SCI FI PI

Now that The Dark Knight has shattered pretty much every worldwide opening box office record, it seems only fair to warn you that there may be plenty more comic book action where that came from. Namely, DC. Watchmen, (not 'The' Watchmen), the Zack Snyder directed version of the classic graphic novel, is coming out in March next year. Yes. March next year. It's a while away, but the buzz is phenomenal. If you know all about Watchmen, then you've seen the trailer already. But if not, here's the down low.

Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet, Xzibit.
Director: Chris Carter
Released July 24
Rated M


This is X-Files soup, good and hearty. No vampires, no explosions. Creepy, a little bit supernatural (but not a lot) and a really close look at the clash of science and faith. This isn't so much a 'monster of the week' X-Files episode made big, but a story about a doctor and an ex-FBI kook who join forces to solve a snowbound mystery.

Well, first things first. The footage that you were so worried about that had been released on the internet is actually all from the first four minutes. So no real spoilers there.

The many Star Treks have as many different flavours as there are in your average well stocked Gelato Bar. When it finally comes to the hazelnut, or perhaps the pistachio of Sci Fi, you'll be wanting the faraway adventures of Star Trek Voyager. If you've never been able to get into it, or have missed too many episodes, July 2008 marks a special time for you, dear SCI FI fan.

Voyager is coming home.

From this Tuesday the 22nd, every weekday will screen the Star Trek Voyager journey, at midday and at 6.30pm, starting with the very first Voyager episode of all, Caretaker Part 1, this Wednesday, and Caretaker Part 2, on Thursday. See how the crew of Voyager ended up 75,000 light years from home, stuck in the suburbs of the Delta Quadrant. Find out what Captain Janeway used to do with her hair, and what got Tom Paris stuck in a penal colony in New Zealand!

Everybody's favourite Mark, Marky Mark Whalberg, is back and floating, Bourne-style in the new Max Payne trailer.

That's right folks, the video game to movie transfer experiment continues. Luckily Uwe Boll's not involved with this one. But, as the game to film track record suggests, that's no comfort or guarantee of quality.

The director is John Moore, who's provided us with such gems as the remake of Flight of The Phoenix, the remake of The Omen and the Owen Wilson laughaster, Behind Enemy Lines.

Tor is one of the most respected names in the Si Fi and Fantasy publishing world, and they've managed to keep pace with changing times. Thus, when they launch a new website, fans of the written Sci Fi word should and will take notice. Especially when they keep up the good work of allowing free books to be downloaded!

On the 20th of July, their new website (tor.com - not too hard to remember) will go live. Here's what they official word says they'll have on the site:

"Original fiction from star authors. Galleries of images from the field’s best artists. News and commentary about not just Tor books, but the SF world overall. Topical coverage of major events like San Diego Comic Con (July 23-27) and the World Science Fiction Convention (August 6-10). Weblog posts and guest appearances by some of the most interesting personalities and thinkers around. And your own feedback and discussions, plus tools to enable you to track the subjects and conversations you care about the most."

If you're at a bit of a loose end on Wednesday night, why not pop in to our Forum for a quick look around and a chat with other SCI FI-minded folk?

8.30pm - 10.30pm is the official unofficial time for people to get together and say what's what's about anything at all.

This week the general discussion topic will start off SCI FI MOVIES, with The Dark Knight, X-Files: I Want To Believe and Stargate: Continuum set to be the stars of the show. Start your own thread, or join in, or just watch as the geek-level peels off the Warp factors as we reach a crescendo of knowledge hitherto unimagined.

With The X-Files: I Want to Believe opening up next week on the 24th, it seems only sweet and fitting and proper (dulce et decorum est, Latin fans!) that we at SCI FI hold an entirely over-the-top competition to celebrate.

Should you deign to enter, you may in fact find yourself inundated with a swag of goodies that would make even Cancer Man feel guilty in tucking away. It is truly extravagant, including a GPS Car system, a mobile phone, an entire set of X-Files DVDs and more!

You will want to believe in yourself, that you can win one of the four prize packs. Sculls and Mulls would.

General Manager of Sydney Imax, Mark Bretherton, has announced that Sydneysiders are in fact the luckiest people in the world this week, and it's not because The Pope is in town.

Several key scenes of The Dark Knight were originally shot on Imax cameras. The ratio of Imax film information to normal 35 mm film information is 10:1. The print being used in Sydney was cut from the original film negative - the only other in the world will be in London.

That means you will be able to see the biggest, clearest, most spectacular Dark Knight sequences if you live in Sydney.

Released July 17
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart
Director Christopher Nolan
Rating M





It's tempting just to write a one word review for this film - 'astonishing'. It's not just the best comic book movie ever made, it's one of the best 'movie' movies ever made.

You should go and see it.

All the hype that's been bandied about is not some kind of weird fanboy frenzy. This may be a comic book movie, but only because it's been based on a character created for a comic book. There is a tone of realism that acknowledges its origins within the film, that separates it from all 'comic book' movies that have come before it. Some of this is due to the performances, with most obviously Heath Ledger leading the way, but it is also a testament to top-notch direction and scriptwriting. We haven't gone to some far off world inhabited by super heroes and super villains. They've come to us.

The joy of July's SCI FI Originals just keep on coming this week with some big names and a some big ideas - but first up this Monday is a bit of Star Trek Midnight Madness - the classic fun that is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

It's actually on at 12.10 am on Tuesday morning, but hey - this kind of Star Trek fun is the kind of thing you stay up for! With Kirk and McCoy stuck in a Klingon death camp and a plot to destabilize a newfound peace between The Federation and the Klingon Empire - that involves a young and spunky Kim Cattrall, you really can't afford to miss out. Certainly not with Shakespeare-quoting Klingons, sexy shape-shifting aliens and 'Captain' Sulu yelling lines like "then fly her apart, then!"