Movies

Reading Comics Movies	I've never been a big fan of movies--I would usually rather read a book than watch a movie--but my girlfriend and her kids watch tons of movies, and it was inevitable that I would end up watching many of them, as well, whether I wanted to or not.   My god, how can people stand to watch so many movies??  My mind is reeling from them all.  I don't think I could name half of them.   I'll try to cover what I think are better or more interesting movies (IMHO, of course).
	Battle Beyond The Stars (1980)  - * * 1/2   This is really a B-movie, produced by B-Movie king Roger Corman.  Starring Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, John Saxon, Sybil Danning, George Peppard.  I always wanted to see this because I liked Richard Thomas (best known as "John-Boy" from the The Waltons), but it took over twenty years before I finally got to watch it (thanks to dvd's!).  Overall, it's enjoyable, with a minimum of cheesiness, but not a great movie.  The best way to describe it is something like The Seven Samurai in Outer Space.  As such, it's a nice touch having Robert Vaughn in it, since he was in The Magnificent Seven, a classic in its own right that was based on The Seven Samurai.   This movie also has the distinction of featuring early work by James Cameron (as art director), James Horner (on the soundtrack), and Gale Ann Hurd, all of whom went on to better movies.
	Hero (2002)  - * * * * *  Starring Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Dao Ming, Donnie Yen.  Called an action film or a martial arts film, it's really much more than that.  Semi-historical, it's based on China's early history, when several kingdoms were fighting over the land that would become the nation of China.  A nameless warrior (played by Jet Li) seeks revenge against the king of Qin, the most powerful of the kingdoms, and plans to assassinate him.  Besides the action sequences, there are some very lush, colorful scenes, an interesting plot device, and even some philosophy to consider, all of which goes into making this a truly great movie, and much more than a mere "action film".  I especially like the inverted plotting that shows the viewer the same essential actions from three different perspectives, each time getting closer to the truth. Thus, you get some epistemology as well as political and oriental philosophy.   Some may be put off by the fact that it's in Chinese with subtitles, but I think the use of the native language adds to the charm and overall effect of the movie.
	Solaris (2002) - * * * *   Starring George Clooney, this is the more recent movie version of the Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem's novel of the same name.  This is definitely *not* an action film.  Instead it's more of a psychological drama or even a romance with a science fiction setting.  This is an interesting and challenging film.  Clooney's character is a psychologist sent to find out what's gone wrong with the crew of a space station orbiting the mysterious planet Solaris.  And while the planet has an important role to play in the story, it's really more off-screen than on.  I hate to give too much away on this one, but much of the focus is on Clooney's character and his past relationship with his girlfriend.  Events on the space station force him to re-evaluate that relationship and his role in it.  It's a very human story, even though the catalyst for it is so alien.   I suppose it helped that I read the book before seeing the movie, but even so, it's a good-looking film with some nice atmospheric music.  And there are some other concepts to consider, even though they're not brought to the forefront.  There are some slight changes from the book, especially the ending, but I don't think the changes were too radical or unwarranted.
	THX 1138 (1971) - * * * * 1/2   Perhaps I'm being too generous in rating this film, but it is good on many levels.  Starring Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasance, Don Pedro Colley, and Maggie McOmie, this was George Lucas' first feature film, before Star Wars.  Lucas calls it an "abstract" film, and admittedly, it's challenging for the viewer.  It's very much an "impressionistic" movie, and to understand what's happening, you really have to pay attention to the subdued vocals and the visuals--nothing is given away too easily, and many things remain unexplained, even at the end.   In some future world, men live underground and are on mandatory drugs that keep them very placid and largely unemotional.  The main character, THX-1138, is weaned off the drugs by his roommate, and is inevitably found out when he can't do his sensitive job without the drugs.  Arrested and convicted for not taking his medication, he literallly walks out of his prison, and eventually manages to escape to the surface of the planet.    While there are various themes and ideas presented, the main thing for me is that this is the most realistic science fiction movie I've ever seen.  The premise and setting is very believable, very possible, even probable.  The characters are believable as well.  Most importantly, there's no superheroics or extreme, unrealistic action going on, no gunplay or fisticuffs, just the kind of action anybody would be capable of doing.    It's such an unusual movie, I'm sure that some people won't like it.  But I would certainly recommend seeing it, and pay attention when you do.