Film Friday: Priest (2011) Review

Title: Priest
Genre: Action/Supernatural
Directed by: Scott Stewart
Written by: Cory Goodman
Starring:
Paul Bettany
Karl Urban
Cam Gigandet
Lily Collins
Release Date: May 13, 2011
Rating: 2.5/5





No sparkly vampires in this movie.

Priest takes place in an unspecified time in the future in an alternate timeline where humans and vampires are separate species and have battled against one another over the centuries. Humanities greatest weapon--the warrior priests--are believed to have conquered the vampire menace.

Despite this, Priest learns of his nieces disappearance and the death of his brother in a vampire attack. The Church, maintaining all vampires are dead, refuse to believe the story and refuse to let Priest search for his niece. Priest goes against the Church and the movie follows him as he searches for his niece and for the vampires. The Church, learning of this, sends out Priest's of their own to capture him. However, the vampires are doing things never before seen and all of humanity is threatened. Only Priest (oh...and some side characters) stand in the way of mankind's utter annihilation.

Where Priest succeeds most is its setting. Part western, part 1984, part Blade Runner, the backdrops in which the characters fight are panoramic and larger than life. But we only get glimpses of the city and a few shots of it from a distance when Priest is leaving the city on his motorcycle. The same amount of attention is paid to the various hives and the desert. These larger than life settings also house actions scenes of a similar caliber. For example, when Priest is chasing the train he suspects his niece to be on and when an entire town is destroyed by vampires.

However, I felt like the entire plot served as a prologue to a larger storyline and, as it stands, the plot is extremely weak and seems like a poor attempt to stretch the franchise. Granted, I haven't read the comics the movie draws from, but I felt that the movie tries to be too many things at once and, as a result, doesn't focus on anything. To greater and lesser degrees, much of what the movie introduces us to matters very little and often has little bearing on the plot. Further, despite the movie rushing through most things, it takes a long time to reach the climax of the movie,and then, after a minute or so of battling, its all over (about as quick as the battle between Captain America and the Red Skull).

Most of the actors in this movie seem to be here for a paycheck. Karl Urban (as Black Hat, our villian) seems to be the only one having fun with his role in the movie, for what little screen time he gets.

'scuse me while I blow up this town

This also reflects on the characters as well, because none of them are particularly interesting and are characters we have seen time and time again in other movies where they are better executed.

Priest is a nice looking movie, but I don't think that's enough to save the plot or bland characters. I would avoid buying the dvd, but it is still at redbox at the moment for those interested.

Book Review: The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Release Date: 1898
Publisher: William Heinemann
Audience: Everyone
Pages 303
Read the Book: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon ; (Compilation) Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5








I was introduced to many books by the Moby Illustrated Classics, small books with truncated versions of classic novels with comic book frames on each page illustrating the novel as it progressed. These books often made an impression on me as a child and I have returned to many of them as an adult to read the original books to reread the books but also see how they differed (often a great deal) from the Moby books. Tangent aside, The War of the Worlds was one of the books I had from the series and, since then, have read the actual book a fair amount of times.

Spare some change?

For those who are not familiar with the plot, the unnamed narrator (as Wells was wont to do) is at the center of an invasion from Mars as the martians land on Earth, hungry for our resources...including MAN! The narrator gets separated from his wife and the story focuses part on his quest to find his wife and part on the invasion and the narrators attempts to come to terms with both.

Like many of Wells novels, a great deal of the novel is given over to the narrators introspection to what is happening around them but it does not affect the pace of the novel (as often occurs with heavy handed authors in the 19th century) Not quite a epistolary narrative (such as Dracula or Frankenstein) the book is nevertheless a journal by the narrator narrating the events as they happen to him.

The book, regardless of its science fiction trappings, still stays within the science of the times to a reasonable degree. H.G. Wells, an advocate of Darwinism, saw the usurpation of mankind's place on Earth as inevitable, be it by other races, species, or aliens. Much like my recommendation in regards to The Time Machine modern science fiction and its offshoots owe much to H.G. Wells, and The War of the Worlds should be on everyone's list of must read sci-fi.

Film Friday: Skyline Review

Title: Skyline
Genre: Horror/Sci-fi
Directed by: Greg and Colin Strause

• Written by: Joshua Cordes & Liam O'Donnell
• Starring: 

• Eric Balfour
• Scottie Thompson
• Brittany Daniel
• Donald Faison
• Release Date: November 12th, 2010
• Rating: 1/5

What a piece of crap. There. Review is done.

...fine


You know those horror movies where the main characters are shallow, selfish a-holes and, so you could A. care less about the characters and B. don't care when they die and actually are cheering for the opposing side a little? Imagine that, but instead of a slasher flick it is an alien invasion.

The movie follows a group of partiers in LA (what is it about LA and aliens?) who, after a night of revelry, soon find themselves and city under siege from an unknown alien race abducting humanity and killing all who oppose them. The group tries to escape the huge condo building they are in through a variety of ways but end up trying to wait out the attack and pray the military arrives in time.

