Dark Matter by Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie - Bell Media, 2015-

with
Marc Bendavid as One / Jace Corso / Derrick Moss
Melissa O'Neil as Two / Rebecca / Portia Lin
Anthony Lemke as Three / Marcus Boone
Alex Mallari Jr. as Four / Ryo Tetsuda
Jodelle Ferland as Five / Das
Roger Cross as Six / Griffin Jones
Zoie Palmer as The Android


Android, Four, Three, Two, One, Five and Six

When six crew members working on a derelict spaceship awaken from stasis, they have no memory of who they are or how they got on the vessel. The only clue to their identities is weaponry and a destination -- a remote mining colony soon to become a war zone. They must band together to fight off the threats that they face on a voyage that is filled with vengeance, betrayal and secrets that make survival a question mark for all on board the ship. The sci-fi series is based on the graphic novel of the same name.

Reason why I watched this series? I was doing research on Zoie Palmer (Lost Girl) and there was a tiny article on Science Fiction series that didn't make much noise but definitely got the attention, and Zoie Palmer was in it. Great! Science Fiction, and Zoie Palmer. Wait! She plays what? An Android? Ok...

So, there are so few good Space Science Fiction series, or movies, that I had to check it out. Yes, count them, Battlestar Galactica/Caprica, Fascape, V, Stargate SG1, Star Trek, Firefly/Serenity...
But really, recently? There is an overflow in the 60s and 70s. Then there are all the animated series. But a series, with actual actors in it? Or they are Science Fiction series, but not Space Travel...
Extant, but is it really space travel or just an astronaut back on Earth?
Now, besides it, currently, there is Killjoys. Again, Canadian... Do all the good SciFi series have to be produced there? And thery have been approved for a second season. Is there a heaven there (Not Haven, Canadian again)?

Ok, back to Dark Matters is telling the story of a small team, from which we know nothing, as much as they know themselves actually. Through the episodes, we get to learn more and more about the,, and eventually, also solve one problem an episode... Which is usually a pattern in series, as it help get to know the character, and keep the series with a purpose. I am hoping they will develop a larger arch next season. Production is good, special effect impeccable, the way the world is developed is closed to Firefly, as there are no extra-terrestrial beings (yet?), but it is diverse and fascinating.

One of the things I really like about the series is the sense of humor, which seems to be a constant trait in all the Space Science Fiction series I listed above. It looks like we cannot remain serious if we are to do a series about the Space. And that is good... There are way too many series that take themselves seriously. And most of the humor comes from Zoie Palmer nerdy sense of humor, which we also found in Lost Girl. I wonder if this is why they picked her. She delivers lines like no other, without a hint of humor, but turns out to be so out of place it is hilarious.
Then you have the six crew members of the Raza, with different abilities, and very different personalities. Since they are back to not knowing who they are, or knowing who are the others, we are witnessing their discoveries along the adventures. The contrast between the men in the team is so stark it creates a lot of situations where it would be impossible not to laugh. Five and Two are more the serious angle of the series, but they complete the team to a more elaborate story-line and most of all a leadership regarding two. Gender plays a role, but ultimately, ranks are not divided according to gender. Personality will define roles.

The series left us in such a cliffhanger I don't believe we will know anything until next season, and that is the good news, it has been renewed for a second season!

Lost Girl by Michelle Lovretta - Showcase, 2010-2015

with Anna Silk (Bo), Ksenia Solo (Kenzi), Kristen Holden-Reid (Dyson), K. C. Collins (Hale), Zoie Palmer (Lauren), Richard Howland (Trick), Rachel Skarsten (Tamsin), Paul Amos (Vex), Emmanuelle Vaugier (The Morrigan), Vincent Walsh (Lachlan), Inga Cadranel (Aife)


Left to right: Trick (Richard Howland), Hale (K. C. Collins), Dyson (Kristen Holden-Reid), Bo (Anna Silk), Kenzi (Ksenia Solo), Lauren (Zoie Palmer)

Bo is a small-town girl on the run after a disastrous sexual encounter with her boyfriend ends with his death. Bo learns that she is not human, but a succubus, who feeds on the sexual energy of humans. She and her kind are members of the Fae, creatures of legend, who walk among humans and feed off them in different ways. As she searches for the truth about her origins and runs from her inhuman urges, she vows to help those she meets along the way - human or Fae - who need to right a wrong.

