Prometheus Film Review

Ridley Scott returns to the Science Fiction genre with Prometheus, a prequel of sorts to the Alien movies. Unfortunately, this seemed to have created unrealistic expectations that the film fails to live up to. That’s not to say that the film is bad, indeed, it is superior to all of the Alien movies since James Cameron’s Aliens. It’s just that it lacks the inventive originality of Alien or Blade Runner.

The plot sees two archaeologists seeking out mankind’s creators that takes them to the far reaches of the universe. Our creators though turn out to be our biggest threat…

I really liked the film’s premise and it’s been some time since a big budget Hollywood movie tackled such hardcore Science Fiction ideas. Michael Fassbender is excellent as the android ‘David’ who he plays as a kind of creepy version of Star Trek’s Mr Data. Naomi Rapace also deserves a special mention as she fills the role of Ripley well, a relentless, all-resourceful female who finds a way to survive anything.

Some of the secondary characters are not fleshed out as well, particularly Charlize Theron’s character. Indeed, her performance is so wooden that the Captain of the ship enquires as to whether she is an android! Some of the plot is also driven by particularly stupid decisions made by some of the scientists whilst exploring the caves.

Like Alien, the production design is excellent and succeeds in creating and updating that believable universe. The special effects are excellent, creating a visual grandeur and Scott’s direction is assured and confident with a sheen of quality.

On the negative side of things, the film raises far more questions than it answers and bar one memorable abortion scene, it’s just not creepy or frightening enough. It must also be pointed out that Guy Pearce’s ‘old guy’ make up is just plain embarrassing. Scott also apes the beginning of Alien closely during the film’s opening scenes, which might lead some to complain that there are a lack of new ideas here.

Overall though, I found much to enjoy here, the film looks superb (flawless even) on Blu-ray and the movie is actually about something. Reading this review back to myself, it sounds like I am being damning with faint praise. That really isn’t the case. The weight of expectation meant that many were expecting a classic movie, when what they get is a beautiful, yet flawed film. Prometheus does what the best Science Fiction stories should – it makes us ask ‘what if’.

Rating: 7/10

TNG Bloopers

I’ve been watching the ‘remastered in HD’ Next Generation episodes on Sci-Fi and I must say that it’s stunning to see decent transfers of the show. Season 2 suffers from some excessive film grain and the re-composited VFX have not been done as well as for the first season. That said, the work is truly impressive and it seems churlish to complain over some small flaws.

To promote the season 2 blu-ray, CBS have released a sample of the out takes onto YouTube. As Balok would say, “I hope you relish it as much as I“.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Film Review

Whilst on a routine training cruise, Admiral Kirk must take command of the Enterprise to come to the aid of Carol Marcus on space-station Regula One ( a research outpost). Kirk will face an old enemy bent on vengeance, and must retain control of the Genesis device (a terraforming probe capable of destroying all life on a world). Ultimately, Kirk and Spock must face up to the Kobayashi Maru, a no-win scenario that will require the ultimate sacrifice.

Still widely regarded as the best film in the Star Trek pantheon, Star Trek 2 reinvigorated the Star Trek franchise by focusing on character, adventure and excitement. Tonally, it’s very different to the first film. Gone is the sterility and pretentiousness, replaced by a focus on character, grit and excitement. The sequel acknowledges the fact that the cast have grown older and turns this into a strength as it humanises the characters.

“There’s a man out there I haven’t seen in fifteen years who’s trying to kill me. You show me a son that’d be happy to help. My son… my life that could have been… and wasn’t. How do I feel? Old… worn out.” – James Kirk

Nicholas Meyer brings a naval feel to proceedings, which is augmented by a wonderfully bombastic musical score from James Horner. Meyer also brings a ‘literate’ approach to the material, with characters readily quoting from Shakespeare, Milton and Dickens. Spock gives Kirk the book ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’ for his birthday, “surely the best of times”, he suggests.

Kirk, reading ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ as his shuttle approaches the Enterprise.

Meyer takes concepts from Greek tragedy, painting Kirk as a flawed hero, who must endure the results of some bad decisions. Kirk chose to maroon Khan on Ceti Alpha V, and as Khan states “he never bothered to check on our progress”. Kirk chose a life in Starfleet rather than with Carol Marcus and his son, resulting in his estrangement from his family. Finally, Kirk ignores procedure (and Saavik’s advice), failing to raise the Enterprise’s shields, when communication is not established with Reliant. This ultimately results in at least one crew members death and extensive damage to the ship.

“The hero always thinks he knows the answer, and ultimately he learns that he doesn’t. […] There is always a point in Greek plays, known as ‘peripatea’, where the hero learns that everything he knew is wrong.” – Nicholas Meyer

Ricardo Montalban plays Khan, who can be seen as an Ahab like figure, chasing down Moby/Kirk across the ocean of space.

“No. No, you can’t get away. ‘From Hell’s heart… I stab at thee. For hate’s sake I spit my last breath… at thee’.”

– Khan, quoting Moby Dick.

Although Khan’s vengeance drives the film, it’s also about renewal, both literally, with the Genesis device and figuratively, with Kirk realising that his first, best destiny is to be captain of the Enterprise. There are also themes of friendship, age, loss and death, which are all tied to an exciting screenplay.

Meyer exploits the best aspects of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatners acting strengths. In fact, Shatner is a revelation in this movie. Often criticised for being hammy, he turns in a powerful performance in Star Trek 2. Kirk is vulnerable, yet decisive and the final scene where Spock is trapped behind the glass is very well acted by both men.

The ever reliable and effortlessly cool Deforest Kelley also puts in a wonderful performance and provides much of the films heart. I especially like this sardonic one liner as Kirk and McCoy prepare to beam down to Regula One.

Spock: Jim, be careful.
McCoy: *We* will!

Some say this is overacting, but if I’d just been marooned and had my ship all shot up, I’d be pretty pissed too.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was one of the most expensive films that Paramount had ever produced. For Star Trek 2, the budget was greatly reduced and a Star Trek aficionado can spot reused props and indeed some visual effects from The Motion Picture. The Enterprise bridge set from Star Trek: The Motion Picture was redressed for use as the Kobayashi Maru simulator, the Enterprise bridge, and the Reliant bridge.

Meyer turns the lack of budget into a positive, the shipboard action provides the film with a claustrophobic feel. Sequences like the tense showdown between Kirk and Khan in the nebula, give the feel of an old World War 2 submarine movie.

ILM supply the visual effects, which hold up well – even today. Of particular note to fans of cinema is the groundbreaking Genesis effect sequence, which pioneered the use of CGI on film. A 1882 ‘making of’ can be viewed on YouTube.

In summary then, this is a film that stands the test of time and is to Star Trek fans, what ‘Empire’ is to fans of Star Wars. Exciting, tense, endlessly quotable and emotional, it’s not just a great Star Trek picture, but a great film.

Rating: 9/10

Film Scores

What has happened to film soundtracks in recent years? Increasingly, musical scores are becoming generic and lazy. This can be demonstrated easily enough by looking at some older film scores and comparing them to today’s blockbusters.

Jurassic Park. It’s in your head, like a musical ear worm right now isn’t it. Tah da dum dum dum, tah dah dum dee dee. Now, compare John Williams’ composition with the score for Avatar. Can you even remember the musical score for the most profitable film ever? No, neither can I.

Back To The Future. Alan Silvestri’s score is instantly hummable and one cannot imagine the movie without this powerful accompaniment. BTTF is a kind of unique film, but I guess Looper is a good match, as it also deals with time travel paradoxes. Looper is also an excellent film, but I cant remember the musical score at all.

Superman. John Williams score is remarkable, and again on hearing it, it just stays with you. It epitomizes everything about Supes, the music literally soars. OK, now take the music for the otherwise excellent film ‘The Avengers‘. Regrettably, the musical score for The Avengers soundtrack is the most generic of all the film scores that we are going to look at in this post.

