The Martian (8/10): Let's talk science!

“I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the greatest botanist on this planet.”

Ridley Scott’s latest film, The Martian, is an intelligently crafted science fiction drama that takes on the form of a problem-solving movie in a very nerdy way. It is not an easy movie to sell considering it is very talkative and there is a lot of science involved, but Drew Goddard’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel is quite captivating. There is no denying that the true star of the film is Matt Damon who basically manages to put on a one-man show in Mars and deliver a very entertaining performance in a similar way to what Tom Hanks did in Castaway. Although this film does give much more screen time to the characters back home as they try to communicate and find a way to bring their astronaut back, but it is Damon who really stands out. The film has been nominated for the Golden Globes for best comedy and although I don’t agree with that designation it is Damon who delivers the comedy through his charismatic performance as he faces each new struggle in quite a light and positive way. The movie is a drama more than anything else and it carefully studies every scenario of what could go wrong in Mars and presents interesting solutions to those problems. Ultimately that is what makes this film stand out from other space films which Ridley himself has directed. This is a different kind of movie, a survival film with brains that respects its audience and doesn’t try to include any fantastical elements for entertainment purposes (not that I have a problem with it since I was a huge fan of Prometheus, but this is a completely different genre).

Matt Damon gets all the credit for his charismatic performance as Mark Watney, the astronaut who is abandoned in Mars after a storm breaks out and his crew is forced to leave him behind, but the supporting cast is quite impressive as well. Jessica Chastain is Melissa Lewis, the astronaut in charge of the mission who has to make the fatal decision. The rest of the crew members are Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara), Rick Martinez (Michael Peña), Chis Beck (Sebastian Stan), and Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie). They don’t get much screen time, but they are each given their moment and it is enough to know what motivates their decisions. I would’ve enjoyed to spend more time with these characters considering the cast is wonderful, but Matt Damon doesn’t even give us time to miss them. The focus is on his character and he delivers every line to perfection. We are instantly drawn to his character and we identify with his struggle to survive. Back home at NASA headquarters we are also introduced to several characters who are doing the best they can to bring Mark home. Jeff Daniels is Teddy Sanders, the man responsible for any decision taken as the NASA director, Kristen Wiig is Annie Montrose, the director of Media Relations who is trying to save face in the midst of the situation, Sean Bean is Mitch Henderson, the flight director who is in contact with Watney’s crew as they are returning home, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is Vincent Kapoor, the mission director. It’s surprising how Ridley Scott manages to include all these characters in the film and give them a unique personality as they all join forces to come up with the best solution. Daniels plays a very similar character to who he plays in The Newsroom, but if you only know him from Dumb and Dumber than you are in for a treat.   

When I first heard about this movie I was a bit worried about the effects that recent space films like Interstellar (which also starred Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain), Prometheus (which was directed by Ridley Scott), or Gravity might have on The Martian considering the space theme. To my surprise, the film stands out from the very opening scene as it takes a totally different approach and focuses more on Mark’s survival skills and his wit. He is a very charismatic character who easily pulls you in to his conflict and allows you to participate in the problem-solution process. This isn’t about special effects, it is about intelligent people getting together to come up with a solution.

Exodus: Gods and Kings (5/10): A disappointing Biblical adaptation from the talented Ridley Scott

“Follow me and you will be free. Stay and you will perish.”

