SciScene Science Fiction Movie Reviews

Back to the Future

SciScene — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 20:47:05 -0400

If you're looking for a fun (and somewhat comedic) science fiction movie, Back to the Future more than fits the bill. With a great, over the top comedic performance from Christopher Lloyd and more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at, this has to be one of the more enjoyable SciFi/Comedy movies ever made.

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is your average teenager except for his friend Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), the town's crazy but likable scientist. For all his wacky (and useless) inventions, Doc Brown actually comes up with one that works: a time machine made out of a DeLorean. Marty doesn't believe Doc but agrees to meet him at the Twin Pines Mall for a demonstration of his new invention. After witnessing Einstein (Doc's dog) travel one minute into the future, Marty believes that Doc's time machine actually works. Unfortunately for Doc, the Libyan terrorists who Doc stole the plutonium from that powers his time machine have found him and are seeking revenge for the theft. Doc draws the attention (and gunfire) of the terrorists so Marty can escape but is shot and killed in the process.

After witnessing Doc's death, Marty realizes that if he doesn't escape the terrorists will kill him next. Using the time machine to outrun the terrorists, Marty accidently activates it and ends up traveling back in time to 1955 where his father George McFly (Crispin Glover) is a nerdy teenager, his mother Lorraine (Lea Thompson) is one of the more popular girls in school and Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) is his father's bully arch nemesis.

In the process of interacting with 1955 and his parents, Marty accidentally becomes the object of his future mother's affection, creating a future where his parents never get married and he is never born. Stuck in 1955, Marty must find a way to reunite his parents so that he can restore his own future and locate fuel for the DeLorean time machine so that he can return to his own time of 1985.

Back to the Future is one of those movies that is almost "too goofy", but it ends up working and for one main reason: Michael J. Fox. When executives were casting for the part of Marty McFly, Fox was their first choice but he originally turned down the role due to a busy filming schedule for his TV show Family Ties. In place of Fox they cast Eric Stoltz -- a very capable actor, but not really suited for this role. Fortunately, Steven Spielberg ended up convincing Fox to take the part. Fox's light and somewhat goofy take on the Marty McFly character brings just the right amount of comedy to the film. Never over the top but always just on the edge of outright slapstick, Fox keeps the movie entertaining and fun throughout.

Having seen Back to the Future in a movie theater when it first came out in 1985, I remember thinking that it was going to be too much of a physical comedy and end up being ridiculous. But in the end it turned out to be a classic SciFi Comedy that has actually held up well over the years.

Back to the Future Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
Robert Zemeckis

Writing credits
Robert Zemeckis
Bob Gale

Cast (in credits order)
Michael J. Fox ... Marty McFly
Christopher Lloyd ... Dr. Emmett Brown
Lea Thompson ... Lorraine Baines McFly
Crispin Glover ... George McFly
Thomas F. Wilson ... Biff Tannen
Claudia Wells ... Jennifer Parker
Marc McClure ... Dave McFly
Wendie Jo Sperber ... Linda McFly
George DiCenzo ... Sam Baines
Frances Lee McCain ... Stella Baines
James Tolkan ... Mr. Strickland
J.J. Cohen ... Skinhead (as Jeffrey Jay Cohen)
Casey Siemaszko ... 3-D
Billy Zane ... Match
Harry Waters Jr. ... Marvin Berry
Donald Fullilove ... Goldie Wilson
Lisa Freeman ... Babs
Cristen Kauffman ... Betty
Elsa Raven ... Clocktower Woman
Will Hare ... Old Man Peabody
Ivy Bethune ... Ma Peabody
Jason Marin ... Sherman Peabody
Katherine Britton ... Daughter Peabody
Jason Hervey ... Milton Baines
Maia Brewton ... Sally Baines
Courtney Gains ... Mark Dixon
Richard L. Duran ... Libyan Terrorist
Jeff O'Haco ... Libyan Van Driver
Johnny Green ... Scooter Kid #1
Jamie Abbott ... Scooter Kid #2
Norman Alden ... Lou Caruthers
Read Morgan ... Hill Valley Cop
Sachi Parker ... Bystander #1
Robert Krantz ... Bystander #2
Gary Riley ... Guy #1
Karen Petrasek ... Girl #1
George 'Buck' Flower ... Red Thomas (as Buck Flower)
Tommy Thomas ... The Starlighters
Granville 'Danny' Young ... The Starlighters
David Harold Brown ... The Starlighters
Lloyd L. Tolbert ... The Starlighters
Paul Hanson ... The Pinheads - Guitarist
Lee Brownfield ... The Pinheads
Robert DeLapp ... The Pinheads
Christopher Cundey ... Lorraine's Classmate (scenes deleted)
Charles L. Campbell ... 1955 Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Deborah Harmon ... TV Newscaster (uncredited)
Huey Lewis ... High School Band Audition Judge (uncredited)
Tom Tangen ... Student (uncredited)

More Back to the Future Movie Reviews

Back to the Future Review at Movie Gazette
Movie Review of Back to the Future from Qwipster

The Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last

SciScene — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 12:35:06 -0400

Burgess Meredith was one of the best guest stars on The Twilight Zone and his appearance in Time Enough at Last ensures this shows status as the best Twilight Zone episode of the entire series.

Time Enough at Last opens in a bank and focuses in on Mr. Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith), a bank teller described in the opening voice over by Rod Serling as "a charter member in the fraternity of dreamers". Bemis is servicing a customer of the bank while at the same time reading a book. Of course, he makes a mistake and immediately is called into his boss's office to be reprimanded for being "a reader". Bemis informs his boss that his wife won't let him read at home and that the only time he can read is at work. His boss then him informs him that his wife is an amazing woman and that he better stop reading at work unless he wants to lose his job.

