Oblivion Review

It’s rare these days to see a science fiction movie come along that actually shows some originality, instead of being a sequel to a previously established franchise.  It seems that for every District 9 or Inception that comes out, we have to sit through an entire Transformers trilogy until a breath of fresh air comes along.  Oblivion is that breath of fresh air, but it falls just short of being the modern science fiction classic that lies within it.

The setup for Oblivion is brilliant: In the not too distant future, the Earth has been ravaged by a war with an alien race.  The aliens, known as the Scavengers or “Scavs” for short, destroyed the moon, causing worldwide natural disasters, before invading Earth.  Earth fought back with nuclear weapons, winning the war but leaving the planet’s surface virtually uninhabitable in the process. 

Oblivion takes place a few years after the end of this war, where teams of humans are sent by a corporation to harvest what’s left of Earth’s natural resources, while also repairing drones that deal with the remainder of the Scavengers.  One of these humans is Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), who along with his assigned partner Victoria(Andrea Riseborough) are about to finish their service time and rejoin the human survivors on Titan, a moon of Saturn.  However, Jack is haunted by dreams of the past, and of a woman he once knew, despite having a mandatory memory wipe prior to the events of the movie.  Jack and Victoria’s seemingly routine life is interrupted when a capsule from 60 years past crash lands, containing Julia (Olga Kurylenko), the woman Jack has been dreaming about.  To make matters more complicated, Jack is captured by an underground colony of human survivors, who seem to know more about Jack’s operation than he does.  From there, a conspiracy is uncovered, the real villains are revealed, and Jack must find out who he can trust and piece together his past if he is to ensure the survival of the human race. 

Like I said before, the premise and setting of Oblivion is excellent.  The actual story, however, is a bit of a letdown in comparison as it quickly goes into been-there-seen-that territory.    The complexity of the story also creates more questions than answers, leaving quite a few aspects of the plot unresolved.  Not that this kills the movie or makes it any less interesting.  Oblivion definitely held my interest and kept me guessing throughout, but I can’t help but find it a little frustrating when the story starts off really strong but never reaches those same heights for the remainder of the movie.

The selling point for Oblivion  is its visuals.  The movie is directed by Joseph Kosinski, who previously helmed 2010’s TRON: Legacy, and the visual flair from that film seems to have carried over to Oblivion.  This is a movie that begs to be seen on a large theater screen.  Oblivion is gorgeously filmed and almost every set piece is borderline awe-inspiring, from the crumbled remnants of the moon to the barren wasteland that is Earth and what remains of its landmarks.  Joseph Kosinski has proven that he can successfully juggle his actors on top of his fantastic scenery, and I feel that if he was given a stronger script to work with, Oblivion could have been much more than it already is.

Another strong point of Oblivion is the performances of its lead actors.  Love him or hate him as a person, Tom Cruise has proven to be a great actor, and it certainly shows here.  The leader of the human colony is played by Morgan Freeman, and though he isn’t given much to do, he makes the most of his character and is clearly enjoying the role.  The other actors do fine, but the focus is mainly on Cruise, and they are mainly kept in the background.

There’s a fantastic science fiction film in Oblivion, it just isn’t fully realized.  The setup is wonderful, the performances solid, and the visuals outstanding and close to jaw-dropping.  However, it’s all hindered by a story that is littered with a sense of familiarity and is sometimes too complex for its own good.  For my money, though, I was pleased with what I got.  I don’t know if I would buy the movie when it comes to home video, but I can definitely see myself returning to Oblivion sometime in the near future.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Roger Ebert: 1942-2013

Today, the world lost a titan in both the journalism industry and the film industry.  Film critic Roger Ebert, whose reviews have been read and published all over the world died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 70.

Ebert was the main film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times for almost all of his professional career.  He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1975, the same year that he and Chicago Tribune film critic, Gene Siskel, began their long television career on the locally broadcast show Sneak Previews.  In 1978, the show was picked up by PBS for national broadcasting, and in 1982, the two started a new nationally syndicated show entitled At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.  In 1986, the two critics entered into a partnership with Buena Vista Television to create the most popular of their shows, Siskel & Ebert & The Movies.  Tragedy struck the show in 1999 when Gene Siskel passed away after complications from a surgery to remove a brain tumor, but Ebert pushed on, bringing in guest reviewers before announcing fellow Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper as his permanent co-host.

Ebert was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in 2002, and cancer in his salivary gland in 2003.  Ebert remained dedicated to his work even after his years of treatment rendered him unable to speak in 2006, but began to slow down in 2010.  For the past year, he had Roeper and other guest critics write for his site in addition to his own reviews.  On April 2, 2013, he announced that his cancer had returned, and that he would take a leave of absence from his work.  He died two days later.

Roger Ebert was an inspiration to many, and he will be missed by countless more.  Farewell Mr. Ebert.  I give your life and career "Two Thumbs Up".

Here is Ebert reviewing one of my favorite movies of 

all time, Spirited Away.

Is Pixar Running Out of Ideas?

Earlier today, Disney and Pixar officially announced the sequel to 2003's Finding Nemo, complete with an official title, logo, and release window.  Finding Dory is set to be released on November 25, 2015 (it's worth noting that this will be the first Holiday Season release for Pixar since The Incredibles in 2005).  While the  full cast has yet to be announced, you can rest easy knowing that Ellen DeGeneres will be returning as the title character along with the original director, Andrew Stanton.  While I'm hopeful for this movie, it makes me nervous for the future of Pixar, as they seem to be coming out with more and more sequels as opposed to original stories that made Pixar such a powerhouse in the first place.

Finding Dory could prove to be a success, but what does the announcement say about Pixar's future?

Pixar is no stranger to sequels, with three Toy Story films, two Cars films, and now two Monsters Inc. films under their belt.  But while Toy Story and Monsters Inc. had justification for sequels and prequels, Cars and  Finding Nemo don't.  The original films didn't leave openings for sequels, but Cars made a ton of money through merchandise tie-ins so a sequel to that was inevitable.  In addition to this, there are rumors of a fourth Toy Story film, but neither Disney or Pixar have said anything about it.  All of this makes me wonder if Pixar is finding themselves having to rely on older properties for upcoming projects.

Another reason for concern is the mixed reception their recent films have received.  Cars 2 received a mostly negative reception, netting Pixar their first "Rotten" rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes (38%, which is pretty bad considering almost all of Pixar's previous movies scored in the mid-to high 90's).  Brave, on the other hand, showed a 78% rating along with Rotten Tomatoes' "Certified Fresh" title.  Much better than Cars 2, but still not up to Pixar's previous standards.  As it turns out, that's exactly what most people thought of the film itself (myself included).  Monsters University is going to have to be as well-received as Pixar's classics in order to alleviate people's worries about the studio's future.  After seeing the trailer, I'm not entirely sure that's going to happen, at least not for me anyway.  For now, time will tell if Pixar can recapture the magic that captivated us time and time again.