My Movie Report Card - A Look Back The 2013 Sci-Fi Films I Saw and My Grades For Them

My 2013 Sci-Fi Movie Report Card

It was a great year for science fiction in the theaters and on television.  I spent a lot of time at the movies this year, the most I have since I closed my theater.  I liked most of what I saw and loved some of what I saw.  So I thought I would recount the movies I saw in the theaters and a few on television and assign grades to them.   I also took the time to compile the ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB just to see how I stacked up against them.  I think the results are interesting.  You may agree or disagree with my grades, and please feel free to feed back to me on Facebook, Twitter, or G+ if you wish.  I would love to know what you think, one way or the other.  So here are my grades of the films I saw.  In each the title is also a link to my review of the film in question.

After Earth

Tomatometer: 11%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 38%

IMDB: 5/10

My Grade: A-

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit.  One thing that helped my enjoyment of this movie was reading the prequel book After Earth: A Perfect Beast by Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, and Peter David.  While others have mentioned that they don’t like Jaden Smith, I had no problem with her performance.  The scenery for this film was breathtaking and the story was solid.   It is a fun movie, but I would have liked to see more action from Will Smith, whom I have come to respect as an outstanding actor.

Elysium

Tomatometer: 69%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 62%

IMDB: 6.8/10

My Grade: A

An action packed film with a decent story and a few surprises.  It centered around the state of health care in the future, with the haves versus the have-nots.  The story was solid, and action was nonstop, and the performances of the actors were well done.  While the main character, portrayed by Matt Damon, wound up sacrificing himself in the end, it was satisfying to see that his sacrifice was not in vain, and the poor downtrodden did finally prevail.

Ender’s Game

Tomatometer: 61%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 74%

IMDB: 7.2/10

My Grade: A+

I read the book in preparation for seeing this film and was impressed that the film actually was the book.  I completely recognized the characters in the film and thought they were played excellently by the actors.  The parts of the book that weren’t in the film didn’t affect the film at all and so it wound up being Ender’s story.  The visual effects were outstanding and on a large scale.  For me, it was superior in every way, and it was a film that I was able to take my family to.  It was great to see Harrison Ford back as well.

Europa Report

Tomatometer: 79%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 59%

IMDB: 6.5/10

My Grade: B

A found footage style film, which I am not a big fan of, was a decent film with no big named actors.  I was not able to watch this in the theater because it was held to a limited release; too bad too because I would have loved to see this on the big screen.  The visuals were incredible.  I found the story a bit hard to follow at times not understanding where some of the dialog was relevant to the film.  I was also a little taken aback when I learned that there are giant luminescent squid on Jupiter’s moon, Europa.  In order to see this, I bought it on BluRay, so I will be seeing it again to see if the parts that didn’t fit for me will become a little more clear.

Gravity

Tomatometer: 97%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 85%

IMDB: 8.4/10

My Grade: A+

From the first time I saw the trailer for this film, I knew that I had to see it.  The plot wasn’t all that remarkable; just a rehash of a theme of survival of a single person, but it was done well.  Were there plot holes?  Oh yeah, there were plot holes big enough to fly the ISS through.  But despite the inconsistencies with physical science and orbital mechanics, this was still a great film and one of the best of the year as far as I was concerned.  One didn’t have to be a sci-fi fan to appreciate it.  The visuals were absolutely stunning.  Sandra Bullock and George Clooney played their parts as astronauts well.  I am looking forward to getting this on BluRay when it is released, the sooner the better.

Invasion Roswell

Tomatometer: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: N/A

IMDB: 4.2/10

My Grade: C

SyFy advertised the heck out of this movie for its television release.  I just had to give it a look.  This was an unintentionally comical movie that surprisingly held my attention for two hours.  I laughed most of the way through it because it reminded me of the films that they used to poke fun at on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television show.  I could actually imagine Mike and the robots comments.  One of Syfy’s big selling points was that Denise Crosby was the star.  I suppose that they were hoping to get us Trekkies watching because of this, and it worked, at least in my case.  Crosby actually played a very small part in the film.  For me, I thought this movie was so bad, it was good, or at least it was entertaining for its high level of stupidity.

Iron Man 3

Tomatometer: 78%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 80%

IMDB: 7.4/10

My Grade: D

I am not a fan of the Iron Man film franchise to begin with, but of the three Iron Man films, I didn’t like this one the most.  Yes, I know I am in the minority, and I’m okay with that.  For me, this film was not as much about Iron Man as it was a two-hour Robert Downey Jr. running stand-up comedy act.  It was nothing but a string of lame jokes and backhanded remarks that did nothing to add to the story.  I didn’t care about the characters, and I didn’t care about the story.  Add to that the way they destroyed one of the best characters of Marveldom (the Mandarin), and demolished another one of the coolest characters, War Machine (changing him into Iron Patriot), left me cold.  The two things that were good and saved this from me giving a grade of ‘F’ was that the visuals were good, and that Tony Stark decided to hang up the armor at the end.  I hope it stays that way, because I am hanging up on this franchise until some major changes are made.