The next day Bemis, unable to curb his appetite for books, takes his usual lunch break in the bank vault with both a book and the newspaper. After reading the book, he them moves on to the newspaper and sees the frightening headline "H-Bomb Capable of Total Destruction". As if on cue, Bemis's watch cracks and there are the sounds of a huge explosion. Of course, this is the aforementioned H-Bomb being detonated.

Bemis, who was protected from the destruction of the H-Bomb by the bank's vault, ventures out into to the post bomb world and finds destruction everywhere. He also discovers that everyone else was killed by the bomb and he is the only person left alive. Even though he finds enough food to last him years, he's not sure he wants to live alone and contemplates suicide after finding a gun.

But then, Bemis spots his salvation -- The Public Library!. Years and Years of books to read and nothing but time. Nobody to stop him from reading and no annoying job to get in the way of his books. But as Bemis prepares for his lifetime of uninterrupted reading, he is unaware of the inevitable Twilight Zone plot twist that will put his reading days in jeopardy.

Time Enough at Last was one of the earlier Twilight Zone episodes from the first season and was also Burgess Meredith's first appearance in a Twilight Zone episode. He would go on to appear in three more episodes (Mr. Dingle the Strong, The Obsolete Man, and Printer's Devil) and while he excellent in all of these, this is certainly his best performance. His portrayal of the "bookish" Henry Bemis is absolutely perfect. He brings just the right amount of nerdiness to the role but in the end creates a character that we can't help but find sympathetic.

Meredith's sympathetic portrayal of Bemis also helps to powerfully convey one of the main themes of this and many other Twilight Zone episodes -- Is life worth living alone? Isolation is one of the themes that appears in many Twilight Zone episodes and is found almost everywhere in Time Enough at Last. From the contemplated suicide when Bemis first realizes his potential life of isolation to the horrible twist at the end (which I won't reveal here, although I'm sure everyone reading this knows what it is) which dooms his reading days and immediately reminds him again of his impending life alone, the concept of aloneness is drive home by Serling.

While there are many great Twilight Zone episodes, Time Enough at Last is propelled to the top of the list by Burgess Meredith's great acting and the impact of it's powerful storyline. Voted the second best episode by IMDB readers, this is absolutely my favorite Twilight Zone episode.

The Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last Episode Cast and Credits

Directed by
John Brahm

Writing credits
Lynn Venable (short story)
Rod Serling (teleplay)

Episode Cast (in credits order)
Burgess Meredith ... Henry Bemis
Vaughn Taylor ... Mr. Carsville, Bemis' Boss
Jacqueline deWit ... Helen Bemis
Lela Bliss ... Woman in Bank
Rod Serling ... Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

More Reviews of The Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last

Reviews of Time Enough at Last at TV.com
The Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last TV Show Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database

Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren

SciScene — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:07:15 -0400

There is nothing more disturbing than Spock exhibiting emotion and in Plato's Stepchildren, he goes from laughing to crying to hatred and everything in between.

Plato's Stepchildren opens with Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) beaming down to the planet Platonius to investigate an unknown distress call. The planet appeared to be uninhabited, but when they arrive they are greeted by a dwarf named Alexander (Michael Dunn) who starts to welcome them to Platonius but then is pulled from the room, apparently under someone else's control. They follow Alexander to another room where they meet Parmen (Liam Sullivan) who is the leader of the Platonians. His wife Philana (Barbara Babcock) explains to them that Parmen is seriously injured and they sent out the distress call because they have no doctors on Platonius to care for him. Bones proceeds to examine Parmen and he determines that he as a massive infection in his leg that, mysteriously, is the product of a minor scratch. McCoy says that he can treat Parmen but he will need time since this Platonian bacteria is not identifiable by his tricorder and he will have to basically improvise the treatment.

During his infection, Parmen has a fever and deliriously starts throwing everything around the room. Apparently, he has psychokinetic powers and not only can he move objects on the planet but he has actually locked the Enterprise into orbit around the planet and will not let them leave.

McCoy is able to cure Parmen, who thanks him for saving his life but then demands that McCoy remain on Platonius permanently since they have no doctors. Kirk refuses and demands that Parmen release the Enterprise from orbit immediately. This angers Parmen and he punishes Kirk by making him slap himself in the face. It's at this point that Kirk and Spock realize that Parmen and the Platonians have no intention of letting them or the Enterprise ever leave. Kirk, Spock and McCoy will have to fight the telekinetic powers of Parmen and the Platonians if they ever want to return to the Enterprise and escape this controlling society.

Plato's Stepchildren is without a doubt one of the worst episodes to come out of the original Star Trek Series. There is not much of a plot here and what little there is tends to be rather stupid. It all centers around the controlling leader of the Platonians, Parmen, and how he likes to make people look stupid using his telekinetic powers. Apparently, this is some sick form of entertainment for them. Not only does he use his telekinetic powers to control people but he also makes them do ridiculous things for the entertainment of all the Platonians. He forces Kirk and Spock to dance, sing, laugh and cry. But that's not the worst of it. At one point, Parmen forces Kirk onto all fours and then makes Alexander (the dwarf) ride him like a horse while Kirk jumps up and down making horse like naying sounds. They all look ridiculous and I'm sure none of the actors enjoyed these scenes.

The one bright spot in Plato's Stepchildren was Alexander the Dwarf played by Michael Dunn. There is something likable about him as the powerless little person that's basically used and abused by the rest of the Platonians. Come to find out, he doesn't have the telekinetic powers like the rest of the planet's inhabitants and all he wants is to leave Platonius and live in a society where he will be treated fairly and not be discriminated against because of his size. It's a touching moment when he asks Kirk to take him with them if they are able to escape.

If what you are looking for is a bunch of adults looking absolutely ridiculous, then Plato's Stepchildren is for you. For me, this is a throw away Star Trek episode that I wish they had never made. At the very least, they should have left out Spock's singing debut. If there is one thing I got out of this episode, it's that Vulcans can't sing.

Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren Episode Cast and Credits

Directed by
David Alexander

Writing credits
Gene Roddenberry
Meyer Dolinsky

Episode Cast (in credits order)
William Shatner ... Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy ... Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley ... Dr. McCoy
Michael Dunn ... Alexander
Liam Sullivan ... Parmen
Barbara Babcock ... Philana
James Doohan ... Scott
Nichelle Nichols ... Uhura
Majel Barrett ... Nurse Chapel
Ted Scott ... Eraclitus
Derek Partridge ... Dionyd
Bill Blackburn ... Lt. Hadley (uncredited)

More Reviews of Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren

Review of Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren from The Trek Movie Report
Star Trek: Plato's Stepchildren TV Show Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database

The Terminator

SciScene — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:08:36 -0400

Featuring an extreme case of mistaken identity, The Terminator demonstrates that sometimes having a common name doesn't make you anonymous. In fact, it can make you the center of attention and be downright deadly.

Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is just an average person leading an average, almost boring, life. Working as a waitress, an exciting night for Sarah is one where her roommate goes out so she can spend a quite night at home. But as Sarah trudges through her daily life, a completely different scene is taking place in the future.

Machines have taken over and are at war with the humans in an attempt to exterminate them and have the entire planet for themselves. In an attempt to end the war before it even began, the machines decide to send a cyborg terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to 1984 to kill the mother of the leader of the human resistance. This is, of course, Sarah Connor. The humans find out about this plan and they send a soldier (Michael Biehn) named Kyle Reese back to the same time to protect Sarah Connor from The Terminator.

The Terminator, in an attempt to be thorough, goes on a killing rampage hunting down every Sarah Connor in the area and killing them. As more and more of them are killed, the police realize that somebody is murdering all the Sarah Connors so they locate Sarah and put her under protection. Luckily for Sarah, Kyle finds her and saves her from The Terminator (apparently the police are not very good at stopping cyborgs) and they must run from The Terminator, who is tracking Sarah and now knows that she is the one.

The Terminator is a good movie. Not great, but good. It does have redeeming qualities, like the performances. Nobody stands out as being that amazing performance that makes the movie, but overall the parts are well cast and the acting is very even. Arnold Schwarzenegger is, obviously, perfectly cast as The Terminator. What better role could there be for a body builder from a foreign country (who has such a heavy accent you can barely understand him) than a robot who doesn't have to do much more than run around and shoot big guns. At this early point in his career, Schwarzenegger was not a very good actor, but that didn't matter. He had the perfect screen presence for this film and it helped to make him the star that he is today.

Atmosphere and style were also big positives for this movie. The future segments that take place on the battlefield depicting the brutal war between the machines and the humans are dark and visceral and really help to convey a feeling of hopelessness for the humans.

But I did have one big problem with The Terminator -- how could the machines not know what Sarah Connor looked like? When The Terminator goes back in time to 1984, he uses a phone book to look up all the Sarah Connors in the area and then starts hunting them down and killing them, one by one. What sense does this make? The machines are smart enough to become "self aware" and build cyborgs that can travel back in time, but they don't know what the mother of the leader of their enemy looks like. I know, I've heard all the arguments, the main one being that the humans hid Sarah from the machines so they wouldn't be able to find her and they would have no idea what she looked like. But come on, they can keep her image completely hidden but not her name? Besides, couldn't the machines just send a bunch of cyborg soldiers into human headquarters and, at the very least, find a picture of her? Some may say this is just a minor plot hole, but for me it's a big problem. A lot of the plot rests on the fact that The Terminator doesn't know what Sarah Connor looks like and for me, that's too big a leap of faith to take.

The Terminator Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
James Cameron

Writing credits
Harlan Ellison
James Cameron
Gale Anne Hurd
William Wisher Jr.

Cast (in credits order)
Arnold Schwarzenegger ... The Terminator
Michael Biehn ... Kyle Reese
Linda Hamilton ... Sarah Connor
Paul Winfield ... Lieutenant Ed Traxler
Lance Henriksen ... Detective Hal Vukovich
Bess Motta ... Ginger Ventura
Earl Boen ... Dr. Peter Silberman
Rick Rossovich ... Matt Buchanan
Dick Miller ... Pawnshop Clerk
Shawn Schepps ... Nancy
Bruce M. Kerner ... Desk Sergeant
Franco Columbu ... Future Terminator
Bill Paxton ... Punk Leader
Brad Rearden ... Punk
Brian Thompson ... Punk
William Wisher Jr. ... Policeman (1-L19)
Ken Fritz ... Policeman
Tom Oberhaus ... Policeman
Ed Dogans ... Cop in Alley
Joe Farago ... TV Anchorman
Hettie Lynne Hurtes ... TV Anchorwoman
Tony Mirelez ... Gas Station Attendant
Philip Gordon ... Mexican Boy (long shots)
Anthony Trujillo ... Mexican Boy (close-ups) (as Anthony T. Trujillo)
Stan Yale ... Derelict in Alley
Al Kahn ... Customer
Leslie Morris ... Customer
Hugh Farrington ... Customer
Harriet Medin ... Customer
Loree Frazier ... Customer
James Ralston ... Customer
Norman Friedman ... Cleaning Man at Flophouse
Barbara Powers ... Ticket Taker at Club Technoir
Wayne Stone ... Tanker Driver
David Pierce ... Tanker Partner (as David Pierce)
John E. Bristol ... Biker at Phone Booth
Webster Williams ... Reporter
Patrick Pinney ... Bar Customer
Bill W. Richmond ... Bartender
Chino 'Fats' Williams ... Truck Driver
Gregory Robbins ... Tiki Motel Customer
Marianne Muellerleile ... Wrong Sarah
John Durban ... Sentry
Debra Casey ... Mohawk girl at biker bar (uncredited)
Darrell Mapson ... Bar patron at pay phone with Sarah (uncredited)

More The Terminator Movie Reviews

Movie Review of The Terminator at Movie Reviews UK
The Terminator Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database

2001: A Space Odyssey

SciScene — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:23:05 -0400

A film doesn't have to make sense and offer an explanation for everthing contained within it to be entertaining. In fact, sometimes, an open ended movie with room for interpretation can be brilliant. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the perfect example of this situation. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered and is considered by some to be downright confusing, but it is still a great movie.

