Terminator: Dark Fate - Great Twists and a Major Fix

Before I provide my take on Terminator: Dark Fate, I wanted to mention that co-blogger Donna Frelick has announced her new podcast site where she provides movie reviews in her insightful, entertaining and very professional narrative style. If you'd like to catch up on some of the more recent releases and/or Oscar contenders on her site--My Moviehouse, My Rules--check out her Friday blog here:  Podcast Launch has Steep Trajectory 

I'd recommend checking out her Lightning Round as a sampler of five recent movies in quick-fire succession. She convinced me I had to see two or three that were on my "maybe" list.

Now, on to my review.

Although the ads didn't do enough to get me into a theater, I was intrigued enough to catch Terminator: Dark Fate as a recent offering on satellite pay per view. I'll try to keep this free from major spoilers while still explaining why the film appealed to me, but for obvious reasons I'll have to stay in the vague territory for a few elements.

I admit I've had some major disenchantment with the Terminator franchise in some of the after-the-original forms, especially when replacing well-loved characters with new actors. Like Star Wars: Solo it just wasn't the same. Terminator: Dark Fate was actually an enjoyable, action-packed view with a nod to a couple of the original players. Although it didn't exactly have a happy ending, the finale probably was necessary--maybe even required to tie up some loose ends if the franchise is ever planning another in the series.

Terminator Dark Fate movie poster is the
property of the stuidio and/or artist.

So, my first big mark in the plus column was the return of Sarah Conner (not a big spoiler to anyone who's seen the trailers or the posters). Yes, Sarah is back--in all her previous bass-assery glory and with three times the attitude. And as the cherry-on-top, complete with an iconic opening line.

I loved Linda Hamilton's reprisal of her famous role but this time in a different future timeline. This twisted-strands-of-time element lends a certain beauty to the story line--but it's the same element that makes you scratch your head trying to unravel all the paradoxes at the same time.

Wait! So Sarah Conner was able, in this future, to have prevented the atomic apocalypse and the deaths of 3 billion people--but there are still certain repercussions from that original time track? Whoa! Try processing that in all its mind-bending complexity. I'm not sure whether to classify it as a genius twist or a deeply flawed plot hole, but at any rate, I'll just run with it.

Sarah is not the stars of the show in this installment. That honor falls to Dani--a Mexican citizen--and Grace, who is...well, you'll have to discover that part for yourself, but she's every bit Sarah's match and her nemesis at the same time. Dani is a young, somewhat naive woman who, in this timeline, appears to have taken on the yoke of Sarah Conner's original fate--she's destined to save the world by way of her unborn offspring, IF she can survive. And she's very ill-equipped to do so as the story begins. Like Sarah, she evolves through her experiences into someone tougher, smarter and more prepared to take on her role. Again, IF she survives.

The good entities are trying to get Dani to a place near Laredo, TX, where some mysterious transmissions with valuable information have been sent to them. But getting to Texas involves a border crossing that throws a major wrench in the works when they're captured and detained, which then leap-frogs into mayhem and panic as the killer closes in. There's a surprise waiting for them in Texas--or really, maybe it's more of a surprise for the audience (provided the trailers haven't clued you in already to this twist).

Much like the original, the meat of the plot is that of a desperate game of cat and mouse with an enemy from a different future who appears invincible--a particularly single-minded assassin with an arsenal of executioner's weapons at his disposal, including the world's IT.

The chase portions are just as suspenseful and edge-of-your-seat as those in the original movie, though the situation gets more and more outlandish as the hunt continues, until it goes IMHO beyond the normal person's capacity for suspension of disbelief. But for those who like explosions, mortal battles in death-defying situations, firestorms, hurtling shrapnel, crashes and characters getting the proverbial crap beat out of them--you'll love it.

Although the story didn't end on a particularly happy note--there was a twist at the end that in my mind "fixed" what the original franchise broke. Turns out what Sarah believed to be true about Dani wasn't the case. And the reveal made this story resonate with me in ways that the original--which came out long ago and far away in the mid-1980s--did not.

If you don't mind all the over-the-top carnage and destruction, Terminator: Dark Fate is worth watching just for this twisty revelation. Definitely an evolved sci-fi with a message for our time.

