Because I’m such an SF fan, people expect me to have something to say about Star Wars. I mean, it’s the final episode, the series is over (let’s hope Lucas really means it), and a chapter on SF movie history is closed, right? Bullshit. Star Wars was fine and all, at first. It was a noble, heroic, knightly story with some Zen shit thrown in. Cool, weird little aliens and a mechanized monster of a villain. And yeah, a filial connection between the villain and the hero. You have your noble savage (the wookie), your WWII fighter pilot, your Sir …

I don’t know if the 13-episode miniseries ReGenesis got much airplay outside of Canada, but I just finished watching it (downloaded, which is the only format in which it’s accessible to me) and I have to say it was absolutely worthwhile. It was so riveting that one evening I watched three, or was it four, episodes in a row, just to finish the series. I am not sure exactly how believable some of it was, but on the other hand, I nonetheless found the story fascinating. The idea that engineered diseases, planted by some very unusual terrorists and spreading like …

Marvin linked to the Kingdom Of Heaven movie trailer and this is what I have to say: How unsurprising, a movie about the Crusades. How completely predictable. You know, it’s interesting seeing this show up on the big screen while reading Edward Said’s Orientalism for the first time. Say what you will about the guy, but he did kind of have a point about how entertainment, scholarship, and imperial interests intersect. It sure goes a long way to confirming arguments that America on some level sees its relationship with the Middle East through the lens of the Crusades—a lens constructed …

I found a link to AtomFilms on a site called Phil-osophy 101 which doesn’t seem to be loading now. Anyway, some of the films there were actually worth watching, and pretty funny: Lady Lovelace Deception System: very cyberpunk, very cryptic Solid Action Love Partner: odd, funny, retro robot fun Star Wars TV: if it were five seconds longer, I’d say it’s not worth it, but I did chuckle. They Came to Attack Us: be careful who you trust with the fate of the world Abducted: a funny take on the stupid alien rectal probe myth. As if aliens with the …

My friend John Wendel really ought to have a media blog. He emailed me a link to an article in the New York Times about