Star Wars. The Star Wars franchise is chock full of epic win thanks to the genius of John Williams. Think of Darth Vader, picture him in your mind and I defy you not to have the imperial march accompanying your recollection. As before, we now take a comparable film – John Carter. Once again, there is no comparison musically speaking. Not a single cue springs to mind.

Batman. Compare and contrast Danny Elfmans excellent score for Tim Burtons Batman with Hans Zimmers score to the Dark Night Rises. Elfmans score is instantly recognisable, its memorable and infections in a way that Hans Zimmers fails to be.

A Fistful of Dollars. Ennio Morricone forsakes a conventional orchestral track for mariachi-style sounds and solos. He uses gunshots, cracking whips, choral voices, Sicilian folk instruments and a Fender electric guitar to accentuate the onscreen action. The iconic whistling that accompanies Clint’s stranger is haunting. It’s leagues ahead of the admittedly competent score for the Coen brothers remake of True Grit, which mainly uses piano.

Musical scores of the 80’s and 90’s were terrific. One cant fail to listen to Celine Dion sing “My Heart Will Go On” and not think of Titanic. Try listening to Whitney Houston’s re-imagining of the Dolly Parton classic “I Will Always Love You” and not think of The Bodyguard. I defy anyone to think of a film from the last five years that had a track comparable to Top Gun, The Godfather, The Exorcist or even The Terminator.

Even Disney has quit making cool soundtracks. Look at their past catalog and you’ll see awesome tracks for films such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Film music has become a kind of decorative wallpaper for movies. Why?

Predators Film Review

This 2010 sequel takes the action off Earth and onto an alien game reserve, where abducted badasses are parachuted in to be mercilessly hunted by the Predator aliens. Adrian Brody’s character sums up the plot nicely:

“This place is a game preserve, and we’re the game”

The films dialog is simply horrible, with lines like ‘Are you prepared to die? I am!’. The poor dialog is compounded by the lead character (Adrian Brody) deciding rather inexplicably to speak like Christian Bales Batman.

Midway through, Lawrence Fishburn shows up as a psychologically traumatised survivor, albeit one that looks a little too well fed. Unfortunately, this extended sequence is poorly acted by Fishburn and pretty much irrelevant to the plot (such as there is). All it does is rob the film of momentum.

The camera work is shoddy, some scenes even seem to be out of focus. Its a mean-spirited movie, with a badly miscast leading man, Vin Diesel would have been a better choice.

There is some knowing fun to be had as the characters are picked off one by one, but it’s hard to care when they die. Also, there is nice, though clumsily articulated idea, where one character asks whether if by survivng they are loosing their humanity.

Ultimately though, the film is devoid of the suspense and tension that made the original Predator movie so good. This is a dumb, mindless action film, with pretty much nothing to recommend it. Avoid.

Rating: 2/10

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Film Review

This will be the first of my Star Trek Movie reviews in the build-up to the release of the twelfth Star Trek movie, Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released on my birthday, September 28th 1979. Cruelly dubbed ‘The Motionless Picture’ by some critics, the film eschews Star Wars style spectacle and opts for a languid screenplay more akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

An unknown alien of unprecedented size and power is approaching Earth, destroying everything in its path. The only starship in range is the USS Enterprise, which must intercept and eliminate the threat to Earth. The story bears a strong resemblence both in plot and structure to the original series episode ‘The Changeling’.

Beyond the plot, the film bears little resemblance to the TV series which inspired it. The tone is somber almost, with Shatner delivering the most restrained performance of his career. There is almost no humour and scenes such as when Kirk is delivered to the Enterprise drag on ad naseum. This robs the film of any sense of momentum or urgency in responding to the threat to Earth.

The films major themes concern growing and evolving, indeed, the film superficially explores the next stage of human evolution. At the films conclusion, V’jur merges with Decker to become a transcendent being, fusing man with machine.

