Think what you may about Apple products -- their iPhones, iPads, and the like -- but it's hard to ignore that the company has always been at the forefront of pushing technology that ultimately changes the lives of its users.  Why shouldn't their streaming products be any less visionary?

Hoping to build a new foundation in streaming entertainment, Apple is prepping an ambitious adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation for their subscription services, and they've recently released a promotional video of sorts -- part coming attraction, part super-ridiculously-short behind-the-scenes stuff -- for general web distribution.

For those unaware with the epic tale, Foundation involves the efforts of cutting-edge scientist Hari Seldon whose 'psychohistory' predicts the end of life as we know it (doesn't SciFi always involve the end of times, eh?).  Intent of seeing that there is a road to a new future after our eventual collapse, Seldon creates the 'foundation,' a collection of gifted minds with the knowledge, strength, and general wherewithal to see that something survives.

I've embedded the YouTube.com short for your delight.

It looks like 2021 might give SciFi fans something to look forward to!

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

I'll admit it: I do like to 'harp' on some things.

I've always said that I'm the type of personality who gripes about something largely because art like film and books and television mean something to me more than the average person.  Stories are the modern day mythology that says something about who we are culturally, about what we represent at this particular point in our cosmic journey, and about who we might very well be on the path to becoming.

Also, I grew up reading comic books.  While I don't remember the particular stories, I can remember the images and the characters very vividly as they were imprinted on my young mind.  Back in those days, I'd thumb hungrily through pages of Richie Rich, Archie, and even Batman and Superman.  Though the superhero stuff always seemed a bit beyond me in terms of narrative scope, I still loved what these colorful creations could do on the page, and I hung with them fairly faithfully for a few decades.  Once weekly budgets were challenged by providing a house over my head, I cut back.  Still, I do pick up the occasional graphic novel collection from time-to-time, and I page through whatever is on the shelves of the nearest Barnes and Noble every chance I get.

And I think it's because Batman meant so much to me personally that I struggled with the cinematic interpretation brought to us by director Joel Schumacher.  He had two goes at giving audiences something to cherish beyond Tim Burton's earlier flicks: Batman Forever worked like a big, dumb comic book, but Batman & Robin was -- ahem -- just plain dumb.

Seriously?  Bat nipples?  You introduce Bat nipples to the cinematic continuity, and you're actually proud of that?

Geesh.

Still, Schumacher was a smart director; I'll give him that.  He definitely kept his finger on the pulse of society with visual spectacles like St. Elmo's Fire, The Lost Boys, and Flatliners.  1993's Falling Down was a particularly prescient look at one man's life spiraling out of control and how one might react to it.  And 2002's Phone Booth was, perhaps, one of the smartest 60 minutes of television stretched out into an 81 minute theatrical release.

In any event, word reached us earlier today that he's left us, leaving behind a good portion of films deserving of a second look.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll pull out my copy of Batman Forever and give it a spin this weekend.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

OMG, you read this headline alone, and you realize how old you are ... but I digress ...

Ridley Scott's Alien remains an indelible masterpiece that inspires today perhaps even more than it did on its original run theatrically in 1979.  Alas, I wasn't able to see it in cinemas at that time as my small town movie house knew that I was still a few years shy of eighteen -- the cursed sin of growing up in Little, America, is that everyone knows your age.  I did see it as soon as it came out on home video (as your parents or grandparents, readers, for that's what we called it in the Age Before Streaming).  Even back then, yes, I found it so captivating and so pure.

It's a simple story, no?  Girl Has Spaceship.  Girl Meets Alien.  Alien Tries To Eat Girl.  Chaos Ensues.  Girl Wears Space Panties.  Girl Kills Alien (spoilers, I guess ...).  But it was all rendered in such a memorable way that it no doubt called up nightmares for those who drank it all in from the silver screen of the day.

I have had the good fortune of seeing it up there in shadows and light as, thankfully, our homegrown theatre chain has taken to showing 'classics' of this sort on Tuesday nights; and this was one of their earliest choices.  I know that today's audiences prefer CGI over practical miniatures, but I don't: I'd rather films of Alien's era not be updated with modern technology (take that, George Lucas) especially when they deal with story matter as primal as this.  That 'rough around the edges' aspect only richens the experience for me, and I suspect others agree.

In any event, the film still works forty-one years later, and that's certainly a testament to getting something done right the first time.  Hats off to all involved!

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

One of the things that always amazes me about Science Fiction films -- the truly good ones -- is how they end up sitting around in some producer's bin for quite some time before getting made.  Granted, not every director has the clout of a Steven Spielberg or a George Lucas -- two who might be able to get a new project off-the-boards quickly and into production -- but when the finished product is a grand a realized vision as Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall you have to wonder, "What took so long?"

