Category Archives: Sci-Fi

2012, Adventure, Based on a Book, Fantasy, Grim, Love Story, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Violent

The Hunger Games (2012)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

In a dystopian future ruled by a totalitarian regime, resourceful Katniss and her partner, Peeta, represent their district in the lethal Hunger Games — a televised survival competition in which teenage contestants fight each other to the death.

After having read all three books in the trilogy, I am pleased with the film adaptation. Part of the fun is all the multi-colored eye candy realized by the Capital fops. Characters from the book really come alive. Never does the abject feeling of doom abate. Jennifer Lawrence (age 22) captures Katniss Everdeen to perfection. Woody Harrelson makes a wonderful Haymitch. Donald Sutherland is just right as the thoughtfully evil President Snow. Stanley Tucci as TV moderator couldn’t be any more of a superficial fake if he tried. Controlling effects from the Capital (sponsor gifts, induced forest fires, images of the dead in the sky, the cannons announcing yet another kill, tracker jackers) are done well.

What amazes me is that the author Suzanne Collins is a 50 year old woman who captures the constantly meditating persona of a 16 year old girl. In this film adaptation you do not hear the voice of Katniss constantly ruminating as you do in the book. As a result you have to infer her state of mind from what you see.

So you think this is just unrealistic science fiction?

  • What government would purposely starve its citizens? But that is precisely how North Korea (nominated by the Economist as the worst country on the planet) keeps its enslaved population in line.
  • What kind of people would cheer contesting combatants until one kills another? Consider the book Are We Rome? by Cullen Murphy. So far cage fighting has not yet reached this ultimate goal.
  • Could there possibly be in a country an ever growing separation of the impoverished from the upper One Percent?
  • Could such young people really be killers? Right now the psychotic African Joseph Kony is training his Lord’s Resistance Army of child killers.

Be aware that in the book, there is very little if any physical romance. No kissing!

Enjoy this first episode and expect further installments.

2012, Conspiracy, Grim, Mayhem, Mediocre, Prison, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Violent

Lockout (2012)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

A former government agent wrongly accused gets a shot at freedom — if he can engineer a high-risk mission to outer space in order to rescue the president’s daughter from a facility where the inmates are in control.

Because this is typical Guy Pearce you have probably already seen more or less the same plot in many other films. If you enjoy somewhat futuristic, violent, super male versus the bad guys films with lots of cynical side banter, then proceed.

Some of the impossibilities caught my eye: Of course the president’s daughter knows how to stitch a wound; of course all the prisoners on the ship understand the complicated ship controls; of course our hero never gets shot. Never mind, just keep watching.

In many respects this 2012 film is in tune with politics current for that year. Listen to the cynical side comments. For example our hero at one point predicts that once again “congress will screw the pooch”. If you need to stay awake during the film, try and catch some of these wry observations.

What really did make me feel uneasy was the idea of the giant prisoner warehouse floating in space in which the prisoners are put in a sleep stasis (that can produce psychosis) and kept in pods. Some prisoners are used for sometimes fatal experiments. Lest you think this is just Hollywood, take a look at the Wikipedia article on “Incarceration in the United States”. The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world (743 per 100,000 population). Stays in US prisons are longer than elsewhere. Now the push is for privatization of prisons (“profitable prisons”). Does this sound like the profitable facility that is the scene for the film? An article in the Economist (for which I do not have the reference) explained that sheriffs’ returns depend on maintaining a certain number of prisoners in county jails (possibly with the cooperation of judges).

Maggie Grace (the president’s daughter) was Shannon Rutherford in the TV series “Lost”.

Why would such an ordinary action flick cause such ruminations? Is it because popular pseudo-sci-fi predictions are sometimes a bit too imminent?

2012, Acceptable for children, Based on a Book, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

John Carter (2012)

Leave a comment

From Netflix:

One minute, Civil War veteran John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is evading Apaches in a deserted cave. The next, he’s waking up on Mars, a once-Earthlike planet that’s devolved into chaos — and civil war of a different sort. Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic “Barsoom Series,” this sci-fi adventure finds Carter coming to the aid of Martian princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) and pitching in to help protect the planet.

