Ellipsis: SciFi

Tuesday, September 08, 2026

Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... War Of The Worlds (2005)

"That's so weird... the wind is blowing toward the storm."

~Ray Ferrer ( Tom Cruise )

War Of The Worlds

Based on the book by, H.G. Wells

One thing is certainly true about Tom Cruise, he makes big screen movies. I didn't get a chance to see this movie in a theater during it's original run, only on the big screen TV almost 10 years after it's release, but I am sure it was spectacular to see, because even on my 32 inch tv, it was amazing! This is one of my favorite Steven Spielberg films, but I should also say, this might just be my favorite Tom Cruise movie. The trouble with that last statement is that I keep going back and forth about just which Tom Cruise film is my actual favorite! The man has made some excellent career choices when it comes to his films. Although, two of his best films are barely mentioned in passing, at least as far as I can tell, Magnolia, and Collateral. Anyway this version of the, War Of The Worlds, differs from the original 1952 version, as you might imagine, because of, well, special effects, obviously, but otherwise it is much more disturbing. Tim Robbins as Harlin Ogilvy, is noting short of nightmarish! He is a man who has broken from reality, but in his shoes, I am pretty sure I wouldn't have fared much better, and that's the haunting reality! Want a little bit of Halloween chills early? This movie is a pretty good start!

Are we ready to absorb the movies message yet? Probably not.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

A Look Back At February 2015, RIP Leonard Nimoy, And DressGate

"The camera can capture thought in a way

that's quite surprising and shocking.

You can become very simple and minimal in your work

and communicate a lot with just a finger

or an eyebrow, or a look, or a glance."

~Leonard Nimoy

On Photography

It's the last day of February, which means it's time to take a look back at the month in photos, but before we do that, we must take a brief pause to remember Leonard Nimoy. I, like every other kid who remembers watching Star Trek on it's first voyage on our TVs, found a new way of looking at things around me, from Mr. Spock, the half human/half Vulcan, Science Officer of the USS Enterprise. Spock was stoic, and logical and he was rational. Almost completely devoid of emotion, he reminded us that leading with impulse, rather than logic, rarely ended well. As a little girl, I kinda wished Spock would have been my brother, and missed him, and the show terribly when it ended. My brother was in Vietnam at the time, and everything seemed so far away. I remembered watching Star Trek with my brother and sister before he left, and nothing was the same without him, but somehow watching our favorite SciFi show with my sister, after he left, made my brother feel closer. I guess it was because we all three agreed... Mr. Spock WAS THE SHOW!

After Star Trek, I watched Leonard Nimoy in other rolls, and enjoyed each one, but missed him as Mr. Spock, and so did all my friends. So, when the Star Trek film franchise started in the 1980's, you can imagine how happy a whole generation was! Even when Spock was killed in the third movie, I didn't believe it, I knew someday he would return, and he did. I was right, a character like that never dies. It was so much fun seeing Spock in a lighter incarnation in, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, my favorite of the early movies, because it took everything less serious than the earlier movies, and the fact that is was set in San Francisco only made it that much more amazing! LOL. Spock was one of a kind, and so was Leonard Nimoy. As much as I loved him as Mr. Spock, he made so many other characters unforgettable, and he was the perfect choice to narrate another favorite show of mine, In Search Of..., after the death of Rod Serling. Oh my, I will miss Leonard Nimoy, but he did live long, and prospered.

Goodnight Mr. Spock.

And Now... A Look Back At February 2016