Christopher de la Torre

Thirty years after Ridley Scott’s Alien wowed critics, frightened the masses and sparked a new horror genre for sci-fi geeks, director Christian Alvart takes moviegoers back to a familiar allegory with a delightful twist that makes for one truly macabre vision of the future.

A scary and atmospheric genre piece, Pandorum flirts with the proposed effects of long term space travel — an idea we all better get used to unless we plan to stick around for the impending fireworks here on Earth.

Five hundred million miles from home, 60,000 passengers aboard a giant spaceship intended to seed a new world have gone missing. It’s up to Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) and Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid) to solve the mystery and save humanity from overpopulation and war before flesh-hungry creatures and the psychological effects of space travel grab a hold of them first.

This latest installation to the classic alien heavy flick is no ordinary slasher-in-space, but instead delves into timely subjects like evolution, primal instinct and competition for dwindling resources, and all but crushes our rose-colored glasses for an ending that’s about as bright as Oceanic flight 815’s paradise crash landing.

As the latest collaborative effort by the producers behind the Resident Evil franchise, Pandorum delivers grade-A creature effects and relentless action amidst scenic backdrops, providing a satisfying reminder of how science fiction once looked without the onslaught of green screens.

Although the mythology surrounding the motion picture is robust enough to warrant a sequel and perhaps even a prequel (think NBC’s Earth 2, but more interesting), story-starved sci-fi fans shouldn’t believe the hype too soon; it might take lame-brained Hollywood executives some time to get over apocalyptic distractions like The Road, The Book of Eli and the latest take on angels-gone-wild, Legion, or look beyond the flashy budget allure of the mammoth blockbuster Avatar to see any real justification for expanding the new-world-colonization sci-fi narrative.

In short, Pandorum is a film for the classic sci-fi lover — ripe with interesting what ifs, compelling characters and special effects driven by the plot. And not vice versa.

Read my review on Edge

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A friend recently asked me if I believed in the Bible. I said, sure why not? It’s not exactly a figment of our collective imagination, is it?

Then I said, what I don’t believe in is man’s interpretation of it. The Bible as a history lesson is rather mammoth, wouldn’t you say? An interesting read, a worthy blueprint for the wholesome life many of us aspire to.

But a terrible curse has surrounded the Book since political forces first usurped its pages for private gain. Now all that perpetuates the teachings, most sadly, is right vs. wrong — a most dangerous and subjective game of “who gets to be the martyr” and for what?

It’s quite simple, actually. We can’t find it in our feeble little brains to be autonomous; to think for ourselves; to find our strength from within. We need tradition to sustain our sense of belonging; to throw us the crutch; to make us feel loved and welcome and worthy.

All the while, forces above aren’t angels but sinners; the robes and wings are suits and wallets and pulpits; and our existence wanes in the wake of fear and hypocrisy. Poor men. Poor women. Poor us.

A message to the world: Live. Love. Breathe. Be strong. Find yourself. Take good care of your neighbor, and when you need it most, your neighbor will take care of you.

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Nothing makes me happier than to hear Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo return Faithless to center court with its massive ‘Sun To Me.’ I caught the Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix (mp3) in Gareth Emery #93 this weekend. Brought me to my knees, just beautiful. I posted the original (set to a stunning unofficial YouTube video) below. I also found a stellar vid for the M.O.R.P.H. remix (scroll to bottom). The new Faithless album is out in 2010.

Another nice piece: ‘Sun To Me’ (Faithless Dub) is available to iTunes customers for free in UK, US, Japan, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Mexico from Tues Dec 15th (today) until Dec 22nd.

Faithless official site

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From the mouths of babes: a sobering look at why one Arkansas 10-year-old refused to pledge allegiance to the flag.

I continue to ask: had we seen “democracy at work” during segregation, much like it is seen now (with defeat after referendum defeat), would the voters at large then have given “liberty and justice” to Blacks? Given the state of racist legacy in this country, it’s a question with an obvious answer.

Denying the LGBT minority social class its fundamental Constitutional right to marry is the new American Segregation. Welcome to progress.

Via CNN: Boy Won’t Pledge Allegiance (video)

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Social networking takes to the streets, social-media-totalitarianism sweeps corporate America, lifelines evaporate amidst exclusivity and traditional email goes extinct; tech explosions, new smartphone pacts and social media addictions. Is this digital Armageddon?

With approximately 70 percent of organizations banning social networks and, simultaneously, sales of smartphones on the rise, it’s likely that employees will seek to feed their social media addictions on their mobile devices.

Dachis Group’s David Armano predicts the turn of the decade in social media.

Via Harvard Business Publishing: Six Social Media Trends for 2010

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Jump down the rabbit hole in this late-September article describing why a political appointee-turned-unpaid blogger was censored over a piece described as “extreme right-wing rhetoric” directed at the President.

Via Media Matters: Newsmax removes, runs away from coup-advocating column

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Via Giant Robot: Post-It Show 4

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Several of my photos of Richard Meier’s Perry West buildings are featured in vs1978’s flickr gallery online. It’s a nice collection. I posted “Rank, File” and “Spire” after the gallery image below. See more of my Perry West photos here.

Rank, File: Richard Meier’s Perry West

Spire: Richard Meier’s Perry West

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Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Amidst a backdrop of wasted landscape and falling ash, McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic tale harshly materializes humanity’s greatest fear of a lawless society governed solely by instinct.

The simplicity and precision of McCarthy’s prose is breathtaking. The story, a gripping narrative about the survival of a species teetering on the edge of self-annihilation, relentlessly carves through the human equation to reveal one man’s ultimate, unwavering love for his offspring.

From The Road:

“He’d carved the boy a flute from a piece of roadside cane…and give it to him… After a while he fell back and after a while the man could hear him playing. A formless music for the age to come. Or perhaps the last music on earth called up from out of the ashes of its ruin” (77).

“He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world… Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe… Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it” (130).

“They are watching for a thing that even death cannot undo and if they do not see it they will turn away from us and they will not come back” (210).

Image via Seamus Heffernan: Because We Carry the Fire

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