ALL NEW DOCTOR WHO!

Doctor Who fans like me will be watching the first new episode of Doctor Who tonight, on BBC America at 8pm EST, since last year’s Christmas Special. This is technically the 6^th episode of season 7, but it is the first episode of The Doctor with his new companion, Clara, so it almost feels like a new season.

The episode is entitled The Bells of Saint John. It is described as: The Doctor’s search for Clara Oswald brings him to modern day London, where Wi-Fi is everywhere. Humanity lives in a Wi-Fi soup, but something dangerous is lurking in the signals, picking off minds and imprisoning them. As Clara becomes the target of this insidious menace, the Doctor races to save her and the world from an ancient enemy.

Watch the BBC America-Exclusive Trailer for the All New Episodes of DOCTOR WHO *** Premiering SATURDAY MARCH 30 at 8/7c *** Presented by Supernatural Saturday, only on BBC America.

Immediately followed by the World Premiere of New BBC AMERICA Original Series ORPHAN BLACK at 9/8c and the new season of BBC AMERICA Original Series THE NERDIST at 10/9c.

Through all of time and space, the unknown is everywhere. But sometimes, the universe's greatest mystery is the person right next to you...

"I look at you every single day and I don't understand a thing about you."

"You're the Impossible Girl, the only mystery worth solving..."

In these episodes, The Doctor (MATT SMITH) is joined by his new companion Clara (JENNA-LOUISE COLEMAN) for the latest set of incredible adventures through space and time. The duo finds new adversaries and familiar friends around every corner as they journey from the bottom of the ocean in a submarine to the center of the TARDIS and beyond. The Cybermen make a thunderous return and the Ice Warrior arrives in an unexpected place.

In the premiere, a modern-day urban thriller called "The Bells of Saint John" written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat (Sherlock) and set in London against the backdrop of new & old iconic landmarks, a new nemesis - the Spoonheads - battle the Doctor as he discovers something sinister is lurking in the Wi-Fi.

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TRAILER TUESDAY: FRINGE SERIES FINALE!

Fringe is science fiction television series that was co-created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It premiered on Fox on September 9, 2008 and the show's first season ran a total 22 episodes.

                                  

Fringe’s first season focused on a team which investigating bizarre scientific occurrences or a string of fringe science–related incidents worldwide related to "The Pattern". The team consisted of FBI special agent Olivia Dunham, scientist Walter Bishop, his son Peter Bishop and others at the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. It followed a procedural story structure for most of this first season, only occasionally hinting at the cause of these “fringe” events.

The show was renewed for a second and third season of 22 episodes each, which aired from September 17, 2009 to May 20, 2010, and September 23, 2010 to May 6, 2011, respectively. As each season progressed, we found out what was causing the fringe events and who was behind the cause. The ties between Walter, Peter and Olivia become even more evident and critical as these two seasons progressed.

Fringe was officially renewed for a fourth season during the 2011–2012 television season which consisted of 22 episodes. All the plotlines from seasons one through three really come to a head in season four and the procedural format is almost completely disposed of.

On April 26, 2012, Fox renewed Fringe for a fifth and final season, consisting of 13 episodes. It premiered on September 28, 2012. The fifth and final season of Fringe takes place in a future that is not favorable to humans. Once again, it is up to Walter, Peter and Olivia to try and set things right and save the world one more time.

I've been watching Fringe since the first episode and it’s hard to believe that after four-and-a-half years and 98 episodes, this amazing mind-bending science fiction series is coming to an end! One thing that Fringe has never done is let me down in terms of fulfilling character arcs and satisfying story conclusions, so I am looking forward to the two episode conclusion this Friday night from 8pm – 10pm EST on Fox.

Here is the trailer for the last two episodes of season five of Fringe entitled "Liberty" and "An Enemy of Fate":

ELYSIUM AND OBLIVION - SIMILARITIES PURELY COINCIDENTAL?

OR

A comment left by my fellow blogger the Sci-Fi Fanatic left me wondering:

Are the similarities of Elysium and Oblivion purely coincidental?

Elysium is an original idea written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, the co-writer and director of District 9 (2009). The film stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Wagner Moura, Carly Pope and Alice Braga. It is scheduled to be released on August 9, 2013. Elysium takes place on a ravaged Earth and a space habitat named Elysium.

