Films

2001, the 1960s, and you

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The book and the film of 2001, A Space Odyssey were developed simultaneously, and before we begin a discussion of them, let’s talk about the era in which they were released. Summer 1968. Human beings had never left low Earth orbit. Star Wars was almost a decade away. Woodstock hadn’t happened. Bobby Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated … Read more

Death from Above, part 5: Meteor (1979)

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And we’re back. Yes, it’s another impact movie, but for good reason.* ‘Sides, after Outland how can you say no to another bad sci-fi movie starring Sean Connery? This one is Meteor (1979), not to be confused with the 2009 miniseries of the same name (stay tuned for that one). Now, this film was supposedly … Read more

SpaceCamp

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This one is gonna be tough. You see, in the summer between the 7th and 8th grades, I attended Space Camp. It was only 2 years after the movie came out, and I’d probably seen the film a dozen times after begging my parents to let me rent it at the video store. I loved … Read more

2012

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Gather ’round, my friends. This is gonna be a rough one. 2012. I’m going to tackle this one timeline-style. 3m. Physicists in India discover that increased Solar activity is leading to lots more neutrinos being detected on Earth. Only 3 minutes in and already we need a science lesson! Neutrinos are weakly interacting particles. It’s … Read more

Event Horizon

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2047. The starship Event Horizon went missing seven years ago and has mysteriously reappeared in orbit around Neptune. In the opening scene, we see the Event Horizon in orbit over a large storm on Neptune. We know that all of the giant planets experience such storms, though they don’t have visible lightning and audible thunder that you … Read more