Thor vs. the White Whale (Movie Monday: seafaring edition)

I am a total geek for maritime history. I'm a total geek about a lot of things, but my love of all things Tall Ship related goes under the radar because it hasn't come up in a book yet (which is about to change). There's actually a long seafaring tradition on both sides of my…

Castle Von Udolpho Crimson Abbey of Blood (Movie Monday, gothic edition)

I have got to start seeing movies in a more timely way, either at the movie theater or when they're first released at home. It's not such a thing this week, when something inspires me to talk about its antecedents (⇐this is not the nerdiest the post is going to get), as say, Star Wars,…

All. The. Feels. — IF I STAY on Movie Monday

IF I STAY has been on my list to watch ever since it came out on video (it's on Netflix right now) but I knew that was going to need the right mood and moment. Though I have not (to my shame) read the extremely well reviewed book by Gayle Foreman, I knew what I was…

A post about women science fiction writers… eventually.

I love when the premium channels like HBO and Showtime run free preview weekends, because it reassures me that I'm not missing much not subscribing to them. Even if it does mean I have to wait until the DVDs come out to catch up on Game of Thrones. Or read the series of books full of spoilers that…

Movie Monday: Pacific Rim

Here are the reasons you should go see Pacific Rim: 1) Giant Robots (Jaeger)  vs Giant Monsters (Kaiju). 2) Idris Elba.  His character's name is Stacker Pentecost. He's canceling the apocalypse. This could be ridiculous, but he sells it like it's Shakespeare. 3) They order the evacuation of the city, and there are kaiju shelters,…

Movie Monday – John Carter [of Mars]

No spoilers, I promise. Not least because I think you should go see this movie. In the RCM rating scale, this rates “Full price ticket, worth the extra for 3D.” Here are the short review, before I wax all thinky about character and genre and stuff: This is a really entertaining movie, visually stunning, and damned…

Movie Monday: RED

You know the fun thing about committing to do movie Mondays (and book reviews on Thursday)? It gives me a reason make the effort (and it's such a huge one, what with Netflix on the Wii and Blockbuster around the corner) to sit down with the dogs and watch a movie every week. Friday night…

A Trifecta of Movie Monday

Movies are one of my favorite blog topics. I guess because it's still story telling, but it's something I enjoy watching and talking about because it's not WORK. Even when I dissect the story arcs and/or characterization, and talk about how it applies to writing, it's still NOT writing. There's no pressure, and it uses…

Movie Monday: Independence Day

On a belated note: Happy Canada Day to my friends north of the border. That is by way of apology for this Yankee-centric post.I have to admit, it doesn't have to be the Fourth of July for me to watch Independence Day. This movie is on All. The. Time. And if it's on, I watch…

Movie Monday: Blade Runner

A lot of my favorite movies are from the 80's. Not just favorite movies, but movies that formed my cultural vocabulary. Ghostbusters, Terminator, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Aliens, Highlander, The Princess Bride, Ladyhawke... Even movies I wasn't old enough to see in the theater (without sneaking in or having my…