Highway To Mars

Cocoon is the last entry into our first contact series and is the most complex character wise.  Each of our entries has had a quite different take on first contact, from war to alien superintelligences and this one is no different.  Three occupants of an old peoples home and a boat owner make contact with a group of aliens and the result will change their lives.  Science fiction is not renowned for a large number of stories that involve older characters so this is an especially welcome entry.

It’s been a lot of fun looking at First Contact, I am looking forward to the Singularity starting next week.

Chloe Grace Moretz has been in a heap of movies since Kick Ass and built up a pretty big profile.  While she isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, movies such as Hick prove she has some serious acting ability.

I loved her in Kick Ass and in many ways she is the best thing about Kick Ass 2 as she struggles to cope with being the person her father made her into vs being a teenage girl.

The contrast between Red Mist, now the Mother Fucker and Hit Girl is hard to ignore.  Both are trying to live up to obsessive fathers, both trying to find their way in the world.

The difference is that while the Mother Fucker is self destructive, Hit Girl is genuinely in her heart a hero and as much as Kick Ass is heart of this movie, it’s clear that without Hit Girl, he’s just another overactive cosplayer.

With all the emphasis these days on girl power, it’s nice to see a girl that has the power and uses is sparingly and wisely.

The martian is travelling and fish whispering so here is an episode we recorded earlier in the year, will release the cocoon episode next week.

I did have a look at this previously under special muffins of the apocalypse but seeing as there is a second instalment I thought it merited a better look.

Have you ever regretted a decision like that?  The second movie deviates from the book but not in useful way.  I did wonder if they would follow the second book and it feels as though they are pretty desperate to bring it back to a Hunger Games style revolution.

This was disappointing, not least because they didn’t trust the source material to deliver a story that would be compelling, that is it was a financial risk.  Either that or they didn’t trust in their own ability to make the source material work.

The one interesting idea in the second story (the way the zombies grow into some larger organism) may well be disposed of and never thought of again.  Either way what is at least an interesting diversion on the Special Muffins of the Apocalypse theme in the books just becomes a generic hero’s journey.

I will probably watch the last entry if I get the chance but if this ends how it’s setup, I won’t be inspired by it.

My main issue with Special Muffins of the Apocalypse is it takes the “Won’t somebody think of the children” to the extreme of making adults the problem that has to be solved.  Code – Adults are evil arseholes who want to control you.

Yes growing up is challenging but I don’t see how creating a divide where adults are the obstacle to “the prize” (being you) is helpful but it is a reflection and in some ways reaction to what we see going on.

Having said that as with every hero’s journey the real work comes with the victory.

In reality this narrative is a trap, one where the younger generation want to call the shots at the expense of more experienced elders.  There should be no surprise that being in power is a lot harder than being the protester.

As always, I welcome our Techgen and Millenial overlords.  Go hard, it will be interesting to see if you truly manage to make the world better.

But wait theres more.  There can’t be too many instances of a story making it to radio before Novelisation but then Douglas Adams is not a conventional man.  The novel follows the original radio play but with some important differences which we cover.  If you are a fan of the radio play the novel adds some “goodies”.  Warning, no 2 versions of the Hitchhikers Guide are the same so while the core story is there for the Radio Play, the Record, The Novel, The TV Series and Movie each has their little differences because… well before George Lucas there was Douglas, only Douglas played with the script not the special effects.

And the cops shot first.

Always.

Evolution is funny.  In the right mood I have a good laugh but I need my brain switched off to do so.  On the other hand I enjoy the aliens in Evolution every time I watch it and despite a dozen viewings too date, I always end it wanting more.

Of all the movies we have looked at in the First Contact series, this is the one I would like to see a sequel for most because of all of the films we have looked at this one left the most on the table.  The humans are nowhere near as interesting as their alien counterparts and while the world of Evolution is compelling we spend far too little time there.

We’ve all been down on our luck but Robert seems to have made an art of it.  Still the good folk of Lybourne are always there to help even when Robert starts to act very odd indeed.  What is Roberts hiding?

Independence Day is a bit like Avatar.  At the time it was a big thing but over time it’s kinda been put in the bin.  In part that’s because while the setup is great the payoff is not so great in many peoples eyes.  I won’t argue that but I will say that none the less this is an important movie in the First Contact canon of movies and shaped many movies that would follow.  I look forward to ID4 part 2.

Who is Zarniwhoop and why is he on an interstellar cruise in his office?  This is a very important question which needs a podcast to address.  Equally important is the question of why Douglas doesn’t seem to be able to find shoes that fit him.  This is the second and decidedly more sci-fi part of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy that ends with the ruler of the universe.

And his cat.

I will let Marvin explain everything, he is much better at it than me.

Back in the 1980’s people put beer on the bottom shelf of their fridge in reach of the children… (Think about that for a moment).  This is the story of two beings that come from very different worlds that overcome their differences to become friends.  Unlike Enemy Mine, this story is intended for children and in a way serves to be a story about aliens but also how to deal with people who are different.  It doesn’t use narrow language, exclude behaviour or try to enforce rules.  People just “sort it all out”.  While I doubt this is a movie that would resonate fully with kids of today, it does provide some very useful lessons and reminds us that given a chance kids can not only solve their problems, they can surprise us in enacting their beliefs.  All this without the nanny state to make it possible… how can this be.

In the second episode of our Heroine Case Series we look at the first movie in the Kick Ass series, specifically the character Hit Girl.  I avoided watching this movie as I didn’t think it would be any good but couldn’t be happier to say I was wrong.  I love all the characters in the movie but I think Hit Girl is in many ways reflective of the generation coming through that see themselves as fearless warriors for justice.  In Hit Girls case though she has a father who is determined to prepare her for the world at any cost.  I can totally relate to his methods even if I haven’t (yet) shot one of the girls.  This preparation gives her a very different perspective of justice, a little more bloody but a lot more clear on what is good and truly what is evil.