The Arrival (1996)

A film that I had seen bits and pieces of the second half on Cinemax for a lot of my childhood, I had never sat down to watch all of David Twohy's The Arrival (and I've always avoided the infamous sequel, The Second Arrival). It felt right to start off my science fiction weekend with something that wasn't intensely cerebral but still interesting. Add to that a mid-90's Charlie Sheen (when I still had fun with his pre-Two and a Half Men antics) and a comfortable slow burning plot and you have a recipe for a fun hour and half plus.

The film starts off in a poppy field not too far from the North Pole, defying all logic. Climatologist Illana Green (Lindsay Crouse, a nice far cry from her turn as Maggie in Season Four of Buffy) is investigating, spewing technical terms about the enivronment and CO2 and it all sounds very nice and lets us know the film is at least going to try to ground itself somewhat. Elsewhere in the world, Zane Zaminski (Sheen, playing warm, yet paranoid and full of crazy eyes), a radio astronomer for SETI and his co-worker Calvin (a criminally underused Richard Schiff) discover a unique signal of extraterrestrial origin. As each scientist takes their finds to their superiors, they are repeatedly and ignored and called out, until Illana and Zane (in their own ways) decide to do it homegrown. Relying on their skills, they discover clues leading them to Mexico, where the movie throws bathtubs and scorpions at them and begins to get a little serious, while Zane gets crazier and crazier.

Like most of Twohy's later films (Pitch Black, Below), The Arrival thinks it's smarter than it actually is, but it's so much damn fun, I'll forgive him for it. He has some fun camera techniques and is willing to let his actors breathe (especially Sheen, who is alternate parts tense and unintentionally hilarious) which gets some good results. His films (sans the atrocious looking A Perfect Getaway which I still have not watched) are always great B movie guilty pleasures and this one is no exception. The effects are pretty decent for the time and the score is appropriately ham-fisted and blaring. And you gotta love assassins who use bathtubs and scorpions to kill people.

Upcoming Reviews...

Now that the Blogathon has got me back online and given me that shot in the arm I needed, I'm prepared to go on a glut of reviewing over the weekend. As it is, I had hoped to review Inception today, but that's likely to be my birthday present so expect that review sometime in early August. So, in lieu of Inception, I've decided to revisit my favorite genre (science fiction) and review some old favorites as well as some genre classics (cult and otherwise) that I've meant to check out for a long time.
Some new reviews to come:
Solaris (1972)
The Pier (1962)
Metropolis (1927) (sadly, it won't be the restored version scheduled for release later this month)
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Stalker (1979)
eXistenZ (1999)
Alphaville (1965)
Timecrimes (2007)
2046 (2004)

They may not all get posted this weekend, but expect them soon. As soon as I finish catching up on The Venture Bros., prepping for new episodes in August (a nice belated birthday present... thanks, Adult Swim!)...

BLOGATHON: Dahmer (2002)

Now that the Blogathon is in full swing, I've finally culled together my thoughts on the film chosen for me, 2002's biopic, Dahmer.

I'll say this right off the bat. Dahmer isn't quite what you expect, in ways both good and bad. For one, I expected it to be a gorefest, but it's very tastefully done, with most of the gore happening off screen and only a few really grisly scenes for impact. That's not to say it's an easy film to watch, as Jeremy Renner's creepy, yet subtle performance of the infamous serial killer is fantastic. It's a shame the movie around him isn't up to snuff.

The plot focuses on Dahmer's past (leading up to his first murder) and present (stalking homosexuals at clubs and bringing them home to create uninhibited "sex slaves", something that the movie won't explain to you itself) and it's in the past that I find the movie at its best. Unfortunately, the sticking point is that if you don't research the story of Dahmer, you won't really get some of the things happening in the film. Renner gets some real meat to chew on when he's interacting with his family and his soon to be first victim. Sadly as the film goes on, I began to notice something very distracting: every other actor in this film is terrible. Whether it's Artel Great's caricature of a street wise homosexual African American or Bruce Davison's "Where am I?" portrayal of Dahmer's father, the acting is just laughably phoned in. I can't count the number of times a scene would really gain some momentum and then one of the other actors would open his mouth and ruin it.

