Top 10 Science Fiction Films

In honour of "May Fourth" ("May the Force Be With You") -- and even though "Star Wars" is not "science fiction" (but rather "science fantasy") -- here are my top 10 sci fi films:

Blade Runner

The Thing

Alien

Children of Men

Aliens

The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2)

Fury Road (Mad Max 4)

12 Monkeys

2001

Looper

Honourable mention: Dune 1 and Dune 2.

(Perhaps I would end up with a slightly different list if I thought about this for a few hours -- but I'm sure that nothing in the "top 5" would change.)

As for Star Wars, my favourite two films are The Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One. I regard the "Andor" series -- Andor seasons one and two, and Rogue One -- to be the best thing out of the Star Wars universe (and not really like anything else in it).

Have a good May 4th!

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy with live music

This was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in recent years: watching Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, accompanied with live music -- in the case of The Return of the King, the FILMharmonique Orchestra, along with the Amadeus Choir, the Bach Children’s Chorus, and soloist Kaitlyn Lusk -- at Meridian Hall in Toronto. One film was shown each January over the past two years (The Fellowship of the King in 2023, The Two Towers in 2024, and most recently The Return of the King in 2025).  

Although I have my criticisms of specific aspects of the films (the portrayal of Denethor especially rankles), overall, they do a great job of capturing the look and feel of Middle-earth, and the spirit of the novels. Visually and musically, they are amazing -- the Howard Shore score is singular. It’s hard to describe just how much live music added to the experience.

Some people were dressed up as characters from the films. A few people complimented me on my "I survived Helm's Deep" hoodie.

The Hunt for Gollum

When I learned last year that Warner Bros would be coming out with some new movies set in Middle-earth, I was pretty sceptical. But I am now cautiously optimistic, as the first new film, tentatively entitled The Hunt for Gollum, will star and be directed by Andy Serkis and be produced by Peter Jackson.

I was disappointed overall by season one of The Rings of Power – and, based on some purported leaks, am dreading season two. But with The War of the Rohirrim coming out later this year, and The Hunt for Gollum in 2026, perhaps all is not lost for cinematic Middle-earth.

I Survived Helm's Deep

I'll be seeing The Two Towers in concert this evening. 

"Witness Peter Jackson's legendary movie adaptation on a big screen, with a full orchestra performing Howard Shore's award-winning soundtrack in real time to picture. With the battle for Middle-Earth reaching an absolute fever pitch in this second instalment, hearing the pounding Uruk drums, monumental battlefield music and enchanting soundscapes of the Elven realms performed completely live will transport the audience to Arda like never before."

My "I survived Helm's Deep" hoodie is ready for action! 

I saw The Fellowship of the Ring in concert last January and it was awesome. I've been looking forward to this for a year now.
 

More Middle-earth movies are coming

 

Is Warner Bros. studio, inspired by the dwarves of Khazad-dûm, determined to “dig too greedily”?

The studio announced yesterday that it plans to make a number of films set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The films would be developed through New Line Cinema, which produced the original three films directed by Peter Jackson two decades ago. (Read more at Variety.)

 

Even limited to what is available in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (especially TLotR’s appendices), I think that there are many additional wonderful stories that could be told set in Middle-earth. However, I don’t have a great amount of faith that these new film projects will succeed in this endeavour. The Amazon television series, despite some bright spots (e.g., the beautiful sets), deviated wildly from Tolkien’s writings – and for the most part unnecessarily so. (I accept that some changes are necessary in adapting a complex work of literature to film or television, but many of the changes made in the Rings of Power were ridiculous.) And despite his admirable accomplishment with the original trilogy, Jackson’s The Hobbit films are something of a mess as well. (I will never forgive the shabby treatment of Radagast!)

 

So I’m rather pessimistic about these new films. But perhaps I’ll be pleasantly surprised…

(I am cautiously looking forward to The War of the Rohirrim next year.)

Best Wishes for 2023

I hope that all reading this old blog had a pleasant holiday time and that the year ahead brings them much happiness and peace.

 

My wife kindly got me these cookies. Obviously, she knows me well! I felt a bit guilty eating them but comforted myself in the knowledge that more could be obtained in the future.

 

 

I haven’t been too active here over the past couple of months. Hopefully my posting rate will pick up in the spring, as I thankfully will not have to travel so much for work.

