Enders Game

Can a classic science fiction novel is made into a hollywood film?  Is there a chance they can make it right?   I will say that the novel itself is a book I adored as a teen, and still like as an adult.   It is also a special effects tour de force, so I will have a few images for the readers.  Here is my review of Enders Game (2013) the surprisingly decent and fascist telling of a beloved Science Fiction novel of the same name.


Movie: Enders Game (2013)
Rating: PG-13

Starring: Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin, Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff, Hailee Steinfeld as Petra Arkanian, and Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham.
Score: 6.8 out of 10 stars
Family Friendly: 3.5/5 (violence)
Recommended: Anyone who has read he book first

 Plot Summery (No Spoilers)




Ender Wiggin, a schoolboy, is the selected in the near future for training to fight aliens who stuck earth, and earth is looking for a commander... 

Plot Summery (Spoilers)

 Earth was attacked, and a hero, Mazer Rackham, rams his ship into the mothership of the aliens and stops the attack, and earth begins to build a fleet of ships and militarizes.  Ender Wiggin is a smart, smallish boy who has potential for the earth's defense force (the International fleet) and when faced with a bully, not only defeats him, he beats him so that he will never threaten Ender again.   This turns out to be the last test for Ender, and he is promoted to Battle school.  

Battle school is the core of the film.   Battle school takes place on a space station above the earth, with children (young  teens in the case of the movies) are trained for a future in the military.  Of course, some of the best training for kids is games, and two of the games are noteworthy, A laser-tag like game, and a computer game to test the students mental state. 

The laser-tag like game consists of a zero-gravity area and if the player is hit by a laser, he becomes frozen.   Ender quickly shows his leadership and tactical abilities in the game, being promoted up to new teams, meeting friends and enemies, and finally obtaining his own team. 

 The computer game consists of variang challenges, including a challenge that the player is not supposed to win, with a Giant asking a player, who currently a mouse, to drink one of two cups.   Both are poison, and its to see how the students react to not being able to win.   Ender figures out a third way to get past this challenge.

Then we get to the end of the battle-school a rival (Bonzo) of Ender confronts him in the shower.  Ender proceeds to win the fight, but Bonzo hits his head and is killed.   This leads to him being promoted and sent to Command School.

At command school, he is presented with another game, a accurate simulation of the upcoming war with the aliens, and meets a unexpected teacher,  Mazer Rackham who stopped the last invasion has been kept alive so that he might teach his successor,  Ender and his troop of follow kids start to play the game.  

This leads to the climatic battle, where Ender seeing that he has a near hopeless situation,  sacrifices everything to carry out a suicide strike on the alien planet, killing all the alien queens.  He thinks he won the game, till he finds out that he won the war.   It wasn't really a game.


Ender is smart enough to know that he really is not a hero, but a Genocidal evil kid, and is horrified.   His boss Graff is of course overjoyed that Ender was able to make the tough choices.   And Ender flips out.  

He is called by dreams to explore a area, and finds the last queen, who is dying, however she has one egg left, and Ender with Xonocidal guilt, agrees to take the egg and find a world where the alien race can live again. 



My thoughts:  I was planning on bashing the film, as it is disappointing to the books.  Still it is a solid movie that is enjoyable.   It has some strong points.  The visual effects and the acting ability of the cast (including the child actors) is superb.   However the need to cram a ton of plot into a marketable movie means that the plot, which is more then solid, does not have the time for you to buy as a viewer on why Ender is accepted as a leader.   This is a critical flaw.  In addition, the Aliens, which are a key concept to understand the plot, and not really discussed till late in the movie.

I will start on the actors.   The major "kid" actors are excellent.   Butterfeild, Hailee Steinfeld
 (Most famous as the girl from "true grit") and Abigail Breastlin (famous for Little Miss Sunshine) all do amazing jobs.   The other child actors do yeoman work.  

