It’s difficult to put a genre to Alex Proyas latest film ‘Knowing’. Disaster movie, drams, thriller, science fiction, they’re all in there somewhere, what it certainly is, is different.

In 1959 a class of young children are asked to come up with an idea to mark the opening of their new school. One girl, Lucinda, a bit of a loner, comes up with the winning idea, to bury a time capsule containing pictures drawn by them of what they think the world will look like in 50 years time. The children paint the expected pictures of rockets and robots. All except for Lucinda. Lucinda hears whispering voices in her head and they tell her to write down a massive sequence of numbers. She frantically writes but runs out of time just short of the final few numbers. The teacher is surprised by Lucinda’s contribution but includes it in the capsule anyway. Later that day, after the capsule has been buried, Lucinda goes missing. A search party is raised and the grounds of the school are thoroughly searched. The teacher finds Lucinda in a cupboard under the stairs having frantically scratched the final numbers into the door with her fingers until they bled.

Shoot forwards 50 years and John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) is a professor of astrophysics at MIT. He’s a widower, with a young son, who lost his wife recently in a hotel fire. His son, Caleb, attends the same school where the time capsule was buried and the 50 year ceremony is about to take place. When the enveloped from inside the capsule are distributed amongst the present day children, Caleb gets Lucinda’s envelope. That night John absent-mindedly puts his glass of scotch (he drinks a bit too much in the evenings these days) down on the page of numbers. Glancing at the numbers contained within the glass ring he notices a sequence that piques his interest (91120012996). Being an astrophysicist he sees the numbers as a puzzle to be solved. Pretty quickly he manages to break the numbers down into a date, 09/11/01, the date of the 9/11 terror strike in New York. After googling 9/11 he also finds out that there were 2996 deaths that day.

In a rather intense night for John he manages to find dates and numbers of deaths for pretty much every major disaster for the last 50 years, all predicted in this sheet of numbers. Not all of the numbers form the date and number of dead though, some don’t seem to mean anything at all. John tries to convince a colleague of what he’s found and while he thinks it’s a bit creepy he’s not totally convinced. John then tells him that not all of the events are in the past. One string of numbers says that 81 deaths will occur somewhere the following day. Come the next day and John is stuck in a traffic jam, in a storm, going to pick his son up from school. Glancing at his sat nav he notices a sequence of numbers that describe his longitude and latitude. He then realises that the unexplained numbers on the sheet are in fact the location of the disaster. Looking at the location for today’s predicted event he notices that it’s at the exact same location that he’s currently at! While up ahead there’s been an accident  up ahead it isn’t bad enough for 81 deaths. Just then a passenger plane comes hurtling out of the sky having been struck by lightening, narrowly missing John and crashing in the next field. Sure enough, 81 people died in the crash.

Scientist that he is John has to try and find an explanation for these numbers and why they came to be in his possession. He tries to track down Lucinda, only to find she died of a drugs overdose a few years before. The next best thing is her daughter, Diana. Initially Diana wants nothing to do with John, telling him that her mother told her that she heard voices and that they told her terrible things. It’s not something that Diana remembers fondly and wants to put behind her, and not expose her own daughter, Abby to either. In desperation John makes another prediction to Diana from her mothers numbers, that the following day 191 people would die in New York, but Diana refuses to listen.

John seems compelled to try and stop the upcoming event and so phones through a warning to the authorities. On the news was a threat of a bomb in New York, so John assumes that’s the event and that it’ll happen at the location predicted. Just in case the authorities don’t act he heads to New York anyway, only to find that his tip off wasn’t acted upon and the local police think he’s a suspect and chase him into the subway, where the real event, a train crash happens with John too close for comfort.

When he returns home he finds Diana and Abby at his house waiting for him. They’d seen the news of the accident in New York and she’d realised that her Mother was telling the truth and wasn’t crazy. John then explains that the last sequence of numbers is incomplete, the location isn’t present. Diana also notices that what seem like the last numbers, 33, are in fact EE written backwards.

Things aren’t quite as straight forward as they seem however. This isn’t just a disaster movie, there’s something more sinister at work here. Strange men pull up to the house in a car and, without saying a word, give his son a black stone. It turns out that Caleb and Abby can both, from time to time, hear the whispering voices that Lucinda could. John needs to find out what’s behind all of this, why did he get the numbers if he can’t stop the events from happening? How is his son linked to all of this? John and Diana head to the remote portable trailer that was the last home of her mother. There, scratched into the bottom of her bed they find that EE actually stands for Everyone Else. The last sequence of numbers is actually predicting the end of the world! Is this the one that John is supposed to stop? What do the sinister silent men want with the children? I’m afraid I can’t say any more ‘cause that’d just give it all away.

