Pitch Black

Directed by: David Twohy

Written by: Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, David Twohy










Sometimes, a good movie flies under the radar.  Other times, a movie flies under the radar because it stinks.  Unfortunately, "Pitch Black" is one of the latter.

A ship carrying a variety of passengers, including escaped convict Riddick (Diesel), crashes on a seemingly deserted planet.  Soon, though, the stranded travelers realize that something terrible lurks in the shadows of the planet.  And, just conveniently enough, they've crashed mere hours before an unusually long eclipse.  Can they trust Riddick to help them get off the planet?  Or will these light-sensitive beasts tear them apart before the sun emerges again?

Now, if only the actual script were as good as the summary I just wrote.

I remember when "Pitch Black" originally came out, and although I was intrigued at the time I never bothered to actually go see it.  The rise and presence of Vin Diesel in the action film world had kept this film in the back of my mind for a long time.  Finally, I broke and watched it.

And I regret it.

It's a real doozy of a stinker.  For a movie which hinges on nasty beasts coming out of the darkness, the movie is obnoxiously bright (literally) for nearly half the running time.  Then, when it finally does get dark, there's really nothing to see.  We only get a few shots of the monsters, but they are revealed to be unimpressive.  (The design of the beasts seems to have been culled from the reject pile of "Starship Troopers.")

Now, a movie lacking in action can be held up by interesting characters.  Unfortunately, these characters are more flat than a can of soda left out for a week.  Even the main character - Riddick - doesn't do much more than exist as a tough-guy.  At one point, one of the young characters reveals that "he" is really a "she" - but that shocking fact really has no impact or implications for the story.

Aside from a couple of "jump" moments, this movie was an absolute waste of my time, and I regret wasting precious internet bandwidth watching it.

Cowboys and Aliens

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Written by:

- Screenplay: Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby

- Screen story: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Steve Oedekerk

- Comic book: Scott Mitchell Rosenberg

There are few things that capture the pre-adolescent male mind more than cowboys. One of those things, though, may be aliens. Jon Favreau asks: why not both?

Jake Lonergan (Craig) awakens in the New Mexico desert with no memory of his past and a strange metal bracelet attached to his wrist. He wanders into the nearest town to try to put the pieces together, only to see aliens abduct several people of the city. With the help of Doc (Rockwell), the lovely but mysterious Ella Swenson (Wilde), and Woodrow "biggest cattle rancher in town" Dolarhyde (Ford), Lonergan chases after the aliens to rescue the missing people.

Favreau's film attempts to balance the tropes of both the western ("Cowboys") and science fiction ("Aliens") genres. The exposition draws on western film tradition - a lone gunman wanders into town and upsets the status quo - while also remaining fresh and original. The resolution is also gleaned from past westerns, although it slips slightly into the cliché. In fact, the whole plot culls from the annuls of the great American western film tradition. But, the action and effects - which make up a significant chunk of the screen time - are totally science fiction. It's amazing how the two styles were sewn together almost seamlessly.

The actors were, generally speaking, great for their roles. Sam Rockwell felt out of place for the first half of the film, although that may have had more to do with his character than with his performance. Olivia Wilde's character - and the fact that no one in town noticed her presence - also struck a false chord, although (without spoiling anything) it does get explained away later in the film. Craig and Ford were both top-notch and it was good to see Ford back in the action genre.

The special effects were good, but they were not outstanding. I was not blown away by any sequences in the film, which I had been expecting. On that end, I was disappointed. I was hoping for at least one earth-shattering effect, but, alas.

In general, kudos to Jon Favreau for making a pretty wonderful film. It gave exactly what it advertised - "Cowboys and Aliens" - and even a little more than I expected.

Surrogates

Directed by: Jonathan Mostow

Written by: Michael Ferris, John Brancato (screenplay)

Written by: Robert Venditti, Brett Weldele (graphic novel)

There's been a rash of graphic-novel-to-film adaptations lately. Some are good, some are poor, and some fall right into the middle of mediocrity. "Surrogates" falls squarely into that final category.

