ScienceFiction

Darke Reviews | The World’s End (2013)

Posted by

0

Another of my late reviews (and I gave the wrong hint yesterday), I bring you the conclusion to the trilogy put together by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. You may have heard of the films they did together before, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. If you haven’t seen them stop reading this now and go see them.

No really stop. Go see them.

Alright welcome back. If you know me, you know as a general rule I loathe anything resembling modern comedy films. There is something about these three movies that I find satisfying on a comedic level and even though many of the characters are obnoxious to the point of unlikeability the films work. I lay full blame on that for the natural chemistry and unending charm of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Pegg alone is ever watchable and entertaining; lifting the caliber of whatever he is in. When together with Frost they are a force of comedy to truly be reckoned with.
Pegg and his other co-hort in comedy Edgar Wright, wrote the film together which tells the story of Gary King (Pegg), a man eager to relive the triumph (or near triumph) of his youth. He wants to drink himself down the golden mile in his home town, a pint per pub. To do this he gathers his band of brothers from high school whom have all gone their separate ways and are reluctant to return to their brash ways. Somehow King manages to convince all of them to return with him to Newton Haven to try to finish what they started twenty years before. When they arrive something is wrong in their sleepy little town. King and company find themselves in over their heads and their alcohol tolerances as they try to finish their pub crawl and save the world.

The movie is slow to start but once it gets to the meat of things doesn’t really let you catch your breath. The writing of all the characters and the performances are top notch in the genre and special props need to go to Pegg. The character of King is borderline detestable and the type of friend that we all have and never quite know what to do with in their obnoxiousness. Yet Pegg is able to bring a vulnerability to him in a few quiet moments that endear you to this broken shell of a man.

The cinematic aspects of the movie – the lighting, camera work, fx and fight choreography bring the movie together in a cacophony of laughs and entertainment. You know watching this movie that Frost, Pegg and Wright knew what they were trying to make and knew full well what movies they were paying homage to. They succeed on all counts.

for the TL;DR crowd

If you liked the other two movies this is an absolute must see. If you enjoy more European humor again an absolute must see.

Otherwise I can’t absolutely recommend it, but strongly would.

——————————-

Tomorrow’s hint learned never to mess with an Antique dealer.

Darke Reviews | Riddick (2013)

Posted by

0

Thirteen years ago the world was introduced to Richard B. Riddick and a new actor whose star was on the rise in Hollywood by the name of Vin Diesel in the film Pitch Black. The Sci-Fi Horror genre had not really seen a film like this in years, arguably since 1979’s Alien. Low budget, high concept alien horror, with a cast of mostly no name or character actors. It did poorly in theatres as most films of this nature do, but found a life out of them to become a cult phenomenon. Four years later on the success of Vin and the cult movement success of Pitch Black the studio revisited the character of Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick. Much like Alien became Aliens and moved from Sci-Fi Horror to Sci Fi Action Riddick took the same path. It unfortunately was largely unsuccessful and the stuios (105 million dollar) gamble that now world wide action star Diesel would bring the crowd in for this actioner fell short by about half.

Writer Director David Twohy and Diesel went too far and lost all of the horror for mediocre action. They wanted to make Riddick some form of Super-(anti)-hero, with actual powers and a back story of a world we wanted to learn more of. A complex mythology was created and ultimately never delivered on.

Race forward eight years and Vin whom’s star does not burn nearly as brightly has gotten over his ego and returned to the franchises and types of movies that made him in the first place and are once again doing well. He and Twohy wanted to return to Riddick and pitched it to the studios who balked and balked; UNTIL Vin Diesel took the lowest allowed salary for a star just to get the movie made! That means he really believed in it and so did Twohy. Did they deliver on their original promise and premise?

Well…no. Point in fact they seem to want to ignore all the interviews and concepts that they discussed after the second film. Now they claim they saw that they went too far and wanted to bring Riddick back to being the animal; and they don’t quite deliver on that either. What do they deliver? A movie in three acts that are only tenuously connected to each other by geography and character.

In act one we see Riddick betrayed and left for dead on a desolate alien planet. He spends the majority of this act coming to understand the planet and learning how to survive its environment, flora and most especially fauna. What is well done in this is the handling of the passage of time by the usage of a make up effect showing him healing from grievous wounds obtained during the betrayal. It’s rather well done and easy to miss if you don’t notice.

