sdsalsero Reviews

Skyline (2010)

A lucid dream brought unforgettably to life

[10/10 · 10 June 2011]

I think this has to be the most under-appreciated movie of the year. It is not your boilerplate sci-fi action film (though that is the way it was advertised). Instead this movie has stuck with me because it perfectly captured the feeling of a lucid dream, in this case a nightmare about being chased by monsters.

What is lucid dreaming? Some people are able to realize when they are dreaming and intentionally introduce changes to the dream. It's sort of like 'Inception' but you don't really have that much control. Instead, lucid dreaming is like a battle between your sub-conscious and your conscious minds. Especially when you're having a nightmare, you try to introduce 'good' elements into the plot but then your sub-consciousness undermines them.

I literally could not count the number of times I have had dreams like 'Skyline'. As things get worse I try to imagine new ways to win, or at least, escape. These dreams remind me of that iconic movie shot where the hero is having a nightmare and they're trying to run for the exit but the hallway keeps getting longer and longer, the door further and further away. In the case of 'Skyline' the dream is about an alien invasion of Earth. There's just the slimmest attempt at character development, just enough to establish a group of Good Guys for you to root for. From there it's all down-hill. The action and special-effects are excellent, exactly what you would expect from a sci-fi summer blockbuster. (There's also an obvious nod towards 'Matrix'.)

What turns people off, I think, is the lack of resolution. I don't want to give any spoilers here but this is not a standard Hollywood ending. As I said from the beginning this is like a lucid dream where the dreamer/hero keeps trying to introduce new story elements to turn things around, rescue the day. At the end, the story takes yet another -- but even more unexpected -- twist, and then stops. Exactly like a dream.

Hopefully, if people go into the film without any preconceived notions about how it should end, they might enjoy it more. I certainly did! In fact, I would credit it with attaining Art status, in the same way that 'Blade Runner' or 'AI' managed to transcend mere Film status.

Miracle Mile (1988)

what starts like a bad made-for-TV movie turns into a compelling character-driven sci-fi horror

[9/10 · 3 April 2004]

I first saw this movie on video around the time it was produced. I immediately liked it even though it was a bit bleak. But the late 80's were full of apocalyptic nuclear holocaust movies and this was the only one that stayed with me. Now, years later, I've just rewatched it (this time on DVD) and I still think it's a very good -- but not great -- movie.

Admittedly, there's some over-the-top 80's haircuts and costumes, stuff that would be seriously 'retro' nowadays. And the acting, particularly in the beginning, is 'obvious' and a bit tiring. But when the hero receives that fateful phone call, it all changes. Suddenly, it's like watching a stage-performance of a play, a pressure-cooker where everyone suspects everyone else and no one knows what's really going on.

In fact, one of the best parts of the screenplay is that we, the audience, also don't really know what to believe (until the very end). We watch the hero struggle with what to tell people who's help he needs: if he tells them the awful truth, they may not believe/help him; if he tells them a more believable lie, is he denying them the chance to survive or at least to die with their loved ones. Either way, both he and the people he meets turn to progressively more and more extreme behavior -- people die! . . . and what if it all turns-out to have been a hoax?

In all, I think this movie ranks as a great sci-fi film, and in the truest sense of the genre: What If. It's not about aliens or galactic empires or anything else that's more fantasy than reality. Instead, it's a situation that any of us could easily imagine and I think this is why it stayed with me all these years, why it now forms a part of the framework for my imagination whenever I find myself catastrophizing about terrorism or natural disaster, anything that could separate me from the ones I love. What would I do?

Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

ridiculous movie

[1/10 · 28 December 2003]

This was the worst movie I've seen in years. I regret that I paid to see it in the theater. I realize it was released immediately post-9/11 but come on. The good guy repeatedly escapes from traps without any explanation, and then they make it seem like it was all a real story by listing Where Are They Now bio's at the end.