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Reviews
Skyline (2010)
How could so many people miss the cause behind the ending?
I liked Skyline better than I thought I would. The acting is adequate, the effects are great without going over the top, and the minimalist plot works just fine in this context for me. There are some glaring plot holes that could have been addressed, though maybe we will get further answers from a sequel (hopefully).
**spoilers** One thing that many people found lacking was the ending. The last minutes of Skyline seemed like a different movie that had been spliced in by mistake. While quite jarring, the ending sets up a sequel that would be as different as the first Star Trek movie was compared to Wrath Of Khan. The question is, what actually happened in the end?
What many people seem to miss is that Jarrod didn't overcome the alien creature his brain was put into because of his love for Elaine. If love were all it took, there would surely be many such rebel alien creatures running around like Jarrod. Instead, pay close attention to the clues being given throughout the movie; namely, that Jarrod has received the most exposure to the light and it's affecting him. While Elaine got a dose of the light and she has the black veins in her skin to a degree, Jarrod has them all over. What's more, as time goes on they grow more flush when he gets upset and somehow contribute to his strength when he confronts Oliver, and later when he fights the alien solider on the roof. What we're seeing is Jarrod maintaining control over his infection. He remarks at one point how he "still feels powerful" after his exposure to the light, and after telling Oliver he's leaving, he tells Elaine that "it's still me.", even though he looks infected. So in the end scene, Jarrod manages to retain control over his mind even after being embedded into the alien creature, which he then takes control of physically and goes off to protect Elaine. See?
Admittedly this raises some serious questions too, but at least by paying close attention we can figure out what it is we saw happen and why. As endings go I think it was a stretch, but it did leave me thinking "Okay, now tell me THAT story!"
Jericho (2006)
More than just a show, a warning
Just finished watching Jericho on Netflix (all 29 episodes over two days). Others have written about the show's premise and storyline, so I won't repeat those here. As for my take on the show: First I have to say, anyone claiming that the acting is poor either stopped watching after a couple episodes or watched a different show entirely. Rarely have I seen such moving performances on television or anywhere else. I found myself relating to almost all the characters, and their hardships were believable and realistic. If anything, the acting was TOO moving; my wife and I were both teared up a few times, and given that several of the main characters die and there is no shortage of sad moments.
The other thing Jericho has no shortage of is red herrings. Just when you think you've an angle figured out, there comes a twist. But the twists make sense and keep you interested.
**spoilers** Behind the story of the characters is the hostile takeover of the USA by subversive forces within the US government itself. What appeals to me here is that the writers address the biggest problem our real life US government faces - severe corruption and the supremacy of corporate influence over our political system. The terrorists in Jericho are not religious zealots or militant patriots. They are very high ranking government officials working along with corporate interests to use a false flag operation (the nuke attacks) to take over the USA and replace the current government with a new one. The new one, in this case, is a federal government that delegates its day to day power to two corporations - Jennings & Rall (aka Haliburton) and Ravenwood (aka Blackwater). Of any threat to our democracy, corporate and banking influence are the most dangerous because they are the most powerful. Jericho presents us with a nightmare vision of what life would be like under the boot of such powers. The Bill of Rights is just a memory. No right to due process or fair trial; if you don't do what you're told you are a "security risk" and you disappear. Your property is subject to seizure without notice, warrant, or compensation. All of you personal information is recorded and put in a database. You have no privacy. Jennings & Rall control all commerce and bleed the people dry with price gouging while using Ravenwood to violently suppress any free market or black market competition, even while people suffer from want.
This really would be life under such corporations, and this is what Jericho shows us. And that, in turn, is what makes it so scary. Because if you stop to think about who the real threat in America is, it's not a handful of Saudis with box cutters on planes, or some poor deluded schmuck that the FBI can string along and then arrest for show. The real threat comes from capitalism overtaking democracy instead of complimenting it. It's a threat that is all too real, and Jericho warns us against allowing such a future to come to pass. That message, along with simply being a very well written and entertaining show, is what makes Jericho one of the great TV series of my time. Sadly, the shows ratings didn't live up to its writing and it was canceled way too soon. Evidently people would rather watch the likes of Snookie drunkenly prancing around making an immature ass of herself over trivial problems than come to grips with a potential future we may someday face in one form or another. Whatever. If you have two braincells to rub together and any grasp of the dangerous state that modern America is in, give Jericho a try.
28 Weeks Later (2007)
Remains more likable the less you think about it
28 Weeks Later has such an interesting and dramatic premise that it should be able to carry itself despite many flaws, and it does - almost. There is a lot to like about this movie, and if you liked the first one you ought to see this one too. Don't get your hopes too high, though.
Most of the problems with this movie (like the complete lack of effective security measures in the repopulated zone) have already been covered by other reviewers, so I'll stick to the thing that troubled me the most.
The biggest problem I have with this movie are the two main characters; a preteen boy and his teenage sister. They are likable kids and you feel sympathy for them throughout the movie, which is really ironic because insofar as the story goes, they, the British Isles, and indeed the entire planet would have been better off if somebody had put bullets into their heads in the very first scene. Seriously, you spend the whole movie caring about these kids, then after the show you stop and think more deeply about the fact that it was because of these two kids that the Rage virus re-emerges in England, and then, through a separate action by the same kids, it spreads to the rest of the world. That's right, the little buggers not only release it once, but twice. *BAM* *BAM*, two casings hit the floor followed by two bodies, end of problem, life can go on now. That would make for too short a movie though, I suppose. So there you have it - we could have contained the virus and saved the world if it wasn't for those meddling kids. Ruh roh.