Film and TV Reviews

For those to young to know where the media term 'film' came from, it once was a long tape of highly inflamable nitrocellulose with a series of still pictures on it. These gave the impression of movement as they flickered by at 16 per second. (Films were also called 'The Movies' in the US and 'The Flicks' in Britain). The light source was a very hot carbon arc, and if the film jammed, it caught fire.

The technical term for all this is: The good old days. It is polite to stifle your laughter in a tissue rather than smirk in the face of maudlin elders. Just remember, someday soon, you will have to explain how TVs worked before they went digital, starting with what the 'Tube' in YouTube means. if you make it funny, then it won't matter so much when they laugh in your face.

These days, film means anything vaguely like an old film on a big screen; no fires allowed. If you want to smoke, go outside and down the alley. If it is raining, stand under the exhaust from the toilets. Do not use your cigarette lighter to read the health warnings on the packet. You are there to enjoy yourself.

Alphabetical list of reviews (All the vees: TV, Moo.V, DVD)

Whereas the reviews are stacked: most recently added on top...

CypherCypher
US Movie 2002, AKA Brainstorm, seen on TV. 
4 StarsRecommended.
Genre:  Science Fiction
 

Cypher was screened on TV after Quarantine, and is much more to my taste.  It is more hard science fiction, and, as a bonus, is a beautifully shot film. 

The story starts with the hero, Morgan Sullivan, being hired by Digicorp to spy on the opposition starting with attending conferences and recording them through a special spy pen.  To help things along, he is given a false identity, and he decides to ramp up his dull and boring life by creating a new personality to go with the name.  Interestingly, this involves mainly taking up smoking and drinking.  He also becomes more assertive in his real married life, leading to a marriage breakup.  However, nothing is as it seems, and the story gradually evolves along some unexpected lines.

Who can be trusted is a big question, and how do you work out who is telling you the truth?

Overall, a satisfying film experience.  The special effects are good without taking over the story, and we are dealling with real characters.

[ Top ]  Reviewed by Neville Bates. 2011

QuarantineQuarantine
US Movie 2008, seen on TV. 
4 StarsNot Recommended unless you are a horror fan.
Genre:  Horror/Science Fiction
 

This is not good, as you can see from the two star rating.  Maybe I am being a bit harsh, as the film did get a 2nd place in the Chainsaw Awards, but then horror isn't my favorite genre.  This is more horror that science fiction, but there is an element of someone playing with diseases in a home laboratory which we find near the end of the film.

Someone watched "The Blair Witch project" and thought, "I can do that".  Take a hand held camera and wave it around following the heroine.  The almost constant camera movement would have made this a difficult film to watch in a cinema.  The film starts with a TV reporter and cameraman recording the daily life in a fire station in Los Angeles. 

A call out to an apartment building turns very strange, and there is a growing number of bodies as people succumb to a very fast acting form of Rabies and an interesting variety of accidents.

There are some strange things going on.  The building is put into quarantine by the authorities outside, but there is no indication of how they know about the problem, or have been mobilised so fast, not that we know how long a time period the movie is supposed to cover.  Fortunately the camera has an ultra long life battery so we get to see much gore.  Instead of telling everyone inside the building what is going on, the authorities cut off all communication and eventually power.  Despite the power being cut off, the lift still works, a separate power supply perhaps?

This movie is more about the frights than thought, so I guess it scored on that level. 

[ Top ]  Reviewed by Neville Bates. 2011

This is not my lifeThis Is Not My Life
NZ TV SciFi series. 
4 StarsRecommended, but the rating may change.
Genre:  Science Fiction – Local

Sufficiently important as a locally produced adult SciFi drama that it warrants a separate page.

[ Top ]  Reviewed by Mike Talks. 2010

Donnie DarkoDonnie Darko - Directors cut
US Movie 2001. Reviewer had the DVD
DVDs came in a 3 disk set with the theatrical version, and an extra disk.
4 StarsRecommended, but.
Genre:  Science Fiction – Time Travel
 
Donald Darko is a mentally troubled teenager who escapes being killed when a jet engine lands in his bedroom.  As he had stopped using his medication, he escapes because he sleepwalked.  There are problems concerning the engine, namely no sign of where it came from, and considering that they cost several million each, and are carefully tracked throughout their lives, that is quite a hole.

