Soresport Movies

35th Boston Science Fiction Marathon

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:19:00 +0000

The Boston Science Fiction Marathon is the country's oldest continually running science fiction. Febuary 14th and 15th from noon to noon, 14 features plus shorts and other goodies were shown for a rabid audience of enthusiasts.

12:00 Moon (2009) - A wonderful acclaimed science fiction film starring Sam Rockwell as the sole employee on a lunar base. This film was creative and engaging, an older style sci-fi movie in pace and detail. Rating (8.3)

13:40 Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) - Although the scenerio may be dated this film still addresses the idea of how much responsibility for our safety a "thinking" Super computer should be given. Well acted over a stilted scrfipt the film was enjoyable. Rating (6.6)

15:30 9 (2009) - A muddled fantasy computer animated movie about the creatures left behind when man meets his self caused demise. The characters named 1-9 struggle to survive against the machines that want to get them. They finally find a way to accomplish the purpose they were designed for. Rating (5.1)

17:10 The Giant Gila Monster- Not Viewed

18:45 Labyrinth (1986) - Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie in this Jin Henson directed fantasy about a teenage girl trying to save her baby brother. This semi musical foray into silliness is not a great movie but for many has nostalgic value. Rating (4.0)

20:45 Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman (2009) - Very loving documentary about the man who coined the term Sci-Fi, the genre's number one fan. Check out a longer review Rating (7.7)

22:00 District 9 (2009) - A great action sci-fi film with subtext that connects on many levels, see the longer review. Rating (9.0)

00:20 The Thing (1982) - One of the greatest sciencefiction movies of all time. The Thing directed by John Carpenter is a masterpiece of atmosphere and special effects. Rating (8.6)

02:15 Lathe of Heaven (1980) - Not viewed

04:00 Night of the Creeps (1986) - Not Viewed

05:30 Rabid (1977) - Daviv Cronenberg's slow and not great film about a woman experimented on in surgery after an accident who has unwanted consequences. Rating (4.1)

07:05 The Day the Sky Exploded (1958) - Meteors are heading for the earth and arch enemies the US and USSR must work together to stop them. Rating (5.0)

08:55 Night of the Comet (1984) - Silly 80's sci-fi fluff about the end of civilization where the valley girls who survive spend more time shopping than trying to survive. Rating (5.3)

10:30 Sleep Dealer (2008) - Even better with a second viewing this politically spice science fiction future also has a compelling personal story. See the longer review Rating (9.4)

Science Fiction Film Fest - Famous Monster etc.

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:52:00 +0000

Thursday night's event:

Replay of FRANK DAN COOLO: PARANORMAL DRUG DEALER

Dir. Andrew Jones. 8 min., USA, 2008.

A legendary monster stalks Neo-Mega-Ultra Tokyo.Featuring CGI and cool stop-motion animation.

Third viewing of this short, and I appreciate it all the more with each viewing. The style of color mixed closeups, Stop motion animation, rat-a-tat dialog, and a cool science fiction premise combine for a fun trip. New Rating (8.1)

Conlang (2009) - A love story wrapped in the premise of a club that is working on a new language. It has Trekkies and other "Con" character types working on this language. When a bully challenges for the club presidency the struggle that ensues pushes the main character towards what is really important in life. Short and inventive this film has its heart in the right place. Rating (7.4)

Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman (2007) - Documentary about science fictions number one fan Forrie Ackerman. Before people collected poster, books and props Ackerman was out there putting together the greatest collection ever, over 50,000 items. Before there was Comic Con, and Science Fiction conventions, Ackerman was there putting together gatherings. Ackerman attributed for coining the phrase Sci-Fi was the genre's number one fan. Ackerman went from being fan to participant in many movies to science fiction icon. With James Warren he created the popular science fiction magazine "Famous Monster of Filmland" which indoctrinated a generation of kids into the world of science fiction and horror films. Although not in the film Ackerman and Warren are also responsible for creating the comic book character Vampirella. The film is a very loving look a man and his passion and how he made science fiction the popular genre we all cherish. Rating (7.7)

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival has been going on since Feb. 5th. It continues through Saturday night. Each nights events start at 7pm @ the Somerville theater. Sunday noon to Monday noon is the 35th Boston Science Fiction Marathon.

Fri. Feb 12th

World Premiere!

Director in Attendance! Q&A Following Screening!
LUOPOLIS
Dir. Matthew Avant. 99 min., USA, 2009.
A conspiracy radio show caller claims that people from the future live on the moon and control our every action. Filmmakers Matt and Sonny chase the story deep into Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin where an ominous underground compound raises more questions than answers. Threatening encounters, the bizarre and reclusive Church of Lunology, mysterious secrets, alternate histories, time travel, and more.

Sat. Feb 13th

New England Prmeiere!
INK
Dir. Jamin Winans. 107 min., USA, 2009.
When we sleep, two forces emerge. One supports our hopes and gives us strength through dreams. The other leads us toward desperation through nightmares. Then there are the others with unknown purposes. They live in a shadow-world, like the mercenary named Ink.   Eight-year-old Emma awakens in the dream world and the fight for her soul begins INK is a cult classic in the making -- see it with an audience!

Tickets are still available for the Marathon! at the Somerville Theater Feb. 14th to 15th noon to noon.

Science Fiction Shorts Night 3 - Planetary Paranoia

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:37:00 +0000

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these events.

Reminder I recommend anything with a 5 or above rating. I am not the toughest guy to please.

SITA (2008) - Tchaiko Omawale directed this story of a faerie who helps and then loves a mental health patient. She brings him back from the brink with her invisible(to him) arms. As he recovers he begins a relationship with a woman and the faerie is jealous and starts her own journey of acceptance. Artistic and fluid with great music. Rating (6.1)

RATS (2006) - Humans are isolated, each living and staying in their space only interacting through the share computer network. Fear of going outside is strong but when the system is in error one man decides to go. Outside is tainted and he worries about safety. When he discovers the problem, he handles it in an appropriate manner. Filmed in polarized black and white it is a distracting choice but does give the comic feel to the world. Rating (4.8)

1:03 AM (2009) - A man brings his paperwork to the government agency in charge and the papers are approved. His time will be 1 minute starting at 1:03 AM, from that time he has one minute to legally murder his cheating wife. Good reveal and pacing, with a decent turn at the end. Rating (6.1)

The Replicant (2009)- Writer and director David Walton Smith did this short about a man getting a new synthetic body. Now immortality is possible, but what happens to his old body. Well it wakes up and runs of course. A quick chase scene and resolution make this short work. Maybe not the most original of ideas but very adequately executed. Rating (6.0)

Die Schneider Krankheit (2008) - A spaceship with a monkey in it lands behind the iron curtain in post WWII (50's?)Europe loosing a deadly disease. The communist science community works for solutions and cures in this part newsreel part propaganda film. Ending with the facts that the cure had not been found but that life could continue but with wearing gas masks. Rating (6.1)

