|
|
A Clockwork Orange - Review
By: jiggyj
Boys and girls, children of all ages, I present to you A Clockwork Orange; a pretty faithful adaptation of the Anthony Burgess novel of the same name, which is full of sex, violence, and moral dilemmas. So sit down and enjoy…or else I'll hold your eyes open and force you to read this review!
As the movie starts off, we are introduced to Alex, the lead of the story, and the one who we will follow from beginning to end. It is slightly in the future, and the younger generation is discontent with their lives, hangout, commit crime, and basically just act like general punks you just want to knock the heck out of. We meet Alex in a milk bar (yes, you heard me right) in what is a fairly iconic scene in the world of cinema. Alex is dressed almost completely in white, with a huge jockstrap type codpiece being worn on the outside, a bowler hat, and fake eyelashes around one eye (Bart Simpson wore this exact look for a Tree House of Horrors episode one time as well). After he leaves the bar with his three friends, they are soon off to go beat up a homeless man, fight with another gang, take a wild joyride through the countryside, and then end the night by raping a woman. Yes, these aren't good people.
Alex loves Beethoven as he listens to it to close off this wild evening. The next day Alex heads to the record store, finds two ladies he is quite impressed with, takes them home and begins to have sex with them both. The sexual stirrings in this movie are quite strong, as there are several naked women, a few instances of sex, paintings and sculptures featuring the male and female forms in all their natural ways, and even the milk bar is filled with naked women sculptures that dispense the milk the patrons drink from their nipples.
Alex starts to worry about his friends and think they are going to turn on him, but before they can get a jump on him he attacks first. Well, this doesn't set well with his friends. The gang decides to rob a woman who lives with cats and Alex is the one who decides to go in. While moving through the house, he stumbles upon the woman, and then he begins to chase her around the house with…a giant ceramic penis? Anyways, the woman pisses him off, and Alex kills her by bashing her over the head with the giant penis he is holding in his hands. Yeah, I'm feeling dirty now.
As Alex leaves the woman's house, his friends are waiting there to have him take the fall, as one buddy bashes him across the face with a milk bottle and leave him there for the cops. Alex finds himself in jail, but they offer to get him out early if he agrees to subject himself to Ludovico's Technique. Alex doesn't really care about the process…he just knows he gets out early.
Ludovico's Technique is a process that subjects Alex to the violent images of rape, violence, and murder that the human psyche is capable of committing. The doctors force Alex to watch these scenes by keeping his eyes open with clamps (another iconic scene from the movie), which are there to make him sick, thanks to an injection the doctors have been giving him. So, the process goes that, thanks to the medicine, whenever Alex thinks about or tries to commit these things he has been programmed to know is wrong, he starts to become physically ill until he stops thinking about them.
Alex tries to adjust to this new life, but the sickness keeps coming and coming and finally Alex can no longer take it. What steps will Alex take to rid himself of this plague on his life?
Overall, the movie is good, but not great. Though Stanley Kubrick is usually heralded by film aficionados around the world, rarely has he done something I think is truly grand – Dr. Strangelove is the only movie I've seen of Kubrick that I'd consider great, while other such films as A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut I'd just consider good. I'd mention my total disdain for 2001, but I don't want to waste my time talking about that rubbish. Yes, you heard me, rubbish; read the novel if you want to experience it the right way.
Malcolm McDowell is particularly strong as the lead, as he manages to fill the role with both a sadistic charm and yet, after Ludovico's Technique, a helplessness that, though we know he has committed some heinous crimes throughout his life, we still feel a bit sorry for him because of what has happened to him.
The most interesting thing about A Clockwork Orange (besides the visual look of the film) is the moral questions and dilemmas that arise during the course of the movie. Should we have the right to subject people through this process for the benefit of everyone else and the world for that matter? By taking away one's free will, do we in essence take away their humanity and instead make them a windup toy to simply turn on and let move around? Is A Clockwork Orange a fable to warn people of their government? Perhaps because of my history with the source material I have a special fondness for it, but if you look beyond just the surface material, you'll find plenty of things to keep your mind occupied and constantly thinking and evaluating things.
Though I recommend the "story" of A Clockwork Orange, I can't full heartedly recommend the movie. If you want to truly experience A Clockwork Orange you simply MUST read the book. Yes, the foreign words in it can be daunting at first, but after you find a dictionary you'll start understanding words like malchick and viddy with ease. The novel also contains a twenty-first chapter, which is essential to getting the most from the story. The movie, by not including the final chapter, is nothing really more than just a "story," while the book makes it a parable that, perhaps, in time the wild, youthfully follies such as drug use, underage drinking, and random, senseless crime will simply disappear as we grow up and mature, and realize that what we thought was once cool, was actually quite stupid.
As a special treat, the rest of this Retro Review contains this exact same review, but filtered through the words of Alex and the amalgamated Nadsat language that runs through the novel; this should give you a good idea what to expect should you (as you should) read the novel by Anthony Burgess.
As the sinny starts off, we are introduced to Alex, the privodeet of the raskazz, and the odin who we will follow from nachinatovat to end. It is slightly in the future, and the younger generation is discontent with their jeeznies, hangout, commit crime, and basically just act like general punks you just want to clop the heck out of. We meet Alex in a moloko bar (yes, you slooshied me right) in what is a fairly iconic scene in the world of cinema. Alex is dressed almost completely in white, with a bolshy jockstrap type codpiece being worn on the outside, a bowler shlapa, and fake eyelashes around odin glazz (Bart Simpson wore this exact smot for a Tree Domy of Stracks episode odin raz as horrorshow). After he ookadeeties the bar with his tree droogs, they are soon off to itty beat up a homeless chelloveck, drat with another shaika, shvat a flip joyride through the countryside, and then end the nochy by raping a cheena. Yes, these aren't dobby lewdies.
Alex loves Beethoven as he slooshes to it to close off this flip evening. The next day Alex gullivers to the pop-disc store, finds dva damas he is quite impressed with, takes them domy and nachinats to engage in the old in-out, in-out with them both. The sexual stirrings in this sinny are quite strong, as there are several nagoy cheenas, a few instances of pol, paintings and sculptures featuring the male and sharp forms in all their natural ways, and even the moloko bar is filled with nagoy cheenas sculptures that dispense the moloko the patrons firegold from their nipples.
Alex starts to worry about his droogs and think they are ittying to turn on him, but before they can get a jump on him he attacks first. Horrorshow, this doesn't set horrorshow with his droogs. The shaika decides to crast a cheena who jeeznies with koshkas and Alex is the odin who decides to itty in. While moving through the domy, he stumbles upon the cheena, and then he nachinats to chase her around the domy with…a giant ceramic penis? Anyways, the cheena pisses him off, and Alex oobivats her by bashing her over the gulliver with the giant penis he is holding in his rooks. Yeah, I'm feeling grahzny now.
As Alex ookadeeties the cheena's domy, his droogs are waiting there to have him shvat the fall, as odin droog bashes him across the litso with a moloko bottle and ookadeet him there for the rozzes. Alex finds himself in staja, but they offer to get him out early if he agrees to subject himself to Ludovico's Technique. Alex doesn't really care about the process…he just knows he gets out early.
Ludovico's Technique is a process that subjects Alex to the ultra-violent images of rape, ultra-violence, and oobivat that the human psyche is capable of committing. The doctors force Alex to watch these scenes by keeping his glazzies open with clamps (another iconic scene from the sinny), which are there to make him bolnoy, thanks to an injection the doctors have been giving him. So, the process itties that, thanks to the medicine, whenever Alex thinks about or tries to commit these veshches he has been programmed to know is wrong, he starts to become physically bolnoy until he stops thinking about them.
Alex tries to adjust to this new jeezny, but the sickness keeps coming and coming and finally Alex can no longer shvat it. What steps will Alex shvat to rid himself of this plague on his jeezny?
Overall, the sinny is dobby, but not bolshy. Though Stanley Kubrick is usually heralded by sinny aficionados around the world, rarely has he done something I think is truly grand - Dr. Strangelove is the only sinny I've viddied of Kubrick that I'd consider bolshy, while other such sinnies as A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Glazzies Wide Shut I'd just consider dobby. I'd mention my total disdain for 2001, but I don't want to waste my raz govoreeting about that chepooka. Yes, you slooshied me, chepooka; read the novel if you want to experience it the right way.
