Today's Mini-Review: Day the World Ended

Rating: ***/*****, or 7/10

Starring: Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Mike Connors

Directed by Roger Corman

USA: Golden State Productions, 1955

Truth is, few of the films from Roger Corman's early days of directing schlock movies for a dime are 'good' in the usual sense of the word. In fact, most (if not all) of them are cheap exploitation quickies shot for next to nothing so they could do nothing but make a profit in drive-in theaters screaming for content to cater to teenage love birds more interested in each other in the dark than in the goings-on present on the big screen in front of them. Flicks like The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), Swamp Women (1956) and It Conquered the World (1956) nowadays are interesting only to geeks revelling in bad taste or film students exploring the fringes of acceptable study material. Still, the occasional sort-of decent film can be found among Corman's early work for those with enough patience and the stomach for digesting campy creature features from the Fifties. Day the World Ended I count among these very few.

Stories about man's inability to coexist in peace with his fellows, even when such cooperation would be to both parties' mutual advantage in the struggle for basic survival, have often resulted in fascinating pieces of audiovisual excitement studying the human condition and continue to do so to this day even when you thought little more could be added to the subject, except for different, usually interchangeable threats. You think people watch popular shows like The Walking Dead only for the excessive gore and neat-o zombie make-up? Think again: they watch it for the gripping human drama involved in living together under extreme circumstances. Corman applied the same formula to this post-apocalyptic tale of tragedy almost sixty years ago, as he tells the story of a small band of survivors who seek refuge in the same remote mountain location when the bombs finally fall, a typical fear of the Fifties where such an occurrence never seemed so unlikely. Among those that would live are a survivalist, his pretty daughter, a geologist, a loudmouth crook, his slutty girlfriend and a man with a terrible secret. Of course tension quickly mounts between these disparate people over the usual things, like who's in charge, who rations the food and who ends up dating the daughter. Most of the film consists of people arguing, but fortunately the movie only lasts 79 minutes and the man with a secret mutates into a horrifying monster (read: guy in a silly suit) to spice things up a bit. Corman proves quite adept in suspensefully paving the way for the creature's first appearance between all the petty bickering. And even though you know the actual monster isn't gonna succeed in living up to this buildup to his rampage, if you know and accept what type of movie you're watching before you start, you might be able to get a kick out of this film regardless of the total lack of production values, even if only for laughs (who ever said Corman made serious movies anyway?). Aficionados of Fifties' Sci-Fi films will also be grateful to see Richard Denning star as the handsome scientist and noble man of action, as the actor is almost a staple of the science fiction films of this era, starring in genre pieces like the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and less well remembered pictures like The Black Scorpion (1957) and Target Earth (1954).

The dystopian themes of Day the World Ended, effectively underscoring that man is his own worst enemy (hardly a novel notion in 1955 to begin with), have since been addressed in other films and television ad infinitum (compare various episodes of the different Twilight Zone series, as well as recent films like The Divide and The Mist for example) yet continue to fascinate and appeal to people, who cannot help but wonder if this was really what it came down to when the world went to hell. Corman crafts a fairly entertaining film out of the subject matter, which remains one of his best, though that is hardly saying something. Though I wouldn't exactly recommend this type of film to anyone, I can honestly say that if you ever fell the need to go sit and watch an obvious cashgrab B-movie from a master in creating such fare the likes of Corman, it might as well be this one. You could do far worse and really, really waste your time.

Today's Mini-Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (remake)

Rating: **/*****, or 4/10

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jadem Smith

Directed by Scott Derrickson

USA: 20^th Century-Fox, 2008

The thing about remakes is they need to retell a story of old (or at least apply its general concepts) while giving it meaning that reflects contemporary society, instead of carbon-copying the meaning of their original counterpart to little avail in a changed world. In that regard, the remake of the Sci-Fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) is spot-on, replacing a warning against the dangers of nuclear weapons for an ecological message against man's carelessness where the health of the world's environment, and thus his own, is concerned. In most other respects, this new The Day the Earth Stood Still feels like a redundant exercise in how not to redo a well remembered movie.