While I suppose the movie does take up the notion that not everyone is the alien fighting hero and looks at what would happen when a group of (arguably) everyday people are faced with an alien invasion. However, as I said, they are all people I could care less about and the fact that the movie tries hard to make me empathize with them and feel sorry about character deaths is insulting given the fact they previously made it clear these people are selfish a-holes.

Like a slasher flick, there is little plot and even less character development and, just when the movie starts to get interesting (the last 3 minutes of the movie) the credits start to roll, giving the viewer, had they stuck with the movie so long, the finger one last time. The only thing operating in this film's favor is the fact that it is strongly suggested that humanity loses, that we are conquered and the aliens take over the planet and harvest the resource they came here for: human brains. That, and its fun to see Turk from Scrubs get eaten.

I suggest avoiding this movie and, if you want to watch a movie where alien invaders attack and destroy LA, watch Battle: LA or, better yet, ID4.

Don't let the trailer fool you, this movie is horrible.

Book Review: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Release Date: 1968
Publisher: Doubleday
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 210
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 2/5









As I am a big fan of Blade Runner I have always been interested in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which is the book the movie draws from. However, upon reading it, despite going into it knowing it was quite different from the movie, I found the book to be rather flat.

The book follows Deckard, a bounty hunter working for the police, as he tracks down six androids who have escaped to earth. Deckard must not only destroy six dangerous robots, but also come to terms with his own humanity, and the apparent humanity the androids seem to exhibit. This problem comes to the fore for Deckard as he encounters Rachel. Rachel, a representative for the Rosen Corporation (the company that makes the androids) is an androids herself and Deckard must either come to terms with his empathy for androids, or destroy that empathy along with the androids themselves.

My main problem with the book is that it seems to just flounder around, giving over little time to any one thing. This results in many of the issues being explored by the author to be explored only skin deep. You have Deckard's relationship with his wife, with the few people left on the planet, with Rachel, with Mercerism (the religion), his own concerns about his humanity, the android's mission to prove human empathy is a myth, and several other issues all crammed into a relatively short story. At the end of the story I felt that there was little resolution to any of the issues raised in the story. While the floundering of the story and the lack of resolution can be said to reflect the main characters own failings in living a successful/happy life, I'm not buying it.

Another example of the Dying Earth genre (both earth and mars are near barren wastelands with few people living on either planet, entropy and decay slowly destroying everything.) this book, despite being the book that created Blade Runner, is just, well, ok. While I did put my expectations at the door when picking this up, it just seems the quantity of issues was chosen over quality and depth of those issues. I can't particularly say I would recommend it, but I will give a hesitant recommendation to check it out if you are a fan of the movie.

Book Review: The Time Machine

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Release Date: 1895
Publisher: William Heinemann
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 250 Pages
Read the Book Here: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5








Since I have been discussing 19th Century Dystopian Literature, I can't neglect discussing H.G.Wells who, perhaps, is one of the most influential authors in the science fiction genre, and the Dystopian genre as well. The Time Machine follows a scientist (known only as the traveler) as he, after inventing a time machine, tests it and goes hundreds of thousands of years into the future. When he arrives 800,000 years in the future mankind has already reached the apex of civilization millenia ago and now exists in a fallen state. Further, it is revealed that humans have split into two distinct species, known as the morloc and the eloi. The traveler faces a bleak future as he soon discovers his time machine has been stolen by the morloc's and he must not only try to understand how the world has arrived at such a dark state, but recover his time machine and either travel farther into the future, or, return home.

One of the first science fiction books I read when I was younger, I was fascinated by the potential of mankind when evolution is combined with the passage of time. This concept, I think, has driven not only my search for similar books (Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut as a quick example) but also in my own writing as well, and my interest in anthropology. The idea that mankind, given different environmental conditions would create such distinct end results as the morloc and the eloi has always fascinated me. That, and much like the traveler, being witness to the passing of all civilization and viewing the end of humanity. 

This novel is one of the earlier examples of the Dying Earth genre, a genre where the author explores a specific type of apocalypse: the utter exhaustion of the earth, sun, life, the universe, and everything (sorry, couldn't resist). Or, to put it simply: entropy. This is seen in The Time Machine as the traveler goes to the very end of time itself.

Much like Frankenstein, apocalypse and post-apocalypse fiction owes much to H.G. Wells and, specifically, The Time Machine. For fans of The Road, Deathlands, and others like them, pay homage to those who created the series and give this book a read.

Book Review: Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Release Date: March 1818
Publisher: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 280 (322 in OWC)
Read the Book Here: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5







The question of precisely when dystopian literature reared its head in the literary world is debatable, with many scholars leaning towards the latter end of the 19th century, usually citing H.G. Wells oeuvre as the beginnings of the genre. However, I disagree with that as I feel that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is probably one of the earliest examples of the genre. In the next week or so, I will discuss more about this topic and the concept of 'Dystopian' in my first post examining the genre. Onto the review!

