Oblivion

Written by Dorrin Gingerich

Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is one of the last few remaining drone repairmen assigned to post-apocalyptic earth, after an alien race called Svavs invaded and nearly destroyed everything. Jack and his communications officer and romantic partner, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) work together to collect the last remaining resources from Earth to send to the Tet. The Tet is a massive space station where the last of humanity resides before leaving to inhabit one of Jupiter's moon. Their mission is about completed with two weeks remaining. Victoria is eagerly awaiting the end of their mission but Jack is more hesitant to leave Earth. But things began to unravel after Jack rescues a woman he's been dreaming about named Julia (Olga Kurylenko). Jack eventually learns the truth and realizes he may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

What Worked - This is only director Joseph Kosinski's second picture (first being TRON Legacy) and I think I'm becoming a fan. The stunning cinematography and scope Joseph Kosinski is able to bring to Oblivion is reminiscent of other classic sci-fi films such as 2001 A Space Odyssey and a host of others. Because of this you will be able see some of the surprises coming a mile away. But please hear me out on this, there are some genuine surprises mixed throughout that even took me by surprise. All the acting is extremely well done, but the person I believe who really stands out is Andrea Riseborough who plays Victoria. First off her character is a rule freak, but she's doesn't play her character as an annoying stick in the mud. We learn she really wants to join the others in the Tet, and she doesn't want anything to hinder their chances of leaving. So when things begin to unravel and certain lies come to light, her whole world begins to crumble. You're never quite sure where her loyalties will lie making her a dangerous and yet sympathetic character. So I found her to be the most fascinating out of the lot, but it could also be she's a gorgeous redhead and a British actress, but who am I to say.

What Didn't Work - The movie doesn't quite feel like a movie you'd want to watch over and over again. Also a few of side characters feel underutilized particularly Morgan Freeman's Beech and Olga Kurylenko's Julia. Morgan Freeman hardly had any screen time, and poor Olga Kurylenko really didn't have much to do except look confused and worried. Also at the film's awe-inspiring climax, Tom Cruise utters the F Bomb word that slightly derails the climactic moment. Honestly, more than anything else it just felt really out of place, ruining a near flawless moment.

Overall - Let me just say if you're a hard-core sci-fi fan then you're guaranteed to have seen this story and its surprises before. But despite this, Oblivion is still glorious to look at and the acting and story are pretty solid. I'd say it's highly enjoyable and a must watch.

A Quote from the movie -
Jack Harper - Everybody dies, Sally. The thing is, to die well.

So what do you think? Which sci-fi film did Oblivion remind you of?

Wrath of the Titans

Written by Peter Lehman
Edited by Dorrin Gingerich

Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to 2010’s Clash of the Titans, follows Perseus (Sam Worthington) in yet another battle against the gods of Olympus. The gods, directly sustained by the prayers of mortals, grow weaker and weaker as mankind ignores them. Desperate, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Zeus’ son Ares (Édgar Ramírez) conspire to release Kronos, the chthonic Titan from his imprisonment in the underworld. By allying with him, they hope to rule the world once he destroys mankind. Zeus (Liam Neeson) knows that the Kronos cannot be controlled once he awakes, so he convinces the reluctant Perseus to step up and save the world.

What Works - Surprisingly, Wrath of the Titans is quite a bit better than its prequel. From the very first battle, I noticed that some of the monster designs looked more creative and memorable than in the last film. For example, a two-headed brute called a Chimera, a nightmarish mixture of beasts, attacks Perseus’ village, convincing him that his family will not be safe unless he takes on the evil Kronos. One of the Chimera’s heads spews flammable liquid and the other provides the spark, enabling it to breathe fire and decimate the countryside. It’s eyeless, shaggy, reptilian, and all-around weird-looking. Even its tail has teeth! In sum, the concept art seemed more inspired than in Clash.
Rather than introducing scores of non-descript characters this time around, the film focuses on fewer protagonists and adds more personality. Agenor (Toby Kebbell), the wise-cracking son of Poseidon, accompanies Perseus on his quest, and they meet the fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), who shows them the path through the labyrinth leading to the underworld. Bill Nighy particularly stood out, even though he only stayed onscreen for a short time. Hephaestus’ addled, eccentric inventor persona seemed to fit him well, and he had quite a few surprisingly good lines. In fact, generally, the script is more self-aware than in the last film, and it doesn’t shy away from the occasional funny one-liner.

