A few months ago I read a post somewhere (no link, can't find it easily, and there are a bajillion similar) that commented on the shared DNA of four films in the past year.
It pivoted around the blockbusting Nolan epic of last summer, Inception, and went on to point out that there were three other films that fairly succesfully mined that similar fuck-with-your-head and question-your-sense-of-reality territory within following 12 months.
The follow-up films were; The Adjustment Bureau, Source Code and Limitless.
Over the past month Jodie and I watched them all (having watched Inception in the cinema as our last theatre experience before becoming parents and of course all that entails and limits).
It needs to be said that Inception is the superior film - though I must confess, that even as big fan of Christopher Nolan, I found it a bit over-hyped. But beyond that, yeah, all of these films are quite enjoyable and worth seeing.
I had the good fortune of knowing very little about any of these films and I will keep it that way for you.
The Adjustment Bureau as the opening credits will tell you, is based on a book by Phillip K. Dick, so if you are a fan of this sub-sub-genre of fiction you kind of already have a sense of where it might go. Overall it's a pretty fluffy film and didn't really treat the material how I would have liked to have seen it done, but it managed to stay entertaining throughout and the worst thing I can say about it is I hated the hats. So it passes. Though it was my least favourite of the three.
Source Code is directed by Duncan Jones, who with this film should have earned the right to not have anyone point out on his next film that he is David Bowie's son. I thought it gave it's secrets away too easily, and one major plot point at the 2/3rd mark is too casually handled, but overall I quite liked this film. Duncan Jones, you make smart sci-fi. (He also directed Moon - which apart from a CSI-Tycho fail was awesome.) However... two quibbles: 1) There are about five minutes at the end of the film that seemed totally un-necessary to me. As though Jones had said "here is my film" and the studio said "don't you fucking dare end it so ambiguously and play only to the smart cinema goer." And being that the studio gets to make those calls there is another five minutes that ties everything up far too neatly and kind of patronizingly. 2) What the hell was Jeffery Wright thinking? My guess is that somewhere along the line he has got the message that people like the Jeffery Wright mannerisms and that he should cram every single trick and twitch he has in his toolkit into every scene. That seems to be what he is doing here - like he is playing a characterization of Jeffery Wright. But seriously, I quibble. I suspect that Jodie would say that this was her least favourite of the films, but I enjoyed it.
I really did not expect Limitless to come out of this battle-royale on top. And to be fair, I don't know why it was included in this grouping of recommendations - it stands out in a "one of these things is not like the other" kind of way, though I'll spare you the specifics of why as there is some mystery involved and to say why it stands out would be to narrow the scope of the mystery. It's fun. It is stylish (if a bit obvious in it's visual choices). It may be a bit pat in it's end - but unlike Source Code it wasn't betraying any promises by doing so, it simply is that kind of film. It actually succeeds by never really trying to be more than it is. It is smart (enough) and doesn't try to over-extend its reach as a popcorn film. It even earns itself some forgiveness where the plotting gets stretched a bit.
All in all, if you are a fan of smart, contemporary-set, sci-fi with a healthy dash of "what the hell is going on?" (at least at first), then I can gladly recommend any of these films, or as a set as we watched them.
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Leviathan - A Short Piece of Fiction
I wrote this about a year and a half ago. It's an odd little thing that I've been told borders on poetry and is harder than hell to truly understand.
I'm kind of of the "so what?" mind set. I wrote this one for me first - anyone else is a bonus. I know what I was shooting for and I captured it for my own needs... even if it is a bit obtuse for general consumption.
You can love it. You can hate it. Neither you nor I has to make excuses about it.
LEVIATHAN
She alone humbly knew that it had been more time than they had songs for, since the Ancient-voices of From-above had first been heard. How long had they played? There was no knowing. Soon there would be no knowing when the Ancient-voices had last sung with them.
Time - measured by life. Lives. Lives in turn by knowing, by lore, by wisdom. Full of wisdom, deep into time.
There were only songs for those who lived, and for those who were gone but had lived while those still alive were already birthed.
There were those who came before that. But their song was One. Their individual songs forgotten. Forgotten except for the songs intoned by those vain with wisdom. Vanity was such heroic shame. To know yourself to be so wise that you could compose a song for the ages… immoral.
Those who had heard the Last-song From-above had lived while she was alive, and no other alive had emerged, had swam, had abided as deep into time as she.
Those who heard the Last-song had sung to her about strange melodies that came from those who had once lived From-above. Inscrutable songs played by the Ancient-voices of From-above when those of deep wisdom – as she now was - had been shallow, as she had been when those then of deep wisdom sung for her.
To be shallow again. To embrace the freedom of imagination that time would fill with wisdom. To dream. To play at being one who heroically sacrificed great humility to compose a song for the ages. She recalled the frivolity of composing trite melodies to herself, to her head, yet never intoning, singing, sharing. Not one new song was composed in a generation, let alone by one so shallow. As she grew wise she would see those dreams for what they were, not heroism. Shame, abase, disgrace. Shallow naiveté.