2001 begins in prehistoric times with a group of apes going about their daily business and living their lives undisturbed until one day they discover a strange black monolith. The monolith, which we surmise must have been created and left their by alien beings, intrigues the apes and they begin to cautiously examine it. The monolith seems to have a strange effect on the apes and soon after the encounter they begin using bones as tools. Unfortunately, they also discover that the same bones can be used as weapons -- not only to kill other animals for food, but also as a way to wield power over the other apes. After one of the apes kills one of he fellow inhabitants, he throws the bone high into the air and the movie follows the bone and proceeds to jump thousands of years into the future.

It's now thousands of years later and apes have evolved into humans who can now travel into space. A mysterious black monolith (similar to the one the apes found) has been discovered buried on the moon. Dr. Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester) is on his way to the moon to examine the monolith and see if he can shed some light on it's origins. Dr. Floyd learns that the monolith is broadcasting a signal of some kind in the direction of Jupiter, but no one has any idea what the contents are of this message or it's intended recipient.

Since the detection of this signal, the spaceship Discovery has been sent on a mission to Jupiter to see if it can discover why the monolith is sending a broadcast there. The Discovery is manned by two astronauts Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) and one supercomputer called HAL 9000. HAL is the most advanced form of artificial intelligence ever created and turns out to be too smart for his own good. When the crew realizes that HAL has "issues", they decide that they must deactivate him to save themselves and the ship. HAL fights back in an attempt to save his own life as he believes that the crew is trying to kill him (is he really alive?). HAL is deactivated, but at the expense of one of the crew members (Frank Poole).

Bowman, now alone aboard the Discovery, finds another monolith similar to the one on the moon but much larger. He decides that he must investigate this new monolith by taking a pod directly into it. This begins a journey for Bowman not only to a new world, but a new life.

Let me start off by saying that I believe 2001: A Space Odyssey is a perfect film. I can find no faults with this film and I defy others to convince me that any exist. I know many will disagree, and I've heard all the arguments -- it's slow, boring, and it just doesn't make sense. But I consider all of these assets of this movie.

Stanley Kubrick -- certainly one of the best directors of our time -- was known for his attention to detail and the pacing of 2001 was surely not a mistake. What appears to be slow and plodding is actually conveying scenes in the movie and portraying the physical realities of space. The docking of the spaceship in 2001 (approximately a 15 minute scene) certainly imparts the sensations of space travel more accurately than movies like Star Wars or Star Trek where spaceships fly at top speed into docking bays.

The ambiguous ending and lack of explanation were also not mistakes. Kubrick, when asked about the meaning of 2001, stated on more than one occasion that he would not even discuss his thoughts on what it all meant. He believed that if people left the theater thinking and speculating about the movies meaning, then it had succeeded with the audience. He didn't want to spell out an ending that every view would then have to adopt. Kubrick believed that the movie could have different meanings for different viewers and nobody was wrong.

The problem for most people is that 2001: A Space Odyssey is a film that needs to be viewed multiple times to be appreciated. After the first viewing, most people will probably be confused and wondering what just happened. But by the third and fourth screenings, they will have developed their own opinions on the meaning of the film. I believe this is the case for most viewers and is exactly what Kubrick intended.

2001: A Space Odyssey Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
Stanley Kubrick

Writing credits
Arthur C. Clarke
Stanley Kubrick

Cast (in credits order)
Keir Dullea ... Dr. Dave Bowman
Gary Lockwood ... Dr. Frank Poole
William Sylvester ... Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
Daniel Richter ... Moon-Watcher
Leonard Rossiter ... Dr. Andrei Smyslov
Margaret Tyzack ... Elena
Robert Beatty ... Dr. Ralph Halvorsen
Sean Sullivan ... Dr. Bill Michaels
Douglas Rain ... HAL 9000 (voice)
Frank Miller ... Mission controller (voice)
Bill Weston ... Astronaut
Ed Bishop ... Aries-1B Lunar shuttle captain (as Edward Bishop)
Glenn Beck ... Astronaut
Alan Gifford ... Poole's father
Ann Gillis ... Poole's mother
Edwina Carroll ... Aries-1B stewardess
Penny Brahms ... Stewardess
Heather Downham ... Stewardess
Mike Lovell ... Astronaut
John Ashley ... Ape
Jimmy Bell ... Ape
David Charkham ... Ape
Simon Davis ... Ape
Jonathan Daw ... Ape
Péter Delmár ... Ape
Terry Duggan ... Ape attacked by leopard
David Fleetwood ... Ape
Danny Grover ... Ape
Brian Hawley ... Ape
David Hines ... Ape
Tony Jackson ... Ape
John Jordan ... Ape
Scott MacKee ... Ape
Laurence Marchant ... Ape
Darryl Paes ... Ape
Joe Refalo ... Ape
Andy Wallace ... Ape
Bob Wilyman ... Ape
Richard Woods ... Ape killed by Moon-Watcher (as Richard Wood)
Martin Amor ... Interviewer (uncredited)
S. Newton Anderson ... Young Man (uncredited)
Sheraton Blount ... (uncredited)
Ann Bormann ... (uncredited)
John Clifford ... TMA-1 site technician #2 (uncredited)
Julie Croft ... (uncredited)
Penny Francis ... (uncredited)
Jane Hayward ... (uncredited)
Kenneth Kendall ... BBC-12 announcer (uncredited)
Vivian Kubrick ... Squirt (Floyd's daughter) (uncredited)
Marcella Markham ... (uncredited)
Irena Marr ... Russian Scientist (uncredited)
Krystyna Marr ... Russian scientist (uncredited)
Kim Neil ... (uncredited)
Jane Pearl ... (uncredited)
Penny Pearl ... (uncredited)
Kevin Scott ... Miller (uncredited)
John Swindells ... TMA-1 site technician #1 (uncredited)
Burnell Tucker ... TMA-1 site photographer (uncredited)

More 2001: A Space Odyssey Movie Reviews

Movie Review of 2001: A Space Odyssey by James Berardinelli
2001: A Space Odyssey Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database

The Matrix Reloaded

SciScene — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:53:00 -0400

Where The Matrix was one of the more intellectual Science Fiction movies in recent years, The Matrix Reloaded is more of an action sequence in the middle of a film. Kind of like the middle of one long movie that The Matrix trilogy seems to be destined to become.

Six months have passed in the world of The Matrix, and Neo (Keanu Reeves) has become the messianic savior that Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) predicted. Not only can he fly, but he is essentially indestructible within The Matrix. But in the real world, the machines are close to reaching the city of Zion and destroying the human rebellion. In preparation for the machine attack on Zion, all ships are ordered to return to Zion. But Neo has received a message from the Oracle (Gloria Foster) and he defies orders to go and visit her immediately.

Neo learns from the Oracle that to reach the source (the center of The Matrix), he will need the help of The Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim), who is held captive by a powerful exile program called The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). So Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity decide to visit The Merovingian and see if they can steal The Keymaker away from him. They get The Keymaker, but have to escape with him while being pursued by The Merovingian's henchmen, The Twins, a couple of rogue exile programs that are probably ghosts. After escaping from The Twins, Neo begins his journey to The Source in hopes of stopping the destruction of Zion by the machines.

The Matrix Reloaded is the second entry in The Matrix Trilogy (the third entry is The Matrix Revolutions) and it definitely feels like this movie is the middle of something. Where the original Matrix was a complete entity within itself, this movie feels somewhat incomplete.

Granted, there are a lot of good points to this movie. The actors are perfectly cast in all of the main roles and their performances are exactly what you would expect based on the character development in the first film. Neo has developed his confidence and truly believes he is the one, Morpheus is his stubborn old self, and Trinity will do anything to save Neo (and consequently, she believes, the human race).

The special effects and action sequences are also perfect. After the success of The Matrix, the budget given to the Wachowski Brothers for this film was more than double what they had to work with on the first film ($150 million vs. $63 million) and it shows. Every action scene is exquisitely choreographed and shot and the special effects bring the ideal look, style and atmosphere to the film. From Neo's battle with the multiple Agent Smith's (masterfully portrayed by Hugo Weaving) to the amazing highway car chase, this is all out white knuckle action at its best.

But that's the problem with this film. Compared to the first film, this one seems to have lost it's soul. It doesn't have quite the intellectual depth, symbolism and meaning of the first movie. In the first movie, we had so many intellectual references -- philosophical, religious, Socratic, Platonic and even Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Here so much of that is replaced with action and special effects that the series as a whole seems to have lost some of it's humanity.

On its own, The Matrix Reloaded is a very good Science Fiction Action movie. The action is very good, but it seems to be there at the expense of the depth that made the first Matrix one of the best movies of it's genre.

The Matrix Reloaded Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
Andy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski

Writing credits
Andy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski

Cast (in credits order)
Ray Anthony ... Power Station Guard
Christine Anu ... Kali
Andy Arness ... Police #2
Alima Ashton-Sheibu ... Link's Niece
Helmut Bakaitis ... The Architect
Steve Bastoni ... Soren
Don Battee ... Vector (as Don Batte)
Monica Bellucci ... Persephone
Daniel Bernhardt ... Agent Johnson
Valerie Berry ... Priestess
Ian Bliss ... Bane
Liliana Bogatko ... Old Woman at Zion
Michael Budd ... Zion Controller
Stoney Burke ... Bike Carrier Driver
Kelly Butler ... Ice
Josephine Byrnes ... Zion Virtual Control Operator
Noris Campos ... Woman with Groceries
Collin Chou ... Seraph
Paul Cotter ... Corrupt
Marlene Cummins ... Another Old Woman at Zion
Attila Davidhazy ... Young Thomas Anderson at 12
Essie Davis ... Maggie
Terrell Dixon ... Wurm
Nash Edgerton ... Security Guard #5
Laurence Fishburne ... Morpheus
Gloria Foster ... The Oracle
David Franklin ... Maitre D'
Austin Galuppo ... Young Thomas Anderson at 4
Nona Gaye ... Zee
Daryl Heath ... A.P.U. Escort
Roy Jones Jr. ... Ballard
Malcolm Kennard ... Abel (as Malcom Kennard)
David Kilde ... Agent Jackson (as David A. Kilde)
Randall Duk Kim ... The Keymaker
Christopher Kirby ... Mauser
Peter Lamb ... Colt
Nathaniel Lees ... Mifune
Harry J. Lennix ... Commander Lock (as Harry Lennix)
Tony Lynch ... Computer Room Technician
Robert Mammone ... AK
Joshua Mbakwe ... Link's Nephew
Matt McColm ... Agent Thompson
Scott McLean ... Security Bunker Guard #2
Chris Mitchell ... Power Station Guard
Steve Morris ... Computer Room Guard
Carrie-Anne Moss ... Trinity
Tory Mussett ... Beautiful Woman at Le Vrai
Rene Naufahu ... Zion Gate Operator
Robyn Nevin ... Councillor Dillard
David No ... Cain
Genevieve O'Reilly ... Officer Wirtz
Socratis Otto ... Operator
Harold Perrineau ... Link
Jada Pinkett Smith ... Niobe
Montaño Rain ... Young Thomas Anderson at 8
Adrian Rayment ... Twin #2
Neil Rayment ... Twin #1
Rupert Reid ... Lock's Lieutenant
Keanu Reeves ... Neo
David Roberts ... Roland
Shane C. Rodrigo ... Ajax
Nick Scoggin ... Gidim Truck Driver
Kevin Scott ... 18 Wheel Trucker (as Kevin C. Scott)
Tahei Simpson ... Binary
Frankie Stevens ... Tirant
Nicandro Thomas ... Young Thomas Anderson at 2
Gina Torres ... Cas
Andrew Valli ... Police #1
Steve Vella ... Malachi
John Walton ... Security Bunker Guard
Clayton Watson ... Kid
Hugo Weaving ... Agent Smith
Cornel West ... Councillor West
Leigh Whannell ... Axel (as Leigh Whannel)
Bernard White ... Rama-Kandra
Lambert Wilson ... Merovingian
Anthony Wong ... Ghost
Anthony Zerbe ... Councillor Hamann

