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Chris-180
Reviews
Dark Skies (2013)
There is no God
In my vision of the universe, there is a God ( in whatever manifestation he/she/it takes on ) Who would not let such things happen as in this movie.
As brought up in the movie, (no spoiler) what is the diff. between us being treated as subjects by aliens and the lab rat being given cancer by a researcher.
Movie borders on paranoia, not discounting in the news some million or so birds descended on a town recently.
Bottom line, be careful what you wish for, see enough zombie movies as sure as sh*t, one comes up on then news. Keep thinking Apocalypse and it will surely come to pass.
Be careful what you wish for, be even more careful what your neighbors wish for
We're living in dark times ... but remember, the darkest hours are just before dawn.
Rear Window (1954)
Room With a View
Alfred Hitchcock's movie about murder and "true love," about people and their relationships, and about the consequences of our actions.
While the movie does have a somewhat stuffy apartment atmosphere, it does tell the story of a couple who are in love--one who knows and one who is not sure.
In one of the greatest love scenes in motion pictures Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) steals the show as she comes upon Jeff Jeffries (James Stewart) in a wheel-chair in his apartment. There appears to be silence as Lisa looms into view (not in slow motion but time seems to slow down ...) and she gives him a kiss. She asks him if he is alright and about all his aches and pains. The scene just blows me away!
The movie is about love between different classes of people and whether they can make it work--some do and some don't!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
Forbidden Planet (1956)
"Forbidden Knowledge (Part II)"
Continuation of the discussion of ... "Forbidden Knowledge"
I. Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
I must admit that I studied Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, at Oxford University a few summers ago, but have not made the psychic connection to the relationship between "Forbidden Planet" and "The Tempest" though I did see the theatrical performance of the parody play "Return to Forbidden Planet" while at Oxford and enjoyed it as much as the movie and the play it's supposedly based upon.
Similarities to "The Tempest":
* Dr. Morbius is Prospero--in which they both relinquish their powers (which by the way was also Shakespeare's last play)
* Commander Adams is Ferdinand
* Altaira is Miranda--the daughter who has never seen a man
* Robby is Ariel--not of human form
* Creature-force is Calaban
Dissimilarities to "The Tempest":
* Dr. Morbius (a language specialist) is Prospero (a wizard)
* Dr. Morbius tries to discourage the ship from landing while Prospero tries luring the ship to land
Conclusion: Make up your own mind or, better yet, ask those who wrote the story for the film for the final word!
II. Books on "Forbidden Planet"
"Forbidden Planet" by W. J. Stuart © 1956 from Gregg Press
* "Doc" Ostrow dissects one of the animals of Altair-4 and finds it has no internal organs
* Before his death Doc leaves metal plate recordings of the Krell technology with Cmdr. Adams
* Doc alludes to the Unicorn myth, and
* Cmdr. Adams and Altaira consummate their love for one another
"Forbidden Planet" by Bantam [Reissue: Paperback Library © 1967]
III. Remake of the movie: This movie will be relevant for quite some time into our future
.
If you have not yet read the article that precedes this one. Then look for the article titled "Forbidden Knowledge" which gives more information about the movie itself or look for my brief summary under Plot Summary.
Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
Winning at All Costs
An excellent movie ....
Those who refuse to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them!! BIG corporate America incapable of a little (personal computer) vision. Put the two together and you've got ENTERPRISE.
HOW TO WIN AT BIG BUSINESS: Step #1 - Show them (the customer) that YOU have something that they really can't live without, Step #2 - CAPITALIZE on their weakness(es).
The movie is about how Steve [Steven Paul Jobs (2/24/55), Apple Computers; Cofounder, Steven Wozniak] and Bill [William Henry Gates III (10/28/55), Microsoft; Cofounder, Paul Allen] built their respective companies into their own view of what they wanted computers to be and then, in the end, who eventually gobbled-up whom.
The high point in the movie, for me at least, was when Bill Gates found himself in jail and the door to his cell was closing in on him (for a traffic violation).
In the last few scenes we hear Steve talking to Bill. "We're better than you are ... we have better stuff," Steven Jobs. "You don't get it, Steve, THAT doesn't matter!" Bill Gates.
The movie may have ended, but the STORY goes on ....
Rating: 10 out 10 stars
October Sky (1999)
Going, Going, Going, Going ... GONE!!!
Just goes to prove that most successes are made up of a whole bunch of major failures till one gets the results one wants!
