Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Friday, July 5, 2019
He Saw / She Saw - Fantastic Voyage
Sue:
An interesting and dated look at science fiction from a different angle in the 1960s. A guy film, with a young Raquel Welch along for eye-candy. I couldn't stop laughing as all the men in the film are trying to peel clinging antibodies from Raquel's wet-suit tight body before they strangle her. It reminded me of an orgy scene, Bruce said it was supposed to be serious.
Bruce:
A ground breaking film for its day. However, on this subsequent viewing of the film I was a bit underwhelmed. The dazzling special effects that I saw as a child don't hold up well over time. This may be due to a questionable video transfer, but the colors should have 'popped' a bit more. Both Sue and I agreed, that the ending sort of sucks.
Friday, March 15, 2019
Monday, January 28, 2019
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Cinema Cycle - Dark City
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
SYNOPSIS: The protagonist in a Matrix like alien world discovers that he is the chosen one.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Another overly stylized dystopian view of a society ruled by an unseen presence.
PROS AND CONS:
A rather odd film that relies more of style and visuals than a coherent plot.
The storyline is similar to the Matrix Trilogy, in that a chosen / special person discovers that they have the power to expose and defeat those that enslave them.
This may be considered a cult classic by some, and may well be in it’s genre. However, I found it rather tedious to watch.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Cinema Cycle - Star Trek: The Deadly Years
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE REVIEWED: 12/27/2017
TITLE: Star Trek: The Deadly Years
FORMAT: Laserdisc
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 50 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 10.3 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 8380.7 miles
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Understanding geriatrics and how the individual deals with aging.
PROS AND CONS: The more I watch these older, uncut masters of the original series, the more this starts to become like Shakespeare. While the concept was really cutting edge, the production value starts to show its age.
This really isn't science fiction anymore. Almost everything they do in here with the exception of warp drive and the transporter have come to pass and in some ways surpass the shows vision of a Utopian future.
Also, it appears that the writers really bailed on the ending to the episode. The idea that a magic serum could reverse 40 years of aging in four minutes. Fail.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Friday, July 7, 2017
Cinema Cycle - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE REVIEWED: 07/06/2017
FORMAT: HD-DVD
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 48 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 25.1 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 7051.7 miles
SYNOPSIS: A 1930s aerial mercenary solves the mystery of a mad scientist bent on destroying the world.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Suspension of reality in a Gothic vision of an alternate future reality.
PROS AND CONS: Visually, this film is a homage to the concept of steampunk Gothic and the allure of America in the 1930s. From the standpoint of plot, the story-line is actually pretty laughable.
Much of the film is Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow bickering like estranged high school sweethearts as they fly around the world in a vintage 1940’s Curtis P-40 Warhawk.
The real star of the film are the visuals and production design, which is almost all rendered through digital effects. The film has a noir-ish look and feel that is really stunning.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Cinema Cycle - Snowpiercer
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE REVIEWED: 06/23/2017
FORMAT: BluRay
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 11 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 28.1 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 6970.3 miles
SYNOPSIS: A repressed minority struggles to fight their way to the top of the heap.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A mirror of society and the concept of class struggle and perception of purpose.
PROS AND CONS: I had heard that this was a sleeper film that bombed at the box office, but was actually very good. The rumors were correct. This is a thinking man’s science fiction film that leaves you pondering a lot of things when it is over.
This film is not for everyone. It has an odd style with a lot of subplots that go nowhere. Which in the end is true of life, you don’t get to see how every side-story ends. When the film ends there is no conclusion, but you are left to ponder a lot of possibilities.
Be warned that this is a violent film. The violence here is not gratuitous though. Here the repressed savagely beat their oppressors, but for good reason. One particular stand out in the cast is Tilda Swinton. Every time I see this woman on screen, her performance usually outshines her cast mates.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Cinema Cycle - The Matrix Expeirence
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE REVIEWED: 07/20/2017
FORMAT: HD-DVD
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 40 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 8.8 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 6947.2 miles
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Adult cartoons that are both artistic and extremely graphic.
PROS AND CONS: A companion disk that came with a box set for the movie series. Providing different views and backstory to the Matrix films.
This appears to be one of the early attempts to really engage social media and the internet during the marketing of the film franchise. These videos appear to be squarely aimed at young boys between the ages of 12 and 21.
While these are interesting films to watch from the artistic point of view, I found them to be extremely graphic and depressing in their nature. You are fighting an enemy of your own making, in a battle that you cannot hope to win, because you have already lost.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Cinema Cycle - Flash Gordon
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE REVIEWED: 05/30/2017
FORMAT: BluRay
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 52 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.8 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 6815.7 miles
SYNOPSIS: A football quarterback a travel agent and a mad scientist team up to save the world from a universal warlord.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Comic books come to life, but not with all the brooding and backstory that we have today. This is fun comics with a sinister edge.
PROS AND CONS: It has been years since I have seen this and if you haven’t seen it recently (or at all) look at it on a really good television and sound system. It is a whole lot better than I remembered it.
The production design of the planet Mongo and its moons, along with soundtrack by Queen and Max Von Sydow’s over the top portrayal of Ming the Merciless are all just huge amounts of cinema candy that you munch away on.
One of the things that is surprising about this film is just how much ‘implied’ gore is in it. Even though it is just a comic book set to cinema, there is a real sense of dread in the film that this Ming guy is not a nice fellow.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
Monday, May 29, 2017
Cinema Cycle - Transformers
CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE REVIEWED: 05/23/2017
FORMAT: HD-DVD
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 24 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 29.5 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 6762 miles
SYNOPSIS: Robots come to earth and go at each other Mano-y-Mano for 2+ hours.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: ‘What if my toys could destroy the world?, wouldn’t that be cool?”, said every boy at the age of eight.
PROS AND CONS: My second Michael Bay movie in a week (see previous review of “The Island”). Please, stop the explosions!
I wanted to like this film but I quickly got lost in the pre-puberty male fantasy that the movie instantly becomes.
There are several plot lines at work in this film. Two are actually quiet interesting, the third is questionable and the fourth (with LaBeouf and Fox) is just a farce which appears to be edited in just to titillate the pre-pubescent lads.
This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
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