As always your parsecs may vary, so if you've seen Dark Fate feel free to share your thoughts in comments. If you want more of the (spoiler-alert!) meat of both the plot and characters, Donna has done a concise thumbs-down review on Spacefreighters Lounge, which you can find here:
Terminator Re-Start is a No Go

Have a great week!

Rise of Skywalker: The SFR Brigade Speaks Out

The Saga Will End...The Story Lives Forever

That was the tag line for the final motion pictures in the 40+ year old Star Wars main saga, a cultural icon for three generations.

How did members of the SFR Brigade feel about the wrap? A few are here to share their thoughts on the final installment.

Spoiler Alert! 

If you haven't yet seen Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, don't read on!

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The End of the Skywalker Saga 
by Patty Hammond 
Beta Reader, Editor, Blogger and Podcaster
EverydayFangirl.com     TheFutureofTheForce.com
Fanthatracks.com      TheBeardedTrio.com

How do you start summarizing something that has been part of your life since you were six years old in just a few words? I am still processing everything that I saw in The Rise Of Skywalker, even though I have seen the movie a total of two times. There was so much that happened and the emotions these evoked in me that I am not sure where to start. Therefore, all I can do is try, even though I am sure Master Yoda would not agree with that approach, huh?

It is true that we have reached the end of the current Star Wars saga and the story of the Skywalker family has completed. I know this ending may not have fulfilled the hopes of a happily ever after that many wished for and are struggling to deal with this. However, I believe that the ending of TROS is better than some other endings, like The Game Of Thrones, because it left me with a feeling of hope. For me the heart of the Star Wars saga has always been about hope.

I believe The Rise Of Skywalker gave this to us in spades. From the lack of hope being presented as ‘fact’ due to the First Order and of course the most evil being in the Universe, Palpatine and his Final Order. To the presence of hope as a rallying cry and a weapon wielded by the efforts of many characters including Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose, Leia and even Ben Solo. This ending gave us hope that a brighter future lives on in all the surviving characters, especially Rey, who is now the spiritual heir of the Skywalker family and the keeper of hope into the future. Overall, I left the theatre with this feeling of hope and I hope that when others left the theater after watching this film will feel the same hope that I did.


The Return of Hope
by Debra Jess
Author of Blood Surfer: A Thunder City Novel (Book 1)
https://debrajess.com

Hope, like comedy, isn't easy. The dramatic, the sorrowful, the angsty stories always seem to get more attention over happier, more hopeful ones because well-told stories with happiness & hope appear too simplistic, too easy. Star Wars is about hope. It's always been fast, lightly touching the darker emotions before spring boarding off to the next space battle. Every time I see a fan bemoaning about how The Last Jedi was a better film than Rise of Skywalker because Luke was morose and depressed and turned his back on the Force because of all of the tragedies in his life, I just want to scream: "Did you miss the huge parties at the end of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi? Medal ceremonies! Dancing Ewoks! New sister! New friends! Fireworks!" Even Empire Strikes Back has an ending that promises a better future despite all the shocking revelations that went down in that film.

I was happy to see all of the past threads brought together and tied into a nice neat bow. My jaw dropped when Han Solo appeared (how many souls did Kathleen Kennedy have to sacrifice to bring Harrison Ford back?) However, I will always believe that directors and producers showed a complete lack of understanding of what Star Wars is about when they chose to deprive the legacy fans of the one small story point they wanted more than anything else: a few minutes of screen time with Luke, Leia, and Han together as the heroes that we remember.

I was surprised at how much screen time they constructed for Leia. I know it's not perfect, but then Tarkin wasn't perfect in Rogue One and his rendering didn't bother me or distract me from the movie at all.

The twists were a pleasant surprise. I can see Hux spying in an attempt to get revenge on Kylo. Adam Driver made me believe in Kylo's re-embracing of Ben's soul. His whole stance is looser, his manner less strained. I'm still glad Kylo/Ben died, because you don't get to commit patricide and survive. His kiss with Rey was a bit queasy, but at least Rey is now free to choose her own destiny with no ties to the dyad, her bloodline, or her past. Her loyalty belongs to her newfound family and friends.

