Close Encounters of the Third Kind Review

        This is the first Steven Spielberg film that I’ve seen since I was little. It may come as a surprise that as a kid, I’ve had a phase that I was so fascinated with UFOs. So much so that my dad’s friend lend me his VHS copies of this film and Robert Zemeckis’ Contact. It’s been a good while since I’ve seen Close Encounters and I feel that it’s a full circle thing where I talk about the film that sort of in a way got me into movies. 

1. Firelight

        Before I go into detail with the film, the title derives from the Ufologist J. Allen Hynek’s classification of when someone encounters a UFO. With the third kind being when the person makes contact with the craft. With that detail out of the way, let’s talk about the film. Well, actually one could interpret this film as remake, since Spielberg had directed an alien movie when he was younger. Only snippets exist since his print was deemed lost. Anyways, the whole film is divided into three stories that are interconnected. With all of them closing in on one ending. 

        At the start, we follow French scientist Lacombe as he investigates the reappearance of the missing planes from the infamous Flight 19 disappearance. Meanwhile, in Indiana we see Roy who investigates a power outage and sees UFOs. Along with single mother Jillian with her son Barry, who has weird things happen around him. So much so that he leaves the house and has his mom chase him back.

        The great thing about the whole setup is that there’s never a tonal shift or where one subplot overshadows the former or latter. All of it is weaved beautifully since they are all interconnected. The great thing about it is that it teases the encounters gradually. With the reappearance of the planes, objects turning on by themselves and then Roy having a close encounter himself. 

        One would think that it’s sort of his story in the film. His experience kicks off his UFO obsession to the point where it drives his family apart. It may have worked like that, but the other stories are so integral since they help show just how gradual the issue is. The overall questions are why are the aliens here and what do they want?

        It’s those kinds of stories where there isn’t a bad guy or the obligatory evil government agent that wants to use the whole situation for his own means. Fortunately, there isn’t one since the whole film treats the whole thing straight from that angle. Albeit, where the Air Force try to tell the citizens that what they saw were just airplanes, yet they are adamant at what they saw. 

        If there’s a sort of element that is to be extracted from this film is that I think this is Spielberg’s most personal film. As most of his movies, there’s a motif of the broken family appearing where there isn’t a normal family. With Roy’s encounter affecting his own family to the point where they leave, believing that he’d gone insane. There’s also another aspect where it involves UFOs. 

2. UFOs

        Having watched his later films, I also think another Spielberg motif is showcasing the wonders/dangers of whatever the main thing in the movie is. With the way we see UFOs, they are a far cry from the standard flying saucers that has become a pop culture icon within the realm of science fiction. We see that there’s a variety of how they look like and just how colorful they are. The scene involving Roy’s first encounter just perfectly captures it. 

        As he’s being tasked with investigating a blackout, I love how the UFO first appears as a car. Then, without showing another angle, we see that the lights hover and soon give Roy an experience unlike any other. Then the succeeding scenes show just how determined Roy is to follow them. Inevitably involving the police as they chase the spacecraft. I love the detail where they don’t just show up, clouds form as they explore the area.

        It would be one thing where we just see the craft and wait for the aliens in the end. The best scene in the whole film is also the scariest. We actually see an abduction happen; this is where we get a tonal shift from the dramatic to horror/thriller. The set up is great since we see a supposed storm form near Jillian’s house. From there, the aliens try to abduct Barry and his mother attempting to shield him. How it’s set up with the electronics coming to life, with the screws coming undone is where I’m surprised Spielberg hadn’t done more horror films beyond Jaws. 

        With how the UFOs are presented and with the regular characters like Roy and Jillian having a near obsession with them, I feel that the film is sort of like a modern-day biblical tale. Sort of when Moses encounters the burning bush, both Roy and Jill encounter something where it’s beyond them. Right down to the penultimate scene where the mothership descends and contacts the humans via musical notes. It descends from a storm cloud like that vision that Elijah has. 

        Not that the film is a faith film by any means, but I interpret the film as a sort of heir apparent to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. That film showcases the evolution of humans through the advancement of space travel. This one highlights the next step of when humans contact another life. Right down to how the contact with musical notes and with hand signs. 

        With the last part, I feel that it was sort of subconscious and Spielberg not realizing that he was using his own past as inspiration. This analysis isn’t mine, but I want it to highlight it since it was brought up to the director back in the 2000s. Both his mom and dad were a piano player and an engineer, they ultimately divorced as Steven grew older. The moment can be interpreted as when the humans and aliens communicate, Spielberg was attempting to have his parents be reunited. It’s sort of cathartic in the end when the main character boards with the aliens. 

