THE SPACE ROOM
Everything Sci-Fi & a Little Astronomy
by Anna Sanclement
Good Sci-Fi Movies Opening in May
There are some seemingly good science fiction movies opening up this May. The trailers for these look very promising and the early reviews, where available, sound quite positive. Following is a little preview of what is to come to the sci-fi big screen this month.
Star Trek
Opens May 8th. This movie is one of the most anticipated for this year and if it is as good as critics are saying in their reviews then we are in for a great treat. This tome of the Star Trek franchise takes the story back to the very beginning when James Kirk was born. It goes into the early stories of all the characters and how they all end up as crew of the Enterprise.
The special effects really look amazing and it will be quite something to see the USS Enterprise as it was first being built. Action and adventure look to be plentiful in this film, and I think it will not disappoint original Trekkies, sci-fi buffs as well as any other movie fans.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Opens May 1st. With the lack of early reviews, probably due to the Internet leak of the film, it’s hard to predict how good the movie will be. However, the trailers look good with great effects and plenty of action. The story goes back to the origins of Logan, whose past is a sadly romantic and violent one, which gets more ominous when he is made into the character we’ve come to know as Wolverine.
Lots of action packed fight scenes with other new X-Men as well as some familiar appearances from the X-Men universe. This movie should appease fans of the X-Men movies, at least for telling more of the story of one of the beloved characters of the series.
Terminator Salvation
Opens May 22nd. Yet another franchise installment, the new Terminator is also a very anticipated movie this year. The series are never visually disappointing and this one seems to follow suit with great effects and non-stop action. Terminator Salvation is set in 2018 where John Connor’s is to be the leader against Skynet and its perpetual Terminators. This fated future that Connor has known all his life, however, has been altered by the mysterious stranger, Marcus Wright. Connor has to decide whether Wright was sent from the future or rescued from the past.
The trailers for Salvation look great and it looks like it will be robots galore, which should delight all true sci-fi geeks.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
All right, this one doesn’t open until June 24th, but it is another greatly anticipated sci-fi film and I had to include it in the list. The first one was great, in my opinion; it was fun and funny, not to mention full of action and ongoing adventure. The second one shows promise of being another installment full of entertainment. From seeing the trailers it looks like we’re in for a whole lot of robot fighting greatness and adrenaline igniting action.
The same main characters return in this installment along with the Autobots®, as well as bigger and badder Decepticons®; this movie will definitely be entertaining.
So save the dates, bank your allowance, get babysitters, whatever you have to do, but make sure you see all these great sci-fi adventures, or at the very least go see just one or two! They are sure to be well worth it.
Sky events to watch for this month, May 2009:
Full Moon on the 9th and New Moon on the 24th. Mercury continues to be visible in the beginning of May, but getting harder to spot. Saturn is still quite visible throughout the night. Jupiter can be seen for a little while in the early mornings along with Venus and Mars and on the 21st they will be together with a crescent moon forming a triangle. Venus will also be at Greatest Brilliance on the 2nd. The Big Dipper is visible towards the northeastern sky on the early night. On the 25th the Soyuz TMA-15 will launch to the International Space Station. And don’t forget, the 2nd is Astronomy Day and the 7th is Space Day. Look on up and smile!
For more sky events log on to: www.astronomy.com and http://space.about.com/od/computerresources/tp/2009MaySkyGuide.htm
You can read other articles and tips by Anna on these websites:
http://www.helium.com/users/484623
http://www.examiner.com/x-6503-Ft-Lauderdale-Science-News-Examiner
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/354312/anna_sanclement.html
Anna Sanclement writes from home and has recently started to write articles for various Internet sites. She has also finished a novel and has written many stories and a movie script, just for fun.