Malcolm McDowell is particularly strong as the privodeet, as he manages to fill the role with both a sadistic charm and yet, after Ludovico's Technique, a helplessness that, though we know he has committed some heinous crimes throughout his jeezny, we still feel a tomtick sorry for him because of what has sloochatted to him.
The most interessovatting veshch about A Clockwork Orange (besides the visual smot of the sinny) is the moral questions and dilemmas that arise during the course of the sinny. Should we have the right to subject lewdies through this process for the benefit of everyone else and the world for that matter? By shvatty away odin's free will, do we in essence shvat away their humanity and instead make them a windup toy to simply turn on and let move around? Is A Clockwork Orange a fable to warn lewdies of their government? Perhaps because of my history with the source material I have a special fondness for it, but if you smot beyond just the surface material, you'll find plenty of veshches to keep your rassoodock occupied and constantly thinking and evaluating veshches.
Though I recommend the "raskazz" of A Clockwork Orange, I can't full heartedly recommend the sinny. If you want to truly experience A Clockwork Orange you simply MUST read the book. Yes, the foreign slovos in it can be daunting at first, but after you find a dictionary you'll start ponying slovos like malchick and viddy with ease. The novel also contains a twenty-first chapter, which is essential to getting the most from the raskazz. The sinny, by not including the final chapter, is nothing really more than just a "raskazz," while the book makes it a parable that, perhaps, in raz the flip, youthfully follies such as drencrom use, underage peeting, and random, senseless crime will simply disappear as we grow up and mature, and realize that what we messel was once cool, was actually quite gloopy.
|
Thursday, August 30, 2007 |
|
ET - Review
By: jiggyj
In 1982 Steven Spielberg released the movie E.T. to the world and thus solidified its position as one of the highest grossing films of all time with a lifetime gross of over $756 million worldwide. The film was later released again into theatres in 2002 – the twentieth anniversary of the movie – with new digitally enhanced effects and the replacement of guns with walkie-talkies, but for review purposes, and for the fact that the classic needed no enhancements to begin with, the original version of E.T. will be used. E.T. shows that fancy CG effects aren’t needed to make a film great and that puppets and simple effects like a bicycle flying across the moon are sometimes the best movie magic that Hollywood can offer.
The story of E.T. is at its core a story about an alien left behind who is befriended by a young boy named Elliott who makes it his mission to help ET, but underneath that lies the heartbreaking and tragic story about losing family members, whether that be actual family members or those who become so close to us that we consider them family, and what happens when isolation is the only family that people has.
The movie begins with ET being accidentally left behind by his family on an expedition trip when government agents show up without warning. The government agents are led by Keys – referenced by the fact that his ominous jingling keys always signal his arrival – who has been searching for alien life ever since he was a ten-year-old boy. Spielberg does a great job here by making something as simple as hanging keys on a belt seem as sinister as the greatest evil in the world. ET soon finds shelter in Elliott’s shed where he is believed by the other family members to be nothing more than Elliott’s imagination playing wild games. Elliott soon lures out ET with a trail of Reese’s Pieces and starts the friendship that is the driving force of the movie.
ET is revealed to be a short squatting alien with tiny legs and long feet, fat body, long gangly arms, occasionally glowing red chest, long fingers, and a large baldhead with a pug nose and giant eyes that convey all the emotions you could ask for. The entire head of ET is puppeteer controlled, making everything from brows rising and nostrils flaring to eyes squinting or growing wide seem life like, and the puppeteers do an excellent job at conveying ET’s facial emotions. The moment you start to appreciate ET’s facial movements is the moment you start to fall in love with the film. There are certain scenes throughout the movie, especially the last quarter of the film, which relies on the viewer to remember how ET looked early on and how much he has changed since those early moments of the film when ET’s eyes were the gateway to his soul.
As mentioned earlier, E.T. is really the story of missing family members and the isolation people can feel in their lives. Elliott’s family - his mom, older brother, and younger sister - are dealing with their own family loss much like ET is also. Elliott’s mom has just become recently separated from her husband, for what reason we don’t know, but it is hinted at that he was unfaithful to her since Elliott bluntly tells his mom that his dad is in Mexico with a woman named Sally. You can tell from scenes such as these that the loss of their father, even though he is not dead, still impacts them all and has emotionally damaged them all. Elliott seems unattached to the issues regarding his father, not knowing that something minor he briefly mentioned could mean so much to someone else, while his sister Gertie is too young to know, or maybe she just wants to delude herself, and his older brother holds obvious anger issues regarding his dad leaving by how he attacks Elliott verbally in some instances. Elliott’s mom, understandably, is the one most affected by it all. She breaks down and cries at the news of him being with another woman, saying things like he doesn’t even like Mexico, and even questions her husband and her role in it all when she is left alone to her own demises on Halloween. There is also a touching scene in the garage where Elliott and Michael reminisce over one of their dad’s old shirts and try to remember just what type of cologne their dad used to wear.
Spielberg does an excellent job at showing the bond Elliott and ET share. He shows us that the two are one in the same, both experiencing loss, both feeling alone, and it is these shared life lessons that form the friendship and attachment to each other that they share. Spielberg uses lighting early on to darken the foreground of one particular shot, letting the back light from the blinds cast shadows over both Elliott and ET, which not only manages to show the dark places that they are currently in their life, but the shadows also eliminates almost all of the discerning features and instead cast them as two equally dark figures to show that they share in all things. One of the best scenes of the movie - a patchwork of Elliott in school getting ready to dissect a frog and ET discovering the intoxicating lure of alcohol - shows the strong connection the two have in more ways than one. ET drinks a beer back at home, which causes Elliott in class to burp. Also, the drunker ET gets, the more loose and mellow Elliott becomes in class. ET even runs into several things, cabinets and such, which causes Elliott to rub his face in pain. ET even falls down on his face at one point and makes Elliott slide out of his chair. The scene not only shows the connection the two have, but becomes a hysterical piece of comedy as well. Drunk ET, to put it plainly, is sheer comedy greatness. I dare you not to laugh.
The scene with ET drunk is only one of a dozen memorable scenes in the movie. There is a screaming scene between ET and Gertie, ET dressed like a woman and scurrying about, ET experiencing Halloween, the famous scene of the bicycles flying across the moon over the horizon, and the final scene of the movie are all classics that are sure to stick with you if you give the movie a watch.
John Williams – the brilliant composer who has done countless scores for Spielberg – is at some of his best when it comes to the music of E.T. The main theme of E.T. is very reminiscent of the Star Wars main title theme music in certain parts, which might not be a coincidence given that Star Wars is referenced several times throughout the movie including a Yoda walking around on Halloween, but it is changed enough to give it a sound of its own. Williams’s score fills the air with flighty bursts of strings and punctuated brass that screams out adventure during scenes like a bicycle chase from the government. Williams also uses subtle strings, relying heavily on them in some cases such as scenes of inner reflection or loss, which a second later can magnificently rejoice in the wonder and magic of what the world is possible of. Be mindful of the music or you’ll be missing out on a great deal of what makes E.T. so special.
I want to talk about the final quarter of the movie - the best of the movie by the way - but I don’t wish to spoil any major story points for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie. I will say that the final quarter runs the gamut of emotions from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high. If the final part of the movie doesn’t touch you in some way then I don’t know what will. A flower wilting will never look the same way again to you after watching this movie.
E.T. isn’t only one of Spielberg’s best science fiction films, but it is one of his best overall films as well. You can’t help but fall in love with ET. E.T. is at times a comedy, at others a drama, and it is even a portrait of a family dealing with loss, but through it all it remains one thing…a great film that is worthy to be in any movie collection.
|
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 |
|
Doctor Who (3.09) “The Family of Blood” – Advance Review
By: jesuiscanadien
When we last left the good Doctor, he was a sitting duck as a wholly human and terribly daft instructor at a boys’ school in England in the year 1913. The Family have confronted Mr. Smith about his status regarding the Doctor and are demanding to have him change or they will kill Martha or Joan. Timothy is watching the scene, having made his way inside the dance, and opens the watch for a moment, unknowingly creating a distraction for Martha to take charge of the situation.
