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AN EXCELLENT SCI-FI BOOSTED BY EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE from MATT DAMON NASA recently announced that they found water on Mars. It indicates, though still a long way to go, that humans can travel and probably live there someday. If that’s really the case, then maybe we won’t have to worry anymore about the excess population on earth (because we can move to Mars in the future) or if someone is accidentally stranded on the planet (because there’s water there, and it’s basically the source of life. So what’s the fuss?). Sadly, this is not the universe that the main character in ‘The Martian’ lives in. The Mars in the film contains no water at all, so it’s a huge problem to be stranded there. Unfortunately he is indeed left behind in the planet, alone. Directed by legendary director Ridley Scott (known for ‘Alien’, ‘Blade Runner; and ‘Gladiator’ to name a few), ‘The Martian’ focuses on astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who is on Mars for a mission with his team. The team consists of Captain Melissa Lewis (two time Oscar-nominee Jessica Chastain), Rick Martinez (Michael Pena), Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara), Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan), and Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie). In the middle of their exploration, they are forced to leave the planet immediately due to the approaching destructive storm. On their way back to the ship, Watney is struck by a piece of satellite-like thing and was separated from the rest of the team. After trying their best to find Watney, the team decides to leave for the earth assuming that Watney is dead, while the fact is he’s alive. Now that he’s alone on Mars with very limited supplies, how will he make it? Can he go back home? As I saw ‘The Martian’, I was so glad for the fact that the film has so many good things going on in it. Let’s first start with the beautiful cinematography by Dariusz Wolski. All of the shots in the film are gorgeously taken and absolutely a visual treat to the eyes. Capturing the dry and inhabitable Mars is no easy task. Wolski did it just right by giving us a depiction of Mars that is as vivid as it is fascinating. The scenes that take place in the outer space are impossible not to make you want to explore them. Supporting the great cinematography is the equally mesmerizing production design. You can tell that the ships, the Mars itself, and the other space-related stuff that I can’t remember the name of are all well-designed and meticulously made. The script is another standout of the film. Penning a sci-fi film is never easy, as you have to carefully insert the science elements without making the film too heavy or complicated. In other words, the science you put really need to appeal the audience instead of bore them. Thanks to Drew Goddard, the science in ‘The Martian’ not only does appeal the viewers, but also excites them. Goddard succeeded in blending it with heartfelt humor, the kind of humor that gives you a good laugh and stirs your emotion as well. Credit also goes to Andy Weir, for which the film is based on his best-selling novel. Though I haven’t read the novel, but I believe it is at least as great as the film, if not better. Backing up the smartly-written script is how the film is edited. The back and forth scenes that show what’s happening on Mars and on Earth are woven seamlessly. That adds to the charm of the film, so you get to see how everyone else reacts to what happens to Watney. Though all of the aforementioned factors contribute heavily to the success of the film, ‘The Martian’ wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t for Matt Damon’s amazing performance. I can assure you that nobody could play Mark Watney better than Damon. He was born to play this role. He portrays all of Watney’s traits perfectly, especially his persistence and his sense of humor. So far, he is the only actor in 2015’s movies that I’ve seen that gives an Oscar-worthy performance. There’s one scene in the film that best simulates his talent. It’s a scene between him and Michale Pena’s character that is as funny as it is very touching. I guarantee you’ll be laughing with tears streaming down your cheeks watching that scene. And now it’s time to thank the person who tied all of the aforementioned aspects that make ‘The Martian’ one of the best films of 2015. It’s the very man himself, the director Mr. Ridley Scott. After a string of commercially and critically unsuccessful movies, ‘The Martian’ serves as a return-to-form film for the director. He successfully put the words thrilling, engaging, and hilarious all in a single sci-fi movie. After last nominated for an Oscar more than a decade ago, this film is his biggest chance in years to get back to the awards circuit. Apart from the goodness I mentioned above, the film still has a few flaws. What irritates me the most is how thin Sebastian Stan’s character is written. It’s a shame an actor as talented as he is doesn’t get the chance to shine in an otherwise great film. Although the rest of the supporting characters are not that deeply written, but at least they’re given a chance to show another layer or two of themselves in the film. (MINOR SPOILER ALERT) Speaking of his character, the romance involving him and Kate Mara’s character is just unimportant. It appears too late in the film to give the viewers any emotional impact. Do I even care that they’re together at last? No I don’t.
Overall, ‘The Martian’ is an A-level sci-fi film that delivers entertaining thrills and heartfelt humor. With Matt Damon is at the top of his game, the film is definitely a front runner for the upcoming awards season. Score: 4.5/5
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A Dark Story of One’s (Dark) ObsessionNowadays, finding a job is never an easy task. We’re faced with thousands of applicants as our competitors who fight for the limited (and often the same) job vacancies. More or less that’s what the main character in Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut ‘Nightcrawler’ feels. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the aforementioned character, Lou Bloom, who is searching for a job despite claiming to not have any formal education under his belt. He eventually delves into the world of L.A crime journalism. But the more he swims deep into his job, the more he gets darker pursuing what is considered good in his profession, for the sake of his personal gain. As the director and writer, Dan Gilroy executed the film well. He successfully makes the film works at two different level. Not only the film blatantly shows the ugly truth of what would (some) of the media do to reach higher rating, it is also a showcase for Jake Gyllenhaal’s acting chops. Lou Bloom is a hard role to play due to his layered characteristic. He is charming, smart, talkative, cold, lonesome, and creepy (not a good combination I can tell!). But Gyllenhaal skillfully portrays those layered characteristics, switching back and forth from the smooth-talker Lou Bloom to an ice-cold sociopath. There’s one particular scene involving Gyllenhaal’s Lou Bloom and Rene Russo’s Nina that shows how creepy and weird he is in building social relationship. Speaking of Rene Russo, her performance here has been hailed by many critics as the performance of her career. Some even linked her performance to the possibility of being an award contender. That may or may not be true, since I myself have only seen one Russo’s other film so far and it was really a long time ago (the remake of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, in which I always get distracted by her steamy scene with Pierce Brosnan). She is good in ‘Nightcrawler’, but not great. The cinematography by Robert Elswit is also worth the attention. It suits the tone of the film really well. The constant shadowy lightning really adds up to the grim mood of the film. Despite of that, I still feel that the film is lacking of thrilling aspects. Being marketed as a thriller, I expected the film would be more, well, thrilling. Frankly speaking, I thought in my mind while I was watching the film that this would be a 3/5. But then the scene near the end of the film popped up which made me raised the score to 3.5. The reason is simple, that scene powerfully glues Lou Bloom’s status as the real jerk.
Final score: 3.5/5 |
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AuthorA self-acclaimed movie guy who likes to socialize |