Steven Barnes's Blog, page 5
January 14, 2019
“Replicas” (2019)
“Replicas” (2019)
In this woebegotten (is that a word? If not, I just made it up) SF misfire, Keanu Reeves plays a scientist working on a “transfer of consciousness” program for a mysterious biotech firm. He and his family suffer a tragic car accident, and he decides to “save” them by cloning their bodies and…
Well, you know the rest. Every beat telegraphed, plot holes big enough to swallow an IMAX screen, and howler dialogue. (“We cloned people today!”) it isn’t quite bad enough to...
January 12, 2019
Trivial Pursuit
I was at home with my family, chillin’. The telephone rang. It was an old friend from college, Otis, someone I’d not seen much in a couple of years. His voice sounded terrible, stressed to the max.
“I’m homeless, Steve” he said. “I’ve been sleeping in my storage unit, and the facility kicked me out. I need help.”
I drove into Pasadena to pick him up. Otis looked terrible, shamed, frightened. I fed him, and put him up in a transient hotel for a week while I figured out how to help him, eventua...
January 11, 2019
The Still Small Voice…that lies
The person withering in their death bed was a pale shadow of their former self. Once, they had been golden, and brilliant and a magnet for lovers, one of the most respected individuals in their field, living in a magnificent house surrounded by honors and wealth.
I was honored to be considered a friend intimate enough to be there at that critical moment. Elderly now, this amazing human being was drained and tired and felt spent.
“I wonder if anything I’ve done matters” they said. “If I ever d...
January 10, 2019
“The Oath” (2018)
In Ike (“Mad TV”) Barinholz’s savage (and somewhat uneven) comedy (he writes and directs) an extended family Thanksgiving is ripped apart by the varying reactions to a controversial White House policy demanding loyalty above and beyond the call of duty. Funny and frightening, depending on your politics you might have been more comfortable had it been released during a different administration…or you might think it perfect right @#$$ now.
**SPOILER**
There is a scene where the secret poli...
January 9, 2019
“Inception” (2010)
**SPOILERS**
A woman stands on a ledge, ready to jump. Her husband pleads with her to go back inside the hotel room, but she is obsessed with the notion that this is a dream world, and that her only way back to her life is to commit “suicide” and “wake up” back in her “real” life.
The husband watches in horror. There is nothing he can do to stop her when she smiles at him…and jumps to her death. He is overcome with shattering guilt…because HE is the one who gave her the poisonous notion...
January 8, 2019
“Gaslight” (1944)
An emotionally fragile woman marries a dominating husband. Slowly, day by day, she becomes more convinced that there is something wrong. That he has sinister designs. But he is slowly dismantling her belief that her own perceptions are accurate. Day by day, night by night, she begins to lose touch with reality. Question her mind. Is she insane?
She apparently hallucinates. Remembers things that never happened, and forget things that have. If she trusts her husband, she cannot trust her mind....
January 7, 2019
A Shudder Original: “Horror Noire”
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HORROR NOIRE is a 90-minute documentary on black horror, on the SHUDDER horror streaming network starting Feb. 7. (Here’s more info and a link to the trailer: https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2019/01/07/horror-noire-a-history-of-black-horror-documentary?fbclid=IwAR2I0CzspNZVq9lxhULXqDgx6z0WUVcbeVesp1qCUynFfmHjhhTQeQWQ-gU)
My baby Tananarive Due, being famous as is her natural place in the universe, is a co-executive producer and one of the featured interviews. Wonderful. She shines here, as she...
January 6, 2019
The Wisdom of “Road House” (1989)
“Those who are impatient and easily angered, cannot take humiliation. Those who are honorable will find slanderous remarks difficult to accept. These weaknesses are common among commanders. They pose a threat to good strategy. They also cause armies to break up and deaths of generals. Therefore, they are to be avoided.” — Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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I was about twenty years old, working at Desmond’s department store downtown, and taking a bus home. There was a bus going into East L.A. at the s...
January 5, 2019
Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend…One Last Time
I’ve been asked to contribute to a Harlan Ellison “tribute” SF anthology. This is…intimidating.
You see, Harlan was the last of the Great Old Ones I worshipped as a teenager, before I ever sold anything. His clarity of prose and fearlessness of voice were a beacon, and his rock-star personae in public speaking triggered my “I want THAT!!” instincts like no other.
At one point he was the most honored living SF/Fantasist, and in my mind, deserved every bit of that. I never, ever expected to be...
January 4, 2019
At Your Service, M’Lady
A woman is walking down a dark street, simply trying to get home. A large man approaches her and attempts to force her into his car. She flees, panicked, and sees a light ahead of her — an open business.
A karate school. “Help!” she screams. “A man is trying to kidnap me!”
The instructor stands between her and the would-be kidnapper, a lar...
