As long as we understand each other...
The Official "Oblivion" Review Thread
- Thread starter Tulin
- Start date
As long as we understand each other...
Finally got to watch this tonight. Not sure about the ending with the lady having Jacks baby. Guess that one night got her knocked up.
And which Jack was talking over that part at the end?
Also isn't it shocking how that lifepod just happened to fall to earth at the right time.
Good movie though.
And which Jack was talking over that part at the end?
Also isn't it shocking how that lifepod just happened to fall to earth at the right time.
Good movie though.
It didn't just happen. It was deliberately triggered by the surviving humans with that signal they sent into space.
It was set up for Jack to find.
Sadly remiss...
I just realized with all the STID, MOS, Pacific Rim talk, I totally forgot to talk about Oblivion...
I thought it was a terrific movie, purposefully a homage to 70s movies about post-apocalypse with the futuristic aesthetics and twist ending. I honestly don't know why the reviews weren't better though they weren't terrible. My first thought is that it simply got lost (as with myself) in the blockbuster summer movie season, because this really was a quiet, thoughtful movie and of interest to sci-fi fans who have been around for a while. I really like these types of movies to break up the monotony.
Joseph Kosinski is quickly becoming a favorite director of mine. I just like how he creates an atmosphere with music, architecture, and scenery. I'm looking forward to Black Hole, a movie remake sure to be better than the original.
What I liked: The production design. While ostensibly retro, the movie still looks like a lot of designs we have for the future now.
The acting: No flaws here, the performances were a strong point, Cruise gives one of his more memorable recent performances, where he starts out used to the status quo and becomes more gradually involved and emotional. It works perfectly with the theme of a clone working within a mold and then has broken out of it.
The themes: I like movies that tell us we are not our memories or our past but we do in the present that's important. People can change, they always do.
Plot: Not sure why everyone seemed down on this, it wasn't thin at all. While I KNEW things were not as they seemed, it never occured to me the aliens were the ones playing the charade, I thought it was an internal Earthly fabrication, or government/corporate plot.
The twist ending for me was not only that Tet was alien, but that these aliens didn't have to do much actual invading and violence, they basically took it over with natural disasters and passive control with clones and drones and a little trickery. While I've seen that story in books, I don't think we've seen anything quite so large scale in a movie. I do recall some covert control in They Live, and Dark City for example, but those were totally different types of movies.
The Singularity: AI: Without hitting us over the head, this movie was ripped out of the headlines despite being set in the future. Firstly the media blurb from Stephen Hawking that aliens might only be scavengers (only existing in space also, not planet-bound), seeking resources only (which I really don't agree with), and also the Singularity, were the aliens might well be machines. In both cases, they are indifferent to us, not malevolent, and that was my sense in Oblivion.
I'm giving it an A, one of the top sci-fi movies of recent years, and one of the purest.
PS It comes out on Bluray Tuesday!!
PPS The movie didn't do too badly..$120 million budget, $286 million gross.
RAMA
I just realized with all the STID, MOS, Pacific Rim talk, I totally forgot to talk about Oblivion...
I thought it was a terrific movie, purposefully a homage to 70s movies about post-apocalypse with the futuristic aesthetics and twist ending. I honestly don't know why the reviews weren't better though they weren't terrible. My first thought is that it simply got lost (as with myself) in the blockbuster summer movie season, because this really was a quiet, thoughtful movie and of interest to sci-fi fans who have been around for a while. I really like these types of movies to break up the monotony.
Joseph Kosinski is quickly becoming a favorite director of mine. I just like how he creates an atmosphere with music, architecture, and scenery. I'm looking forward to Black Hole, a movie remake sure to be better than the original.
What I liked: The production design. While ostensibly retro, the movie still looks like a lot of designs we have for the future now.
The acting: No flaws here, the performances were a strong point, Cruise gives one of his more memorable recent performances, where he starts out used to the status quo and becomes more gradually involved and emotional. It works perfectly with the theme of a clone working within a mold and then has broken out of it.
The themes: I like movies that tell us we are not our memories or our past but we do in the present that's important. People can change, they always do.
Plot: Not sure why everyone seemed down on this, it wasn't thin at all. While I KNEW things were not as they seemed, it never occured to me the aliens were the ones playing the charade, I thought it was an internal Earthly fabrication, or government/corporate plot.
The twist ending for me was not only that Tet was alien, but that these aliens didn't have to do much actual invading and violence, they basically took it over with natural disasters and passive control with clones and drones and a little trickery. While I've seen that story in books, I don't think we've seen anything quite so large scale in a movie. I do recall some covert control in They Live, and Dark City for example, but those were totally different types of movies.
The Singularity: AI: Without hitting us over the head, this movie was ripped out of the headlines despite being set in the future. Firstly the media blurb from Stephen Hawking that aliens might only be scavengers (only existing in space also, not planet-bound), seeking resources only (which I really don't agree with), and also the Singularity, were the aliens might well be machines. In both cases, they are indifferent to us, not malevolent, and that was my sense in Oblivion.
I'm giving it an A, one of the top sci-fi movies of recent years, and one of the purest.
PS It comes out on Bluray Tuesday!!
PPS The movie didn't do too badly..$120 million budget, $286 million gross.
RAMA
Caught this on Blu Ray and was quite pleasantly surprised. I see many here have already mentioned the 70s sci fi vibe with a bit of Silent Running and Solaris(ish). This was more thoughtful than I had expected and wrapped in an absolutely beautiful shell visually speaking. Some terrific action scenes as well which I've been missing; seems lately it's all CG flash but no pacing, blocking and choreography.
I'm suddenly more interested in that remake than a couple of hours ago.
I'm suddenly more interested in that remake than a couple of hours ago.
