TIGAER-DESIGN.COM_.v5 – Digital Art by Christian Hecker

This is the first movie this year that owned a big bright spot on my movies radar. The trailers looked fine and made me interested. It ‘s also always interesting to see what studios and directors can make of a very very old Scifi story. Especially when it comes to design things.

The original story ‘The Princess of Mars’ came out 1917 and was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In the following 30 years more books and shortstories spawned. All of them exploring the fantastic world created in the first book. Due to the indeed very old story I found it very appealing to see what Hollywood can make of that material. Also the fact that Andrew Stanton, (creator of Pixar’s Wall-E and Finding Nemo) former animation movie director, is now attacking a live action movie.

The story is actually told rather quickly. A former soldier of the american civilwar gets captured by some of his old army colleagues. They want him to join back into the army. They got their reasons and he surely got his reasons to avoid it. He waits for the right moment to escape. When he finally breaks free he is forced to find a hideout. The only one he finds is a mysterious cave. There he encounters something that transports him to Mars. At first he’s not sure what the hell happened and it takes him a while to understand. On Mars he’s the outsider. He finds a world that is in a war he actually doesn’t want to be a part of. Much like the world he just left. From there on he’s trying to understand this new world and trying to find his way back home. But home is relative… isn’t it?

The feel and the tone of the movie is pretty much an ‘adventure’ one. They market this movie like “a mix between starwars and avatar”. Which is completely useless. There is maybe 10% Starwars and 5% Avatar in it. It is a movie on its own. The design and look of the movie stands on its own feet. And that’s what I liked a lot from early on. Of course you have seen everything anywhere, sometime or somewhere but the movie manages it to keep it fresh. So visually you really get to see something stimulating.

The presentation of the storyline is a little rollercoaster. You have great and impressive battle scenes. A lot of action and speed. Then comes the romantic stuff. And I must admit that there is maybe a little too much of that. But on the other hand it’s exactly this what gives the movie a very certain tone that reminds me of older movies from the 60s or 50s. I don’t know if that was planned by the makers but for me it felt that way. The story of the movie technically plays 1866 and with that comes certain behaviour by certain characters. Last but not least comes the humour. There you can kind of see where the director originally came from. To me it felt like a very Pixar’ish humour.

When it comes to the acting and its quality then there is not much to say. It’s certainly not overwhelming but it was ok. I’m not sure if I will become a fan of Taylor Kitsch (even if his work in this movie was totally fine). Lynn Collins as princess Dejah Thoris was a perfect cast though. She really felt and looked like a true princess. Overall the casting was fine and felt organic enough to leave an overall good impression.

The design and VFX work belongs to the best that’s out there nowadays. The integration of all the CG into the live action footage looked pretty much flawless and convincing. It was a lot of fun watching the action happening. Explosions, huge cities, exotic aircrafts and all sorts of creatures. Creatures that, for once, really felt like there was a thought process behind them. Overall good stuff.

It may be the age of the original story that some parts in the movie feel a little hokey but I would say that this is just a certain charme that most movies are not able to capture anymore. The director kept its movie relatively close to the original material. The charme of an old fashioned Scifi movie. Nowadays everyone is trying to reinvent everything anew. This isn’t necessary! You can create something entertaining too by just using methods that are already there.

If you’re planning to see it on the big screen then try to catch a 2d showing. The 3d isn’t horribly bad but it wasn’t good enough to let me say “yes!”. Otherwise wait for the bluray. I’m sure it’ll look great in HD.

I enjoyed this film.

7.5/10

John Carter on IMDb

When I first heard that title I was thinking “dear lord what can be expected from that?!”. Then I read that Jon Favreau is the director. This guy is pretty good in what he’s doing. The Iron Man movies are entertaining and not too stupid. The first one much better though. Beside that we also have some of Hollywood’s best producers and writers on this movie. Now what’s Cowboys & Aliens about?

It’s about a guy who wakes up alone in the desert. He is not able to remember anything. From then on we follow him trying to remember his past. Soon enough first things clear up when he manages to get into a small town. Last but not least some aliens show up and abduct people from the town. Then our hero and some of the town folks move on to get their beloved friends and family members back.

Yes, the aliens appear out of nowhere without much of an explanation. Until the end of the movie we don’t learn why these creatures are actually on earth. So it’s best you go into the movie without anything… no expectations at all. The title pretty much tells you upfront that it’s pure enterainment and nothing to make your brain think. Much of that can also be found in the screenwriting. There was some weird dialogue happening at certain points that partly took me out of the movie. I was thinking “Who in the world is talking that way?”. Some weird choices there.

