dystopian Archives - Page 2 of 2

The Colony: #SciFi #MovieReview

Movie Review, Science Fiction Movie / By M Pax / March 22, 2022

Colony on Netflix is a dystopian where those who left Earth to colonize another planet want to see if their survival has better odds if they return to Earth.

The colonists on Keplar can’t reproduce. The radiation off-world has killed any hope of humans thriving. Earth, however, is all water.

This movie has a lot of flaws, however, it is nicely filmed and the acting is very good. The main character, Louise Blake, had me rooting for her through the entire movie. She has a lot of obstacles to overcome, and she does so with confidence and grit. She will see her mission completed… for the many. However, she has other motives for returning to Earth.

If you think too much about the story, the logic will slip like sand through your hands. Same goes for the ending. It was rather vague and ambiguous. Two minutes could have been spent with something more solid and meaningful. At least, I would have appreciated that. Every story deserves a decent ending.

It’s worth a watch, though. I was entertained and would actually like to know more about this version of Earth. So for that and the acting, I give this movie a one beer rating. One is enough to have fun.

It’s streaming on Netflix. Here’s the trailer if you want a peek:

#SciFi Worth Reading: Cage of Souls #BookReview

Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a richly woven tapestry on a future Earth that resembles an alien planet. Inhabited by monsters and mechs, the residents are surrounded by a planet bent on destroying them.

It starts with the main character on his way to prison. There are only two civilized places: the main city and the prison. The creatures attacking the boat on the way to the ‘Island’ were horrifying and fatal. They were as alien as if they came from another planet.

This story was thick with lots of atmosphere and character and layers and ideas. Through the terror of the prison, we learn that life outside the prison isn’t any easier. Once the darkness of the Island has steeped into the psyche, the city is made known. Its inhabitants and culture didn’t seem like freedom either. To me, it seemed like a different type of prison.

In this epic, we’re human to the end with all our flaws. I was constantly searching for what had made our world this way. The characters didn’t know so the reader is left to infer with hints and clues here and there. Which was rather fun.

It’s not a quick read, but it’s a story worth knowing from cover to cover. And if you care to delve into the mirror written in the pages, it’s easy to see our current culture and society. Makes me wonder about the bars of my cage…

The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity.

Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor. This is his testament, an account of the journey that took him into the blazing desolation of the western deserts; that transported him east down the river and imprisoned him in the verdant hell of the jungle’s darkest heart; that led him deep into the labyrinths and caverns of the underworld. He will meet with monsters, madman, mutants.

The question is, which one of them will inherit this Earth?

#SciFi #MovieReview : Zone 414

Movie Review, Science Fiction Movie / By M Pax / February 12, 2022

A daughter goes missing in the only place where humans and androids are allowed to interact. It’s a zone free from crime. So the creator of the androids says…

It’s actually not a bad movie. If you think ‘Blade Runner’ through the whole thing, you’d not be mistaken. The setting and parts of the story seem inspired by Blade Runner. And also by Logan’s Run. At least, Husband Unit and I thought so.

This movie has the slowest moving taxi in the galaxy, and the Husband Unit and I think that should be a movie of its own. It made us laugh every time it came on screen.

I had to wonder why androids would smoke or eat or drink, but logic isn’t required to have fun watching a movie. Otherwise, very few movies would be fun.

Parts of the plot could have been bridged more smoothly, but the ending didn’t make us groan or want to throw something. So, that’s always a good thing.

There was some good social commentary if you wanted to give any thought that way to the topics stirred up by the plot.

We give this movie a 1.5 beer rating.

Here’s the trailer: