Elysium

Elysium, science fiction flick starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster was on my list to watch during the holidays – I'll say right off that I was disappointed. I like science fiction movies and this was the second big budget film done by South African-born short film director Neill Blomkamp – he did District 9 a few years ago, so I had high expectations for this movie. The premise of the film was solid enough – Earth in the year 2159 is devastated by disease, poverty, etc. The Wealthy and powerful have moved to an orbiting city called Elysium. Matt Damon is exposed to lethal dose of radiation while at work, so he wants to go to the city to be healed by some high-tech atomizer that can regenerate the human body's many diseases and faults. Jodie Foster, the chief security officer of the space city is there to stop him. Of course, on the way Matt manages to save a young girl with leukemia, whose mother just happens to be his childhood girlfriend. In the end, our hero gives his life to save the girl and the entire human race... Sorry no Spoiler Alert, actually there's none needed because the execution of the story is so predictable and poorly conceived that we know from the beginning what's going to happen at the end. So what's not to like? The special effects were decent, but leftovers from District 9. There was nothing new. The props, the robots, and some of the city footage came directly from District 9. Even the space station looked like a cardboard set from a 1980's Star Trek episode. The camera work Neill Blomkamp is famous for seemed to be absent – at least I was not impressed at all with the visual aspects of the film. The bad guys were stupid... And also Jodie Foster's considerable acting skill was not visible. Then there was Matt Damon – he played the same character he always does...boring... So, my advice is, don't bother renting this film, instead rent District 9 – a much better choice.

The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger, the summer blockbuster is now available On Demand and on DVD. I'll say right away that it is worth a rental and that I enjoyed most of it, but it is also a perfect example of why I dislike remakes. The writers, producers, and director became lost during the two-hour plus movie and could not decide if they want to follow the essence of the old story and characters, or create something entirely new. The audience was left with a mixed bag of Western comedy, drama, and riotous action. Older audiences, like myself, who have fond memories of the Lone Ranger, will laugh and smile at some of the "campy" language and over-the-top acting. I enjoyed learning some of the back story of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. I thought the premise that a museum Tonto was telling the story to a little boy dressed as the Lone Ranger was clever – I had the exact same costume, complete with cap-fired six guns. When the familiar music started to play at just the right climatic scenes, I felt myself galloping along with the masked avenger. It brought back wonderful memories of cowboy and Indian fights in the backyard... Saturday matinees, black and white reruns.

However, towards the middle of the movie, things began to drag and to feel overly dramatic – even heavy handed regarding the plight of Native Americans. The creators of the movie needed to remember that the original Lone Ranger short films were usually never more than thirty minutes long and that we never needed to know every little bad thing about the bad guys – they were bad guys, that was enough for us and the Lone Ranger. For a younger audience, Not indoctrinated to the ways of Kemosabe, Tonto, and Silver the movie must have been confusing at times. My son thought it was all rather stupid – just like Pirates of the Caribbean, but set as a Western. He was right – the bad guys were the exact same actors and even wore the same costumes as the Pirates sailing through the Caribbean. Johnny Depp played the same character – Tonto was Jack Sparrow without the swash-buckling sword fighting. The bad guys in both movies were just as horrible and nasty, motivated by greed and whatever... The good guys tromped through both movies just as clueless without real substance or character development. The acting was shallow. The plot seemed overly familiar. My only hope is that they don't start a Lone Ranger franchise and make a dozen sequels – that would certainly kill the spirit of the original.

The Master

The Master, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams is a long, over two hours and 20 minutes, complex drama. This is not a happy movie, nor a story that will leave you thinking – there's no blockbuster action or comedic relief. However, this is an engaging character study with superb acting. Phoenix plays a troubled, alcoholic World War II veteran that is lost and seeking his way through life. He stumbles upon Hoffman, the charismatic leader of a postwar New Age religion – based loosely on Scientology, and the life of Ron Hubbard. His wife is played by Amy Adams. The story centers around the relationship between these two very different men. Hoffman wants to save Phoenix, probably for his own selfish reasons, but also Phoenix desperately needs the love and affection, the stability that Hoffman can give. Some of the New Age religion stuff is a little weird and overly dramatic, but in general the acting is excellent, and the story is easy to follow. I was completely engaged and followed the progression of their relationship eagerly. The ending left a little bit to be desired, but this was not your traditional storybook type of movie – no ending would have been perfect. If you like excellent acting, complex relational drama, superb dialogue, and very well done cinematography – then I recommend this as a rental. If you're looking for pure entertainment, fun or action, then you probably should look somewhere else.

The Words

The Words, starring Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons and Dennis Quaid, is a movie about a struggling writer who makes a very bad decision. I was looking forward to watching this movie, hoping that it may give some insight to an author's struggle to write and the publishing world – sadly, it didn't. The story was some bit of confusion for me – a story, within a story, within a story. All three of the main characters, writers, or want-to-be writers... left me wanting more information, more emotion, more plot and character development. I'm sure if this story were actually a book, it would be worth reading – as a movie, it was barely watchable. I'm sorry, ladies, but I really dislike Bradley Cooper, though I did like him in The Silver Linings Playbook. He just seems to walk through the film without effort, without commitment or conviction. Jeremy Irons was decent. Zoe was okay, at least nice to look at. Mister Quaid could have easily been anyone else, and probably should have been... And I'm not even sure what character Olivia Wilde was supposed to play. The acting was weird for all of them, but they have to be forgiven for the script was probably a disaster. So, if you're looking for a movie to rent, skip this one. However, if the book comes out, it may be worth reading...

