Oblivion is a Sleek Throwback to the Old School Sci-Fi, the Story may not be Original, but the End Result is Solid

Oblivion (3 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy)

Written by Joseph Kosinski, Karl Gajdusek (Tresspass), Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Melissa Leo, and Morgan Freeman

I think the the most common complaint I have heard with regard to this film is "been there done that."  Some of the most common themes throughout this film have been seen before, a desolate New York City landscape (Planet of the Apes), a bright glowing red light alien (2001: A Space Odyssey), robots mining the ground for safety which is similar to themes from Wall-E, and many more.  Over the years many themes throughout sci-fi have been shower rinsed and repeated, and while this film has many of repeated, but this film is still well made and is harkens back to classic sci fi films.

Oblivion centers around Jack (Cruise) in 2077 who is sent on daily missions to extract resources, and fix drones who protect the Earth from aliens, Scavs who attacked Earth.  Earth is in a desolate state and Jack along with his partner Victoria (Riseborough) carry out the tasks from Sally (Leo) on the space ship, which hovers above Earth, and holds the some of the people who made it out safely from the attack. While on the missions Jack sees glimpses of his past, scenes of him on the Empire State Building with an unknown woman, something he can'e help shake.  After a ship crashes Jack saves a woman who is almost killed by a drone, and the pieces of this peaceful missions start to fall a part,  and the glimpses of the memories he once had start to unfold.

Joseph Kosinski whose first feature film was Tron: Legacy steps up his directorial game.  While Tron was a bloated mess Kosinski has found this incredible balance which create great action packed drama, while never shoving the intense action packed world down our throats.  There is one scene where Jack is involved with a chase in his cruiser (do not want to give out any spoilers), and the direction blew me away, one solid action sequence that had me on the edge of my seat.  One of the other key pieces is the land he creates within this film, Kosinski has an architectural background, and this leads to creating some of the most beautifully designed areas, from the base where Jack and Victoria live to the destroyed New York Public Library.  

Kosinski was also the architect for the original graphic novel, which this film was based.  The film went through numerous re-writes, and while the writing is not bad, the strength of the film is not within the script.  The script was originally co-written by William Monahan, but Karl Gajdusek stepped in (and is credited) and Universal had Michael Arndt do a final overhaul on the script.  While the writers did a good job of making the complicated story, well less complicated there were moments when the love story fell flat, or they held on too long to a concept or an idea, like what the radiation zone actually was.

The thing which makes this film beautiful is the visual effects combined with the imagery captured bye Life of Pi cinematographer Claudio Miranda.  These two elements create a film, which has some of the most haunting moments that leave you wanting to be able to reach out and touch this world.  Miranda's shot of Jack and Victoria swimming, and under water were beautiful along with the dark and desolate dessert mixed with the hope of the life growing in the forrest.  Together these elements created a visual mind field of greatness.  Combine that with the perfect futuristic sounding score from M83 and the technical aspects make the film what it is!

In the end I have to give credit to Tom Cruise, while many dislike this man for his personal beliefs you can't hold against him that he is, and has continued to be one of the strongest leading men for a long time.  Cruise has the charisma you long for on the screen, and his believability within this role, helps you connect to his own journey as Jack reaches (great pun right-Jack Reacher-I digress) for a something which feels real in an artificial setting.  

Oblivion is much better than expected, and never say "this has been done before" because if you used that as excuse to say a movie is sloppy or bad, you would be saying that about most films.  This film is by no means perfect, but separates itself from most tent-pole action films with heart and determination.

The Dark Knight Rises to Meet the Expectations of Truly Impressive Conclusion

The Dark Knights Rises (4 out of 5)

Directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento)

Written by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan (Memento)

Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman

Last night I was able to experience all three Batman films from Christopher Nolan back to back. What a way to watch this "trilogy!"  Batman Begins started at 6:30, and set the pace from one of the entertaining film experiences I have ever had.  The film series has changed the face of "comic book" or pulp film, and this film is the largest undertaking for Nolan to date within this series.