The Last Days On Mars

Tomatometer: 20%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 29%

IMDB: 5.5/10

My Grade: C+

Fine performances from a good cast, good sets, and good locations couldn’t make up for a weak story and script.  Films using the subject of Mars haven’t been very great movies in the past and this one is not an exception.  What starts out as an interesting film soon deteriorates into a sci-fi/horror version of a zombie apocalypse on the Red Planet.

Man Of Steel

Tomatometer: 56%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 76%

IMDB: 7.4/10

My Grade: A+

In the review of this film, I called this the best superhero film I have ever seen, and that still holds up.  This reboot of the superman story had everything I want to see in a film.  Great characters, great writing, great story, and great filming.  But what stole the show for me was Michael Shannon’s portrayal as General Zod.  He was incredible as the single minded guardian of the people of Krypton.  In previous incarnations, Zod was just evil, but in this movie, he was a character trying to fulfill his role in his society.  Some have complained that Superman killed Zod, which goes against what Superman stands for, but in my estimation, Superman had no choice in the matter.  I am eager to see the next installment of this saga that includes an aging Batman, and perhaps even Wonder Woman.

Oblivion

Tomatometer: 54%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 61%

IMDB: 7/10

My Grade: A

Not a very fast moving film, but one that challenges one to think a bit.  I thought this was one of Tom Cruse’s best films.  It was an original story and the ending was somewhat reminiscent of the ending of Logan’s Run.  I liked the vehicles and the scenery and the surprises that were in this film.

Pacific Rim

Tomatometer: 72%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 78%

IMDB: 7.1/10

My Grade: B+

This was a visual effects romp that didn’t pretend to be anything more than it was, just a fun film with robots fighting monsters.  There were lots of cool moments during battle scenes.  This film didn’t require its audience to think, and was nothing but action from beginning to end.  There was really no hard hitting story, nor was there much character development, it was just a good sci-fi/action film, as it was apparently intended to be.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Tomatometer: 87%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 90%

IMDB: 7.9/10

My Grade: A-

While I thought Into Darkness was a great film, I didn’t think it was a great Star Trek film.  What I wanted was a new and fresh Trek story from JJ Abrams.  After all, he did what I though was an awesome job of creating an alternate timeline for the franchise, I wanted and was expecting a new story, but instead we get a retelling of TWOK.  I have a few nit-picky problems with Into Darkness which I covered in my review on the blog.  I am very comfortable with the actors playing the classic Enterprise crew, and I thought Benedict Cumberbatch did a fine job portraying Kahn, but I didn’t care for the look of the new Klingons.  I am relieved to learn that JJ will not be directing the next film, and am likewise relieved that there will be a new writing team.  Perhaps we will finally get something new.

Thor: The Dark World

Tomatometer: 65%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 83%

IMDB: 7.6/10

My Grade: A+

Marvel did this one right.  For me, at least, Tom Hiddleston as Loki stole the show.  One doesn’t know whether he is an ally or a foe, but he and Thor have some fantastic exchanges or dialog.  This film had everything that one might want from a marvel film and was the most like seeing a comic book come to the big screen as one can get.  It had action, it had some humor, and the actors were perfect for their roles.  Outstanding in all aspects in my opinion.

A Look Ahead…

So what does the sci-fi movie landscape look like to the upcoming year?  I don’t think it will be as strong as last year.  I have compiled a list of films that are slated for release in 2014 and based on the previews that are available, give them a yes, I will see them in the theater, no I will not see them in the theater, or maybe I will.  Here it is with the trailers, where available…

I, Frankenstein – January 24^th – Maybe

 

RoboCop – February 12^th – No

 

Mr. Peabody and Sherman – March 7^th – No

 

Divergent – March 21^st – No

Noah – March 28^th – Yes

Captain America: Winter Soldier – April 4^th – Yes

Transcendence – April 18^th – Maybe

Godzilla – May 16^th – Maybe

X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 23^rd – Yes

Edge of Tomorrow – June 16^th – Maybe

Transformers: Age of Extinction – June 27^th – No

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – July 11^th – Yes

Jupiter Ascending – July 18^th – Maybe

Guardians of the Galaxy – August 1^st – Maybe

The Giver – August 15^th – Maybe

Resident Evil 6 – September 12^th – No

The Maze Runner – September 19^th – No

 Sorry, I couldn't find an official trailer.

