The Martian — Wow!

8th March, 2016.

You know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a film.

Let me clarify that, if I can.

Sunday?

Sunday, I managed to see Dad’s Army.

There’s slightly more ironic ways ways to celebrate Mothers Day, but I don’t know if I could you what they are.

At ANY rate, when I say “… it’s been a while since I’ve seen a film,” what I MEAN is … 

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie … indoors … that I’ve bought or rented, myself.

Tonight, I did exactly that.

Tonight I rented out The Martian.

And whereas the last Ridley Scott film I saw — 2012’s Prometheus — was watchable, but flawed?

The Martian seems to tell us Scott is back on form … 

~≈Â≈~

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes: Nice … !

27th November, 2014.

You know, I have to thank my Aunty Bella, again, at some point.

No, really.

A while ago, now, she sent me a few quid.   Enough to buy myself an Apple TV.   The little Apple made set-top media box let’s me stream my media content from a computer with iTunes over to whatever TV it’s plugged into.

It’s also let’s me listen to quite a few internet radio stations.   I’ve got one playing now, in fact: Le Chic Day ’n’ Nite, I should add.

No, I’m not that much of a clubber.

But it’s nice to listen to, when I write late night.

And got a bit more oomph to it than some of the Ambient stations on there.

~≈®≈~

Transcendence: That Damn Frankenstein Complex!

5th September, 2014.

Can I ask you a question … ?

Can I … ?

Have you ever read anything by the late Dr Isaac Asimov … ?

Yes, I know: I can’t actually hear you answer.

Let me just, then, take a minute to briefly explain the subtitle.   “That Damn Frankenstein Complex!” is a phrase used — repeatedly, sometimes — in the good doctor’s work: usually by characters of his who built robots.

And usually when those builders saw members of the public, unfamiliar with — and scared of — the robots they’d created.

Now …

I don’t know about you: but I feel Asimov hit a nerve, there.

Let’s face it: how many people do you know who are nervous around technology … ?

Exactly.

So the fact I can think of a few films that also be accused of suffering from it.

The Will Smith version of I, Robot, for example.

War Games, with Matthew Broderick.

And — arguably … ?

Arguably, I think we can also include the Wally Pfister directed film, Transcendence, in there.

Although, possibly, it’s a better film that I, Robot …

~≈É≈~

Chrysalis: Tech Noir … In French … !

2nd August, 2014.

You know, I like movies.

No, really.

I don’t know if I’d say I’m a film critic.   Or buff.   Or fan, even.

But I like watching films.

Legally, for preference.   Using file sharing applications like Transmission to download copyrighted material is iffy, to say the least.

And impractical.

Especially if you — like I — have limits on how much you can download or upload.   Peer to peer file sharing can eat your monthly limit, like there’s no tomorrow.

My point , here … ?

Is that, occasionally, even in VERY cash-strapped times … ?   I occasionally have a little to spare on renting a film from iTunes.

Tonight … ?

Tonight, I actually felt adventurous to go exploring around iTunes, to see what it had.

What I found … ?

What I found was the 2008 French film, Chrysalis.

Yes.

I think tech noir is the right phrase, thank you.

I also think ‘quite good’ is another phrase to use.

Mostly where Chrysalis is exactly that.

~≈Â≈~

The Zero Theorem: Thoughts …

*SPOILER ALERT*
I should emphasise I reveal something of The Zero Theorem’s climax in this post.   If you’re bothered by that, then please, only read this post after you’ve watched the film.   I think the post, and the film, will repay you for that.

26th July, 2014: 23·34

Right at the moment … ?

Right at the moment, I’m convinced that — out there in the teeming places we call the multiverse — is a universe that smells of fish.

It’s exactly like ours in all aspects.

The same physical laws.

Its history is identical to ours.

Hell, if you look out of its equivalent of your front room window, the view will be exactly the same as it is in our universe.

There’s just one difference between here and there.

It smells of fish.

Slightly off salmon, if my imagination’s correct.

That’s possibly the most irreverent way to start a post about a film.

And possibly irrelevant, too.

But it’s also the sort of idea I get on especially hot and sweaty evenings, sometimes.

It’s one that’s telling me I should have a shower.   I’m nearer my armpits, in this weather, than you are.

It’s not necessarily nice … 

~≈◊≈~

The Machine: Interesting …

18th June, 2014.

It HAS to be said … THAT was enjoyable!

No, really.

The movie, I should say … 

Um … 

I should try and tell you what on Earth I’m talking about, shouldn’t?

