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Reviews
The Aliens Are Coming (1980)
underrated
I remember being surprised by this one when it slipped by on TV way back in early 1980. I immediately thought "Invaders" and "television pilot". Though this movie lacks the eeriness of the Invaders pilot "Beachhead" it makes up for it somewhat by being a little less edgy and with a little well placed light humor. Invaders had the virtue of not being placed squarely in the "Star Wars - Close Encounters" era and so establishes a kind of 'creep factor' among the aliens more than this one. The Aliens themselves appear to me as if they stepped out of a Doctor Who episode (not a bad thing!) and their ship looks interesting if hampered by the Star Wars era in looks and effects. The main character is actually quite believable (hey, I've met and worked with these JPL guys!) and Eric Braeden gets to do his "Forbin Project" character again (essentially the same character). I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada where most of the filming was done and visited the Hoover Dam many times. I even got an 'unofficial' tour once and so I saw all the areas that were filmed in this movie (and many that weren't!) which made it seem more real for me (I was still living in Vegas at the time this movie came on). Max Gail is really good as the hapless dam worker who is the initial victim of the aliens. There is also later-famous Ed Harris in the opening sequence. The music score is by William Goldstein and though I like his synthesizer scores like "Ocean Quest" I feel this movie deserved someone like Dominic Frontiere (original "Invaders" composer) and was too reliant on droning analog synths which just sound murky in the mono sound of the day. Much of the movie has that 'pilot' feel to it and it squarely fits in that late 70's era network television genre. This movie actually is on the cusp of the transition from that era to the mid 80's television show with the syndication influence, and so has a lot in common with shows like "Buck Rogers" and "Galactica 1980". I have only the VHS tape of this film and have searched for a DVD but I guess, like many 'pilot movies' of the 70's and 80's it doesn't draw any attention to warrant a DVD release. DO watch or buy this film, it was underrated then...and now.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Good, just NOT The Day the Earth Stood Still!
I agree with much of what has been said here about this film. I held off seeing it but I was curious. This film turns out to be good just not great. It also is NOT "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and has deviated so wildly from Robert Wise' original film that the movie has more in common with the old 1950's film "The Cosmic Man" (itself a quasi remake of Day) right down to the spherical spaceship and destructive menace, than the great old classic whose name it stole.
It's unfortunate that Hollywood has 'remake fever' at the moment and just did their typical thing of using the title of a famous, great old movie to suck people into theaters for what is only an original story dressed up with gratuitous allusions to the original.
The spherical fleet of ships is an element from the old 1940 "Farewell to the Master" short story that the original film was based on. But geez, could we just have a realistic shiny metal flying saucer in a modern sci-fi film for once? Spielberg did in the latest Indiana Jones, why not these film makers? Frankly I found the constant swirling light patterns to be annoying and distracting.
Keanu Reeves is very good in this film but he is never allowed to show any emotion, a bad break for Reeves as he has always been considered a wooden actor and this role could have changed that image but instead it reinforces it. Still he is good in this film and the ideal choice. The original Klaatu is a combination of intellect, warmth and mystery but not here! Maybe Hollywood should hire some actual science fiction writers for a change instead of their usual script sources. Too many people writing sci-fi who are not well versed in the medium.
The big problem with this film is what is wrong with all the Hollywood sci-fi for the last 20 years. There can be NO human beings from outer space at all 'cause evolution tells us so. Bull. This is what went wrong in the "Fire In The Sky" film from the early 90's. The fact in the original film that after removing Klatuu's spacesuit, the doctors find him to be completely human is integral to the plot! The film's message is that it IS possible for human beings to live in peace with one another and the universe. Klatuu's humanity is proof of that. To remove that message and replace it with the tiresome eco message which people are being inundated with almost daily is worse than dropping the ball on a remake of a great old classic as is the important anti-war message of the 1951 movie and the 1940 short story is was based on. I mean, we're STILL fighting wars since then aren't we?
The music score by Tyler Bates is a good competent music score that sounds just like every other good competent music score. There was no innovation such as the great Bernard Herrmann achieved in the 1951 version. This music score's best moments come from the quieter underscore instead of the annoying pounding percussion which modern directors seem to demand of their film composers. Interestingly, Herrmann used very little percussion in his score opting instead for atmospheric chords and dissonance.
There is something to like here and there in this film, however. The opening 20 minutes is occasionally almost riveting. The military sequences in the film are great and the effects are very good, though the robot was a tad cgi-ish. The scene with James Hong and Keanu in the McDonalds was good but is just way too short to actually go anywhere, as is the scene with John Cleese who was a good choice for the role he played.
Jennifer Connally was very good in her role and saves the film a little by that but the ending was rushed and diluted and really at no point does one feel compassion for Klaatu or the human race for that matter. Her adopted son was like an unneeded character and was gratuitously black and cocky. She might have been better off as childless or barren in this version.
And Klaatu leaves the power off AND his robot Gort behind in it's particle state at the end. Sheesh!
Birds of Prey (1973)
Great !!
I'll add to the many comments here on this movie. It came at the tail-end of the "t.v. movie" phenomenon of the late 60's and early 70's which along with several other films from this period, elevated television from the droll tired formulas of the past to exciting "theatrical quality" (at least by early 70's standards!) films which featured intelligent scripting and veteran actors who were mostly underrated even when they weren't 'veteran'. David Janssen never escaped his "fugitive" typecasting but "Birds of Prey" was the finest film he made. To my buddy and I from those days this was the most incredible and exciting film on a small screen with the sudden interest in Heli's or "choppers" as they came to be called was directly the result of films like this one. Everybody was watching all those 'bitchin' assault helicopters from the Vietnam war era on the 6 o'clock news and this movie came at the end of the Vietnam conflict and is a period piece for that with a 'bad guy' who is an ex-Vietnam chopper pilot assisting in a robbery with a spectacular escape (for those days).
As someone mentioned the score was 'replaced' from the swing-era big band stuff Harry listens to which is like the music running through his mind as he pursues these guys r e l e n t l e s s l y. It is integral to the story and somebody should have tried to get the music cleared for re-use in this classic movie. This happens all to often nowadays with these types of films from this era.
The remake of this film is crap---it does not capture the flavor of the original. If this story intrigues you, check out this one which had incredible chopper stunts for those days and even today in some scenes.
My buddy and I would watch this movie anytime they showed it--day or night. Then it sadly disappeared from syndication about 15 years ago.
To all the 'youngins' out there it might seem like a bit of a yawn in light of all those Hollywood spectaculars but this movie is widely studied by budding film students for it's pacing and stunt work. It makes an old doddering grey-beard like myself forget his physical infirmities and remember the excitement of the post-nam era.
This movie is a nostalgia trip for me but my wife is non-plussed. It's not a "chick-flick" then or now!
Phil