Favorite Scene Friday! Contact: The Machine

Here we are with the final scene of Escape-athon, our month of fantasy and sci-fi appreciation. I've enjoyed highlighting the two genres and I'm excited to share this week's scene. In my opinion, one of the greatest aspects of science-fiction is the hope it produces. Science-fiction movies, more than any other films, can show us some of the amazing goals we can achieve, if we simply dream big enough. A perfect example: Contact.

Apple

Contact revolves around Dr. Eleanor Arroway (Jodie Foster), a scientist working for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). One day, Dr. Arroway picks up an alien message containing a blueprint for building a mysterious machine. Eventually, after overcoming tremendous odds and setbacks, Dr. Arroway is able to test the machine, and, in the process, makes a tremendous discovery about alien life.

But back up. Contact isn't just about space travel and aliens. Dr. Arroway lost both of her parents as a child, and spends her whole life searching for alien life. Along the way, she makes a connection with the very religious Palmer Joss (a pre "McConaissance" Matthew McConaughey), a man with his own ideas about the universe and human nature. Really, the film is dealing with a simple idea. We feel so lonely, but if the stars are full of life, can we ever be truly alone? As a mysterious character points out at the end of the film, "You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not." If nothing else, that's what Contact wants us to take away - we are not alone, in a literal sense, but also in a much bigger way.

This week's scene* chronicles Dr. Arroway's use of the machine near the end of the movie. More than anything, this scene is a favorite of mine because of its genuine sense of excitement. Watching the machine build up to a mysterious launch is nerve wracking, but it's also just such a thrilling idea that we could travel to other worlds with the push of a button, and reach beyond our previous potential to something more. Take a look:



I hope you get a kick out of that as much as I do! And if you're curious about what happens to Dr. Arroway after that drop, head here. Enjoy your weekend and never stop searching!

*There may be a weird little bit of editing at play here. I just rewatched this flick about a week ago and I remember the beginning of this scene being a little different. Maybe...aliens?

Escape-athon Review: Riddick

Riddick (there’s no “The Chronicles of” before that) starts out slow and silent. A good beginning for this sort of flick. We quickly learn that Riddick has been abandoned on a planet and left for dead by the Necromongers, the race of people he became leader of at the end of the previous film.

Collider

As I said, the beginning feels slow, but that’s good. We become re-acquainted with Riddick and meet some of the planet’s indigenous life (read: predators). In fact, we even see Riddick get to raise one of the planet’s dog-like creatures from a pup to a full-grown terror (yes, the beginning takes that long).

Eventually, however, Riddick wants to get off the planet. In his quest for escape, he activates an old beacon that attracts two different groups of bounty hunters. One of the groups turns out to be led by someone who shares a connection with a man from Riddick’s past. But what happens when you mix the bounty hunters, monstrous aliens, and Richard B. Riddick?

I really loved this film’s attitude. As I mentioned, it starts out slow, and it always stays pretty focused and small-scale. Gone are the blockbuster ambitions of the previous film, The Chronicles of Riddick. I believe at one point Riddick mentions something about finding his animal side again, and I think that’s exactly what the filmmakers were going for with this sequel.

I also appreciated the acting in the film. Vin Diesel gave it his all as Riddick once more, and Katie Sackhoff played another one of the badass chicks that 2013 produced so well. Even Karl Urban, who very briefly reprises his role from Chronicles, seemed dedicated to the part.

The plot was a little predictable in parts but it was decent in general. One aspect of the story - the fact that a huge, seemingly never ending rain storm releases amphibious monsters from the ground - paralleled the eclipse that allowed the nocturnal aliens to prey on Riddick and the others from Pitch Black. This felt a little recycled but it was a nice callback to the original at the same time. I also liked how the arrival of the bounty hunters in this film forced Riddick into the role of monster once again.

If you’re looking for a decent sci-fi action flick, you could do a lot worse than this one. And if you do watch this, chances are you’re a fan of the Riddick character. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t be disappointed at all.

3 Out of 5 Stars

Escape-athon! The LAMBcast TimeCop Episode!

I recently sat down with Jay Cluitt, Dan Heaton, Jess Manzo and Bubbawheat to talk about everyone’s favorite “Jean Claude Van Damme travels through time to kick people” movie, TimeCop!

Wikipedia

Yes, since TimeCop is the reigning LAMB Movie of the Month, we all came together to discuss the flick on the LAMBcast. And it’s perfect timing since we’re observing Escape-athon, our month-long celebration of all things fantasy and science-fiction! So come on! Shitty time travel rules, Sloane’s boobs, water coolers...we cover it all!

Click here to check it out!!!

P.S. See??? There was a TimeCop TV show!

Favorite Scene Friday! Looper: Old Joe and Young Joe Talk

This week's Favorite Scene Friday and the latest addition in our Escape-athon series is by none other than returning guest Jess Manzo from French Toast Sunday!

