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  • Oblivion

    A friend and I saw the movie Oblivion this afternoon at the Ward Theater.

    The movie is about the Earth 60 years after an alien invasion, said invasion even blasted away parts of the moon.

    It helps to pay attention to the movie as it goes along.

  • #2
    Re: Oblivion

    It is not the worst movie ever, but it is not the best either. It is very middle-range. The graphics are good. The plot has large gaps. The action is limited, but in some ways it is a relief to not have the now-standard 90 minutes of body destruction. Tom Cruise is, well, Tom Cruise, so if you like his acting the movie is easier to watch. But if you are not a big fan is his, don't expect this movie to be more than it is.

    Spend the money to see it? If you have some extra $$ that is burning a hole in your pocket, sure, why not.
    Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

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    • #3
      Re: Oblivion

      This is a truly dreadful film, however, it's worth a watch some

      rainy sunday afternoon.

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      • #4
        Re: Oblivion

        Originally posted by Amati View Post
        It is not the worst movie ever, but it is not the best either.... Spend the money to see it? If you have some extra $$ that is burning a hole in your pocket, sure, why not.
        Originally posted by lensperson View Post
        This is a truly dreadful film, however, it's worth a watch some rainy sunday afternoon.
        Well, I think we've about summed it up. You've been warned.
        Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

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        • #5
          Re: Oblivion

          Darn, I was looking forward to this, even tho the plot was reportedly stolen from Wall-E.
          May I always be found beneath your contempt.

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          • #6
            Re: Oblivion

            Then go see it. There is nothing wrong in seeing an average type of movie. And to be fair the plot was not stolen from Wall-E. Maybe Independence Day and Planet of the Apes but not Wall-E.
            Last edited by helen; April 23, 2013, 02:14 PM.

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            • #7
              Re: Oblivion

              It wasn't that bad of a movie. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad.

              The visuals were the best part about it, as far as I'm concerned. I really liked the look and feel of this apocalyptic world—the landscape, the various architectural elements, the technology. The storyline is complicated (which is not a bad thing). There are lot of twists and turns, so you have to pay attention. Its denouement, however, is very deliberate. Very deliberate. You practically anticipate and wait for each revelation.

              As for the Wall-E connection, I didn't see any of that. I saw connections to Blade Runner and Star Wars (and a bunch more), but not Wall-E.

              All in all, I liked this movie. I've been waiting for a good sci-fi movie for a long time. I just wished this one had been as good as I hoped it would have been. Or could have been.

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              • #8
                Re: Oblivion

                Oblivion (2013)
                Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Andrea Riseborough. Directed by Joseph Kosinski

                Oblivion, the new Tom Cruise sci-fi film, is another of those films that’s better the less you know about it before you go in. For this reason, my summary is going to sound thin. There is more to it than I am going to let you in on, perhaps much more. I’m not exactly sure because some of it was explained so quickly or subtly that I don’t know exactly what happened even after reading the too-detailed synopsis on Wikipedia.

                It’s the year 2077. Earth is a ruins, destroyed by its own nuclear weapons in defense of the planet against an invading race from somewhere else in space. Earth’s survivors have set up a colony on one of Saturn’s moons. A few remain on the planet to harvest as much of Earth’s remaining resources as possible before leaving the planet for good. Cruise plays Jack Harper, who lives in a beautiful one-residence condo thousands of feet above the planet’s surface with his lover Victoria Olsen (Andrea Riseborough). Harper’s task is to maintain the drones that protect the machinery harvesting Earth’s resources (water, mostly) from the alien invaders who remain on the planet, known as the Scavs. Victoria communicates with Harper through an elaborate computer system tied also to the orbiting satellite from which they both get their instructions, the Tet(rahedron).

                Some stuff happens to some drones. Harper goes to investigate. Things get weird.

                The sci-fi hardware, always an important consideration in good science-fiction films, is impressive, especially the ship Harper flies around in. The drones, too, are pretty neato. Another important element, the moral dilemma, is not quite so fascinating, and the film basically turns into a slightly different kind of film whose explanation is pretty confusing. People who need to understand exactly what’s going on may have difficulty with this picture, and questions may remain even when it’s over. So more care could have been taken to explain a few things, but there is a certain sadness that pervades the second half of the film, and I found that sweetly satisfying.

                This is a beautiful movie to look at. Many scenes in the first half of the film seem to linger, to move a bit slowly, seemingly in order to let the viewer soak up the beautifully composed scenery. I almost never do this, but since I was in the back row and nobody was behind me, I took my phone out and snapped a few photos. There were a few things I wanted to remember about the way it looked, and I was happy to have shelled out a few extra bucks to see this on my local theater’s very-large screen.

                I have to say that after all the hate leveled Cruise’s way these past several years, I’m rooting for him to do well on the big screen. I find distasteful the amount of intolerance aimed in his direction by normally tolerant commenters. Oblivion is an enjoyable, gorgeous film, the sort of science-fiction you just don’t see very much of nowadays, and its overall quality makes me happy for Cruise, who seems to have a pretty good time in this role.

                7/10 (IMDb rating)
                77/100 (Criticker rating)
                But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                GrouchyTeacher.com

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                • #9
                  Re: Oblivion

                  Dreadful it most surely is not. Deliberate, it most surely is.

                  I am with Honoruru on this: the visuals are the best part. If you're hoping for Minority Report, you aren't going to get it, but I agree with Honoruru about there being a dearth of good SF lately, and this satisfied my jonesing.
                  But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                  GrouchyTeacher.com

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                  • #10
                    Re: Oblivion

                    I've heard this described as a mashup of every other sci-fi movie plot, twist, and trope. And yet that's something I'd be fine with seeing... especially with what's been the buzz early on in terms of its visual effects (Joseph Kosinski also did "Tron: Legacy," not the sharpest plot but a visual feast).

                    I've read enough reviews that I know that naming all the movies it steals (or borrows from or pays tribute to) will give away some of the bigger reveals. And from those hints alone, I'm thinking the core concept is lot like one of my favorite low-budget sci-fi films:
                    "Moon" by Duncan Jones

                    But I may have to wait for this one on Netflix, as my wife has no interest in seeing it, or Tom Cruise, at all!

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                    • #11
                      Re: Oblivion

                      I never saw the movie referenced in the spoiler tag so I can't confirm or deny if Oblivion pays homage to that movie.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Oblivion

                        I have a vast number of dreadful movies in my archives and I treasure each one.

                        Scriv, I love your reviews , keep them coming.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Oblivion

                          One of my mothers close acquaintances was Pauline Kael.

                          She ran the cinema at the palms theater in downtown Berklely.

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