One major plot point that is dropped from the movies from the book is Enders sister and brother.   Both are products of the earth eugenic program to create the commander that Earth needs, but Peter is a sociopath, and his sister Valentine is too nice.   In the books they become bloggers who change the world.   (To be fair, the novel is from 1984 and predicts the internet, the jump to security over freedoms, children's love of video games, and other issues.   I can accept that the writer had too much belief in blogging.)


There is a theme of Fascism.  Seeing kids being trained from a young age to march off to war and to fight does launch some sectors of your brain that normally do not get fired.   Also it is clear that the earth's government is clearly highly militarized and it does lead to genocide.

   

In most movies, the kid actors is what leads to the failure of the movie.  In Enders Game, it the adult actors who fail to carry the water as it seems that they do not have the star power or taking the material seriously unlike the kids.    It quite surprising, and Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham is phoning it in the movie, hoping his odd choice of tribal tattoos would overlook his not trying.

In the end, this is a solid movie.  It does have some pace issues.  It screams as two part movie, or better yet, a HBO style miniseries to let the material breath and let the world that Ender lives in breath and come to life.   

Also, the person requesting that I review Enders Game requested that I discuss the Latter Day Saint angle of Enders Game.   Unlike some of Orson Scott Cards books, this does not have a heavy Mormon influence.   (Both the blogger and the writer of the book Enders Game are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - AKA Mormon)  I am also aware aware that some homosexuals protested this film as the writer is opposed to Gay Marriage. (Insert joke pointing out that one of the key moments of the book is two naked male teens wrestling all lathered up in a hot shower).   After some thought I could come up with only two concepts that have some sort of Mormon influence.   One is that while Ender is set up as a "savior" Christ like figure at first, he chooses violence as the answer, and only later sees that redemption comes from peace and reconciliation.   This is a common Christian theme, and is not exclusive to Mormons.   In addition Enders dreams leadinding him to find infomation and taking actions that directly save him is a very Latter Day Saint concept, and most likely is the strongest Latter Day Saint influence. 

Still, the book is excellent, (and the sequel, Speaker for the Dead is a all time classic) and the movie is enjoyable as both popcorn fare, and also as a strong, if flawed telling of the novel.  

Upcoming Reviews

I reserve the right to change at any time.   However these are the movies in the pipeline for review.    However I could add a movie or show if I happen to decide to watch it and decide to write a review.  

Movies

Zero Dark Thirty
Enders Game
Moon
Insomina (both American and Norwigian versions)
A Single Shot
Thin Red Line
Bond Films


TV
True Detective
Star Trek, Deep Space Nine
Farscape

Tale of Three Brothers

Not going to get a review in today, so I will just post a nice video of one of the better film moments of the Harry Potter films.

No Way Out

No Way Out (1987) is something that does not pop up anymore much.   A spy thriller with no superpowers, assassins, or world changing events, just flawed humans and a soviet mole.


Movie: No Way Out (1987)
Rating: R

Starring: Keven Costner as Tom Farrell, Gene Hackman as David Brice, Sean Young as Susan Atwell, and Will Patton as Scott Pritchard.
Score: 7.1 out of 10 stars
Family Friendly: 2/5 (a short, not nude sex scene, random topless woman one one scene, and a moment of domestic violence)
Recommended: Anyone who enjoys watching a old school spy thriller, and for woman who want to see a young Keven Costner.

 Plot Summery (No Spoilers)

Tom Farrel (Costner) meets Atwell (Young)at a Washington ball.  They seduce each other.  After being a hero on his ship, Farrel is invited back to DC to work for intelligence for Brice (Hackman)   Brice is also seeing Atwell, and in a moment of rage kills her when he finds out she seeing someone else.   Brice claims that Atwell was killed by 'Yuri', a known Soviet Mole, and Farrel is tasked to hunt down himself as he leads the investigation.

