Michael Formichelli's Blog: Nero's Niche, page 4

I'm Finally Doing It

Eye of Daedalus by Michael Lam
©2015 Michael FormichelliAfter many years and requests, I'm finally taking the plunge and working on an audio book version of Blood Siren. If it does well, the rest of the series will follow...

Speaking of which, I continue to edit book 4. I know I'm starting to slip into George RR Martin territory, and for that I apologize. The draft of book 4 I thought was going to go to print wound up needing more edits, and those changed the plot and the ending, so I went back and am rewriting parts and re-editing others.
It's coming, I promise.
So, back to the good news- I'll announce when Blood Siren gets recorded, hopefully soon!

Sci-Fi Movies of 2018 Part 1

I'm late this year, but here it is!

This is a crowded year for sci-fi, I'm happy to report. Below is the list of sci-fi films coming out this year, though it is by no means complete. For the sake of brevity I've left off some of the more quirky/indie ones, but encourage a brief Google search to find out what else is out there. Also, if I missed something you're looking forward to, let me know in the comments!


January

1/26/18
The Maze Runner: The Death Cure

My wife and I saw the first one of these in the theater long ago. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I was entertained for a chunk of it. I didn't watch "the Scortch" so I won't be catching this one, at least not in the theater.

February
2/16/18
Black Panther
Yeah, I'll be seeing this. I'm excited. It looks amazing!

2/23/18
Pacific Rim Uprising

So I have a "suspension of disbelief" issue with giant robots in full gravity. It's why I didn't watch Pacific Rim (though I love the music). I'll not likely see this one either, but people loved the first so it's probably worth a look if you're into this sort of thing.
Annihilation

I will take a miss on this one, only because the book is on my reading list and I don't want to spoil it.

March
3/9/18
A Wrinkle in Time

This movie is jam-packed with stars. Wow. I loved the book as a kid. I may just have to check this out.

3/16/18
Tomb Raider

To my own embarrassment, I haven't finished the game this movie is inspired by. Hmm. The movie does look cool, though (and the game is good.)

3/30/18
Ready Player One
My wife read the book and loved it. I haven't yet. Not sure if I'll watch this first or read it first.

April
4/20/18
Rampage
Loved the game as a kid. Not sure the movie is going to be... ah... I'll leave it at that.

May
5/4/18
Avengers Infinity War
Yes. Just, yes.

5/18/18
Deadpool 2
Again. Yes, please. Thank you for making this!

June
6/5/18
The Predator
(No Trailer Available)
It's a reboot by a guy who was in the first one. I'm a die-hard fan, even of the bad movies. I'll see it.

6/15/18
Replicas
This looks utterly cool, and utterly creepy. I will check it out.

6/22/18
Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom
Yup, gotta see it for tradition's sake- also, I did like Jurassic World.


And that's it for the first half of the year. I'll do pat 2 soon!

PS- SOme of you may be wondering where my review of the Last Jedi is... Well, I was disturbed by it, and I'm still thinking on how to put that into a post. It may come later...

Running A Modern Blade

A while back I went to see Blade Runner 2049. In the week leading up to the release my wife and I sat down to watch the 80's classic (she hadn't seen it yet). It's a great movie, deeply philosophical with a steady but somewhat slow pace by today's standards. With the watch complete, and my wife's approval of the film, we went ahead to 2049.

Blade Runner 2049 did a great job of replicating the tone and setting. Like the one before it, this Blade Runner is deeply philosophical and asks some important questions about our future AI children. The scenery was beautiful, and Ryan Gosling was a thoroughly convincing replicant (not a spoiler). Despite this I felt a little let down. My wife liked the movie, so I'm not really sure why. Perhaps it was the duplication of the pace despite being a longer movie. Strangely, the more I think about it the more I think I liked the movie in retrospect. I'm willing to bet my opinion will improve with a second viewing as it grows in my consciousness.
The final verdict? It's a must see for the serious sci-fi fan, but don't expect an action movie going in.

Deep Hydra Part 1: Edits Completed

The Eye of Daedalus
by Michael Lam ©2016It's been a long time coming, but at last I've finished the edits for part 1 of 3 for Deep Hydra.

