Tag Archives: Sci Fi

Jan 09 2025
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies

Contact (1997).

This is from that cringe McConaughey era when he was the next big thing, 15 years before he became a thing, before that a slew of insufferable rom-coms which appeared to be his modus vivendi. 

McConaughey is the dashing Texan with easygoing charm, and despite initial misgivings on behalf of the damsel in distress, she begins to detect an inner soul behind the one-dimensional Southern gent – welcome to the McConaughey template.

And Contact (1997)?

It’s shite and I turned it off. This almost saddens me, as I have a lot of time for William Fichtner, James Woods, David Morse, Tom Skerritt. It’s a hell of a cast, unfortunately wasted in a movie that drags, is boring, and has no reason to exist.

It’s painful watching movies all day long.

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Aug 12 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

The Last Starfighter (1984).

I dreaded this viewing as it’s never a splendid idea to revisit a childhood classic.

Imagine my surprise upon enjoying this charming little flick. You know what I liked about it the most?

It isn’t shite.

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Mar 11 2023
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Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Technology, United States

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). Urgh.

The reasons multiple, I put off watching this for a long time.

My two cents:

Again, the needy references to superior fare, the sheer desperation of bad writing, the mindless action with seemingly nothing at stake.

The ‘characters’ here buy the premise so instantly that you’re immediately questioning their validity, and as they have no dimensions it’s doubly irritating. They are chucked into unimaginative shoot-outs from the get-go. Who are these people? No idea, so I don’t care. There’s an antagonist who is as threatening as a poodle slurping a bowl of Bacardi Breezer, a hero sent from the future who is just plain dull, and Linda Hamilton looks more bored than I was watching her being bored.

I got to 48 mins. I couldn’t take any more torture and turned it off before Arnie arrived. So boring, so without logic or merit, so pedestrian on every level. This has to be the end of this extended shower of shit.

No more.

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Mar 24 2022
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Architecture, Cinema, Film, George Orwell, Movie, Uncategorized

Equilibrium (2002) is better than the Matrix sequels.

And I don’t know why it was ever associated with those mingers. It has guns and a similar theme. Wow!

There’s nothing particularly new or groundbreaking about Equilibrium (2002). It’s just a really well-made high-concept flick from someone straight out of a movie den who’s made it their quest to put into entertainment what they’ve absorbed from staples of the genre. All the usual tropes are here: regime offering order instead of chaos, Orwellian euphemisms and doublespeak, the conflicted civil servant.

“Who will guard the guards themselves?” will always provide plenty of movie material, and this is supremely stylish and flies by. It knows it’s shite. And that’s a good thing.

And Sean Bean dies in it. Which is inevitable.

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Dec 03 2021
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Gattaca (1997).

This was way ahead of its time, and quite the clever picture. It goes for moments of transcendence rather than thrills, but it mildly feels like a wasted opportunity despite how cerebral it is. You need some thrills to go with the admittedly effective navel-gazing. The casting doesn’t help; can you imagine a proper thesp in the lead, the intensity of a peak Clive Owen?

It’s a very good movie, though, despite the stilted performances. It’s about something. This is a rarity; most of the stuff blasted into cinemas these days – I don’t even know what these movies even purport to be. There’s a glimmer of a theme but in most cases it’s 20-odd topics mashed together by committee.

This has the odd effect of being a film without an obvious style; I can’t remember a single striking shot (SSS), but it somehow works in its favour, anonymity successful.

And Michael Nyman once again proves he’s the best at … Michael … Nymanesque scores.

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Apr 28 2021
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Uncategorized

Starship Troopers (1997) is an absolute belter.

It’s hilarious satire, and so smartly done. It’s also damn entertaining. And it hasn’t aged a bit.

It’s in fact way ahead of its time. The lunacy of some of the reviews of 1997. These idiotic ‘critics’ didn’t seem to grasp that everything about the movie is a joke, a piss-take, a borderline comedy. The characters are straight out of a Nazi propaganda piece, and they have legit no redeeming features. But you still watch it for their complete lack of self-awareness.

And the carnage. I like proper carnage.

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Mar 04 2021
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Cinema, Conceptual art, Film, Movie, Movies, Technology

Flash Gordon (1980) is bonkers! And shockingly great.

I can barely remember even seeing this before but I’m sure I would have remembered how great it is … so I suppose I hadn’t seen it before.

What a hoot! It’s a pastiche of cheese so well put together it transcends cheese and elevates itself way into the spheres above cheese. It’s what one deems a self-aware movie – it knows exactly what it is and that’s the foundation. The visuals and set design could have been absolute gash but for some reason they are not. The cartoon-like quality to them serves to amplify the admittedly silly story, but that’s what it’s all about. Not many films today have a sense of ‘world’ about them, as in a universe onscreen in which the environment and the backdrop actually means something and has a relationship, and vice-versa, with the characters. This is how fantasy should be done.

Some cast graces this bonanza – a young Timothy Dalton, Max von Sydow, a raving Brian Blessed, and Topol! And what happened to Sam J. Jones? He popped up in Ted (2012) but this aside I am without a reference. Oh, here we are: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristenlopez/2019/02/23/life-after-flash-acts-as-a-dual-celebration-and-redemption-of-flash-gordons-leading-man/

It has the psychedelic feel of a Pink Floyd music video, and for almost the entire duration I thought it was Roger Waters and chums on soundtrack duties. It turned out to be Queen. I don’t like Queen at all. But I liked them here. And Mike Hodges directed this cracker and Get Carter (1970)? I did not know this.

Versatile.

Further reading/viewing:

https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/flash-gordon-film-review-a4520191.html

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/31/flash-gordon-review-mike-hodges-superhero

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