Astro Boy (2009):

Astro Boy (2009):

I finally got around to watching Astro Boy (2009), and you know what? I liked it. Not loved it. Not “This redefined Astro Boy”- kind of liked. But, liked it.

Let’s just get this out of the way. Yeah, the visuals are kind of dated. It’s very 2009 CGI. Shiny metal, slightly rubbery faces, and that weird in-between era where animation hadn’t quite figured out how to stylize humans yet It’s fine. It works. It feels like a Saturday afternoon kids’ movie.

One of my biggest mixed feelings is how they re-imagined the world. In the original anime created by Osamu Tezuka, Astro’s adventures spanned the cosmos. There were robot wars on the Moon. Moral dilemmas across continents. Wild sci-fi ideas that felt boundless.

Here, Metro City is basically a floating city-state, hovering above a trashed Earth. It’s very “Metropolis-lite.” It grounds the story, which makes sense for an American family film, but it also shrinks the scope dramatically. The universe feels smaller. Safer. Contained.

They do sprinkle in nods to older characters and lore, which longtime fans will recognize. But the characterizations? Totally different. And that’s fine. I get that they were probably setting up a new franchise direction. It’s just… this version of Astro Boy, aside from the name and powers, feels barely recognizable.

One thing I genuinely enjoyed was the humor.

Yes, including the now-infamous:

“I have machine guns in… my butt???”

It’s dumb. It’s juvenile. It absolutely got a laugh out of me.

There are also some sweet friendship beats, especially once Astro lands on the surface and ends up with the junkyard kids. It leans heavily into the American “ragtag group of misfits who come together” formula. Predictable? Sure. But it’s warm.

One thing that really stood out to me is how simplified the themes are. Classic Astro Boy wrestles with identity. What does it mean to be human? Can robots have souls? Can they coexist with humanity? His heart, metaphorically and sometimes literally, is tied to something spiritual.

In this movie, it’s Blue Core vs. Red Core. Good vs. Evil. Intention vs. corruption. It’s very literal. Almost like the movie is afraid to wade into anything messier or more philosophical.

Astro’s journey toward humanity gets glossed over. Instead of grappling deeply with what he is, the emotional takeaway becomes: “He’s a good friend.” Which, to be fair, Astro has always been. But he’s also a robot navigating a complicated world. That complexity gets reduced to “outsider kid trying to fit in.”

It works for a children’s movie. It just feels restrained.

The voice cast is kind of stacked, which makes the restraint even more noticeable. Nicolas Cage plays Tenma in a surprisingly subdued performance. Bill Nighy brings dignity and warmth to Dr. Elefun. Donald Sutherland goes full militaristic villain as President Stone. Nathan Lane as Hamegg is easily the most fun performance in the movie... he sounds like he’s having a blast. There’s also Kristen Bell (pre-Frozen) as Cora and Samuel L. Jackson as Zog, the ancient construction bot.

It’s such a tremendous lineup. And yet the script keeps everything so safe. Even during the big climax, a showdown with President Stone who's piloting a giant robot, it never really lets Astro go wild. He fires lasers out of his hand cannons, looks at them, and goes, “Huh. Cool.”

And that’s kind of the vibe of the whole movie.

Huh. Cool.

But not much more.

I don’t hate this version. I actually think it’s a perfectly decent kids’ action movie. Throw in some good snacks, settle in, and you’ll have a good time.

But compared to the 2003 anime series, or especially the original 1960s or 1980s Tezuka vision, it feels cautious. Smaller. A little too afraid to let Astro ask the big questions. A little too determined to translate everything into simple, digestible morality.

Astro Boy has always been a good friend. But he’s also a robot built after Tenma's grief for his dead son. A machine searching for humanity. A hero navigating prejudice and war and loss.

This movie hints at those things, and then backs away.

Still, it’s always good to revisit Astro Boy in any form. And for what it is (A mid-2000s Americanized reboot trying to introduce him to a new generation.) it’s good.

Not cosmic. Not profound.

But good.

