The Curates Egg

Up Coming Sci-Fi Blockbusters

After last months mammoth article I thought I'd let you off this month with something a bit shorter and lighter. As I've mentioned before, much as I have grown to love foreign films, art house movies and films that help us to understand ourselves or the world we live in; this doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good Hollywood blockbuster. Of the films coming out in the next few months there are three in particular I am looking forward to, and they all happen to be science fiction.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the War of the Sith   

The first of them is a bit too British to be a true Hollywood Blockbuster and will be out by the time you read this. The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy will be released April 28^th and is eagerly awaited by those of us who have read the book and/or remember the radio or TV versions. Advance reports are that they've managed to keep all the quirkiness whilst adding some big budget special effects so I'm hopeful that it will do justice to Douglas Adam's vision and humour.

May will see the release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith (Opens Thursday 19th), the final piece in the Star Wars jigsaw in which we will see how Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader. This may not necessarily be a great film but the Star Wars franchise remains a seminal part of movie history and I will be interested to see how George Lucas pulls together all the threads from the recent episodes and from episodes IV to VI made back in the late 70's and early 80's.  

Finally July 1^st will see the release of War of the Worlds.  The combination of Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise that has got me quite excited about this one so as soon as I can manage a trip to the cinema after my ordination, I'll be there (as one commentator has said – 'Spielberg! Cruise! Martians! What's not to love?')

After saturating you with theology last month I shall avoid the temptation to mention Hitchhiker's take on the answer to "life, the universe and everything",  or whether 'The Force' in Star Wars can be compared to the Holy Spirit  (even if the latest episode does come out in Pentecost week). So I shall just point out that all three of the films I've mentioned should be visually impressive and will really need to be seen on a big screen.

Epilogue

I went to see Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn in The Interpreter at the Empire Leicester Square and though it has had some good reviews I wasn't that impressed. It wasn't bad and it should still be around in May so by all means go and judge it for yourself, but I would probably wait for it to come out on DVD. Speaking of DVDs, I finally managed to see Finding Neverland and Diane was right (see December): it was wonderful. If you want to be truly enchanted (and have a bit of a cry) rent it now

Tim