Original Science Fiction Blockbusters of 2013

Oblivion A Lesson In Remembering

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n April 19th, 2013 "Tron: Legacy" director, Joseph Kosinski, opened his second film to Science Fiction audiences. His film was about a man who is having trouble reconciling partial memories of his past, his present situation on a destroyed Earth, and his future. The film stared Tom Cruise, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurilenko, Melissa Leo, and Morgan Freeman. Kosinski drew inspiration from many Sci-Fi tropes of past films. "Oblivion" spent 70 days in the theaters and brought in a grand total of $286,168,572 in world wide ticket sales. Only 31.1% were in domestic box office sales while the other 68.9% or $197,061,337 were earned in foreign ticket sales. 

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n art as in science, we all stand on the back of others.  We filter our perceptions through the grid of our experiences.  Kosinski has done this by taking, what he thought were some elements of his favorite films of the sci-fi genre and skillfully wove these concepts and tropes to build a story that if it doesn't make you think, it will definitely entertain you. 

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After Earth ~ A Review of Tale Of Father Finding His Son

Sony / Columbia released on May 31st 2013,  what they had hoped would be a huge success for them. After all, Will Smith is a big star and has for many years, has been a  summertime box office draw. What happened instead is that this $130 million Science Fiction coming of age story barely got off the ground here, in the United States. Domestically, "After Earth" made $60,522,097 and $183,321,030 in foreign ticket sales. "After Earth" walked away with a grand total of $243.8 million world wide. 

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ost critics hated "After Earth." The Rotten Tomatoes website gave the film a paltry 11% and had some harsh remarks about the film in general, and more pointed attacks on either the director (M. Night Shyamalan) or the main star, Jayden Smith. While I wouldn't consider the film epic in any manner, I did find the film entertaining. 

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This is not your typical Will Smith film.  No sly remarks thrown in, no happy go lucky "Prince of Bel Air," no Captain Hillard whose charisma and appeal we saw in "Independence Day."  No, this is a Will Smith playing a father whose life and his son's life are in grave danger and how he is unable to save the day himself.  On one hand, we have Kitai working to defeat his greatest opponent in this film, and that is himself.  In a Jedi/Zen sort of way we are instructed that "Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice."  Jaden Smith plays his part perfectly.  

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Pacific Rim ~ Apocalypse Canceled

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n July of this year, Guillermo Del Toro took a childhood fantasy about the monster films he watched as a child and gave them an updated new look. Instead of focusing on one Kaiju, Del Toro focuses on several in "Pacific Rim." Like the other Sci-Fi films discussed in this post, DelToro's monster mash failed to make back its $190 million production budget in domestic dollars. "Pacific Rim" made $407,545,104 in world wide ticket sales. The studios, however, like domestic dollars to pay back production costs. While Guillermo's baby made $305.8 million in foreign sales, the film barely made $101.7 million in the United States. 

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ritics had more favorable comments toward "Pacific Rim" giving the film a ripe 72%, while the users gave it a solid 80%. Partial credit for the film's success goes to Travis Beachamt, who co-wrote the screenplay with Del Toro. 

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uillermo del Toro is a complete fan boy and loves to bring stuff from his childhood to the silver screen in bold new ways.  From "El Laberinto del Fauno" ("Pan's Labyrinth"), "Hellboy," "The Devil's Backbone," and the films that he has produced such as "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," and recently "Mama," all depict a certain sense of Guillermo del Toro's longing for the days of his childhood and his sense of philosophical justice that he brings to his films.  "Pacific Rim" is not epic, but it is impressive and awesome.  He and Beacham bring action and adventure, characters designed to be liked and sympathized with, and in some cases, unexpected comic relief that brings to mind the days before our innocence was lost.  Overall, "Pacific Rim" is that movie that the whole family can enjoy and not feel guilty about having to watch a completely mindless action film.

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Elysium ~ Somewhere Over The Wheel In The Sky

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nticipation for Neill Blomkamp's sophomore film Elysium had been building up during the first half of the year. The question on fan's mind was what social cause was BlomKamp going to take up in "Elysium." He took on racism and apartheid in "District 9." Now his focus is on social inequality. The distinction between the haves and the have-nots is clear and pointed in "Elysium." 

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ritics were a little less kind to Blomkamp's efforts giving the film a 68% fresh rating on the Rotton Tomatoes web site. The film was released on August 9th, 2013 which was the same weekend that Disney's Buena Vista films also released its animation kid pleaser "Planes." Overall, "Elysium" fell short domestically only bringing in just over $92 million and $180.5 million overseas. Elysium was in theaters only 59 days and brought in a total of $272,712,297 worldwide. 