In the future, people rarely go outside of their homes. Instead, they send robots - the titular "surrogates" - to do their dirty work with no risk of physical harm or death. But when the son of the inventor of the surrogates is somehow killed via his surrogate, detective Tom Greer (Willis) is assigned to investigate. What he unravels, though, is a scheme that goes far beyond a murder scheme to the battle between authenticity and artificiality.

This film had a lot of potential. And the opening sequence - a montage explaining the history of the robotic surrogates - lives up to that potential. Things fall apart after that.

There are a few interesting twists - such as who is behind this plot to destroy the surrogate network. But, given the limited cast of characters, it's not too hard to figure out that it's got to be one of them. The moment when the audience realizes that the first murder is only a small part of a much larger conspiracy adds a bit of excitement at a crucial moment, even if that plot point is revealed in the trailer.

Once again, the one and only Bruce Willis falls short of a great performance. His character falls flat, considering that his purpose is to show the dynamism inherent in humanity. He only shows moments of life, and most of those are action sequences. Moments in this film that require any form of emotion are lost with Willis.

Most importantly - for a movie that is supposed to call to mind the need for true human contact - the film failed to make the audience care about any of the characters. This prevents the theme of movie to become fully realized.

Ultimately, the film "Surrogates" felt itself like a surrogate for a better film.

Escape from New York

Directed by: John Carpenter

Written by: John Carpenter, Nick Castle

Hollywood has always had an obsession with the dystopian stories near-future with features of a post-apocalyptic society. One of the problems with these movies, though, is that the "near-future" becomes the "present" and eventually "the past."

"Escape from New York" takes place in an alternate universe 1997 in which the island of Manhattan has been turned into an unescapable prison society. When the President of the United States (Pleasance) crashes in the middle of the prison, the warden (Van Cleef) can think of only one rescue option. He decides to send Snake (Russell), a former special forces trooper who has been sentenced to life on Manhattan, to rescue the president in exchange for a pardon from his crimes. (He also plants a bomb in Snake's neck that will automatically detonate in twenty-four hours, just to make sure that saving the president is a priority.) Snake encounters the seedy underworld of Manhattan, including a crazy taxi driver (Borgnine), the smartest man on the island (Stanton), and dubious Duke of the island (Hayes) as he navigates the decaying city.

For some reason - and not only the fact that the movie is set in a "futuristic" 1997 - this movie has not held up over time. None of the effects, costumes, or sets aged very well. The only way this movie can be appreciated is with a retro/camp lens, and even that is somewhat of a stretch.

Part of the problem was that the film's plot is far too flimsy to hold up over the full ninety-plus minutes, which leads to random plot tangents - such as the need for the president to recover some kind of cassette tape (yes, cassette tape!) which will somehow prevent World War III - and filler scenes - like the no-holds barred fight-to-the-death in a wrestling wring for no real reason. None of which added to the movie in any meaningful way.

Speaking of filler: I'm not sure what Ernest Bornine was doing in this movie except to appear and disappear when it was convenient for the story. The same with the character of Harry Dean Stanton's girlfriend, who simply accompanies Stanton through the film. Even Lee Van Cleef, usually one of the strongest presences in his films, falls flat.

Russell manages to shine in an obviously campy role, rasping grunting his way through his lines and grimacing at every opportunity. Maybe the eyepatch helped him see past all the other flaws?

On my recent John Carpenter kick, this one has been a serious disappointment. I guess they can't all be "The Thing."

This movie is a bit of a cult classic, but I'm afraid I won't be joining this cult with much enthusiasm. Maybe if I get a chance to see it on the big screen...

A Canticle for Liebowitz

Growing up, I had a passion for science fiction. I powered through everything Ray Bradbury had written, devoured the "Dune" novels, and touched through Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov, Philip K. Dick and Orson Scott Card. All in all, there wasn't much science fiction out there that I hadn't read, much less heard of. So, when I heard about a supposably classic sci-fi book that I hadn't heard of - "A Canticle for Liebowitz."

The book, divided into three major sections, takes place across several centuries after a nuclear war that has wiped out most of humanity. After the war, there was a cultural backlash against all intellectualism, leading to the destruction of almost all human knowledge. Only the monks of the Order of Liebowitz attempted to preserve the knowledge of humanity's past, through both the hiding and memorization of whatever remaining books they can find.

The first section takes place in the early rebuilding of civilization and tells the story of Brother Francis, who, after encountering a nomad while on his Lenten fast in the desert, discovers a fallout shelter containing potential relics of Liebowitz - the founder of his order. Over the next few decades, Brother Francis participates in the canonization process of Liebowitz, with his relics helping the cause. Eventually, he is invited to New Rome, but is killed on the way back, only to be buried by the same nomad who had led him to the relics in the first place.

The second section takes place several centuries later, at the beginning of a technological renaissance. This story focuses on the tension between Abbott Dom Paulo (of the Liebowitz abbey) and Thon Thaddeo, who argue whether or not the monks or secular academics should be in charge of the preservation and development of human knowledge. Abbott Dom Paulo refuses to allow the historical documents the monks have preserved to ever be removed from the abbey, even though it is clear that they abbey has been pegged as a potential military base for a developing war. There is also a subplot about hermit who lives near the abbey who may be the last Jew on earth and carries the history of his entire religion within himself.

The last section takes place many centuries later, with nuclear weapons having been re-developed, and the colonization of space possible. As tensions rise between two major nations, it becomes clear to Abbott Zerchi that nuclear war is very likely, so he sends one of his monks to New Rome to be a part of a plan to continue the Church on another planet. The abbey becomes a refugee camp for victims of a nuclear strike, leading to a discussion on the nature of euthanasia. Eventually, all-out nuclear war arrives and Abbott Zerchi is killed by the collapsing abbey - but not before he is given his last eucharist by a mutant who he had earlier refused to baptize.

The biggest flaw in this novel is that it was actually written as three separate novellas, which were then re-written and woven together. At times, the connections and symbols between the three parts felt stretched and strained and rather forced - such as the vultures who pop up at the end of every section to pick the bones of humanity's mistakes. I would have been much more satisfied without some of these added details, considering the strong thematic connections that tie the book together.

My biggest concern going into this book was its central use of the Catholic faith. Typically, science-fiction prides itself on being rationally based and religion (in general) and Catholicism (to be specific) are often discussed contemptuously and with distain. In this case, though, I felt that the Catholic Church and its traditions were treated with respect. The church is actually presented in the role that it once held - the preservers of knowledge. Abbott Zerchi's strict stance against euthanasia is completely in-line with the Church's stance on the issue.

Overall, it's a strong novel with some deep thematic and philosophical elements. The relationship between the religious and secular groups was clearly and influence on later novels - especially "Dune." The novel is especially powerful in balancing both the hopefulness and hopelessness of humanity. People are simultaneously doomed to repeat their mistakes while also destined to rebuild themselves and to become better.

Avatar

Last night my wife and I went to see the new James Cameron movie "Avatar" in 3-D. Actually, it wasn't so much a "movie" as it was a "completely different experience." I have never been quite as amazed and awed coming out of a movie theatre as I was last night.

Now, this is not to say that "Avatar" is the perfect film. Rather, it is unlike anything else I've ever seen (although it obviously takes some elements from previous science fiction and fantasy books and movies). Using 3-D technology, Cameron was able to take the audience to another world.

But, before I start gushing, a little bit about the movie. Apparently, in the future, humans are mining some sort of high-energy ore on a planet called Pandora, which is worth a ton of money back on earth. The only problem is that the planet is already inhabited by a blue humanoid species which considers pretty much every nook and cranny of the planet to be sacred in one way or another. Enter Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former marine who has taken his brother's place in the "Avatar Program" - which allows humans to take control of an alien body and live through that body. The company in charge of the mining needs to get to a massive ore deposit which, unfortunately, lies directly beneath the natives' largest city (so to speak), and is looking for a diplomatic, but forceful, way of moving the aliens. Tensions rise between the scientific team researching the planet - led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) - and the business and security teams - led by Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) and Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) respectively. Long story short - too late! - the science team, using their avatar bodies, defects and joins the natives in resisting the human expansion. Sully manages to become the leader of the natives (in a manner reminiscent of the rise of Paul / Muad'ib in "Dune"), and - in a fantastically massive battle scene - manage to defeat the invading corporation.

The movie was well written. The plot unfolded nicely with enough twists and turns that it did not become predictable. Many story elements that were developed early on - such as, say, the territoriality of the native animals - played out nicely at the end.

It was hard to ignore the political message of the movie - there is no question left as to where James Cameron stands on issues like Manifest Destiny or, say, the Iraq War. But that aspect of the movie does not dominate the entire story or drag it down. Rather, it adds to the mystique of the plot and gives it a nice allegorical feeling without coming down too preachy.

This blog wouldn't be complete, though, if I didn't comment further on the 3-D experience. Seeing this movie in 3-D gave me a glimpse into the feeling my parents must have had when they first saw color television - something familiar taken to a completely different level. I didn't so much "watch" "Avatar" in 3-D, I "experienced" it. Cameron did a great job of using the 3-D technology to create a sense of realism and depth to the environment without falling into the usual 3-D traps of making something jump out at the audience.

I highly recommend seeing "Avatar" in the theatre. And, if you're already shelling out $11 to see it, I'd highly highly recommend paying the extra couple of dollars to see it in 3-D. (Unless you have a depth-perception problem, because the effects may be lost on you and you could have spent that money on overpriced candy.)

Terminator Salvation

I held out as long as I could, but on Wednesday I finally broke and went to see "Terminator Salvation." The 2009 film, directed by McG, is the fourth film in the "Terminator" series, but is the first one to take placed after Judgement Day - the day that the Skynet military computer program becomes self-aware and launches an attack to wipe-out humanity.

In terms of a timeline, "Salvation" takes place after Judgement Day and the first full assault of the machines, but before John Connor (played in this film by Christian Bale) has risen to total command of the human resistance. We are at a lull in the war - the machines are making smaller campaigns to collect and kill the smaller human settlements, while the humans are still working to organize themselves into a homogenous resistance. The civilized world has been generally obliterated by the machines, with only a few buildings left standing and nature generally taking back the territory.

Into this world wakes up Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), who isn't quite sure what has happened and can only remember donating his body to science before being executed for a presumably horrendous crime. (The astute eye might catch that the paperwork he signs has Skynet Labs letterhead - foreshadowing!.) He runs into a young Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and a little girl in the remains of Los Angeles, and together they decide to track down John Connor. (On the way, though, Reese and the girl are captured by the machines and taken to Skynet headquarters in San Francisco.) Just as he is about to meet Connor, Wright steps on a mine which, instead of killing him...

...reveals that he is, in fact, a new model of Terminator with a human heart and brain! This comes just as much of a shock to Connor as it is to Wright, who does not understand what has happened to him. Connor and Wright agree on a plan in which Wright will infiltrate Skynet headquarters and disable the defenses so that Connor can come in and rescue Reese (who, we all know, needs to survive so that he can go back in time and father Connor).

Big twist here - this was all part of Skynet's plan! Wright had been programmed (without knowing it) to go out, earn Connor's trust, and bring him back. Wright, realizing his unwitting betrayal, rips out the chip that Skynet was using to manipulate him and decides to use his machine-level strength to protect Connor. Eventually they escape, but Connor's heart is damaged and, in a symbol-heavy resolution, Wright donates his heart to Connor to keep the hope of humanity alive.

(Oh, and there was a subplot about a weakly organized human resistance trying to destroy the machines with some sort of radio wave which would tell them to shut down. When the leaders of this resistance group do not listen to Connor and launch an attack, the machines destroy that arm of the resistance, and Connor comes to power.)

Was the movie a neat episode in a franchise which had been sent off-course with the third film (forever unnamed here)? Yes. Was it a great movie? No. The plot of the movie moved across long flat plains and would then make huge jumps. The characters were all these confused, introverted people which made it hard for the viewer to have any sort of relationship with them.

The movie suffered from not really adding anything to the prior movies. It seemed more like a fan-fiction story made into a movie. We didn't learn anything new about Connor or the war with the machines. It did not directly effect on developments made in the original two stories, but also did not bring anything new to the table. Rather, it simply seemed to exist in a world that had already been created.