I have to admit that from the trailers I’d seen for the film, I thought it was a pretty standard disaster flick with a bit of weirdness thrown in with the list of numbers. In actual fact there’s a lot more weirdness here than you at first think. At first it’s subtle, but throughout the film it gains pace until there’s a dark and sinister thread to the film that takes it into a different genre. Personally I found this quite refreshing, this isn’t the usual Hollywood fare offered up to us 9.9 times out of 10, this film dares to be different and while the ending has to be seen to be believed (and has been highly criticised) again, I admired it for its bravery.

There is a sombre tone to the film throughout. Nicolas Cage doesn’t play a happy man. A man that’s just become a single father through the death of his wife, it’s lead him to question everything he believed about how the universe works. The cast throughout are very good, I’m a bit of a fan of Mr Cage and while I can’t quite see him as an MIT astrophysicist, he pulls of the rest of the character rather well. Rose Byrne is also excellent as Diana, there’s quite a realistic interaction between her character and Cage’s, thankfully Alex Proyas kept it straight and didn’t try and introduce a romantic angle to their relationship, that wouldn’t have been right at all.

The cinematography is also quite dark throughout the film, there’s a real sense of foreboding that increases throughout the film as things start to become more sinister. The picture quality of the DVD is excellent upscaled on my 37” LCD and while for long stretches of the film the Dolby Digital 5.1 track has little to do but dialogue (which it does very well though), when it is called into action during the more intense scenes it does so with aplomb. There are a few nice surround effects in there as well, but again, they’re only during the action sequences which are few and far between.

Overall I thought it was well worth a watch. I can’t say that I came away from it with the usual Hollywood feel good feeling, but that’s part of it’s charm, it doesn’t take the usual Hollywood formula but instead decides to tread some new ground and good on it for trying. It’s flawed in a couple of areas, the significance of certain things doesn’t come across well and other things aren’t really explained, but I guess it just leaves you to use your own imagination and come up with those explanations yourself.

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Knowing, DVD Review

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Transformers Optimus Prime on David Letterman

Synopsis

Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, “Terminator Salvation” stars Christian Bale as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

The latest installment of “The Terminator” film franchise, “Terminator Salvation” is directed by McG, from a screenplay by Michael Ferris and John Brancato. The film is produced by Moritz Borman, Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek and Jeffrey Silver, and executive produced by Peter D. Graves, Bahman Naraghi, Mario F. Kassar, Andrew G. Vajna, Joel B. Michaels, Dan Lin and Jeanne Allgood.

The film also stars Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Brewster, Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams, Helena Bonham Carter as Serena Kogen, Common as Barnes, and Jadagrace as Star. The Halcyon Company Presentation of a Moritz Borman Production of a McG Film, “Terminator Salvation” is being distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures, with Sony Pictures Releasing International handling distribution in most international territories (excluding Korea and select Mideast territories).

TERMINATOR SALVATION will be released by Sony Pictures Releasing UK on June 3rd 2009

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Terminator Salvation News

I’m 35 now, you’d think I’d have learned! When Star Wars Episode I came out I remember combing the interenet for every scrap of infomation out there. In the end it pretty much ruined the film for me as I already knew so much going in, all the surprises were gone (it wasn’t that great a film anyway, but my advanced knowledge ruined it even more).

Anyway back to Star Trek. This franchise re-boot is definitely a steo in the right direction, the pacing was very good, it wasn’t break neck speed all the way through, there were peaks and troughs. There was good character development and some nice humourous touches for those with a lot of Star Trek knowledge. The actors madea  pretty good show of it as well. i have to admit when I saw the list I was a bit unsure of a couple of them. Zachary Quinto I cuold immediately see was a good pick for Spock and Simon Pegg would handle the comedy provided by Scotty with his usual aplomb. Chris Pine as Kirk was a bit of a stretch seeing as I’d only previously seen him in The Princess Diaries 2, but I was willing to go with it. John Cho as Sulu could work and I knew nothing about Anton Yelchin, so that could all be good as well. My biggest doubt, and he turned out to give the best chaacter performance in my opinion, was Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy. After seeing him rampaging thorugh middle earth as Eomer in Lord of the Rings it was difficult to see him as the grumpy, scrawny Leonard McCoy. In the end his delivery was spot on and believing this guy to be a younger version of the character we all know and love was no leap at all.

