DVD Profile: Battle for Terra

Just got done watching Battle for Terra and I must say it satisfied my needs for a thought provoking science fiction movie. This tale, which puts humans in the role of the conquering “aliens”, really makes you wonder what you would do in the same situation.

If the survival of the human race depended on wiping out another whole planets native beings, should we do it? How strong should our desire be to avoid extinction?

Most of the films or TV shows that have dealt with alien invasion had the extraterrestrials in the same situation. Their world was dying or their resources were dried up. They had to make a decision; us or them.

Overall this film is pretty optimistic. If we were able to divert an alien invasion on our planet, I don’t know if we’d turn around and try to help them. Maybe that says something about us. Maybe we aren’t as human as we think we are.

Anyways, go out and buy this movie. Or you can Red Box it. You will have to suspend disbelief a few times as they take liberties with known physics, but the importance is the story. This animated science fiction film tells that story very well.

Popularity: 2% [?]

DVD Profile: Dark City

What makes us who we are? Is it our memories or is it something deeper inside us? That is what the alien creatures called “strangers” were trying to figure out in this incredible science fiction film. The dark tones in the beginning  set a great contrast for the much sunnier end to the movie. Jennifer Connelly gives her usual best effort and Kiefer Sutherland shows off his strange side.

Film Cast

Director: Alex Proyas

Screenwriter: David S Goyer, Lem Dobbs

Stars: Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly

Rotten Tomatoes: 77%

Film Reviews

James Byron Clark of South Lemon: The incredible story telling and visual effects drew me into this film. The thought provoking tale of human consciousness made me watch the movie over and over again. I still don’t know if I truly think that “we are who we are” no matter what our memories are, but this film definitely made me think about it.

Scifimoviepage.com: Dark City is quite a rarity: it is both visceral and cerebral at once. The film combines a very intelligent (and at times even intellectual) story line with some stunning production designs and special effects. In an age where the science fiction film genre has been dumbed down to a mere spectacle of loud explosions and special effects (like in Independence Day), Dark City stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

In Summary

The Matrix films may have been a lot more popular, but I think Dark City is better than any of those movies. First of all Rufus Sewell is a much better actor than Keanu Reeves, second the performance by Kiefer Sutherland is outstanding; in a weirdo with schizophrenia type of way. This is a film that any science fiction fan should own.

Popularity: 3% [?]

DVD Profile: Dogma

Kevin Smith’s supernaturally religious tale is intelligent and thought provoking. If you have ever questioned organized religion and found funny little contradictions from the churches hierarchy, you need to see this movie.

The film follows the tale of two fallen angels trying to find a way back into heaven. Bethany, a woman who has lost her faith, is charged with the quest of stopping them. It turns out that if the two angels are successful on their mission then existence will end.

The movie also includes Jay and Silent Bob, as two prophets. The two play their usual roles. Jay as the crude, and sometimes unintentiona,l hero. Bob, as the silent, but wise sidekick.

Cast

Director: Kevin Smith

Screenwriter: Kevin Smith

Stars: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek

Rotten Tomatoes: 67%

Reviews

James Byron Clark of South Lemon: This movie made me think, those are the types of films that I am generally drawn to the most. Dogma was no exception. It, like all Kevin Smith movies, is dialogue driven. There are no shortages of  ”mini lectures” on moral issues and our view of religion in our lives. This is one of my favorite films. Sometimes I watch it for a laugh, sometimes to spark inspiration.

Philip Martin of  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Dogma is a film that employs blasphemy as a marketing technique.
It is, on the other hand, a surprisingly tender and humane movie that seems touchingly confident of God’s sense of humor and infinite patience with his most favored creatures. Smith may well be — as he’s claimed — a man of faith. His argument is not so much with Christianity’s traditions as with its bureaucracies and the bigotry induced by literal-minded certainty. If the film is not quite honest — and it’s not, it sets up a kind of trendy straw Catholicism that doesn’t fairly reflect the attitudes of most devout church members — it does have the considerable virtue of being a very funny movie.

In Summary

Unless you have serious reservations about films that question religion or movies that make you think; this should be a no brainer for your DVD collection.

Popularity: 3% [?]

DVD Profile: Office Space

Once it was a box-office bomb, now it is a cult-classic. This humorous movie,that does not try too hard to be funny, hit a spot with all those hard working drones out there. We were all able to relate to the idiotic bosses and seemingly meaningless tasks that Mike Judge’s movie threw at the characters.

Movie Facts

Director: Mike Judge

Screenwriter: Mike Judge

Stars: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Ajay Naidu

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%

Reviews

James Byron Clark of South Lemon: I was immediately drawn in by the mundane life of Peter and his nonchalant attitude toward changing it. The pace never really changes, only the actions of the characters change. The humor hits dead on without hijacking the storyline. In short, this film doesn’t try hard to be funny, it just is.

Phil Villareal of Arizona Daily Star: With his jet-speed, astoundingly re-watchable satire, Judge jabs a rusty, twisted paper clip into the dark heart of 9-to-5 life. The beleaguered protagonist, cubicle prisoner Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), says it best: “Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.”

This is definitely a film you should purchase for your collection. If you’re having a bad day, it’s probably not as bad as the guys in this movie. If you just need a laugh, it will supply it. If you are yourself a boss, watch it to find out what you look like to your employees (at least some of you).

Popularity: 3% [?]