closeup of Will Smith as Hancock, with several days beard growth, shiny sunglasses and a ratty knit cap

“Hancock” flies on Will Smith’s super talent

Hancock probably could not be considered anything more than a halfway decent scifi/fantasy movie if it weren’t for Will Smith. The concept is interesting enough, but the storyline ends up falling a bit short, even compared with your basic superhero movies. Yet with Will Smith’s performance, you almost don’t notice. Without spoilers, I feel safe noting the premise of the movie: Hancock (Will Smith) is a sloppy, careless guy with superhero powers....

 · Laura Lis Scott
large ship burning up on re-entry into atmosphere, as people watch from the ground

Battlestar Galactica is back in space

I’m a little astonished — and I suppose I should be embarrassed, but I’m not — by how I behaved watching Battlestar Galactica this past Friday night. Exodus: Part 2 was one of the most exhilirating and most moving episodes of the entire series so far. It was one of those episodes that makes the exceptional pilot miniseries — which I just saw again last night showing it to a friend who was a Babylon 5 fan but she never had seen any Galactica — almost pale by comparison....

 · Laura Lis Scott

Battlestar Galactica getting Lost?

Warning: Spoilers After last night’s season 3 opener, I’m a little concerned about my favorite show on television, Battlestar Galactica. The show is starting to resemble “Lost,” which from my perspective is not at all an improvement. I’m not just talkling about the tents and stress monkeys in the jungle. It’s the whole arbitrariness that comes across in sequence after sequence of surprises with very little tension. The show used to be terrific at building tension....

 · Laura Lis Scott
Promotional poster for Aeon Flux

Women kicking button in “Aeon Flux”

Warning: Spoilers. (Not much, but hey, I warned you.) So I saw Aeon Flux on DVD the other night. Given the mediocre reviews and lack of box-office love the film, um, enjoyed, I really didn’t expect much. I wanted to see it mainly because of the production design I saw in the commercials. And because of Charlize Theron. And (okay okay) because I’m something of a scifi nut. What I didn’t quite expect was the heart of the story being driven by female characters....

 · Laura Lis Scott
Kirk and Spock gazing off at something with curiosity and concern.

Star Trek: Stale special effects? Or gay soap opera?

This little gem turned up as the top video in Technorati this morning. Hardcore fans will recognize the episodes, but compiling it all here adds a new dimension of whimsical fun. Do I really think Star Trek: TOS has a “hidden homosexual agenda”? Of course not. (I hope not. William Shatner is just too cute in the 1960s.) But given Paramount’s tassled-loafer inspiration of re-doing all the special effects in the classic series, they’re almost begging for slashy take-offs....

 · Laura Lis Scott