DVD: The Stepford Wives

Following a mental collapse, career woman Joanna Eberhard (Nicole Kidman) and her family move to a quiet suburban town. While Joanna finds the women in Stepford too perfect to live up to, her husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) has plans to make her fit right in...


According to the tagline of this movie, ‘The women of Stepford have a secret’. Unfortunately, that isn’t true and it’s the main flaw with this film – the secret has been out since the 1972 novel and the 1975 original movie. As proof of this, the DVD extra feature Stepford: A Definition shows how well the term Stepford Wives is known, as the cast and crew discuss what it means to them.

With the main surprise out of the bag, director Frank Oz and writer Paul Rudnik play the movie for laughs. This is the equivalent of someone making a comedy version of The Sixth Sense in 30 years’ time and it doesn’t really work. On the positive side the film is beautifully shot, and the town of Stepford is spookily imagined – like a mix of It’s a Wonderful Life and Twin Peaks. Some modern-day updates add to the overall concept, such as the gay couple living within the community.

Having performed badly at the box office, the DVD has some good extras to tempt you into a purchase. These include a competent commentary by Frank Oz, five features, trailers, six deleted scenes (including one with Broderick’s character and the other husbands that adds a much needed explanation to his backstory) and a genuinely funny gag reel of on-set mistakes. All of which means that the extras are better than the film.

Buy The Stepford Wives on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

TV: Star Trek Enterprise

Awakening

Captain Archer and T’Pol finally arrive at the base of the Syrranites hidden deep within the forge. T’Pau is shocked to learn that Arev died in the storm as he was really Syran, their leader. When she learns that Syran implanted the Katra of Surak into Archer, T’Pau tries to retrieve it from him. Meanwhile, V’Las talks the Vulcan High Council into attacking Andoria...


Once again in Enterprise we see the Vulcans not as the cool, logical creatures of Original Series Star Trek but as manipulative and devious as the Ferengi. While they cling to their claims of following logic, the leader of the High Council V’Las does as he pleases to get his way. It seems that, like Isaac Asimov’s supposedly foolproof robotic laws, logic can be used to justify some very disturbing actions. The Iraq War connotations are obvious – a leader waging war because another race that may have weapons of mass destruction.

The Syrranites aren’t seen through rose-tinted glasses, however, and T’Pau is willing to force Archer into a mind meld in order to retrieve Surak’s Katra without any worry of the damage it may cause him. Hardly the action of a peace-loving leader, but the religious mania is the other side of the coin to V’Las’ quest for power. While this is an average episode, it plants the seeds of an excellent finale.

Buy Star Trek Enterprise on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

DVD: Species III - Unrated Edition

Assumed dead, alien hybrid Eve gives birth to a daughter as her final act. The girl is taken by a college professor who plans to use her to create a perfect alien species. However, a group of half-breed aliens are trying to track her down and use her DNA to save themselves...


“Species III is about really hot naked alien babes,” says J.P. Pitoch in a featurette on this DVD and we couldn’t sum it up better. The original film made the best use of the naked female form in sci-fi since the space vampire from Lifeforce and that tradition is carried on here.

Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the first two movies as the opening scene contains a voiceover with flashbacks to what went before. Unfortunately, this kind of heavy-handed plotting is obvious throughout, reaching a peak when Professor Abbot (Robert Knepper) tells Dean (Robin Dunne) to “take his access card it could come in handy”. This is an odd first reaction to finding someone dead in your house, but it fits in with a previous piece of dialogue that clearly signposted the ending.

Bad plotting aside, fans of the series get more of what they want – women who aren’t shy about their bodies and aren’t afraid to tear people apart. Don’t be fooled by the word ‘Unrated’ though, this movie is not as hardcore as it likes to think. There’s less gore than true splatter fans would like and the (one and only!) sex scene doesn’t appear until well into the film.

