Pandorum, True Sci-Fi

Ok, I know I’ve only posted sci-fi reviews in the past couple of months (Children and District 9), but maybe that’s because the genre has had a resurgence of late. The movie I wish to discuss is Pandorum. One of the better ways to describe this movie is to contrast it to Sunshine, a comparison actually provided by my cousin Luke. Sunshine was a brilliant and literally bright movie that used its plot and setting in wonderful ways. So with Pandorum, darkness seemed to be a tool that the film makers used till the very end.

Some might mistakenly place this movie into the sci-fi/horror genre, it certainly had the scary creatures and enough blood, but those people would be doing a disservice to Pandorum. This movie takes place on a ship traveling with the most precious cargo, humans. I’m not going to give away too much of the plot, because throughout the movie it was built in such a way that each new piece isn’t new just for the characters, but for you as well. There’s always a little bit of mystery around everything you learn. With that said, you meet your first two characters fairly quickly, Corporal Bower played by Ben Foster, and Denis Quad cast as Lieutenant Payton. Both of these actors do a phenomenal job with their characters and I would say they made this movie, not only because the cast is incredibly small, but because this movie (while about some very large issues) is really about these two guys, stuck on an abandoned space ship.

The supporting cast was good, but weak in the fact that I walked out of the movie, only knowing the names of the two main characters, leaving the supporting cast (in my mind) as almost pointless in their existence. But that is a flaw that only appears lightly on the radar in relation to the wonderful story telling and heart felt connection to this fictitious world we watch on the silver screen. There were moments of flashback by Bower that I for one emotionally connected to, and one in particular that I wish to talk about…

[Partial SPOILER ALERT]
So the reason this ship, the Elysseum, is transporting human cargo, is because it is on a mission to colonize a distant planet, Tanis.  This planet is the last hope for the survival of humanity, and the 60,000 cryogenically frozen humans on board are “all that’s left.”  During one flashback, Bower recalls when, as a small boy, the first probe to land on Tanis sent back images.  With his parents in the background, it showed him in front of the giant display as the news broadcast live (yet delayed due to distance) video of the probes landing.  It showed the tense few moments as the probe scanned for any form of life on Tanis, and then confirmation, as it picks up one form of plant life after another.  This is obviously one of the most historical moments imaginable, not only finding a planet much like earth, but then finding complex life existing.  If you can’t emotionally connect with such a huge event, then you may want to rethink our place in the universe.

The most unfortunate aspect about this movie (as it was with Sunshine) is that it will go mostly unnoticed by the majority of film watchers, but its redemption from such a meager release has come almost instantly. It will go down as a modern throw-back to some of the great sci-fi masters and as Luke said, it will probably inspire future film makers with its true taste of sci-fi.  I agree, for in that movie I found inspiration that I thought long dead, the desire to tell stories through film and novel (yes, that used to be my life long dream believe it or not).

After every thing’s said and done, this is easily a favorite movie of mine.  I would recommend this movie to anyone who is not light of heart and stomach and say that it shall go down in the annels of history along with the classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Alien, Blade Runner etc.

Yes, I’m being passive aggressive, deal with it…

This semester has been going pretty well.  I’m taking a fairly heavy load of classes, Trig, Anthro, Ethics, Bio and my one relaxing class Silver Standard.  I’m behind in my Ethics and Anthro reading, but they are great classes and I’m learning a lot.  Bio 1610 is going quite well, I got an 87% on my first test, and 100 on this past quiz.  Ethics is going to be rough, because I have a LOT of reading and homework assignments to catch up on.

Home life is great!  Emily is due in 6 weeks, and both of us are excited for our little girl to come.  With that we are looking forward to some baby showers to help us get everything we need for our little angel.  We’re so lucky to have family and friends who are willing to take the time and effort to put those together.  Lately Emily and my mom have been working together to get my massage business going so we can have an inflow, its just been hard with 12 hours everyday needing to be devoted to school.  Unfortunately those 12 hours aren’t attained due to other things going on, or my own personal need to relax.

