At its worst, science fiction (or just speculative fiction) is a Hollywood CGI robot punch to the balls. At its best, it’s Black Mirror. Last weekend a friend of mine from the UK recommended Black Mirror to me and the next day, I sat through all three episodes of the miniseries while experiencing a revolving series of reactions: shock, nervous laughter, welling up, and cursing our society for the hubristic turds we are. Black Mirror also renewed a bit of my hope that clever, original sci-fi can be done on television again (albeit overseas) without taking the ideas and simply injecting giant action set pieces.

This three-part British series aired in December of last year and might hit BBC America if we’re ever so lucky. It was created by journalist and screenwriter Charlie Brooker – who I had never heard of before but my UK friend described as a bit like the British John Stewart. On the Wiki page for Black Mirror, Brooker explains the show better than I can, stating that “each episode has a different cast, a different setting, even a different reality. But they’re all about the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes’ time if we’re clumsy.” He’s dead on. Each episode is a 45-60 minute sci-fi tragedy, with humans brought to their knees, betrayed by the technology we worship and misuse so much. Not in the “machines turn against their creators” way that’s played out and stale (all respect to BSG), but with gut-wrenching realism.

“The National Anthem:” Within the first couple minutes of the kick-off episode, I was squirming. We’ve seen how outlets such as YouTube and Twitter can turn the tides of public opinion and swiftly drive them in every direction. This episode takes that and drives it in a shocking direction. It paced like a political thriller, with the Prime Minister facing an unthinkable dilemma with only hours to make a decision. I will tell no more about this one, I’ll only say it doesn’t involve a meteor headed for Earth. it’s much, much worse. I hesitated to call Black Mirror “sci-fi” because this episode could take place today or tomorrow. The next two are more “hard” sci-fi.

“15 Million Merits”: I’ve never watched American Idol, but everyone I do know who has always says the same thing: I just watch the auditions, they’re hilarious. This episode centers around a version of Idol called Hot Shots, in which, like Idol, three fuckfaced judges build people up and tear them down like expendable entertainers. Everyone is restricted to a strict life of physical exercise and Wii-like activities. Taking part gains you credits, which can be used to buy food or, once you’ve saved 15 million, try out for Hot Shots. This one gets a little preachy towards the end, then recoups by showing how doomed our gimme-gimme society is.

“The Entire History of You:” This one hit me the hardest. It’s an emotional donkey punch that examines what our relationships would be like if everyone could record and play back every moment of their life – even project it onto TV screens to watch like any other show. This would be a fantastic technology for black-out drunks *tugs on collar*, but miserable for liars. Even those who tell little white lies. This episode was written by Jesse Armstrong, scribe of In the Loop and Four Lions.

If you’ve been hungry like I have for the next great sci-fi show after BSG, look no further than Black Mirror. Unfortunately, it’s only three episodes long and there are no plans to air in the U.S. (that I could find). But I looks like they’ve been uploaded to YouTube (ironic) and torrents are readily available as well. And if you’re wondering what the “black mirror” refers to, it’s that smartphone in your hand.

Huh. So these are the things that will eventually kill us right? Researchers at U Penn (Sidenote: that means at least one beer-chuggin’ Family Guy aficionado was involved) have been doing experiments/spying on the sororities with these nifty little quad rotors. Aren’t they cute? Look at how they group into little – yeah, never mind, that’s terrifying. It’s like something out of MInority Report.

Imagine those, now attach a little gun or blades or bomb bay or BFG or laser or railgun or proton cannon or… at least we’ll get murked off by something awesome. You’ll notice at then end they form a smiley face. Think that’s the work of the scientists? Fat chance! That’s these little fuckers achieving sentience. The singularity is an emoticon.

Huh. That was… not what I was expecting? I’ve been hearing about the partly crowd-funded Nazi/Sci-Fi/Retrofuture movie Iron Sky for what seems like 2-3 years now, and a trailer finally dropped for the now completed film. The tone is way (WAY) different than I thought. I was expecting something that was po faced and epic, like Sky Captain, but this is more like one of the Grindhouse mid-film trailers expanded to feature length. I guess I’m down with that.

About halfway through I said to myself “holy shit, Udo Kier has to be in this movie” and lo and behold, there he was. So we got Udo Kier, that never hurt anyone. I guess the story is that a cadre of (immortal?) Nazis have been living on the dark side of the Moon since the end of WWII, constructing a massive space base that they will eventually use to fuck America. In its face. I’m in! It premieres next month at the Berlin Film Festival, and will hopefully land in America (direct to DVD I’m gonna assume) soon.