SILICON DREAMS (2021):

SILICON DREAMS (2021):

“It’s 2065, and you are an interrogator-model android tasked with rooting out deviants among your own kind. You must probe for lies, monitor and exploit emotional spikes, earn the trust of your subjects, and make the final call: release, or destroy?”

-Steam Synopsis

So, I managed to get an ending for Silicon Dreams. It's sort of like a visual novel/cyberpunk mystery game. You work for a mega-corporation KRONOS Robotics. They send in Androids who are malfunctioning. Getting emotional, violent, in love, feels human, etc. You interrogate them until you find out what's wrong, and make recommendations whether to reset, kill, or keep the android as is. So far, so good.

Later on in the game, you learn about rebel groups of androids that want to be human, or in love, and doctors or teachers that want to help them, and you're supposed to either hunt them down or join the resistance. That's supposed to be the game's moral dilemma. The problem is, (for me.) some of the game's mechanics directly conflict with getting a “good” moral ending.

In order to stay employed at KRONOS, you have points out of 100. If your score falls low enough, you can't stay in the game. So, on a certain level, you have to maintain points just to keep playing. And, although we're told in-game by various Androids or humans that KRONOS is evil, and they control them, etc., I just never saw enough evidence that KRONOS was evil to care. At a point, you can just start doing your job just to finish the game.

It certainly doesn't help when the rebel androids or humans start threatening you, hacking androids and planning to bomb KRONOS multiple times. I will say, there's a lot I agree with tonally in the game. I get that maybe I'm supposed to feel like KRONOS is evil, and manipulating robots and people. I just wish the rebels...and the Androids that want to escape, were less violent and whiny. It's not a moral dilemma, it's just called having a job.

For example, an android comes in. We know she's been working with a scientist to help Androids escape. I'm trying my best to keep her calm (The game registers emotions like “Fear” “Anger” “Joy” “Disgust”.) Well, none of that mattered, because she blows herself up when you ask about removing her hard drive to get the scientist's location, after cursing the company.

Frankly, the game just feels like a checklist to me. I know what I'm supposed to feel, but in the end I didn't care. Another time, my score fell so low, for misdiagnosing Androids that KRONOS started to suspect that I was part of the resistance. Well, I wanted to keep my job. So, I went into interrogation myself, gave all the safe, pro-KRONOS answers, and boom, reputation back up to 80.

In the end, an android comes in threatening to release a video proving androids have emotions. Which is fine, I guess. Wouldn't have particularly mattered to me. But, of course, it turns out, he has a bomb in his stomach. Well, now I'm going to disarm the bomb and arrest him. This of course, got me to the pro-company ending, where I became assistant to the Vice President of KRONOS. I never really felt one way or the other about the company. I just wanted to finish the game.

I guess I wanted to help humans and rebels, but I also wanted to keep playing, in which case, you need to stay employed. By the way, if an android started showing excess emotion, I usually just reset them. Which sometimes got me in trouble with the company, either because a customer was dissatisfied, or the android had evidence the company needed on rebels. But, again, I just kept doing my job, giving pro-company answers, and completing my diagnostics, and I could keep playing.

I don't know. I don't really recommend the game, unless you really like those scenes in Blade Runner where they're diagnosing androids. That's clearly what this game was inspired by. But, I just didn't see enough evidence of the “evil corporation” being evil for me to care about androids that claim they want to be human, or any of the rebels. I did have plenty of androids try to bomb me, or hack me. So, mostly I just did my job for KRONOS. As far as I could see, the only evidence that KRONOS was evil, was that they are a mega-corporation, not that they directly interfered in the lives of androids or consumers.

I wish I could recommend the game. I love robots, Blade Runner, and sci-fi. But, this has all the moral subtlety of an angsty teenager. It's hard to care for rebels when they're constantly violent. It's hard to care for androids who want more emotions when they are clearly unstable. Again, I can't help feeling that they were supposed to be more sympathetic. That KRONOS was supposed to be wrong. But, I had to keep up my points to keep playing. Oh, and also rebels kept bombing me, and androids kept hacking me. So, maybe that had more to do with it.