Like its predecessor from the Fifties, the film revolves around an extraterrestrial visitor, with a giant robot in tow, who is met with hostility and fear on our planet. Darker and grittier than the original, there is good cause to treat the stranger (an aptly emotionless (as always) Keanu Reeves) with aggressive caution, as he's not here delivering an ultimatum telling us to change our ways for the better, but has instead come to eradicate the human infestation from the face of the galaxy in an attempt to save all other life forms spawned by Mother Earth. Life, he says, is rare in the vast limitless of space and therefore a precious thing, but life endangering all other life must be swiftly dealt with: the ends clearly justify the means. Arriving in a sphere (as opposed to a saucer, like before) the alien called Klaatu has come not as a Christ figure like in the original film, but as an Anti-Christ, hellbent on unleashing his own weapon of mass destruction upon our not so innocent world. Said weapon proves to be his artificial companion Gort, who appears to be a metallic giant in humanoid shape, but actually consists of huge numbers of nanites capable of devouring everything they come into contact with. Thankfully humanity has its on secret weapons to combat Klaatu's convictions, namely a smart and strong female scientist (played by Jennifer Connelly) who manages to dissuade the alien from his destructive plans, backed up by the effective reasoning of an aged professor (John Cleese) who morally convinces him humanity must be allowed to make its own choices in the natural process of its evolution. Even though Klaatu's frozen heart is thawed and his role is turned around a full 180 degrees so Keanu can once again play the Messiah (e.g., The Matrix trilogy and Constantine), his original point is amply illustrated as the military tampers with his devices in a botched attempt to destroy them, only unleashing their horrors as nanites swarm the land and the FX department is given the opportunity to go all-out so as to obscure the fact this version of The Day the Earth Stood Still hardly proves as emotionally compelling as its forebear did.

Aside from an update in themes and special effects, this remake offers little improvement over its predecessor. Religious overtones are obviously still to be found: aside from Klaatu's messianistic role, there is the notion of 'space arks' for example, small spheres evacuating all animal species off-world before being engulfed by a sea of nanites. The movie walks a fine line between being too obvious and too subtle, but the representation of religion is the least of its problems. This new The Day the Earth Stood Still has a hard time convincing the spectator that an alien intelligence can so easily be persuaded to alter its agenda, which from the start felt so ruthlessly unalterable thanks to Reeves' emotionless portrayal. What's worse, his turnaround is accomplished through interaction with the scientist and her kid, a terribly obnoxious and ungrateful little brat (Jaden Smith, ofcourse), the latter more often given the audience the impression Klaatu was right from the start and humanity really is a plague better wiped out for the universe's sake, than making it easy for us to accept the otherworldly being is starting to appreciate contact with mankind and suddenly considers humans worth saving after all. The talents of both Connelly and Cleese remain underused in favor of this irritating child character, while it's they who deliver the truly valid arguments as to why humanity is just not so black and white as Klaatu feared. Meanwhile, being a big winter release, the current The Day the Earth Stood Still all too eagerly uses the tools at its disposal thank to the wonders of digital technology by adding many a bombastic scene of computer generated imagery fighting soldiers, reducing the film to the level of the average type of big FX driven action flick, instead of ending up as a smart and sensible science fiction drama like the far superior 1951 incarnation. Nowhere does this film feature either the intellectual impact or the trend setting production design the original was blessed with. Instead, its eco-message is delivered in a bland and forgetful new groove, the impression the film leaves as tiny as the nanites it showcases.

A retooling of the original film where the phrase 'nuclear weapons' would simply have been substituted with 'global pollution' would probably have made for a more agreeable and certainly cheaper way to update that film for today's public, as the 2008 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still adequately illustrates that changing the message to fit the times while throwing huge sums of money at the project to give it that slick blockbuster feel coupled with ignoring the character aspects that ought to make us care doesn't make for a good film, let alone for an effective means to convince the audience of the value of the themes addressed.