All-in-all, life is good.  I love hanging out with friends and it’s great living so close to many of my 198th ward pals.  Movie nights have been going great, it allows me to see a few of my more elusive friends (Mr. Peterson and Mr. Atwood) and has even provided Emily with a “Charmed” friend.  I do wish Emily and I got out more, but it seems increasingly difficult as the baby comes, and I know will get exponentially so after delivery.

Something that seems to constantly come up though, is the fact certain people are completely unaware of their affect on others.  Emily and I have been learning in our marriage that when you interact with another person, and that person perhaps has some news that causes you to feel negative emotions, the best thing to do is stop thinking of yourself, let go of the pride you’re holding onto, and try to understand how the other person is affected by whatever the discussion might be about.  Or try to truly comprehend what they’re saying to you, and why they’re saying it.  People tend to focus on the negative side of things too much.  Why?  What is the point?  President Boyd K. Packer addressed this issue when he said , “Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior.”  Replace ‘unworthy behavior’ with ‘negative thinking’ and my point is proven.  If you notice flaws/mistakes/shortcomings in others’ (past, present or future) and do not immediately focus on their strengths, but instead point out these foibles, you are simply aiding in their continued (return to, or turn to) negative thought or behavior.  In fact, with your own preoccupation with negativity, you are not just hindering their growth, but aiding in your own decent into darkness.

Some people may allow themselves to be around these kind of people, others might be obligated due to family ties.  Fortunately for me, I do not allow myself to do that, nor do I feel any obligation is strong enough for me to put up with that kind of behavior.  And now that I am a husband and soon to be father, I see no reason for my wife or family to be subjected to such a demeaning and negative influence.  If you happen to know, or be one of these people, please pass along the principles of happiness by choosing to look at the positive, and ignore the negative.  Because I promise you, you wont like the consequences.

Call me Irish, but I’ll dance Hindi

Ok, kind of a random title I know.  But for the longest time I’ve enjoyed the Pogues, a late 80’s early 90’s Irish Punk/Celtic Band, they’re more irish folk, but they’ve inspired a lot of other Irish bands.  Such as Dropkick Murphys, whom I have recently taken a greater interest in.  In fact, I have an Irish inspired playlist, yeah, it just has those two bands on it, but it’s great going from the Murphys heavy punk sound, to the Pogues who have more than one song that seem to only feature a guitar and a whole bunch of irish guys singing (which have given me the urge to move to Ireland, take up drinking, and sit all day in a pub singing drinking songs).  Don’t worry though, I wont.  Speaking of Irish bands, if anyone has some Flogging Molly (whom has been recomended to me multiple times now) let me know so I can pirate it off your computer… screw it, I’ll just head over to Pirate Bay right now.  *WINK*

Yes, Irish folk punk music is wonderful and different, but it honestly has nothin on the wonderful Hindi tunes.  Last Christmas I became an instant fan by way of Saawariya.  Followed not closely enough by Om Shanti Om, both films, in my not so experienced Bollywood opinion, are wonderful showcases of how the Indian film industry enjoys mixing song and dance into their movies.  They’re also both very different and allow us to see seperate aspects of Hollywoods Hindu step-sister.  My relationship with India has lasted over a decade now, as I remember when my mom was there for a year and we almost moved there.  Once my mom came back, my Indian/Hindu culture education began.  I even represented the India culture at our 6th grade International Showcase.  I started eating Indian food soon after.  While I have no first hand experience of that country, I definitely have an appreciation for it.  So it was a wonderful surprise when Slumdog Millionare was such a hit, I mean, it is an amazing film.  Even though it’s not strictly Bollywood, it’s a wonderful representation of Indian culture.

So all this lead me to FINALLY download some music that I’m familiar with (both the Slumdog and Saawariya soundtrack), and I can’t wait to get up to Park City, my mom has LOADS of Hindi music.  I don’t even know if that’s what it’s actually classified as, but it’s so incredibly fun!  If you’ve never seen a giant Bollywood dance number, or a Hindi woman dancing tradition style, black girls ain’t got nothin on them.  They can move their bodies in ways most dancers only dream of, screw ballroom!  I want a class that teaches THAT at UVU.  Anyway, I can’t wait to roll down the street blairing my music where the singers are singing in a language I will probalby never understand.

