I always thought this was a great short story. What a perfect subject for an easily made mini-movie. No super complicated special effects. Some old clothes and props. I like it.
Category: SF&F Movie Reviews
Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Reviews by otherworldly critics
Guest Contributor – Tregonsee – 24AUG2025 – Hollywood
Sadly it seems that Mr. Whedon wants to get a little more, shall we say physical, with the talent if the Rumors out of the Buffy Series are true. This has always been an issue in Hollywood, sometimes they chase the ingenues and sometimes they chase the beefcake.
That aside what Whedon did is loved the material. He loved Captain America, he loved the Avengers and he wouldn’t change the material (more than a smidge or two). This strategy doesn’t always work. Brad Bird Loved/Loves the Barsoom mythos (and clearly knew it well based on how he plotted it). He gave Dejah Thoris more of a part (and far more of a costume) than in the original books, but he didn’t eviscerate/geld John Carter as a hero to do it. Here the issue was the Disney Princess based marketers couldn’t bring themselves to market A Princess of Mars . They couldn’t even bring themselves to call it John Carter of Mars they had no clue how to sell it and so its existence and nature was known only to the more rabid part of the Barsoom fans (e.g. myself). I took my wife and daughters (college/high school age for the girls) and they loved it. They wondered why the heck there was practically no one in the giant IMAX theater on a Saturday PM showing.
Loving the material is a start but is NOT enough. Peter Jackson LOVED Lord of the Rings but was constrained to make 3 movies (albeit nearly 9 hrs in standard form). He loved the Hobbit too but was given FAR to free a rein. In the interests of adding female characters and filling out 3 long films, he padded the heck out of The Hobbit and made a sloppy mess. George Lucas made the original 3 Star Wars films and loved his material and did fairly well until the damnable Ewoks. This is likely because he had his wife (later divorced) riding herd on him as editor. When he made the Prequel Trilogy no one could tell him no and loved himself a little TOO much and he made crap. Many years later Disney said “Hold my beer” and made the sequel trilogy that makes the prequels look like Casablanca or Citizen Kane.
So it looks like the recipe is get a director and/or screen writer that loves the material. Then make sure there is a check to their choices so they don’t go straight up fan boi/fan grrl.
And for heavens sake Disney, please try something NEW. There’s like 20+ marvel movies/tv shows, at least 11 Star wars movies plus hours of TV, Princess movies by the dozens and 4 Toy Stories with a 5th on the way. Try something new and exotic (for you) it can’t hurt more than the last dozen or so flops. And for the love of all that is Holy Send Kathleen Kennedy on an all expense paid 1 year trip to an isolated portion of Borneo with no phone or internet connections. And let Star Wars lie fallow for a couple years that horse (or wookie) is well and truly dead.
The Library is Full of Them
As I mentioned in an earlier post Disney (and by extension Hollywood) realizes that they’ve alienated the male half of the human race. And as I gleefully mentioned this is all their own fault and it’s hilarious that it’s a surprise for them. And after torching two of the most valuable male-oriented intellectual properties (Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe), instead of trying to fix the problems and repair the damage to these brands they’ve decided to bury their losses and start from scratch with brand new franchises.
Well, you’ve got to admire their optimism. Maybe they haven’t heard the old saying about the definition of insanity being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. But it’s their money (or their stockholders anyway).
But in a sense, they’ve got it half right. Half of their problem is that sequel after sequel has drained all the life out of their franchises. So new stories and characters is a good direction to go in. People like to be entertained and meeting new characters is part of that entertainment. And even though there are only a few overarching plots to an adventure story it helps to change the names of the heroes, villains, magic rings, super-weapons and princesses from story to story.
So far, so good. But now comes the tricky part. Listen up Disney:
DON’T MAKE THE HERO A GIRL-BOSS. THE GIRL IN THE STORY IS THE LOVE INTEREST OF THE HERO. SHE IS THE REWARD FOR THE HERO SAVING THE DAY. SHE MAY TAKE UP A BOW OR A DAGGER IN A PINCH BUT SHE’S NOT THERE TO SAVE THE HERO AND SHE’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN CHARGE.
