Science Fiction Archives | Page 8 Of 121

Steven Kostanski’s Frankie Freako Wants to Party, and We Know How to Find This Crazy Dude!

Frankie Freako is the type of guy who means well, even though at first glance, he’s all punk all the way.

Coming to VOD beginning on October 25
(iTunes and Amazon Prime)

Although four years seems long in between projects, the team of Astron-6 deserves all the credit in a Steven Kostanski led movie, simply titled Frankie Freako. This movie shows just how wonderful puppet gore movies are. As much as I like to use the word puppetcore, that’s the name of a company who produce just as equally wacked out films. Also, they make mostly all puppet productions

When this film includes live-action as part of the equation, what’s presented is very Muppet-like, especially in how they move around the screen. But in this case, instead of revelling in slapstick, the concept delivers the horrific and humour in droves. The last film I saw was Frank and Zed.

That’s because somewhere in space, hobbit-sized characters who want to be like DC Comics’ Lobo insist that they bring their party anywhere in the cosmos. There’s a broadcast where the title character (voiced by Matthew Kennedy) offers to livin up anyone’s doldrum life. When Conor (Conor Sweeny) is an office employee with no gumption to succeed, not even his fellow workers seem to be fighting for inter-office promotions to get a better job. I suspect that before becoming such a Stephen Fry (from Futurama) he had not much of a social life. As for what his wife, Kristina (Kelly Wordsworth) saw in him back when they first dated, not even her sexual advances can stir him up.

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Breaking Down the Bricks That Made Star Wars Rebuild the Galaxy Great

Although the animation style is a step backward, Star Wars Rebuild the Galaxy forward thinking attitude suggests all’s not Back to the Future.

Spoiler Alert

The LEGO Star Wars universe is one of my guilty pleasures because of how The Force is used to build things to help the heroes (and sometimes villains) win the day. The latest release, subtitled Rebuild the Galaxy has concepts to like, and that’s because those concepts regarding the Force Builders get a story expansion I’m sure even George Lucas would approve of without getting too woke. In what I truly appreciate is that this entry builds upon what’s said before regarding this group. The last time they were referred to was in The Freemaker Adventures.

Although the visual style is straight out of LEGO Batman movies with a lower frame rate and simplified tales, I can get behind the ideas being offered. That’s because the cliffhanger style reveal at season one’s end got me cackling. I always wondered when Lando’s conversion would happen. He’s neither good nor bad, and I won’t ruin what faction he’s involved with. And I’m glad this world is catching up with the live action series material!

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Fanhome is All Power Rangers with this Latest Subscription Pre-Order Offer!

The good thing about this subscription-based “mystery box” type offering is that you know what’ll be coming, and every item that’s included will whet your appetite for next month!

Fanhome is all Megazord — **Officially licensed by Hasbro. Preorder here!**

Who needs mystery boxes when fandom has Fanhome? I certainly don’t because after asking convention attendees if they’re worth it, the answer is a general no. Even I knew after buying just one, and have been on the lookout for other offerings that are subscription based and not as random. When I know what I’m getting from this publisher/distributor includes lore cards and better swag in every package, I’ll say yes to signing up!

Their recognition as a leader in subscription-based collections and models has made me very excited with this latest offering–Megazord from Power Rangers. When locating the planes, trains and automobiles are next to impossible for Gatchaman and collector’s pricing for Voltron parts to build any mech is crazy, just hearing about this is much appreciated! I’ve always wanted a combiner bot from any IP and this will be a fun retro blast of the 90s. Shipping begins in October and the starter price is very reasonable.

Another selling point is that when this ‘bot is fully assembled, it can be controlled remotely and it has illuminated parts. I can’t wait to get started on this build, and will chronicle my journey with this product here on this blog. In the meantime, I’ll most likely have to find some STL files to print up some Power Rangers to go along with my display.

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When The Reckoner Rises, Just Who Are the Watchman?

God Flare is the latest volume in the Reckoner Rises series from best-selling author David A. Robertson.

