Screen
Monday 01 June 2009
Star Trek
J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie gets a big thumbs up from me; much to my surprise I actually enjoyed a Star Trek film! Chris Pine (who I’d never heard of before) was an excellent Captain Kirk.
— Andy
Tags: chris_pine, hollywood, in cinemas, recommended, sci-fi, star_trek, usa
Comment [1]
Sunday 25 January 2009
Iron Man
Entertaining and enjoyable film for a Saturday night. Iron Man works very well for a first superhero outing and Robert Downey Jr is a good choice as Tony Stark.
— Andy
Tags: hollywood, marvel, robert downey jr, sci-fi, superheroes
Thursday 08 January 2009
Wall-E
Wall-E is superb; a truly mature offering from the geniuses of Pixar. The minimal amount of dialogue seems a daring move for a family film but works brilliantly, allowing one to really take in the beautiful visuals. The characters have real heart and emotion making them extremely likeable (Pixar have a real talent for this)!
— Andy
Tags: animation, hollywood, pixar, recommended, sci-fi
Comment [1]
Thursday 20 November 2008
Renaissance
Artistically Renaissance looks stunning; almost the entire film is animated in solid black and white images, apart from the very occasional use of colour. However, the plot, whilst interesting, is perhaps a little average for the genre. It did manage to keep my attention but required a significant amount of attention to follow the story. I felt that the voices—in English—which included Daniel Craig were a little lifeless which didn’t help. This is more a film about style than substance, but if you like animation then the visual aspect of Renaissance is beautiful and the futuristic look of Paris is very cool.
— Andy
Tags: 2006, animation, b&w, daniel craig, france, paris, sci-fi
Sunday 16 November 2008
Children of Men
This film is amazing! It’s depiction of a grim and horrific future look and feel terrifyingly realistic. Throughout the film I found myself thinking that this could happen to society. The appearance of the film and the superb cinematography ensure that it looks real. I really appreciated the way that the future didn’t look ‘fantastic’, but rather like it had advanced by a few years but then begun to fall apart; it made it easy to connect to and as a result empathise with the characters. The single-take shots also made a powerful impression of realism.
The themes of Children of Men are incredibly depressing, but the film’s overall message is surely of one of hope. Much like Alfonso Cuarón’s previous movie Y tu mamá también, Children of Men is about the journey rather than the outcome.
— Andy
Tags: 2006, alfonso cuarón, clive owen, recommended, sci-fi, uk
Thursday 30 October 2008
A Scanner Darkly
This is a weird film that to be honest did very little for me. My main draw to watching A Scanner Darkly was its rotoscope animation, but even that didn’t really do much for me.
— Andy
Saturday 25 October 2008
TV: Battlestar Galactica 4.1
Possibly the fastest-paced season of Battlestar Galactica so far, and full of twists and revelations. It really made up for the rather poor second half of the previous season which I hadn’t really enjoyed all that much. I’m not going to say much else about it as it would be too easy to give plot details away that would spoil it for anyone reading this who is yet to watch the episodes. The last thing I’ll say is that I am a little disappointed that my theory on President Roslin was wrong. If you haven’t watch this season yet, go watch it, and if you haven’t even seen Battlestar Galactica you are really missing a great show!
— Andy
Tags: 2008, drama, recommended, sci-fi, television, usa
Sunday 01 June 2008
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a very funny film that takes the superhero concept to a whole new level, looking at what becomes of those with super-powers when they settle down to normal family life. Not only is it unique in terms of the superhero genre, it also feels very different from the majority of the CGI-animations out there; perhaps an indication of the industry’s new found confidence with the medium. There are some superb characters in this movie, but for me I really like Frozone and Edna ‘E’ Mode. Just as entertaining the second time round.
— Andy
Tags: animation, comedy, hollywood, pixar, sci-fi, superheroes
Saturday 17 May 2008
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a pulp adventure film set in an alternate 1930s setting and given a retro style. An interesting idea, but perhaps a little too nostalgic. I got the feeling style came before substance with this film. It seemed devoid of emotion or any real action (strange for what seems to be an adventure sci-fi film). It basically left me cold.
— Andy