Altered Carbon: Season 1 - Thoughts

It's been a while since I've seen a show as intriguing and gripping as Altered Carbon. From the promo material I got the sense that it was worth checking out, as I usually enjoy sci-fi. From the get go it grabbed my attention, and at the end of the first episode left me longing for more. The premise of the future is interesting, while not completely new. The city, its dark moods, neon lights, and pace, somewhat reminded me of Blade Runner, while the interrogation constructs felt more like The Matrix. Some elements of the sci-fi world were new, like the Stack and Sleeve concept; but I'll leave that for you to watch and figure that out.

What differentiates Altered Carbon from several of the other sci-fi action shows is that its ongoing plot is really quite intricate, and requires some serious following. It's not necessarily something you can casually multi-task and watch. While I won't put it at the complexity of say True Detective, its somewhat there in its plot depth. The individual episodes all work towards creating the bigger picture, while not really being mini sub-plots like some other shows.  As the show kicks off, there are several backstory aspects that feel like they're missing; but rest assured that over the course of the season, everything gets covered decisively.

Most actors are new, and surprisingly pretty decent. The characters develop well with the plot, with the performances doing apt justice. Even the AI character was likeable. While there is an expected attraction, leading to a romance between the lead characters, it doesn’t come across as corny, and serves as an otherwise expected component.

For a sci-fi fan, what Altered Carbon delivers is a well thought out, intricate plot, that manages to stay mysterious, interesting and entertaining through its 10-episode length. With a satisfying number of gadgets and tech, coupled with good action, and supporting visual / sound effects, it makes for a great sci-fi watch; easily the best on TV right now.

My Recommendation: Kick Ass (Futuristic sci-fi at its very best)

Coco - Snapshot

Released late in 2017, Coco made most of the 'top movies of year' lists. Having been blown away by Inside Out, I waited for the Bluray release of Coco, and got my hands on a high bitrate 1080p HD rip, with a 7.1 channel, DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack. 

It's fair to say that expectations were high, and as with movies before it, Pixar didn’t fail to impress. Coco is themed around the Day of The Dead culture in Mexico, and at the core is about family. The narrative also touches upon aspects of aspirations, choices, and ties it all together with music. The presentation is lively, colorful, and the 3D animation is beautiful. The characters are very likable, and the story is really heartwarming. Some of the closing moments were really emotional, and I can see why many reviewers have said that they were in tears. The DTS soundtrack was absolutely amazing, and on a good surround home-theatre comes alive; making for a high-energy setting, with noticeable use of surround, and crisp sound effects. 

While I won't put it in the same league as Inside Out, because that took creativity to another level, Coco makes for great family entertainment. Kids will love it, and adults should find it light and entertaining. No surprises as to why it won the Oscar for best animated feature of 2017.

My Recommendation: Watch It + (Mexico, Music, and all that good stuff)

Children of Men - Snapshot

An interesting take on the future, questioning perhaps what we all take for granted… What if child birth indeed becomes impossible?

Set in the UK, the movie has an appropriately British feel to it. At its heart it’s a drama, thriller; so expect for several slower conversational and inter-personal drama elements, while navigating the bigger world-crisis plot. Though just a few, the intensity and reality of the action scenes are great, the bike chase and crash scene being a good example. Rather than going with a traditional build-up, and entertainment focused action, opting for a 'plunged into crisis' sorta perspective. The life in the warzone later in the movie is also phenomenal; creating for a setting that feels literally chaotic, with gritty in your face explosions. Performances from the leads characters played by Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and Michael Caine are good, helping keep the slower deeper aspects of the narrative tight. If you're into post-apocalyptic themes, which aren't purely action packed, Children of Men is worth the watch.

My Recommendation: Watch It (A post-apocalyptic thriller with a twist)

Fate of the Furious - Snapshot

What started out as an illegal street racing flick for petrol head's, over one and a half decades has transformed itself into a full-blown action blockbuster franchise, taking on the world's deadliest criminals, and cyber villains. In the Fate of the Furious, Dominic Toretto goes rogue, aligning himself with a mysterious terrorist, while Hobbs and the rest of the team try to stop them.

Between franchise writer Chris Morgan, Universal Studios, and the producers including Vin Diesel, they've figured out a successful formula that can be rehashed without end. What's even more intriguing is that in large part it works. While the plots change, and new villains are introduced, the team, the plan, and the impossible antics in cars remain constant. For Fate of the Furious, there's a good deal of well-choreographed car chase sequences, with the hacked car sequence being a new addition, one which was visually lasting. The game is certainly taken up a few notches, from tanks in previous installments to a gargantuan nuclear submarine in this installment; nothing unexpected though if you've watched the trailers. From a narrative perspective, Fast & the Furious is becoming an action soap opera, re-introducing old characters, giving them slightly modified roles, but keeping them all in the mix. Also notable is the slow assembling of an elite squad, similar to Sly's band of brothers in The Expendables movies; regular cast heavyweights now including Vin Diesel, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and Jason Statham. All of this predictability, coupled with the clearly impossible circumstances, would point towards sure failure, but surprisingly results in an entertainment extravaganza like no other. With the right amount of action, humor, and cool cars, it's not surprising that Fate of the Furious set the global box office record, earning an estimated $532.5 million worldwide in its opening weekend. With that, the Fast & Furious franchise is one of Universal's most successful, grossing over $4.4 billion to date. As a viewer, if you can overlook the sometimes-failed logic, and overly macho dialog, you can expect to be supremely entertained!