Daniel Craig is the main character and I admit he nails his character. He’s the ultimate badass. Kinda like his James Bond interpretation. Then we have Harrison Ford. One of my all-time favs. I grew up with this guy swinging laser guns and whips at bad guys. He’s one of my heroes! Well, in this movie not so much. At first he’s written like a bad guy characters. He kinda gets together with our hero to rescue his son from the aliens. So his character leaves a weird impression and has a strange story arc overall. Sam Rockwell is the only actor in this movie who plays a character I was able to kind of connect to. He plays a saloon owner who is also a doctor. When the aliens come in, they abduct his wife. He wants her back! Beside that he’s just an awesome actor. Adam Beach left a good impression too. This guy should get casted for other movies too. He’s got some potential to do some more heavy lifting roles. Last but not least we have Olivia Wilde. She’s basically only there to be sexy and does that nicely. Ultimately the weird writing of the partly hokey dialogue leaves an overall strange impression of all the characters. I can imagine they had some serious problems to give these characters something to say at all. I bet you could do this movie without a single spoken line!

The VFX work is overall very solid. ILM certainly did a fine job there. When it comes to the concept work for the aliens and related things then it’s also well done and works in context of the movie. But then again I always wonder why the aliens always have to look like us? By that I mean you can clearly recognize a head, two arms and two legs. Star Trek aliens so to speak. I know it would be very difficult to go for a more insectoid or whatever approach… but meh… a little more originality wouldn’t hurt in that department. And don’t get me wrong. I know for certain how much work goes into the design of these aliens. I highly respect the work.

In the end it is a fairly simple movie. Nothing that keeps your brain too busy. It’s popcorn entertainment. Is it good? Well… it’s entertaining for sure! And hey, Olivia Wilde is a cutie in her own way and looks good on the screen. So you want some humans kicking alien ass? Go for this movie.

6.6/10

Cowboys & Aliens on IMDb

This is a TV Series that did not live long here in german television. Whatever the reasons were – the fourth season never even aired. I can remember seeing the first episodes of the first season when it first aired here. What I saw there stood in my memory since. I must admit though that I did not continue to watch it any further back then. Over the years I, every now and then, heard the name pop up and said to myself “well, someday you’ll give it another shot”. And that’s what I did now.

The plot is actually pretty simple. John Crichton (Ben Browder) is an Astronaut who is going into Space to test an experimental Shuttle Craft. Suddenly something weird happens and a wormhole drags him into a far far away part of Space. He lands right in the middle of a battle and manages to land his ship on an unknown spaceship that is chased by another unknown vessel. We soon learn that the people (all from an alien species) on board of the ship are criminals on the run. The ship chasing them is from a military called the ‘Peacekeepers’. John has no idea what the hell is going on and that’s what the audience is thinking too. What the hell…? Not to mention that a Peacekeeper lands on the ship too. She, yes a woman, builds the perfect counterpart for John. Due to some complications she gets banished from the peacekeeper military and has no other choice than to stay on that ship as well.

Throughout season one we learn a lot about the prisoners/crew and what happened to them. John tries make friends with them and they all kind of become a team. And the ship… the ship actually is a living creature. Controlled by an alien pilot who is connected to the ship that allows him to translate everything the ship says. He’s also in control of shipwide systems and therefore a key character as well.

At first all the characters are a little paranoid. No one knows each other too well what leads to some nice character happenings here and there. John Crichton is the character that will lead us through the series. Of course all the alien stuff is overwhelming and he has to adapt to the situation. An implant makes him understand what the aliens are talking which, of course, helps a lot. Aeryn (Claudia Black), the Peacekeeper lady, soon becomes John’s love interest. She’s really giving him a hard time and, maybe it’s the romantic in me, it’s kind of nice to watch that.

Pretty much all the characters of the series have some great, emotional, things to go through. To mention it all would really make my post explode. Some of the episodes are also very bold moves. There is this one for example, that is a cartoon for the most part. The storyline of the series has a very psychological element. Some things only happen in the head of Crichton. And we all know how vivid an imagination can be at times. So, for me, sure… why not! Bring on the animations! It was unexpected but a welcome surprise. Especially when it happens in a series that really has a dark dark tone to it. Season 2 and 3 explore quite some psychologic things. You really want to know in what direction the characters develop.

The alien world/universe they created has some cool and innovative ideas. The whole ‘living ship’ idea is used fabulously by the writers. Of course you also have the usual generic scifi elements. But they played around with some of them and mixed it up a bit. So it feels new and a little refreshing. And that could have been a reason why the series did not do as well as so many others. People tend to hate new things.

The bad guys in the series want to know the secret behind wormholes and assume John has the key to the technology. Throughout the storyline things come into play that really make John the master of wormholes. The fascinating issue is that some of the bad guys even have to unite with John to get through certain complications. That opens up another nice array of character developments and situations that are seriously fun to watch. Beside the Peacekeepers we have the Scarrans. A reptile like race that builds a counterpart to the Peacekeeper faction. Of course these guys are after John’s knowledge too. So the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans want the wormhole technology to create a weapon to defeat the opposing force. That leads into a permanent ‘on the run’ scenario for our heroes.

