Why aren’t the ‘Jurassic Park’ movies scary anymore?
Movie commentary: We all know it’s true: The “Jurassic Park” films are no longer scary. Here are some theories for why this is.
Science Fiction
‘Jurassic World’ is ‘Jurassic Park’ on steroids
Movie review: I don’t mean it as a negative to say this is the original film on steroids. It’s a blast to see bigger dinos and a sprawling park.
‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘T2: The Future War’ (2003) (Book review)
While previous works explored the “present” (young John) and “future” (resistance leader John) of the “Terminator” timeline, “T2: The Future War” (2003) was the first story to link the two eras by showing what happens in between.
Gorgeous-looking ‘Insurgent’ further explores ‘Divergent’ world (Movie review)
“Insurgent” further clarifies the political structure of the “Divergent” universe, features award-worthy set pieces in a run-down Chicago two centuries in the future and – like the original film – ultimately succeeds because Shailene Woodley is […]
Lincoln Child explores weird corners of science in ‘The Forgotten Room’ (Book review)
It took several Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child novels for Pendergast to become an icon, so it’s no wonder that the other ongoing characters in the authors’ works are taking a while to build into […]
‘Blue Labyrinth’ blends classic museum horror with fascinating new locales (Book review)
For their 14th Pendergast novel, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child do more than merely pay lip service to the evocative location that put them on the map with “Relic” nearly two decades ago. Margo Green, […]
‘Tomorrowland’: The latest cult classic from Damon Lindelof, or possibly just a bad film (Movie review)
The first thing I did after watching “Tomorrowland” and discussing its peculiarities with my buddy Michael was to look up articles explaining what the hell happened in the movie. (This Overmental piece is a decent one.) That’s what […]
‘Wayward Pines’ riffs on other puzzle-box shows
First episode impressions (TV review): Out of the gates, this series from Chad Hodge and M. Night Shyamalan is notably similar to other shows.
‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘T2: Rising Storm’ (2002) (Book review)
After “Infiltrator” (2001) rather leisurely explored the John-Sarah relationship, added Dieter to the brotherhood of the brave and chronicled yet another attack on Cyberdyne, “Rising Storm” (2002) raises the stakes. The second book in S.M. Stirling’s “T2” […]
Garland smartly explores artificial intelligence in sparsely beautiful ‘Ex Machina’ (Movie review)
“Ex Machina” could be a stage play, as it features four actors in various austere rooms of an isolated scientific compound. Writer Alex Garland, who also penned the excellent zombie film “28 Days Later” (2002) and […]