“Zardoz” (1974) [R]

     While “Zardoz” is an entertaining tale, it’s all too clearly a film of the seventies because of its odd cinematography and way of storytelling. It has beautiful scenery and sets like none other; it also has a wardrobe with styles and colors that could only be a product of the seventies. This movie’s best quality—one which only a smaller percent of pictures carry—is that it poses many great questions about both society and religion. However, the way in which the story is told can somewhat confuse some of the audience at times.

     The exterior scenes in this film are stunningly done, showing landscapes of grass and rolling hills, along with a few of the scenes set in eye-catching forests. These scenes draw the audience in with such beauty, but can occasionally cause the viewers to forget what’s really going on in the story. There are times when watching the outdoor sections that it will seem like watching a Fantasy tale instead of a Sci-fi story. The sets on the indoor scenes are amazing, especially for the time it was made. They were perfect illustrations for they utopian town where Sean Connery’s character ends up for most of the movie.

     Nonetheless, scenery and good landscapes alone don’t make good movies. In “Zardoz,” the wardrobe chosen for the actors was nothing short of diverse. There are three different groups in this film: the Eternals, who live eternally in a utopia called Vortex; the Brutals, who are uncivilized and are told by their god that when they die they will go to Vortex to be with the Immortals; and then there are the Exterminator-class Brutals who fight and kill other Brutals in war. The Brutals’ costumes seem like cavemen-style hides, and the Eternals’ wardrobe consists of futuristic gowns and shirts. Although the Eternals’ costumes do look futuristic, their colors are too much like the colors regularly worn in the seventies, therefore losing the sense of a futuristic movie.

     Of all the entertainment that comes from this film, the best of it all is how “Zardoz” raises questions about many things. It is a question of religion, showing a sort of false religion that is exposed for what it really is. It also brings up many questions of society, defying the norm by setting the Exterminator-class Brutal played by Sean Connery into the utopia of the Eternal’s civilization. With all of its controversial inquisitions, this movie seems more like a “thought” movie mixed in with an Action/Sci-fi tale. It’s an entertaining show; however the way in which the story itself is presented can confuse some of the audience. There are times when the movie cuts to another scene, and at first some viewers won’t understand what’s happening until they catch a certain part of dialogue, or see exactly where the characters are. All in all, it’s worth at least giving it a chance.

     My overall rating: 3 out of 5

“Space Cowboys” (2000) [PG-13]

     Produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, this is one of many other astronaut films that came out around the turn of the century, “Space Cowboys” is one of the most entertaining. Starring Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner, “Space Cowboys” was a new turn on the idea of the astronaut movie at the time. Everyone in this film, not only the stars, gave moving performances, and there was a new dramatic side to the story with the comical rivalry between Eastwood and Jones’s characters. This brought a new angle on space pictures in general with its entertaining story, however it wasn’t the first movie with the basic premise of retired men having to get out of retirement and conquer old age for an exciting mission

     It’s not every time that a motion picture comes out and every actor in it gives an incredible performance. However, this film is one exception. Every actor was believable, even those who didn’t have an important role. From start to finish, the audience will feel as if they are actually a part of the story. The mesmerizing performances and effort given by all of the actors, not just those with starring roles, will cause the audience to forget they’re actually watching a movie.

     Throughout this film, there’s a sort of fun sibling rivalry between Eastwood’s and Jones’s characters. It’s like their way of showing happiness in their friendship is to bicker about insignificant things. At first, to the audience, it may seem that they are bitter enemies; however, as the movie progresses, it becomes very clear that it’s only their way of laughing with each other. The conflict is a more dramatic approach than other shows of this kind. This is all simply part of the bigger picture which is the exciting story.

     Written by Ken Kaufman and Howard Klausner, the screenplay for “Space Cowboys” wasn’t the most groundbreaking story so far, although it was entertaining. It molded two different types of stories which have been done before into a whole new tale. They took the ideas of astronauts going into space to fix a satellite and retired men having to get out of retirement and train to do an exciting mission, and it actually worked. Looking at the script by itself most people would probably have thought that it was a gamble to make a film out of it, but Eastwood liked the idea and turned a gamble into a blockbuster. The only drawback, if there is any at all, is that the basic idea of the tale isn’t really anything new or groundbreaking; however this is one of the most entertaining space movies out there.