The series started in 1999 and was one of the first tv productions that depended on heavy CG use for the space scenes. Nothing crazy exciting compared to today but for the time it was good. And, the most important fact, the CG was only used if necessary. Because what really defines the series is that Jim Henson (yes the Muppets guy and his artists) contributed a lot to the creature design and their technical realization. So we get some really awesome puppet work in that series! Especially the pilot of the living ship is so amazingly well done. You can read all possible emotions in his face. There are a lot more examples of the phenomenal work throughout the series. Truly remarkable stuff which makes you think why Hollywood became pretty much CG only territory over the past decade. So many issues could easily and better be resolved using practical effects instead of super-expensive CG.

The series lasted until 2004 and you are really able to see the advancements that happened in CG during that time. Unfortunately the series, in the last season, feels a little rushed. They knew they had to end it because the they didn’t get any more financing. Too bad. BUT…! They at least brought it to a satisfying end. After season 4 they made a miniseries, consisting of 4 episodes (if I remember right). All of them actually a very long movie so to speak. “The Peacekeeper Wars” rounds up the whole series nicely. A lot of action in that one. I enjoyed it.

So ultimately I can say that the series is a lot of fun. You can see development in the characters. Especially John Crichton and Aeryn have a nice arc. I also have the feeling that Ben Browder learned a lot in the first two seasons and delivers quite some phenomenal work in three and four. He really makes you feel the pain with his character. Same goes for Claudia Black.

Yes, watch it if you have a chance! Some great, original and lovely characters. An unusual setting. And scifi! What’s not to love about it.

8.2/10

Farscape on IMDb

Due to its earlier release in the US I read and heard quite a lot about the movie and decided to see it now, since it finally reached europe. This review contains spoilers so be warned if you’re interested in seeing the film.

Pretty much all the reviews I saw mentioned that the movie has quite the 80s tone and feel going and I have to agree. All that made me not expecting too much since I’m not too much of an 80s fan at all. And I guess half the audience that was in the theater did not get the movie they expected. I, on the other hand, got the movie I expected and… really really liked it!

This movie is about a young man, we call him driver (Ryan Gosling), we don’t really learn much about. He’s just there, living his life. This life includes being a stuntman for movies what makes him quite an impressive driver. Beside that he’s working in a friends’ (Bryan Cranston) car repair shop. This friend also has some questionable contacts that will come into play at a certain point in the movie. Now our driver tries to live his life between doing a few driver jobs for quick robs, work in the repair shop and being a stuntman. The driver character is a little hard to explain and leaves room for interpretation I think. We soon learn he definitely has a dark side. We, in fact, learn that right at the beginning. Right there we also see that he’s an exceptional driver with quite the instinct for certain situations. We never learn where he got that from. Which, at least for me, doesn’t hurt the character at all. It adds a mysterious feel to the character.

Our driver lives in an appartment building, next to a woman (Carey Mulligan) and her kid. Our driver meets them when shopping and recognizes her car broke down. For a moment we can see the thought process in his head. “Do I help them or do I mind my own business?!”. He decides to help them. There we see that he also has a not so dark side. He’s helping her out and both kind of develop a connection. We can see that there is more happening and that’s because the movie gives enough space for the characters to play their parts. There isn’t too much dialogue happening but lots of things happen in the faces of the actors. Long cuts with a lot of room. No unnecessary explanations like so many movies do nowadays, because studios seem to think the audience is dumb and needs an explanation for everything. If you’re not mentally and emotional retarded then you’re able to understand what’s happing between these two people. And there we have our interpretation point again. Our driver is a pretty introverted character. He’s careful with whom he opens up to. His life depends on it. He even may have never loved someone before. The woman and the driver deepen their connection, in a very innocent and lovely way, further and now even the dumbest person on the planet can see that they really like each other. Even the kid seems to really like the driver. We also learn that the woman is actually married and her husband, in jail, is soon getting out and coming back. Which leaves driver in a not so easy to manage position. I found it very interesting to see how he gets through that.

The husband and the driver soon are confronted with each other. One day our driver comes home and sees the husband lying bloody on the floor. Driver helps him and asks what was going on. We learn that there happened some risky protection business in jail. The husband now has to pay off the dept he owes to the people that protected him in jail. Driver decides to help him and both go to a person that has the right job for them. The bad thing is that the job is not going as expected.

At the same time driver and his car repair shop friend land a deal with some mafia/organized crime guy to finance a stock car race endeavour. And that’s when it all comes together.

The money our driver and the husband are stealing is connected to the crime people who finance the race plans. It’s also bad that the husband of the woman gets shot and dies… which leads the bad guys to the woman and her kid… and of course to the driver who lives next door. All this was a long planned setup to upset the east coast mafia from whom the stolen money was.

To find out who set them up and how to resolve that complicated situation our driver really goes down the violent path. Somehow he knows exactly how to handle the people he’s dealing with. We still don’t know exactly why and it doesn’t matter. He wants to protect the woman and her kid… no matter the costs. The second half of the movie then is of course the one that gives us quite some bloody and disturbing scenes. Well placed and timed!