Oblivion is a science fiction film based on the Radical Comics graphic novel Oblivion created by Joseph Kosinski, but written by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Andree Wallin. Oblivion will be directed by Kosinski, who co-wrote the screenplay with Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt. Interestingly enough, the graphic novel has not yet been released despite a release date of July 19 2011. As far as I know, Radical Comics has not published anything in over a year! It stars Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Zoë Bell, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The film was initially scheduled to release on July 10, 2013. Since the 3D re-release of Jurassic Park was set for a July 19, 2013 release date, the project was moved forward to April 19, 2013.

Elysium’s plot description:

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist. The first are the very wealthy who live on Elysium, a pristine man-made space station similar in appearance to a Stanford torus built by the Armadyne Corporation. The rest live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster), a hard-nosed government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That does not stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky ex-con Max (Matt Damon) is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

Oblivion’s plot description:

Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. Living in and patrolling the skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues an attractive female stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything.

While the environments of both films look similar, the plots of the films seem dissimilar. Interesting as well is the film After Earth (originally known as 1000 A.E.) an upcoming American science-fiction thriller film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, starring real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith as Cypher and Kitai Raige, also dealing with a devistade future Earth. I didn’t add this to my list of films that I’m looking forward to because I think M. Night Shyamalan is a terrible filmmaker.

My opinion is that the best film will be Elysium (August 9), based on Neill Blomkamp’s previous film District 9. However, both Oblivion (April 19) and After Earth (June 7) are being released before Elysium and I am concerned it may hurt its chances. What do you think?

IRON SKY – 2012 – AN IRONCLAD SCI-FI SATIRE

 

“Iron Sky is not a film for everyone, but if you are able to appreciate a science fiction satire that delves into politics, Nazism and some other uncomfortable areas, than I recommend giving it a try.”

Science Fiction, Action and Satire

Julia Dietze as Renate Richter, Götz Otto as Klaus Adler, Christopher Kirby as James Washington, Tilo Prückner as Doktor Richter, Udo Kier as Wolfgang Kortzfleisch, Peta Sergeant as Vivian Wagner and Stephanie Paul as the President of the United States

Director: Timo Vuorensola

Writers: Johanna Sinisalo and Michael Kalesniko

Rated R for language and some violence

Runtime: 93 minutes

Satire is one of the most difficult of all genres to do well; even more so when combined with science fiction, horror or fantasy. Parody is another of my favorite sci-fi sub-genres and these are sometimes, but not always satirical in nature. Science Fiction has been the subject of satire for years now. Some of my favorites include: Dark Star (1974), Galaxina (1980), Night of the Comet (1984), Galaxy Quest (1999) and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2004).Of all of these, Dark Star is the darkest in tone and I think Iron Sky falls nearly into this level of dark comedy as well.

 

Iron Sky starts out in the year 2018, with America’s return to a manned mission to the Moon. We find out that the mission is done only as a publicity stunt for the President of the United States' re-election campaign. The astronauts discover a hidden Moon base, but before they can radio back to Earth, they are shot down by Nazi soldiers. Only James Washington escapes into the hidden base, but eventually he is captured and taken to a scientist for interrogation. Doctor Richter finds Washington’s smart phone and he recognizes that it is a computer that can be used as a control unit for their Nazi space battleship Götterdämmerung. When Richter tries to demonstrate the cell phone’s power to the new Führer, Wolfgang Kortzfleisch, the battery runs dry. Nazi commander Klaus Adler, offers to go to Earth on a secret mission to collect more phones for the future invasion. Earth specialist Renate Richter, Doctor Richter's daughter, volunteers to go as well, but when she is not allowed to go, she sneaks on board anyway. Washington is experimented on by Richter and turned into the perfect Nazi, so that he will assist them on their mission to Earth.

 

Landing on Earth, Adler finds the president’s aid, Vivian Wagner, and forces her to take he and Richter to meet the President. Meanwhile, Washington escapes and attempts to warn NASA of the impending invasion of Nazi’s from the Moon, but they don't recognise him and thinks that he's crazy, so he ends up becoming homeless instead. Wagner uses Adler and Richter as faces for a revamp of the President's re-election campaign, which looks a lot like Nazism, but is disguised as benevolent socialism. Growing impatient after months of waiting, Kortzfleisch sends his armada to Earth orbit and begins the invasion without the Götterdämmerung.