Interstellar – November 7^th – Maybe

 Sorry, I couldn't find an official trailer.

Tomorrow Land – December 12^th – Maybe

 Sorry, I couldn't find an official trailer.

Left Behind – No Date Given – No

 Sorry, I couldn't find an official trailer.

Well, there it is…

QaplaH’!

After Earth - A Pretty Good Film - Great Entertainment

After Earth (2013)

***THE SPOILER ALERT LIGHT IS ON***

I just walked in the door after seeing After Earth.  What a fun film.  Realizing that the critics are doing a major pan job on this film, I find that it is a film worth watching.  This film doesn’t make you think, it’s just good sci-fi entertainment.  I was a little apprehensive considering who directs, M. Night Shyamalan.  I have never really cared for his previous work, but I was pleasantly surprised to see him breaking new ground in making a purely science fiction film that doesn’t include all of his usual heeby-jeebys.

One thousand years before the story begins, the Earth has become uninhabitable by humans for numerous reasons.  The entire population has moved to another planet they call Nova Prime.  Unfortunately, Nova Prime is also considered a sacred planet by a race of aliens that create monsters the humans call Ursa.  The Ursa have one purpose only, and that is to eradicate all human life from Nova Prime.  The Ursa have no sight and hunt their prey by detecting pheromones that humans emit when they are fearful of something.  There is almost no way to stop the Ursa because they have been genetically engineered to be virtually indestructible.  The rangers learn that there is a way to kill the Ursa but it takes a special weapon and Rangers who have the ability to Ghost, or bury their fear so they become undetectable.  Not all Rangers have this ability.  It runs strong in the Raige family.  For a more detailed description, see my book review for the prequel to the film entitled After Earth: A Perfect Beast.

The film opens with young Kitai Raige being rejected to become a Ranger.  Despite his appeal that being turned down will disappoint his father, Cypher Raige, who also happens to be the Supreme Commander of the Rangeers, he is still turned down.  Later that evening, the Raige is having a meal, and Kitai informs his father that he has been turned down.

Cypher has a mission that he has to accomplish, which is escorting a contained Ursa to another planet for study.  At the urging of his wife, Cypher decides to take his son along in an attempt to bond.  They leave Nova Prime and in route to their destination, the ship is disabled in an asteroid field and is forced to crash land.  Unfortunately, they are forced down on Earth, where every living thing left on the planet has evolved to be hostile to human life, and the atmosphere is also hostile to life.  Upon descent to the planet, the ship breaks in half and crashes killing almost everyone, at least in the forward section.  It is not known if the Ursa has survived the crash.  Cypher locates a rescue beacon that has been rendered inoperative in the crash.  He knows there is another beacon located in the tail section of the ship.  Unfortunately, he has both legs broken in the crash and the tail section of the ship is some 100 kilometers from the front section.  The only thing he can do is send Kitai to get it.

He outfits Kitai with a weapon and a backpack that will allow Cypher to monitor and guide Kitai as he tries to get to the beacon.  As Kitai moves through the wilderness, he encounters several different life forms that do indeed try to kill him, but his ranger training allows him to survive the attacks.  While Kitai is on his way, there is evidence that the Ursa has indeed survived and is stalking him.

Kitai reaches the tail section of the downed ship and recovers the beacon, which doesn’t work due to ionization in the atmosphere at his location.  So he reasons that he must find higher ground, and that is at the peak of an active volcano.

As Kitai reaches the peak, he remembers the words his father told him and a tragedy that happened to his sister at the hands of an Ursa and discovers his Ghosting abilities.  He defeats the Ursa and sets off the beacon.  Cypher and Kitai are rescued and the movie ends with a touching scene with father and son reaching an understanding.

There’s really nothing new in this film.  It is an age old story about a father and son at odds, and a kid facing seemingly impossible odds, and using his wits to save the day.  But it is the way it is told that makes it great.  I have always felt that Will Smith is an underrated actor, and his son has been panned for his earlier acting attempts, but they both show great acting chops in the film thanks to the directing of Shyamalan. 

For me, the most impressive part of this film is the scenery.  The vistas are beautiful.

So, as I said, there is nothing new here, it is just a fun film to see for pure entertainment.

By the way, reading the prequel book DID help me get an understanding of many parts of the film, including what an Ursa is, the nature of the weapon Kitai uses, what the Raige family represents, and so on.  I recommend reading the book before seeing the film, if you have the time.  If not, at least see my post on the book (follow the link above).

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!

Before After Earth, Read A Great Book: A Perfect Beast - After Earth...