I hope I was clear there. Use the traditional hero saga as the backbone of the story and find a writer and a director who can work with such a story in a creative and entertaining fashion and you will make billions of dollars. Just as a for instance Joss Whedon directed the first Avengers movie. It made $1.52 billion worldwide at the box office. That’s a lot of money. And part of the reason for that enormous sum is because Whedon knows how to make likable characters in a movie. He blends humor, action and drama in the correct proportions and at the right moments. In other words, he’s not a hack like all of the DEI directors that have bungled the last several years of your franchise flops.
Now, granted he is demanding and sometimes slightly abusive toward the “talent.” But they’re getting paid millions of dollars to dress up in spandex and fool around in front of a green screen. The least they could do is take a little hectoring from a prima donna director to earn those millions. So anyway, my advice for Hollywood is to find the few creative talents out there; directors like Whedon and Christopher Nolan. And purchase the film rights to books that millions of people love. And don’t mess with the stories and characters. Put them faithfully on the big screen and then instead of trying to recreate success with endless sequels move onto another story! Did you know there is more than one book in the library? There are several.
I know it’s a radical departure. But it’s just so crazy it just might work!
A Light Bulb Turns On at Disney
According to Variety magazine:
Disney has realized that young men are tired of their girl-boss inhabited movies. And now it’s a problem because Disney needs their money.
And I quote:
“Numerous studies show that Gen Z men in particular are a lonely, gaming-obsessed group who were hampered in their formative years by COVID-19 lockdowns — not the easiest segment to grasp.”
So even when their desperate to attract an audience they can’t help but mock and belittle men and boys.
Rather than rant on my own I’ll borrow the Critical Drinker’s rant. He is much more amusing than I am.
14AUG2025 – Preview of Coming Attractions
As we head into fall I’m always reminded of the Autumn People
Oh thirty-five, a year when you could run up a flight of steps without panting for breath!
And Through Me Tell the Story
Christopher Nolan is filming the Odyssey. And, of all people, Matt Damn will be Odysseus. And his son Telemachus will be played by Spiderman (Tom Holland) and Charlize Theron will be Circe. Anne Hathaway is listed high in the credits so I fear she will be Penelope. And most frightening of all, John Leguizamo is in the cast. I guess I should be grateful that Pee Wee Herman is dead or maybe he would be cast as Achilles or Zeus.
Christopher Nolan is a talented director. Could the movie turn out to be an entertaining and well-made film? Sure. But based on the cast I’m pretty sure it will have only the most tangential connection to Homer’s poem. I’m guessing Damon will channel his character in the Bourne Identity and kill the suitors in a blur of shaky cam footage. Maybe he can use his character development from “The Martian” to recreate Odysseus’s sense of abandonment on Ogygia with Calypso. And come to think of it, Calypso can be played by RuPaul in drag.
No kidding, we’ve finally reached a point where special effects are good enough to show the scene in Polyphemus’s cave believably and what will render the story unfilmable will be the ethnicity of the characters. In order to be eligible for Academy Awards, there will need to be a certain number of non-white and non-straight actors distributed among the most important roles. I’m guessing that blonde Helen and specifically red-haired Menelaus will have to be portrayed by Australian aborigines and the Sirens will be transgender creatures. Who knows, just to win Best Picture he’ll have to make several of Sylla’s heads look like prominent Republicans.
I’m probably painting this thing impossibly more negative than it needs to be. But I think that Christopher Nolan is the closest thing to a good director left in Hollywood and the fact that he’s casting the movie with woke actors and following the DEI guidelines reinforces my worst premonitions for what this will end up being. Well, why not? Instead of Odysseus, the Sacker of Cities, we’ll get Matt Damon, Keeper of Safe Spaces. I’m sure that instead of putting the hundred plus Suitors of Penelope to the sword, he’ll sue them in the court of public opinion and then realize that fighting for his wife’s honor is a toxic patriarchal practice that assumes that Penelope needs him to return when instead she could have shacked-up with Clytemnestra and ruled Ithaca as the first lesbian power couple of the Bronze Age.
And obviously, his son Telemachus would have discovered that he was born in the wrong body and want to be called Telemacha from then on. And all of Odysseus’s slaves will have read Ibram X. Kendi and will rise up and decolonize Ithaca.
