Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Action, Film, Sci-Fi /

Country: USA
Running Time: 133 minutes
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story shows that it’s possible to make a Star Wars film without the Jedi or the Skywalker family drama. Even so, Rogue One can’t get away from the original trilogy. I saw the movie with a friend of mine who deliberately avoided Rogue One spoilers, including its synopsis and trailers. Imagine her surprise when, instead of continuing adventures of Ray, Finn, and Poe, she got yet another Star Wars movie about the Death Star. Although I don’t share her disappointment, I can relate.

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Westworld (2016)

Action, Sci-Fi, TV /

Country: USA
Created by: Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins

Even with all the reboots and remakes nowadays, it’s rare to see one of them actually expand and improve upon the original. Sci-fi western series Westworld is one of those rare exceptions.

Westworld was created by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan who, together with his brother Christopher, made movies such as Inception and Memento. The cast of the show includes acting heavyweights such as Ed Harris and Anthony Hopkins. Audience expectations were high and, for the most part, Westworld delivers.

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Ascension (2014)

Sci-Fi, TV /

Country: USA
Created by: Adrian Cruz, Philip Levens
Starring: Tricia Helfer, Gil Bellows, Brian Van Holt, Brandon P Bell, Jacqueline Byers, Lauren Lee Smith, Jessica Sipos

Ascension is a sci-fi show about a giant nuclear-powered spaceship built in the 1960s that’s been flying towards the new solar system for 50 years. How amazing is that?!

During the 1950s, US scientists on something called Project Orion. The idea was to build a spaceship that would use explosions of A-bombs to propel itself through space. Project Orion was an awesome insanity, something straight out of Fallout computer games. Naturally, the project was cancelled. Something about the ship’s nuclear fallout raining all over the planet. Stupid sensible people with their sensible precautions!

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Matinee Episode IV: A New Hope

Miscellaneous /

On January the first, 2016 I made one single New Year’s Resolution: to manage my time better. Then, throughout the year, I failed again and again. It is hardly surprising people make fun out of this tradition! But here’s the thing: we need to keep making these silly resolutions and plans even if we’re unsure we’ll be able to fulfill them. Even the best-laid plans fail. Life happens. What was the name of that song from the Beatles? “Tomorrow Never Knows”? Ain’t that the truth!

Politically and culturally, 2016 was a mess that will keep on rolling in 2017 as well. Personally, I am still dealing with a number of private problems that, well… Suffice to say I should start sorting them out. It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. It’s a new life. There are 365 chances not to mess up this year. 365 opportunities to take the phrase “Happy New Year!” and turn it from wishful thinking into reality through work, dedication and patience.

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The Company of Wolves (1984.)

Fantasy, Film, Horror /

Country: Great Britain
Running Time: 95 minutes
Directed by: Neil Jordan
Starring: Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese, Stephen Rea

Thanks to the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movie franchises, there’s been a resurgence of the fantasy genre in film over the past decade or so. Among them emerged a distinct subgenre telling darker, edgier versions of well-known fairy tales. Just this year we had Oz the Great and Powerful, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Jack the Giant Killer. Last time these darker fantasy films were this popular was in mid-1980s and recently I saw one of them: Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves. Jordan has, throughout his career, made quite a few films dealing with strange and supernatural: beside this one, he also made Interview With a Vampire, Ondine, High Spirits and recently released Byzantium.

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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015.)

Action, Film, Sci-Fi /

Country: USA
Running Time: 116 minutes
Directed by: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee

I have seen the new Mad Max film and it truly is mad. Undoubtedly, this pun will be made by countless other internet reviewers as well but hell, I’m not proud. Director George Miller has returned to the series after thirty years and he did it triumphantly.

In a brutal post-apocalyptic world, warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) rules over the freaks and monsters in his desert Citadel. But then Furiosa (Charlize Theron), his most trusted driver, escapes in one of the war rigs. With her she takes Joe’s most prized possessions – his wives. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) gets caught in this by sheer accident and does whatever it takes to survive.

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Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015.)

Action, Film, Sci-Fi, Superheroes /

Country: USA
Running Time: 141 minutes
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson

If you’ve heard about Avengers: Age of Ultron, you pretty much know what to expect from this film even if you haven’t seen it… and you probably did, judging by its box office. The latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise is spectacular, funny and occasionally dramatic – thanks to the screenplay by Joss Whedon. It’s says a lot about MCU films that, after seven years, we have come to expect a certain level of entertainment from them.

Avengers: Age of Ultron re-unites us with a group of now-familiar heroes – from genius billionaire Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth). As if half a dozen superheroes wasn’t enough, the film introduces new characters such as telepathic/telekinetic Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and superfast Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Over them looms a new threat – artificial intelligence called Ultron (wonderfully voiced by James Spader). Built by Tony Stark to protect humanity, Ultron instead decides to follow time-honored tradition of AIs everywhere and go on a murderous rampage with an army of robots.

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Interstellar (2014.)

Film, Sci-Fi /

Country: USA, Great Britain
Running Time: 169 minutes
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn,  Michael Caine, trans-Neptunian black hole

Nobody can say that Interstellar lacks ambition. Christopher Nolan’s latest film tackles on our future, exploration of space, wormholes, human mortality and the nature of love. Even with a running time of almost three hours, themes of Interstellar are almost too big for it. And it shows.

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