3. Overall

        Close Encounters of the Third Kind is one of the best Spielberg films that I’ve seen. My exposure laid the groundwork for my appreciation into movies. 

A Quiet Place Review

        This is the first time that I’ve seen A Quiet Place. I have no idea on why I missed out on this one since it came just when I was in college. Perhaps it was just those movies where I had a reservation on just how they would skirt on the gimmick. Or, I was in a middle of binging The Office and reading that John Krasinski directed the film, that it made me weary abour it. I think it says a lot about me that I have really bad takes on any movie that I haven’t seen. To exercise that, here’s what I think. 

1. Silence

        Keeping up with the alien invasion theme of the month, this is also an unorthodox film that has a unique spin on the invasion aspect. Specifically, we’re dropped into a world where the invasion already happened. We see the small town is abandoned with no signs of life. Not even sound effects of people screaming or gunfire, just breeze of the wind to punctuate the world is ominously silent. The opening sequence where we see the Abbots with Krasinski, and his wife Emily Blunt scavenge for supplies. Seemingly showing us that they’re the last survivors.

        I think the secret weapon to elevating the film is by showing just what kind of threat the characters are facing. One of the children is seen playing with a space shuttle toy. Hearing it go off is deafening, and we see the Dad quickly run to rescue him. We don’t see what the creature looks like, but just the blur and quickness of the alien swiping at the kid gives us what kind of movie we’re in. It’s not just having a kid die in the opening minutes is a must, but it really emphasizes the threat and the seemingly impossible task to survive.

        I’ll talk about the aliens in the next tab since they are unique. Overall, the movie is practically revolutionary in the sense that the only dialogue that we have is through American Sign Language. While there is vocal dialogue in terms of whispers and talking. To the extent that the scene involving the father and his son fishing establishes the rules for the movie. When they’re in the waterfall, the dad tells his son that they’re safe since the current’s noise gives them protection. It gives them a leeway, but of course the film can’t take place there.

        It would’ve been easy to screw up this concept by just having the rules be relaxed. What makes it effective is that even in the outside they can’t talk. It reminds me of the film Jaws in the context that the aliens could be anywhere outside the farm or in the general compound. And how one noise faint or otherwise can attract them like blood in the water. Right down to the family moving along a sand trail that’s been prepared by the father. To cover their own footsteps which could be sensed.

        Beyond the fear of a potential attack, I just love the teenage daughter Reagan. The moment where she gets into a sign language argument with her dad and feeling responsible for her brother’s death gives her that edge that she wants to help. Albeit she doesn’t want to risk losing anyone in her family. Just the angst and frustration really show when she sees her dad’s work with finding a way to fix her hearing aid really helps put everything into perspective for her. Aside from the survival, it’s all about love that permeates the film. 

        Lastly, the best scene in the movie is when Blunt’s character is giving birth. The setup is just ingenious with how it prepares us with what’s happening. From stepping on a nail in her barefoot triggers the aliens that are in the area. Just the level of anxiety that fills the room and Blunt being as quiet as she can be and controlling her contractions is just agonizing. She really played that part well and just doing that along with the alien trying to find the sound source is I think the scariest moment in any recent horror film that I’ve seen. 

2. Aliens

        So let’s talk about the aliens. I love that it’s never explicitly shown that it eats what it kills. Specifically that it doesn’t display any sense of intelligence or rationale with what it’s doing. The alien is literally an animal that is an invasive species trying to seemingly survive. And I love how it’s all handled since we don’t see a moment of how they got here. It’s a seemingly mindless creature that reacts to sound and attacks with ferocity and brute strength.

        Design wise, it reminded me a lot of the Xenomorph from the Alien franchise since it has no eyes and Venom from the Spider-Man comics. The appearance has a sort of gorilla stance and when it moves with its long appendages which gives it the quick stride that leads to a kill. It’s head reacts to a sound since it has various plates that’s connected to its inside and it shows it’s very distinct shark-like mouth. I love the shot that it’s odd-looking ear drum is the key to when it reacts to a loud sound.

3. Franchise

        No one could’ve imagined just how successful this film would be both financially and critically. Of course, the final shot would lead to a follow up and I think just how progressive it was to show a deaf character. Along with its use of sign language it’s spotlight. It managed to gross around 300 million dollars with a $17 million budget, and to me that’s a success story in terms of its minimal approach plus its unique story. Of course, I haven’t seen the follow up and there’s another entry that’ll be releasing this year. I’m optimistic since the whole framing of the film is how the creatures invaded and seeing it all started in a massive city.

