Fahrenheit 451 2018 Review

Fahrenheit 451 was the first Ray Bradbury book I ever read in 6th grade. I discovered him after reading a short story called Fever Dream in a magazine in 5th grade that gave me chills. Before that, I was mostly reading Hardy Boys and dinosaur books, so it felt great to read something with so much imagination.

In 1966, it was made into a movie by François Truffaut, which despite lead actor Oskar Werner's efforts to sabotage the production (because he hated the director), it wasn't a bad movie at all. There were a few powerful moments that I respect from this version.

And now, in 2018, I thought I would really hate the the modern Michael B. Jordan remake.

It turns out, parts of it were a decent modern take on the original concept!
And parts of it was Hollywood just changing things because they're idiots. Seriously guys, stop trying so hard. Your ideas suck.

The standout for me was Michael Shannon, as the Captain. He made me appreciate his acting skills, after really hating him as Zod in Man of Steel.

Otherwise, some of the scenes felt very well done (no fire pun intended), and it's easy to imagine some of the elements here happening with today's social media culture. But I still think the 1966 movie was a bit better.

In the end, you really should read the book.... before it's too late.
Deeesher

Lost in Space 2018 Review

In the not too distant future of 1997, earth suffers from massive overpopulation. Powerful governments around the world race to finalize a mission colonizing a beautiful new world near Alpha Centauri. Many governments would do anything to ensure they were the first to reach that new world... including sabotage.

This is the premise of the original 1965 series, Lost in Space, developed by the legendary Irwin Allen. The Robinson family was chosen, because they were the best, of the best, of the best... with honors (Sir!). But the catalyst of the show, and one reason for it's longevity, was Dr. Smith and the Robot.

Most people remember the goofy banter between Smith and the Robot, but originally, they were just scary and evil.



Before the tone of the series changed, Dr. Smith was a military Colonel, helping prepare the crew for the long voyage into space. He was also in contact with 'someone' who promised him a lot of money to ensure the Jupiter 2 never makes it to their destination. So while the crew is in suspended animation, Smith reprograms the environmental robot to destroy key components on the ship, eight hours after launch. Unfortunately for him, he's trapped on board at lift off and must wake the crew to convince them to send him back home. But with his additional weight added to the ship, they already begin going off course, and head directly into an asteroid field. Once this is corrected, the Robot becomes active and causes even more damage, making everyone... LOST... IN.... SPACE... SPACE... SPACE...!

Jonathan Harris, who played Smith, became bored with the character after a few episodes, so he decided to make him a bit more cowardly and foolish. Eventually, the Robot developed a personality, making many episodes a lot more family friendly. Of course, this helped cement their place in television history but... I liked the evil versions more.

So ends our education in television sci-fi history. And now, let's flash forward to 2018, when Netflix reboots...

*Obligatory reboot rant*
...Ugh. Just stop!

In fairness, I really have no problem rebooting this show. I think the original idea is still viable, and with just a few modern tweaks, it could be fantastic. Netflix has produced a lot of great shows (please watch Netflix original series, Altered Carbon, and Series of Unfortunate Events!!), so it's easy to see this being a huge success... if they do it right. And after binge-watching all ten episodes of the new Lost in Space, I have a lot of mixed feelings.

As with any reboot, I have to ask Hollywood producers, if you don't like the core concept, why are you doing a reboot??? 

I've also said, if you make changes, they should be good changes. And there are some good changes. But some incredibly unnecessary changes as well. It felt like there were three different mindsets working on this show. One group gets it. The other two don't.

The good news is, the tone of the show feels right. Often, reboots take a serious concept, and frustratingly try to make it a comedy (21 Jump Street, Starsky and Hutch, Land of the Lost etc). Of course there's also a concern of making it just dark and depressing (Fantastic Four 2015). Fortunately, Netflix gave Lost in Space the right balance between action, drama and a decent sense of humor. There is plenty of tension, but it's not so serious that it's afraid to make a silly comment occasionally.

I also really loved the cast! As a general rule, I hate kids (...get off my lawn!). And kid actors can be really annoying. But the Robinsons genuinely felt like a family. The chemistry between all the characters seemed authentic. There was plenty of love/hate moments and I could accept them as the super genius family, with all the issues that it entails.

Well... most of it I accepted. I'm not sure why they would choose to have the father estranged, and then join them on this mission. What was wrong with having a good family unit? Is it so impossible to believe? I'm not expecting their relationship to be perfect, but it's just an odd concept to grasp that he would suddenly rejoin the family on this mission.

And maybe I'm being nitpicky here, but every time I saw him, all I could think of was Stan Against Evil:

He did have some nice heroic and fatherly moments so I could overlook it... mostly.