Children Of Men Asks Questions

What would happen to our society if a global pandemic of infertility struck women?  What if no child had been born for 20 years?  These are the questions ‘Children of Men’ ask.  It then shows you a picture of a world and asks “Might this be the outcome, is this so unbelievable?”  There are no laser guns, no robots.  Other than transclucent and paper thin television screens, as well as being set in the future, you might forget this is a sci-fi movie.

But what hits the home run in my favoritist of genres (movie, book, TV show, ANYthing) is that ‘Children of Men’ blasts you with curiosity for the first half of the film.  You’re trying to really figure out what happened, not just to the world, but to these characters.  This movie drew me in with such ease and fluidity that I was extremely upset when I had to leave the world of Men and answer the door.  Clive Owen plays his role well, which isn’t surprising, because it seems every movie I’ve seen him in, he is absolutely phenomenal at making his character real and believable.  Everything seemed to work well during this film, sound was great, picture was great and the gore, yes GORE was done right.

Speaking of the violence of this movie, it was needed to tell the story.  In fact, I heartedly condone the portrayal of violence.  Mainly because it wasn’t done unnecessarily.  How can you tell THIS story, a story of a man trying to save the LAST hope of humanity, without showing the measures taken by him, and those who hope to exploit that hope.  Of course, this then asks the question, what would YOU do should the future of the human race be thrust under your wing to protect?  If you don’t think you could maim or kill others to do so, I hope you aren’t ever put in that situation.

Returning to my talk of sci-fi, this was another return to the roots of sci-fi.  Allagories.  That’s really what the science fiction greats (Vern, Wells, Asimov, Clarke) all did with what they wrote.  Unfortunately, this has been forgotten by most and we look at sci-fi as something less than what it should be.  Not this movie, not ‘Children of Men’.  And even though it is wholly sci-fi, it trancends the bounds of that genre by providing a mechanism that plays off every compassionate bone in your body.  Within that mechanism, a wholly too realistic urban warfare scene that makes you cringe (and had even ME nauseated) is  followed immediately by the most sincere human reaction possible by those who had just been causing said warfare.  These few minutes of cease fire remind us what it is we should be fighting for every day of our lives.

My last few words about ‘Children of Men’?  It’s… well, let’s just say that it was under appreciated, probably because it wasn’t “entertaining” enough.  Just as I wish more people appreciated this country, I wish more people appreciated a good movie.  Yet all those who built the genre of science fiction are probably looking down on ‘Children of Men’ and saying “Well done!”

Further Look Into District 9

The following was written by a good friend of mine in response to my review of District 9. He’s an incredible movie goer, has seen hundreds more movies than I, and thus, his judgment and taste is often taken with such incredible weight that I follow it.

“Lucas Says:
August 15, 2009 at 9:10 pm e

I’ll take the bait and “talk about it”.

¡¡¡CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

I’ll have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this movie when I first saw the trailer, especially when the bold text informed me that the Special Effects Don, Peter Jackson, had attached himself to the project; which is how I always imagine theses things, like parasites feeding off of young talent. Take for example Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Ask anyone who the director of the film was and they’ll tell you Tim Burton, guess what world?! it wasn’t ol Timmy but the very talented Henry Selick. Great movies should stand on their own and not the bloated fame of Hollywood’s cookie cutter elite.

Regarding District 9, the subject of this post, I will agree that it is a well executed addition to my beloved Sci-Fi universe, pun if you must, but I can not state that it is the best Sci-Fi of the decade. And I can, in fact, remember a few Sci-Fi flicks that were at least as good, including but not limited to: The Moon, Sunshine, Star Trek (2009), The Man From Earth, Children of Men, and I’m sure if I took some time I could think of a few more. I was very irritated that the only prawns that showed any sort of human emotion were conveniently the two that we were meant to be attached to, I couldn’t have cared less about the rest of the bugs left on the ground. Kill em all for all I care because apparently the only two with any sort of worth are safely stored away on the mother ship. It would have been a bit more powerful if the hero had felt compassion for the stranded Aliens as a result of his moral fiber. Being forced to reflect on his treatment of the prawns while becoming one himself is slightly less poignant, and certainly more self serving.