PLOT SUMMARY: A group of high school kids in a mining town get interested in making and launching home-make rockets and get into all sorts of trouble.
Many of you might not have been around in 1957. I remember early one October morning when I was almost 10 yrs. old about 3:00 A.M., I heard on the TV about Sputnik and it really did come as a shock to me and everyone else. Looking back the shock was not the Russians' success but, rather that we really didn't even know we were in a race (which we just lost!)
But, in the end, some 12 yrs. later, after many, many failures, the race finally ended in an American manned landing on the moon in the Sea of Tranquillity, July 20, 1969.
There is one small note though: Bigger, faster, further, farther is great until one day we realize we've forgotten where we started from ....
Rating: 10 stars out of 10
My Favorite Martian (1999)
Cable Ready ... Disney Enhanced
that "Disney Enhanced" doesn't include Elizabeth Hurley. She makes Dayrl Hannah look like limp noodles next to a diamond!!
Anyway, unfortunately we get a remake of the old TV sit-com instead of the state-of-the-art plot with alien technology and knock-our-socks-off special-effects. What a waste of talent!! What a waste of filming. What a waste of time!!
Oh well, Star Wars (I) will be out in May!! Now there's a pleasant thought.
Rating: 7 stars out of 10
Gloria (1999)
BIG HEART, BIG MOUTH, BIG ASS
Subject: "G-L-O-R-I-A"
I saw more of Sharon Stone in the first 20 minutes than I really care to see of her any more. I skipped the last third of the movie ....
Thin plot, thin characters (except "Lard Ass"), thin script.
What I did liked about the movie was the realism of what it must be like to live in a large American metropolis (i.e., like New York City (or St. Louis for that matter).
Save your money, I can get more enjoyment out of hearing Mitch Rider and Detroit Wheels playing "G-L-O-R-I-A" -- now that does justice to the title as well as the name!!
THE OPERATIVE PHRASE here is very, very "predictable."
Rating: 1 out of 10 stars (worse than even Virus!)
Virus (1999)
"BØRG INC."
Have you seen "Star Trek: First Contact"; have you seen "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" - then read on.
BASIC PLOT: A ship caught in the eye of a storm. The crew discovers a ship nearby with what appears to be no one onboard. On closer investigation things re-appear much different.
MOVIE FORMULA: Virus is to "Star Trek: First Contact" as Godzilla was to "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."
Had this movie been released in 1995 instead of 1999 then I could say that Star Trek: First Contact is a "Virus" rip-off. I found not one original idea in the whole 100 minutes of this production.
The less said about this movie, the better!!
Rating: 2 out of 10 stars
Forbidden Planet (1956)
"Forbidden Knowledge (Part II)"
Continuation of the discussion of ... "Forbidden Knowledge"
I. Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
I must admit that I studied Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, at Oxford University a few summers ago, but have not made the psychic connection to the relationship between "Forbidden Planet" and "The Tempest" though I did see the theatrical performance of the parody play "Return to Forbidden Planet" while at Oxford and enjoyed it as much as the movie and the play it's supposedly based upon.
Similarities to "The Tempest":
* Dr. Morbius is Prospero--in which they both relinquish their powers (which by the way was also Shakespeare's last play)
* Commander Adams is Ferdinand
* Altaira is Miranda--the daughter who has never seen a man
* Robby is Ariel--not of human form
* Creature-force is Calaban
Dissimilarities to "The Tempest":
* Dr. Morbius (a language specialist) is Prospero (a wizard)
* Dr. Morbius tries to discourage the ship from landing while Prospero tries luring the ship to land
Conclusion: Make up your own mind or, better yet, ask those who wrote the story for the film for the final word!
II. Books on "Forbidden Planet"
"Forbidden Planet" by W. J. Stuart © 1956 from Gregg Press
* "Doc" Ostrow dissects one of the animals of Altair-4 and finds it has no internal organs
* Before his death Doc leaves metal plate recordings of the Krell technology with Cmdr. Adams
* Doc alludes to the Unicorn myth, and
* Cmdr. Adams and Altaira consummate their love for one another
"Forbidden Planet" by Bantam [Reissue: Paperback Library © 1967]
III. Remake of the movie: This movie will be relevant for quite some time into our future
.
If you have not yet read the article that precedes this one. Then look for the article titled "Forbidden Knowledge" which gives more information about the movie itself or look for my brief summary under Plot Summary.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
"Lost in Space" or "Hidden Agenda" (Sequel IX)
Read a comment yesterday in the paper that being the ninth movie in the series (and all odd numbered Star Trek movies were flops) - would be a box-office flop.
