November 4, 2008 - 1:30 am - Posted by Administrator
Maria Lidon directs and co-stars in this Spanish science fiction film (in English) about an expedition to Mars which crash lands on the surface. Faced with certain death, the international crew of astronauts is forced to consider extreme measures.
The script for Stranded is actually quite good save for a few “scientific liberties” which detract from the realism. And the cast includes a few gems including Vincent Gallo[Buffalo ‘66, Goodfellas] as the pessimistic engineer, Maria De Madeiros[Babel, Pulp Fiction] as the determined medical officer, and Joaquim de Almeida[Clear and Present Danger, 24] as the level-headed Fidel Rodrigo. As accomplished actors, they all do a remarkable job with difficult space-oriented terminology. Stranded’s primary downfall is the badly dubbed voices of Director Lidon’s character Susana Sanchez and co-star Daniel Aser’s character Herbert Sagan. I don’t know if they dubbed their own performances or had other voice actors handle it, but they are terrible. The stilted scientific dialog doesn’t ease the task, and it shows. The late Johnny Ramone plays a small part as the co-pilot Lowell who stays behind on the mothership in orbit and actually gives a better performance than Lidon or Aser.
Now lest you think I’m being unduly harsh, I will say this low-budget space flick does a remarkably good job portraying realistic spaceflight scenarios on a severely limited budget. The indoor sets look like they came right off the international space station. The outdoor scenes look a lot like Mars, although the low resolution computer graphics begin to show when we’re subjected to views of the planet from orbit.
The pacing of Stranded can be a little slow at times, the story building from the crew’s initial resignation at their plight, through desperation to survive, and culminating with an amazing discovery on the red planet. It’s that amazing discovery that seems to be the entire purpose of the script, and it takes a while to get there. The time that could have been spent building character definition is ultimately wasted on sequences of petty arguments that prove inconsequential to the outcome.
Personally, I think young directors and writers would benefit the most from viewing Stranded. It’s a textbook low budget science fiction movie that can teach you a few tricks, and most certainly shows a few examples of what to avoid.
February 24, 2008 - 10:28 pm - Posted by Administrator
The sequel to 1985’s Cocoon, Cocoon: The Return is a worthy–if somewhat thin–continuation to the story. To recap, our geriatrics from the original film discover the fountain of youth. They decide to accompany some aliens to their home planet of Antares where they’re promised eternal life. And in Cocoon: The Return… well, you know, they return. Damn, now that I’ve written that, it sounds ridiculous. Did I give this movie three stars?
Jack Gilford brings his supporting role of Bernie Lefkowitz two steps forward into a starring role, now a widower after the passing of his beloved Rose. Not surprisingly, he is still reluctant to embrace the fountain-of-youth lifestyle of his friends.
The primary story arc of Cocoon: The Return involves the rescue of a cocoon which has been recovered from the ocean by the St. Petersburg Oceanographic Institute. In reality this movie is more about the fragility of life, the importance of family, and having a healthy sense of adventure, all as experienced by Art [Don Ameche], Ben [Wilford Brimley], and Joe [Hume Cronyn] and their wives. Eventually when they begin to experience the aches and pains of being back on Earth, they are forced to make hard decisions–whether to return to Antares and live forever, or stay home on Earth and let nature run it’s course.
Steve Guttenberg and Tahnee Welch (daughter of Raquel) reprise their roles from the first movie, and a young Courteney Cox makes an appearance as Sara, a scientist. Overall, I would say it’s better than most sequels but not exactly must-watch material.
February 24, 2008 - 8:31 pm - Posted by Administrator
1984 to 1985 was a very good time for Ron Howard as a Director. On the heels of mainstream success with 1984’s ‘Splash‘ starring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, 1985’s Cocoon became Ron Howard’s first massive smash, catapulting him to new levels as a Director who could write his own ticket in Hollywood.
A group of St. Petersburg retirees has been trespassing, swimming in the pool at the vacant estate next to their assisted-living center. When a group of out-of-towners rent the estate, they think their swimming days are over. But soon they begin sneaking into the swimming pool and sharing the waters with strange egg-like artifacts collected from the ocean via Jack Bonner’s [Guttenberg] boat. In short fashion, they begin to notice youthful, energizing side effects from their swimming parties. And thus they are drawn into an amazing adventure about aliens and the fountain of youth.