More The Matrix Reloaded Movie Reviews

Movie Review of The Matrix Reloaded from Corporate Mofo
The Matrix Reloaded Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database

Alien

SciScene — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:35:00 -0400

In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream. This famous tagline from the movie Alien sets the tone for one of the scariest Science Fiction movies of all time.

Alien begins aboard the commercial towing space ship Nostromo. During it's return to earth an SOS signal is received from a nearby planet and the Nostromo is redirected to this planet for investigation. The seven member crew is awakened from their hyper sleep to go on a search and rescue mission based on this supposed SOS call. After landing on the planet, several of the crew members venture out to the planet's surface in search of the source of the distress call. The discover a crashed space ship and find a bunch of what appear to be alien eggs inside the ship.

While inspecting the alien eggs, one of the crew members, Kane (John Hurt), is attacked by an alien creature that launches itself at him from inside one of the eggs. It proceeds to make a hole in his helmet and attach itself to his face. The other crew members immediately rescue the now unconscious Kane and rush him back to the Nostromo for medical attention.

Upon arriving back at the Nostromo, the one sane member of the crew, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), refuses them entry to the ship citing quarantine rules. Unfortunately, Science Office Ash (Ian Holm), insists on ignoring the quarantine rules and lets Kane and his fellow crew members in anyways.

After a short stint in the medical lab in an apparent coma, the alien creature that is attached to Kane's face seems to die and fall off. Kane then awakens and appears to be completely normal. Unknown to Kane and the rest of the Nostromo crew, the alien is actually growing inside of Kane, soon to make a dramatic exit from it's host and start hunting down the Nostromo crew one by one.

Alien is the perfect example of a timeless movie. It's as scary today as it was the first time it was seen in movie theaters in 1979. This is mainly due to the overall set design and atmosphere of the movie and the horrific appearance of the aliens. The Nostromo is the perfect setting for what is essentially a slasher horror movie in space. Full of tunnels and all kinds of industrial, mechanical looking stuff, it's a setting that I don't think will ever look old or dated. Almost thirty years after it was originally designed, it has the same impact and effectiveness as when it was first seen.

As for the aliens themselves, I don't think there has ever been a more fear inducing and just plain disgusting creature ever put to film. H.R. Giger's brilliant and inspired designs help to set the tone and atmosphere for the entire film. Supposedly, Giger suffers from night terrors and keeps a pad and pencil by his bed so he can record what he sees in his dreams. The original design for the aliens apparently came from one of his nightmares -- not too hard to believe after seeing them in the movie.

The other contributing factor to the greatness of Alien is the pacing. Director Ridley Scott does an amazing job of taking Alien from a slow, plodding beginning and eventually building to an extremely fast paced, suspenseful ending. It all helps to tell the story of the film. From the ordinary and almost boring beginning that accurately depicts life aboard the Nostromo to the manic pace of the alien hunting down the crew, the building of tension and suspense to the "one person left standing" ending is perfectly executed.

Even though no one may hear you scream in space, they will definitely hear you screaming while watching Alien. One of the most frightening movies ever made, this is one of those movies that is definitely best seen in the dark -- but not alone!

Alien Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
Ridley Scott

Writing credits
Dan O'Bannon and
Ronald Shusett

Cast (in credits order)
Tom Skerritt ... Dallas
Sigourney Weaver ... Ripley
Veronica Cartwright ... Lambert
Harry Dean Stanton ... Brett
John Hurt ... Kane
Ian Holm ... Ash
Yaphet Kotto ... Parker
Bolaji Badejo ... Alien
Helen Horton ... Mother (voice)
Eddie Powell ... Alien (uncredited)

More Alien Movie Reviews

Movie Review of Alien by James Berardinelli
Alien Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database

The Twilight Zone: King Nine Will Not Return

SciScene — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:07:45 -0400

Sometimes, I can figure out the ending of a Twilight Zone episode within the first few minutes of the show. I thought that was the case here. But for some reason, King Nine Will Not Return fooled me with a slight plot twist at the end.

The episode begins with a shot of the African Desert and Rod Serling's opening narration explaining to us that this is Africa in 1943 during World War II. As the shot widens, we see a crashed Air Force Bomber which we are told is named King Nine, a B25 bomber that has crashed here after an errant piece of flak tore a hole in one of it's wing tanks and it lost all it's fuel.

Strewn about the ground are pieces of the aircraft which lead up to a body laying face down in the sand. This is Captain James Embry, apparently a survivor of the plane crash and who is now stranded here in the desert. As he begins to awake, Captain Embry realizes his crew is missing. There is no sign of them and he has no idea what has happened. Exploring his surroundings, Embry finds he is starting to hallucinate and wonders if he will ever be able to get out of the desert -- or for that matter, is he even really there?

