The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (2001)

Since this year I was not convinced yet to give a maximum rating to anything I've seen, I started looking in less mainstream areas. Unfortunately it's still not the case. Actually I could say that I'm pretty much as disappointed as for the last entry. The difference is that we're talking about a 3-movie-length miniseries, so theoretically it could be even worse. Still, from "The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells" some "worlds" deserve the time ...

I'm not in the mood to start a bio description for H.G. Wells. A Wikipedia search and it's done. The movie romanticizes quite a lot a part of the life of the guy who was one of the first SciFi authors sold at a large scale ("The Invisible Man", "The War of the Worlds", "The Time Machine"). This is done through six stories adapted after some of his short writings. These are integrated as real events intersecting with the author's live along one of his best friends, later wife = we get some romance discretely integrated between the lines.

It would be useless to start detailing what's being shown. If somebody remembers "The Outer Limits", what we get here is like a short similar series, but with location fixed in late XIXth century England, and with the episodes connected through the narrator who takes more or less active part in them. To continue the comparison, as in "The Outer Limits", the stories vary from good to mediocre. Unfortunately, at least for me, the part that I liked covers the first two tales (light spoiler - maybe also because these touch subjects dealing with "time travel"). What followed was mostly somewhere between boring and eyes rolling. To be fair, in the conditions of seeing the movie split in pieces, at late hours usually, before getting to sleep (for which it actually helped a couple of times).

As production is a TV series, more than 10 years old, so you shouldn't expect much - although for 2001 is not actually bad. Still the VFX are pretty lame and a bit too much close-ups in framing. I'd like to close though with a positive note, and there would be three things to point out. One - the British cast is beyond the smallest negative comment, although I think I barely recognized one actor. Two - a theme from the soundtrack (Stanislas Syrewicz) that I couldn't find (and I don't think it's possible since it's quite short) which, maybe as a personal feeling, gives a very pleasant sentiment of calm being placed usually in the pauses between the stories. Three - if you like short SciFi, and if you had attempts to write some, is quite a motivating series (at least for reading, if not for writing).

Rating: 3 out of 5

Warm Bodies (2013)

I expected more from "Warm Bodies". To start with the most powerful impression left by the movie = disspointment. Since I don't have a better subject, though ...

We're talking about a zombie movie. A bit different from the usual productions like Romero's " .. of the Dead" series, "I Am Legend", or (probably) the newer "World War Z" which I didn't see yet. It's something that wants to be a zombie romantic comedy. How do you get to that ? Well, easy, we have three categories of Earth inhabitants: the "apocalypse" survivors, zombies, and advanced zombies = skeletons (let's just say that the middle group is the intermediate phase between the other two). Obviously, the survivors are camped in sort of fortified perimeter, from where they go out from time to time to get medicines and other supplies. During such an exit they get attacked by a zombie group, and by chance one of the youngest heartless creatures gets for lunch the brain of a living guy of pretty much the same age. Spoiler (and I don't feel bad for it): that's the way to "digest" the victim's memories, the result being a love at first sight towards the poor dead's ex-girlfriend. Which ex-girlfriend is actually present in the attacked group, and our zombie struck by Cupid manages to save before she's getting on the others undead daily menu. Further, as the trailer says "love conquers all" or different put, slowly the brain eater's heart starts to beat again (although his diet is kept the same for quite a while).

Sounds gross ? Well, it is. I don't have a problem with zombies devouring human people, seen that in countless movies, in much more graphical scenes than here. What I found disgusting is the way the subject is approached = it seems that nobody cares throughout the movie that the main hero in this story finds his lost humanity by chewing neurons at breakfast, lunch and dinner. And that's going past the absurdity of the idea itself which just shows how childish is the movie. The comedy side left me impassible. I don't remember anything from "Shaun of the Dead" except .. laughing with tears. Here, I don't know if I got past barely smiling, and probably not even that to frequent. The romance side I won't comment, maybe because I'm myself to zombie to be touched, or I'm way too far from the right mood to do it.

I was expecting more as I said, so maybe I'm a bit too acid. But the positive ratings that convinced me to see the movie are totally unjustified. There are probably two aspects to appreciate in this production: 1. that's the first time when I see as idea a phase of intermediate "zombies" in a post-apocalyptic front, which gives the possibility to have some nice turns in the battling forces 2. that the production doesn't take itself too seriously, as it happens with "Twilight" for instance, but that unfortunately doesn't save it from a main target: 12-16 + choose from: at most medium IQ or a sufficiently big alcohol intake.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Now You See Me (2013)

It's weird how after "Red Lights" I've got in a short while to watch "Now You See Me". There's no direct connection between the two but somewhere deep down below there are some common points. Anyway, I don't think I'm gonna dig them up now. After all "Now You See Me" is not actually a title inviting you to "dig", but more oriented to provide doar pure entertainment.