From there things go downhill, with stranger and stranger things happen, including a man sized bunny called Harvey.  Harvey convinces him to carry out acts of vandalism, including torching a house, with some surprising consequences.

It gradually becomes clear that time travel is the cause of the strange goings on,and the resolution at the end is unexpected.

There is no mad scientist or machinery involved, so the time anomalies must be from a natural phenomena such as an errant wormhole. That is probably an offshoot of the one where socks go.

A really thoughtful movie, though not to everyone's taste.

[ Top ]   Neville 2009
MilleniumMillennium
1989
Reviewer had the DVD
3 StarsDated time travel (har har)
Genre: Science Fiction – Time Travel 

Following an aircraft crash, an investigator finds an object which appears to have come from the future.  A person from the future appears to try an retrieve it, but things go wrong, and this causes problems in the future (rather as Primeval has been showing that the disappearance of an animal from millions of years ago can have consequences in the present day).  Due to major pollution the human race needs rejuvenation by people from 1989, and to avoid problems they take people who are about to die, and substitute bodies of their dead.  A bit tricky to get away with these days with DNA testing of bodies to ID them, but never mind.

It is rather dated, but worth a look for curiosity's sake.  Sheryl Ladd's hairdo is worth a credit by itself!

[ Top ]   Neville 2009
SaiyukiSaiyuki Reloaded
Japanese DVD TV series
NZ distibutor: Madmen Entertainment Pty Ltd
Reviewer had the DVD
5 StarsHighly recommended.
Genre: Fantasy

Summary from Anime News Network: Priest Genjo Sanzo and companions Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojyo, and Son Goku maintain their westward journey to stop the resurrection of the demon Gyoumao. As the reputation of the Sanzo Ikkou precedes them, they continue to fight demon assassins at every turn, but they must also deal with increasing tensions within their group in order to defeat a powerful enemy.

Warning: there are spoilers here but this is an older series.

I enjoyed this series as much as I'd done the original Saiyuki. I love the characters and banter - it is what draws me in everytime. They are all different, with depth, and play off each other wonderfully well. It's one of my favourites of the fillers we've watched so far.

This season started off light then got progressively darker. That doctor with his bunny is just plain creepy, and the revelation that he was a Sanzo monk doesn't surprised me as much as I suspect it should.

The final arc with the battle against the whackjob who was his pupil is sad on a lot of levels. He was used just as much he used the two little kids - learned behaviour.

Hakkai is shaping up as my favourite character and I love Hakkaru, although the others I like too.

[ Top ]   Anne 2009

GundamMobile Suit Gundam 00 - Season 2
Japanese DVD and TV series
Studio: Sotsu, Sunrise, Mainichi Broadcasting
Reviewer had the DVD
5 StarsHighly recommended.
Genre: Fantasy

Summary from Anime News Network:  2312 A.D. Four years have passed since the final battle between Celestial Being and the UN Forces. Humanity, after having established the Earth Sphere Federation, forms an independent security force, A-LAWS, separate from the formal Federation army to further unify nations and the will of mankind. But in reality it is simply inhumane oppressing anti-government powers, doctrines, and ideologies in the name of unity. Setsuna F. Seiei, after surviving the battle four years ago, has decided to once again fight with his Gundam.

Warning: Spoilers in the review.

I enjoyed the second season of this more than I had the first. I felt more connected to the characters, and interested in the plotline. It was one series I was waiting on each episode for especially with the cliffhangers towards the end.

There was quite the bodycount in this season as the storyline progressed, I was expecting a bloodbath at the end and surprised when there wasn't one. However, the last episode seemed too easy, especially the final battle. Ribbons lost too easily, although his arrogance could be counted for one reason why. I still felt it was rushed, especially as he'd been killed earlier, but 'survived' that.

This season was very much into pairings, and tragic for Lockon and Anew, with her death. The Innovators plot-line really took off - but not sure it's been resolved. Apparently there is going to be a movie so it will be interesting to see what direction that takes. This season had resolution re peace etc but of course that's a very fragile thing and Celestial Being is still out there for a reason.

