Tag Archives: sf

Movie review: The Matrix

Webmaster’s note 1/17/2016: This is an old review from the previous version of the site, which we’re bringing in as a post so that it’ll be searchable in the reviews categories with newer content.

The Matrix

“The Matrix”
Virtual Reality & You

review by Laura Begley

I knew from the first preview that I wanted to see this movie. It had Keanu Reeves, cool special effects, lots of sleek black leather, and an intriguing premise, any one of which was enough of a reason to go see this movie. Needless to say, I was thrilled with the results.

“The Matrix” is a wonderful, action-packed, Sci-Fi/Fantasy movie written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski (“Bound”) which stars Keanu Reeves as Thomas Anderson, aka “Neo,” as a late 20th-century computer programmer by day, hacker by night. As “Neo,” Reeves begins to suspect that there is something he doesn’t quite understand about his world, something that he is destined to take part in. As the movie progresses, Neo finally meets the elusive Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne) and the almost androgynous yet oddly gorgeous Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss, who is probably better known for her part in F/X: The Series), whose job it is to clue Neo in to The Matrix and his role as “The One.”

According to the dictionary, one definition for a matrix is “a material in which something is enclosed or embedded (as for protection or study),” while another meaning is “an array of circuit elements (as diodes and transistors) for performing a specific function as interconnected.” Both of these definitions are right on the money for this movie, which is as deeply philosophical as it is widely appealing.

I was most impressed after seeing the movie to learn that the four main actors (Reeves, Fishburne, Moss, and Hugo Weaving) trained together for four months before filming to learn martial arts, which has a rather large part in the movie’s fight scenes. Yes, the actors really *are* doing their own fighting, although some movie “magic” (aka harnesses) are required to help them drive each other up the walls and leap from rooftop to rooftop in a single bound. (‘It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s….Keanu Reeves?”)

This is, in my opinion, a wonderfully entertaining, visually stunning motion picture, marred only by a few minor slow spots and “well, duh!” moments. My rating (on a scale of 0 to 4 stars): 3.75

Movie review: Galaxy Quest, by DreamWorks

Webmaster’s note 1/17/2016: This is an old review from the previous version of the site, which we’re bringing in as a post so that it’ll be searchable in the reviews categories with newer content.

Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest

review by R’ykandar Korra’ti

I cannot believe I just spent the last two hours laughing at a Tim Allen film. I hate Tim Allen. But Galaxy Quest is hysterical.

YOU HAVE TO SEE IT.

Everybody in it is just funny, and boy howdy, do the writers know their Star Trek. It’s clever, it’s quick, it’s leaving theatres pretty quickly unless the overwhemingly good word-of-mouth saves it.

I’m not going to say anything in detail about it. Just funny, funny, funny. Go see it.

Book review: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert A. Heinlein

Webmaster’s note 1/16/2016: This is an old review from the previous version of the site, which we’re bringing in as a post so that it’ll be searchable in the reviews categories with newer content.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
by Robert A. Heinlein
ISBN 0312863551

reviewed by Ted Begley

There are certain books out there, that when we read them change us forever. In my case “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” was the first to change my worldview forever.

The story is of a one-armed computer tech, a lovely provocateur, an absent-minded professor and a sentient computer that is starved for attention. Mix these elements together, add an unjust way of life, a dictatorial ruler and place all of the above in a man-made cave in the Moon and you have one of the best novels ever written.

All in all, I found the characters to be rich and well rounded. The character of Mike (also known as the H.O.L.M.E.S. IV computer, Adam Selene, Simon Jester, etc.) is one of the best non-human characters that I have seen in a work of science fiction. Manuel Garcia O’Kelley Davis is perhaps the embodiment of a person caught up in events but not overwhelmed by them. Wyoming Knott adds the right blend of determination, stubbornness, and youthful innocence to this human drama. And last but hardly least is Professor Bernardo de la Paz, a grandfatherly old man who has the only real experience in dealing with the events of the story.

The base plot has all of these widely different characters forming an alliance to overthrow the tyrannical government of the Moon. The details of planning a revolution are so convincing that I would not only recommend this novel for entertainment but also as a guide for overthrowing a small country.

If you have an afternoon or two free I recommend checking this book out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Book review: A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold

Webmaster’s note 1/15/2016: This is an old review from the previous version of the site, which we’re bringing in as a post so that it’ll be searchable in the reviews categories with newer content.

A Civil Campaign

A Civil Campaign
by Lois McMaster Bujold
ISBN 0671578278

reviewed by Sylvia Wendell

Miles is in love, and desperate to maneuver his beloved into marriage. Trouble is, he plans it as if it were a military campaign.

This latest chapter in Miles’ history is billed as “A Comedy of Biology and Manners” (Lois even dedicates it to “Jane, Charlotte, Georgette, and Dorothy”). It’s also a slapstick food fight and the laugh-out-loud funniest book she’s ever written.

It is set in the time period immediately after Komarr, and leading up to Emperor Gregor’s wedding. We meet some new characters I sincerely hope to see in future installments. We see Armsman Pym, up till now a walk-on, in fascinating new depth. And Ivan – Ivan! – finally begins to metamorphose into something beyond Miles’ Sancho Panza.

This book contains some of Lois’ finest writing ever. Her skill is of an order that never calls attention to itself. But more than ever, she includes passages of deep truth, dead-on descriptions, and perfect phrasing. Her characters grow and change during the course of the novel, and Lois always shows us rather than telling us.

So, all you Vorkosigonians, rush out and get this one immediately. For you who want an introduction to the series, start here. This one gets four stars out of four.