I realize that my description of the story doesn’t make much sense but believe me… the movie gets it all together soooo damn well. It’s impressive.

This movie is a slow burn. The first half we have some wonderful character development. The movie takes its time with that. The cinematography, lighting, colours… the whole mood is almost mezmerizing. There are a lot of scenes where driver is just driving. We see his face and all the streetlights, all the different colours of that universe that Los Angeles can be, reflecting in his face. These scenes could easily be boring but somehow they give the viewer some room to understand what previously happened in the film. Like short intermissions. In the second half the movie starts to speed up a little. Our characters are confronted with certain situations and problems. These need to be solved as soon as possible.

The driver character sometimes has a psycho feel to him. But the way I see it he’s able to control that notion. He’s introverted and likes to stay by himself. This woman and her kid change his world. She could be his first true love and he’s willing to do everything necessary to know that she’s fine. He doesn’t expect anything in return. Kind of a classic movie hero.

The woman is a little torn apart. On the one side her husband and the other that guy who is just there and creates a lovely atmosphere everytime he’s around. I think she loves both of them and feels sorry. Carey Mulligan really does a beautiful job with that character. Again lots of quiet scenes that just speak for themself.

Bryan Cranston is also a great addition to the film. It’s cool to see him getting big A list roles now. It almost seems he’s getting bombarded with offers nowadays. Well… his ‘Breaking Bad’ performance surely helps him. In this film he is kind of the tragic figure that wasted its second chance.

The bad guys played by Albert Brooks (phenomenal) and Ron Perlman do a nice job too. It’s interesting to see Ron Perlman play such a small role. But he fills it and gives it some depth. Albert Brooks certainly isn’t playing his usual role here. It’s even hard to call him a bad guy character here. In the end he’s torn apart by the decisions he has to make. He just does what has to be done to resolve a situation.

This is not a ‘Fast and Furious’ or ‘Transporter’ movie. This isn’t a movie made for ‘entertainment’. It’s a movie that requieres some investment and patience. If you’re willing to do that then you might see a movie that mentally lasts a little longer than just that one evening you saw it. This movie, for me, certainly did. I wrote this review over 5 days and I’m still fascinated by the film.

Is it a movie I could watch over and over again? I think no. Like I said. It’s not an entertainment film. You need to be in the mood for it. Or you need someone who you really want to show the film to. Make a nice evening and later talk about the film. And I’m sure it will be interesting to hear the perspective on the movie from another person.

8.4/10

Drive on IMDb

It got quiet with Mel Gibson. After that strange telephone call thing that got through all the media it seemed he took a time out. Looks like he got some problems but to hell with it… we all have our problems. Only difference is that we don’t have psychos who record our phonecalls. Now this movie ‘The Beaver’ was the first one Gibson was in after the media buzz the phone thing caused. A movie directed by Jodie Foster who also plays one of the main characters in the movie. She’s also a good friend of Gibson and may have thought “lets give him another chance!”. That’s what friends do and she did not get disappointed for sure.

The movie is about a Walter Black (Mel Gibson) who is the manager and head of a toy company that is sort of on a downward spiral. Right from the beginning of the film we notice that he’s not on top of his game and it feels and looks like a big depression. We see how everything slips out of his hands. First his job, then family and last but not least his own life. When he tries to kill himself some switch gets on and suddenly a handpuppet of a beaver starts talking to him. Now the puppet on his arm he starts to climb out of this big hole of a depression he’s in. Sometimes we all need someone who seriously kicks our ass to make us understand or do something. For Walter it’s this puppet. Walter doesn’t really understand what is happening but we as the audience can see how the puppet is helping him finding back on track again. While we watch him getting back in contact with his family and job we also notice that the puppet cannot be the ultimate solution. At some point the puppet has to go away. We also notice that it me require some heavy measures really get rid of it.

The movie not only shows what Walter has to go through. It also shows how a family can go down because of all the things a depression comes with. Walter’s son, played very awesome by Anton Yelchin, has the most problems handling the situation. He lives in constant fear that he might become too much like his father. He also doesn’t understand the whole thing with the beaver and distances himself even more from Walter. Now there is a younger son too. He of course has no problems with the beaver. He easily finds a connection to his dad again through this puppet. Walter’s wife (Jodie Foster) is happy about how things slowly get back to normal. But she can also see that if this puppet thing continues… things will fall apart again. And who knows if there is a second chance. Jodie Foster’s performance works really well since she manages it to make all the inner conflicts visible.

So what does the movie want to tell us here? Yes, depression is quite a serious subject. The movie tries to make the audience understand that it can be a very complicated dealing with these things. All the things with the beaver is a little weird but, at least for me, understandable. I think when you’re in a situation like this one you try to hold on every little thing that might help you to get out of that mess. So is the movie a success for what it wants to be? I think yes.

