Change Your Image
clockworksatan
Reviews
I Am Mother (2019)
One of the best sci-fi flicks there's been in a while.
This was a complete knee-jerk watch I did while logging into Netflix today as I'd not read (and therefore didn't even know anything) about this movie - but as I'm a complete sucker for sci-fi flicks I threw caution to the wind and just started watching it.
Sometimes this can be a dangerous game to play as I've done similar things in the past only to find that I'd lost half an hour of my life to some god-awful pile of schlock before clicking on the stop button. Thankfully, 'I am Mother' was not one of them.
Nope. No-siree - it is in fact a rather excellent dystopian science fiction flick of the highest quality, with superb performances from the small but excellent cast and fizzy, frothy pacing which keeps the tension crackling along nicely. If you, like me, are a sci-fi nut, there's plenty on offer to dig your teeth into and there are subtle influences from the greats of the genre. Yes indeed, there's a sprinkle of HAL, a hint of Skynet and even a bit of GLaDOS among its DNA makeup, which makes for a compelling blend.
It's a bit of a slow-burner to begin with but it all changes when Hilary Swank's character is introduced and the tension starts to pile on, and by the end of it all, you'll hopefully be as satisfied as I was by its conclusion.
Europa Report (2013)
Lots of ambition but somewhat poor execution
I decided to watch 'Europa Report' on the strength of the reviews here on IMDb as some reviewers give it a full 10/10 saying that it's a stunning sci-fi movie based on good science and that it's gripping from beginning to end.
I have to admit however, that I don't really see it as being quite as magnificent as those reviews suggest. The acting is generally of a decent quality and the film makers put a good deal of effort into the set design which really helps to bind everything together, but everything else from that point onwards shows the obvious budgetary restraints and gives the impression that this film's ambition is trying to hit higher than its budget allows - or simply that it's a rather amateurish affair. I can't decide.
The first major blooper I have with the plot is that they say that their mission to Europa is the first manned space mission since the 1970's. While that's historically correct at this point in time, it's abundantly clear that our next stop in the final frontier will be to our red neighbour, Mars and not somewhere as ridiculously far as one of Jupiter's moons! Who wrote this claptrap?
Another massive discrepancy I noticed early on is that sometimes there appears to be zero-G in the spacecraft and other times they're walking about just like they're ambling about on Earth. There's no mention of magnetic boots or artificial gravity as far as I recall or any attempt to explain this, so it's a huge blow to the film maker's attempt to make the movie feel as though it's authentically set in space.
The characters are pretty bland as well - at no point did I feel like I really cared for them. I'm not cold-hearted that way - it's just that there's very little in the way of character-building and when they started shuffling off this mortal coil I didn't feel any emotional connection to them in the slightest, which is sad as it could've been this movie's saving grace.
It's not all bad however, there's some pretty good scenes of tension and fear from the crew and the effects are mostly pretty nice, but all in all I'll give a rather measly 5/10. Could do better.
Into the Badlands (2015)
The best new show on TV?
In this current climate of book and comic book adaptations, we're getting used to seeing well-loved characters and stories being brought to life (with admittedly varying results) on the big and small screens. While this is all fine and good, it's a little sad to think that there's been very little in the way of completely original movies or TV shows in recent times.
Thankfully, shows like 'Enter the Badlands' come along every now and then to remind us that there are still some wildly creative and ambitious folks out there in the industry that are intent on unleashing their creations on an unsuspecting public. And it would appear that 'Enter the Badlands' came completely out of the blue as, despite being on many geek TV/comic/gaming forums and groups, I'd not heard a single thing about the show until one of my colleagues at work started raving about it and how amazing it was.
After watching the opening scene on the first episode, I had to pick up my jaw from the floor. Not only was this one of the prettiest, most visually arresting shows I'd ever seen, it was clearly going to be incredibly entertaining. It opens, you see, with one of the finest fight scenes I've ever seen on a TV show - if you think along the lines of the sublime sword-based fight scenes in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', that should give you some idea of what the opening brawl of 'Enter the Badlands' is like, but with some eye- watering, bone-crunching and bloody slaughtering of bad guys added into the mix.
But this show isn't all about the fighting. Well, OK, it is really but thankfully it's backed up with an intriguing plot and some excellent acting performances. It's difficult to wade into the story without giving too much away, but the show appears to be set in a post-apocalyptic world (I think?) and in an indeterminate part of the world that is ruled over by five 'barons' who are in a power struggle over the regional resources. That's about all I want to give away in terms of plot!
I've only watched the first three episodes so far, but I'm absolutely convinced that this is definitely one of the best new TV shows I've seen since... Well, Marvel's Daredevil, to be honest! But at least that in itself should speak volumes about the quality of this show.
I can't wait to see more!!
Ash vs Evil Dead (2015)
Hail to the king, baby!
Well, I just watched the first episode of 'Ash vs Evil Dead' and admittedly approached it with a little trepidation, but after ten minutes any doubts that I had had been well and truly vanquished, to such a point that I felt the need to come on here and trumpet about how excellent it is!
Sam Raimi has delivered a first episode that ticks all of the boxes; the script is razor-sharp and full of great one-liners, his trademark camera work and inventive cinematography is correct and present and, of course, he's brought the ever-excellent Bruce Campbell back to play the star of the show - the cocksure, arrogant idiot, Ash!
'Ash vs Evil Dead' picks up 30 years after the events of 'Evil Dead 2', quite easily one of the finest horror-comedies ever committed to celluloid, where our hero has become somewhat chubbier and is evidently still a complete loser. But fate (and stupidity) has awoken the Evil Dead from their slumber and they're back to once again wreak havoc on his life.
I'm not going to drop any spoilers here, but suffice to say that, by the end of the episode, the boomstick and stump-wielded chainsaw definitely see some action and I was certainly ready for more! If the rest of the series manages to be as good as this first episode, we're in for one hell of a ride!