Man, what a *nice* movie.

I mean, yeah, I’ve seen better films, I’ve seen worse, I’ve seen ones that made more and less sense, I’ve seen sweeter, more cloying films, and far more brutal ones, but the first impression that really jumped out at me about this flick was just how *nice* it was. If Frank Capra made a science fiction film, this would have been it. The central message is that the Lamb is more than a match for the Lion, which is, of course, what Frankie Boy was all about.

PLAY BY PLAY

I’ve read five of John Scalzi’s novels now, and there hasn’t been a one of ’em I didn’t like. Granted the previous book in this series - “The Ghost Bigades,” reviewed here http://www.republibot.com/content/book-review-%E2%80%9C-ghost-brigades%E...
- was probably the weakest of the bunch, but he’s still batting above .750, and he hasn’t struck out yet. He’s earned my faith.

Merry Christmas. I hope the three of you tuning in today are ready for an entirely-inappropriate film review. Are you sitting comfortably? Well then let's begin:

Originally published under the somewhat more reasonable title “Second Variety” in 1987 (Because it was the second in the series), the book was re-titled and re-released in 1990 to cash in on expected the “Total Recall” bonanza. Lest there be any confusion on this point, the full title appears to be “The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, Volume 2: We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, The Story That Inspired The Hit Motion Picture TOTAL RECALL.” That’s the thing about trade paperbacks from the first half of the 90s: You’re never sure where the title ends and the subscript begins.