grayure Reviews

Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

Collapse of the American Dream

[5/10 · 19 December 2008]

One of the most telling things about this film is its depiction of North America and the Sprawl. I've always thought of the Sprawl as being part of a single country, rather like MegaCity One in Judge Dredd, but since part of it is referred to here as a "free city", clearly it has now become city states, leading one to speculate on the fate of the US. This is key to Gibson's vision of a failed American dream.

The atmosphere of the film itself hearkens back to Bladerunner and Mad Max in that something has failed and the future is old. It differs markedly from Mad Max, however, in its level of technology. The other, really big thing about it is its iconic depiction of the internet of the 2020s which occurs about half way through. I think all of us who have been influenced by Gibson's work, and since we're here on IMDb that does literally mean _all_ of us, would recognise this depiction. It's exactly as i imagined it in 1982 when i read "Burning Chrome" when it was first published.

Johnny himself is played vacuously by Reeves. Whether this is intentional, it works on the grounds that he has no past, making him shallow, a detail borrowed from Philip K. Dick rather than the original story, but it works.

One thing which doesn't work is Jones, but it's hard to see how that could have been done well and, ironically, that probably works better in print than in any other medium.

Rather too much action for my cerebral tastes, but a good effort which is quite seminal and, oddly, early cyberpunk in cinema after the end of cyberpunk in written SF.

The Goodies: Alternative Roots (1977) Season 7, Episode 1

Jawdropping

[5/10 · 21 September 2008]

I've just seen this unexpectedly. I remember seeing this when it was first on and haven't done so since, and i just don't know what to make of it. We're completely insulated from this sort of thing nowadays and i'd forgotten quite how things used to be back then. I can't decide what i think about this. It has a sort of innocence about it which hasn't existed for a long time now, and it may go some way towards explaining the mystery of the Goodies not being released on DVD or repeated for such a long time. On the other hand, it doesn't let 'The Black And White Minstrel Show' off what it was doing at all, so the question is one of what is a suitable subject for comedy. I sort of feel like i need therapy now. I've given this a 5 because i don't know what to think about this. Maybe that shows how out of touch we all are with our gut feelings nowadays.

I wonder what black people think about it.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Too much fighting but quite romantic

[5/10 · 1 July 2008]

I really liked the first film. It was quite true to the book, but the main problem was the over-long battle scene. Unfortunately, this film departed further from the book in a way which i felt undermined the previous one and had very long battle scenes compared to the book, presumably due to the LOTR market. I really hope that they make 'Voyage Of The Dawn Treader' and look forward to it because of the near-complete lack of fighting.

Having said that, there were things i liked. I am going through a phase of interest in mediaeval stuff, so i quite liked the likes of the costumes and the accoutrements of war, though doubtless they were quite inaccurately portrayed. I also felt a connection with two of the actors, because Anna Popplewell looks like one of my old girlfriends, though i'm far too old to be lusting after someone young enough to be my daughter, and i'm also a big fan of Eddie Izzard. The portrayal of the Telmarines as Hispanic was true to the book, but it may have exposed C S Lewis' own racism. I have a quibble with this. Shouldn't they all have been speaking Spanish? I was also interested in the idea that the baddies use crossbows and the goodies longbows.

My son, whom i took to see this as a special treat, was disappointed, mainly because of the long battle scene. He's as bloodthirsty as the next eleven year old boy, so that can't have been it, and since he doesn't share my distaste for violence, it suggests that it fails on its own terms (though that might be the lack of Daleks for him).

So, all in all, rather disappointing but i have some hope for the sequel, should it be made. Presumably it will. However, if they mess with it, i won't be at all happy. I want these films to be close to the books, which are classics.

Heart of a Child (1994 TV Movie)

There is a point to this

[14 September 2007]

OK, so it's schmaltzy and a tear-jerker, and i'm not sure how the actual people involved feel about this film, but there is one very positive thing about this film. There are people out there who have to confront the issue of something going wrong with their pregnancies, and i would be the last to presume to tell them what they should do if it does, but this does at least put one idea of how to get something good out of the situation when it does happen. I don't really care about the motives of the makers of this film. Whatever they were, the important thing is that the life of someone in the world at some time could be saved by copying what happens, and the other pregnancy would also have been given a purpose which could help the grieving would-be parents. Three of my siblings died as babies as a result of problematic pregnancies, and a day never goes by in my life when i don't look at my own children and find it incredibly wonderful that they are in the world, healthy and alive. This is real and cannot be taken for granted. So basically i don't care how much of a sentimental mess this film is or how exploitative it is emotionally, because maybe someone's life somewhere will be or has been saved by it and that's all that matters.

Ghost (1990)

Whoopie Goldberg was the best thing in this film

[3/10 · 12 March 2006]

Whoopie Goldberg was the best thing in this film, overrated beyond belief when it came out, and overall fairly shallow although it has its moments. Demi Moore (she of the "beautiful hair" - see "Friends" where Phoebe cuts Monica's hair) seems to be trying an Audrey Hepburn impression taken from Breakfast at Tiffany's, which only serves to remind us of who is the better actress (Hepburn can act her socks off while still being cute and elfin, Demi Moore just looks cute and elfin). As for Swayze, it's the only thing I've ever seen him in, and likely to remain so, judging by this performance. The guy may be cute, if you like that sort of thing, but I found his acting so bad that at times I laughed out loud. To be honest, I thought he could give William Shatner a run for his money. It was left to Whoopie Goldberg to show us what real acting is like, and although her character did not have much variety or development to work with, she managed to steal the show. The film had some comic moments and was not a total waste of time, but touching it was not. Only bother if it's raining and you really have nothing else to do.

