Actuarial Science Movie Reviews

Spielberg's dinosaur adventure Jurassic Park is up there with the all-time greats. Taken from Michael Crichton's thrilling novel, Jurassic Park is one of the most entertaining and exciting films ever made. The special effects are from FX maestro Stan Winston, who did the special effects for Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2 (1991). The seamless combination of CGI and robotic creatures creates some truly terrifying action set- pieces.

Despite what some critics thought when the film was released, I feel that all the principal actors give good performances, especially Sam Neill as Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm. But admittedly, the special effects are the main attraction, and Winston's dinosaurs (which won him another Oscar after Terminator 2) are truly frightening. Great entertainment.

The film's transfer onto DVD is first- rate, with superb picture and sound. The special features are exceptional, with a 50 minute 'making of' of the film and trailers for Jurassic Park, the Lost World and the teaser for Jurassic Park 3. Most interesting, however, is the footage of early pre-production meetings with Spielberg and the FX team discussing how certain shots and effects should be done. Also, there's a Phil Tippett animatic "Raptors in the Kitchen", showing how claymation assists the director in visualising the shots and camera angles. Also there are storyboards, production photos and web links. A 5 star film, 5 star extras. Excellent entertainment.

The Lost World is an exciting adventure starring Jeff Goldblum, Vince Vaughn, Julianne Moore and Pete Postlethwaite. The film picks up four years after the incident at Jurassic Park, where a corporate businessman Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) plans to take dinosaurs off the second island (Isla Sorna, where dinosaurs have been breeding) and bring them to a theme park in San Diego.

Spielberg knows what the audience wants; the film has more dinosaurs, even better CGI and impressive animatronic dinosaurs from the maestro Stan Winston. The action throughout the film is exciting and while not as astonishing as Jurassic, the effects are first-rate. John William's music for the film is suitably jungle -driven, with a dark and exhilarating score that fits the film's tone. There are problems, the tagged- on ending with the T. Rex stomping through San Diego is silly, and although the action is good, the story isn't one of Spielberg's best. That said, the principal cast are fine, especially Goldblum as Malcolm ("Ooh, aah, that's how it always starts, and then later the running and screaming") and Postewaite as Roland Tembo, a game hunter intent on shooting one of the Tyrannosaurs. Silly in parts, it's still an exciting adventure movie, with enough action and light humour to satisfy audiences.

The DVD extras are great, with a 50 minute 'making of', deleted scenes, trailers for all 3 Jurassic movies, a huge amount of conceptual drawings, storyboards, a featurette 'The world of Jurassic Park', marketing, posters and toys, production notes and web links. Great stuff.

There's magic in Krull, and it's not just coming from the blind wizard! Krull is the story of a prince whose marriage to the princess of a rival country will bring an end to their family's longstanding feud. Their wedding, however, is interrupted by reptilian-like aliens in Cylon-like armor who fire lasers at an essentially medieval-like peasantry.

Throughout the film, the dauntless Prince Colwyn assembles a group of brigands, mages, and even a golden-hearted cyclops to help rescue his princess and bring about a more egalitarian future for his planet. The evil alien king--somewhat akin to Milton's Satan, but without the sour-grapes dialogue--plans to marry the princess and extend his fascistic grasp on an otherwise peace-loving aristocratically-organized political body.

The political significance of Krull cannot be overstated; however, I do not want to detract from the amazing special-effects, the comic scenes, the heart-wrenching sacrifices, or the fantastic scenery. Additionally, the score is so dramatic, that it truly does become a character of its own. The leitmotif of the glave is one of the boldest moments in the history of film soundtracks (it even rivals "Alexander Nevsky").

Of course, Krull operates on different levels: one can read into the film if one likes, or one can indulge in the fantasy of it. Either way, the film is an essential in the development of American Genre Film. Because it is a "genre" picture, AFI neglected to put Krull on its list of the greatest movies ever. But if we could see past the labels of "sci-fi" or "fantasy," we'd certainly recognize that Krull tells the story of our own quests to find the princess in each of us.

I saw Krull in my local cinema when I was 8 years old (I am 28 now) and I was in total awe. The cyclop, the flying horses, the black fortress, I mean, it was the kind of movie adventure that I loved and cheered. Been a child I absorbed the story and mythos the movie told, I remember been "afraid" of the menace of the fortress, thinking "they still got the guts to go there???" the Slayers were dreadful, the glavie was enigmatic and so on, I also recall making draws of the characthers and scenes from the movie and of course "singing to myself" the music, ah yes, the music, what a incredible portrait of the sense of magic,adventure and joy (got my two cds soundtrack a few months ago, fully recommend it.)
I saw the movie twice on the cinema, still remember that night that I took my parents to see it with me (first time was with friends and a adult of course) ah, those days...