I'm feeling somewhat good about this, though I still have some guilt over missing last year's date for publishing it. As most authors in this position say, it's going to be better for the wait. Yes, definitely (I know from my wife's reaction to draft 1...) I've tried to be responsive to some of the feedback I've gotten and I think Deep Hydra will reflect that. I also think that the move and the surgery I had this year have given enough of a delay to give me more perspective on my writing. The changes to the book will not just include grammar fixes, but some plot changes as well that I think will make the overall book better.

So when is it coming out? Well, that's the catch. Rewriting part 1 means parts 2 and 3 have to change. In some cases, I'm going to have to totally rewrite plot arcs, and basically all of part 3 is going to be different... but better! But that does mean the book is going to be a while coming. not going to put a date on it right now, but I will as soon as I have an idea. Probably not till 2018 though...

I'm rambling a bit, maybe now, but what I'm trying to say here is that I'm sorry for the delay and that when book 4 finally does come out, I think it'll be a much better read than it would have been otherwise.

Take care and be well to all, and hope you're watching the Orville! (It's great), and supporting Dark Matter as it  tries to find a new home! (Tweet @netflix to pick it up!)

Work Back In Progress

This is not the time to get back into working on Deep Hydra.
I've got a lot going on in my personal life, and among it all is a need to start packing up my life in preparation for its next phase—a move to a bigger and better place. There are a million things to do, so much stuff to buy it's making me dizzy, and oh yeah, there's nothing like a move to remind you how out of shape you are. Still, Nero's adventures are calling to me. There are ideas, brewing beneath the surface of the chaos.
I'll get back to it after the move. I really have no choice. Things must be boxed, things must be transported, and I've got to write these ideas down that are hammering against the inside of my head.

Return to the Badlands

Last night, thanks to my trusty DVR/cable box, I got caught up on AMC's Into the Badlands. Into the Badlands is a martial arts drama done in the classic Hong Kong Cinema style, complete with chi magic and flying martial artists gifted with an inhuman ability to endure grievous wounds. Overall it is a bit cheesy, but quite fun to watch if you suspend your disbelief, but there is one thing that is bothering me to no end...

The last episode featured, as usual, quite a bit of bloody combat. I was happily enjoying the show right up until I saw the first sheathing of a blood-covered blade.

For a show whose choreographers pay so much attention to making the action look fast and real (unlike Neflix's Iron Fist) I was shocked to see a lack of good weapon-hygiene. I was trained in the Japanese style of swordsmanship, but even putting the cultural cleanliness obsession aside, it is my understanding that one never sheaths a bloody sword.

I'm no chemistry or metallurgy expert, but I've heard the number-one reason is that blood, being a liquid containing both oxygen and water, will rust the steel faster than you can say "Holy-rusty weapon, Batman." (1)This, of course, will weaken the blade and dull its edge, thus ensuring that your opponents have an advantage over you in your next life-or-death conflict.
[Granted, stainless-steel doesn't necessarily have this problem, but stainless steel sacrifices the flexibility of carbon-steel for hardness, and as a consequence is brittle (2). Weapon-grade steels need to be flexible, so they can vibrate with impact instead of snapping, but they are subject to rust, which is why keeping them oiled is so important.]

The second reason I've heard is that as blood dries it gets sticky and can glue the sword into the scabbard, again handing your opponent a victory as you struggle to get the blade out of its sheath.

Third and finally, sheathing a bloody blade is just plain disrespectful to the weapon that is keeping you alive (again, the culture I learned in, but I'm guessing this practice extends far afield). In the world of Into the Badlands, there are no guns (which is the one thing that grates on me as it is post-apocalyptic), and the Badlands are subject to the rule of the strong. As such, you'd expect to see every high-level martial artist taking meticulous care of their weapons. Seeing the opposite seems even more unrealistic to me than the floating kicks and flying martial artists.

Still, as a fan of the old Hong Kong cinematic style, it is fun to see something done in that tradition and updated for modern times. I'm looking forward to the next, but I'll still cringe every time I see a blood-drenched weapon going into a scabbard.


Citations:
(1) Sword Buyer's Guide http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/wip...
      https://sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/th...
(2) Sword Steels 101 -http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/swo...