Like much satire, Iron Sky isn’t a film that inspires large laugh-out-loud moments, but it more than makes up for it with clever satirical messages. While some of the satire is obvious, such as the Sarah Palin look-alike U.S. President, much of it breezes by so fast that even the jokes that don’t work are more than balanced by the ones that do. Some of my favorite moments are between Washington and Richter; especially after the African American Washington is transformed into a blond white Aryan, minus the Nazi idealism.

 

Where Iron Sky really excels is the amazing special effects and visualization of the retro Nazi technology. The Moon base, the space ships and even the costumes are all slightly modernized versions WWII era designs. The amount of detail that went into the look of Iron Sky is amazing and worth watching the film for this reason alone! Still, there is a fairly complex and compelling story here, so it’s not just ninety minutes of flashy CGI.

The acting for the film is also quite good. Julia Dietze as Renate Richter is both lovely and brilliant as the Nazi “Earth expert”, conveying a certain naiveté and courageous individualism both. Christopher Kirby as James Washington manages to pull off a black man as a white man, without insulting either race, but delicately satirizing the flaws of both. Udo Kier as Wolfgang Kortzfleisch is the most well-known actor of the cast and he grounds his character in a weird reality that manages to make the rest of cast seem even more outrageous by comparison. Stephanie Paul as the President of the United States is the weakest of the cast, as she plays her character too big to be either funny or satirical.

 

Iron Sky is produced by the makers of Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning. It was produced by Tero Kaukomaa of Blind Spot Pictures and Energia Productions, co-produced by New Holland Pictures and 27 Films, and co-financed by numerous individual supporters through their web site. Director Timo Vuorensola, who also directed Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (2005), does an admiral job of keeping everything from getting too silly and causing Iron Sky to go from satire into over-the-top parody. Samuli Torssonen, who was responsible for the computer generated effects in Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, gathered a young team of European CGI effects people, who stepped up the quality to the level of much more expensive Hollywood productions. The fantastic orchestral score of Iron Sky incorporates elements from the operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, music which was favored by the Nazi leaders and the Slovenian industrial music group Laibach also adds some cool futuristic music to the film.

 

Iron Sky is not a film for everyone, but if you are able to appreciate a science fiction satire that delves into politics, Nazism and some other uncomfortable areas, than I recommend giving it a try.

 

TECHNICAL: Acting – 8 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 8 Script – 9 Special Effects – 10

VISCERAL: Visual – 10 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 8 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 10

TOTAL - 90

 

 

LOOPER – 2012 – THROWS YOU FOR A LOOP!

“I think Looper works best as a character piece, but the time travel aspects of this futuristic crime drama are also well utilized and satisfy this science fiction fan’s love of the genre.”

Science-fiction, Crime-drama and Action

Starring - Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joe, Bruce Willis as Old Joe, Emily Blunt as Sara, Paul Dano as Seth, Noah Segan as Kid Blue, Piper Perabo as Suzie, Jeff Daniels as Abe, Pierce Gagnon as Cid, Qing Xu as Old Joe's Wife, Tracie Thoms as Beatrix, Frank Brennan as Old Seth, Garret Dillahunt as Jesse, Nick Gomez as Dale and Marcus Hester as Zach

Director - Rian Johnson

Writer - Rian Johnson

Rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug content.

Runtime - 118 min.

There are three different reasons that I will go to the time and expense of seeing a movie at the theater. The first reason is that it is a film in one of my three favorite genres: science fiction, fantasy and horror. The second reason is that it is directed by someone whose films I have enjoyed in the past. The third reason is that it features one or more actors whose work I have admired in the past. It is rare when all these reasons for wanting to watch a film as soon as it is released to theaters occurs, but that is just what happened with Looper, the new science-fiction thriller released to nearly 3000 theaters this weekend.