Anyway, back to the review. After all this years I still got fond memories from this one. Krull is a excellent example of the hero's journey, full of adventure and great moments.The DVD have a lot of cool features that any fan would love, so go ahead rent or buy it. If you never see it give a try. Despite been a bit cheesy by today standards, Krull packs a ride full of wonderful landscapes, action, great music, still somehow cool effects, and mainly a clasic sense of adventure that few recent films can achieve.

How I would love to see a special edition on the silver screen again, *sigh*

The very elements that make this film at times absurd also make it a classic; the literary allusion to The Wizard of Oz; the great stone head of the god Zardoz floating around the Irish countryside; Zed's attempt to destroy the "heart" of the peaceful community he invades. There's a campy quality that runs throughout the film and, no doubt, that was intentional. Boorman's films both great (Deliverance) and bad (The Exorcist 2)are focused on the conflict between the outsider or individual and society or culture surrounding him. Zardoz is a bit more explicit and, yes, pretentious than some of his other work. Nevertheless, Boorman succeeds for the most part. '

Zardoz isn't for everyone and that's no slam. It takes a certain sense of humor and appreciation for well groomed satires to like this film. I'd suggest rening Zardoz and discovering if its you're cup of tea (after all the image of guns spewing forth of the mouth of a "god" isn't something we see everyday). It's a savage satire of religion, social norms and the counterculture all nicely rolled into a compact, murky narrative.

The transfer is very good although there are quite a few analog artifacts. The commentary from director John Boorman is quite enlightening and both illuminates as much as it frustrates. Boorman is articulate and informed. It's clear that even he wasn't quite clear what his ultimate message was. Although Zardoz isn't likely to be remembered as being as groundbreaking as 2001 or Star Wars, it is in the same league in many respects. Just as Kubrick used satire in Strangelove and 2001 (the visual narrative of the film is packed with his satrical spirit), so too Boorman packs his narrative with just as much satire and observation.

It's not a perfect film but for some folks it's perfectly fine despite all it's imperfections.

The vast majority of the world has been destroyed. How the world was destroyed was never explained, but we see that most of the world is barren and smoking. Most buildings are ruined. People run like cattle from a selected few called exterminators, whose sole mission is to kill anyone they find.

All has not been lost, however. There are enclaves of people living in sanctuaries, each called a Vortex. These sanctuaries are protected from the outside world by force fields. Inside the sanctuary the people study and are well fed. They have developed mental abilities, including telepathy and some telekinesis. Most importantly, they are apparently immortal. There are only two downsides to this utopia. First, these people have lost all interest in physical love. Second, a number of these people are so apathetic that they have become like walking dead, devoid of energy and purpose, nearly comatose.

Our story focuses on Zed, played by Sean Connery. Zed is an exterminator who manages to penetrate a Vortex by boarding the giant floating head known as Zardoz. Once Zed penetrates the Vortex, he finds that he was actually bred to be the savior of the residents of the Vortex (you'll have to watch and find out what he is supposed to do, and whether he does it). We learn the origin of the Vortex and follow Zed as he reaches his destiny, as well as that of the people of the Vortex.

The Vortex itself is a socialistic, apparently matriarchal, society. The general appearance and behavior of the residents is as though they were transported from the 1960s into the future. The touching and feeling techniques, the psychedelic special effects, and the generally communal nature of the Vortex all bespeak of the utopia that the flower children of the 60s were hoping to achieve. However, as the advertisements for the movie state, I have seen the future and it does not work. Truer words were never spoken. The citizens of utopia have accomplished nothing, and in general appear to be regressing and petty rather than advancing. Thus, the movie satirizes the society that was held as the ideal of the 60s.

In general the movie is somewhat dated by the now-crude special effects. However, as a vision of the future, the movie accomplishes much. While there are a few plot holes, most of them can be ignored as you follow Zed in his quest for knowledge. I've seen the term "cerebral science fiction" used for this movie, and find it appropriate. This movie falls into the narrow class of movie occupied by a few others such as "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Dark City," and "The Game." You are intended to look for the meanings and satire in this movie, of which there is much.

