A friend of mine recommended that I watch Monsters. It was available on Netflix streaming, so I added it to my queue. The premise is that a survey mission to investigate extraterrestrial life burned up on reentry to Earth over Latin America. The “Monsters” appear later on, for what seems to be a seasonal basis. They terrorize the locals, and the main character is visiting to try and capture some photographs of the destruction. There is an invasion coming and Andrew, the photographer, is anxious to get some pictures so he can cash in. His plans get interrupted by a demand from the publisher to escort his daughter out of the country. She’s engaged to be married, but the fiancé has already made hit home. Why? Probably some type of fight. The movie came across as being a suspense, romance, and science fiction flick all at the same time. I usually like it when I see genres mixed, but Monsters was spread too thin. Nothing made me think, “this is a good movie.” The action scenes were rather intense, but I didn’t really get scared or startled. The awkward romance that blossomed between the photographer and the girl was predictable. The mystery behind the nature of the Monster invasions was interesting, but not enough to carry the rest of the movie. It wasn’t a bad movie, but not one that I’d recommend someone spend money on to see.
Monsters (2010) Directed by Gareth Edwards
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Found via Variety, actor turned director Peter Berg is set to direct the next adaptation which doesn’t appear to have any type of ETA. Hopefully they will get good script writers that can be faithful to the book. Although the Sci-Fi Channel remake was more true to the book than the 1984, the special effects were pretty bad due to a low budget. Most of the backgrounds were simply matte paintings. I’d like to see a new movie that looks great and is also true to Frank Herbert’s vision.
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After looking through my media center PC, The Adjustment Bureau happened to be the highest rated movie that I hadn’t seen in the science fiction category. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, other than a 7.1 metascore from IMDb. About 20 minutes into the film, I realized that this was probably one that my wife would enjoy. The best I could categorize this movie would be romantic science fiction.
The Adjustment Bureau starts out by following the end of a political campaign for Senate. David Norris (Matt Damon) ends up losing the election because of a leaked photo of him mooning someone at his college reunion. Seeking some privacy, he goes to the men’s restroom to prepare his speech. After a while, a woman pops out of a stall, apologizing for the intrusion. She was hiding out in the men’s room to avoid security for being a wedding crasher. They begin to exchange witty banter about her situation and his unfortunate downfall. (more…)
2012 (2009) Directed by Roland Emmerich2012 (2009) Directed by Roland Emmerich
Last weekend my wife and I watched 2012 with a couple of friends. We planned on making some chocolate martinis, and I have to say they definitely improved the movie watching experience. About a quarter of the way through the movie we were wondering when the introduction of new characters was going to end. Most of them are empty with no depth whatsoever. I can’t tell you anything about the main character’s ex-wife other than she divorced him and is now with a plastic surgeon. Don’t bother watching this if you are expecting a gripping story. (more…)