The biggest difference between this and the previous films is that Species III was shot to be straight-to-video. The effects haven’t suffered much considering the budget reduction but the focus has clearly moved towards a more lucrative market. Instead of the older alien female played by Natasha Henstridge (who reprizes her role briefly) all the characters fit into a college setting.

All the right boxes are ticked as far as the extras are concerned. A passable commentary by director Brad Turner, writer Ben Ripley and actor Robin Dunne and four ‘making of’ featurettes make up the bulk, with an extra effects featurette hidden on the second screen. A behind-the-scenes photo gallery with some interesting shots of the cast adorned in make up rounds out the package.

Overall, formula is king in this third episode and if you’ve seen either of the first two Species films you’ll know exactly what to expect.

Buy Species III on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

INTERVIEW: Author Alastair Reynolds

Century Rain author Alastair Reynolds tells Matt Chapman about his brave old world...

What made you venture into the genre of alternate history?
I'd never really taken much notice of the form, but within a couple of years I read two novels that had a big effect on me: Keith Roberts' Pavane and Christopher Priest's The Separation. I started thinking more and more about the nature of alternate history and how I might write one that was still embedded in a hard SF universe, without bringing in time travel or alternate realities.

Why set it in the past?
I like classic, hardboiled crime fiction and movies, and I always fancied writing a kind of science fiction take on that. It's been done before, of course, but usually by positing a kind of retro-1940s future (like in the films Brazil or Dark City).

How does this work fit in with your other material?
I suppose my love of hardboiled crime and noir has been seeping through the pores of most of my books: particularly Chasm City, but there are also elements of it in the others. It wasn't a big jump.

You've written short stories and novels, which do you prefer?
Writing a novel feels like painting the Forth Bridge; writing a short story feels like putting a ship in a bottle.

You’ve worked for the European Space Agency, did that inform your writing?
Less than you'd think. There's a lot of astronomy and space hardware in my books, but my job tended to be focused on very tight little problems. Oddly, the book I'm writing now has a lot more 'real world' stuff in it than the other ones, so I'm talking to people at ESA about things like Internet protocols in deep space, and reading up about robotics and space medicine.

What sort of sci-fi are you a fan of?
Not many SF films! There weren’t many good ones in the last 20 years. I really like Silent Running, the final image of that little robot watering the plants always brings a tear to my eye. I loved RoboCop, I came out of the cinema thinking: if that's what the 1990s will be like I might as well top myself now!

What's next for you?
Chasing Janus, a standalone novel. Loosely speaking, it’s about the crew of a nuclear-powered ship marooned in the distant future. After that, I might do another book set in Revelation Space.

Buy Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

BOOK: Star Wars: Yoda – Dark Rendezvous

Count Dooku and Yoda begin secret communications that may lead to a truce in the Clone Wars. To seal the deal, Yoda must travel to Dooku’s current base and meet with him personally. Whether Dooku is serious or not, his plans may be jeopardized by interference from Darth Sidious and Asajj Ventress...


Billed as the first Star Wars novel to focus solely on everyone’s favorite green Jedi master, this gives a bleak insight into his character. The novel paints the
relationship between Yoda and his students as much closer than master and padawan – including the young Count Dooku. However, the role of the leader of the Jedi order is a lonely path, despite the affection displayed by the young recruits to the Jedi temple. This is especially true during a time of war, when each week brings the passing of another close friend. The flashbacks to lessons in the temple are particularly good at creating a well-drawn backstory and it’s easy to see why Count Dooku may genuinely be considering a truce.

The rawest emotions come from the modern-day apprentices caught up in this mission. Padawans Scout and Whie struggle with adolescence and suffer terrible loss as they battle forces they can’t hope to defeat. Their greatest threat comes from Asajj Ventress, who continues her attacks on the Jedi order in an attempt to increase her kill count of Jedi warriors. Her personalized battle droids with anti-Jedi weapons are well thought out and while it’s too easy to think there won’t be any major characters killed in the run up to the new movie, there are some surprising turns in this story.