There were a couple more details that I will not nitpick, ultimately I loved the movie. Like all great Sci-Fi flicks it dealt with a moral dilemma in a fictional setting, albeit with the use of a slightly hokie device.”

Below I will include some of my reasoning as to what I saw better in District 9 than two of the movies he brought up.

Touche Luke, Touche. Unfortunately I have yet to see Moon, Children of Men, or The Man From Earth, so I cannot speculate on those movies. Concerning Sunshine, I had a hard time debating if District 9 should be praised above our sunbound crew of the Icuris. This was a definite thought of mine and came into mind several times while writing the review. Obviously I settled on District 9 as the champion of the two. While yes District 9 had some flaws as all movies do (you put into word what I could not express or put a finger on), Sunshine was set in such an incredible and fascinating world far beyond any earth we know today, that it was something beyond belief. Yet the characters were so diverse and played so well that THEY, not the setting at all, were the real story (imo). Thus with District 9 being grounded on Earth, and shot in such a way that added to its realism I chose it. Another word on Sunshine is that it was a far more beautiful film that 9 cannot even touch.

Star Trek (2009) was a wonderfully entertaining sci-fi, yet was almost wholly unoriginal in the fact it was using a predesigned character set that almost every person that saw it was at least slightly familiar with. Taking into account that his required some fancy moves by all involved to set it out as an original Star Trek did give it some weight, yet (once again imo) did not have the breath of originality that District 9 had. All be it Star Trek was a much more epic film. Also, the social issue confrontation that many of our sci-fi fathers built into their universes felt very lacking here.

I don’t say that these two movies were not fantastic, I thought so of each, I am merely asserting my views as to why District 9 was a better sci-fi. I will go onto do my research by watching these other movies mentioned though, all of which I have heard of and have a great desire to experience.

EDIT (Sunday August16th 7:07)

As relating to Peter Jackson attaching his name to the movie.  From what I mentioned earlier about Jackson and Blomkamp originally slated for Halo, this movie was (not to demean it) but an total hail-mary afterthought once the Halo movie was taken from them.  Now, the scheme was exactly as Lucas said it was, IF this movie was Halo.  But it’s not.  It’s a post abortion love child of Blomkamp with Jackson as some creative help.  Jackson may have given enough weight to carry this movie, but Sony (holding the distribution rights) with its tell nothing advertising campaign and forcing Jackson to make a first-time appearance at Comic-Con, created so much ‘underground’ buzz, that Sony felt comfortable taking this movie nation wide it’s first weekend.

\Had this movie not been backed by Jackson and Sony, I feel it might have turned out a lot like Moon (which I haven’t seen).  Moon was screened at Sundance (where Luke saw and then told me about) then was very limited released.   While those sorts of movies truly are wonderful works of the silver screen, we must not fault an amazing virgin director and lead actor whom have this amazing story to tell, just because they got lucky with a big name and wide distribution.

Also, it’s wonderful to note that D-9 made $37 million it’s first weekend (Yes, that means they made $6 million more than it cost in three-ish days), and as the New York Times tells, it might have been a very specific crowd that forked over that $37 mil, but this movie is starting to belong to everyone.  We’ll see where D-9 falls as the weeks go on, but either way, this overly ambitious, under funded film is a major break for Blomkamp and Copley, whom I’m sure will get plenty more gigs.

The Non-Human Prejudice of ‘District 9′

Well, wow. Ok, I was blown away by this movie. Hands down, the best sci-fi in… well, I can’t remember when I last saw a sci-fi flick that was this GREAT. The first things I will mention are the aspects which I did NOT like about it, mainly cause there aren’t many. The first is the fact that while it was toted as an original sci-fi (which it was) it used some very typical sci-fi mechanics (ie lasers which turned humans into a pink mist, tractor beams, your usual alien technologies). Second is that the main actor (Sharlto Copley) while playing his role quite well, was not given enough time to show a more believable character transformation through the movie. I say this, but the choices his character (Wikus Van De Merwe) has to make flow very well through the story.