Almost as middling as the acting is David Jacobson's directing which basically includes sitting the camera at the exact expected angle and deciding which color a scene should be. His choice to abruptly end the movie as Dahmer walks off into the mysterious forest with no purpose is so frustrating that it almost ruins any good intentions the film has. I have yet to see Down in the Valley, but I hope his directing isn't as middle of the road there. On a lighter note, at least I enjoyed the film's moody score which really evoked a great mood. It really is a shame that Renner and the score aren't in a better movie.

Other Blogathon posts:

Sam Inglis' review of 11:14

Super Marcey's review of Dogtooth

More coming soon...

Joblo Blogathon

So, as you can tell I've been a bit lax lately. However, to help kick start my ass back into gear, I'm participating in the Joblo Blogathon along with five other of my fellow schmoes from the Joblo community. My portion should be up soon, barring unforseeable delays.

Credit for the excellent gif goes to ever talented God of War (of Movie Gif Net).

Futurama - Rebirth/In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela

Wow. I've never seen a cancelled show come back this strong. Watching these premier episodes of the new season (the show's sixth, following production orders, airing on Comedy Central Thursdays at 10 PM EST) one would think that Matt Groening and co. just took a long hiatus to further sharpen their wits for this brilliant show. While the show's fifth season, comprised entirely of four straight to DVD movies later split up for broadcasting, was hit or miss for some (I fully enjoyed them all, with Bender's Game being the only weak link of the bunch for me), these two episodes are a hilarious gut punch that don't skimp on the intelligent humor or the brilliant geek culture references the show is known and loved for.

I'm definitely not going to spoil the plots of the episodes, trust me, it's way more fun going into them blind, just like every episode of Futurama. Here's hoping the meatbags at Comedy Central give Groening's masterpiece a good home until (if ever) he finally is able to put it rest. Of course, I'll always pray that never happens.

(500) Days of Summer

Marc Webb's feature film debut, (500) Days of Summer, wasn't a film I was exactly looking forward to. I was prepared to write it off to hype, but as I sat down to watch the movie with my wife I can say I really wasn't prepared for the places this film went. This is the kind of romantic comedy I enjoy the most, with real characters and real emotions, topped off with a believable story.

The story is told in a non-linear fashion, with Tom Hansen (a mesmerizing Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falling in love with the new girl, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), at the greeting card company where he works. Eventually the two begin seeing each other, where Tom learns that Summer does not want to get close, having commitment issues stemming from her parent's divorce. Early in the movie, we see the aftermath of the end of their relationship, Summer wanting to remain friends; Tom wanting more. Tom romanticizes their relationship, blinding himself to the reality of what Summer is and isn't. The film follows his rise and fall of emotions, Tom wondering how to get Summer back, everyone else wondering where Tom will land.

(500) Days of Summer is a film that lets its actors breathe and inhabit their characters (every actor makes the most of their screen time) and genuinely puts us in Tom's shoes. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors and I can't wait to see him in next month's Inception and Zooey Deschanel is possibly too good at pulling off her off putting character. Marc Webb has a tight hold on his direction and gives every frame a pleasing touch to the eye, while not afraid to get a little existential and goofy. Also to note is the great soundtrack, featuring Regina Spektor and Black Lips, among others. This is just a film I really enjoyed every minute and every element of and I highly recommend it.

Nothing

 

Nothing is a strange oddity of a film, one that I wish really had enough steam for its entire runtime. The plot follows two men who live together, one trying to push his own way through society while letting everyone walk on him (Dave); the other an agoraphobic who suffers from panic attacks (Andrew). Through strings of bad luck worthy of any classic black comedy, they both end up trapped in their home, needing an exit from their problems and it seems like it's not going to happen. Lo and behold, after a tear gas attack from the police, Andrew and Dave wake up to discover that there is literally nothing outside their house.

It is here where the film is most interesting as David Hewlett and Andrew Miller (both having previously acted in director Vincenzo Natali's Cube) portray the two neurotics exploring their new world with a fantastic sense of wonder and fear. The sequences with the recurring nightmares of the two murdering each other are morbidly hilarious and a little unnerving at the same time. Unfortunately, shortly after the film really goes off the rails, seemingly just pull some gags and show off the effects. I'd lightly recommend it for a fun time, but don't expect too much from it. I appreciate Natali for trying something different, but I much prefer his earlier output and look forward to Splice as a return to form.