Oblivion

        Let me start off by saying that I’m am going to have a lot of criticism of this film in my review, so i want to start off on a high note.  ‘Oblivion’ is a respectable and possibly impressive piece of science fiction.  It doesn’t rely on special effects or action sequences to propel the story, even though it has both in spades.  It is an intelligent story line with just the right amount of paradigm shifting twists and turns to make a satisfying science fiction story.  That being said, after all the spectacle of  this big budget star driven film, I walked away saying ‘meh’.

The film is beautifully made and slick, but it lacks a certain x-factor that would make this a film to remember.  In fact, most of the film felt borrowed from other films.  There were traces from classic films like 2001:A Space Odyssey and the Matrix.  In fact, I had some fun identifying themes borrowed from other films throughout the movie.  Despite the film’s intelligence, it felt cookie cutter and almost plastic in the skill it took to put it together.

It’s hard to give a synopsis of ‘Oblivion’ as most of the film involves challenging our understanding of the plot.  The premise as the movie opens involves life on Earth after a major war with an alien race.  Earth eventually won, but the planet was so damaged that the rest of the population was forced to migrate to Titan, a moon near Saturn.  Several clean up crews, consisting of a male-female couple, remain behind on Earth in a sky habitat to help with clean up and to kill stray ‘Scavs’ that still roam the earth.  Jack and his partner Victoria are one of those crews and they spend most of their days monitoring and maintaining power plants and the drones that guard them.

Despite the war scavenged world around them, Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) live an almost idyllic life in the clouds.  Their relationship is functional and even intimate, but one senses that something is slightly off, especially when Jack’s dreams are haunted by life before the war and people he can’t remember.  Their world is turned upside down when a capsule containing humans crash lands in the wastelands.  Jack is only able to save one of them, but that person is the woman who has been haunting Jack’s dreams.  When the woman, who has supposedly been in suspended animation for almost 70 years, recognizes Jack, Victoria and Jack begin to question their understanding of what they understood to be their existence.

Like I said, I can’t really elaborate or comment on the storyline beyond that.  I don’t dislike this film, but it reminds me of a highly detailed paint-by-numbers painting.  It’s impressive to look at, but will not leave a lasting impression, nor be considered a classic.  Good Saturday afternoon matinee for Sci-Fi fans.  It is nice to see an intelligent action film, but Tom Cruise has been losing his star power mojo over his last several films.  Hopefully he will regain it, but I think he is losing the ability to credibly lead action films.  He might need to start looking for different types of films to showcase his talents.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2391713561/

I give this film **stars

Trance

       ‘Trance’ is the latest effort by one of my favorite Directors, Danny Boyle.  Time and again, Danny is able to push the envelope with incredible film making.  Great plot lines enhanced by unique film techniques and intense, offbeat soundtracks all combine to make each of his films a unique artistic event.  I can’t say that this was one of his better films, but I must confess I was riveted from start to finish.  It's a fun, hip, retro heist movie.

James McAvoy plays Simon, a troubled London art dealer who falls in with a group of criminals led by Franck (played with european evil by Vincent Cassel).  Without giving away too much of the plot, Simon becomes involved in an art theft led by Franck’s gang.  During the heist, Simon suffers a blow to the head causing him to lose memory of what he did with the painting.  When neither torture nor intimidation succeed in affecting Simon’s ability to recall the painting’s location, Franck decides to enlist the aid of a hypnotist to help draw out the memory.

Enter Elizabeth (played by an enchanting Rosario Dawson).  Despite Simon’s reticence, Elizabeth discovers he is highly susceptible to being hypnotized and she immediately starts to suspect the depth of Simon’s problems.  She becomes involved with the gang in a way that seemed highly improbable at first, but as the story unfolds, you understand how perfectly she fits into the group. Rosario Dawson was the highlight of this film for me.  I’ve never been a big fan of her as an artist, but here, not only was her beauty startling, but her ability to keep us guessing on how she fit into the whole scheme of this film was impressive.

The highest compliment I can pay this film is that it is stylish and hip.  Danny Boyle never fails to draw the audience into his vision.  The film jumps back and forth chronologically and even in between fantasy and reality.  Just when one believes they understand what is going on, another twist is thrown in that completely alters the paradigm of the film.  The final sequence pulls all the parts together in a fluid if not satisfying way.

Say what you want about the film, Danny Boyle continues to impress with his ability to create unique visions and stories.  I will see any film he makes even if I don’t think each one is a masterpiece.  They are each a unique creation of art and I continue to be impressed.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3196102169/