The films starts eight years after The Dark Knight, Batman and Bruce Wayne have both disappeared from the public since the fall of Harvey Dent.  Batman is public enemy number one for the police, and Wayne himself has isolated himself from the outside world because he felt as though he failed at saving Gotham, and its people from the chaos the Joker imposed.  Bruce Wayne is drawn back in the world of Batman when a cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Hathaway) breaks into his home stealing his finger prints.  This thief leads way to another criminal mastermind Bane (Hardy( who wants to release Gotham from the chains of the government and take chaos to a whole new level.

Revealing any more of the plot would the pure enjoyment for audiences.  The film is epic and Christopher Nolan has taken on some mammoth productions in the past, but this films large scale ups the ante.  Nolan has tied together some modern elements of societal problems within this film like within his other films to make this world more salient.  Financial troubles are at the center of this film, and mistrust of the government.  In the current socio-political/economic climate (on a global level) there is a mistrust of those who were born with silver spoons in their mouth.  There are numerous points in the film when characters like Selina Kyle and others point out the fact that Bruce has never had to struggle financially so he does not understand the way these "villains" have built up this fierce anger and hatred toward those who have never had to fight or even work for what they needed.

As Wayne Batman have grown weaker and goes further into seclusion the League of Shadows new leader Bane becomes "Gotham's reckoning."  Hardy does not get to act in the same fashion Heath Ledger did with his version of the Joker, but the Bane villain is different.  Bane wears a mouthpiece because of something when he was younger, the apparatus on his face keeps him alive.  People are going to complain they can't understand Bane, although it was much better in this film than in the initial test screening.  Bane represents more than an agent of chaos; he wants to turn Gotham inside out, and has no fear about bringing the people of Gotham to their knees.

Selina Kyle wants to see the people of Gotham suffer too.  Kyle's cat burglar is done incredibly well; she does purr, or become overly cat like, she is more of a bad ass acrobat.  Hathaway does a great job with being sultry, and has incredible chemistry with Bale.  The character never feels out of place like I thought it would.  The other female in the film Miranda Tate (Cotillard) is the financial savior for Wayne Enterprises, the character is a bit bland throughout and has sexual encounter with Bruce Wayne that does not seem to make sense because of Kyle, but the end result is brilliant.  

Another new character on the scene is John Blake (Gordon-Levitt) a cop who becomes a detective.  Through John's eyes the story tells a sign of the hope youth have in the the symbol of someone like Batman who will come in and save the day.  Gordon-Levitt is a great addition to this film, and it fits that Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon (one of the best working actors) finally has a cop on his side who understands what Batman represents.

Batman himself or the broken Bruce Wayne played by Christian Bale has evolved so much.  Watching Bale in all three films yesterday have proven to show that not only has this man grown as an actor, but he truly has taken fans of this franchise on an evolutionary journey with this character.  Bale's Bruce Wayne and Batman has taken flight within this film, and this is one great performance. 

While Bale and Nolan do an incredible job within this film, there are still flaws that exist.  Some will call this film "clunky" and while I disagree with that label I can see where the boom can over power.  The opening sequence tries to replicate the introduction of the Joker, but there is no way to repeat that brilliant introduction.  Hans Zimmer's score for this film has moments where the music overpowers the dialogue or becomes to bombastic, but yet there are also the quiet moments when the score reveals some of the most wrought moments.  There were times in the beginning when Nolan seemed to be going in too many directions with too many characters, but the film filtered that, and even as the end (like in The Dark Knight) feels as though its taking too long to get there you are on the edge of your seat because of the built up with anticipation.

As a comic book reader this film hit it out the park with some of the most interesting Batman stories.  While I know Nolan wants to end the story with this film, and it feels like it could be an ending there are so many stories to explore further.  If this is the end, as Nolan states this was an incredible way to end this series, and I feel as though the closure given provides enough on an opportunity for the caped crusader to disappear into the night.