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#641 – Ad Astra (2019)
Ad Astra (2019)
Film review #641
Director: James Gray
SYNOPSIS: Following an energy surge originating from Neptune that disrupts electrical systems worldwide, Roy McBride is given a mission to travel to the planet, where a top secret project lost contact with earth many years ago, and headed by Roy’s Father. Believing Roy’s Father is still alive, he is tasked with sending a message to his father to try and re-establish contact, and begins a perilous journey across the Solar System to reach him…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Ad Astra is a 2019 sci-fi film. With a surge of energy causing global chaos, astronaut Roy McBride is assigned a top-secret mission to send a message to a secret project sent to Neptune, and led by Roy’s Father, who is believed to still be alive. Thus begins Roy’s (Brad Pitt) journey through a perilous solar system to reunite with his Father. Following in the vein of psychological sci-fi films such as Gravity, Moon and of course 2001: A Space Odyssey, we get a journey through outer space as well as the human condition. Where this film shows it’s strength is in its audio and visual design: the spatial structures and sets are detailed, special effects are nice, and you get a good sense of scale of the vast emptiness of space that compliments the emotional space within Roy that his Father left. The audio design is also pretty solid: noticeably, the film attempts, to some degree, to recreate the sound or lack thereof, in space: action scenes that take place in the vacuum are devoid of sound or very limited, which again reflects a sense of solitude and emptiness that the film is aiming at. Where the film falters is a spotty script that feels a bit chopped up as you move from one location to the next, distracting from the experience to constantly remind you that you’re in a film with scripted action scenes and dialogue that are paced out in a timely manner.
Brad Pitt pulls in a good performance as the lead Roy McBride: masterfully embodying the quiet undertakings of a man who has to not display emotion for his job, and also grappling at the emptiness within him. Pitt makes it look effortless, but not in a way that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. The rest of the cast play their parts well, but don’t really stand out, which again is important because the film centres around the protagonist’s relationships or lack thereof. One stand out is Donald Sutherland’s character who is leaned on distinctly in the first act, but doesn’t seem to serve the film in anyway, which makes his disappearance not have the effect it wants. The film’s payoff at the end throws a curveball, but it fails to really hit properly. What it gives us isn’t what we expect, but opens up new possibilities. the trouble is I don’t thin that is really what the film is about, and just giving us something completely different at the end doesn’t reflect on the journey in anyway.
While I praised the sound earlier for at least trying to simulate how sound might be heard in space, there are quite a lot of scientific liberties taken with zero gravity and whatnot. If the film wanted to be a psychological sci-fi epic, it should have really gone all in and put as much effort into the science as they did the audio and visuals. As it stands though, the story comes across as vague, and the need for awkward action scenes that forego the necessary scientific rigour leave it in a middling ground between epic and blockbuster, with only a few elements (again, the visuals and audio design) to stand on. Ad Astra is very much a style without substance film that fails to fully invest in what it wants to be. While it’s style is certainly noteworthy, it’s not enough for the whole film to revolve around.
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#640 – A Martian Christmas (2009)
A Martian Christmas (2009)
Film review #640
Director: José Alejandro García Muñoz
SYNOPSIS: When Martians discover a space rover from Earth, they assume it is a spying device, and identifying Santa Claus as the Earth’s leader, send a ship to Earth. Zip wants to spend time with his Father Zork, but since Zork has been chosen to fly the ship to earth, Zip stows away on the ship and accidentally jettisons himself in an escape pod. Alone on Earth’s surface, he must find his way back to his Father and discover the true meaning of Christmas along the way…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: A Martian Christmas is a 2009 sci-fi Christmas film. It is somehow the fourth Christmas film about Mars and Martians, after Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), The Christmas Martian (1971) and Christmas on Mars (2008). This time around, the Martians discover an Earth space rover which they believe to be a spying device used for a precursor to an invasion. Spying on Earth, they see humans being their miserable, aggressive selves, and determine Santa Claus to be their leader, who is going down people’s chimneys and stealing their things. The Martians decide that they need to strike first, and send a ship to Earth. This is a family Christmas film with all the typical themes thrown about that offer no surprises, even with the sci-fi twist. The first part of the film introduces us to the Martian society a little, but given that the runtime is under forty-five minutes, it takes far too long to really get into the Christmas section of the story. The intricacies of Martian society that the opening pours over don’t really establish that Christmas spirit enough, and being a film that’s aimed at children, I’m not sure it’s going to really maintain their attention.
The main thread of the story being a typical Father not spending enough time with his son doesn’t really inspire much Christmas spirit or uniqueness. It becomes more festive as the film moves to Earth, but again given the runtime, there’s not enough space to develop the new characters it introduces, or develop a coherent narrative. It gets in a few jokes, some mild peril and the like, but there ends up being too many characters scattered about doing different things to bring anything together. The character designs on the Martians are nice enough, but there’s an inconsistency between the characters, backgrounds and special effects that are a mish-mash of 2D animation and 3D CG that fails to give the film a memorable look. A Martian Christmas is not going to become a Christmas classic, due to having way too much going in in such a short runtime, and not producing anything memorable in terms of characters, humour, or Christmas spirit. It also had a very limited release on DVD, so even if it was good, nobody would have seen it to make it something families would return to year after year.
