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Game 6 (2005)
Quirky and fun
So many nice touches to this film - the unpronounceable taxi driver names, the two Mets fans encountered in the restaurant bathroom, the asbestos incident, the claustrophobic camera tracking in the ATM scene, it's obvious that this film was made for the love of the script and the art of cinema, and not for the monetary return. What I think is amazing is that the big-name actors took salaries that are barely more than extras' pay on your normal big- budget films. And it all worked - Game 6 is very well done and enjoyable.
It's interesting that the Mets seem to be finding their way into film plots. The Miracle Mets of 1969 were a vital part of the movie "Frequency" a few years ago, and now "Game 6" commemorates the now-iconic comeback that will always be a hallmark of the Mets' second World Championship. Cool, especially if you are a Mets fan (check!).
But Red Sox fans- what's this fascination with Bill Buckner's error? If you get a chance, look at the video of that play again, and try to figure out how Buckner could field the ball, change direction, and get to the bag ahead of Mookie Wilson. Mookie was on full throttle and rounded first just after the ball skipped past Buckner. The error wouldn't have mattered, Mookie was going to beat it out, and the pitcher Stanley wasn't covering first in time either. Yeah, since Buckner didn't field it, it's an error, but even IF he had, it would have been scored a single.
Rollerball (2002)
What was McTiernan thinking?
(Contains spoiler for the original Rollerball)
There are two themes running through the original Rollerball - the futility of man against the corporation, and the mesmerizing action of the game itself. Somehow John McTiernan takes both of these themes and totally butchers them into something that does not remotely do justice to the original, or to anything else for that matter.
The premise of 'accidents' being staged to pump up international ratings (on what medium?), and concurrent gambling on games, instantaneously, is stretching credibility. Having co-ed teams is almost believable but those stupid masks that the players all wear? And placing it all in Central Asia is bizarre.
The game itself has been changed from the original circular 1/8 mile track into a nightmare collection of props that only an X-Games inline skater could love. A demolition derby-style course, with jumping ramps where the paths cross, would already make for a hazardous game IMO. Motorcycles dragging players off the steeply banked turns and up onto the clear viewing panels? Guess it had to be Central Asia since this would never fly in the US with OSHA around. Staging accidents in this version simply wouldn't be necessary.
The parallels to the original with the rules changes to the game (not that there was much in the rules brought out in the plot) is the product of a premise by the director without the slightest idea of how to advance a story. There just isn't any there there, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein.
Watch the original, and especially the final scenes, with the silent crowd, the dead players on the track, the game reduced to Jonathon E stumbling around the track to score the only, meaningless goal, that is film-making. The amateurish ending of this namesake says 'so what?'
It is a sad waste of a tremendous idea.
The Space Movie (1979)
Entrancing yet frustrating
Compiled mostly of NASA film footage of the Apollo missions, 'The Space Movie' is actually much more than that. It is both uplifting and inspiring in documenting the achievement of the US aerospace industry when given a seemingly impossible goal.
The NASA footage combines not just the Apollo 11 flight, but other Apollo missions, Gemini missions, Mercury capsule testing, Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz mission as well. It's frustrating that so much footage, although visually stunning, is disjointed, from different missions, and at one point even run backwards to follow the plot of the first moon landing. That being said, the launch sequence alone is incredible, both in the majesty of the Saturn V slowly leaving the pad to the many connectors, swing arms, latches and ice shards seemingly interconnected in a technological slow-motion dance. Just incredible.
Accompanying the visuals is an stunning soundtrack by Mike Oldfield. Although never released as a stand-alone CD, some of the tracks are well known. The choice by Tony Palmer, the director, to use Mr. Oldfield's works is a masterstroke, and perfectly fits the action.
Somewhat surprisingly, this film does suffer from some obviously cheesy special effects. Why the director ever felt the need to produce crude backdrops for still photos, with so much beautiful film footage available, is puzzling.
This film could have been astronomically (pun intended) better, because all the elements were there. A great story, fantastic photography and inspired soundtrack. It just doesn't fully take advantage of what it had to offer.