I am definitely team Lauren...

That said, we can move on to the task at hand. This series is quite interesting, as it uses possibly all the myths we have all over this planet, and link them into one specie, the Fae, and the theory holds together. We are in today's world, with people knowing about myths, and this is fun. I have often noted that one of the best part of Fascape is that John Crichton is a human with a general knowledge of pop culture, and when he jokes, he jokes about our human pop culture, such as Clint Eastwood, Einstein, or R2D2. The same way, humans or Bo, with their ignorance of the Fae world, are allowed to make fun of Vampires and Werewolves, or Zeus or Valkyries. Because they exist in our popular culture. So many Werewolf or Vampire movies and series are suggesting that humans are completely ignorant of their concept, as if they had no literature or movie that referred to them, like, about constantly! Anyway, first good point.

Second great thing about the series is its sexual fluidity, and the non-statement of Bo (yes, the main character!) choosing to be in a relationship with a woman, and not making it about coming out, not making in a social statement, and her surrounding being completely natural about it. In fact, it is so special it is probably the only movie or series that doesn't talk about homosexuality, while having a character bisexual. Every series or movie I have seen have at some point to talk about how challenging it is, or they have to come out, or someone judge them for being gay, or it has to become about gay right. Here, the only main problem is basically, one is Human, the other one Fae, so basically, one will most definitely die before the other and that is a big problem. And perhaps also the fact that one uses sex as a regenerating boost which tends to drain the other. Minor details.

So, what is the third cool thing about the series... The series started with one case per episode, which can sometimes slow down tremendously the rhythm of the over season. Naturally the series evolved into a more complex canvas, with various intertwined story-lines, which sometimes converged. It allowed to develop not only the character of Bo, but the other characters, which have also had their interesting stories. When you have characters that are centuries old, you can afford to dig into their past. A blood-king, a well-traveled shifter, a Valkyrie, Zeus, Hades, a family of Sirens, a wanderer... Even the "humans" have their own curiosity, Dr Lauren Lewis aka Karen Beattie is the most interesting doctor. Anyway, so the series has the luxury to pick into Oriental myths, Germanic, Voodoo, South American, Greek, Native American, Eastern European, Scandinavian, Russian, Celtic... with limitless resources. And it is awesome.

Another great thing, and sad I admit, is that the series is over, but ended with a proper ending. It feels coherent, from the first episode, that this is where the series is headed, and the end is just the apotheosis that was expected, and then the series ends. (I am not gonna comment en series like Farscape and Firefly that had to have their fans striking so they would wind up doing some sort of conclusion). In other words, it is a series that you can watch like a long movie (very long I admit) with a beginning, a middle and an end. Fantastic.

What else, I think I forgot the sense of humor. It is at times sad, but overall, the characters don't take themselves too seriously, and it is funny. Number one funny, not consciously, Dr Lauren Lewis. I think her nerdy ways and the awkwardness are just irresistible. One of the best episode which makes everyone at its best is Season 2, Episode 9 "Original Skin", where Dyson is hilarious. Dex is probably one of the craziest character with the Morrigan, and those are supposed to be the bad guys... Sometimes, you would wish there would be more of them.

Anyway, the cast is really good working together, the writers were quite inspired, and even if the special effects sometimes where quite something, the production is great. I would definitely like to see more of this kind of series.


Left to right: Vex (Paul Amos), Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten), Kenzi (Ksenia Solo), Bo (Anna Silk), Dyson (Kristen Holden-Reid), Trick (Richard Howland), Lauren (Zoie Palmer

Star Wars: The Force Awakens by J.J. Abrams, 2015 (PG-13)

with Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis

Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order. When a defector named Finn crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey (Daisy Ridley), a tough scavenger whose droid contains a top-secret map. Together, the young duo joins forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to make sure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last of the Jedi Knights.

And we missed them so much... It was good to see them again. And finally, making fun of the Stormtroopers as they really deserve (they are the comic relief). And see some new characters emerge, intelligent, witty as Han Solo was. They chose a cast that is impeccable, with a mix of up-and-coming actors and Oscar winners and nominees, targeting the widest audience ever for a Star Wars movie. And as Star Wars fan, how could you miss Solo and Leia being back together?
Of course, that means there are a lot of things that you were sort of trapped to live as an audience, and the pattern of the story-line is getting a little old... But still, it was worth the watch... Now we have to wait another two years minimum to know more about Finn, Rey and Poe (Oscar Isaac). That is way too long...

