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We live in an age of amazing and groundbreaking technology. Without leaving our houses, we can pretty much life completely as we please. Groceries? We can have those delivered. Don’t wanna cook? Order Up or Eat 24 Hours are good options. Amazon can have pretty much anything under the sun sent to you at a reasonable price. Plus, using the fingerprint tech in your iPhones or computers, you can make most of these transactions in seconds. Not fast enough? You can have all that information saved to your computer for future use.

With more and more of our transactions happening online, things are getting tailored more and more to our own personal preferences? The downside? There’s almost no point in our lives where our moves aren’t being tracked. No, they aren’t necessarily being used for nefarious purposes, but without realizing it, we’ve become complicit in our own invasion of privacy.

Sir John Hurt died a few days ago. One of Great Britain’s finest actors, his rise started with his turn as Robert Rich, a courtier and lawyer in Henry VIII’s court, in Fred Zimmerman’s A Man for All Seasons. The movie, based upon Robert Bolt’s play about the fall of, British Lord Chancellor Thomas More, could be considered a science fiction story as it deals with a perfectly harmonious island society that was nowhere to be found in More’s 16th century – or in the 21st, for that matter.

Sir John, in his long and brilliant career, was no stranger to our brand of cultural pop geekdom. Besides his outstanding turn as the War Doctor on the 50th anniversary special Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor – he recreated the War Doctor on four sets of audio plays for Big Finish; three are already out,...

"Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt are on the verge of war" in the official trailer for Expanse Season 2, premiering February 8th on Syfy.

Previous Press Release:new York – Dec. 31, 2015 – Syfy announced today that it has renewed its critically-acclaimed series The Expanse for a second season. The 13-episode second season from Alcon Television Group is expected to air in early 2017.

"The Expanse is firing on all cylinders creatively, building a passionate fan base among viewers and critics alike, and delivering on Syfy’s promise of smart, provocative science fiction entertainment. We can’t wait to see where the story takes us in season two,” said Dave Howe, President, Syfy and Chiller.

Currently airing on Syfy Tuesdays at 10Pm Et/Pt, The Expanse has garnered strong multiplatform viewership since its December 14 debut, with 4.5 million viewers sampling the first episode on Syfy.com, On Demand and digital outlets prior to the series’ linear premiere,...

Can a single film appeal to all five senses? Movies exist primarily to stimulate the viewer’s sense of sight and (from 1927’s The Jazz Singer onward) sound. There have been various attempts, including Smell-o-Vision and Odorama, to add olfactory sensations to the cinematic experience. And shows like Dinner And A Movie manage to excite the spectator’s taste buds as well. But what about the sense of touch? Aldous Huxley theorized some form of entertainment called “feelies” in his 1932 novel Brave New World, and there was also See You Next Wednesday and its remarkable “Feel-Around” gimmick.

Meanwhile, movies offer a whole range of tactile sensations, as evidenced by a new supercut from Now You See It host Jack Nugent simply entitled “Touch.” The premise could not be more basic. For a minute and a half, movie characters just touch things, including each other. Rings are fondled. Couches ...

Syfy has been talking about turning Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World into a miniseries for over a year now: Back in May 2015, Syfy locked heads with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV to start getting the sci-fi classic on screen. Now, in a move that totally screams “it’s a brave new world!,” Syfy has tapped two white dudes to get the job done. According to The Hollywood Reporter, comics writer Grant Morrison and Crank co-director Brian Taylor are on the job. Dante’s Peak writer Les Bohem was previously attached to direct, but Syfy swapped him out for Morrison and Taylor, who will both write and executive produce the show. As part of the same deal, the network has also commissioned a script for a series based on Morrison’s graphic novel Happy. If picked up, Taylor would likely board as director. Syfy loves these guys!

But back ...

Since Aldous Huxley wrote “Brave New World” in 1931 there have been a significant amount of advancements made in technology and science. While many aren’t as extreme as what he envisioned in his book, it’s amazing to see what has happened in the last 85 years.

The classic novel looks 632 years into the future and anticipates new developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that combine to profoundly change society. The novel’s subject has intrigued many including Syfy and Amblin TV who are developing a TV show based on the book.

Today, the companies, along with Universal Cable Productions, announced that they have signed Grant Morrison (“Batman”) and Brian Taylor (“Crank) to adapt the novel for the screen.