This movie was one of the best movies I had seen prior to "Star Wars," and continues to be one of my favorites. I recommend this movie to those who like quirky, bizarre and unusual films. It's quite good if you can get into it, but incomprehensible and confused if you can not. Borrow it from a friend before you buy it.

I vividly remember going to see this brilliant film at seven or eight years of age and having been totally enamored with the overall theme. A few years later, I read "Logan's Run," "Logan's World" and "Logan's Search" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, all of which not only served to further this brilliant story but turned it into an extraordinary Science Fiction trilogy!

Michael York, Richard Jordan and Jenny Agutter all perform superbly in this silver screen classic! Between the films overall success, the exceptional actors and the demand for a sequel, I'm quite surprised one never followed.

If one were to make the comparison between "Logan's Run" and other big budget, extraordinary Science Fiction films of the seventies, like "Star Wars™ you could definitely say that it holds its own quite well.

The premise:

Imagine a future some two hundred years down the road where most of humanity has been wiped out leaving the remainder to build and live in domes with limited resources and the measures that would be taken to continue survival. That is the "basic" premise behind "Logan's Run." The more explicit premise is human nature at its need to expand beyond where it's at and its need to question everything.

In "Logan's Run," the society of the future has a need to limit the number of people due to limited resources, therefore when born; everyone has a life crystal placed in the palm of their hand. Run by the domes central computer, this life crystal goes through stages based on its owner's hand. At certain ages it changes colors. Upon nearing the owners thirtieth birthday it starts blinking, meaning it's nearly time for renewal. Renewal being when the respective thirty year old human is blown up quite spectacularly in a huge ceremony. For those that do not wish to end their lives, they become runners who are chased down by "Sandmen." It is the job of the Sandmen to track down runners, wherever they may go, and kill them.

Logan, who is one of the Sandmen does his job perfectly, tracking down a runner and kills him. After doing so, he removes the runner's possessions; among them is an Anck, which he does not yet know what it is. The next day, when he attempts to turn in the runner's possessions, the domes central computer asks him if he knows what the Anck is, which of course he doesn't. The central computer then effectively turns him into a runner by adding several years to his life clock and orders him to determine what and where "Sanctuary" is. Sanctuary is the mythical place where runners are trying to run to. What follows is nothing less than one of the best Science Fiction films of the seventies!

I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of the genre! {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

- Feature Length commentary by Michael York, Director Michael Anderson and costume designer Bill Thomas.
- Behind The Scenes documentary - A Look into the 23rd Century
- Remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
- Theatrical Trailer

I vividly remember going to see this brilliant film at seven or eight years of age and having been totally enamored with the overall theme. A few years later, I read "Logan's Run," "Logan's World" and "Logan's Search" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, all of which not only served to further this brilliant story but turned it into an extraordinary Science Fiction trilogy!

Michael York, Richard Jordan and Jenny Agutter all perform superbly in this silver screen classic! Between the films overall success, the exceptional actors and the demand for a sequel, I'm quite surprised one never followed.

If one were to make the comparison between "Logan's Run" and other big budget, extraordinary Science Fiction films of the seventies, like "Star Wars™ you could definitely say that it holds its own quite well.

The premise:

Imagine a future some two hundred years down the road where most of humanity has been wiped out leaving the remainder to build and live in domes with limited resources and the measures that would be taken to continue survival. That is the "basic" premise behind "Logan's Run." The more explicit premise is human nature at its need to expand beyond where it's at and its need to question everything.

In "Logan's Run," the society of the future has a need to limit the number of people due to limited resources, therefore when born; everyone has a life crystal placed in the palm of their hand. Run by the domes central computer, this life crystal goes through stages based on its owner's hand. At certain ages it changes colors. Upon nearing the owners thirtieth birthday it starts blinking, meaning it's nearly time for renewal. Renewal being when the respective thirty year old human is blown up quite spectacularly in a huge ceremony. For those that do not wish to end their lives, they become runners who are chased down by "Sandmen." It is the job of the Sandmen to track down runners, wherever they may go, and kill them.

Logan, who is one of the Sandmen does his job perfectly, tracking down a runner and kills him. After doing so, he removes the runner's possessions; among them is an Anck, which he does not yet know what it is. The next day, when he attempts to turn in the runner's possessions, the domes central computer asks him if he knows what the Anck is, which of course he doesn't. The central computer then effectively turns him into a runner by adding several years to his life clock and orders him to determine what and where "Sanctuary" is. Sanctuary is the mythical place where runners are trying to run to. What follows is nothing less than one of the best Science Fiction films of the seventies!