Much as the bleak science fiction movies of the seventies reflected apprehension about the times, Cocoon seems to mirror the optimism of the early eighties with it’s uplifting attitude and fun-for-all-generations angle. Hardcore science fiction fans will probably find it all too vanilla but I enjoy this movie in much the same way I enjoyed Back to the Future or E.T. the Extraterrestrial. If you can handle your movies about Aliens, Immortality, and Atlantis all wrapped up in a shuffleboard and geriatrics storyline, then Cocoon is highly recommended.
December 16, 2007 - 11:07 pm - Posted by Administrator
The cycle of family-oriented, adventurous science fiction movies that began with Star Wars in 1977 hit it’s pinnacle five years later when Steven Spielberg unleashed the movie that would be the biggest family sci-fi adventure ever–E.T. The Extraterrestrial.
An obvious contrast to the space-gallantry theme of the Star Wars films and Alien, E.T. is the tale of an extraterrestrial on a visit to Earth who is mistakenly left behind. Soon he makes friends with a 10 year old boy, Elliot (Henry Thomas), and his little sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore). The relationship grows between Elliot and his newfound friend as they search for a way to “phone home”. Soon, they find themselves pursued by the government.
Spielberg has a grasp of family and the humor found in mundane life at home. The portrayal of family life with Elliot, Gertie, and Mom Mary (Dee Wallace) is somehow reminiscent of Richard Dreyfus’ family in Close Encounters… it speaks to you, and somehow you yearn for it. I remember watching E.T. and being envious of Elliot and the idyllic life he led in his California cul-de-sac. For the record, if you can make your audience feel that way, it’s a difference of like, a hundred million dollars. Maybe more.
At any rate, for those of us who love big budget blockbuster science fiction movies at the box office every fourth of July, we all owe a huge ‘thank you’ to the financial success of E.T.–once the box office returns came in, the tally ensured that science fiction would never again be considered an inferior genre, unfit for full support from the studios.
Someday when I retire from writing this blog, there will be less than twenty flicks with a five star rating.
December 15, 2007 - 9:08 pm - Posted by Administrator
It! The Terror from Beyond Space is your typical fifties science fiction movie… spaceships, rubber-suited actors portraying alien monsters, special effects that may or may not work as intended, and so forth.
This movie takes place in the distant future of 1973, by which time we’ll surely be flying to the planet Mars. And hence, the concept… a mission to Mars has been wiped out with the exception of one survivor. A rescue mission bringing the survivor back to Earth is then menaced along the way by a unknown alien which has apparently stowed away on the ship.
If that premise sounds a little familiar, it may be due to a similarity to a much higher profile movie which came later, Ridley Scott’s Alien. Internet fans and non-fans have long insisted Alien bears an uncanny resemblance to this film. And in this viewer’s opinion, I would agree, not that I see anything wrong with that. Both movies take place on spaceships with multiple levels. In Alien, the alien is held at bay with flamethrowers. In It!, with a blowtorch. In Alien, the creature is pursued through the air vents. There’s a nearly identical scene in It! There are other similarities as well.
In the end, It! The Terror from Beyond Space is a low budget, poorly produced attempt at realizing a good science fiction concept. Special effects that couldn’t be created in the fifties were simply avoided with directing tricks. For example, the ship’s passengers rig a vent shaft with grenades to keep the alien out. When the alien comes through the shaft, the director cuts to a shot of the crew listening to the explosion on an intercom several levels above, thereby eliminating the need to show the explosion. However, when the camera returns to the vent shaft, which by all rights should be a smoke-filled environment due to the explosion which just happened, the rubber-suited alien comes out of the vent shaft a full ten seconds before the special effects crew remembers to blast some smoke into the scene. Either it’s a mistake that was overlooked, or it was ignored due to a time and money crunch. Either way, it’s a good example of why I can’t watch too many sci-fi flicks from the fifties.
Anal Probe Rating: It’s two hours of discomfort and you won’t remember it tomorrow.