Ridley Scott is always a director to look forward to when it comes to films. I know he has had his series of misses as of late, but with films like Alien and Blade Runner under his belt, you know his next film could become a classic. Alien is one of my favorite sci-fi films of all time and I even enjoyed Scott’s recent prequel, Prometheus, more than most audiences did. Exodus isn’t the first time Scott has tried to make an epic film because it is similar in scope to what he did with Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Robin Hood. Unfortunately, Exodus is the weakest of the four in my opinion. Scott has also experimented with different genres and last year’s The Counselor was proof of that. He’s even made some smaller films which I really enjoyed such as Matchstick Men which I was a huge fan of. I appreciate these smaller scale films more than when he tries to make these grandiose and epic ones. My major issue with this film revolves around the pacing because it felt so long and dull for most parts. It was as if Scott was aiming to direct an ambitious epic film and was trying to make it so grand that he got lost with the production and visuals of it and left out the actual narrative. There are several things I’d like to get out of the way before I actually review this film. First of all, if you are expecting a faithful adaptation to the Biblical story then Exodus isn’t a movie for you because Scott and the screenwriters took several liberties of their own (especially in the way Moses interacted with God and the Pharaoh). This is the second big budget film based on the Old Testament to come out last year, after Aronofsky directed Noah, which both took liberties from the original source material but in my opinion at least Aronofsky did something fresh and unique with the material, while Scott never manages to do so. Second, I don’t understand why we complaint so much about the casting of white actors and forget about the fact that the characters are all speaking in English. What is the point of casting all Egyptian and Hebrew actors and have them speak in English? At least Scott went all in and just cast famous actors without considering anything else.

It took me a while to get over the silliness of the opening sequences. On the one hand, Scott made a huge effort of recreating the Egyptian empire with huge production sets, but on the other the familiar faces of the actors kind of took me out of the film. Having John Turturro playing the Pharaoh and Sigourney Weaver his wife was difficult to visualize. I think Joel Edgerton is a great actor, but he wasn’t the right man for the role of Ramses. Christian Bale delivers as Moses and Ben Mendelssohn has the most campy scenes in the film but I think they helped to break the tedious tone of the film. Aaron Paul and Ben Kingsley are inexplicably underused. Despite the nice visuals (I don’t think they were groundbreaking), the story was poorly written and that is perhaps why some of these incredible actors didn’t have much to work with. There are some moments in the film where Moses is given some humanity, but whatever depth they tried to give the characters got lost in the visuals and the narrative. We know the story and have seen it played out several times in films before, so that is perhaps why I found some of the engaging scenes rather tedious because Scott doesn’t really do anything unique with the material. By the time the plagues take place we really don’t care for the characters and aren’t emotionally invested in them either. Yes, the scenes look great but there is nothing more there. I also expected a lot more from the parting of the Red Sea, but it simply was a forgettable scene. The only moment I felt some sort of emotion toward this dull film was with the dedication to his brother Tony during the end credits, but the film didn’t actually do anything for me. I was more emotionally engaged with the animated film The Prince of Egypt than I was with this. Skip the movie, read Exodus instead. 

My Review: The Counselor (6/10)

"I'm pretty skeptical about the goodness of the good."

The Counselor is without a doubt one of the most divisive films of the year. It has received a lot of hatred, but at the same time some people absolutely loved it. I understand why this film has caused such a reaction because it doesn't follow your normal narrative structure and is heavy on the philosophical dialogues. I've liked most of Ridley Scott's films, I was one of the few who actually loved Prometheus, and I also think that Cormac McCarthy is a great novelist (No Country for Old Men being his masterpiece) so when I heard the two were going to work together I couldn't help but add this to my watchlist. My expectations took a blow when I read all the early reviews and so I went into this expecting a complete flaw. To my surprise it wasn't as bad as I was lead to believe (I can think of at least 50 films I've seen this year that are far worse) and I ended up slightly enjoying this. Despite its heavy loaded philosophical dialogues and lack of characterization, there are some great scenes in The Counselor and some great performances. This film easily has one of the most memorable murder scenes I've seen all year, but at the same time it has many scenes that really felt out of place (like the scene involving Cameron Diaz and the yellow Ferrari). The Counselor feels more like a McCarthy film than a Ridley Scott movie, and his dark humor and anti climatic scenes are all over the place here in this suspenseful thriller (if I can really call it that because it isn't really generic at all). The Counselor isn't an easy watch and at times it feels too preachy, but it kept my interest nonetheless. McCarthy's message about facing the consequences of your sins was loud and clear in The Counselor. 

