Thenessgroup

Sometimes you need to turn your brain off and just watch something stupid and bloody... Evil Aliens is a comic horror film from 2005 starring Emily Booth as a cynical TV journalist and featuring Red Dwarf's Norman Lovett sadly only in a minor role. Booth and her crew are sent to investigate an alien abduction story on an isolated Welsh farm, accompanied by an eccentric UFO expert played by Jamie Honeybourne. It soon becomes clear that the aliens are somewhat hostile, and the film progresses into a series of close encounters of the messy kind. This film is an unashamed gorefest, and it's very clear the budget has been spent mainly on realistic blood-and-guts effect shots which are detailed, delightfully inventive and utterly gratuitous. Everything else is cheaper - the script is perhaps not as fine tuned as it could be, the aliens appear to have bought cheap Predator costumes on eBay and rendered their spaceship CGI on Microsoft Paint. The acting is all hammed-up melodrama but i...

Greeta is a Northlander, a Viking living amongst Native Americans. The Shining Star Nation has welcomed Greeta and her people into their midst but acceptance is not universal, and suspicions and superstitions remain. Without warning, Greeta is rejected by her tribe and discovers that her own family has concealed an important truth about her identity. Dragonfly by Resa Nelson is part alternate history and part magical fantasy, drawing on the folklore of both populations. Within the unusual setting, Greeta's story is about self-discovery and growing up in many senses - becoming an adult woman, discovering her past and identity, and making choices about who to trust and who to love. This novel gripped me from about the third chapter onwards right through to the end and I would highly recommend it. Dragonfly is the start of a second trilogy in this setting (the three Dragonslayer novels come first) however I had not read these novels so I didn't see the twists coming and I particul...

The Romans were forward thinkers. When they founded their settlement at Verulaneum, who knows - perhaps in their minds' eyes they could see, in the distant future, a time when their descendents might recline in the local forum, taverna or caldarium watching a finely curated selection of entertainments, while an army of slaves fed them grapes and sweetmeats and attended to their every whim. We will perhaps never know if they did indeed ponder on such a prediction, but if so those Roman thinkers would be gratified to know that they got it broadly right. The third St. Albans Film Festival is already in full swing (admittedly with surprisingly little slavery), and there's an exciting programme coming up this weekend. On Saturday, choose either Monsters Vs Aliens or Alien Resurrection while you swim at Westminster Lodge, head to the Maltings to see the first three Star Trek movies in their non-reimagined, pre-reboot glory, or make your way to the Town Hall for the music video progr...

So pleased to announce that Steampunk Girl has won the International Music Video award at London Independent Film Festival 2015 . This is my first film festival award in any category so it's a major bucket list item ticked off - probably don't need to do the parachute jump or the threesome now. Shortwave Cinema, the location for most LIFF screenings and events including the awards ceremony and closing party. Congratulations to all the winners: No-Budget Feature — THE MILKY WAY by Tor Mian UK Feature — SOLITARY by Sasha Krane Best Actor – Pearl Chanda in THE FINAL HAUNTING Best Director – Simon Blake for STILL International Feature – VERTICAL by Steven Savage Sci-Fi/ Horror — UNHALLOWED GROUND by Russell England Micro-Budget Feature — THE LAST SPARKS OF SUNDOWN by James Kibbey Documentary — ALFRED AND JAKOBINE by Jonathan Howells Short Documentary — Jordanne by Zak Razvi UK Short — BEVERLEY by Alexander Thomas International Short — THE WHEEL OF TIME by Kagan Kerimoglu Horror Sho...

As Niels Bohr once said, prediction is very difficult - especially about the future. Still no hyperdrives, flying cars, hoverboards, dolphin translators or dystopian gladiatorial contests, but according to this article head transplants are on the horizon - props to the makers of Worzel Gummidge for being such unexpected visionaries. Someone had their thinking head on... However I can confidently predict that cinemaphiles will have plenty to enjoy at this year's London Independent Film Festival , which opens this Thursday. Horror fans should check out the programme on Friday 24th April, which includes the haunted-school feature Unhallowed Ground  as well as a selection of horror shorts. For science fiction fans, there will be a selection of sci-fi shorts on Saturday 25th April. Also try and get to the festival on Saturday 18th April, when the programme will include Emma Maclennan's dystopian short film AIR , winner of Phoenix Film Festival's Best Sci-Fi Short Film award ear...

Programmes and tickets for both St. Albans Film Festival and London Independent Film Festival are now available on their websites. "Steampunk Girl" will appear at both festivals in their music video events: first at London Independent on Sunday 19th April, then at St. Albans on Saturday 2nd May. I'll post more about these great festivals soon, in the meantime please check out the websites and programmes as both festivals have some great features planned.

I previously reviewed The Speed Of Dark, Elizabeth Moon's near-future novel about adults with autism, here . As this week is World Autism Awareness Week I've chosen to review another novel featuring a character with autism: Gone by Michael Grant. Suddenly and without warning or special effects of any kind, all the adults and over-15s living in Sam Temple's town Perdido Beach have disappeared. A mysterious barrier has also appeared around the town so no-one can leave or contact the outside world in any way. And there's more: Sam, and some of the other children have developed a range of superpowers, apparently before the disappearance. Gone is the first book in Michael Grant's popular series of novels for young adults, set in a present-day world without adults. While the novel explores this scenario, introduces Sam and his companions and other less likeable children, and sets up a long list of mysteries to be revealed later in the series, it also explores some satisf...