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ax De Acosta (Damon) lives in a world with little hope.  Los Angeles of the future is nothing more than a giant favela.  Max's world is a place where knowledge is power, and it can be uploaded or downloaded from a computer, into, or out of our brains.  He works in a factory where profit is job one, and safety be damned.  Max who is more of an anti-hero, an ex-con, an orphan, and he is a product of his environment.  A former car thief now on probation, Max is working at a factory that makes security robots.  The factory is owned by corporcrat and CEO, John Carlyle, and top citizen of Elysium, who stands aloof above the workers in his factory.He dismisses the board of directors with a swipe of a finger and demands from his underlings more work and more profits.  While on the floor below Max is doused with a lethal dose of radiation and now has a true motivation to seek the medical attention that only citizens of Elysium can afford.

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Gravity ~ Review of Sandra Bullock's Impressive Performance In Free Fall

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ne would think that a film of an individual floating in space, pretty much alone would make for a boring movie. "Children of Men" director, Alfonso Cuarón proves this thought a fallacy. "Gravity" kept the audience on the edge of their seats. The film is in theaters as of this writing. The film is entering its second weekend and is already approaching the $80 million mark. "Gravity" opened strong with $55 million in domestic sales. As of this writing, "Gravity" boasts over  $102 million in worldwide box office sales and the critics at Rotten Tomatoes a solid 97% wile users of the website gave it only 90%.

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ith its message of hope and the films allusions to evolution, Alfonso  and his son Jonás wrote a story that is essentially a roller-coaster ride of a film. The film stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, however, Sandra Bullock is excellent as she portrays a women dealing with the idea of death and the search for a reason to live. Many of us face this question on a day-to-day basis; not a space catastrophe, but the basic question of why are we here. She handles these questions with a believability that resonates with the audience.

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one of these have made their production budget back from domestic dollars, except perhaps "Gravity." I don't know if this is because of very high production budgets allotted to the film's director, or is it because the audience is voting with their wallets and just not venturing out to see these films..Going to a theater to see a film is costly and can be a pain in the ass. Science Fiction films this year, for the most part, were entertaining and worth watching, if not on the big theater screen, or IMAX, but are worth watching on a rented Blu-ray or DVD. Each film had a message and each had its own set of flaws that made the film unique in Sci-Fi genre. I liked each film for different reasons and found that each invoked different emotions upon watching them with my family. The goal of these films are to entertain and distract the viewer from the unrest on foreign soil, or from the inability fo our own government from going broke and shutting down.

Pacific Rim ~ Apocalypse Canceled

Guillermo del Toro never grew up.  I can say this with some confidence based on the body of work that he has put out, either as a producer, writer, or director.  Guillermo del Toro's latest offering, "Pacific Rim," harkens back to the early 1950s when creatures like Godzilla and other Kaiju destroyed Tokyo repeatedly.  Mr. del Toro isn't ashamed that he is bringing back the Saturday afternoon Creature Features that he watched as a kid on television.  In today's modern world of high-tech electronics, he adds a new twist to the old tale of monsters from the deep.  “Pacific Rim” is a hackneyed, if not a sentimental look at the past, while giving it the full CGI action film treatment.  “Pacific Rim” is impressive and big.  The film stars Charlie Hunnam ("Cold Mountain," "Children of Men,” and TV's "Sons of Anarchy"), Rinko Kikuchi ("The Warped Forest"), and Idris Elba ("Prometheus," "Thor").  "Pacific Rim" runs just under 2 hours and is rated PG-13.

After a long exposition, narrated by Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) explaining that while he was a child he looked to the skies in search of alien life.  However, alien life came from deep below the sea, from a rift in the tectonic plates in the Pacific Rim (Ring of Fire) that a time-space anomaly has formed and these giant alien creatures are coming from another world.  These creatures, which look like a mixture of various earth creatures melded with prehistoric dinosaurs, are called Kaiju, which is the Japanese term for monster.  Becket goes on to explain that after sending conventional weapons to battle the creatures and failing, the major countries of the world got together and built giant mechanical "Iron Man" like robots that they call Jaegers. The term Jaeger comes from the German, and it means hunter.  Unlike the robots of the 2011 film "Real Steal," two pilot's minds tied together by a neural link between the two drives the giant mechanical robots.  The two will share memories and will have to work together.  Jaeger pilots became like rock stars as they did battle with the giant Kaiju.  All this is shown from the point of view of television news footage, which is mostly from Asian countries, however, not all.  Apparently, the first creature attacked San Francisco, and many other cities followed over the years.  Raleigh leads the story up to the point, where he explains that he and his brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff) fought their last battle against a giant shark like creature with arms and legs, and that it beat the crap out of their robot and killed his brother.  Then finally, with all the brassy pomp and ceremony, the title credits start.