Under God (2009) - President Eisenhower visits UNIVAC the countries first supercomputer. A skeptic of its intelligence Ike is challenged to as any question. He asks "Is there a God" the computer works and then spits out an answer. Writer Director Richard Farmer wraps that answer into some history of the era creating a cool short that mixes science, religion and politics together into a nice package.
Rating (7.8)

Afterglow (2009) - Two local new militia men investigate a report of surviving aliens from a failed invasion of earth only to find something very unexpected. They run out of gas and in the process of finding some they come across an older couple. The couple is suspicious and soon it become apparent they are hiding something. The reveal is a good showing the depth of their paranoia after the near invasion. Rating (6.5)

Oxygen (2009) - A worker in the maintenance department in an isolated community find out things are not what the government has told them. In a constant storm the people of the community have been told the air outside is poison and will kill them. The worker Xavier find out the truth when he discovers a hole in his apartment wall that has been letting in outside air. The police are on to him though and soon he must flee the city for his own good. New and amazing realizations still await him on his journey. Rating (5.8)

Lifeline (2009) - Animated story of a man attempting to travel back in time to be with the woman he loves. The problem is that in order to have love he has to cut the lifeline back to his own time. Rating (5.5)

Attack of the Nebula-5 Robots (2008) - Amusing seven minute short about a mentally ill man who believes that robots from nebula 5 are going to attack and destroy the planet. Each day about the time he saw for the attack he sits in what he believes is the only safe place. Writer Director Chema Garcia Ibarra does a great job at developing character and a story full of humor. Rating (8.1)

Science Fiction Shorts Night 2

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:22:00 +0000

Reminder I recommend anything with a 5 or above rating. I am not the toughest guy to please.

Night two of Shorts...

Perfect Companion (2009) - Story about a lonely woman, Annie (Laurie Slater) who after some reluctance turns to the online dating service perfect companion to meet a guy. The short shows their getting together, dating and love making. One night Greg (Derek Osting) starts to say he loves her but breaks down, literally because he is a robot. The film from shows how the spell is broken and now she can see him as nothing but a robot. Well done the short uses the robot edifice to explore relationships. We could easily substitute a human man with some other character flaw and have the same movie that is not Sci-fi. Connection in humans is so delicate at times and we get into these fantasies about what a perfect relationship is. What real connection is and then a angry outburst, a drunken night, or a program malfunction removes the perfection veil. The Actress came to the screening but Since I get up so early in the morning I could not stay for the Q&A. Rating (7.3)

Escape From Death Planet (2009) - A quick action filled short that has little point or meaning. It quickly drops us into a story of giant centipedes and things going horribly wrong. Three survivors try to find a way off this rock before they are eaten. The car driving through the background at the end was exceptional. Rating (2.9)

TypeA - The Osiris cryonics lab will liquid freeze you dead corpse but they can't guarantee you will stay that way. Workers in the lab are hunted and killed by the frozen. Other than the facility is failing mechanically no explanations are given to why. Three workers hold up in an office to fend off the dead,, for a while. Rating (4.0)

Mr Bojagi (2009) - This was a pleasant little moral tale about gift giving, the two characters were well developed for a ten minute piece. Kudos to writer Kat Wood for that. Mr. Bojagi (Brian Blessed) was over the top but in a Santa Claus kind of way and The Women (Hildegarde Neil) gives a wonderfully subtle performance as a person in need of a lesson. Rating (7.6)

All Systems Go: Neil Armstrong (2009) - A music video with space animation short with a thumping beat by Robert Dohrmann Rating (4.8)

The Kirkie (2009) - The story of three friends who break down on the way to a science fiction convention. The least dorkie one who is not dressed like a Stormtrooper or a character from Tron enters a bar to call AAA. He meets a girl on the date from hell, and is soon drawn into a fight where he must deploy the Kirkie, a two handed chop used by Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek. The little fantasy that leads into this is funny and the outcome expected but also funny. Done with humor and for laughs with many sci-fi references this one was fun to watch. Rating (7.0)

The Latest Thing (2009) - Should the human brain get added software if it can improve efficiency? After watching the number of patches on my windows box I would say no. This light came to the screening but Since I get up so early in the morning I could not stay for the Q&A.hearted short by Hamilton Scott says the same thing. When a family man is upgraded with buggy software some very funny scenes follow. Shot through his eyes we see him interact with his family and the guys writing and selling the software. The director came to the screening but Since I get up so early in the morning I could not stay for the Q&A. Rating (6.6)

Enigma (2009) - Like last night the best was saved for last. Enigma a half movie 42 mins was the best of the night. Very good special effect and set design surround this story of a military experiment that will help the human side win a war against the alien Cnidarians. A Cnidarian prisoner is transported on a ship called Genesis only to escape and kill the crew. The alien ends up dead too, but how? This is the mystery solved by the unfolding of the story. The acting was good and the story very interesting, like I said earlier there was a cgi budget in place and special effects looked good. The twist at the end was decent and you came away feeling the like this was well executed and exciting at times. Rating (8.5)

Science Fiction Shorts Night 1

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:29:00 +0000

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these events.

Night One of Shorts...

Theosaurology (2009) - Animated short about the nature of dinosaurs, and their super powers. Yes that's right superpowers, in fact when dinosaurs realized what they were the awesomeness of them covered the planet and set off a superpowers race that eventually was their demise. In an effort to prove their awesomeness the pachycephalosaurus' used their mental powers to pull a meteor to the planet. Unfortunately it meant the end of these Super cool and totally awesome creatures. Alex Austin wrote this cute, under animated short.
Rating (6.3)

Empathy (2009) - Writer / Director Benjamin Pascoe executed this concise story about a man who learns a hard lesson in empathy. Shot in blck and white a father is having an ideal life with his beautiful daughter. Creating the too perfect images is a good turn in this case, forshadowing quickly that things can't be what they seem. When the little girl is hit by a car and killed Stanley must face the grief of loosing his girl. Cut to Stanley in a program that gives him these memories as part of an experiment to Punish(?) people who have killed others while drunk driving.
Rating (7.2)

The Package (2009) - Ah, the days of VHS tape... Dave (Justin Hosking) and Lisa (Liza Catherine-Dennis) are having a horrible fight, well written and passionate by writer Tim Anderson. Director Oliver Waghorn keeps it simple and when Lisa leaves Dave is standing in what could be the aftermath of his relationship. A VHS tape is delivered to the door and Dave immediately plays it. It is him 40 years in the future, future dave relays how this is the moment he makes a string of catastrophic decision in his life. He is sending this tape back to tell past Dave how to avoid them. Good predictable laugh when the tape breaks in the player.
Rating (6.5)

Destination Day (2010) - Tim (Richard Pappas) travels back in time to fix a relationship before it goes wrong. Only can we really change the past and have it come out the way we want in the present? Writer Chris Lassig references Perth's Destination Day where people in the present invited time travellers to a gathering. No one showed up of course which leads one to believe that in the future 1. There is no time travel 2. Human don't exist 3. They have lost records of this event and thus can't visit 4. Have no interest or can't contact those in the past. or 5. anynumber of other reasons. This story though focuses on Tim and Valerie (Audrey Lamont) who work together and have slept together. This is the day after the intimate encounter where future Tim is trying to change the outcome.
Rating (4.9)

