Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Sorry I haven't written in a bit. A lot of excuses... I've got some catching up to do as I've seen a number of movies lately.

As for "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," the most important thing I can say is that true sci-fi fans should view this movie. It is an incredible 1956 black/white vision so great that it has spawned (sorry for the pun) innumerable copycat movies.
This movie stars Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. You may recognize McCarthy from the many MANY guest roles he's played over the years on various TV shows and movies. I realize a lot of people don't like black/white movies because they like the color and more modern effects. True, this movie doesn't have all the special effects today's movies have, but hey, it was 1956! They did a good job with what they had.
The movie centers on a small town, which is typical for most sci-fi creature movies. The doctor (McCarthy) just returns from a medical convention and is greeted by his nurse at the train station. She notes that there have been curious things happening, but just as soon as they started, they went back to normal overnight.
Turns out, seeds from somewhere out in space fell on nearby fields and took root. They grew pods which formed into humans, replacing the population in their sleep. This concept could be used to argue a number of more recent films, such as copycat "Invasion," "The Stepford Wives" or even "Nightmare on Elm Street" as sleep is the key ingredient for human death. Even "Star Trek" used sleep to defeat the Borg (the collective alien race determined to take human bodies and turn them into soulless machines). It is my belief that "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" started the sleep-replacement plot-line. So with that said, it is one of the cornerstones of the modern alien invasion genre.
Sex, well no, there really isn't any. Wynter's character is a divorcee who throws a few quips that are clearly sexual in nature. There are, however, scenes in which McCarthy and Wynter must spend two semi-platonic nights together. Wynter's dresses are fashionable and somewhat daring, especially compared to the rest of the town. It is clear that the producers wanted to make sure she was seen as the helpless sex kitten in the movie rather than an equal to the doctor (McCarthy).
As far as age appropriateness, I'd let middle school kids and up view it. That age and younger might have nightmares. Heck, some adults might have nightmares... I should also note that the movie was so disturbing to some of the preview audience (remember, 50s) that the producers wrote in two extra scenes: one as the intro and the other as the new ending. Personally, I think it would be much scarier had they left those two off. As an aside, if you liked the ending to "Soylent Green," you should enjoy this movie's ending as well.
The violence is minimal, as no one is actually mauled in the picture, but there are some slightly off-camera scenes in which you should be aware.
Socially, this film has been regarded as a reaction to communism. Write me and let me know what you think.
Overall, I'd rate this as one of the better sci-fi films of the 50s. The theme, music and plot-line are still very much alive today.

Wall-E

What can be said about "Wall-E" that hasn't been said about all other Disney movies? Not much. Sure Wall-E is cute and there is a seemingly impossibly love interest. The one thing that makes this a little more unique is that it is told from a machine's point of view. Wall-E is a disposal unit who remains on earth long after the humans left to form their new life on a spaceship. Earthbound Wall-E is infatuated with all-things human. He collects human objects, much like Ariel did in "The Little Mermaid." And true to the Pixar creed, John Ratzenberger is in this movie too (I don't think they can make one without him.) Another slightly unique item is that Sigorney Weaver is the voice of the spaceship. She was also the secondary spaceship voice in "Galaxy Quest" - which was much more fun than this movie. Last but not least was Fred Willard's human hologram as the CEO of the company. That man is comic gold. He was the funniest thing about this movie to me. Wish I'd been a fly on the wall while taping his scenes.
As you might have guessed, "Wall-E" is about the earth's environment, being eco-friendly, having an apocalyptic trash overload and human redemption.
What made the movie a little more special to me was that one of the robots, Eve, had the ability to show a lot of emotion with her computer-generated eyes. I liked that feature. I also liked that Wall-E was able to mess up some of the machines so that the humans could really take a look at what they had been living in rather than what was on their personal screens (difficult to explain).
What I didn't like was that the Disney aspect showed through. There were no parents in the movie. There were cross-dressing scenes with Wall-E (once with a bra over his eyes and another with makeup on his eyes). I'm afraid Disney showed through much more than Pixar did on this one. I was hoping for more imaginative scenes, but then, I'm a mom - not a 6 year old. There just wasn't that much to laugh about in this movie compared to other recent hits, like "Madagascar 2." What I was hoping for was more fun and laughs.
Despite this, I'd say it was a decent movie and one that most preschoolers up would like. I would not recommend buying it until you've seen it because it just didn't live up to the hype to me. Cute, yes - but no "Nemo."

Madagascar

The cast reads like a who's who hot list. Ben Stiller is Alex the Lion, Jada Pinkett Smith is Gloria the hippo, David Schwimmer is Melman the giraffe and last but certainly not least is Chris Rock as Marty the zebra. And these are just the main characters. The animals live in the Central Park Zoo where Alex is hailed king as he is the zoo's star and eats up every bit of attention.