A Casual Update

I seem to be averaging a month between posts lately, and I'm starting to feel like I should've made my New Year's Resolution to cut that down to 1-2 weeks at most. There's sort of a strange guilt that's setting in about this. I know I'm busy, and therefore my time to actually blog is shorter, but still I feel like I'm shirking responsibility, like I've got an assignment due and I haven't even started it yet or something.

Life's weird.

So I thought I should do an update today.

So, where's that book I promised? (As might as well start here.)

It's still being revised. Yeah, I know, I'm taking a lot longer now than before... much longer. Well, the truth is that I've got a daunting task ahead of me with this. I need to rework how I get to where. I tried a few things with this last one that don't seem to work, so I'm going to have to rewrite some large segments and maybe even change the ending. That's taking time, and for that you have my sincere apologies. I'm not going to forget about it, but it'll be some time yet.

In the meanwhile...

I've been getting back into fantasy (if you read this blog you'll know why.) I'm looking for fantasy book recommendations, I mean stuff that takes place no later than the equivalent of the 18th century. I'm looking for dragons and magic and swordplay, maybe even some flint and wheel-lock gun stuff if there's magic to go with them, etc. What's out there in this genre? Let me know!

Returning to an Old Custom

Photo by Michael FormichelliRole-Playing Games, RPG's, probably saved my sanity and my social life when I was a kid. My oldest and best friends all come from the circle that started in junior high school with a table, some papers, books, and dice. Thinking about those days always puts a thick cloak of nostalgia around me and warms my insides.

For the first time in a long time, maybe 10 years or more, I find myself running a D&D campaign. I've been a role-player for a very long time now. I founded my high school's RPG club, and I think I've been table-top RPG'ing since I was about 13—I might have been younger, now that I think about it. In any case, I'm surprised at how good it feels to be doing this.

Steeped in Sci-Fi as I have been for many years, it feels a bit novel to be coming back to high fantasy-style storytelling. I put it that way because that's what destinguishes tabletop RPG's from their video game counterparts, they are group storytelling with a set of rules and some randomness thrown in (the dice). I went out about three weeks ago and bought up 5th Edition D&D (I started on 1st or 2nd, 2nd I think...) and my wife picked out her first set of dice. Watching her buy them put a big, silly grin on my face. It's a great feeling to have her joining a culture that is so important to me.

We've had several games since, and I'm happy to report things are going swimmingly. I'm very much looking forward to our next game this weekend, where once again a group of friends will meet to tell a story.

Sci-Fi Movies of 2017!

Greetings all!
I know I'm late with this, my apologies without excuses. Here's my list curated from around the 'net. I usually do this in two posts, but the number of films this year didn't seem to warrant it. I'm hoping that means there will be quality over quantity this year, but time will tell.

Without further preamble, here we go.


January:

1/6 Underworld: Blood Wars (Kate Beckinsale, Theo James)

Okay, this one is already out, but I'm including it because I'm late with this post, and I'm also a completest. (Also, no, I haven't seen it).



1/27 Resident Evil (Mila Jovovich, Ruby Rose)

Despite a strong aversion to zombies, I actually enjoyed the first of these films. They seemed to go a bit downhill, though. Maybe this one will bring it back.



February:

2/3 - The Space Between Us (Britt Robertson, Janet Montgomery)

Not gonna lie. This one looks awful. "He's been raised by scientists..." Yeah, so are a lot of people. Why is this special? I'd think you'd want to stress the fact that he was raised on Mars without other children, that seems much more important. Why don't you mention that first? /sigh.



March:

3/10 - Kong: Skull Island (Tom Hiddelston, Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson)

I love me a good monster flick, probably the Godzilla influence from my childhood. Will this be one of them? Maybe.



3/24- Power Rangers (Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks)

I was never a fan of this series in the 90's. I think I would have been if I'd been a bit younger when it hit, though. This is an interesting take. Even with my lack of knowledge of the series I can tell they've changed quite a bit.


3/24 - Life (Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hiroyuki Sanada)

I'm torn on this one. It looks interesting, I like the actors, but then and again I think the "we discover a dangerous alien life form that kills everyone" thing is played out (also, the new Aliens movie is coming this year, so it's kind of redundant). Still, I could be wrong.



3/31- Ghost in the Shell (Scarlett Johansson)


April:

4/28 - The Circle (Emma Watson, Tom Hanks)

Near future distopia is the best way to describe what this looks like to me. Also, scary, because it could really happen.