Operation Blast (2???) - It is 2017 and the war with the taliban continues, except now little turban wearing robots are attacking us and we are naturally defending ourselves with our own little GI Joe robots. This stop motion animation short by Jeffrey Hollins is cute but sort of pointless.
Rating (3.7)

VHS Reporter (2009) - Stange little film about a group of people coming together and waiting for a ride. Pretty much some introductions to some somewhat strange characters and then the twist that most of them are aliens heading back to space. Nothing really made this stand out.
Rating (3.7)

Dimensional Meltdown (2009) - Parallel universes where a man's girlfriend dies repeatedly and he can not deal. He travels through wormholes to try to change the outcome. Do these things ever come out well?
Rating (4.2)

Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer (2009) - by Writer director Andrew Jones, Neo-Mega-Ultra Tokyo is the setting for this stylish story told through the investigating of reporter Holly Malone (Priscilla McEver). She follows leads at crime scenes to the Super Natural pill Pucher Frank DanCoolo (John Charles Meyer). He is sells his phsycic brain fluid but has to deal with the side effects of creatures from the other side crossing into this reality. A wonderful mix of 1940s style ratatat dialog, CGI and stop motion monsters this over the top short was a great way to end the night. Although I loved it this coul really not hit spots for everyone.
Rating (8.0)

Mutant Swingers From Mars (2003) Science Fiction

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:05:00 +0000

Mutant Swingers From Mars (2003) - This parody starts as a mockumentary celebrating the deceased movie maker Orton Z. Creswell (Pete LaDuke), with interviews with actors he worked with, clips from his movies and a short biography. Some of this first part was amusing although at times I was distracted by the makeup work to make the actors look older. The script in this area was good except some of the interview material seemed less focused than the narration. Certainly there were odes to B movie maker Ed Wood, and the film uses multiple references to real science fiction movies. In fact some of the funniest bits were the clips of Creswell movies all rip offs of real movies.

Then we get to see the Creswell film "Mutant Swingers from Mars" a standard low budget 50's era science fiction movie, or in this case a 2003 parody of a 50's movie. Martians come to earth to force a mad genius doctor to create a super swinging reanimated dude Fez Fleckman (also Pete LaDuke). He is to hypnotized women of earth for the purpose of the Martian men taking them back to mars and replacing their frigid females. There was an amusing similarity to the Coneheads including the female Martian hiss. The inept aliens actually pull off there plan. Things are going well except that a local cool Dude Rusty Rave (Michael East) keeps is creating a rivalry with Fleckman. They vie for the attention of beauty Mitzy Nussbaum (Colleen Nash) and Fez does well until he mentions Rave's name and then she comes to her senses and Fez has to re hypnotize her. Eventually there is a hip dual between the two for her affection. The Alien plans go wrong and Rave saves the day. The references in this film were fun as I watched I tried to name the other movies this one was quoting, but again the script was a bit unfocused. It makes sense in an Ed Wood kind of way. Writer / Director Michael Kallio does only a fair job here but should get some real points for getting this fun film made. It certainly looks like a good first early career outing.

Rating (5.2)

Sleep Dealers (2008) - Science Fiction

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:32:00 +0000

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these event, if the rest of the movies are even half the quality of Sleep Dealers it will be a treat for anyone who comes.

Sleep Dealers (2008) - The setting for this film is a near future in Oaxaca Mexico, a young man named Memo (Luis Fernando Pena) is dissatisfied with his life. He seems destined to follow his father as an existence farmer on a small piece of family land. Once a more prosperous man his father now barely get by. The change on his fortunes came when the water source for the valley was privatized and the river dammed. Now the family pays most of their earnings for water to grow just enough food to live on. Here are a couple of very interesting ideas in the movie. The traditional turned upside down by a futuristic and not too unrealistic idea about resource management. Milpa farming of corn, beans and squash have been a tradition in Mexico through its history and the movie takes the time to recognize this. It is not using the location to exploit the character but to give a sense of them in the story to come. Memo sees this change with the dam as a trap and struggles with his father's idea about living on his own land at such a disadvantage. He would rather be somewhere else earning more money.
On his self constructed radio intercepting radio he hears the voices of people talking about working in the north for the Sleep Dealers. They are companies who import labor through virtual factories. Employees have implants that allow them to plug into a network that routes them to control machines in the United States. The labor force never has to actually be in the US, from the factories the workers all standing in a room can slaughter pigs in Iowa, to build a skyscraper in San Diego. Hearing about the success of the workers compared to sustenance farming is appealing to Memo. He listens in the evenings and dreams about a new life in the day.
One night while listening in of the airwaves he intercepts the signals of the US drone air force. This branch of the military is in charge of flying drone aircraft to enemy targets and destroying them. It has been popularized in a television show and unfortunately for Memo they trace his signal. This was another very interesting idea that is current but the movie takes to the next incarnation. No longer does the military just fight wars, but have been expanded into a corporate strike force protecting resources around the world being ship to the United States. They intercept the signal from Memo's house and put it on the list for investigation. When the drones arrive controlled by Rudy (Jacob Vargas) a new pilot serving in the military following in his families footsteps. A bit cliche for movies but certainly true for many servicemen of today. Rudy is commanded to blow up Memo's home, unfortunately Memo's father is in the house. Memo is at his uncles and sees the Drones show live and runs to try to save his father. The house is bombed and his father crawls out and looks into the drone camera, Rudy is ordered to kill him and does.
Two stories begin at this point, Rudy filled with doubt and guilt wants to know more about the man he killed and Memo without his father's will to hold him decides he must go north to earn money for his family.
We follow Memo as he moves north and meets a girl on a bus named Luz Martinez (Leonor Varela). She is a young woman who earns a living, collecting and selling her memories. She takes an interests in Memo and when she uploads her memories of him she is found by Rudy online. He thinking this young man is part of the story of his kill asks her to continue to collect information about Memo's father show he can be sure. There are again some very interesting ideas at play in Luz's relationship with Memo. On one hand she is doing business but because we are human she is also making emotional connections. The idea that she sells her memories of him is cold, but the thing this market finds valuable is that human connection. I think social networking is similar to this. In one way it is a superficial connection to more people on a daily basis but it also gives us more chances at actually making more deep connections if we choose to use it that way. Being human ultimately is about meaningful emotional interaction, we strive for that and feel healthy in our lives when it can happen. Social networks although allowing us to avoid deep contact also give us more opportunities to pursue them if we choose to.
Memo and Luz develop a fine relationship, she helps him get the implants he needs to work for the Sleep Dealers and gives him a friend in a strange place. He works and send money back to his family. Rudy learns that this is indeed the son of the man he kills and that he was not a terrorist and begins to doubt his mission. He decides to travel to Mexico and meet Memo. The storyline with Memo explores his work and draws a very nice parallel he is like the water in his home village a resource being drained by a foreign power for its gain but not a mutual one. Is this the solution the corporate world is looking for in our free market society? A workforce that is just a resource but not people?
The film climaxes with the meeting of Memo and Rudy and the interactions contained in that powerful relationship. Rudy agrees to do anything for Memo to somehow make up for his horrible error. I won't go into it here but it was satisfying.
Rating (9.3)

