Kronos (1957) Jeff
Morrow and Barbara Lawrence star as Dr. Leslie Gaskell and Vera Hunter, in one
of the most unconventional alien invasion flicks to come out of the ‘50s. We
never see the aliens that originate from a distant world. Instead, the first
wave of a planetary conquest comes in the form of a 100-foot robot, dubbed
“Kronos” (after one of the Titans in Greek mythology). After a large meteorite
crashes off the coast of Mexico, a huge, boxlike robot emerges from the sea,
and proceeds to absorb energy, leaving a wake of destruction behind it. The slow
build-up works to the film’s advantage, taking time to establish the characters
as they tirelessly endeavor to find a way to stop the giant automaton (it’s
always nice to see a movie that casts scientists in a positive light). The
leads are appealing, although I wanted to shake Dr. Gaskell for being oblivious
to his girlfriend’s advances. I’m not sure what the female equivalent of blue
balls is, but whatever it’s called, she’s got ‘em, Relationship difficulties
aside, it’s an underrated mini-classic.
Rating: ****. Available on DVD
Destination Moon
(1950) This Technicolor space adventure from producer George Pal, director Irving
Pichel, and based on a novel by Robert A. Heinlein (who also co-wrote the
screenplay), strives for scientific accuracy over fanciful speculation. In a
whimsical, but educational sequence, we’re treated to a Woody Woodpecker
cartoon, describing the physics of a moon rocket. It’s too bad the rest of the
film doesn’t match this high point, with its idealistic, but wooden leads, and
an annoying crewmember (our nominal “everyman”) who sounds like Bugs Bunny, and
claims the rocket “won’t woik.”
Destination Moon doesn’t
exactly prophesize the Apollo missions, with its anti-government, pro-private industry message. Instead of a
NASA-like space agency, the movie opines wealthy corporate moguls will foot the
bill for an atomic moon rocket. It’s also hard to swallow that a successful
mission could be mounted on such short notice, with an untested crew and ship.
It’s still fun to watch the astronauts band together to work through the perils
of space travel.
Rating: ***.
Available on DVD
Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) Director Andrzej Sekula’s decent
follow-up to Vincenzo Natali’s clever sci-fi/existential horror hybrid plays more
like a remake than a sequel. Once again, a group of unrelated (or are they?)
people are stuck in a multi-room complex, riddled with booby traps. This time
around, the rooms occupy four dimensions, and appear to traverse time and space.
Although the boundaries are virtually limitless, the booby traps aren’t quite as
clever as the ones in the original movie, and the characters spend more time
bickering instead of searching for a way out. Cube 2 can’t quite duplicate the mind-bending experience of the
first film, but it’s worth a look if you’re a fan of the first film.
Rating: ***. Available on DVD
Woman in the Moon (aka:
Frau im Mond) (1929) Writer/director Fritz
Lang and writer Thea von Harbou’s (adapted from her novel) space epic spends
far too much time with a melodramatic plot, and too little time basking in a
sense of wonder over the subject matter. Rocket designers Wolf Helius (Willy
Fritsch) and Hans Windegger (Gustav von Wangenheim) are in love with the same
woman, Friede Velten (Gerda Maurus, who also appeared in Lang’s Spies). Joining them on their voyage to
the moon are a crusty old professor, a shifty industrial saboteur with a Hitler
hairdo, and plucky kid who stows away in a spacesuit. Despite the fact that
they’re on the flippin’ moon, all they can think of is to squabble amongst each
other. Woman in the Moon gets some
things right (multiple rocket stages, weightlessness and a countdown preceding
the launch), but fudges on the rest of the facts. According to the filmmakers,
we’re led to believe there’s a breathable atmosphere on the moon, and we should
probably pack a light jacket, because it gets a little chilly at night.
Although it’s far from Lang’s best, it’s worth a look.
Rating: ***. Available on DVD
Robot Stories (2003)
Writer/director Greg Pak’s low budget anthology film tells four unrelated tales
about relationships, loss and childhood. In the first vignette, a professional
couple looking to start a family must live with a robot baby to prove their
worthiness as parents. The second (and best) segment isn’t science fiction at
all, but an affecting drama about a mother coping with her estranged adult son,
after he’s lapsed into a coma. She attempts to mend their lost bond, and
somehow revive him, by piecing together his collection of vintage toy robots (anyone
familiar with the Micronauts figures should enjoy this bit of ‘70s nostalgia). The rest of the film is an exercise in the law of diminishing
returns. The third vignette features an android office worker in a generic
office setting with equally generic employees. The fourth story isn’t about
robots at all, but concern’s a dying elderly man’s decision whether or not to
have his memories archived in a computer database. The production values are TV
grade, the effects are minimal, and the acting is uneven, but the movie has its
heart in the right place. My advice: skip the remaining two segments.
Rating: ***. Available on DVD
Split Second (1992)
Despite the negative buzz I had heard about the film, I was always curious to
see Split Second. Maybe because of
its star, its relative scarcity and intriguing, albeit derivative premise, I
was ready to give the movie the benefit of the doubt. I should have listened to
the naysayers. An unseen assailant stalks the shadowy corners of future London,
ripping out the hearts of its victims. Rutger Hauer plays stereotypical cop on
the edge Harley Stone, who lost his original partner to the creature, and wants
another shot at destroying it. His obnoxious sidekick tries to be funny and edgy,
and fails miserably on both counts. Kim Cattrall, Michael J. Pollard, Pete
Postlethwaite and Ian Dury (!) are wasted in thankless roles. When you finally
catch a glimpse of the barely seen creature, it resembles a cheap xenomorph
look-alike. Save your time and watch the original Predator or first two Alien
flicks again.
Rating: *½. Available on DVD (Out of Print) and Hulu Streaming
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