Thursday, 31 May 2012

Saga Review: Alien

The Alien franchise has to be one of my favourites, and I am always excited to have an excuse to rewatch them all, and what better excuse than a new film to be added to the series! Yes, I am off to see Ridley Scott's Prometheus shortly, and so I have made a Saga Review of the previous four films.

It is a strange saga; quite possibly one of the most diverse anyone might watch in a sequence, from Alien and Alien 3's subtle horror, to Aliens and Resurrection's marketable action horror.

I don't remember Ridley Scott's Alien so much as my obsession over James Cameron's Aliens, and thanks to that film's toy line I have forever enjoyed (and feared) every second that H.R Giger's alien creature has been on screen.
...
Well, almost every second...


Alien (1979) Director’s Cut (2003)
The crew of a mining ship find themselves woken from deep sleep and directed to an unknown planet when the ship detects a distress call. When one of the crew returns from the investigation with a parasitic organism, it becomes a matter of life and death.
The original pitch for Alien was “Jaws in Space”, and it surely is one of the most tense and alarming science fiction horrors ever made. Director Ridley Scott (who was not the first choice for directing) defined a genre with this film, and would inspire another genre-defining film, Aliens.
Alien is a very slow film, it piles on the atmosphere with the first half until you are completely suppressed by the claustrophobic lifestyle onboard a space ship. The only time spent “outside” is embracing howling winds of the alien planet that sound otherworldly next to the near-silence within the ship. This only compounds the carnage that follows in the final forty minutes.

I wish this film could be watched with “fresh eyes”. The Alien creature has global acclaim now, but one can only imagine the intense mystery the film projects, followed by the mortifying reveal of Swiss artist H.R. Giger’s Alien for the first time. Not only that but compared to earlier science fiction of the time, Alien defied convention. Anyone new to the series must, must, must start here.
There’s a lot of debate around the first Alien film, there are who, what, where and why questions that remain unanswered in preference for the dark mystery it employs. With subsequent sequels (and now “prequels”) too much digging may undermine Alien’s integrity.
But in space no one can hear you scream, and Alien is a film that is strong on its own merits, a timeless classic.



Additional Marshmallows: I’d recommend the Director’s Cut, it doesn’t ruin the film; only adds a couple of extra scenes that were originally filmed but left out.





Aliens (1986)
 “40 Miles of Bad Road” -
That’s how one of James Cameron’s friends affectionately called Aliens after he directed and released this masterpiece of science fiction, action and horror.
Aliens follows directly from Alien, after surviving the nightmare upon the Nostromo, Ellen Ripley awakens 57 years in the future when the unknown planet she and her crew had landed upon had been colonised. Not long after however, communication is lost with the colony and Ripley’s expertise is needed when a squad of marines go to the planet to rescue the colonists...
The film quite possibly does what few sequels could ever do nowadays; deviate from the tone of the original movie, yet work as a fantastic sequel. Aliens is its own movie, yet uses the first film as a springboard. The first hour is mostly setup, but the characters are fleshed out (especially Ripley) and the marines are quipping and smart-mouthed (but not in an annoying sense) there’s even a remarkable child actor, Carrie Henn, in the mix. The universe and lore’s expanded upon in a believable fashion, not overdone (cough-Riddick-cough) but the whole movie is a colossal action rollercoaster that I will never tire of. Is it Cameron’s best film? Absolutely.
Aliens is now over 26 years old, yet it boasts the best animatronic special effects, miniature effects, costume design and matte painting compositions I’ve ever seen in science fiction (it won the Oscar for Best Effects, and so it should!) Today’s CGI still cannot stand above this movie’s achievements; the finale here is an incredible feat of artistic engineering.
The film was a massive success, and was incredibly marketable for an 18 certificate horror movie. I remember having several of the Aliens toys and being desperate to see it for years, and I was not disappointed. A film that lives up to its hype and single-handedly inspired over two decades of sci-fi television, video games, comics, books and film.


Additional Marshmallows: While HR Giger was turned down by Cameron as concept designer, Syd Mead (who worked on Blade Runner and TRON) worked on much of the interior and vehicle designs.




Alien 3 (1992)

“Three times the suspense, three times the danger, three times the terror”, claimed some posters. It’s really, really not. Oh boy, is this a difficult one to sum up.