I came away with a good feeling, but the plot was boring and for some reason the movie looked OUT-OF-FOCUS (Is it just me???) even wearing glasses!
I was surprised that the producer would use a "blind" sequence in another sequel at the beginning of the movie??? The movie does have a hidden agenda that doesn't come out till the very end.
It would have been nice (without giving away the ending away, of course ...) if at the end of the story we could see what the Son'a really did look like (without all that makeup)!!! There was a touching scene at the end with a mother being reunited with her son (not giving anything way again, of course).
Evidently the ending of one story maybe the beginning of the next, who knows!
Thank God, the crew wasn't trying to save the Universe again or trying to talk to God as in the other series!
Rating: 7 out 10 stars (I'm being generous ...)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
"Life/After Life ..."
A vary entertaining film based on millennium-madness or plague??
The first (but not last ...) time I saw this strange tale was in Nha Trang, RVN (1968-1969). I saw it with a group of about 300 other GI's under the stars one clear night. About half way through the film (having gotten to the good part ...) the film broke. Since it couldn't be fixed, it was about 15 years before I saw the film in its entirety to its inevitable conclusion.
Basic Plot: In the near future a "plague" comes to the world. It is the story of several couples and how they come to realize what is happening, how to deal with and overcome the effects the plague, and what befalls each of them.
What makes this film so entertaining is that [like El Mariachi (1992)] it is a low-budget film from someone with a story to tell in which the acting isn't as nearly important as the story-line (Plot, plot, plot).
It is the story of some one's apocalyptic millennium-nightmare come true. Remember the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, it may surely come true." So the next time you see this film kiddies, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Oscars Smorgasbord (preview)??
I've only seen the Preview .... but,
it starts out with various scenes of children huddled together in a jungle. I originally thought it was a UNICEF commercial! then some familiar faces begin to appear--Travolta, Penn, Clooney, and others. The scenes shifted.
In one scene there is soldier beating a tune on the wing of a downed aircraft which sounded a lot like Sandy Nelson's "Let There Be Drums." That beat rocks on through some other scenes.
If the movie is as good as the preview--it may well be the first movie in history to surpass "Titanic" and gross a billion dollars! and eat Oscars next year as well!
As I write this, I can find no (de nada) trailers for this movie as yet.
Pleasantville (1998)
Pleasantville (Sequel) - just around the corner?
Without giving anything away--the end of the movie is the beginning of the sequel (no dah!).
Evidently when writers don't have much to write about they tend to make up something, like creating two-dimensional characters in a three-dimensional world.
While the plot is totally unrealistic, not so in a virtual reality scenario. Food for thought!!
The film was enjoyable, but can lose its appeal rather quickly.
One of the untapped resources of the plot was the fact when the brother-sister were dropped into the TV program, the TV characters they replaced were not shown in the real world. Had the writers done that there would have been two storylines about how each set of characters responded in world they had been place in--a rather more intriguing story complicated enough already and limited by viewing-time.
Very entertaining!
Rating: 9 out 10 stars
Rear Window (1954)
Room With a View
Alfred Hitchcock's movie about murder and "true love," about people and their relationships, and about the consequences of our actions.
While the movie does have a somewhat stuffy apartment atmosphere, it does tell the story of a couple who are in love--one who knows and one who is not sure.
In one of the greatest love scenes in motion pictures Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) steals the show as she comes upon Jeff Jeffries (James Stewart) in a wheel-chair in his apartment. There appears to be silence as Lisa looms into view (not in slow motion but time seems to slow down ...) and she gives him a kiss. She asks him if he is alright and about all his aches and pains. The scene just blows me away!
The movie is about love between different classes of people and whether they can make it work--some do and some don't!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
Simon Birch (1998)
"The Simon Birch Society"
Basically what I would call a "Christian Ethic" movie.
The plot has a hidden agenda that doesn't come out till toward the end of the movie. While it did have some very good acting, excellent photography, and more than one plot shift, it lacked something that other movies have that make you want to see them again and again.
One thing the movie doesn't really deal with is why Simon Birch is so smart for his age. In one scene we see Simon in his bedroom surrounded by books and made up space ships hanging from the ceiling. It would have been nice to show the joy and pleasure one can get from reading and learning.
After seeing this movie, it's no wonder most of us never really or completely grow up.
Rating: 4 out of 10 (stars)