Martha grabs one of the guns, and frees Joan, then directing everyone out, including Mr. Smith, as she believes he is lost to her without the watch. As she argues with the Family, one of their scarecrow servants interrupts and manages to get the gun from Martha. Martha makes a break for it and gets everyone to evacuate the village square as the Family come out of the hall shooting at the fleeing villagers.
Mother of Mine remembers that Martha would take walks by herself to the west and directs someone to find out what Martha was looking for, while Son of Mine directs the rest of the Family back to the school to find Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith is meanwhile organising a defence of the school with the use of artillery, and Martha is desperate to find that watch. Timothy hides it away, as the watch tells him to, as it is too dangerous.
The Headmaster comes in, demanding to know what is going on when Mr. Smith and Joan confirm what happened in the village. The Headmaster goes out to talk to the Family, and watches as one of his instructors is murdered before his eyes. That moves him to step up defences of the school, while he wonders why they want Mr. Smith so badly.
The boys mount the defence, to no avail. Sister of Mine has snuck into the school and is getting intel for the rest of the Family. Father of Mine has found the Doctor’s TARDIS, and reports back to the others. Timothy is hiding from everyone, and when he is confronted by Sister of Mine, he opens the watch once again and frightens her off. This alerts the rest of the Family and they know if they find the boy they will have the essence of the Time Lord and will be able to live forever. Son of Mine attacks with the scarecrow troops, and the boys shoot them. Mr. Smith has a rifle, but he cannot fire upon the servants. When the Headmaster learns that the scarecrows are simply straw, he comes back to the firing line. Seeing Sister of Mine, he tells her to get behind the line, but she ends up killing him. Mr. Smith orders a retreat inside the school, which turns out badly and they retreat from the school into the woods. Timothy uses the watch again, which alerts the Family as to its whereabouts.
Father of Mine brings the TARDIS back to the school and taunts the Doctor with it. Mr. Smith is in deep denial about his real nature and refuses to believe Martha and Joan, so they run to an abandoned house and hide out. While they hide, Timothy catches up to them and tries to give the watch to Mr. Smith. He won’t accept it, and Martha admits that she needs him to be the Doctor and that she loves him. Joan asks Martha and Timothy to leave, as she will try to talk to Mr. Smith. Once alone, the two lovers talk about what could be, while Martha and Timothy wait outside. Mr. Smith shares a version of what his life could be with Joan, and feels torn by it.
The Family have re-entered their ship and are firing upon the village, when Mr. Smith comes in with the watch, begging them to stop and let him live. In the process, Mr. Smith presses a swack of buttons, and when the Family realize the watch is empty, he immediately reasserts himself as the Doctor. The Doctor tells them that the ship is about to blow and advises them to run. With the ship destroyed, he imprisons each member in their own prison for eternity.
Joan says a sad goodbye to the Doctor, realizing that her John Smith is gone, even though the Doctor invites her to come along as his Companion. Timothy catches up to Martha and the Doctor, and he gives Timothy the watch for good luck. They take off, and we move to the war years, when Timothy remembers his vision and saves his friend and colleague from a bomb killing him. Many years later, at a Remembrance Day ceremony, an elderly and infirm Timothy sees the Doctor and Martha standing off to the side, and his eyes fill with tears as he remembers.
The second half of this story arc had no flashbacks, which was nice. We finally get into the meat of the story, with the confrontation between the Family and Mr. Smith. It was odd to see Smith/ the Doctor act cowardly. While he was blissfully unaware of his real nature, I found him endearing, but when he rejected his nature from a standpoint imbedded in fear, I became disillusioned. Courage isn’t simply learned, I think that some people have it imprinted in their DNA. While one can learn to be brave and stand up against great odds, I know the natural leaders have no choice but to stand against their foes. The Doctor has always struck me as a natural leader, even when he really didn’t want to get involved. I’ve been there, and just when you think you can’t go on, something inside of you gets seriously cheesed and you are forced to take the bullet. The Doctor is that kind of guy. I think he’d rather be off exploring stuff, but then he sees a wrong and has to fix it, simply because no one else will. The fact that Smith didn’t share that view as heartily, and had to be convinced by Joan on what course of action to take, smacks of overwhelming survival instincts and a fear-based cosmology.
The Family were like sociopathic dogs with a penchant for certain smells. They also reminded me of cokeheads with all the sniffing they did. I kept wondering when the nose bleeds would start. The family dynamic was barely visible, with the only major aspect being used with their titles. The Son was the de facto leader which generally falls to the father, being the head of house. The Mother had an almost indecent relationship with the Son, giving me the impression that there was more to their bond then that of a mother and her son. If this were a pack of dogs, I would have to say that Son was the male alpha, Mother was the female alpha, Father was a beta, and Sister played omega to the pack dynamic. They have more in common with animal behaviour than with human relationship dynamics, and that is a little disturbing.
Martha’s struggle to be taken seriously in that time period really struck a chord with me. Being black and female in Edwardian England, would be a hard lesson in a lack of rights. Being a woman would have been hard enough, but to be a racial minority in a society that considered it normal to exhibit bigotry would seem to have sounded a death knell for Martha. She is young and intelligent, and she had to blend into a society that would not accept that she had one iota of intelligence in her entire body. She’s the type of woman who would seem to have a great deal of trouble biting her tongue, but would be forced to, in order to keep the Doctor safe.
As for the setting, I have never been fond of cold locations. It is too easy to be chilled watching people be cold on television or in the movies, and quite frankly I like the heat much better. Possibly due to the fact that we rarely see real heat in the Pacific Northwest. Even though this arc was taking place just before November 11, 1913, with the climax taking place on that date, which means rather inclement weather for England, I could not get over the fact that the mere scenery was depressingly cold and inhospitable. It made the moon setting in “Smith and Jones” look cozy and cheery. Fall will be here too soon as it is, and watching people wear heavy coats and get red noses and cheeks from the biting wind takes me there far too quickly.
I think that the writers really stretched this story arc out to make it two episodes, when it would have comfortably fit into one episode. Perhaps they were stuck for ideas, but with some good editing, I believe that this arc could’ve been tighter and more impactful in just one hour. While I have felt similarly in the past, this arc really drove it home. There was a little too much time wasted with things, like the relationship with Timothy and his peers, or the length of time it took for Smith to suck it up and get out there, which could have been dropped without being missed. There was nothing wrong with the writing, but I just felt the story ran too long with a two hour arc. The ending left something to be desired with the almost cursory wrap-up telling the viewer what became of the Family. We spent so much time getting to know them, that when the arc ends, and everyone is imprisoned in their own version of eternal hell, it lacked impact. I personally felt like it was a throwaway epilogue.
This part of the story arc earns a 6.5 out of 10.0 as well. It just didn’t have the right impact.
Doctor Who (3.08) “Human Nature” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
The Doctor is having dreams of his old life with Martha, as they escape some enemy that has the ability to follow them through time. While they are being chased, the Doctor uses the Chameleon Arch to rewrite his DNA as a human, and he plants himself and Martha in 1913 England, to hide out. The Doctor has become John Smith, and Martha has become his personal maid, and they reside in a boys’ school in the countryside far outside of London. Martha is the only one who knows of the Doctor’s true identity and she is tasked with keeping him safe, while his true identity is hidden inside a fob watch.
The Doctor has been in hiding as John Smith for two months at the school, and has taken a fancy to a lady working at the school as the nurse, Joan Redfern. Martha is mortified at this development, as the Doctor promised to not ever leave her, but with this new relationship, he could very well leave her alone.
One evening, Martha witnesses what appears to be a falling star, but she suspects otherwise. As Joan Redfern is walking back to the school, she is accosted by a green light, and runs to tell somebody. Mr. Smith is walking out of a side building, when he comes upon Martha and her co-worker, Lucy, and sees Joan run up. Joan tells them about the light she saw and they watch the star streak across the night sky. Mr. Smith tells everyone that it’s simply bits of rock and there’s nothing really to see. Martha asks Lucy what is beyond the trees and she tells her that it is Cooper’s Field. Martha is determined to find out what landed, and Lucy follows to make sure her friend is all right.