This novel works extremely well at filling in more details about Yoda while continuing the overall Star Wars storyline. The meeting between Yoda and Dooku offers more than the lightsaber fight at the end of Attack of the Clones ever could. If there’s one complaint, it’s that some of the comedic moments don’t always come off. However, this is a touching tale that throws the human (and alien) cost of the Clone Wars into sharp relief.

Buy the Yoda – Dark Rendezvous novel at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Back from a break

Time to get back into blogging again. My life has been too hectic to write about recently, although in a good way rather than a bad way. This is because I've switched jobs from an internet magazine (boring and technical) to a sci-fi magazine (finally living the dream of being a film reviewer!!). I did manage to move all my previous blog posts to this new site, a necessary job that was holding up any new posts. This will allow me to add pictures (although you'll have to wait a while before I actually add pictures, again it's a 'busy' thing).
Until then enjoy some of the back-dated posts I wrote but never managed to put online. This includes an epic Glastonbury round-up.

INTERVIEW: Jon Courtenay Grimwood

GRIMWOOD’S FAIRYTALES

Writer Jon Courtenay Grimwood chats to Matt Chapman about his novel, Stamping Butterflies...

What can readers expect from your time-traveling novel?
It’s set in three separate but inter-linked time lines, beginning with a punk guitarist in 1977 in Marrakech, jumping a few years from now to an American prison and skipping another 50 centuries to the far side of the galaxy. Basically, I’ve used quantum mechanics as an excuse to play with zero-point energy, the shape of time and whether the future can influence the past. Which, of course, it can, given that time is shaped like a blue marble (when it’s not shaped like an ice-cream cone).

Has writing a book about an assassin trying to kill the US president attracted a lot of attention?
No, I began writing Stamping Butterflies three years ago when the world was slightly less paranoid than it is now and being harrased at airports by shaven-headed goons who want to blow up your luggage to keep democracy safe was still a thing of the future. It didn’t actually occur to me that anyone could mistake fiction for fact, but that was before the whole knit-your-own-weapons-of-mass-destruction-in-45-minutes debacle... Also, my president is an upstanding, honest and intelligent man who wants to make the world a safer place (did I mention the elements of fantasy?).

What first drew you to science fiction?
The fact you get to mess with reality and no one can say you can’t do that. Also, and this matters for me, in sci-fi we can steal anything we want from any other kind of fiction and make it ours. Crime novels have to squeeze their plots into certain boxes, as do thrillers and all the other genres. We can take a crime novel and turn it into sci-fi, mix it with bits of thriller and then handle all the description as if we’re writing literary fiction.

You grew up in England, the Far East, Norway and Malta. Has that given you an international perspective?
In as much as I don’t really feel at home anywhere and I’m happiest in airports, I guess it has. My childhood gave me a belief that the most interesting things in life happen where different cultures meet and scratch together. There are a couple of other points as well. As a child I saw staggering poverty – from the privileged position of someone not part of it, obviously – and I think that knowledge stays with you. Not just the look of poverty, but the smell and a kind of oily feeling of helplessness. Also, I saw a number of dead bodies and that enhanced my feeling that life is fairly transitory.

Who or what do you include among your influences?
I would not want to suggest in any way that I consider myself in the same league, but my main influence is Bulgakov, who wrote The Master and Margarita, one of the great 20th Century Russian novels. It’s about many things, from the horror of life under Stalin to ways of writing fiction, and features Pontius Pilate, assorted Soviet writers and a large black cat smoking cigars.

Is it difficult to put a new spin on time travel with so many other variations of the concept out there?
Most of the ideas available to fiction have been done to death already, time travel included. In the end I think that’s why character is so important.

Find books written by Jon Courtenay Grimwood at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

TV: Star Trek Enterprise

The Forge

When Earth’s embassy on Vulcan is bombed, Enterprise is called in to investigate. Has a breakaway religious sect started a campaign of violence or does the High Command know more than it is willing to say?