The plot: Marty decides to take a field trip of sorts and the rest of the group either tries to stop him, or are a little encouraged by his bravery. They end up at the train station and are attacked by a granny wielding a purse and finally by the police and vet squad. An outpouring of public sympathy for the animals leads to the animals being boxed up and sent to their native habitat (Africa). Along the way, the zoo penguins get in the mix and take over the ship destined to Africa and hijack it to Antarctica. Once there, they decide it might be better somewhere else and sail off to yet another adventure. This time they land in Madagascar. They are eventually greeted by King Julian (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer). They are skeptically welcomed into the animal fold after Alex scares away the dreaded foosa. Together, the main characters find resolution to their newfound obstacles and learn to live peacefully in Madagascar. Happy, sweet and very funny.
There are parts of this movie that are WAY above the normal kid's intellect. There are references to a lot of sci-fi (love it!) and jabs about New York. For most kids, however, the music will get them in the movie. Somewhat ashamedly, I must admit that my own 4-yr old has to listen to "I Like to Move It" every morning on his way to kindergarten. It's infectious. In a good way. The penguins steal the show. I understand they will get their own cartoon on TV soon. Provided they keep the same writers and voice talents, that too will be great.
I won't say this is a must see, but it is not a waste of your money. It's cute, very funny and filled with references to pop culture. I would suggest this movie for 4 years and up. And they won't get half of it, but the parents will. My favorite part - look for the "Planet of the Apes" homage on the beach.

Eagle Eye

Where to begin... The first 15 minutes were a series of "Wow!" Then I figured the movie out. I say this not to make myself sound superior, it's just that the plot wasn't that good. I think it would be better for folks who don't watch much sci-fi because those of us who do saw right through this one. One part particularly gave it away. A military person assigned to the "project" was named "Bowman." PLEASE, for the love of Stanley Kubrick, don't go all "Dave, I cannot do that" on us.
The acting was really good. I'm not sure how much Billy Bob Thornton got paid, but he earned it. He had the best lines: (something like) "I'll make sure you're next assignment is touching shit...with your hands." He was great in this movie. Watch it to see him.
As a quick note, you'll see a lot of people in this movie you've seen in other stuff. Watch closely. Rosario Dawson was super and I was crossing my fingers she wouldn't die in the end (you'll have to watch it). Michael Chiklis from "The Shield" played a small but pivotal role.
As for Michelle Monaghan and Shia LaBeouf, they gave convincing performances - I would watch them in other movies because they seem to have the "craft" down well. The movie's downfall wasn't in the actor's performances; it was in the plot, so if you l-o-v-e Shia, rent this. His was actually more of a dual performance as he has a twin brother, so you get two Shia for the price of one! He really did an excellent job as the grieving, neglected, lesser brother.
The score was good, the action scenes were fantastic and I especially liked the cinematography. There were quick shoot-to shots that aided the weak plot. The sleek design of the machine "Aria" was also very futuristic and somewhat convincing.
I don't think I can conclude the review without pointing out that this movie was original, but borrowed HEAVILY from other movies. The Aria shots were very much like "Event Horizon" or "Sphere," and possibly "Alien." One may even argue the "Star Wars" light saber duel had a similar backdrop to Aria. The 1984-ish Big Brother was obvious from the beginning.
Even with these other similarities, the movie is more of an homage to Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." It is an example of what happens when the government puts more trust in the machines than the people. Crazy crap happens.
The ending is predictable but sweet. I suggest that fans of action movies and possibly sci-fi should watch this movie. It's not the best, but it has some great moments. While there is no sexuality, there are some strong phrases uttered, so I'd let teens watch it but not preteens or smaller kids. It would make a good date night movie or for a 15 year old girl's slumber party.

Sci Fi Movies for the Thinking Person

Rotten Tomatoes has a new list of Sci Fi Movies for the Thinking Person. (Note: "Person")
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/children_of_men/news/1789873/ten_sci_fi_flicks_for_the_thinking_man

I agree with most of these. They mention the original version of "Solaris" and I have to say that I really enjoyed the remake with George Clooney.

It lists "Dark City" (watch for Keifer Sutherland), "Gattaca" (Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law), "Children of Men" (Clive Owen) and "Blade Runner" (Harrison Ford). All of these movies stayed with me long after watching them.