In conclusion, the game has some neat mechanics, but fails in that it has black-and-white moral dilemmas. By the end, I would just whiff entire cases just to move the game along. I get that it wants to be about big issues, moral dilemmas, inducing emotions, etc. All you need to do is keep up your points. It's a classic case of “show, don't tell”. It's hard to believe the corporation is evil, no matter how many times you tell me...when it was the rebels who actively tried to kill me.

What was the worst KRONOS could do? Deactivate me? Big deal. Rebels and androids had tried that already. I just gave my answers, and kept playing. I wish I wanted to play again. I don't. But, if you do, it's on Steam. Maybe it would've meant more to me if I were a teenager. I don't know. But, I got one play-through, and that was enough for me.

Highschool Possession (2015):

Highschool Possession (2015):

"Hikaru was just a normal young man with a crush on two girls at school, that is until his whole world changed as he literally had to walk in the shoes of his dream girls... Only to find his school idols were not so perfect after all."

Generally, I think bodyswapping is a dumb premise except in Freaky Friday where it teaches teens responsibility and adults to loosen up. But, I actually enjoyed this game. The main character magically swaps bodies with a girl he likes while he's in a coma. Then, he discovers she's being bullied. He tries to help her. How much you help depends on the ending you get. There are a few scenes where you can discover abuse or explore your body more. I just like that the main character helps his crush. I thought that was nice. Check it out on Steam.

Astro Boy (2004 series DVD set):

Astro Boy (2004 series DVD set):

I finished watching the 2004 DVD set for Astro Boy recently. It was good. Even though it's a reboot, it followed a lot of Osamu Tezuka's original Pinocchio-type themes from the 1960s series. At its heart, it's about a boy with the power to decide what he wants to do, and who his friends are, even if they appear mean at first. To be honest, I got bored around the 4th DVD when the adventures became more villain-of-the-week episodic, but once it returned to the evil father story from discs 1 and 2, then it was action-packed and really focused.

There are humans who hate robots and humans who wanna be robots, and humans who frame robots for crimes, and robot supremacists. But, Astro Boy fights for everyone. A little cheesy, but good cheese. The last disc is really action-packed too. Robots form their own independent nation, and Astro Boy fights to minimize the damage. Not quite like modern anime violent, but it's on par with something like Avatar: The Last Airbender.

For me, it was refreshing to see something from anime say in effect, that the rules of society are important, but we all have free will. Free will is not a common theme in modern anime, in my opinion. That was nice to see on top of Astro Boy's Good vs. Evil story, with Dr. O'Shay being good and Dr. Tenma being evil. Apart from Good vs. Evil, he learns from having friends, fighting villains (Robot or human.) and playing games (Rocketball and visiting the circus.) that being fair is important. Plus, he has cool powers like an arm cannon, rocket boots, finger lasers, and uh, he can...talk to trees? Anyway, give it a watch if you're itching for some good retro-future cheesiness.

Freaked (1993):

Freaked (1993):

“A vain actor, his best friend, and an activist end up at a mutant freak farm run by a weirdo scientist.”

It's sort of a weird Dr. Frankenstein meets Garbage Pail Kids gross-out comedy all wrapped in an early 90s MTV aesthetic. A salesman (Ricky.) goes to sell illegal fertilizer called Zygrot-24 from EES (Everything Except Shoes.) but ends up captured by a mad scientist (Dr. Skuggs.) and turned into a weird tumorous beast boy. His girlfriend and his best friend, Julie and Ernie, are combined into a Siamese twin. Then, they meet companions and plot their escape from the doctor.

Most of the humor comes from the grotesque freak designs. But, there are moments where it's like each scene is its own little parody. After being told to make the most of his freak form by his friend Worm, Ricky launches into a soliloquy from Shakespeare's Richard III, with subtitles for the “culturally illiterate”. There's even a Hollywood Squares bit that introduces Ricky's new friends including Ortiz the Dog Boy (Keanu Reeves), Worm, a giant worm man, Cowboy, a literal anthropomorphic cow, the Bearded Lady (Mr. T in a dress.), and Sockhead, who has a sock puppet for a head.

