Category: Movies


Preview–Blade Runner lives on in third chapter of award-winning sequel

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January 15, 2021

Some of the best dystopian futurism in years comes to a conclusion in the third volume of Blade Runner 2019, the official sequel to the cult classic 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott.  Co-written by Michael Green, the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Logan, Blade Runner 2049, and Murder on the Orient Express, and prolific comics writer Mike Johnson (Batman, Star Trek, Transformers) with artwork from Andres Guinaldo (Nightwing, Justice League Dark), Blade Runner 2019 Volume 3–Home Again, Home Again finds ex-Blade Runner Ash returning from the Off-World colonies to the rain-soaked future Los Angeles.

Take a look at a preview of this new chapter in the Blade Runner story below courtesy of Titan Comics.

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Soul–Disney/Pixar ponder meaning of life in latest animated movie

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January 14, 2021

Review by C.J. Bunce

It’s the latest in what has become a packed 12 months of studios releasing animated movies.  And it carries a common theme for a venue families once could prop their kids up in front of for easy content to enjoy.  The subject again is death and dying, and more to the point, what happens to you after you die,  It’s the Disney-Pixar movie Soul, a big-budget movie that at first blush is about a musician and his love for jazz.  Starring the voices of Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx and the versatile Tina Fey, the animation is the best of merging digital animation with stunning real-world imagery.  The musician theme is great, and directors Pete Docter and Kent Powers do their best to juggle humor and humanity’s most age-old questions: Who am I? Why am I here?  And what’s next?  This Disney+ offers some impressive visuals and ideas, but it also might be more for the older tier of kids and audiences ready for the thoughtful themes.

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Preview–Disney Parks cookbook–100 recipes to re-create flavors from theme parks

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January 3, 2021

Even if you haven’t visited Disney World or Disneyland, odds are you heard someone rave about Dole Whip, a frozen dessert that seems to have made converts of millions across the country.  Now you can make your own Dole Whip at home, and 100 other recipes replicating the foods you can buy at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and other locations in The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook, available now here at Amazon.

Check out our look inside  The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook below, including the recipe for Dole Whip, courtesy of publisher Adams Media:

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Test your Star Trek original series knowledge with Quibbles with Tribbles

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December 26, 2020

Review by C.J. Bunce 

If you received a gift card to a bookstore for Christmas, here’s one way to use it.  Taking eight of the best-loved episodes of the original Star Trek series, cartoonist Glenn Dakin is back, providing the best of Treksperts the ultimate trivia test.  Part of the Nerd Search series, the hardcover Star Trek: Quibbles with Tribbles will challenge all you think you know about Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov.  A “Where’s Waldo?” requiring you know the details and titles of the three seasons of the series, it’s loads of fun for Trekkers and Trekkies everywhere.  Don’t overlook this book because of its colorful comics illustrations.  This book will challenge even those who worked on the series, as well as the biggest fans you know.

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The Muppet Christmas Carol–The classic movie in storybook form

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December 25, 2020

Merry Christmas!

If The Muppet Christmas Carol (reviewed five years ago here at borg), is a favorite for your family as it is for many, you may have a new item for your wish list.  What many consider the most spirited and faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on film is also available in a storybook edition.  Adapted by Brooke Vitale with illustrations by Luke Flowers, The Muppet Christmas Carol: The Illustrated Holiday Classic features an abridged version of the movie in a large, full-color hardcover edition for kids of all ages.

Check out a look inside the book courtesy of Insight Kids:

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Two new stocking stuffer-sized books await your favorite Star Trek fan

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December 23, 2020

     

Do you have some sci-fi fans you can never seem to find the right gift for?

Is binge-watching all the Star Trek series not enough to get you through the end of 2020?   Then you might want to try Mr. Spock’s Little Book of Mindfulness, a friendly guide to achieving a more blissful state in the style of books like The Tao of Pooh.  Cartoonist Glenn Dakin takes you to the planet Vulcan and back again with some thought-provoking ways to re-direct your thinking.

For those who watch Star Trek and don’t think the philosophical leanings of Mr. Spock can help (and you frequent the local pub), Glenn Dakin has more Star Trek themed artwork coming in Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium, featuring an assortment of cocktail recipes with a Star Trek theme and flavor.  Surviving in Starfleet is hard.  Do you notice all the alcohol references in the Star Trek series and movies?  You will after a couple of rounds with Star Trek Cocktails.  

