Movie Recommendation: The Island
Young Master Nordeaster and I ducked out of the humidity and took in "The Island" this weekend. The movie has received very mixed reviews, but critics aren't typically kind to the science fiction genre, and the pro-life, anti-stem cell/cloning message the movie carries won't endear the typical movie critic.
One sign of a good movie is that scenes, images and lines keep popping into your head days after seeing it. I find that happening with this movie, and I'm not just talking Scarlett Johansson in a form fitting white body suit type images (although those certainly do). There are a couple of scenes that have a lingering, thought provoking effect -- an essential for any well done science fiction movie.
I love a movie that seems as though it's actually letting you peek under the curtain into the near future -- where the technology is amazing, yet realistic (think mag-lev trains not flying cars). "Minority Report" is a favorite of mine for this reason. Like "Minority Report", "The Island" painted a very intriguing, yet reasonably believable future vision (glass desktops that double as giant computer screens, suspended light rail, urinals that run instant lab tests).
Visually, "The Island" hits a 500 ft. home run. Atmospherically and thematically it is also very strong. "The Island" has the attitude of a 70's science fiction movie with an updated look and feel. It starts out in sterile and controlled "Brave New World" type of environment , but soon turns into a sort of Logan's run with some very intense vehicle chases. Apart from that, I'll stay away from story discussion. It's hard to do without prematurely revealing some key plot points.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson were not outstanding, but solid in the lead roles. The supporting cast included some heavy hitters (Steve Buscemi, Michael Clark Duncan, Sean Bean), that really added a great deal to the overall quality of the film. Most refreshing are the positive pro-liberty and pro-life messages, surprising and rare in today's Hollywood.
Hollywood box office numbers are down this summer, but strangely I'm not contributing to that trend. I've attended four movies this summer, which is probably two more than typical. Even more unusual is that I have not been disappointed with any of the four (Star Wars, Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, and The Island).
One sign of a good movie is that scenes, images and lines keep popping into your head days after seeing it. I find that happening with this movie, and I'm not just talking Scarlett Johansson in a form fitting white body suit type images (although those certainly do). There are a couple of scenes that have a lingering, thought provoking effect -- an essential for any well done science fiction movie.
I love a movie that seems as though it's actually letting you peek under the curtain into the near future -- where the technology is amazing, yet realistic (think mag-lev trains not flying cars). "Minority Report" is a favorite of mine for this reason. Like "Minority Report", "The Island" painted a very intriguing, yet reasonably believable future vision (glass desktops that double as giant computer screens, suspended light rail, urinals that run instant lab tests).
Visually, "The Island" hits a 500 ft. home run. Atmospherically and thematically it is also very strong. "The Island" has the attitude of a 70's science fiction movie with an updated look and feel. It starts out in sterile and controlled "Brave New World" type of environment , but soon turns into a sort of Logan's run with some very intense vehicle chases. Apart from that, I'll stay away from story discussion. It's hard to do without prematurely revealing some key plot points.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson were not outstanding, but solid in the lead roles. The supporting cast included some heavy hitters (Steve Buscemi, Michael Clark Duncan, Sean Bean), that really added a great deal to the overall quality of the film. Most refreshing are the positive pro-liberty and pro-life messages, surprising and rare in today's Hollywood.
Hollywood box office numbers are down this summer, but strangely I'm not contributing to that trend. I've attended four movies this summer, which is probably two more than typical. Even more unusual is that I have not been disappointed with any of the four (Star Wars, Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, and The Island).
posted by Nordeaster | 11:32 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home