After the events of Aliens this film shows (during the opening credits no less) that an alien was onboard the marine ship Sulaco. Its presence caused all of the surviving characters to die and Ellen Ripley to wake up on an all male prison/refinery planet. With that bucket of cold water out of the way, a plot attempts to develop. Another alien creature is loose after the crash, and while Ripley has her own “inner demons”, she must rally some of the most pitiful humans together to kill the creature.
The debut film for director David Fincher (who would find his feet with such successes as Seven, The Social Network and Fight Club) could not have been more chaotic and badly developed. There have been three edits (ironically) and another that Fincher rejected. The DVD copy I watched was the lengthier cut, supposedly more detailed than the theatrical cut, and while there are merits in its attempt to recapture the mood of Ridley Scott’s original Alien, there are a lot of problems.
Ditching the likeable, well formed characters from Aliens may have given Ripley even more angst, but replacing them with a load of cookie-cutter British inmates whose only purpose appears to be dropping F-bombs all the time, confuses me. The digital alien effects (alongside decent physical effects, it should be said) are utterly dire, while there are some scenes with very bad sound editing (apparently now fixed in the Blu-ray edit).
Ellen Ripley’s plight in this film is the only salvageable part. Her ability to survive is tested to the limits; alone, in a hostile environment with an alien loose and the ever-present Company still after her.
Fincher’s original idea has become somewhat legendary now; a giant wooden artificial planet, which would have been equally as damning to the popcorn-audience, but may have had more respect nowadays. Instead it feels awkward, without memorable characters and too much of the plot develops for the sake of convenience.
It is a sad end to the Alien trilogy as there are moments of intrigue; the Company “Weylan-Yutani” and their fixation on Ripley could have been explored further, but instead we have unlikeable and throwaway characters, a throwaway romance and unbelievable circumstances.


Additional Marshmallows: The character of Dillon is played by Charles Dance; viewers may now recognise him from television’s Game of Thrones.







Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Upon watching an Alien film marathon, one thing is certain: at this point you will say to yourself “Oh, so that’s how you do a bad Alien film! Alien 3 was quite good actually!”
With unexplained sciences, a military run division recreates Ellen Ripley with human and alien DNA. Why? To recover the Alien Queen embryo she had inside of her and breed more aliens. She is resurrected two-hundred years in the future, where things aren’t much different and a ragtag mercenary crew supply humans for the military’s experiments.

Upon the financial flop of Alien 3, the studios wanted a more marketable movie to... dare I say, “resurrect” the alien franchise five years later. Why they chose director Jean Pierre Jeunet and writer Joss Whedon I do not know.
Now, I love the work of both of them. Jeunet’s Amelie is an all time favourite with its quirkiness, and Whedon’s incredibly likeable and witty writing has finally been recognised with The Avengers. But neither quirky directing nor witty writing make an Alien film!

An argument stands that the Alien films are diverse, one is not like the other and Resurrection is its own animal. Unfortunately, the tone that holds the original three together, a sense of helplessness, claustrophobia and intensity, is completely missing! The underplayed themes of motherhood, sexuality and evolution in those movies are blown out of proportion here, making it feel more like a parody than a faithful sequel. It isn’t even scary, not even remotely!

 Its only strengths lie in its special effects, set and costume design, which have Jeunet’s artistic flare and Whedon’s rustic Firefly vision, and does show up Alien 3’s rather bare production value.
But, what is worse than Alien 3’s uninteresting, throwaway characters? That would be an ensemble of unique, unusual characters that are ultimately uninteresting throwaways.Resurrection is a poor excuse for an Alien film. Jeunet and Whedon could be a great combination, but not in this franchise!




Additional Marshmallows: One of Jeunet’s returning actors, Dominique Pinon, features but only adds to the odd hybrid of multiple styles at work here. Brad Dourif from Lord of the Rings also plays a strange part as one of the military’s scientists.



The future of the Alien series was sealed after Resurrection; a film that roared into existence five years after a dud entry, only to fail once again. The magic and original spark of Alien and Aliens looked further and further out of reach. 
One should mention the Alien Versus Predator films... unfortunately.
I never want to watch those films again. They outright ruined the Alien franchise, buried it six feet under, and I implore you all to stay away from them! Unfathomably stupid and immature rubbish, and I wince every time someone talks about continuity between this saga and those abominations.

So for the most part, Alien and Aliens are the best we will get, and I am okay with that; they are timeless, especially in terms of visual effects.

Now Prometheus is here, and I am very excited for it. I haven't read reviews, but I believe it will be much closer to Alien in tone and theme than Aliens, although I have to feel sorry for its 15 certificate; it will be the first Alien film to be given one. 
Ridley Scott has had more than a couple dud films in the last decade (in my opinion) so I am doubly hopeful Prometheus can restore my faith in his vision!