The plot is pretty simple actually as the film focuses more on the dialogues than the actual events. Michael Fassbender plays a successful lawyer who is known simply as the Counselor. He falls deeply in love with Laura (Penelope Cruz), a girl of simple tastes, but in order to give her a dreamy life the Counselor decides to enter a one time deal involving drug trafficking. His business associate, the wealthy Reiner (Javier Bardem) who spends most of his time drinking expensive whisky in the mornings and watching his pet cheetahs hunt down rabbits, warns him about the dangers involved in this deal. Reiner has been in this business for a long time and knows how the cartel works, but the Counselor decides to team up with him nonetheless. Reiner's girlfriend, Malkina (Cameron Diaz), is a very smart woman who is kind of shady as Reiner never knows what she is up to. The middle man involved in the transaction between the cartel and Reiner is Westray (Brad Pitt) who also warns the Counselor about the world he's getting himself into. The deal is an apparently simple one as the cartel uses Reiner's trucks to carry the drugs to Chicago, but an unfortunate accident puts everyone's life in danger.

The Counselor, who ironically in this film is always receiving advice from everyone, learns that greed isn't a good thing. The film focuses on greed and evil, but there is way too much talking at times which makes it feel too preachy at times. I think that much of the criticism this film is receiving has to do with the high expectations that people had about it considering the talented cast and crew involved int his film. Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt actually lift this film in my opinion and make their characters bearable to watch on screen. These characters aren't people we would care for in any other film, but the actors make it tolerable. I especially liked Fassbender in this film and I think he gives yet another powerful performance. The weakest link here was Cameron Diaz who never felt natural in my opinion, but that perhaps was part of McCarthy's plan. She isn't as strong as Bardem was in No Country for Old Men, but she kind of plays that same character that McCarthy tends to include in his novels. This is the first time that McCarthy writes an original screenplay since the other films were based on his novels, and this is definitely more his film than Scott's. If you are a fan of his work than you will probably like this film more than other people. I think one of the key McCarthy moments can be seen through Ruben Blades's monologue about how our decisions ultimately set our fate. There are just too many memorable scenes in this film for me not to give it a passing grade. The Counselor isn't an easy watch, but if you go into it with your expectations lowered you might actually be in for a surprise.

My Review: Blade Runner (8/10)

¨I need ya, Decks. This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the old blade runner, I need your magic.¨

Blade Runner, Ridley Scott`s follow up to Alien, wasn`t a very successful movie at the time it was released. The problem might have been that it was ahead of its time, since this dark futuristic film noir sci-fi film was very different from the rest of the sci-fi films that were being released like Star Wars or E.T. The Extraterrestrial, which came out that same year and had a more light and entertaining mood. The problem with Blade Runner is that it`s a much darker film and far more complicated. I really enjoyed this movie, although I don’t consider it a masterpiece as most people do. This movie has become a cult film several years after its release and is among the best sci-fi films in the history of cinema. The dark screenplay was adapted by Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples from Philip K. Dirk`s famous fiction novel ¨Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?¨ I have to admit that I watched the director`s cut version without the voice over from Harrison Ford`s character so I really don`t know if it was better that way or not, but from what I understand Ford`s voiceover wasn’t very good. Although one would assume that the voice over would definitely give it a more film noir vibe to it. The best thing about Blade Runner definitely is the great artistic direction where there is a very dark mood thanks to the use of lots of black and grey and a lot of smoke. Scott`s vision of the future isn`t a very bright one and there is a sense of pessimism that reigns all over the film, including in its main characters.

The film takes place in the city of Los Angeles during 2019 where Earth is no longer the only planet humans can live on. Most people have left to other planets with the promise of a better life and new opportunities where they can achieve their dreams and goals. Technology has also advanced in such a way that human`s have been able to create androids that are so similar to humans that it`s almost impossible to differentiate them. These ¨replicants¨ are used mostly to do the dirty work in the colonies outside of Earth. The company that has produced these special robots is run by Tyrell (Joe Turkel) who has given his latest replicants a lifespan of only four years in order to control them and make sure they don`t develop such complex emotions that will make it impossible to differentiate them from real humans. The only way to differentiate these robots is through a psychological test called the VK test. Blade runners are police detectives who specifically work on hunting down these replicants and putting them down since they aren`t allowed to live on Earth. Deckard (Harrison Ford) is an ex blade runner living in Los Angeles who seems quite displeased with life. His ex boss, Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) calls for him for one last mission after several dangerous replicants have found their way back to Earth and are causing all sorts of trouble. These replicants are searching for their creator because they want to be given the opportunity to live longer. The replicants that are still on the loose and that he has to hunt down are Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Pris (Daryl Hannah), Leon (Brion James), and Zhora (Joanna Cassidy).