King Nine Will Not Return was the lead off episode for the second season of The Twilight Zone. After the huge success of the first season, expectations were high for this episode and it does not disappoint. Robert Cummings must basically play a one man show and carry the entire episode and his performance is excellent. Going into this episode, I had never heard of Cummings before but I was very impressed. For most of the half hour, Cummings is on screen by himself and he pulls off the solitary performance.

As I mentioned before, this episode also fooled me which was a nice surprise. I won't give away the ending, but I think most people will be tricked by the plot twist at the very end. You will think you've got it all figured out (as I did) but right at the end Serling masterfully pulls the rug right out from under all of us and makes you go back and rethink the entire episode.

King Nine Will Not Return may not be my favorite Twilight Zone Episode, but it is definitely high up on the list of episodes to see. Plus, this appears to be an episode that is not shown on TV too often anymore. So if you get the chance to watch it, I highly recommend you do -- especially since it will most likely be the first "new" Twilight Zone episode you've seen in years.

The Twilight Zone: King Nine Will Not Return Episode Cast and Credits

Directed by
Buzz Kulik

Writing credits
Rod Serling

Episode Cast (in credits order)
Robert Cummings ... Capt. James Embry
Gene Lyons ... Psychiatrist
Paul Lambert ... Doctor
Jenna McMahon ... Nurse
Rod Serling ... Narrator/Host

More Reviews of The Twilight Zone: King Nine Will Not Return

Reviews of The Twilight Zone: King Nine Will Not Return at TV.com
The Twilight Zone: King Nine Will Not Return TV Show Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

SciScene — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:20:44 -0400

With Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan the infamous Star Trek sequel pattern begins. We all know what it is -- repeat after me -- even numbered films are good, odd numbered films are bad. While this may seem arbitrary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan lives up to this pattern as one of the rare sequels that is actually better than it's predecessor.

In Star Trek II, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), is now an aging admiral who basically has been assigned to desk duty, no longer the swashbuckling captain of the Starship Enterprise that he once was. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is now the captain of the Enterprise and Chekov (Walter Koenig) is now an officer on another starship, the USS Reliant.

Chekov and the USS Reliant are on a mission to find an uninhabited planet that can be used to test the Genesis Project, a top secret project that has something to do with creating life. This brings them to the planet Ceti Alpha VI which is supposed to be empty and a suitable testing location for the Genesis device. But sensors indicate that there may still be life on the planet, so Chekov and Reliant captain Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield) beam down to the planet's surface to investigate.

Before they realize what is happening, Chekov and Terrell are taken captive by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), a genetically engineered superman who has a score to settle with Admiral Kirk. Khan forces Chekov and Terrell to get him and his group aboard the Reliant by using ceti eels to put them in a "highly suggestible state". Khan then takes control of the Reliant and begins his quest for revenge against James Kirk.

Kirk and the rest of the original crew are all aboard the Enterprise for a training mission when they get a frantic message from Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), an old acquaintance of Kirk's and one of the members of the Genesis project, that the Reliant is coming to take the Genesis device from her. Kirk assumes command of the enterprise and speeds to the aid of Marcus, only to become engaged in a life threatening battle with Khan, who will stop at nothing to get his revenge.

All of the original series cast members are back for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and their performances in this movie are much better than in the first film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It's as if they have relaxed and been able to return to the characters they created for the original TV series. Gone are the stiff, uncomfortable portrayals and emotionless character interactions. William Shatner seems to be even better in this film than he was in the series. Rumor has it that director Nicholas Meyer forced Shatner to do endless retakes of scenes in an attempt to wear him down so that he wouldn't do his usual overacting and would fall into a more natural, laid back rhythm. I don't know if this is true, but Shatner definitely gives his best performance as Captain Kirk to date.

The pacing and action of Star Trek II have also returned to the roots of the TV series. Where Star Trek: The Motion Picture was extremely intellectual and unbelievably slow, Star Trek II is action packed and truly exciting. The first movie was overly ambitious in it's subject matter and was really trying to be something it was not. On the other hand, this movie stands out in it's ability to capture the feel of the TV series and everything good about it. From the infamous McCoy one liners (Are you out of your vulcan mind?) to the match up of Khan and Kirk, this movie makes you yearn for the original series.

While the Star Trek sequel pattern of even numbered movies being good and odd numbered movies being bad is really not the case -- basically just the first movie was bad, the rest have all been good -- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is definitely the best movie in the entire Star Trek series. And how could it not be with the famous Kirk scream: KHAAAN!!

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
Nicholas Meyer

Writing credits
Gene Roddenberry
Harve Bennett
Jack B. Sowards
Samuel A. Peeples
Jack B. Sowards
Nicholas Meyer

Cast (in credits order)

William Shatner ... Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy ... Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley ... Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan ... Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Walter Koenig ... Pavel Chekov
George Takei ... Hikaru Sulu
Nichelle Nichols ... Cmdr. Uhura
Bibi Besch ... Dr. Carol Marcus
Merritt Butrick ... Dr. David Marcus
Paul Winfield ... Capt. Clark Terrell
Kirstie Alley ... Lt. Saavik
Ricardo Montalban ... Khan Noonien Singh
Ike Eisenmann ... Midshipman Peter Preston
John Vargas ... Jedda
John Winston ... Cmdr. Kyle
Paul Kent ... Lt. Cmdr. Beach
Nicholas Guest ... Cadet
Russell Takaki ... Madison
Kevin Rodney Sullivan ... March (as Kevin Sullivan)
Joel Marstan ... Crew Chief
Teresa E. Victor ... Bridge voice (voice)
Dianne Harper ... Radio voice (voice)
David Ruprecht ... Radio voice (voice)
Marcy Vosburgh ... Computer voice (voice)
Laura Banks ... Khan's navigator (uncredited)
Steve Bond ... Khan`s Crewman #1 (uncredited)
Brett Baxter Clark ... Khan`s Crewman #2 (uncredited)
Tim Culbertson ... Khan's henchman (uncredited)
John Gibson ... Khan`s Crewman #4 (uncredited)
James Horner ... Enterprise crewman (uncredited)
Dennis Landry ... Khan`s Crewman #5 (uncredited)
Cristian Letelier ... Khan`s Crewman #6 (uncredited)
Roger Menache ... Khan`s Crewman #7 (uncredited)
Judson Earney Scott ... Joachim Weiss (uncredited)
Deney Terrio ... Khan`s Crewman #11 (uncredited)

More Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Movie Reviews

Scifilm Movie Review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
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Planet of the Apes

SciScene — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 21:12:07 -0400

Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape! This is one of the most famous lines in Science Fiction history, and it's also the first words ever spoken by humans to apes in Planet of the Apes.

The movie begins with Astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) recording a dismal monologue aboard a spaceship with three other astronauts who are in suspended animation. After finishing his monologue, Taylor enters suspended animation with the rest of the crew and settles in for a long journey. Unfortunately for the crew, their journey is cut short when the spaceship crash lands on an unknown planet. As a result of the crash, only three of the astronauts survive. The lone women astronaut is killed when her suspended animation chamber is damaged.

The astronauts begin to explore the planet and find that not only is it a hospitable environment for humans, but it is apparently inhabited by human like lifeforms. Although they appear human, these creatures can't talk and are not the dominant beings on this planet. That roles is reserved for what appear to be apes, who hunt and kill the humans. During one of their hunts, the apes capture Taylor and take him back to their civilization where they turn him over to two ape scientists, Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) who study the humans and perform "scientific experiments" on them.

Taylor, who's throat was injured when he was captured, is unable to speak and he is grouped in captivity with the rest of the planet's human beings. But soon Zira notices that there is something different about Taylor and she takes a liking to him and even gives him a pet name -- Bright Eyes. Eventually Taylor's throat heals and he is able to speak again. This convinces Zira that he is different from the rest of the people and she attempts to convince the rest of the apes that Taylor should be spared.

Not knowing what to do with a human that can talk, the apes, led by head scientist Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans), decide that Taylor should be killed. Zira and Corneilus know this is wrong and they break him out of the ape prison in an attempt to hide him in the forbidden zone and save his life.

Planet of the Apes is a perfect example of the phrase "The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts". Taken on their own, most of the parts of the movie are ok, but certainly not great. The acting is, at best, mediocre. While nobody stands out as being "bad", there isn't any one single performance that jumps out as being above the rest. Charlton Heston, while providing some star power to the film, tends to go a little bit over the top while portraying Taylor. The rest of the cast (mostly playing apes) bring just enough acting skill to the film to carry the story along, but nothing more.

The special effects are also nothing to write home about. Perfectly acceptable for this movie, they provide just enough to paint a picture for the film, but as with the acting, nothing more. I'm sure even in 1968, nobody walked out of theaters after seeing this movie exclaiming "Wow! You've got to see the special effects in Planet of the Apes!"

But, as I said before, The Whole is Definitely Greater than the Sum of the Parts. There is just something about this movie that works. I don't know if it's the perfect ape makeup (which is the one "part" of the film that is exceptional), or the underlying theme that attacks the idea of human superiority, or even the excellent screenplay written by Rod Serling and the perfect ending. The plot twist at the end of the movie (which I won't reveal here in case there is somebody who still doesn't know what it is!) is brilliant and completely changes the whole meaning of the film -- not only for the viewer, but for George Taylor as well. It is even rumored that Pierre Boulle, author of the Planet of the Apes novel, has said that he wished he had thought of the Serling ending -- the ending in the book was very different than the movie.

At first glance it may appear to be some cheesy Science Fiction movie about Apes that can talk, but Planet of the Apes is much more than that. If you can get past some of the less than stellar individual parts of the film, there is a message here that transcends the genre that is still relevant even today.

Planet of the Apes Movie Cast and Credits

Directed by
Franklin J. Schaffner

Writing credits
Pierre Boulle (novel)
Michael Wilson
Rod Serling

Cast (in credits order)

Charlton Heston ... George Taylor
Roddy McDowall ... Cornelius
Kim Hunter ... Zira
Maurice Evans ... Dr. Zaius
James Whitmore ... President of the Assembly
James Daly ... Dr. Honorious
Linda Harrison ... Nova
Robert Gunner ... Landon
Lou Wagner ... Lucius
Woodrow Parfrey ... Dr. Maximus
Jeff Burton ... Dodge
Buck Kartalian ... Julius
Norman Burton ... Hunt Leader
Wright King ... Dr. Galen
Paul Lambert ... Minister
Frank Delfino ... Bit part (unconfirmed)
Jerry Maren ... Bit part (unconfirmed)
Harry Monty ... (unconfirmed)
Gene O'Donnell ... (unconfirmed)
Jane Ross ... (unconfirmed)
James Bacon ... Ape (uncredited)
Priscilla Boyd ... Human #1 (uncredited)
Eldon Burke ... Gorilla (uncredited)
David Chow ... Chimpanzee (uncredited)
Billy Curtis ... Child Ape (uncredited)
Irvin 'Zabo' Koszewski ... Gorilla (uncredited)
Robert Lombardo ... Gorilla Photographer (uncredited)
Steve Merjanian ... Gorilla (uncredited)
Felix Silla ... Child Gorilla (uncredited)
Dianne Stanley ... Stewart (uncredited)

More Planet of the Apes Movie Reviews

Movie Review of Planet of the Apes by James Berardinelli
Planet of the Apes Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database