Phoenix the Warrior (1988) - Action

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:21:00 +0000

Phoenix the Warrior (1988) - The copy of this I have is titled "She Wolves of the Wasteland" waste being the significant word fragment here. This late eighties post apocalyptic adventure is about a world that is lacking men, in fact other than two characters the entire cast is women, with big eighties hair and a severe lack of appropriate clothing. It is a world where one woman, the Reverend Mother (Shiela Howard) runs a desert shanty town of gun toting leotard draped warriors. She is a wheelchair bound hag with wires and tubes sprouting from her head set on controlling the last sperm in the world and building her perfect world. When one of her experiments escapes, the pregnant Keela (Peggy McIntaggart) she is hunted by the Reverend Mother's team lead by Cobalt (Persis Khambatta). Helped by travelling warrior Phoenix (Kathleen Kinmont) Keela escapes. This starts a strange jumping through time adventure where the viewer is repeatedly subject to scenes of women walking across the desert, interspersed with them being found and the worst choreographed fight scenes I have seen in a long time. They escape the first time by finding a cave in the desert that leads to an oasis where women warriors bath topless in a waterfall. They are identified by the white paint masks across there eyes. Suddenly it is nine months later and Keela is giving birth. Then the bad girls find them and so we are not confused they have red paint on their faces, a battle ensues and only Phoenix and Keela and the baby boy escape. Suddenly it is five years later and the women decide to try to get to some island, so more walking across the desert. They are again found and the dune buggies are sent out to get them. They hide in a shack, and wow there is a man there, he escaped from the Reverend Mother years before. Soon more silly fighting takes place, Phoenix is captured while the other three escape. Phoenix becomes a gladiator while her friends set out to rescue her. They do and this time there are driving across the desert scenes since they steal a car. They head to the wastelands where they are caught by some deformed mutant people who worship the TV Guide. The men are sent back to the Reverend Mother while Phoenix and Keela are left as sacrifices to the Guide. The women escape with the help of another former gladiator who just happens to be tracking them. Then the three women head back to save the boy child and man. There is the inevitable battle between Cobalt and Phoenix, Keela confronts the Reverend Mother to save her child, and we learn that all the people of this time are actually the children of the Mother. She is rebuilding humankind, why we are not sure, and why she chose the desert, or to be militant are questions we just can't answer here. In the end though, Keela wins and the Mother is no more. There are now two very lucky men in the world, End Credits.

Rating (3.2)

The Hangover (2009) - Comedy

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:05:00 +0000

The Hangover (2009) - After so much time and so many people saying how great this comedy was I finally pulled it down and gave it a watching. Now before we start with the summary let me be honest about me and comedy. We have a hot/cold relationship, so much depends on the mood I am in when I see a comedy, what I find funny on one day I don't on a different day. Except Monty Python which is wacky fun at a funeral. This night I was in a very good mood and so found myself enjoying this story of four guys trying to piece together a drunken night in Las Vegas. It is a collection of revelatory bits, why is there a tiger in the bathroom, where did that baby come from? Where is Doug (Justin Bartha), is his wedding really in a few hours? We follow Doug's three friends ( Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifinakis) as they try to piece together the night before, find Doug and get him to his wedding on time. Spoiler: It was Mike Tyson's tiger! Slowly one clue leads to another until they save their friend from the roof of the Hotel, return the Tiger, have self realizations and make it to the wedding. Along the way there are some truly funny bits.

Rating (6.6)

Thirst (Bakjwi) (2009) - Horror

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:59:00 +0000

Thirst (Bakjwi) (2009) - This South Korean film is about a priest who participates in medical experiments where most of the participants die. He lives though with the side effects that he has become a vampire. To stave off boils and other physical ills he must drink human blood regularly. Priest Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song) struggles with the moral consequences of his affliction. He attempts not to kill but instead to feed off coma victims in a hospital ward he volunteers at. Things are complicated further by the fact that the vamperism seems to increase his desire to sin. He finds himself lusting after the wife of a sick man. She is Tae-ju (Ok-bin Kim) and she is trapped in what she portrays as an abusive relationship with an over bearing Mother in Law (Hae-sook Kim) watching her every step. She says she is trapped and she sees the priest as a way out of the marriage. Sang-hyeon after realizing that it is too hard to follow God and his lustful ways leaves the priesthood and with the help of Tae-ju kills her husband Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin). Guilt is a terrible companion though and soon Sang-hyeon can not tolerate the life he has chosen and the acts he has committed. He is further driven with the knowledge that Tae-ju was never abused and lied to get his help out of her situation. He then makes a decision and executes a climactic plan that is worth the wait. Not to spoil it here it is a very in character approach for the former priest.

Rating (6.9)

Inglourious Basterds (2009) Drama / Fantasy

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:30:00 +0000

Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Writer / Director Quentin Tarantino has created a ass kicking conversation driven fantasy war movie that could be the Best Picture of the year. A group of Jewish soldiers lead by Aldo Raines (Brad Pitt) is dropped behind enemy lines in WWII. There mission is to Kill Nazis and sew terror into the German forces. This they did in spades. My wife, as we watched, did not like the length of several scenes but for me they all were a joy. What he did so well was allow the tension that was natural with the situations to build until the viewer was anxious to get to the finish. The dialog in these scenes was not rambling though, it was tight and reflected the characters involved. The builds were great and kept the movie interesting throughout. When it is learned that Hitler (Martin Wuttke) himself will attend a movie premiere in Paris there is not one but two separate plots to end his life. The first by Raines and his men who want to infiltrate the premiere and blow themselves up to kill Hitler and his generals. The second by the theater owner, Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) a Jewish woman who escaped the Nazis earlier in the movie and has the opportunity to kill the man responsible for the death of her family Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). She and her love will lock all the Germans in the theater and burn it to the ground. Will either of the two plots work? Can the allies gain the upper hand and possibly shorten the war by years? When it plays out it makes the movie that much more enjoyable. Brad Pitt was great as LT. Aldo Raines and Christoph Waltz is excellent as Col. Landa. With good supporting acting, and a very well written script this is a must see movie. I also enjoyed some of the movie making, camera angles from above, the spaghetti western extra close closeups, and the accenting music made the watching experience memorable.
Rating (9.4)

Boston Science Fiction Festival Schedule out!

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:41:00 +0000

I am very excited to have the schedule for this event, I will naturally be trying to see EVERYTHING. Naturally you can follow my reviews right here, or better yet get your ticket today and see them with me.

http://bostonsci-fi.com

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
35th Annual Boston Science Fiction Film Festival
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS(all shows except the Film Marathon begin at 7:00 PM)

Fri. Feb 5th OPENING NIGHT!
Special Revival!Sundance & Berlin Fest Winner!
SLEEP DEALER
Dir. Alex Rivera. 90 min., Mexico, 2008.
In the not too distant future, water is used for blackmail, security has reached new dimensions, and 'sleep dealers' work in factories.