Now, EES comes in as soon as the freaks try to make their escape. Their plan is to make Americans more productive by turning them into freaks with more arms, hands, and no mouths to talk back. At the same time, Dr. Skuggs plans to turn Beast Boy Ricky into a super mega freak dedicated to evil, who will kill his friends to make room for more freaks. And then an amusement park!

It's definitely not a pretty movie to look at, but it does have comedic moments if you're in a gross-out irreverent headspace.In my favorite bit, Dr. Skruggs falls into a vat of Zygrot-24 and becomes the ultimate freak...a talk show host! You're definitely gonna need snacks for this one to enjoy it, but otherwise you can skip it! Don't say I didn't warn you, but you can watch the whole thing free on YouTube if you dare!

Robocop 2 (1990):

Robocop 2 (1990):

“RoboCop returns to protect the citizens of old Detroit but faces a deadly challenge when a rogue OCP member secretly creates a new, evil RoboCop 2.”

A new drug called Nuke is in the city, and Robocop has to take out the cult distributing it. The drug dealer turns out to be a kid, and he can't shoot him. When Robocop finally does track down the cult, he's dismembered and out-gunned. This leads to some silly scenes where they re-program Robocop to not be violent (Still not safe for kids!), police bad language, and smoking.

It's a pretty funny Robocop. A good mix of action-comedy. Meanwhile, scientists are creating a new Robocop program: Robocop 2. Unfortunately, the candidates are psychos and murders, not good citizens like Officer Alex Murphy. There's even a lot of debate over if he's company property, or an officer.

This is just good satire and action movie fun. Robocop unites the cops finally, but it's his human side that wins out. He's not just a company machine, and he has free will. It's a pretty fun watch, and ends with a pretty good shootout between Robocop and Robocop 2. Give it a watch, if you have time!

Read my review of Robocop 1 here: https://bit.ly/3A4alSn

Read my review of Robocop 3 here: https://bit.ly/3lULR7c

Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth (1991):

Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth (1991):

“6 years after a time cop returns home from battling future alien zombies, his settled life is turned upside down when a mad scientists creates more.”

Dr. Wardo is creating more “trancers”. (Psychically-controlled alien drug zombies.) Trancers is basically Blade Runner with zombie movie twist. Jack Deth returns to the 20th century investigating why trancers still exist after his first mission. (See here.) He discovers that his wife is alive, but she'll die when they go back to the 23rd century.

Meanwhile, he's living in the 1990s as a married man already, to make things more complicated. They explain again that some technology from the 23rd century allows for stuff to be time-travelled through as long as you've got ancestors “down the line”. In his case, Jack Deth befriended an old drunk baseball player, his ancestor, Hap Ashby. Deth's former police chief inhabits the body of a 15-year-old girl.

They find out that Dr. Wardo is brainwashing mental patients, and addicting them to a futuristic drug, SKROB78. Wardo is building a “trancer farm” just like Whistler, from the first mission. He does it with the help of the Green World cult, and hypnosis. All the while, Jack must save the people, take out Wardo, and possibly his own future wife. There's a good mix of comedy, horror, and action here for a B-Movie. I say check it out!

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989):

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989):

"The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them."

So, Wayne Szalinsky has a machine that can shrink objects down to ¼ of an inch tall. Unfortunately, because of a baseball hitting it, it accidentally shrinks his kids and he throws them out with the trash. He can't see them. They're in the yard now, and with their size, it's a journey of over 10 miles.

Much of the fun here is size-related. They hitch a ride on a bee, they're attacked by lawnmowers, a scorpion, and a sprinkler. The most memorable seen for me is them almost being eaten in a bowl of cereal. Meanwhile, the kids have to make do and sleep in a Lego until they can return to normal size and start worrying about normal teen stuff, like a high school dance.

If you have a chance, watch it on Disney+. It's a fun ride. Some of the green screen effects haven't aged well. But, I like it! It's a larger-than-life sci-fi journey. I'm also a fan of practical effects. So, if you are too, I recommend this one. Give it a watch.

Young Frankenstein (1974):

Young Frankenstein (1974):

"An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body."