I have always been intrigued by science fiction films that deal with time-travel and Looper uses it to tell a fascinating story about a man whose job is to kill people that a crime syndicate thirty years in the future wants to disappear. Time travel was invented in this future, but was quickly illegalize, so of course the only ones to possess it are the mob bosses. In the year 2044, Joe is a looper who works for a mafia company in Kansas City. Joe's boss, Abe was sent back in time to manage the loopers and also owns a club where Joe spends his down time taking drugs and having sex with a club dancer, Suzie. Loopers are so named because at some point the crime bosses will end a looper's contract by sending his older version back to be killed by his younger self; referred to as "closing the loop.” One night, Joe's friend and fellow looper Seth, visits him and begs for help, telling Joe that he was supposed to close his own loop but couldn’t. Eventually Joe gives his friend up, but soon thereafter is assigned to close his own loop. Joe’s older self keeps from being shot by young Joe and escapes. Young Joe goes on the run, hoping to kill his older self and get back into the good graces of Abe.

Director of Looper, Rian Johnson, has directed and also written only two other feature films: The darkly-comic romance and heist drama The Brothers Bloom (2008) and the teen crime-noir drama Brick (2005). I have seen both of these films prior to watching Looper and knew that Johnson was capable of crafting a complex story featuring characters that develop and change with the circumstances that they find themselves in. Looper takes its basic premise of a man who has made the difficult decision to work as a looper and be an assassin instead of a victim. Johnson is not content to tell the more-or less simple story of a man faced with the prospect of killing his future self, because more than half-way into the film, he adds a twist to the plot that makes Looper much more than a futurist time-travelling crime-drama. In this version of the future that Johnson has created, 10% of the population has become genetically altered and have telekinetic powers. Most of these powers are inconsequential, but there are rumors of someone called the Rainmaker, who is taking over organized crime and for unknown reasons is closing all the loops. In a way that is both natural and complicated, Johnson ties the story of the two Joes and the Rainmaker together, ending the film by tying up all the many plotlines and character stories together satisfactorily. With Looper, Rian Johnson proves that he is a director to watch out for and I will be very interested in future film projects.

Two-thousand twelve has been a very good year for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He first appeared this past July as Blake in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. He then starred this August in the action-thriller Premium Rush.        I first noticed Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing Arthur in Christopher Nolan’s brilliant film Inception (2010). In Looper, Joseph Gordon-Levitt not only plays a morally complex assassin, but does a skillful impression of Bruce Willis, who plays his character thirty years in the future. Gordon-Levitt also wore prosthetics throughout Looper, to make him look more like a younger Bruce Willis. Gordon-Levitt has so much screen time that if he didn’t pull this off, the film would have been a failure. Fortunately, he was more than up to the task. Bruce Willis who plays the older Joe from the future has always been a favorite actor of mine. Willis often plays variations of his John McClane character from the Die Hard films, but every once in a while he gets to play a character with more depth of emotion. Willis not only conveys the loss of his life in the future, but ably conveys the physical difficulties of a man forced into violent action at an advanced age. Two other favorites of mine, Emily Blunt as Sara and Jeff Daniels as Abe add depth to their characters, despite their somewhat small amount of screen time.

I think Looper works best as a character piece, but the time travel aspects of this futuristic crime drama are also well utilized and satisfy this science fiction fan’s love of the genre. My only grip with the futuristic aspects of the film are budgetary ones, I’m sure. Like many lower-budgeted science fiction films, most of the fundamental tech of the future looks very contemporary. Some of this is explained away with the poorer population forced to make do with less advanced technology, but it still seemed like the film could have worked at creating a more three-dimensional futuristic look. Like Rian Johnson’s other two films, Looper does not offer a neat and pat conclusion to his film. It does end satisfactorily from a plot point, tying up all the loose story threads, but for those inclined toward films that evict a certain moral and emotional certainty, Looper’s climax may feel you leaving ambivalent and unfulfilled. It will however leave you thinking about it well after having watched it and that is something most films do not do.

TECHNICAL: Acting – 10 Directing – 10 Cinematography – 9 Script – 9 Special Effects – 8

VISCERAL: Visual – 8 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 9 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 10

TOTAL - 91

DREDD – 2012 – A DREADFUL DISAPPOINTMENT

“I wish I could recommend Dredd as an exciting comic-adaptation of a sci-fi dystopian future, but I unfortunately thought it fell short of being as good as the comic it tried to replicate.”