Wow, finally saw this, and it was a whole lot better than I was expecting. The trailers made it look like just another generic scifi action flick, but it was actually a bit more interesting and sophisticated than that.
Yeah there were a lot of familiar story elements (which seems to be almost unavoidable at this point in scifi), but the story was well executed and well acted enough that it never really bothered me. And the really elegant style and direction did a great job fusing all those elements into something that still felt like it's own thing as well.
And while I can't say I was totally surprised by the clone thing, the fact they were being created and used by the alien invaders did kind of throw me. I thought the movie did a great job putting you inside his head and understanding his confusion over the whole thing.
Although I can't help but wonder now how many other Jacks are wandering around on Earth now. Considering there were so many thousands being grown in the ship, I have to think there were more than just two down on the planet. So will they ALL have the same awakening and seek out the wife at some point? That could make things kinda awkward. Lol
Yeah there were a lot of familiar story elements (which seems to be almost unavoidable at this point in scifi), but the story was well executed and well acted enough that it never really bothered me. And the really elegant style and direction did a great job fusing all those elements into something that still felt like it's own thing as well.
And while I can't say I was totally surprised by the clone thing, the fact they were being created and used by the alien invaders did kind of throw me. I thought the movie did a great job putting you inside his head and understanding his confusion over the whole thing.
Although I can't help but wonder now how many other Jacks are wandering around on Earth now. Considering there were so many thousands being grown in the ship, I have to think there were more than just two down on the planet. So will they ALL have the same awakening and seek out the wife at some point? That could make things kinda awkward. Lol
Have you seen the Youtube videos for the How XXXX Should Have Ended? SPOILERS, of course http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rf5QwVAAxg
I'd have to watch it again as this might not be right but I figured all the Jacks probably had their own hidden cabins but only the one had met the other which is why he sought the other one's cabin instead of his own (if that makes any sense) so there wouldn't necessarily be a bunch showing up.
I liked it.. it's no 2001 or Star Wars but it is a solid movie with a nice twist (if you ignore some plot/logic holes but you have to do that with pretty much most movies these days).
I absolutely loved the production design.. the insect shaped flyer, the combat drones and their living quarters were awesome to look at.
What really impressed me was the idea of taking a bunch of cameras up a mountain and have them film the surroundings 24/7. Then they used the material as the background for their skyhouse and only the light emanating from the screens as the lighting for the scenes. Brilliant idea and a great effect.
The twist was cool once you got the big picture and i liked how one dimensional the alien AI was when it took memories and reintegrated them into its routine for the mop up crew it used to operate/maintain the machines.
It'll not become a classic but it is still a watchable movie.
I absolutely loved the production design.. the insect shaped flyer, the combat drones and their living quarters were awesome to look at.
What really impressed me was the idea of taking a bunch of cameras up a mountain and have them film the surroundings 24/7. Then they used the material as the background for their skyhouse and only the light emanating from the screens as the lighting for the scenes. Brilliant idea and a great effect.
The twist was cool once you got the big picture and i liked how one dimensional the alien AI was when it took memories and reintegrated them into its routine for the mop up crew it used to operate/maintain the machines.
It'll not become a classic but it is still a watchable movie.
Actually it was probably only because the other Jack saw his wife that he decided to seek her out later on. The other Jacks never encountered her so probably wouldn't have felt the need.
Yeah I was surprised to read that the entire scenic backdrop around the house was projected, and not a CG effect. Must have been an amazing set to be on.
That's how I took it as well. Only that Jack had met "another" and even knew that the woman in his dreams was real so only he sought out the cabin.
Don't bet on it, it's every bit as good if not better than supposedly "classic": movies such as Omega Man, Soylent Green, Rollerball, Logan's Run, etc.
Pass some of what you're smoking over here.
It's a good movie but I doubt it, or anything made in our life time, will be a classic. Give it a few more months and the movie will be forgotten, if it hasn't been already.
I really enjoyed it, good visuals, good story, good cast, but there's nothing remotely remarkable about on a technical or story-telling level.
Actually none of the movies I named are half as good as Oblivion.
...and yes, in today's movie landscape and multimedia blitz, movies get lost quickly, but that doesn't mean they won't be remembered or aren't "classics" to be.
RAMA
Yeah, people will always remember the "Soylent green is people!!!!" that's just one of those cultural things that's built into human DNA now.
I doubt, "No... we are NOT an effective team!" will quite have the same cultural impact.
Again, good well-made movie but I highly doubt it'll ever be regarded as a classic. This week it's on the new-releases shelf a year from now it's in the bargain bin for $3.00 and people going, "Huh... I heard good things about that."
It'll never be the classic that so many other movies are.
I doubt, "No... we are NOT an effective team!" will quite have the same cultural impact.
Again, good well-made movie but I highly doubt it'll ever be regarded as a classic. This week it's on the new-releases shelf a year from now it's in the bargain bin for $3.00 and people going, "Huh... I heard good things about that."
It'll never be the classic that so many other movies are.
All those movies are in the bargain bin, Hell, even Titanic and Lawrence of Arabia are, that's the nature of the industry. People will be saying nice things about Oblivion 20 years from now, I guarantee it.
RAMA
"Soylent Green is people!" is a punch line. Even Cloud Atlas cited it as a comic touch, even if it also used it for foreshadowing.
The movie is very much a love story with some problems in its female characters. Much worse, the hero doesn't exactly win his lady love. I think in the long run the romance audience will find those too aspects too off-putting. But the SF audience will find the romance too icky. In the end, the movie violates the maxim that you give the audience more of what it liked before.
The movie is very much a love story with some problems in its female characters. Much worse, the hero doesn't exactly win his lady love. I think in the long run the romance audience will find those too aspects too off-putting. But the SF audience will find the romance too icky. In the end, the movie violates the maxim that you give the audience more of what it liked before.