The Wind of Amnesia (1993)

aka A Wind Named Amnesia (1993)

Dir. Kazuo Yamazaki

A peculiar wind blows across the world, erasing mankind's memories. It's like nature hit a reset switch: people forget how to speak; parents forget their children, and vice versa; drivers forget how to drive; doctors forget how to heal, etc. The knowledge in books remains, but no one knows how to read. With even basic life skills lost, how will humanity survive? And more to the point, do they even deserve to?

But like every post-apocalyptic scenario in fiction, not everyone is affected. A memory-wiped youth named Wataru meets one such individual and learns from him. Thereafter, Wataru journeys across America looking for something that honours his mentor / friend.

I'm a big fan of stories that encourage us to question what makes cultures tick, and by extension examine humanity's true worth. E.g., with a clean slate, can we do things better? With religion dead, will our unconscious fears cause us to invent it again? Post-apoc settings are a tremendous framework for that kind of thing.

Wheels of Fire (1985)

Wheels of Fire (1985)

Dir. Cirio H. Santiago.

If you're suddenly thinking of Manowar, then you have my utmost respect, but the movie predates the song by three years. Oh well; it was a pleasing thought while it lasted.

WoF is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland scenario. With no law to stop them, many people get their kicks being total dicks towards other people. But not Trace (Gary Watkins). Trace is a man of some honour who mostly looks out for his sister Arlie (Lynda Wiesmeier).

If Mad Max rip-offs have taught me anything of value, it's that post-apoc survival requires a pair of well-worn leather kecks and a part luck / part skill ability to drive on dusty roads.

The acting is as you'd expect for this kind of thing, but the car chases are excellent; if someone was to edit them into The Road Warrior (1981) and claim it's an extended cut, then many people could be fooled.

The Matrix Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition (2019)

The Matrix Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition (2019)

Authors: Various | Illustrators: Various | Page Count: 400

"The answer. It's right there. I can touch it. It's beautiful. Simple. And it scares the hell out of me."

Beyond the infinite possibilities offered by a virtual world, part of what keeps The Matrix universe so appealing is that it hasn't been milked to death by a greedy studio. Exploitation and oversaturation would've killed it as easily as it does any other commodity.

I assume the Wachowski's had some hand in regulating that, so kudos to them and everyone else who stuck to their guns. Yes, one of the siblings made a fourth film, but not until eighteen years later. (Having said that, I'd really love another anime collection like The Animatrix.)

The 20th Anniversary Edition of The Matrix Comics combines both of the original TPB publications into one larger than normal US comic format HB book.

That in itself is a generous amount, but it also includes four stories that weren't in either of the two previous volumes, which came out in 2003 and 2005, respectively. After doing the maths, the 'anniversary' label must refer instead to the first Matrix film, which was released in cinemas in March 1999.

The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)

The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)

Dir. Terence Fisher

Some sci-fi B-Movies from the 50s and 60s are like a subgenre unto themselves: one in which the title is the best thing about the entire production. The Earth Dies Screaming is a hell of good title — no doubt inspired by The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) — but it's overwhelmingly misleading because the Earth itself is fine. Its inhabitants, on the other hand, aren't fine, but there's very little 'screaming' involved, which I'm grateful for. In fact, the movie opens with a prolonged eerie silence, reminiscent of a John Wyndham story.

It's a bold move to have no dialogue for so long, considering the entire movie lasts only 62 minutes, but it works and is arguably as good as it gets. Everything that follows is paradoxically less interesting by comparison.

The characters are basic, recognisable types, but function well enough, either as vehicles for social commentary and/or internal conflicts.

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light (1987)

Visionaries: KotML (1987)

Dirs. Various | 13 episodes, approx 22 mins each

Like many 80s cartoons that were aimed at children the primary goal of Visionaries was to generate interest in a commercial toy line - in this instance the maker of the shelf plastic was toy giant Hasbro.

It wasn't a successful venture for the company. The cartoon lasted just one season (13 episodes) and the figures ceased production after just twelve months, while an equally short-lived bimonthly tie-in comic book published by Star Comics folded after just six issues. The only reason I know of its existence is because I had a couple of the figures as a kid and I bought the comic (when I could find it in stores).

