Every now and again a good sci-fi film is always in order and it seems that every year a critical acclaimed one comes out. Then there re those films that garner so much buzz because of a 100% (97 at the moment) rating on Rotten Tomatoes like today’s film in the Arrival. Louise Baker (Man Of Steel’s Amy Adams) is a Linguistics professor at a local college whose life is ordinary until they show up. When I say they, I mean these 12 strange alien pods that appear in 12 different locations around the world. Naturally, the first thing we want to do is find out why they are here and if they want to destroy us. So, Louise will lead a team an elite team of investigators with her into the ships to try and figure out their language in order to try and communicate with them. The film also stars Jeremy Renner (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) as Ian Donnelly, Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire) as Agent Halpern, Forrest Whitaker (Taken 3) as Colonel Weber, Tzi Ma (The Ladykillers) as General Shang, Mark O’Brien (The Last Tycoon) as Captain Marks, Abigail Pniowsky (Channel Zero) as Eight Year Old Hannah, Max Walker (I’m Not There) as Private Miller, and the film was directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario).
Spoiler Alert: There may be information contained in this Article that could potentially spoil the plot of the film so continue with caution or do not read any further if you do not want to know. This is one of those films that you may leave the theater either wondering how it received a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes or what the hell just happened? The whole film they are trying to figure out why they are here and we are watching as she decodes the language. They eventually get to a point where the Aliens have told them that they have given them a weapon or a gift. Now they and you are wondering just what is the weapon or gift that they are speaking of? When it hits you eventually at the end, you are like what kind of gift is that and why is she the only one to receive it? You are also led to believe in the film that she has had a daughter and she passed away, but this gift she receives at the end will distort what is reality at this point. I left the theater confused with all of these questions and that kind of bothered me because I was really enjoying the film up to that point. The cinematography is incredible and the way they mess with your depth perception at one point with the cameras is killer. Amy Adams is masterful in the film as well as all the others in it and it’s a pretty good story. It’s just that the ending is a little confusing and doesn’t make any sense to me. This may be one of those films that you may have to see twice. The aliens were OK looking as they looked giant octopuses with hand like tentacles, but they look like a human hand pretending that there hand is a creature walking. This is a tough one to grade because of the fact that while I enjoyed it, the ending bothered me. Therefore, I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade right now unless I change my mind.
For today’s film, i wanted to try a new service that I just started using in Crackle and so I looked on their list of films they have and Heavy Metal was one of those films. Heavy Metal was always one of those films that I knew the soundtrack very well, but had never seen the movie. Heavy Metal is an anthology film that divides into several stories all being connected by a common story which in this film’s case is the Loc-Nar, a dangerous and powerful sphere weapon. A little girl is trapped in her house after her astronaut father brings home the orb. The orb kills him and forces the girl to listen to several tales of evil and greed while she sits in agony as she has no choice. The film stars Don Francks (I’m Not There.) as Grimaldi, Co-Pilot, and Barbarian, Caroline Semple as the girl, Richard Romanus (Point Of No Return) as Harry, John Candy (Uncle Buck) as Dan, Den, and Robot, Marilyn Lightstone (Dennis The Menace) as Queen, Jackie Burroughs (The Dead Zone) as Katherine, August Schellenberg (Free Willy) as Norl and Tararak, Eugene Levy (American Pie) as Captain Stern, Vlasta Vrana (Secret Window) as Barbarian Leader, and the film was directed by Gerald Potterton (The Railrodder).
One thing is definitely for certain when it comes to the film that I watched today and that is that the soundtrack is absolutely amazing. The soundtrack features everyone from Stevie Nicks, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Devo, Cheap Trick and so many more. That is definitely one of the most appealing parts of the film besides the actual film itself. The film is divided into ten segments with the intro and epilogue as part of those. My favorite parts of the film are definitely Harry Canyon, Den, Captain Stern, and Taarna. Harry Canyon follows a taxi driver who thinks he is helping a girl in trouble while Den is about an 18 year old dweeb who gets sucked into another world and he is transformed into a strong warrior. Captain Stern follows a captain who is apparently a scumbag while Taarna is about a warrior woman who is the last of her kind that is called for vengeance. I am trying my hardest not to spoil anything in the film for you guys because you should see it for yourselves. The film is very sexual as it features a lot of naked cartoon woman so don’t think that this film is suitable for your kids cause it isn’t. Every segment seems to feature different types of animation with some being very simplistic and 80’s looking to some that are just remarkable and refreshing. No matter what, all of the stories in the film are well written and John Candy does an amazing job alongside guys like Eugene Levy and the late Harold Ramis. I really enjoyed the film and if you enjoy 80’s music along with 80’s cult classic animated films then check this one out. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
For today’s film, I picked one from one of my favorite actors of the 21ST Century in Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, The Machinist). The film I chose for today is Equilibrium which is a Sci-Fi, action, drama film. It is sometime in the future after the third world war and we know live in a fascist society where feelings are being monitored to prevent war, greed, and uprising. Christian Bale plays John Preston, an agent who is in charge of destroying artifacts that invoke feelings and destroy anyone who violates the law and feels. After missing a dose that prevents him from feeling, he starts to realize why his dead partner (Sean Bean) and a prisoner (Emily Watson) would sacrifice their lives for feelings. Preston then goes on a crusade to protect the resistance and correct all of the wrongs in the world. The film also stars Taye Diggs (The Wood) as Brandt, Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) as Seamus, Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers) as Father, Angus Macfadyen (Braveheart) as Dupont, William Fichtner (The Dark Knight) as Jurgen, Maria Pia Calzone (Gomorrah) as Preston’s Wife, Matthew Harbour (I’m Not There) as Robbie Preston, and the film was directed by Kurt Wimmer (Law Abiding Citizen).
First of all, I have to say that I loved the concept of the film, but I have a couple of issues with it. My one problem with the idea is despite being given a dose to try and prevent you from feeling, how is it that you don’t feel anything? There are a couple of instances where Taye Diggs’s character cracks a smile at Bale during the film and you are meaning to tell me that is not a violation? I do however understand that the drug makes you a mindless drone who carries on with a mundane life in a world where everything is mundane including the color of cars (all cars are completely white with no details). There are instances in films that you see an actors performance and you instantly see similarities in other roles. For example, much of the way he carries himself in this film is very similar to the way he portrayed Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight trilogy. I am not saying that is a bad thing because this is definitely one of my top Bale films besides American Psycho and The Machinist. The action in the film is something else that I wanted to talk about because I wish I saved this for Ass Whoopin Wednesday it is so bad ass. Christian Bale is a total bad ass and the action sequences are truly amazing. The whole film overall is amazing from top to bottom and check out what happens to Taye Diggs in the film. The film is currently on Netflix as we speak, but I have no idea for how long. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade because it’s special effects, acting, and action sequences are all amazing.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 