Read More: ‘Incorporated’ Trailer: First Look At Syfy’s Futuristic Thriller From Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

The project was first announced last year and previously had Les Bohem...

Scribe Grant Morrison and Brian Taylor (Crank) have been tapped to adapt Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World for Syfy, Universal Cable Productions and Amblin TV. They will also executive produce, along with Amblin TV’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. Syfy announced last year it was developing the novel for TV. Considered one of the most influential genre classics of all time and named fifth among the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century…...

Syfy has teamed with veteran comic book writer Grant Morrison and “Jonah Hex” writer Brian Taylor for a TV adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s classic novel “Brave New World,” the network announced on Thursday. The project hails from Universal Cable Productions and Amblin Television. Morrison and Taylor will executive produce, along with Amblin Television Co-Presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. The 1931 novel “Brave New World” looks 632 years into the future and anticipates new developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that combine to profoundly change society. Also Read: NBCUniversal Lays Off Staffers at USA Network, Syfy Ucp is also developing “Happy!

If there is one thing that sci-fi movie makers and dystopian authors have proved, it's that a perfectly carefree and self-sustaining utopian society is only possible in the imagination. Such is the message of the movie Equals. Though the setting of this movie is as close to a futuristic utopia as possible, there always exists human-centered tendencies that threaten to override the philosophical thread which holds the utopian ideal together.

The most iconic dystopian exegesis is Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. In this novel, humanity is reduced to a class system of workers who are programmed prior to birth to carry out a specific role in life. The entire system is disrupted when the protagonist Bernard begins to understand that even with programming, every person has a mysterious innate desire to evolve. Equals expands on this narrative to include a specific evolutionary theme.

In Equals, a dimly-lit utopian society...

While the buzz leading up to the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles was mainly surrounding sequels to games like “Dishonored” and “Watch Dogs,” one new title revealed at the Xbox presentation has raised a lot of eyebrows. The game comes to us from Compulsion Studios. It’s called “We Happy Few,” and it looks like a terrifying mix of “Bioshock” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” It takes place in an alternate 1960s England, where the populace has taken a drug called Joy to forget their traumatic memories of World War II, particularly a “Very Bad Thing” that they had to.

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A heads-up for sci-fi fans. BBC Radio 4’s Dangerous Visions season is back for 3 weeks, starting this Sunday the 22nd of May…

Since Buck Rogers hit the airwaves in 1930s America and Orson Welles put the willies up listeners with his chill retelling of The War Of The Worlds, radio has long been a friend to science-fiction.

Happily, BBC Radio 4 continues that fine tradition with a new season of sci-fi programming over the next few weeks, including new commissions as well as dramatisations and readings of work by Aldous Huxley, John Wyndham and Kazuo Ishiguro.

Dangerous Visions, so named for the celebrated 1960s Harlan Ellison-edited sci-fi anthology, returns on Sunday the 22nd of May with Huxley’s Brave New World, with Anton Lesser. Then it’s an invasion classic with a dramatisation of Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes featuring Tamsin Grieg, with versions of William Morris' News From Nowhere,...

Syfy today announced it has greenlit to pilot Krypton, the much-anticipated Superman prequel set two generations before the destruction of the legendary Man of Steel's home planet. Krypton will follow Superman's grandfather, whose House of El was ostracized and shamed - as he fights to redeem his family's honor and save his beloved world from chaos. Krypton will be produced by Warner Horizon Television and is based on characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, published by DC Comics.

Krypton will be executive produced by David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Dark Knight trilogy) through his Phantom Four banner. Damian Kindler (Sleepy Hollow) will serve as executive producer/showrunner; Colm McCarthy (She Who Brings Gifts, Peaky Blinders) is set to direct and co-executive produce the pilot. The pilot teleplay and story is written by David S. Goyer & Ian Goldberg (Once Upon a Time,...

Syfy announced today it has greenlit to series Incorporated, a futuristic thriller from Matt Damon, Ben Affleck & Jennifer Todd's Pearl Street Films, CBS Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions. The 13-episode first season of the new drama series is expected to premiere on Syfy in Fall 2016. Here's what Syfy president Dave Howe had to say in a statement.