Just as for any film in the tradition of “Star Wars”, “Avatar”, “Thor”, etc., the story line and emotions are for kids whereas the special effects will please many an adult. We will make no comment about the acting.

Who wouldn’t want to be able to leap over tall buildings, be the victor in every sword fight, and marry the beautiful princess? But isn’t that why we watch such entertainment?

Even though according to Wikipedia the film lost $200 million, just sit back and enjoy the mindless fun.

2008, B-movie, Love Story, Quiet, Sci-Fi, Suspense

The Happening (2008)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliott Moore (Mark Wahlberg) and his wife (Zooey Deschanel) flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon — or something even more sinister? John Leguizamo and Betty Buckley co-star in this thriller from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan.

Not all disaster films are created equal. Some are quiet, most are mayhem. Some gore is inevitable. Some end well but lately, in keeping with our current cultural pessimism, most do not end well. Some are isolated (to, say, just the Titanic). Some are global (as in “War of the Worlds”). Some come from an earthly threat as in global warming. Some come from out there somewhere, say an asteroid or nasty aliens.

In “The Happening” we are confronted with a rather quiet, not terribly gory, temporarily unexplained local disaster. Eventually we get an explanation for which you might have to suspend disbelief. But hidden in all the excitement is a love story. Spoilers are not allowed so you will have to watch the film to see who survives (if anyone … wicked laugh to follow).

Congratulations to Mark Wahlberg who does not take his shirt off even once. His acting is acceptable, but the story is better and fairly inventive.

One critic said it best in that this film is a “genuinely enjoyable B-movie for anyone inclined (or able) to see it that way”.

2002, Acceptable for children, Adventure, Fantasy, Feel Good For All, Sci-Fi

The Time Machine (2002)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Based on the classic novel by H.G. Wells, this sci-fi adventure stars Guy Pearce as Alexander Hartdegen, a scientist and inventor who’s determined to prove to a doubtful world that time travel is actually possible. In the 1890s, he builds a time machine that sends him progressively farther into the future — eventually hurtling him 800,000 years from now to a strange time in which mankind has divided into two races: the hunters and the hunted.

PG-13 is just about right for this sci-fi whose visual effects are on the order of “Hugo”, that is to say, special effects with a more human, old-fashioned, down-to-earth look. Of course there are spooky, nasty, human-devouring creatures living under the earth 800,000 years from now. One of their masters, the Über-Morlock is played by none other than Jeremy Irons (who else would you expect ?).

Just plain kiddie sci-fi fare with orchestral background (did I mention old-fashioned ?) and a happy ending somewhere 800,000 years in the future.

2011, Acceptable Science, Grim, Sci-Fi, Suspense

Apollo 18 (2011)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

If you buy in to official statements, Apollo 17 was NASA’s last manned mission to the moon. But what if found footage of a secret Apollo mission that had taken place the following year could prove otherwise — and explain why we haven’t gone back?

Awhile back I reviewed the somewhat claustrophobic film Buried (2010) starring Ryan Reynolds. In some ways this film “Apollo 18” is similar: not only is the interior of the lunar module a bit small but the inhabitants suffer at the hands of their superiors (although you have to watch the film to see what I mean).

Owing to the fact that the film is shot like a very shaky home video, you should not expect clean visuals. Some pieces of the puzzle you will never see clearly.

Good acting enhances this realistic story. However, it is science fiction so you will eventually have to suspend disbelief.

Nothing really special, but it captured my attention.

2011, Could Be Hard To Watch, Disturbing Image, Horror, Mayhem, Occasional gore, Sci-Fi, Suspense

The Thing (2011)

1 Comment

From NetFlix:

This terrifying prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic of the same name tells the story of a team of Norwegian scientists who find an alien ship frozen in Antarctica. When the organism inside awakens, blood flows across the frozen landscape. Leading the group is pilot Carter (Joel Edgerton), who allies with paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in a desperate attempt to rally the paranoid workers to combat the deadly threat.