Sat. Feb 6th New England Premiere!
MUTANT SWINGER FROM MARS
Dir. Michael Kallio. 86 min., USA, 2009.
MARS NEEDS WOMEN! Martians come to Earth and force a mad scientist to create a “chick magnet”! This lovingly rendered sci-fi spoof parodies films like Young Frankenstein, The Ape Man, and The Nutty Professor with equal measures of Ed Wood and William Castle thrown in. The film features the acting debut of Jack White (pre-White Stripes and Cold Mountain) of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.

Sun. Feb 7th World Premiere!Director in Attendance!
Q&A Following Screening
CALLER ID
Dir. Eric Zimmerman. 100 min., USA, 2009.
Caller ID is a psychological sci-fi thriller based on real voice mail messages received from a disturbed woman. A group of graduate students study advanced techniques in psychopathology while their professor leads them through a series of bizarre experiments and perverse sexual research involving mind control. The students discover how technology can be used to control minds. Each student must explore the caller’s hidden psyche – as well as their own id. Starring James Duval (Donnie Darko, Independence Day) and Peter Greene (Pulp Fiction, The Mask).

Mon. Feb 8thShorts Program #1
LITTLE SPACE ODDITIES
Boston Premiere!
THEOSAUROLOGY
Dir. Alex Austin. 5 min., USA, 2009.Animated story about the true nature of dinosaurs.
NE Premiere!
EMPATHY
Dir. Benjamin Pascoe. 9 min., USA, 2008.Tragedy sends a man on an surreal adventure.
North American Premiere!
THE PACKAGE
Dir. Oliver Waghorn. 3 min., Australia, 2009.An old VHS tape holds the key to Dave's future.
North American Premiere!
DESTINATION DAY
Dir. Chris Lassig. 7 min., Australia, 2008.Time traveler tries to change his past.
World premiere!
OPERATION BLAST
Dir. Jeffrey Hollins. 10 min., USA, 2009. Laser blasting bots fight where humans once did.
World Premiere!
VHS REPORTER
Dir. Jamie Heinrich. 9 min., USA, 2009. Old and new technologies seep into unknown territory.
North American Premiere!
DIMENSIONAL MELTDOWN
Dir. Ofer Pedut. 7 min., Israel, 2009. A lot of people die in parallel dimensions.
World Premiere!
FRANK DAN COOLO: PARANORMAL DRUG DEALER
Dir. Andrew Jones. 8 min., USA, 2008.A legendary monster stalks Neo-Mega-Ultra Tokyo.

Tue. Feb 9thShorts Program #2
EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL EXTRAVAGANZA
New England Prmeiere!
PERFECT COMPANIION
Dir. Jeff Winograd. 9 min., USA, 2009. New advances in online dating has a few complications.
US Premiere!
ESCAPE FROM DEATH PLANET
Dir. James Cadden. 7 min., Canada, 2009. Unknown lifeforms attack terraformers.
World Premiere!
TYPE A
Dir. Erik Fefferman. 15 min., USA, 2009. Techies awaken a terrifying force.
World Premiere!
MR. BOJAGI
Dir. Marco van Belle. 10 min., UK, 2009. Mind-reading machine finds the perfect gift for any occasion. Starring legendary British actor Brian Blessed.
New England Premiere!
ALL SYSTEMS GO, NEIL ARMSTRONG
Dir. Robert Dohrmann. 3 min., USA, 2009. A mysterious television is your personal guide through outer space.
New England Premiere!
THE KIRKIE
Dir. James Krieg. 13 min., USA, 2008. Enroute to Comic Con geeks get sidetracked in a bar.
World Premiere!
THE LATEST THING
Dirs. Christian Sesma & Hamiltion Scott, 6 min., USA, 2009.***Director Hamiltion Scott in attendance!Brain be upgrades blur the lines between humanity & technology.
New England Premiere!
ENIGMA
Dir. Jason and Matt Shumway. 42 min., USA, 2008. Spaceship Genesis floats dead in space. All are dead! Multiple award-winning mystery!

Wed. Feb 10thShorts Program #3
PLANETARY PARANOIA
New England Premiere!
SITA
Dir. Tchaiko Omawale. 9 min., USA, 2008. A human in love, living in a post-apocalyptic world, wants to touch someone.
World Premiere!
RATS
Dir. Giovanni Ficetola. 7 min., Italy, 2006. Based on Alberto Ponticelli's comic, a machine run world breaks down.
New England Premiere!
1:03 AM
Dir. Raymond Cinemato. 8 min., USA, 2008. A man scores a bizarre permit, the time to carry out his task - 1:03 am.
New England Premiere!
THE REPLICANT
Dir. David Smith. 13 min., USA, 2008. An underground cloning facility has a few surprises.
Boston Premiere!
DIE SCHNEIDER KRANKHEIT
Dir. Javier Chillon. 10 min., Spain, 2008. In 1958, a Soviet capsule crashes & spreads a deadly virus.
New England Premiere!
UNDER GOD
Dir. Richard Farmer. 10 min., USA, 2009.President Eisenhower gets up close & personal with UNIVAC.
North American Premiere!
AFTERGLOW
Dir. Andres Anglade. 11 min., USA, 2009. Failed alien invasion leads to recriminations and new threats.
North American Premiere!
OXYGEN
Dir. David Norris. 24 min., Australia, 2008. Air-supply repairman faces an isolated life and controlling powers in a polluted world.
North American Premiere!
LIFELINE
Dir. Andres Salaff. 6 min., USA, 2009. Dimension traveling scientist looks for his lost love.
Sundance 2009! Honorable Mention!
ATTACK OF THE NEBULA-5 ROBOTS (El ataque de los robots de nebulosa-5)
Dir. Chema García Ibarra. 6 min., Spain, 2008.Everybody is going to die, soon.

Thur. Feb 11thTBA

Fri. Feb 12thWorld Premiere!Director in Attendance!Q&A Following Screening!
LUOPOLIS
Dir. Matthew Avant. 99 min., USA, 2009.
A conspiracy radio show caller claims that people from the future live on the moon and control our every action. Filmmakers Matt and Sonny chase the story deep into Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. A ominous underground compound that raises more questions than answers. Threatening encounters, a bizarre and reclusive Church of Lunology, mysterious secrets, alternate histories, time travel,and more.

Sat. Feb 13thNew England Prmeiere!
INK
Dir. Jamin Winans. 107 min., USA, 2009.
When we sleep, two forces emerge. One supports our hopes and gives us strength through dreams. The other leads us toward desperation through nightmares. Then there are the others with unknown purposes. They live in a shadow-world, like the mercenary named Ink.   Eight-year-old Emma awakens in the dream world. Her soul has been ripped from her by Ink. Evil will find you. There is no safe haven. INK is a cult classic. See it with an audience!