Plot Summery (Spoilers)

A dashing Naval Officer Farrel (played by a young Keven Costner) meets Susan Atwell (Young), a socialite at a DC Ball.   They quickly fall for each other and make love in the back of a limo with cheesy 1980s music in the background.   Farrel soon goes out on his ship, and rescues a man about to fall overboard.   He is promoted by the Secretary of Defense Brice (Hackman) to a intelligence job.  We also find out the Department of Defense knows they have a spy inside the department that they have nicknamed 'Yuri'

Things become more complicated when we find out that the socialite is also sleeping with Brice.   In Farrel and Atwell's meeting, she takes a film photo (remember, this is the 1980s) of Farrel, who does not want to be photographed.   he crushes the film and throws it away.

Brice gives Atwell a nice gift (that was in turn given to him by a Moroccan diplomat, and thus recorded in a computer system) of a decorative box.   Later Brice finds out that his mistress Atwell is seeing another man, but she does not tell who.  In a fit of rage he throws Atwell off the stairwell and she dies.  

Brice, knowing that he needs to cover up his murder and affair, hes helped by his top aide Scott Pritchard (Patton) who thinks of the wonderful concept of claiming that Atwell knew who the soviet mole 'Yuri' is, and was seeing him.  

Farrel is given the task to lead the investigation to hunt down himself as he was the man who was seeing Atwell.   This leads to the meat of the film, as Farrel deals with pair of CIA "cleaners" and tries to prove that Brice was seeing Atwell while hindering the investigation on himself, without putting attention to himself.    It becomes a race of time between a computer slowly rebuilding the image of Farrel on the discarded film and Farrel linking the box with Brice. 

The climax comes as our three main characters are in the office,  Pritchard reveals that he killed a man for Brice, Brice disowns him for this, Farrel insisting that he must reveal to the public the truth.  It comes to a climax when Pritchard commits suicide, and Brice, ever the political survivor, pins the blame of Yuri on the now dead Pritchard, and our dashing hero of morals is saved....

Then he goes and talks to some interrogators, the man behind the glass comes out, and its Farrel's old landlord, who speaks to Farrel in perfect russian as he welcomes back Yuri to the fold, as Farrel really was the spy all along.

My thoughts:  A truly solid film that is a good classic spy thriller.   Keven Costner is the center of this film, and you can see that he has the ability to hold the entire movie together as it runs down the plot.

Some of this film has dated poorly.   The two new lovers in the back of the limo while 1980's music plays is more humorous then sexy as it so dated.   Also the computer centric tools used is both forward thinking, and yet dated as you see dot matrix printers print and what movies thought Photoshop would look like. 

This also has references to the US activities in Latin America at the time that to most modern viewers would forget, much like the last two administrations have forgotten the concept of the Monroe doctrine.   (I was a political science major, I have to get my dings in when I can).

The ending is both what makes this film great, and at the same time flawed, as its very abrupt and feels disjointed from the rest of the film.   Just seven years later this type of twist ending was used much more effectively in  The Usual Suspects (1995)

Sean Young is surprisingly forgettable in this film.  Of course, most only know her as "Blade Runner Girl".   Hackman and Patton do a solid job.   No one will will awards for the acting, but outside of young none of the actors will leave you wanting more out of the roles.  

In conclusion, its a solid film that is not a waste of your time to see, and could easily become someone cult classic fave movie due to the 'Yuri' ending.  

Badlands (1973)

This review is of the 1970s film Badlands (1973), the first film directed by Terrence Malick.   This film is also the feature film debut of Martin Sheen, and who stars opposite of Sissy Spacek.  

Movie: Badlands (1973)
Rating: PG

Starring: Martin Sheen as Kit, Sissy Spacek as Holly, and Warren Oates as Holly's Father
Score: 9.5 out of 10 stars
Family Friendly: 4/5 (Some folks get shot including police officers, Would be a PG-13 movie today (PG-13 was not created till the 1980s)
Recommended: Anyone who enjoys a visually stunning 1970s movie and enjoys seeing a very young Martin Sheen show why he such a good actor. 