One of the students, Jeremy Bains, is out getting some beer hidden away in the forest when he sees the strange light land out in the field. He goes to investigate and is taken into the invisible ship. When Martha gets there, nothing is to be seen, and her friend Lucy counsels her that Mr. Smith was right. After they leave, Jeremy is sitting inside the ship, frightened at what is going on, when his body is overtaken by one of the members of the Family. He comes back to the school very different, but the other lads shrug it off and go off to bed. Timothy knows something is up, as he is empathic, but he doesn’t know what.
The next day Martha goes to the old out building that the Doctor and Martha hid the TARDIS in, and she remembers the events that led up to the Doctor becoming human and hiding out on Earth. She looks for instructions regarding the meteorite, but nothing in the Doctor’s list says anything about suspicious falling stars. Back at the school, Mr. Smith is giving Timothy a book, and while he looks for it, Timothy notices the fob watch. It speaks to him, and he opens it for a second, which catches the attention of Jeremy, the alien creature. Timothy steals the watch and opens it again in the privacy of his room, which sends Jeremy into full retrieval mode, activating the rest of the members of his “family”, including Father of Mine and Sister of Mine.
While Mr. Smith is teaching the boys to fire a machine gun, Nurse Redfern watches, disturbed by the sight. Timothy is on the firing squad, and he has a premonition of what will happen a few years hence, seeing his schoolmate and himself on the battlefield. He loses track of what he is doing and his schoolmate asks if he can beat him, and permission is granted. After school, Joan and John go for a walk and Joan tells John about her husband and his death on the battlefield. While she is talking, John manages to stop an accident from harming a young mother and her baby, which Joan finds remarkable. Mr. Smith immediately invites Joan to the dance that evening in the village.
As Lucy rides her bike back to the school, she is accosted by the servants of the Family, and is taken over by Mother of Mine. Martha is freaked when she realizes what has happened to her friend and runs off to try and warn the Doctor. But the Doctor isn’t the Doctor anymore, and his fob watch is missing. Martha slaps Mr. Smith, trying to get him to remember, but he doesn’t, and he dismisses her from service.
At the dance, Mr. Smith and Joan are dancing, having a wonderful time, when Martha rushes in with the sonic screwdriver to try and remind him of who he is. The Family have figured out where Mr. Smith might be, and Sister of Mine watches and overhears Martha call Mr. Smith the Doctor. As Martha tries to get Mr. Smith to remember, the Family walk in and shoot a couple of people to show the seriousness of the situation. Brother of Mine orders the Doctor to change back, but of course Mr. Smith has no idea. So the Family take Martha and Joan hostage and demand that the Doctor choose who will live, as the episode ends on Mr. Smith’s dilemma.
I found this episode a little bit hard to follow, as they used flashbacks quite liberally. Note to self, don’t multitask during Doctor Who. You miss stuff. Even watching the episode a second time, I still found the storyline to be a tad disjointed. I should not have to watch an episode multiple times to get all the clues being dropped. Using flashbacks can be useful in certain situations, but when the backstory is vital for the advancement of the plot, it becomes laborious to keep track of the information given in successive flashbacks. While I was watching this for the second time, I was reminded of the derision one of my English Profs held for the use of flashbacks. He felt flashbacks were best used sparingly and judiciously.
Somehow, Mr. Smith was exactly how I would picture the Doctor if he were entirely human. The lack of groundedness, the deeply academic nature, the inability to notice the emotional aspects of life surrounding him, and the absent-mindedness were all completely natural to the character. He was the Doctor in human DNA, and the writers got my imaginings correct with their version. I like it when my personal vision matches the vision onscreen. I freely admit I think about what the Doctor would be like in various scenarios. It passes the time during the evening commute.
Poor Martha, she’s still harbouring a crush on the Doctor. She can do better than some emotionally unavailable guy. Why do women do that to themselves? Honestly. I’d rather be alone than with someone who wasn’t my equal, and really got me. One shouldn’t have to do all the work in the relationship. Martha is taking way too much on with that crush. Move on sister.
Overall, the first part of this two-part episode was all right, but could’ve used more editing during the writing process. The flashbacks were used improperly, in my opinion. I suppose I will have to give this a chance to work itself out with part two, but the first part only garners a 6.5 out of 10.0.
Eureka (2.07) “Family Reunion” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
Over at Global Dynamics they are preparing to replace some old cryogenic units with the new version, when they come across a unit that was supposed to be empty, but wasn’t. The techs watch in horror as the temperature readings begin to rise on the unit.
In the Sheriff’s office, Zoë has brought Jo Lupo a fashion magazine in exchange for an espresso. Jack Carter has told Zoë that she must go without her beloved coffee for an entire week, or no driving lessons. As Zoë leaves the office, her dad grabs the cup and using some deductive reasoning, busts Jo for being the go-between. Just as the punishment phase is getting underway, Allison Blake calls from Global regarding the situation in cryogenics. After Jack leaves, Zoë uses redial to find out who he was ordering flowers for, and wonders who Angela Fairfield is.
Carter is still angry with Allison about her withholding evidence regarding the shared dreaming device, and tells her that he’ll be angry for a while. She leads him to cryogenics and the chamber is opened, with its occupant still alive. Pierre Fargo comes out of the chamber unconscious, and his grandson, Douglas Fargo is surprised to see him there.
When Pierre regains consciousness, he has a hard time believing fifty years have passed. When Fargo introduces himself as his grandson, that puts him in a bit of a state of shock. Fargo asks Jack to look into how Pierre got into the chamber, and Jack promises to have someone look into it. Jo is put to the task, and finds out that Pierre was working with Andre Sandrov, whom she describes as Eureka’s Albert Einstein. She tells Jack that Sandrov gave a statement that Pierre left one day after giving written notice.
Back at Global, Pierre is determined to leave and find Belle and find out what happened to him. Fargo is following him around, and shows him a photo of his grandmother. Pierre thinks she is still beautiful, but he can’t be with her right away, as she is in Alaska, dog-sledding. Pierre still needs to get out and find out what’s happening.
Over at the Sheriff’s office, Jack is scolding Zoë about the coffee incident, when she brings up Angela, and Jacks tells her to drop it. Jo tells Jack that Belle St. John, Fargo’s grandmother, gave birth to Thomas Steven Fargo eight months after Pierre disappeared. Jack goes to talk to Pierre about the issues surrounding the pregnancy.
Pierre finds out that Andre Sandrov has claimed the research that Pierre did as his own, and won a Nobel and got a multi-million dollar foundation in his name. He is livid at the outcome of events in this regard. When Jack confronts Pierre about the pregnancy, he tells Jack that he was going to propose that evening, and shows him a receipt for a ring he bought. He also tells Jack that Sandrov stole his research and he now wants to set the record straight.
Jack tells Allison that he wants to speak to Sandrov about the issue, but she feels that it would cause too much trouble. Jack ignores her feelings and takes Jo with him to see Sandrov. Sandrov lies to Jack about Pierre, and Jo reciprocates Jack’s feelings about looking further into Sandrov’s claims.
As Pierre goes to look up his friend Charlie, and Charlie tells him that he sold the ring a couple of years after Pierre left. Charlie warns his friend that when he meets Belle again, things might not go the way he planned. Pierre takes the advice with a grain of salt and goes to find the supposed letter of resignation, so he can clear his name.
Zoë is digging up info on Angela Fairfield, and finds out that there is a closed juvenile record of her father’s associated with Angela. While she absorbs that info, Fargo and Pierre break into the restricted files at Global and find Pierre’s resignation letter. Allison and Jack confront Pierre and he hands the letter over, telling Allison that it may not look good right now. Allison tells him it is about to look worse.
Meanwhile, Nathan and Henry have discovered something about Pierre’s cellular structure that has them worried. They aren’t the only ones who notice something, as when Pierre goes to the washroom at the Sheriff’s office, after being arrested for the break-in, he turns into an old man. Nathan and Henry admit Pierre to the infirmary and work on stopping the advanced degeneration. And Jack has Nathan test Pierre to prove he was the one who made the discoveries about cellular structure.
Jack, Fargo, Pierre, and Nathan confront Sandrov about his lies, and Sandrov claims that he didn’t notice Pierre was locked in a cryo-chamber. When he found the resignation letter, he assumed that it was okay and he ‘borrowed’ Pierre’s work. He never pushed Pierre into the chamber and has no idea who did. Sandrov helps Nathan and Henry stop the advanced degeneration, and Jack figures out that Pierre’s resignation letter signature was traced from his receipt for Belle’s ring.