The central gimmick of the toys was a holographic sticker positioned on each character's chest that looked half-cool and half-stupid; at least, it did to me back in the day. But I'm writing now about the cartoon, not the toys, so I'll not dwell on that.

The Drowned World (1962)

The Drowned World (1962)

Author: J.G. Ballard | Page Count: 175

'Free of vegetation, apart from a few drifting clumps of Sargasso weed, the streets and shops had been preserved almost intact, like a reflection in a lake that has somehow lost its original.'

Ballard's first novel, expanded from an earlier magazine novella, is rife with symbolism and connectedness. Set in the year 2145, it explores the reactions of a group of research scientists stationed at a lagoon that in the not-too-distant past was a human populated city, before massive global warming caused rising sea levels.

The environmental extreme is due to increased solar radiation, not, as is often the case in post-apocalyptic sci-fi, a consequence of something that mankind did, but the result is much the same, meaning once-habitable locations are now inhospitable to mankind and are instead home to a burgeoning animal population.

The environmental upheaval has had a peculiar effect on certain species of flora and fauna, causing some plants and reptiles to grow larger than normal.

Planet of the Apes: Visionaries (2018)

Planet of the Apes: Visionaries (2018)

Author: Dana Gould (based on a screenplay by Rod Serling) | Illustrator: Chad Lewis | Page Count: 138

"It's a machine. The whole damn thing's a machine. Sophisticated and very ingenious... But always with the possibility of error."

A comic book based on Rod Serling's screenplay of the first Planet of the Apes movie, itself based on author Pierre Boulle's original La Planète des Singes (1963) novel, aka Monkey Planet. Serling's story was modified before being filmed, in part because it was a little too extravagant for the production team's budget, but much of what made it onscreen is present in the text, albeit occurring in a setting that's far removed from the pre-industrial one featured in the famous movie.

The main protagonist is US astronaut John Thomas, whose exploits take a similar path to that of Taylor in the movie, but his personality is very different.

What's most interesting about the book is the ape society, which is somewhat analogous to that of NY, circa 1950-60s. There are still social divisions between the three different ape types, but the hierarchy is less pronounced, so they work together a lot more closely than they did onscreen.

Rebuild of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 (2021)

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Kazuya Tsurumaki / Katsuichi Nakayama / Mahiro Maeda

Given my feelings about part three — and that in the lengthy interim between it and part four Anno had helped make what I consider to be the worst live action Japanese-language Godzilla movie since the Showa Era lost its way — I didn't feel the pang of the nine-year wait that happened, but I sympathise with anyone that did.

Evangelion: 4.0 You Can (Not) be Fucking Serious, as it'll forever be known to me hereafter, has some stunning animation, but is less successful in other ways. It has the dubious honour of being the least engaging anime movie that I watched in 2022.

The frantic aerial battle that fills a large chunk of the opening was off-putting to me, but I can see how it could be considered impressive by others, in how it resembled some kind of futuristic fighter plane conflict. In retrospect, when paired with what follows, it plays a successful part in conveying how important the role of contrast is to the whole.

Rebuild of Evangelion: 3.33 (2012)

Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Mahiro Maeda / Kazuya Tsurumaki

Parts 1.11 and 2.22 stayed recognisably close to the original NGE TV Series plot, but part 3.33 spirals off to places new. There are big changes and most of them aren't good.

Firstly, none of what's teased in 2.22's post-credit preview is actually in the third film. Instead, it's set a significant number of years after, which could be as jarring for the viewer as it is for one of the characters.

In retrospect, it's helpful to accept that what was teased did actually happen, albeit offscreen. Mercifully, the implied level of 'fan service' is largely absent, besides some cheap low angle female pudenda shots.

A dramatic space-set action scene opens proceedings, and is quickly followed by some tedious Anno dialogue; as someone who prefers to watch anime subbed, it felt more pronounced than it might otherwise have seemed.

Rebuild of Evangelion: 2.22 (2009)

Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Masayuki / Kazuya Tsurumaki

I said previously that the film is faithful to Dir. Hideaki Anno's original vision 'at least for now'. To expand upon that, it's more than just a retelling, it's a 'rebuild' of the story - like its English language title states. The original series fell in on itself before its ultimate completion, so a redesign isn't necessarily a bad thing, if done correctly.