Science-Fiction, Action and Crime Drama

Karl Urban as Judge Joseph Dredd, Olivia Thirlby as Judge Cassandra Anderson, Lena Headey as Madelaine "Ma-Ma" Magrigal and Wood Harris as Kay Warrick

Director - Pete Travis

Writers - Alex Garland

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, drug use and some sexual content

Runtime - 95 min.

As I mentioned in my TRAILER TUESDAY! DREDD 3D – 2012 – NOTA DREADED REMAKE! post, I was hopeful that Dredd would be more faithful to the British comic character than the 1995 film Judge Dredd, directed by Danny Cannon and which stared Sylvester Stallon. It was definitely more faithful to the source material in regard to character and visualization, but it was truly lacking in a multifaceted plot.

Dredd quickly establishes the future United States as an irradiated waste land known as the Cursed Earth and Mega-City One, the enormous metropolis containing 800 million residents with several sweeping cityscape shots and some descriptive narrative. We see Dredd being assigned rookie Judge Anderson, who is a psychic who has failed the tests to become a full Judge. A drug lord Madeline Madrigal, known as Ma-Ma, drugs three men with Slo-Mo (an addictive new drug that slows the user's perception of time to 1% of normal) and throws their skinned bodies from the top of a 200-story slum tower block Peach Trees. Dredd and Anderson are assigned to the murders and they apprehend one of Ma-Ma’s dealers, Kay. To keep Kay from being interrogated, Ma-Ma’s techie gains control of the Tower’s security control room and seal the building using its blast shields. The rest of the film consists of Dredd and Anderson making their way to the top of the tower to bring justice to Ma-Ma, killing all of her henchmen along the way.

I liked quite a few things about Dredd, but the lack of any real complicated plot related to the city or the politics of Mega-City One kept me from really becoming captivated by it. Karl Urban as Dredd does an excellent job of playing the character as a force-of-nature. Throughout the film he never hesitates in his duty to serve justice, even when he is clearly outnumbered or in one case when he is shot in the abdomen and has to apply a field dressing to it. By Dredd’s very nature, he must have an interesting adversary to make him more interesting. Unfortunately, Lena Headey as Madelaine "Ma-Ma" Magrigal is not much more than your standard drug lord type of character, whose motivations do not appear to be anything more than killing the judges to maintain her Slo-Mo business. The most interesting character, and one of the films definite positive points, is Olivia Thirlby as Judge Cassandra Anderson. Anderson is a rookie cop and valued for her psychic abilities. Thirlby plays this character with just the right amount of realistic moral hesitancy, while still maintaining the character’s inner strength. If the film had featured more of Dredd and Anderson’s interplay and moral deviations, it may have helped to better understand how Dredd had come to be the way that he is. Unfortunately, Dredd remains a fairly one dementioal character throughout the film.

The scope of the film is too small for such an enormous environment that Dredd inhabits. Mega-City One is a sprawling urban landscape that is supposed to cover much of what is now the Eastern United States, yet most of the film takes place in the single slum tower Peach Trees building. I would have liked to have seen more of Mega-City One before being confined to the tower building, but evidently the modest budget didn’t allow for that. What we do see of the city is pretty impressive, but there just isn’t enough shown to give you a true feeling of the despotic and dystopian environment that the Judges are forced to keep the peace in. I did like the design of the Judge bikes and the multiple-cartridge guns that they use. Some of the more interesting fight scenes involve Dredd’s imaginative use of his weapon on the bad guys.

My only other real complaint is that for a film that relies so heavily on violent action to propel the forward momentum of the story, it just isn’t very imaginative or filmed with any visual flair. The only real stylized moments are when the film goes into extreme slow-motion shots and most of these just felt like they were killing the spectacle of the action rather than emphasizing it. I’m not sure that Pete Travis was the best choice to direct Dredd, as his previous films like Vantage Point (2008) and Endgame (2009) seemed like much more intimate dramas.

I wish I could recommend Dredd as an exciting comic-adaptation of a sci-fi dystopian future, but I unfortunately thought it fell short of being as good as the comic it tried to replicate. I can only hope that a sequel will explore more of the larger world of Dredd and Mega-City One.