From-above. Where breath came from.
A place where she and her kind could go only briefly - a fleeting moment before crashing back to the substance of the world. It was glorious. A brief surge into outer space, before the great Compelling drew one back as though the Compelling itself knew that there was nothing for them out there.
Nothing but death.
Soon she would die from great accumulation of cognition. She was wise. Very wise. She knew how decrepit she must look to those whose lives did not run so deep as hers. She recalled those who had been this wise when her life was shallow. Those who had heard the Last-song. Those who she alone had a song for, but when she was gone, when she became one who had lived while those alive were alive… then their song would be the song of the One. Timeless. A duration lost.
She was the last wise enough to sing their song. The song, the archive, the science. The last who dove so deep in time. When she was gone, they would no longer know when the Ancient-voices had last been heard.
The song of the Ancient-voices had been bereft of true meaning, that was known. Nonsense. But there had been an understanding.
Long before. In the time of the song of the One, there had been great terror. The Terror.
Those From-above had come to draw them one at a time to outer space. Not for the brevity that the great Compelling allowed, but forever. For death.
There was a song – a variation on the song of the One - that told of the Terror.
A wise one whose life ran at the same depth as the Terror had sacrificed humility, to compose the song that explained, that told, that warned, of the Terror and sing it for all to remember.
The Ancient-voices, it was sung, came as an apology, an appeal, an instruction. For the duration that they sang, the voices had told them – promised them – that everything had changed.
But those who came From-above were now part of the One.
The last who had heard their nonsense melody were gone, and when she was gone, they too would be the remotest memory.
It saddened her.
Their voice may have had no meaning, but the intention, the understanding, the song had… that should not be lost.
Perhaps someday it would be understood. Perhaps those of the Yet-to-come – the young, the future, the foolish – may see a purpose in the song. Perhaps what it said might tell them what had become of those of From-above. Where they had gone and what their departure had meant. It was too important.
There needed to be a song.
A song that would mean everything she thought about the Ancient-voices.
There had not been a new song since those who lived the Terror had become part of the One. It was to sacrifice great humility to intone a new song.
Only the wisest could dare. For all others it was folly. Only the wisest could know enough to compose a new history, to build a new song in the language.
To sing a new song, it was sung, one must know that the song to be sung would be the most important melody one would ever sing.
To intone a new song was to enact despicable pride. But some things must be known. Each of the One who sacrificed great humility had recognized that they alone remained whose wisdom ran so deep into time as to be able to compose the song that must be sung. Each in turn had realized the price of hubristic heroism had fallen upon them. The decision, the choice, the dilemma to compose and sing or lose the knowledge, lore, wisdom was the burden left to those who alone swam deepest into time.
So, heroically, she embraced the dreams of the shallow and she sang.
I'm kind of of the "so what?" mind set. I wrote this one for me first - anyone else is a bonus. I know what I was shooting for and I captured it for my own needs... even if it is a bit obtuse for general consumption.
You can love it. You can hate it. Neither you nor I has to make excuses about it.
LEVIATHAN
She alone humbly knew that it had been more time than they had songs for, since the Ancient-voices of From-above had first been heard. How long had they played? There was no knowing. Soon there would be no knowing when the Ancient-voices had last sung with them.
Time - measured by life. Lives. Lives in turn by knowing, by lore, by wisdom. Full of wisdom, deep into time.
There were only songs for those who lived, and for those who were gone but had lived while those still alive were already birthed.
There were those who came before that. But their song was One. Their individual songs forgotten. Forgotten except for the songs intoned by those vain with wisdom. Vanity was such heroic shame. To know yourself to be so wise that you could compose a song for the ages… immoral.
Those who had heard the Last-song From-above had lived while she was alive, and no other alive had emerged, had swam, had abided as deep into time as she.
Those who heard the Last-song had sung to her about strange melodies that came from those who had once lived From-above. Inscrutable songs played by the Ancient-voices of From-above when those of deep wisdom – as she now was - had been shallow, as she had been when those then of deep wisdom sung for her.
To be shallow again. To embrace the freedom of imagination that time would fill with wisdom. To dream. To play at being one who heroically sacrificed great humility to compose a song for the ages. She recalled the frivolity of composing trite melodies to herself, to her head, yet never intoning, singing, sharing. Not one new song was composed in a generation, let alone by one so shallow. As she grew wise she would see those dreams for what they were, not heroism. Shame, abase, disgrace. Shallow naiveté.
From-above. Where breath came from.
A place where she and her kind could go only briefly - a fleeting moment before crashing back to the substance of the world. It was glorious. A brief surge into outer space, before the great Compelling drew one back as though the Compelling itself knew that there was nothing for them out there.
Nothing but death.
Soon she would die from great accumulation of cognition. She was wise. Very wise. She knew how decrepit she must look to those whose lives did not run so deep as hers. She recalled those who had been this wise when her life was shallow. Those who had heard the Last-song. Those who she alone had a song for, but when she was gone, when she became one who had lived while those alive were alive… then their song would be the song of the One. Timeless. A duration lost.
