movie review
Reviewing the best science fiction movies from the past, present, and future.
'Level 16' (2018)
Each hall has its top girland in this hall it’s me. Level 16 really is an original film. Perhaps fairly minimalistic and limited in terms of storyline, but grand when it’s about the denouement. The moment the idea behind it all becomes clear, it all feels rather lurid. The impact on your feelings is immense when the true nature of the girls’ boarding school is revealed. Level 16 is the final stage the girls can reach in a colorless building of the firm Vestalis. The last level before they get a chance to be adopted. And in preparation for that happy day, the girls are drilled like soldiers. They are told that girls should be clean, considerate, and dutiful. The girls of the Vestalis Academy must be modest, honest, and patient. But loyalty, in particular, is something very important.
Review of 'IO'
IO's a quiet gem of a movie—on Netflix—which reverses the usual pattern of humans embarking out into space, to the edges of our solar system and to neighboring star systems such as Alpha Centauri, so humanity can survive a dying Earth. I'm vividly in favor of humans going out into space—see Touching the Face of the Cosmos—but not at the expense of our planet. I want to see humanity thrive both on our planet and off it in the universe beyond.
Paul LevinsonPublished 5 years ago in Futurism'Mirage' - A Review (Spoilers)
Sticking with Netflix and watching films so that you may not have to, I sat down to watch Oriol Paulo’s Mirage, a Spanish thriller that blends time travel, murder, and parental angst into a compelling viewing experience.
Q-ell BettonPublished 5 years ago in FuturismMy Review of 'Lucy'
I've wanted to watch the movie Lucy for quite some time and it's been out for ages. I just never got the chance to. I believe it was on Netflix soon after it had exited theaters. I remember being very excited about that and put it on my watch list. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to watch it and it was removed from Netflix not too long after. Recently, it's been placed back into the Netflix rotation and I decided I wasn't going to wait for it to be removed again.
Brian AnonymousPublished 5 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Rememory'
I finally saw Rememory on Amazon Prime. Or maybe I saw it a while ago, but forgot to review it. As Todd, a middling-minor character in the movie aptly notes, "the mind forgets things for a reason." No, Rememory wasn't that bad, but it wasn't as good as it should have been either.
Paul LevinsonPublished 5 years ago in Futurism'Alita: Battle Angel' Is a Flawed, Yet Massively Entertaining Film with Incredible Action
Many months ago, I tried to attend a screening for two upcoming movies: One was Dark Phoenix, and the other was Alita: Battle Angel. I showed up early, but they filled up and I waited on line for an hour and a half for nothing.
Jonathan SimPublished 5 years ago in FuturismWatching 'Alita: Battle Angel'
Alita: Battle Angel is the 2019 live action western adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s manga Battle Angel Alita. The original manga ran from December 1990 to April 1995, with the story being compiled into nine volumes. In the time since, four separate sequels and spinoff stories have also been released. The story was adapted into a two-part OVA in 1993 that was animated by Madhouse with a R rating, and a PlayStation game was also released in 1998.
'Pacific Rim: Uprising' (2018)
The illustrious mega monster scene has had better days. Gone are the rubber suits and the cheesy building explosions as they have been replaced by pure CGI overload. Asia definitely corners the market when it comes to grasping our fantasies with the larger-than-life monster and machine world. But Pacific Rim: Uprising was a pleasant surprise. I never did see the first one, but after watching the sequel, I will certainly be adding it to my queue.
Michael GrubePublished 5 years ago in FuturismThe Retrospective Series: 'Attack the Block'
It started out as a nice idea to focus on Joe Cornish's debut feature as his latest film, The Kid Who Would Be King, hits US cinemas. Unfortunately, it seems the two are destined to share the same fate as The Kid Who Would Be King grossed $10.8 million worldwide... from a $59 million budget. Back in 2011, Attack the Block earned half of its $8 million budget. Cornish has the talent, directing two critically-acclaimed features and penning Adventures of Tintin and Ant-Man, but he can't seem to get the audience he deserves. Are the masses conditioned to only pay attention to franchises and event movies? People cry for originality in cinema, yet here we have a filmmaker creating original films only to lose money.
Gavin SpoorsPublished 5 years ago in FuturismIFFR: 'High Life' Review
Due to this review, the next Retrospective Series article will be posted on Thursday. This is a review from the International Film Festival Rotterdam screening of High Life.
Gavin SpoorsPublished 5 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Anon'
Andrew Niccol's Gattaca in 1997 remains one of the surprise all-time best science fiction movies, surprise because Gattaca was Niccol's first. His follow-up, The Truman Show in 1998, was even more lionized by some, but I didn't like it nearly as much as Gattaca, which was stunning in its mix Brave New World totalitarian life and the yearning for space travel. I've seen some of Niccol's subsequent movies, but I honestly can't recall them.
Paul LevinsonPublished 5 years ago in FuturismThe Retrospective Series—'Looper'
When it comes to films deemed 'unloved,' there are worse cases than Looper. It was universally praised by critics and it did surprisingly well at the box office, especially considering the film's modest $30 million budget. In conversation, however, no one seems to have even heard of Looper. When talking about Rian Johnson the only topic on hand is obviously that space opera everyone loves to argue about.
Gavin SpoorsPublished 5 years ago in Futurism