Ok, what DID I like? Everything else! This movie was shot with a reported $31 million budget, by a first time director (Neill Blomkamp) who also co-wrote the story. The deal with ‘District 9′ is that Peter Jackson and Blomkamp were taken in by Fox and Universal to do a Halo movie. After a power struggle between the two studios, they pulled the plug, leave Jackson and Blomkamp with nothing. So what do two talented directors do? They set out to make a genre busting sci-fi. A pair of real cowboys those two. Blomkamp got his first job in the movie biz with the help of his friend. So he returned the favor by giving the lead role in District 9 to Copley. Talk about positive karma.

As far as the story goes, I wont reveal too much. Twenty years ago an alien ship parks over Johannesburg South Africa, after months of no contact, we bust in and find hundreds of thousands of alien ‘drones’ (think working class bees or ants) who are malnourished. In a “humanitarian effort” we ship them down to the ground. But the aliens turn out to be more than we can handle so we force them to live in a ghetto scarily reminiscent of Nazi occupied Poland. All these facts are brought to you by documentary style footage as the whole intro of the story unfolds. And while I love these types of movies (think Cloverfield) it does transition into your normal movie footage, with the occasional docu-scene spattered in.

As the movie went on, I found myself anxiously on the edge of my seat waiting for the adrenaline filled, almost too intense moments to pass. They never really do, at least, not for me. The director knew what he was doing for sure and Peter Jackson made a smart move putting himself behind Blomkamp.

Copley gave a wonderful performance, especially since there was almost no script and many scenes were done improv/ad lib. In actuality, Copley carried the story, getting only minor support from other actors (I would say Copley was in about 75% of the shots). His acting was incredible, I felt his pain at every turn. The main supporting actor that added a very wonderful and non-human dimension was an alien, Christopher I believe. He was portrayed completely CG, yet was also completely believable.

Speaking of which, the visual affects were great, seeing as everyone involved has had experience in that realm. At first the aliens (referred to as pawns by the locals) appear a bit out of place, but then you get to know the world they live in and they fit right in place. The editing was phenomenal, camera work was shaky but just right, and the cinematography was kept in a the documentary style, helping you see this as it’s own world and not just another movie.

Final Word: If you like sci-fi, you will love this movie. If you like action, you will love this movie. If you like intense movies, you will like this one. The bottom line is that this was beyond a good movie. On the way home Emily asked me which was better, this or Slumdog Millionaire. I keep my genre lines thick and separate. Everyone knows Slumdog was one of the best movies of our time. I will say that District 9 *IS* the best sci-fi of our time. District 9 crosses the line between warm and fuzzy aliens (E.T., Close Encounters) and the kill all aggressive aliens (Predator, Independence Day). It brings sci-fi back to what it originally was, a median in which to deal with social issues. At the end of the movie it was the aliens we sympathized with, because we saw Van De Merwe literally be changed. I cannot help but feel Blomkamp telling us that this sort of prejudice is exactly what millions of people still deal with, and how would WE feel if we had to experience it.

The Funny, Yet Not So ‘Funny People’

Going into this movie I was prepared, I knew it wasn’t “what everyone expected” thanks to a friend (who I don’t remember) telling me about it. Maybe it was Luke. I also knew it was over two hours long. I was looking forward to the laughs it provided, yet was pleasantly surprised by the seriousness of the plot. Though despite it’s sometimes sobering scenes, I was found to be humored just by the situations these comedians (literal and figurative) became wrapped up in. Concerning the length of the movie; it was not LOTR long and epic, nor was it Benjamin Button all encompassing long. As I sat there and watched Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, I felt I was watching the very humorous, dramatic and ironic parts of their characters lives. All-be-it for a small, yet very important, chunk of their lives.

