The new offering from Showtime for their Sci-Friday lineup has promise - their sets live up to the hype and were shamelessly showcased a few times in the premiere, but overall the look is radical and consistent but not intrusive. So far it is engaging and well-made, with the exception of some pointless nudity which seems to be there simply because, well, they could put it in on Showtime. The CG is smooth and the world convincingly complete. Not exactly groundbreaking, but hopefully it will be and definitely can. You may recognize Easton (Hume) from the somewhat obscure series "Two" on UPN and the even more short-lived show "VR-5". The actor who portrays Hume's android partner does it flawlessly.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Cube
(1997)
Consuming
28 February 1999
I just rented this film and AM GLAD I DID. The cast is very well chosen; Nicole deBoer in particular (who you may know from DS9 and The Outer Limits) is hardly recognizable. Don't be afraid of the fact that it is Canadian, or that you have not heard of it; the one is the reason for the other. The cube set is striking but not distracting (similar to the one in an obscure 60s TV film The Cube Jim Henson did), and the odd incident of very graphic but expertly done gore does not cancel out the intellectual and emotional elements that make the film good. For two hours you will be completely immersed, and it won't stop afterward; you can't get it out of your head. Kudos to the writer for not wimping out and explaining the cube. Every visual element of the film is unique and unintrusive, including the camera work. It has a very personal and closed-in feeling that is very appropriate. The FX are high quality and never overly flashy, as is the sound FX. The film makes no concessions to make us comfortable with the situation the characters are in; it comes out of the television to include you. Expect to feel frustrated at the end; it would have ruined the movie if everything was carefully explained. If you don't mind being disturbed and actually thinking during a film, you'll enjoy this film.
Pleasantville
(1998)
Trying Too Hard
11 October 1998
Saw this film at the Chicago Film Festival. I was disappointed by a film which I had greatly looked forward to - while I thought the actors did an excellent job, the script and the movie itself was to much of a mish-mash of other films. The references to other films and television programs were too plentiful and left the movie with no time for original ideas. The number of ideas represented (e.g. women's lib, Nazi Germany, sexual revolution) overwhelmed the interesting concept and left the script hopelessly fragmented. Also contains VERY explicit innuendos for a PG-13 movie. Overall, the film tried too hard to be intelligent and unusual, but did manage to avoid being hokey or take advantage of the possible cheap laughs.
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