All future Star Trek’s would be character based, rather than focusing on really big Science Fiction ideas. Only Spock has a real character arc in the movie, as he realises that he cannot acheive Kolinhar – the purging of all emotion. Similarly, the probe realises that in order to evolve, it must meld with a human, because logic and knowledge are not enough to answer the question ‘why am I here’.

The film features incredible visual effects, which hold up even today, as well as a superb musical score, both of which were Oscar nominated. The sets and style established in this movie would continue to be employed until Star Trek Nemesis was released. Indeed, the film has a grandeur and scale that would not be matched until the 2009 Star Trek movie.

The Jaguar e-type of starships.

Having the greatly respected Robert Wise to direct the film speaks to its importance, yet the direction feels detached and workman like. Robert Wise also employed split-diopter lenses, where one side of the screen will be focused on the foreground while the other side of the screen will be focused on the background. This can result in a visible line demarking the two. This effect isn’t used much in modern movies, and the sudden drop-off in focus between the two sides of the screen can be very distracting.

To summarise then, this is an important and under rated film. It has serious flaws in that the pacing is too slow and there is not enough focus on the characters and relationships. That said, this is a proper, grown up and intelligent Science Fiction movie that does not pander to the lowest common denominator. I also love the films tagline of ‘the human adventure is just beginning’. Unusually for a Star Trek movie, I would recommend the novellisation of the film. It’s the only Star Trek novel written by Star Trek’s creator Gene Roddenberry and it conveys concepts and ideas more fully than the film.

Rating: 6/10

Daylight Robbery

Sometimes in life you get fleeced, you know it’s going to happen and there is a tacit understanding between you and the vendor that you are about to be ripped off. This happened to me on an aeroplane the other day flying back from Morocco.

Trapped in cattle class, I was offered a cup of tea and my colleague asked me if I had enough to buy him one as well. Brandishing a five-pound note, I felt confident that I had enough money for two tiny cups of tea and a 4-fingered kit-kat to share. Six pounds later, I found myself enjoying my trifling taste of England, and although overpriced, it was just about worth it.

Odeon Cinemas on the other hand now have a permanent place on my Death List, along with Harry Ramsden’s of Little Chef. For you see, in each fascinating case, whose details I shall dutifully divulge, I was not just overcharged, but effectively robbed.

When you go to the Cinema these days, you generally have to smuggle in a packet of sweets from the local convenience store. If you don’t, expect to have your nasal passages permanently enlarged as you pay through the nose. My Wife likes the popcorn though, which is harder to smuggle in, and which the Cinema chains make an extortionate markup on.

But hey – the popcorn tastes good and the sweets are also tasty. The other week though, I ordered Nachos with cheese. What I was presented with was simply astonishing. An unopened packet of cold Nachos and some re-heated (microwaved) cheese sauce. Gingerly, I tried to dunk a Nacho, but alas the thick skin on the little pot of cheese had congealed into an impermeable rubbery seal.

The Manager of the Odeon agreed with me that it looked ‘pretty disgusting’ and he had the good grace to look embarrassed as he refunded the £4 that his Cinema had tried to liberate from my wallet.

Finally, we come to the case of ‘Little Thief’, sorry, I mean ‘Little Chef’. Forced to stop at a service station for petrol and some sustenance, I knew that I was going to pay over the odds. It’s just one of those situations in life, such as when your Wife orders a ridiculous ‘Skinny Mocha Latte’, and you just have to accept that you’ll pay over the odds.

Little Thief took the biscuit though. I ordered some ‘Harry Ramsdens’ chips, which came in a large cardboard box. Upon driving off, my Wife opened the box, to be confronted with….25 chips. Yes, dear reader, twenty-five chips. No refund was possible, it’d have required a long detour and that is the story of how Little Chef dispossessed me of my hard-earned cash.

In short then, there are many times in life such as at Motorsport events, when you know that you’re paying over the odds. It only becomes truly galling though when you pay a fortune for something truly terrible.