Yes, I should … 

~≈Ç≈~

The Arrival: Ho-Hum-Hokum … !

2nd December, 2013.

You know, last month was a bit of a git.

No, really … !

As you’ve possibly know — by hitting the aerial tag at the bottom of the page — the communal aerial in my building: and took a week to get repaired.

The job’s still not finished: there are — to the best of my current knowledge — still three flats with no Sky signal.

What’s more … ?

What’s more, during that week, I seriously caned my broadband allowance: using the BBC’s catch-up service, the BBC iPlayer.   With the net result that I was seriously close to incurring extra charges, for going over that limit.

That close-run thing … ?

Meant I didn’t actually use the little credit I had left on my iTunes account: that would DEFINITELY have put me over the edge.

Until last night, that it.   The limit gets reset, every month.

That reset meant I could happily download a rental movie, without paying any extra.

And, given I fancied watching a film: one not dictated by simply what I had on an external drive, OR was on a catch-up service, or my shelf … ?

Well, I went ahead and rented a flick.

If you hadn’t guessed from the poster, the 1996, David Twohy directed, The Arrival.

And, yes … I think ‘hokum’ is possibly the word … 

~≈Î≈~

Dredd:Blood, guts and NO sense of Humour!

14th January, 2013ª.

Putting pictures on Blogspot can be a bother, sometimes.

Especially if, like me, you’ve just added them in from a URL, a weblink.

You have to put them in in reverse order, if you’re putting them in from a URL.

Hmmm … 

Any way … 

That’s not quite what I was going to tell you about, when I started this post.

Oh, no.

No … 

I was going to tell you about the movie I’ve just watched.

Karl Urban’s latest sci-fi piece, the Pete Travis directed film that is … Dredd … !

~~~~~

15th January, 2013

Sorry, I had to just had to get some sleep, there, over night … !

At ANY rate, I was telling you about the film I saw last night: the recent version of the cult 2000ad strip, Judge Dredd.

The film sees Dredd (Karl Urban) — introduced through a routine patrol at the film’s start — being assigned to take Rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson* (Olivia Thirby) on her final assessment as a traineeº.

With Rookie Anderson in charge … ?

The pair head for a super-sized apartment block, called Peach Treesª, to investigate some reported homicides.

What they don’t find out, until they get there … ?

Is that the Peach Trees block is under the control of one Madelaine Madrigal (Lena Headey) — or Ma Ma — who’s a psychotic former hooker, turned drug lord.

And really not a stunningly pleasant person …

~~~~~

Now, I’ll have to admit to assorted … well, let’s call them mixed feelings, shall I … ?

And also to wanting to see this film for some time.   After all, I grew up on the original comic-book version of the character, in the late seventies and early eighties.

That background left me with equally mixed feeling about the 1995 Stallone take on the character which got bits right — the general look of Mega-City One, the sense of humour,  the look of Mean Machine Angel — but also managed to alienate many.

Dredd does not take of his helmet, Mr Stallone!

As you can imagine, that left me looking forward to this … with a certain sense of trepidation^.

After catching this version … ?

I have to admit to having mixed feelings about Dredd.

In some senses, it has a much rougher edge to it than the ’95 film: and arguably, a greater degree of realism.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing: this is, for the most part, a very good — and mostly true to source — interpretation of the strip.   And one that tries to present a plausible near future.

Where I felt Dredd did suffer … ?

Was in a lack of a sense of humour: something I feel the original strip certainly had, when I was reading it: and some thing that Demolition Man, Robocop and Iron Sky certainly had more of.

What can I tell you … ?

If you see Dredd expect a very good effort.

Just don’t expect the character’s sense of irony to have made it on screen.

Dredd.

★★☆☆

*        Whilst it not actually mentioned in the film, the character’s first name is given as Cassandra, relatively early on in the comics.

º        In the comic strips, these are usually carried out in the Cursed Earth, the irradiated desert outside the city walls, and referred as Hotdog Runs.

ª        Sticking reasonably close to the background universe, the city†’s apartment blocks are small vertical towns. 

†       The city in question is the dystopian Mega-City 1: in the comics, it stretched from the northern part of the US east coast, to the southern part, covering — at various points in its fictional history — everywhere from New York to Miami.   In the film it’s slightly smaller, only going from Boston to Washington DC.

^        See what I did, there … ?   I AVOIDED the word ‘dread’ … !

ª        As of 21/2/2023?   I’ve managed to replace the pictures.