The person I thought really grew through this season was Saji, from his refusal to fight to becoming a member of the team, although Lockon grew too in his relisation that he did want to be a gundam meister and it became more than just avenging his brother's death. I liked Lockon's character. The only gundam meister I really didn't connect with was Tieria although I did much more this season than I  had on the previous one. Setsuna and Marina's relationship or strong hints of one was the only one which wasn't given the 'happy ending', and yet seemed to be the one the series revolved around in a way. Their different viewpoints about war and their roles reminded me of Heero and Relena in Gundam Wing.

[ Top ]   Anne 2009

PrimevalPrimeval - Seasons 1 and 2
British SciFi TV series
Studio: Anime News Network
Only Series 1 shown in NZ.
4 StarsRecommended.



Warning: there are spoilers here for those who haven’t seen Season 2 yet.

Season 1 showed on TV here a while back but I missed it, Season 2 has never shown which is typical. So I've been watching courtesy of a DVD box set for S1 I got for my birthday, and S2 courtesy of a friend who has promised to supply me with S3 once she has the season downloaded - apparently it's starting soon overseas.

I enjoyed this series, although it took me a couple of episodes to warm up to the characters. It's full of a lot of twists and turns, especially the second series which got very layered, but when you're mucking around with time anomalies that is to be expected in parts. And conspiracies because this type of series needs that too.

Having the DVDs for the first season there was an interesting behind the scenes on the special effects and putting together the prehistoric creatures. Some of those like Rex are quite believable where others are very obviously not. I had no idea the series was put together by the people behind 'Walking with Dinosaurs' but it makes sense if you think about it.

I also recognised a few of the Dr Who writers in the credits on various episodes - tend to notice them more as I've read the books in that series they've written too.

Now at the end of the second season I'm not impressed that they killed off Stephen rather nastily  - but there is a hint he'll be back. They changed timelines before by replacing Claudia with Jenny so anything is possible.

What I would like to see though is Connor and Abby getting together and Helen meeting a nasty end. Preferably painfully and permanently.
*taps foot impatiently for S3

[ Top ]   Anne 2009

Logan's RunLogan's Run
Science Fiction - Utopia 1976
Studio: Warner Bros.
Pak & Save $9.98, also from most other stockists.
xxxxxclassic film, any serious fan should see it at least once in their lives.

The disc reviewed was a $10 cheapie from Pak ‘n Save.  Despite the price, this is a well featured double sided disc, with widescreen one side and standard screen the other.  There are extras, including “making-of” docos, and interesting commentary by the star Michael York, director Michael Anderson and costume designer Bill Thomas.  It is in NTSC, region 4.

The movie is based on a book of the same name, by William F Nolan and George Clayton.  To make it easier to cast, the age of removal from society increased from 21 to 30.  (Michael York was actually 32 at the time).

The story is that the outside world has been rendered uninhabitable, so everyone lives inside a domed city.  Due to restricted resources, the population has to be kept static, every baby must replace an adult.  Babies are produced without sex, and are born with a crystal imbedded in their left palm.  As they grow older, the crystal changes colour until it begins to flash red.  People with flashing crystals are supposed to go on the carousel to be reborn, however it looks more like they are exploded!  Some people try to escape, and Sandmen are employed to hunt them down and kill them.

Rather than tell more here, and spoil the story, if you want more, have a look at www.imdb.com.

We can recommend this film as a classic science fiction story, still very relevant today, in fact, possibly more relevant now than in 1976 when it was made.

This is one of the last movies to be made before CGI came into use.  Despite that, the special effects are very effective, and the overall look of the film has not aged too badly.
Hint, look out for the clothes, these are the same colour as the palm crystals.

[ Top ]   Anne 2008

FireflyFirefly
Science Fiction Western, TV complete series, 4 DVDs, 2008
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Available in NZ for $80.
xxxxxHighly recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the series, which originally screened in the US in 2003, before being cancelled. It is a Western in format, albeit set 500 years in the future. The series follows the fortunes of the crew of a tramp spaceship called Serenity, which belongs to the unarmed Firefly class. The crew move from planet to planet, scraping a living by carrying dubious cargoes and a little bit of illegal scavenging. They are reluctant crooks surviving in a hostile universe. There is a mix of frontier gun morality and more modern clash of individuals with corporate/government combines. A more detailed review of the episodes may be read on DVD Talk. 

It's a shame the series folded. Perhaps it will be resurrected, like Star Trek was.

[ Top ]   Anton 2008