Jack, Pierre, and Fargo go to Charlie, and he admits to being in love with Belle, too. Jack arrests Charlie, but before he takes him in, Charlie tells Pierre that Belle never got over Pierre and gives him the ring Pierre paid for all those years ago. Later that evening, Jack and Zoë talk about Angela Fairfield and what happened to her, and Zoë realizes the responsibility her dad took on. The next day, Jack and Pierre wait for Fargo and Belle to arrive at Café Diem. Belle takes one look at Pierre and it’s like no time has passed, and Pierre places the engagement ring on her finger. At Global, Fargo is revelling in the credit that his grandfather is getting with the name of the cryogenics unit being changed to the Pierre Fargo Centre for Cryogenics.
While this was sort of a Fargo-centric episode, it was really about a man trying to regain his equilibrium in a world he doesn’t know anymore. Pierre is nothing like his grandson, and the fact they share a name and a penchant for ugly glasses is where the similarities end. Pierre is a man that cares about his work, his love, Belle, and his good name. The fact that his life was so abruptly taken from him disturbs him, of course, but it also energizes him to right the wrong and reassert his good name. To tell the truth, this storyline didn’t interest me at all, and as the episode trotted along, nothing became evident to help me enjoy it more. Sure, the writing was good, the scenes were well acted, but there was no special spark for me. I could have left the episode alone in the television universe and been happy about the decision. Nothing really grabbed me to make me like what I was seeing.
To go even further, Nathan Stark seems to not only be a jack of all trades, but a master of most of them. That right there annoys the smackerel out of me. Seriously, how old is this guy, because he’s not tracking past forty looks-wise, and he supposedly has been working for Global for years. So given that getting a PhD in anything takes a minimum seven years, and he’s specialised in a number of areas not just Mathematics, and even if he graduated high school at twelve (not that they say that, I’m just hypothesising) he could only immerse himself in maybe three or four specialties at a reasonable rate of study. When Jack makes a snide remark about Stark’s various accomplishments, I agreed whole-heartedly. This is a man who can seemingly do anything. He is the male equivalent of a Mary-Sue, what is termed a Gary-Stu in the lexicon. One may argue that not everybody loves Nathan, as evidenced by Jack’s lack of civility and Fargo’s dismay with Stark’s remarks, but if one were to poll the female viewers, it would not be a stretch to say the love is there. I wonder if the writers are trying to push the envelope with this nudge-nudge, wink-wink nod to the viewer. I would not find it at all surprising if they were.
The sub-plot with Zoë and Jack’s past was not terribly riveting either. I actually found it a smidge distracting, even though there is a subtle tie-in with the whole, “lost chunk of life” thingy. It does give us important backstory on Jack, but the way they went about it seemed a tad contrived for the storyline. I found a wee bit jolted by the way they wove it into the main plot, and therefore felt it could’ve been saved for a more appropriate time up the road.
I guess the only thing I enjoyed was finding out that Jo has a secret penchant for women’s magazines, but if I were her, I’d stick to “Vogue”. Less humiliating than whatever the heck it was that she was reading, plus it is the fashion bible. She could also try “W”, which I find to not only highlights fashion trends but also has good articles. It sure was fun to watch her squirm when Jack found the mag in her drawer. She shouldn’t be ashamed to admit she’s a girl. Being a girl in the twenty-first century in a free country can be loads of fun.
Considering the overall worth of this episode, I have to give it a terribly sad 6.5 out of 10.0. It was well written, but it just didn’t hold me.
|
Thursday, August 23, 2007 |
|
The Day The Earth Stood Still - Review
By: jiggyj
Klaatu Barata Nikto. It is one of the most known phrases in science fiction history and belongs to one of the most important pieces of science fiction art. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a landmark in science fiction film – a 1951 Golden Globe winner for ‘Best Film Promoting International Understanding’ – that came out during the tumultuous time of the Cold War. The film’s message – one of the most important messages ever to be displayed – still stands firmly today and maybe even more so today in this Post 9/11 world. Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Hugh Marlow star in this film that every science fiction fan – nay every human being – should see at least once in their lifetime.
The Day The Earth Stood Still starts off with a spaceship landing in the middle of Washington, DC at a baseball field. Ears are focused intently on the radio, eyes are mesmerized by the television coverage, and legs are briskly walking to the source of it all in Washington. All about the spaceship troops are readied with guns, tanks are pointed straight ahead, and mounted guns are ready to rip apart anything they can. Slowly a door opens from the spaceship and out comes an alien in a large round helmet exclaiming that they have come to visit in good will and peace. He approaches an officer that is in front of him and pulls from his suit a mechanical object of some sort that is totally unlike anything on our planet. A button is pushed on the object and suddenly a nervous military man is shooting the alien in the shoulder. The object breaks on the ground and the alien reveals that it was an artifact that would’ve let the President study the life on other planets.
The next thing we know a menacing 7-foot robot is walking down the ramp and opening an eye visor that contains a beam that disintegrates the weapons of several guards and even manages to completely destroy a tank and several mounted guns. The alien shuts down the robot and takes up the offer of going to a hospital to be treated. We find that the alien’s name is Klaatu – a human looking man from 250 million miles away – who wants to meet with all of the nations of earth. The United States government agrees to help – at least try – but the meeting is at a stand still when Cold War Russia refuses to attend the meeting unless it is held in Moscow. Klaatu soon escapes the United States’ custody at the hospital and passes himself off as a man named Carpenter so that he might walk amongst the people and try to find a way to complete his mission and try to save the world in the process. How does he try to save the world? Is the world saved? These are all questions that will only be answered if you watch the movie.
The Day The Earth Stood Still is quality storytelling at its best. The main story – adapted from the Harry Bates’ novel “Farewell To The Master” - is about finding out what Klaatu’s mission and message are, but there is so much more than that. The movie could be considered a precursor to Spielberg’s E.T. since there is a friendship that develops between Klaatu and a young boy named Bobby who finds that Mr. Carpenter – as Klaatu is known to the boy – is an intriguing man that he loves to spend time with. There is a touching scene right after the two meet where Klaatu takes Bobby to Arlington Cemetery and asks if all these deaths were due to war. Bobby tells him yes and asks does he not have cemeteries where he is from. Klaatu tells him that they do indeed have cemeteries, but that theirs are filled with individuals who died of old age and natural causes. It is a simple statement, but it is a world that we automatically wish we could live in. He also takes Bobby to his spaceship and answers all of Bobby’s rhetorical questions regarding the nature of the spaceship with complete honesty while everyone around them think that he is just pulling out facts from thin air and trying to pull the boy’s leg.
The message of the movie is anti-war and pro-peace – a message that everyone should desire for and strive for – and the movie really make the viewer question certain things such as how they feel on the matter. One of the characters near the end of the movie states to Bobby’s mom when he is getting ready to turn Klaatu over to the government for personal reward, “I don’t care about the rest of the world.” If you don’t gasp in shock after watching the movie up until then it is obvious that no amount of opinion can persuade you to change your views on wars and world peace. It is such a shocking statement that one has to wonder just how many people in the world are like this, these self-centered people who put their personal desires over the needs of the many, and makes us also look inside to see if ‘we’ are actually these people and just don’t know it yet.
On the DVD insert there are several revealing bits of information that deal with the struggles the movie had while trying to get made. The insert states that Darryl F. Zanuck – the big man in charge at the time – gave his enthusiastic approval for the filming, but there was a risk that the film’s pro-peace message would be seen as unpatriotic, since the U.S. had just been heavily engaged in the Korean War. The filmmakers also sought to obtain military equipment from the War Department, but the producers were told that the Washington bureau had rejected the script and no equipment would be supplied. Director Robert Wise recounted: “We wanted some tanks…jeeps…uniforms, things like that. They said no…everything that we had…came from the National Guard of Virginia, not the War Department. They didn’t approve of our message of peace, I guess.”