Life on Mars (2006–2007)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[1 March 2006]

The Good: Fantastic music, sets, props and acting. It actually made things look normal, i.e. the way they were at the time i grew up. The characters were also totally awesome, particular Gene and Sam, and Gene's one-liners were unforgettable. The female characters were also interesting because of their deference, which hopefully is now a thing of the past. It was also a little reminiscent of Iain Banks' "The Bridge".

The Bad: I don't think there's as much difference between the attitudes of the police now and then as there was made out to be. There was also a tendency for it to turn into a normal cop show at times. There were also a couple of mistakes: the Mancunian Way opened in 1968 and on one occasion the drugs were inappropriate for the context.

The Ugly: There really should have been only one series. There could then have been a proper ending and there would have been no risk of spinning things out for too long. Either that, or there should have been a twist which enabled it to continue in a new way.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Surprisingly good

[9/10 · 11 December 2005]

I was hoping that this would be good but somewhat dubious about it, but when i saw it i was relieved to discover that it actually was quite good. It stuck quite closely to the book, and when it deviated it did so in appropriate ways - none of the deviations seemed tacked on. I was impressed by the presentation of a particular icon of popular culture, who was presented in a way that harked back to how he was portrayed before commercialism got hold of him, and i wished he could become the new standard. The religious aspects of the film were neither under- nor overstated, and it worked fine on the level of an adventure film and as an allegory. I was very emotionally involved, partly because of having read the books as a child until they fell to bits, and i was actually moved to tears once. It was also so much better than the BBC TV version, and in that i'm talking about acting rather than special effects or scenery. However, the special effects did make me think that when they finally do 'His Dark Materials' in cinematic form, it will be able to do justice to those books too.

If they do decide to do the other books, i would certainly go to see them as well, and they would have the advantage of having good writing to back it up.

The only problem was that the climax of the film was too drawn out.

I'm amazed Disney could do a children's film that was actually good.

My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

Rupert Everett was the only good thing in this film

[28 November 2004]

Rupert Everett was the only remotely interesting and convincing thing in this tedious romcom which I found neither very rom nor particularly com. I found the protagonists unlikeable from the start, but in contrast to many films I did not grow to like them as the action went on. Cameron Diaz was out of character and Julia Roberts' hair and lips annoyed the hell out of me - but then they always do. I found the male lead a complete pain and their "friendship" unreal. However, one good thing was that I couldn't guess the ending until it happened - so credit where it's due. The plot was really thin and spun out to the nth degree - a half-hour sitcom would be nearer the mark - or possibly two episodes as in Friends where Ross marries Emily. Don't bother unless you really like Julia Roberts.

Five Children and It (2004)

Annoyingly dissimilar to the book

[3/10 · 27 October 2004]

I would think that this was one of those films whose director hadn't read the book it was based on, were it not for the fact that they are just slightly similar. It is certainly possible for a great film to be "based" very loosely on a book and this was certainly the latter but not the former.

There were a number of flaws. One was that it tried to be too much like the Railway Children, probably because adults would expect this, being from the same author. Another is that it also sought to be too like Harry Potter, down to the music and in overemphasizing the setting. I have nothing against J K Rowling or the films but the book is just nothing like the Harry Potter ones. I thought the Psammead, though very well voiced by Eddie Izzard and in character too, was almost gratuitously in a totally inappropriate environment. I may have missed something here, as the comments made about one of the characters' own books may have been a reference to the inaccuracy of the adaptation. There was also no need for the extra characters, and today's special effects could easily have been used to tell the story as it was written, but they weren't.

I saw this film with my two children, one of whom knows the book and the other of whom doesn't. The one who does know it thought it was all right but wasn't as enthusiastic as the one who doesn't. I'm not sure what this means.

NBC Special Treat: Into Infinity (1975) Season 1, Episode 3

Proper Science Fiction for a change

[1 October 2002]

Since I was nine on the one occasion I saw this film ( it is aimed at children), I wasn't very aware of such issues as acting and characterisation, so please forgive the rather autistic tone of this review and my memory of it might be poor, but it has often come back to mind over the intervening years. It is an example of a film which is proper "hard" science fiction, which is very rare in cinema or television.

The plot of a science fiction story must depend on its setting, which should be scientifically plausible. If the story could be transferred to any other setting, it is not SF. By this criterion, 'Star Wars' is not SF because the setting could be fantasy or mediaeval without changing the plot, and 'Outlander' is basically a Western in space. 'Into Infinity' could not take place anywhere other than on a spacecraft travelling near the speed of light.

It is also 'hard' SF with a firm scientific basis. Special relativity, the Doppler effect and the evolution of stars are among the real phenomena portrayed in the film. Little is changed from established theories to "improve" the story. Unlike TV series such as Star Trek, there is no technobabble, no unfeasible physics and no made up elementary particles. It is nearly all straight science. There are only a couple of flaws I remember.

Besides these aspects of the story, the look is also quite impressive. I still occasionally dream about some of the scenes, many of which are visually stunning for the time. The sets are futuristic in a very 'seventies style which I will always think of as how the "future" ought to look.

I can't comment on the dramatic merits of the film, though surely you can't go wrong with Brian Blessed, but on the SF side of things I just wish there were more examples of this sort of thing in cinemas and on TV.