The story goes like this: a group of four illusionist "specialized" more or less in different "areas" of the branch, are drawn together by a mysterious person to get a plan running. Which plan starts by robbing a bank on the other side of the Earth as main attraction of a live show. Of course, the cops are immediately on the case but they seem helpless and can't do much more than trying to prevent future "tricks" like that. In parallel we have a guy who earns a living by exposing magicians, who sees a good opportunity to improve his TV ratings. That's pretty much what the trailer gives you, and as usual I'll try to limit the spoilers. As extra, I can say that in the end the movie is a "revenge story" and as pretty much every "revenge story" is quite catchy, although ...

There are many, many aspects who drive back what could have been maybe one of the best thrillers of the year. What's getting obvious quite fast is that the plot is about revenge, which is not such a big deal after all. It's not even a big deal that you have a set of "suspects", one of whom you expect to be the "shadow man". The problem is that the final twist about that is so far from believable that it was better to not exist = I really would have preferred the lack of surprise. To supplement (somehow) the effect, we also have some action threads from which you would have expected a feedback in the end, but is either missing or is completely unrelated with the rest of the movie (one example: the "classic" romance that has nothing to do with the subject, especially since is almost as "invisible" throughout the movie as the rabbit from the hat, until the end of the trick).

I won't say anything about actors because I can't without giving too much = the acting relates with the final surprise. The directing belongs to Louis Leterrier - known for "Transporter" and "Clash of the Titans", and I guess here's where it lies most of the problem. The script could have been better, but even as it is, it still was possible to get a superiors result if, I don't know .. some role was less overacted throughout the movie, or it had less emphasis on some action points. Anyway, even if I have been disappointed for what it could have been, the story is catchy and the subject is sufficiently original not to get boring and to deserve watching.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Elysium (2013)

Remember "District 9" ? I remember I've been quite acid talking about it at the time. Why saying that ? Because now, when I started writing about "Elysium" - "from the director of District 9" as the poster says, I've been hit by a deja vu ...

Neill Blomkamp is behind the two titles, a promising director as he was considered following the first of them. I'll try to hold the sarcastic line on my tongue and get to the movie subject. Which in "Elysium", as well as in "District 9" is actually quite ok as idea, setting, etc. To be precise we have a dystopian future in which the overpopulated Earth is the scene of an existential chaos where the lifer expectancy is short enough to ask yourself how long will it still be overpopulated. The rich created an artificial life environment on the orbit, called Elysium = a sort of satellite populated with vegetation and having the last technology in health preserving which apparently allows to cure any disease and to lengthen the lifespan of somebody up to .. forever (one of the many points maybe not that noticeable but which raise questions in this movie, or philosophically said - how SciFi can a SciFi be). Well, in this context, we have him - Max (Matt Damon) - a former outlaw who tries hard to make a honest life in the middle of a neighborhood filled with gangs, by going day by day to work on an assembly line. Until faith (to be read: the supervisor) makes such he has a serious work accident, after which his only hope is to get fast enough on a healing platform on Elysium. How this happens and what's going on around it .. the movie will tell. I move to the critics ...

Which part I'll make very short = there's one and single big problem with this movie. Meaning worse than all the rest. And unfortunately is the same as in "District 9". It becomes way too far fetched from some point onwards despite the SciFi label. I can get over the ultra-populist message it builds, but I'm sorry ... I can't get over a guy who continuously is on the verge of dying but moves successfully from fight scene to fight scene, and many of them looking like cut from wrestling shows. Or to ignore (light spoiler) dreams of political career from a mercenary who seems to have the sword sharpening as a favorite activity in his free time, or many others. I won't even stop on what's related to technicalities or IT because I'm used with the hilarious display in pretty much every movie.

As in "District 9" if you get over these + some excessively tear jerking scenes, you'll have a result that at least won't get you bored. One of the evil characters especially: Kruger (the mercenary) - played by Sharlto Kopley, a South African actor who had the lead part in "District 9" is probably a serious candidate to the title of "best villain" of the year. About the rest, what to say, Neill Blomkamp didn't move yet beyond "promising", maybe next time.

Rating: 3 out of 5