TECHNICAL: Acting – 8 Directing – 7 Cinematography – 9 Script – 7 Special Effects – 9

VISCERAL: Visual – 9 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 7 Emotional – 7 Involvement – 8

TOTAL - 80

THE HUNGER GAMES – 2012 – LEAVES YOU HUNGERING FOR MORE

“ If an old-toughened male film fan such as me can enjoy The Hunger Games, than I suspect most people of any age or gender could be lured into admiring this film. ”

Science-Fiction, Action and Drama

Starring - Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow, Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane and Amandla Stenberg as Rue

Director - Gary Ross

Writer(s) - Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray

Rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images - all involving teens.

Runtime - 142 min.

Unless you have been living under the proverbial rock, you are no doubt familiar with media hoopla surrounding the Hunger Games book series and the film adaptation of the first novel The Hunger Games. For the few that have not seen the film, because you haven’t read the books and could care less about the film; or you aren’t interested in the film at all because it appears on the surface to be another cinematic Twilight/genre-teen-romance exploitive expletive. Speaking as a person who is definitely not the target audience (male-50+) and as someone who did not read/watch any of the Twilight books/films, I still decided to watch The Hunger Games in the hope that beyond the teen-romance-drama there would be some interesting science fictional speculation to be had. I was at least somewhat rewarded for my efforts.

Rather than bore you with the plot for The Hunger Games, I’ll reprint Suzanne Collins’, the author of the books and co-writer of the screenplay, plot synopsis:

In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.

What makes The Hunger Games good science fiction? The premise of a future world where some type of world crisis has caused the social structure to revert to district states; with a Capital district ruling over them. Obviously Suzanne Collins has based her future world on the city states of early Rome and other historic political systems. This is a common practice of Fantasy writers, but science fiction writers have used history as a basis for their political structures as well. The way that the Capital Distict enforces this tribute of the 12 Districts makes for a fascinating premise to base a story on, but the execution of the story – at least the one presented in the film – could have been made clearer.

The film’s entire story is seen from the viewpoint of Katniss Everdeen, so there is little chance for the story’s larger premise to be elaborated on. While the character of Katniss is relatable to the film’s target audience, it made it frustrating for me, as I was often wondering about the origin of certain aspects of her life; specifically why her particular District seemed to be so short of food as to be almost starving. This is important to the character of Katniss, because of the food shortage, she discreetly hunts for deer and other meat in a forbidden zone. Her skill with a bow and also her ability to generate loyalty to herself plays a prominent role in her survival in The Hunger Games.

The visuals of The Hunger Games help to tell the story of this distinct economic separation between the poorer districts and the wealthy Capital. The wealth of The Capital is shown with the high-rise buildings, the advanced technology and the extravagant clothing worn by all its denizens. The later was so disparate and exaggerated, that I found it distracting. This could be why one of the few characters that I could actually relate to was Haymitch Abernathy. Despite his initial appearance to be an indifferent alcoholic, he was at least dressed more-or-less in a masculine fashion, sans the make-up and frills that most of the rest of the men in the film wore. Once again, I’m assuming the look of The Capital was based on the ostentatious clothing worn by such historical societies as the 16^th Century French aristocracy. Still, I would have preferred something a little less visually distracting.

The only other caveat I have with the look of The Hunger Games was the camera work. Especially early on, there are many close-up and medium close-up shots, where the camera moves around aimlessly in several directions. I’m not sure what the director was attempting to do with these shots, but fortunately there were fewer of them as the film progressed.

Your level of enjoyment of The Hunger Games rests largely on your feelings for Katniss and the manner in which she ultimately survives the deadly tournament. I personally found Katniss to be slightly cold as a character. When the situations called for her to react emotionally, it didn’t really resonate with me. I do hope that with the next film, we will be given more of the back-story of how this world came to be. If an old-toughened male film fan such as me can enjoy The Hunger Games, than I suspect most people of any age or gender could be lured into admiring this film. Hopefully, with the second film – Catching Fire – due in theaters November in 2013 – I won’t be left hungering for more.

TECHNICAL: Acting – 9 Directing – 8 Cinematography – 9 Script – 8 Special Effects – 9

VISCERAL: Visual – 9 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 8 Emotional – 8 Involvement – 9

TOTAL - 86

RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION – 2012 – RESILIENT AS EVER!

“While Resident Evil: Retribution won’t go up as my favorite Resident Evil film, it certainly isn’t the worst film in the series either.”