The X Files: I Want to Believe

How about The X-Files, I Want to Throw Up? As a huge fan of the series and anything the two stars have ever been in, I was sorely disappointed. Yes, I knew it would suck, but I held out for some hope. It was poorly written (shame on you Chris Charter, Spotnitz, Morgan, Wong, or whoever else was involved - you know who you are) and not well acted. But who could with that script? David Duchovny acted much more laid back and Anderson was mild compared to her earlier role on the series. Pileggi showed up for 2 minutes and got top billing - WTF? Amanda Peet did a great job along with her partner Xzibit. Billy Connolly played the ex-priest with a fetish for young boys yet has some divine connection to God by way of visions. The twist is in the villains, of course, and that part is interesting. As a repeat villain (Battlestar Galactica) Callum Keith Rennie used this movie to help perfect his craft and thereby isn't in a starring role. Watch for him with a Russian accent. The rest of it is somewhat predictable and boring. Unless you are a hard-core fan, run from this bomb.

The Happening

Again, the critics hated this but I kind-of liked it. It is a bit preachy about ecology and the state of the planet, but a good lesson. That being said, do not watch this movie if you don't mind gore. This movie is filled (I mean it) with suicide of various bloody means. I love me some Marky Mark, excuse me, Mark Wahlberg, and he did a great job acting with the part he'd accepted. It would have been a better movie if there had been less blood and horror and more relationship and disaster. The adorable Zooey Deschanel played Wahlberg's whiny conflicted wife to a T. The best part of the movie was the suspense, which was unfortunately brief. After they have a sense of what is causing the mayhem, the audience is subjected to countless suicides. Why? I'm not sure, maybe for water cooler reasons. M. Night Shyamalan can and has done better. For you teens of the 80s, watch for Betty Buckley (Eight Is Enough) in a mentally disturbed role. This movie's not all that and a bag of chips but it is something for someone who is comfortable with semi-slasher movies.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Based on the best-selling novels (I read them), this movie doesn't disappoint as it stayed true to the basic concept of the books. I was very happy with Freddie Highmore's dual performance as the twin brothers and Mary-Louise Parker's role as the mom. The special effects were good without scaring smaller kids. The generation gap was closed between the children and the elderly matriarch, played by Joan Plowright. Filled with goblins, fairies and mysterious other creatures, this was a delightful movie for elementary ages up.

Jumper

A great teen movie. I hear teens all the time talk about what super power they'd like to have if they could be granted one. Well Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker of "Star Wars") has a power and is conflicted with using it for good or evil. As if in a "Spiderman" comic, the childhood flame, Rachel Bilson of "OC" fame comes back in the picture and serves as his conscious. "Twilight" fans should look for Kristen Stewart in the last few minutes of the movie. It is supposed to be a sequel movie. If so, I'll be anxious to see the next chapter of "Jumper."

Cloverfield

Call me crazy, I really liked this movie. It was shot as a home video, though not a la "The Blair Witch Project" (which made me sooo sick). By filming in the first person, it made the movie more personal and drew the watcher into the story - there was a connection. While I liked all the actors, Lizzy Caplan might have been my favorite, as she displayed real emotion with real attitude. Rumor has it that Paramount (and Bad Robot) will film a sequel as shot in a different location but contain the same scenario, just with a different set of people. I think this is revolutionary in film and warrants a kudos to the people behind the movie(s). It's one to say you've seen if nothing else.

The Orphanage

This is one of my favorite films of all time. I strongly suggest you watch this film unless you or someone close to you has lost a child. The story starts some years earlier, when the main character is a child at an orphanage. She grows up and marries and then adopts a child with a medical condition (who doesn't know he's adopted). The mother refurbishes her old abandoned orphanage and plans to add more children to their household. Her son goes missing at the open house. She is frantic and goes through horrifying emotions. She is convinced her son is still alive while everyone else (!) gives up, including her husband. Her struggle to find her child is bittersweet, at times bordering on horror and often filled with despair. The movie's resolution is one of the best I've seen in a while. Without giving too much away, the story ends on a happy note, yet not one you would have expected. The writing and acting are among the best I've ever witnessed. Please rent this Spanish movie with English subtitles. It will surprise you, shock you and by the end, make you appreciate the love of a mother.

I Am Legend

Honestly, I was severely disappointed when I found out about the alternate ending. I think the movie had a number of twists and turns and the ending was not as satisfying as the one I read about later (alternate ending). Will Smith was best when he was loosing it, as in the scenes with the mannequins. I wanted the mannequin to say "hello" too because I felt so badly for Smith's dwindling touch with reality. The effects were good and the few other actors in the movie contributed to Smith's star performance. I'm glad I watched it and remember parts of it long after viewing. In a sense, the reality of finding a cure to cancer that could later destroy hit home. I will not forget this movie, despite the forgettable title.