Three Thousand Years of Longing
{3.5/5} “I wish I could forget I ever met you.” Three Thousand Years of Longing, released in 2022 Alithea is a narratologist, trying to make sense of the world’s stories. While in Istanbul to give a talk, she buys a glass bottle in a shop. Back in her hotel room, while cleaning it the top […]
Big Bug
{3.5/5} “Too bad. I’d started knitting you a wool scarf.” Big Bug, released in 2022 A few people have dropped by Alice’s house — her neighbour Françoise, who when her dog dies always clones a new one. And her ex-husband Victor along with their daughter Nina and his new girlfriend Jennifer. The house AI locks […]
Star Trek: Nemesis
{3.5/5} “Will Riker, you have been my trusted right arm for fifteen years. You have kept my course true and steady. Deanna Troi, you’ve been my guide… and my conscience. You have helped me recognize the better parts of myself.” Star Trek: Nemesis, released in 2002 The Enterprise-E detects a positronic signature and they head […]
Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 1)
{3.5/5} “There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute. Even life itself is an exercise in exceptions.” Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, aired in 1987-88 Captain Picard and the Enterprise-D are put on trial by Q for humanity’s barbarity — meanwhile, they must figure out how the Bandi have built […]
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
{3.5/5} “And they probably redesigned the whole sickbay too. I know engineers — they love to change things.” Star Trek: The Motion Picture, released in 1979 A giant cloud of great destructive power is heading directly toward Earth. Admiral Kirk takes command of the Enterprise in order to investigate. McCoy reluctantly comes aboard when Kirk […]
Star Trek (season 3)
{3.5/5} “‘The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity.’ ‘And the ways our differences combine to create meaning and beauty.’” — Dr. Miranda Jones & Mr. Spock Star Trek season 3, aired in 1968-69 When Kirk and Spock are ordered to obtain a Romulan cloaking device, Kirk disguises himself as a Romulan to beam […]
Missions (season 1)
{3.5/5} “The 10-month journey has exacerbated dangerous neuroses in various crew members.” Missions season 1, aired in 2017 When the psychologist who’s on the schedule for the first mission to Mars is killed in an accident, a new psychologist is chosen at the last minute. When they are almost at Mars they find out that […]
Coherence
{3.5/5} “We’re not splitting up, we’re just going to go in two different groups.” Coherence, released in 2013 A group of friends has gathered for dinner. A comet is passing near the Earth, and no one’s phone is working. Then people’s phone screens start shattering. Then the hydro goes off. They go outside where they […]
Ready Player One
{3.5/5} “Yeah, try… try not to accidentally erase the whole of the Oasis on your first day.” Ready Player One, released in 2018 In 2045 everybody hangs out in the Oasis, a virtual reality where anything is possible. The creator of the Oasis left a game behind when he died — whoever wins the game […]
Martians Abroad
{3.5/5} “Maybe Earth wasn’t so bad after all, if it had horses. But I couldn’t think about anything without thinking about Stanton and what was going to happen next. Something was going to happen next.” Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn, published in 2016 Polly, a teenager on Mars, is sent by her mother to Galileo […]