Here's something a little different. It's a comedy-horror from Mel Brooks. A young Dr. Frankenstein (pronounced Frankensteen at first.) tries to avoid his grandfather's legacy of creating monsters. But, finds himself drawn back in when he receives an invite to Frankenstein's castle in Germany.

Much of the humor here is physical comedy and wordplay. “Walk this way!” Igor (pronounced EYE-gor) the hunchback says, and Dr. Frankenstein starts walking like him. Later, when they dig up a brain Igor picks up an “Abby Normal” brain. Frankenstein shows off his creation in a silly dance number that always cracks me up.

Then, when he's booed and starts being chased by the mob, the doctor decides to switch brains with the monster (for reasons given through adult innuendo.) The monster gains his intellect, and the doctor gains the monster's enormous...body parts. (To the surprise of his beautiful assistant Inga, played by Terri Garr.)

You have to give credit to everyone in this movie, but it wouldn't be the same without Gene Wilder as Young Frankenstein. He can go from cold man of science to raging maniac in a second, proclaiming such lines as “My grandfather's work was doo-doo!” with the utmost gravitas. Anyway, if you have time this spooky season, give this classic a watch. It's great fun!

Lucy (2014):

Lucy (2014):

“A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.”

I've wanted to talk about this movie for a long time. It's very good, even if its thesis rests on the 10% brain myth. That's just an excuse to give Lucy superpowers, have her talk about evolution, and philosophy. It's a very French action film, in that it introduces meaning-of-life-questions into a shoot-em-up. But, let's get to talking about it.

Average Lucy is going about her day as a tourist when she's kidnapped by Chinese gangsters and forced to ingest CPH4, a new drug. Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman plays Dr. Norman, who's giving a speech on evolution and the brain. While Lucy is expanding her brain, she finds that she can move objects, and heroically escapes her kidnappers, and gets to a hospital.

She can understand Chinese now, which isn't how the brain works at all, but, sci-fi. Turns out that while the drug is enhancing her body, it's also killing it, and evolving beyond the need for a body. All this is while the mafia and European authorities are after her. It's a race against time as Lucy guns down criminals and stops the authorities with her mind. Then, she has to fly to Paris, and meet Dr. Norman in 12 hours.

On the plane, she starts to transcend her physical body, and become little swirling, morphing bits, but with her powers, she remains corporeal. Once in Paris, she unlocks her final abilities, and builds a supercomputer to record her knowledge. Her last superpower is time travel, as time is the only thing connecting her to physical matter.

There's a lot to digest here in 89 minutes. we have time travel, psychic abilities, and even some evolutionary psychology, all wrapped in a fast-paced action movie. Scarlett Johansson's steely-eyed femme fatale presence does most of the dramatic heavy lifting as she evolves from ditzy tourist to omniscient god, and so does Morgan Freeman's authoritative voice.

I highly recommend this film. It's not really science, but it's great sci-fi action. It gives you some philosophy to think about, while also having stylish action. Watch it anyway you can! You at least won't be able to look away, since everything happens so fast.

Dead Space (1991):

Dead Space (1991):

"A deadly virus attacks the crew of a Saturn space station."

Here's a weird film. When a flesh-eating virus nearly kills everyone in a space station, a scientist (Bryan Cranston/Dr. Frank Darden.) gets the idea to combat it with a metamorphic virus that can shapeshift and take on biological forms.

Meanwhile, a shipwrecked mercenary (Commander Krieger/Marc Singer.) and his robot companion help investigate the murders going on at the station, trying to restore power to his own ship. Great use of puppets, and music.

My only complaint is, they keep shooting at the creature, after saying several times that bullets can't hurt it. Other than that, a decent sci-fi horror/mystery. It keeps you guessing how they'll defeat the creature. Watch it if you have time.

Lily C.A.T. (1987):

Lily C.A.T. (1987):

“The expendable crew of a corporate space vessel must stop a murderous shape-shifting alien organism that somehow got on board.”