And Happy Birthday, Sis!!

Today's News: Walker may be dead but F&F lives on

Some more news from everybody's favorite Dutch movie news site, posted by myself:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/152815/lot_paul_walker_in_fast_and_furious_7_bekend_gemaakt

Let's face it: if one of your lead actors dies in real life, you can't just kill his character off too in the movie he plays in because that might feel a tad disrespectful of and ungrateful to all his contributions. Paul Walker starred in all but one of the Fast & Furious flicks, the same amount as the other franchise protagonist Vin Diesel, so he surely deserves better, especially in the eyes of the fanbase. Cutting him out was never an option either; the footage he had already shot needed to be used to ensure the project didn't lose face. It seems the writers/producers/director thus optioned for the only way open to them that would honour both Walker's memory, please the fans and keep the story going without losing credibility. And so Walker's character will retire from his current life of fast cars, gorgeous dames and high speed robberies. He deserves it after surviving no less than five of these films, wouldn't you agree? The question now is whether the material of Walker shot so far will accomodate this change in scripting, as both his character and the plot of the film itself are taken in a new direction nobody would have foreseen (or do you think they have a list of back-up plans in case of emergencies like these?). I wouldn't be surprised if relatively little of Walker's scenes get through the cutting room unscathed and I don't think his character as a result will feature that much screen time at all to be honest. Unless they create a digital version of Walker to bridge the gaps. Why not after all: if they did it with Oliver Reed in Gladiator 15 years ago, they should be able to pull the same thing off now.

Walker's death makes you sit and think how much depends on the good health of the main cast and the difficulties presented by the departure - especially from life - of one of them to everybody else involved in the making of a movie. Studios lose a lot of time and money over such tragedy, as everything done for the film so far comes to a full stop, while much of what was shot ends up being either a bitch to craft into a new smooth and intelligible whole, or worse, just totally worthless. In the case of an original movie recasting would be in order, but not so where a hugely successful franchise is concerned, since the audience knows and loves these characters and will take umbrage when one of them is brisquely set aside without a decent explanation or respectable final aria. So naturally Universal is walking a thin line here, as people still couldn't get enough of F&F even after six films (to each his own, though I myself was also pleasantly surprised by the energetic vigour of the fifth film), and Walker is partially responsible for said box office triumphs. Thankfully for those fans, Fast and Furious 7 is swiftly regrouping, and future installments in this cycle of fast paced action flicks are still a work in progress. After all, that other leading man Vin Diesel is far from dead yet. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Universal execs hid his sports car and encouraged him to take trains to work for the next few years.


Speaking of life and death, I survived yet another Christmas break at work. Just so you know.

Today's News: Guardians assemble!

Another Marvel goodie I posted on MovieScene:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/152772/eerste_foto_guardians_of_the_galaxy

The more I hear about this project, the more I like it. And this is the first actual shot from Guardians of the Galaxy I've seen now, as opposed to merely drooling over concept art so far (heck, I hardly even know these characters from the comics!). Looks like an eclectic, diverse band of people/vegetables/animals, guaranteed to provide for intriguing interspecies interactions and snappy interstellar repartee. Granted, there is a talking raccoon in there - already the most controversial character of the bunch - but stranger things have happened in the Marvel Universe to good results. I fully trust director James Gunn, known for his outrageous humour and subversive tone (e.g. Slither and Super, if you can stand high levels of gore and trippy shenanigans), with this fascinating property, definitely the true oddball of the cinematic Marvel movies so far. It ought to be, as it explores a whole new part of the Marvelverse hardly touched upon up until now in the movies: the Cosmic corner. Considering all the wild intergalactic ploys, mind-expanding abstract entities and super-supervillains with unimaginably diabolical schemes and egos to match, it's a tough act to do justice. But at least the first picture looks right, as did the teaser scene at the close of Thor: The Dark World. I guess the thing most on Marvelites' minds right now is not whether Gunn will succeed in making this a neat-o space opera, but why he decided to give Drax the Destroyer (second character from the right) a red tan instead of a green one. Maybe the producers figured two green-skinned aliens in the same team would confuse the poor audience's little brains. After all, one of them is a slender, sexy woman and the other a broad-shouldered, overly muscular tall guy, so they look very much alike, both being humanoids and such. We won't have such difficulties identifying that darn raccoon. Or the tree fella, who can only say his name.