The leap had to be made on the plot. BEWARE, there may be spoilers ahead………….only read on if you’ve either already seen the film or are not bothered about doing so. Now I can see the advantage in re-booting the franchise in such a way as to change the timeline, giving you extra scope to do different things in the future rather than having to stick to the events already set down in the Star Trek universe that we know up until this point. Time travel plots generally mess with people’s heads and it’s no different here, although personally I have no problem with it. The only real problem I have is they went one paradox too far.

For them to alter events from the time of Kirk at the academy forwards is fine, but in having the Romulan vessel go back to the day of Kirk’s birth and change the circumstances of his childhood was a little bit too much for me. All of the other characters, up until the timeline changing event that forms the main body of the film, grew up in the same manner as they always had. Their inherant character, formed during childhood would therefore still be the same, the character’s essences would be the same. Kirk on the other hand grew up in totally different circumstances from his birth. His father who would’ve influenced his character to a pretty large degree, was no longer there. The Kirk we therefore now have is possibly a totally different person to the one we grew up with.

Is this taking it all a bit too seriously? Probably. Am I loosing sleep over this? No. At the end of the day it’s a piece of entertainment and I think the general message of the film was that although he grew up in different circumstances he still ends up becoming a hero, ready to lead the Enterprise into any tricky situation that arises. I can see however that some of the real Trekies out there will not be happy with the changes that have been made (these are the guys and gals that have had their ears surgically altered so they can look like Vulcans etc.). What us more moderate fans get is the promise of more action/sci-fi to come. On balance I hope J.J. Abrams stays on to take the Enterprise out for another spin around the galaxy.

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Kirk’s Movie Blogspot May 27th

Terminator 3 continues the story of John Connor and his battle against the time travelling machines and against his destiny. It’s also a bit of a divergence for the franchise in a couple of ways. Firstly the director, Jonathan Mostow has the unenviable task of stepping into James Cameron’s shoes. Secondly we have a female terminator, thirdly it’s the first terminator film not to feature Sarah Connor and fourthly it’s not trying to be a film by itself, but is trying to set the scene for the battle against skynet in the future.

Time has moved on. John Connor is now in his early 20s. The date that his father said was judgement day has come and gone, but still he’s not at ease. It turns out that judgement day hasn’t been stopped by the antics of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, only postponed. Terminators still exist in the future and so does time travel. This time a female terminator, dubbed the T-X (terminatrix), has been sent back in time. Her mission is to ideally kill John Connor. Since he’s dropped off the electronic grid and can’t be found, the T-X has secondary targets, John Connor’s lieutenants in the future. As in the second film a T-800 terminator is sent back in time as protector for John. Arnold is back!

After a minor motorcycle accident John is looking for medication but doesn’t want to go to a hospital where ID will be required. In the middle of the night he breaks into a veterinary practice and manages to patch himself up. Coincidentally this is the practice that Kate Brewster works at. Kate and John went to school together before the events of Terminator 2 took place. Kate is also on the list of the T-X’s secondary targets as she’s John’s future second in command (and wife).

When Kate is called in for a late night cat emergency, she finds and captures John. Before she has the chance to alert the authorities she hears a crash and a gunshot, the T-X has arrived. Whilst trying to kill Kate the T-X finds, and identifies John Connor’s blood (seems the new models have DNA analysers built into their tongues). Her primary target now found, her mission is now to kill John. Just in the nick of time the T-800 arrives to save John and Kate and they go on the run. Can they evade or eventually kill the T-X? Can they postpone judgement day yet again? These are the key questions in T-3.

In terms of the cast Arnold reprises his iconic portrayal of a killer robot from the future. I read somewhere that he undertook a punishing fitness regime to get back in the kind of shape he was in back in the day and it certainly worked. Edward Furlong is replaced by Nick Stahl as John Connor, Claire Danes plays Kate Brewster and Kristanna Loken plays the T-X. There’s no room for Linda Hamilton here, they’ve killed her off in between movies.

The story has moved on in time, but not really in terms of formula. Two beings come back from the future. One to kill, the other to protect. Initially it’s a race to acquire the target, then a chase film from then on in whilst the main characters try to find a way to kill the seemingly invincible terminator. In those respects this film doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, it’s pretty much by the book and we’ve seen it all before. I’m aware that a lot of people didn’t really like the 3rd Terminator film. In my own opinion, if you consider it as an action film then it’s a damn good one. If you look at it as part of the franchise then it’s definitely the weakest of the three. Whilst Kristanna Loken does a good job as the T-X, she’s just not as menacing as either Arnold in the first film, or Robert Patrick in the second and other than that it follows the formula of the first two too much.