Babe – a classic!

Babe, is a 1995 family friendly movie about a little piglet and his remarkable life on a farm in New South Wales, Australia. After watching the CNN documentary about nuclear power and the Wolverine's newest venture, I was happy to find this movie on the Starz channel. The movie had me smiling the entire time. The animals are charming and unique characters. The dialogue is believable. The farmer and his wife are priceless. The story is well-written and superbly acted – I believe the late Jim Henson was in charge of much of the puppetry. There certainly is a moral to the story, but it doesn't smash you over the head – it creeps up on you slowly and subtly. If you have not watched this movie, and you have small children in your life, please take the time to rent it and watch it together... All I can say is, "that 'll do pig, that 'll do."

Pandora's Promise – time to take a second look at nuclear power

Pandora's Promise, a CNN documentary about the perils and promise of nuclear energy is very much worth the time to watch. The documentary takes a unique perspective – four different lifelong environmentalists who were once anti-nuclear energy tell their stories and explain their journey from being against nuclear power, to becoming pro-nuclear.

The documentary is unashamedly biased from the beginning, but it does make an attempt to show both sides of the argument. The tipping point for these environmentalists is of course, global climate change, undeniably caused by the pollution created by human activity. If you still Doubt that climate change is happening, just turn on the news and take a look at the horrific video from Beijing and Shanghai, China – as well as the extreme storms, hurricanes, drought and monsoons occurring throughout the world.

Like the environmentalists in the documentary, I am against deriving energy from the burning of fossil fuels – oil, coal and natural gas. However, I differed with their stance against nuclear power in the 70s, 80s and 90s. For me, the nuclear energy question was always a confusing one. For several years, when I lived in Gaffney, South Carolina, I worked just a few miles from the Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant. I had friends who worked at the plant. I drove by it frequently. I swam in the Broad River, where it was located. I took students on tours of the facility. It seemed like a viable, clean alternative – well, almost clean, except for the nuclear waste that lasts for tens of thousands of years.

Then there was Three-mile Island, Chernobyl, and more recently Fukushima. Radioactive clouds, radioactive contaminated water dumped into the ocean and rivers, whole areas of land becoming uninhabitable – the images are terrifying. I think average citizens had every right to be scared to death of this radioactive technology. I believe that, as the documentary points out, large oil and gas conglomerates did everything they could to feed that fear. I had, still have, my doubts...

But, things have changed. If the world population continues to grow, develop, and utilize fossil fuels at the current pace – our planet will be in dire-straits within the next couple of generations. Kyoto protocols and United Nations Climate Summits will never solve the climate change problem... Solar, wind and hydroelectric power cannot produce enough electricity for the demand. And, for humans to change their insatiable desire for the necessities and luxuries that electric power brings, well, this is truly out of the question.

It's now the 21st century, technology has advanced considerably. Our understanding of Nuclear energy has grown exponentially. Many believe it can be deployed correctly and safely. Nuclear power is not the best solution, but at the moment it seems to be our only choice.

The Wolverine Unleashed

The Wolverine – unleashed, the summer action-pic by Marvel Comics is now available on DVD. This was one sequel that I was looking forward too. It was entertaining, but also somewhat flat and disappointing. For Marvel Comics fans it's worth a rental – for those of you looking for a good action film, perhaps you should look elsewhere... Hugh Jackman, as the Wolverine, is always entertaining, unfortunately, it seemed to me like he was still channeling his role from Les Miserables. His acting may have been better if he was singing! He started out as the usual grumpy, grouchy, "I have nothing to live for", super-mutant hermit – the same character we have seen previously. There was even the requisite fight at the bar at the beginning. To the credit of the writers, we did learn some new things about the Wolverine, his past, and he did develop as a character through the movie. However, the conflict and emotions were very predictable. Most of the movie was set in Japan. This, for me, was interesting, but also irritating. Interesting, because I love Japan, I lived there and I have a Japanese wife. So, seeing the Japanese scenery and some of the Japanese actors was fun. The irritating part was the complete stereotypical way that the people and traditions were portrayed. There were the ninjas, yakuza, Tokyo city lights, temples, tatami mat houses, beautiful kimono clad women, the girlish redheaded Japanese punk karate expert, etc., etc. etc. For Me it all got rather tiresome. Nevertheless, the two-hour movie went by quickly and I did enjoy it. Don't expect a blockbuster or something memorable, but it is probably worth a rental.

The Heat

The Heat, is a rather enjoyable and unique buddy cop movie that came out earlier this year starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. I usually avoid this type of cop comedy because there have been some very bad ones over the last decade. This movie is unique, however, because the cops are two women. This made the movie refreshing and different, as well is something my wife and I could enjoy together. Melissa McCarthy made the movie hilarious! She really is a comedic genius. The character she portrayed, the tough foul mouth city cop, she embraced wholeheartedly. It took a few minutes to get used to the language and her character, but after that, I totally rooted for her and actually laughed at most of her antics. McCarthy's timing is impeccable. Sandra Bullock played the straight FBI agent. She is a wonderful actress and held her own, even with McCarthy's over-the-top scene stealing. The contrast between the two and their back-stories made the movie interesting and gave the plot some meaningful moments. The action was mostly silly, but satisfied me. A movie worth renting.