The Martian by Ridley Scott, 2015 (PG-13)

with Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sebastian Stan

When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney (Matt Damon), presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meager amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crew mates hatch their own plan for a daring rescue mission.

One of my favorite movies this year, it is funny, inventive, scary at time, definitely nerdy, and Matt Damon whom I am not a fan of is quite the guy for the situation. The sort of non-science-fiction feel of the entire movie, very grounded, very methodical in the steps it takes to make the story be reel is original, and for once, a mega-drama movie plot such as "we left him for dead in a desolated planet" turns out to be a comedy, and most interestingly, it winded up at the Oscars, which is not big on comedy in general. I would love to see it get an award...

Mad Max: Fury Road by George Miller, 2015 (R)

with Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton

The desert wastelands inhabited by the Road Warrior are still rife with motorized gangs in this fourth chapter of the Mad Max legend. When Max encounters a group of refugees fleeing for their lives, he joins them and their fiery leader, Furiosa.

Utu-Noranti (Grandma) and Grunchlk are in Mad Max !!! Just for that, it deserves the watch :) (Farscape fan...)
But then again, you have to have been on a lot of coffee or something. Because the movie is loud, fast, doesn't give any second break, it is pretty much a two-hour pursuit. They could almost call it an action-road trip. In fast forward.
Of course, as usual, Tom Hardy needs subtitles... Sorry I had to make the joke because no matter how hard I try, I always wind up with them. Theron is good, Hoult is crazy which I absolutely loved, and then the story, well, it goes very fast, so besides people hitting each others with cars, and a lot of sand, I didn't see much. But well, it Utu Noranti (Melissa Jaffer) is still with her collection of plants, I am good...

Big Hero 6 by Chris Williams and Don Hall, 2015 (PG)

with Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk, Maya Rudolph, Stan Lee

In this animated adventure, genius robotics engineer Hiro Hamada finds himself enmeshed in a nefarious scheme to wipe out the city of San Fransokyo. Accompanied by his robot best friend, Hero joins a ragtag team intent on saving the City by the Bay.

What to watch in a plane... Big Hero 6? I recommend. Specially if you have a 3 years old sitting next to you, and then followed by "Sound of Music" because it has to be PG. So, here we go, this is another of these lovely story where there is a cute little character completely unreal getting into your heart, just like Nemo (talking fish), Buzz Lightyear (talking toy, many of them actually), Mater (taking car), Wall-e (Talking or not Garbage compacter), Eva (Not even talking egg), talking rats, talking ants, talking monsters, and a couple of normal talking people like Brave or the Incredibles. In other words, I really like absurd sense of logic and way of telling story in a far more straightforward way that Disney used to do. Of course, the story of Big Hero 6 doesn't go very far, and everything is happy ever after, but in an era where robotic can lead us in very unexpected directions, the Stargate aside (WTF?!?), it definitely pin-points the tendencies of technology, somewhere between the absolute entertainment, and perhaps the betterness of our lives. Something that children might need a story about, more than the Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.


watch trailer:

Interstellar by Christopher Nolan, 2014 (PG-13)

I went to the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 to see Interstellar, in one of the largest theater screen in the US and the world (not to be advertizing it). Seeing it in IMAX 70mm Film was definitely something unique. Of course, in all the close-ups of characters, it felt a little too big, but when it was in space, there was a show. Then they gave us a poster for free :) well... the ticket price could afford it, Anyway...
About the movie. It was a great story, combining excellently technology, the human aspect, and the futuristic science fiction plot. In a way, it could have happened nowadays, and the characters are no heroes. Some are bright, but Mcconaughey is such an ordinary parent who yes, used to be an astronaut... People are described with their flaws, no one is perfect, there is a moment for each of them where you could see what would have happened if they didn't have their humanity bringing out the best but most of the time the worse of them. The story takes its time to unravel, but never leaves you a second bored. There are moments that are so tensed that it is almost torture, and then more contemplative shots which are outstanding of beauty. The movie is sometimes going for the tear-jerk, but most of all is challenging our mind to expand the possibility of science and theories on time and space, singularity, black holes, without sounding pedagogical nor arrogant. The grandiose of the special effects are actually closed to the visualizations of space Nasa is providing nowadays in their website, giving a realistic feel to the adventure. It seems that Nolan didn't fall into the same trap Scott did with his Prometheus. He relied on science to a realistic level, and didn't go away from the essential, which is the story of his characters.
The only detail I found a little ridiculous is the trademark Nolan implemented first in Inception and back again in Interstellar of the curved spaces. Wondering why...
Also, it was somehow a little hard when meeting each characters not to think "oh, Michael Caine, oh Wes Bentley, oh Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain..." Everyone is soo famous it is very strange to see them altogether, and not think of them as actors first before getting into their characters. And don't get me wrong, the last thing I forgot to mention is how perfectly the movie is directed and acted.

