The Martian

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

Viewed – 01 March 2016 Blu-ray

There seems to have been a bit of a trend in recent years for quality science fiction, or more literally quality space travel movies. I think it began with Doug Jones’ acclaimed ‘Moon’ and then followed through with Gravity and then Interstellar. Hollywood seems to have fallen in love with the great vastness of space again, and I have fallen in love along with them. So this latest effort was high on my must see list.

Matt Damon plays astronaut Mark Watney who following an expedition to Mars, is left unknowingly behind by his crew following a freak sand storm. With everyone thinking he is dead and a memorial back home, Watney has to learn how to survive on an alien planet until he can find out a way of communicating and hopefully getting rescued. Based on the book by Andy Wier and directed by genre heavy-weight Ridley Scott, this is a gripping concept as we watch Damon put all his scientific knowhow to the test and learn to adapt to a harsh environment. Back home Nasa and its myriad of boffins are also trying to figure out a way to save their man, headed by Jeff Daniels and supported by Kristina Wiig and Sean Bean amongst various other familiar faces. Oh and the crew that left Watney behind get the always watchable Jessica Chastian as their commander. It’s clear to me this was a bit of a labour of love and is choc-full of detail and science terminology (even days are referred to a sol 1 and sol 2 etc). Yet beyond some of the realism and authenticity the movie also finds room for well judged humour. We also get a strongly potent emotional thread that builds and gets pretty heart-breaking. Everyone here is on very good form but it’s obviously Damon’s show and he is simply superb…charismatic in the face of adversity and also very believable. He’d have been my tip for Best Actor at the Oscars but sadly it wasn’t to be.

In addition to such a solid, layered performance however is excellent direction from Scott, who aided by cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, proves again he’s a master at capturing the perfect look and feel for Science Fiction, and redeems himself after the muddled Prometheus. Some of the shots and vistas and photography here are jaw-dropping. Honestly, there is very little I can say negative about this one apart from hey, where were Mark Watney’s parents?? And the first act is a trifle slow, but that’s some serious nit-picking. If you are fascinated by space travel or are just attracted to decent human survival dramas, not unlike The Revenant I’ll add … then you have to see this.

Verdict: 5 /5

The Monuments Men

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Craig Micklewright

Viewed – 26 July 2014 pay-per-view

On initially seeing the trailer to this true story set in WWII, the casting of George Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchet made me eager to see it. I missed it at the cinema but immediately took the opportunity when it arrived for online rental. Clooney who also directs is a soldier and professor who puts together a band of art historians and curators to journey into occupied France and Germany on a mission to take back stolen works of art.

Blanchet plays a woman who works for the German army but is secretly in league with the resistance who stumbles upon the Germans stealing priceless paintings as the war draws to a close. Historically this was fascinating and the fact Hitler was after this art is quite eye-opening, and made me want to read up on more of what was going on back then. Performance-wise this has an impressive roster of faces, although I found only Clooney and Blanchet stood out (her French accent is very good, and Clooney deliver’s emotional speeches brilliantly). So what was the likes of Murray and Goodman doing here? Of course I’m not expecting a comedy, but their presence just felt wasted, as neither got what you might call time in the spotlight. This was also a film of padding, with a few scenes just there and not really adding a great deal to the narrative (the smoking scene…).

On a plus this is a great looking movie. Production is top-notch recreating the era convincingly and the set design and cinematography are both impressive. The flirty pairing of Blanchet and Matt Damon was also interesting. For a gentler take on events in WWII this was engrossing and at times quite moving. I was left wishing there had been more danger and tension, but for the most part this was still good entertainment.

Verdict: 3.5 /5

Elysium

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Craig Micklewright

Viewed – 27 August 2013 Cinema

This was kind of a last minute decision. I was after something with a bit more depth and a different flavor than what this summer has presented for the most part, and on seeing the trailer, it seemed this Matt Damon vehicle was exactly the ticket. It’s 2154 and the wealthy live on a space station paradise while the rest of the population resides on a ruined, diseased Earth, until a man dreaming of escaping to the world above takes on a mission that could change everything.

Matt Damon;Sharlto Copley

Director Neil Blomkamp’s last movie the rightly acclaimed District 9 was one of the most refreshing and interesting science fiction movies I had seen in a long time, and that same approach and almost documentary style realism (give or take the odd futuristic idea) is carried over to this .., bigger in scale and concept but equal in emotion and intimacy. Like Hollywood had taken on board what he had achieved originally and said, OK son – here’s a few extra million – wow us. And wow us he does. The setting although not exactly new (the idea of the wealthy separated from the impoverished has been played out since back in Blade Runner days) … does justice to an old idea with an above average turn from Damon as well as good support from Alice Braga and also a boo-hiss Jodie Foster (a first?) – weird (even for her) accent aside. Stealing the show however is Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley (well, he was the star of District 9) who makes for one of the most relentless and brutal villains in movie history – I kid you not. Influences from the world of video games can not go unnoticed either, with a clear borrow for Elysium from Mass Effect’s citadel. Add to this a plot that is spilling over with immediacy and pace, and this was a breathless, gripping and fascinating experience.

Nit-picking would be to complain at the over-use of very strong South African accents considering the setting is Los Angeles, possibly echoing the director’s routes – but it’s a puzzling inclusion. However Blomkamp still manages to prove himself a science fiction auteur, and with slick action and a dramatic, intense pace but with the intelligence to really make you care – I came away highly impressed,

Verdict: 5 /5

Elysium (plosivepictures.wordpress.com)
Elysium: District 9 With Extra Popcorn. (deemac2010.wordpress.com)
‘Elysium’ review: Matt Damon goes sci-fi (newsday.com)

Contagion

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Craig Micklewright

Viewed – 09 May 2012 DVD

This was compelling. With the memory of virus outbreaks like bird flu, swine flu etc causing much furor at the time, the idea of a virus that spreads across the globe, quickly infecting and killing millions seems wholly believable, and to be honest … terrifying. Yet this is not a horror movie, more so a convincing portrayal of an epidemic and the people whose lives it affects, some tragically.

Directed by the acclaimed Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Oceans Eleven) this has an ensemble cast of recognizable names including Kate Winslett, Jude Law and Matt Damon that all deliver very real performances, and is shot in a semi-documentary fashion, that replaces Hollywood glitz and action with human drama and emotion. I especially liked how it not only showed the government and scientists tackling the outbreak, but also how the general public can turn on each other in their desperation. And although it could be easily compared to Dustin Hoffman hit ‘Outbreak’, this proved the more earnest and thought-provoking. Granted the pace drops a bit in the middle, and the ‘vaccine’ seems to come out of nowhere … but overall this has it where it counts.

So to conclude, this was a refreshing drama that didn’t need to rely on thrills and spills to tell an absorbing story filled with character and social commentary … and I thought it was very good indeed.

Verdict: 4 /5

Justin does Contagion (mutantreviewers.wordpress.com)
Review: Contagion, 2011, dir. Steven Soderbergh (agcrump.wordpress.com)

True Grit

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Craig Micklewright

Viewed – 30 July 2011 Blu-ray

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis, will know I’m a die hard fan of sibling directors Joel & Ethan Coen. Bar a couple of minor misteps (Intolerable Cruelty, and to a lesser extent, A Simple Man), they generally deliver interesting and very well made pieces of cinema. In this ambitious re-make / adaptation of the classic John Wayne movie and the book by Charles Portis, they bring to the screen the story of 14 year old Mattie Ross, a girl seeking the man who killed her father. Hot off the train and new in town, she hires a washed up Marshal (Jeff Bridges) and soon convinces him to help her find the man she seeks.