The foundation upon which the 'rebuild' is constructed is largely the same as before - but as more tiers are added, the resultant structure takes on a wholly different appearance. That change becomes more apparent in 2.22 than it was in 1.11. [1]

It covers episodes 7-19, which is quite a task in such a short amount of time.

Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.11 (2007)

Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone (2007)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Masayuki / Kazuya Tsurumaki

A cinematic 'Rebuild' of the 'classic' Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series. The first film (of four) covers episodes 1-6. It's overseen by the same director as the series, Hideaki Anno, so is faithful to his original vision - at least for now, but that's for a future post.

Newcomers to the world of NGE may find it difficult to assimilate everything on first viewing, but in truth even the series didn't make complete sense to a large percentage of its audience until the second sitting, so in a way being perplexed is par for the course.

Nevertheless, for the benefit of anyone that's wholly unfamiliar with the basics, a quick intro: fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari arrives in Tokyo-III, having been summoned there by a father he's not seen in three years.

Idaho Transfer (1973)

Idaho Transfer (1973)

Dir. Peter Fonda

Because it's my favourite genre, I've watched hundreds of science fiction films and TV Series in my lifetime — everything from Méliès to modern trash; from love songs to the genre made on a shoestring budget to Hollywood excesses that cost stupid amounts of money — but never one quite like Idaho Transfer before, which makes it even more interesting to me than it might be otherwise.

It's an arty, minimalist production that's both peaceful and oddly unsettling. Even though they're in very different genres, it's reminiscent of Easy Rider (1969) at times in its editing and in how it presents an important worldview in an understated but engaging manner. It even has something that reminds of the former's cemetery scene.

The plot involves an unnamed future cataclysm that destroys life on earth; all life or just some of it, we don't know. A chosen group of under-twenties travel fifty-six years into their own future to avoid the end. Free of government and societal pressures they have an opportunity to start civilisation over again, hopefully for the better.

As far as I know, at time of writing it isn't available to purchase or stream in any kind of HD format. The market for it is probably just too small. But it was shot on 35 mm, so there's hope.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: TV Series (1995-96)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-96)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Masayuki / Kazuya Tsurumaki | 26 episodes, approx 23 mins each

Fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari arrives in the futuristic Tokyo-3, having been summoned there by a father that he's not seen in over three years.

Shinji's abandonment issues and his father's overbearing (though often silent) judging of the boy's measure puts an excruciating amount of stress upon the youth's inexperienced shoulders.

The emotional tearing that develops from the conflicting hatred of his estranged father and the simultaneous craving for his approval and love is a major defining attribute of the teenager.

But if that wasn't enough to deal with, Shinji is required to take on a task that would challenge even a hardened combat veteran, with nothing less than the fate of humanity on the line if he fails.

It's a situation that puts him directly in his father's line of sight, and increases the fear of failure and sense of worthlessness that the boy nurtures.

Waterworld (1995)

Waterworld (1995)

Dir. Kevin Reynolds

The quick and easy way to describe Waterworld is to liken it to the Mad Max films but on water instead of land. However, what many people neglect to say is that, while there are moments that are indeed reminiscent of the good Mad Max film, i.e. The Road Warrior (1981), sometimes Waterworld is more like the travesty that was Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985), and the world doesn't need any more of that.

It's set during an undefined future date in which the polar ice caps have melted. The resultant elevated sea levels have left most of the world covered in undrinkable sea water.

The Mariner (Kevin Costner) is an inhabitant of that world. A drifter with a trimaran, he travels from place to place trading commodities (salvage, dirt, etc) with the small pockets of human civilisation that are scattered around. He's a guarded loner, avoiding human interaction as much as possible.

Akira: 35th Anniversary Box Set (2017)

Akira: 35th Anniversary Box Set (2017)

Author + Illustrator: Katsuhiro Otomo  |  Publisher: Kodansha | Page Count: 2530

I knew in advance that Katsuhiro Otomo's seminal six-volume AKIRA manga was 2000+ pages, in total, but I wasn't expecting Kodansha's 35th Anniversary box set to be as mammoth as it is. It's the size of a hat box and heavier than a baby!

The scale of the work deserves a review that's a lot more in depth than I've time to give — the phenomenal world-building alone is worthy of a mini dissertation — so I'll limit my words to the presentation of the physical product, pictures of which are at the end of the post. (The image to the right is edited to fit my posting template.)

