This is kind of a cheat, since most of it takes place in the 8027th century, but the main character’s initial travels take him through the first half of the 20th, making stops in 1917, 1940 and 1966. I liked the device of showing us the passage of time by way of the mannequin across the street and her changing fashions (although … the shop kept the same mannequin for decades?). And I kind of love the ending, which is the kind of conclusion you don’t see often with time travel stories.
Trailers: Can’t Stop the Music, Xanadu
The metaphor could not be more obvious and the filmmaking could not be more half-baked. But my goodness everyone on screen is going for it 1000%. There are flashes of inspiration here, particularly in the songs, which feel like “body snatcher” versions of much better songs. There are loads of great campy moments that may or may not be intentionally hilarious (I mean … “I’m coming … coming for you…” — they had to know how obvious that was, right?). It’s an absolute mess, but it’s an entertaining mess. Hey, hey, hey! BIM’s on the way!
Trailers: Universal Soldier, Double Impact
A fun movie, with some great action (and sick Van Damme splits!), but this is an especially bad and ill-thought-out time travel plot. For an organization that deals with time travel day in and day out, they seem really surprised when their agents come back and something has changed in the timeline, leading to confusion. I guess the idea is that they’re there to *keep* things from changing, but you’d think they’d debrief their agents after a mission to be sure. I also couldn’t believe how relevant the political aspect of the story felt to current events.
Trailers: Logan’s Run, Outland
This was a good deal more contemplative than I expected, given that all I’ve seen of it are the sportsy scenes. I ended up enjoying it, but in the end it’s not much different from other future dystopian stories where society has traded freedom for comfort and consumption. James Caan is great, as usual, and I liked the look of everything. But I feel like other movies have covered these kinds of ideas better (though this may have been one of the first to do it).
Trailers: Total Recall, Escape from New York
I love this movie and it’s always a fun watch, but on this rewatch I couldn’t help thinking of how much more detailed the world of this story must be in King’s novel, which the movie presumably eschews for the most part in favor of a pure action spectacle. I’m more curious than ever what Edgar Wright’s version of this material will be, if this indeed ends up being a future project of his. Perhaps the best thing about this movie, though, is the absolutely perfect casting of Richard Dawson.
Trailers: Alien, The Fugitive
This movie is beautiful and iconic and I know I should love it but it never fails to leave me cold. That is not at all to say that it’s not a good — even great — movie. But I always feel like I’m standing outside of it, chipping away at it and only occasionally getting glimpses of what it’s trying to say to me. I also wonder if the deliberate ambiguity about Deckard’s true nature (the nature of everyone in the film, really) makes it hard for me to relate to him or anyone else. And like a lot of dystopian movies, the details and worldbuilding look great but I can’t tell that very much of it has more meaning than just being interesting background noise. This one just remains an enigma to me.
Trailers: The Matrix, Chain Reaction
Cool idea that I think someone could take another crack at now that technology has advanced. Good action and some pretty brutal violence, if you’re into that kind of thing. Keanu Reeves had just come off of Speed here, and while he’s fun to watch, I missed the empathy of Jack Traven. I liked what the Great Whatsit of this movie ultimately turned out to be (to say nothing of its timeliness -- especially as it takes place last year), but the conclusion feels rushed and unearned. Side note: That visor eyeglass thing in the image above reminds me far too much of Martyrs (2008).
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