Alex's Adventures on the Infobahn - film

Review: Noises Off

2010-03-17T16:54:00+00:00

Last night Fliss and I watched the film version of Michael Frayn's Noises Off. Fliss explained to me that it is a film beloved of theatre technicians due to it's setting, following the goings on behind stage of a dysfunctional group of actors performing a classic English farce. The film version stars Michael Caine and includes fine performances from Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve and Denholm Elliott.

There is not much I can say about the plot as I don't want to spoil it for anyone. However it is a laugh out loud comedy that had been literally crying with laughter throughout. I'd quite like to see a proper staged version of it some time. Highly recommended.

Film Review: Dark Star

2009-11-17T11:43:00+00:00

As part of our wandering approach exploring film rental the latest instalment to drop on the door mat was John Carpenter's Dark Star. It's a weird black comedy about a bunch of bored stoners, some sentient bombs and strange beach ball aliens aboard a deep space planetary destroyer. As it was Carpenter's first film, and being made in 1974, the special effects are fairly rudimentary. However watching it will immediately remind you of a number of Sci-Fi classics which it predates. For example the opening sequence of the ship is eerily reminiscent of the first scene in Star Wars IV: A New Hope where the Imperial Destroyer tracks across the screen. Reading up on the film afterwards it's probably not surprising as Dan O'Bannon was picked up to work on Star Wars when Lucas saw the "groundbreaking special effects" in Dark Star.

There are many other things in the film that seem to have influenced what came after it. The control panels and corridors portrayed have evolved from earlier Sci-Fi but certainly defined an aesthetic that has been built on several times since. Although the main computer interaction seems incredibly dated now I'm sure I've seen the diagnostic screen used in a number of films since.

Overall it's an odd film but worth watching if your a student of the history Sci-Fi or Carpenter.

Crystal Aliens!?

2008-06-19T11:50:00+01:00

Despite less the glowing reviews we thought we would chance Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the cinema. It's not the worlds worst film, in fact if you disengage brain and enjoy it for what it is I thought it was pretty good. Some people have complained about the mixing of "Sci-Fi" with the traditional ancient relics and daring dos of the fedora wearing archaeologist. It's not really a problem and it's perfectly within the idiom of pulp 30's adventure flicks which was the entire point of the series. Having watched the original Raiders of the Lost Ark only a few days ago I can say much the same thing, it's not high brow cinema or particularly brilliant script, but it is a fun adventure.

Having said that there where one or two places where the modern propensity for CGI grated slightly. I suspect the director had just issued the declaration "walk quickly up those stairs" while omitting the CGI wizards would have them collapsing right behind them while being ground up by giant rolling stone wheels.