Daily Archives: March 20, 2019

Mar 20 2019

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

Director: Richard Fleischer

Writer: Earl Felton (Screenplay)

Starring: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre, Robert J Wilke, Ted de Corsia

 

Plot: A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.


Tagline – Walt Disney’s Mighty, Magnificent, Memorable 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!

Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Enjoyable Classic

 

Story: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starts when scientist professor Pierre Aronnax (Lukas) gets assigned to investigate a large number of sinkings in the open ocean, joined by his trusted sidekick Conseil (Lorre). When the ship they are travelling on gets sunk by the creature, Peirre, Conseil and sailor Ned Land (Douglas) go in search of rescue finding the Nautilus seemingly abandoned on the ocean.

The Nautilus captained by Nemo (Mason) tests the men before letting them stay aboard learning the wonders from beneath the ocean and taking on the creatures that have been lurking in the deep.

 

Thoughts on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

 

Characters – Captain Nemo is the mysterious captain of the Nautilus, he doesn’t follow any over the rules of the ocean as he plans his own way to clean it up with his loyal men, he reluctantly lets the three survivors onboard knowing Professor Aronnax could help his work. He does get frustratingly tired of Ned’s behaviour which puts his crew in danger at times. Ned Land is a sailor that is one of the few survivors from the shipwreck, he doesn’t like Nemo and wants to focus on collecting treasure over learning from the ocean. Professor Pierre Aronnax is one of the most famous scientist in the world, he is welcomed on board the ship because of his reputation which impress Nemo, he jumps at the chance to make huge waves in science onboard the ship. Conseil is the assistant to the professor who quickly starts to side with ned when it comes to the methods being shown onboard the vessel.

Performances – This is a strange way to bill the cast, because James Mason is the main character and he is great to watch when it comes to his speeches and ideas for what his character wants. Kirk Douglas is mostly the comic relief which is fun to see for the most part. Paul Lukas fits the posh scientist role in the film which is the one that can simplify things for the audience. Peter Lorre makes for a good sidekick figure for whoever his character helps.

Story – The story here follows the character of Captain Nemo that must educate three new crew members of the wonders of the ocean, showing them the answers are here instead of in how the world is acting. This is one that shows us science need exploring rather than questioning which takes out characters across the world to see things never imagined for the 1800s. While the story does give us entertainment, it would have been nice to see them ship take on a real creature for more than five minutes instead of going into the science versus sailing talk we most explore.

Adventure/Fantasy/Sci-Fi – The adventure side of this film takes our crew around the world to places they would have never seen to see places only few would have, make new discoveries. The fantasy mixes into the sci-fi because of the films setting in the 1800s where the technology isn’t like anything imaginable.

Settings – The film keep sus out at sea for most of the film, it is the interior of the Nautilus which is fantastic creation here show us just what was in the minds of the people.

Special Effects – The effects for the time were great, they show us what could have been achieved with practical effects and clever camera work.


Scene of the Movie – Squid battle.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not much creature action.

Final Thoughts – This is a must watch classic of cinema, it reaches levels you might not have expected for the time only to become something you need to admire.

 

Overall: Must watch classic.

Rating

 

 

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Mar 20 2019

Division 19 (2017)

Director: S.A. Halewood

Writer: S.A. Halewood (Screenplay)

Starring: Alison Doody, Linus Roache, Lotte Verbeek, Clarke Peters, Will Rothhaar, L. Scott Caldwell, Jamie Draven

 

Plot: 2039. Jails have been turned into online portals where the public gets to choose what prisoners eat, wear, watch and who they fight. So successful is Panopticon TV, it is about to be rolled out to a whole town, providing subscribers even more choice.


Tagline – Anonymity is freedom

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Interesting World Building

 

Story: Division 19 starts in the near future, in a world where prisoners are now being watched 24/7 by the public, almost become the celebrities of the new world, Hardin Jones (Draven) is one of the most popular in the system now, with Charles Lyndon (Roache) profiting of his exposure.

When Neilsen the mastermind behind the prisoner cameras brings up the idea of putting them in a fully operational town, Hardin is the first member of this society, giving his brother Nash (Rothhaar) the chance to break him out and expose the truth.

 

Thoughts on Division 19

 

Characters – Neilsen is thee mastermind behind the prisoner program, the program giving the public a chance to buy prisoners and give them material to do, control their action, she is ambitious and wants to continue to build the program to become bigger, a whole town. Charles Lyndon is the leader of the free world, he has been happy to use the prisoner program, but when he learns just how much suffering is going on in the real-world, he wants to make a change, listen to the young people’s request. Hardin is the most popular prisoner, he gets released into the town, where he ends up escaping the surveillance state the people are living in. Nash is the younger brother, one of the fighters for the next generation, he along with the others has a plan to force the government into making the world equal, until he gets caught.

Performances – Alison Doody in the authority business woman like lead role is strong, we know we need an actor that can demand power, she does this. Linus Roache is strong too in the role which is a government figure, trying to maintain control. Will Rothhaar and Jamie Draven as the brothers considered criminals both work well together and in their solo roles

Story – The story here follows us in the future where people are being watched and controlled, prisoners are not used for entertainment purposes, with the gap between rich and poor at a new high. We have seen this type of world created many times, which isn’t going to be hard to build this divide, where this story tries to be different is with the prisoners being used as marketing tools more than anything, they have elements of freedom, compared to a ‘Gamer’ or ‘Death Race’ where the prisoner is put through extreme death sports. We have a fight which is designed to end the gap between rich and poor, one that could easily make sense in this world. the story does blend together nicely to show both sides of the story with ease.

Action/Sci-fi – The action in the film is chase sequences which do work well without being the most edge of your seat. The sci-fi world created is wonderful though, showing the divide between the people.

Settings – The film is set in the near future, each setting works very well to show us the divide in the people.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are used in the limited function, but they help with the moments of the futuristic world.


Scene of the Movie – The manifesto.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have more moments in the streets.

Final Thoughts – This is a smart idea for a sci-fi film, it brings us a world that could happen and shows the greed involved in this world.

 

Overall: Smart Sci-fi world.

Rating