Rose, however, got screwed. There's no way to justify her lack of screen time. I believe the director kept Zorii's helmet on to cover for the fact that he downgraded Rose in favor of another white woman. Rose deserved so much better.

As for Rey taking on the Skywalker name? I was torn because I hate the whole bloodline legacy idea because it ties in with the need for midi-chloridians to touch the Force. Midi-Chloridians don't exist in my universe. However, the fact that Rey chooses the Skywalker name at the end shows that bloodlines really don't matter if she's the first in a new generation of Jedi.


The Digital Necromancy of the Mustache Twirl
by Marlene Harris
Book Blogger / Librarian
Reading Reality   Twitter @readingreality

I saw The Rise of Skywalker over the holidays with my husband. Our experience of the Star Wars universe is different; I was in college the summer that the original movie came out and he was born that summer. He doesn’t remember a world without Star Wars. For me, it was the opening of a bright if occasionally unstable wormhole to a place where nothing would ever be the same. Suddenly my love for all things fantasy and SF, including a lifelong love affair with Star Trek, thankyouverymuch, had a big audience and acceptance beyond a snicker.

So we’ve seen all the movies, one way or another. But I remember when Han really did shoot first - and he doesn’t. Still, it’s been a wild ride on the Millenium Falcon, no matter how fast or slow the Kessel Run.

Now the saga, or at least the part of it wrapped so tightly around that original story, has ended. And not with the bang we hoped for, but with a whimper. Your lightspeed, of course, may vary.

As the wrap-up to an epic, The Rise of Skywalker managed to tick off a reasonable number of the required boxes. But it missed the boat in a big way. Several of them.

For him, the digital necromancy required to get Leia into the picture just didn’t work. It felt flat and contrived and obvious. But then, he didn’t have tears in his eyes blurring the screen just enough to make it work - as I did.

For me, it came down to villain fail. It weakened the story for the villain to be Palpatine himself, instead of, oh, say, a bastard child or a deluded follower. Instead we got the undead Sith himself, making speeches that sounded like echoes from the past as his formerly creepy and haunting presence got reduced to a whole lot of prosthetics and an affect that felt like the equivalent of a mustache twirl. He seemed like a caricature of a villain rather than an actual one.

And what was up with all those really tall and creepy statues? He must have been seriously overcompensating for something, which leads to some really unfortunate questions about exactly how Rey’s father was conceived.

Last, but not least, at least for me, was that the story seemed to be missing its beating heart - possibly because that’s the element that Leia was supposed to have provided. I wanted my heart to soar as it did when Luke made that impossible shot in the first movie, and sink into my toes the way it did when Vader cut off Luke’s hand and he fell into the dark.

I just didn’t feel for these folks as much as I expected to. And the movie missed its opportunity for a truly crowning moment of awesome. When Rey ground out “I am ALL the Jedi” they should have all been there with her. Not just disembodied voices, but actual Force ghosts. They should have been standing at her side. If they had, we would have known that we were there too.


Thanks for Forty Years of Skywalker
by Lea Kirk 
USA Today Bestselling Author of the Prophecy Series
Website   Facebook    Lea Kirk Author Newsletter

As one of my besties & I took our seats in the theater to see The Rise of Skywalker, a sense of finality came over me. This was it, the last movie of a surprise franchise that began over forty years ago. I was a skinny, bespectacled seventh grader when A New Hope released. I was also living in Japan, and at that time new cinema releases were out for a year in the U.S. before they were sent overseas. (They did send Mark Hamill to visit his old high school, which was on the same Army base as the middle school I attended, but that’s another story.)

All we could do was wait. As fate would have it, my dad was transferred stateside and we left the week before Star Wars arrived at the base theater. The first thing my mom did after we arrived in California was to take my sister and I to see the movie—a whole week before my friends got to see it! It was awesome, and it seemed like the story (like the lines) would never end.

But, it has.

Did The Rise of Skywalker live up to my expectations? Overall, yes. Do I have questions? Most definitely. Would I change anything? Yes! The most glaring issue to me—which started in The Force Awakens—is the relationship between Poe and Finn. OMG, people! These two should’ve gotten together!

