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| Mum got a whole bunch of movies out cheap from the video store this weekend, because our favourite TV shows have finished for the season and we have to fill our nights somehow. Mostly they are sci-fi movies, apart from one political thriller set in Russia for my sister. Last night we watched The Man from Earth, which is probably the only sci-fi movie that takes place almost entirely in one room. It was adapted from a play, and as such consists mostly of the conversation between the characters. Their friend and collegue John Oldman is leaving town, and everyone's come over to throw him a surprise party. While they're there, he throws out an idea - what if you had a man, born 14,000 years ago, who simply stopped aging, and never died. What would he be like? There's a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychiatrist, and so on, and they have fun playing with this idea until they realise he's being serious. Then they start to freak out. Either their friend is insane, or playing a cruel joke on them, or this incredible thing is actually true. Also he was Jesus. And had studied under the Buddha. This movie is so sincere! The characters aren't much, and their dialogue sometimes seems awkward, but the whole point is to play with the idea and its ramifications. It's science fiction, but there's no action, no explosions, no AIs or space ships or whatever genre tropes you're most fond of. Instead there's just a whole lot of dialogue. But that's okay! It's not boring! Even if it is kind of twee in parts, I am impressed because it held my attention. I am reading people arguing about it on IMDB now and it is kind of hilarious. I am really not so invested as to argue that it was OMG the-best-thing-ever or OMG what-a-piece-of-shit. Uh - not that that's not what it's always like on IMDB. Tonight we watched Cloverfield, which was also an entertaining way to spend an evening. Although I kept getting distracted by the hard cuts, which according to the conceit of the film, shouldn't have been there. They think we won't notice, but I have been playing with vids! I would talk about that properly but I got distracted by IMDB and now I have to go to bed. My computer is about to kick me off. Next up: 2001: A Space Odyssey! I have never seen it. Mum is hoping maybe this time she will know what is up with the apes. Apes? I thought it was all about homocidal AIs... Obviously I have much crazy to look forward to. ETA: Mum has corrected me; it wasn't the apes she didn't get, it was the stuff at the end. The really weird stuff. | ||||||||
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Geomythologist
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July 5th, 2009 |
Geomythologist
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