jazzx:

asaoleary123:

Jazz, You are a true asset to the community

And we are all very grateful for the hard work you have done

On the topic of the History page, I lolled when View Point was there, I tried so hard to distance myself from that film, I groaned.

 There's a film that didn't make the archive! - but luckily Lionhead has chosen to preserve it as one of the true classics of The Movies!

Wasn't that the one you said in the description "don't watch this!" (or was that somebody else?)

I don't think it was that bad at all.

jazzx:

But - here's a complete unknown to me who's made the lifeboat:

2060

by westost

Genre: Post-apocalyptic Religious Discourse

Duration: nearly 3 minutes - released Monday 3rd April 2006, 17 ratings, 4.53 star average

BBFC rating: U - suitable for all

***** stars

A really representation of just about every "intelligent" religion v science argument we're used to seeing again and again.

With spooky, lonely analogue synth music bookending the piece, this is great stuff.

that also means that "2060: The Road of Smoke" has been automatically downloaded and will be watched after December 5th.

***** stars

From its bleak grainy visuals to its eerie experimental music (very impressive from the director) and its explanation of why there's so many leaves blowing around (the trees are dying), a woman is confronted by one of the two factions left on Earth; those belonging to science and those belonging to religion. She's asked whether she believes in God or not.

I was left feeling that the scientific faction had become what it despised - a religion in itself. One could argue that the premise of this film is that the "Road of Smoke" is where we are headed if religion and science are constantly pitted against each other and polarised (the filmmaker's own agnostic anti-organised religion stance would suggest this might be the case).

My personal view is that science is the only way we beat disease and climate change and improve quality of life - not a single thing has actually come from prayer. When you marry the worst of religion (fundamentalism) with the worst of science (weapons of mass destruction) you get the means (science) to cause an apocalypse and the will (religion) to use that means. Give a crazy lunatic a loaded gun and they will justify in their own mind using it on someone, even if it means killing themselves.

In this film, however, the scientists are so scared of any kind of religious person that they seem to have been consumed by the same irrational fear and in-group mentality that drives organised religion.

An interesting film which paints a completely hopeless picture of the future in just a few short minutes.

**** stars

Some VO work in this finale and the odd funny line.

Only two gripes really,

Most characters did a narration at some point - but it was the same tone of voice as when they were talking in-scene. As these were regularly mixed up, it sometimes became confusing and definitely harmed the suspense near the end when the main character is seriously considering killing the girl if she doesn't agree to leave the building.

Music wasn't used that well in this film - it seemed to wallpaper the movie, often not changing to suit/set the new mood when we went into a new scene.

Other than that, some camerawork, but it was the acting which stood out for me - especially from the leads.

A finish to a series overall.

***** stars

Still some minor problems with balance between music and dialogue as in part 1, but the acting by Sadako shines through in this episode. She is required to produce a performance of near-complete lunacy, and delivers big time without ever tipping over into pastiche!

The plot is very strange, and hard to grasp - but, my ness, it's fun to watch!
The aforementioned loony sequence is a terrific excursion inside this troubled young female's mind - it also boasts some great effects, made even more impressive by the fact that this was made pre-Stunts & Effects.

Both episodes use black and white for all of the scenery and colour for the characters - a stylish colour scheme for the film.

The soundtrack is great - strange, loopy sounds - right down to a screwed-up version of the Baggage Boy music, as well as a bunch of external music tracks.
Mods are nice too - the strange eye-effect when Sadako is ready to use her powers is particularly effective.

The plot almost defies description, but it's not that important to be honest - just enjoy this well-paced, twisted, mind-altering journey.

PS. Watch all the way past the end credits for an extra treat!

I forgot, do you have Bomb Shelter Pt 1-2?

-deeb

Nice! Thanks jazzx!

-deeb

***** stars

There were many film noir detective thrillers on TMO, but very few classic Agatha Christie-style murder mysteries.

This is almost like a game of Cluedo as Inspector Zack Garland and ourselves try to work out who committed the murder in a swanky hotel situated on a remote tropical island.

Was it the singer? The maid? The hotel owner? The actor?

As the film goes on, we learn of some possible motives for each character. It has to be one of them, because the island has been isolated from the mainland by a tropical storm, so no-one has had a chance to escape.

That's as far as I'm going with the plot - but the ending is supremely ingenious; a real head-smacker! (and it all fits logically together as well - no cheating!).

This film got nominated for Best Visual Design and Best Director at Machinima Festival Europe.
It's easy to see why, the hotel looks gorgeous both inside and out (the "Girl With a Pearl Earring" makes an appearance). There's also a nice ship mod used in one scene.

Musically, it works well - although the saxophone improvisation gets overused and seems out of place compared to the more classical murder-mystery strings (played near the bridge for maximum chilliness).

The actors do a job - particularly the chatty chambermaid.

In Hi-Res the dialogue and soundtrack sounds lush - better than in the old-school murder mystery films that this one is emulating.

I would say this was easily the best classic murder mystery released on TMO, well worth half-an-hour of your time - especially now it's in super hi-res.

***** stars

Having just watched both of the first two episodes again (if you haven't seen them DO!) - I found this one to be very disjointed and confusing most of the time.

One character, who had his legs blown off in part 2, uploaded himself into cyberspace - so why is he running around in the real world in various different bodies now?
Are there artificial bodies hanging around to which you can download into?

And if that's the case, it would cause untold problems - as it could potentially mean no such thing as death - making reproduction undesirable in a place where resource capacity must surely be very limited.

Alternatively, he and his female cyberpunk accomplice could be hacking into the neural implants of various characters and taking control of their minds and bodies at key moments (this makes sense as they appear to take over the city's wealthiest individual at one point).

It is implied that everyone is fitted with neural implants - one character, for example, dares to question her new religion and is immediately struck down with a hellish vision to put her back in the fold! (How many religious zealots would love to have a power like that over their flock?)

Scrappy as the narrative is here, there's no doubt there's a lot packed in and, as with the other episodes, it's simply beautiful to look at. Apparently, some 30 modders were involved in the making of this film (surely the most ever used on a single The Movies project) and it shows in every frame. Gorgeous! The realisation of the city and the visual effects work in the dream sequences and cyber sequences is outstanding - easily the best effects work in any The Movies project.

The music is suitably futuristic ranging from "mood" music in the more contemplative scenes to thumping techno in the action sequences. Sound design in the action set pieces is great - you really feel like you're being riddled with bullets at the rate of 100 rounds a second.

There are some turns in the acting - the two cyberpunks in particular and Sister 4621 (aka Miri Pearl).

Confusing - but also immersive - is how I would describe this. I need a lie down after watching that!

***** stars

This is a great laugh as megalomaniacal villain Dave and his side-kick go speed dating.

voices, a nice homemade title song and plenty of laughs are the highlights.