Tag Archives: Fan

Mortal Engines

Posted on by

People have a lot to say about what the movie industry has to offer these days. Most of the time what I hear is, “Hollywood is out of new ideas…” in some form or variation. I will split semantics on this one. I am slowly coming to believe that they’re not out of ideas at all. They’ve got lots of ideas, just nobody with the guts to put something new out there. IF by some crazy chance somebody manages to push through an original and interesting idea that gets made into an actual feature film, the marketing team has no idea what to do with it. They attempt to cram it into a box and force it to fit some concept of ‘what will sell’ that may or may not actually have anything to do with the movie.

I believe that last bit is what happened to the film Mortal Engines. The movie is based on the book of the same title by Philip Reeve. I read the book back in 2009. That was actually before I started posting my book reviews here but those old words are still hanging around on Goodreads. I was excited to see this film in theaters. It’s new. It’s not a sequel. It’s not a remake. It’s NEW!

When I saw the box office results I was very disappointed. For all the people out there that clamor constantly for something new and different this was a staggeringly poor turnout.

 “…second straight flop for Universal… following “Mortal Engines. That $100 million film debuted last weekend with $7.5 million film in ticket sales.”

That’s dismal. I’m not in the industry and even I see that as dismal. On paper this movie had everything going for it. One of may favorite directors was on board (I’m trying to look past the Hobbit fiasco). Great actors were involved. There’s action, there’s a revenge plot, there’s romance. The characters are diverse. There were so many good things…

I’m not sure why it hasn’t been more successful. The visuals and special effects were excellent. The acting was good. I enjoyed it. I will buy the DVD when it comes out. I think it’s a movie that is worth seeing – above and beyond the simple fact that something new needed to be supported so that the people funding films put more new things out. The only thing this will do is push the number crunchers back to Dukes of Hazard 3 Accessible Parking and that is just depressing.

I put this movie directly into the same category as Jon Carter of Mars. That movie should have been a big box office hit with multiple stories to follow up and the people selling it just couldn’t figure out how to get it to you. Mortal Engines is a good film and if you get the chance to catch it you should.

Philcon 2018 – A Review

Posted on by

This was previously published in Watch The Skies (November 2018)

I was once again happy to be a participant at the convention put on by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society this year. I was given a number of different panels to be part of and as a bonus got to talk a couple of folks who had never been to Philcon along for the ride. Having friends along was a difference maker this year. It helped me to see the con with fresh eyes. It’s very easy after years of participation to become jaded and treat an event like this as work.

Attendance this year felt like it was slightly more. I have absolutely no basis for this observation other than feeling. I could (and likely am) totally wrong, but part of why I might have felt this way could be that I saw other con tracks that I don’t normally see. I paid more attention to the Anime track. There was more than one costuming related panel and there were even events for kids. I know the Anime track has been solid for years, but having somebody along with me who was interested in it gave it a fresh look.

My panels were well attended – except for one. Everyone who does panels at cons will eventually get a clunker. Having a friend walk to the panel room with me was the only reason I wasn’t there alone. Eventually the person that suggested the panel be on programming arrived. We had a nice chat and then she left early (can’t compete with the masquerade after all).

There were also a number of artists displaying their work in the art show. I recognized many of them and their work, but there were also one or two that I hadn’t seen before. I hadn’t been familiar with the artwork of Gary Lippincott, but I have realized my mistake after looking at his amazing water color work in person. Do yourselves a favor and go check out his work.

As always it was wonderful to see various members of my ‘convention’ family that I don’t get to spend enough time with. Jokes about alien abductions just don’t play as well anywhere else as they do there.

It was a fun filled and fast weekend. I was on the way home almost before I realized it. I hope to be invited back again next year. IF I go, I want to bring more friends. That, after all, is how we’re going to keep the things we love rolling along.

Schedule!

Posted on by


For around 25 years now I’ve been attending the Baltimore Science Fiction Society‘s annual convention. It’s the convention I consider “home base” as it was the first one I ever went to.

Once again this year I am delighted to be an invited guest and will be speaking at a number of panels and attending a book launch (GO JEFF!).

IF any of you are headed to Baltimore this weekend and are interested, here is my schedule:

Finding Your Space in Fandom
[7] Room 7029, 5pm – 5:55pm

Fandom can be big, but we can find each other based on our specifics interests, mutual friends, and online hangout spots.

SMOFing for Fun (But Probably Not Profit)
[12] Club Lounge, 10am – 10:55am

Running conventions is fun, but it’s also akin to herding cats or nailing jello to a wall. Come talk to SMOFs about steering the group, organizing events, and keeping afloat.

What Makes a Good Book Review?
[12] Club Lounge, 11am – 11:55am

There are many ways to approach writing a review. How much do you recap? How much do you focus on the themes or characters? Should review from your own experience or that of the average reader, and how much of a review is just the rating?

