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Liu lang di qiu 2 (2023)
Terrific sci-fi with fantastic production values
The two best sci-fi movies that I've seen in the last few years were The Wandering Earth and The Wandering Earth II, and what seems so strange to me is the stories are reversed. The Wandering Earth came out first and it was a great movie, then The Wandering Earth II came out and its entire story was a prequel to the original story. I think it would have been better to watch both movies in the chronological order of their time lines.
All that being said, this movie didn't use any off the shelf hardware or costumes. Every single thing had the look of original equipment from the seats to the space suits. I only wish they would release an English dubbed version of both movies. There is a lot of dialog that is too hard to follow reading the sub-titles/
Black Beauty Breed (2014)
The most beautiful documentary ever made about Rottweilers
I have owned 7 Rottweilers over the past 20 years and currently live with three of them. I first came upon this breed in much the same way as Angie Ruiz did, by adopting one that needed a home. Angie Ruiz is a professional filmmaker who directed and produced this documentary and she did an exceptional job of showing the inner qualities of this magnificent breed. From love to devotion to intelligence to character strength this often misunderstood canine stands well above all others. I just finished watching the DVD of this film that I purchased from their web site. From the very first days I became acquainted with Rottweilers I quickly learned they were truly Thief of Hearts and as Angie Ruiz pointed out in the commentary on the DVD she was asked to transport a 9-month old Rottie puppy to a Rottweiler Rescue group and before she got there she decided to adopt him, herself.
From that beginning the documentary shows many aspects of Rottweiler training for competitive sports as agility and carting but then goes into how this breed is ideally suited for K-9 police work, Search and Rescue and even Therapy work in hospitals. The most touching sequence was the Rottweiler who aided a comatose accident patient regain consciousness.
Angie Ruiz said in the film interview, "I made this film from the heart about something I believe in. Even though the film is about the Rottweiler, the themes of the film are universal — loyalty, resilience, friendship and hard work," And the film has received several awards, including a Best Documentary award at a film festival in Charlottesville, Va.
As a Rottweiler owner I congratulate Angie on doing such a fine job with this film. Anyone who owns a Rottweiler or is curious about this breed should search out and find a copy of the DVD or catch it in a theater. It is currently on a worldwide tour and recently was shown in three cities in Australia.
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
What a difference 45 years make.
I bought the movie on BluRay last week and watched it and immediately realized it wasn't what I remembered when I first saw it in the movie theater in 1967. Maybe I was more impressionable back then when I was younger. The production values were so corny that they created a bias that hung through the rest of the movie. From the beginning when the car carrying Stephen Boyd arrives at the secret underground facility, then rides down the elevator and comes out in what looks like a spruced up underground parking garage. Boyd is then picked up by someone driving a golf cart and proceeds to drive back up several levels where more golf carts are seen scooting along with a soldier directing traffic.
Then we see the two macho Generals, played by Edmund O'Brien and Arthur O'Connell, chomping on cigars. But the funniest part was that amongst all the high tech equipment was a simply electric hot plate and a percolator coffee pot that got repeated use and they had it sitting right on top of the TV monitors.
It wasn't until the crew got into the submarine that the movie became worth watching and Raquel Welch is always a welcome sight. But wait, here is a high tech vehicle and only one person in the crew has been trained to operate it. Yeah, they have an air leak so the pilot tells two of the crew who have never been on the sub before to go over and shut off the valves, you know, they're over on the wall. Go find them. Now how is that for a script.
And if they remake the movie I do hope they give those two Generals a better uniform. In place of the ribbons on their jacket was a very large patch with the letters CMDF - Combined Miniature Defense Force.
Hey, just a suggestion, Raquel Welch may be the only star of the movie still alive today but if you remake it she still looks good enough to be in it.
Once Upon a Time (2011)
Once Upon a Time is simply Enchanting.
I love fantasy and especially Fairy Tales taken to the adult level. This show has everything. The idea that Fairy Tale characters have been transported to "our world" is wonderfully carried out with an original plot. Add to that that these characters, save for one boy, have no idea who they are makes for an addicting theme. I was hooked on this program just from the promotional clips and it has become one of my favorite new shows since the first episode. The production values and set designs are very high quality which only adds to the appeal. While the cast of characters is all quite attractive, not having any well known actors makes the story less confusing. I sincerely hope this show lasts for more than a full season.
The Event (2010)
Confused at first but WOW what an ending.
I love sci-fi and look forward to seeing new shows. Sci-Fi has the ability for story lines with limitless imagination. If you enjoy sci-fi you tend to be a lot more forgiving with mistakes and sloppy details. I note a previous reviewer commented on the president being a Cuban refugee and not eligible to be president under the Constitution. I spotted that also but dismissed it because it wasn't relevant to the story.
