Poll Results: Would you read an ebook?
It seems like times are really changing. A couple of years ago, I could have asked the same question and received completely different results. Our mentality has changed on the whole ebook thing, and I hope that this change is for good reasons. So, here are the results: 15 (78%) — Yes 2 (11%) — No 2 (11%) — Maybe The vast majority of those who voted would read an ebook. That’s fascinating. I suppose the question is phrased in such a way that to say “no” could imply that you’d never ever read an ebook, while “yes” could imply that you would read one, but not necessarily. Issues of preference are obviously not a part of the poll. My next poll will likely be on that. Out of curiosity, what were you all expecting from the results? Exactly as above? More evened out across the categories? The exact reverse?
Top 10 Most Ridiculous Moments in Science Fiction and Fantasy Film in the 90s
Many months ago I posted a list of the top 8 most ridiculous moments in science fiction and fantasy film in the 21st century. It turned out to be the most popular post in the history of this blog, to my surprise, and inspired me to pursue further the plan I had already set up in my mind. What was that plan? To go backwards through time, decade by decade, picking out the most ridiculous moments in science fiction and fantasy film for each of those decades, as far back as I can reasonably go. So, here we are, with another list (slightly larger, of course) set one decade earlier than the last, and likely just as controversial. Note: the fact that two Dennis Hopper’s movies appear on this list is not a coincidence. Here goes (after the fold): 10. The Midichlorians — Star Wars, Episode One: The Phantom Menace If the original movies never existed, I wouldn’t have a problem with Midichlorians. They’re not a terribly stupid concept by themselves, but when your entire fanbase is familiar with the more mystical and magical world you created twenty years before, you can’t really expect them to take a half-assed scientific attempt to explain the Force seriously. The Force is the result of little alien microbes in all living things? Well, fantastic. Sounds like a disease to me, the side effects of which include turning the occasional man or woman into a raging genocidal lunatic. Wonderful. Where’s my shot of antibiotics? 9. Matthew Broderick — Godzilla When I first saw the American reboot of Godzilla, I have to admit that I was quite pleased. You’ve got to give me a break, though; I was 14, naive, and clearly without taste. That said, the one thing that completely destroyed the Godzilla movie wasn’t the story, per se, but the casting, and none more obvious that Broderick. Don’t get me wrong, I love Broderick. He has acting chops outside of the comedy genre, but taking the role of Dr. Tatopoulos was a horrible idea (and the folks that cast him should have known better). He’s not the only problem; the whole film is dragged down by its cast, despite the fact that, visually, the damned thing is gorgeous. And if you don’t believe me, ask yourself this: was Godzilla (1998) supposed to be a serious movie with a handful of cute lines, or a comedic farce meant to toy with a series of Japanese movies that only look funny to us today because they are absolutely ridiculous by modern standards? 8. Why So Serious? — Super Mario Bros. (the Movie) Trying to list all the things that were wrong with this movie would take days, but probably the most important for fans and film people is the tone. The makers of the film took a mostly cute, mostly silly video game and tried to turn it into some sort of bizarre not-quite-futuristic dystopian cheese-fest stocked with a Dennis Hopper playing an evolved dinosaur with a really bizarre hairdo, mindless slightly-alien goons serving a megalomaniacal government, strange cars that run on some sort of alternate power source, rocket boots, bad music, and bad acting. The problem is that fans were left wondering why the film was so dark, particularly since it’s based on a video game that is, by all accounts, practically G-rated by 1950s standards. 7. Vanilla “Go Ninja” Ice — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze Okay, so apparently someone in the early 90s thought it would be a good idea to get Vanilla Ice to write a song for the second TMNT movie. Instead of having the resulting tune play over the end credits, the filmmakers decided to have Ice put on a mock concert, part of which consisted of a mock “improvisation” of “Go Ninja.” You know, because everyone buys a perfectly improvised, perfectly choreographed “live” rendition from the guy whose only major hit contains the lyrics “Cut like a razor blade so fast other DJs say damn / If my rhyme was a drug I’d sell it by the gram.” Right… 6. Alien 3 (the entire movie) — Alien 3 We’ve heard the story before. What started as an attempt to tell a two-parter involving Hicks devolved into a ridiculous festival of deus ex machina in the form of killing off characters to avoid having to actually tell their stories. The worst part of all of this is that, looking back and knowing what could have been, we are left with a film that feels like a less-terrifying remake of the original Alien, without all of the emotional and societal depth, action, and visual effects established with Alien and amplified ten-fold in Aliens. When James Cameron tells you that killing off a whole bunch of important characters at the start of a film is “a slap in the face,” maybe you should listen… (Of course, it gets worse. Since Alien 3 is technically “canon,” its lazy story affected the films that followed it, which were, to say the least, not nearly up to the standard of the first two Alien movies.) 5. Waterworld — Waterworld When I first saw this movie I was naive and enjoyed it. Looking back, I think I might have been on crack, because I now have no idea how it didn’t earn a Razzie for worst picture in 1996. There are too many things wrong with this movie. Costner drinks filtered pee and has gills, the Earth is somehow covered almost entirely with water (never mind that such a thing isn’t technically possible, unless all the landmasses magically sink), a little girl has a map or whatever tattooed to her body, and Dennis Hopper runs an aquatic version of a Mad Max biker gang. It sounds remotely interesting when you put it like that, but then you see the movie and realize that someone was smoking something crazy when they picked the cast… 4. Deep Space Nine (Season One)