Mel Gibson. Well… start to give that guy jobs again! Please! He is a good, very good, actor. He may have a complicated private life but hell… who are we to judge that? That’s not our business. We as an audience should only judge Mel Gibson for what we see in his movies. May it be as an actor or director. I love both roles of him. He can create quite some epic movies. And yes, I say ‘Passion of the Christ’ is an underrated and misunderstood movie. But that’s a review I still have to write some time. Anyway… I can see Mr. Gibson as a new Clint Eastwood. He’s a champ in both disciplines.

So yeah… final words… well… sometimes it literally needs a clear cut to solve some personal problems.

7.5/10

The Beaver on IMDb

My frst review in 2012! But anyway… the story for this one is told in 5 seconds. “Adventurer gets trapped in a cave and has to cut off his right arm to survive.” And yes, I don’t consider this a spoiler since it’s really no secret. But the gross moments of this movie aren’t the ones that make this movie. They play a role in the solution of the story but that’s all.

The movie is about Aron Ralston. A person that actually exists and who really had to go through all the things this film shows. In the beginning of the movie we see him take a break from his city life and job. He’s an adventurer who likes to explore landscapes. Mostly alone. And that’s what’ll haunt him through this movie. Aron is out having fun in the desert, surrounded by canyons and deathtraps. The movie does a great job also showing the beauty of the landscape and nature itself. Almost establishing it as a character of itself. James Franco, who plays Aron Ralston, does a nice job here. You can see in his face how glad and happy he is to be out there. Pure freedom. Then when he tries to climb down a, pretty harmless looking, canyon… he slips. Falling down along with him there is a rock. When both hit the ground Aron’s right arm gets caught between the cave wall and the rock. He’s trapped. That’s the moment where you sit there thinking “how unfortunate can one be?!”. James Franco is great in that moment. Since the camera is pretty much always straight up in his face you needed an actor who can really work with his face. James Franco is one of those. In that particular scene, when he realizes he’s trapped, you can see a hint of panic in his face. At the same time you can see how a thinking process begins to start. “How am I going to get out of this mess?”. You can read that off of his face and eyes. Nice job with that Mr. Franco. From there on we’re captivated. Even if we already sorta know how the story will end. We want to know what all happens on the way.

Technically the movie is very well made. Keeping in mind that most of the movie happens under these close quarter conditions. A lot of Danny Boyle typical cuts bring in some diversion. Flashbacks and hallucinations of Aron fill in certain parts we need to know about him. The Make-up department did a nice job too. Later when Aron’s body starts to sorta give up. The Make-up really made all this visible. Which helps the audience to understand how bad things are for him. The specific “cut off arm” scenes are intense. But not because of the blood. They actually don’t show too much. Which is good. Often enough a simple sound generates the pics automatically in your mind. Far more efficient than blatantly showing it all. They never go too far and keep it all as, what I think, realistic as possible. There are nonetheless plenty of moments where you possibly let out an “Ouch!”.

Ultimately the movie is about learning of the importance to not always do things on your own. That it’s never wrong to let people know where you are and what you’re up to. Don’t be an egomaniac for the sake of being independent. It’s hard to believe but yes, there is a certain breed of people who really are that way. I met the one or another person who is that way.

So yeah, this is a good movie. Not one for a ‘just for fun’ evening though. It’s not a party movie. There are parts that are a little hard to sit through. But it’s worth it. A movie with a message. Can’t be wrong can it?

7.9/10

127 Hours on IMDb

Holy smoke where do I start? First of all I have to say that I absolutely don’t get it. By that I mean all the cash this series made. I can understand that someone goes to see a movie to have a fun evening with friends and doesn’t care much about the movie. And yes, I can see how the series has a certain appeal and entertainment value to it. But man… parts of the series are an insult to my intelligence. I’m sure other people would agree but simply don’t care. They just wanna see big robots ruining whole cities while they’re fighting for… I don’t know anymore. And there we have one of the biggest problems.

All three movies are more than two hours long. And half of the time we don’t even see robots because we follow the plot of that Shia Lebeauf character. And some other pretty much useless people. Ok, I agree… they’re just there to give us a human point of view. The robots on the other hand are there too, yes. But they’re nothing more than ‘supporting cast’. If that term can be accurate. I don’t know. I use it anyway! So half the time we see Shia running around, doing things… things we mostly don’t care about. Especially when his parents come into play. Turn your brain off or you’ll end up drooling yourself while bouncing around in a padded cell. There’s also ‘the girl’ factor in these movies. Part one and two had Megan Fox. Now in part one lady Fox was stunning. I mean… sexy as hell. Of course Michael Bay knows how to put sexy women on celluloid. In part two then, I don’t know. I’m fairly sure that Megan Fox had some surgery going in her face. I may be wrong but I felt she looked different. Which was a little turn off. She was stunning to look at in part one. And that’s the only reason why she was in the movies. To look sexy. Now in part three they dumped lady Fox because she refused to to work with Mr. Bay again. Apparently he must be quite the a**hole and treating women not very gentlemen like. Good for her. It was a ballsy decision to say no and it deserves support. Now the new girl (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) they casted was visually less my taste. But! She gave her character more life. I felt she had more screen presence and is, from my pov, the most likable character in TF3. Unbelievable! Shia Lebeauf’s character is a total idiot in this movie. Up until the last 45 minutes of the movie. Then he kinda got his shit together somehow. Anyway…