Science-Fiction, Horror and Action

Starring - Milla Jovovich/Alice, Sienna Guillory/Jill Valentine, Michelle Rodriguez/Rain Ocampo, Aryana Engineer/Becky, Johann Urb/Leon S. Kennedy, Kevin Durand/Barry Burton, Li Bingbing/Ada Wong, Oded Fehr/Carlos Olivera, Boris Kodjoe/Luther West, Colin Salmon/James "One" Shade and Shawn Roberts/Albert Wesker

Director - Paul W.S. Anderson

Writer - Paul W.S. Anderson

Rated R for sequences of strong violence throughout.

Runtime - 95 min.

My immediate and initial visceral reaction to Resident Evil: Retribution was one of exhaustive contentment and marginal confusion. While I was still blown away by Paul W.S. Anderson’s ability to create innovative and exhilarating action sequences, I was puzzled by his creative choice to take the plot from Resident Evil: Afterlife and throw it away in favor of a completely different one in Resident Evil: Retribution.

Resident Evil: Retribution opens with the Umbrella Corporation’s attack on the freighter Acadia by a fleet of airships. The Arcadia is being destroyed by the airships, when Alice fires on one of them, causing it to crash into the Arcadia and throwing Alice overboard unconscious into the water.

Alice awakens in an idyllic suburban setting; complete with a husband Todd (who inexplicably looks like Carlos Olivera) and daughter Becky. Zombies suddenly burst into their home, kill her husband chase Alice and Becky out of the house, where they are rescued in a car driven by Rain Ocampo. Their car is hit by a truck and Alice is knocked unconscious once again.

Alice awakens this time alone in an enormous Umbrella base cell. Alice is interrogated and tortured by former ally Jill Valentine, who is being controlled by Umbrella through a red scarab device attached to her chest. Alice awakens again and there is a sudden power failure, which enables her to escape her cell.

Alice exits the Umbrella facility and is a city that looks exactly like Raccoon City. While battling a horde of zombies, she meets Ada Wong, who tells her that she is in a huge facility built by the Umbrella Corporation to recreate the great cities of the world. Umbrella used these to stage zombie attacks, in hope of selling their anti-virus-toxin to the highest bidder, but it was instead taken over by none other than the Red Queen – the Artificial Intelligence Computer that ran the original Umbrella Corporation facility that created the zombie virus in the first place. Alice teams with old and new allies, in an attempt to stop the Red Queen and the zombie plague from wiping out what is left of the human race.

Resident Evil: Retribution feels very much like it is treading water and merely setting  itself up for a sixth and perhaps final film in the Resident Evil series. However, there is actually quite a lot of plot squeezed into all the multiple chase sequences and fight scenes in the movie. I think the reason that the film feels so bereft of plot development is because of its sudden shift in direction and its unresolved nature. The story is also confusing because of the many characters from the previous Resident Evil films that are brought back are not only clones of those characters, but sometimes they are multiples of those clones with both “good” and “bad” personalities. The film’s plot advancement relies so heavily on Alice’s character, that too many times it is unclear to both her and us, what the motivations of the other characters are.

Plot aside, the reason that Resident Evil: Retribution and all the other films in the series have been so entertaining are the multiple fight sequences between Alice and the zombies. While Resident Evil: Retribution certainly has its fair share of these, much of the film is taken up with Alice being chased and fighting with more human opponents. While these are done with Anderson’s usual panache and style, there is a certain lack of accomplishment to them. Every time Alice beats someone, it seems that that opponent is either replaced or made to be an ally. Still, the action scenes are for the most part top notch and definitely worth seeing on the big screen. I did not see it in 3D this time, but it was more from the fact that it wasn’t playing in that format at my local theater than the lack of desire to see it in 3D.

While Resident Evil: Retribution won’t go up as my favorite Resident Evil film, it certainly isn’t the worst film in the series either (that honor still goes to Resident Evil: Apocalypse -2004). Even that film is more entertaining than many bigger budgeted Hollywood films and I will definitely be going to see the next film in the Resident Evil film franchise to see how Alice helps to save humanity from the zombie hordes. 

TECHNICAL: Acting – 8 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 9 Script – 8 Special Effects – 10

VISCERAL: Visual – 10 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 7 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 9

TOTAL - 88