Feature articles from Issue 218. January 2012.
The Strange Case Of Angelica (Mark's take)
01/01/2012. This film is a Portuguese fantasy written and directed by Manoel de Oliveira. The pace is operatic and slow enough so that there is not much story here. Some dreamlike photography and a soothing musical score are pluses but slow, draggy telling is likely to frustrate the viewer and pay off with far too little reward for the effort of watching.
Hugo (Mark's take)
1/1/2012. There is a phantom haunting the Paris Train Station. Twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of the station and maintains all the mechanical clocks. This film is about him, but also about a lot more. This is much more than a children's film about a little boy. Beautifully filmed in 3D it, turns into an education for the viewer on a subject near and dear to director Martin Scorsese's heart.
Miss Minoes (Mark's take)
01/01/2012. A cat is accidentally turned into a beautiful woman by a toxic waste accident. Minoes, now Miss Minoes, befriends a failing newspaper reporter and uses her network of cat friends to help get the reporter the news stories he needs. Dutch author Annie M. G. Schmidt's 1970 children's book Minoes is adapted for the screen by director Vincent Bal who also co-authored the screenplay. The result is a rather slight but pleasant family fantasy film.
Caretaker Who?
01/01/2012. A quick summation by: Geoff Willmetts. The Doctor likes returning favours, especially after landing on the Earth in a spacesuit as he scuttles a spaceship in 1938. With the helmet on back to front, a helpful neighbour, Madge Arwell, gets him to a convenient police call box. DON’T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE 2011 YULETIDE STORY!!!
If mobile phones can do everything, what is the point of having a human around using it?
01/01/2012. In the past century, any media representation of the future tended to centre on labour-saving gadgets so we would have more time to do other things. Now, here we are in a future where we actually have a lot of labour-saving gadgets and I’m wondering what people are doing with all that extra time?
Something In The Missing Detail
01/01/2012. A ponderance by: GF Willmetts. Has anyone every wondered how Scott Tracy gets out of Thunderbird One when he’s on a rescue? After all, there’s no sign of a ladder and the fuselage has to be at least eight feet up from the wing landing gear. Although quite what the Hood is standing on when taking photographs of the interior in ‘Trapped In The Sky’ isn’t revealed.
Book, Comic, Magazine & Film Reviews from Issue 218. January 2012.
X marks the spot for book conversions Jan 2012
The Chronicles Of Narnia Collector's Edition
The Biology Of Science Fiction Cinema by Mark C. Glassy
Cimarron Strip - Knife In The Darkness (1968)
Tales From The Darkside: Season One DVD Boxset
Solaris Rising: The New Solaris Book Of Science Fiction edited by Ian Whates
A Dictionary Of Made-Up Languages by Stephen D. Rogers
Legion Lost by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Oliver Coipel and Pascal Alixe
Doctor Who: The Key To Time Boxset
The Wild Side: Urban Fantasy With An Erotic Edge edited by Mark L. Van Name
Cruel Creeds, Virtuous Violence by Jack David Eller
Star Trek Titan: Sword Of Damocles by Geoffrey Thorne
Midnight Echo 6: The Magazine Of The Australian Horror Writers Association
Doctor Who: Serpent Quest: Aladdin Time (part 3 of 5) by Paul Magrs
Shane Rimmer: My Autobiography: From Thunderbirds To Pterodactyls
2012: Everything You Need To Know About The Apocalypse by Manda Scott
Dark Shadows: The Crimson Pearl by James Goss and Joseph Lidster
Dark Shadows The Blind Painter by Jonathan Morris
Dark Shadows: The Creeping Fog by Simon Guerrier
Gothic Realities: The Impact Of Horror Fiction On Modern Culture by L. Andrew Cooper
Legion Of Super-Heroes: The Choice by Paul Levitz, Yildiray Cinar and Geraldo Borges
Legion Of Super-Heroes: Consequences by Paul Levitz, Yildiray Cinar and Geraldo Borges
Krazy Kat & The Art Of George Herriman: A Celebration by Craig Yoe
Zombies In New York And Other Bloody Jottings by Sam Stone
Boris Karloff: More Than A Monster: The Authorised Biography by Stephen Jacobs
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Original Game Score by Greg Edmonson
Drawing The Head & Hands by Andrew Loomis
Superboy And The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Early Years by Paul Levitz and Kevin Sharpe
NASA/Art: 50 Years Of Exploration by James Dean and Bertram Ulrich
Sanctuary: The Complete Season 1
Fantastic Voyage: The Complete Series
Tempting Providence And Other Stories by Jonathan Thomas
Welcome To The Greenhouse edited by Gordon Van Gelder
Mad Skills by Walter Greatshell
Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Ascension (book 8) by Christie Golden
Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Conviction (book 7) by Aaron Allston
Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Vortex (book 6) by Troy Denning
Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Allies (book 5) by Christie Golden
Pax Britannia: Gods Of Manhattan by Al Ewing
The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks and Ibraim Roberson
American Vampire Volume 2 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Mateus Santolocuco
The Sea Thy Mistress (the Edda Of Burdens trilogy book 3) by Elizabeth Bear
Daily news.