Today's Mini-Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

 

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe

Directed by Robert Wise

USA: 20^th Century-Fox, 1951

Arguably considered one of the greatest classics in the science fiction genre (and therefore already marred by one lousy, needless remake), this movie was an early entry into the canon of Fifties' Sci-Fi flicks (the decade in which this genre finally came into its own, thanks to the contribution of numerous social factors, including the space race, the birth of the Atomic Age and the UFO craze), but remains one of the most wonderfully constructed and emotionally compelling examples of the bunch. It first and foremost serves as a warning against mass anxiety (e.g., the Red Scare), baseless fear of the unknown and prejudice against those that don't conform to the limited dominant social norms, but does so without ever getting overly preachy, despite its fair share of religious overtones, some subtle, others less so (an alien under the guise of a 'Mr. Carpenter' who sacrifices himself for our sins? Right...). A gripping narrative guides the modern viewer through this fabulous tale of Fifties' 'Zeitgeist' notions, delivered in the form of true spaceman suspense.

When a flying saucer lands in the middle of Washington D.C., the population of Earth swiftly shudders to think of the ramifications. Is it foreboding an alien invasion? Does it carry unspeakable weapons to eradicate mankind? Is it a Russian ruse? It soon appears none of these, but simply a benign gesture of goodwill from the interstellar community, as heralded by the sole occupant of the spacecraft, an apparently humanoid figure named Klaatu (a formidable Michael Rennie). Despite his good intentions, he's accidentally gunned down and rushed to a hospital for both his recovery and medical study paired with the expected military scrutiny. Nevertheless, not before he shows a taste of the superhuman strength his technology has achieved, in the form of a hugely intimidating, unfathomable giant robot called Gort, who efficiently deals with the human weaponry and afterwards guards his vessel in his absence (and has death rays coming out of his eyes!), seemingly controlled by simple unintelligible words like 'Klaatu Barada Nikto'. Klaatu, soon fed up with the endless questioning, escapes his captors and soon settles quietly in a boarding house to explore the human society, its hopes and dreams, its fears and folly. Though he enjoys the company of a free-spirited woman and her son, he generally does not like what he finds, as us humans prove mischievous and suspicious, a danger to our own and possibly other worlds as well. The only voice of reason comes from the expansive and accepting mind of the scientific community, but will it be enough to allow mankind to exist further? Or does he need Gort to wreak havoc on this backward little planet driven by petty bickering? As he finds himself increasingly hunted by government agents, it seems only a demonstration of extraterrestrial power will suffice to get humanity in line. And thus he moves to the act of making the Earth stand still (just not as literally as many people would have it from the title), a show of force that will cost him everything.

The Day the Earth Stood Still tells the classic tale of the outsider looking in on ourselves, to investigate the human condition (if there ever was a time to do so, it was the Fifties!). Thanks to his charming British gentleman persona, Rennie proves the perfect choice for portraying the sympathetic alien being who feels both joyful surprise and disgust at the hands of human behavior. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Klaatu wants to believe in the good nature of mankind, as he is ultimately willing to make that greatest of sacrifices to both protect it and remind it there are greater powers than its own out there, thus completing the connotations to the typical Christ figure this movie is laced with, without ever going so far as to alienate spectators beholden to other religious beliefs (or none at all). Rennie is joined by a solid supporting cast to play off against, including Patricia Neal as a caring and understanding young woman who accepts, and even embraces, the unknown for the wonders it brings, as well as Sam Jaffe as the old scientist who shows humanity's capacity to listen to reason instead of only responding to fear and terror. Excellent writing and performances are joined by a fantastic score (courtesy of the legendary Bernard Herrmann) and wonderful production design that nowadays could only be described as thoroughly retro to the ears and eyes of the contemporary viewer, thanks to this movie's own part in setting the trend of sleek flying saucers and shiny robots, accompanied by the spooky, otherworldly humming of theremins, for decades to come. Some question marks can be placed around Klaatu's own government, an interplanetary community guarded by powerful robots like Gort as its inexorable law enforcers, not motivated by personal gain or spoiled by the flaws of emotion. It's ironic that The Day the Earth Stood Still provides this notion as a possible answer to all our problems, while many Sci-Fi classics to follow – the likes of Colossus: The Forbin Project and I, Robot – instead warned us against the cold, relentless rule by technology, in favor of letting our emotions guide us for the greater good. Apparently in this dark decade, every method of dissuading mankind to have at itself with atomic bombs was worth exploring.

