Weird and Beard

In Review: Giant Clam Comics Tue, 26/05/2009 - 09:28 — John Freeman Giant Clam Comics #3 by Ralph Kidson Back in the 1980s, there was a short-lived British comics fanzine called SCAN, edited by me, John Freeman, and designed by Matthew Bingham, who went on to work on proper magazines like FHM, but I've lost track of him these days. More Email This Print This	In Review: Crossing the Line Wed, 13/05/2009 - 17:02 — John Freeman Crossing the Line by Alison Philip: an intriguing teen drama with a twist. Written by: Gillian Philip Published by: Bloomsbury Out: Now What's it about: Nick Geddes's life is a mess. His sister's boyfriend was killed in a school stabbing. His grandmother is decending into a world of her own, his mother has a 'god-slot' on local radio, and his father is drinking way too much. But that is nothing, because he is also crazy in love with Orla, the sister of the boy who has been killed, and she blames Nick! More Email This Print This
In Review: X-Men Origins - Wolverine Mon, 11/05/2009 - 16:49 — Graham Baines Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins - Wolverine. Photo: Fox UK Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber Director: Gavin Hood Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Out: Now • Official web site: www.x-menorigins.com The interweb went temporarily mad before the release of this X-Men spin-off and some foolish people downloaded a CGI free, rough-and-ready version of this film that did this release no justice whatsover. You really should have waited until it was finished and then gone and seen it in the cinema, because it is pretty darn good. More Email This Print This	In Review: Fast Forward 2 Mon, 20/04/2009 - 13:14 — John Freeman Fast Forward 2 Edited by Lou Anders Published by Pyr Books (www.pyrsf.com) Out: Now Packed with a wealth of talent that includes authors such as Paul Cornell, Cory Doctorow, Paul McAuley and Ian McDonald, Fast Forward 2 offers a brilliant ‘snapshot’ of current SF, carefully selected to reflect the huge scope the genre now encompasses. For anyone wanting the means to dip into modern SF without tackling an entire novel this is it, serving also to enable sampling of authors who really can be described as at the cutting edge. More Email This Print This
In Review: Monsters vs. Aliens Thu, 09/04/2009 - 08:18 — Graham Baines Monsters vs. Aliens Voice Actors: Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, Renée Zellweger Director: Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon Studio: DreamWorks Animation Out: Now So 3D has finally arrived in films. Well, that's what I read: it's a shame that all the cinemas within an hour's drive from me are showing normal films with pops, whirls, dust and all. You could spot the 3D showboating set pieces: I imagine they are very pretty. So is the majority of this film. The characters look very like The Incredibles - but Incredibles this film isn't, which is a far superior film in terms of design, scope and flair. Saying that, Monsters vs. Aliens is entertaining, fast and quite often really funny. More Email This Print This	In Review - Science Fiction Television Series: 1990 - 2004 Wed, 11/03/2009 - 13:04 — John Freeman Science Fiction TV Series 1990 - 2004 by Frank Garcia and Mark Phillips Out: Now Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc While the title may be one of the dullest ever for a guide to some of the best science fiction TV series produced in recent years, would-be readers sould not be put off, because Science Fiction Television Series 1990-2004 is actually a fascinating book. More Email This Print This