Steve Heronemus

Movies Critiqued

“Under the Skin”

Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin” is not an action-adventure sci-fi popcorn flick. It is, in the best science fiction literary tradition, a thoughtful look at the human condition.Scarlett Johansson’s alien character, driving around Scotland in a van, is on a metaphorical journey as well. With each encounter, each stop, she acquires a human trait of …

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Ex Machina: Is This The First Feminist Sci-Fi Movie?

Sorry, George Lukas. The Empire Strikes Back is no longer my second-favorite science fiction movie. Ex Machina is a brilliantly conceived, written, and executed film inhabited by deep characters subtly, expertly, portrayed. This is a gripping psychodrama encased in an exploration of artificial intelligence that questions the definitions of humanness, femaleness and patriarchy. It is creepy, mesmerizing, horrifying, and …

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How Tough is Your Jacket?

In my opinion this is Kubrick’s most misunderstood work. Critics at its release were put off by the lack of emotional drama and perceived sterility, especially when compared to Platoon. Today’s critics call it a masterpiece (it gets a 94% at Rotten Tomatoes) for its “innocence lost” and human duality themes 

2001: A Space Odyssey

Production on 2001: A Space Odyssey began in 1965 when Stanley Kubrick contacted author (and legitimate scientist) Arthur C. Clarke with the idea of collaborating to create “the proverbial good science fiction movie”. Using Clarke’s short story “The Sentinel” as a foundation, the idea was to release film and a novelization in tandem. The collaboration …

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It Happened on 5th Avenue

This is a movie that just makes me happy. We discovered it just last year and watched it over and over. It’s a movie that has been neglected for far too long, lost among the heavy hitters among Christmas movies like Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life” and “White Christmas”.