Encounter at Raven's Gate

Close encounters in the Australian outback, filmed and set in the 1980s amidst small-town drama.  It baffles me.

Encounter at Raven's Gate
1988, 94 minutes, directed by Rolf de Heer

Mission to Mars

Usually, when I see a science fiction film that bothers to explain artificial gravity, I presume they want to pursue some sense of scientific rigor, at least for the mundane things not necessary to advance the "fiction" portion of the science fiction plot.  This was alas my downfall with Mission to Mars, for I tried to evaluate it as a good film, one that would be consistent in its scientific quality.  I was quite dismayed, then, when they let someone survive down to 10% atmospheric pressure - then back up again quickly without getting the bends.  Then there was the free scene in orbit, and I was ready to write the film off as hopeless.

But then it struck me; the gravity answer was the anomaly.  This is actually a bad film where acting, storyline, and accuracy were tossed in favor of vision.  Vision, that is, of the directory or studio execs or whoever cobbled this crap story together.  Recognizing that it was low-grade cinema allowed me to appreciate it for what it is: filler for my Netflix queue.  And as that it was all right.

Mission to Mars
2000, 113 minutes, directed by Brian De Palma

Green Lantern

I just don't know about this one.  It's too big and too self-absorbed, like it thinks there's nothing silly about a galactic fleet of green superheroes who have a super ring but talk about their lanterns they keep at home in the closet.  And it stars Ryan Reynolds, who simply lacks any facial expression that hints at depth of character.  I understand that the "Lanterns" operate through force of will, and that humans are special because they can act despite fear, but the constant breaks from action to talk about with his friends made it even harder to not notice how hard they tried to push against the inherent cheesiness of the story.  It just doesn't work for me.

And yes, they set us up the sequel.

Green Lantern
2011, 105 minutes, directed by Martin Campbell

Super 8

J. J. Abrams decided to make an homage to the 1980s kid-adventure genre.  I think he did a pretty good job.  Other than the occasional wink to the audience of the future (the Walkman, film develpment, and drug jokes), it stays pretty firmly rooted in its time and place.  Sure, there are stereotypes aplenty, but that's what an homage is.

Keep in mind that there's some bad language and a selection of body-poppin' brutality.  One difference between now and then: in the 1980s this would have been rated R.

Including the completed home movie in the credits was brilliant.  Make sure you stay for it.

Super 8
2011, 112 minutes, directed by J. .J. Abrams

Princess of Mars

I've stayed away from the John Carter novel series, because, to put it frankly, it seems a little cheesy.  That said, no sci fi film is too cheesy for me, and thus here I am.

This straight-to-video classic details John Carter's first adventures on Mars, here updated to be a planet in a nearby star system, where he's sent by the CIA after suffering mortal wounds in Afghanistan.  The rest of the film, though, feels straight out of the 1950s, with rubber suits, bad acting, and broken plots.  It's about as I expected.

Princess of Mars
2009, 93 minutes, directed by Mark Atkins

District 9

From the popping-head school of kill shots comes a refreshingly-independent film with big-budget ambitions. The first half of this film is brilliant science fiction, with an intriguing story, seamless mix of multiple camera feeds for a realistic-documentary style, and a fantastic performance from Sharlto Copley as Wikus Van De Merwe. The second half devolves a bit too much into a shoot-em-up but still retains the quality cinematography and special effects, and does an exemplary job of winding up a story that clearly starts out with little chance for a happy ending.

I enjoyed this tremendously and dearly hope that there is never a big-budget sequel.

District 9
2009, 112 minutes, directed by Neill Blomkamp

Vikaren (The Substitute)

Alien substitute teacher. Just the concept is funny. Then, when it's rendered with such a charismatic cast of adults and children, and perfect cinematography, backed by a worthy script, it confirms the best reason to attend film festivals: to see great movies.

Vikaren (The Substitute)
2007, 93 minutes, directed by Ole Bornedal

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I didn't intend it this way, but watching the Temple of Doom last week really helped psych me up to see this. It's been out a few weeks, but my wife actually wanted to go see it, and it's worth the wait to get to see a movie with her.

Since I had my realizations about the scripting in Temple, I had this one all figured out from the start. Who cares about continuity errors? Who cares how improbable the events seem? It's all about the adventure, the thrill of the hunt, the glory of knowing It's Out There. I'm sucked in. The commie accusations against Indiana genuinely make me angry. It's fantastic.

I think the thing I liked least was the obvious overtones of next-generation sequels, something the Last Crusade avoided in its concise wrap. Sure, I loved to see another Indiana Jones movie, but come on, George, we don't want you to milk this one 'til it's raw, too.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2008, 124 minutes, directed by Steven Spielberg