Science Fiction Archives | Page 34 Of 121

Who Minds the Master in Cerebrum?

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available On Digital HD and
On Demand on May 4, 2021

The idea of transferring the memories to a machine or even to another host in a movie (or television) series is nothing new. The reasons to do so are many, and when the motivation is just, perhaps we may even have a curse for Alzheimer’s! If only the science was real. The movie Cerebrum by the talented Arvi Ragu is a very low-fi approach to examine the ramifications in a modern day setting.

The story is about Tom Davis (Christian James) attempting to reconnect with his estranged father, Kirk (excellently played by James Russo). Any technobabble is left to a minimum and I wished there was more since I’m all for various interpretations in how to preserve the soul (or one’s memories) after death.

This man’s mother died because of the aforementioned condition, and pops just didn’t know how to raise his son on his own. He’s a scientist. Due to the loss of his loved one, he’s tinkered around and may have found the means to save anyone’s memories to a machine. The technology isn’t perfect, and that’s where the son comes in. He comes home since he’s out of work, and volunteers to be a guinea pig. While he’s under the knife, so to speak, he awakens to find dad dead and another victim to which he has to prove his innocence!

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Is Dzhanik Fayziev’s Cosmoball a Grand Slam?

With this Michael Bay style popcorn flick, it’s best to turn your brain off and try not to ask too many questions. This work is a sensory experience and it looks gorgeous when upscaled to 4K.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Well GO USA
Available to order or stream online on Amazon USA

The Russian made film, Cosmoball is out, and will it score a home run? Technically, the game is a high tech spin of rugby, and anyone familiar with the cartoon Galactik Football to which this film is based on will recognize a few ideas.

Dzhanik Fayziev, Andrey Rubanov, Drew Row and Twister Murchison are the screenwriters of this campy science fiction superhero epic, and it’s a doozy of a tale. This work crams in three different story threads. Some of it is inspired from recognizable sources: Bloodbowl (the Games Workshop miniature battle game) mixed in with Quidditch for the sport, Farscape for the world setting and the Avengers franchise for the big bad. Cherno can be related to Thanos; he drives the plot in his desire to escape prison.

Anton (Georgiy Bestaev) is this film’s protagonist and he can teleport. He realizes his abilities after an accident and he gets recruited for this intergalactic game. The fate of his home planet is at stake, and he has to learn how to play well with others.

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From Volcanic UFOs to Crop Circle Realities…

It is rare to get a work that goes beyond all the what ifs and conjectures found in History Channel’s many shows on this topic.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available on Prime Video and iTunes.

Anyone who thinks they’ve run out of Ancient Aliens to watch can easily hit streaming services to get their dose of UFOs until the little green men finally land. This History Channel program is no stranger to Hollow Earth theories, and the fact that there are also unidentified submerged objects (USOs) doesn’t mean they are treading water. But to understand the types that enter volcanoes require watching Volcanic UFO Mysteries by Stephen Bassett and Darcy Weir.

The latter has been prolific of late with documentaries on this subject, and he’s the mind behind Crop Circle Realities. To really cover the gambit of both subtopics means covering where else these unidentified or landmarks appear in.

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Star Wars: The Bad Batch Psychoanalyzed!

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is set to debut May 4, with a special 70-minute premiere, and may well prove to be the new Rebels of a growing Alliance.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Disney+
May 4th, 2021

Star Wars: The Bad Batch will debut with a special 70-minute premiere, and this team may well prove to be the new “Rebels” to join a growing Alliance. That’s my take on this renegade team of Clone Troopers with genetic defects who have broken their programming. They are the only warriors willing to take on dangerous missions, ala Mission Impossible, for the glory of the Empire. This tale takes place in the aftermath of the Clone Wars. Somewhere along the line will be a breakdown of their conditioning so they can be totally independent, true to the spirit of this franchise.

The action is more in line with Fast and the Furious, but for the characters involved. They’re generally well adjusted-well sort of. Whatever’s wrong with their neural pathways can’t be fixed in Kamino since being activated. I’m betting there was subterfuge to cause this group to be what they are. That’ll be revealed in later episodes when we look to their past. Hunter, Echo, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair aren’t Transformers. They’ve earned their nicknames because each member is talented in their own unique way.

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Shine On, Gattaca, You Crazy Diamond! (in a Rough)

Is this 4K edition worth the upgrade? If you don’t have the 2008 release and want the extras, buying the steel book edition (from after owning just the DVD) is a must for any science-fiction movie fan’s library.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Sony Entertainment

Release Date:
March 23, 2021

Andrew Nicol’s thought-provoking Gattaca is looking very shiny in its 4K upgrade. Fans of this film will find the Sony’s investment into smoothing out this classic movie–where perfection and subterfuge are central to the plot–a fitting call to the concept of cleaning up the flaws in the film stock.

This movie stands the test of time. It’s a gorgeous film which looks visually sharp on a 4K screen. The science of looking at original film negatives on a computer and the mathematical process involved to make this sleek and deadly thriller look pristine requires both machine logic and humans mutually agreeing which is better. Only the human eye can tell.

This film was shot in 35mm photochemical film stock. Any noticeable grain on the original or intentional use of soft imagery through the lens was light when looking back at my DVD. Also, it doesn’t help when my 4K television does its own upscaling to give a simulated higher resolution on the screener version I examined; a 2160p version wasn’t available at the time. Kudos must still be given to the team behind the colour grading fixes, though.

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VFFOnline 2021: Reaching for the Stars, Not Mars in Queen of the Andes

Unlike going to the moon and coming back, the difference is with how much of the experience can affect the psyche. This movie deals with this aspect of why not everyone is excited to return to space. A few ideas also feel like they were from H.G. Wells’ novella, The Shape of Things to Come. The shifting of ideologies and marxist attitudes–is this part of how these private enterprises planning their space programs are run?

Queen of the Andes - IMDb

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Streaming Online
at the Victoria Film Festival
Get your pass here to view beginning Feb 5th, 2021

Note: Available to view for residents in British Columbia

If Leonardo DiCaprio can stand at the bow of a ship and proclaim he’s the King of the World, then so can Bhreagh MacNeil climb the highest mountain and announce she’s Queen of the Andes. Technically, a plant bearing this name exists in Peru and its lifecycle is unique. It doesn’t flower until they are about 80 – 100 years old.

MacNeil plays a bright scientist, Pillar, who has ideas on how to help society at home. She’s even proposed a means to end world hunger, and a few people are ready to take notice. The performance from this actress is strong. She’s questioning why she was selected to take part in Canada’s quest to get into Space. She feels she can do more at home, on planet Earth, with her discovery and to decide on which career to take part in is tough.

This future ‘what if’ scenario is more about civil rights—to which it succeeds in exploring—than complete science fiction. The privately funded Space Program seen in this film is not all that rosy. However, its borderline tones of conspiracy made this watch to the end a must.

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