I will find out soon enough!

Thursday, 24 May 2012

Review: Iron Sky

It is a film about Space Nazis from the Moon! Do I need to say more?


So in one exclusive cinema showing, I went to see Iron Sky fully expecting a sort of Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus kind of stupidity, the sort of thing the internet community is making vastly popular.
I don't say that flippantly either. Iron Sky has been six years in the making from Finland, going through a development hell and even receiving financial support from fans to get it completed! However, even after all of this, Iron Sky proves to be a ludicrously fun movie.



The film begins by immediately setting the tone. There's no pretence of seriousness as we take events from the Nazi perspective; they had fled World War Two in 1945 and built a secret base "on the dark side of the moon" (as eager young Nazi school children proclaim). Their plan to dominate Earth look set to succeed; they have an African American model-turn-astronaut prisoner, there is an airhead female President of the United States who believes "a wartime President always gets re-elected!" and an entire fleet of Nazi UFOs and Zepplins.


While of course this movie is ridiculous, I must say I was impressed by the level of attention to special effects, costumes and vehicle designs (gigantic steam-punk Nazi space ships?? That is pretty spectacular). This isn't Uwe Boll quality, it was more like Black Dynamite. From the Nazis being positively oblivious to modern society and far from being 'superior', to the many film and internet related in-jokes (I felt the Downfall joke was a little out of place though) as well as political satire, it has a great sense of humour powered by total self-awareness.


With a good sense of humour and space battles and fleets that may put some blockbusters to shame, Iron Sky is good entertainment. Expect a few "they didn't just do that" moments.





Monday, 21 May 2012

Review: The Raid

A nonstop melee of gun battles, punching and kicking with some of the best physical choreography I've ever seen.

The story, as straight forward as it is, follows a squad of police officers sent into a high-rise building controlled by an underworld tyrant to take him down. Unfortunately the tyrant's calculated living has the building filled with criminals and outlaws dependent on his survival. What follows is fifteen floors of ultra-violent, urban combat.

Take your favourite action movie and times it by ten. Unlike many Hollywood action movies that rely on teaching A-list celebrity stars how to fight (and use choreography that isn't explicitly dangerous, Indonesia's The Raid never pulls its punches; you will wonder how many bones must have been broken during filming!
While the film starts out with pitch gun battles, the situation becomes desperate for the small team of police. Without backup, they resort to hand-to-hand combat, using knives, machetes, chairs, even broken halogen lights.
The film is very bleak, visually grey and blue with colours regularly muted, intensifying the building's condemned appearance. Everything is stark and broken, but very real.

One element that is lacking is characterisation; you are given the bare bones of substance, just enough to be carried along, and very occasionally scenes lack detail. But this film's purpose is not to tell a unique narrative, it is to show real fight choreography; there's no quippy one-liners, no flashy explosions or Statham lookalikes, no phoned-in romantic sub-plot.

If you like physical, kinetic action films then The Raid is a must see; the action is free-flowing and unbroken, making all other action films feel stiff and staged. It might not say much, but sure does pack a punch.




Additional Marshmallows: Oh look... there's a godforsaken American remake in the works already. Doomed before it even arrives? Silly question...

Saturday, 19 May 2012

Review: The Great Debaters

A simple but compelling story based off true events about overcoming racial prejudices in the 1930s with an intellectual perspective.
How intellectual? Well, maybe not quite as rigorous or risky as it could have been with the ideas involved.


Directed by and starring Denzel Washington as a college professor in Texas leading four children in a national debate team, going on to challenge Harvard University's own team. However his own intense political views and determination could threaten the lives of his students.


I cannot say I was greatly surprised by any of the turns of events in the film, and while a great cast do provide the perfect emotional performances, I wasn't as moved here as I have been in other films of this genre.
The film gathers its emotional strength by having younger, more vulnerable actors involved, and this is very effective (especially alongside Washington's crusader) to a point. Forest Whitaker also turns in a good performance as well as his son, who plays the youngest debater on the team, but unfortunately, his role was the most transparent. While the other three took the debate spotlight through the entire film, his character was relegated to the sidelines, even deemed unfit to debate before an audience. Hm, I cannot think what the climax of this story will be. Nope, no idea.



It does its best to be a moving, provocative story, and it does have great tension in particularly dark scenes, but if you let it sink in it feels a little too... deliberate; an intellectual properly made palpable for mass consumption. Was it bad? No. It is a good movie, and I suggest you watch it if you like these sorts of dramas (or are a fan of Washington) it just doesn't feel as challenging or intense as it could have been.