Well, I guess everything in the world is backwards at the moment and we’ll have to wait for a different motion picture environment before something like an authentic Odyssey is possible. I guess the good news is that the book is still there to read.
The Odyssey
Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story
of that man skilled in all ways of contending,
the wanderer, harried for years on end,
after he plundered the stronghold
on the proud height of Troy.
He saw the townlands
and learned the minds of many distant men,
and weathered many bitter nights and days
in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only
to save his life, to bring his shipmates home.
But not by will nor valor could he save them,
for their own recklessness destroyed them all —
children and fools, they killed and feasted on
the cattle of Lord Hêlios, the Sun,
and he who moves all day through the heaven
took from their eyes the dawn of their return
(Translated by Robert Fitzgerald (1961))
ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ
πλάγχθη, ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν:
πολλῶν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω,
πολλὰ δ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν,
ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὣς ἑτάρους ἐρρύσατο, ἱέμενός περ:
αὐτῶν γὰρ σφετέρῃσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὄλοντο,
νήπιοι, οἳ κατὰ βοῦς Ὑπερίονος Ἠελίοιο
ἤσθιον: αὐτὰρ ὁ τοῖσιν ἀφείλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.
τῶν ἁμόθεν γε, θεά, θύγατερ Διός, εἰπὲ καὶ ἡμῖν.
(Homer circa 1,000 BC)
Long, Long Ago in a Studio Far, Far Away
As the tent-pole summer movies of July fade into August obscurity and dinosaurs, Superman and lesser Marvel superheroes get rated and dissected by the movie critics I think it has been established beyond a shadow of a doubt that the failure of Hollywood to replicate the billion-dollar paydays from earlier versions of Star Wars and the Avengers franchises can now be definitively explained. They forgot that a superhero movie (or even just a plain hero movie) requires a hero. And the requirements of a hero (whether in book or on a screen) include that we like the hero.
And that seems to be where Hollywood has gone off the rails. They’ve managed to make a bunch of movies where the heroes are unlikeable. For the most part these unlikeable heroes have tended to be of the type currently known as the “girl-boss.” The prime example of this category is Rey, played by Daisy Ridley in the Star Wars movies. The type includes the following traits:
- Although small and thin she is completely capable of defeating men many times her size.
- She hectors male characters about their obvious shortcomings compared to her.
- Completely humorless.
- Has no flaws.
- Has no setbacks.
Now, this sort of character fits perfectly into the social messaging of all modern Hollywood films. It allows older franchises with male protagonists to be replaced with the girl-boss. Examples include Rey in Star Wars replacing Luke Skywalker, Helena Shaw replacing Indiana Jones and Captain Marvel basically replacing all the Avengers.
The problem with these replacements is that the producers think that just saying that their new characters are just as good as the originals (if not better) is enough. For some reason they didn’t think it would be necessary to hire good writers and directors to make the movies exciting and entertaining. But as it turns out they are extremely important if you don’t want your movies to be unwatchable crap. And that is the thing that all these movies share. They’re awful. And unfortunately for Disney they’ve been making these “better” movies and television series in the Star Wars and Marvel series for about ten years and they’ve completely dissipated the enthusiasm and good will of their legacy audiences that paid billions of dollars to see the older movies that actually were well written, exciting and entertaining.
Over the last six months it has finally dawned on Disney (and the other studios) that they’ve killed the goose that lays the golden eggs. They’ve alienated about 70% of their audience and destroyed a machine that printed cash. From what I’ve read, the most recent Marvel movie “Fantastic Four” went to lengths to not go down the girl-boss lane and even had a decent script that could be enjoyed as an adventure movie. The problem is that most of their old audience didn’t bother to give it a try and so the movie while not a complete bomb is struggling to become profitable.