"The most powerful science fiction holds up a mirror to our world. Incorporated is exactly that type of smart, provocative series, delivering a fresh, edge of your seat thriller that challenges notions of the world we live in today. We look forward to working with the stellar teams at Pearl Street Films, CBS Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions to bring it to life for Syfy viewers this year."

Set in a near future where corporations have unlimited power, Incorporated centers around Ben Larson (Sean Teale, Reign), a young executive who...

Midverse Studios's mobile game, Penny Dreadful: Demimonde, is currently in development and you can sign up for the beta version is going on now. Universal Cable Productions projects update and exclusive Frank Forte and Asylum Press prints are also featured in this round-up.

Penny Dreadful Mobile Game: Press Release: "Midverse Studios, a Silicon Valley mobile gaming company, announced that it is developing a game based on the Showtime hit TV Series Penny Dreadful. The new game called Penny Dreadful: Demimonde, will allow fans of the show to engage with their favorite characters and content from the series.

The game, under license by CBS Consumer Products, is currently under development and will be launched this fall for mobile phones and tablet devices. Penny Dreadful: Demimonde will be released via the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and Amazon Kindle store, with a Facebook version of the game set to follow.

For better or worse, the Tales From the Darkside TV series reboot isn't moving forward at The CW, but Syfy is still working on bringing new horror anthology goods to the small screen with Channel Zero, a new project from Max Landis and Nick Antosca.

Coined as Channel Zero: Candle Cove, season one of Syfy's in-the-works horror anthology series will be based on a seriously unsettling 2009 creepypasta.com short story titled "Candle Cove."

Antosca, who is also penning the new Friday the 13th movie, is set to write the Channel Zero series with Landis slated to produce and overlook the creative efforts of the show along with Antosca. We have the official press release with full details below, and if you haven't read the "Candle Cove" story (written in faux forum posts style), you can read it by visiting:

http://www.creepypasta.com/candle-cove/

Press Release (via SpoilerTV): "Universal City,...

Syfy is joining with Steven Speilberg’s Amblin Television to adapt Aldous Huxley’s classic 1932 novel Brave New World into a scripted series. The project reunites the Emmy-winning team behind Syfy’s 2003 mini-series Taken.

Ranked fifth among the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century by Modern Library, Brave New World takes place in a world without war, poverty or disease. Though everyone is provided for, humans are given mind-altering drugs, rampant consumerism and free sex are the order of the day, and people no longer procreate. Instead, children are genetically engineered in “hatcheries.” All nonconformists are sent to “reservations” to protect the social order, until one of the “savages” decides to challenge the system.

“Brave New World is one of the most influential genre classics of all time. Its provocative vision of a future gone awry remains as powerful and as timeless as ever,” said Dave Howe, president of Syfy and Chiller.

Just after greenlighting a TV series adaptation of Lev Grossman’s fantasy novel The Magicians, this time SyFy is reaching into the classic library for a new project. Today the network announced they will reteam with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television for a Brave New World TV series, based on Aldous Huxley‘s 1932 dystopian sci-fi classic of […]

The post SyFy & Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Team for ‘Brave New World’ TV Series appeared first on /Film.

Syfy have announced they are reuniting with Emmy Award-winning Amblin Television to develop a scripted series based on Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World. The two companies previously collaborated on Steven Spielberg Presents: Taken, which won a 2003 Emmy for Best Miniseries. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Amblin Television (The Americans, Falling Skies, Under the Dome) will be executive producers. Les Bohem (Steven Spielberg Presents:Taken) will write the screenplay and also executive produce.

Brave New World is set in a world without poverty, war or disease. In this world, humans are given mind-altering drugs, free sex and rampant consumerism are the order of the day, and people no longer reproduce but are genetically engineered in “hatcheries.” Those who won’t conform are forced onto “reservations” – until one of these “savages” challenges the system, threatening the entire social order. First published in 1932, Brave New World was ranked fifth among...

Adding to its growing roster of major productions featuring science fiction's most acclaimed franchises, Syfy is reuniting with Emmy Award-winning Amblin Television to develop a scripted series based on Aldous Huxley's classic novel Brave New World. Syfy and Amblin previously collaborated on Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, which won a 2003 Emmy for Best Miniseries, as well as nominations in six other categories. Here's what Dave Howe, President, Syfy & Chiller, had to say in a statement.

