Movie Review - The Space Between Us

The Space Between Us

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, BD Wong, Janet Montgomery, Peter Chelsom, and more.

Directed by: Peter Chelsom Screenplay by: Allan Loeb Story by: Stewart Schill, Richard Barton Lewis, and Allan Loeb Cinematography by: Barry Peterson Music by: Andrew Lockington

Premise: An accidental pregnancy discovered after the launch of a mission to Mars, becomes a secret to avoid scandal and the withdrawal of funding. Sixteen years later, Gardner's existence is still a secret. But when he finally gets a hold of his mother's belongings in storage, he longs to follow the clues she left and see his father, if only for a moment. So when he has the opportunity to go to Earth, he escapes the facility to meet his only friend on Earth and track down his missing parent. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Asa Butterfield does a marvelous job as Gardner. His wonder at seeing what Earth has to offer is infectious. Britt Robertson as the thick skinned Tulsa was perfect. It was fun watching her well placed and shored up emotional walls slowly come tumbling down. Gary Oldman as Nathaniel Shepherd was poignant as a man who'd lost sight of what the dream was about. Carla Gugino gave depth to the awakening of Kendra Wyndham's feelings and realizations about her charge.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The film begins before Gardner is born, so we see the actual launch of the mission to Mars. The take off sequence looked great. The views of Mars and later Earth from orbit were fantastic. 

Since the story is set several years in our future, there were lots of little technical upgrades to everyday life. The crystal/glass computers looked super cool. Centaur, the robot on Mars, looked like something a kid would make. The kick me sign on the back of his head was hilarious and also reminiscent of the cool SF film called "Moon." 

The barn explosion was BIG! A little overdone, but they did do a great job with the wind and smoke to obscure the view from those spying from above. :P

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: This is one of those films where you don't want to look too closely at what is being told, or it starts falling apart. Overall, the concept is fun and entertaining, and it even has a couple of twists. The growing relationship between Gardner and Tulsa and their trials are what keeps us interested. Yet the film also took a few corners by omission and some of the science is ignored, so they don't have to figure out a way to work around it.

The primary driver of the film is how Gardner can't handle Earth gravity. And they did take the time to introduce a way to help his bones stand up to the higher gravity, which was great. What they ignored is the fact that going into orbit or into space, multiplies the gravity, which would, in turn, kill Gardner outright. They could have used a gel container or even a water tank to help offset some of the effects, but they didn't use anything at all. 

They also ignored some facts with Sarah getting pregnant in the first place. No woman who fought and clawed her way to being the leader of a four-year mission to Mars would then blow it all away by getting pregnant. Birth control would have been the first thing she would have taken care of. To spend so much time and effort to gain her position, she wouldn't have just thrown it away. (And they never have the decency to tell us what she died of! Argh!)

The same lapse in mentality shows up again when Gardner and Tulsa have a "night" together. As a child in foster care, she would be very aware of the type of situations which might have been the reason she got into the system. I doubt she'd be wanting to make the same error to another child. (And there's also the fact with Garnder's health problems, he would have probably died from the act due to the stress on his enlarged heart, but we won't go there...) :P

A couple of more nitpicks. 1 - Things Gardner found unfamiliar didn't quite work. Since he had access to entertainment on Mars, it's hard to believe he didn't know what streets were, or horses, even dogs. It would have been more fun for him to know what they were but touching them, smelling them, that part that would have been new and would surprise him. Much like the fun scene at the bus stop in the rain. He knew what it was, but actually experiencing it was something else altogether. We needed more of that! 2 - If Gardner had access to social media/chat rooms - why was Tulsa his only friend? 3 - Communications between Earth and Mars were pretty much instantaneous. Yet nothing was said about how this is possible. Especially since lag times currently run from four to twenty minutes each way!

4) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The cinematography on this film was fantastic. The shots are themselves a love story of sorts. One to get the audience to see and fall in love with our planet as much as Gardner does. So many gorgeous shots! 

Conclusion: An adorable love story with bits of mystery carried forward by a great cast. As long as you don't look too closely at the details and science, you're in for a nice ride.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Ender's Game

Ender's Game

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Aramis Knight, Suraj Partha, Moises Arias, Khylin Rhambo, Jimmy Pinchak, Nonso Anozie, and more.

Directed by: Gavin Hood Screenplay by: Gavin Hood Based on the Novel by: Orson Scott Card Cinematography by: Donald McAlpine Original Music by: Steve Jablonsky

Premise: After passing an unexpected final test at school, Ender, the youngest in a family of five, is invited to join the International Fleet's battle academy. The academy exist for the sole purpose of creating a great general to lead Earth against the alien adversaries who almost destroyed them seventy years prior. Colonel Graff believes Ender will be the one they're looking for. But can Ender learn the skills necessary before it's too late for mankind? (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Asa Butterfield did amazing work in his role as Ender Wiggin. The strength and brilliance of the character are easy to see, as are Ender's doubts and fears. Some really nice performances too by all the young actors involved. Harrison Ford was a great choice to play Colonel Graff. And Ford was in the film a lot more than I anticipated, which was awesome. The choice of Viola Davis to play Major Gwen Anderson not only complemented Ford's acting but also proved the perfect foil for the Colonel as Ender moves up the ranks. I also loved the work by Nonso Anozie. This is the second feature I've seen him in, and he plays his parts so very well.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Because of the awesome efforts of the special effects team and others, this is definitely one of those films that must be seen in IMAX if at all possible. The cool Formic mother ships and the giant swarms of fighters as well as the Earth's fleets and its own ships made for some interesting fighting scenes. Even better were the changing points of view over the entire system as Ender shifted the virtual screen's direction how ever he needed them, calling for closeups, side angles, and more.

The Formic's home planet as well as the changed planet with the human base looked great - though I will say the whole jagged landscape for alien worlds is starting to get way overused recently. But it did look wonderful...

Totally loved the cool Zero G battle area. And the work on the Mind Game and the Formic themselves looked incredible. And wait until you see the cool people and fighter formations. Nice!

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: I read the book "Ender's Game" back when it first came out in 1985, so I remember little about it. However, this worked in my favor, as I had no expectations and also couldn't anticipate key points, and was therefore surprised by several turning points in the film.

A number of themes run the length of the movie - the precarious decisions when trying to balance our actions between peace and violence, fear winning over reason, nothing is strictly black or white, always question everything, and others. I loved how several of these only become clear later in the film and not when they're actually presented. Like Ender, the audience must make what they can with the information given, even when we realize some is being withheld.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: There are a number of fights in the film, and not all of them during training. But regardless of the type, they were expertly done. The mock battles in the Zero G chamber had great timing, were ingenious, and the kids made it all look so easy. The non sanctioned fights had a beauty and intensity all their own.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects were outstanding, and so was the cinematography. Just watching the shuttle depart from the basin between an amazing set of mountains took my breath away. And the sweeping views of the academy with Earth in the background, as well as all the views on the different planets that were visited made the extra ticket price for IMAX totally worth it. The space shots in the meteor belt, during Ender's travel to the final training camp, and others were beautifully done.

Conclusion: "Ender's Game" is most definitely worth seeing. The awesome graphics, cinematography, special effects, and acting, make it one of the better films of 2013. If you can manage it, definitely see it in IMAX. The extra detail is totally worth it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)

(Two awesome SF flicks in the same year - who knew? And about time! Yeah!)

Movie Review - Hugo

Hugo

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christopher Lee, Jude Law, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Griffiths, Emily Mortimer, Helen McCrory, Frances de la Tour, and more.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese Based on the Book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by: Brian Selznik Screenplay by: John Logan Original Music by: Howard Shore

Premise: A young orphan doing his uncle's work at the Paris Train Station sometime after WWI finally makes headway on the puzzle/repair he and his father were working on when the latter died. Hugo is convinced that if he can just fix the automaton, it will give him a message from his deceased father. (Rating PG)

Review: The previews for this film don't begin to touch what it's about. The tale has multiple layers and each discovery spins the story into totally unexpected directions.

The theme of dreams, machines, and discovery are threaded throughout. CGI use is very subtle most of the time. So much so you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between what's real and what's not at times.

The story unfolds slowly as the world and the denizens of the train station are unveiled to the viewer. This gives the whole a great depth and wonderful layering, which will in turn support the worldview held by the protagonist.

There are no true bad guys, just people. Each trying to do the right thing in their own way. Some of the most serious are also the most humorous. And you will find yourself caring for every last one of them. Very young children probably wouldn't be entertained enough by the film, but those ten and up should find it fun and full of adventure and even magic. Adults will be even more enraptured, especially at some of the unexpected turns and discoveries.

Definitely a worth while film! (Don't want to spoil anything by saying too much! The discoveries are half the fun!)

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Would Pay Full Price to See It Again!)