Talking About Stuff #149
Christiana reviews inFamous for the PS3… morality in video games… celebrity deaths… Expedition Africa… True Blood Season 2… The Number One Ladies Detective Agency
Movie Review: Moon
Today when I discovered that Moon was playing at my local independant movie theater, I was really excited. I’d read a bit about this low-key non-explodey science fiction film but since it hasn’t gotten a huge release so far, I thought I might just have to wait for DVD. Yet it just so happens that it is now playing in North Carolina, so yay for me!
If you are like me, and a big fan of space in general, then Moon is worth seeing just for the awesome lunar setting and the 2001-meets-Grease Monkey aesthetic. Ultimately though, the moon itself is really just a backdrop for a character-focused scenario that is thoroughly-explored, if not quite totally original.
I won’t spoil anything here, (and in fact, if you want to be completely pure, you shouldn’t even watch the trailer), but if you’re even moderately familiar with sci-fi tropes, you’ll guess the “mystery” almost immediately.
To his credit, so does our hero.
Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, a blue-collar astronaut on the last two-weeks of a 3-year contract. He’s been manning a mining station on the far side of the moon, harvesting helium-3 for shipment back home. It’s been a long three years, and he is more than ready to get back to his wife and the daughter he has never even met. Alas, poor Sam, he’s got science fiction to deal with first.
The movie is less concerned with keeping “the answer” a secret than with exploring all of the implications of it, and while I might have liked a plot that I couldn’t guess five-minutes in, I did appreciate the depth and the emotion the film brought to mapping out all the details.
There are little nit-picks. For example, whenever Sam is inside the lunar base, the film makes no attempt whatsoever to simulate lunar gravity. (The first shot is of him running on a treadmill.) While I could certainly understand the practical reasons for this, it did bug me.
On the whole though, it was a very nice change of pace from the frenetic pace and big explosions of most scifi movies these days, and I can solidly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for thoughtful, character-based science fiction, or for that matter, anyone who just wants to ooh and ahh at all the shots on the lunar surface.
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Crescent by Phil Rossi Launches July 9th 2009! Buy it!
You read the title, right? Well, what are you waiting for?
This is a kick-ass sci-fi horror that’ll give you goosebumps, nightmares, and quite possibly drive you over the edge into total madness. So yeah, I liked it.
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Talking About Stuff #148
In this episode, Mike reviews “Nina Kimberly”, Christiana reviews “Up” and there’s plenty of movie talk.
Nina Kimberly the Merciless Episode 6
Chapters 12 and 13 appear in episode 6 of Nina Kimberly the Merciless!
New Voicemail number! 206-338-2473
Parsec Submission for Christiana’s Shallow Thoughts
Contains the following three episodes in their entirety: #55 – Cobbling (06-03-08), #146 – Pre-Recorded Dragon*Con Post-Con Wrap-Up from the Future (09-06-08), and #201 – Lemmings (10-30-08)
Ghostbusters – Hey, Want to Watch a Movie?
We ain’t afraid of no ghost! It’s a full house as Christiana Ellis, Mike, Adam Morey, Brandon Hill, Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit, Susan Z, Kim the Comic Book Goddess and the Right Reverend Chumley watch Ghostbusters!
Nina Kimberly Companion Episode 5
News, feedback and commentary for Nina Kimberly the Merciless Story Episode 5!
Nina Kimberly the Merciless now available in print!
Promo 1:
Mur Lafferty’s Heaven Series: Chapter 5 – War
Promo 2:
Kimi Alexandre’s Guardians
Other books and podcasts mentioned:
Personal Effects: Dark Art by JC Hutchins
Metamor City by Chris Lester
Antithesis by J Daniel Sawyer
Escape Pod: Will You Be An Astronaut?
By Greg van Eekhout Read by Christiana Ellis
First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Astronauts are people who ride rockets into space. They must train for a very long time before they go. Astronauts must be brave and smart.
Will you be an astronaut?
* * *
The biggest rocket ever was the Saturn V. On the launch pad it was taller than a 30-story building. Today’s rockets are smaller and lighter. Today’s rockets can be launched more than once. They have wings and can come back to earth and land like airplanes.
When a rocket launches, it’s like an earthquake. The ground is shaking! There is flame and smoke. It’s like an explosion!
Antonio is strapped into his seat. He is about to ride to a space station. Because there is no air in space, Antonio must wear a space suit. In the suit, Antonio can breathe and talk over radio. He wears a helmet with a special faceplate that protects him from the sun. The fingers of his gloves have tiny claws that help him work with small objects.
What’s all that noise? It must be a rocket! Astronauts are traveling to space!
5-4-3-2-1! Lift off!
Rated PG-13. Deceptively G…