Reading Outside Your Genre
[5] Mount Washington, 6pm – 6:55pm

If you only stay within genre you love to read, it can be hard to figure out where to best start exploring outside your comfort zone. How can you learn to enjoy books you might not otherwise be interested in, and how do you approach difficult-to-read and older styles of writing?

Incredible(s)

Posted on by

I went back and searched to see if I had mentioned anything about The Incredibles before and it turns out I hadn’t. I should have mentioned it because it is easily my favorite Pixar movie.

I relate to Mr. Incredible WAY too much. No, I’m not a super, but I totally see myself sitting in the cubicle at the insurance company (been there, done that). I see the exhausted parent parts and could just watch a well written movie about nothing more than parenting as a super.

I can’t say I’m usually excited by “Part II” of any franchise really. It didn’t feel like a great idea to make another movie with the family, even if Jack-Jack would be hilarious. I could be wrong. IF you haven’t had the chance, go and check out the trailer. It looks like this might be a sequel that will work.

Fool Moon

Posted on by

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, #2)Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Went back and listened to this one. Much like the first (Storm Front) I was surprised at how much I didn’t remember of the details. I’d read my copy long enough ago that there was still tension when I listened despite knowing “the future” of the characters. STILL really well done.

I am really enjoying listening to the audio production. Having the book read to me is a neat way to experience the story. I did actually pick up on one teeny tiny flub in the reading – but it was so slight that I suspect most people wouldn’t catch it.

Absolutely worth going to get this version and digging back into the series!

View all my reviews

Storm Front

Posted on by

Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1)Storm Front by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t know if I’ve reviewed Storm Front on here before or not. There are a number of books I read prior to joining the Goodreads community that I have avoided writing reviews for unless I have gone back and read them again while a member of Goodreads.

I got the first 4 books of The Dresden Files as a gift this year and I was thrilled. I love this series.

Going back and listening to the unabridged audio was a very interesting way to approach this. I knew the story, but what I hadn’t realized was all the little details that I’d forgotten over time. Some things I “knew” for sure turned out to be remembered incorrectly or worse, tainted by the television version of the story.

I recommend this series all the time. I have 2 extra “loaner” copies of the first book (I’ve ‘lost’ a handful over the years to folks that fell in love with the series). IF you’ve read the book before, listen to this production. It’s a great way to go back to the series. IF you’ve never read Storm Front before, I highly recommend it. Great series and worth the effort.

View all my reviews

Philcon 2017 Review

Posted on by

Taking off for another convention within about 18 hours of departing Philcon this year has delayed my normal post con review. Traveling for about a week straight was tiring and it is taking me a while to recover and get all my things back in order.

I was really happy with Philcon this year. The team managed to get a great guest line up and some really interesting panels. Above and beyond the normal comings and goings of the convention, it was fantastic to be able to reconnect with friends and colleagues that I don’t get to see as often as I’d like.

I got to be the moderator on one of the most entertaining and exciting panels I’ve seen in a while. The future of sports. More than one person looked at me with skepticism when I told them this was a topic for a science fiction convention panel. You shouldn’t be shocked, there are numerous references in movies and other media that tie directly to science fiction. There’s also a ton of actual science behind all this too. It was one of the best panels I’ve had in a long time. I’m actually going to recommend snatching the idea for another con in the spring – I think it’s worth running again.

Next, and most importantly to me, Don Maitz was the artist guest of honor this year. I first encountered his artwork during my very first convention. Balticon 27 he was the artist guest of honor. He’d hung the picture 40 Thieves right in the entry. I walked in and was blown away. That was 25 years ago and this convention was the first time since then that I’ve been a part of the same con where he was attending again. I grabbed my copy of his book and practically ran to meet him. I was NOT disappointed. He brought amazing art, fun stories (jogging with a steer?) and tips on creating artwork! I went to a drawing demonstration he lead in the art show area and got to sit next to him as he created and doled out little things he’s picked up over all the time he’s been working. Words don’t really do it justice. I just sat there and took it all in, desperate to remember as much as I could.

When I got the chance to chat with him later he was at his sale table. I explained about Balticon 27 and just what an impact his art had – and he pulled out one of the samples of that exact painting, signed it and gave it to me. Then, as if that wasn’t nearly enough he graciously signed my copy of his book AND added a sketch. It was awesome.

A sketch and a signature!

For those who recall a little thing that happened a few years ago where a bridesmaid was defending a pizza… sadly there were no shenanigans of that level. I suspect it will be a long time before we see something like that again, but given that brides do show up from time to time…

there’s always the chance there will be another brawl.

Interesting panel topics, great guests and the chance to get up close and chat with folks in the industry – if you’re not signing up to go to your local convention you are missing out. I’m already looking forward to the next Philcon!