“The corpses have disappeared, leaving everything - even their underwear – behind!” Dular says, after his crew members have been eaten by an alien virus. I mean, it is a good mystery, but probably ruined by early anime dubbing. All the dialogue sounds so choppy and fast as they struggle to sync their lip movements. Other than that, it's pretty much John Carpenter's The Thing mixed with the futuristic setting of Ridley Scott's Alien.

See, there's a cat brought on board by Nancy. Quickly, everyone around the cat dies, and there are reports of an alien virus getting through the air ducts. What's discovered later is that the virus was carried by the cat because humans are “expendable”. So, the Syncam Corporation (who owns the ship.) is probably just evil. Why else kill an experienced crew with a Computerized Animal-shaped Technological robot? (Cat, get it?)

Anyway, you should probably skip this one. But, but I did find it enjoyable in terms of action. The mystery is given away in the title. The choppy English dubbing is way too distracting, and the plot doesn't actually make much sense, other than they're trying to mix Alien and The Thing. Just enjoy the crew getting picked apart by the alien/C.A.T.

The 1980s were an ambitious time for Japanese anime, especially as it expanded overseas and took on American influences. It is at least enjoyable if you turn your brain off, and accept it as a relic of its own time. There are interesting ideas sci-fi discussed such as cryogenics, relativity, and how the crew only ages 1 year every 20 Earth years. But, these details never pan out to anything, and only a few members survive as it rushes to horrific ending.

ROBOCOP (1987):

ROBOCOP (1987):

“In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.”

When officer Alex Murphy gets his limbs blown off by drug dealers, OCP (Omni Consumer Products) rebuilds him in a robotic body. He takes his revenge against the criminals of Delta City a.k.a. Detroit. OCP buys the police force and attempts to persuade the public to let it take over the city. But, something is very wrong about this plan, and Robocop is on the case.

Murphy begins to rediscover his humanity after his righteous rampage, and catchy one-liners. (“Your move, creep.”) He soon discovers the drug dealers might not be all they appear to be, as he accesses more of his OCP directives. His directives are: 1.) Serve The Public Trust, 2.) Protect The Innocent, 3.) Uphold The Law, and a 4th forbidden directive.

Wonderful action, good mystery, and a theme of what it means to be human and use technology. This film is an absolute classic. I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't squeamish. It is ultra-violent. But, I feel like the violence here serves a greater purpose. Definitely give it a watch if you can. It's free on Tubi!

If PG-13 is more your style, check out my post on Robocop 3 here: https://bit.ly/3lULR7c.

Lawnmower Man (1992):

Lawnmower Man (1992):

"A simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science."

An intellectually disabled man has his intelligence boosted through VR technology. He soon takes revenge against those who bullied him. He gains telekinesis and telepathy. Eventually, he plots world domination through the computer world.

It sort of takes a hard turn turns scifi horror when Jobe gains his powers. VR looks dated now, but the ideas are still relevant. Like how much bullying someone can take, and how the tables are turned when Jobe has power. I liked it. Check it out. It's free on Tubi.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004):

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004):

"When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories."

After a breakup, Joel and Clementine have a medical procedure that erases them from each other's memory. They soon find that the memories keep popping up, and regret their decision. They try to hide their happy memories in repressed childhood experiences, and soon find that their meeting is inevitable.

Surreal visuals, and heartfelt drama. Definitely a strange film. It raises questions about fate, love, the purpose of pain, and heartbreak. And also proved Jim Carrey can do more than comedy! Directed by Michel Gondry. Watch it if you can.

Paprika (2006):

"When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it."

This magical tale centers on a revolutionary machine that allows scientists to enter and record a subject’s dream. After being stolen, a detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device — before it falls into the hands of a “dream terrorist”. It really needs to be seen to be believed. There's a beautiful contrast here between dreams and mundane reality. Plus, many secrets the characters have are only expressed in dreams.

As the movie goes on, the dreams become darker and more surreal. People start talking nonsense and killing themselves. And eventually the nightmare visions infect reality. Only Paprika, who appears to be a happy-go-lucky therapist can stop them. Paprika's early scenes have a great sense of limitlessness and flight, in contrast to drab waking life, highlighting the theme of magical realism. Check it out, whenever you can!

