OBLIVION : So Shiny, So Fun, So...Thought Provoking?

Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Starring Tom Cruise and Olga Kurylenko

Reviewed by Derek Scarzella

4 out of 5 Arnolds

The last time Joseph Kosinski gave us this much eye candy it was his Daft Punk makeover of the Tron series, Tron: Legacy. That was a pretty amazing first movie, visually dazzling in every frame, but oddly hollow when it came to the actual people involved. With Oblivionhe aims high again, this time bringing his own unpublished graphic novel to life on the big screen.

The story is simple, until it’s not. Earth is a barren wasteland after human beings won a costly war against invaders. Everyone is now on Titan, Saturn’s biggest moon, and giant cold fusion machines are sucking up Earths water to power our new home. Tom Cruise plays Jack, a “tech” who wanders a section of planet earth fixing drones that hunt and kill aliens. All is going well until a collection of humans fall from the sky and Jack must save them before the very drones he protects destroys them.

Somehow Spielberg gets the best out of Cruise
and everyone else gets a misplaced actor.

Olga Kurylenko is Julia, one of those survivors. When she gets thrown into the mix (along with Morgan Freeman as Beech), you really need to put your thinking cap on and follow the plot carefully, because the details are not spelled out for you.

Which is why I think this is one of the greatest sci-fi films of the year, if not the decade. It takes its core concept and runs with it. It manages to do so without becoming a confusing mess along the way (looking at you, Prometheus). It makes you ask questions because of what you are seeing, not because it’s convoluted.

The movie is also stunning. Kosinski already proved he can make amazing visuals, but here he delivers a much more robust sci-fi story that manages to venture into new territory emotionally and delivers far more intense action. When compared to the glossy but bloodless Tron: Legacy, this movie travels to new heights. Seriously, its attention to visual and plot details sells it over and over again.

Olga Kurylenko.

Some elements do show weakness, however. The films over reliance and sentimentality drag it down at times, trying to manipulate the viewer’s emotions. Tom Cruise gives a good performance, and yet, at times he just doesn’t seem to fit his surroundings. The same cannot be said about Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, and Morgan Freeman. That core cast, along with Nikolah Coster-Waldau (of Game Of Thrones fame) create performances that pull you in and make you feel for this desolate world.

Is it Action A Go Go or Action A No No? ACTION A GO GO!

But that’s me nitpicking. This movie is a dazzling experience for all the right reasons and you should see it in IMAX. There are some minor quibbles but those are the only things keeping this movie from getting 5 out of 5 Arnolds. Kosinksi has proven once again that he is capable of making sci-fi movies. More impressively, he did two of them in a row.

 

 

 

ACTION A GO GO VIXEN OF THE WEEK! BRIGITTE NEILSON

Back in the day Brigitte Nielson ruled the world. Female leads in action movies were not the norm. Quote the opposite, in fact. One female star that managed to burst out into the scene and shine bright in action cinema was Brigitte Nielson.

Born in Denmark and seemingly purpose built to attract attention, she began modeling and was then discovered by Dino Di Laurentiis (who you can read about here). Dino made her the star of RED SOJNA (1985). It was an impressive, if stilted debut and she get's big points for standing tow to tow with Arnold and not flinching (even though they might have done some flinching off set :). Either way, RED SOJNA was a successful film and remains a cult classic.

The other highlights of her career are her excellent performances in ROCKY IV (1986), Cobra (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). She was also married to Sylvester Stallone in the same period, and that certainly must have helped her career.  After her initial stardom cooled down she made a come back thanks to VH1 and reality TV in recent and is a regular in the tabloids (much like Gary Busey, who you can read about here).

But that's all side stuff. For a while Brigitte Nielson was the most beautiful woman in the world (seriously) and typified aggressive femininity in an era still dominated by huge male egos. She towered over men and enjoyed every minute of it. And for that, she get's to be our ACTION A GO GO VIXEN OF THE WEEK.

 

I don't know, I can't understand what Arnolds saying either....

 

Watch my movies or I will crush this baby...