She was the last wise enough to sing their song. The song, the archive, the science. The last who dove so deep in time. When she was gone, they would no longer know when the Ancient-voices had last been heard.
The song of the Ancient-voices had been bereft of true meaning, that was known. Nonsense. But there had been an understanding.
Long before. In the time of the song of the One, there had been great terror. The Terror.
Those From-above had come to draw them one at a time to outer space. Not for the brevity that the great Compelling allowed, but forever. For death.
There was a song – a variation on the song of the One - that told of the Terror.
A wise one whose life ran at the same depth as the Terror had sacrificed humility, to compose the song that explained, that told, that warned, of the Terror and sing it for all to remember.
The Ancient-voices, it was sung, came as an apology, an appeal, an instruction. For the duration that they sang, the voices had told them – promised them – that everything had changed.
But those who came From-above were now part of the One.
The last who had heard their nonsense melody were gone, and when she was gone, they too would be the remotest memory.
It saddened her.
Their voice may have had no meaning, but the intention, the understanding, the song had… that should not be lost.
Perhaps someday it would be understood. Perhaps those of the Yet-to-come – the young, the future, the foolish – may see a purpose in the song. Perhaps what it said might tell them what had become of those of From-above. Where they had gone and what their departure had meant. It was too important.
There needed to be a song.
A song that would mean everything she thought about the Ancient-voices.
There had not been a new song since those who lived the Terror had become part of the One. It was to sacrifice great humility to intone a new song.
Only the wisest could dare. For all others it was folly. Only the wisest could know enough to compose a new history, to build a new song in the language.
To sing a new song, it was sung, one must know that the song to be sung would be the most important melody one would ever sing.
To intone a new song was to enact despicable pride. But some things must be known. Each of the One who sacrificed great humility had recognized that they alone remained whose wisdom ran so deep into time as to be able to compose the song that must be sung. Each in turn had realized the price of hubristic heroism had fallen upon them. The decision, the choice, the dilemma to compose and sing or lose the knowledge, lore, wisdom was the burden left to those who alone swam deepest into time.
So, heroically, she embraced the dreams of the shallow and she sang.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
The Ally List
I'm probably going to post a second and inevitable part to the Enemies list before the weekend is up - and to be fair this one is just too easy and too obvious. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
But before I do, I thought it would be best, in the name of equal representation - just so the Enemies don't feel as though I'm singling them out and picking on them - that I'd better even up and post an Ally first.
The first Ally, is not one I would call easy, but I would say that there never really was any competition for who I would pick first.
A smart man, who regularly writes thought provoking and challenging views on life on this big blue marble.
Dr. David Brin.
He is an astro-physicist and author, known mostly for his Science Fiction, but whom should not be judged by his penchant for speculative reality.
His metaphorical looks at society are generally fun and often pretty dense when it comes to popular sci-fi, but above and beyond that, his thinking on various social issues - particularly his long-view on where we are developing as a culture - are disturbing and convincing.
This one, sparked largely by the November election in the U.S., resonates particularly well.
Also check out his book "The Transparent Society" which suggests amongst many other things, the frightening thought that we cannot stop the loss of our privacy by way of cameras on every street corner and elsewhere - but he does suggest that the concommitant "Big Brother State" is not an inevitable consequence, if we play our cards right. There is no point in fighting the former, it's just wasting our energy. Energy that could be used to direct the outcome towards a positive result where the watchers are effortlessly watched in return and we are all happily accountable for our actions.
It may be tough to swallow, but his arguments are provocative and convincing. It may not be the most pleasant thought, but he may well be right, and if so, we can't afford not to have listened. For that reason, he is my first Ally.
But before I do, I thought it would be best, in the name of equal representation - just so the Enemies don't feel as though I'm singling them out and picking on them - that I'd better even up and post an Ally first.
The first Ally, is not one I would call easy, but I would say that there never really was any competition for who I would pick first.
A smart man, who regularly writes thought provoking and challenging views on life on this big blue marble.
Dr. David Brin.
He is an astro-physicist and author, known mostly for his Science Fiction, but whom should not be judged by his penchant for speculative reality.
His metaphorical looks at society are generally fun and often pretty dense when it comes to popular sci-fi, but above and beyond that, his thinking on various social issues - particularly his long-view on where we are developing as a culture - are disturbing and convincing.
This one, sparked largely by the November election in the U.S., resonates particularly well.
Also check out his book "The Transparent Society" which suggests amongst many other things, the frightening thought that we cannot stop the loss of our privacy by way of cameras on every street corner and elsewhere - but he does suggest that the concommitant "Big Brother State" is not an inevitable consequence, if we play our cards right. There is no point in fighting the former, it's just wasting our energy. Energy that could be used to direct the outcome towards a positive result where the watchers are effortlessly watched in return and we are all happily accountable for our actions.
It may be tough to swallow, but his arguments are provocative and convincing. It may not be the most pleasant thought, but he may well be right, and if so, we can't afford not to have listened. For that reason, he is my first Ally.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)