I suppose that means it's partially a review of the packaging, but that's not my goal. Given the costly RRP, it's about whether I feel it's worth it or not, but opinions on value will, of course, differ.

Mad Max: Video Game (2015)

Mad Max (2015)

Genre: Action / Adventure / Sandbox | Players: 1 | Developer: Avalanche Studios

An open-world sandbox game with a lot of actual (er... virtual) sand to futz around in. The setting is a similar post-apocalyptic wasteland landscape to that of the Mad Max films; it isn't based on any one feature, instead taking ideas from them all, but draws most heavily from MM: Fury Road (2015).

You play as the titular anti-hero, Max. Again, it's a new but familiar version, not rendered in the likeness of either Mel Gibson or Tom Hardy, but he's just as taciturn and gruff.

He's a standard video game tough guy, the kind that can survive getting hit by a speeding car but can't manage to jump over a foot-high fence that's blocking his way or manage to even walk while aiming his gun/projectile.

Mad Max Trilogy (1979-85)

Mad Max (1979)

Dir. George Miller

As enjoyable as the first Mad Max film is on its own, in hindsight it works better if you look upon it as an extended prologue to the more entertaining sequel, The Road Warrior (1981), where the world is no longer on the verge of going to shit, as it is here, but has actually tipped over and fell face-first into it.

It has the feel of a B-Movie, but the on-the-road carnage is much better than what you'd normally get in that kind of commercial venture, and it's not without some black humour to keep it from sinking under the weight of its own gloomy subject matter.

The crew is to be applauded for making the scenario believable. Max (Mel Gibson), however, is kind of boring as a family man/highway interceptor. It's not until he gets his 'mad' on that he becomes interesting.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

It was officially released before Studio Ghibli existed but a great many of the themes and techniques that the famous animation studio is now known for were birthed in Nausicaä.

The residents of the titular valley harness the full power of the wind to survive. It powers their post-apocalyptic machinery, but it also carries poisonous spores from the polluted forests and swamps that cover the Earth. So while it supports life, it also carries death.

The relationship between man and nature is a delicate one that's thrown into turmoil when a neighbouring nation pushes their hostile ambitions too far. The Princess Nausicaä finds herself stuck in the middle, forced to weigh her reverence for all life against the need to preserve and protect the innocent.

The three-decades-old animation is less sophisticated than modern Ghibli, but when placed in its own time it really shines, with the compassionate, level-headed Nausicaä on her glider being especially memorable. The ending is a little too abrupt for my tastes but the scenes played over the credits do help compensate.

The Girl with All the Gifts (2014)

The Girl with All the Gifts (2014)

Author: M.R. Carey  |  Page Count: 460

'Sometimes he cries, and says he's sorry – not to the children, but to someone else who isn't really there, and whose name keeps changing.'

I stumbled upon TGwAtG in the autumn of 2014, before the promotion surrounding the movie adaptation made me more aware of what it was actually about. The only thing I knew regarding the novel prior to picking it up was that the author, M.R. Carey, was a pen name of Mike Carey. Because I'm a huge fan of Carey's work in comics, I bought it. I didn't even read the blurb on the back cover, not that it would've helped much anyhow.

Furthermore, if I'd known at the time of my stumbling what genre the novel was a part of, then I'd maybe have placed it quietly back on the shelf and continued toward the music section of the store, which was my original destination before deciding to check out the book aisle. But if I'd did that then I'd have missed out on a novel with solid worldbuilding and some interesting characters that had more to say than it seemed at first.

Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)

Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)

Dirs. Donald G. Jackson / R. J. Kizer

The 'Hell' of the title refers to Sam Hell, an independent man in a post-war world run by women. The war left the majority of the population sterile, but not Sam. He's not filled with blanks. Sam has the highest damn spermatozoa count on record! So he's tasked with seeking out fertile women and, calling upon his record-breaking potency, impregnating them... for his country, of course. Good work if you can get it. Except, it's not, because it means venturing into the dusty wasteland.

Roddy Piper does what Roddy Piper did best (other than rowdy wrestling, I guess), which is be the downtrodden hero in a world that's gone to shit. He may not have been a natural actor, but Roddy was a natural entertainer in his own unique way.