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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Apollo 11 (2019) in Movies

Apr 7, 2020  
Apollo 11 (2019)
Apollo 11 (2019)
2019 | Documentary
5
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
I was sad to miss this one at the cinema, I imagine having it up on the big screen would have been very impressive, but only one of the mainstream cinemas had it on.

Space documentaries are always interesting, to think that all of that technology was really in its infancy and we were making such big strides for humanity is mindblowing... and that's why this felt like a letdown.

It's wonderful that we're getting this unseen footage but they've turned it into a film, it's not really a documentary at all. In a documentary I expect to learn things I didn't know before, but here while I was seeing things I'd never seen it's actually not showing you a new angle on the story. It's great to see everything evolving as it did on the day and through the journey but that isn't new. With such a rich story of science and discovery behind space exploration I am at a loss as to why they would forego having a narrator.

Having a narrator adds an extra layer of information that really does add something and makes the footage accessible to new viewers. I've seen documentaries on things like this before and so some of what I was seeing on screen was recognisable, but there were still some shots where I didn't know what I was looking at. Some prompting would have been useful, it was like walking through a museum where they've taken down the labels on the exhibits.

The footage is generally well edited throughout, and as I said before, the feel is that of a film as opposed to a documentary. They're compiled picture, audio and video images together to follow the crew on and above the Earth and the fact they can line it up so well is impressive. There's a montage as the crew return to Earth and this was particularly good when paired with "Mother Country" by John Stewart.

Putting the footage together can't have been an easy task, but some of it suffered for the sake of a shot. At one point we get a slightly out of place split screen "Go" sequence which showed all the departments calling out. I liked it as an idea but the audio isn't the best quality as it carries through, and after the initial effect it's difficult to understand what's going on and that detracts from some of the impact.

I appreciate the fact they dug into the archives for everything, the studio even used their 1969 logo, and crafting music that would have been possible then was impressive... even if a lot of it wasn't as inspiring as the moments it accompanied.

While Apollo 11 itself is a mindblowing event the way this "documentary" has been produced is not. Well crafted, yes, but its lack of further detail and background had a heavy negative impact for me. If I was rating just for the event then it would absolutely be a 5 star review, as a newly produced bit of work it doesn't bring anything new to the table even with it all being new footage.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/04/apollo-11-movie-review.html
  
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Chaos Walking (2021) in Movies

Mar 3, 2021  
Chaos Walking (2021)
Chaos Walking (2021)
2021 | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
7
7.2 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Adapting a series of books into a movie is often a daunting task. As anyone who has seen many Stephen King adaptations can attest; plot complexity, characters, and depth are removed in order to condense the story into a two-hour or less run time.

The rise of streaming services has allowed many books to be adapted into series without having to cut much of the adult content in the books which would make it difficult for network television.

As such it makes adaptations such as “Chaos Walking” a delicate undertaking. The film is based on a series of books and stars Tom Holland as Todd; a young ma living on a distant world where there are no women and people can hear and see each other’s thoughts by a process known as “Noise”.

Their rustic colony is run with a firm hand by their Mayor (Mads Mikkelsen); who keeps those around him from seeing his thoughts which gives him a big advantage over those who rule.

When a landing craft from a mothership filled with a new wave of colonists crashes on the planet; Todd is shocked to find that the only survivor is a woman named Viola (Daisy Ridley) whose arrival disrupts the community.

The Mayor wishes to keep her from contacting her ship so they can seize it when it lands to maintain control of his empire as he sees the arrival of new individuals as a threat to his power.

Todd and Viola escape trying to reach a distant colony where she hopes to find a way to warn her ship about the danger the Mayor and his men present and they pursue the duo to keep this from happening.

The film lightly touches on the native race that Todd believes killed all the women of their colony but they are not visited save for a brief appearance. It is clear that the Mayor is hiding something and the reveal of what and why is fairly underwhelming which reduces him and most of his followers as thinly developed stock characters.

There is also the mystery as to why the Mothership does not bother to do any sort of follow up when they did not hear from their lander and like many aspects of the film; require the audience to simply go along with things and not ask too many questions to make things work.

Thankfully the two leads are interesting enough and they hold attention even when the story is slowly moving along with scene after scene of rivers, woods, and a little conversation.

One big issue with the film is the Noise as the visualization of thoughts as well as hearing them mixed in with verbal communication can get very confusing as it is like multiple voices in a crowded room.

Despite the issues, the potential is there and I found myself wondering what was next for the characters and hope that they do adapt future books in the series. While the film on its own does not work as a fully developed story’ as an introduction to the series it does enough to peak the interests for more.

3.5 out of 5