 Plot Summery (No Spoilers)


Holly, a girl in a boring South Dakota town meets the older Kit, who likes to think that he looks like James Dean.   They elope, and Kit shows his real self as they start to shoot themselves across the Dakota Badlands.


Plot Summery (Spoilers)

The movie starts with Holly, who is the semi-innocent narrator of the movie, describing how what starts in little alleys ended up in the badlands of the Dakota's.   Soon we see her, twirling her Baton, as Kit, who recently quit his job as a garbage man, sees her and sweeps her off her feet.   Of course, Holly's dad does not approve, as Kit is 25 and Holly is only 15.   However Kit has a easy way to fix such a disagreement.   He shoots Holly father and they couple run off into the Dakota Badlands, to try to live a idyllic life, building a tree house in the woods and living as young lovers.   However the law is after the couple, and soon we learn that Kit is at least unstable, if not outright sociopath in nature as he begins to shoot his way across the Dakotas with the narrating Holly in tow.  

 

 

Soon the couple is shooting across the Dakotas, you know it cannot end well, and in the end they young lovers are captured, with Holly narrating how she married her lawyers son, and Kit ended up being executed by the state for his crimes. 

My thoughts:

This is a story that has been told a hundred times, thus the short plot synopsis.    It is based off the true story of the Charles Starkweather, who at the young age of 18 ran off with a young 13 year old girlfriend and killed 11 people before being caught in the 1950s.

There are four things that make this movie go from just another story of star crossed lovers to a classic in cinema.  

1)  The stunning landscape and photography.
2) The charisma of a young Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek
3) The great use of Music
4) The formula of Holly's childlike narration of the awful acts committed around her. 

This movie is a visual feast, with the stark landscape being part and parcel of the movie.   Many of the screenshots when outside could be used as postcards if it was still photography.   Even in this early work you see Terrence Malick already using two of his techniques, stunning photography and voice over narration.   I will go over the narration later, but this film at times makes you forget that Kit is truly a horrific person.

Speaking of Kit, Martin Sheen is simply amazing as the young greaser who likes to think he looks like James Dean.   He effortlessly oozes the simple confidence that at no time you doubt that he could talk his way into the heart of a young girl, even while committing murders as they go across the plains.   It is even more notable when you remember that this is his first ever film.

Above is a clip of the movie, showing the music and narration that makes this movie notable.   The music gives the movie a tone of almost childlike innocence, which combined with the narration helps reinforce the concept that Holly is not functioning as a adult in this movie.   Her narration reinforces this, as for example, she calmly informs what happens when her dad find out she still seeing Kit.

"Then sure enough Dad found out I been running around behind his back. He was madder than I ever seen him. His punishment for deceiving him: he went and shot my dog. He made me take extra music lessons every day after school, and wait there ‘till he came to pick me up. He said that if the piano didn’t keep me off the streets, maybe the clarinet would.” 

This is a classic movie from one of the best American directors (later made Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), and Tree of Life (2011)) is a great movie for those who can accept the early 1970s pacing of the film, which is a strong contrast to today's movies where the action never stops.  

Silly Movie Concept #1

I will occasionally post a silly concept that is good enough to be made into a movie.   Or at least a more odd concept has been made into a movie.


Silly Movie Concept #1

A actor sells his soul to the devil for long life and to be a greatly successful actor.   But his character he plays in any role has to die.  Lead actor who sells his soul is played by Sean Bean of course.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

I am starting my reviews with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), the latest in the Marvel series of Superhero films.   While you would gain more enjoyment if you have seen the Captain America: The First Avenger  (2011) and Avengers (2012), nothing prevents you from enjoying the movie if you have not seen any of the Marvel series of films. 


Movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Rating: PG-13

Starring: Chris Evans as Captain America/Steve Rogers, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, and the always lovely Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow.
Score: 8 out of 10 stars
Family Friendly: 4/5 (Intense gun fighting, action violence and big screen explosions.  No Nudity/sex or Language issues)
Recommended:  Anyone who enjoys a good summer blockbuster which is as much as a Borne film as a superhero film and enjoys summer blockbusters films should see this.  