I am putting three other posters today, which I believe are in a very radical way opposing and part of one and the same story, and so reflective of the movie. One is about life on earth, one is the journey to the universe, and one is the search of a viable environment to move to.



Watch Interstellar Trailers (I definitely needed to watch more than one trailer, and then ran to the theater):






with Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club, Mud, Magic Mike, The Paperboy), Mackenzie Foy, John Lithgow (Rise of the Planet), Timothée Chalamet, Anne Hathaway (Brokeback Mountain, Alice In Wonderland, Rachel Getting Married, Valentine's Day, Love and Other Drugs, The Dark Knight Rises, One Day, Get Smart), Wes Bentley (American Beauty, The Hunger Games), Michael Caine (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Sleuth, Now You See Me, Miss Congeniality), David Gyasi (Cloud Atlas), Casey Affleck (Ocean's Twelve, Out of the Furnace, Ocean's Thirteen), Jessica Chastain (Lawless, Zero Dark Thirty, The Debt, The Help, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter), Matt Damon (Ocean's Twelve, The Monuments Men, Ocean's Thirteen, Behind the Candelabra, Invictus, Margaret, True Grit, We Brought a Zoo, The Informant!, Herafter, Inside Job, The Adjustment Bureau, Promised Land, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Contagion), Topher Grace (Valentine's Day)

Edge of Tomorrow by Doug Liman, 2014 (PG-13)

As Earth fights an alien invasion, Lt. Col. Bill Cage is killed in action, and a time loop forces him to continually relive his last day.

A Strange combination of The War of the Worlds with Groundhog Day. The movie is great, the story holds together, Emily Blunt has an interesting strong (and fascinating) female character, Tom Cruise plays well the guys who was on top who winds up at the bottom, and making his own way to survival. The aesthetic is not really original, with aliens that look like the Sentinels in The Matrix, but because the movie is really well done, it doesn't matter. There is a good balance between how the characters are developed and the action, none overtaking the other, the shortcuts from one day to the next is well done, the editing impeccable. Yes, that was a good entertaining movie with some bright ideas.

From the director of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Fair Game
with Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher, Eyes Wide Shut, Knight and Day, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Oblivion, Cocktail), Emily Blunt (My Summer of Love, Wild Target, The Adjustment Bureau, The Five-Year Engagement, Your Sister's Sister, Looper), Bill Paxton (Haywire), Jeremy Piven, Charlotte Riley, Madeleine Mantock, Jonas Armstrong, Marianne Jean-Baptiste (360), Kick Gurry

watch trailer:

The Congress by Ari Folman, 2013

More than two decades after catapulting to stardom with The Princess Bride, an aging actress (Robin Wright, playing a version of herself) decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a future Hollywood. Through a deal brokered by her loyal, longtime agent (Harvey Keitel) and the head of Miramount Studios (Danny Huston), her alias will be controlled by the studio, and will star in any film they want with no restrictions. In return, she receives healthy compensation so she can care for her ailing son and her digitized character will stay forever young. Twenty years later, under the creative vision of the studio's head animator (Jon Hamm), Wright's digital double rises to immortal stardom. With her contract expiring, she is invited to take part in "The Congress" convention as she makes her comeback straight into the world of future fantasy cinema.

Robin Wright "At" the Congress makes a lot of sense after five seconds of the movie. Which initially felt like a weird way of putting it in the poster. She (a version of herself) is the center of the story, picking up from her past career and creating an alternate reality where she would be of the downside of her career, with very beautiful personal moments, evolving into science fiction scenario (which reminded me somehow of SimOne), where the reality isn't very far from fiction, to a world that transition to animation in a radical psychedelic way (this time reminding me of the world of Philémon, considered one of the most poetic and original bande dessinée series of all time, see picture below). The movie around that time becomes a little long, but somehow the journey makes the twist even more relevant. It is quite a story to tell the truth. Then I have one question that seems to not be of the matter in the movie, but who are the people controlling all the mess (trying not to spoil the movie)? All the alternatives seem to have lost any kind of power... Perhaps I should read the book from which the story is inspired, The Futurological Congress by Stanisław Lem (who wrote Solaris) to get answers...