It’s not until the last act that it starts to digress from that formula and get a bit interesting and for me it makes the whole film worthwhile. It sets the franchise up for the next couple of films about the battle against the machines in the future, one that John Connor is destined to lead. That’s the film I’ve wanted to see since I first saw the flashback sequences from the first film. The ending of this film raises some mouth watering possibilities.

The Blu Ray release of Terminator 3 is a great advert for the format. Both picture and sound are up there with other reference disks. If you want to showcase your setup this could well be among the disks you put on to show off to your mates. Picture is very clear and crisp. The picture is a very good 1080p 2.40:1 widescreen presentation. Colours are great, as is detail and contrast. For the audio we have a Dolby TrueHD track that is better than anything the release has had before. Now this is the type of film that will benefit from a full surround sound system and if you have an HD surround sound system you’re in for a real treat.

The extras have all made it across from the HD DVD release a few years ago, which is nice. We get a very nice picture-in-picture commentary with the director with a few of the stars popping up now and then. Personally I’m not a huge fan of commentaries, but having it as picture-in-picture really worked for me, as well as hearing the extra material you can see some behind the scenes footage at the same time. As well as this pip commentary you also get three other non-visual commentaries, a documentary, and a couple of other smaller features that look at the terminator outfits, toys and video game. There’s also one deleted scene and a pretty out of place blooper reel.

If you’re a fan of the Terminator franchise then this is the best the film has looked and sounded. Yes, it’s not quite as good as its predecessors, but it’s still a damn good action film with some great action sequences. The best thing the film does though is set the franchise up for the next film, and that’s the film that fans, and myself, have been awaiting for a very long time.

 

Film:	★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Video:	★★★★★★★★★☆
Audio:	★★★★★★★★★☆
Extras:	★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Overall:	★★★★★★★★☆☆

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Terminator 3, Blu Ray Review

Due for a UK cinematic release of June 5th this is one I’m really looking forward to.

Trailer

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Terminator: Salvation News

With the imminent cinematic release of Terminator: Salvation, it’s an excellent time for the release of the third installment in the franchise on Blu Ray. If you need your Terminator fix before going to see Salvation and want to see how John Connor progresses through to Judgement Day then this is an essential purchase. Arnie’s also back for possibly his last outing as a T-800 (there have been rumours of him making an appearance in Salvation, but I don’t think they’ve been confirmed). Check out the press release below for more information on the Blu Ray.

 
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
 
Available to buy and rent on Blu-ray disc 25th May

Available for the First Time in High-Definition with Exclusive Blu-ray Added Value including Picture-in-Picture “Terminator Vision”

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, True Lies)  is back as the ultimate cyborg assassin for another explosive, action-packed ride in Terminator 3, but this time he’s taking on Skynet in High-Def! This global smash-hit blasts onto screens on Blu-ray Disc on May 25th  2009, looking better than ever and including exclusive special features and interactive content. The Picture-in-Picture “Terminator Vision” gives fans the chance to join Director Jonathan Mostow (U-571) as he takes them on a Behind-the-Scenes tour of the movie, whilst the cinechat feature lets viewers interact with each other as they experience the enhanced visuals and sound that only Blu-ray can deliver!

A decade has passed since John Connor (Nick Stahl) helped prevent Judgment Day and save mankind from mass destruction. Now 22, Connor lives “off the grid” – no home, no credit cards, no cell phone and no job. No record of his existence. No way he can be traced by Skynet – the highly developed network of machines that once tried to kill him and wage war on humanity. Until… …out of the shadows of the future steps the T-X (Kristanna Loken), Skynet’s most sophisticated cyborg killing machine yet. Sent back through time to complete the job left unfinished by her predecessor, the T-1000, this machine is as relentless as her human guise is beautiful. Now Connor’s only hope for survival is The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), his mysterious former assassin. Together, they must triumph over the technologically superior T-X and forestall the looming threat of Judgment Day…or face the apocalypse and the fall of civilization as we know it.
 
Directed by Jonathan Mostowwith thescreenplay written by John Brancato (Terminator Salvation, Catwoman) and Michael Ferris (Terminator Salvation), Terminator 3 also stars Claire Danes (Stardust), Nick Stahl (Sin City) and Kristanna Loken (The L-Word) as the beautiful but deadly cyborg T-X.