Regardless of whether “Fantastic Four” makes money I think we may be at a turning point in the fantasy-adventure genre. It has finally dawned on the studios that social messaging for the woke agenda is box office poison that has a tiny audience. As the recent purchase of Paramount by Skydance Media demonstrates, entertainment that doesn’t make money ends up on the auction block and then the chopping block where the unentertaining and unprofitable components get sliced off and thrown in the garbage. And similar things are happening all over the media and entertainment world. CNN, MSNBC and CBS are all finding out that woke ideology doesn’t equal profitability and if they can’t adapt to a world that isn’t amused by it, they’ll be out of work. I guess I’m an eternal optimist but maybe, just maybe, in a year or two decent fantasy adventure may be produced in Hollywood again. At least it could happen!
The Boys and I Give Superman (1978) a Try
Because of the new Superman movie coming out I had a showing of the 1978 Christopher Reeve version for the two younger grandsons. I was curious to see how they reacted to the somewhat slow startup to this version. After all I think half the movie is gone before Superman actually dons the suit. But from all appearances they liked it.
Now the youngest one is a very analytical viewer of science fiction and fantasy so he gave me a short lecture on why kryptonite kills Superman. Come to think of it he gave me several lectures about various esoteric aspects of the Man of Steel; how he could fly, how he got from one galaxy to another so quickly, why he could never die of old age, how he was able to handle people without killing them by accident. It was very interesting to find out he had worked out all of these theories in just the time since the beginning of the movie.
I could sense the greatest annoyance with the movie when Lois Lane was on the screen. Apparently, the love story wasn’t intensely popular with this part of the audience. But somehow, they soldiered through. By the time Superman was flying around Earth at ludicrous speed to turn back time and save Lois from death I think they were prepared for the end. I’m not sure they felt Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Ned Beatty as his mentally challenged henchman were sufficiently serious to be credible enemies for Superman.
But by the time the (extremely long) credits were rolling they seemed to forgive some of the weaknesses of the production and wanted to discuss viewing (at least) Superman 2. Apparently, they wanted to see the return of General Zod after I hinted that he was much more formidable a foe than Luthor. So maybe we’ll have a second Superman feature this month.
It was funny seeing this movie for the first time in forty-seven years. What struck me most was how odd Margot Kidder was as Lois. The rest of the actors and actresses came across as much more professional. Kidder seemed almost like a fish out of water. Maybe that was the vibe they were going for. Probably the worst acting and dialog was Marlon Brando as Jor-El; Superman’s Kryptonian father. All of the exposition and lecturing about his duty to help humans and his fate is a bit boring. But I guess some introduction is necessary to establish how he ends up as the man flying around in the suit.
My impression of Christopher Reeve in the movie is very positive. He brings enormous likeability to the character and he does the comedy part of the role very deftly. As far as the special effects in the film, this was 1978. All of the effects are non-CGI. To a modern audience some of them are less than overwhelming. There is a scene where Superman is causing an avalanche to stop a flooded river from washing away a town. But the scene is so obviously done with a miniature set using some sand and pebbles that it’s kind of silly. But that couldn’t be helped back then.
All in all, the boys and I gave a thumbs up to Superman (1978). Now bring on General Zod and “Planet Hooston!”
2025 Summer Movies
I’ve been listening to some of the movie reviewers about the crop of summer movies. I guess the first “tentpole” film is whatever they’re calling the latest sequel to Jurassic Park. I think the consensus is that it’s a tired derivative rehash of the original concept. It’s also making a ton of money. So, from the studio’s point of view, a success! From an actual sentient movie watcher’s point of view not so much. But as a grandfather of a dinosaur super-enthusiast, it does check a lot of the boxes as a way to bond with said enthusiast. So not a total loss.
Then there are the latest comic book superhero movies. So, they’ve given the Avengers the summer off and instead they’re taking another crack at “The Fantastic Four.” Now this has always been a sort of oddball franchise. They’re superpowers are “odd.” One is a guy who can stretch his body. Huh? Then there’s a guy who can fly and shoot fire at stuff; well, pretty good, I guess. Then there’s a girl who can become invisible and also has a force field. This is actually the most powerful superpower amongst them. And then there’s a guy who looks like he’s made of rock and is somewhat strong. None of these “heroes” is going to compete with Superman or even Thor. They’re powers kind of suck and they’re relegated to protecting Manhattan from intergalactic troublemakers like Dr. Doom, Galactus or Annihilus. So, if you have a villain that can devour planetary system how does a stretchy guy and a rock stop you? Even forcefield girl and “flame on” boy aren’t that much use. On top of all that apparently the powers that be have decided that forcefield girl will be the girl boss of the movie and there will be much female empowerment on display. Yay? Well, I guess I can skip that one for my grandsons.
