Movie review: Source Code
I actually saw this a few days ago, but felt I liked it too much to write an interesting review given that I have liked most of the movies I have seen lately. I went and saw Arthur and, ironically and in the face of all logic and previous experience, like it too. So I am stuck writing this one too. I will try to make it interesting.
I am trying to find something sucktastic this weekend. Best choice I think would be Soul Surfer, since I hate surf culture with the burning passion of a super nova, but sharks creep me out like very little else on earth and it looks like there is a lot of emotional coming to grips crap that would make me feel bad for dumping on the film. I think I will see Hanna, which potentially could suck, but I am worried that I will come out with something good from it too. I’ll let you know.
Also, I am judging a Warhammer tournament tomorrow that will take up all day so I don’t think I will be able to blog while getting my geek on. Sunday should do it.
Anyway, Source Code. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as an Army captain with the incredibly macho name of Colter Stevens (Really? The only way they could have cooked up a more manly name is if they had gone with Duke McHugepenis) who snaps to awareness in the body of another guy on a commuter train outside Chicago. Eight minutes later the train blows up and it turns out he has somehow been sent back in time, sort of, to relive the guys last eight minutes in an attempt to figure out who blew up the train and what his next target would be. I say somehow in the most literal sense possible. This is actually an old concept in time travel science fiction, but when they try to explain how they are doing it there doesn’t seem to have been a lot of research into possible explanations. Somehow the last 8 minutes of memory in the dead brain tissue of the guy killed on the train can be translated into a time travel experience that still can’t have anything changed in the past. I don’t think a writer should ever use the term “quantum physics” in a movie scientific explanation unless they actually know something about quantum physics. My own understanding is limited, but I know enough to understand that there is very little in a human brain that can affect the space/time continuum. (Dr. Brown Enterprises image from Back to the Future image courtesy of the nerd t-shirts)
In spite of the fact that the science doesn’t even attempt to make sense, the movie is pretty good. They keep sending Captain Stevens back over and over again, Groundhog Day-style, where he investigates different passengers looking for the bomber. While there he manages to fall in love with a girl (super hot Michelle Monaghan) who he can only interact with for eight minutes before being killed (actually, when you think about it, there is something about that relationship that sounds a kind of cool and headache free. Not that I’m bitter). I the train blows up over and over again, people are accosted, and deep dark secrets are revealed.
First that stars. Story concept is actually pretty cool, if you can ignore the lame explanation. One star. For the most part the writing and dialog was decent. One star. Michelle Monaghan is extremely easy on the eyes. One star. In spite of being a Hollywood pretty boy, Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t completely offend me. You actually feel a connection to his character. One star. There wasn’t a lot done outside of the train, but overall the filming, lighting, and editing were professionally done. They were able to create distinct atmospheres between the train and the military base the Captain was operating from. One star. They managed to deliver a decent movie without resorting to massive gun battles, car chases, and gratuitous explosions (except for the one big one). One star. Total: six stars.
Now the black holes. The lame attempt at science I, as a nerd, found extremely annoying and insulting to the collective intellect of America, in spite of the fact that probably 99% of us bought it. One black hole. The ending they literally pulled out of their ass and seemed to have nothing to do with anything previously established in the movie. One black hole. That’s pretty much it. Two total.
So a net result of four stars. Not bad at all, considering how few black holes showed up. Decent movie to see, and OK as a date film as there is not a ton of violence or nudity. Nothing in the filming was epic enough to require a large screen, so if you want to wait a bit you can see it on NetFlix and save a few bucks.
That’s it. I”m still kind of debating the Wonder Twins versus Aquaman question, so I won’t answer it. I will, however, ask why the Wonder Twins default forms weren’t always a T-Rex for Jan and an ice M1Abrams tank for Jayce? Seems that would have solved a lot of their problems quicker than turning into a marmoset and an ice Frisbee. Also, if Jayce turned into water, would he be subject to evaporation? Sounds dangerous to me.
