After what seems like years… oh wait it literally has been years. Well then – after years of stagnation it appears that SyFy will actually deliver on the promise of a BSG spin off. Battlestar Galactica: Blood And Chrome” chronicles the adventures of (a much younger) William Adama during the first cylon war. It was rumored that the series was relegated to a series of webisodes. If you remember the 10 part web tie-in that ran alongside Battlestar galactica then you probably didn’t have high hopes for Blood and Chrome. Fortunately Machinima will air Blood and Chrome. Machinima has been delivering very high quality series of web programs. If previous examples of Machinima productions are any indication (“Mortal Kombat: Legacy” and “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn”) then BSG is in capable hands.

Do I really need to remind you to go out on vote on November 6? Do you really need encouragement to get out your designated polling place and exert political force? I’ve heard so many people say that they don’t vote and therefore “they are not part of the problem.” If you have adopted this mentality then I regret to inform you that you are in fact the problem. Sometimes people will make defeatist statements such as “I don’t believe in the system; my vote doesn’t really count”. It s exactly that sentiment that the forces of greed and corruption are counting on. If you choose not to vote then you supplicated the very institution that seeks to nullify your voice.

When you vote you are exercising political authority; you are using force …

Figuring things out for yourself is practically the only freedom anyone really has nowadays. Use that freedom.

Jean Rasczak

Now report to the polls citizen and exercise some political force.

These last episodes of Fringe are really intense.  Who expected Etta to die after only four episodes? In the aftermath of her death we see peter an Olivia drifting apart as they each deal with the pain which comes from the loss of a child. Olivia is introspective and attempts to escape her pain. She keeps her self occupied by helping Astrid with the decryption the observer language, Peter on the other hand has no interest in escapism. He needs a more actionable outlet… he needs revenge.

We’ve known for some time that Peter has a certain capacity for doing the unspeakable since he began hunting and killing shape-shifters in “Reciprocity” (season 3 episode 11). That he might torture or kill the captured observer to get the information he needs is not unexpected.  But I can’t help but draw parallels between Fringe and the Matrix now that Peter has implanted the observer technology into his own body. In the teaser for the next episode we see that peter moves like an observer when fighting the observers; in much the same way that Neo moved like an agent during the rooftop fight scene in “The Matrix”. If this episode of Fringe is “An Origin Story”, is it the origin of Peter as “the one”?

Because you asked: Where did the “resist” posters come from?

Readers have been asking where the  subway posters featuring an image of Henrietta and the word resist came from.   Anil (one of Etta’s fellow resistance fighters) assured Olivia that “Etta was very important to the Resistance; more important than you can imagine.” It seems likely that members of the resistance have adopted Etta as the symbol of their struggle against the observers. The resistance needed a counter message to the loyalist “ordered future” and “obey” propaganda. Etta embodied their message as someone who died for the cause despite being a agent of fringe division. (Fringe division was charged with policing the native human population after the observer invasion.)

“There was a time when we solved fringe cases… Its time we created a few of our own.”

Wasn’t it awesome to see the fringe team using some materials from old fringe cases in the fight against the observers? The chemical agent from “Ability” (season 1, episode 14) was a good choice but personally I was hoping they would opt for the blue powder from the episode “concentrate and ask again” (season 3, episode 12), a biological weapon which dissolved the skeleton of its victims.

What did you think was going to happen when Broyles was confronted by the old fringe team? Would he openly defy Captain Windmark and assist Peter, Olivia, and Etta? I’d hate to see Philip as an enemy, even a reluctant one. I was hoping he could maintain the appearance of loyalty to the observers while secretly working to assist his old friends. The reveal of Broyles ability to hide his thoughts from the observers and his participation in the resistance was delivered right on time. I was becoming concerned that Philip had lost his will to fight after losing Peter Walter and Olivia.

Walter’s quotes have become a particular highlight of the show. After finding a gelatinous confection which seems to have grown long vine-like roots Walter opts to taste his gruesome discovery.

“Jelly! It’s still spongy.” – Walter

The conversation between Henrietta and Olivia about the bullet pendant was very touching. Olivia tells Henrietta “Peter used to call this the bullet that save the world”. I take that to mean that this was the bullet fired by Walter at the end of season four which killed Olivia thus ending William Bell’s nefarious plan to create a new universe populated by creatures of his own design.

The unexpected death of Henrietta was a shocking twist but will probably prove to be a powerful catalyst in the fight against the observers. Judging by the “resist” posters seen in the next episode teaser, Henrietta becomes the El Che of 2036.

What do you think will happen in the coming episodes of Fringe?

Westworld is a 1973 action drama depicting a “high tech” resort (which naturally caters to rich white people) offering adventure simulation packages; allowing guests to explore one of three historically themed environments. Participants had a choice of Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, and the American West. Each environment was populated by robotic citizens programmed to offer guests an enveloping experience complete with all the thrills you might imagine relevant to their choice of historical environment. Of course, some amount of danger was mitigated by the safety protocols put in place by the programmers to prevent anything truly unfortunate from happening.

Two guests enjoy a raucous adventure in the titular “Westworld” Park with all the expected indulgences like whiskey, whores, and six-shooters. Those gold old boys were having a good old time too… until a certain robot gunslinger (Yul Brynner) short-circuits and begins acting out his villainous role unconstrained by the parks built in safety protocols. A gunslinger robot with live ammunition what could possibly go wrong? By the way that’s the robot’s name “Gunslinger”. How convincing the wild west adventure must have been when characters had such authentic names. There was also an aptly named “Apache girl” but no one got stuck with “town whore”, the called her “Arlette”.

