Science Fiction

Cubicle rats in a maze: a review of Severance

Created by Dan Erickson Directed by Ben Stiller & Aoife McArdle Starring Adam Scott Zach Cherry Britt Lower Tramell Tillman Jen Tullock Dichen Lachman Michael Chernus John Turturro Christopher Walken Patricia Arquette Composer Theodore Shapiro Production Executive producers Ben Stiller, Nicholas Weinstock, Jackie Cohn, Mark Friedman, Dan Erickson, Andrew Colville, Chris Black, John Cameron Producers …

Time caught in a steel trap: a review of Mabaroshi

Mabaroshi Maboroshi (アリスとテレスのまぼろし工場, Arisu to Teresu no Maboroshi Kōjō,  ’Alice and Therese’s Illusory Factory’) Directed by Mari Okada & Seimei Kidokoro[a] Written by Mari Okada Produced by Manabu Otsuka Starring Character Japanese voice English voice Masamune Kikuiri Junya Enoki Max Mittelman Mutsumi Sagami Reina Ueda Jeannie Tirado Itsumi Misaki Kuno Kitana Turnbull Akimune Kikuiri Kōji …

Putting people on Ice(land): a review of A Murder At the End of the World

A Murder At the End of the World Created by Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij Starring Emma Corrin Brit Marling Harris Dickinson Alice Braga Joan Chen Raúl Esparza Jermaine Fowler Ryan J. Haddad Pegah Ferydoni Javed Khan Louis Cancelmi Edoardo Ballerini Clive Owen Composers Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans No. of episodes 7 Production Executive …

A Year in review: a review of 2023

A Year in review: a review of 2023 2023 was another great year for television. Among other great shows we watched (and I reviewed) this year were Gen V (outrageous spin-off of The Boys), One Piece (excellent live-action version of a rather dumb anime), a new BBC remake of War of the Worlds, an engaging …

Paying a Butcher’s Bill: a review of Gen V

Also known as The Boys: Gen V Genre Black comedy, Drama, Superhero Based on The Boys Volume 4: “We Gotta Go Now” by Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson Developed by Craig Rosenberg, Evan Goldberg, Eric Kripke Starring Jaz Sinclair as Marie Moreau – has telekinetic control over blood (Jaeda LeBlanc portrays a young Marie) Chance …

In the Swarm Waters of the Ocean: a review of The Swarm

Based on The Swarm by Frank Schätzing Written by Frank Schätzing, Steven Lally, Marissa Lestrade, Michael A. Walker, Chris Lunt Screenplay by Steven Lally, Marissa Lestrade, Chris Lunt, Michael A. Walker Directed by Barbara Eder, Luke Watson, Philipp Stölzl Starring Cécile de France as Dr. Cécile Roche Alexander Karim as Dr. Sigur Johanson Leonie Benesch …

They boldly went there: a review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the Subspace Rhapsody episode

Songs written by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce of the ’90s alt-rock band Letters to Cleo directed by Dermott Downs and written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff There is a scene in Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice in which a dinner party is being held by a group of people from The City—stuffy, pretentious, …

A fungus among us: a review of The Last of Us

The Last of Us Created by Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann Based on The Last of Us by Naughty Dog[a] Written by Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann Starring Pedro Pascal Bella Ramsey Nico Parker John Hannah Merle Dandridge Josh Brener Christopher Heyerdahl Bredan Fletcher Anna Tory Gabriel Luna Christine Hakim Nick Offerman Murray Bartlett Lemar …

Out on the edges of reality: a review of The Peripheral

Created by Scott B. Smith Based on The Peripheral by William Gibson Starring Chloë Grace Moretz Gary Carr Jack Reynor JJ Feild T’Nia Miller Louis Herthum Katie Leung Melinda Page Hamilton Chris Coy Alex Hernandez Julian Moore-Cook Adelind Horan Austin Rising Eli Goree Charlotte Riley Alexandra Billings Music by Mark Korven Executive producers Steven Hoban, …