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Science Fiction: Films & TV

ramonmercado said:
Civil War: It's the near future, the USA is wracked by a Civil War. we're never given a full explanation of how it's come about, we get hints from throw away remarks, a president in his third term, FBI abolished, tryannical rule, who might this president be? As the film opens we see a president about to face the camera, he rehearses his boasts about how he has achieved the greatest military victory ever recorded in history and demands the immediate surrender of the rebel forces. In fact he is more like Hitler in Downfall, he controls a shrinking area around Washington DC as the Western Forces (California and Texas) and the Florida Alliance close in. This is a Civil War though and fighting continues in other parts of the country often between irregular units. The narrative unfolds around a group of journalists who travel from New York to Charlottesville where the Western Forces are assembling for their final push, and on to DC. Normally a distance of 226 miles, detours take it close to 1,000 miles. Veteran journalists Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and her colleague Joel intend to travel to Washington, D.C., their dream to interview and photograph the president before the city falls. An old reporter friend Sammy asks to come as far as Charlottesville, as does a young photographer, Jesse (Cailee Spaeny).

They traverse a devastated country, fighting still going on in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The neophyte Jesse gradually becoming a better war photographer, Lee is less protective of her, The savagery of the war is plain to see with a mass grave of victims slaughtered by the presidents partisans but even the rebel irregulars are prepared to shoot surrendering enemy combatants. The action is convincing, especially when the photographers are in the thick of the combat, stills appearing mid action provide even greater verisimilitude. The US dollar isn't worth much outside of cities, it takes Canadian dollars to buy gas, looters are tortured, a suicide bomber waving the stars and stripes blows up police and thirsty civilians as they gather around a water truck in New York, the UN run refugee camps; remember this is in the US. This film is reminiscent of Under Fire, which also featured journalists in the last days of a civil war. Great performances from Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny. A cautionary dystopian tale perhaps rather than a prediction. Directed and written by Alex Garland. 8.5/10.

In cinemas.
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I read that you can tell its fiction because the journalists are intrepid and doing proper outdoors journalism instead of sitting in a Starbucks rehashing biased Twitter posts for column inches.
 
Parasyte: The Grey: South Korean Science Fiction / Horror series based on the manga series Parasyte by the Japanese artist Hitoshi Iwaaki . Sort of an Invasion of the Body Snatchers story but would more closely resemble Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters which was published in 1951 which preceded the 1954 story Invasion was based on. The Puppet Masters film (1994) is less well known though. Parasitical alien creatures rain down on South Korea (and presumably elsewhere) taking over human hosts by wriggling in through ears. mouths etc. Some overreact and start killing humans en mass. most successfully overcome their human hosts and live clandestine life. They dine on humans and keep meat lockers. One woman is altrady seriously injured when she encounters the parasite and forms a mutant with both personas surviving. There is a secret task force Parasyte Grey which hunts down the turned humans, led by a slightly unhinged woman who has a strange "tracker dog",. The parasites also make use of a cult/church to hide their activities. Pretty good special effects with some gory death scenes, the parasite humans can split their head into tentacles. The cynicism if political forces intent on saving face adds a satirical edge. All in all a good SF/Horror adventure. Directed and co-written by Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan). Six episodes in Netflix. 8/10.
 
ramonmercado said:
Parasyte: The Grey: South Korean Science Fiction / Horror series based on the manga series Parasyte by the Japanese artist Hitoshi Iwaaki . Sort of an Invasion of the Body Snatchers story but would more closely resemble Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters which was published in 1951 which preceded the 1954 story Invasion was based on. The Puppet Masters film (1994) is less well known though. Parasitical alien creatures rain down on South Korea (and presumably elsewhere) taking over human hosts by wriggling in through ears. mouths etc. Some overreact and start killing humans en mass. most successfully overcome their human hosts and live clandestine life. They dine on humans and keep meat lockers. One woman is altrady seriously injured when she encounters the parasite and forms a mutant with both personas surviving. There is a secret task force Parasyte Grey which hunts down the turned humans, led by a slightly unhinged woman who has a strange "tracker dog",. The parasites also make use of a cult/church to hide their activities. Pretty good special effects with some gory death scenes, the parasite humans can split their head into tentacles. The cynicism if political forces intent on saving face adds a satirical edge. All in all a good SF/Horror adventure. Directed and co-written by Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan). Six episodes in Netflix. 8/10.
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I do like the visual style of the parasytes.
 
Analogue Boy said:
Just finished Fallout tonight. I am a big fan of the games so, if recent TV experience is anything to go by, I should be at the epicentre of disappointment. But no - it’s great. Story, characterisation, class acting, effects and plot put this show streets ahead of anything else out there.

This is how you do adaptation.
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Watched ep. 6 last night.
That really plays up the comedy elements, with the goofy cyclops guy and the laugh-out-loud scene was when Lucy finds out about Maximus' lack of sex education! An effective mixture of black comedy and gross-out horror. Will watch the last two episodes tonight.
 
24 Hours with Gaspar: Indonesian dystopian thriller set in about 2050, Gaspar is a PI investigating mass graves. He seems to have links with one section of State Security but another wing kills his informant and tries to assassinate him. He's also investigating organ leggers, their past and current crimes, his childhood friend Kirana disappeared 23 years ago and he is obsessed with solving the mystery. Flashbacks to that period illustrate how important she was to Gaspar. The narrative is opaque at times and you will have to pay close attention. It's all set to the background of a decaying society where health care is non existent. Locals, including Gaepar, depend on a medic from a fight Club. Due to the malfunction of the implant managing Gaspar's dextrocardia, he has only 24 hours to live. He assembles a motley crew in a last attempt to solve all of the mysteries. Good action scenes with choreographed fighting, an area that stinks of desperation, exploitation of the poor, an epidemic which took place in 2025. There's a lot going on here. It has some flaws but is well worth watching. Directed by Yosep Anggi Noen, Screenplay by M. Irfan Ramli based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Sabda Armandio. On Netflix. 7/10.
 
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