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#639 – Boss Level (2020)
Boss Level (2020)
Film review #639
Director: Joe Carnahan
SYNOPSIS: Retired special forces operative Roy Pulver is being forced to live the same day over and over, being chased and killed by a group of assassins that want him dead for some reason. He tries to work out the reason why all of this is happening and how to stop it, eventually learning it may have something to do with his ex…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Boss Level is a 2020 sci-fi film. Retired special forces operative Roy Pulver is living the same day over and over, until he is killed by one of the many assassins that want him dead. The Groundhog Day setup provides a familiar backdrop to this constant tour de force of action and violence. The plot itself barely tries to make sense; it’s just the backdrop to a wild ride as Roy tries to constantly make it further in the day than he has lived before, and untangle the mystery of why this is happening to him. The film is at its best when it can just let loose with some cartoony, over-the-top action sequences, keeping it fresh with every attempt Roy learning or trying something new. The film stutters a bit when it throws in all the drama with his ex, son and just the end of the damn world, and never really finds a proper place for them, but they’re overshadowed by the sheer entertainment of the action parts. There’s a theme running through the film – as the title suggests – of a video game motif of redoing levels and/or bosses each time you die in game, but this doesn’t really factor into the film bar a bit of aesthetic flair and a bit of bonding with Roy’s Son. It’s a an underdeveloped concept that perhaps feels like it got written out or downplayed during re-writes to make the film a bit smoother. This could have made the film a bit more unique and provided a more lasting impression, but as it stands, it’s not to memorable, but again, it’s still a fun ride while it lasts.
Bolstered by a surprisingly recognisable and established cast including Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson, and Naomi Watts, everyone turns in decent performances, although they could all have done with more development. I suppose this is hard though, when they are all unknowingly living the same day over and over, so can’t really evolve over the course of the film. The assassins sent after Roy are a cartoon-ish cast of villains that are fun to watch and provide their own flair. It’s definitely fun to watch Roy learn to overcome the obstacles in front of him and unravel the conspiracy in front of him, and the film is brought to life with some cool stunts, although the special effects are sometimes a bit off. Where the film takes a sharp dive: it’s one of those films that just…ends abruptly. I get that the film takes place in one loop, and leaving the future outside it ready to be written, but the way it is done here leaves very little ending or resolution: we just get a bit of explanation, and then it just stops. I don’t want to focus on the negatives too much, because they are vastly overshadowed by how fun the film is, and the ride it takes you on is more than enough to make it a good watch. More could have been done with it for sure, but what we get is surprisingly fresh, undoubtedly exciting, and plenty of fun.
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#638 – Big Ass Spider! (2013)
Big Ass Spider! (2013)
Film review #638
Director: Mike Mendez
SYNOPSIS: A lowly insect exterminator gets in over his head, as a giant spider that escaped from a military research facility starts to wreak havoc on a hospital. It’s a race against time to destroy the spider before it grows ever larger and begins to reproduce…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Big Ass Spider! is a 2013 sci-fi film. Starring Greg Grunberg as cash-strapped pest controller Alex Mathis, he gets caught up in the usual sci-fi shenanigans of a mutant experiment gone wrong, and escaping from a military research lab to wreak havoc. Slipping into the role of a film that recognises that is cheap schlock and a homage to the b-movie monster film in equal measure. It doesn’t try to be anything else, and it feels fairly comfortable in it’s role, as the cast try to stop the spider before it continues to grow and eventually reproduce. The film does have some highlights though: the gore is well done, with faces being ripped off and the like, and adds a bit of excitement to the film. On the other side, the film keeps a sense of fun, so you’re never bogged down too much in the film trying to take itself seriously. maybe these two things don’t mix too well, but in keeping with it being cheap shlock that knows what it is, it isn’t too much of a problem.
I thin the best way I can sum up this film is that it feels like a cartoon: the characters are seriously one-dimensional, and every scene with them in is so predictable with regards to what they are going to say. The prime example of this is the security guard whose only role is being the comedy relief and being Mexican: every joke revolves around him being Mexican, and eventually you do get tired of it. The film also follows the old b-movie trope of having a solitary female character, who of course serves as the main characters love interest. I know it’s meant to play on these typical tropes, but the film really clings to them so closely that it doesn’t give itself room to do anything else. I think the best way to describe this film is that it feels like a cartoon: while there may be some serious stuff happening, the characters are playing very strict and flat roles, and never stretch out beyond them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. Sure, Big Ass Spider! is predictable nonsense that won’t surprise you or change your life, but it does focus on having a bit of fun, and it genuinely shines through. Sometimes it feels like it’s trying too hard to stick to that one-dimensionality in the characters and setup, but it’s honestly more fun and entertaining than a lot of similar movies out there. The effects are cheap, the characters are predictable, but still manages to hold itself together for the runtime to at least make it entertaining.