Philémon - Le Voyage de l'incrédule by Fred

with Robin Wright (Forrest Gump, (House of Cards, Breaking and Entering, The Conspirator, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball, Adore), Paul Giamatti (12 Years a Slave, Saving Mr. Banks, Cosmopolis, Duplicity, Barney's Version, Deconstructing Harry), Jon Hamm (Friends with Kids, Bridesmaids, The Town, Mad Men), Danny Huston (Hitchcock, You Don't Know Jack, Robin Hood, The Conspirator, X-men Origins: Wolverine), Harvey Keitel, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sami Gayle, Michael Stahl-David
From the director of Vals Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir)

Watch trailer:

Frequencies (OXV: The Manual) by Darren Paul Fisher, 2013

In an alternate reality where "frequencies" determine one's level of success in life, low-end Zak falls for Marie, who's much farther up the scale. Complicating things further, their difference means Zak can only see Marie one minute a year.

The theory in which the movie is departing is interesting. The topic develops into an impossible love story as well as a scientific experiment, teasing our curiosity on how they will solve the impossible case, implying more and more for the humanity and the danger of changing the order of things. It is logical all the way, although the character of the best friend of Zak goes a little bit too far beyond the theme, making it a melting pot of theories and loosing the audience from the one theme they had strong and creating holes in the theory. Overall, it is an original script and film, with a great cast.

with Daniel Fraser, Eleanor Wyld, Owen Pugh, David Broughton-Davies, Dylan Llewellyn, Georgina Minter-Brown, Tom England, Charlie Rixon, Lily Laight, Ethan Turton

watch trailer:

Under the Skin by Jonathan Glazer, 2013 (R)

with Scarlett Johansson (Her, Hitchcock, We Brought a Zoo, The Avengers, Scoop, The Horse Whisperer), Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, Kevin McAlinden, Andrew Gorman, Joe Szula, Krystof Hádek, Roy Armstrong, Alison Chand

Jonathan Glazer's atmospheric, visually arresting abstraction stars Scarlett Johansson as a seductive alien who prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell, only to be consumed by a strange liquid pool.

I am going to be honest, I didn't like the movie. Now, there is something about not liking the movie, that at least, it captured my attention, in a negative way, but it did. There are very interesting moments of videoart, very interesting moments of Ken Loach, very interesting moments of Kubrick, the ending is an interesting turning point, which gives a perspective the movie needed. Then, it is so slow (not pretentious, tho), so disconnected, that I found it painful to watch.

watch trailer:

Snowpiercer by Bong Joon-ho, 2014 (R)

The Earth's remaining inhabitants are confined to a single train circling the globe as revolution brews among the class-divided cars. Based on a French graphic novel and set in a new ice age, this futuristic thriller stars a top-notch ensemble cast.

This is one of the strangest film I have seen in a while, and not only because Tilda Swinton looks like a freak. This was the first time I was thinking to myself I would rather die than be in that train, even if this means the end of human race, I am not that attached... So you follow these guys, some born on the train, some born before the ice age, and the longer it lasts, the more painful it gets, it an absurd and gore style. This movie made me so uncomfortable I would say it has a point. But don't look for the light or the happy ending, it will only make you feel miserable.

with Chris Evans (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: First Avenger, Avengers, Puncture), Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin, Michael Clayton, I am Love, Constantine), Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Man on a Ledge), Octavia Spencer (The Help), John Hurt (Melancholia, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Alison Pill (Milk, To Rome With Love, Dan in Real Life), Ed Harris (Gravity, Man on a Ledge, Game Change), Kang-ho Song, Ewen Bremner (Perfect Sense - The Last Word), Ah-sung Ko

watch trailer:

Robocop by José Padilha, 2014 (PG-13)

When Detroit cop and family man Alex Murphy is critically injured in the line of duty, a robotics firm transforms him into an experimental crime-fighting cyborg, though he remains haunted by his human past in this reboot of the 1980s sci-fi classic.