Now, I’m not a Rose-hater…I actually love her character. And since the powers that be did not see fit to romantically link Poe and Finn, then why not let Finn and Rose hook up? All in all, it would’ve been great if they hadn’t even tried to force that relationship to begin with, but to turn around and cover it up in the latest movie like it’d never happened? Messy loose end.

My biggest heartache was that Rey and Ben will never get together. He dies, she lives, minus the greatest love of her life. This is, of course, my internal romance writer soul crying out at the injustice of them not getting their happily ever after. How-e-ver, there is always a price that must be paid, and Ben’s death—his separation from the woman he loves—is his price. And most of me is good with that.

If I could, what one thing would I change in this movie? Simple. When Luke and Leia appeared to Rey (beautiful and touching, imo), Ben should’ve been with them. He found the good within himself at the eleventh hour, much like Anakin did. And, he quite literally gave his life for her. (Tell me you didn’t cry about that! I did. Like hormonal teenager.)

Bottom line: Despite the still unanswered questions, J. J. Abrams did a phenomenal job wrapping up the Skywalker saga. I wish it could go on forever, but after forty plus years, I’m happy.

I wonder if Abrams would consider going back and remaking parts 1-3…?


Saying Goodbye to the Saga
by KG Stutts
Author of the Mirror trilogy and the Amethyst Chronicles
Blog: My Creative Desk    Amazon Author Page   Facebook Author Page

Like most of us sci-fi fans, I grew up on Star Wars. I watched the movies, read the comics and extended universe books, and played the games. I knew the backstories of characters and could have whole conversations with my brother using quotes. That love for Star Wars grew with each installment that came out.

Unlike most fans, The Last Jedi didn't bother me. I actually liked it more than The Force Awakens, which seemed to do too much to try to remind fans about the original series, as if we didn't already know it by heart. Granted, I didn't love the second installment but I also don't get the complete hatred some have. So with that said, I held my breath going into Rise of Skywalker. I sat in the theater incredibly nervous as to what was going to play out. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised.

There were moments I expected, and still some surprises. I cried more than my share of tears at two parts (staying spoiler free to be safe but you probably know what I mean). To me, it was the perfect send off for our favorite characters and still left it open at the end to explore more if they choose to (and let's face it, they will). Carrie Fisher will forever be my Princess and General and her moments were so beautiful and moving. To me, the story wrapped up this saga incredibly well.

I was nervous and scared as to what this installment would cover. It did feel like they were trying to get three films worth in so at times it both dragged and moved at lightspeed. Overall though, I felt like I could overlook that because the emotion was there. Saying goodbye is always hard, but my heart did feel a little lighter as the credits rolled.


Closing a Four Decade Dynasty
by Laurie A. Green
USA Today Bestselling Author of The Inherited Stars Series
Website   Amazon Author Page    Facebook Author Page

I found Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker to be extremely fast-paced and almost non-stop excitement. I'd have to watch it at least twice more (and I will) to catch all the subtle and not-so-subtle wraps of themes and story lines. So for now, I'll only comment on the main character and the conclusion.

So Rey is a Palpatine, not a Skywalker. Adam Driver's interview slip several years ago about her being "a princess" was apparently in error, or else writers moved away from the original plot idea after The Force Awakens. I think many of the fan base still suspected she was somehow Luke's daughter, but that never played out. I'm a bit melancholy that it didn't. The title Rise of Skywalker didn't foreshadow any amazing reveals at the end, after all.

About that end. After all the battles, clashes, visually-stunning and gasp-worthy scenes, Rey returns to Tatooine--the beginning of the epic journeys for both Luke and Anakin. She buries two lightsabers in the sand near Luke's childhood home--the moisture farm once owned by Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru...before they were taken out by Stormtroopers in a desperate search for R2D2 and C3PO so long ago.

And at the finale, Rey claimed the name of Skywalker for her own. I got a certain "calm after the storm" feeling from that scene, but I also felt a huge void. All the galaxy-changing Skywalkers were now gone--Anakin, Luke, Leia and Ben--and even though Rey honored them by taking their name, as a character in the franchise once said, "Their fire has gone out of the universe." Certainly that fire has gone out of mine, now that this epic has ended. I'm sincerely going to miss this "story of a lifetime." But was there any way to end this saga that would have pleased everyone? I think not.