"...But Deeesher, what about Major Don West??"
Oh I haven't forgotten him, but maybe the writers did. Originally, West was the good looking, ace pilot of the Jupiter 2. And once again well cast, but no longer a Major. Now he's just a smuggler with plenty of charisma and charm. He's basically Space Han Solo.

Which brings us finally to Dr. Smith and The Robot.

Well, the Robot is definitely scary, and Smith is once again evil. The relationship between Will and The Robot feels authentic, and even Smith is appropriately creepy, but that's where the similarities from the original series end. Without giving anything away, I'll just say the Robot is not their reprogrammed environmental robot, and Smith is definitely not a military doctor paid to sabotage the mission by an evil government agency.

Why the changes??? 

Of course the original series had plenty of silly stories that just would never work, so I do appreciate a few updates. But the changes they made are completely unnecessary.

And looking at it objectively, if I ignore the original story, they made a few other decisions in this series that I hated. For example:
- Stop showing us breadcrumbs scenes from the past and just give us linear storytelling please!
- Stop having dramatic reaction shots that quickly cut away before showing us what they're seeing!!
- Stop the unnecessary lens flares!!
- Stop putting modern music in our futuristic science fiction show!!!

*le sigh*
Despite those bits of stupidity, it is an enjoyable show. I think it will be successful, and I think people will like it. Maybe the purists will be frustrated, but if you keep an open mind, you can still appreciate a new, decent sci-fi series with elements of Lost in Space.

And yes, every time I saw one of those eye rolling writing decisions, a little voice inside my head said...

Deeesher

Another Spiderman Movie

%@&#! reboots. I hate them. I throw up in my mouth a bit every time I hear the word. Sure there are occasional happy surprises like the 1978 reboot of 1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or 2009's Friday the 13th, or the 1982 remake of the 1951 movie The Thing (and yes I am ignoring the 2011 reboot here). Even the Fright Night reboot was kind of okay. But sadly, 98% of the time, reboots are only a painful reminder of how stupid most movies of the 21st century are.

But wait... What if you reboot a successful movie franchise that started in the 21st century??? What an amazingly moronic idea! With that, Sony Pictures presents: The Amazing Spider-man! Not to be confused with Spider-man 2002.

Do I really need to tell anyone what this movie is about? It's another origin story. I'm pretty sure everyone in America from 8 to 80 could write an origin story for Spider-man. Radioactive spider bites friendly neighborhood nerd... Do the math. Then add Gwen Stacy and The Lizard.

As much as I loved the 2002 version, this 'reboot' wasn't bad. Sure it had it's flaws, and I would never call it 'Amazing', but it was one more decent superhero movie from a growing list of other enjoyable superhero movies.

Director Marc Webb, does a decent job, but I'll always wonder if he got the job because of his name. You might remember him from one of his other action movies like... um... Well okay, he had a romantic comedy (500 Days of Summer), that I heard was fairly successful. At times his action was the typical quick edits, and close-ups so you couldn't quite see what was going on, but not often enough to annoy. He does deserve a pat on the head for his efforts, but he's no Sam Raimi.

Now let's compare our Peters. Tobey Maguire (2002 Peter) vs Andrew Garfield (2012 Peter). This was a surprisingly close race in my mind. I've always liked Tobey's Peter, but I have to admit, I quickly accepted Garfield's Peter without a second thought. There were moments where I felt Garfield was a bit too cocky, but in the end, he fit nicely.

I was also quick to accept Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben. I was worried I would only see The Illusive Man from Mass Effect, but he was just as good for Peter as Cliff Robertson was in 2002.

Now let's talk about the not-so-amazing parts.

I love Emma Stone. I wouldn't say I'm stalker material yet, but I did consider it after seeing her in Zombieland. However, I couldn't see her as Gwen Stacy, 17 year old high school genius with an internship in a huge high tech facility who has access to every room in the building. But then, what do I know about 17 year old girls these days.

I also thought Doc Connors (aka The Lizard, aka actor Rhys Ifans) was a bit one dimensional. And as impressive as they made The Lizard, they should have made a bit more effort on his face. Is a lizard snout so difficult to animate???

Then we have Sally Field as Aunt May. This worked if you forget everything you know about Aunt May. But I think at this point in her career, Sally Field will always be Sally Field in anything she does. And Denis Leary was a fine Captain Stacy but nothing 'amazing' here either.

The biggest problem this movie suffers from, is retelling another origin story. We know where he came from! You told us a few years ago, and we remember cause you did it right!  If you forget everything you know about Spider-man from comics, or the 2002 version, it's not a bad story.  The things it did well were done very well, but Amazing Spider-man will never be Amazing like The Avengers, or Iron Man, or even 1978 Superman. I give it a pretty good, but I wonder how well tickets to The Pretty Good Spider-man would sell.

Now let's compare it to Electric Company Spider-man, Nicholas Hammond 1977 Spider-man, and of course, Japanese Spider-man!

Deeesher