The Day The Earth Stood Still: A quick word

You know … Boring night’s in, on your todd, can be … 

Umm … 

Well, boring, to be frank.

Unless you’ve got something to do or watch, of course.

Actually … I had both.

I had a digital copy of The Day The Earth Stood Still: the 2008 remake, I should add, and something I’ve seen, enjoyed and written about before.

Definitely something to watch.

What tickled me … ?   Was the simple fact I actually managed to catch it on Dirty Gerty, the Media Strumpet.

Hmmm … 

You’re bemused, again, aren’t you … ?

~~~~~

Allow me to do a bit of explaining.

You’ve probably VERY aware I’m a bit of a Mac fan: and one on a bit of a budget, frankly.

But one that who’d been given an aging G4 PowerMac by some of my next door neighbours, who are soon to move out and wanted to save space on the lorry: I have to admit, I happily gave Andy and Claire a polite thank you, and can only wish them well, when they do move.

After all, they’ve given me something to do for a while, along with a cheap media machine.

You see, with nothing else on, last night, I hooked up the G4 up to Bruce — my 2007 Model Mac Mini — through what’s called FireWire Target Disc Mode.

Mostly to get any extraneous stuff off the machine, and transfer a couple of films over.

Which, I should add, worked nicely.

Once that was done … ?

I hooked Gerty up to my TV, changed over to the VGA channel.

And floated around to see how she blew.

~~~~~

Actually … 

She blew rather well.

He says … !

OK, The Day The Earth Stood Still came out looking rather choppy: going by the usual information pane I was able to access doing viewing, the film was going at about half the frame it should have been.

On the OTHER hand … ?

That’s not something I was too worried about, not when I on my own.   (With visitors, I’d be rewiring Bruce.)

And it did make for an interesting viewing experience.

Here … 

Let me leave you with what I thought of the film …

The Day The Earth Stood Still

★★★☆

Danny Boyle’s Sunshine: More Hmmm … !

You know, I’m thinking that — film wise, at least — this is turning out to be a week to make you go Hmmm,

Or, to be a touch more accurate, one that’s made me go hmmm.

Something I know Kevin possibly won’t thank me for.

But them’s the breaks, sometimes.

At ANY rate, I know perfectly well that — to someone who’s not a sports fan — having the Olympics in your home country, along with a home team that’s doing rather well, is … 

Well, it’s got me feeling ambiguous.   On the one hand, I don’t usually watch anything other than any of the events we have a member of Team GB in.

On the other, it does mean there’s a lot of sport on: that most of the time, I’d RATHER not watch.

Which is why I dug something out of the collection, last night, that I’d never actually managed to sit through, successfully, until then.

The 2007 science fiction film from Danny Boyle that is Sunshine.

And I’m thinking there’s a justifiable reason for that HMMM … 

☱☲☴☲☱

Sunshine sees Boyle regular Cillian Murphy as Robert Capa: a physicist on the Icarus 2, tasked to head for the Sun, in order to reignite it.

And sent some seven after the unsuccessful Icarus 1 .

The trouble starts … when the Icarus 2 swings around Mercury and — not long after losing its radio signal with Earth — picks up a distress call from the one ship it wasn’t expecting to hear from.

The Icarus 1.

Which is where things starts to go wrong … 

☴☲☱☲☴

Now … 

This is where I start telling you about those hmmms.

You see, I realised quite quickly that Absentia was a quite a small budget indie film, practically from the word go.

It had me going hmmm in a sort of semi-disapproving way, initially, until I got used to the idea of what was going on: and that it was — effectively — a student film.

I was quite happy to cut it some slack, in spite of its lack of polish, and rate it accordingly.   (★☆☆☆, so you know: mostly where I felt it could have done with a LOT more work, but also because I could see the film’s makers — and their story — were going.)

Sunshine, though … ?

Sunshine, though, I have to admit is a beautifully made, acted and directed film: one with some stunning visuals, and realistic sci-fi stylings I know I haven’t seen since 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I will give it that: and I think many people will love Sunshine.

On the OTHER hand … ?

On the other hand, I’ve also got to admit that — however technically good I believe Sunshine to be — I’ve also got to admit it wasn’t quite a movie I found to my taste.

To be completely honest … ?

I found the thing that put me off about Sunshine was the pacing: frankly, had it been — say — half an hour shorter, I’d be marking it up.

’Til then … ?

I’ll leave you with the rating …

Sunshine

★☆☆☆