Highwater Press

The Reckoner Rises is a graphic novel series that’s sure to turn heads. I would not advise jumping in with the latest volume, titled God Flare. I was curious because of the fantastic attention grabbing cover by Scott B. Henderson, but in order to understand what’s going on, I had to chase down the first two graphic novels. I got the feeling this work took inspiration from Alan Moore’s The Watchman, and overall, I’m not wrong!

When readers are first introduced to Cole, we find him on the verge of a breakdown and he doesn’t understand why he’s The Chosen One. He has the mutant ability which allows him to communicate with the dead, and for Eva, who has the powers of flight, they could easily become the next Alpha Flight! But when they’re living on a reserve, it seems they don’t have a lot of inspiration to go to the next level and do stuff for the good of their community. In the harsh winter world of what I assume is Northern Winnipeg, I’m sure the life there is no different from what I’ve learned in other works, like The Death Tour (documentary review link), which examines what life is like in these sleepy indigenous communities.

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The One Detail That Might Have Saved Borderlands from Being a Dud Is…

For the Sake of the Curious, Not Even Jack Black Can Save Borderlands from Mediocrity. What’s explored here is why I think it failed.

Lionsgate Films

Eli Roth should stick to making splatterpunk films than dabble with properties that he’s not likely to include his trademark scares with. The reason I like the Borderlands game is because of the archaeology. Those legends to explain why the tech exists are a lot more fascinating than the characters, and in this film, it’s lightly touched upon instead of gone nose deep!

Here, the idea concerns Vault Hunters in the search for artefacts from a forgotten civilization strewn around the world of Pandora. Any weapon they find can help “enrich” them in later missions. I liked the world building but didn’t feel I had to play through them all. The characters who populate this world are misfits. Some cry foul language, and there’s a bubblegum pop culture aesthetic which made the game come alive.

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When Full Moon Feature’s Quadrant Shows the Dangers of Virtual Reality Becoming Too Real, You Better Watch Out!

Sometimes, what happens in virtual reality can escape and be your worse nightmare! In Quadrant, the complexities of interfacing the wrong person to a fake world gets deftly examined.

Quadrant Movie Poster Coming to Amazon Prime, Full Moon Features, and Tubi.

I love the fact that Charles Band is tackling modern age concerns with movies like Aimee: The Visitor (movie review) and now Quadrant. The former concerned rogue artificial intelligence in search of romance and the latest, just whether virtual reality is a good place to go for therapy! But what if what one dreads, would they embrace their problem, so the issue becomes part of them? That’s where this story concept succeeds because the terror is presented in the best way this filmmaker can imagine. And as for Erin (Shannon Barnes), she better be careful in what she wants to reap after signing that waiver to be involved in this study.

Scientists Harry (Rickard Claeson) and Meg (Emma Reinagel) crafted a VR helmet with a few added interfaces so other bodily functions can be monitored and, if chemical stimulation is required, also pumped in too! It’s a type of neural study I am even game to try, but after seeing this film, I say not!

Quadrant Movie Still 02

Erin is their tool to study how how helpful this technolgoy can be. But little do they know her obsession with Jack the Ripper is more twisted than they realise. She can’t distinguish between the two realities. In order to save her, these scientists must enlist the assistance of Robert (Christian Carrigan). He’s another person they’re studying, and when he has feelings for Erin, they hope he can provide something more real to fixate on instead of the Reaper.

But pretty soon, as with any Full Moon film, everything has to burst at the seams, and chaos erupts. Shannon Barnes is great at being Jekyll and Hyde, and had this tale not affirm the killer is Jack, I’d swear this tale is designed to honour Robert Louis Stevenson‘s work! Although the scientists don’t have the same panache as this star, they have their place as Data (from Star Trek) in those holosuite episodes where he is Sherlock Holmes, and Moriarty is given life!

To note, Quadrant marks this studio’s 400th release and is the first under the Pulp Noir label. It’s better than the recently reviewed Private Eye movie starring comedian Matt Rife in the sense we have existential dread as a theme from start to end. With this film, it’s perfect in its execution where even I wonder if therapy in the virtual realm is needed. Some phobias are best left alone, and others, I’m sure other methods to get over trauma exist!

4 Stars out of 5