Mars Attacks Orphan Black

This week I had the great pleasure of finally seeing Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks. And it was definitely some kind of treat. Based on a series of Topps trading cards from the 60s, this movie satirizes both B-movies and big budget science fiction pretty successfully. The plot is simple: Martians have landed on Earth and keep tricking humanity into thinking they come in peace. And then they murder everyone. This movie has a surprising number of stars, including two roles played by Jack Nicholson. But the real stars here are the 1996 computer animated Martians. Created by Industrial Light and Magic (the visual effects studio behind Star Wars), these creatures are both funny and kind of terrifying.

Full disclosure here, this movie came out when I was five years old. I didn’t see it until this week, but I have a vivid memory of being at a drive in theater and looking over at a screen playing that movie. No sounds, just the image of Jack Black and Michael J. Fox being incinerated by Martians. I had nightmares for weeks. When I was a kid, I had a bigger fear of Martians incinerating me than I did of any rational fears.

Now that I’ve faced my fears I love this movie. I recommend giving it a shot if you’re over the age of five and enjoy goofy Tim Burton movies.

This week I also watched the first season of Orphan Black. I really enjoyed it, even though you really have to suspend your disbelief for most parts. I don’t want to give anything away, but if you’ve seen it you’ll know why Tatiana Maslany was nominated for a Golden Globe. Watching her play so many different roles is probably worth checking out the show for alone. It’s incredibly impressive. Also, Helena is my favorite.

First she tries to kill you, then she’s asking you on a lunch date. The best kind of insane.

On the book front, I’m still reading Stranger in a Strange Land and The Manhattan Projects. Both are good, but I’ll have more on these when I finish them. I also read The Dandelion Girl by Robert F. Young at my friend’s suggestion. It’s a short read, but the story really plucks at your heart strings. While the story revolves around time travel, at its heart it’s a love story well worth the read.

Anyway, if you want to talk about how awesome Mars Attacks is, or if you want to suggest some sci-fi stories that’ll make me cry, feel free to send me a message or tweet me @left4turtle.

A successful day

Today I went and checked out this used bookstore I’ve been to a couple of times called Mojos. I had some books from middle school that were taking up much needed space on my shelves and I decided to trade them for store credit. I came home with a pretty sweet haul:

The owner of the store was pretty proud of his Philip K. Dick selection And I can definitely see why. I’ve never been to a used book store that had more than a couple of his books. This store had all the ones I knew of and more. Picked up Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly as they are all on my reading list.

I also lucked out and found volumes 2 and 3 of Sandman. Any time I come home with Sandman is a good trip. The Writer’s Guide to the Business of Comics seemed like a really good reference guide for scripting comics. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at it and hopefully this books helps.

Finally, Specter of the Past completes my collection of Zahn’s Thrawn books, must reads for anyone interested in the Star Wars EU. And a copy of American Psycho. I’m only familiar with the movie, and when I brought it to the counter the cashier gave me a weird look. They warned me that if I had seen the movie the book was nothing like that. I replied that I looked forward to reading it and smiled. They handed it back and said gravely “Enjoy the Nightmares.”  So naturally I’m even more curious to find out what’s inside.

Anyway, if you want to tell me all about your American Psycho-induced nightmares or talk about some of your favorite sci-fi books feel free to message me or tweet me @left4turtle.

Three Laws

Recently, I started reading Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot. I thought I knew what to expect going in, as I had seen the film a half dozen times in middle and high school. Now, I love Will Smith and any time he graces the screen I get a little giddy, but I’m incredibly thankful this book is nothing like the movie.  Instead of a detective predicting the robot apocalypse, the book is actually a collection of short stories involving the Three Laws of Robotics and robopsychology. This book isn’t action-packed. This book is a collection of eight increasingly complex logic puzzles that must be solved by Dr. Susan Calvin and the employees of U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc.

 

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I don’t think that it’ll appeal to everybody, but I have always enjoyed logic puzzles and solving them along with the characters of the story made the book all the more engaging. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys logic puzzles or anyone who wants to see the source of the legendary Three Laws of Robotics. If you’re looking for something like the movie, I’d recommend checking out some of Asimov’s other works.

