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mjcarter73
Reviews
El Ascensor (2021)
Strange and unsatisfying
The plot of this movie is a std timeloop idea- an elevator that resets to its statting point and time, the 10th floor everytime it reaches the ground. I enjoyed this film- maybe because the Spanish hid some of the creaky bits others have identified, but I was left unfulfilled by the ending. Spoliers here****
The lift was apparently engineered as a time machine by a former caretaker of the building- continuing experiments that had been banned from his previous job (unspecified). Powered by lightning, the experiments are a failure as the lift becomes a time loop machine endlessly recycling its journey from floor 10 to 0. Its inventor becomes trapped and eventually dies in the lift operating room. Before he expires he derives a "manual escape system" but like launching nuclear missiles the physical design of the lift means that it requires two people to operate it. Sadly he has noone and fies trying.
Some time later a lightning strike reactivates the lift which starts its new occupants, an arguing couple taking out the rubbish, on an endless cycle of time loops. Through iterations and pauses they discover the control room and the dead inventor, they operate the manual system and escape... but do they? Here the film really fails because nothing is explained. The manual system starts a strange countdown- but to what? The doors open and the couple exit talking to themselves and apparently ignoring their surroundings. The finally discard their trash and the film ends with a shot of lightning hitting high rise buildings then panning to close with a close up of their rubbish- So??? Is this simply showing the couple have literally and metaphorically disposed of their baggage and are moving on in life? Surely thats too trite an ending for a film which was obviously considered deeply? Perhaps there's a clue from the wider shot of the hi-rise buildings. The couple spoke many times of the age of their lift- an 80s structure presumably then installed in an 80s building? There seems little that is 80s about the buildings shown at the end, massive highrises and once again lightning. Might the manual solution not have simply released the occupants, but restored full time machine function? There is no obvious signs of the futur other than these buildings and the couple are oblivious to any differences- but its night-time and its raining. There are no clues in the (to my mind inexplicable) close up of the discarded rubbish. My opinion- the film-makers were either too subtle or simply missed a trick, but this ending really does leave you unfulfilled. If anyone has a definitive interpretation please let me know!
Ad Astra (2019)
No stars involved Did they forget the story?
This movie has some brilliant effects and acting isn't bad but the story is a disaster area with the authors missing many a trick. Right at the start Mr Pitt is shown working on a massively high structure, we are told it's a communications antenna seeking to contact alien life, but that's all. It's completely irrelevant to the plot, we don't know why it's being built how it will be used or even if it survived. One assumes it's construction was prompted by the outcome of the earlier project Lima which is highly classified and underlies this movie, but in the end there seems to be no link.
Likewise the reasons for sending Mr Pitt to Mars are a bit thin, if he's intended simply to read a script then why not send a recording? ... and his journey appears to be unusually hazardous... Ah you think foul play afoot! Someone doesn't want him getting there; but no, there's no hidden conspiracy, just bad luck. The attack on the moon is coincidence, although particularly odd, we are told that the pirates wish to acquire lunar rovers, yet all their actions seem intent on destroying them rather than capture. The odd Mayday from an apparently deserted craft is never explained, who sent it? Why? What happened on that ship? Was it a trap to again stymie this voyage. Once again the answer is a resounding "No". It's not a trap just another unfortunate coincidence. Finally the electron blast during landing us again just coincidental.
There seems to be some sort of hidden or secret agenda behind the events on Mars, but if there is then we never find out about it. Me Pitt breaks script to appeal directly to his father. TUnlike the script, this seems to lead to a reply and is presumably why it was necessary to send him in person to mars in the first place ... instead of say a recorded message? However although it's possible this approach did lead to a reply, rather than follow up this communication it simply results in Mr Pitt being declared unfit for the mission! So was there a reply? What did it say? The fate of the base commander is left unresolved. Finally what's the purpose of him stowing aboard the Neptune rocket? This results in the death of the rest of the crew and achieves nothing that crew couldn't have achieved anyway had they survived. The origin of the bursts is only vaguely explained. Obviously you're thinking... has the father made contact? Is this an attempt at communication? An attack? Again no, he found no life just images of dead exoplanets and the origin of the bursts is purely accidental and only vaguely explained; they have no purpose. In the end this is just another "man goes mad in space" movie. Lastly, ad astra means "to the stars"... But in this case only as far as Neptune, no stars involved!
Solis (2018)
No end! 90mins of my life I won't get back.
Well this an ok film, but it missed a whole bunch of tricks and twists- like what was being tested when the accident happened, what happened to the prototype sun suits mentioned at the beginning... They would have been handy at the end, and what was the true status of conditions aboard the Hathor. Why spend the whole time trying to speak to the commander when there was apparently nothing significant to say to him and finally, when connected home at last...( In the middle of a rescue manoeuvre really???) again apparently have nothing to say! The worst thing though is that there is no ending. The film builds to a rescue attempt and just stops in the middle of it!
Yes the filming was good, effects great but insufficient story and lack of any kind of closure means that this is an hour 30min of my life I won't get back.
10,000 Days (2014)
Poor effects
Well this is a very poor movie. The story revolves around a new ice age following cometary impact and the scenario has two themes. A romeo and Juliet situation and whether the world will warm up. The latter has two options either a natural event or a deliberate intervention using nuclear weapons, access to which the survivors acquire through their discovery of air force one. However none of this is resolved, the lovers are still in warring families, the nucs are never launched but still threaten and two young people set off to find a warmer land walking right out of the script. This is one of those stories where the writer has envisaged a situation but really has no idea what could happen to make it interesting. The movie simply ends in the middle resolving nothing. I see another reviewer threatens a sequel... I don't think so because I think they simply ran out of ideas. In my opinion Movies that don't have a start a story and an end should simply never be made. Sadly this one was and as a viewer I feel cheated.