Additional Marshmallows: Wait... Oprah Winfrey was the Producer? What?

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Review: Arrietty

I'm quiet sad I missed Arrietty in the cinema as I thoroughly enjoyed this entry for Studio Ghibli!


This outing is a gentle, calming experience, an adaptation of "The Borrowers" books, Arrietty follows a family of four inch tall people living beneath the floors and between the walls of a house. Having lived in peace for so long, the two worlds crash together when a human boy discovers the family's daughter, Arrietty.


The tone of the movie is as far removed from Ghibli's most recent offering, Ponyo, as you can imagine; Arrietty's story is simple and the pacing is slowed right down. We are shown how the borrowers live day-to-day, the fascinating little world behind walls, the use of smaller objects as vital tools, it all lends itself extremely well to Ghibli's detailed, warm art style.
I usually watch their films with the English dub, and I'm happy to say that Arrietty's vocal talent is good and the characters are great, none of them are irritating. There are several animal characters too, from savage crows to a very likeable cat.


My only small gripe with the movie was the shift in tone during one scene. When Arrietty and the boy meet, he goes off on a tangential rant about how lesser "species" are being wiped out all over the world. It was brief, but jarred with the honest storytelling. I've nothing wrong with morals in films, I usually appreciate them, but in this particular scene it just felt awkward.


This is only a very small issue, the rest of the film is packed with charming details and has a wonderful, refreshingly gentle speed. We all need a change of pace sometimes, and Studio Ghibli rarely fails to deliver!




Additional Marshmallows: Hayao Miyazaki had considered adapting the novel for the last 40 years! While he didn't direct Arrietty, there certainly is a sense of care and attention given to it.

Sunday, 13 May 2012

Review: Subway

I'm a big fan of Luc Besson's films, but I'm afraid Subway is a little too subtle and underplayed for me...


I knew next to nothing about this film except the odd clip and a seemingly edgy looking poster, however the image depicted only lasts a few seconds! Subway follows Fred, a man on the run who finds himself hiding in a subway station, befriending the odd characters who live there.
That's about all you will know for the first hour of this hour-and-a-half feature.
It is one of Besson's earliest works, even before Femme Nikita and Leon, bang in the middle of the 1980s, and it shows; Subway's soundtrack is often an abrasive mix of guitar, saxophone and synthetic burps.
While I am all for subtle storytelling and films that hold the cards close to their chests, so to speak, I at least expect the substance to come from characters instead. Especially when everything takes place in a subway station. But the characters are shallow too! There's no quirkiness, you aren't certain of people's intentions (at least not until the very, very end).

There is a good character story buried deep down, and unfortunately many will miss it for the barrage of problems I have already listed. The film's apparent lack of confidence and depth comes from the lead character's own harboured feelings for the love interest. Upon reflection (much reflection) I can see it now, but I cannot ignore how disinterested I was for over an hour! The pay off was too brief and too last minute to justify the spontaneous and random scenes and subplots that preceded it.


More unusual, charismatic characters inhabiting the subway would have done wonders to the film, and may have even strengthened the lead's inner troubles. I love many of Besson's films, but this one I won't be remembering.



Saturday, 5 May 2012

Review: Super 8

I'm finding my opinion of J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg's collaboration Super 8 a little divided.


Set in the late 1970s, Super 8 follows the perspective of Joe, a young boy who recently lost his mother in a terrible accident, and his father who is Police deputy of their small town. Joe and his friends are making a film for a school competition when they accidentally witness a massive train crash. While Joe struggles with his feelings for a local girl, something otherworldly had escaped from the train wreck and causes chaos throughout the town.


Spielberg and Abrams make a good combination here; Super 8 has a glossy and real look about it, while the entire cast are excellent in their roles. It has been a while since I've seen so many child actors on screen and not been irritated by the lack of acting skill, they worked well together.


The divide I spoke of comes in the film's second act, where we have intensity brewing within the characters, specifically between Joe and his father and between Alice and her father. All great stuff, but juxtaposed with this we have a fifteen foot tall alien tearing up cars, scaring dogs and kidnapping people. It feels a little awkward. Don't get me wrong, this is way, way better than Abrams' other alien/monster movie Cloverfield (at least I care about these characters) but even Super 8's ending might feel a little too vague and "happily-ever-after" for some people. It ties up the two jarring stories as best it can, but it can feel a little... off.


I enjoyed it well enough; acting was great, visual effects were not overused and well done, a focus on characters but kept things simple and straight forward (a nice running time of under two hours!) so I'd give it a watch.