To see Godzilla as more than standard monster movie fare, it’s essential to understand where Japan was coming from in the years leading up to the movie. They were the first country to have nuclear bombs dropped on it and because of U.S. hydrogen bomb experiments at Bikini Atoll, they were the first country to have a man die of radiation poisoning. To say those events changed Japan’s culture is a pathetic understatement. Worse yet, because of the U.S. occupation following WWII, they weren’t allowed to express their fears and rage. Once U.S. occupation dissolved, filmmakers tended to focus their lenses on portrayals of Japanese patriotism and militaristic might.

Then Godzilla came along in 1954 like a big, green middle finger to the establishment. He was the embodiment of years of frustration and anxiety and he blew up like no other film in Japanese history; spawning over 30 sequels and kicking off the kaiju phenomenon. Japanese audiences cheered when Godzilla trampled Tokyo – especially the government buildings – and they wept when he died, alone, at the bottom of the ocean. No other monster sparked so much empathy from its audience- a reason Godzilla endures today. Now the King of the Monsters has gotten the Criterion Collection treatment on DVD and Blu-ray. The discs include high-def restorations of the 1954 film, as well as the 1956 Amercianized reworking, Godzilla, King of the Monsters. In true Criterion form, both discs are loaded with exhaustive special features.

The commentary track by Godzilla historian David Kalat is as entertaining as it is educational. Kalat, who literally wrote the book on Godzilla films, runs us through the history of the film, its creators, and how it single-handedly created the monster movie genre. He explains that while monster movies certainly existed before 1954 (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is heavily cited), none of them had an ounce of the impact of Godzilla – both in film and popular culture. Some of the most interesting aspects of the commentary track involve what was cut out for the Americanization of the film in 1956′s Godzilla, King of the Monsters. In his reworking for American audiences, director Terry Morse removed any trace of hydrogen bomb debate; anything that would bring back memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The set includes a high-def restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, starring dreamboat Raymond Burr. It’s a highly chopped and screwed version of the 1954 Godzilla, with Burr added as an American, pipe-chomping journalist who’s inserted at key moments – his role frequently involves peering over the shoulders of Japanese civilians as they observe the destruction left behind by Godzilla. During the famous first appearance of the monster on Odo Island, Burr stands his ground while all the Japanese run like hell. Americans are WAY more brave than Japanese!!! It’s sly film trickery and watching the two films back-to-back is pretty amusing.

The set includes interviews with two of the most essential forces on Godzilla‘s filmmaking team: the special effects crew of Koichi Kawakita, Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai. They go over some of the films photographic effects like the seamless use of matte painting and construction of the Godzilla suit. Some of the effects look incredible flimsy and dated (centuries of technology advancement will do that to an older film) but the matte effects remain flawless. Other special features include interviews with actors Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima, interview with composer Akira Ifkube, an interview with Japanese film critic Tadao Sato, and “The Unluckiest Dragon,” a fantastic audio essay describing the tragedy of the fishing vessel Diago Fukuryu Maru, the infamous real-life event that brought radiation awareness to the world and helped inspire Godzilla.

As always, the Criterion’s transfer is painstakingly terrific. As I learned listening to Kalat’s commentary, the film used to shoot Godzilla was extremely soft and fragile, and with all the double shooting they did for the superimposing effects, unfortunately there are some permanent scars that can’t be erased during restoration. However the wizards at Criterion were still able to eradicate thousands of instances of dirt, scratches, etc. I was too late to request a Blu-ray copy for review, but the standard DVD copy I got is crisp as hell.

The Criterion release of Godzilla is an event and destined to be one of the best genre releases of 2012. It should more than satisfy diehard fans and to see how diehard Godzilla fans really are, check out the debate over Criterion’s choice of artwork. It’s also a great crash-course for newcomers to the franchise. Collectors, don’t sleep on this release – available January 24th!

Illustrator and Etsy Shopkeep John Woo (yes, the guy who directed Face/Off. Nah I’m just playing. That’d be cool though) is currently selling limited prints of his totally fantastic series of paintings, He Wears It, where he combines your favorite SciFi characters with the clothing of the high fashion designer who matches them best. After all, who of us doesn’t already associate Darth Vader with the modern tailored suiting of Band of Outsiders, or Jango Fett with the playful trad stylings of Rei Kawakubo’s more colorful Comme des Garcons pieces?

