Post by klep on Mar 19, 2018 6:47:33 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 3/19: Edge of Tomorrow
VIDEO GAME-ISH WEEK!
Anyone who's familiar with video games knows the concept of a reload. You have your game saved at a certain point, try to move forward from there, and have a point certain from which you can restart if and when you mess up. It helps you get better by degrees - you progressively get better at anticipating and dealing with whatever the game throws at you by repeatedly attacking the same scenario. And then once you're past it, you can create a new save and try again.
Edge of Tomorrow, adapted from the light novel All You Need Is Kill, applies that concept to a planetary invasion - and the effort to stop it. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is dragooned into a surprise final assault on an alien invasion force, only to have it not be a surprise. They attack is a failure, but by a quirk of fate Cage is imbued with the aliens' secret weapon: the ability to reset time anytime he dies.
Aided by a guide in Emily Blunt's RIta Vrataski - a woman who once had the power Cage now has - Cage is thrown into a real life video game where the objective is to save the world from an alien invasion. Robbed of the consequences of death, he's free to go through that final two days over and over again, trying whatever he wishes, with no repercussions. He's free to experiment with even the most unlikely scenarios, because he knows if they fail he can always try again.
But the endless resets still take a toll on Cage. While Rita meets him for the first time every day, to him she's someone he's come to know quite well and care for, and seeing her die over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over hurts. A lot. Rather than being desensitized by the constant violence and death around him it causes him to become more connected to humanity, and more devoted to his mission.
At the beginning of the film Cage is a coward. He doesn't want to be anywhere near the front and seems largely indifferent to the life of anyone but himself. By the end he doesn't think twice about sacrificing himself for all mankind. All he needed was a little push - that one connection that made him see something greater than himself.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 3/26: Persepolis
IT'S LADIES' WEEK!
In 2007, Marjane Satrapi adapted (along with Vincent Paronnaud) the comic she wrote of her life story into this acclaimed film, which went on to win the Jury Prize at Cannes and made her the first woman nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. Join us for our discussion next week of Persepolis, available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is only free for Prime members with a Sundance Now add-on.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 3/20: Diabolique
Recent Movie of the Week Diabolique kicks off thes week's podcast pairing about women doing it (crime) for themselves! Join us on Wednesday for a discussion thread. Diabolique is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel, and on Amazon Video where it is free for Prime members.
VIDEO GAME-ISH WEEK!
Anyone who's familiar with video games knows the concept of a reload. You have your game saved at a certain point, try to move forward from there, and have a point certain from which you can restart if and when you mess up. It helps you get better by degrees - you progressively get better at anticipating and dealing with whatever the game throws at you by repeatedly attacking the same scenario. And then once you're past it, you can create a new save and try again.
Edge of Tomorrow, adapted from the light novel All You Need Is Kill, applies that concept to a planetary invasion - and the effort to stop it. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is dragooned into a surprise final assault on an alien invasion force, only to have it not be a surprise. They attack is a failure, but by a quirk of fate Cage is imbued with the aliens' secret weapon: the ability to reset time anytime he dies.
Aided by a guide in Emily Blunt's RIta Vrataski - a woman who once had the power Cage now has - Cage is thrown into a real life video game where the objective is to save the world from an alien invasion. Robbed of the consequences of death, he's free to go through that final two days over and over again, trying whatever he wishes, with no repercussions. He's free to experiment with even the most unlikely scenarios, because he knows if they fail he can always try again.
But the endless resets still take a toll on Cage. While Rita meets him for the first time every day, to him she's someone he's come to know quite well and care for, and seeing her die over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over hurts. A lot. Rather than being desensitized by the constant violence and death around him it causes him to become more connected to humanity, and more devoted to his mission.
At the beginning of the film Cage is a coward. He doesn't want to be anywhere near the front and seems largely indifferent to the life of anyone but himself. By the end he doesn't think twice about sacrificing himself for all mankind. All he needed was a little push - that one connection that made him see something greater than himself.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 3/26: Persepolis
IT'S LADIES' WEEK!
In 2007, Marjane Satrapi adapted (along with Vincent Paronnaud) the comic she wrote of her life story into this acclaimed film, which went on to win the Jury Prize at Cannes and made her the first woman nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. Join us for our discussion next week of Persepolis, available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is only free for Prime members with a Sundance Now add-on.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 3/20: Diabolique
Recent Movie of the Week Diabolique kicks off thes week's podcast pairing about women doing it (crime) for themselves! Join us on Wednesday for a discussion thread. Diabolique is available on Filmstruck's Criterion channel, and on Amazon Video where it is free for Prime members.