What Didn't Work - The plot moves too quickly from one scene to the next, and it doesn’t always make perfect sense. Just like in the first movie, some of the transitions are handled by characters basically saying “We must go [do this now]! or else [this will happen]!” The laws of their mythical universe and the powers of their magical artifacts remain a bit too fuzzy. Still, the inelegant exposition keeps the pace up, which works in this film’s favor if the audience is willing to go along with it.
The CG setpieces looked great, and the effects take center stage in this installment as well, but the non-CGI battles suffered, reduced to a series of lightning quick, close-up cuts. Any battle against Kronos, the Cyclopes, or the six-armed Makhai looked fine, but during hand-to-hand fights against person-sized opponents like Ares or the Minotaur, I often couldn’t tell what was happening.

Overall - A fun movie,…perhaps due to my low expectations. Between the creature designs, the visual effects, and the faster pace, I stayed interested throughout. I may have been disappointed if I had paid theater price for it, but as a rental, I enjoyed it.

A quote from the movie
Hades -You look 10,000 years younger.
Zeus - And feel it.

Oz the Great and Powerful

Oscar Diggs (James Franco) better known as Oz, works in a traveling circus as a small time magician. But due to a sudden tornado Oz is swept into the magical land of Oz where he learns there's been a prophecy made about him. It says that a powerful wizard with the same name as the land would come and rule the Emerald City. So everyone naturally assumes this newcomer must be the great and powerful wizard. He eventually finds himself in the middle of a power struggle between three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams). They all seem very curious and wary of this newcomer. Soon intentions are revealed and sides are taken. Now it's up to Oz to take responsibility to protect the magical land of Oz.

What Worked - I did enjoy some of the CGI characters such as Finley, a winged monkey voiced by Zach Braff. He had some genuinely funny lines. Another was China Girl, she's a living china doll that has such a tragic back story. You can't help but to get a little bit misty eyed for her. Another thing I found extremely amusing, is there's a whole people group called Tinkers who have an astounding resemblance to Amish people. I guess a buggy got swept in to Oz at some point. Seriously, look them up.

What Didn't Work - For starters, the director Sam Raimi's interpretation of Oz felt like a much brighter version of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Seriously I wouldn't have been surprised to see the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts appear right around the corner at some point. Actually that might've really helped to improve the movie. I also found it hard to buy into the Oz world in general, mainly due to the special effects. Granted some of the shots did look cool but the majority of them looked cheap, like they were a computer screensaver. Also Sam Raimi's has a tendency to go a little bit overboard when it comes to putting a lot of cheesiness in his films. Along side some severely uncomfortable close-ups and some awkward tilting of the camera, Sam Raimi has once again proven that childish film tactics hurt movies. Also once we met all the characters, the story became very predictable. Seriously, 45 minutes into the movie I had the whole thing figured out. Now either I'm incredibly smart (which I wish I could take the credit for) or the script and the directing was just really poor. As for James Franco as Oz, I really wanted to like him in this role but I didn't, maybe it's because his creepy smile had the added presence of a creepy goatee. However, my current theory is that he seemed to respond to different scenarios really unnaturally and he also seems to punch every single line of dialogue with cheesiness. Now if reports are to be believed Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr. were also offered the role as Oz but unfortunately both men turned it down. It was then offered to James Franco who accepted. Can you imagine how different the movie would've been with Johnny Depp or Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. But alas, we got James Franco whose only real crime was that no one told him to calm down onset.

Spoiler Alert - In Oz the Great and Powerful, Theodora played by Mila Kunis eventually becomes the infamous wicked witch. Unfortunately, the only truly terrifying thing about this witch is her really bad makeup job and some of her truly awful lines of dialogue. With lines like "There's so much good here, it sickens me", I honestly cannot take her seriously. Whenever she starts screaming or yelling, I can't help but think of Meg from Family Guy.

Overall - While it's a bright remake of the land of Oz that your young kids will probably enjoy. I unfortunately really did not care for this movie at all. It's super cheesy and very predictable. I would ultimately say don't even bother watching Oz the Great and Powerful.

A quote from the movie
Finley - Eat him first, eat him first!

So what do you think? Did you enjoy Oz the Great and Powerful?