I love a good story in any form, whether written or visual. Lately, I’ve finally had a few hours to watch T.V. and have been enjoying shows and movies in my favorite genres: sci-fi and paranormal.
For starters, I was thrilled to see a new sci-fi show come out, Defiance. It’s always hard to judge by the pilot episode, but I’m definitely intrigued enough to come back for more. The setting is Earth after a battle with aliens – specifically in St. Louis, now called the town of Defiance. I got a sneak peek at this show while watching Face Off this season, and let me tell you, the makeup artistry is terrific. The blend of alien cultures is well done, and the special effects are top notch. I can’t wait to see where this show goes from here. It takes more than one episode to find a rhythm. I’ve got to say I’m tickled to see Fionnula Flanagan in this show, whom I best recognize from the paranormal movie, The Others, with Nicole Kidman.
In addition to picking up a new series to follow, I’ve played catch up on a couple of movies that have been out for a while. I finally got to see the new Total Recall. I enjoyed it. I liked the Arnold Schwarzenegger version, but this one was much better. The setting made more sense, the action kept things exciting, and it was the best acting job I’ve seen from Jessica Biel. (Don’t get me started on Next and Blade: Trinity).
I wasn’t nearly as thrilled with the second movie I caught this past week, Dark Shadows. Usually if you put Johnny Depp with director Tim Burton, you have a sure winner with me. This vampire movie even had Michelle Pfeiffer as a bonus big name, but I didn’t care for it. I can’t say any of the actors or actresses did a bad job. The movie just didn’t work for me. It took too long to set up and didn’t amuse me much. Overall, I was bored. I’d rather stick with Edward Scissorhands and The Ninth Gate for fantasy/paranormal with Johnny Depp and Wolf and What Lies Beneath for Michelle Pfeiffer. This is just my personal preference.
What shows and movies would you recommend in these genres?
Allie Ritch, author 
I have Defiance on my DVR, waiting for a quiet moment when the kids or hubby won’t interrupt me (which hopefully will be tonight). I’ve been feeling a gap since Eureka ended and, of course, Syfy has yet to fill the gap since Firefly.
I don’t know how you feel about the Alien franchise, but Prometheus was just loaded on HBO. I enjoyed that a lot (A LOT) in the theater and have been gnawing at the bits to see it again.
I don’t like Tom Cruise, but have to admit, I’m intrigued at his upcoming Oblivion. I will have to go see it when it comes out.
Defiance has great potential. I can’t wait to see where they go with it. I’ve felt the void since Terra Nova got pulled after only one season. Terra Nova was another show that had great potential, but they never worked out a clear direction and weren’t given time to fix the writing.
I love the Alien franchise, but sadly I did not like Prometheus. I went to see it in the theater, got really excited with the prologue/opening scene, and then got progressively more confused. I blogged about it back when (https://allieritch.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/prometheus/).
Oblivion has me intrigued. I wish they’d given us a little more in the movie trailer, though, because I can only figure out the genre, not the premise. Of course, I’m waiting for my next Star Trek fix in the meantime and want to see After Earth with Will Smith, too – end of May, I think.