All-New Exclusive Special Features

• Digitally Mastered Audio and Video
• “Terminator Vision”: Picture-in-Picture feature which provides a unique user experience. Fans can join Director Jonathan Mostow and his Creative Team as they take them on a Behind-the-Scenes tour of the making of Terminator 3
• Cinechat: Viewers can experience the film whilst interacting with each other via this Blu-ray exclusive feature

 Additional Special Features

• Blooper Reel: Terminal Flaws: Gag Reel
• Commentary: Director & Cast
• Commentary: Director Commentary
• Deleted Scenes: Sgt Candy Scene
• Featurette: Documentary
• Featurette: Dressed to Kill
• Featurette: Making of the Video Game
• Featurette: Storyboards
• Featurette: Toys in Action

The Blu-ray Disc version of Terminator 3 is BD-Live™ enabled, allowing users to get connected and go beyond the disc via an Internet-connected Blu-ray player. Download exclusive content, register for rewards, give feedback through our survey and more!

                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Terminator 3 Blu-ray Trailer
 
Zip
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd.zip

Quicktime
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_hi.mov
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_med.mov
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_lo.mov

Windows
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_hi.wmv
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_med.wmv
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_lo.wmv

Real Media
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_hi.rm
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_med.rm
http://greenroom-press.com/clients/sony_pictures/home_ents/terminator3/movies/terminator_3_bd_lo.rm

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines News

It seems that Hollywood is running out of original ideas. We’ve had a plethora of remakes over the last couple of years, some of them have been remakes of films that weren’t really that old! One genre that may benefit from a remake you’d think would be the old sci-fi films of the 50s and 60s. With modern day special effects, these films could be brought to life in a way never imagined by their original makers. The big question is can Hollywood update these films with fancy SFX, but still retain the excellent storytelling of these pioneering films.

The original The Day the Earth Stood Still is a classic sci-fi masterpiece. The concepts it addressed are as relevant today as they were then, although they’ve been tweaked somewhat for a modern world. The plot here revolves around the earths first contact with an alien. Scientists are tracking what they think is a meteor, that is on a collision course with Earth. A group of top scientists are quickly gathered to come up with a survival plan for after the impact, an impact that’s due in 78 minutes!

Unlike most meteors, this one has brakes. It slows to a hover in central park. This raises a whole other set of possibilities. From the glowing sphere a humanoid figure (without any features) emerges along with a huge robot. In the confusion the humanoid is shot, but not killed. The large robot activates and start to go on the rampage in response to the hostile action, but is deactivated by the wounded alien. On rushing him to a medical facility doctors find that his body is in fact a cocoon. It’s a jelly like substance that falls away and reveals a human male called Klaatu (Keanu Reeves).

Upon interrogation Klaatu reveals that he has to speak with the worlds leaders at the United Nations. The secretary of defense Regina Jackson (Kathy Bates) denies him and instead questions him about an impending attack on earth. Unfortunately Jackson is only confirming Klaatu’s impressions of earthlings as destructive and paranoid. It seems that Klaatu is here to make a decision, whether to kill the human race or let it survive!

Still intent on contacting our leaders, Klaatu escapes from captivation and runs into one of the scientists rounded up earlier (Jennifer Connelly as Helen Benson). Sympathetic to his cause Helen aides Klaatu in evading the authorities and meeting with one of Earth’s most prominent scientists. On the run with them is Helen’s stepson, Jacob (Jaden Smith). Jacob’s father died leaving Helen as his only family. Their relationship can be a bit strained from time to time as Jacob comes to terms with his fathers death and the fact that his stepmother, who actually loves him and wants to care for him, is all he has left. This dysfunctional relationship does nothing to convince Klaatu that humankind is worth saving, but as things become more stressed he sees how they come together in times of stress and a glimmer of hope emerges.

In the original film the central premise similar to the one presented here, however the alien races were afraid that humans, embarking on space travel and having perfected atomic bombs, would be a destructive force in the universe and had come to reign us in with robot overseers. In this re-imagining it’s slightly different. The other alien races have stood by and watched us pollute the earth to such a degree that it shortly may not be able to support life. With only a handful of planets in the universe capable of life each is very precious and must be protected. Protected from us. To this end Klaatu has been sent to see if we have the capacity to change or whether we’re beyond help and must be eradicated. The glowing sphere is in fact an ark designed to collect samples of all the wildlife on the earth so it can be re-seeded after our destruction. Can Klaatu see the good in humankind and stop the destruction to be caused by GORT (here standing for Genetically Organized Robotic Technology).