My Recommendation: Watch It + (High speed entertainment, now on ice)

Find Me Guilty - Snapshot

I hadn't heard of Find Me Guilty, but it came highly recommended from someone with an eye for quality movies, so I made sure to get my hands on it, and check it out. The movie is a court room drama, based on true events surrounding the longest every mafia trial in US history. The plot follows Jack DiNorscio, a mobster with impeccable integrity, who defends himself, in a seemingly impossible case, with the odds stacked against him.

The lead role of Jackie D, is played by Vin Diesel, which is a huge departure from his usual bad-ass, action hero performances. The narrative rests heavily on his character and his performance is just fabulous.  Historically, Jacky D was a lovable character, who won the hearts of the jury and the public, and in keeping with that, Vin Diesel delivers a Jackie D, who from his smile, mannerisms, and dialog delivery, is truly warm, and all heart. If anyone was under the impression that Vin Diesel was all about crazy, modern, in your face, action roles, guess again. His standout performance in Find Me Guilty, is testimony to his acting chops. Other memorable supporting acts include Ron Silver who plays the judge, and Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones Fame. Expect great character dynamics, and solid acting, adding a level of intensity to even simple scenes. Though the movie starts of a little slow, it becomes incredibly gripping as it develops. The closing moments are downright emotional. The jazz music that plays throughout in the background is a nice touch, adding to the setting and context of the period. The 6 channel DTS surround soundtrack serves the movie well, creating a fitting courtroom ambience, and ensuring clear dialog delivery from the center channel. If you enjoy courtroom dramas, you'll love Find Me Guilty. It should come as no surprise that the man who brought us 12 Angry Men in 1957, continues to blow us away in this genre. Kudos to Sidney Lumet for yet another work of art. 

My Recommendation: Kick Ass (A courtroom masterpiece, both in terms of direction and performance)

Cyborg X - Snapshot

I decided to check out Cyborg X after seeing some of its promo material; I figured it could make for an off-beat yet interesting sci-fi action movie, like say TC 2000 from 1993.  The plot sounded interesting enough, with weapon manufacturers, cyber viruses, and the battle for humanity.

Sadly, after dragging myself through one and a half hours of drudgery, it was clear that the movie was yet another, low budget, forgettable, TV movie. The plot borrowed elements from the Terminator franchise, with machines supposedly having taken over. Some scenes were literally replicated, like say the carpet of skulls, which is a usual in the opening sequences of most Terminator movies. The execution was also poor, with boring action sequences, and terrible effects. The combat logic was also skewed; in some instances, the cyborgs were made out to be indestructible, but the protagonists would pointlessly waste rounds of ammo on them. But in some other circumstances, they could plainly be taken down. The worst part was the god-awful dialog; Cyborg-X takes the cake for perhaps one of the worst scripts ever. Every verbal exchange was cliché and stereotype. While at times it felt like a spoof, the attempt at keeping it serious was deplorable. Besides the end of the world plot component, the narrative also touches upon a grieving mom, and her assuming a maternal figure of sorts. Sadly, it felt very artificial, and didn’t seem to fit in to the overall story. There was a good deal of dismembering and gore, which was probably aimed at viewers hoping for some slasher sorta appeal. Performances were hopeless, and even Danny Trejo, and top billed Eve Mauro, couldn’t save Cyborg X. Music was the only decent facet, with it setting the mood appropriately at times. The video I was sampling was a DVD rip. Picture was just okay, but audio was terrible; over emphasized bass, which for most part was out of control. Though it was a Dolby Digital AC3 soundtrack, there was no valid use of surround.

My Recommendation: Skip It (A post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, action flick that deserves to be forgotten).

Independence Day: Resurgence - Snapshot

The return of the Independence Day franchise to the big screen, made for easily my most anticipated movie of the year. After all, the original Independence Day from 1996, was one of my all-time best sci-fi action blockbusters.  I'd watched all the trailers as they became available, and also the customary preparatory re-watch of the original, a day before my weekend at the theatre. My expectations were high, but I was fairly certain I'd enjoy it. It's been 20 years, both for me and in terms of the plot, and the ruthless aliens were back to exact vengeance on the human race…. 

As the movie got underway, what stood out most was the very different pace. Things were a lot more relaxed and audiences were eased into past familiarities. Almost everyone from the original cast were back, to drive the narrative; albeit in older or grown-up avatars. The only exception being the Jake Morrison character played by Liam Hemsworth, who was a new addition. While he did an okay job, for me it was Jeff Goldblum in his David Levinson role that remained to be the most interesting; closely followed by Bill Pullman as President Whitmore. The plot expanded on the original, adding all the usual elements of sequels; be it bigger alien space ships, more advanced tech, larger scale chaos, and such. The movie retains the same brand of humor woven into the narrative, being very much in line with the original. The level of detail into the aliens is increased, making for better understanding, while also satisfying the sci-fi aficionados. It also helped develop the scope for an ongoing franchise versus a single standalone movie; heck, who wouldn’t wanna see more ID4. As expected of Rolland Emmerich, Independence Day: Resurgence is an all-out special effects extravaganza; the effects look superb, and the scale of destructive chaos is truly mammoth. If you're a fan of the original, or love big budget, sci-fi action movies, you can't not enjoy this sequel. While it fails to wow audiences the way the original did 2 decades ago, Its very entertaining, and totally worth its 2 hour runtime.

My Recommendation: Watch It + (A long awaited sequel to the beloved 90's sci-fi blockbuster ID4)