I don't know... I've seen the original not too long ago, and this one might just be more current in terms of technology, special effect, political agendas and media manipulation, but in all, it is mostly an action-enhanced version of the RoboCop of Paul Verhoeven. Never the less, it is a well-shaped action movie.

with Joel Kinnaman (The Darkest Hour), Gary Oldman (The Scarlet Letter, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Dark Knight Rises, Lawless), Michael Keaton (Jackie Brown), Samuel L. Jackson (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Django Unchained, Jackie Brown, The Avengers), Abbie Cornish (Limitless, Somersault), Jackie Earle Haley (Lincoln, Dark Shadows), Michael K. Williams (12 Years a Slave), Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty, The King's Speech, Michael Clayton), Jay Baruchel (Cosmopolis, How to train your dragon), Aimee Garcia

watch trailer:

Divergent by Neil Burger, 2014 (PG-13)

with Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), Kate Winslet (Sense and Sensibility, The Reader, Titanic, Mildred Pierce, Contagion), Theo James (Underworld: Awakening), Ansel Elgort, Ray Stevenson (Thor 2: The Dark World, Thor), Zoë Kravitz (X-Men: First Class), Maggie Q, Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher), Miles Teller (Rabbit Hole), Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Mekhi Phifer

Born into a civilization in the distant future, Beatrice is a teenager who learns that her unique cognitive skills make her useful to the authorities. Over time she discovers that she's a Divergent, and thus slated for elimination by the government.

I really wanted to see this movie. I love new ideas of how a society functions, dysfunctions, and evolves, based on rules, evolution, such as In Time, Oblivion, The Hunger Games... the movie is well made, the acting great, the story catchy... The only thing is the feeling of deja vu, with severe similarities with The Hunger Games and her main character, and somehow a little feel of Harry Potter when choosing your category. I'll keep watching anyway the sequels, and probably wind up reading the books, but felt a little deceived.

watch trailer:

The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black by David Twohy, 2000 (R)

with Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious 6), Radha Mitchell (Surrogates), Cole Hauser, Keith David (The Princess and the Frog, Cloud Atlas), Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Claudia Black (Farscape, Stargate SG1, Rango), Rhiana Griffith, John Moore, Simon Burke, Les Chantery

After crash-landing on a desolate planet, a pilot and her passengers, one of whom is a convicted killer, must find a way to survive in a hostile environment while fending off a race of carnivorous aliens that has begun to stalk them.

Of course, this is a scary movie, and my taste for it is quite limited. I watched this movie because of Claudia Black, period. The result was quite interesting, since I had to hold on to my fears, and just suffer through all the surprises. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed Vin Diesel's performance, which made me forget about all the horrors of the film. The way Riddick is portrayed, he actually carries the movie in an unusual way, you basically want to stick to him, Vin Diesel's Riddick is definitely the safest way to get out of this mess... Which usually is more random in horror movies, where either you don't know who is the bad guy, or you stick to the wrong guy who winds up killed and have to find a back-up safe guy. :)

watch trailer:

X-Men: Days of Future Past by Bryan Singer, 2014 (PG-13)

Sequel of X-Men: First Class
The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class in an epic battle that must change the past - to save our future. The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.

No secret anymore, I love X-Men, not so much the side stories of Wolverine, but definitely have a soft spot for the whole gang. They are usually portrayed in a normal way, we're getting to know them more and more, one by one, and I love to get to know more about their youth, about their future... This one seemed to be compiling all of it. I enjoyed it, but honest, this is not the best X-Men. This one is lets say average. It has a good suspense as the future is pending on the past to be changed, the 70s is definitely a fascinating period in terms of societal changes and political agenda, but somehow it felt too long. Once the movie finished, it is a bit hard to think of anything to take off to make the movie shorter, it's just too dense a story perhaps. Anyway, now that the Future Past is changed, what next? I am looking forward to the new Future. More X-Men hopefully... X-Men: Apocalypse for 2016?

with Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, Scoop), James McAvoy (Trance, The Conspirator), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, Trance, Prometheus, Haywire, A Dangerous Method, Shame, X-Men: First Class, Fish Tank), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games, Winter's Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, X-Men: First Class, The Beaver), Halle Berry (The Call, Cloud Atlas), Ellen Page (Juno, Inception, To Rome With Love), Shawn Ashmore (X-Men Trilogy), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class, A Single Man, About A Boy), Peter Dinklage (Game of Throne), Ian McKellen (X-Men Trilogy, The Lord of the Ring), Patrick Stewart (X-Men Trilogy, Star Trek)

watch trailer:

The Matrix Revolutions by Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, 2003 (R)

with Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Constantine), Laurence Fishburne (Contagion, Man of Steel), Carrie-Anne Moss (Pompeii, Fireflies in the Garden, Chocolat, Snow Cake), Hugo Weaving (Captain America, Cloud Atlas), Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary Alice, Harold Perrineau, Monica Bellucci (Remember Me, My Love - Ricordati di me, Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra, The Whistleblower), Harry Lennix (Man of Steel), Lambert Wilson (On connaît la chanson - Same Old Song, Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et des Dieux), Nona Gaye, Anthony Zerbe, David Roberts, Tanveer K. Atwal
Sequel of The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded

The final installment in the Matrix trilogy finds an unconscious Neo trapped in a subway station in a zone between the Matrix and the machine world. Trinity and Morpheus fight to free him, but a powerful enemy complicates their mission.

I just did a Matrix marathon, a little upside down, so I saw the end of Matrix Reloaded, not the beginning, then Matrix Revolutions, and finally the Matrix. Of course, I had seen it before so it didn't bother me. I have to say Matrix Reloaded has some good points, but having finally understood Matrix Revolutions, I can at last say I really love the whole trilogy (The Matrix will still be my favorite...). Anyway, surprisingly, after more than 10 years later, the movie is still really well done, still current, and I love the universe they created for the characters, between the grunge underground, and the sleek and elegant Matrix universe. A Classic trilogy.

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Ghostbusters by Ivan Reitman, 1984 (PG)

Bill Murray (The Monuments Men), Dan Aykroyd (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Behind the Candelabra), Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver (Galaxy Quest, Snow Cake, Avatar), Ernie Hudson (Miss Congeniality, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous), William Atherton, David Margulies, Annie Potts, Jennifer Runyon

After losing their academic posts at a prestigious college, a team of parapsychologists creates a business exterminating ghouls, hobgoblins and supernatural pests -- and are soon hired by a cellist to purge her digs of a demon.

This movie is very funny. And crazy... what an imagination, what a weird ending... if you are in search of any scientific theory, forget it, this is absolutely unrealistic. Never the less, between the three Ghostbusters and Sigourney Weaver, they are so into the story that you wind up believing it. Isn't that the magic of cinema. The special effect are a little outdated, but it is still fun to watch after 30 years.

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Thor 2: The Dark World by Alan Taylor, 2013 (PG-13)

with Chris Hemsworth (Snow White and the Huntsman, Marvel's Avengers, Thor), Natalie Portman (Paris Je T'aime, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits (The Other Woman), Black Swan, Thor), Tom Hiddleston (The Deep Blue Sea, Marvel's Avengers, War Horse), Anthony Hopkins (RED 2, Hitchcock, Thor, 360), Christopher Eccleston (Amelia), Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi (Tangled), Ray Stevenson, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba (Prometheus), Stellan Skarsgård (Marvel's Avengers, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Melancholia), Rene Russo (The Thomas Crown Affair), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Sequel of Thor and Marvel's Avengers

The God of Thunder strikes again as he fights to save the Nine Realms from mysterious villain Malekith, who plans to make the entire universe go dark. Meanwhile, Thor must find Jane Foster, who's been targeted by the evil denizens of Svartalfheim.

Ok Thor isn't my favorite series, but somehow, I almost liked this one better than the first. Thanks to the role of Kat Dennings, I was able to laugh. Then, the script is quite predictable, it definitely lakes of imagination, and thank gods Thor doesn't take himself too seriously, if not it would really be unbearable to watch...

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Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi by Richard Marquand, 1883 (PG)

following Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back
In this original theatrical version of the finale to George Lucas's epic space trilogy, the rebel forces take their last stand against the Empire, while Luke Skywalker seeks a final confrontation with his nemesis.

Who didn't fall in love with the teddybear-like Ewoks? Once you are started with this trilogy, you gonna watch it all. This one is more resolutory and close the cicle, perhaps with a stretch which feels similar to "A New Hope" in the destruction of the Death Star, but the overall story keeps the spirit of the previous Star Wars with the sense of humor, a little romanticism, action and a little drama.

with Peter Mayhew, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford (Morning Glory, Blade Runner, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark), Kenny Baker, Frank Oz

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