And then there’s another reboot of Superman coming out. Initial reviews hint at the importance of Superman’s “immigrant” status. Also, there’s been a lot of talk about “inclusion.” Well, that doesn’t bode well in my book. Worst case Superman is protecting cartel gangbangers against Trump’s ICE agents. Best case Superman will be propagandizing the kids about how great it is to be an illegal alien from Krypton. I could be wrong but I’m not seeing a Superman movie in my summer lineup.
Alright, let’s review. Stupid dinosaur sequel is my best bet. Check. You know what? I think I’ll assemble a sci-fi and fantasy film festival of my own. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll arrange a schedule and invite the grandkids over.
Let’s see; Them, Destination: Moon, The Thing from Another World, Forbidden Planet, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, Terminator, Blade Runner, Independence Day and The Martian. I’ll have to split it up to allow for the ages of the viewers. And then we’ll end on a fantasy note; original Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings. Okay, that’s a starting point. And think of the money I’ll save on tickets and popcorn! photog, you’re a bloody genius!
Guest Contributor – Tregonsee – 01JUN2025 – Future of Entertainment
There was a concept a while back of Narrowcasting (as opposed to broadcasting) where you would aim for certain smaller markets via directed media like the internet. To some degree we see this happening with youtube and tiktok. The monetization would be direct from the consumers and perhaps via pre subscription schemes.
It seems that Hollywood got the narrow part but not the monetezation part. In an analogy to the misquote of Pauline Kael they don’t know anyone that voted for Donald Trump. Their audience is boomers who grew up in the late 1950s and early 1960s and are nostalgic for their college days and the protests against the Establishment. The boomers have not processed that they are now the Man. Meanwhile, Hollywood keeps churning out $200-400 million blockbusters aimed at that tiny (perhaps 5-20%) market demographic. Hollywood depends on the old 80s-2000s mix of movie theater, marketing of merchandise and resales for income. The thing is their little stunt of 2020 killed the theater, the Merch was for kids (or perhaps grand kids) which the boomers do not have, and residuals on the various streaming platforms residuals are bupkus compared to VHS/DVD sales. The big Studios are like the last of the dinosaurs standing around in a swamp in Louisiana on the day of the KT boundary impact saying “Hey Ralph whats that pretty light in the south it isn’t sunrise yet…” They’re dead they just haven’t figured it out yet, and the mammals are crouching in a variety of holes trying not to be eaten.
Comment by photog: I guess I’m waiting for the mammals. It’s a lonely vigil but, “Ya gotta keep da faith.”
reply by Tregonsee:
Indeed Photog I’m rooting for the mammals too. Like the Mammals of the Tertiary (now called Paleogene) it may take a while for the producers to get organized. In publishing the transition seems well under way. Most Authors of more plot based SciFi either are at Baen or publish independently. Even giant authors like Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, Way of Kings, etc.) are tending to eschew the big 5 publishing houses.
Music has been going to self publishing too. What it takes to have a GOOD studio is probably 2 orders of magnitude
Part of it is that for visual SciFi even though special effects are easier than 20-40 years ago (e.g. I’ve heard tell of a copy of the Death Star run in star Wars done totally with effect in CGI in a couple days that is VERY close to the original that took weeks in physical models) it still takes time and money. You still need actors and good ones are expensive unless you’re doing something they want to take a chance on. And even doing minimal sets things get expensive fast, and acting to things and characters that aren’t there on green screen is really hard to pull off believably even for first rate actors. The other part is that the current media seems to fight these efforts tooth and nail.
All that said there are signs things are improving. A movie called Flow (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(2024_film) about a black cat and an odd bunch of animals in a post apocalyptic world got the 2024 Golden Globe and Oscar for long form animation. This was published by a 6 person group out of Latvia. I love animation and even though the premise is straight up green nude eel catastrophe the story and animation rival the best of Classic Disney or Studio Ghibli