This episode proves that the Vulcans are less logical than they care to make out. We found that they’re willing to lie about their hidden monitoring station in season one’s The Andorian Incident, but their capacity for murder is a new twist. This theme plays throughout the episode and there’s a very human moment when Soval (Gary Graham) waits for Trip to stop looking over his shoulder.

In the secondary plot, Archer and T’Pol’s desert trek marks the first moment Enterprise's newly reduced budget has shown itself. The CGI creature that chases them is only seen fleetingly onscreen.

Buy Star Trek Enterprise on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

GAME: Mortal Kombat - Deception

Following a cinematic opening, this quickly settles into the regular beat-’em-up game. All of the usual features are here, such as progressing through the game to unlock more characters.

The big new addition is the ability to play online against other opponents. This feature has been sadly lacking until now, but playing against real people makes it worth the effort to learn the finishing death moves. Other new add-ons include a battle version of chess and the world’s most violent Tetris.

Buy Mortal Kombat: Deception at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

BOOK: Stamping Butterflies by John Courtenay Grimwood

When someone tries to assassinate the US President the intelligence services are puzzled. No-one seems to know who the shooter – dubbed Prisoner Zero – is or where he comes from. Elsewhere in time, a young emperor waits alone in the Forbidden City for his own assassin. The two share a connection, but both may only have days to live...


Stamping Butterflies blends the stories of three main characters together, merging late 1970s, with today’s world and the far future. This could be confusing for readers but the clever use of symbols at the start of a chapter lets you know where you are and which character is the current focus. It’s reminiscent of Peter David’s Star Trek novels based around time travel, where different timelines are labeled as Track One, Track Two, and so on.

For much of the book the future world isn’t that different from our own, except the character of the Emperor rules over 148 billion souls in 2,023 planets instead of just one country. His lifestyle is a bastardization of today’s reality television programmes, with the inhabitants tuning in to watch his privileged habits as a way of consuming less themselves.

Grimwood’s writing style flows nicely. His descriptions of scenes and characters are short enough not to halt the flow of the story, but in-depth enough to give you a real flavor of the people and places. The time travel ideas are also fairly subtle, as the different stories and characters begin to merge together.

Overall, a well-constructed tale spanning past and future, that expertly blend together the stories of its main protagonists.

Buy Stamping Butterflies by John Courtenay Grimwood at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

DVD: Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Volume Three

More random, tripped-out adventures for the three talking fast food heroes – Meatwad, Master Shake and Frylock. There’s not much superhero action going on, even when all the bad guys join forces at a villain’s convention. The plots – if you can call them that – revolve around whoever happens to be dropping in, be it aliens, talking cubes or other oddities. Arch nemesis Dr Weird also makes a suitably off-the-wall appearance at the beginning of every episode. Extras include four episode commentaries and answer phone messages spoken by the characters. It’s puerile and stupid but we love it.

Buy Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVDs at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

INTERVIEW: Jonathan Frakes

PUPPET MASTER

Director Jonathan Frakes talks to Matt Chapman about bringing life to the supermarionettes in the live-action version of Thunderbirds...


How did you create the look for the film?
John Beard, our wonderful production designer, collaborated in developing the design of the ships so that when we started to shoot the film we would know, for instance, which window on the ships the kids would look out of, because we knew which way the ships were going.

Have spacecraft moved on since Star Trek?
In the first Star Trek movie we were still using sticks for the model of the Enterprise for a couple of shots. In the last 10 years the technology inside computers has become incredible. I think models for spaceships is something out of the past.

Why is FAB-1 a Ford and not a Rolls Royce?
We offered the job to Rolls Royce – we tried. Originally, on the television show, it was an old pink Rolls Royce front with six wheels, that basic element is still in place. Ford helped us develop the look of this 28-foot, six-wheeled, two-seater limousine. It’s one of the only Thunderbirds, if you will, that is real.

