Book Review: Triptych by JM Frey

Had the pleasure of reading the début novel from author JM Frey earlier this year, but only now have had time to write a proper review.


In Triptych, earth has become the last refuge of a race of bipedal aliens whose planet has been destroyed in a cataclysmic explosion. While the majority of people have been accommodating and accepting, with many nations formally working to integrate the aliens into Earth civilization, there still exists groups whose racism and bigotry have found new targets.

Enter two reasearchers with The Institute, Gwen Pierson and Dr. Basil Grey who are working with the alien Kalp to help reverse engineer some of the alien tech and acclimatize to each other's cultural norms. Frey's trio of characters are the emotional heart and soul of the story. Their journey from workmates to an "aglunate", a type of intimate social unit common on Kalp's home planet, is what drives the story. Not everyone is ready to accept this level of integration and conflict ensues.

Oh and did I mention there is time travel? While not the focus of the novel, time travel does play a pivotal role in the story and is used to good effect.

You can read my full review here -Review of Triptych by JM Frey

Why I Hate Terra Nova

Review contains some swear words - If you are easily offended stop reading now

Okay maybe HATE is strong word considering I haven't seen it yet, but as a fan of most things time travel related, I am NOT looking forward to Terra Nova's debut later this month on FOX.

For starters the premise strikes me as clichéd - human race is doomed, scientists decide to save the human race by exporting our problems to some other planet or in this case time period. It sounds like Earth 2 meets Land of the Lost.

If you were actually going to use a time machine to try to save the human race, I would not choose the  Cretaceous period. For starters there's that nasty problem of carnivorous dinosaurs to deal with and if that weren't enough civilization is still likely doomed in 65 million years when that big old meteor comes crashing to Earth. I could probably give you another 50 reasons why this little colony is more doomed than first settlers at Roanoke.

Okay so I gather from early reviews that perhaps the pioneers were misled about the time period, but still the scientists should have known better. The only logical reason I can think of transporting back to the era of T-Rex and his bad ass buddies would be for pure entertainment purposes. Oh, wait that's right, this is TV and people lapped that Jurassic Park shit up 20 years ago. It would make for killer TV right?

I dunno, I am not sold. YET. I'll try not to prejudge it more than I already have, but its going to be hard to get over my distaste for the premise.

I could think of a lot more DRAMATIC and interesting times to transport people back to if you were going to try to give humanity a better chance of surviving. I gathered from previews that the expedition is largely American-centric so why not send the crew back to pre-Columbus times in America. It's your country anyhow right. [Sarcasm Alert] Who's going to argue if you go back and colonize America a few hundred years earlier. Sure you mess up the timeline (just a little), but it would make for interesting drama. You could have factions that want to do it right this time around and come up with some sort of Utopia where they live in harmony with the aboriginal people (Native Americans or as we Canadians say First Nations people.) Except they're not Native Americans yet, its their land still, ain't it. So the assholes among the expedition want to "do it right this time around" and "assimilate" them before they become a problem. Ah, now I see the problem, people don't want to deal with that sort of racism and race issues on TV.

So they give you dinosaurs. No one can get upset about blowing up some T-Rex because they threaten your plans to conquer the world.

I somehow doubt this overpriced show will last more than one season, but I wait for them to prove me wrong.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show here's the First Look Trailer on YouTube

If you want a second opinion check out the NY Times Review here

Source Code

Director Ducan Jones' follow up movie to his brilliant, if flawed, Moon is due out next Spring (April 15, 2011) and is called Source Code.

Here's the synopsis from the website ENTERTHESOURCECODE.COM

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code," a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.

You can see the trailer here as well.

At first glance it seems like a cross between Groundhog Day + 12 Monkeys + The Matrix, which isn't a bad thing if its done right. What worries me is when you watch the trailer, they lean way too heavily on the love interest. Then it starts sounding a bit like the Denzel Washington movie Déjà Vu and that can be a problem.

I'll reserve judgement on it until I see it or learn more about it, but I pray and hope that Jones doesn't turn into another M. Night Shyamalan, and fails to live up to his promise.

Check back in the spring for a full review of the movie.

Awesome Anachronistic Alt/1977

I just stumbled upon Alex Varanese's website courtesy of Boing Boing and am in love with his Alt/1977: We Are Not Time Travelers. He takes 2010 technology and re-imagines it in glossy 1977 ads with faux-wood products, red LEDs, and a orange and yellow color scheme straight out of the 70s. Even better than the retro-mp3 players or the LapTron is the ad copy.

Sample line from the Pocket Hi-Fi:

"So next time you are looking for a way to bring your tunes with you on the go, remember two things: Nothing beats the Pocket Hi-Fi^tm and our company definitely wasn't started by rogue time travelers from 33 years in the future. Like at all."

Priceless.

Now, I need framed prints of these ASAP!

Summer Movies with Time Travel

There are at least two movies coming out this summer with elements of time travel and alternate universes.

Due out May 21st is Shrek Forever After, the fourth installment in the franchise. This go around finds Shrek doing battle with Rumpelstiltskin who tricks him into wishing for a universe where he never met Fiona and still lives in the swamp. This alternate universe has Rumpelstiltskin as King and Shrek is forced to try to set things right.

Due out May 28th is Prince of Persia: Sands of Time which is based on the video game of the same name. Starring a very buff Jake Gyllenhaal, as the Prince Dastan who is trying to stop the Sands of Time from destroying the world. The Prince is able to control the flow of time using a magical dagger.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Yup, you read that right. Hot Tub Time Machine is coming to a screen near you this March. A R-rated comedy starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke, the group is transported back to 1986 and a ski weekend via a hot tub time machine.

It looks ridiculous and who doesn't love to make fun of the 1980s. Those of us that are of the main character's generation remember it well and anyone born in the 1980s is sure to love the retro-nostalgia of a time they don't remember. Only an iPod-generation would find the thought of a chunky, yellow, Walkman, that plays cassettes funny.

The trailers do look funny and I think its largely a combination of the material and the deadpan comedic timing of the actors involved.

Check out the latest trailer here at i09.com http://bit.ly/90mxhs

The trailerw can also be found here - http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/hottubtimemachine/

Or you can go to the official website http://www.kicksomepast.com

io9.com also has the Restricted trailer (NSFW)here - http://io9.com/5454056/raunchiest-hot-tub-time-machine-trailer-to-date-%5Bnsfw%5D

Time Travel is a Bitch

"Time travel is a bitch" - Sawyer from "Lost"

Time travel's a bitch sound bite  LOST sound bites

I was just browsing this site Entertonement.com which has a wealth of clips from everything and anything imaginable including Time Travel related quotes like the one from Sawyer above.

There's also the sound from Lost when they are travelling through time.

Time travel sound sound bite  LOST sound bites

You can also find audio clips from Terminator, Back to the Future, and Dr. Who television series. Surprisingly there are very few clips from movies like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure or say Donnie Darko.

Let me know if you know of any other great sites for sound clips (especially time travel / sci-fi related ones).

I'll leave you with this last one with wise words from Doc Brown.

If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit sound bite  Back to the Future sound bites