Aliens coming to Earth, a huge robot causing untold destruction, you’d be forgiven for expecting a sci-fi action extravaganza. It all starts along those kind of lines in the first part of the film only for it to tail off in the middle. From there on in we have a film that is more about relationships and how they reflect on us as a species rather than big action set pieces. The relationship between Helen and Jacob is supposed to reflect mankind. Strained and sometimes hurtful it seems that there’s no hope for them. When stress and trauma come they forget their differences and their relationship is distilled to its most basic form, they both actually love and need each other.

The film makers could have kept the central premise around mans ability to destroy through war given the current climate. Instead they decided to shift focus to that other chestnut, man poisoning the planet and ruining the environment. Either would’ve done the job as it’s not really the focus of the film, they just needed a reason for the aliens to be wary of us. Whether the film comes off overall is up for debate. The threat is clear, the possible solution and the consequences to us are also clear, but what changes Klaatu’s mind is less clear. He sees the possibility for us to change in the relationship between two people. That doesn’t mean that the whole human race WILL actually change however.

Keanu Reeves plays it pretty straight. Klaatu is essentially emotionless and monotone, so not much acting required! Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith do a good job of portraying a relationship forged from difficult circumstances. We see it change and evolve as circumstances change further and it’s this relationship that is key in changing Klaatu’s mind.

Picture and sound on this Blu Ray edition are both top notch. Having said it’s not an major action flick, there are a few sequences that will use a surround sound setup to the max and the picture is definitely five star quality throughout (there are quite a few dark and murky scenes but detail and contrast remain strong).

From the trailer you may be expecting a sci-fi action blockbuster, in which case you’ll be disappointed. If you’ve seen the original and know a little something about its plot then you’ll know to expect more of a character drama that focuses on relationships and how they reflect on us as a species. The film pacing varies, with a slow middle section and personally, if I were Klaatu, I wouldn’t have been convinced that we’d change and would’ve let GORT do his thing. Overall an interesting watch, it doesn’t live up to the original, but then very few remakes do.

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), Blu Ray Review

The Day Earth Stood Still

My first blu-ray review is a classic science fiction film that I already own as a SD release. The Day the Earth Stood Still is based on a short story by a guy called Harry Bates, I’ll be honest and say that I have never heard of him before but if the movie is a true representation of his novel then I would imagine that his books are pretty good.

When the film was made in the early 1950’s the cold war was getting rather chilly, the USA and USSR were facing each other, each with a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons. Mistrust was everywhere with the American propaganda machine running full pelt and warning every American citizen about the dangers and expansion of communism. In the film making world there was actually a black list which affected a number of actors because of their political beliefs, indeed Sam Jaffe who plays Prof. Jacob Barnhardt was very nearly not in this film due to this. On top of this fear of communism America had just got itself involved in another war, this time in Korea and there were some people, film makers included that, felt that the various governments needed to calm down a bit otherwise we would be looking at World War 3 and Armageddon, and this is really the whole basis behind the story of the film.

Klaatu (Michael Rennie) has travelled 250,000.000 miles with his 8ft robotic policeman Gort (Lock Martin) to warn all the world leaders that if they continue on the track of developing atomic energy that the planet will be destroyed, and that the human race basically need to live in peace and be a little more tolerant of each other. He Lands in America (as that is the only place where UFOs land) and comes out of his craft to address the people and the military units that have surrounded his spaceship. Of course the Americans being as they are shoot him when he tries to give a gift to a soldier and he is taken to hospital.

images not taken from the blu-ray release

Once there it is apparent that the squabbling among the world leaders will prevent him from addressing all nations and so he goes out among the people of Washington to find out exactly what the human species is all about, he lodges at a family home where he meets Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) and her son Bobby (Billy Gray) and gets to learn firsthand about 1950’s America whilst the military are frantically searching for him.

For those that like tons of action in their films, this is not for you. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a story told very much in a documentary style with the main part of the film showing Klaatu integrating himself into the general populace to find out how the ordinary people act, and what makes them tick. Here he finds out about their prejudiced ways, their fears and what drives them, and I think that it is this storyline that makes the film so good, it is as relevant today as it was then only Terrorists rather than Russia will be the ones to detonate a bomb, indeed this film has been remade recently with Keanu Reeves taking the role of Klaatu although the danger being global warming and the governments of the world seemingly doing little to prevent anything from occurring. Although from everything I’ve read that remake is not that good.