"Brave New World is one of the most influential genre classics of all time. Its provocative vision of a future gone awry remains as powerful and as timeless as ever. Promising to be a monumental television event, Brave New World is precisely the groundbreaking programming that is becoming the hallmark of Syfy."

Brave New World is set in a world without poverty, war or disease. In this world, humans are given mind-altering drugs, free sex...

Fresh off the news that The Magicians will go into production, Syfy now decides that it’s time to take on one of the godfathers of all sci-fi, Brave New World.

While some might wonder how that’s going to go, and if it’s actually a spectacular idea, adding Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television to the mix should put off some of the fears associated with the obvious dangers of potentially butchering one of the best books ever.

Given the slate of shows Syfy already has, and the upcoming efforts we’ve learned about recently, the network is looking to be in a very different place a year from now.

Take a look at the full press release below, and let me know what you think about this one. Is this going to be your next favorite show, or is it going to be impossible to live up to the book?...

A Brave New World is hatching at Syfy.

The cable net is adapting Aldous Huxley’s iconic 1932 novel as a scripted series, produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television.

RelatedSyfy Orders The Magicians to Series

Brave New World — if you’ll recall from your high school English lit class — is set in a world without poverty, war or disease. In this world, humans are given mind-altering drugs, free sex and rampant consumerism are the order of the day, and people no longer reproduce but are genetically engineered in “hatcheries.” Those who won’t conform are forced onto “reservations” – until one...

TV news: Steven Spielberg’s Amblin and Syfy Bring ‘Brave New World’ December 2015Syfy is reuniting with Emmy Award-winning Amblin Television to develop a scripted series based on Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World. Together they previously collaborated on Steven Spielberg Presents: Taken, which won a 2003 Emmy® for Best Miniseries, as well as nominations in six other categories. Brave New World is set in a world without poverty, war or disease. In this world, humans are given mind-altering drugs, free sex and rampant consumerism are the order of the day, and people no longer reproduce but are genetically engineered […]...

Syfy and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV are partnering to develop a scripted series based on Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World. The book is set in a world without poverty, war or disease. In this world, humans are given mind-altering drugs, free sex and rampant consumerism are the order of the day and people no longer reproduce but are genetically engineered in "hatcheries." Those who won't conform are forced onto "reservations" – until one of these "savages"…...

Sci-fi classic Brave New World is one of those stories that Hollywood will keep trying to nail for years to come, and today brings word that the latest swing at Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel will come courtesy of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, which is adapting the book into a series for Syfy.

Huxley’s book centers on a world that has achieved what many believe to be utopia, without poverty, war or disease. Human reproduction is a thing of the past, with people being genetically engineered in “hatcheries.” Mind-altering drugs, sex and consumerist practices are the numerous numbing agents provided to the population so that they never question the larger issues of a society that requires conformity, until one defiant individual challenges the entire system.

Leslie “Les” Bohem, the screenwriter behind Syfy’s 2002 miniseries Taken, will pen the script. His involvement suggests that Amblin TV and Syfy see Brave New World...

Syfy is digging into classic science fiction for its next series. Steven Spielberg‘s Amblin Television is developing a series based on Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” for the cable network, TheWrap has learned. Les Bohem will adapt the seminal novel first published in 1932, set in a futuristic, seemingly perfect society. Things begin to crumble when an outsider, residing on a “reservation,” rebels against the system. Amblin TV co-presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will executive produce alongside Bohem on the Universal Cable Productions project. Also Read: 25 of TV's Most Powerful Leading Ladies (Photos) “Brave New World is one of the most.

The Emmy-winning team behind Syfy's Taken is reuniting for another science fiction classic. Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television is adapting Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World as a scripted series for the NBCUniversal-owned cable network, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Brave New World — ranked fifth among the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century by Modern Library — is set in a world without poverty, war or disease. Humans are given mind-altering drugs, free sex and rampant consumerism are the order of the day, and people no longer reproduce but are genetically engineered in "hatcheries.

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The team behind Syfy's "Taken" mini-series is planning a TV adaptation of Aldous Huxley's famed 1932 sci-fi novel classic "Brave New World".

The story is set in a world without poverty, war or disease. Humans are given mind-altering drugs, free sex and rampant consumerism are the order of the day, and people no longer reproduce but are genetically engineered in "hatcheries."

Those who won’t conform are forced onto "reservations," until one of the "savages" challenges the system, threatening the entire social order. Les Bohem will adapt the book for television.