I wasn't sure what kind of show The Event was going to be until the very last minutes of the pilot episode. And now it appears to be a clever new sci-fi plot.
I was confused with the switching back and forth with the different time lines in the beginning but there was something about the government facility in Alaska that perked my interest. Everything came together in the last 5 minutes of the show when the airliner about to crash on the presidential party and then suddenly it disappears. The mysterious woman who was brought to see the president is obviously the key to a new sci-fi fantasy show and I am looking forward to seeing more. The good news was in the coming attractions of next weeks episode when some of the people on the plane appeared in new scenes. The ending of the first episode was a terrific jolt of excitement.
Avatar (2009)
Avatar, the movie. The good, the bad and the ugly.
THE GOOD: I anxiously awaited the opportunity to go and see James Cameron's latest sci-fi epic Avatar. I was not disappointed. This movie is a masterpiece with a complex story about humans from a future America, driven by greed and profit, who are mining a rare element needed for industrial purposes back on Earth. The planet called Pandora, that contains this rare substance is a sight to behold with all its unique natural beauty but it is populated by a race of beings, the Na'vi, that have little or no technology and are spiritually entwined with the natural forces of their planet. The planet is also extremely toxic to humans who are only able to work on the surface using genetically created avatars, virtually identical to the inhabitants. The story begins well after the mining operation has begun and the humans have already constructed immense scientific laboratories along with their gigantic excavating equipment. The mining operation is protected by a quasi-military army of mercenaries. The latest member of this force is a wheelchair-bound ex-marine named Jake who was a last minute fill-in for his deceased brother. Seems the avatars are created using DNA from their human partners and the ex-marine's DNA was a match for his brother's avatar. The blend of photo-realistic animation along with live acting is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. While sitting in the theater watching this film I easily understood why it took so long to make.
I was already a big fan of James Cameron since I have several of his movies in my sci-fi movie collection so I watched this movie with a favorable bias. Cameron gave us The Abyss, Aliens and the first two Terminator films which were all some of the best sci-fi ever produced. It has been said that James Cameron started working on Avatar soon after he finished making Titanic over ten years ago. The level of technology required to complete his vision did not exist so he literally had to invent some of it. Those who enjoy sci-fi movies know that these kind of films do not get reviewed as fairly as others. Professional film critics often judge a sci-fi movie by the standards one would compare a script to Shakespeare. While dialog and plot are important it is the quality of the spectacle that counts the most and James Cameron has provided the highest quality of both by giving us a complex story that is well written along with an eye-popping visual extravaganza.
THE BAD: For some weird reason Avatar has attracted dozens of critics who have condemned this film for being everything from anti-American, to anti-religious, to even pro-communist and almost any other detracting sentiment you can think of. The movie takes place almost two centuries in the future in a time no one can contemplate so because the human characters were American and they were the bad guys the movie was anti-American. If this comparison is justified then every film that depicts bad politicians or evil government assassins should also be anti-American. Because the native inhabitants communed with nature on a level of connectivity we cannot fathom does not make this an anti-religious movie. That religious angle was offered up by a preacher, by the way, who probably saw sin and corruption everywhere he looked. As far as the pro-communist complaint, that was probably the result of the way the alien inhabitants lived. These disparaging remarks haven't convinced anyone from staying away as this film has just surpassed the box office record set by Cameron's other epic, Titanic. I don't know anything about James Cameron's politics, religion or lifestyle and I don't care about them either. I am a patriotic, conservative, Christian Republican and I loved this movie in spite of what others have said.
THE UGLY: There is only one part of this movie that I did not like and it was the presentation in 3-D. I have not seen a 3-D movie in over 50 years and back then it involved wearing cardboard eyeglasses with red and green lenses. This modern version of 3-D uses gray polarized lenses and while the 3-D effect works the glasses dim the vivid images on the screen. I plan on seeing this movie once more in the theater in the 2-D version and I look forward to later this year to being able to buy the 2-D version in Blu-Ray. I also hope that now that James Cameron has the time maybe he will make a Blu-Ray issue of Titanic.
The Invisible (2007)
Terrific acting from Margarita Levieva
Just saw the DVD and my first impression was to check IMDb to see if anyone was nominated for an Oscar. Margarita Levieva who played the part of troubled teenager Annie gave one of the most intense performances I have seen in a long time and I have never heard of her before. The film takes its time establishing the characters and does this extremely well, but once the action starts I really got to appreciate it. The last hour of this film was truly gripping. I recognized Marsha Gay Hardin as the only known actress in the film and she did not have a primary role. There were several characters that were very well written and performed. But the role of Annie was truly remarkable. I look forward to seeing more of this young actress. She is extremely talented.