Another reason that I think that there was little action in the film was the fact that Robert Wise was the director, and the other films that I’ve seen of his (Star Trek – The Motion Picture and Run Silent, Run Deep) have been big on story and whilst not devoid of action I felt that the action always comes second place to the story itself, which is a good thing.

images not taken from the blu-ray release

One thing that I have found with movies from this era is that some of the acting can be a bit heavy on the dramatics especially from the actresses who seem to squeal and hold their hands to their faces at the first sign of danger, with the men telling them to pull it together with a still upper lip, but I suppose it is a reflection of those times and everyone seems very stoic, and repressed with nobody really letting their hair down, I mean they even eat breakfast in a suit and tie.

Special mention has to be given to Michael Rennie who plays Klaatu. He is absolutely perfect for the role being very tall and thin, his features lend themselves well for the part and he imparts his lines in such a indifferent way that you could well imagine him being a visitor from another planet. Another person worthy of mention is Billy Gray as the young boy Bobby. Kids, especially in film from this era, can seem wooden when they act or say anything and yet he seems to take to his role like a duck to water for the most part, it was quite refreshing to see.

Gort who I imagine was pretty scary at the time is obviously a guy in a rubber suit and pretty laughable for that, but he looks sufficiently scary for 1950’s cinema goers and I know that I would be pretty worried if he stepped out of any spaceship I happened to be standing in front of.

Other characters play their roles sufficiently even if they are a little one dimensional in place but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the film has a good, if simple, story that is told well and will leave people thinking well after the credits have gone.

images not taken from the blu-ray release

Picture:
I compared this blu-ray image to the SD image that I have and it is a night and day difference, blacks are dark and deep and whites are fresh with all the greys in-between looking very good indeed, there is a little bit of grain noticeable but nothing that ruined the viewing for me. One thing that surprised me thought was that the image was in 4:3 format and I couldn’t find a widescreen version (my SD release is widescreen), it may have been there but I couldn’t find it.

Sound:
I used a DTS sound track which makes remarkably good use of the surrounds, the sound of traffic and fire engines coming through well, when the spaceship landed the bass was nice and rich, filling the room. It was a real joy to behold. The main theme tune too that’s is played on the Theremin (examples of which are in the extras) was superb, with that creepy sound giving real atmosphere and menace whenever played. There is nothing really taxing for the speakers and most of the dialogue in centre speaker based but the balance of the soundtrack was spot on for my setup.

Other Notes:
I wrote an article recently called “beware the BD” where I stated that I was not convinced about the quality of blu-ray based on a demo disc I saw, whilst I still think that the SD image was degraded in that example, I have to say that the image on this BD was much superior to that on my SD.

images not taken from the blu-ray release

Extras:
Commentary by Robert Wise & Nicholas Meyer:
A fairly quiet, an interview based commentary where Meyer has sat down with Wise to talk generally about the film. I am sure that if I was really patient then I could sit down and listen to it all the way through, although I do think it would be an effort.

Commentary by film and music historians John Morgan, Steven Smith, William Stromberg and Nick Redman:
A louder, livelier discussion on the movie with additional snippets that look into the politics of the time too, again I would need to be very patient to sit through this for its entire length. They seem to concentrate a lot on the score of the film

Isolated score track 5.1 DTS:
This removes all dialogue from the film so that you can see it whilst listening to the audio track, I didn’t watch the whole film this way but did listen to a few extended scenes with it, quite a novel way to view a film and actually a good way to really concentrate on the movie to review it.

The world of Theremin:
There are three separate extras in this section. The Mysterious, Melodious Theremin (6 mins): This is a documentary about the instrument that plays the weird pulsating tune that is present throughout the film. I love these old Sci-Fi movies with the spooky soundtracks that is so familiar to Sci-Fi movies of this era and more recently Mars Attacks.

The Day the Earth Stood Still main title live performance by Peter Pringle (2 mins):
This is actually quite interesting; Peter plays the actual opening sequence on the very theremin instrument that was used in the original film. I love it I think it is an awesome sound.

Interactive Theremin: Create your own score:
As it says really, although I couldn’t get it to work properly.

Gort command interactive game:
A basic game where you have to use Gort to destroy aggressors, limited appeal.

Making of day the earth stood still: (25 mins)
Film historians and archival interviews with people like Robert Wise (Director) talk about the social influences of the film, its style and the general coming together of the movie.

Decoding Klaatu Barada Nikto: Science Fiction Metaphor: (16 mins)
This documentary looks into the world at the time of the films making in 1950, about mistrust and the possibility of World War 3.