For the most part it was well put together, I didn’t notice any glaring editing flaws (which happen a surprising amount these days). And the overall flow of the movie felt natural throughout, minus the speeding semi that was Sandlers ex-fiance suddenly deciding she wanted him back. Her character had the worst development, she was more of an extension of Sandler than the independently fueled character she should have been. It detracted from the obvious hang-ups Sandler still had for her.

Sandler and Rogen played their characters well through the duration of the story, they stayed true to who they were, yet had believable personal growth occur. I can’t comment too much on the directing, as I have always been a poor judge unless it is beyond-bad, but it appeared to be spot on for this particular movie. Cinematography was used only in such a way to properly portray characters and story development.

Whatever failings the script might have possessed were neatly ironed out by those charged to bring it to life. Sandler, a very well off/jerk comedian fit his role wonderfully and gave him some challenges with the whole ‘near death’ experience. While he did good, Luke Wilson I think takes the cake on the gonna die/aint gonna die in this psuedo-comedy genre. Seth Rogen, he did good, especially since you can tell he might have drawn a lot of experience playing a struggling comedian from his own life.

I admired this movie and highly commend it on a very strong morale point. While some very grievous mistakes are made between characters, the morale high path is chosen, a move not made often in movies, yet seems to come about on occasion. Perhaps Hollywood is learning from Las Vegas, sin sells, but families pay the most $$$.

Final word, go see it. This movie is about people. It’s funny, dramatic, and while it might not beg any social issues, it’s a movie I want in my collection.

The Weekend and Today

This weekend I was up in Idaho doing my time with the Marine Corps. I ran a PFT (Physical Fitness Test which consists of pull-ups, crunches, and a 3 mile run), threw some grenades, did the gas chamber (wiki here), did some company/platoon PT (physical training), and then caught up on MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, aka kung-fu) for eight hours. All in all, it was an exhausting weekend. The good news is that we were supposed to do the grenade range on Saturday, then do the gas chamber on Sunday, but by 3 PM Saturday afternoon we were all done with chuckin ‘nades that the higher ups said what the heck, let’s get doused in CS gas today too!

Last night I averaged maybe 85 all the way from Boise, I was a little anxious to see my wife and uterine-confined child. I get to her cousins house, walk in, and there she has ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ playing on the laptop. I knew she was sleeping, but I jump on the bed and scare her awake anyway, I know, I’m a mean husband. We pretty much have done nothing today, cleaned out the car, repacked, and will soon be leaving for the airport for my sweeties first plane ride and first excursion further east than Yellowstone. Sad, I know.

Yes, I tweet now… and Twitter is for the “older” people?

So I was up late tonight, got bored, and decided I’d actually get on twitter and start to figure out what it’s all about. So far, not a big thing, but supposedly it takes a while to really get into it? I dunno, I can see it being kinda cool, especially since I have a widget on my phone that updates every 5 minutes. I’m gonna look for another app that has some better functionality. If you wish to ‘follow’ me my link is http://twitter.com/jonulf.

Supposedly people find out about world events far faster than even the media. Not sure how that works, but it’d be cool to find out if it’s true first hand. What it really looks like at first is just a status update like on Facebook, but studies show that it is not being used that way. One study talks about how my generation (Generation Y) which I supposedly am not only a part of, but the cut off age between it and GenX, any way this study and it’s predecessor affirm that those 25 and younger don’t use twitter nearly as much as those older. Apparently because Twitter is used more of as a ‘news’ and ‘business’ source. I’m not sure why that’s important, I just skimmed over the article, but it’s interesting to me that technology and digital networking has been so closely tied to this younger crowd, that they are now being out-teched by their parents. In fact, a search of my G-Mail contacts brought up my mom, my aunt, and my cousin (~27) are using Twitter. Seems to go along nicely with those studies they’ve done.

Anyway, Twitters been around long enough, but is only now getting a lot of media attention. It shall be interesting to see how it evolves.

Concerning constitutional and civil rights (Please read and discuss)

Are constitutional and civil rights inherent to every American at all times? Or can we, through our actions, give up those rights?

I’m wondering how people feel about this, and would actually like to start a little discussion of what people out there think.