IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Total Recall

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/totalrecall.mp3] Philip K. Dick is what I would consider a luminary of the genre of science-fiction. He wrote quite a few stories that dealt with concepts like free will, identity and the nature of drug abuse. Somewhere between the adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? that became the sci-fi classic Blade Runner, and… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Total Recall

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Adventures of Robin Hood

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/robinhood.mp3] Long before things like 3-D, CGI, THX and all those other wonderful acronyms came along, films were seen as extensions of the stage. Actors brought their best Shakespearean bombast, sets were designed as you would the sort of staging you’d have to quickly break down in the dark between acts, and directors framed and… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Adventures of Robin Hood

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Departed

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/departed.mp3] Among other things, The Departed hammers home the lesson of not judging a book by its cover. For a long time, I considered Leonardo DiCaprio an actor that got by on looks rather than talent. Mostly this was due to how unimpressed I was by the acting in general in Titanic. That happened in… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Departed

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Grandma's Boy

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/grandmas.mp3] Here’s some free advice for anyone looking to become a critic: be prepared to experience things you don’t like. If you just write up reviews of things you like, you’re a reviewer, not a critic. I know I’ve fallen into this trap, and I’ve touched on it before, in this very series, so I’ve… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Grandma's Boy

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Brokeback Mountain

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/brokeback.mp3] Here’s a fun fact you might not have known about me. I grew up in house full of women. It was my mother and my two sisters, and when I was a young boy my grandmother moved in with us as well. Being surrounded by women, it’s probably no surprised I was exposed to… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Brokeback Mountain

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Dark City

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/darkcity.mp3] In the course of writing this review, things have gone on a lot longer than I thought they would. So I’m not going to waste any more of your time than necessary today, folks. It’s way too nice outside in eastern Pennsylvania, anyway. So, without further adieu, here follows my review of Dark City,… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Dark City

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Ghost in the Shell

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/gits.mp3] Back in the days of the late 80s and early 90s, when the excess of the previous decade were giving way to the ‘edgy’ goth culture that emerged to dominate a lot of the media in the next – The Crow, Spawn, A Nightmare Before Christmas, etc – America was getting its first real… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Ghost in the Shell

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Avatar

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/avatar.mp3] Some of the best stories out there are simple stories that are well-told. A straightforward plot doesn’t necessarily make for a bad escapist experience, if there are elements of that plot that transcend its simplicity. Take District 9, for example. Aliens come to Earth in bad shape and they’re exploited by corporate douchebags. Simple,… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Avatar

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Octagon

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/octagon.mp3] Ninja… I wasn’t sure I was going to be doing this. Reviewing a Chuck Norris film from 1980 involves two problems. One is that diehard fans of the martial arts genre might chalk a lot of the problems with The Octagon up to different standards of production and fight choreography from 30 years ago.… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Octagon