I've read that Philip K. Dick's 1996 story wasn't even picked up for consideration for about eight years after its publication, and then Verhoeven's flick didn't see the light of 'projected' day until 1990.  If I'm doing the math right (and you folks are always quick to point out when I haven't, curse you!), then that means the project took an incredible 24 years from conception to projection.  Now, that's clearly not as long as Walt Disney's John Carter took, but you catch my drift: that's nearly two-and-one-half decades we waited for some quality cinema goodness.

That, my friends, is a Hollywood shame.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

Confession time, peeps: I'm a total craft nut.  I've always been someone who likes to tinker -- mostly I do this with my action figures, but I've occasionally ventured out into self-made modeling, needle-and-thread, and beyond.  Now, I don't do 'store quality' work: mine has only been a hobby, essentially to help enhance the display of my own collection ... but I certainly give it a solid try.

My wife kinda/sorta got me hooked on crafting of this sort as she's always been dragging me to the various craft shows and antiquing fairs in and around the area where we've lived (both in Illinois and Arizona).  Generally speaking, I've wandered the shows taking in the workmanship -- jewelry, quilting, woodwork, metalwork, etc. -- and though I've never said it to any of the exhibitors (I'm always complimentary of good work) I've felt craft exhibitors were really missing the boat when it comes to men's items.

Don't get me wrong: I like the occasional 'marshmallow shooting pistol' as much as the next bloke ... but that's child's play.  Rarely if ever have I stumbled across a craft booth that truly represented what men of my ilk want.  What is that, you ask?  Well, it's Star Wars.  Star Trek.  The Lord Of The Rings.  Blade Runner.  You get the idea, right?  Sure, maybe I'd be interested in the Space:1999 laced apron, but is that you have for the discerning fanboy?

Over the weekend, the wifey suggested we swing by this wine-tasting craft event in Gilbert, AZ, and I'm glad we did ... because finally -- for the first time ever -- I stumbled across a craft booth that had me turned emotional cartwheels in my brain.  As is my way in life, I wanted to share my experience with PopShopAZ with all of you.

What you have here is an Etsy store (this was on display live, mind you, so I could touch and ogle the merchandise with my own eyes and hands) that creates some of the most clever pop culture displays I have ever had the good fortune to find.  The owner, his wife and family clearly 'get' geekdom, so much so that they've taken to sharing their love of general geekery with high quality, colorful displays, all of it handcrafted with the care and attention you'd want from a purchased product.

And because they maintain a presence on Etsy, it's something that you, too, can now gleefully go and discover on your own!

There's a little bit of everything in there, so give yourself some time to look around.  As I said, the quality is impeccable.  The price points are very good -- indeed, I picked up a framed 'Kirk Vs. Gorn' fight ticket to hang on my wall and a few of the store's SciFi-themed shot glasses.  I suspect this might be the perfect place to pick up that special something for that special geeky someone in your life in the months ahead.  After all ... Christmas is right around the corner!

Simply follow the link right here.  Be prepared to be amazed.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

Today's HubbaHubba Alert: Sharon Stone.

It takes a bit of cunning and bravery (so I've heard) for any woman to grace the pages of Playboy Magazine (Millennials, go and ask grandpa), and that's what this lovely leading lady did near the time of Total Recall's theatrical release ... she dropped trousers and went full commando in print.

No doubt, some of you will be Googling later today just to check out the actress's 'credentials' when she was near the height of her screen popularity, and who can blame you?  She wanted mankind to see her goods on full display, so there's nothing wrong with it.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

I'll admit it: I have a vicious love/hate relationship with movie trailers.

On the one hand, I love them.  Generally speaking, they carry with them an innate sense of optimism, even if it's only promoting that there's entertainment to come.  When they're done right, they can catapult a release's desirability into the stratosphere, practically daring folks to look away, to not experience the adrenaline rush that comes with the images.  They pump us up.  They throw us down.  They tempt us to come back for more.

On the other hand, I hate them.  How many of us are lovers jilted from the over-promise?  Curse you, Hollywood: you promised us something special -- something truly extraordinary -- and you gave us this?!  Why, God, why?  Why couldn't you have just left us with the trailer?

However, let it be known that movie trailers are rarely composed by folks involved with the actual movie.  Media 'specialists' craft them -- usually with some modest input from the filmmaker -- and, as a result, they can be uneven, sometimes even promising something that the finished product never delivers.

As I said, we've all been there ... and one who is such a fan of the Bill and Ted films was expecting a bit more from the trailer for Bill & Ted Face The Music which dropped online this week.  Instead of giving me a look into what should be the defining moment of this franchise's mythology, these media 'specialists' delivered something flat, unimaginative, and -- dare I say? -- derivative of jokes the previous two films already spun?