Sat. & Sun. Feb 14 - 15th
35th BOSTON SCIENCE FICTION FILM MARATHONaka THE 'THON
Twenty four hours of sci-fi madness! Trailers, cartoons, classic '50s schlock, prizes & more!
Features (not in order):
Special Discovery! Lathe of Heaven
District Nine
Moon
The Thing
Godzilla Vs. Mothra
Night of the Creeps
9
The Day the Sky Exploded
Night of the Comet
Colossus: The Forbin Project
The Giant Gila Monster
Rabid
plus cartoons, trailers, prizes & surprises!

Omen IV: The Awakening (1991) - Horror

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:13:00 +0000

Omen IV: The Awakening - Delia York (Asia Vieira) the adopted daughter of Gene (Michael Woods) and Karen (Faye Grant) is not quite the nicest child in the world. She has a mean streak and her mother is worried. As the story progresses Karen begins to have doubts that the girl is as sweet as she appears in front of her father. Karen digs for answers about the girl attempting to find the story behind her. Her P.I. Earl Knight (Michael Lerner) and others in the girls life have deadly accidents. Karen though is getting information and it is leading to the conclusion that Delia is an omen for the end of times. There is a nice twist in this movie concerning Karen's second child that I will not reveal here. Still most of this movie was a big build up to an anticlimax, and in the end although watchable, many in modern audiences will find the movie a bit dragging.

Rating (4.3)

Pandorum (2009) - Sci-FI Action

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:56:00 +0000

Pandorum (2009) - Imagine waking from a long hyper sleep to find the ship you are in is aging and the crew seem to be missing. At first you can't remember much because of the effects of the sleep, then in bits and pieces you realize you are the last surviving humans in the universe. You are trapped in the room you woke in and it becomes clear things are not how you left them the years and years before when you entered your hyper sleep. So it is for the crew members in Pandorum. They are soon to find out through accelerated evolution has created a group of cannibalistic hunter creatures who are between them and the resting of the generators that will keep the ship functioning. Much of this movie felt like the great "The Descent" with the ultra human creatures having a run at any human survivors they come across. It is dark and atmospheric with a subplot about space sickness called Pandorum that makes people a bit paranoid and crazy. Our main character Bower (Ben Foster) is trying to navigate to the engine room to reset the nuclear generator, with the help of his lieutenant, Payton (Dennis Quaid) he works his way through hostile ground and through chance meetings with other survivors Nadia(Antje Traue) and Manh (Cung Le) learns what has happened while he was asleep. This is not a bad science fiction movie, it keeps the set tight and claustrophobic, the action quick and exciting and doles information out at a reasonable pace. The twist at the end is decent although I have seen that some people did not like it. I enjoyed the movie well enough and definitely recommend it.

Rating (6.4)

Terminator Salvation (2009) Sci-fi action

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:30:00 +0000

Terminator Salvation (2009) - Now we know how the adult John Conner got his facial scars.
Rating (3.7)

Broken Embraces (2009) Drama

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:59:00 +0000

(Los abrazos rotos) Broken Embraces (2009) - I really like Pedro Almodovar as a storyteller, how he focuses on the relationships and what is not said is as important as what is said. Broken Embraces is the story of Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar)a director and writer of movies who has a passionate love affair with Lena (Penelope Cruz). Lena the wife of the powerful businessman Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez) looking for an escape from that relationship but feeling trapped. We meet Mateo as a blind writer going under the name Harry Caine and are shown the story through flashback. I liked how Almodovar shows the path Lena took to get into her marriage with Ernesto, He her boss and she in need with a father dying of cancer, a women who had already done some prostitution to make ends meet, he uses this to pull her into his orbit. She feeling trapped by circumstances allows it to happen.
We learn how when she decides to act in a movie her husband is funding she meets Mateo and they are quickly into each other. There story plays out and then meets a tragic end leaving Mateo blind and Lena dead.
Cared for by his manager/agent Judit (Blanca Portillo), Mateo is still a successful writer and hears about the death of Ernesto leading to the unfolding of the story. Blanca plays an important role in the story. The love of Mateo's life but unrequited she has her own guilt burden to bare. The revelations are wonderful slowly doled out in bits.
I will not share the twists this movie takes, some of it is too clearly foreshadowed but then there are some real surprises. If you like heartfelt drama with interpersonal turns this is a movie for you. You will have to read subtitles though, I had no problem with that as Almodovar is a master storyteller, you will be engaged and interested throughout the entire movie.
Rating (8.2)

Bucktown (1975) Drama

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:23:00 +0000

Bucktown (1975) - This was the story of Duke Johnson (Fred Williamson) a city guy who comes to a small corrupt southern town to bury his brother. Inheriting his Brothers bar and not able to sell it for two months Duke makes a go of it reopening the place. Through his brother's girlfriend Aretha (Pam Grier) and local drunk Harley (Bernie Hamilton), Duke learns the town is corrupt. Apparently the police in the town run a protection ring and take the profits of all the local businesses. Duke doesn't play that game though and after a fight with a couple deputies Duke calls his big city friend Roy (Thalmus Rasulala) to come down with some of his friends. The men then set about killing off the police force to end the oppression on the town. This is where the movie takes an interesting turn. Roy after seeing the money flowing through the town coffers he and his crew, TJ (Tony King), Hambone (Carl Weathers) and Steve? (Tierre Turner) take over where the cops left off. The temptation message is clear here, after fighting against the unjust cops the money they are ranking in makes becoming them appealing. Duke wants no part of it but soon Roy and his men are running things harder than the cops did. When TJ come up with a plan to cut Duke out by turning Roy against him we get to the final sequence. Duke tired of the "New Boss" Same as the old boss he goes about executing his once friends. The final battle with Roy is an agreement that whichever one wins the other leaves town.
Rating (6.5)

Valet Girls (1987) Comedy

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:13:00 +0000

Valet Girls (1987) - Lucy (Meri D. Marshall) wants to be noticed for her 80's Pop singing talent but how to be seen by the right record industry people? Well if you work as a valet in Hollywood you can meet them at parties, hop on stage and perform and be discovered. This is the idea Lucy is going with in 1987's Valet Girls, a screwball comedy with a lot of screw. A rival valet company messes up the new gig for the girls, Lucy, Rosiland (April Stewart) and Carnation (Mary Kohnert), and there has to be revenge. Meanwhile party hostess wants to get back at her partying and promiscuous husband and his equally sexed out friends and joins with the girls in the revenge scenario. All the while Lucy gets her big chance and we all go away thinking..."Wow! someone actually made that into a movie." Director Rafal Zielinski does what he can with this script by Clark Carlton in his only credit but really I can't believe he ever thought he was making a good movie.

