When we think of science fiction, we so often think about the future. We expect it to stretch our imaginations in ways we never thought possible with groundbreaking concepts beyond our current understanding. “John Carter” appears to aspire to that level. Yet in spite of the film’s hefty price tag, use of latest in motion-capture […]

Since the Golden Age of comic books, folks have been imagining what it would be like if ordinary people came across extraordinary power. But not until 2012 with “Chronicle” has anyone truly attempted to capture this notion with a sense of realism. Josh Trank and Max Landis have done just that with their low-budget found-footage […]

They say “time is money,” and so it seems filmmaker Andrew Niccol took them too seriously. “In Time” imagines a dystopia in which humans have been genetically modified to stop aging at 25 and at that point receive a year to live as indicated by timers on their forearms. The only way they can prolong […]

Never underestimate robot boxing. Despite reaching for nearly every cliché in the family-oriented sports underdog drama handbook short of titling the film “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots,” DreamWorks delivers a undeniable crowd-pleaser with “Real Steel.”

The one thing that always made the “Planet of the Apes” a bit campy was actors in make up and monkey suits. So in one instance, here’s where technology, specifically the use motion-capture technology as seen in “Avatar,” can almost single-handedly justify revisiting an old franchise. But the apes of “Rise of the Planet of […]

The answer to the obvious question hovering around Jon Favreau’s latest action blockbuster is yes, “Cowboys & Aliens” is as ridiculous as the title sounds. Yet blame doesn’t quite belong on Favreau’s shoulders or that of star Daniel Craig or the rest of the cast; rather, the failure of this alien-infested Western results from the […]

If humans can only access 20 percent of their brains normally and 100 percent while on NZT, the “Limitless” drug of choice, then I would say screenwriter Leslie Dixon and director Neil Burger probably access somewhere around 70 percent of their creative power with regards to bringing Alan Glynn’s novel to the big screen. All […]

I called “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” a 2.5-hour exhibition of a hurricane in a hardware store. There should have been nothing exciting, therefore, about the prospect of a second 2.5-hour exhibition — this time of hunks of scrap metal perpetually raining over Chicago — filmed entirely in 3D. Yet with the added assurance of […]

The challenge of making a “Green Lantern” film was always going to be bringing it down to Earth. Not necessarily in a planetary sense, but sifting through and boiling down all the intergalactic mythology. Everything from the planet Oa to bird-fish aliens named Tomar-Re to a far-fetched concept of harnessing “will” to defend the universe […]

The best science fiction is often the kind that doesn’t feel like science fiction at all. Almost always, the genre’s most lauded stories and films earn that praise for never losing their human qualities in the face of elaborate story structure, futuristic props and set pieces and stylish action. That’s why Hollywood so often returns […]

Created by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. That phrase says a lot. As more and more clues were revealed as to Abrams second secret film project, the mere presence of these two respected names began to connect dots in the minds of film fans. The first teaser — made before the film even […]

Trains, brains and alternate realities comprise “Source Code,” the sophomore feature from Duncan Jones, director of 2009’s intellectual sci-fi dish “Moon” starring Sam Rockwell. Jones coaches a similarly terrific actor in Jake Gyllenhaal to another commanding yet heart-filled leading performance. The difference is that “Moon” was contemplative and brooding; “Source Code” moves at thrill-a-minute pace. […]

We’ve finally reached in age when science fiction doesn’t have to mean action films and where low-budget genre films have become “of interest” to producers and distributors. Although you could hardly call “District 9” a cheap film compared to Gareth Edwards’ debut feature “Monsters,” Neil Blomkamp’s film was much cheaper than the alien movies that […]

The grittier and slightly more realistic alien invasion film “Battle: Los Angeles” poses and addresses the intriguing question of how the military would respond in the event of a full-on attack at the hands of an unknown enemy. The answer? Clichés; tons of them. Round up the troops, grab whatever clichés you can find so we […]

All the pieces have been put in place for 1982 cult classic “Tron” to reinvent itself as a moder-day sci-fi epic. Between Disney sinking hundreds of millions into “Tron: Legacy,” marketing it like the must-see event of the year and then securing a PG rating to make sure anyone and everyone could see it, the […]