 

In particular, I’d like to catch up on the following items:

 

§  Update the log for my regular “Greyhawk” (D&D 5e) campaign. A lot has happened since I last posted, some of it even a bit entertaining (I think).

o   The adventurers finally managed to defeat Lareth and clear out the Moathouse (more or less); soon they will be moving beyond Hommlet.

 

§  Update the status of my irregular “Against the Witch-King” (Against the Darkmaster) campaign.

o    Most of the characters have been created – and they’re an interesting mix: a Dúnadan lady of Arthedain (a champion or “ranger”); two Lossoth brothers from Forochel (one a scout, the other a shape-shifting animist or “shaman”), and a Dwarven scholar from the Ered Luin (sage).

 

§  Post descriptions of my characters for the Mythic Babylon campaign I played in over the past few years (which wrapped up last summer) and the Return to the Mountains of Madness campaign I’m currently playing in (using the Mythras rules).

o   I’m not keeping logs for these campaigns (I generally only do that for the games I’m running) but I think that these characters may be of some interest to others, especially people interested in the Mythras system and its associated settings.

 

§  Return to my top-10 list of fantasy and science-fiction films. (I’ve only covered number 10 so far!)

 

§  Write up some final reflections on The Rings of Power series (which I found to be very much a mixed bag).

 

I’m watching Andor right now and finding it to be excellent. I had skipped the two most recent Star Wars series (the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan ones) but I quite liked both seasons of The Mandalorian. This series is even better, in my view. It doesn’t really feel like a “Star Wars” show to be honest – but that’s probably a good thing, given how badly the movies degenerated in quality after The Empire Strikes Back. The notable exception in recent years is Rogue One – the best Star Wars movie since Empire in my judgement – and so perhaps it’s no surprise that Andor is of such high quality, given that it’s a Rogue One prequel. Check it out if you haven’t already!

David Warner, RIP

David Warner was a very accomplished actor. 

 

But I’ll forever associate him with the character “Jon Irenicus” of the computer role-playing game, Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn.

 

Anyone who has ever played that game will recall his work for the lead villain. The opening lines will echo in my mind’s ear throughout the rest of my days:

Ahhh, the child of Bhaal has awoken.

It is time for more experiments...

RIP, Shattered One.

Trailer for Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Here’s the poster for the forthcoming Dungeons and Dragons movie: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

 

 

As you might note, it looks like there’s an owlbear, mimic, brain devourer, displacer beast, and probably a mind flayer (or something with tentacles) in the movie.  

 

And here’s the trailer.

 

Some of the monsters mentioned above (owlbear, mimic, and displacer beast) appear in the trailer — plus a gelatinous cube and, of course, some dragons (black and red).

 

It looks rather heavily loaded with CGI. I guess that’s to be expected. The trailer is a bit too “busy” for my tastes. But the tone seems irreverent, which is good. And I quite liked the bit with the lute at the end. It could be a fun fantasy romp. I hope it is! 

 

If you have twenty minutes to kill, here’s a breakdown of the trailer from Chris Perkins and Todd Kenreck, focusing on the monsters and some of the locations for the movie. Unsurprisingly, it is set in the Forgotten Realms (Sword Coast region).

Addition (22 July 2022): Here's a list of the main characters and their D&D classes:

• Chris Pine is Elgin, a Bard. Elgin notably wears a Harper pin in several scenes in the trailer, hinting that he might be part of the famed organization.
• Michelle Rodriguez is Holga, a barbarian.
• Rege-Jean Page is Xenk, a paladin.
• Justice Smith is Simon, a sorcerer. 
• Sophia Lillis is Doric, a druid. Doric notably is a tiefling and even has a tail.
• Hugh Grant is Forge, a rogue. An early report from the movie described him as Forge Fletcher.

(From here.)

My Top 10 Fantasy and Science-Fiction Films: 2001 A Space Odyssey (#10)

I thought it would be fun to write a brief post on each of my ten favourite science-fiction and fantasy films. All of these films are at least fifteen years old (most much older). I do think that there have been some excellent films released more recently (e.g., Rogue One, last year’s Dune). But if I still really think highly of a film after more than a dozen years or so, then this stability gives me confidence in the soundness of my judgement regarding its quality. Moreover, my sense is that over the past decade or so television has supplanted film in producing high quality, innovate works of fantasy and science fiction (e.g., The Game of Thrones, especially its first four seasons, Watchmen). In any case, since this is a list of my preferences, the fact that I first watched a number of these films during my late childhood and adolescence means that they invariably shaped my later tastes and views. I make no claim of objectivity here (although I do think that, with one noteworthy exception, the films that I will post about are objectively good).