 

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20TH ANNIVERSARY RELEASE OF JURASSIC PARK 3-D: Dinosaurs Still Walk This Earth

                       

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Starring Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum

FIVE OUT OF FIVE ARNOLDS

Where were you in 1993 when you first saw Jurassic Park? I remember where I was. I was on a double date with my brother. Which was impressive because I was 8 years old and he was 18. Of course, I wasn’t paying attention to the girl. I was too busy repeatedly picking my jaw up from the ground for two straight hours.

Ok. So...I’m 28 years old, part of a digitally savvy generation known as "Millennials." If the "Greatest Generation" were fortunate enough to hear The Jazz Singer (1927), and Generation X received the pleasure of experiencing the Star Wars (1977) phenomenon, what cinematic breakthrough did we have? Well, thanks to the magic of ILM's computer animation, Millenials got to witness the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park convincingly walk the earth.

Looking back at his career, director Steven Spielberg actually owes a big chunk of his success to groundbreaking special effects. With Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters Of the Third Kind (1977) he solidified himself as a genius director of solid, genre defining movies. However, Jurassic Park stands above those films because it literally changed how movies were made. In retrospect, it is only fitting that Spielberg would be the director to usher in this digital age of cinema. It's also ironic when you consider the fact that the movie’s plot hinges on getting computers to work right.

Samuel Jackson is in here as well, but seemingly only to explain why things go wrong and to smoke, smoke, and smoke some more. And Newman. I mean, Wayne Knight. We can’t forget Wayne Night.

Looking back, the story is simple. An entrepreneur named John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) wants to open a theme park featuring real life dinosaurs that have been brought back to life via genetic manipulation. His investors won’t let him unless he can get a collection of scientists to approve the concept. His plan is simple. Get the scientists and his own grandchildren to go on a basic tour, be amazed, and sign off on the whole concept. Of course, everything goes when one of his employees tries to steal company secrets and ruins all of the parks security systems. The rest is history.

The plot is incredibly tight. An impressive feat considering how expansive the novels of Michael Crichton can be (which the movie is based on). Almost too tight around the ending, where things feel strangely rushed.

The core cast from left to right. Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm, Richard Attenborough as John Hammond, Laura Dern as Dr. Lauren Sattler, and Sam Neil as Dr. Grant.

The acting is superb all around. Sam Neill delivers an amusingly reluctant performance as Paleontologist Dr. Grant. In addition, Laura Dern's Dr. Lauren Sattler embodies tenacity, going out of her way to be more than just a screaming blonde. Ultimately, however, the show is repeatedly stolen by Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcom, who single handedly taught my generation about the essence of chaos theory.

Still amazing....

But the real star of this movie is and always will be the dinosaurs, and boy do they hold up. It really is amazing that this movie, that came out twenty years ago and ignited the digital revolution in cinema, still looks amazing to this day. Yes, you can tell its CGI, and in this day and age a few more “layers” could have been added to make it even more seamless, but this is still top class --- still jaw dropping. Seriously, the film looks better than any CGI movie released now. (No. Really. Just pick one.)

Is it Action A Go Go or Action A No No? ACTION A GO GO, fool! The 3D is a special bonus and does not detract from the experience. Strangely, it almost feels like it was made this way to begin with. Don't cheat yourself. You need to go see this in theatres and you have to see it in 3D!

For this movie lover it felt like a trip home. A warm hug from an old friend. It helped me step into the way back machine and remember what it was like being a kid again, staring at the light on a wall with my jaw open, finally seeing the impossible come to life.

Roger Ebert

As a pre-teen, I had some fairly odd reading habits. Yeah, there were comic books (naturally) but I also frequently checked the local book store for Roger Ebert's annual movie guide.

Ebert's book series collected his Chicago Sun Times reviews from each year. For a teenage film nerd like myself, it was a valuable lesson in critical thinking, an education in dissection that would convince me to write entertainment columns for my high school paper, my college paper, OfNote Magazine, ForcesOfGeek.com, TGRIOnline,  ComicBookBin.com, and here.

For better or worse...Roger Ebert...thanks.