Sentimental classic science fiction still echoes
E.T.
Released June 11, 1982
REVIEW. E.T. The Extraterrestrial was made forty years ago. At the time I had reservations.
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Tag: film
Real deal alien fiction
Arrival
Released November 11, 2016
REVIEW. Later in Arrival, there’s a fuzzy sense of plot which keeps you wondering about what is going on to extra-terrestrial linguist Louise (Amy Adams).
Not quite the real deal
The Arrival
Released May 31, 1996
REVIEW. I wouldn’t have picked Charlie Sheen for The Arrival.
Are there any good alien films?
I wanted to keep the theme of broadcasting or spiritual broadcasting or spiritual or in other words just the generic … Continue reading Are there any good alien films?
The prospect of artificial life forms
A.I.
Released June 21, 2001
IN SOCIETY. Artificial intelligence is coming to a world near you or your grandchildren’s.
Determination of survivors of a virus outbreak
28 Days Later
Released November 1, 2002
IN SOCIETY. 28 Days Later recurs on those well-used themes on the self-destruction of humanity and in spite of its dark tones survival is its main motif: the determination of the survivors of a virus outbreak when it would be easier to shrivel up and cease existing.
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Something to be said
FAITH AND FILM. There may be something to be said about Bunuel’s so-called masterpiece from a certain point of view. … Continue reading Something to be said
Bunuel’s overrated “masterpiece”
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Released September 15, 1972
CRITIQUE. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is described as in the social grotesque genre. Watching it gave me good information about how socialists view capitalists.
Was it really that surreal?
NOTES. As they say, so I’ll say it, “I’ve been thinking” about (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie in my case, among other things)
Discreet filmmaking?
NOTES. I have just seen The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, released in 1972. It is described as in the … Continue reading Discreet filmmaking?
Will there be peace in our time?
2010: The Year We Make Contact
Released December 7, 1984
IN SOCIETY. Problematic Russian/American relations caught the public attention during the 1980s.
Wanting to grow up fast – but there’s a thing called the present
13 Going on 30
Released April 23, 2004.
IN SOCIETY. Thrust into adulthood but with a 13 year-old mind. Do we want to grow up too fast?
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This week
Three pieces will be posted this week. That will be all for the week. The theme is the future. And … Continue reading This week
How far will love stretch?
Amour
Released September 20, 2012
IN SOCIETY. Growing old in Paris is not an easy spectacle.
Birdman of Alcatraz gets you in the shoes of an inmate
Birdman of Alcatraz
Released July 4, 1962.
CONNOISSEUR’S CHOICE. That 1994 prison movie called The Shawshank Redemption seemed to take from the book of the film under review here, the 1962 prison drama Birdman of Alcatraz. The similarities between the films are striking. Both films have a sadistic head of prison, and the key inmate (played by Tim Robbins in the Shawshank film) has a redemption of a sort. This is where the similarities end. Birdman of Alcatraz is the true story of inmate Robert Stroud (played by the Hollywood actor Burt Lancaster) who discovers his individuality and self-respect while in prison when he becomes an authority on bird life.
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Unique characters
Quite a character, in fact — as every movie cop should be. – Gordon Gow on the idiosyncratic features of … Continue reading Unique characters
The theme of fear of rejection in Cyrano
Cyrano
FAITH AND FILM. Love that was once for a cousin, as in the version of Cyrano from 1990, is now for a friend, and I am more comfortable with this leaning. Cyrano is also a story of shame and fear of rejection — something that single people of faith can struggle with.
Annie the musical delights
Annie
Released May 21, 1982
REVIEW. The 1982 movie Annie, one of the few musicals of the time, was based on the Broadway musical which in turn was based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. The movie was a crowd pleaser and a box office success.
Film not a history lesson: filmmakers
Filmmakers don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story
ARTICLE. If you want to see a film with accurate history, see a documentary.
That is probably the advice most filmmakers would give.
Star Wars led to a string of space films
ARTICLE. Outer space, regarded as the final frontier, is often a source of fascination for filmmakers. The deep space black, the stars and planets have conjured metaphysical quagmires and dreams in the recesses of script writers and filmmakers minds. Some of these films are coated in candy colored flavor that give us more a sense of popcorn cinema than what it is like in outer space, but they can make for fun films and provide imagination theatre for young and old. One is just captivated by the mesmerizing images. Space films of the late 1970s were fun escapades for audiences who wanted to escape into the deep space black, candy colored. The success of Star Wars (1977) brought a surge of space films to the cinema.
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