Not to dwell on a theme, but I tend towards sci fi. My current Netflix offering is Gattaca, a movie I missed in the theater. This is more sci fi than Jumper or similar action movies with a cheesy plot twist; true science fiction doesn't need special effects or choreography.
I quickly disliked the narration during the early flashback, but it was quickly over, and the story arc develops well from there. If you love the science fiction story, you'll enjoy this film.
Gattaca
1997, 106 minutes, directed by Andrew Niccol
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Jumper
I was going to complain about Jumper - about Hayden Christensen's awful intro narration, the shallow characters and plot development, the pacing that was just off - but then I realized that those aren't the problems with this movie. The problem is that the special effects are too good. This is a great low-grade sci fi action film trapped in a high-grade sci fi budget. With a tenth of the funds they could have made a truly great D-grade sci fi film. Instead, they just made an awful B-grade movie.
I can't wait for the sequel, assuming of course that its funding gets sliced.
Jumper
2008, 88 minutes, directed by Doug Liman
I can't wait for the sequel, assuming of course that its funding gets sliced.
Jumper
2008, 88 minutes, directed by Doug Liman
Monday, February 4, 2008
TimeQuest
Reviewing films is definitely helping my memory of them. With the time to work out and set my thoughts, I'm able to recall more and discuss more about the movies I've seen. At the same time, knowing that I have to write a review has made me far more critical of the quality of the film itself. Today's DVD special, TimeQuest, seems like the kind of film I would have loved - or at least tolerated - not that long ago. But today I couldn't stomach it.
Where is the plot? It just starts out as a discordant series of events with no sense at all. Finally after 30 minutes some sense of story appears out of the murky depths of cheese and sap. It's not just that the plot is overly-fascinated by the Kennedy mystique; it's that the plot is barely recognizable, the pacing is atrocious, and the acting downright awful. Only the Traveler, played by Ralph Waite, seemed to be interested in his job.
Of course I did make it to the end, and the plot seems more focused as the awful way the story was told fades away. Maybe there's hope for this one, yet.
TimeQuest
2002, 95 minutes, directed by Robert Dyke
Where is the plot? It just starts out as a discordant series of events with no sense at all. Finally after 30 minutes some sense of story appears out of the murky depths of cheese and sap. It's not just that the plot is overly-fascinated by the Kennedy mystique; it's that the plot is barely recognizable, the pacing is atrocious, and the acting downright awful. Only the Traveler, played by Ralph Waite, seemed to be interested in his job.
Of course I did make it to the end, and the plot seems more focused as the awful way the story was told fades away. Maybe there's hope for this one, yet.
TimeQuest
2002, 95 minutes, directed by Robert Dyke
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