If you’ve read any of the books on SF film published before Star Wars came out, then you’ve heard of this film. As there hadn’t been too many SF films made by the mid-Seventies — not by today’s standards, at least — those books used to list just about every SF film made, including quite […]
Read more "La brûlure de mille soleils [The Heat of a Thousand Suns] (1965)"As I noted in my review for Steamboy, Katsuhiro Otomo has played an incredibly important role in the development of Japanese Anime. While he may only have directed two films (with a third, Orbital Era, in the works), he has been involved in dozens of films, providing scripts, storyboards, character designs, production help and who knows […]
Read more "Memories [Memorîzu] (1995)"Katsuhiro Ôtomo has been called the god of Anime, and it seems fitting, even if in his long career he’s only directed two full-length animated films. Akira seems almost the font that all later serious anime came out of, a film whose look, plot, characters, pacing and just about everything else has been borrowed, reworked […]
Read more "Steamboy [Suchîmubôi] (2004)"Okay, let’s see if we can make some sense of this: A-Ko and C-Ko are best buds, while their fellow student B-Ko lusts after C-Ko. This naturally takes us into the familiar territory of all those little school girl triangle animes out there. I have to confess that I’ve never really appreciated the Japanese sense […]
Read more "Project A-Ko [Purojekuto A-ko ] (1986)"It’s simple enough: An artist goes out to enjoy a day in the country. Unfortunately, while he’s soaking his feet in a beautiful pond, an alien arrives in his spaceship. Not long ago, I noted my indifference towards Russian animation. Yes, I know it has a fan base, there’s clearly a bit of talent at […]
Read more "Kontakt [Contact] (1978)"It’s amazing how many films came out on VHS and have never been re-released. Which isn’t to say that many — or even most — of them don’t deserve to languish in obscurity. But thanks to the wonders of Youtube, a lot of films that were just a whisper heard here or there, a comment […]
Read more "Futuropolis (1984)"“You left the umbrella stand in the Zeppelin hanger again” This is the greatest might-have-been in Doctor Who History… It comes with a strange bit of history, though: the original show had been cancelled in 1989, with an ill-fated half-American attempt to revive it in 1996. But a lot of people still wanted more Who. […]
Read more "Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka (2003)"