I'd just like to add one final thought. The original trilogy is--and will always be--the best of the franchise for me. That first-experienced magic and wonder and awe that drove people to the theaters in droves in the late 1970s and early 80s was never recreated again in later films, though each and every one of them is exceptional, and will always be worth watching again and again. But Star Wars became what it was all because one man had a powerful vision and the genius to pull it off in a way the world had never seen before. Thank you for what you started, George Lucas. We may never see the like again. 

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Spacefreighters Lounge would like to thank the SFR Brigade participants who took the time to compose their entertaining and thoughtful individual commentaries on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final motion picture in the triple-trilogy saga.

We realize that opinions may vary for every fan, and we invite your comments and discussion of Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker below.

Only the Brave: Movie Commentary

During my career, I had a fair share of exposure to the natural phenomena called wildfires. Though most probably think of New Mexico as a desert state, the truth is it contains millions of acres of forests and at least three major wilderness areas--the Gila (the largest at 3.3 million acres), the Pecos, and the Jemez, and five major designated National Forests. In fact, the original Smokey Bear - the little rescued bear cub with the burned paws who became the national icon for preventing forest fires - hailed from the forests near Lincoln, New Mexico.

In my tenure as a military budget director, I managed the budget for State Active Duty--which was a special fund for the deployment of the National Guard troops and equipment to assist with manmade or natural disasters within our state. I saw a lot of wildfires on my watch, including the Cerro Grande, which in the year 2000 destroyed 48,000 acres, a good portion of the town of Los Alamos and very nearly took out one of our national labs--LANL or Los Alamos National Laboratory. This fire was so massive, it could be clearly seen from space. It started on May 4th with a controlled burn that quickly got out of hand and wasn't completely extinguished until July 20th of that year.

I remember our Regional Training Center being converted into a makeshift dining hall for hundreds of firefighters and emergency personnel sent to assist with the fire and fire security. I also remember watching from the patio area outside our headquarters building when the Cerro Grande fire spiked a ridge not that far to the west of us, and wondered if we would be next to evacuate.

Naturally, when I heard that a group of Hotshots--the elitist of the elite wild land firefighters--had been overtaken on a ridge in Arizona on June 30, 2013, and all 19 succumbed, I was shocked and deeply saddened. I knew it had to have been a horrific fire to get the better of such highly trained personnel.

Little did I know that a remarkable movie would be made of this incident, and much of it would be filmed very near my old office in Santa Fe and near some of the areas where the Cerro Grande fire burned more than a decade before. This powerful tale was captured in the recently released motion picture, Only the Brave. Here's the trailer...

I won't go into the details of the plot, because I want to leave that for readers to discover themselves, but I will tell you the film packed a punch, as have a few of the images I've since seen and the additional facts I've since learned as a result. The title came from the first words of a quotation by the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus: "Only the brave enjoy noble and glorious deaths..."

A quick background on Hotshot crews. At the time of the Yarnell Hill Fire, there were roughly 107 of these specially trained crews, each consisting of 20 members, throughout the US. These men and women are certified, highly trained and must meet stringent physical requirements. You can think of them as the Special Forces of wildland firefighters. They are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can be sent to any area needing assistance, usually to fight major or high priority fires, where they sometimes camp for weeks in the fire area. Unlike many other firefighting outfits, the Hotshots work on the front line fighting fire with fire, igniting burn lines to arrest the spreading wildfire in order to protect people, property, towns, forests and landmarks.

The Granite Mountain Hotshots were unique, in that they were the only crew formed from a city municipality (Town of Prescott Arizona Fire Department or PFD). It took six years to attain their certification, beginning with the establishment of a fuels mitigation crew in 2002, which later transitioned to a Type 2 handcrew in 2004, to them finally receiving their evaluation and Hotshots Type 1 certification in 2008, five years before the Yarnell Hill Fire.



