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Z For Zachariah (2015)
Z For Zachariah (2015)
2015 | Drama, Sci-Fi
Drop-dead gorgeous, it's so refreshing to see a post-apocalyptic drama that doesn't turn its characters into flat, unfeeling beings nor mostly take place in some crusty, rehashed wasteland. Not that this is secretly some masterpiece or anything, it isn't - it really begins to wake up (expectedly) as soon as Chris Pine enters the picture - but it flows along unwaveringly at a low, melodic hum with breathtaking locales and invigorating music. All three leads are exceptional, and while it isn't even a fraction of the thematic powerhouse it could have been it still manages to wring a commendable amount of captivating intrigue out of its simplistic setup. Can't stress enough how addictive the atmosphere is: calm and homey, beautiful, yet inevitable and bleak as hell. Meets some sort of transcendent crossroads between "The Last of Us" and "Unravel", in video game speak. This Craig Zobel guy really knew what he was doing with this, god damn - one heck of a genre tonic.
  
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1)
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1)
Leigh Bardugo | 2012 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
I'm kind of unsure of how to rate this. I wasn't entirely engrossed in it but I did like it by the end. 3 star, I think.

At the beginning of this I can't say that I saw much of a blooming relationship between Mal and Alina. They'd been friends for years and though Alina liked him romantically, Mal didn't seem to feel the same way.`

That's probably why when the Darkling started to show interest in her that I jumped on ship with it and waited for something to happen. Only when something did, I wasn't entirely convinced by it.

As for the rest of the plot with the Unsea, I found myself getting more into it the closer we got to the end of the book as deception and intrigue came about.

I definitely think it has left me intrigued enough about the outcome of the events following the ending, that I will continue the series at some point.
  
Star Trek - Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek - Nemesis (2002)
2002 | Action, Sci-Fi
A Hardy Picard Outing
Well for a Star Trek feature film this was fairly meh. If it had been a two part mid-season episode I could get more behind it.

I enjoyed Tom Hardy’s character, Shinzon, and felt he did more for this film than usual cast who seemed to be going through the motions. The cringe-worthy Riker / Troi wedding got this off to a painful stat. The B4 plot line was predictable and unoriginal - shock Data has a brother - wait where have I heard that before.

It was nice to have Romulans feature in a big screen outing and I thought the Senate intrigue was good as was big space battle (really be a disaster if they messed that up!) Could of been worse (I’m looking at you Insurrection) but for the last TNG outing would of hoped for something with more impact (I’m looking at you First Contact.)