 

Okay, enough with the preamble. Without further ado, here is my number ten: 2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

I think most film buffs, and not simply fans of science fiction, would agree that this is a classic, and rightfully so. It’s my second favourite Stanley Kubrick film (after Dr. Strangelove). I love that the aliens are truly alien and incomprehensible (enigmatic black monoliths). And it’s the first major film (that I’m aware of) to portray artificial intelligence (supercomputer HAL) in a plausible and compelling way.

 

As a youngster I found it a bit slow moving and the ending greatly frustrated me. Nonetheless, I appreciated even then its visual greatness and sweeping ambition. Fortunately, upon seeing it again later as a teenager (and subsequently as an adult), I came to appreciate its pacing and ultimate incomprehensibility.

Dungeons and Dragons news: Dark Tower, Honour Among Thieves, Spelljammer, and some other thing

There were a number of announcements today concerning the near future of Dungeons and Dragons (5^th edition).

 

Among them: the title of the forthcoming D&D film. It’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I actually like that title (despite the infelicitous removal of the “u” from “Honour”). I think a film focusing on thieves (and their associates) could be a lot of fun. Of course, as we all know, the first D&D film was a disaster (worryingly, I note that Courtney Solomon is one of the producers). And I don’t know anything about the other films. But perhaps this one will be decent? We’ll see. (Here is a recent brief description from the star Chris Pine.)

 

The Spelljammer setting is being “rebooted.” I’m happy for fans of the setting but I never got into it back in the day. That’s not a criticism – I wasn’t really engaged with AD&D during the 1990s. Later I got into Planescape a little bit (primarily thanks to the CRPG) but that’s about it for the 2^nd edition settings. Perhaps it was, and will be, great. I might check it out once it’s available. Anyhow, here’s the ENworld page with three “preview videos.”

 

Also being resurrected is Dragonlance. Again, I’m happy for the fans. But I’ll be passing on this, as Krynn is my least favourite D&D setting.

 

Of greater interest to me is Goodman Games’ plans for Dark Tower (announced a few days ago). I don’t know whether I’ll take part in the kickstarter but I expect that, barring personal financial collapse, I’ll get this once it’s available in gaming stores.

 

[New "Dark Tower" cover from Sanjulian]

Dungeons & Dragons: a TV series and a Movie?

It looks like a Dungeons & Dragons television series is now in the process of being developed by Derek Kolstad (the author of the script for the first John Wick film).

This is separate from the previously announced Dungeons & Dragons film, which apparently will star Chris Pine.

I hope that the series and/or movie turn out to be entertaining. But I am gripped with a sense of trepidation, given my memories of this disaster from two decades ago:

Do you have that “Orcish” look? The splendid brow of a Uruk-hai?

"Lord of the Rings TV series issues New Zealand casting call for 'funky-looking' people"

"Talent agency job ad lists long skinny limbs, acne scars, facial lines, missing bones and large eyes as desirable features.”

Some of my friends would be perfect for these roles ("skinny limbs," "large eyes," etc.). (Not me, of course...)

Ian Holm sails to Valinor

The actor Ian Holm has passed away.

Most readers of this blog no doubt will be familiar with Holm’s role as the android “Ash” in the original (and best) Alien film, as well as his portrayal of “Bilbo Baggins” in Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit). He was perfect in both roles. He also superbly played “Napoleon” in Time Bandits. I’ve long been a fan of his work in general, including his portrayal of “Fluellen” in Kenneth Branagh’s version of Henry V.

RIP

Max von Sydow RIP

Actor Max von Sydow has died at the age of 90.

His performance in The Seventh Seal ensures his cinematic immortality. It’s one of the greatest films ever made, and von Sydow was perfect in it.

But like many others of my generation and interests, my first exposure to von Sydow’s acting was in Conan the Barbarian, in which he played the bitter King Osric. (Shortly afterwards, he played the evil Brewmeister Smith of Elsinore Brewery in the Canadian film Strange Brew, which, as the name of the brewery indicates, was loosely based on Hamlet.)

RIP

A Lovecraft Cinematic Universe?

H.P. Lovecraft’s classic story, “The Colour Out of Space,” is one of my all-time favourites. So I’m relieved to see that the reviews for the new film based upon it, directed by Richard Stanley and featuring Nicolas Cage, have been generally positive. It’s at “84% fresh” right now at Rotten Tomatoes.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to see it myself — the film doesn’t appear to be in wide release, and is not currently playing anywhere in Milwaukee — but see it eventually I shall!