In a statement, Syfy president Dave Howe says: "Brave New World is one of the most influential genre classics of all time. Its provocative vision of a future gone awry remains as powerful and as timeless as ever. Promising to be a monumental television event, Brave New World is precisely the groundbreaking programming that is becoming the hallmark of Syfy.

Recently, Sound On Sight had the opportunity to talk with We Happy Few designer Guillaume Provost. Provost works for Compulsion Games whose previous work includes the 2013 title, Contrast, which was a launch title for the Playstation 4. Compulsion Games has recently unveiled We Happy Few, so in addition to talking with Provost, we got our hands-on the Alpha build of the new title.

Unfairly, initial impressions of We Happy Few will lead gamers to think that Compulsion is following in the path of the mega-hit Bioshock, but We Happy Few is a very different game. In fact, its a total deviation from their original title as well, now focusing on a first-person game that’s described as a rogue-like urban survival title. Compulsion actually drew more inspiration from Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, as opposed to any other sources.

From the very first moments in We Happy Few, players...

Ridley Scott sure is picky for a director who has directed so many movies. While famous for creating such visual feasts as "Alien," "Blade Runner," "Thelma & Louise," "Gladiator" and "Black Hawk Dawn," Scott has seemingly exited as many projects as he's seen through. "Blade Runner 2" is merely the latest "will-he-or-won't-he?" moment in his career. Recently, Scott dropped some hints about the long-delayed sequel to the 1982 film, but said he wouldn't be sitting in the director's chair. Now, he's backtracking, telling Yahoo, "I don’t know about [not directing 'Blade Runner 2'] yet." He added that the sequel could be his "most personal" film, and that the present script is "very, very good." It's certainly not the first time Scott has been ambiguous about taking on a directing gig. Here are some of the more interesting projects he never made: "I Am Legend" Scott got pretty far along on the pre-poduction process of the Richard Matheson adaptation in the '90s,...

Review Sarah Dobbs 21 Mar 2014 - 11:33

Another young adult novel - Divergent - makes its way to cinemas, but do we really need to worry about another bizarre dystopian future?

What were you like when you were 16? Most of us, if we’re honest, were probably pretty horrible as teenagers. We thought we knew better than our parents and teachers, but at the same time, we were terrified we didn’t know anything at all. We thought we were invincible, while being scared of all sorts of unknown things. It’s an awkward in-between kind of age, because you’re not really a child any more, but you’re still a long way off being an adult. So being forced to make a massive decision that will completely define the rest of your life at that age seems pretty mean. But that’s how the dystopian, post-apocalyptic world of Divergent arranges itself,...

Part heart-wrenching, part strangely uplifting, 2013 was a unique year for intelligent and affecting films about love. From an unlikely Palme d’Or winner to one of the best reviewed sequels ever, this past year delivered a handful of films that stand out not only for their honest and well-rounded depictions of romantic love, but also for their calculated aesthetics.

Every year, the cinema provides countless stories about love – this point is obvious. In no way am I suggesting 2013 was any different, what I’m suggesting is that, for me, there were more than a couple – six, to be exact – that were not only insightful, but also expertly made. And I’m not talking about your standard cliché-ridden romantic comedies. I’m referring to auteur-driven works of art; films, formally brilliant, yet also emotionally and intellectually stimulating – or in other words, real cinema. The kind of stuff that requires you to leave the couch,...

Odd List Ryan Lambie 20 Nov 2013 - 06:57

The constantly busy Ridley Scott always has lots of potential films in production, so here's a look at what he might be up to next...

Since his debut in 1977 with the historical drama, The Duellists, director Ridley Scott has gradually built up an eclectic body of work. His Hollywood career began with the stunning one-two sci-fi punch of Alien and Blade Runner, before heading off into fantasy (Legend), thrillers (Someone To Watch Over Me, Black Rain) and road-trip drama (the Oscar-winning Thelma And Louise).

As James Clayton pointed out in his recent Friday column, the 70-something Sir Ridley shows no sign of slowing down, and if anything, his slate of forthcoming films is somewhat bewildering - in what seems like every other interview, the director will mention another project of one sort or another, which makes working out what he's likely to be...

Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 7 Nov 2013 - 07:02

Our journey through the half-remembered, underappreciated films of the 1990s continues. Here, we look to 1997...