Now the third movie starts and we learn that all things we learned in the previous movies were for nothing. Fu** continuity! Thanks to you, overpaid hollywood writing talents. Did I say talent? Anyhoo! In the first 1 1/2hrs we follow Sam Witwicky and his weird shenanigans while he’s trying to find a job. He’s unemployed and lives in a flat that probably costs $10.000 a month. Well, yeah… his new girlfriend apparently earns quite a paycheck in her job – nonetheless, everything around that guy screams ‘money’! How can he afford all that? Makes no sense.

We also have to witness some of the weirdest timed comedic scenes in movie history. Especially John Malkovich. What exactly is the reason he’s in the movie?! There are more well deserved actors in this train wreck of a movie. I guess they just wanted to have some mindless fun. Can’t blame them. They surely knew it can only be hilarious when they read the script. And they indeed had fun. You can almost see it in the movie. Except for Shia Lebeauf. There’s rarely a minute where I thought he enjoys to be in this. Will be interesting if he’s in the fourth movie too. And yes I would bet my brain that there will be a fourth one. No doubt! And so far it looks like Mr. Bay will not do it. So it could be interesting to see what a different director will do with that material.

If you survived the first hour the movie slowly begins to speed up. Things start to happen. Things blow up while giant robots do their graceful waltz of destruction through the windy city of Chicago. Now that’s where the movie can turn the tide a little bit. It shows the Decepticons killing people and destroy the city. The movie makes us side the Autobots in their fight. And that fight surely is some of the best VFX work ever put on film. I cannot even fathom how much work went into all the stuff that happens in the last hour. Quite some stunning moments. Too bad it all went into a movie that delivers such a poor story and unsatisfying ending. And yes. With such a vfx overkill it soon starts to become uninteresting. “Yeah another explosion! *Yawn*” – something like that. It, nontheless does look great. Then the last ten minutes of the movie feel as if they wanted to wrap up the whole storyline (if you can call it that) of the three movies. It all happens very fast and whoop the movie is over.

In a recent review I read that the opinion was that Michael Bay should stop being a director. He should do more pure cinematography. And I couldn’t agree more. His movies look absolutely amazing. The way he establishes shots. His lighting, composition and style in general are top notch. So the conclusion can only be that his specific directing skills are below the level useful. Unfortunately. I don’t know to this day how he managed to make ‘The Island’ such a decent movie.

So Transformers 3 can be an entertaining flick when it comes to certain points. Throw all hopes for logic over board and be younger than 14 years old and you would surely be perfectly entertained. For everyone else skip the first half and only watch the visual effects benchmark demo reel part. That’s honestly very impressive material there.

6.3/10

Transformers 3 on IMDb

This is a film I heard a lot about in the recent months. I knew it’s a classic and had to pay it a visit sooner or later. A while ago I saw ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (Review Here), ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and just recently ‘Fail Safe’. What stands out there is that the director Sidney Lumet is a master filming in close space situations. Especially in ‘…Orient Express’ and the movie we’re talking about here. His first big screen film.

This movie is about 12 Jury members, stuck in a closed jury room, on the probably hottest day of summer. They must decide whether a young 18 year old puertorican man stabbed his father. In the beginning all of them vote guilty, except for one. He is undecided and wants to talk out the whole case/scenario again. For all the other guys it’s a clear thing. Soon after they discussed some of the facts more members get doubts about all evidence they got and turn to a not guilty vote. The discussion continues and sooner than later creates quite some arguments and tension between the characters.

The plot is very simple. And it doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s more about these 12 completely different characters. The movie tries to show how all the different backgrounds of these characters influence their decision making process. Like everyone else all the guys carry their own baggage of life experiences with them. And the way the actors play these characters is just great. All 12 deliver some great performances and play it all very believable. You have sports guy, the average joe, an architect, an advertising guy, the nerdy/geeky type, the guy who’s always trying to keep everything under control, the quiet guy and the loud, self-righteous guy. Of course there will be conflicts when they start to argument for their standpoints. And that are the moments when the film shows its teeth. It’s just great to watch.

You don’t see the crime happening. They don’t show a thing. It’s all happening in your head while these 12 men are trying to solve the case. They go through all the details and talk it all out. That is how the film is telling you about what happened. And in some moments you’re thinking you’re sitting in that room too! Thinking about what happened with that teenager and why he did what he’s done. Did he do it? Well… we’re not sure. The movie only gives us the facts but doesn’t tell us if he did it or not. And it’s not important. Since it really isn’t about the poor kid. It’s more about the 12 jury members and how they try to explain themselves all the phoney things about that case. How hard it can be to do the right thing, sometimes. And in their case… how thin the line is between saving that kid or becoming murderers themselves by chosing the wrong verdict. It surely isn’t an easy task to be elected as a juror.