Remakes

Oh, dear. I’ve just read news at Den of Geek that there are plans afoot to remake the 1995 Robin Williams film, Jumanji. Now I don’t especially like Jumanji and I have no strong feelings about the film being remade either way. But the sheer number of pointless remakes is becoming fatuous and shows a lack of creativity, let  alone respect for the audience.

Total Recall has recently been remade and Robocop and Mad Max remakes are in the pipeline. What other 80’s classics will suffer the pointless rehash? and why are modern classics not considered ‘sacred’ like older films? Can you imagine the backlash over a remake of Casablanca, Gone With The Wind or The Godfather?

Currently, there are plans afoot to remake Flight of the Navigator, which holds a special place in my heart. This was the first movie that I saw at the cinema and it had quite an impact on me at the time. This was a colorful, joyful, family friendly movie about a small boy who wakes up 8 years into the future and befriends an alien ship that has downloaded star charts into his brain.

Flight of the Navigator: a brilliant 80’s movie, with effects work that still holds up well.

I don’t want this film to be remade, it’s not necessary. The original holds up really well and I don’t want to see Max, or his fantastic ship bastardised into some spurious copy of the original. What next? a remake of Back to the Future with Daniel Radcliffe and a Tesla Roadster? Why stop there, Jaws, ET, Blade Runner or Raging Bull could all suffer at the hands of a Hollywood hack.

I’m not totally opposed to remakes, take the recent ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’. This was an excellent movie, but it was ‘inspired’ by the original movies rather than a pointless rehash. The same can be said for John Carpenters ‘The Thing’, The Coen brothers remake of ‘True Grit’, Cronenbergs remake of ‘The Fly’ and Kaufmans remake of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. All of these remakes offered radical takes on the original source material and were incorporating original concepts into their work.

In summation then, there are some films that should just be left alone to stand as masterpieces. Such examples include King Kong, Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, Star Wars, ET, Jaws, Pulp Fiction etc… Just because a film is from the 1980’s does not mean that it is  not a masterwork that should be left to stand alone as a sentinel to it’s time. Classics like Ghostbusters, Robocop, Blade Runner, Die Hard, The Breakfast Club, Top Gun, Labyrinth and Back to the Future should not be revisited. Sure, some of the aforementioned are ‘kitsh’ classics, but that does not lessen their import or influence. All of these films are ‘of their time’ and their remakes would only serve to earn a quick buck.

Back to the Future, quintessentially 80’s.

10:10

watching the watches

Flying to Morocco the other day for work, I found myself perusing the products for sale in the in-flight magazine. Presently, I came to the section selling watches. Now I’ve never noticed this before, but all the clocks were set to 10:10.

My colleague informed me that this is because 10:10 appears to be ‘happy’ as the watch appears to be smiling. Now I have this priceless information, I keep looking to see if it holds true. Incidentally, digital watches seem to be set to 12:08.

Men In Black 3 Film Review

MIB3 lacks the must-see originality of the first film, but is a vast improvement over 2002’s lame sequel. In the film, J must travel back in time to prevent the Earth from being invaded by Boglodites and in the process save his partner from being erased from time.

Colorful, fun and inventive, this film see’s Will Smith return to the scene of a former glory, after a series of lacklustre movies. Smith kinda phones in this performance, he lacks the young, fresh spark that characterised his early film career. Its Josh Brolin that delivers the standout performance as a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’ K.

Rick Baker’s brilliant alien designs are given a 60’s feel, to complement the time period. The late 60’s are beautifully realised and the film is a riot of colour and does not take itself too seriously. Barry Sonnenfield’s direction is good, and he handles the action set pieces well.

The capper to the story is a heartfelt twist, that gently tugs at the heartstrings and was quite unexpectedly poignant. The film does feel a little inconsequential though, and its strange to think that its been 10 years since MIB2. I’m not sure that the world needs an MIB4 though, especially as the touching ending rather effectively wraps up the buddy-buddy plot. This film was way better than I expected it to be though and is a good, fun popcorn movie.

Rating: 6.5/10