    

Check out a preview of each of these books, perfectly sized for stocking stuffers, courtesy of publisher Hero Collector:

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Changing the world begins with you

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December 22, 2020

What inspired you this year to be a hero?

It’s been a heckuva year.  One of the major areas that got slighted because of the pandemic–because of job losses and attention to political and other matters–were donations to animal charities.  So we at borg are endorsing and hoping you’ll support all the worthy groups below that try to help those that can’t help themselves.  Please help give them a chance.

You don’t need superpowers to change the world.

You can change the world one dollar at a time.  And it may even help your own pocketbook if you make charitable contributions by the end of the month for your next tax filing.

So change the world.  Please support the following awesome organizations:

Wayside Waifs

Great Plains SPCA

Alley Cat Allies

Humane Society

ASPCA

Animal Rescue League

Bat Conservation International

American Anti-Vivisection Society

REGAP

Best Friends Animal Society Sanctuary

Frankie’s Friends

Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary

Check out these great charities today and give if you can.

C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg

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The 2020 Borg Hall of Fame

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — 1 Comment
December 21, 2020

It’s been another long year of great entertainment.  It’s time for the eighth annual round of new honorees for the borg Hall of Fame.  We have several honorees from 2020 films and television, plus you’ll find many from the past, and a peek at some from the future – 44 new borgs or updated variants in all, bringing the borg Hall of Fame total to 265.

You can always check out the updated borg Hall of Fame on our home page under “Know your borg.”

Some reminders about criteria.  Borgs have technology integrated with biology.  Wearing a technology-powered suit alone doesn’t qualify.  Tony Stark aka Iron Man was named an honoree because the Arc Reactor kept him alive, not because of his incredible tech armor.  The Spider-Man suit worn by Tom Holland is similar to Tony’s, but it’s not integrated with Peter Parker’s biology.

Also, if the creators tell us the characters are merely robots, automatons, or androids (as in Westworld, and as in the Synths of Star Trek: Picard, and the new Dark Troopers of The Mandalorian), we take their word for it.  Again, integration is key, but in the Hall, once a member, always a member.  

So let’s get on with it.  Who’s in for 2020?

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Blade Runner Artist’s Edition–A great noir take on the spin-off sci-fi series

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December 19, 2020

This year the Blade Runner movie franchise took fans into their past and future with the comic book series Blade Runner 2019 (review here at borg).  Both the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and prequel to Blade Runner 2049, the series introduced a new Blade Runner, a female engineered cyborg named Ashina, or “Ash.”  Earlier this month we previewed here at borg a new series featuring Ash ten years later in the pages of Blade Runner 2029.  Coming next month, readers are in for a visual treat, as Titan Comics is releasing an Artist’s Edition of Blade Runner 2019: Los Angeles–the first volume collecting the first four issues of the series.  Reproducing the pencil artwork of Andres Guinaldo without the overlaid inking and colors, this book provides a different reading experience, creating noir feel from a different angle.  The result is gorgeous.

Check out our sneak preview of artwork from Volume #1 of the Artist’s Edition of Blade Runner 2019, courtesy of Titan Comics:

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borg’s Best of 2020–The Best Books

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
December 17, 2020

Our borg Best of 2020 list continues today with the Best Books of 2020.  If you missed them, check out our reviews of the Best Movies of 2020 here, the Kick-Ass Heroines of 2020 here, and the Best in TV 2020 here.  Our list continues tomorrow with the Best Comics and Games of 2020.  And we wrap-up the year with our additions to the borg Hall of Fame later this month.

We reviewed more than 100 books that we recommended to our readers this year, and some even made it onto our favorites shelf.  We don’t publish reviews of books that we read and don’t recommend, so this shortlist reflects only this year’s cream of the crop.

So let’s get going!

Best Sci-Fi, Best Thriller Novel – Hearts of Oak by Eddie Robson (Tor Books).  It’s a far-out science fiction novel with all the right notes of a good supernatural fantasy.  And it has an easy pace and an impending, looming darkness waiting ahead that will keep you planted firmly in your seat until you get to the last page.

Best Tie-In Novel – Bloodshot novelization by Gavin Smith (Titan Books).  A great update to the genre that began with Martin Caidin’s Cyborg, Smith creates an exciting, vivid novelization of the comic book character adapted to the big screen.  Honorable mention: Firefly: The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove (Titan Books).

There are many more best book selections to go…

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