Skip to content
The Spool

The Spool

Unraveling Pop Culture One Thread at a Time
Main navigation
  • Podcasts
    • More of a Comment Really
    • Hall of Faces
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Patreon
  • News
    • Awards
  • About
  • Contact

science fiction

“Strange Days” says more about 2020 than it did about 1999

T T Read More

Kathryn Bigelow’s vision of a grim future was mostly rejected by audiences — now we’re living in it.

Chris Ludovici Posted on November 16, 2020November 15, 2020

“Synchronic” sends Anthony Mackie through twisty, satisfying sci-fi thrills

Synchronic
T T Read More

Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson continue their hot streak of inventive, idiosyncratic science fiction with a refreshingly heartfelt time-travel thriller.

Clint Worthington Posted on October 23, 2020October 23, 2020

“Star Trek: Discovery” Season 3 Episode 1: Finally charting its own course

Star Trek Discovery Season 3 Episode 1
T T Read More

Trek’s flagship series takes a dramatic leap forward, stumbling toward its true potential.

Andrew Bloom Posted on October 18, 2020October 18, 2020

Breaking down the trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune”

Dune Trailer
T T Read More

We sift through the sands of Arrakis to find the nuggets of spice in the trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s sprawling space epic Dune.

The Spool Staff Posted on September 9, 2020September 9, 2020

“Away” takes you to Mars with no small amount of heart

away
T T Read More

A treacly Lost pastiche about astronauts and the lives left behind on an interstellar mission gives way to surprisingly humanistic highs.

Tim Stevens Posted on September 4, 2020September 4, 2020

Star Trek Lower Decks Episode 5 Recap: “Cupid’s Errant Arrow”

Star Trek Lower Decks Episode 5
T T Read More

Love bites like a parasite in a charming episode that finally locks in Lower Decks’ more refreshing stakes.

Clint Worthington Posted on September 3, 2020September 3, 2020

“Raised by Wolves” blends sci-fi with the medieval grind of parenthood

Raised By Wolves
T T Read More

Ridley Scott produces a heady, intellectual science fiction series with big, sumptuous ideas and occasionally shaggy presentation.

Jon Negroni Posted on September 3, 2020September 3, 2020

In Soviet Russia, “Sputnik” scares YOU

Sputnik
T T Read More

Alien parasites wreak havoc on Mother Russia in this pulpy, viscerally effective creepfest.

Michael Snydel Posted on August 14, 2020August 14, 2020

“Star Trek: Lower Decks” digs into its misfit crew in “Envoys”

Star Trek Lower Decks Episode 2 "Envoys"
T T Read More

Boimler and Mariner run afoul of a drunken Klingon, and Rutherford has a Starfleet identity crisis.

Clint Worthington Posted on August 13, 2020August 13, 2020

“Star Trek: Lower Decks” kicks off with an irreverent “Second Contact”

Star Trek Lower Decks Episode 1
T T Read More

The Rick and Morty vibe takes a lot of getting used to, but there are glimmers of promise in the latest Star Trek adventure.

Clint Worthington Posted on August 6, 2020August 6, 2020

“Flatliners” was Joel Schumacher’s attempt to touch the void

Flatliners
T T Read More

Joel Schumacher’s 1990 foray into psychological horror wasn’t just a look at mortality, but also a meditation on what lie on the other side.

Samantha Schorsch Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

“Jason X” goes to space and sucks on so many levels

Jason X
T T Read More

New Line sends Jason to the final frontier, and sends all the thinly-drawn characters and low-budget kills of the franchise with him.

Clint Worthington Posted on May 27, 2020May 27, 2020

“The Vast of Night” is a fuzzy, evocative sci-fi debut

The Vast of Night
T T Read More

Andrew Patterson’s tale of strange goings-on in ’50s New Mexico is full of detail, even if it doesn’t reach its full potenial.

Michael Snydel Posted on May 27, 2020May 27, 2020

“Blood Machines” is a trippy, cosmic synth-wave opera

Blood Machines
T T Read More

Shudder’s latest is a synthwave sci-fi opera is thinly plotted and unapologetically lurid, but packed with gorgeous grindhouse visuals.

Clint Worthington Posted on May 21, 2020May 20, 2020

Capturing Dystopias: “Snowpiercer” and “Westworld” cinematographer John Grillo

Snowpiercer Cinematography
T T Read More

The cinematographer behind much of HBO’s Westworld and TNT’s Snowpiercer talks about the rocky road to filming two disparate sci-fi dystopias.

Clint Worthington Posted on May 18, 2020May 18, 2020

“Snowpiercer” goes off the rails far too quickly

Snowpiercer
T T Read More

TNT’s adaptation of the French comic and Bong Joon-ho film struggles to stretch its high-concept premise across an entire series.

Clint Worthington Posted on May 17, 2020May 17, 2020

“Solar Opposites” is more bright, brazen work from the “Rick and Morty” team

Solar Opposites
T T Read More

Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan’s Hulu series looks at human folly from an alien—and fittingly cynical—perspective.

Sean Price Posted on May 6, 2020May 5, 2020

“Westworld” season 3 finale questions the nature of its programming

Westworld Season 3 Finale
T T Read More

Season 3 finally comes to a shuddering halt, bogged down in the same plotting problems it spent all […]

Clint Worthington Posted on May 4, 2020May 4, 2020

Posts navigation

Previous1 2 3 … 9 Next
© 2021 The Spool. Podcast logo by Josh Hollis. Made with love by Pixelgrade
Footer navigation
  • About
  • Contact
Secondary navigation
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Mail
  • Feed
  • Patreon
  • Search

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.