And look at Jar Jar! What’s that jacket, Margiela? Ohh shit, I went there, and instantly regret it. I’ve included some of my favorites, but hop over to the store to see a bunch more (including T-1000, Rambo, and Catwoman in Rick Owens) and if you’re feeling saucy you can even pick one up for yourself.

Via Flavorwire

Though it in itself is often the epitome of a community effort, no aspect of the Star Wars saga was more of a group project than the hulking, wheezing, eternally memorable villain to-end-all villains, Darth Vader. Twas not just one man behind that mask, as I’m sure you know. Whelp, one of the men behind the Sith Lord has passed away.

Bob Anderson, lightsaber fight choreographer for the films, passed away yesterday. Anderson, who was unable to get the massive David Prowse (the man in the suit for most of the films. James Earl Jones’ voice, of course, was only added in in post-production) to do a lot of the fencing maneuvers. So, for the unforgettable duel between Luke and Darth at then end of Empire (among other scenes) that’s Bob Anderson in the black robes wielding the blood red saber. RIP dude, hope you’re hanging with Obi-Wan and Yoda somewhere.

Hey there Battlestar fans. I’m sure you’ve been as frustrated as I have with Ron Moore’s post-Galactica work, whether it be the non-starter Virtuosity, Caprica, or the recent pilot 17th Precinct that never even aired. Now, however, thanks to the internet we have that pilot.

I haven’t actually had a chance to watch it yet (I’m about to) but I wanted to get it up before it is inevitably pulled from the internet. It’s a police procedural with magical elements and stars James Callis, Jamie Bamber, and Tricia Helfer. Let’s hope it doesn’t suck!

It’s been a while since I posted a good Star Wars video. It’s also been a while since I posted the nerdiest thing of all time. This is, like, an electro-dance-cello-made-in-mother’s-basement remix of the Star Wars theme song and it’s incredible. They’ve got everything from force lightning to lightsaber bows. Lightsaber bows! It blows my mind.

I was hesitant about posting this at first, but then at the end when the Sith cellist instructed me to post it using his dark powers there wasn’t much I could do. Those Sith Lords, you gotta love ‘em.

Does that look like the face of someone who could mistakenly wipe out an entire alien race? Apparently so, for 14-year-old Asa Butterfield has been cast as Ender Wiggins in the upcoming adaptation of Ender’s Game, the classic sci-fi novel written by frothing, homophobic lunatic Orson Scott Card. Since its publication in 1985, there’s been a plethora of failed attempts to adapt it for the big screen, but in 2009 Odd Lot Entertainment got the ball rolling and brought on director Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine haha).

For those unfamiliar with Card’s book, Ender’s Game is about a bunch of kids who are sent to a military training academy for geniuses. Despite being a shrimp, Ender Wiggins is the star student. He begins leading his classmates in simulation exercises and mock battles against the Buggers, humanity’s greatest threat. It’s a kickass novel, although I prefer Card’s follow-up, Speaker for the Dead.

Ender’s Game is currently scheduled for a March 2013 release date but you can see Mr. Butterfield do his thing next weekend in Scorsese’s upcoming family film Hugo.

It has come time again for us to look at some art and listen to me discuss it in a slightly pretentious way. So let’s go.

Have you ever thought about what Star Wars characters would look like in the world of Dr. Seuss? Yeah, neither had I, surprisingly. Cartoonist and illustrator Adam Watson clearly did, though. The Seattle-based artist took some of Lucas’ most beloved characters and transformed them into awesome Seuss-esque illustrations. There are great renditions of Yoda, Jabba the Hut, Darth Vader, Obbi Wan Kenobi and a particularly well-done mustached Chewbacca, with some of the illustrations featuring text to further capture the Seuss storybook element.

The characters are all clearly recognizable as themselves but similarly all possess new traits bringing them into the world of Dr. Seuss. With such details as Jabba’s white and yellow, broad-stripe complexion, Han Solo’s yellow footsie pajamas, and Chewie’s mustache, the drawings are all wonderful mergers of the two pop culture staples. Not to mention Watson does a wonderful job of capturing Seuss’ illustration style.

This is the type of contemporary pop art that I love. Watson takes two iconic cultural phenomena and seamlessly merges them into a fun, interesting new product. Unlike the Superhero-inspired (/Hitler) pop art we looked at last time, Watson does not rely on a corny gimmick (i.e. presenting his characters as fetuses) to present his interpretation of pop mythology. It’s one part franchise fusion, one part part satire, and it’s awesome. Check out the rest of Watson’s work here, including illustrations, comics, and one two many jokes in his various bio sections about being “a real-life person,” and have a nice day.

Via Design.org