DC spends a million dollars on new logo
20/01/2012. DC Comics has revealed its new brand identity, which is, they say, "reflective of the company's mission to fully realise the value of a rich portfolio of brands, stories and characters, distinguished by incredible breadth and depth across publishing, media and merchandise." Well, if they say so.
NASA discovers first Earth-size planets beyond our Solar System
20/12/2011. NASA's Kepler mission has discovered the first Earth-size planets orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system. The planets, called Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, are too close to their star to be in the so-called habitable zone where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface, but they are the smallest exoplanets ever confirmed around a star like our sun.
Steelhaven
20/12/2011. John Wordsworth, Commissioning Editor at Headline, has concluded a pre-emptive three-book World rights deal for an epic fantasy series by UK author Richard Ford with the agent John Jarrold. The first volume is provisionally titled Steelhaven.
The Amazing Spider-Man
15/12/2011. Here's the latest suite of photos from the next Spidey reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man. Directed rather appropriately by Marc Webb!
Doctor Who named top TV show in US charts
13/12/2011. Series six of the world’s longest running science fiction TV series Doctor Who has pipped US home-grown favourites such as Dexter, The Walking Dead and Glee to become 2011’s most downloaded show (season) on iTunes in America.
Mrs Dickens' family Christmas
13/12/2011. As the nation prepares to celebrate the festive season, there’s one man whose name is synonymous with Christmas and whose prose depicted the season as a wonderful time for the family to get together and forget about their troubles.
Matt Smith interviewed in the wardrobe
13/12/2011. The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe is Matt Smith’s second Christmas outing as the Doctor and this time he doesn’t have his trusted companions, ‘The Ponds’, by his side. However, it hasn’t stopped him relishing in another Christmassy adventure and here he reveals what Doctor Who has in store for festive viewers.
Claire Skinner interviewed: Dr Who Xmas 2011
13/12/2011. An interview with actress Claire Skinner (of Outnumbered fame), who plays Madge Arwell in the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special. This is the seventh Christmas special since the show’s revival in 2005.
Alexander Armstrong interviewed: Doctor Who Christmas 2011
13/12/2011. An interview with Alexander Armstrong who plays Reg Arwel in the Doctor Who Christmas Special. The story is set during World War II and is about a family of Blitz refugees, Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, who have to relocate to Dorset, where they meet the Doctor.
BBC to launch new series of Doctor Who games
13/12/2011. The BBC has released the details of a new gaming development for the Doctor Who TV prog. Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock will be the first of a series of Doctor Who console games developed by BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games.
Solaris buys Gaie Sebold's Hunter's Moon
13/12/2011. Jonathan Oliver, commissioning editor of Solaris Books, has acquired Hunter’s Moon by Gaie Sebold, a sequel to Babylon Steel - the opening volume of a fantasy series to be published in January 2012.
Hero Of The Empire: steampunk from David Barnett
13/12/2011. Claire Eddy, Senior Editor at Tor Books in New York, has concluded a three-book World English Language rights deal for British author David Barnett, for a strong five-figure sum in US dollars. The agent was John Jarrold.
Drakenfeld
21/11/2011. Bella Pagan, Senior Commissioning Editor at Tor UK, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has acquired world rights to the first two volumes of a new fantasy series called ‘Drakenfeld’ by Mark Charan Newton. The agent was John Jarrold.
Captain Nemo steampunked by Kevin J. Anderson
21/11/2011. Author Kevin J. Anderson’s newly released novel Captain Nemo (Titan Books) tells a steampunk version of Jules Verne’s creation, Captain Nemo, builder and captain of the Nautilus and secret benefactor to the castaways on the Mysterious Island.
Liam Neeson in new War of The Worlds
21/11/2011. Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of The Worlds is returning with "The New Generation" worldwide tour in November 2012, SFcrowsnest was told this morning by Jeff Wayne and Liam Neeson.
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