4. Overall

        A Quiet Place is a unique alien invasion film where it’s unorthodox approach into acting sets up a terrifying encounter with something that reacts to sound. 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Review

        Alrighty! I’m back to talking about more films. Last year, I focused on the sub-genre film noir and it’s evolution. This time, I’ve decided to look at different kind of sci-fi films. Well, the ones where the aliens are in the forefront. Specifically, where they’re the invaders and the pacifists. It’s always interesting to see just how different filmmakers interpret that concept and present it. The films that I’ll be talking about are adaptations and original concepts, so let’s start off with this one. 

1. The Invaders

        Based on the story by Jack Finney and is a remake of the 1956 original. I’ve decided to look at this one due to it being shot in the 70s and just seeing what led up to the very famous last shot. Well, the film is straightforward plot wise. One would expect that the aliens would use a weapon on Earth and soon duplicates would appear. It doesn’t go down like that. Instead, we see from the start that the aliens look unlike anything we’ve seen, just spore like creatures. 

        They drift in space until they land on Earth and begin to appear as flowers. Just seeing the woman and school kids pick at the flowers in the bush lays the trap. From there, we follow both Matthew and Elizabeth: a health inspector and a scientist investigate a strange behavior that is affecting the people in San Francisco. If there’s one thing that makes this one different at that point in time is that it has a unique take on the alien invasion model. 

        Sort of like in War of the Worlds where the Martians are seemingly invincible but are defeated by common germs. This one is an inverse where the aliens take a form as something innocuous as a flower and soon sprout a hybrid copy. Just how the film starts and progress where the threat is seemingly unstoppable to the point where it starts to be almost anxiety ridden. Like, everything in San Francisco seemingly looks normal only when people are just emotionless. 

        I like how the characters are just trying to get the help that they need. Both Matthew and Elizabeth start to realize what’s happening where they involve their friends. It was crazy seeing Jeff Goldblum in a movie and still age well for how old he is. More so how seeing Spock himself Leonard Nimoy try to assure to the main characters that everything is fine. That’s only confounding and tragic is seeing his character pop up later. 

        I think this is one of the rare examples of a bio-horror film and a body horror movie. Bio-horror in a sense where an unknown entity is rained down and starts to affect a person symbiotically.  Or just seeing how the spores slowly duplicate someone while they’re sleeping gives the intensity where the characters must be awake. I’m glad we see it happen, but also just gives a clear idea that anyone can be a pod person. 

        As far as having a grounded and unorthodox approach to the story, I feel that the themes are resonated in a more contemporary setting. I feel that the moment when the person becomes a new alien hybrid is supposed to represent just the coming of the time. And how regular humans are trying to escape or inevitably embrace change where they don’t want to lose themselves. It gets even darker near the end. 

        I might as well talk about the last shot of the film. This is one of those rare films where the good guys don’t win and when all hope’s lost. Just seeing Matthew seemingly embracing being a pod person by being emotionless gives us that fake assurance that he’s in disguise. When a friend of his sees him, “Matthew” lets out a guttural shriek and points at her. Just seeing his friend Nancy cry and shout and the cut to the credits with no music really cements that humanity lost. There’s no other way to even execute that move without being divisive. If there’s one aspect of why the film is great, it’s just that final scene. 

2. Legacy

        This film is part of the rare group of films where it exceeds as a stand-alone film and a great remake. Part of the rules for a great remake is expanding on the original source material and adding something new and refreshing to it. So much so that the film is referenced every now and then in pop culture. I’ve seen it happen when the alien’s point and scream was spoofed by Rick and Morty in one episode. 

        Also, this is one of those rare films where there was even more remakes. Albeit, not like A Star is Born, the different releases changed the setting from an Army base to an alien bacteria that is spotted on a Space Shuttle. The titles would break up the full name, which is where we got Body Snatchers from the 90s and The Invasion in the 2000s. I haven’t seen any of them, only that I was first exposed to the concept when watching the commercials for The Invasion. 

3. Overall

        Invasion of the Body Snatchers is up there in terms of 1970s horror and in sci-fi. A classic with its story that is very contemporary. 

The 40 Year Old Virgin Review

        When looking at the poster to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, you would think it would be a really lousy comedy. Sort of in the vein of any sub-par Adam Sandler movie from the early 2000s. Surprisingly, this one put Steve Carrell in the map. It was both this film and The Office that really cemented him in the annals of comedy. To wrap up my look into romance films, here’s what I think about this one. 

1. Andy the Virgin

        Just the first opening sequence perfectly describes the predicament that Andy is in. Just the amount of collectibles that cover and dominate the whole apartment is impeccable. We see that he’s not a normal guy since he rides a bike to work and hardly interacts with his coworkers. The turning point is revealed when he’s invited to play poker and inadvertently reveals that he’s a virgin. 

        Steve Carrell absolutely steals the show as Andy. Just his overall mannerisms and any attempt to be cool by imitating the other guys is laughable. It’s tough to even review comedies since it’s entirely subjective to the person that’s watching it. Here, any high brow person without a funny bone can see or at least appreciates the comedy that represents the whole situation. And the fact that it’s an R-Rated movie takes its complete comedic antics to 11.

        One of the things that makes the film so well, is just how Andy goes about losing his own virginity. I’ll elaborate more on the next tab but what also sells the comedy is the chemistry among Andy’s coworkers. When you have Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and Romany Malco just talking with Andy is hilarious and stupid. Just the attempts to have him go through various means to highlight himself and finding love is all for nothing.

        Even though the film can be viewed through a depressing lens since we do see why Andy is so hesitant up to the point where we see his younger self. Any movie that has the character be active with what he wants to do, instead of just be a passive character for the story sake is probably the most important aspect of this film. Just the fact that we see him go for the girl that he’s genuinely attracted to is also sweet. 

        The moments when we see Andy and Trish together is wholesome since we see just how vulnerable Andy is and eventually the situation that Trish is in as well. It shows just the disparity between being a virgin and a single mom. Both are ridiculed but the main thorn is a guy not losing his virginity. Which leads me to my next tab. 

2. Types of Love

        I think the highlight of the movie is when the guys show Andy how to meet a girl to have his virginity be removed. Hilarious in the various ways Andy is subjected to the level of firsthand embarrassment, mostly all of them represent the guys and how love is shown in the movie. With the chemistry dynamics that the three guys have, all of them have a distinct view of love. 

        One is adventurous, the other is insecure with his relationship that he cheats with other girls and Paul Rudd’s character can’t seem to move on from his ex. It shows just how different they view a relationship or love in general. When Andy is with one or all them, we see how Andy tries their methods and have it blow up in his face. Especially when he’s told to wax his body, that’s my favorite part. I think the main point of the film was revealed after Andy’s predicament was made public to the store.

        The whole film is about the connection that leads to the actual event in question. We see just how backwards the guys view love and having their own relationship problems reflect their odd view into romance. With Andy, he simply followed his gut and did it his own way to go after Trish. Just him winning Trish’s daughters with his charm and earnestness made him redeemable to them. 

3. Overall

        The 40-Year-Old Virgin is on top of the comedic films of the 2000s that defined a decade. 

Marty Review

 

        It’s February once more and time to look at some romantic films. For those that having been keeping up with how I do my look into romance films, typically I pick two to reflect a common theme. Previously I watched tragic romantic films and romance during disaster. This year I’m watching the movies that have the sad sack getting a girl. With this film, it won the coveted Best Picture Award in 1955.

1. Marty

        Before I get started, I wanted to point out that this wasn’t the first time I was exposed to actor Ernest Borgnine. It just blew my mind that when I was little watching SpongeBob that in the episodes involving the heroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy that Borgnine voiced Mermaid Man. Little did I know that I would watch this movie and hearing him speak, I could catch the instances of Mermaid Man when he was speaking. Perhaps it was providence that made the whole thing complete.

        Anyways, we follow Marty as he works as a meat butcher. It’s established that he feels that he hasn’t accomplished anything despite having a good education. Constantly, he’s been bombarded from customers, friends and even his own mom that he ought to get married. You get to feel for the guy since he’s an upstanding person, but it’s the baggage that he receives from other people and himself that puts him in a corner. 

        One scene really nailed that, and it’s when Marty calls up a girl that he and his friend met. While we don’t hear what the girl is saying over the phone, just the camera slowly zooms in on Marty to really sell that the conversation isn’t going well. Just the performance of Borgnine sell that as hard as he tries, nothing goes his way when trying to find someone. It's that level of hidden frustration and sadness that makes it work. We want him to feel happy, and most importantly to find someone. 

        While it’s not all doom and gloom as the first couple of minutes is led to be believed. The remaining minutes we see that Marty finds someone and from there is when we see the sweetest moments. It’s such a refreshing thing where we actually see some positivity with the main character by just expressing himself and having someone to really get him. 

        That’s where we see Carla near the halfway point in the film. Both her and Marty are the same people where they haven’t had any shot of finding love. As I mentioned before, the scenes involving them are the sweetest aspect since we see just how they haven’t gotten a chance and that they are great for each other. It’s one thing where Carla supports Marty’s endeavors and Marty being reciprocal for her own struggles. 

        The movie as a whole works when there’s no big-name actor in the film. While yes, everyone here is talented but just having someone who’s naturally beautiful doesn’t exactly work in a movie like this. Marty in context works due to having the guy be a little scrappy that struggles and ultimately comes and fights his insecurities. It’s the believability in the performance that sells the picture. 

2. Relationships

        If there’s one aspect of the film that I notice is the overall use of relationships. While the film’s main theme is Marty finding someone, everyone around him are either bachelors, widows or married relatives. Like it’s one thing where we see a contrast between Marty finally being a relationship and his own cousin just not handling being in a marriage. The big picture I believe that the movie is going for is finding happiness.

        With Marty’s friends in the local bar, they keep hooking up with girls to the point where they’re not looking for anything serious beyond gratification. I find it nuance in a sense where it’s established that Marty isn’t in a good place mentally and just finding someone helps him be at ease with his life. In the context of the story, any sense of happiness is sort of run afoul when his own mom wants him to stop seeing his own lover for fear of being alone by herself.  It’s the sort of thing where people in the movie want to be continuously young without being committed to an actual relationship. Which is where they sort of take out on Marty throughout the film. 

3. Overall

        Marty is a classic romantic film of the 50s. A classic feel good story with a strong underdog element. 

Remember The Titans Review

        It’s super Sunday, as always, I talk about a football movie to celebrate the annual Super Bowl. This one is personal to me since it’s the first football movie that I’ve been exposed to. Of course, the commentary angle in the movie flew over my head because I couldn’t grasp it at a young age. Thinking about it more, I think this film was responsible for the multiple sports films that came out from Disney in the early 2000s. 

1. Race and Football

        Based on the 1971 season of the T.C. Williams Titans, the film’s told non-chronologically as we see the football team gather at a cemetery. In the ensuing scene, we see that Alexandria, Virgina is bereft with racial tensions. Making matters worse is that the football team has been forced to integrate with black and white players. Played by Denzel Washington, Coach Boone leads the team alongside Will Patton’s Coach Yoast. 

        Like with any other football movie that came before this one, they all have the basic film tropes such as having an underdog angle involve either a player or a team. The film fits the latter What separated this one among the others was that it leaned heavily at the racial angle. Now, we don’t see the N word be thrown around since it’s a Disney movie. More so that we see just how hot the level of contention between the players and the coaches have to put up with each other. 

        In some way, I feel this is mostly a movie about Coach Boone. He’s forced to coach a team that are at odds with each other. And he has to prove that he’s the one to lead them. And I’m glad that the contested areas aren’t exclusively to the players. Moments when Coaches Boone and Yoast are trying to remain calm in a game just represents how far they are trying to not kill each other metaphorically speaking. 

        The best moment in the film is when the team goes to training camp. We really see the method to the madness of how Coach Boone operates. More so that away from the gridiron, we see the camaraderie that the players develop. As always, there forced to room with each other which leads to fights. It was weird seeing Ryan Gosling be in this one, just before he made it big with The Notebook. I think the follow up scene is when the team hikes to where the site of the Battle of Gettysburg happened punctuates that the hatred everyone has is nothing compared to what happened. 

        I think what makes the film better aside from the players learning to tolerate each other is that they still live in an area where it’s still divided. It shows us that the players have learned to accept each other but the past doesn’t necessarily fixes it either. Like, it’s not hamfisted in an obscene way but just how this one team somehow made it work beyond everything that was happening. 

        If I have any faults with the movie is that it pulled a Gipper move. So what’s a Gipper, well it was a nickname for a player at Notre Dame that got famous when the coach gave a motivating speech to his team win the game for him. Halfway through the movie, one of the key players gets injured on the eve of the championship game. In some respects, I give the movie this where the coach doesn’t give a rousing speech to the team to win the game for the injured player. It’s a trope, but it’s one thing when reading about the actual events that the player in question got injured after the team won.

2. Legacy

        It felt like with the success of Remember the Titans, Disney planned more movies from every individual sport. You had others like The Rookie, Miracle about the 1980 US Hockey Team that beat the Soviets and Invincible to name a few that the studio had cornered the market with telling those stories. To me, I can’t confirm if that was the case or if everything was already greenlit but with Titans’ box office gross gave Disney more of a clear shot to move forward. What I do know is that among the live action films that the studio puts out, these are safer with getting critical and audience praise. 

3. Overall 

        Remember the Titans is one of the best football movies of the decade and the one to kick off the new century.