Gary Varner
The Surprising Connection Between Oppenheimer and Interstellar
The connection hinges on plutonium, a source of power for spacecraft. It shows how much detail goes into well-done sci-fi films
Terminator 2 Review Part 5: The Writers Won’t Wrap Up the Movie
I’m never a fan of the whole “the robots can become like us” trope, but Schwarzenegger's facial expressions and timing in this movie are spot on
Terminator 2 Review, Part 4: Anti-Male Spiel Detracts From Show
The line that hung me up was the phrase, “I can take care of myself.” That’s a very odd thing for a mother to say to her childLast Saturday, young John Connor met the original Terminator and realized it was here to protect him. He then rescued his mother Sarah from a mental institution. I have mixed emotions about the scene that follows. After she is saved from her predicament, Sarah, rather than being grateful, shows anger at John for putting himself at risk. She even tells him that she didn’t need his help. Why is Sarah angry? This scene both does and doesn’t make sense. On the one hand, Sarah wouldn’t want him putting himself at risk for her because he is the future hope for humanity. But on the other hand, she seems more angry about the fact that he saved her than about the Read More ›
Terminator 2, Part 3: John Meets the Robots
At this point, John is on his own because his mother has been placed in a mental institution
Terminator 2: The Terminator Becomes the Protector
The transition is uneven and there are hints that James Cameron was subtly mocking his 1984 film
Terminator 2: A Good Movie That Hates Itself
Why do the screenwriters appear to want to avoid creating fear of the mechanical monster?
The Terminator: In a Crushing Development, He Is Terminated
The movie makes time paradoxes work well enough by keeping things ambiguousLast Saturday, we saw that Sarah and Kyle were spending the night under a bridge. They’d lost the Terminator for a while, but it’s only a matter of time before he finds them again. They make their way to a hotel and grab a room with a kitchen. Kyle then leaves to buy some supplies. Sarah calls her mother, who is worried, of course, so Sarah gives her the number of the hotel. However, the Terminator has broken into her mother’s home and is impersonating her over the phone. He uses the number to locate the hotel. How did the Terminator find Sarah’s mom? He’d picked up an address book while at Sarah’s apartment. Now, one would think that the Read More ›
The Terminator: Sarah’s Son Will Save the World
A couple of moments in the film reveal waitress Sarah as the decisive military leader she will later become
Terminator: The Sci-Fi Classic Forty Years On
The best thing about this first movie is that it adheres to the classic view of futuristic robots, cold, callous machines that are bent on one objective
Alien: Romulus (2024): Parting Thoughts on the Movie, Franchise
The Alien franchise can still be saved if future writers will at least maintain this latest addition’s quality
Alien: Romulus News Flash: Ripley Didn’t Kill Her First Alien
We learn that the aliens usually don’t intend to eat their prey but to use them to incubate facehugger embryos.
Alien: Romulus: Andy Turns Bad — Thanks to an Old Friend
Ash reappears in the story, a nice touch which reconnects the film to the original
Alien: Romulus (2024) Wait! This Movie is Actually Good?
A new character, Rain, tries to escape the Weyland Corporation mine in which her parents were killed but the xenomorphs have infiltrated the space station the escapees must board
Alien Covenant (2017) Could’ve Worked. Here’s How
I am going to boldly go and propose changes to the script so as to make the characters' decisions more natural and plausibleAlien: Covenant (2017): All’s Well That Ends Well for the Embryos
Or is it? We find out why David needs to sneak aboard the ship disguised as Walter — but it’s not what we might suspect
Alien: Covenant Part 5: Wake up, Daniels! It’s Obviously David!
The evil robot must board the ship again, and must find a way to make sure the alien boards the ship as well
Alien Covenant (2017): Dr. Frankenstein in Space
David, the robotic sociopath, turns out to have been breeding deadly aliens all this time
Alien Covenant (2017): David the Malicious Robot… Returns!
And, just in case we haven’t already suspected, David is lying about what happened to Dr. Shaw