Gerry Anderson didn’t play any part in making the movie, did he?
He was at Pinewood when we were shooting, so I went down the hall to meet him and thank him. He told me that Thunderbirds was originally made with marionettes as a sales tool, with the hope that he would eventually get to shoot it with real actors.

Buy Thunderbirds on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

TV: Star Trek Enterprise

The Augments

Captain Archer and the crew escape Cold Station 12 and follow Soong into Klingon space. When Soong forbids a plan to use biological weapons, Malik rebels...

The finale to this three-part story arc sees Bakula and Spiner in fine form, and their characters make excellent sparring partners. Captain Archer’s last-minute escape from Cold Station 12 and Soong’s tactic to slow up the Enterprise’s pursuit are just two examples of their ingenuity. However, the real tension of the episode comes from Malik, who has already murdered in his quest for power and becomes increasingly Machiavellian.

All in all this is much better stuff from Enterprise, which on this evidence is worth saving.

Buy Star Trek Enterprise on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

GAME: Halo 2

Following the destruction of the Halo, the Master Chief returns to Earth. But as he lands, a Covenant assault begins on Earth itself...


The first Halo game was the reason to own an Xbox. Perhaps because of that weight of expectation, the sequel is very similar to the original. This time the action starts on Earth and the opening scenes are fantastic fun to play through, as you battle aliens through traffic tunnels and on the streets. The artificial intelligence of your opponents (as well as those fighting alongside you) has improved. You can’t just sit out of range and snipe, as the creatures you’re shooting at will move into cover and those around them will be alerted.

Where the Halo series beats other first-person shooters is in its realistic tactics. Rather than picking up every weapon you come across you can only hold two types of weapon at once. This forces you to choose carefully – do you hold onto something to snipe with, go for blasting power or hang onto the sword for melee action? In addition, you can now carry a weapon in each hand for double the death.

As well as the missions as Master Chief, you also play some levels as a Covenant figure called The Arbiter, which adds depth to the game. While this isn't a huge leap from the original, some nice additions keep it as playable as ever.

Buy Halo 2 at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

DVD: The Manchurian Candidate – Special Collector’s Edition

Gulf War hero Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) is running for Vice President of the United States. Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington), who Shaw saved along with the rest of his unit, starts to question the events of that night. Is there a plot to put a brainwashed candidate into the White House or is Marco losing his grip on reality?


With remake fever running high in Hollywood, an election-year reworking of this 1962 political thriller was one of the smarter choices. Based on the novel by Richard Condon, its power lies in the fact that the political machinations and shady institutions appear all too real in a post-9/11 world.

There’s a Matrix-like quality to the film and Major Marco has the look of a man who is stuck in a dream world and expects to wake up. The paranoia and air of conspiracy is expertly played with by director Jonathan Demme and crops up in such subtle ways as when an Elvis look-alike is sitting next to Marco when he is researching at the library.

The three main leads are superb. Denzel Washington is on his usual excellent form as a man trying to resist being pulled into insanity and the physical and mental change in his character is extraordinary. One of the extras on the disc is Liev Schreiber’s screen test, which shows how he impressed in a key scene with the right amount of emotion and drive. Topping things off is Meryl Streep as the scarily overbearing and pushy mother, a senator herself who has more ambitious things in mind for her son. Her performance could have fallen into Cruella DeVille territory but it is always kept at the right level.

The best extras on the DVD are the Political Pundits featurettes, where commentators, authors and directors discuss democracy and the American way. Demme and screenplay co-writer Daniel Payne also offer an insightful commentary on the movie and the deleted scenes.

Overall, a powerful political thriller that uses its themes of high-tech mind control to great effect.

Buy The Manchurian Candidate on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

TV: Star Trek Enterprise

Cold Station 12

Dr. Arik Soong (Brent Spiner) joins the genetically-enhanced Augments he raised as his children. Together they steal thousands more enhanced embryos, but the Enterprise is in hot pursuit...


This second part in the Eugenics War storyline trades the fast pace of the previous episode for better characterization. A genuinely-tense hostage scene inside the medical facility shows the differences between Dr. Soong and his genetically enhanced ‘children’. Malik (Alec Newman) becomes increasingly agitated and violent, carrying the others along with him, while Soong tries to find non-violent means to fulfill his plans. Captain Archer’s discovery of another of Soong’s children – the runt of the litter – also reveals a gentler side to Soong.

Buy Star Trek Enterprise on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

GAME: The Incredibles

A dream come true for any game designer – turn a family of CG film stars into CG game characters. The different levels make good use of the family’s different abilities, whether it’s using strength to break down walls or catching bombs in mid air with rubber-like arms and throwing them back. One particular highlight is Dash’s run to school, weaving in and out of traffic like Trinity in The Matrix Reloaded. Just like the film, this is good fun for adults and children alike.

Buy The Incredibles videogame at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

GAME: Knight Rider 2 - The Game

This game promises to bring the classic 1980s series to life, including favourite enemies such as KARR, Goliath and Garth. Sadly, the voices of Michael Knight, KITT and Devon are not played by David Hasselhoff et al, spoiling the feel right from the off.

There are a couple of nice touches, such as the slow motion footage when the car jumps a mission obstacle. However, the below par graphics and dull gameplay let this down badly.

Buy Knight Rider 2 - The Game for PlayStation 2 at Amazon.co.uk

DVD: Shrek 2

Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon to find an invitation to a celebration ball from Fiona’s parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian. Along with Donkey, they travel to Far Far Away, but once there Fiona’s father schemes to set her up with Prince Charming instead...


Like Toy Story 2, fans approach Shrek 2 with a mix of excitement for a new movie in the series and fear that it won’t live up to the high standards of the first outing. And just like Toy Story 2, the excitement is rewarded and the fear is washed away, as fans are greeted with a sequel that is as good as – if not better than – the original.

Mike Myers (Shrek), Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona) and Eddie Murphy (Donkey) all return to reprise their roles, putting in enjoyable voice performances. Shrek newcomer Antonio Banderas almost steals the show as the suave (and adorable) Puss in Boots. There are plenty of referential jokes for all ages, with homages to everything from the Lord of the Rings to Ghostbusters.

DreamWorks hasn’t sat back on its laurels in terms of animation, with the latest advances used to make the characters and surroundings as real as possible, right down to elements such as hair, clouds, snow and fire. This attention to detail is essential because there are more human characters in this movie than the first.

The original Shrek DVD release was renowned for its extras, and the two-disc version doesn’t disappoint. As well as commentaries by directors Conrad Vernon and Kelly Asbury (where you can feel the agonizing decision that went into every joke); and producer Aron Warner and editor Mike Andrews, there are meet the cast features. But the star of the show is Far Far Away Idol, with an animated Simon Cowell and songs from the main cast, including Pinocchio singing Mr Roboto and Puss in Boots performing These Boots Were Made for Walking. Other features on the technology and music of the movie, a how to burp guide, editions of the Far Far Away newspaper, as well as some strangely unfunny technical bloopers, round out the package.

Buy Shrek 2 on DVD at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

DVD: The Twins Effect

This Hong Kong monster movie sees two vampire hunters keeping their town clear of things that go bump in the night. The hunters take vampire blood to give them the strength to fight their foes, but in the opening battle this isn’t enough. When Reeve (Ekin Cheng) sees his fellow hunter and lover killed, in comes Gypsy (Gillian Chung) as a replacement. She clashes with Reeve’s sister Helen (Charlene Choi) – most memorably in a fight over a teddy bear – while Reeve tries not to fall for his partner again.

It is Choi and Chung who give the movie its title, as they make up the Japanese pop act The Twins. What could be a dull star vehicle is actually a fun movie, with lots of wire fighting and fast-paced cuts more familiar in a pop video. There’s even a cameo by Jackie Chan.

Buy The Twins Effect at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com