This weekend sees the release of Avengers: Infinity War, and with it the culmination of a cinematic universe consisting of an unprecedented 18 films over the last ten years. Presumably, if you’re planning on seeing the latest entry you’ve already watched the previous films. But whether you have, or for some reason you haven’t and don’t have the roughly 38 hours to spare to watch them now, I thought I’d provide a quick and SPOILERY recap of each entry. Now, this won’t be a full synopsis or even a plot summary. Instead, I’ll give you what I hope is the essential information you might need before heading to the theater. So let’s start with… Iron Man (2008, dir. Jon Favreau) – Brilliant billiona

Title: Bright (2017) Genre: Action, Crime, Fantasy Director: David Ayer Stars: Will Smith, Joel Egerton, Lucy Fry, Noomi Rapace Bias: I absolutely hated Suicide Squad, but thought I'd give Bright a shot based on the premise and some comparisons critics have made between it and Alien Nation (Baker, 1988). Grade: D- In a Nutshell: In a world where fantastic creatures like orcs, fairies, and elves live side by side with humans, LAPD officers Jakoby (Joel Egerton) and Ward (Will Smith) are embroiled in a vast conspiracy between warring factions when they find a rare magical wand. They must keep the wand from falling into the wrong hands while being pursued by orcs, a Latino gang, evil elves, and

Title: Ready Player One (2018) Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Adaptation Director: Steven Spielberg Stars (primary actors): Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, TJ Miller Bias: Despite having never read the book, I can’t imagine being any more the target audience for this movie. Grade: F In A Nutshell: In the near future, a VR world/video game known as the OASIS serves as an escape for millions in a kind of/sort of/semi-dystopic America. A hunt inside the game is on for an Easter egg left by the creator of the game, which will give the winner complete ownership over the OASIS. Wade Watts (Sheridan), a young gamer, must race against the evil CEO of IOI, who wants the OASIS for himse

Image Credit: Wayne State University This Friday (April 13th), Kino Club and the Wayne State University Libraries have teamed up to organize a free and public screening of the classic science fiction film, Forbidden Planet. Special Collections Metadata Librarian Alison Greenlee has been instrumental in planning this screening and its accompanying lecture (to be delivered by Professor Kevin Deegan-Krause from the Political Science department). In anticipation of this event - our final screening of the semester - I sat down with Alison to talk about the WSU sesquicentennial, science fiction, and the role of the library system in preserving our university's history and preparing for its future.

Title: Europa Report Genre: Science Fiction, Drama Director: Sebastián Cordero Stars: Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Christian Camargo, Anamaria Marinca, Daniel Wu, Karolina Wydra, Embeth Davidtz, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Dan Fogler Grade: B+ In a Nutshell: A manned, private spacecraft – the Europa One – is travelling to one of Jupiter's moons to explore and collect data from the recently discovered ice caps that exist there, hoping to find evidence of biological life. When equipment failure causes their lander to become trapped on Europa's surface, the crew must make a difficult decision about whether to save themselves or to save their data. The Critique: This slow-burning SF film will probab