Images property of Columbia Pictures

In casting, there was a lot of effort made to find actors who fit not only the physical characteristics of the real life person they were portraying, but the actors then took it to the next level in trying to capture the spirit of the person. Miles Teller (Divergent) plays Brendon "Donut" McDonough, and spent several days with Brendon to get a sense of his mannerisms and habits. The same went for Jeff Bridges and his portrayal of Fire Chief Duane Steinbrink. Josh Brolin worked hard to accurately represent the hard-driving perfectionist, Superintendent Eric Marsh. His widow, Amanda Marsh, showed actress Jennifer Connelly several methods she used in handling rescued horses--and yes she was, and is, a real life horse rescuer, and yes, those methods are shown in the movie.

Maybe one of the most stunning revelations for me was that actor Brandon Bunch played the role of his real life best friend, Garret Zuppiger. The actor had formerly been with the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew for four years and knew every member of the team that was killed that day. In fact, he might have been there himself, if he hadn't left the Hotshots two weeks earlier to tend to his pregnant wife. The tragic call about his friends came on his oldest son's birthday. He turned down the offer for the role more than once before deciding to do the film. Of the private screening, he said: "The whole thing was kind of hard to watch."

One of the most iconic scenes, which in real life took place on June 19, only days before the team met its fate, was the saving of the Grandfather Juniper. This ancient Alligator Juniper, a tree so ancient that "it might have been a seedling when Jesus walked the planet" is one of the state's natural treasures. It grew near the Granite Mountain Hotshots' hometown of Prescott, Arizona, and it resulted in one of the most famous photos of the group ever taken after the crew saved the tree during the Doce Fire. (There's a version of the photo compared to the scene in the movie at the History vs. Hollywood link below.) Prescott College Professor Doug Hulmes said of the Grandfather Juniper, "May the tree continue to stand as a recorder of Nature's memory and a living memorial to those who cared."

Images property of Columbia Pictures

There are a few events in the film that were altered, such as Hollywood merging the characters of the Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief into one, and a few things that weren't covered, such as the lawsuit later brought by some of the survivors' families against the Arizona State Department of Forestry. Clearly, this heroic team was lost due to a fatal combination of unpredictable fire and weather conditions, uncharacteristic decisions and inexplicable actions.

The Yarnell Hill Fire resulted in the greatest loss of firefighters in a single event since September 11, 2001.

If you didn't catch this movie in theaters last fall, I highly recommend it. This story needed to be told, and I'm in awe at how well Hollywood pulled it off. (And that's certainly not something I'm known to say often.)

It's possible this production hit so close to home for me because of my background and the history of wildfires in our state, but I believe it would appeal to almost everyone. Many know of the heroism of firefighters in an urban setting, but few understand what it takes to meet Mother Nature head-on in her own territory.

Only the Brave is a definite GO!

Read More:
History vs. Hollywood: Only the Brave 2017
Hiking Where the Granite Mountain Hotshots Fell
Hotshot Tree Earns Magnificent 7 Honors
Former Granite Mountain Hotshot Plays Best Friend...
Line of Fire: What Happened at Yarnell Hill?
A Year After the Yarnell Hill Wildfire
Four Year Later: New Memorial to 19 Firefighters (Video)
Granite Mountain Hotshots Facebook Page

The Official Granite Mountain Hotshots Charity: Prescott FF Charities

And a few final thoughts on the Granite Mountain Hotshots and their legacy...

 

 

Movie theme song and lyrics "Hold the Light" by Dierks Bentley

As New Mexico is facing what may become the worst fire season in our history -- following one of the driest, warmest winters on record -- this film brought into very sharp focus what may be in store for our state.

Thank the Lord for the Hotshots and others like them--those who are brave and bold enough to battle these devastating wildfires. They are true heroes.

Have a great week.

I've finally seen "Passengers"

I've finally had a chance to watch Passengers. How soon a movie makes its way to DVD is a good indication of how well it did at the box office, so that sounds a lot like 'not too well'.  I know a couple of other Spacefreighters ladies reviewed the movie a while ago, but I thought it was worth adding my two cents' worth. 

You can read Pippa's review here and Laurie's here. They fundamentally disagreed with each other 😊

Actually, a friend of ours recommended the title to us, so Pete and I sat in the lounge and watched it on the big TV.

