INSOMNIAC SONG
MOVIE AND TELEVISION REVIEWS
SCIENCE FICTION
Dark Skies (2013)
Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo
Directed by: Scott Stewart
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 97 minutes
Synopsis: As the Barret family's peaceful suburban life is rocked by an escalating series of disturbing events, they come to learn that a terrifying and deadly force is after them.
Dark Skies offers nothing new in the format of horror or science fiction. Slow paced and often tedious, I didn't find myself really caring what happened to the family. There were some moments when I thought there would be some buildup, but the payoff came and went with no resolution. This one suffers from being too mediocre.
Rating: 1.5/5
SCIENCE FICTION
Oblivion (2013)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 124 minutes
Synopsis: A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.
Oblivion gets points for being an original story with beautiful visuals. The originalities of the story can't stand up to all of the usual science fiction tropes that have been done much better in the past. The plot flounders mid-way through the film and never quite recovers. Tom Cruise tries hard in this one, but fails to deliver anything stunning.
Rating: 2.5/5
SCIENCE FICTION
Pacific Rim (2013)
Starring: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 131 minutes
Synopsis: As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.
While there's nothing visually wrong with Pacific Rim, the plot suffers from the director's overzealous approach to the visuals. It's clear that Del Toro is a huge fan of Ishiro Honda and Ray Harryhausen. He even added a dedication to them at the end of the credits. However, there are huge problems with fanboys making films. It either comes off as a great homage to their idols or a muddled mess of everything they've ever loved. Pacific Rim feels more like the latter to me. There are so many scenes in this film that are reminiscent of other works from Godzilla to Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the midst of it all, everything feels like I've seen it before.
Rating: 2.5/5
