Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

Science fiction

Science fiction
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Science fiction. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Emily Blunt as meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (left) and Josh O’Connor as cybersecurity expert Dr Daniel Kellner in a still from Disclosure Day (category IIA), directed by Steven Spielberg. Colin Firth co-stars.
American cinema

Review | Disclosure Day: Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller is a flawed but fun ride

Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth, Disclosure Day starts well and features exciting set pieces, but the final act blows it.

videocam
European cinema

Review | Arco: Annecy winner is a charming Peter Pan-esque sci-fi fable for our times

videocam
Fame and celebrity

Meet James Ortiz, voice of Rocky the alien in Project Hail Mary

China consumption

China’s sci-fi industry rides a tech wave as revenues hit record high

China’s sci-fi industry has built on the success of breakout hits like ‘The Three-Body Problem’, with revenues up over 15 per cent last year.

videocam
Robots perform at the China Science Fiction Convention in Beijing. The Chinese sci-fi industry saw revenues reach a record high last year, according to a report released during the event. Photo: Xinhua
American cinema

Review | Project Hail Mary: Ryan Gosling is stranded in dull Martian clone

Ryan Gosling plays an astronaut on a mission to save Earth in this film directed by The Lego Movie’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

videocam
Germany

Open-source sci-fi beloved in China tech circles sends geeks to ‘fix’ late Ming

The Morning Star of Linggao has attracted attention in the US but has remained outside the Chinese mainstream.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
China's military weapons

Everything we know about China’s mysterious, futuristic Nantianmen Project

Is it a storytelling vehicle for imaginative military hardware, blending science fiction with reality, or is it a glimpse of the future?

videocam
8
A CCTV report said the “space-sky integrated” fighter jets of the sci-fi Nantianmen Project would one day become reality. Photo: CCTV
UFOs and Extraterrestrial Life

Are aliens real? Obama says yes but rules out long-running conspiracy

Barack Obama says a secretive US base isn’t holding extraterrestrials - unless a massive conspiracy kept him in the dark.

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | All You Need Is Kill: Japanese novel behind Edge of Tomorrow gets animated

A young recruit is stuck in a time loop amid an alien invasion in All You Need Is Kill, an animated sci-fi thriller based on a light novel.

videocam
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Wicked City and 2000 AD rewrote the rules of Hong Kong cinema

Tsui Hark-produced alien flick Wicked City and Gordon Chan’s 2000 AD were ambitious projects that tried things new to the Hong Kong industry.

videocam
Jacky Cheung in a still from The Wicked City (1992). Peter Mak’s screen adaptation of a Japanese novel about an alien invasion broke the mould of Hong Kong cinema at the time, which largely traded on gangsters and kung fu.
Science

Letters | Moving to Mars? First, bring the human ego under control

Readers discuss why humanity needs to manage the forces within rather than change planets, and the problem with delegating work to machines.

SpaceX’s Starship lifts off during a flight test in Boca Chica, Texas in 2024. Photo: Reuters
American cinema

Review | Mercy: Chris Pratt battles a virtual judge in flawed AI courtroom thriller

Chris Pratt plays a detective accused of murder who has 90 minutes to clear his name in this ‘screenlife’ thriller that fluffs its third act.

videocam
Asian cinema

Loved Back to the Past? 10 Asian time travel gems you may also enjoy

After the success of Louis Koo’s Back to the Past, here are 10 other Asian time-travelling movies that are well worth checking out.

videocam
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Back to the Past: Louis Koo, Raymond Lam lead nostalgic film sequel

This big-budget sci-fi fantasy may be an emotional watch for fans of the 2001 Hong Kong show A Step into the Past, even if it falls short.

videocam
Louis Koo in a still from Back to the Past.
United States

Director convicted of scamming millions from Netflix for unfinished sci-fi show

Carl Erik Rinsch, best known for ‘47 Ronin’, was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering and other charges.

Netflix studios in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP
Open Questions series

Open Questions | Why sci-fi’s Liu Cixin hopes AI surpasses humanity

The Three-Body Problem author on technology’s remorseless progress, why superintelligence isn’t a given and the decline of science fiction literature.

videocam
Science

Opinion | Simulation hypothesis is really a proof for the existence of God

While science still disagrees on whether humanity lives in a simulation, philosophy has yet to rule out a ‘cosmic host’.

4
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
TV shows and streaming video

AppleTV+ sci-fi Pluribus makes the end of the world look happier than ever

The new show from Breaking Bad’s creator about a cheery hivemind virus that infects humanity flips the script on the post-apocalyptic genre.

Rhea Seehorn (left) in a still from AppleTV+‘s Pluribus. Seehorn stars as Carol Sturka, one of the only humans not to have “joined” the majority who share the same memories, skills and proclivity for kindness. Photo: Apple TV/TNS
American cinema

Michael J. Fox looks back on Back to the Future as the sci-fi turns 40

Fox talks about the DeLorean, being suddenly thrown into the lead role of the 1985 film, and how it has become ‘more accessible’ with age.

videocam
American cinema

Why Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days, 30 this month, was ahead of its time

It bombed upon release, but this 1995 sci-fi with Ralph Fiennes offers a vivid portrait of contemporary society, and some prescient warnings.

videocam
American cinema

Review | Tron: Ares – third time’s almost a charm for sci-fi film series

Starring Jared Leto and Greta Lee, Joachim Ronning’s Tron Ares is at times thrilling but features an overly familiar plot focusing on AI.

videocam
Jared Leto in a still from Tron: Ares (category IIA), directed by Joachim Ronning. Greta Lee co-stars. Photo: Leah Gallo/Disney Enterprises
US-China relations

China stakes a claim on the future with sci-fi and speculative fiction

Liu Cixin’s Three-Body trilogy and other Chinese works may challenge the West’s projection of capitalist society in fiction, experts say.

videocam
Speculative fiction, cited in 2022 by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology as useful for promoting science engagement, has become an important platform to showcase China’s soft power. Photo: Xinhua
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Measure in Love: Angela Yuen and Greg Hsu in baffling fantasy romance

Benny Kung’s dystopian fairy tale in which humanity is separated across two sides of the ocean looks good but leaves basic logic far behind.

videocam
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | The Great Flood: Kim Da-mi can’t save bewildering Netflix sci-fi fantasy

Kim Da-mi stars in what begins as a disaster movie then spins off into science fiction, a move that will surely leave viewers floundering.

videocam
Asean

Opinion | AI won’t provide the answer to today’s geoeconomic puzzles

No algorithm can predict how the clash of civilisations and economies on a global scale will unfold.

videocam
Garment workers walk out of their factory during their lunch break in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 8. Trump threatened steep tariffs on the country, finally agreeing on 19 per cent. Photo: AFP
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy – Korean fantasy is glossy but uninspired

Featuring Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Min-ho, Chae Soo-bin and K-pop’s Nana and Jisoo, this Korean sci-fi fantasy fails to live up to its ambitions.

videocam
Nana (left) as feisty fighter Hui-won and Ahn Hyo-seop as recently fired office worker Dok-ja in a still from Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy.
Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon – sci-fi anime film is for diehard fans only

Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon offers a big-screen compilation of the anime, but character development and emotional nuance are stripped away.

videocam
China consumption

China’s sci-fi industry shoots for stars as Beijing pushes ‘quality’ growth

With successes like The Three-Body Problem, the genre has never been more popular – and authorities have taken note.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement