We watched this new adaptation for about 20 minutes last night. I had only ever heard the title, never bothered to take a look. My wife, naturally, had seen the 1994 film. During those 20 minutes we both started to look dismayed, as if we'd been thrown out of a moving carriage. Or caught the wrong train, more likely. What is this supposed to be? Yes, there are all those fancy costumes and stuff, but it felt like there was no film, no story, just a bunch of non-scripted overacting, as if the actors had been dressed and then told to start acting, without telling them first, what film they were in. And so they end up all over the place, with no clue. Is this the "gen. snowflakes" take or what? Anyway, we watched the 1994 version instead and I was mesmerised: Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, wow! And, first of all, the story, the details, the way things are shown. Wow!
In all honesty, if this new abomination has the girls turn into superheroicals-sufferlings shortly after we stopped watching, I don't care. Thumbs down.
Reviews
8 Reviews
Burdens of ignorance
10 March 2015
I have quite liked Scorpion so far, mostly because of the actors, but episode 18 brought it all down for me. The leaders of Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania are bringing about the WWIII??? I guess the show is directed at a viewer with very limited knowledge of anything, and I admit to not now much of what's going on in Africa right now, but, c'mon, a brief googling would give enough information about those countries. Latvia and Lithuania do not have nuclear weapons, they have a tank or two, but that's about it. Being small countries they have very little influence and they couldn't possibly bring about WWIII, even if they really wanted it. Vatican and Switzerland would be much more believable - at least those countries have some cash and influence. As for Belarus, people there earn like a 100 bucks per month. Oh, and those "victorious" leaders of those "mighty" countries speak some language amongst themselves and seem to understand it. It wasn't Russian which would be believable. Let me explain. There's no reason for a Lithuanian to speak Latvian and vice versa. Or for the Belarus to understand either of them. C'mon people, really, the Internet is there for the taking, use it. I'm Estonian by the way. Yes, that's right, it's right next to Ethiopia, dear Scorpions. We speak Swahili here and have 2 nuclear warheads per household. Save us, Scorpion :(
The Host
(2013)
A film that can be as good as you want it to be
5 May 2013
I haven't read the Twilight books or this one. I'm over forty after all. I have seen the Twilight movies, though. As for Andrew Niccol - Gattaca is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. And The Host rates way, way higher than those Twilights in my mind. There's none of the teenie-weenie chit-chat and bickering that really repulsed me in Twilight. And my question of why would a centuries old vampire prefer teenage girls was not answered there. This movie is different, it has none of the hole-filling that Twilight is filled with. Yes, the guys of the Love Triangle are pretty one-sided, but in a world with no education system intact one cannot expect everyone to be as well-read as Ethan is in Beautiful Creatures. I delayed watching The Host for a few weeks, as I was gathering my strength to suffer through yet another Twilight, but there was no such suffering - instead it was a very well-balanced film, that used minimalist - and Gattaca-like - visuals to describe a new world where body snatching has become mainstream. And it got me thinking: how old was Paul Atreides when he became The Emperor? OK, slightly older. But his son, Leto, when he took on The Golden Path? About the same age as our characters here. Oh, and what about Alexander The Great - how old was he when he had already taken most of the - then - known land as his real estate? Invasion of the Body Snatchers might be a benchmark to judge other similarly-themed movies by, but The Host rates quite high on my scale there. As for the casting, Saoirse Ronan was wonderfully present in my opinion and William Hurt is simply one of my favourite actors. Overall, The Host is about the "little things" like relationships and, as such, it is a film about us all.
Imaginaerum
(2012)
An illustration of our greatest voyage - Life
4 May 2013
Finnish Book of the Dead. Or perhaps of Dying. Or perhaps of Living? This film is imagined to life by the band Nightwish. Don't get me wrong - you can watch it even if you haven't heard of them at all. But it would be a bit like watching Dune without having read the books. If you are a Nightwish fan, this is a must see. I'm a fan myself, not die-hard, but still fan enough to have all their albums and having listened to them many times over. I loved seeing them in the film, I enjoyed seeing Tuomas, Marco and the rest very much. I used to cherish Tarja-era Nightwish and rejoice to hear Floor joining them, but I didn't appreciate Anette much and felt ashamed because of it. Now I'm happy to have shed my guilt and to appreciate Anette much more. But back to the film. Right away I have to draw a few parallels: The Velocity of Gary, The Book of Stars and Big Fish jumped to mind. Tim Burton has been rightly mentioned here already. This is a film to be contemplated and returned to and, as such, it is definitely not a kiddie movie. I've seen my fair share of fantasy flicks in my time and wasn't in the mood to add one more to the collection, but, as the story - or rather, the flashbacks of a fading mind - progresses, the fantasy becomes a visual framework to illustrate the story and the ideas behind it - and the story doesn't get beaten up and buried by special effects. That'll be the first, yeah? I wish Hollywood would learn this neat trick - to preserve the story, despite all the visual fireworks. Perhaps its the budget? If Hollywood would cut a few billions off the CGI department, maybe the movies would become better? Imaginaerum is beautiful as a whole: the special effects are stunning (unless you're a Transformers fan), the cast look like they really care about the story - which does become clearer towards the end - and it's all well carried by the soundscape (by Nightwish). I live and breathe science fiction and for me it is always about us, human beings (unless it is really badly written). Imaginaerum is - at least for me - about the human spirit, about our essence. It is about us striving to finish the last page of our story - even if everything around us - or we ourselves - is falling apart and fading into nothingness. "As for me," said the little prince to himself, "if I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water." ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Oblivion
(I) (2013)
A visually stunning treat
13 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Having watched the first 20 minutes or so of the film I found myself longing for more just-visual-no-action sequences. Come to think of it, I had the same longing while watching Avatar, Moon, Prometheus, Minority Report and countless other visually rich films. Yes, there was that storm scene within those first 20 minutes, which wasn't necessary (although credible for setting the scene: same old, same old, getting to work in the morning and there's traffic jam on the expressway), but the rest was just enjoyable. Tom Cruise was excellent. Although I'm not a fan I have to admit that he is great in some films. Andrea Riseborough was simply ethereal: I found myself staring, trying to establish whether she was real or digital. And then the drones appear and start shooting and chasing and it all falls to pieces in a blur of explosions and fireworks. Don't get me wrong, I do love me some action, but the shooting and fighting in Matrix is quite enough to last for decades. So I have to respectfully disagree with reviewers who found the beginning too slow and the overall film too long. I would love to have two versions of the film: one in which there could be even more action and another where one could simply immerse oneself onto the barren wasteland of the future and have enough time to really devour all the details. In fact, I wish there were two versions of all of the above-mentioned films. You cannot see details in action and the outcome is predictable anyway, but if you have really seen the details already in the no-action version, then you will be able to recognise and notice those details during the action as well. I think the film was excellent. Yes, there were many parallels with many other films - Island, Total Recall, Impostor and Moon, to mention but a few -, but I think that at this point it is unavoidable. How many original approaches can we possibly have? Aliens - humanoid or not-so-humanoid. Ships - rocket-shaped, round, rectangular, triangular. Alternate timeline - good or not-so-good. Etc. For example, I was a bit let down when the other tech fixing the drone turned out to be another Jack. But then I asked myself, what would have been better? A Jack from a parallel universe? His son caught in a time warp? Perhaps cloning has become as archetypically disturbing to a modern human being, as darkness and spiders? When Ripley found her predeceding siblings in Alien, it was truly disturbing. As it was for Sam in Moon. As for Jack - he had no memories from before, but he considered himself to be an individual - it was excruciating. So, all in all, it was a very enjoyable and even thought-provoking film - not a complete disaster like Prometheus. I only wish the ending would have been different: Julia and her (and Jack's?) child - how'd that happen? And Julia happily accepting another Jack - who, if I'm not mistaken, had no memories of having impregnated Julia? From a practical point of view it would definitely be prudent to have a pile of Jacks in store - just in case. But from an emotional perspective this seems a rather fatal lapse from plausible story-telling. To conclude: if you are a SF fan you cannot afford to miss Oblivion. As for me - I'll definitely watch it again.
Prometheus
(I) (2012)
The new cornerstone that takes down the house
19 September 2012
So we have some CGI. Once again. As incredible as it may seem, there were great movies before CGI. Stories told. I miss those stories. That acting. Eye-candy is a very poor substitute - like the substitute androids in "Surrogates". I think the Alien saga is an achievement. I have watched it over decades and have found nothing quite like it. The composition, the feeling, the details - it all comes together as a masterpiece. And now I'm faced with a supposed prologue of it all and I am crushed. The main theme - did somebody's 5 year old compose it? The DNA-donor at the beginning - his last gig was in Green Lantern, right? I will not even go into things like taking off helmets and not using gloves - those things have been covered here sufficiently. Somebody wrote in a review for the new Total Recall: this movie has no soul. I have to repeat that line here. There is nothing here. Yes, the CGI is good and I appreciate a nice view like the next Joe. But it does not substitute for the narrative. Yes, there's hints to the original (as there are in new TR), but that seems like offering me a pimped-up Ford Sierra as a Lamborghini, because it also has four wheels. And having Guy Pearce there - it reminds me of Lars von Trier' Melancholia: he casted John Hurt and he just sat there having like 2 lines. Why, oh, why? I am saddened. Truly.
Total Recall
(I) (2012)
A sad and pointless remake of a great movie
14 August 2012
As somebody already mentioned here - this new movie has no soul. And - given - it has so much potential, this is very, very sad. Its as if you watch some truly great play and then proceed to watching "even the rich weep/Veronica/Maria" crap. One thing is good though: I learned to really appreciate Arnie. His presence is something to truly enjoy, whereas Farrell... well, I didn't like him in Alexander and I didn't like him here. Its just not his place. All the nuances, intrigue and fun of the original are gone here, replaced by mindless action sequences, that bore you to death after 2.3 minutes. There were some tributes (with a twist) to the original - like the scene in the customs, where Farrell gets caught, and, of course, the triple-boobed hooker - but they only direct you back to the original. Yes, the SCI was good, but it would be more enjoyable as a stand-alone feature - without the stupefying action. For years I have been longing (and dreading) to see things like K.S.Robinson's Mars Trilogy and D.Simmons' Hyperion Saga on a big screen, but now I think - better not. I am not willing to trade poetry for poorly-made pottery. If you want some good action, go for Streets of Fire and the original TR :)
Battleship
(2012)
Pure fun
4 August 2012
If you liked Evolution and Space Cowboys, you'll like this one. And Top Gun, Down Periscope and Hot Shots might draw some parallels as well. Slogan "In God We Trust, All Others We Track" has to make one smile, eh? A fresh roller-coaster after the outpouring of "serious", but oh-so-idiotic BLA and the likes. Attack the Block was, perhaps, a bit better, as it was also ironical. Stupid this flick is, my apprentice, surely (speaking of stupidity, what about WotW - technologically superior aliens who will die here of flu??? Or ID - our computer viruses are superior???), but funny as hell and the soundtrack is good - you gotta love Creedence and AC/DC :) I did not see this movie in cinema, but will definitely seek out a BR copy, because it's worth it for purely entertaining qualities. PS. Be sure to also watch after the closing credits ;)
Tell Your Friends