Rating (2.5)

Latest Lineup for 35th Annual Boston SCI-FI Marathon

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:51:00 +0000

THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (1980)- Classic PBS TV SF film based on the Ursula Le Guin story. One of the best made for TV SF films. This will be a DVD projection. THE THING (1982) - The now classic John Carpenter remake of last year's Marathon hit, both based on the John W. Campbell Jr.'s SF classic story. Features Kurt Russell and Rob Bottin's trailblazing makeup effects!
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/

THE GIANT GILA MONSTER - 50s creature feature with hot rods and cold lizards! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052846/ For more on GIANT GILA MONSTER and it's star Don Sullivan, read excerpts from my interview with Don: http://sf.theboard.net/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1262918712/1

Previously announced:
DISTRICT 9 - This year's highly acclaimed SF thriller from down under. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

DAY THE SKY EXPLODED (La Morte Viene Dello Spazio) - This super rare title is an interesting Italian-French co-production directed by Paolo Heusch and the Cinematographer was the great Mario Bava (PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES). http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0051951/

9 Expanded from an Oscar nominated short subject. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/

COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970): An all-time Marathon computer classic returns! http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/

MOON (2009) Award-winning film by David Bowie's son features Sam Rockwell : http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/

Up in the Air (2009) Drama

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:50:00 +0000

Up in the Air (2009) - George Clooney banks on a handsome confidence to get him through this role as a despicable axe man, know it all, who has to question, even for the briefest moments his own life path. He is the expert and there is one thing that Clooney plays well it is the expert. Working for a company that fires people for other companies Ryan Bingham is the sky warrior. He crisscrosses the country plying his trade and has created the perfect isolated life for himself. A couple things happen to interrupt this life. The first is Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) arrives at his company with the idea of creating a video conferencing version of his job. The idea will save 85% on the travel budget and effectively axe the axe men from there travelling ways. The second is Clooney becomes involved with another frequent flier Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) who is looking for a guy like Ryan, and the unattached relationship he can give.

Ryan's boss in response to resistance to the new video conferencing idea send Natalie and Ryan on the road together so he can teach her the ropes about firing strangers. Here is where the philosophy lesson begins about how even the most vile human beings need to be able to have personal contact and interaction with those they are harming. For Ryan he sees his job as a gift to those who he is firing. A benefit to have a stranger say the right things and make the right connections. He is the syrup pored over the turd of being fired. Through there travels Natalie learns how hard this is but fights through to perform in ruins people's lives like the pro she is.

Ryan and Alex have a fun sexual relationship where they meet when there flights are near each other, have a shag and then happily head their separate ways. This is upset when Ryan starts to fall for her. She attends his sisters wedding with him and he tries to take the relationship further. His ideas are crushed though and she is not looking for more then they have already agreed to in their relationship. This was a really poor piece of fore shadowing when Natalie, Alex and Ryan are talking about how they see a good life, for me at least gave away what was to come.

The mini plot above this is Ryan become the youngest man ever to receive a 10 million miles of loyalty points on American Airlines (The biggest product placement ever!). There are also some very good dialog writing in this story. Using humor and candor worked to try to get the audience to like these character who in the real world may not really connect with the rest of us. It was also not a poorly made movie, in fact shots were just long enough and the music was appropriate throughout.

At the end of this movie I was not moved. I think when you are making a movie about bad people the plot has to be more than the small story arc we got here. I was left thinking boy really did not care whether these bad people learned anything. The writers (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner) tried to give us the other side also with many clips of people talking about how it is to be laid off, but really they spend more time trying to get us to sympathize with the scumbags hired to lay them off. eh! This just did not work for me and I came away sorry I wasted $11 on the ticket. I see that the movie is rated 8.2 on imdb.com, and most of the prays shows people liked and sympathized with the Clooney character. I didn't, his ethics were flawed from the start and just because he has them does not make him likable. His big change in this movie is having his heart broken, which would have been decent if it was left at that, but no instead the writers shunt the blow by letting him reach his 10 million goal and pretty much get his travelling job back. This was a manipulative movie that did a poor job at manipulating, at least for me.
Rating (4.0)

The Chaser (2008) Crime Drama

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:12:00 +0000

The Chaser (2008) Chugyeogja (Korean) - I did not intend to watch this movie, I was up and watching the College Football Championship Game but with Colt McCoy out injured the game changed into an Alabama lovefest. Instead of sleeping I watched this captivating and incredibly sad film from South Korea. Joong-ho (Yun-seok Kim) is a dirty cop running a prostitution ring, things are going badly because his girls keep running away (disappearing). He is on to the guy who sees the girls just before they are gone. Using his police connections he begins looking for the guy. Mi-jin Kim (Yeong-hei Seo) is a prostitute with a seven year old daughter, she is the next to see the mysterious guy and quickly finds out he is a serial killer. Bound the killer attempts to kill her by driving a chisel into her skull, fails but is interupted by visitors to the house he has taken when he killed the owner. Mi-jin is unconciuos while he deals with the visitors. While he is out for some reason he accidently hits the car of the very cop who is looking for him. The chasing begins! The cop brings him in but because it is not his district and he does not have his badge the officers at the station treat him with hostility for beating the killer. There is a great deal here about the justice system in Korea where the guilty are often released because of either bad behavior by police or the ineffectual system. While Joong-ho attempts to find his girl in the neighborhood he found the killer in, the police bungle the processing and by morning the killer is set free. Becasue of the beating of the killer the cops also want to arrest our main character but he is out in the streets in a race against time to save his prostitute while caring for her seven year old daughter.

The end is devestating with chance being put to the test before the resolution of the story. This was very much a compelling film although it did force suspension of disbelief in random meeting odds. Director Hong-jin Na is making a movie currently in the USA and I wonder if it is a remake , entitled The Murderer is could be?
Rating (7.3)

Science Fiction Marathon Confirmed Movies

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:45:00 +0000

The Giant Gila Monster (1959) - A couple of teenagers are reported missing in a small Texas town, and it is thought they eloped until their bodies are found in a ravine. Sheriff Jeff turns to his friend, Clarence Winstead, a garage mechanic and leader of a hot-rod gang for help. A series of tragic motor accidents occur and it becomes apparent that a giant gila monster is roaming the area and depleting the town of its hot-rodding teen-agers. And might have plans on attending the BIG record-hop party. Written by Les Adams {longhorn1939@suddenlink.net} from imdb.com

Day the Sky Exploded (1958) italian La morte viene dallo spazio - Scientists discover that a group of meteors are hurtling on a collison course with Earth, and if they hit, the planet will be destroyed. from imdb.com

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) - Forbin is the designer of an incredibly sophisticated computer that will run all of America's nuclear defenses. Shortly after being turned on, it detects the existence of Guardian, the Soviet counterpart, previously unknown to US Planners. Both computers insist that they be linked, and after taking safeguards to preserve confidential material, each side agrees to allow it. As soon as the link is established the two become a new Super computer and threaten the world with the immediate launch of nuclear weapons if they are detached. Colossus begins to give it's plans for the management of the world under it's guidance. Forbin and the other scientists form a technological resistance to Colossus which must operate underground. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net} from imdb.com

9 (2009) - When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them. Written by Focus Features from imdb.com

Moon (2009) - With only three weeks left in his three year contract, Sam Bell is getting anxious to finally return to Earth. He is the only occupant of a Moon-based manufacturing facility along with his computer and assistant, GERTY. The long period of time alone however has resulted in him talking to himself for the most part, or to his plants. Direct communication with Earth is not possible due to a long-standing communication malfunction but he does get an occasional message from his wife Tess. When he has an accident however, he wakens to find that he is not alone. He also comes to realize that his world is not what he thought it was. Written by garykmcd from imdb.com

District 9 (2009) - In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com) from imdb.com

Buy your THON tickets through the Marathon website , Lets meet up there! I will be the newly skinny tall bald guy named Ed.