When I was a mere lad of 12 (in 1951) I went with friends into downtown Baltimore to see
the first edition of “The Thing”. You never saw the alien throughout the film until the very last scene in which they burned it up leaving something resembling a baked potato. During that scene I hid under my coat so that in fact I never saw “The Thing” in all its glory.

In 1982 there was another version which I never saw.

Finally welcome to 2011. With digital enhancement there is no end of the gore you can create. In the last part of this version you get to see two mangled human bodies that have been transformed into a creature that crawls like a spider with tentacles. This is just a warning in case you are a bit squeamish. Don’t you wonder who lies awake at night just dreaming up these visual horrors?

All the cast are male with the exception of one young female scientist who dares to make a counter suggestion to the learned and arrogant lead scientist. Guess what happens!

Not for children and probably not for adults of a certain ripe old age.

Why is this called a prequel ?

2011, Car Chase, Frenetic, Redemption, Revenge, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Violent

In Time (2011)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

In a near future where aging stops at 25, time is the new currency and the wealthy can live forever. When Will Salas inherits decades of life from a wealthy murdered man, he’s pegged as the suspect by the corrupt Time Keepers, who enforce the law.

Each person’s forearm shows how much time that person has to live. You can earn, steal, give, and buy things with time. For me this was a novel theme although the idea has probably been used elsewhere.

Rich people live forever, poor people die young. Probably the plot intends an analogy with the corruption of our current financial world.

Justin Timberlake is convincing as an angry, honest, poor, and of course invincible crusader. Amanda Seyfried is OK as his sparring partner and love interest.

Net Flix got it wrong. The Time Keeper (Cillian Murphy) was un-corruptible to the point of death. But he was misguidedly enforcing a corrupt system. You can watch Cillian Murphy in Retreat (2011) with a wonderful Irish brogue.

Possibly a “B” film but fun anyway!

2011, Acceptable for children, Acceptable Trash, Cowboy, Mayhem, Sci-Fi

Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Scott Mitchell Rosenberg’s graphic novel series leaps to the screen as amnesiac gunslinger Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) stumbles into the Wild West town of Absolution, where he’s confronted by potent enemy Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) and a terrifying problem: invading aliens. Aided by the lovely Ella (Olivia Wilde), Jake rallies a posse of the townspeople, Dolarhyde’s minions and local Apache warriors to fight off the extraterrestrial threat.

While flying us to London British Airways showed this film. Acceptable trash such as this is just fine for an unthinking air flight where the best outcome might be going to sleep.

Daniel Craig should stick to better films such as Defiance (2008). Maybe he is tired of being James Bond.

Harrison Ford was 69 years old for the filming. For me he will always be Indiana Jones.

Kids will love it!

2011, Corny, Drugs, Mayhem, Occasional gore, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Trains, Violent

Super 8 (2011)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

With a nod toward producer Steven Spielberg’s landmark sci-fi films of the 1970s and ’80s, writer-director J.J. Abrams crafts a supernatural tale about six kids who witness something incredible while shooting a movie with their Super 8 camera.

After watching for awhile, I was sure this was a Steven Spielberg film because it had all the hallmarks: simplistic, bit maudlin, and a final shot of a space ship leaving earth. In fact it was produced by Steven Spielberg.

Intertwined with the alien thread are family problems in two tragically related families whose kids become friends as the film develops. Abrams gets the funny middle school dialogs and quips just right (like raving about the food at a wake).

Oddly enough the villain in the film is the actor Noah Emmerich who played Dr. Edwin Jenner in the “Walking Dead” TV series which was recently reviewed.

Warning: the film could frighten a small child. There is much mayhem, destruction, and the scary alien eats people.

This kids’ yarn might just hold your attention.