Do yourself a favor and buy this movie and add it to your collection. You won’t be disappointed. It is perhaps one of the greatest messages ever to be put on film. I’m not talking science fiction films either, but rather all films throughout history. Find out for yourself whether the world is saved. Find out for yourself just what exactly Klaatu’s message is for the world. And most importantly, find out for yourself whether you will join Bobby and his mom Helen in their quest to help heal the world, or if you will be one of the ones to lead it to its destruction. The choice is yours.
|
Thursday, August 23, 2007 |
|
Sci-Fi Brain News -- August 23, 2007
Davies: Tennant Staying For Whole Series
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has confirmed that David Tennant will portray the iconic Time Lord for the entire duration of the next season, contrary to tabloid reports.
"He's doing the whole series," stated Davies in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine. "It was never even discussed that he might leave after six episodes. That's completely invented by the papers."
|
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 |
|
The 4400: "One of Us" (4.10) – Review
By: jiggyj
Wow, two good episodes in a row! Sadly, it may be too little too late, as many events seem very haphazard and thrown together, making this season seem like a patchwork quilt of half-developed ideas. Thankfully, a bit of splendor manages to show through the cloudy nature of the episode, despite the fact that many moments were telegraphed and there were still many gaps in logic and plot.
Richard still has the best moments of the episode, as we get to see the troubled man finally have his daughter back to the age that she should've been all along, only to have things get even more complicated when his dead wife reappears before him. The show has had some strange events happen in the past, namely Lily turning old in the course of one episode and Isabelle growing up in a flash, but bringing Lily back from the dead just didn't seem all that plausible or true. As it turns out, Lily was essentially just an illusion created by some guy in a wheelchair who was creating the illusion on the orders of Kyle. Though the episode gave us a nice conclusion between the actors that never happened when the actress who plays Lily abruptly left and was wrote out being played by an older actress, we had to wonder just how the guy in the wheelchair knew where to put the illusion of Lily. If the guy could track Richard enough to put an image of Lily around him, couldn't he have just told Kyle, "Yo, Richard is here with Isabelle – go there!"
We also see the older woman who Richard went to see to make Isabelle younger in the first place. Once again we still haven't a clue how Isabelle got younger, despite the fact that we know the woman did it, and we even find out that now the woman has the ability to make people older too. It's tiring having so much happen for the sake of story. And basically, by the time the episode ends, things are back to the defacto with everyone in the same place as they were before this two-episode arc with Richard happened, though now Richard is in prison and Isabelle is working for Dark Tom.
The Marked finally takeover Dark Tom fully this episode, which ends up having him taken over by the persona that was placed in Matthew Ross before Isabelle killed him. It was a bit silly how it all played out, with the constant dreams/not dreams and the flashes to the future with Richard and Lily and how they got pregnant with Isabelle. The one thing we did particularly enjoy about Dark Tom's story is that the actor who plays Tom did a pretty good job of giving Dark Tom some different traits, which were reminiscent of regular Good Tom, but were very much different too.
The other story involved Shawn learning from the doctor that a test is only months away from completion, that would allow people to know beforehand whether or not taking the promicin shot would kill them or not, greatly reducing the usual 50/50 odds the shot currently brings. Of course, Jordan didn't want this information out, so Shawn took it up to old an interview revealing the news himself. However, things didn't sit too well, as Cassie told Kyle that Shawn needed to be dealt with, and given Kyle's background, we're assuming Shawn has to die.
Overall, it was a good episode, though many story gaps and unearned moments held the episode back from reaching true greatness. Still, with what the season has given us so far this season, it at least came across as some sort of revelation.
Rating: 8.0
|
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 |
|
Sci-Fi Brain News -- August 22, 2007
Peter Davison to Make 'Doctor Who' Return?
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Peter Davison will reprise his role as the fifth Doctor alongside David Tennant in an upcoming Children in Need special, according to a tabloid report.
An insider told The Sun that Davison, who starred in Doctor Who for three seasons between 1981 and 1984, was "top of the writers' list to make a comeback" for the charity event, which will take place on November 16 on BBC One later this year. The source also added: "The Doctor is forever travelling though time so there’s no reason why he couldn't catch up with a former incarnation."
Doctor Who (3.07) “42” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
The Doctor and Martha are in-flight in response to a distress call, but before they land, the Doctor has fiddled with Martha’s cell phone, giving her “Universal Roaming”. Martha is about to call her mother, when they land on a very hot starship and are thrust into danger right away. As they disembark, they are pulled through to the next room, as the room they were in has become dangerously hot. The female captain, McDonnell tells the two what has happened, without telling the entire truth. The Doctor advises that the crew evacuate to the TARDIS, but the crew of the ship has begun to vent heat through that room, rendering escape impossible.
When the Doctor investigates what has happened to the ship’s engine, he sees that it has been sabotaged. While he sends Martha and another crew member, Riley, off to the control room to regain control of the ship, the ship’s medic calls for help. Her patient, Korwin, is having some kind of seizure. When the Doctor comes up, he orders the medic to investigate the core issue for the seizure by scanning the patient. He goes back to work with the rest of the crew, when Abi, who is updating the crew about Korwin’s condition, screams in terror. When the Doctor, McDonnell, and another crew member, Scannell run to see what happened, they find the medic has been vaporised.
The Doctor figures that Korwin has been overtaken by some entity, but McDonnell, who is Korwin’s wife, denies that her husband could do something so heinous. Korwin vaporises another crew member, while Martha and Riley work on getting through the locked doors to get to the control room. At one point, Martha has to call her mother to ask her to look something up on the internet in order to get through the next door, and they argue. While Martha and Riley make slow progress through the doors, Korwin senses the goal and decides to add to his army of one, converting a crew member named Ashton against his will. Ashton is sent to deal with Martha and Riley, who manage to escape his grasp into an escape pod. Ashton works to eject the pod into the sun, which the ship is getting closer and closer to, while Riley works to prevent that outcome.
Things end badly for Riley and Martha, as Ashton busts the mechanism for the pod, sending them out into space. Martha tells Riley not to lose faith, as she knows that the Doctor will save them. Meanwhile, the Doctor is trying to deal with the new situation with Ashton and Korwin, and getting the control room back under crew control; and then he has to save Martha by going out on a space walk to pull a lever to engage a magnetic thingy to pull the pod back. When the pod is being pulled back, the Doctor is infected by the entity that is killing the crew, but since he isn’t human, he is able to fight off the force of the entity.
When McDonnell sees what has happened to the Doctor, he angrily tells her that she illegally strip-mined the star, taking living entities with her fuel grab. He tells Martha that he has to have his core temperature brought down to remove the entity from his system, and asks Martha to stay with him, as he is frightened. While they are trying to get the freezing process to work, Korwin turns off the power to the machine the Doctor is in. He tells Martha to dump the fuel the ship took on from the sun, and begins to lose his fight with the entity. Martha gets the fuel dumped, as McDonnell faces Korwin. Korwin takes McDonnell with him into space, dragging her into the sun with him, while the ship regains control and they narrowly escape the fiery death.
As Martha and the Doctor leave, Martha gives Riley a kiss for being brave for her. The Doctor gives Martha a key to the TARDIS, thanking her for saving his life once again. Martha calls her mother back and is invited over for tea, which the Doctor assures her they will make, as the viewer sees that Martha’s mother’s phone is being tapped by some people. The woman in the group thanks Martha’s mother for her aid and tells her that “Mr. Saxon will be very grateful.”
That is the second time “Mr. Saxon” has been referred to, and I hope this means we will be meeting this new nemesis soon. From the jist of things, I gather Saxon is not someone to be trifled with, and he seems to have absolutely no regard for legal procedures and civil liberties. I hate him already. I look forward to his ultimate demise.
I must say, this is purely a personal preference, but I cannot stand episodes that take place in one area. One setting for a whole show irritates the flying whangdoodle out of me. My life does not take place in one room, although when I’m sick, it sure feels that way. Generally, life sees a number of setting changes throughout the course of an average day. That’s why I can’t stand to see a whole show with one setting. It’s just too “Stephen King’s The Shining” for me.
Martha is probably my favourite companion, although I have to say that all the old “Doctor Who” episodes from my youth didn’t make much of an impression with me regarding the companions. I was too taken aback by the horrible production values to notice much of anything else. So really, Rose and Martha are the only companions that I recollect without memories of visual trauma. Not much to go on.