Act Two is a boy and his dog. Why is there a dog with this serial killer and animal? Because I think they want to show “he’s in touch with his animal side” – I kid you not. It’s not done poorly it just feels weird. Diesels natural charisma allows him to carry this first half of the movie well enough that it’s not completely painful to watch. Of course this Robinson Crusoe in space story is of course interrupted by the threat of a particularly nasty local life form showing up and Riddick uses an escape beacon to draw down mercs who will bring their ships for him to escape on.

Act three, the mercs and the local wildlife. This just about fails on all levels. It feels like a complete rehash of Pitch Black with the addition of the mercs from the second film. It’s totally paint by numbers with twists you can see a mile away. Even Katie Sackhoff (Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica) can’t help Diesel elevate this section. It’s just short of comedic as people begin getting knocked off and you just can’t bring yourself to care.

I will say the final moments of the film had me leaning forward wondering if they had the balls to do what they threatened.

The effects were ok, the sets were clearly sets and were cheap reminding me so much of the 1960s sci-fi at times. That wouldn’t be bad if it were intentional but I don’t think it was. I will give Patrick Tatopolous creature design an “A” for giving me something I’ve never seen before and will see plenty of rip offs on SyFy soon enough.

So for the TL;DR crowd

The movie is a mediocre mess. It’s not completely horrific and at moments is kind of fun. Overall if you wanted to see it it’s a rental at best. If you want to get the feel of the movie and see it done better, watch Pitch Black, you’ll feel better off for it.
————————————————-

Tomorrows review will have keen fashion sense.

Darke Reviews | Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

Posted by

1

Reviewers Log, Stardate – 54868.6.

These are the continuing voyages of director JJ Abrams at the helm of the NCC 1701, the Enterprise. His four year mission to once again appear the fanboys and girls of the Roddenberry universe in the same way he deftly handled the 2009 relaunch of the Star Trek franchise. His crew, Chris Pine, Zacahary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Peg, John Cho and Anton Yelchin suit up to reprise their roles and give us the Prime directive of any actor – make us believe in them as their character.

Do they succeed? Is JJ once again able to warp us into his vision of the Star Trek universe and its alternate timeline?

Yes. Yes they do. – so in short- Just See it!

In what for me is a nearly flawless film, which is hard with just over two hours of running time, we are taken through the highs and lows of James T Kirk’s first captaincy. It’s unclear how long after the events of the first film this is, but it’s also largely irrelevant to the current plot as well.

What is the plot? In my usual non spoiler fashion we have a bit of a challenge here since the trailers did a fantastic job of hiding things for a change. Starfleet is attacked from within by a man of their own making. A nightmare for them given meat and willing to break bone to get what he wants. We then have a somewhat humbled Kirk driven to vengeance for this mans acts. In the course of the film he learns what it means to be a captain, to know fear, to know about the value of the lives of his crew, and truly what it means to be a Starfleet officer.

He isn’t the only one to learn things – Spock also learns what it means to be a (hu)man, a friend and a partner all while holding true to being the right hand that Kirk needs. The voice of wisdom that his commanding officer won’t necessarily listen to but will hear. His relationship with Kirk and the crew is pushed to the limits, just as much as his own repressed emotions are.

With a rare talent among directors JJ Abrams allows each of the crew their own heroic savior moment. While some characters don’t get as much screen time or epicness as others, and that is a shame, those that do earn their moments well. That is what this film does well by the way; it continues the character development of the first film and brings it to a head and cements it all. The command crew of the Enterprise are now and forever a family. All moments from here on are earned. Every tear, scream of rage, heart break and panic can be believed.

Even Alice Eve, as Carol Wallace-Marcus, new comer to the crew earns her stripes and becomes part of the family with one scene as a glaring flaw. Benedict Cumberbach brings all the weight and gravitas of his acting prowess as the films heavy. Even Peter Weller , welll not even , delivers in his characteristic way. Bruce Greenwood, reprises his role as Pike and shows all the charm and dignity he did in the first film. All of the acting is right where it needs to be.

So why isn’t this a perfect film? There are a few small flaws, some pacing issues and even some editing/timing issues. They are minor. My biggest complaint is a completely and totally unnecessary cheesecake shot with Carol. It was shown in at least one of the trailers and for that moment she was posed like a bloody store mannequin. My partner in crime with movies will be giving her well reasoned rant soon on this and it is well earned. Count on me to share it.

Aside from that one scene, damn near flawless.

TL;DR crowd – here’s what you are waiting on.

