Science Fiction

‘The Abyss’ (1989) a timeless underwater odyssey

“The Abyss” (1989) rarely tops rankings of James Cameron’s films, but that’s because the guy also helmed “Aliens,” “Titanic” and the first two “Terminators.” It’s

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‘Our Friends from Frolix 8’ (1970) takes on spy state

“Our Friends from Frolix 8” (written in 1969, published in 1970) kicks off Philip K. Dick’s thematic police state/drug war trilogy, and although “Flow My

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‘They Live’ (1988) a padded-out ‘Twilight Zone’ episode

Writer-director John Carpenter’s “They Live” (1988) is technically about aliens infiltrating Earth and posing as humans, but the metaphor is so thinly veiled it’s hardly

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In ‘Escape from L.A.’ (1996), Carpenter adds humor

“Escape from L.A.” (1996), although set in the future of 2013, looks awfully familiar to those of us living in the real 2020. Nationalism and

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PKD teams with Nelson in ‘Ganymede Takeover’ (1967)

“The Ganymede Takeover” (written in 1965, published in 1967) is in some ways a curious entry in Philip K. Dick’s catalog. Written with his longtime

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‘The Martian’ (2015) one of century’s elite hard SF films

The story of “The Martian’s” publication is as good as the book itself, maybe even better. Computer programmer and amateur author Andy Weir published it

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‘Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night’ (1996) digs into PKD themes

With only a year between novels, it’s unlikely K.W. Jeter was reacting to readers’ complaints about “Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human” when crafting

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‘The Thing’ (1982) simmers in atmospheric dread

John Carpenter has built up enough of an oeuvre that everyone has their own pick for his elite work, but for me it’s “The Thing”

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‘Escape from New York’ (1981) a classic gritty actioner

I appreciate “Escape from New York” (1981) more as an influential piece of history in the action genre than as a film that stands the

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Jeter continues saga in ‘Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human’ (1995)

Back when a “Blade Runner” movie sequel seemed unlikely, Bantam (the publisher of “Star Wars” spinoff fiction at the time) and author K.W. Jeter delivered

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