Technically it’s a, well… an old movie. It’s black and white and it feels dated. Sure. On the other hand it’s just brilliant storytelling and acting all 96 minutes. All characters a believable and all of them have their own thought out backgrounds. Everything in the movie has a reason to be in it. Right at the beginning is a 7 or 8 minute long scene that introduces all the characters. Without a single cut! It feels so organic how the camera moves from one character to another. As I previously said… like we’re right in that room with them. There is also no music in the movie except for the end. Maybe I overheard it but I can’t remember hearing anything except the conversations between the guys. We also never know what the names of the characters are. It’s all just ‘Juror 1’ to ‘Juror 12’. All in all some interesting and well working decisions in that film.

So, yeah. No question this 1957 film still works after all those years. Even if it’s a little dated now it still works phenomenal. I enjoyed it a lot. A recommendation.

8.8/10

12 Angry Men on IMDb

This is a documentary that probably every Scifi fan at least heard of. Beside of that it also got quite some mixed reviews. Some of them, I think, written by people who have absolutely no serious connection to the old Star Wars movies… or Star Wars in general. These people are of course not able to relate to some of the statements in this documentary. And some of the things said in this docu are a little harsh. But, from my point of view, absolutely understandable.

The documentary basically is about the movies 4 to 6 and how Episode 1 to 3 seems to destroy a lot of things a lot of people connected with the first trilogy. Jar Jar Binks is a big point there of course. Now if you have seen the first trilogy in theaters, in the late 70s and early 80s, then it’s pretty much clear what your favourites are. I was born in the early 80s and first saw the Star Wars movies in 1990 or so. It completely blew me away of course. It’s a big influence to what I’m doing today. One of my biggest sources of inspiration. The same goes for a whole generation of artists around the world. The old trilogy was always the trilogy made with heart and soul. When I heard they are doing a new movie I was all for it. I guess everyone was!

Now for a short story hour. Back then a good friend of mine had a friend (guess that’s how it goes) who managed to get one of the internet leaked copies of Episode 1. My buddy got a CD and we watched the first 45 minutes. My english wasn’t really good back then. But the language wasn’t the problem. The movie felt weird. Even now I can recall the weird feel I had when watching it. It ‘looked’ great. The effects and everything… really nice. But the feeling was wrong. I said to myself “well, wait for the theatrical release… maybe it works better on a big screen and much better quality!”. I waited and saw it and no… the big screen made no difference. Everything in the movie screamed “I want to be Star Wars!” and to a certain degree it was. But without heart and soul. Only the fighting sequence between the two Jedi and Darth Maul felt like the real deal. The music… the emotion and the whole pacing was perfect. But that were like 10 minutes of a 2 hrs movie.

The documentary tries to show the reaction of fans to where all the series has gone too. Another, somehow useless, trilogy. Merchandise without end. A Clone Wars comic series. Lego Star Wars. Star Wars everywhere around us. The people talking in this docu deliver some nice perspectives on bad AND positive things about it all. The docu is also a statement to the inspiration Star Wars is. A lot of clips from so-called Fan Films. How much effort went into them. So how can it all be bad if it inspires so many people to get off their asses and create something? Well…

The core of the documentary is to show how these fantastic movies are, every couple of years, used to generate even more money. Just recently the Bluray release. Advertised with “new material! new scenes!”. And soon the 3d re-release of all six movies in theaters again. They milk that cow until there is nothing left than bones. But the funny thing actually is that they are not able to re-release the original 70s/80s cuts of the first trilogy on Bluray or DVD. And there is quite an interest for that! The statement they got was that the original film material was destroyed. Which basically means that you will never see the original movies on big screen again! Ever! (except on your old vhs tapes maybe) And honestly… what a big pile of crap. Who honestly thinks that the original material is lost? OF course it still exists. The question is WHY they force themselfes to such statements and why it is so hard to release the old movies with just the picture quality a little polished? A lot of directors do that! Blade Runner Final Cut is a good example. The big box contains discs with all cuts ever made! And there are quite a few. Even that 160 minute monster Avatar got the big screen version AND the directors cut version in its box. SO why can’t Star Wars?

This documentary asks a lot of questions and not all of them get the deserved answer. We can also see a wide range of people that got inspired by Star Wars. In all the most various ways possible. It’s fascinating to watch and, from my point of view, not only for Fans. It shows a pretty exact picture of that huge empire Mr. Lucas has built there. And yes… ‘Empire’. The docu also shows how that former film and creative rebel became the very thing he always tried to fight against.