Dominated by the box office behemoth that was James Cameron's Titanic, 1997 was a year of high drama and outlandish special effects. The Lost World: Jurassic Park brought with it a new batch of genetically revived dinosaurs, George Lucas dug his original Star Wars trilogy out of the cupboard and added new (controversial) computer-generated sequences, while Nicolas Cage and John Travolta did impressions of one another and fired guns in John Woo's delirious action movie, Face/Off.

It was a varied year for movies, for sure, particularly by 21st century standards; it's difficult to imagine a British feel-good comedy about amateur male strippers (The Full Monty) getting into the year's 10 highest grossing films these days. But among all those winners, there had to be some...

Follow-up to much-hyped sci-fi blockbuster now finished, according to director of original film

• Prometheus: ten key questions

• Video: Ridley Scott and Noomi Rapace on Prometheus: 'There may be many out there'

The screenplay for Ridley Scott's sequel to science fiction thriller Prometheus has been completed, the British film-maker has told Empire magazine.

Scott, 75, said the script by Jack Paglen was finished and described his return to science fiction on the 2012 film as a "great experience". "Prometheus 2 is written," he said. "I have already got the next two films ready to go. That will be 2014, 2015."

"I thought I'd left science-fiction for too long, that I had better climb back in. Prometheus was a great experience for me. Chasing number two, we can start evolving the grand idea."

Prometheus, which starred Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba, centred on the human crew of a spaceship...

Feature Ryan Lambie 22 Jul 2013 - 07:09

Was Man Of Steel influenced by John Carter, Dune and fascist art? We examine the design of the summer's most elaborate-looking film...

Note: this article contains spoilers for Man Of Steel.

When word got round that a big-screen reboot of Superman was in the offing, the natural question was, how would Warner differentiate what would become Man Of Steel from Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns - a movie sometimes criticised for its reliance on evoking fond memories of the 70s and 80s Christopher Reeve movies.

The answer, it seems, was to emphasise the science fiction angle of the Superman story. This was an aspect only lightly touched on in the 1978 film, which instead evoked a sense of fantastical, almost biblical awe. While the religious symbolism remains in Man Of Steel - and is used particularly strongly in some shots, with Kal-El’s arms spread...

Continuing over from yesterday’s recommendation for a Sci-Fi book that should be adapted:

The book: Brave New World

Synopsis:

Far in the future, the World Controllers have finally created the ideal society. In laboratories worldwide, genetic science has brought the human race to perfection. From the Alpha-Plus mandarin class to the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Morons, designed to perform menial tasks, man is bred and educated to be blissfully content with his pre-destined role.

But, in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, Bernard Marx is unhappy. Harbouring an unnatural desire for solitude, feeling only distaste for the endless pleasures of compulsory promiscuity, Bernard has an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress…

A fantasy of the future that sheds a blazing critical light on the present–considered to be...

Feature Ryan Lambie 15 Apr 2013 - 06:03

Is Oblivion as empty as its harsher critics suggest, or is there something more subversive within it? Here's Ryan's spoiler-filled view...

Note: this article contains spoilers from Oblivion from the outset.

Reviews for Oblivion have ranged from enthusiastic to dismissive so far, with some critics expressing a surprising amount of outright irritation towards Joseph Kosinski’s latest film. Lifeless, derivative and lugubrious have been a few of the words used to describe it, while movies including Wall-e, Moon and 2001: A Space Odyssey have been repeatedly cited as Oblivion’s manifold points of reference.

Without getting too far into an impassioned defence of Kosinski’s film (for what it’s worth, you can read this site’s verdict on Oblivion here), it does seem as though the accusations that Oblivion is an exercise in style over substance may be slightly wide of the mark.

In a key scene in Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World,” the Director – manager of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre (for humans) -- is revealed, before a roomful of people, to be the father of the story’s hero, John the Savage. The word alone is enough to reduce the crowd of people to tears:“’Father’ was not so much obscene as … merely gross, a scatological rather than a pornographic impropriety; the comically smutty word relieved what had become a quite intolerable tension. Laughter broke out, enormous, almost hysterical, peal after peal, as though it would never stop…” Clearly, the folk behind the Quebecois comedy “Starbuck” are hoping for a similar reaction when their film opens here Friday. It’s hero –ne’er-do-well Montreal meat delivery man David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) -- learns to his dismay that the 648 sperm bank donations he made in the ‘80s – at...