The Day the Earth Stood Still still stands strong as one of the finest science fiction films of all time, and inspired many directors to follow to craft equally thoughtful and engaged movies in the same genre. Not to mention many a nerd in naming a blog after the film's ingenious title. 'Klaatu Barada Nikto', the exact meaning of the phrase ever a mystery, naturally became a popular mantra among Sci-Fi aficionados.

 

Today's News: capping some Winter Soldier images

Happy New Year everybody!

Opening my blog in 2014 is this little bit of news regarding the new Captain America movie I posted on MS earlier this week:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/152734/nieuwe_beelden_captain_america_the_winter_soldier

Nothing major (well, sorry!), but then, there's very little news, even minor, this time of year, because studios figure people are out celebrating the New Year in all the usual ways, like blowing up their own fingers (something I didn't do) or beating their parents with Scrabble (which I did do!). But the Hollywood hype machine never sleeps, never takes a break and never wastes time and money with fireworks and simple family pleasantries when there's blockbuster movies that need promoting. Since The Amazing Spider-Man 2 produced itself a little New Year's Eve premium clip to entice audiences, the true Marvel Studios wanted people to know they're still in the game too and released some new stills for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which will hit theaters a few weeks prior to Spidey's latest. Ironically, it's not these pics they leaked, which instead were debuted in the latest issue of the renowned Empire magazine and as such are over a week old by now. The actual new imagery was revealed only a few hours after I posted these, but by then I was too busy scoring points with words the likes of 'ruft', 'hyena' and 'haremrok' to care. Good times!

As for Cap 2, that movie is looking good me thinks. I don't really need this rather bland quartet of pictures to remind me of that. Though the bad guy increasingly looks the type of fellow endowed with ample 'mean-bottomness', which is never a bad thing

Today's Column: just a taste of what cinema employees have to suffer through while everybody else is having fun

 2013's final column on MovieScene is now a fact:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/152676/column_kerst_de_bioscoop_en_menselijk_leed

Words alone cannot adequately express the chaos the Holidays cause in movie theaters, but I decided to give it a try anyway. The picture you see in this column, which is not one I shot myself (no cosy blue chairs in my theater!), reveals only a tame glimpse of the mess we have to clean up in over fourty theater rooms each day, but the thought behind it should be clear: people are having a ball, and they care not what happens to their stuff when the lights go on again. Of course we know what we get ourselves into and this is our job so we ought not complain about it too much, but the levels of utter disregard in terms of cleaning up one's own garbage, the sheer disinterest in and disrepect for the theater employees and the total decadence the Christmas vacation inspires in popcorn sales remain ever staggering. Even though my company apparently has reached record levels of attendance (again!) last Friday, this year is no 2009-2010, when we had Avatar to survive. One thing is for sure: as popular as The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug may be, it won't keep audiences coming for another three months on end like that movie did back then. Good thing too, since the last thing the global environment needs is another 'Afvaltar'...

Only had to clean up puke twice this week. That's good news, believe it or not. Now for the second week. If you think that one's easier, think again.
Oh well, wouldn't want to end the year on a note of despair, so here's a funny picture: