Surrogates is a 2009 science fiction film directed by Jonathan Mostow, starring Bruce Willis.

Surrogates is a 2009 science fiction film, based on the 2005–2006 comic book series of the same name. Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it stars Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell. The film revolves around the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves, being fit and good looking remotely controlled machines that ultimately assume their life roles, enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

General summary (Spoilers to follow): Okay, here we go in as short a time as possible. In the year 2017 everybody, or nearly everybody, lives vicariously through a robot double that, for the most part, is a hyper visual representation of one's perfect sell. You to the max, though sometimes, men may be women and vice versus. Since robots venture out to do the bidding of man, crimes have in general dropped to zero, as has racism, given that know one knows exactly who is who, what sex they are, what race they are. Its the beginning of what some would deem the perfect world. However, there are 'meat bags', real people who follow an enigmatic leader who wants nothing to do with surrogacy. They live in surrogate free zones. Okay, no murder have occurred in like forever until on day, the son of the man who invented surrogates is killed by a strange device. Bruce Willis' character must chase down the killer. He finds it is a deeper conspiracy than imagined (What? No. Do tell
Okay, this is a straight forward, no brainer sci-fi plot. You can see the ending coming by two minutes into the film. The film itself is a commentary on the current age and future coming of virtual existence. Surrogacy is the equivalent of a 3D version of 2D Second Life. And while I cannot see every person on earth living through a robot version of themselves, I can see a 3D version of Second Life coming in the future. It really is just a matter of time. Thus, this film is an expression of the potential consequences of that coming age. Isolation, unreality, vicariousness. Surrogates (the film) is also a current take on The Matrix and a variant of Lawnmower Man. Willis character is awaking to the reality that we, as a race, are becoming isolated among millions, distant from those we love, and unaware that our humanity is being stripped away, circuit by circuit, till we are nothing more than mechanical shells that do the bidding of our vicarious self. There are also some light references to Stranger in a Strange Land and new age spirituality or the new human awakening.

Now, there are obviously some weak moments and plot problems big enough to drive a semi through. Sex is obvious, but procreation never address. It would be a problem in world where two people never meet, touch, or do the hanky-panky. So children, that's a problem. Also, if one continued to stay in a chair and eat with no exercise, the real body would atrophy. None of this is addressed. Plus, I find it hard to believe that in a mere seven years, every US citizen, and most of the worlds population could be replaced by robotic replicants. And there are others that you can figure out if you want to watch it.

Overall, I give Surrogates a 3 1/2 out of 5. Acting is decent, at times even taking on a robotic like movement and tone. Unfortunately, this is inconsistently handled throughout the film. Shot composition takes no chances and that hurts this kind of film a bit. Dialogue is adequate and well executed. I won't say you will love this film, but I will say that you can watch it or read the comic book. But if I were you, I would have someone watch it for me, considering.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - A classic B & W sci-fi film starring Michael Rennie, and Patricia Neal, and directed by Robert Wise.

The Day the Earth Stood Still, the original 1951 sci-fi, is, for the record, my favorite movie OF ALL TIME! There is so much cultural back story and mythology that very few ever take time to consider. The film is rife with allegory and time period relevance, so lets get to it, shall we?

General Summary: The film begins with the US government tracking an incoming object from space. Yup. Its a bugger of a space ship and it heads straight for Washington (because obviously the US is THE place to get things done and done right, right? Uh, yeah. Right [
Okay, long summary but for this film, very much needed. And as always, my summary does this film no justice. It is too simple and too short. Yes, too short. TDTESS is about many things. First, its about communism. On the most basic level, its a warning to the 'REDS' (1950s for Russia) that should they try anything, we will remove them from the map. Why do you think Klaatu came to Washington. It was,to paraphrase him, the only logical place for intelligent people to gather. And the speeches in the middle to the boy about Lincoln and great men and what not, did you think those were just to fill space? Nope. Its to send a message. Mess with the US (and any of our allies ie. the Universal Brotherhood ie the good guys) and we will f&*^ you up beyond repair.

But there is also another message here. You will never defeat us. You can't kill Klaatu just like you can't kill the US. Klaatu is essentially the US in this film, even though it is the US military who is on his ass. I suppose it would be better to say that Klaatu is the kind hearted, peace loving, yet tough as nails and kick ass spirit of America. You do everything you can to be cordial, peaceful, and trustworthy and when that doesn't work, you bring out the big guns (see giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot). In the end, the military are stand ins for aggressors, Klaatu the victim, and Gort (the much aforementioned giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot) the response. Yeah. Its deeper than just the surface sci-fi of alien vs. mankind.

Now there are some who argue that Klaatu is in fact communism. And he does speak of giving up certain freedoms and essentially being part of a collective. However, I would argue that this is still about America, freedom, and democracy. The giving up of certain freedoms is about McCarthyism and protecting the US from outside forces ie the Russians and communism. The brotherhood of planets or collective refers to the 'peace' loving US allies. Just like all democratic nations, peace is achieved through the threat of ultimate doom ie Gort who also happens to be a metaphor of nuclear bombs. Also, Klaatu's people have turned their collective protection over to one force, the robots (see giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot). This is a metaphor for the 'nuclear umbrella'; nations allied to the US but not holding nuclear weapons. See. Simply complex. But fun if you start dissecting it.

There are other allusions that point to Klaatu as a representative of the US. The US during the 1950s adopted the phrase, 'under God' to much of its effects. As a nation, we were God fearing while the Reds were godless. Thus, and yet again, why Klaatu chose to conduct business with the US. We understood God and Klaatu assumes a near Christ like standard. Consider the following: Klaatu, in disguise amongst the ordinary, chooses to call himself 'Mr. Carpenter'. Subtle. He is peace loving, kind, wants to heal the sick (see destroyed cancer cure at beginning of film), performs miracles (as aforementioned, he literally makes the world stand still), comes from the heavens, is betrayed by someone who knows him, sacrifices himself to save the world, dies, and is resurrected after being placed away from all things living (ie the ship). you could also argue that Helen is a Mary Magdalen stand in. Klaatu even ascends to the heavens in the end, promising to come back and take care of business if we don't straighten up and fly right. Insert your End Times/Armageddon allusions here. Interestingly, he also is 'crucified' by the media and killed by a gunshot to the side. The very people he comes to help turn on him. He even (paraphrasing) tells Helen that the people are not evil, they just don't understand. Yup. That's right kiddies. The Day the Earth Stood Still is also a conservative Christian film. Bet you never thought of that one.

And there is so much more and I've droned on enough to all of you out there who aren't reading this. For the one or two who are (Hi Jeff and Ted), I think you should go find a copy and check it out. The remake did this no justice, and not that it did not try. I just couldn't match up to what I would refer to as the ultimate period piece. It worked during a specific time period for a specific audience. Today, we can only look back and marvel at the brilliance of Robert Wise's direction, and the great acting by Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe and Sam Jaffe.

Overall, I give this film a 10+++ out of five stars because it is awesome in its awesomeness. Brilliant. Good story. Good acting. Good shot composition (for the time), brilliant messages within the script, and even excellent special effects. Some of which were not reproduced until the current age of blue screen. Definitely check this film out and then the remake, which is a little less effective but warrants a watch all its own, for different reasons, which I'll address at some point in another blog.

Toodles and keep watching the skies (Yeah, I know. That's from 'The Thing from Another Planet. So sue me. It's applicable here as well)

Final Destination is a 2000 supernatural-thriller-horror, about a group of teenagers who cheat death only to find they must later pay up, big time.

Final Destination is a 2000 supernatural-thriller-horror, about a group of teenagers who cheat death by avoiding a plane crash when one of them, Alex, has a premonition of their deaths. Soon after their escape, they begin dying one-by-one in mysterious freak accidents.

General Summary: A group of teens on a school sponsored trip to France are saved when one of the group, Alex, has a preminition of the plane exploding. He causes an incident getting several students and a teacher removed from the plane just before take off. The plane does indeed explode killing all aboard. Over the course of the film, one by one, those who escaped begin to die anyway, in extraordinarily violent ways (I won't go into my favorite but just give you a 'heads up' that its pretty funky). Alex figures out that they were in fact supposed to die and that their escape has really pissed off the unseen entity of Death. Death is now taking them in the order they were meant to die on the plane. If you manage to avoid the order, death continues on to the next one. Also, the phrase, 'catch you later' is very applicable here. They also ultimately find out that the old adage that the only sure thing is death and taxes, and if you are really lucky, you can actually escape taxes. No so much so death.

Okay, here's my take on all this. Its fun, pure and simple. This is the first of four films in the Final Destination sequence and a very apt beginning for a fun series. Critics generally hated all of them. But I generally hate all critics (well, legitimate ones anyway) so it evens out. The best line any reviewer gave it was to call it 'death porn'. Oh yeah. Perfect description. Lots of nasty deaths that you see coming but like the fabled train wreck, just can't turn away from because its just so damn funny. That's not to say it isn't creepy. 'Death' is never 'seen' as an entity, but as a collectively mobile force. It influences the direction of nature and manipulates to get its direction. Ultimately, if one thinks about it, even in reality, Death is the ultimate serial killer. Here, it is personified by its invisibility and visible actions. And what we can't see is always more terrifying than what we can see, and what we imagine more horrifying than what we are shown. But this is a formula that also mixes in anticipation, so while we do know what is coming, and can see how it will likely turn out, we build it into so much more than it is, but are still not let down by what happens. Confused? Yeah. But it works and works well. Very well indeed. You just have to see it to understand it. And when something happens, it almost always happens big. Death, it would seem is a bit of a ham and definitely an extrovert.

So, overall, I give this a 5 out of 5 because it is both fun and chilling. It is also cheesy enough never to take itself to serious, even though filled with amazing violence. I even found myself kind of liking Death, giving it two thumbs up for its creativity, though personally, I'm hoping for a more painless form of exit. Acting is decent. Not award worth by any means, but relatively believable. Shot construction and editing was straight forward and effects were very well handled. My kudos goes to whomever come up with the various means of dying. Whomever they are, they are one (or more) sick puppy. I owe you a Coke.

Ring (Japanese: リング Ringu) is a 1998 Japanese horror mystery film by Hideo Nakata.

Ringu (Japanese: リング- 1998) A Japanese horror/mystery film by Hideo Nakata. The screenplay was adapted from a novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki, which itself draws on the Japanese folk tale Banchō Sarayashiki. The film stars Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rikiya Otaka as members of a divorced family, each cursed by a videotape. The film was later remade in the United States as The Ring (2002).

The film is the highest grossing horror film in Japan at 12 billion yen ($137.7 million) and is considered the most frightening Japanese horror film to date.

General synopsis: Okay, its this simple. There is a videotape circulating that causes the viewer to die horribly seven days after being watched. The tape itself is made up of a multitude of increasingly disturbing images. A reporter catches onto this myth/story and investigates, watching the film in the process. After viewing, she inherits the curse and receives a call telling her she will die in seven days. Over the course of her investigation and attempt to bypass the curse, she makes a copy of the tape and her ex husband and young son watch it. They too become part of the curse. Eventually, after much mucking about, it is determined that the ghost/curse is the spirit of a young psychic girl who was killed and thrown in a well. After her body is discovered, it still does not alleviate the curse. The tape must continually be watched and copied, then passed along in order to prevent death.

Okay, that synopsis does this film no justice, as it is one of the most, if not the most, frightening film I have ever seen. The American remake is good but this film is freaking disturbing, from the video tape to the girl and the tv entrance, this is one big creep fest. And it twists and turns more than a snake on a pole dancer. I have said it before and I'll say it again, the Asians, the Japanese in particular, have a genuine grasp of horror; of what chills the soul. This film, even after viewing several times, and thus knowing what is to come, scares the heck out of you. I cannot recommend it highly enough. And for the record, the American remake is damn good too. Not as good as the original, mind you. But damn good nonetheless.
Overall, I give this film a 5 out of 5, and only because I was foolish and did not make the film go to 1 zillion. WATCH THIS ONE!

Shutter (2008 remake). Directed by Masayuki Ochiai. Stars Joshua Jackson and Rachel Taylor.

General Summary (Spoiler alert. If you don't want details, skip to the second section below): Okay, this is a remake of the 2004 Thai film. The story follows a photographer, Ben, and his new wife, Jane, and the haunting of a angry spirit (Asia is apparently rife with these things). Ben gets a job in Tokyo, and they venture out one day into the woods and think they run over a girl running barefoot in the snow, but cannot find a body. After this, both start to see apparitions and Ben's photos all are ruined at every shoot by a blurred image. Assumptions fly. Jane finds out that Ben knows the spirit because he dated her in real life. She was a pain in the neck so he tried to dump her. She was clingy and all stalker-esque and he and his American buddies hatch a plan to get rid of her. They drug her, take pictures of her being fondled, and embarrass her into leaving Ben alone. However, the buddies go to far, get drunk, and rape her. She eventually kills herself and is very pissed off about the whole sorted affair. All during this, Ben has been having mysterious back issues, which he assumes are from the wreck. After it is revealed to Jane what he and his buddies did, Jane leaves and Ben discovers that the spirit of the girl has been hanging on his back. The last scene makes this all the more clear.

Okay, its a pretty nice, taunt film. Creepy effects and though I have spoiled it somewhat for you, there is much to be discovered here. I won't say it will rock your world, or that it is the most horrifying film, but it is pretty good. Acting is decent, shots are well established, and dialogue relatively believable. The very last image is disturbing. Well, it was to me, anyway. Jackson is very underrated as an actor and does a good job as a guy who doesn't want to face up to what he's done or what is happening. Rachel Taylor is decent, more eye candy than actress, but she does scared, tormented, and insightful pretty well. Overall, the biggest problem is that the buddies suffer, but not enough for what they did. And Jackson, who was a gutless coward but did little, suffers the most. Oh well, to each (writer) his own. Again, the effects are very well executed and the film is good for a late night creep out, if only on a minor scale.

Overall, I would give it a 4 because I love Asian horror, even if its just a remake. Asians have a grip on horror for the most part. American directors should take note.

One Missed Call is a 2008 American remake of the 2004 Japanese film Chakushin Ari. It was directed by Eric Valette and written by Andrew Klavan. The

General summary: In typical fashion, young college students are dying. Mode of death: a predictive phone call that when missed, tells the time of death of the victim, usually about a day in advance. Several young adults die over the course of time, and the source is traced back to a strange mixture of unrelated death, Munchausen by Proxy, and an angry, disturbed spirit.

Okay, so this film...it sucked. No other way to put it. It just sucked. Big time suck-ola. Yeah. The problems with this film are numerous. The acting is so bad that you could have stood up 2 x 4s and taped pictures of faces on them and had more expression. Every time one of the lead actress' friends dies, she just gets this forlorn look and moves on. I mean, seriously. With a friend like her, you might as well be friends with a hand puppet. And the plot made about as much sense as Paris Hilton at a Mensa meeting. The connection between the start of the curse and those that died was ridiculously vague, not to mention that the use of cell phones at the time when the curse started seemed quite unlikely. And the addition of the candy, which dropped out of each victims mouth, was related to a living entity, not the angry spirit of her dead sister. Hmm. But I will give it props (is that term still in use?) for some disturbing images. But other than that, there is nothing you can learn about good filmmaking from this movie. You could, I suppose, learn a lot about what not to do. Perhaps starting with not casting Shannyn Sossamon, who apparently studied at the Pinocchio School of Acting for Wooden People.

Overall rating (which, as always, is just my opinion. Waste your time as you feel necessary): 1/2, and only because there were some cool, creepy images.

Blessed is a 2004 film directed by Simon Fellows, written by Robert Mearns and Jayson Rothwell and is a drama/horror/thriller genre film.

General summary: Heather Graham and James Purefoy play a couple who want to have a baby. She has been diagnosed as infertile, however, and the couple can't afford the medical treatments that might allow her to conceive. She's an elementary school teacher and he's an aspiring writer. The couple are given an opportunity to receive free treatments at a mysterious fertility clinic called Spiritalus. Graham is soon expectant with twins. But as her due date draws nearer, things naturally go wrong, and it appears that she might have become the unwilling carrier for a clone of Satan.

Okay, here's the dilly-o. This move starts out pretty cool. There is some nice cinematography, some cherubic music that adds to an increasing sense of menace, and the always beautiful and near angelic/innocent looking Heather Graham (yeah, even though she was the major slut-whore in Boogie Nights). And the film, a modern take on Rosemary's Baby pops along pretty good, with few problems till about 2/3 of the way in when everything just fizzles. Sure, there are hokey moments, but overall performances were acceptable to that point. You have some logical updates from Rosemary's Baby, such as its not a direct implantation from Satan (ie, Satan does do the nasty directly with Graham. His loss), but instead there is a mixture of modern fertility implantation with Satan's DNA. The DNA was taken (as explained in a poorly inserted expository moment), from an ancient battle between the forces of good and evil, and the blood of the Devil, spilled in the battle, was preserved by monks in a hidden Italian monastery. Why they would do this is not explained. I guess medieval Italian monks are just into that sort of thing. Anyway, this caused the dark ages, blah, blah, blah. But I could deal with all this. It was fun up until that moment. Then, I don't know, somebody started doing drugs, taking bribes, inserting in family members with acting aspirations, your guess is as good as mine. There was the blatantly post-production addition of needless dialogue by unseen characters (Ex. A taxi driver who is heard from his cab saying in his best Tiny Tim voice, "Wow. Thanks lady" and "Okay, you are here." In the latter case, where we 'were' was pretty apparent from previous scenes. No clue as to why this was added as it was obviously from a different sound direction, but whatever). Also, the cinematography went wonky. Suddenly, a pretty nice, straight forward visual style became interlaced with odd angles and pointless 'art shots'. The whole film just went off course. Characters started to overact. The Italian priest who comes to save Graham by killing her babies has the worst accent on film, sounding as if he stepped out of a stereotyped 1940s Hollywood gangster movie and David Hemmings (in his last role) is laughable with twisty pointed eyebrows and glaring looks. Oh, and Stella Stevens of noted breasty booby fame, appears as a real estate agent. Don't pay any attention to her character. She serves no purpose in the film other than to lease the house, smile a lot and talk about how good her crab cakes are. Maybe there is a metaphor I am missing but truly, nothing develops along this line with this individual. Same as the reason for wacking another pregnant lady with a two by four in the middle of the night. There had to be a reason, but it was never made clear. Just film filler I suspect. Bad film filler at that. Too much. But the films biggest flaw is that it doesn't know when to end. When the film should have concluded, it continues on for a good five minutes where we get a look at five years in the future. The twin girls, Satan's daughters, in Angel Halloween costumes, cause a little boy dressed as the Devil, and who is taunting the duo of evil, to choke to death on a grape while Graham looks on in horror. Sad and lame and pointless. Really. Disappointing. And for the record, Satan's daughters, the twins, well, they are ugly little spuds. I guess you could say they were 'as ugly as sin'. Hah.

Overall, the film comes across as modern Rosemary's Baby colliding in a horrid train wreck with the Seventh Sign, End of Days, and concluding with Village of the Damned. I will give this a 1 1/2 only because I think Heather Graham is beyond beautiful and is really cute looking pregnant, though it is all fakery. Let the Devil have this one. I'll stick with original and the associated films.

Quarantine is a 2008 American horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle and starring Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Steve Harris, Rade Šerbedžija,

Watched QUARANTINE last night and found that while still little more than a plague-infested, pre-apocolyptic (suggested) flesh eating gore fest, it was infinitely superior to and far more intense than any 'reality-filmed' attempts of late, most notably PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Apparently, this is a remake of a Spanish film called REC, in near shot by shot style. This version was definitely an intense film, which builds continuously until the end, when it slows a bit, on purpose, to suck you down into the darkness with the lead actress (Jennifer Carpenter of DEXTER fame and new wife of Michael C. Hall, who portrays Dexter). Carpenter is, perhaps, the weakest point in the film, reduced to screaming and sobbing pretty much the last 30 minutes of the film. However, the intensity of what is going on does over power some of her melodramatics. I would recommend it if you happen to catch it on one of the premium cables or rent it.
Rank:
4 1/2 if you are a horror/people gonna eat you in the dark kind of fan. I would give it 3 1/2 as a filmmaker, and a 2 1/2 if you are not into this genre.