to the story in general.

I didn’t recognize Natalie Portman, who plays Lucy Cola, at first. Her makeup and hairstyle design molded her astronaut look. Joe Hamm stars as her husband, Mark Goodwin. He seems to be her anchor and tries to save her from after returning to Earth from a life-changing mission in space. She begins to slowly unravel and lose touch with reality. Of course, the question is why is she losing touch with reality.

It appears Portman is gravitating to themes where the main character ventures to another reality or altered reality. Like her appearance in Annihilation where she enters the shimmering to find out what happened to her husband and coming to terms with self- discovery of her failing marriage.

The digital version of the movie is out on the streets. The package includes deleted scenes, director’s journey, and four featurettes on the making of the film.

Lucy in the Sky cast includes Zazie Beetz, Ellen Burstyn, and Dan Stevens.

The next trailer is called “Trailer C” and delineates the story more. It looks like Portman’s character goes rogue, and the story gets dark. It’s unclear who is the bad guy — Hamm’s character or Portman’s.

I noticed in the credits that Reese Witherspoon is one of the producers of the movie.

“High Life” Trailer and Poster

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Co-written and directed by Claire Denis, High Life premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival with strong, positive reviews. The movie is about a group of young people who space travel through a black hole because they are prisoners.

The story unfolds beyond the solar system with the criminals who accepting the mission in space to become the subjects of a human reproduction experiment. They find themselves in the most unimaginable situation after a storm of cosmic rays hit the ship.

It dawns on them they are not returning or it appears so. Very little freedom is available as they wait out their sentence. Despetion and experiments are doled out as the criminals come to terms on how to brutally rebel against the system.

Monte, played by Robert Pattinson, views life as a prisoner differently because he has a baby daughter. He needs to be responsible even though something is looming just out of reach.

A narcissistic jailkeeper, played by Juliette Binoche, brings the emotions to the surface as the prisoners are compelled to respond to her underhanded control.

The cinematography, shared by both Yorick Le Saux and Tomasz Naumiuk, received praises for capturing the space, stars, and nebulae. Denis is a French director, whose style is admired by her peers. “It is important to show how people are feeling, even when they are brutal.”

Jean-Pol Fargeau contributed to the screenplay and worked with Denis in other movies such as 35 Shots of Rum and Beau Travail. Geoff Cox also contributed but it is the first he’s worked with Denis and Fargeau with one other writing credit.

The movie nabbed some nominations and won three awards including Indiewire Critics’ Poll Best Films Opening in 2019.