One of the best sci-fi movies of recent years is most certainly Rian Johnson's Looper. This time travel thriller was awesomely inventive and felt super fresh for a genre that's been done over and over again with similar results. The film starts with an assassin of sorts. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) kills hits sent back from the future for cold hard bars of gold. His cold and calculated attitude is rocked when his future self ends up appearing in front of him. He hesitates long enough for Old Joe (Bruce Willis) to escape, and Young Joe must go on a manhunt for his own self. He knew that one day he would have to close his loop as they say, but his future self is not ready for it to end.

WolfCadet

One of my favorite scenes isn't necessarily the flashiest, but it contains some of the most interesting dialogue in this film and definitely my favorite line. Young Joe coaxes Old Joe to meet him at his regular diner by carving the word "Beatrix" into his arm (too bad he didn't remember the weekend server Jen). They come face to face for the second time, but this is their first chance to really study each other. Young Joe isn't really impressed by who he turns out to be, while Old Joe is disgusted by the arrogance and naivete of his younger self.



I love how things come to a head in this very bizarre experience between the two. When Young Joe brings up that Old Joe's face looks backwards it's one of those nicer little details that you wouldn't think of right away. The idea that you could be with another version of yourself at the same time is such a far out concept that I can't help but be fascinated watching their profiles examine each other.

Old Joe explains how whenever Young Joe alters the timeline it changes Old Joe's memories and they get hazy. My favorite line of the movie is a bit of screenwriting genius. The line is when Old Joe says "I don't want to talk about time travel because if we start talking about it then we're going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws." Saving himself from having to explain the mechanics of time travel, Johnson just brilliantly threw out the need for exposition. It's also perfect because after seeing this film, my friends and I basically needed to put together straw diagrams to explain our theories on this film to each other.

A great piece about this scene can be found here, where Johnson discusses his writing process.

Favorite Scene Friday! Galaxy Quest: "By Grabthar's Hammer..."

We asked a few friends to help us celebrate Escape-athon and for this week's Favorite Scene Friday we're joined by none other than CT from the Nerd Lunch blog and podcast! 

I have a confession. I’m not much of a fan of comedies. And even less a fan of parodies. And when I'm a huge fan of the source material, I’m even less a fan of parodies. So when I heard they were going to be making a parody of Star Trek starring Tim "The Toolman" Taylor, I wanted nothing to do with it.

Wikipedia

But I happened to catch an interview with one of the stars on a talk show. I can’t remember the star or the talk show at this point. (Or maybe I’m too embarrassed to say that I think it was Regis.) After hearing more about the project and seeing a clip, I was suddenly not so put off by it. The cast wasn’t just the guy from Home Improvement, but also “Ripley,” “the bad guy in Die Hard,” and “the funny guy from Wings.” Not to mention the fact that it also had two stars that I would grow to love, but didn’t really know at the time (“the guy from Moon” and “Veronica Mars’ dad”).

So, I wound up giving the movie a chance and absolutely loved it. While it was poking fun at the conventions (no pun intended) of Star Trek, it did it with reverence and intelligence.

The strongest character in this film is probably Alan Rickman’s Alexander Dane. He’s a classically-trained Shakespearean actor who found himself on this absurd sci-fi show. Not only that, he’s the beloved, fan-favorite character who finds himself in a rut of writing. One particular line has followed him through his career and he can’t seem to escape it.

This clip is actually the entire “Grabthar’s Hammer” subplot, but the best part in particular comes at the 54 second mark. When appearing at a store opening, he's forced to say the line again in a completely sold out manner. The amount of contempt he has for the line and himself is palpable. It’s made even funnier by the bearded store manager who is all smiles behind him.

This shows off the range Alan Rickman has beautifully as it really all comes together when he says the line with deep sincerity while comforting a dying comrade.

Favorite Scene Friday! Minority Report: You Can Choose

If you knew your own future, could you change it?

Daniel Keane/Wolf Cadet

That’s one of the main questions in Minority Report, Steven Spielberg’s 2002 sci-fi flick. The film follows John Anderton (a very, very on point Tom Cruise, especially in this week's scene), a detective with the DC police department's “PreCrime” division in the year 2054. The unit operates by using a trio of psychics to predict murders to stop them before they can happen.

When Anderton sees himself supposedly murdering someone in the future - a man by the name of Leo Crow - he goes on the run to prove his innocence before he even commits the crime.

Our scene finds Anderton just after he’s tracked down Crow - mere minutes before his murder is set to happen. But Anderton’s hit by a curve ball - it appears that Crow is the man responsible for the disappearance of Anderton’s long-lost son.



What's great about this film - and any Steven Spielberg movie, really - is that the spectacle is always accompanied by a great human element. Even in Minority Report, a film filled with psychics, flying cars, and futuristic weapons (really it's the most fully realized cinematic future ever), Spielberg's characters deal with humanity's great challenges. Here it's the age-old question of free will versus pre-destination: can Anderton resist the urge to kill Crow and thereby change his own future? Or is he doomed to kill him? It's a tough one. Even if Anderton hadn't had the extra incentive of seeing himself murder Crow, he was as justified as a person could be for wanting to kill someone. But he resisted. But anyway, I'm kind of rambling. It's hard not to when you're talking about this sort of thing.