However, the man deserves respect. He’s human. He makes mistakes or has a different opinion about things. Like everyone. We must accept that. He changed film making and everything around it. But it’s also the people who worked on the movies who deserve respect. Because they made the idea of Mr. Lucas such a visually inspiring and stimulating experience. And maybe that’s the problem for Mr. Lucas. He only brought the ideas. But other folks brought them to life and gave it soul! That’s the old movies. In the second trilogy he tried to do everything himself. And the results we all know. Movies made for a generation that did not grow up with the first trilogy.

It’s not the most amazing docu ever but certainly a worthful watch. My recommendation to everyone. Especially if you’re a fan of the topic. Then you will probably love it!

8.0/10

A nice talk with the Director (Alexandre Philippe) of the Documentary on Redlettermedia.com – Part One – Part Two

The People vs. George Lucas on IMDb

It’s been a long while but here is the final part of the list. All these films have inspired me in one or another way and helped me to come up with certain ideas for projects. Beside that it’s also a collection of movies that give you some nice stories and characters that may help you if you plan to write something in the field of SciFi. Let me know what you think about the movies and what may have inspired you.

*Not listed by favourites.

Batteries Not Included

I really like this one since it shows pretty good how we humans actually are. It shows the full spectrum of human behaviour. Greed, violence, hate, hope, love… all these things that make us… human I think. I really dig the concept of these little alien kinda robot/spaceships. Especially when they give birth! Yes! It’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen! How they show the process of learning. How the collaboration of humans and aliens results in something great that has a chance to live on. How much different species with different backgrounds can have in common. How much we sometimes depend on each other. This one is a recommendation… especially if you’re a R2, Wall-E or generally a robots fan.

Batteries Not Included on IMDb

The Thing From Another World & The Thing

While the old movie seems a little harmless (with a large portion of charme), it’s the newer one that really shows how alien (space)Aliens can actually be and look. Both movies are considered scifi classics and should definitely exist on every scifi movies list. Especially the creature in John Carpenter’s The Thing is almost a piece of abstract modern art. Disgusting and fascinating at the same time. I just saw the Bluray that has a nice documentary on it. The practical creature FX worked so well that I don’t understand why they used so much CG in the 2011. It all looks fake. Anyway… the 51 and 82 version are the way to go!

The Thing From Another World (1951) on IMDb
The Thing (1982) on IMDb

Predator Series (not AvP)

Oh lord what can I say about this one that hasen’t been mentioned somewhere else already. To me these weird AVP movies don’t count. THat’s for sure. The games were better. The newer ‘Predators’ movie was good too. Even if I hoped for a more exotic alien jungle and environment. The old movies, part one and two, are awesome! The first one is a classic. The second one is very very good too and also pretty underrated if you ask me. It’s cool to see Danny Glover being a complete badass cop. Especially in that one chase scene at the end of the movie. Just great action. Also… the guy who had this idea with placing an Alien skull in the trophy chamber of the Predator ship… GENIUS! Interlinking these two universes made sense. Both are dark, gritty and violent. It all falls into place so well. It’s also stimultes your own fantasy and imagination.

Predator (1987) on IMDb
Predator 2 (1990) on IMDb
Predators (2010) on IMDb

Serenity

Now there was this tv production called ‘Firefly’. It was a great season! Excellent cast! Some serious fun to have! And it got canceled. And the people who canceled it didn’t even care. A true shame. However… the dvd box was such a success that they decided to make a movie to round up the existing episodes. Unfortunately the movie really closes the story. But that doesn’t make the movie a bad movie. No no! This movie has some really awesome moments! The cast, the mixture and the design works pretty much on every level! Even if you haven’t seen the tv episodes. I saw the movie before the tv episodes. The cast, story and the characters within that storyline are so unique and interesting that it is really sad that we did not get more of this production.

Firefly on IMDb
Serenity on IMDb

Silent Running (1972)

While this one might not be the most actiony film it still delivers a nice concept and some good acting. It’s basically about some huuuuuuge transport ships that are used to preserve the last bits of nature that is left from planet earth. When suddenly the order arrives to destroy the cargo to get the ships back to commercial duties. One member of the crew then takes matters into his own hands to keep that little piece of nature alive. Yes it’s a very hippie’ish plot, but nicely written. I like the overall design and look of it all. Surely one of the smaller SciFi gems out there.

Silent Running on IMDb

End of part 7. And the last part for now. I think the movies listed in all the parts deliver a great inspirational foundation if you want to go into SciFi art direction. The movies not only deliver visual inspiration but also some very memorable stories and characters. Something writers struggle so much with nowadays. But that’s a different thing. Also I want to say that the movies listed are films that inspired me. It’s not a SciFi best of list or something. So of course there are a lot more movies out there. ‘Outland’ with Sean Connery for example is a nice one too. So yeah, for now I hope you found some movies you haven’t already seen. Seek them out and maybe the creativity in these movies will spawn some ideas and concepts for your own work too.

Regards