Crime movies are often deeply linked to the settings in which they take place. The prohibition era of speakeasies and bootleggers gave us The Untouchables. The glittering casinos of Las Vegas gave us Ocean’s Eleven. The gritty streets of Los Angeles have given us everything from Training Day to Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. In…
From a writer’s perspective, the mystery genre is often a rigid one—someone committed a crime that needs solving, and the protagonist will methodically work through the clues to do so. And while that rigidity might seem downright restrictive, it’s also played into the hands of authors who want to introduce outlandish concepts and worlds: the…
Not many films sci-fi films can truly attest to having the legacy that Blade Runner has accumulated in the 35 years since its release. Loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the film told a contemplative tale of a future police officer tasked with terminating artificial humans known as…
The WWII thriller and alternate history set in the same period are small time machines. If Walter Benjamin’s famous quote is taken into account, “History is written by the victors,” then it is rewritten as we come to terms with the past. Alternate histories concerning World War II appeared almost immediately following the war, and…
After just a few months, the Precogs of the TV series Minority Report seem to have come full circle—back into the milk bath—and gained almost nothing for having made the trip. As of Oct 9, 2015, Fox has shortened the order for Season One episodes from 13 to 10, which is a clear sign the…
As the year comes to a close and all the time spent with the lonely, on-his-own friend during the holidays reminds us to get our lives together, like two former lovers who awkwardly run into each other at a bar and small talk their way into a promise to “stay friends,” we keep up the…