WARNING: There will be minor spoilers.

Credit: Sony pictures - starship Avalon

First things first: I LOVED the space ship. It takes the form of a double helix spiralling its way through space at half the speed of light, and it's pretty realistic.  

It's traveling in normal space, scheduled to arrive at its destination after 120 years, carrying five thousand passengers and about 260 crew to set up a new colony. But things go wrong when the ship encounters an asteroid belt. Jim (Chris Pratt) is shaken out of suspended animation and finds himself the only person awake on the ship, with 90 years to go. Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) joins him after he's been alone for a year. The way in which she joins him is probably the most contentious – and most important – issue in the whole movie. Some saw it as 'stalkerish' and 'creepy'. But I felt it was all about the essence of what makes us human, and how we consider choices. The audience is presented with the unspoken words – what would you have done?

From there, the plot became a bit predictable. There's not too many places you can go with two people in a faulty spaceship carrying over five thousand other souls. The part where Jim gets the knowledge he needs to tackle the faults is a little too convenient – and conveniently transient, as Pippa pointed out in her review. 

When the credits started to roll I turned to Pete and said, "I can see why it wasn't so popular at the box office." He agreed with me. Perhaps it's because we have been conditioned to expect science fiction movies to have lots of excitement and adventure. Although things hotted up a bit in the last third of the film, I have to agree with reviewer Owen Gleiberman, who said, "There isn’t much to “Passengers” besides its one thin situation…. it's like a castaway love story set in the world's largest, emptiest shopping mall in space." Read the full review here.

What's Wrong with this Picture? (SF Movie Review Duo)

I very, very seldom invest in tickets to Hollywood movie releases anymore. Why? No, it's not the cost and it's not because I don't enjoy the sight, sound and live audience experience of seeing a feature film on the big screen. It's more a case of Hollywood and I not often seeing eye-to-eye on what constitutes great entertainment.

This week, I've got two cases in point--reviews of two Sci-Fi movies at opposite ends of the genre spectrum. I caught these both on satellite. One is a flat, down-in-the-dirt NO GO/NEVER AGAIN and the other is a "this could have been more enjoyable, but..." PASS. Let the buyer beware.

These reviews will contain major spoilers, but I'll white them out. If you want to read them, just highlight the blank spots with your cursor.

Let's start with the first, which is probably one of the ugliest science fiction films I've seen in years, both cinematically, artistically and, well...just about any other way it can be judged. Wow, it was bad! If it was a book, it would have been one of the "fast pitch it against the wall" variety.

LIFE

Rated R
Opened March 24, 2017

Billed as a "Science Fiction Thriller," I think it might more aptly be described as "Science Fiction Roadkill." It hurts to shred this one, because I thought it had fantastic potential when I saw the trailer and it did star one of my favorite actors, Jake Gyllenhaal, trying to do what he could with very bleak, flawed material. He failed. Miserably. Sorry Jake.

The premise is intriguing. Ancient, potential life is found on Mars and transported via an unmanned ship to the ISS--International Space Station--in an attempt to revive and study it.

Cool, yes? So what happened?

The arrival scene at the ISS is so outlandish and the execution so flawed, that in just the first ten minutes I could see this film wasn't going to co-exist in the same galaxy as the masterpiece of its genre--Alien. (Even though many critics have compared the two, which frankly must be the worst kind of insult to the time-tested Alien and its equally stellar sequel, Aliens. Even the darker, stomach-turning Prometheus was a class act compared to this bomb.)

I hesitated to include this trailer, because it seems to infer the movie might actually be worth watching. Yeah. Fooled me, didn't they?

From there, things just deteriorate. Poor dialogue. Choppy scenes. Random events thrown in with seemingly meaningless intent (such as how the alien got it's name). Unsympathetic too-stupid-to-live characters whose actions are so un-astronaut-like they're laughable.