A Perfect Beast – After Earth by Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, and Peter David (2013)

While checking my Facebook account, one of the authors that I have friended, Mike Freidman announced the release of A Perfect Beast and mentioned that it is the official prequel to the film due for release on May 31, 2013, After Earth starring Will and Jaden Smith.  After seeing the trailers of this film, I definitely decided that it was worth a watch and was very excited to read this book.  I downloaded it for my Kindle and started reading.  I am glad I did because this is a great read for many reasons.

The story is set on a planet that humans have inhabited because the Earth was no longer able to support humanity.  Unbeknownst to the human population of the planet Nova Prime, they had chosen to live on a planet that was considered sacred to an alien race calling themselves the Krezateen.  The planet, known by the Krezateens as Zantenor.  To the Krezanteen, this world is so sacred that they do not even set foot on it, and they were extremely upset that human “vermin” had dare to attempt to populate it.  The Krezateens tried to eradicate the humans by bombing them out of existence, but the humans were quite resilient and repulsed the Krezateen attempt.  So they had to hatch an alternate plan.

 576 years after the humans land on Nova Prime (576 AE), the story follows several important characters, but one in particular becomes the hero of the story.  His name is Connor Raige.  Connor is the descendant of a long line of Rangers (a military organization charged with protecting Nova Prime from threats within and from without the planet) who are a very dedicated force.  At this point, Connor is a cadet in training at the Ranger Academy, he displays skills that will be useful in his future, and indispensable for the survival of Nova Prime.

Nova Prime’s government is a tripartite system that is democratically ruled by the Ranger Prime Commander, the Primus (a spiritual leader), and the Savant (the leader of science and technology).  After the urging of a rabble rousing broadcaster named Trey Vander Meer, the people of Nova Prime, the Primus, and the Savant are all convinced that far too much of the human resources are being spent to maintain the Rangers since there hasn’t been any trouble from the Skrel (the human name for the Krezanteen) for hundreds of years.  Well, just as the decision was being made, the Skrel unleash their plan to completely eliminate humanity from Nova Prime.

This plan comes to Nova Prime in the form of a Beast the humans call Ursa; a sightless animal that was created by the Skrel for one purpose; to devour every human they can find.  The Ursa is described as having no sight and hunts humans by smell and hearing, and being sightless is no disadvantage to the beasts because they have a layer of armor just under their hide that can repel the best weapons the humans have.

By means of attrition, and the way he demonstrates his skill at killing Ursa, Conner eventually rises to lead the Rangers in the fight with the help of a new weapon.

A Perfect Beast is full of fast paced action that never slows down.  It is full of characters that really mattered, and many of them were killed during the course of the story by the Ursa.  I simply could not stop reading this book and finished it in five days.  Those that are familiar with Star Trek novels will recognize the author’s names and know of the quality in their usual writing.  Well Friedman, Greenberger, and David pull out all the stops on this one and have penned a brilliant story that has only served to pique my desire to see the After Earth Film.  I give this book my highest recommendation and would have to say that it is amongst the best stories I have read in quite some time, and perhaps a must to help with the understanding of the film.

Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, and Peter David

A Perfect Beast also includes three Ghost stories.  The ghosts are not departed spirits of Nova Prime, but they are very special Rangers that can foil the Ursa’s abilities to locate and kill them as they attack.  I think that the three shorts stories might be a key component to the understanding of the upcoming film as they take place 400 years after the events of the novel.

If you are planning to see After Earth, I would urge you to pick this book up, but even if you are not planning to see the movie, it would still be worth reading as it stands well on its own as a fine piece of sci-fi literature.

Podcasting News

I have been negligent on promoting the sci-fi podcasts that I listen to.  I’m sure that you know how it is when real life demands time that could otherwise be spent on leisure pursuits.  In the life of a small school music teacher, the months of March, April, and May can be harrowing with concerts, contests, and other performance obligations.  But things are slowing down and I should have more time to write the blog, and write and record comments for the various podcasts I listen to regularly.

Anyway, on the SciFi Diner Podcast, the latest episode #171, Scott, Miles and their guest host M talk about various science fiction subjects and we get to hear an interview with John Billingsley (Phlox from ST: Enterprise) and Bonita Friedericy (the General from Chuck, also a Borg on Ent.).  This was a fun interview to listen to as Billingsley and Friedericy play off of one another to give a fun interview to listen to.

I also noticed that the Diner released a Conversations episode with comments from me on Iron Man 3 and Defiance.  I haven’t listened to this one yet, but will be listening very soon.

I also listened to an excellent episode of Trek News and Views in which they discuss all things Klingon.  That would be Episode #71.  Colin again gathers a great panel of people who are quite expert on the Klingons and they share ideas and discuss facts that are both known, and some that may not be so widely known.  Definitely worth a listen.

Well, there it is…

I remain,

Kahless

Q’aplaH