General Stacker Pentecost (Elba), the man in charge of the Jaeger program, finds out in a video conference, with heads of state, that the rim countries have decided to go with the inane idea of building vast seawalls along the seacoast of the Pacific.  Becket has retired from the Jaeger service and has spent the last five years as a construction worker helping building these futile walls.  Understanding that this is a Science Fiction monster movie, allows one to suspend belief to a certain extent, but building a giant wall to stop these creatures is completely unbelievable.  Yes, humans do stupid things; however, I think Guillermo del Toro doesn't give humanity any credibility in this choice in plot point.  It's silly.  Obviously, del Toro agrees, as he shows the walls easily breached.  

Typical of the "pull the has-been out of retirement" school of storytelling, Pentecost, now on his own, finds Becket in Hong Kong and talks him into coming to work for him as a Jaeger pilot.  Idris Elba is a formidable actor in the role of Pentecost (a comic bookish type of name).  Although he is only an inch and a quarter taller than Hunnam, Elba seems to tower over him in both size and personality.  His presence on screen overshadows Hunnam, in every scene they are in together.  Enter Mako Mori (Kikuchi) as Pentecost's aide in charge of finding Jaeger pilot candidates.  Mori has issues, and those issues turn out to be predictable, and unpleasant.  Writer Travis Beacham along with del Toro, aim to put human faces, personalities and flaws inside these giant robots, and he does so by pairing Becket and Mori together.  Being linked neurologically is almost like a marriage, you share memories and emotions, and in the case of Mori and Becket, they both have emotional tragedies that bond them together at a more primal level.

Bringing "Pacific Rim" into focus musically is composer Ramin Djawadi (pronounced "Java-dee").  Currently he works on HBO's "Game of Thrones," Djawadi has worked on "Safe House" starring Denzel Washington, the remake of "Fright Night" with Colin Farrell, and Jon Favreau's "Iron Man" to name a few.  Working with guitarist Tom Morello the duo exhibit the musical sensibility that the film of this sub-genre of Science Fiction demands with a mixture of orchestral and rock that reminds one of your favorite Anime show.  Big and brassy sometimes, driving rock in others, Djawadi blends the two effortlessly.

When asked about the acting, one can say that Hunnam does his job and is a focus of the film.  However, he is not the main star.  Yes, he narrates the opening of the film, but there is so much happening, that the camera returns to him from time to time.  Half of those times, Hunnam is in a pilot suit, face covered.  Kikuchi is the other star, whose character, Mako Mori, although has an interesting backstory, falls prey to her own introverted character and it is the fears of her characters that make her role less substantial.  Idris Elba commands the spotlight from the beginning of the film to the point where he makes his Cancel the Apocalypse speech near the end.  He does this short speech almost as Bill Pullman does in "Independance Day," and the reference is not lost.

Let's talk about monsters.  The real stars of the film are the various forms of Kaiju that del Toro and crew have developed.  These creatures make the current Master of Disaster, Roland Emmerich's 1998 "Godzilla" look outdated, and immature compared to those depicted in "Pacific Rim.”  They rise from the deep from time to time in unseeingly never-ending types and variations.  Why do they come?  Well, that is up to Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler, and Professor Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) to find out.  Geiszler, played by FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" actor Charlie Day, reminding one of Rick Moranis as the kind of mad scientist stereotype as he runs around squawking about the entrails that he is dissecting.  His partner, or nemesis, Gottlieb, on the other hand is the other side of the sci-fi intellectual scientist trope with his short-cropped hair, his halting British accent, his stiff gait, and walking a limp and with a cane, gives us the mathematical analysis of the Kaiju.  If one can actually reduce the attacks of these creatures to a mathematical formula?  Somehow they do.  Geiszler does a neural link with the creature and determines that this is in fact an alien invasion, and the creatures are the alien's version of the clean-up crew.  Gottlieb determines that soon there will be two and three incidents of these creatures at a time, and that they will get bigger.  The goal of these creatures is the total takeover of the planet Earth. It is up the humans, with the help of the Jaeger Robots, to stop them.  Sounds like a worthy goal.