I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of the genre! {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

- Feature Length commentary by Michael York, Director Michael Anderson and costume designer Bill Thomas.
- Behind The Scenes documentary - A Look into the 23rd Century
- Remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
- Theatrical Trailer

For the record, BG was planned as a TV miniseries in 1977-78, and was shot in standard TV format, meaning full frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. However, the show had cost more than expected, and so it was decided to release a edited version to theaters in canada and probably overseas. In order to do this, they reprinted the film with the top and bottom portions masked off to adapt to then-current movie projectors. Then, as now, practically every theater was setup to screen films in either 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. So this version is a representation of BG that was sent to theaters in 1978
(As for this DVD being without anamorphic enhancement, that's just Universal being cheap and seeing a chance to exploit BG fandom by double-dipping. Although I don't know how many takers they will get because they included a promo for the SciFi Channel's "reimagining" Of Battlestar Galactica....something that dedicated Galactica fans HATE!!!)

The Good:
It had been quite a while since I have seen the movie. I was actually expecting a lot of slow parts. That is not the case at all. This film moves along very fast. Maybe too fast.
The special effects are still top notch. I only noticed one place where there was a green "glow" around a cylon ship. If you use your imagination, you can easily pretend that that is supposed to happen. All the spaceships are still "cool." Too bad the film did not have a Base Star versus a Battlestar.
The principal actors were good. I wish we could have gotten more of the love-to-hate-him Baltar.

The Bad:
The sound is mono?! Are you kidding me? They should have gone to the expense to put it into at least a basic stereo sound. (My home theater can only do so much.)

It's not "true" widescreen, but it does have a widescreen "feel" even if all they did was shrink the picture and add the black stripes.

The first battle scenes could have been a lot longer. I believe 3 battlestars were blown up, but we only get to see 1.

Summary:
I still enjoyed this film after all these years and it did leave me wanting more, both in quantity and quality. I will probably eventually buy the entire series, but only when the price comes down a bit.

*There were some scenes from the new Sci-Fi series included. Cylon warriors. Where are they? There is a lot of potential for a new series, but if they do it the way it appears, I probably won't invest any time in it. It looks more like "Starship Troopers" with the love and all, then it does our beloved series from the 70's.

For the record, BG was planned as a TV miniseries in 1977-78, and was shot in standard TV format, meaning full frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. However, the show had cost more than expected, and so it was decided to release a edited version to theaters in canada and probably overseas. In order to do this, they reprinted the film with the top and bottom portions masked off to adapt to then-current movie projectors. Then, as now, practically every theater was setup to screen films in either 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. So this version is a representation of BG that was sent to theaters in 1978
(As for this DVD being without anamorphic enhancement, that's just Universal being cheap and seeing a chance to exploit BG fandom by double-dipping. Although I don't know how many takers they will get because they included a promo for the SciFi Channel's "reimagining" Of Battlestar Galactica....something that dedicated Galactica fans HATE!!!)

The Good:
It had been quite a while since I have seen the movie. I was actually expecting a lot of slow parts. That is not the case at all. This film moves along very fast. Maybe too fast.
The special effects are still top notch. I only noticed one place where there was a green "glow" around a cylon ship. If you use your imagination, you can easily pretend that that is supposed to happen. All the spaceships are still "cool." Too bad the film did not have a Base Star versus a Battlestar.
The principal actors were good. I wish we could have gotten more of the love-to-hate-him Baltar.

The Bad:
The sound is mono?! Are you kidding me? They should have gone to the expense to put it into at least a basic stereo sound. (My home theater can only do so much.)

It's not "true" widescreen, but it does have a widescreen "feel" even if all they did was shrink the picture and add the black stripes.

The first battle scenes could have been a lot longer. I believe 3 battlestars were blown up, but we only get to see 1.

Summary:
I still enjoyed this film after all these years and it did leave me wanting more, both in quantity and quality. I will probably eventually buy the entire series, but only when the price comes down a bit.

*There were some scenes from the new Sci-Fi series included. Cylon warriors. Where are they? There is a lot of potential for a new series, but if they do it the way it appears, I probably won't invest any time in it. It looks more like "Starship Troopers" with the love and all, then it does our beloved series from the 70's.