What's interesting is that you could argue Anderton didn't change much. Crow still dies. Maybe that's the cost of free will?

Escape-athon Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug picks up shortly after the end of An Unexpected Journey. Titular hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his companions are still trying to make their way to the Lonely Mountain to face Smaug. Gandalf unexpectedly parts ways with the group but they still manage to make it to the mountain and Smaug. But can they defeat him?

Warner Bros

I really enjoyed this film, and that’s coming from someone who was pretty disappointed with the first one. What’s different? Well, for one thing, the dreaded high frame rate is a lot better in this film. It was very jarring right off the bat in the first Hobbit but I didn’t mind it as much here. Still, anything that’s predominantly CGI and fast paced looks pretty terrible to me. For instance, the “ring vision” (whenever Bilbo puts on the ring) is pretty tough to watch.

I also feel like the acting was a little stronger here. Newcomer Lee Pace was creepy as an elf king. Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel the elf was dreamy (a little dramatic at times, but dreamy). I really enjoyed her unexpected romance with Aidan Turner’s Kili. Orlando Bloom was...Orlando Bloom. Luke Evans as Bard was an unexpectedly compelling character.

Other than the high frame rate, the effects were a mixed bag for me. Before seeing the movie I read (see badassdigest.com) that several of the CGI villains were originally played by actors in costume and makeup. I’m not sure why the filmmakers decided to replace them with CGI characters. It definitely made me nostalgic for the practical character effects from the original Lord of the Rings films (although, that’s not to say that Desolation had no good practical effects).

On the other side of the spectrum, I think they did a great job on Smaug the dragon. Both Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance and the computer rendered dragon were amazing and the film really jumped up a notch once Bilbo met Smaug.

Another positive is that the whole film had an old-fashioned fantasy feel to it for me. This could have easily been a film I watched growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s but I’m not sure why. It could all be simply because I grew up on that creepy Rankin and Bass version of The Hobbit and I’m simply remembering that.

At the end of the day, I liked this sequel a hundred times more than the first film and I was actually a little disappointed when the movie ended (with a huge cliffhanger, no less). I can only hope that the second sequel and final chapter in the film, There and Back Again, improves on this film as well.

3.5 Out Of 5 Stars

Favorite Scene Friday! The Lord of the Rings: "I would have followed you, my brother..."

This week’s Favorite Scene Friday has the distinction of kicking off Escape-athon 2014. And while the scene is from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - one of the greatest fantasy films of the last few decades of all time - there really isn’t anything particularly "fantastic" about it. There’s no magic in it and really no special effects to be seen. A great battle between men, hobbits, monsters, an elf, and a dwarf has just taken place, but we don’t see any of it in this bit. We do get the aftermath, however, and that’s why I’m highlighting it.

To set the scene a little bit, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), bearer of the One Ring, has been traveling with his companions, the Fellowship of the Ring. Their mission: toss the ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The group is eventually attacked by a huge battalion of Uruk-hai who are bent on stopping Frodo. The hobbit runs off on his own, set on finishing his mission. Sean Bean's Boromir (whose intentions and loyalties had been unclear - he borderline attacked Frodo shortly before the battle) tries valiantly to save hobbits Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) - "the little ones" as he calls them :'( - but is all but killed by the Uruk-hai. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) appears and is able to kill the leader of the Uruk-hai before the monster can behead Boromir. Then...this scene happens.



Something that’s been a little lacking in the new Hobbit films as compared to the Lord of the Rings films has been the acting and emotion. I struggle to think of any scene like this one in the new films and I haven't really connected with any of the characters the way I did with Aragorn, Boromir, and the rest of the fellowship. This short clip between Aragorn and Boromir features some of the best acting in either of the franchises and is one of the few that really gets to me on an emotional level. It's an incredibly emotional scene that highlights sacrifice, brotherhood, and redemption.

I know this is a heavy way to kick off Escape-athon, but this is a great chance to showcase a fantastic, emotional scene in an epic fantasy film. I promise the rest of the month will be a little more upbeat. Happy Friday!

Escape-athon 2014

January is fantasy and sci-fi month here in the Hatch! Let's call it...Escape-athon! This is all pretty much borne out of missing October and the concentrated, non-stop flow of horror on the web. And the cold, sickness-infested month of January is kind of a shitty one for movies (and in general). Another month focusing on a fun genre is just what the doctor ordered. On that note, feel free to participate in Escape-athon on your own blog or website! What are some of your favorite fantasy and sci-fi films? Are there any upcoming films in the genre coming out this year that you're looking forward to? All fantasy and sci-fi is fair game!

Maybe some of this?

Or this?

Or this???

So every week here you'll get a fantasy or sci-fi Favorite Scene Friday plus reviews, lists, and other posts from us and special guests! So tune in right here at totheescapehatch.com, your #1 site for escapism!