May:

5/5 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana)

Of all of the sci-fi movies in 2017, I think I'm looking forward to this one the most (before Star Wars. After 5/5, it'll be Star Wars). The first one was brilliant, and the trailer has me laughing already.


5/19 - Alien Covenant (Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston)

I admit it, I'm a little disappointed that this isn't Prometheus 2. It looks like it's going to pick up the story, maybe, but I wanted more Engineers, not just Xenomorphs.


June:

6/2- Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot, Chris Pine)

I found Batman v Superman unwatchable. It doesn't give me confidence for this film, but at least there's a different director.



6/23 - Transformers the Last Knight (Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins)

I loved the toys, the recent movies not as much. To each their own.



July:

7/7- Spiderman Homecoming (Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr.)

I'll see it. I hope I like it. Of course, with Michael Keaton playing the Vulture, I'm sure the villainy is going to be awesome.


7/14 - War for the Planet of the Apes (Woody Harrelson, Sara Canning, Andy Serkis

Another one I'm definitely looking forward to. On a side note, who could have imagined Woody the bartender at Cheers would turn out to be one of my favorite actors?



7/21 - Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (Cara Delevinge, Dane DeHaan, Ethan Hawke)

This one looks interesting to me. It's also a love-project from the director, so it'll either completely rock (like X-Men movies directed by Brian Singer) or...
Also, is it me, or is July pretty crowded this year?



7/28 The Dark Tower (Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey)

There's no trailer for this one yet. I read the book a while back and thought it was interesting. I think I'm going to have to re-read it soon. From the small clips and news I've seen here and there, this one should be pretty good.

August:

September:

9/29- Flatliners (Nina Dobrev, Diego Luna)
                  (no trailer yet)

It could be interesting to see the modern take on this one.

October:

10/6 - Blade Runner 2049 (Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling)

I'm optimistic about this one. Blade Runner is one of my favorites. If they do this right, it'll be awesome. Also, there's a theory out there that Harrison Ford is killing off all of his classic characters. Will Decker survive?



November:

11/3 - Thor: Ragnarok (Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo... etc.)

Still waiting on the official trailer for this one. Looking forward to it.

December:

12/8- Star Wars Episode VIII (Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisey Ridley... etc.)

No trailer yet, but does there need to be one for this movie? We're all going to see it, and if VII is anything to go by, it's going to be awesome.

A Ship Too Far- Passengers: A Spoiler-Free Review

I'm not sure what I was expecting with Passengers. Chris Pratt's awesome scifi work aside (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurrasic World- he made that movie), as well as Jennifer Lawrence's (Hunger Games, X-Men, etc.), I had no idea what we were walking into. Sure, I knew it was about some kind of interstellar cruise ship, maybe there was a disaster involved or it was going to crash into a star, but that was about it.

All in all, it turned out to be a decent  movie. Physics-wise, it's actually a lot more accurate than I was expecting (even more accurate than Gravity and Interstellar overall)—with the exception of the gravity incident shown in the trailer. The way they designed the ship, there was 0 reason for that to happen, it was irksome—but aside from that and a few things that struck me as odd in the beginning, it was pretty much spot-on. That, of course, let me free to enjoy the story.
If you watched the trailer you probably figure this is a romance-in-space movie with some comedy and adventure thrown in. You're more or less correct... except that you're also not correct. I'm going to have to leave it there to keep this review "spoiler-free," but I was surprised that the writers chose to go the route they did. I'm not sure I appreciated it in the moment, but the more I think about it the more I feel the twist made this movie stand out as different. I appreciate that. On the other hand, there were a few troubled spots in the action moments I didn't like. As you can tell from the trailer, things go wrong with the ship, but the reason they don't get taken care of faster is what bothered me the most about the movie. It's one of those "make something dumb so we can do the plot this way" things. It didn't have to be there, but there it was. Let's see if you can spot it (think safety!)
Okay, I'll stop this here. What's my verdict? Is it worth the price of admission? Overall, yeah, it was. I'd even see it again to try and catch more of the artistry that went into making this a beautiful movie to watch. Was it perfect? No, but it was entertaining and that (plus actually getting the physics and star ship design right for realism) made it good.