The War of the Worlds (1953)

Directed by Byron Haskin
Written by Barré Lyndon, based on the novel by H.G. Wells
Starring Gene Barry, Sylvia Van Buren, Sandro Giglio and Lewis Martin

After a suspicious object lands just outside of Los Angeles, all of the citizens of nearby towns flock to go see what they believe to be a meteorite. But they soon discover that the object that crash landed in the hills is intact an alien spaceship. One of many sent to destroy life on Earth.

Undeniably way ahead of it's time, the 1953 adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic is certainly not as intense as it's 2005 counterpart. But it is a brilliant example of the ingenuity and creativity of it's generations filmmakers. Back before computers became the answer to all film making problems, miniature sets, props and special effects had to be imagined using limited resources.

While the film itself is not terribly horrifying and the performances were given at a time when very few people knew the difference between stage acting and film acting, it is definitely one of those movies that are impressive merely for it's age. To see how things were done before the age of Hundreds of millions of dollar budgets.

"I got no strings on me… oh wait"

I doubt many other types of people would enjoy this film. This is a true film buffs movie. I personally didn't watch it for the story. I've read and seen that story in a version specifically made so that Tom Cruise could run. This was exclusively out of interest into how they would pull it off. And from that standpoint, it was quite impressive.

My Rating: 6/10

Another Earth (2011)

Directed by Mike Cahill
Written by Mike Cahill and Brit Marling
Starring Brit Marling, William Mapother, Kumar Pallana and Matthew-Lee Erlbach

On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident. When it is discovered that the newly discovered planet is an exact copy of their world, the student strives to win a trip to see if her duplicates life is as ruined as hers.

In his narrative directorial debut, Mike Cahill combines the style of a low budget independent film with the ambition of a thought provoking science fiction film. While the low budget is very apparent in the way it was filmed, it adds a certain charm to the story rather than distract from it. The grain and shake and natural lighting gives it a realism that many larger budget films are missing.

The story is a simple one, but none the less enticing. It presents questions that are more or less inevitable for all people of Earth to ask themselves at some point in their lives. Is the constant crippling pain of grief something you can't escape? What would my life be like if I had made different choices? The characters in this movie have the chance to explore and find answers.

This movie is undeniably a thought out, in depth look at what it is to be a human who has made life changing mistakes. And the very concept is one  that is unique, at least in the way it is executed as not completely a science fiction film. But I couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

The relationship between the student and the composer didn't feel as logical as I would have hoped. And with the short running time, it felt as though they pushed it along too quickly. Perhaps had it been slightly longer and developed the characters more, it would have been great instead of decent.

Regardless, this should definitely be nominated for the most unapologetically pretentious line of dialogue in a movie.

"I don't want to eat the apple of cynicism."

Ugh.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: The Theory of Everything

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

Directed by James Marsh
Written by Anthony McCarten based on the book by Jane Hawking
Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones and David Thewlis

The relationship of Stephen and Jane Hawking as his ALS begins to deteriorate his body and their struggle to remain happy.

This film had a lot of things going for it. It had top notch performances from all of the actors. The cinematography was stunning and enticing. The direction was surprisingly phenomenal seeing as how James Marsh usually sticks to documentaries. The only thing lacking for me was the story.

Here, you have one of the most intelligent men, not just in modern times, but perhaps the history of the world. You have his struggle with motor neuron disease while he struggles to complete his doctorate at Cambridge. Not to mention the countless scientific break-throughs that Mr. Hawking is responsible for. But they chose to follow in my opinion, one of the least exciting parts of his life. His first marriage.

Not shown: Anything alluring.

I understand that this is based off the memoirs by Jane Hawking, so I only have myself to blame for my expectations of the film versus what it actually was. What I can't grasp is how enough members of the academy thought this was the best picture of the year in order to have it nominated for an Oscar. A nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role? Of course. You'd be crazy not to. But Best Picture?

That seems to be the running theme this year. Every year, you might get one undeserving film in the group. But this year, three of the nominees have no right being there in my mind. It seems this year, the academy has become obsessed with films that could have been so much better than they were. "American Sniper", "Selma" and "The Theory of Everything" are all good movies. But they could have been great.

My Rating: 6/10

Eddie Redmayne's performance: 10/10