I remember being incensed by this movie when I saw it in the theatre. But I've mellowed a little since 2019 so I thought I'd give it another shot. It's as I remember: gorgeous but vapid. How did Donald Sutherland get attached to this project? Tommy Lee Jones? It must have been quite the bet. Even bigger for Brad Pitt. And even Ruth Nega couldn't save it. They shouldn't have blown the entire budget on a few contrived scenes. The interior sets look particularly bad. Aside from bad science, effects and sets, the whole plot seems somewhat various. I hope someone will one day realize that they should be working on a Lathe of Heaven reboot or a Murderbot series rather than this crap.
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Ark
(2023– )
The Martian, but for morons
2 February 2023
At least that's what it feels like, 15 minutes into the first episode. Anyone looking for the next Expanse or For All Mankind will likely be disappointed. As for plot and characters, cliche-riddled doesn't even begin to describe it. I really don't want to waste any more time reviewing it but I'm short of characters so I'll send out a plea- why doesn't anyone start with some solid material? Where is my Cyteen/company wars/merchanters series? Why can't anyone remake The Lathe of Heaven that does the source material justice? Uplift wars? Well of Souls? Hee Chee and the event horizon? Rendezvous with Rama? The Incal? And then the powers that be cancel Pantheon.
Pantheon
(2022–2023)
The first 3 episodes are great
16 September 2022
The animation is... fine. It's sturdy and carries the story, which is very intriguing so far. I'm not an expert on the anime genre but I be suspect they were going for an old school vibe. It reminds me more of Akira than Studio Ghibli works. The cast of voice actors are for the most part very well known and distinctive, even legendary (William Hurt). The themes are adult and not dumbed down: the ethics of the singularity, corporeal vs. Virtual relationships, digital humanity/emotions etc. Are all on display in the first three episodes. Some awesome 80s and 90s songs lurk in the background. Is it based on a manga? I've not kept up on that genre either, but regardless it's a top notch story. If it is, perhaps we can look forward to a long run of this series. Here's hoping they keep the momentum.
It's averaging 7.5, really?
26 August 2022
I'm shocked, does no one cares about quality anymore? In the script for starters, but the rest isn't much to trumpet about. I am was pretty interested in this series until this episode, but hopefully the last two episodes will redeem the season (fingers crossed).
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