If you have not read the novel, and have only gone by the popular depictions of a shambling brute monster, you will be surprised by the fact that the monster (as it is only known by that name) is intelligent, learns several languages, and engages Dr. Frankenstein in a battle of wits that takes them across the globe and eventually intro the arctic. The monster even demands a wife from Dr. Frankenstein by rights as Dr. Frankenstein has created him and must take responsibility for his actions. However, Dr. Frankenstein, seeing the monstrous end result of his aspirations to create a new human race, refuses to do so, fearing the eventual extinction of human beings across the globe.

If I could sum up this book in one word, that word would be obsession. Dr. Frankenstein's obsession to create the perfect human being, the monsters obsession with destroying Dr. Frankenstein, and Walton's obsession with finding the north pole. With numerous frames and epistolary narratives, Frankenstein explores both creator and creation and how they understand the world around them. The latter half of the novel involves the cat and mouse games between the monster and the Doctor as they try to destroy the other.

Regarded as one of the earliest examples of science fiction, I argue it is one of the earliest examples of dystopian literature. While it does move slow at some points, this is a must read for any fan of the dystopian genre, and outside of the genres it rests in, Frankenstein is a classic and should be read by everyone. It can be picked up for super cheap and is worth the money. I put the 1818 edition up as I used it in a class and the introductory materials give a lot of background on the story and author and gives a lot of perspective on the novel and is a good edition to pick up if you are wanting to toss down more than a few bucks.

Film Friday - Battle: Los Angeles Review

Title: Battle: Los Angeles
Genre: Action/Sci-fi/War
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Written by: Chris Bertolini
Starring:
Aaron Eckhart
Michelle Rodriguez
Ramon Rodriguez
Bridget Moynahan
Release Date: March 11th, 2011
Rating: 3.5/5






Battle: LA follows a group of marines during an alien invasion as the battle for the control of LA. Or, more specifically, Battle: LA follows a group of marines as they first attempt to rescue civilians then, later, escape LA and try to find a way to defeat the alien menace.

Battle: LA seems to follow the tropes of the natural disaster genre  and war movies moreso than an alien invasion. You get the main character who is somewhat dissatisfied with their life, you get the inital introduction of the characters to personify them and make the audience care, destruction of urban areas, people running around screaming, explosions, etc etc. except, instead of a volcano or earthquake, you have aliens. As far as the storyline goes, its pretty typical, aliens are invading to get our resources. That's it. The other storyline, the characters, is somewhat succeful in that no, I didn't get attached to any of the characters other than Aaron Eckhart's character but there were times I was wondering if they would ultimately succeed or fail.

The aliens in this are pretty cool and are something I haven't seen before in alien movies, which was a pleasant surprise, although their ships were pretty bland-more connected piles of scrap metal than actual ships. Another surprise is that the aliens and humans are on pretty even terms as far as combat technology and warfare. Yes, they do have superior technology, but it has weaknesses that the marines exploit, which makes the aliens feel more believable. CGI is pretty good too.

One thing I didn't care for was the shaky gureilla handycam style filming. Yes, during the fighting it works, but in stationary shots the camera keeps moving a zooming in and out needlessly and its really distracting.

Battle: LA, for what it is, executes it pretty well and makes a decent movie. That, and twoface is in it. I recommend checking it out.

Book Review: Garbage World

Garbage World by Charles Platt
Release Date: July 1977
Publisher: Leisure Books
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 120
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5









I suppose I should start this by stating that I am perhaps bias in my rating of this book as it is one of those guilty pleasure novels for me. I know its probably not a top shelf novel, but I still enjoy reading it, which is the point of books. I stumbled across this book at a small used book store years ago for a dollar (which is now a place that sells liquor and cigarettes...sigh).

The basic story is that a solar system obsessed with cleanliness exports all of their garbage to a defunct asteroid. However, the planet is also home to the descendants of the people who attempted to terraform the asteroid, exiles, and convicts.  A group of surveyors sent to update the asteroids artificial gravity equipment are faced not only with the filth and garbage that is an anathema to them, but the citizens who have learned to live in their surroundings and have developed a culture set in opposition to that of the 'civilized' asteroids.

Oliver, a low-ranking member of the expedition is tasked with the job of ambassador to the 'natives' and the driving force behind the plot is Oliver's attempts to come to terms with...well...dirt, and also how the 'natives' view themselves and the world around them. As Oliver does his own job, he notices that the 'surveyors' are not who they claim to be and perhaps the civilized asteroids have other plans for the garbage world and its population.

Probably a harder pulp novel to come across nowadays but, if you find a copy, I recommend picking it up as it will provide you with a fun afternoon of sci-fi, anthropologists, and garbage.