December 15, 2007 - 3:13 am - Posted by Administrator
Imagine for a minute, Ellen Ripley, the baddest chick in the whole goddamn galaxy, played by… Meryl Streep?!?
It almost happened. Producers Gordon Carrol and David Giler were actually considering Streep for the part of Ripley. Luckily for movie fans, Streep passed on what she said was after all “only a horror film”. The Producers then settled on Sigourney Weaver.
In retrospect the choice seems clear. Lieutenant Ellen Ripley can only be portrayed by Sigourney. And the concept is simple. The Nostromo, a civilian mining vessel, has been contaminated by an unknown alien organism which grows exponentially over several days and has acid for blood. The Alien goes on a killing spree, striking from the shadows.
Many have called Alien a gothic horror film first, and a science fiction picture second. In this reviewer’s opinion, the fact that it’s both is what amazes. Without sacrificing anything, Director Ridley Scott entrances with realistic sets, special effects, and story detail that paint a rich picture of the Weyland-Yutani space mining industry in the coming century, and simultaneously horrifies with glimpses of an H.R. Giger-designed alien terror never before realized onscreen. Alien has consistently ranked in the top five of hundreds of Halloween scary movie lists.
An oustanding supporting cast including John Hurt as Kane (whose death scene is one of the great horror moments), Tom Skerritt as Dallas, Veronica Cartwright as Lambert, and Yaphet Kotto as Parker, are all stalked to their deaths by the increasingly menacing alien. Soon, Ripley and the Nostromo’s cat Jonesy find themselves the only survivors, and they’re forced to flee for their lives.
Alien has become a cultural phenomenon, spawning five sequels to date. It influenced a whole generation of science fiction movies to come, including Outland (1981), and Predator (1987). And oh yeah, it won an Oscar. It’s good.
Turn up the surround sound, turn off the lights, and watch. I wish I could get that feeling again.
December 13, 2007 - 11:32 pm - Posted by Administrator
Alien Nation is a cops-and-drug-dealers tale masquerading as a science fiction movie. Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s a place for that story in the realm. I just remember feeling deceived once I saw it in the theatre… the marketing campaign had left me to expect a hardcore alien contact movie, and instead I got a buddy cop movie where one of the cops was an alien. I don’t know… I didn’t dig it.
Aliens arrive on Earth, refugees looking for a new home. Of course we allow the “Newcomers” to settle among us. Everything will be cool, right?
Alien Nation stars James Caan as Detective Matthew Sykes, forced to partner with a “Newcomer” cop named Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin). Together they investigate “Newcomer” crimes influenced by a powerful alien psychotic drug.
The script isn’t entirely without sci-fi merit. The idea that the Newcomers were deathly afraid of water was interesting. It seems water to an alien is the same as battery acid to a human. And the concept of aliens arriving on Earth in spaceships will always be a sci-fi staple. I just wish I hadn’t wasted my $6.50 to see this one.
Alien Nation was also the basis for a semi-successful TV Series of the same name.
I give Alien Nation the lowest rating available:
The Anal Probe: It’s two hours of discomfort, and you won’t remember it tomorrow.
December 13, 2007 - 7:19 pm - Posted by Administrator
Other than John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing, I’ve never been a huge fan of his sci-fi movies… primarily his horror endeavours; but They Live is one of his cult classics.
Former pro-wrestler Roddy Piper stars as a drifter who discovers a box of sunglasses which allow the wearer to see the aliens who roam the planet disguised as ordinary humans. Keith David co-stars as a construction worker content in the world he knows, uninterested in Piper’s magic sunglasses. Indeed, one of the greatest fist fight sequences ever filmed results when Nada (Piper) tries to get Frank (David) to try on the glasses. When he finally does, he can see the aliens, and the obedience messages which have been subliminally embedded in billboards, tv commercials, newspapers, and more.
We soon find out an undergound rebellion of those who know the truth is growing.
They Live is John Carpenter’s vehicle for a cautionary tale about consumer culture, cold war paranoia, and Orwellian society. The special effects leave something to be desired and the movie overall is a little anti-climactic, both of which are probably due to budget. At any rate, I highly recommend it to any sci-fi fan.
I must admit, I hope they make a big budget remake of this movie someday.
It! The Terror from Beyond Space
Alien Nation