2049 – Special Screening

Posted on by

I don’t miss many Watch The Skies meetings. Getting together with my friends, spending time debating a novel we’ve read and dishing on all the latest we’ve found out about our collective interests always makes me feel better.

I was unable to attend the meeting this month. I was disappointed because we were lined up to do something we hadn’t done before, namely discuss a novel AND the movie(s) that accompanied the novel. Blade Runner was a fantastic pick for this – and I wasn’t going to be there.

I reigned in my disappointment when I found a monumental bit of coincidental timing. I was going to be out of state at a conference for work. The software company putting on this conference also happens to be the same company that makes and supports the software that many film makers use for their CG special effects shots. There was going to be a special showing of Blade Runner 2049 with a warm up talk given by the lead special effects director on the exact same night that I would have been at the meeting back home. I may have squeed a little – but it was very manly.

When that night came around I was in line for the “overflow” folks. I couldn’t get one of the few reserved seats much to my dismay. I had to stand in line and hope. Hope can be cruel. I was the next person in line to get in when they cut the line off. I was literally next up and they said “nope”. So I didn’t get to listen to the effects director then watch the show.

What I did get to do was be first in for the second run the next night. The director couldn’t be there to speak again, but I did get to see Blade Runner 2049 in the room they had set up for the showing. Then I got to go to the special “after party” set up the conference had lined up at one of the restaurants where we were staying.

I could see her in that version of LA.

I really enjoyed watching the film. It would have been an awful lot more fun to have had all my friends there to break it down with and discuss all the finer points. The party afterward had some fun aspects. All in all it was a very memorable way to “miss a meeting”. I look forward to sitting down and chatting about the finer points of the whole thing at a later date.

Until then, I will stick with being inspired by peeks behind the scenes.

Ink and Bone

Posted on by

I’m going to start my book review of Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine with the most important part. I finished this book then went and bought the second one and started reading. It has been pointed out to me that is a rare circumstance and speaks more to the quality of the story than anything I could have to say about it. So there’s that ~ there might be spoilery stuff below…

What if we didn’t lose all the works from the great library? What if indeed.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book. The story didn’t slow down for me. Even when the students were studying or working out how they were going to be tested next there were bits and pieces that tied in to the rest of the story. There was a lot more action than you might think for a bunch of librarians. The action was also believable – Jess ends up in the hospital more than once. None of that “I’ll just continue on because I’m so tough…” actually working out. He’s got the attitude for that, but more often than not he wipes himself out with that thought process.

Jess as a character was trying to do the right thing. He was not a whining anti-hero. I enjoy and appreciate that more and more these days. He was anxious, clever and dense in various turns, in love and certainly passionate about what he was doing. He really worked as a character for me. He played well off the others as well.

The rest of the cast of characters developed well. I consider it a well written character when I’m reading and think, “wow that guy is a douche. I wouldn’t get along with him…” and I got those visceral reactions more than once. Well done.

There is one thing that I would quibble with – and it is just a quibble really. The timeline. This book, even with the magic of obscurists, didn’t feel like a “modern” story. Despite having stated someplace in there that this was set in 2025 or something like that it absolutely felt like 1890. The technology, the locations and the general societal attitudes placed it there, but also the “technology” of the books hurts the concept if you move further forward. What I mean by that is this: you’ve got the ability to pass notes from one linked book to another all over the world. You have the ability to transport matter (if you can send books, you can send anything) and people across the planet without appreciable delay… even if it’s a limited ability. IF you take this time line as an “alternate history” those bits of technology change how major developments in our past happen during the 1900s. World War II CAN’T happen the way it did in our world if you have instant communication across distances like that. There’s no accident of timing. There’s no struggle to travel the distances necessary to fight others in a distant land… but why would you send soldiers at all? Just send the bomb and let that do the work for you with none of the danger.

I think there’s a lot of potential for this series and I am already enjoying the next book. I would recommend picking this one up and giving it a shot.

Divine?

Posted on by

City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m going to give this one a weak 3 stars. I struggled with this book on a couple of fronts.

Third person current tense? I’m not sure, but it was like a nature show narrator during certain parts and it really bothered me.

I actually liked the characters quite a lot once I got past the author’s style. I think the indestructible secretary was a little much, but I understood why he was there. It’s useful to have that sort of “action” person around if you are not that action person. There were times when Shara didn’t look like a hugely experienced operative, but I was totally willing to roll with that. I also really liked Mulaghesh.

The world building perplexed me a bit. I wasn’t sure how certain parts of technology were or were not supposed to fit. There was no clear definition of what worked and what didn’t, what people were aware of and what they were not aware of. Eventually I put it into the same category as an 80s Batman movie.

There are lots of parts to this book that look like a thinly veiled condemnation of modern religion. I think there’s a lot of potential conversation stuff in here. For that alone, I would say pick it up and give it a shot.

View all my reviews