A brief history of flying saucers: (34 mins)
Complete with a few clips of The Day the Earth Stood Still, this documentary is about various UFO experiences from Roswell onwards, it is an interesting watch and a nice addition to the extras.

The astounding harry bates: (11 mins)
A short tribute for the author whose book The Day the Earth Stood Still was based on.

Edmund North: The man who made The Day the Earth Stood Still: (14 mins)
Another tribute, this time concentrating on Edmund North, the films screenwriter.

Race to Oblivion: A Documentary short written by Edmund North: (26 mins)
A look into the arms race and the cold war which was building up to breakneck speed around this period in time.

Farewell to the master: a reading by Jamieson K. Price of the original Harry Bates short story: (97 mins)
Essentially an audio book split up into 3 chapters, wasn’t not something I had time to listen to when reviewing but would be of interest to some.

Fox Movietonews (1951): (6 mins)
Essentially an American propaganda short.

Teaser Trailer & Theatrical Trailer:
Trailers for the film

Galleries:
A whole bunch of still images set behind a number of different headings

Websites:
A list of 2 websites, pointless extra

Overall:
A very good, classic Sci-Fi film that should be in every genre fans collection, I’ve read that on the original SD release there is a 80 min making of that has not been but on this Blu-ray release so I would recommend this BD as an addition to the collection rather than a replacement.

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – Blu-Ray Review

No. 1 – I’ll kick off the list with one of my favorite sci-fi action films, Blade. I’ll include the other films here as well, but predominantly I want the first in the franchise. The nightclub scene at the start will be amazing in HD sound and the film overall will be brilliant in full HD. I’ve no idea why it hasn’t been released yet, from some of the obscure titles they’re releasing now you’d think a well received franchise like this would’ve been out ages ago. It’s just been given the HD treatment in America so hopefully a Blu Ray release is on the cards for us in the UK.

No.2 – Here I’ll put one of my more obscure, and guilty pleasure titles, the 1995 film Hackers. This highly stylised look at the hacking community can’t be taken too seriously, it’s a fun film with a very young Angelina Jolie and a great soundtrack. It reminds me of University days (and nights spent in the Hacienda) and of the computer game Wipeout for some reason. The soundtrack will definitely benefit from the HD treatment and the vivid colours used in the film style will pop nicely in HD. For the film’s fans like me out there I can find no plans to bring this to Blu Ray for the time being. Lets hope they get round to it soon!

No.3 – I’ll be a bit more predictable and go with Star Wars here (I held out as long as I could!). Again, I’ll go with the whole franchise in one choice, otherwise the top 10 list would be dominated with the sequels. I’ll even include the prequel films here as well, although my love will always be with the original trilogy. If they’ve got a decent source to get an HD transfer from then these will just be amazing on Blu Ray. Knowing George Lucas, he won’t want to bring them out until they’re near perfect as well (lets hope he doesn’t start tinkering with them again though!) but that means that, although their appearance on Blu Ray is inevitable, they might not appear for a while.

No. 4 – This one could be for region 2 DVD never mind Blu Ray. As far as I know it’s never been released over here (or if it was it went out of print very quickly and was never brought back). The film is Major League, a baseball comedy starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Wesley Snipes. I can’t say that I’m a huge sports film fan and have never really watched that much baseball (except when I’m in America and am bored in a hotel room) but for some strange reason I love this film. It brings together a great bunch of characters, has some great comedy and the usual feel good sports movie plot where a bunch of underachievers pull off the impossible and win. It’s not a big action film that’ll benefit from a great HD soundtrack, but the picture could be good. I’d just love to be able to add it to my collection!

No.5 – And before you know it here we are at the end of the first installment. I’ll end on another sci-fi/fantasy flick, Highlander. I’m can’t say I’m that bothered about the sequels for this one, just the original will do. This is a film that gets better after a few watches. The jumping through the timeline can be a bit confusing the first time through, but after you’ve got that straight it’s one of the all time classics. It’s not got that big a soundtrack, but the visuals could benefit greatly from the HD treatment. A lot of the scenes are in dark, murky conditions so the extra detail possible on a Blu Ray would be very welcome.

That’s the first installment over with (and not a single mention of a Hobit!). Check back for the other five, there might be a couple of surprises in there (for me as well, I’ve only just managed to scrape five together for this, need to go away and have a wander through my DVD collection!).

View The Whole Blog At Movie District

Kirk’s Movie Blogspot 7th March