Despite having to hunt down the replicants one by one, the film isn’t just your typical action film where you have one persecution after another. There is more depth to the story as these replicants all have personalities of their own and are very different from each other. More than an action film, this is a very dark and obscure sci-fi film noir and it works really well although I did find some aspects of the film a little too weird and bizarre. Harrison Ford was one of the best actors around in the 80`s and he delivers as this sort of tormented character who really begins to question his moral actions. This is a much darker role than those he played in the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchise. The film also raises several philosophical questions and actually plays out as a parable about discovering who we really are, the search for immortality and not wanting to know the date of our death. How far will mankind go to reach a longer life? Do the means justify the main character`s acts? The film raises several questions and lets the viewer search for their own meaning and answers. It`s been almost 30 years since the film has been released and it still raises a lot of debate amongst fans and there is plenty to discuss about Blade Runner, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. I still don’t consider this movie as good as Alien, but it is a very well made sci-fi film noir.

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My Review: Alien (10/10)

¨It's got a wonderful defense mechanism. You don't dare kill it.¨

Ridley Scott has had a great career and made several great films, but Alien, only his second film, may arguably be his best one. In my opinion this is the best horror film of all time due to the dark mood, the claustrophobic atmosphere, and several shocking scenes that continue to have an impact on the horror genre 33 years after its release. I have to admit that I just now got around watching this historic movie after having seen its prequel, Prometheus. I liked Prometheus so much that I knew I had to go back and watch the original film that got the franchise started. Despite having seen the aliens in the horrific AVP films, I still was shocked and surprised with the scenes and effects in Alien. The visual effects were excellent and it rightfully won an Oscar in that department. I can only imagine how shocking the chest bursting scene must have been for viewers in the late 70`s. The scene was masterfully directed by Ridley Scott and it has to be one of the most frightening ones in horror history. It may be the highlight of the movie, but there are also several other shocking moments that make this the perfect sci-fi horror film. I loved the way they managed to build the suspense without showing too much of the alien. The setting was just perfect and the sense of claustrophobia is all over the movie. You knew that at any moment the alien could pop out of nowhere and attack once again. That sense of dread was also built thanks to the suspenseful score. Thousands of horror films have tried to copy a similar format since the release of this perfect movie without reaching the same success.

The film takes place sometime in the future as a towing spaceship named Nostromo is on its way back to Earth. There are seven crew members who are in hypersleep and aren’t expected to wake up until they get home, but unexpectedly the smart computer running the ship, known as ¨Mother, ¨ receives a signal that seems like a distress call from a nearby planet. The crew members are awaken and are informed of the situation by Mother. Despite some initial arguments over them not being a rescue team, the Captain of the vessel, Dallas (Tom Skerritt), decides to land on the planet and once there they discover a wrecked spaceship nearby. Dallas along with his assistant Kane (John Hurt) and crew member Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) get off their ship and enter the wrecked one in search for clues as to who may have sent the distress call while Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), Ash (Ian Holm), and Parker (Yaphet Kotto) remain on board of the Nostromo trying to fix some mechanical problems after the rough landing they experienced. Kane, Lambert and Dallas on the other hand discover the fossilized remains of the dead alien pilot on their expedition with a huge hole on his chest. Kane is sent further down the ship where he finds some sort of alien eggs surrounded by a blue mist which seems to be disturbed by his presence. This is where the horror begins as Ripley discovers that the distress call isn’t really an SOS call, but a warning.