Plot Summery (No Spoilers)

Captain America faces off foes, both foreign and domestic as he finds out that SHIELD has been compromised from the inside, and must race to stop a plot to enslave the world.

Plot Summery (Spoilers)

Captain America, a washed out WW2 era infantryman turned into a Superhero to fight Nazi's was frozen and finds himself in today's world.   He works for a organization called SHIELD (think Homeland Security with Superheros) to keep the world a safe place.   The opening sequence is of Cap. America and a team of Special forces recapturing a ship and saving hostages.   However Black Widow has a side mission to download some data.  

Something is not right in the secret world of SHIELD, and soon Nick Fury, who is in charge of it, is attacked by assailants, is able to escape only to be killed before Captain America, before warning him to trust no-one and given the data that was obtained in the opening raid.

Captain America refuses to give all information to Fury's boss (Pierce, played by a masterful Robert Redford) and there is a attempt to arrest Captian America, who goes on the lamb to find out what really is going on.   Soon him and Black Widow are tracing down the data source while being hunted by SHIELD.  

Finding a deep underground bunker, Widow and Captain America find the data source, a old enemy long thought dead uploaded to a computer.   He informs the heroes that Hydra (A Nazi Organization) had secretly entered SHIELD and started a long term plan.   The plan being to use modern computers and all the data online to identify those who would stand up to them, and kill them with a new security system being set up.   On a nice added touch, the computer informs them that why it was telling the heroes this is to delay them for a drone strike. 

Captain America and Black Widow Survive the missile strike and assault, and meet with Sam Wilson, played by the underrated Anthony Mackie.   This forms the team (Sam Wilson has access to some high tech flying gear) and on the road it is time for a major action sequence, which is as good as any car chase and action sequence on this side of To Live and Die in LA (1985).  At this point they encounter guy who killed Fury in the first act, who turns out to be a reprogrammed and enhanced buddy of Captain America back in his WW2 days.  At the end of the action sequence it appears that our heroes are captured, but are rescued and find out Nick Fury is really alive (but wounded) and they hatch a plan to stop Hydra.  The plan is to go to the three air-gunships that are the basis of the security system that Hydra will use to attack people with and reprogram them with chips. 



The last act of the film is a large action set piece as the Heroes save the day in the nick of time.   This is a comic book movie not named Watchmen (2011) so this is how it will be.


My thoughts: This is a surprisingly good Superhero film.   It feels as much as a Borne or good Bond film at times then a superhero film.   Perhaps most surprisingly for me is the major underlining theme of to beware of a government that is all too willing to offer security in lieu of freedom, and what unchecked power to the state can do to its citizens.   This is all too real of a concern with the NSA spying issues and the disregard of some in government of the rule of law and the oversight and separation of powers in government.  

Also, Captain America in this incarnation is a great hero.   I am the first to say that I like deeply flawed or outright Anti-heroes, be it Tony Soprano or Walter White.   However it is deeply refreshing to have a hero that decides to do the hard, but right thing and it no way feels hokey since the character was born before World War Two.   It is also nice to see that his "Superpowers" are just being fit, a cool shield, and his ability to inspire others to do the right thing. 

It was also refreshing to see a lot of practical special effects instead of CGI, it too easy to make everything CGI, and when a filmmaker uses old fashioned slight of hand to make a practical effect, it makes it much more real. 

This has everything you would want out of a summer film.   It has great action sequences, Chris Evans for the girls, Scarlett Johansson for the guys, and a plot that has surprising relevance to today's world, while at the same time reminding us of the guiding principles that our political elites buried somewhere near Albany St NYC. 

First Post

This is the first post to my little Blog.   I will be doing movie reviews, TV show reviews, and other commentary in dealing with the enjoyment of watching movies.