Crimes of the Future (2022)

It’s been nearly a decade since David Cronenberg made a film, and he is still as provocative as ever, perhaps even more so now that he had given himself a chance to step away from the industry for a short amount of time. After the release of the polarizing Maps to the Stars, it seemed…

Spiderhead (2022)

Any film that prominently uses Thomas Dolby’s new wave masterpiece “She Blinded Me with Science” is automatically going to be considered worthwhile, even if the general consensus behind it is that it represents the kind of misguided attempt at an intelligent blockbuster that we often see coming in the wake of major franchises and their…

The Invisible Man Appears (1949)

H.G. Wells is inarguably one of the most influential voices in the history of science fiction, essentially aiding in pioneering the genre and establishing a clear set of conventions that are still the inspiration behind much of modern speculative fiction. His work has received its fair share of cinematic adaptations, going back to the earliest…

Starman (1984)

The early 1980s saw a massive shift in the science fiction genre – they were no longer restricted to the realm of the B-movie, and could exist as a legitimate art form unto themselves, instead of being seen as niche genre work. This is very likely the result of the laborious effort put in by…

After Yang (2022)

One of the great joys of engaging with modern cinema is that we are given the chance to both relish in the work of the established masters, as well as find new talent that emerges, usually as a result of a wider set of stories being told by more diverse voices. One such example is…

Dual (2022)

Something that never fails to surprise me as a film lover is how, despite seemingly having told every kind of story, certain filmmakers still manage to find new ideas, even if it means working with more conventional material, and in the process finding unique ways to deliver them. Riley Stearns isn’t very well-known to those…

Soylent Green (1973)

Science fiction is a genre that can either age spectacularly well, or be the subject of excruciating mockery, particularly those that take place in a realistic distance into the future. It all depends on whether the story they’re telling actually manages to be plausible enough for viewers to believe such events are possible, and the…

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Over the past few months, I’ve been revisiting a range of classic science fiction films, particularly those produced in the 1950s. There’s something so special about these films, with their do-it-yourself approach to the most ambitious stories resulting in the kind of chaotic art that is both entertaining and utterly inspiring. It has all led…

1. April 2000 (1952)

There is a certain deranged pleasure that comes in watching films made many decades ago that supposedly predict a future we have already bypassed – while those set in the distant future tend to be quite compelling, the most fascinating are those that look slightly closer to reality, as is the case in 1. April…

Dune (2021)

Frank Herbert’s Dune has had a long and troubled journey to the screen – from the moment it was released in 1965, there have been various attempts to bring it to the screen. The well-documented efforts by revolutionary Chilean director and film iconoclast Alejandro Jodorowsky to adapt the novel after purchasing the rights failed (but…