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juushikaAlien Planet, television, Discovery Channel, 2005
This has all the caveats you'd expect: episodic pacing, dramatic bookends before trailers, interview clips clashing with CG imaginings, too strong an attempt at narrative, some weird personifications (and why are both robots male?). But who cares! If you enjoy speculative evolution, then this is fantastic. And if you've never explored speculative evolution, this is a fantastic starting place. Barlow's alien world is creative without trespassing into the ridiculous, and this version of it stands the test of time despite all the CG. (I should read the original book.)
The Future is Wild, television, 2002
In 13 episodes, this can grow repetitive—the episode formatting, but also the way each ecosystem is divided. Otherwise, this is lovely. It has a good balance of creative projection and current evolutionary examples, and the three future settings offer plenty of variety. While this lacks the intense thrill of some speculative evolutions—it's certainly less grand than Alien Planet—it's fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable.
Caprica, season 1, 2010
Although packed full of good intentions, this is so desperate for drama that it's frequently incoherent and sometimes lets action overshadow content. See: my thoughts on Caprica as soap opera. On the whole, this works as a Battlestar Galactica prequel, purely because it engages character backstory and similar themes: if you're invested in BSG, there's thoughtful content here. But as a standalone work, this is promising but fatally flawed.
Daredevil, season 1, 2015
The last three episodes nearly make this worth it: they have more momentum and weight; for as gritty as Daredevil intends to be, not much of significance happens to anyone whose name we remember until these final episodes, when the stakes finally raise. Otherwise, I found this tiresome. It has that trademark Marvel-film feel: hypersaturated because comic, gritty because live action. But it runs long, and the themes (vigilante angst in particular) get played out.
Manhunter, film, dir. Michael Mann, 1986
I disagree with general consensus: William Petersen is lovely, but he falls flat here. Nearly all the times he's meant to spill forth with repressed fervor are stilted, and throw the film's careful emotional balance askew. But I appreciate Dolarhyde (toned down and more convincing than his book appearance), and I liked this deceptively unassuming Hannibal. The film feels dated in a delightful way, synth soundtrack especially; it has some great small moments that work beautifully. But I regret that Will Graham failed to impress me.
Dead Ringers, film, dir. David Cronenberg, 1988
If you're me—and, luckily for me, I am—this is a delight. This film could be made just for me: unnaturally close twins have their relationship brought into question by an outsider, who ironically highlights but also endangers their codependency. Its metaphors grow strung out and exaggerated, but in a way that remains successful: it's at once heavy-handed and dreamlike, the literal surgical separation of non-conjoined twins. (Of course Cronenberg also directed Crash, which shares thematic, fevered intimacy metaphors.) The slightly dated aesthetic and slowish pace didn't even bother me, so perfectly suited was this to my id.
This has all the caveats you'd expect: episodic pacing, dramatic bookends before trailers, interview clips clashing with CG imaginings, too strong an attempt at narrative, some weird personifications (and why are both robots male?). But who cares! If you enjoy speculative evolution, then this is fantastic. And if you've never explored speculative evolution, this is a fantastic starting place. Barlow's alien world is creative without trespassing into the ridiculous, and this version of it stands the test of time despite all the CG. (I should read the original book.)
The Future is Wild, television, 2002
In 13 episodes, this can grow repetitive—the episode formatting, but also the way each ecosystem is divided. Otherwise, this is lovely. It has a good balance of creative projection and current evolutionary examples, and the three future settings offer plenty of variety. While this lacks the intense thrill of some speculative evolutions—it's certainly less grand than Alien Planet—it's fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable.
Caprica, season 1, 2010
Although packed full of good intentions, this is so desperate for drama that it's frequently incoherent and sometimes lets action overshadow content. See: my thoughts on Caprica as soap opera. On the whole, this works as a Battlestar Galactica prequel, purely because it engages character backstory and similar themes: if you're invested in BSG, there's thoughtful content here. But as a standalone work, this is promising but fatally flawed.
Daredevil, season 1, 2015
The last three episodes nearly make this worth it: they have more momentum and weight; for as gritty as Daredevil intends to be, not much of significance happens to anyone whose name we remember until these final episodes, when the stakes finally raise. Otherwise, I found this tiresome. It has that trademark Marvel-film feel: hypersaturated because comic, gritty because live action. But it runs long, and the themes (vigilante angst in particular) get played out.
Manhunter, film, dir. Michael Mann, 1986
I disagree with general consensus: William Petersen is lovely, but he falls flat here. Nearly all the times he's meant to spill forth with repressed fervor are stilted, and throw the film's careful emotional balance askew. But I appreciate Dolarhyde (toned down and more convincing than his book appearance), and I liked this deceptively unassuming Hannibal. The film feels dated in a delightful way, synth soundtrack especially; it has some great small moments that work beautifully. But I regret that Will Graham failed to impress me.
Dead Ringers, film, dir. David Cronenberg, 1988
If you're me—and, luckily for me, I am—this is a delight. This film could be made just for me: unnaturally close twins have their relationship brought into question by an outsider, who ironically highlights but also endangers their codependency. Its metaphors grow strung out and exaggerated, but in a way that remains successful: it's at once heavy-handed and dreamlike, the literal surgical separation of non-conjoined twins. (Of course Cronenberg also directed Crash, which shares thematic, fevered intimacy metaphors.) The slightly dated aesthetic and slowish pace didn't even bother me, so perfectly suited was this to my id.