Now, take heart: these media 'specialists' are young enough that they probably have little to know awareness of the original Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.  They possibly have no concept of the warm-hearted place these films have earned in the hearts of many.  We live in dark times, and no doubt this trailer is the product of children brought up in this dark era ... so let's hope Face The Music lives up to the righteous potential these two lovable knuckleheads have always portrayed.

For those interested, here's the trailer below:
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As always, thanks for reading, live long and prosper, and party on, dudes!

As promised for the month of June, I'll be sprinkling a handful of trivia I've discovered involved the entire production and release of Paul Verhoeven's SciFi/Classic Total Recall -- which turns thirty years young this month -- and here's the first: an incredible nugget of compassion between two incredible Thespians.

It's a bit dark in the world outside these days, folks.  I won't wax on philosophically about discrimination and whatnot -- I do try to keep politics out of this space as much as is humanly possible, though sometimes I'll take the necessary jab (I am 'human,' after all); but when you watch television and see folks looting, rioting, and hurting, I think it becomes incumbent upon each of us to be better stewards of those around us, not necessarily the world-at-large.  Do what you can -- control the controllable -- and make a difference to those nearest you when you can.  As it's been said millions of times before I'm typing this: "You only get one life."

And that's why I thought it appropriate to share this incredible act of kindness from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Michael Ironside: it's inspiring, and it shows how two men came together for a brief time and truly impacted one another's existence.  Profound.

As always, thanks for reading, live long and prosper ... and get your @ss to Mars!

I've always been amazed with the phenomenon of how some particular well-made films just don't resonate with me.

Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not some highbrow intellectual who likes to pontificate about the good, the bad, and the ugly of filmdom.  (Well, not every day, any way ...)  Film as art is a highly personal experience, meaning that one work is never naturally going to mean the same thing to two different people ... but I've always been kinda/sorta 'on an island' when it comes to what most mainstream audience members see in a flick.  I can't tell you the number of times I've been encouraged to go and see the latest blockbuster only to come back home and tell those who loved it that it was only 'meh' for me.  It's safe to say that it's happened so many times that most who know me know to avoid asking me what I thought of a particular release; and about ten years or so back I just completely stopped recommending films to those I know because I rarely, if ever, agreed with their taste.

I won't go into the who's, what's, and why's of that because at the end of the day that isn't what matters: rather, what matters is the film -- the art -- and it's quality to create a life beyond its original release date and beyond.

Paul Verhoeven's 'interpretation' of Philip K. Dick's Total Recall is one such example.

The feature was produced at what was perhaps the cinematic peak of Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity.  (No, this isn't to say that he hasn't starred in more popular flicks because he clearly has.  It's just an observation that Arnie was 'the king' at the time, and it's natural that audiences would embrace his next picture.)  It brought together Verhoeven not long after he truly cracked onto the scene with the controversially-violent RoboCop (1987) and the muscleman for what turned out to be yet another somewhat violent motion picture ... but also the tale was draped in a kind of mystical, fairy tale quality 'what if' that audiences have also greeted favorably.  Add to that the emerging star power of a young Sharon Stone and what could possibly go wrong?

But Verhoeven's casting genius didn't stop there.  Genre fans were already familiar with Michael Ironside, a true scene-chewing young buck who made a name for himself aboard David Cronenberg's Scanners (1981), the 3D B-movie gem Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone (1983), and TV's alien invasion V franchise.  (How this thespian hasn't scored more acclaim is beyond me.)  The director brought Ronny Cox over to this new picture even after the man had basically already staked out cinema villainhood in the aforementioned RoboCop, a risky move that paid off dearly.  And he brought in Robert Picardo, Dean Norris, Rachel Ticotin, and Marshall Bell, character greats who knew precisely how to make big business out of even the smallest roles.

This veritable popcorn SciFi/Thriller upped the ante of a great cast with an already solid foundation of a winning script, one that had floated around Hollywood for some time with a wealth of big names coming and going through the rumor mill.  But it was Schwarzenegger who was eventually blessed with bringing it to life ... and the end result still resonates with those discovering decades after its first blush.

If you haven't seen it, then add it to your Bucket List.  If you have?  Well, maybe it's time for a repeat viewing.  I know I'll be checking it out again sometime soon.

Also, I've researched some trivia blurbs that I'll be sprinkling throughout the MainPage over the course of June, so watch for those if you're interested.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

With today's news-at-your-fingertips society, it's hard for young'uns to imagine what a narrative wallop George Lucas and company served up with that big, big reveal near the end of The Empire Strikes Back.  You know the one I'm talking about?  That whole "who's your daddy, Luke?" moment?

In any event, I've heard this one before, and though I've heard it debunked I've never read a definitive explanation saying it didn't happen.  Thus, I'm sharing it today for folks to enjoy.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!