Talking about del Toro's love of the past and what is familiar, Ron Perlman from "Hellboy" and "Blade Two" makes an appearance in "Pacific Rim" as the character Hannibal Chau.  A ridiculous name to say the least, but with his gaudy excessive outfit, gold capped teeth, and gold plated giant shoes, courtesy of costume designer Kate Hawley, it seems to work in making Perlman's Chau an interesting semi-antagonist in the world where the real monsters are, uh, monsters.  What keeps "Pacific Rim" from being overly serious and lacking humor are in fact the three actors mentioned in this paragraph.  Between Day, Gorman, and Perlman, their interplay and antics bring this film in to perspective, not to be taken seriously as story about humanity against monsters, but how humans, can work past their differences and work together for a common good.

Guillermo del Toro is a complete fan boy and loves to bring stuff from his childhood to the silver screen in bold new ways.  From "El Laberinto del Fauno" ("Pan's Labyrinth"), "Hellboy," "The Devil's Backbone," and the films that he has produced such as "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," and recently "Mama," all depict a certain sense of Guillermo del Toro's longing for the days of his childhood and his sense of philosophical justice that he brings to his films.  "Pacific Rim" is not epic, but it is impressive and awesome.  He and Beacham bring action and adventure, characters designed to be liked and sympathized with, and in some cases, unexpected comic relief that brings to mind the days before our innocence was lost.  Overall, "Pacific Rim" is that movie that the whole family can enjoy and not feel guilty about having to watch a completely mindless action film.

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Year:  2013

Staring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman, Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr.

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Producer(s): Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull

Writer: Guillermo del Toro, Travis Beachamt

Rating: PG-13

Pacific Rim ~ Jaegers: Mech Warriors- Featurette

As we get to know more about Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim," a homage to Japanese horror films from the 1950's and 60's we take a look at the giant robots called Jaegers that the Pan Pacific Defense Corps uses to fight these giant monsters. These Jaegers are piloted by a pilot and a co-pilot whose minds are linked neurally together so they act in unison. 

Warner Bros. official synopsis:

"When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee — who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse."

The pilot, Raleigh Becket, played by "The Sons of Anarchy's" Charlie Hunnam was a "washed up former pilot called back into to service". His co-pilot is  Mako Mori played by Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the 2006 film, "Babel." 

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Charlie Day, from FX's television series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" plays  Dr. Newton Geizler. Day's job as Geizler is to study the Kaiju (big Godzilla type monster) and figure out what does this creature want. While adding to our knowledge of what a Kaiju is and what's its motivation, Geizler also provides some comic relief to this otherwise horror-action tale.

When you think of a person by the name of Hannibal Chau, your mind doesn't automatically conjure of the likes of actor Ron Perlman. Perlman is also Charlie Hunnam's co-star on the FX show "Sons of Anarchy." In Pacific Rim, Perlman's Hannibal Chau is an organ dealer. No, not a Hammond organ, but the organs of the Kaiju. Also, if you were not aware,, Ron Perlman and Guillermo del Toro have announced that "Hell Boy 3" will be in the works. Perlman and del Toro also worked together on the first two "Hellboy" films, "Cronos," and "Blade II," and with "Pacific Rim," that makes six films together for the two veterans. 

Expect to see "Pacific Rim" in US theaters on July 12, 2013 

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Year:  2013

Staring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman, Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr.

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Producer(s): Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull

Writer: Guillermo del Toro, Travis Beachamt

Rating: PG-13

Pacific Rim ~ Getting To Know The Story

Some things never die. Some things come back to haunt us. Some of those things are from our youth, and we can't just get them out of our heads. For Guillermo del Toro, and Travis Beacham, that thing is called a Kaiju. As you watch these trailers and you look at the creatures that have risen from the watery deep seem somewhat familiar, they should be. A Kaiju, or monster, is a creature similar to our old friend Godzilla. That prehistoric creature that destroyed Tokyo, and was usually had a couple of kids along with "Perry Mason's" Raymond Burr.

Warner Bros. official synopsis:

"When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee — who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse."

Unlike the old 1950's Japanese horror movies,where  the humans didn't really have a great way of fighting back. Now, Del Torro presents us with Jaegers  -- Giant robots controlled by two pilots, whose minds are locked together by a neural link. The pilot, Raleigh Becket, played by "The Sons of Anarchy's" Charlie Hunnam was a "washed up former pilot called back into to service". His co-pilot is  Mako Mori played by Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the 2006 film, "Babel." 

Idris Elba ("Prometheus") plays Stacker Pentecost, Beckett and Mori's commander.in the war against the creatures from the deep. 

Expect "Pacific Rim" in US theaters on July 12, 2013 

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Year:  2013

Staring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman, Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr.

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Producer(s): Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull

Writer: Guillermo del Toro, Travis Beachamt

Rating: PG-13