          My overall rating 3.5 out of 5

“Pandorum” (2009) [R]

     “Pandorum” is certainly the best sci-fi/action/thriller I’ve seen this far. It takes an already known story and turns it on end. This film is packed with action and horror—both physical and psychological—will change the way any viewer watches sci-fi movies. Filmed with an amazing futuristic cinematography style, the only bad thing about this movie is that it can get old after several viewings.

     The story for this film takes a basic principle is that of being lost in space in a broken ship with no contact to the outside. The familiar story is turned on its head by giving the characters amnesia at the beginning, from which they slowly recover throughout the movie and little by little discover the truth to the reasons for their journey. This action sci-fi turns the genre itself over by making it a psychological thriller.

     Full of incredible action, this movie doesn’t miss a beat. Dennis Quaid did such a good job on this film, he proves once again that he can play any character and make it believable. The action never stops; fast and heart-pumping, it pulls viewers into the world of the movie. In combination with the Dennis Quaid’s incredible performance and psychological horrors of this movie, the action gets the viewers as close to the fright the characters experience as possible. Not a minute of this movie isn’t scary-good.

     In addition to the story and the action, the visual effects are so great, not a scene goes by without some interesting visual special effect. Even the cinematography itself seems to be one big effect. The way it was filmed simply adds to the futuristic impression given through the whole movie. The single thing wrong with this movie is that the viewers will know what happens after the first couple viewings and the story can get old after several viewings.

          My overall rating: 4 out of 5

"Gamer" (2009) [R]

     For viewers who enjoy “surrogate” and “fight-the-system” movies, “Gamer” is the one to watch. It keeps viewers’ attention by changing the style at nearly every turn. .The film, along with Gerard Butler’s performance, gives an incredible depiction of video games made real. The overall story was good, but has been done many times before. It is, however a grabbing restatement of “fight-the-system” stories.

     This movie has style changes around every corner. One minute the viewer thinks it’s a serious sci-fi action movie, and the next minute it seems full of comedy. It’s as though it was made to keep the viewer guessing. The near-constant changes to the style grab hold of viewers’ attention before the first ten minutes of the movie are up, and it doesn’t let go until the credits scroll.

     Butler’s job on this film and the cinematography both work together to show amazing depictions of live action video games. Gerard Butler did some of his best work in this movie and once again proves to be a very talented actor. The cinematography on scenes of the live video game is noteworthy as well. They depict action sequences and computer effects that are similar to video games of today.

     The story itself was a good one, although it has been done countless times before. The basic idea of the story is too similar to “The Running Man.” One of the few differences between the two is that instead if the contest being put into a television show, it is put into a video game. In fact, the main good thing about it is that it shows that “surrogate/fight-the-system” stories still haven’t gotten old. Overall, the movie is an enjoyable retelling of a story done many times before.

          My overall rating: 3 out of 5

"Reign of Fire" (2002) [PG-13]

     "Reign of Fire" is an incredible twist on the fantasy genre. For a long time a lot of people have pushed the sci-fi genre in with the fantasy genre, however not many stories actually incorporate both at the same time. This movie was one of the first times I have seen the combination of sci-fi and fantasy. The writing in this movie was amazing. Also there were many times when I felt like I was watching a war movie instead of one about dragons. There was only one flaw in the movie and that was because the writers left out a few major faults that dragons of myth are rumored to have.
     When I watched "Reign of Fire" something happened that does not usually happen with me when I watch movies. I began to feel sympathy with the characters. The actors' performances were truely believable, but more importantly the writing was great. Gregg Chabot, Kevin Peterka, and Matt Greenberg all did a phenomenal job on the story and screenplay. The story itself is a break from the normal dragon fantasy tale. However it still recalled similarities with other dragon stories.
     Several scenes in the movie evoked similar feelings as war movies. To fight the dragons the people used warlike strategies, and the castle where Quinn and his people lived looked much like a refugee camp. Also scenes of a destroyed and dragon-guarded London provokes thoughts of a world war and armageddon. Grey landscapes and smoldering London buildings helped this film to become even better.
     Many people probably know dragons in myth have a lot in common with reptiles. Although the writers did an excellent job on the script and the story, they did leave out the flaws dragons are rumored to share with present day reptiles. These flaws are ones like slow movement in cold weather and the inability to see something if it isn't moving. If viewers overlook these neglected faults then they can enjoy a great fantasy and sci-fi movie.
          My overall rating: 3 out of 5