“The year is 2018. There are no wars. There is no crime. There is only…the Game. In a world where ruthless corporations reign supreme, this vicious and barbaric ‘sport’ is the only outlet for the pent-up anger and frustrations of the masses. Tuned into their televisions, the people watch ‘Rollerball’: a brutal mutation of football, motor-cross and hockey. Jonathan E is the champion player – a man too talented for his own good…the diabolical head tells him he’d better retire…or suffer the old fashioned way.”(Courtesy of MGM – Rollerball: Special Edition.)

An often overlooked classic, this is a wonderful tale of a dystopic Orwellian future that anticipates the dissolution of nations; the dominance of corporations and the rise of a capitalist super-state; the loss free-will and the abolition of the individual. A brilliant piece that references history yet remains contemporary and very relevant in current society.

“Nations are bankrupt,...

Doomsday Book

Written and directed by Jee-woon Kim and Pil-Sung Yim

South Korea, 2012

H.G. Wells, a godfather of modern apocalyptic literature, once said that, “all this world is heavy with the promise of greater things, and a day will come, one day in the unending succession of days, when beings who are not latent in our thoughts and hidden in our loins shall stand upon this earth as one stands upon a foot-stool and shall laugh and reach their hands amidst the stars”.

Decades later and continents away, Jee-woon Kim and Pil-Sung Yim’s Doomsday Book, an anthology of apocalyptic possibilities, channels the ethos of Wells’ work in a distinctly Korean endeavour. Broken into three disparate parts, the film is at times silly and farcical, and at others profound and insightful.

The film kicks off with a segment called A Brave New World, as in the Aldous Huxley novel of the same name.

The following is an introduction to a new edition of Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange" [W.W. Norton, $24.95] written by Andrew Biswell. The piece sheds light on the enduring legacy of the novel, and the various dystopian works that influenced Burgess's writing. Biswell also discusses Burgess's (often clever) responses to the novel's adaptation, and ideas for adaptations that never came to fruition:

In 1994, less than a year after Anthony Burgess had died at the age of seventy-six, BBC Scotland commissioned the novelist William Boyd to write a radio play in celebration of his life and work. This was broadcast during the Edinburgh Festival on 21 August 1994, along with a concert performance of Burgess’s music and a recording of his Glasgow Overture. The programme was called "An Airful of Burgess," with the actor John Sessions playing the parts of both Burgess and his fictional alter ego, the poet F. X. Enderby. On the same day,...

Ryan Lambie Nov 20, 2016

On this day in 1996, Sly Stallone's John Spartan was frozen in the action flick, Demolition Man. We take a timely look back...

Outside the crowd-pleasing safety of the Rocky and Rambo franchises, Sylvester Stallone’s career has seen mixed fortunes. Some of his movies were entertaining, but didn’t make huge amounts of money (such as 1981’s Nighthawks), while others were either critical or financial calamities – Stallone’s ill-advised forays into comedy, Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot spring to mind.

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In fact, Stallone’s entire career is studded with alternating hits and misses; 1987 arm-wrestling drama Over The Top under-performed, but Rambo III came out the following year...

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared we would become a captive audience. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared that we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure.

Demolition Man

Directed by Marco Brambilla

Written by Daniel Waters, Robert Reneau and Peter M. Lenkov

USA, 1993

When Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931, he wanted to warn the present of an impending dystopia. Filled with ignorance, ostentation, and a blatant disregard for humanity, Huxley foresaw the future as being grim, and if he ever lived to see Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man, he surely would’ve felt vindicated, if not prophetic.

Loud, kitsch, and surprisingly empty, Demolition Man aimed to use Brave New World as a foundation for its statement against executive abuses of power, but instead, it destroys Aldous Huxley’s magnum opus by becoming the exact thing it warned of.

Set in 1996, Sergeant John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) is one of Los Angeles’ most prolific and notorious cops. Dubbed the ‘Demolition Man’, Spartan is renown for getting the job done, and causing a fiery cataclysm while doing so.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg has joined the tributes to sci-fi author Ray Bradbury, who died on Monday (June 5) at the age of 91.

Spielberg said in a statement issued today: "He was my muse for the better part of my sci-fi career. He lives on through his legion of fans. In the world of science fiction and fantasy and imagination he is immortal."

In 2003, Bradbury said Spielberg's 1977 release Close Encounters of the Third Kind was "the best film of its kind ever made." He later visited the director, who told him the movie had been inspired by 1953 sci-fi classic It Came From Outer Space, which was adapted from a Bradbury story.

Among other tributes, Stephen King said: "The sound I hear today is the thunder of a giant's footsteps fading away. But the novels and stories remain, in all their resonance and strange beauty."

Writer Mark Gatiss described Bradbury as "a dazzling,...

Author and screenwriter Ray Bradbury passed away last night at the age of 91, and he’ll be missed for a whole lot more than just those books on your high school reading list. Today, as you head into the theaters to see The Hunger Games and Prometheus, stroll down you bookstore aisle to pick up the latest hot dystopian Ya novel, or flip on your ginormous flat-screen TV, you owe something to Bradbury. As much as we refer to George Orwell’s Big Brother of 1984, rail against the dangers of Aldous Huxley‘s Brave New World and conjure up nightmares of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, those book-burning “firefighters” of Fahrenheit 451 strikes fear into the hearts of many a reader and writer. His sci-fi writing (in short stories, The Ray Bradbury Theater TV show, and elsewhere), has also inspired many too follow in his imaginative footsteps. Granted...

Even if he wasn’t a gentleman at the age of 74, Ridley Scott would make most other filmmakers look like lazy slobs. It’s enough that the massive extravaganza known as Prometheus started its theatrical run today (albeit overseas), but the past three or four months have also seen the quick, promising development of The Counselor, which itself took sudden precedence over massive efforts like Monopoly and Blade Runner 2.

It’s still not enough! Whilst conducting an interview in promotion of his newest film, Scott told Collider that, ideally, one of his next turns behind a camera would be a western. Here were his brief, vague comments on the matter:

“I want to do a western really badly and I think I’ve got a western this morning, finally after two and a half years of talking and writing and talking and… I think I have it, which is kind of interesting.

It’s spring, that magical time of year when the flowers bloom, birds sing, and school libraries publish the list of books most frequently banned or attempted to be banned.

This year’s list is a mixture of new best sellers and timeless classics. You’ve got your Hunger Games, your To Kill a Mockingbird, your Brave New World and your Gossip Girl. There is a guide that explains to kids about what happens to mom when she is pregnant, and the reason it’s listed is because it is “sexually explicit.”

Look, I understand that most school libraries have limited budgets and limited shelf space. They can’t stock every book in the world. Someone has to make decisions about what gets purchased and where it gets shelved.

The problem is who gets to decide.

I’ve been the mother of a first-grader, and if there arose a ridiculously...

"John Carter" is coming. You can't escape him. This Confederate soldier turned Western outlaw turned world explorer turned interplanetary warrior (and lover, reowwwr!) is the most discussed fanboy movie since "Avatar."

Even my old man peeked his head out from behind his copy of "The Wall Street Journal" to ask if Disney was gonna lose their shirt on this picture. Then I fetched him his pipe and slippers and waited for Mother to finish braising the roast.

A lot of weisenheimers have taken it upon themselves to beat their social media chests over how derivative the movie looks. "Haven't I already seen 'Attack of the Clones/Avatar/Flash Gordon/Stargate/Planet Hulk'?" some of these douchenozzles have been musing. (Hey, fellas, they're called Tharks, not Snarks!)

As a reaction to this, many righteous among the nations have loudly rebuked them, proudly pointing out that "John Carter" is a...

With Andrew Niccol's In Time out on Blu-ray and DVD today, Ryan takes a look at this unusual dystopian sci-fi…

Big Brother. Newspeak. Doublethink. Room 101. It’s impossible to overestimate the influence of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, which for many is the definitive dystopian sci-fi novel. It established terms that have seeped into our everyday language, and its plot still inspires the writers of novels and movies.

Written in the final years of Orwell’s life, Nineteen Eighty-Four is shot through with an almost ferocious urgency – the oppression of its future state, and the way it utterly crushes the will of protagonist Winston Smith is reflected in the violence of the book’s language. It’s a little wonder that lines like “Imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever” are still so familiar to us – the images they conjure up are simply too aggressive to forget.