Beautiful Dreamer: A Poignant Sci-Fi Short Film for Mother's Day
Ken Liu writes such beautifully touching sci-fi and fantasy. I dare you not to be moved by his short stories The Paper Menagerie, a multiple award-winning tale of a biracial boy in a Northeastern suburb whose paper menagerie comes to life with the magic of his mother's love, or Memories of My Mother, an incredibly poignant sci-fi tale of a dying mother who goes to great lengths to steal a few moments through the years in order to watch her daughter grow up.
With stories packing such an emotional punch, it's no surprise that filmmakers have adapted his work. Beautiful Dreamer is one such adaptation. Based on Memories of My Mother above, this 26-minute short captures all the love and heartache shared between a mother and daughter through the years that was so affecting (and, for me at least, emotionally devastating) in Liu's original flash fiction tale.
Take the time to read and watch them both this weekend — you'll only need half an hour for both. It'll be worth it, I promise.
Beautiful Dreamer
Based on the short story Memories of My Mother by Ken Liu
A dying mother travels at near-light speed, bending time to watch her baby daughter grow up.
Beautiful Dreamer is a sci-fi, time travel tale set in a striking near future world of drones, robots, holograms and transport pods. But it’s also a personal story. A mother, facing a terminal disease, leaves her baby daughter and travels into space at near-light speed. Using relativity, she is able to stretch her final two years over her daughter’s entire lifetime but is only able to visit her daughter for one night every seven years. The visits are sometimes sad and sometimes beautiful. The daughter reaches her own mother’s age and then passes far beyond that while the mother is left stranded at the same age she was when she first left. The characters are torn apart by the same technology that unites them - briefly - over a lifetime.
Director: David Gaddie
Starring: Jo Armeniox, Natalie Smith and Lynn Cohen
Run Time: 26 minutes (26:11)
What to Watch This Month: The Best SFF Movies & TV in March
I have to say it: this month has kinda sucked for SFF on screen. With not a lot so far beyond the pretty-but-messy adaptation of the classic A Wrinkle in Time, and the super bland Tomb Raider reboot no one wanted or needed, it's really no wonder that Black Panther has ruled the box office for five weeks running. Wakanda forever!
But there are still two weekends left for March to redeem itself; today's release of Pacific Rim: Uprising is expected to finally topple the Marvel box office behemoth (despite Pacific Rim's less than stellar reviews). And if it doesn't, next week's Spielberg adaptation of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One surely will. Sandwiched in between this battle of the sci-fi action-adventure blockbusters: Steven Soderbergh doing horror on an iPhone and Wes Anderson doing... well, Wes Anderson, in a fantastical, animated, dystopian way.
Here are my top spec flix to watch the rest of this month on screens big and small...
Coming to Theaters:
I Kill Giants (In Theaters, DVD & Streaming March 23)
I Kill Giants faithfully adapts the graphic novel for a striking coming-of-age movie that blends magical realism with heartbreaking drama. Young Barbara escapes the realities of life by retreating into a fantasy world to fight evil giants. With help from a new friend and a school counselor, Barbara soon learns to face her fears and battle the giants that pose a threat to her.
Watch this if you... loved A Monster Calls the book, if not so much the movie adaptation; are now or have ever been a struggling teen; want to see more strong girl protagonists; or if you'd just like to see a smaller-scale, more somber comic book adaptation.
Isle of Dogs (In Theaters March 23)
In a dystopian future Japan, dogs have been quarantined on a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island due to a "canine flu". 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.
Watch this if you... love dogs and Wes Anderson (especially his Fantastic Mr. Fox); like dystopian tales; or if you like watching award-winning stop-motion festival films (Anderson won the Silver Bear for Best Director at this year's Berlinale).
Pacific Rim: Uprising (In Theaters March 23)
Jake Pentecost is a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity's victory against the monstrous Kaiju. Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through cities and bring the world to its knees, Jake is given one last chance by his estranged sister, Mako Mori, to live up to his father's legacy. [Sci-Fi | Action | Adventure - 45% Rotten Tomatoes]
Watch this if you... liked the Guillermo Del Toro original and won't be too bothered by his directing absence here; if you'd like to see John Boyega in something other than Star Wars; if you like kaiju movies; or if you really loved Robotech and long for a live action version (although this will probably just make you pine even more).