Dare I say that the Doctor is getting a little more in touch with his feelings in this episode? He does make a gargantuan effort to rescue Martha, even though that may be rooted in guilt for getting her into trouble in the first place. He needs to have an adventure where the worst thing that happens to the two of them is that they run out of tea, and fluffy bunnies beg to be petted while they are in full moulting mode. Believe me, as someone who is deathly allergic to fluffy bunnies when they moult, this is terrifying enough. Plus, I can watch the cute fluffy bunnies, while they are safely ensconced behind the lovely glass partition of my television set, and coo at their fluffy goodness without suffering any ill effects. A rather good solution all around.
This episode didn’t thrill me, but it was solid, and therefore deserves a decent 8.0 out of 10.0, even though it engaged in an overused premise typically trotted out for every horror flick that Hollywood tortures viewers with.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- August 21, 2007
Silver's Logan Runs Again
scifi.com is reporting that Producer Joel Silver's update of the classic SF movie Logan's Run is back up and running at Warner Brothers with a new director and new script, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Commercial director Joseph Kosinski will make his feature-film directorial debut on the SF thriller, which is being written by Tim Sexton (Children of Men). Silver is producing through his Warner-based Silver Pictures.
X-Men director Bryan Singer had at one point been signed to develop and direct, with an eye toward a 2005 release. Singer had begun previsualization work on the project before he left to helm Superman Returns.
Eureka (2.06) “Noche de Suenos” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
After a run with Allison Blake one morning, Jack Carter comes up the road and sees Douglas Fargo trying to take his dog out for a walk. Fargo’s dog gets away from him, and Jack has to save him from a truck that comes close to hitting Fargo. The truck crashes and Jack runs to save the driver, but he is covered with toxic waste from the accident.
That night Jack has a dream that he is walking around town like everything’s normal, but he is stark naked. His daughter Zoë and his deputy Jo Lupo apparently shared the dream, and Carter thinks that the toxic waste may be the culprit. He and Jo go talk to the driver, who is recovering at Global Dynamic’s infirmary, and when they do some investigating, they find out that he’s been burning the candle at both ends, doing some night work for another firm.
Allison and Nathan Stark are working to figure out what has changed Kevin since the lab accident at GD, where Kevin was exposed to radiation from the Artefact. Nathan has set up a device that is in the preliminary stages at Global, where Allison can share Kevin’s dreams, and perhaps get to the bottom of what’s going on.
That night the driver of the truck dreams he dies, and then actually does die, and several of the people sleeping nearby share his dream. After this discovery, Carter witnesses a sharp rise in complaints regarding domestic disturbances over dreams that were shared between various members of the community. Allison and Jack go talk to one of the scientists about shared dreams and he shows them his “dream spectrometer”, which is the device Jack saw in Kevin’s room at Allison’s house.
That night Allison shares Kevin’s dream, where he shows her this light that is supposed to be “everything”. Allison wakes up and goes over to Kevin’s sleeping form and whispers that it worked. Meanwhile, the number of complaints over altercations rising from dreams grows, and Jo, Carter, and Henry Deacon are all working to figure out what’s causing it. Jack sees that no shared dreams have happened at Vincent’s Café Diem, so he plans a sleepover there to see if the shared dreams will continue or not.
Allison goes and tells Nathan about the dream Kevin had with her, and she tells Nathan that they have to stop because so many other people are sharing dreams too. It has become a danger to others. Nathan disagrees, saying there is no way that they have enough power to cause the entire town to share dreams, and he states that he thinks that Kevin may have a connection to the Artefact, which he believes is the antenna to the Akashic Field. Allison asks what is she supposed to do now, and Nathan tells her to let Kevin show her what’s inside the light.
The sleepover at Vincent’s is underway, but soon several people begin to share dreams. Some of the funniest dreams I’ve never had, I must say. After Jo wakes up from her personal trauma, Carter decides that it isn’t the place, or the toxins, so it must be the people, and orders everyone to GD for testing. When a few people don’t wake up, the situation becomes more dire, and Jack learns that a neuro-chemical shows elevated levels in the affected people and they can die from it. The sleep scientist tells Jack that he could test people’s dreams but he only has two machines and it could take weeks. When Jack asks where the second machine is, the scientist discovers it is gone, but Jack knows where it went. He confronts Allison, who fesses up to her and Nathan’s experiment, and they talk to Nathan. Getting more information, Jack and the others figure out that the affected people are all the same pay-grade, G3, which is actually a work-schedule, with set sleep hours to prevent accidents. Jack suddenly has what he needs and knows that the efficiency scientist’s network has bolstered the device to share dreams, which caused people’s neuro-chemical levels to skyrocket.
Allison, Nathan, and Jack talk to the efficiency scientist, and she agrees to shut down her network, but they still have to figure out how to scrub the additional neuro-chemicals out of the affected people, so they don’t die. Nathan figures that if they flood the body with liquid oxygen, it will scrub the cells and lower the levels. Jack is the test subject, and when it works, they employ it on all the affected GD employees.
The next day, when everyone is back on their feet, Jack has a conversation with Henry about his dreams, and Henry sluffs off Jack’s query. Jo goes into the office to find a gift from Carter, who remembered her love of dance and gave her a pair of ballet shoes to welcome her back to the land of the living.
This was a particularly well-anticipated episode by me, as the scene of Jo’s dream had me laughing out loud at the promo, but the actual dream itself was beyond compare. I squirmed a great deal, with loads of fluttering hands before my face, and gasps of “oh dear” issued every few seconds. I am not generally accustomed to being uncomfortable at other people’s disgrace, mostly because I have the good breeding to overlook such tragedies, in favour of other distractions, but this was akin to watching a rather gruesome accident, and being required to remember it for the police file follow-up. I feel like I really need a good soak in some extra-strong Lysol now. Oh dear.
I think Nathan needs a time-out regarding his obsession about the Artefact. He may think he’s over it, but clearly he is not. The premise of wanting to help Allison with what is changing inside Kevin is a thinly disguised attempt at continuing his research. That man is like an alcoholic hanging out with Lindsay Lohan. The booze doesn’t just tempt him; it magically appears in his belly.
Allison clearly realizes that Jack is making overtures at courting her, but she still entertains Nathan’s advances. Nathan may still love Allison, but Allison is better with Jack, as evidenced by Nathan’s decision to not stop the experiment with Kevin. Nathan will put her second when it comes to finding out about the Artefact, and like an alcoholic, one must simply put their foot down and leave if their own lives are going to be put in danger with behaviour like that. Jack will always put Allison before his work, or at least attempt to explain why he can’t put her first, which is a heckuva lot healthier than what Nathan puts her through.
Fargo and Jo. What an interesting pairing. Much more interesting that Taggart and Jo. Plus, Fargo is closer to her age, which is less icky for some viewers. I wonder how the writers will have this possible attachment pan out over the rest of the season. It should be interesting to watch.
I have to say that there were a few discrepancies regarding the time-line and some logic errors, but I can overlook them in favour of the overall feel of the episode. I’m not an ogre when it comes to this sort of thing.
Still, I really enjoyed this episode, including the “oh dear” inducing bits, and I have to give it a solid 9.0 out of 10.0.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- August 20, 2007
Martha Jones To Grow Up For 'Torchwood'
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Freema Agyeman believes that her character Martha Jones will be more "grown up" when she surfaces in the second season of Torchwood after leaving Doctor Who.
"Martha has grown up a lot since Doctor Who," Agyeman stated. "She's now a fully qualified doctor and a bit hardened by life experiences. When she finds out that Captain Jack needs her help, she joins Torchwood for a while. She continues to develop her knowledge of alien intelligence, but this time keeping her feet on the ground."
-------
Collins To Star As 'Doctor Who' Baddie?
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that iconic British actress Joan Collins has reportedly signed up to play a time-travelling villain in the forthcoming season of Doctor Who.
The News of the World claims that 74-year-old Collins, best known for her role as 'uber-bitch' Alexis Carrington Colby in the soap Dynasty, has already signed up for the role of The Doctor's arch nemesis The Rani, a scheming Gallifreyan scientist who appeared twice in the classic series.
-------
Kristen Bell Joins 'Heroes'
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Veronica Mars star and Gossip Girl narrator Kristen Bell will appear in multiple episodes of Heroes' sophomore season, according to Variety.
Bell, who had been connected with a possible Lost role, will start appearing on the show in October. She will play the role of Elle, a "sexy, mysterious young lady" who is involved in Claire's future and is also connected to Peter and H.R.G.