Most people probably know Yul Brynner as Pharaoh Ramses from “the Ten Commandments” but he was stoic and menacing as the gunslinger robot. A amazing performance as an unrelenting unforgiving, and unstoppable killing machine. In fairness two rich white guys shot him repeatedly before his meltdown. They probably deserved to have their asses handed to them by a brown skinned robotic cowboy.

This is an older movie but if you’re bored some Sunday afternoon it’s worth a look.

Yes, its true that “Dredd 3D” was still a departure from the 2000 A.D. Comics. That shouldn’t stop you from giving it a chance. It’s a fun movie even if it’s not a literal translation. Sometimes what works in print just doesn’t translate to the screen. For example costume and wardrobe design was really good this time around. The Judges’ gear looked more like a S.W.A.T team’s kit and less like the often outlandish gear depicted in the comics. If the film were 100% true to the comic we would be right back to leotards, giant shoulder guard eagles, and possibly even thigh-high bright green boots. That’s not very far from the Sylvester Stallone “Judge Dredd”.

Karl Urban delivered a very dry and almost soulless Judge Dredd which is expected but perhaps overdone to comedic result. Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) offers a different take on Psi-Judge Anderson but it works on some kind of “girl interrupted” level. All I can say about Ma-Ma is that Lena Headey should play a villain more often because her go as Sarah Connor was a fail.

What Dredd 3D really lacked was any meaningful context for the insanity of life in the Mega-City 1 (not to mention what’s left of the rest of the wold). Maybe a more colorful view of the post apocalyptic world would have interested more fans. On a positive note, this leaves a massive amount of material for a sequel, if the meager box office returns from this film can entice the studio to make another one.

Do yourself a favor: when Dredd comes to Blu-Ray, DVD, Netflix or Amazon Instant Video (That’s how I roll) check it out. It’s a good time shoot-em-up with tons of action.

Some have criticized the cinematography. I think the camera work was actually quite interesting. Changes in cinematic style are used to visually convey feelings which would have been very difficult to describe verbally. Early on, during the Reaping ceremony in District 12, the camera work is very loose. Scenes are shaky, over exposed, and cut from one camera to another quite unexpectedly. I found this visual language effective in creating a sense of confusion and lack of control. This scene reminds quite a lot of the home movies taken during the Kennedy assassination; very Zapruder-eque.

Similarly when Katniss is hallucinating after being stung by a venomous tracker-jacker (a genetically modified, weaponized wasp) the camera work changes again to reflect her state of altered perception. This time with nauseating shifts of focus and depth of field. Perhaps this kind of cinematography was too ambitious for a film aimed at teens. Maybe it was just used too inconsistently and too obviously BECAUSE it was aimed at teen; a demographic not exactly renown  for their attention to detail or powers of observation.

What about the casting; did the actors fit your perception of the characters? The casting was good with two profound exceptions:

Jennifer Lawrence was a poor choice for the role of Katniss Everdeen. I would have preferred a new talent who more fit the physical description of the character. Although she is convincing early on when the younger Everdeen sister is selected for the games, Lawrence delivers a stiff and largely unemotional performance.

Leny Kravitz was HORRIBLE as Cinna. His entire performance was nothing more than the kind of effeminate lisp often used mockingly by homophobes. I’m not kidding there’s really no more depth to his character. No notice is given to his choice of subdued wardrobe even while surrounded by the outlandish  costumes and cosmetics which are the prevailing trends in the capitol.

Donald Sutherland was a better choice for president Snow than anything I imagined while reading the book. Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Liam Hemsworth, and Willow Shields also delivered excellent performances. The supporting cast actually makes up for the shortcomings of Lawrence and kravitz.

I really hope the writing staff is a little more creative this time around. I really hate to think of Starbuck romping around the cliche universe described in the last film. Remember the hot ass prison world; where all life was incinerated on the daylight side of the planet? Yeah, it was called “crematoria”. Really? That’s pretty original.

That would be almost as good as having antagonists that were some kind of weird death cult with the ironically obvious name “necro mongers”. Oh wait ,they did that too.

I have been eagerly anticipating ‘Prometheus’ for the past two years. Wondering, like so many fans, about the connection between this epic new film and the 1979 classic ‘ALIEN’.

Ridley Scott had originally teased fans with his intent to make a prequel, but later recanted; saying that ‘Prometheus’ was an entirely new film. Perhaps that was some clever mis-direction on Mr. Scott’s part because as time passed between each stage in the film making process, he dropped subtle hints about the connection between the films. From early negotiations where it seemed like Ridley might not even direct the project, through pre-production and principal photography; Scott said that the ‘Alien DNA’ would be evident in this new film, but it was not a direct Alien prequel. Most recently in post production and marketing we’ve seen huge links to the ‘Alien’ universe.

Emmet spent months searching the rain forest for an ancient tribe who believed themselves to be angels. Do you know how ardently they believed this angel business? Members of the tribe have distinctive scars on their backs where they symbolically cut of their wings. You know… because they were angels.

last episode we learned that after collapsing in the rain forest, Emmet was delivered to some kind of research facility by the very tribe he had been searching for. Oh the irony. Tess and the crew of the Magus followed clues on Emmet’s video diary to find the facility but some serious shit had gone down there. The scientists thought they could isolate a gene sequence from the local tribe and turn it into a cure for cancer. Well as luck would have it, it doesn’t cure cancer. it turns people in zombies.

What about German Kurt and his giant ass satellite phone? Turns out he’s been dialing local. Kurt’s  sex kitten fiancé has been posing as a security consultant inside the research center. When the researchers find the gene sequence they’ve been searching for she shoots up the laboratory because  “she cannot allow their research to leave this place”.  She goes all FPS Russia on the research scientists and inadvertently unleashes the a localized zombie apocalypse.

The River is almost over. you better watch the finale. You better leave a comment. You better not hide from zombies in a gross-ass, slimy cocoon.