Also, I read the first volume of Jim McCann’s Mind the Gap. I enjoyed the read but it didn’t blow me away. I was a little disappointed because I thought it had a lot of potential and I’d heard the series was really good. There are a ton of plot lines being weaved together here involving the comatose Elle and her friend, her boyfriend, her family etc. The characters are brought together in interesting ways, and McCann expertly ends each issue with a cliffhanger. These cliffhangers were enough to keep me reading and make me want to move forward, but I didn’t feel like the plot lines have really come together yet. Hopefully volume 2 will start to weave the plot lines into a cohesive whole.

 

Also, I just watched Matt Smith’s first episode of Doctor Who and I already miss the old intro sequence. But I think I’m going to like the eleventh doctor.

So that’s where I’m at currently. If you want to discuss some robotics or Will Smith movies, or if you want to assure me that Matt Smith is a worthy doctor, feel free to message me or tweet me @left4turtle.

Beautiful Books (Inside and Out)

Beautiful Books (Inside and Out)

Ever since I started reading comics, I was told I had to read Sandman. If there was one comic series I had to get in to, it would be Sandman by Neil Gaiman.  In 2009 I bought The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 in an Ebay auction. When I received it in the mail it was brand new still wrapped in plastic. I opened it slowly and was dumbfounded by how gorgeous it was. Beautifully bound in leather with a fully illustrated slip-cover, I couldn’t bring myself to read it. I wanted to preserve such magnificence. It still sits on my shelf, unread.

Maybe I’m being a little unreasonable, but five years later and I’ve still only opened the book twice. There are a few other books on my shelf sharing the same fate. Books are works of art, nobody would argue that. I find that often it is what’s inside that is the art, contained in an attractive but functional shell. However, sometimes the beauty on the inside is mirrored by beautiful works of craftsmanship on the outside.  I think absolute editions put out by DC are one of the latter instances.

So rather than read my Absolute edition, I purchased a digital copy of Sandman Vol. 1, Preludes & Nocturnes. Five years of hype have built up for me over this single comic series. I didn’t think it could possibly live up to that level of pressure. And I was very happily proven wrong. The writing is sharp, the world that Gaiman has created is both beautiful and terrifying, and the artwork makes your mouth water. It really is the perfect package. The story follows Dream, the king of the dream realm, as he is captured by mortals and held against his will. After his eventual release, he has to get the missing tokens of his powers from humans, hell, and the superpowers of the DC universe.  I won’t spoil anything here, but there’s an issue in this first arc that is possibly one of the most disturbing I’ve ever read. It’s called “24 hours” and you’ll know it when you read it. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t wait five years to read this masterpiece. Read it as soon as you’re able.

 

On the science fiction front, I’ve finished reading Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. It’s the first PKD book I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and it has motivated me to read some of his more science oriented works. This is an alternate history tale of the United States after the Allies lost World War II. There are a couple interweaving storylines here and, while they’re interesting, I didn’t feel they really paid off in the end. The story is fine, but the most interesting part of this book is that PKD, like the characters in his book, often consulted the I Ching for answers to where the story should go. The I Ching is an ancient text that contains a divination system. I find it fascinating that PKD used this system to lead to his character’s futures. Even if the book wasn’t completely up my alley, the backstory makes it worth a read.

I also had a chance to read the first volume of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. The story here is… well honestly I’m not a hundred percent sure. There’s a military group that fight Kaiju, aliens are invading Earth, and Godzilla is in Hawaii. However, if you’re reading a Godzilla comic, you’re probably not in it for the story. You’re probably in it for giant monsters battling it out for supremacy. On that front this volume delivers. Godzilla versus Zilla, the kaiju from the 1998 Godzilla disaster, was particularly rewarding. The characters call it Zilla because the rest of his name is lost in radio static, which is a great reference to Shogo Tomiyama naming it so (because Tristar had taken the God out of Godzilla).  It’s not a good book, but it’s a fun book and I enjoyed my time with it.

So that’s where I’m at currently. If you have any books that are too beautiful to read or you just wanna chat about the awesome new Godzilla trailer, feel free to send me a message or tweet me @left4turtle.