But the coup de gras was the ending [SPOILER ZONE] where after the creature is reanimated, it evolves from a cute little, curious slug to a hyper-aggressive and dangerously bloodthirsty squishy wolverine/octopus who proceeds to crush limbs and invade lungs. The ISS is (of course!) destroyed with most of its crew mutilated by the Martian invader. The last two escape pod lifeboats are: 1) pointed at Earth with the female sole survivor carrying her dire warning, and 2) pointed at deep space with the nasty alien monster and the sacrificing male hero aboard.

Guess what? The trajectories somehow get switched, and guess which ship goes where? Yes, this one ends with the implied destruction of all living things on Earth, making the ineffective and often foolhardy sacrifices made by the ISS astronauts all for naught, including the poor soul who's flung off into deep space screaming for her life. Who cares if we no longer have an ISS? There'll be no one left to operate it anyway. Everyone's doomed. Lovely. [END SPOILER]

In a Thrillist article, the writers said they wanted the movie to end with an unexpected twist. It was unexpected for me, all right. I expect a movie to end with at least some glimmer of redeeming value.

This one was so bad, I couldn't even stand to watch it again during my two-day window. Nope. Nada. Never. It's a PASS-PASS-PASS-PASS-PASS!

Next up...

THE SPACE BETWEEN US

Rated PG-13
February 3, 2017

Don't get me wrong. This one was kind of cute. At times, even really cute. Being a YA Sci-Fi it can get away with the somewhat hokey, glossed-over, sketchy scenes and cliches-ala-twists.

A secret baby grows up on Mars, his existence and identity kept a carefully guarded from the public (yes, the premise is a little outlandish, but I could overlook that). After outwitting his guardians and making contact with Earth, he decides he must meet the girl of his dreams, Tulsa, another teenager with whom he's been communicating on the internet. And, of course, who lives of Earth.

And, of course, he finds a way to meet her. And to see the planet he's heard so much about.

The fish-out-of-water story is humorous and refreshing, in spite of its flaws, and has many scenes that made me laugh out loud. I thought Asa Butterfield was adorable as Gardner Elliot. (No stranger to YA SF, since he was also the actor who played Ender in Ender's Game. Only now he's taller!)

The story arc gets a bit convoluted (or more convoluted, I should say) when Gardner also decides he must find his father while he's on Earth and must evade government and NASA types who want to spirit him off back to Mars for his own good.

Ah, but here's where things went seriously amiss for me.

[SPOILER ZONE] No one in the story even blinks at multiple counts of theft on the part of the heroine. And I'm not talking about bubble gum here--the young lady steals vehicles. Multiple times. Motorcycles, cars...even an airplane! One vehicle she steals from a family that has just arrived at a hospital in a panic and dashed inside to see their loved one. How heartless and uncaring! And yet she doesn't give that a second thought and acts as if it's perfectly acceptable thing to do since she's helping a friend with a quest. Like it's all some big innocent adventure.

I understand she's had a hard knock life going from foster home to foster home, but that doesn't make it okay. The hero even questions her once and tells her it's wrong, but then never expresses concern again...presumably because he's so intoxicated with experiencing Earth--and her--that it never again crosses his mind. 

Yet in spite of repeat offenses, she is never once arrested, punished, scolded...or given even so much as a slap on the wrist for what amounts to multiple counts of Grand Theft. In fact, I don't think it's even mentioned as a "no-no" by any adult at any time in the story. And then, at the conclusion--after Gardner must return to Mars for the sake of his own survival--she's seen in astronaut training. As if nothing ever happened. As if the astronaut program would even consider someone who has committed numerous felonies. Life ala Hollywood. This behavior is not okay, and the fact that it's being shown in the vein of a "fun adventure" is very disturbing on many levels.  

Apparently, Hollywood has no issue with portraying criminal behavior like it's just a frivolous teen escapade, and has no qualms with selling it as a desirable adventure to an impressionable young audience. [END SPOILER ZONE]

Yeah, there's me and Hollywood not sharing the same set of ideals again.

So, although this film had promise, based on its troublesome storytelling...it's a PASS.

______________________________

If you celebrate Independence Day, I hope you're enjoying the holiday and reflecting on the history and traditions behind it.

Over 153 years ago, Abraham Lincoln began and ended the Gettysburg Address with words that still stand the test of time:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal..."

"...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Have a great week.