(Alas, the film title uses “Color” not “Colour” in its title. Pity. I’ve always found amusing Lovecraft’s adamant use of British spelling in all his works, despite being American himself. And as a Canadian, “Color” just looks wrong.)

This review at Ars Technica, in addition to including a nice slideshow of stills from the movie, has a brief explainer called, “Why Aren’t There More Lovecraft Movies?” But it looks like we will be getting at least two more, including The Dunwich Horror. This in particular looks intriguing:

“With Dunwich Horror, we'll go on campus and get back to Miskatonic University… We'll also get to deal with the Necronomicon, the black book at the core of the mythos.”

I really hope that this new “Lovecraft cinematic universe” does not disappoint fans of the original tales!

Dark Rumblings for the Rise of Skywalker

Based on this review, The Rise of Skywalker sounds like a real mess.

I’ve liked—but not loved—the recent movies well enough. They’ve certainly been an improvement over the prequels! However, the intense feelings they’ve generated amongst some of the fans, especially The Last Jedi, mystify me. (And I simply don’t care enough about Star Wars to learn about the various criticisms and grievances to become ‘de-mystified’…)

I suspect that I’m somewhat unusual in this respect, but of the recent Star Wars films I’ve much preferred the ‘standalone’ films—Rogue One and Solo—to the trilogy. Rogue One in particular is excellent. I suspect that one reason for their superior quality is that they are not embedded in a trilogy that must somehow be ‘epic’ in nature. Their themes are quite different. Moreover, they take place around the time of the original series, which strikes me as a more coherent setting than that of the current trilogy.

Anyhow, perhaps Rise will turn out to be decent after all. I’ll see it eventually in any case. But I’m certainly not ‘invested’ in it. Once the Ewoks first stumbled into the Star Wars universe in The Return of the Jedi, I realized that I was really not a Star Wars fan after all. I like it but I don’t love it. I’ll take Nazgûl over Sith any day.

Eye of Vecna coming to the big screen?

The possibility of new Dungeons and Dragons film has popped up from time to time for years now (I last mentioned it here in February 2016). But it now looks like a new D&D film will be released in the summer of 2021. Interestingly, according to this report at ComicBook-dot-com, it will feature the infamous artifact 'The Eye of Vecna':

"ComicBook.com can exclusively report that the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie currently in development by Paramount will focus on a group of adventurers looking for the Eye of Vecna, a powerful artifact that dates back to the earliest days of the game. Vecna is a powerful lich turned god whose hand and eye (remnants from when Vecna was a mortal) grant unspeakable power. Both the Hand and Eye of Vecna come with a terrible cost - in order to use either artifact, the user must remove their existing eye or hand and then replace it with the artifact.
[...]
Vecna was a major entity in the Greyhawk campaign setting [...]"

The movie, alas, will be set in the Forgotten Realms setting rather than the world of Greyhawk, although I suppose that's to be expected given the centrality of the Realms for contemporary D&D.

I don't have high hopes for this film but perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised. At the very least it can't be any worse than the 2000 one.

Here's the description of the Eye of Vecna from the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide:

The Hand and Eye of Vecna were among the artifacts that most excited (and corrupted?) my young imagination decades ago!

(Thanks to C. Robichaud for the link to the ComicBook-dot-com article.)

Rutger Hauer RIP

Rutger Hauer -- no doubt best known for his nuanced portrayal of the replicant 'Roy Batty' in Blade Runner -- has passed away at the age of 75. (More information here.)

Here is a scene -- the death speech of Roy Batty -- that is forever seared into my memory.

RIP

Tolkien biopic only 46% fresh

As I noted here a few months ago, I was kind of looking forward to the ‘Tolkien’ film that is opening this week. But according to Rotten Tomatoes, it’s only 46 percent ‘fresh’.

*sigh*

Will I still see it? Probably—but I might wait for it to hit Netflix (or wherever) first…

Tolkien trailer

The first trailer for the forthcoming biopic of J.R.R. Tolkien is now available for your viewing pleasure (all 55 seconds of it). You can watch it, and read a bit about the film, here at Screen Rant.

[Nicholas Hoult as Tolkien]

The film focuses on Tolkien's early life (up to and including his time in the Great War). I'm ... cautiously optimistic. I really hope that it does justice to this literary giant.