Aeon Flux
I waited for Aeon Flux to hit the DVD market because I had a strong fear it might disappoint. The movie did poorly at the box office and I didn't hear any of the Anime series' fans raving about it. Ultimately I had to see for myself. Turns out Aeon Flux is one of the smarter sci-fi flicks I've seen in a long time. Coupling sharp character development by Charlize Theron with a moral struggle takes the movie past the eye candy factor and straight to an entertaining action movie.
Aeon Flux is set in the future, tracing the story of a society virtually wiped out by disease in 2011. The brilliant scientist Goodchild discovers a cure that saves the last 5 million survivors of the planets dwindling population. Flash forward 400 years and the isolated city where the survivors remain is in population stasis. People are starting to vanish without explanation or investigation by the authorities. Aeon Flux is the best operative in the Monican rebellion, who are actively seeking an answer to the mysterious disappearances.
Like any good sci-fi action flick, Aeon Flux takes the normal and adds a twist, like Aeon's genetically modified protege played by Sophie Okonedo. Architectural and botanical advancements also elegantly build the dynamics behind this evolved society. The community takes on a slightly sterile feel, not unlike Spielberg's presentation of Minority Report. If you're a fan of great science fiction movies, Aeon Flux entertains, whether the story behind the movie is familiar or not.
I originally reviewed Corner of Your Eye back in 2003 after visiting with the director at a cafe in San Francisco. I noticed Phlying Phrog Philmz is currently working on a second production, so this seemed like a great time to revive the write up. Corner of Your Eye is a utterly bizarre story about a love triangle resulting in the infection of three friends with a disturbing mental virus. Imagination and reality blur as the three succumb to their infection, sharing dreams and experiences beyond the state of conscious thought and reliving moments of their lives trapped in a seemingly unending cycle. Shared dreams make for some particularly surreal moments in the film, building the psychosis of each character to unnerving levels before bringing you back to the implication of reality. Repeated musical themes throughout the movie punctuate the madness of the characters as they descend further from reality and into their own confused existence. I recommend seeing Corner of Your Eye at least twice, as the plot is occasionally difficult to follow, changing things up and leaving you wondering exactly where the story is headed. This is an outstanding first effort and leaves me eager to see what's in store from Striking 13, the next production from Corner of Your Eye writer, director, and producer Jesse Spencer.
Possibly one of Robin Williams more underrated performances, Bicentennial Man is a story of human understanding, as told through the eyes of an android. Based on the Isaac Asimov story of the same name, Bicentennial Man tracks the 200 years that make up the "life" of Andrew, a robot put into service to assist the Martin family. The Martins discover Andrew is "flawed," in that he exhibits characteristics that border on human. The movie traces Andrew's quest to foster his human qualities and search for other android beings like him. Through Andrew's own search for humanity, we are reminded what it means to be human. If you're a fan of Asimov's stories, or a looking for a more cerebral sci-fi story, compared to most of the genre, this is a definite must view movie.
Raising some disturbing questions about the future of technology, Minority Report takes us to the not-too-distant future, where crimes may be predicted before they happen. Based on a sci-fi detective novel by 
The television trailers for Paycheck bored me to the point I didn't even bother to watch it until I ran out of other new releases at the video store. At the time of the theatrical release, I had no idea the movie was based on yet another Philip K. Dick short story. The setup for the story is great. A hotshot computer engineer works for companies and then gets his memory erased, so he can work for competitors without fear of infringing on any competitive practices. Something went seemingly wrong in his latest job when he wakes from having his memory zapped to discover he signed away rights to millions of shares of Fortune 500 company stock. An envelope mailed to his attorney provides the only clues to discover why. John Woo directs, creating a level of action not typically associated with psychological sci-fi material. Science fiction junkies should definitely give the story a chance, despite mixed reviews from most mainstream movie critics. The DVD is lackluster at best, providing now standard Dolby 5.1 Surround and little else to get excited about. The featurettes don't really show us anything we haven't seen before. I haven't actually read the story as written by PKD, but I'm envisioning the original to be a whole lot less John Woo.
The one-word title perfectly sums up what this movie represents, in terms of how it relates to the rest of the Star Trek franchise. What's rumored to be the final Star Trek movie is a black-mark on an otherwise entertaining body of work, worthy of general malaise from even the most hardcore Trekkie. To paraphrase T.S. Elliot, this is the way the universe ends, not with a bang, but a whimper. After my giving the movie such a unglamorous intro, the producers of the DVD really deserve credit for making the most of what they had to work with. Picture quality and sound are both outstanding, with enough extras to justify making this part of any Star Trek DVD collection.
This movie is about the best adaptation of a 
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