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John Carter, a review by GSyren

Title	John Carter (Netflix)
Director	Andrew Stanton
Actors	Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton
Produced	2012 in United States
Runtime	127 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles	Swedish
Overview	From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Best Animated Film, WALL-E, 2008) comes John Carter - a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic novel, John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to Mars and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands. Stunning special effects, great characters and villains - and complete with extraordinary bonus features - John Carter is a heroic and inspirational adventure that will thrill you beyond imagination.
My thoughts	This seems to be a film that most people either love or hate. I didn't hate it, but I couldn't quite get into it, either. I found Taylor Kitsch to be a rather bland hero. He didn't do anything for me. And I tend to get hung up about details. I know it's a fantasy film, and I accept some things while other just annoy me terribly. Air, water and cities on Mars? Well, that's OK, mainly because this was written long before we knew what Mars is really like. And perhaps also to some extent because it is set in the 19th century. Carter's ability to jump is another matter. While the gravity on Mars is less than on Earth, his jumps are just ludicrous. I found the story somewhat disjointed (or was that just because I was getting bored). The CGI was mostly good, but good CGI doesn't impress me much these days. I liked Lynn Collins. I wouldn't mind seeing more of her. So it was not entirely a waste of  time, but not something I'd care to revisit.
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on September 21st, 2014)

The Birds, a review by Jon

The Birds (1963)
4 out of 5



As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull. Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Soon Mitch and Melanie are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that can't be explained and can't be stopped in one of Hollywood's most horrific films of nature gone berserk.

This could be Alfred Hitchcock's most unusual film, although perhaps it's even stranger that such a taut horror comes from Daphne Du Maurier (Rebecca). Although he had already handled horror in Psycho, that was really a logical extension of his thrillers. The Birds on the other hand is more typical of the paranoid sci-fi b-movies of the 50s, with a small town facing an absurd threat that can't be explained. So they don't! The closest they come is a great scene in a cafe as the townsfolk argue over the reasons for the birds strange behaviour. It's like a high class Twilight Zone with some classic moments and a wonderful atmosphere that borders on post-apocalyptic.

It stars Tippi Hedren in her first role and she's very good as the Paris Hilton of her day, but that side of the story comes across as a bit odd. The first part is about her pursuing Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) to Bodega Bay on a sort of whim, and the absurd lengths she goes to get two Lovebirds to his little sister after a brief meeting in a San Francisco pet shop. The story is about the dangers of complacency, so a bored socialite having no purpose in life heralding the attacks is ironic, but certainly not obvious. It is very witty though and her scenes with Taylor are great fun. He provides substantial support, along with the superb Jessica Tandy who brings another level of class to the whole production.

There's a sense of heightened reality from the start in Hitchcock's most consistently colourful film since The Trouble With Harry, with the sound design unusually prominent (overdone tyre screeching, etc) in place of an entirely absent score and used to grating effect when the birds start attacking. Those attack scenes are all brilliantly and indulgently staged with some very clever "yellow screen" effects. The moment when the gas station blows up is a highlight and followed with a wonderful aerial shot. Other stand-outs are the quieter scenes, like Jessica Tandy finding the body with the eyes pecked out in a fantastic three step zoom and her strangled scream shortly after conveys more terror than Wes Craven has ever managed in his entire career. The crows gathering on the climbing frame behind Hedren and the resultant attack on the kids is incredible, outdone only by the last act, with a frenzied, claustrophobic attack on one character followed by the classic final shots, most brilliantly parodied in a Simpsons episode!

Now I look again, I think this rather unassuming bit of fun has proved to be very influential. The aerial shot and Tandy's scream, notable again for there being no theme, in particular contribute to an atmosphere you can pick up on elsewhere, like in Jaws maybe, whose story mirrors this one very closely in many respects.

This is a classic, simple horror that still has the power to turn your stomach in knots.



(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on January 2nd, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Planetes: Complete Collection (2003/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 650 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Commentary, English

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Plot:
In 2075 AD, regular commercials flights can take you to cities on the moon or space stations orbiting the Earth but there exists a threat that may seem trivial but left unchecked can prove fatal: space debris.

This is the story of the Debris Section of the space station ISPV-7 who diligently collects orbital debris to keep space travel safe. Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino, an Experienced EVA (extra-vehicular activity) worker, toils away at his thankless job, hoping to one day own his own spaceship.


Planetes
1.01 Outside the Atmosphere
Writer: Makoto Yukimura (Created By), Ichiro Ohkouchi (Screenwriter)
Director: Goro Taniguchi
Cast: Original Japanese Main Cast), Kazunari Tanaka (Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino (voice)), Satsuki Yukino (Ai Tanabe (voice)), Ai Orikasa (Fee Carmichael (voice)), Takehito Koyasu (Yuri Mihairokoh (voice)), Aikou Ogata (Philippe Myers (voice)), Tetsuo Goto (Arvind Lavie (voice)), Ryou Kamon (Dolf Azaria (voice)), Kumiko Watanabe (Claire Rondo (voice)), Maiko Ito (Edelgard Rivera (voice)), Masayo Kurata (Lucie Ascham (voice)), Nobuyuki Hiyama (Kho Cheng-Shin (voice)), Norio Wakamoto (Gigalt Gangaragash (voice)), Kyoji Kobayashi (Narrator (voice)), Original Japanese Guest Cast), Nana Yamaguchi (Fadlan's Daughter (voice)), Atsushi Kisaichi (Colin (voice)), Mika Kanai (Sia (voice)), Hiroyuki Shibamoto (Father (voice)), Megumi Urawa (Mother (voice)), Takeshi Kusao (Pickpocket (voice)), English Voice Cast), Kirk Thornton (Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino (voice)), Julie Ann Taylor (Ai Tanabe (voice)), Wendee Lee (Fee Carmichael (voice)), Jamieson Price (Yuri Mihairokoh (voice)), Doug Stone (Philippe Myers (voice)), Steve Schatzberg (Arvind Lavie (voice)), Michael McConnohie (Dolf Azaria (voice)), Lia Sargent (Claire Rondo (voice)), Kate Higgins (Edelgard Rivera (voice)), Michelle Ruff (Lucie Ascham/Sia (voice)), Steve Jay Blum (Kho Cheng-Shin (voice)), Dave Mallow (Narrator (voice)), Dorothy Fahn (Noppo (voice)), Jessica Gee (Kone (voice)), Tony Oliver (Yankees (voice)), Barbara Goodson (Fadlan's Daughter (voice)), Crispin Freeman (Colin (voice)), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Female Solicitor (voice)), Lex Lang (Father (voice)), Karen Strassman (Mother (voice)), Christopher Smith (Pickpocket (voice)), Bob Papenbrook (Director (voice)), Steve Kramer (Additional Voices (voice)), Dave Wittenberg (Additional Voices (voice)), Mari Devon (Additional Voices (voice))

A series I enjoyed but not necessarily something I will revisit. This episode has good animation and is a good introduction, but nothing really special.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 24th, 2012)