The film has a perfect structure: the science fiction is beautiful taking us to a futuristic world that is well constructed, the visuals are excellent, the editing perfect, the performances are strong, the script is really well written by Dan O`Bannon and Ronald Shusett (who later collaborated together for another known sci-fi film: Total Recall), the thrills and scares are plentiful, and there are several shocking moments with a couple of twists. The true star of the film is the alien even though we do not see much of it. The reason he`s the star is because the claustrophobic mood of the film makes you dread it can show up at any given moment. These characters are stuck in the spaceship with this evil alien that`s killing them off one by one. Not even Sigourney Weaver is the star of this film as she practically gets equal screen time as the rest of the cast. She wasn’t a known star at the time, and it was actually this franchise that catapulted her to fame, so no one really knew which characters were really going to survive this horror story as the film had plenty of surprises throughout. I wish I would have been around in 1979 to see what kind of reaction I would of got considering I already have seen the aliens in recent versions, but the fear of the unknown is always much more frightening. I still had a great time with this movie and consider it mandatory viewing for everyone who loves film. Alien is as close to a perfect film as you will ever see.

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My Review: Prometheus (9/10)

¨How far would you go to get your answers?¨

Prometheus is one of the best movies of the year and in my opinion one of the best science fiction films I`ve seen in a very long time. The visuals were incredible, the characters interesting (very strong performances from Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace), and the suspense was very intense. I was at the edge of my seat during most of the film and was really impressed with the movie overall. I had seen the trailer and didn’t really expect much, since I`ve never seen the Alien films and had heard this was an Alien prequel. However, despite not seeing Alien I have to say that the film works on its own independently. I do want to go back and watch those films now because Ridley Scott did such a great job with this movie. Scott became a household name in 1979 when he directed the first Alien film which became an instant cult classic and followed it up with another great science fiction movie, Blade Runner. Since then his movies have been either hit or miss, with some great titles like Thelma and Louise, Matchstick Men, and Gladiator, and others not as good. He has directed several different genres, but there is no doubt that when it comes to science fiction he brings out the best. His latest film, Robin Hood, wasn`t received very well, although I did enjoy it quite a bit, but not nearly as much as I did Prometheus. The script for this movie was written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof (the writer of my favorite TV series, Lost), and for many it was the weakest part of the film, but I did enjoy some of the dialogue and the philosophy behind it considering this is a science fiction film.

The movie takes place in the year 2089 when two archeologists, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), make an important discovery in a cave somewhere in Scotland. They find ancient hieroglyphics similar to others they`ve found in different unconnected regions of the world from different eras and times. They automatically assume that this has to be a sign that we were created by some sort of a higher being, which they call ¨Engineers¨. The hieroglyphics consist of men signaling towards five stars that are exactly in the same position, which scientists later discover to be in a very distant galaxy with a solar system similar to our own. Elizabeth and Charlie convince a wealthy man named Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) to finance a trip to this planet in order to search for answers about their existence. A crew of 17 members all financed by the Weyland Company travel to this distant planet on a spacecraft named Prometheus. They are put into hyper sleep during the voyage which takes more than two years, while a human like android named David (Michael Fassbender) makes sure everything is running smoothly. Once they reach their destination, David wakes everyone up. The captain of the ship is Janek (Idris Elba) and they all follow orders from Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) who sends the exploration crew out to find any sign of life outside and commands them not to speak to anyone until they return to the ship. The film slowly builds the suspense and tension from this point on as they end up finding something very different from what they were searching for.

There are plenty of scares and thrills in Prometheus and the tension is very well constructed, unlike recent horror films where you have hardly any build up to the story. Many people complain about the script, but I thought it was really well developed with interesting characters and situations. Michael Fassbender gives perhaps the best performance of the film with a very intriguing character who you never know whether you can trust him or not. His performance is among the best I`ve seen this year. Noomi Rapace also gives a very strong performance as the strong female lead role. She proved she can play these difficult roles before (from the Swedish Millennium trilogy) and she is someone to keep an eye on. Idris Elba had some small scenes, but he is always great. Charlize Theron gives a very good performance as the sort of cold and distant Vickers. You never know whether she`s human or an android because of her distant nature, and there is even a joke about it in the movie. The rest of the cast was alright, but never up to par with Fassbender and Rapace. Some of the scientists do act rather immaturely, but I guess that is always a must in science fiction horror films. You always have to have those annoying characters which you don’t really care for or mind having them killed off. Perhaps I enjoyed this film more than others since I haven’t seen the Alien films and didn’t have my expectations as high as them. I will definitely go see those movies now, and I wouldn’t have a problem watching this film all over again.

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