-
Explorers (DVD): I borrowed this off my daughter who bought it recently from Amazon.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...qyhqI-jSMWxkzw
This is my first viewing of Explorers since I went to the pictures to watch it back in the early 80's. I like everything about this movie, the storyline, the cinematography, the excellent score written by Jerry Goldsmith. It has been described by some as The Goonies in Space. Not too far off the mark that, but I reckon Explorers is even better. I like its irreverence and how it captures the ambience of adolescent friendships.
I think I identify with this film so well because it describes the sort of relationships I had with my friends as I grew up. We were always building camps in old Bramble bushes and kitting them out with discarded furniture and kitchen appliances. We would cook meals in them with our Primus stoves and after, pretend we were crewing huge, Galaxy class starships plying the space lanes looking for new civilizations. And yes, going places no man has ever been before. Ah, the innocence of yoof!!! 9/10 :)
Flight Of The Navigator (DVD): Again, borrowed off my daughter who acquired it from Amazon.
https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/im...636OSy1o7JqwCO
Is it possible for a film to be cheesy, fun and moving? Well, yes it is as FotN plainly demonstrates. At it's heart it is a powerful and moving story about a victim of alien abduction although not in the 'traditional' sense, but that is far removed from the board on which the cheese sits. There is some good acting going on in this movie and the lad who plays the main character, David, deserves praise here as he outshines the more experienced adult cast members.
The film tells the story of a 12 year old lad from a middle class suburb of Miami who is sent out by his Mum to look for his mischievous younger brother who is on his way home from a friends house. During his journey David takes a tumble into a wooded ravine near his home and is knocked unconscious. He wakes up eight years later. David is unaware of the march of time and returns home to find it occupied by strangers (This is one of the best scenes in the movie which is well acted and it can't fail to pluck at the heartstrings).
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city a sleek, silver, seashell like spaceship is captured by NASA after it crashes into an electricity pylon. It is recovered and transported to a NASA facility (presumably somewhere on the Cape) where it is deposited in a hanger attached to a lab. Obviously the NASA personnel are excited at such a find and they begin to examine the craft. They quickly discover that there appears to be no way to enter the craft so they resort to brute force to no avail. The story winds on from here detailing David's subsequent adventures and his eventual return home.
This is a wonderful movie which is very well executed. It does get a little cheesy in places but quite honestly it all adds to the fun factor and never strays too far into the realms of silliness. The CG effects utilised for the spacecraft were cutting edge at the time (1984). The next time we'd see a shape-shifting chromium entity on the big screen would be a few years later in Terminator 2, so I like to think that James Cameron drew his inspiration for the T1000 from Max's craft.
https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/im...YLrZo20DAqVXdQ
There is a remake of FotN currently under production. I know nothing about it but I dearly hope it will be handled sensitively and not ruined. If there is one minor criticism I would level at the original it is that it pandered a little too much to a younger audience. It would be quite possible to harden up the storyline a little to allow the power and despair of David's predicament to grow in stature thus bringing out the plots inner thriller. 10/10
The Last Starfighter (DVD):
https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/im...sxb5_qKJ1E-GlE
Ah! Well now, we seem to have found that cheeseboard I alluded to earlier, and do you know what, it rounded off the meal perfectly. :D
This is a fun sci-fi romp with no pretensions whatsoever. It is what it is and for that I appreciate it. Alex is an 18 year old kid stuck living on his mums trailer park. He dreams of going to university but feels guilty because if he does leave, his mum will lose her erstwhile site handyman. To complicate matters even further the love of Alex's life, Maggie, seems quite content with her lot in the sticks. To escape his dilemma Alex immerses himself in The Last Starfighter, a video game console located next to the entrance to the trailer parks diner and shop. What Alex doesn't know is that the game has been designed by Centauri, an alien Arthur Daley character, for the purpose of recruiting talented pilots for the Rylan Star League to defend against the evil Ko-Dan Empire.
It is a well thrashed plot straight off the back of any 1980's computer game box, but the irony works in this context. This was the first hit movie to use extensive CGI throughout, although not exclusively as a good part of the movie is live action. The CGI effects are very clunky by todays standards but they were groundbreaking for the time and it certainly wowed the audience that I was a part of. The casts acting ability isn't exactly Shakespearian in stature but it is just about acceptable. No, it would be terribly unfair to criticise this film because in fact what it was, was a showcase for what was to come. In 1984 this was a statement that CGI had arrived and what it said was, "Things will never be the same again..." 6/10
-
Well reminded Dave, quite forgot about these....
Never saw Explorers and will look out for it in the bargain bins, but agree with your comments on the other two.
I remember trying to watch both with my kids, and however cheesy, it was indeed fun, even if it was Dad who seemed more engaged with them at times....
The Last Starfighter seemed to have every part of the leftover wardrobe from every Scifi film that had been made for some reason, and the sets seemed similarly "borrowed", but the late Robert Preston's hammed up performance was priceless, even if totally different from anything he had done before....
-
Yes, I too think 'Flight of the Navigator' is a good film, and although aimed at children, actually contains some good science fiction ideas.
I loved the 'shape shifting' alien spacecraft.
-
I liked all three films at the time, but the Last Starfighter has aged really badly. I agree with all of your ratings. Nice mini reviews :)
-
Marco, this might be one for you. ;)
I recently watched “God Bless America”.
I think it’s rather well done.
-
watched iron sky & new muppets last night could not get two more diffrerent films
-
Hi,
This has had me amused. Quite like the music.
http://youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en...&v=BsQlK7D0VdU
Kind Regards,
Stephen
-
I have been going through a few DVDs recently :)
Started off with Surface, which was broadcast on TV in widescreen & I recorded it in the same format from freeview to DVD. Decided to purchase the original DVD set (quite a while ago) only to find it was in 4:3 :scratch:
Never mind, it was a great Sci Fi series imo..
Next up was Invasion, which is also pretty entertaining if you like that sort of thing :D
Last night I watched The Triangle, which while on an 8.5Gb dual layer DVD (recorded from freeview) is now going to be replaced with a 2 disc version which I won on ebay yesterday :cool:
Give me a good sci fi & it'll keep me happy... Whether that is a book or film :lol:
-
-
'Star Wreck'
From the director of 'Iron Sky'. Essentially, a screwed-up Star Trek universe invades a screwed up Babylon 5 universe through a wormhole - with hilarious results. Would probably be funnier if it wasn't in Finnish but the subtitles do contain some amusing mis-translations to add to the fun.