Dreamscape (1984):

Dreamscape (1984):

"A young psychic on the run from himself is recruited by a government agency experimenting with the use of the dream-sharing technology and is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of the U.S. president."

So, a lot going on in this movie. Allegedly, the dream tech is to help mental patients. But, in this movie we see: nightmares of a boy haunted by a lizard man, a cuckolded husband's dream, and of course dream assassins trying to kill the President. Not the best movie, but a weird one. Check it out. It's more like a general idea of a movie that someone just slapped together.

Trancers (1984 -)

Trancers (1984):

"A trooper (Tim Thomerson) leaves 2247 Angel City for 1985 Los Angeles to stop a zombie mystic (Michael Stefani) out to change history."

A good cheesy sci-fi series that's something like Blade Runner meets Quantum Leap. Pure B-Movie fun as Jack Deth tries to adapt to the 80s, and solve his case. Won't stop using weird slang. Part of the comedy is the modern people being oblivious to zombies a.k.a. "squids". Each movie has diminishing returns however.

Trancers 1-3 are good. The rest just feel like standard sword-and-shield fantasy, like someone mixed up two scripts. Pretty weird sci-fi concepts executed as action-comedy. These are all available on Tubi. Take a look!

Short Story: The Pigmen

Intro: Well, I thought I'd celebrate my return by posting another original short story. This one is The Pigmen. It has many influences...among them George Orwell, (1984/Animal Farm) The Twilight Zone, and Pink Floyd. From my own alien experience, this story represents how medical professionals often see my body, according to me. Also, that the medical profession is run by piggy banks...unfortunately. I'd like to develop this story further actually...but until then, here's The Pigmen!

     

THE PIGMEN:

by Chris Bowsman

It was dark when I first saw the pigmen. I could make out only a hazy snout lit by torchlight. One of them drugged me when a green pill was forced down my throat, and bound my hands with force cuffs behind my back, while another boxed me around with heavy hands until my gut was visibly torn and I choked back bits of blood and vomit. The air around me smelled like dank piss. If the swine's wrecking ball sized fists didn't do me in, the stench would.

"Don't worry." sneered the pig behind me.

“We’ll improve you soon.” said the pig who was in front. Before I blacked out, I consciously shook my crooked fist in rage.

I awoke face down in a sea of filth with barely enough light to see the sewage spilling over me in this tunnel. Miraculously, I stood and dodged the oncoming torrent of mud and scum. Someone had cut me free…but who? A man in a dark cloak let out a strangled whisper. “The pigmen above ground don’t want us to reach the light.” He said. He took me by the force cuff and led me down the darkness.

A door whooshed open from behind. Through my blurred vision I could still see the giant chrome chamber,  full of sticky sacks hanging from the ceiling: The mutation chambers. I cut through them with the force cuffs, and we moved onto the roof, shaped like a trough and adorned with the high-flung banner of the Pig Empire: red with a black pig head.

A dozen soldiers greeted us and came out squealing, “Come out with your hands up!” Laser rifles pointed at us. We jumped down into the trough, and since the pigs liked that filth, they couldn’t spot us. We jumped a guard in one of the escape pods from before the pig takeover. As we flew out of sight, and cheered ourselves, we saw the Empire disappear.

Then, I knew what would finally do us in. It wasn’t greed that would destroy us. It was our willingness to stay in filth. To let ourselves be “improved” by drugs. To let them make us think we are ugly and stupid. As my vision blurred over, my comrade grew a snout and tail. So, the mutation had begun.
Thinking quickly, I threw the pod into a nosedive and crash-landed in the desert to throw him off. He bit me in the leg, and squealed, and I kicked him in the snout. That would be the end of him, I thought, and cleaned myself in the oasis, until I squealed in horror…  that I had now become a pig!

“If you didn't care what happened to me, 

And I didn't care for you, 

We would zigzag our way through the boredom and pain. 

Occasionally glancing up through the rain. 

Wondering which of the buggars to blame. 

And watching for pigs on the wing.”

- Pink Floyd, Animals, Pigs on the Wing Pt. 1