-------
Barbarella is Charmed, I'm Sure
moviehole.net is reporting that Rose McGowan has been getting about half-dressed.
And now, she’s being video-tapped in whatever shag carpet she’s wearing around her waist this week.
JoBlo reports that the “Grindhouse” star McGowan is shooting some test footage for “Barbarella”.
Robert Rodriguez, who McG (my new nickname for McGowan) worked with on Grindhouse, is the film’s director thus explaining how Marilyn Manson’s former hookey opponent got a look-in.
Stardust - Review
By: jesuiscanadien
Stardust, the movie, is based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman, starring Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert DeNiro, and many other famous faces making cameos. The basic premise of the story is the tale of a rather unlucky lad named Tristan Thorn, who promises to bring back a star that has fallen on the other side of this wall near his town and prove to the girl he adores, just how much he cares.
Tristan lives in England 150 years ago, and the wall is a barrier between England and the magical world of Stormhold. To top it all off, Tristan is the offspring of an illicit liaison between a lovely inhabitant of Stormhold and a young man from the small town of Wall, named aptly for the wall near the town. When Tristan finds out that his father is the young man who previously crossed the wall into the unknown land, his father spills the beans and gives Tristan all the things that came with him when he was dropped off at his father’s door one winter night eighteen years prior. Tristan uses the candle his mother packed with him to go to her, but mid-flight his thoughts turn to the fallen star and his love, Victoria, and he is instead propelled to the final destination of the star.
In Stormhold, the star takes human shape, and is an ethereal beauty named Yvaine. Tristan is determined to bring her back to his Victoria, and literally ties her to him do he can accomplish his task. When they reach a point in their travel in which Yvaine can no longer go on, Tristan ties her to a tree while he goes off in search of food and drink. Suffice it to say, this is the beginning of their problems. The lead sister of a trio of witches, Lamia, is out to get Yvaine’s heart so she and her sisters can live in youth and beauty forever. The King of Stormhold has died, but not before he decrees that the ruby he wears must be found and only a man of royal blood may turn it back to its ruby colour and thus claim the throne. His final four sons engage in a game with deadly consequences to off their rivals so they may claim the throne. The King’s only daughter has been missing for years and does not attend her father’s passing. All of these separate threads are brought together as Yvaine and Tristan continue their adventure to reach the wall to cross back into England.
Yvaine and Tristan escape Lamia’s first attempt to capture Yvaine, only to end up prisoners of a closeted transvestite pirate, Captain Shakespeare, who takes a shine to both of them. The Captain and his crew end up helping Yvaine and Tristan out, and Tristan gets some handy skills with the sword, while Yvaine falls in love with him. Yvaine glows when she is happy, and everytime Tristan is around her, she shines like the happy little star she is. Once Captain Shakespeare lets them off as close to the wall as he can, they make their way slowly there, as both Lamia and the surviving brother, Prince Septimus, track them.
I won’t give away the climax, but Tristan ultimately proves himself to be more of a man than he used to be, professing his love and saving her from evil, finding his mother, and becoming King of Stormhold in the end. It has the obligatory fairy tale ending, as becoming a tale of this ilk.
For a fairy tale geared for adults, as it often touted by the movie promos, reviews and interviews with the cast, it wasn’t bad. While I had heard some moaning about DeNiro playing a cross-dressing pirate, I actually liked his character and found him entertaining. Claire Danes seemed a tad bit too blond for her natural colouring, but she proved to be all right in the role. As for newcomer, Charlie Cox, I think he was a little on the irritating earnest side. Just something about either his character, or perhaps it was just him, but I didn’t care for him. He just seemed bleh. Nothing to write home about, nothing to give a flying whangdoodle for. He was the bland hero, with not a lot to offer, even when he came to the realization of who his true love was. He reminded me somewhat of Max Evans from “Roswell”. Just not as broody.
The special effects were good, but since we see so much in the FX department nowadays, I agree with some gripes that the effects didn’t wow the viewer. It seemed pretty standard and I don’t get the impression that the filmmakers pulled out the stops for this flick. I think that since the average moviegoer now witnesses a myriad of special effects in nearly every movie they see, we’ve all become a bit jaded and no longer react like a child by the movie magic.
Michelle Pfeiffer sure looks fabulous, even when she’s the old crone who’s haggard and ‘ugly’. Through the make-up, you can still see her beauty. She should’ve been cast to play Yvaine, even though she’s supposedly “too old” for the part. She has enough ethereal beauty in her pinkie to outshine Claire Danes on her best day. Every time I see her, I am astounded by how actually beautiful she really is.
This was a fun movie, and I did enjoy watching it in the theatre, however I do not think one would be missing anything if they waited for this flick to come out on DVD. It was fair, but not really worth the price of regular admission, so it earns 8.0 stars out of 10.0.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- August 17, 2007
Dakota Fanning is a Mutant
moviehole.net is reporting that with AnnaSophia Robb now robbing the kiddie-film cart, Dakota Fanning’s had to find herself a new bag.
The so-damn-cute-she-got-annoying-quick Fanning follows up her ‘adult’ roles in “Hide and Seek” and “Man on Fire” with “Push”, a new “X-Men” like thriller about a group of young American ex-pats with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities who hide from a U.S. government agency in Hong Kong and band together to try to escape the control of the division.
-------
Surprise, Surprise: Korea's Dragon Wars Makes $40M in Two Weeks
rottentomatoes.com is reporting that it's been a long time in the making, but the sci-fi fantasy Dragon Wars -- reportedly Korea's most expensive production ever -- is coming to American theaters. What's more surprising than the fact that it's getting a U.S. release is that overseas, the $70 million film has already turned a sizable box office. Color us impressed!
Dragon Wars, or D-War as it was originally titled, is a Korean film set in Los Angeles, financed with Korean money and helmed by a Korean director (former comedian Hyung-rae Shim), starring a largely American cast. Its plot revolves around TV reporter Ethan (Jason Behr) who discovers that L.A.'s recent earthquakes aren't just natural plate tectonics but the awakenings of a giant ancient serpent -- a Korean serpent -- that he is fated to battle because, well, the 500-year-old spirit of a warrior lives within him. He's charged with finding the reincarnated version of that warrior's soulmate, now a hot girl named Sarah (Amanda Brooks), and defeating the serpent before it becomes a dragon, destroys L.A., wreaks havoc on the world, etc.
|
| Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ShishouMatt
Aug 31 '07 11:10 pm PST
Anime Vegas !!
Finally going to have my cherry popped, Anime Con cherry that is. They say once you pop the...
PikaPal13X
Aug 31 '07 10:30 pm PST
VC Overload - Sin and Punishment, Earthbound, Neo-Geo all on the way
If you're a fan of the Virtual Console, the past 24 hours have been good for you. Very, very...
AlloyNES
Aug 31 '07 9:43 pm PST
Got Warhawk? Join my clan!
Hey, Paisanos! I got Warhawk and have been loving every minute of it. If any of you have it,...
Erik-IGN
Aug 31 '07 8:46 pm PST
2nd Annual East Coast Reunion
In what is apparently becoming a tradition, a huge group of my friends from back east are...
MassiveGameDude
Aug 31 '07 5:25 pm PST
Your Two Cents
It's another Friday night, and it means another Your Two Cents. As always, feel free to...
MooseyMcMan
Aug 31 '07 5:17 pm PST
Lair.
As I'm sure you all know by know, Greg gave Lair a 4.9 in his review. I'm not going to argue...
chris-ign
Aug 31 '07 4:23 pm PST
Mario and Luigi Teach Me About My Junk
Probably old, but funny, disconcerting and oh-so-fake: <object width="425"...
Tal-IGN
Aug 31 '07 3:02 pm PST
European Vacation Days 3 & 4: Budapest
I remember writing a paper on Hungary for one of my geography classes in college. After doing...
sng-ign
Aug 31 '07 11:28 am PST
For the weekend - Chobot VS Jade Raymond
So Nate "I'm not Nate Perkins" Ahearn's imaginative grudge match still makes...
Matt-IGN
Aug 31 '07 10:42 am PST
Pubs and Devs: Watch Your Game Screenshots
When I first started covering videogames, we all ignorantly accepted any game screens that...
|
RSS Feeds
