Two more movies are definitely on my must-see list. First is Duncan Jones’ “Moon!”, and indie sci-fi flick that has all the trappings of a really great film. The crux of the story is Sam Bell, an astronaut who works alone in a mining facility on the moon, is contracted for three years of work. As he nears the final few weeks, things start to go awry and he starts to see things – like a full fledged copy of himself, for example. It’s got a talking computer with an emoticon face, an odyssey 2001 like feel mixed with modern effects – it looks really great. (Hat tip to Og)
On the comedy side is a great looking flick from the warped mind of Mike Judge. We all know and love Office Space right? Well this movie looks to be the successor and the next classic. A really amazing cast and a hilarious looking story. Jason Bateman plays the frustrated lead, you’ve got Ben Affleck as a hippie type bartender buddy and J.K. Simmons (the guy who did J. Jonah Jameson in Spiderman) as Bateman’s boss (I think). Add in Mila Kunis and Kristen Wiig (a funny actress – trust me you’ve seen her before) and this one should be great.
On the Marooned side, we’re rolling up on strip 100. That’s pretty hard to believe for me. In conjunction, of course, we are finally going to see just who in the world the Volotrum – the Dark Ones – are. And will they be able to help John? He’s not looking too good lately. I have the strips laid out, and I can tell you that next Thursday we’ll get our first glimpse of them.
What’s up for the next 100 strips? I actually have the main points of the current story arc plotted out, and it’s fairly involved. We’re going to find out why the Dark Ones have sequestered themselves away from the other two Martian races, the Geborga and the Anfald (Ugo’s people). And we’re going to find out a little big more about what happened to lead up to the Disruption, the destruction of the Mars surface and its society. And along the way, there should be plenty of fun, too (you know me, it’s not going to be some ultra serious story). I can’t tell you much more than that, because I’ve got a few surprises up my sleeve.
Lastly, I’m late to the game, but I’ve really been enjoying Josh Whedon’s Firefly. I watched the movie Serenity first, and I’m through the first 3 episodes. It’s great stuff. Great characters, story and atmosphere. Great writing and great fun. I’m torn between watching them all as fast as possible and drawing it out, because once I see them all, there’s no more. Major bummer. You can watch all the episodes for free on Hulu.com
moon & extract: thanks for the tips! i’m looking forward seeing these.
firefly: gorramit! watch it slow then.
bachter luvz kaylee lol.
Hi Tom, I’ve been lurking here for a while, and I love your comic. Glad to hear you’re finding Firefly, and apparently taking it in the same order I did. I say, you might as well draw it out, since there’s not very much of it.
Looking forward to the big reveal!
Welcome 3DWyrm
Great to hear from you! (I always wonder exactly how many lurkers are actually out there). Thanks for the kind words. I’m going to have to get the special edition DVDs too, so I can get the behind the scenes stuff on Firefly too.
So glad you’re getting into Firefly. I think it’s a great example of how to write episodice Sci-fi content with rich characters while still providing lots of action and humor as well. It’s hard for people to get into, because they don’t know what to make of the diverse mix of elements – Chinese, sci-fi, western – but it really works. I would recommend this series to any would-be sci-fi writer. I’d actually recommend it to any writer period, but sometimes non-sci-fi types are too put off by the sci-fi elements of stuff like this, so I don’t waste my breath…
Odd that you saw Serenity first. Unfortunately that spoils a lot of the series’ surprises. Meh.
I love this series so much, and I find myself re-watching it a few times a year, and I always get sad toward the final few episodes, knowing that I’m coming to the end once again.
I was late on the Firefly viewing, too.
After hearing the horror of how fox aired the series with backasswardsness, I was kinda glad I went in late and untainted.
It is another one of those sci-fi shows I wish wasn’t cancelled. Like Space Above and Beyond – loved that show too.
I think my favorite episode was the last one with the kooky bounty hunter….
Yeah, I rented the Firefly discs to watch and loved it. And the movie Serenity really encapsulates the whole thing, and resonates with a clear message.
That “Moon” movie looks pretty good, sort of a cross between 2001 and Solaris, maybe? Guess I’ll just have to go and see.
I’m halfway through the episodes, just watched “Out of Gas” which was great. Will watch the feature film at the end. Gonna be bummed when it’s all over
Moon does look like a cross between 2001 and Solaris – good call. Nothing like scary stuff in space!