Swamp Thing (1982) Horror (ish)

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:24:00 +0000

Swamp Thing (1982) - It is 1982 I am sure I am in my Chinos and Members Only jacket, getting stoned and heading off with friends to the Neponset Drive-In for a fun double feature and one of the movies is Swamp Thing. As is often the case the blurred memories of the past and the present do not always smoothly fit together. This was my experience watching this movie. I am sure, in its time I thought this movie was fun. I have always had fond feeling for it. Now it could be as a senior in high school the small (and I mean small) glimpse of Adrienne Barbeau' s assets was enough to create such memories. It could be the combination of friends, the Drive In, Pot and alcohol created the right conditions for positive reflection. Whatever it was it is no longer present for me. This movie was soooooo.... hard to watch. Miss Barbeau plays Alice Cable a government scientist/agent checking up on Dr Alec Holland (Ray Wise) who is attempting to grow plants that will survive in the harshest of climates. Hidden in the swamps for some reason, in an underground bunker that looks like a shack from the outside, but has a bunker below it he works and quickly in the movie has a breakthrough. The tone is strange early in the movie with the introduction of villains, Dr. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) and his henchmen. They are very cartoon evil while Adrienne Barbeau and Ray Wise side seem to be playing things very straight. The bad guys evil for the sake of evil are looking a for Holland's breakthrough to exploit it. They take the notebooks detailing the experiments and Holland is covered in his formula and runs out on fire into the swamp to become the creature. Alice escapes with the final vital notebook and most of the rest of the movie is the absolutely silly soldier guys hunting for her in the swamps of South Carolina, while the swamp thing protects her. Eventually the monster is captured and his formula used by both Dr. Arcane and a henchman. Arcane becomes a hairy beast who has the final fight with Swamp Thing. In this there is a lot of explosions, capturing and loosing of Alice, a romance sort of between Swamp Thing and Alice, ridiculous looking stunts where you see the landing pads are pads, Swamp Thing healing ability, silly rubber suits for the monsters, and when it is all over a feeling of regret that I had such fond memories of this film. Director Wes Craven was in a very creative time for him, between the the late seventies, The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and just before the great A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), but he seems to have lost his way on this one. It is not a very good movie.

Rating (4.2)

Invictus (2009) - Drama

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:44:00 +0000

Invictus (2009) - The story of how Nelson Mandela embraced the South African Rugby team in their quest for the 1995 World Cup Championship. Clint Eastwood directed this story of how this great leader took the mostly white supported S.A. Springboks team, and made them a national focal point in South African reconciliation. Morgan Freeman plays Mandela as a wise patriarch teaching the youngsters around him in the art of forgiveness. Matt Damon is Francois Pienaar the captain of the team who is called on by Mandela to lead the underdog team through the competition. Damon's role seemed not particularly important in the movie, I mean I see how we are suppose to see his change of opinion of Mandela, but there is so little interaction between the two that it was hard to see this internal change take place. I think there could have been more overt racism on the team and it would have helped this task, instead we have complaining about doing rugby clinics and resistance to learning the new national anthem and that is it. In fact even the most racist character, Peinaar's father really pulled it insulting punches. It was like the movie was very conscious not to be a movie about racism.

Writer Anthony Peckham gives us a standard sports story of the Springboks fighting through and winning the 1995 Rugby World cup, but the slim screenplay whether cut later or designed this way barely focuses on the journey of the team but more on the strategy of Mandela. The team's story is the secondary story and is regulated to some fine slow motion rugby play and of course the big win against the heavily favored New Zealand team. I understand this decision and truly appreciate Mandela as a leader. As it was so well pointed out in expository dialog, the idea was not to take away the white minorities team but to embrace them as a majority. Mandela saw supporting the minority as vitally important in holding the country together in the post Apartheid world.

What I liked about this movie is the focus on Mandela, the man is a great leader in our time and the movie shows this. Through this story we see his greatness, how he is thinking in a different way than many people in his country and it really carries a wisdom, earned through 27 years as a political prisoner. The Rugby scenes were well done and you get a sense at what the game is about.

On the other side I was put off at times by the sappy music. It was a bit much. There was to be a parallel story between the teams journey and Mandela's agenda but I think it ended up being more about the man and less about the team. There were several places where I wondered whether things were cut. Mandela gives Pienaar the poem Invictus and tells him about how it helped him in his years in prison, then Pienaar talks about how on the bus to the games the guys are in their heads and then they play a song or something to get ready for the coming battle. It felt like they were leading us to a reading of the poem before the big game but nothing ever materialized. There were some scenes that touched upon Mandela's family conflict but they were just brushes with his family through his relationship with his daughter. His estranged wife was mentioned but not included and there was no follow through on the theme. I am not sure there are any Oscars in this film, but it has good entertainment value.

Overall the movie was entertaining and pleasing to watch. Spoiler South Africa did win the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and Mandela did indeed embrace the team. The story told here is decent if not fully realized. Go see for yourself.

Rating (7.5)

Invictus

by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may beFor my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Taken (2008) - Thiller

movies@soresport.com (The Soresport) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:39:00 +0000

Taken (2008) - This Liam Neeson vehicle barrels forward at a breakneck pace without thought of whether or not it makes sense or not. It doesn't but that was not enough for me to poo poo this flick. It is an action movie and as such has to just get me onto the edge of my seat and then keep me there for a while. It accomplished that and so even though police are nonexistent in France, and this agent can act with impunity I was into the story. Neeson is a retired CIA operative who reluctantly allows his daughter from his failed marriage, to go off to France with a friend. Very quickly, approximately 3 hours after arriving the girls are abducted and sold into sex slavery. Neeson gets hot on the trail and tracks down and kills many people in the taught plot that leads to saving his daughter before she loses her virginity. This is it! Mostly the action is good and Neeson pulls off being the competent and dangerous agent. Maggie Grace is ridiculous pretending to be his 17 year old daughter. So obviously in her mid twenties I just do not accept the casting decision. There is no one bad guy which really is a shortcoming of the movie. It would have been more interesting to have a single evil bastard for Neeson to get in the end. Writer Luc Besson wrote one of my alltime favorite movies, "Leon, the Professional" but here things are more quick hit and the character development although present is really in the way. Overall though I was on the ride and it past the simple test of action movie.
Rating (5.7)