Just go see the thing. Everyone. Period. No exceptions. No alternatives.

This right now is THE movie to beat this summer until Pacific Rim in July. Nothing else will come close to this quality in every respect. Sure other movies will be entertaining (Fast 6, Now You See Me, etc) but few if any will deliver on so many levels so successfully.

So to you JJ Abrams, please continue to take us in this timeline where no one has gone before. I can’t wait to see what you do with the new Star Wars.

Darke Reviews | Oblivion (2013)

Posted by

0

So there I was leaning on the railing of the front row as the credits rolled on Oblivion tonight. I am listening to the score by M83, which keeps reminding me of the epicness of Dune (Lynch 84), it’s powerful, it’s moving and fitting. I look back on the past two hours and twenty minutes and wonder – is big budget science fiction making a resurgence? We’ve had some OK Sci-Fi in the past year or so and some really good Sci Fi. Where does Oblivion fall?

It’s a trick question. It doesn’t quite fall in the mix because it *is* the mix. Writer/Director Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy) is clearly and strongly influenced by the science fiction cinema of his age – which happens also to be mine. As an aspiring writer trying to find my voice and my style for the so-called original vampire novel I am working on; I understand how challenging it is to write a purely original story in a world where so many have been told. I am aware like few others that its nearly impossible to not lift elements from your favourite works of fiction that you are trying to tell a story within. I see Kosinki’s love for Dune, all the cinematic works based on Phillip K Dick (if I name specific ones it’s nearly a spoiler), 2001, 2010, Event Horizon, and so many more sci fi films of the late 70s and early 80s. I almost want to say this movie is his love letter to the works of that time. Yet, it isn’t quite that either, he has managed to tell a beautiful three act story with elements of so many others in his own way and in his own narrative vision.

Let me tell you about his vision. We have Jack and Vickie, “the clean up crew” and an “effective team” on an earth ravaged by a war with an alien race. Because there are still aliens on earth, hiding and attacking that which Jack and Vickie protect our protagonists have their memory wiped to protect the security of the mission. Jack has a curious streak a mile wide and during his routine patrols explores areas of the ruined earth in his hi-tech ornithopter. Kosinki’s vision of a ruined earth years after the war is nothing short of breathtaking. I’ve never seen anything quite like it and that is no small feat. There are a flybys that had me scratching my head on the environment they presented, but I let it slide for the beauty and wonder it brought.

Now we get to act two of our story and we introduce the survivor of a crashed ship. She knows something and hiding it. Jack and Vickie both know she’s hiding something but react differently. Vicky just wants to complete the mission according to protocols and head to Titan with the rest of the survivors of the war. Jack, well Jack needs to know. This takes him deeper into the rabbit hole and where the story really starts to bloom. I would tell you more of act two and act three but to do so risks spoilers even with the most careful of writing. Suffice to say I didn’t see a few elements coming; while others I saw in the trailer and figured out instantly.

Breaking it all down –

While I normally could rant about trailers for hours, the trailers here did the movie justice and kept hidden what needed to be kept hidden.
The visual design of the world – nothing short of astounding.
The tech – I have problems. You won’t be able to unsee it once I say it, but I consider it lazy on the prop department so I cannot forgive. Jack’s rifle is a modified Nerf Longshot. The thrusters on his craft are the ear pieces to a standard call center headset.
Music – Nearly overpowering when it needed to be subtle, but it fit the movie.
Science – I often rant about the science in science fiction. This one has a few elements leaving me wondering, only one of which truly bothered me. A storm system that was fairly persistent.
Pacing – hit and miss.

So at the end of another day in paradise we have a film that embraces all the things we love about science fiction. We have a director that knows how to get a good performance of his three main actors and has a visionary eye that needs to be encouraged by the studio and fans. Is it flawless? No. Is it something that hearkens back to the best of the 80s sci fi? Without a doubt.

For the TL;DR crowd

Sci Fi fans – See it
Tom Cruise Fans – See it
Kosinski fans – You have already seen it and are just reading my review to confirm or refute me.

If you are a die hard cruise hater – pass
Sci-Fi not always your thing? – pass, this won’t change your mind.

If you aren’t sure on this – Matinee it and let me know what you thought below.

I do think people need to see this movie so that the studios take more chances on science fiction. It’s nearly a lost genre and when we lose it we lose something special. I think in the end I am looking forward to the Blu Ray release already so I can add this to my collection and watch it in my living room with the surround sound and a smile on.