Unsane (In Theaters March 23)
Sawyer Valentini relocates from Boston to Pennsylvania to escape from the man who's been stalking her for the last two years. While consulting with a therapist, Valentini unwittingly signs in for a voluntary 24-hour commitment to the Highland Creek Behavioral Center. Her stay at the facility soon gets extended when doctors and nurses begin to question her sanity. Sawyer now believes that one of the staffers is her stalker -- and she'll do whatever it takes to stay alive and fight her way out. [Horror | Thriller - 79% Rotten Tomatoes]
Watch this if you... like Steven Soderbergh movies and want to see his take on a low-budget horror movie shot entirely on an iPhone; or if you just like horror and psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators in general.
Ready Player One (In Theaters March 30)
In the year 2045, people can escape their harsh reality in the OASIS, an immersive virtual world where you can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone-the only limits are your own imagination. OASIS creator James Halliday left his immense fortune and control of the Oasis to the winner of a contest designed to find a worthy heir. When unlikely hero Wade Watts conquers the first challenge of the reality-bending treasure hunt, he and his friends-known as the High Five-are hurled into a fantastical universe of discovery and danger to save the OASIS and their world.
Watch this if you... liked the book and want to see it brought to life; if you liked the 'virtual reality gamer' premise of the book, if not so much the book itself; if you're a Spielberg fanboy or fangirl; or if you love 80's pop culture references mixed in with your sci-fi à la Stranger Things.
Binge Watch Now:
Jessica Jones (Season 2 on Netflix)
New York City private investigator Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is beginning to put her life back together after murdering her tormenter, Kilgrave. Now known throughout the city as a super-powered killer, a new case makes her reluctantly confront who she really is while digging deeper into her past to explore the reasons why. Based on a graphic novel intended for adults, this Netflix original is not a superhero story for the kids.
Watch this if you... loved the first season; love how Netflix adapts comic books; have loved Krysten Ritter since way back in the day (be it from Breaking Bad or Gilmore Girls or Veronica Mars); or if you just love brooding, bad-ass, ass-kicking chicks.
Santa Clarita Diet (Season 2 on Netflix)
Picking up right where we left off, Season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet finds the Hammonds trying to adapt to Sheila's now-advanced undead state -- even though she's desperately working to hold on to her suburban lifestyle and not be defined as just another monster. Unfortunately -- while the family has become markedly better at murder -- the number of missing people in Santa Clarita is starting to pile up and it's no longer going unnoticed. Meanwhile, the Hammonds are chasing the source of the virus so they can stop it from spreading and save humanity -- which seems important. Through it all, Sheila and Joel are grounded by their unconditional love for one another. Sure, being undead -- or loving someone who is -- isn't always easy, but don't all relationships have their challenges?
Watch this if you... loved the hilarious first season; love Drew Barrymore and/or Timothy Olyphant; love quirky, off-beat, weird fiction, especially with a small town vibe; love zombie tales of any kind, but especially the comedic ones.
On DVD & Streaming:
In addition to the Oscar winners and big blockbusters you already know about (The Shape of Water, Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, Jumanji, Star Wars: The Last Jedi), check out these smaller SFF films coming to DVD & VOD this month:
In this tense sci-fi thriller, a psychologist engages a young genius in a battle of wits, unaware that the girl possesses telekinetic gifts and is considered too dangerous to be allowed to live.
When an alien takes the form of an adult film star, both must learn to cope with the complexities of being human in this mesmerizing film festival favorite. Lauren Ashley Carter plays the dual role of Julianna and the alien.
A frustrated girl attempts an occult ritual in order to kill her mother, but awakens something sinister in the woods instead, in the latest from director Adam MacDonald (Backcountry).
What to Watch This Month: The Best SFF Movies & TV in February
This time of year is generally a wasteland lacking in interesting movies — January and February have long been considered the "dump months" where low budget horror can thrive, but otherwise where bad movies go to die. But the times, they are a changing.
Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have upped their game, bringing viewers new high-quality TV and movies all throughout the year. And thanks to the massive success of the February-released Deadpool, movie studios are finally starting to realize that bigger films at this time can still make gobs of money, too. Luckily for all us movie lovers!
Here are the best SFF movie and TV picks to watch this February...
TV to Watch Now:
Altered Carbon (Netflix)
Based on the classic cyberpunk noir novel by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon is an intriguing story of murder, love, sex, and betrayal, set more than 300 years in the future. Society has been transformed by new technology: consciousness can be digitized; human bodies are interchangeable; death is no longer permanent. Takeshi Kovacs is the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned – on ice – for centuries until Laurens Bancroft, an impossibly wealthy, long-lived man, offers Kovacs the chance to live again. In exchange, Kovacs has to solve a murder … that of Bancroft himself.
Watch this if you... loved the Richard K. Morgan novel on which this is based, you love Joel Kinnaman, cyberpunk and cool futuristic sci-fi worlds in general, or if you're still up tonight at midnight Pacific time, which is when this actually hits Netflix.
Black Mirror (Netflix)
Black Mirror is an anthology series that taps into our collective unease with the modern world, with each stand-alone episode a sharp, suspenseful tale exploring themes of contemporary techno-paranoia. Without questioning it, technology has transformed all aspects of our lives; in every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a Smartphone – a Black Mirror reflecting our 21st Century existence back at us.
Watch this if you... don't mind being too freaked out to use social media or most modern technology ever again. I dare you to watch this and not come away from it certain the ads that stalk you across the internet are, in fact, reading your mind (although that could've just been me... this will make you paranoid either way).
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (Amazon Prime)
"Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams" is a 10-episode science-fiction anthology series that journeys into unique worlds beyond the reach of the imagination. Based on short stories written by Dick, each stand-alone episode is inspired by a different story, adapted by a team of leading British and American writers. The all-star cast changes with each episode and includes Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, Greg Kinnear, Timothy Spall and Anna Paquin.
Watch this if you... love Philip K. Dick or you want to watch a techno-dystopian kind of thing, but aren't yet ready for the disturbing level of paranoia that will creep into your soul if you were to watch Black Mirror instead.
Movies Coming Soon:
Black Panther (In Theaters February 16)
After the death of his father, T'Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.
Watch this if you... want to see a comic book movie that is, in the words of a friend who was lucky enough to attend the premiere (a fact which I am not salty about at all, oh no), "...the best Marvel movie ever OMG OMG!!! ...Yes bitch, even better than Winter Soldier! This movie cleared my skin and watered my crops and nourished my soul! SO MUCH BLACK GIRL MAGIC OMG!!!"
Annihilation (In Theaters February 23)
A group of soldiers enters an environmental disaster zone and only one soldier comes back out alive, though he is grievously injured. In an attempt to save his life, his wife Lena, a biologist, volunteers for another expedition into the zone to figure out what happened to him. Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy, Annihilation stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac. It was written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later).
Watch this if you... are a fan of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series (or VanderMeer in general), Natalie Portman or writer/director Alex Garland, or if you just love a good sci-fi horror flick as much as I do.
Mute (On Netflix February 23)
Berlin, the future, but close enough to feel familiar: In this loud, often brutal city, Leo (Alexander Skarsgård) – unable to speak from a childhood accident – searches for his missing girlfriend, the love of his life, his salvation, through dark streets, frenzied plazas, and the full spectrum of the cities shadow-dwellers. As he seeks answers, Leo finds himself mixed up with Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin Theroux), a pair of irreverent US army surgeons on a mission all their own. This soulful sci-fi journey from filmmaker Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code, Warcraft) imagines a world of strange currencies in which echoes of love and humanity are still worth listening to.
Watch this if you... loved the movie Moon and want to see more from its director, you're a fan of Alexander Skarsgård or Paul Rudd, you love movie scores by Clint Mansell, or you're just in the mood for a hypnotic sci-fi noir and don't want to leave the comfort of your own home.
