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Awix (3310 KP) rated Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) in Movies

Mar 1, 2018 (Updated Mar 2, 2018)

Valerian and the Unnecessarily Long Title, more like

Another lavishly imaginative and somewhat incoherently scripted sci-fi movie from Luc Besson, somewhat in the same vein as The Fifth Element. Plot mainly consists of running about in spectacular costumes in front of CGI backgrounds; exactly what is going on is frequently unclear.

The script is certainly baffling and doesn't feel like the work of a man credited as writer or co-writer of fifty other movies; the whole section with Rihanna and Ethan Hawke is just filler, in terms of the actual plot. Or is the plot itself only of secondary concern with this movie? It seems that way. DeHaan is arguably badly miscast as Valerian; however, Delevingne is something of a revelation in this movie (very good hair, too). And it definitely has its moments and always looks interesting. If only Besson could keep the script under control for his sci-fi films...

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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Walking to Aldebaran in Books

Jul 19, 2019

Walking to Aldebaran

Adrian Tchaikovsky | 2019 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Walking to Aldebaran is an absolute corker of a novella. I loved it - if you enjoy science fiction, it’s a no-brainer, but this story is more than that. It’s about the slow (or fast! Err, you need to read it) descent into insanity of a man stranded alone inside a planet/ wormhole/ crypt! The main character, Gary Rendell, gets separated from his fellow crew members when they disembark from their ship to explore a strange planet-sized ‘rock’. It’s creepy, startling and SO WELL WRITTEN! You can’t help but like Gary - whether you should or not is another matter entirely!

How Adrian Tchaikovsky manages to cram so much in to 140 pages will be why he’s the writer that I want to read (and why I’m not the writer 🤷🏼‍♀️). Oh, and I did like what was done with the names - Gary’s name will become clearer nearer the end of the story!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this fab book!