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Reviews
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet (2021)
Some flaws but everyone should see this
David Attenborough is a hopeless optimist and in connection with the concept of Planetary Boundaries this gets to a point where it becomes nearly comical.
A major flaw of the film is that it is sometimes so unprecisein it's science that it verges on being incorrect. It insinuates, for example, that if we start living inside Planetary Boundaries today we cound somehow get all the toothpaste that has already left the tube back in. This is, especially for the climate boundary (and consequentially for the ocean acidification boundary, the connection of which is clearly explained in the film), simply not the case.
Another flaw is that the things we actually can do, right now, are given not very much space in the film. Especially the connection between a meat-centric diet an the bondaries land-use change, biodiversity loss and nitrogen/phosporous cycle are nor at all explained,
But what can I say? Johann Rockström on Netflix. All is not lost. This should receive a huge audience.
I also think that science is only one part of solving this puzzle. Mr. Rockstöm and Mr. Attenborough telling us that we can solve the crisis by cutting, as private citizens, our emissions in halfge every decade, is really, REALLY oversimplifying things. We as private citizens can rearrange the deckchairs but without politics steering the whole ship away from the iceberg this will not do, not by a long shot.
Haywire (2011)
I liked this a lot
Stephen Soderbergh seems to consist of at least two persons. One Mr. Soderbergh makes clinic, verging on cold movies like "Traffic" or "Contagion" and the other Mr. Soderbergh just wants to have fun with "Oceans 11" or "Oceans 12". This one here is made by the "Oceans 11"-Mr. Soderbergh. It contains lots of cool music, cool colors and cool people in cool clothes running through cool sets. Even the credits are cool! This film is so cool you can stick a tail to it and call it a weasel. Which, in the end, got a bit on my nerves. The film contains a plot that is hard to follow, which doesn't matter because it is irrelevant anyway, its main purpose is to look good. Which it does.
Do I hear that people compare it with "Salt"? This is not a valid comparison. "Salt" relies on special effects and the star qualities of its main actress. "Haywire" has a nobody as main actress that beats up a line of stars (Antonio Banderas with potbelly and gold chain is just hilarious). And apart from a few bullet holes, there are no special effects. Gina Carano is the special effect. She does reasonable acting (you would expect an Ex-Marine-Assassin-For-Hire to be stone-faced anyway) and brilliant, absolutely brilliant stunts. Her fluid movements are a treat to watch. Who needs a plot with someone like this in the movie?
Maybe here is a parallel to the "Contagion"-Mr. Soderbergh: he will not trick you and overwhelm you with all kinds of CGI explosions. He is well able to leave an impression with what's there, just by putting it in a new light. And on the roofs of Dublin there really IS a lot of barbed wire!
I'll give this one a good 7 and not more for trying so desperately to be cool.
The Ward (2010)
JC did not develop anything new in decades...
...but the main disappointment for me in the film was Amber Heard, who is such a hard-working, hard-trying young actress but she does not get anywhere. She staggers through this movie with no clue what to add to her role. I don't know, maybe she needs more directing. I still love her in "All the boys love Many Lane". Watch her peers like Kirstin Steward (only not as a vampire bride) or Jennifer Lawrence who have such a band-with of expression. What a difference. She seems much to aware of her looks. Maybe she should try the Charlize Theron thing and play someone really ugly and horrible. Everything that is left of her skills after that is worth pursuing.
Mr. Carpenter still knows how to pull of a few scares but this is it. While having to admit that the idea of showing the fight of a patient against his multiple personalities - from the viewpoint of one of the multiple personalities is somewhat original, the execution is laughably basic, uninspired and old-schoolish. I bet the slasher DID get laughs on the big screen.
Space Battleship Yamato (2010)
Deep insight into the Japanese soul, maybe??
In 1945 a Japanese battleship went on a suicidal mission, loosing all 3500 men apart from some 300 after being hit by some 20 torpedoes. The Americans lost only a handful of men.
The topic of a useless WWII suicide mission translated into space is not a bad idea, but making it into a glorifying hero epos is a really bad one, and a wasted opportunity. Every Star Treck episode touches moral subjects in a more complex manner. At some points it felt like Space Balls, which is why it got 3 points. Otherwise it would have been 0.
The effects are OK for DVD. The acting is poor. Character development is not worth mentioning. The wholes in the story are massive. I can not believe I sat through this nonsense.
Skyline (2010)
Much, much better then I thought
Maybe due to legal issues with the makers of World Invasion this movie has such a bad press. This is totally unwarranted.
OK, the acting is rather wooden, and the planes look like remote controlled toys, even on DVD. The aliens on the other hand...
After seeing the trailers I had hoped that the movie would deliver the creepy, depressing note that came across in the trailer.
And it did! People being totally overwhelmed by a situation! Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide! Humanity reduced to a fly on a glue stick! The utter, hopeless inadequacy of any defense action! I love it! For a SciFi movie with a different twist, this is the one to watch.