I've been a fan of science fiction since I was a kid and I've come to understand there are several broad categories of the genre. For
instance, I think of movies like Star Wars and Star Trek and E.T. as
soft science fiction: their entertainment value comes more from the interactions of people than from futuristic gadgets and gizmos. And I
think of other movies (and books) as hard science fiction -- movies in
which fictional science is central to the plot. That would be movies
like Blade Runner with its androids and Edge of Tomorrow with its time travel. This is the category I favor.
That's why I'm so enthusiastic about two movies by Duncan Jones, son of
a mother who deserted him as a child to be raised by his father, David
Bowie, because as she claimed, Bowie's drug problem was so bad she
thought raising a child might stabilize him. Yikes. (Duncan, or Zowie,
still isn't speaking to his mother. Apparently their relationship would
be record-setting toxic, if there were a relationship. This is worth Googling.)
Oh yeah, the movie. Duncan Jones directed two of my favorite hard
science fiction movies: MOON and SOURCE CODE. They are terrific; I've
watched both several times; I'm sure I'll watch them again; if you've
never watched them, well, what are you waiting for?
The other day I discovered he'd directed another science fiction movie,
MUTE, and I'd never heard of it. Based on my experience with Jones'
other movies and hoping for more hard science fiction, I immediately
looked this one up even after I'd read a few unenthusiastic reviews. How could it disappoint? I mean it's directed by Duncan Jones and he's
proven he knows what he's doing when it comes to SF.
Well, I have to say the tepid reviews were right on the money. Duncan
Jones and some other guy wrote the screenplay, so he has nobody but
himself to blame for the story's unbelievable setup. For some reason he wanted the main character to be able to hear but unable to speak, so he
wrote a speedboat accident that chopped out the character's larynx when
he was a child and to explain why the injury wasn't repaired he made him American Amish for whom modern medicine is a no-no, and to explain why
the story was set in near-future Germany he invented reverse Amish
migration and when the movie was all over I realized I had no idea why
his being mute or even Amish added to the story in any way whatsoever.
The rest of the movie makes about as much sense and a sweet little child spends much of it in mortal danger and I hate when that happens and I
grew really tired of it all long before it ended. C'mon Duncan, do
better next time.
I did find it interesting that the movie is dedicated to Duncan Jones'
father and nanny, both now deceased. I'm telling you, his life story is
worth Googling if you're interested in toxic family relationships.
I've been a fan of science fiction since I was a kid and I've come to understand there are several broad categories of the genre. For
instance, I think of movies like Star Wars and Star Trek and E.T. as
soft science fiction: their entertainment value comes more from the interactions of people than from futuristic gadgets and gizmos. And I
think of other movies (and books) as hard science fiction -- movies in
which fictional science is central to the plot. That would be movies
like Blade Runner with its androids and Edge of Tomorrow with its time travel. This is the category I favor.
That's why I'm so enthusiastic about two movies by Duncan Jones, son of
a mother who deserted him as a child to be raised by his father, David
Bowie, because as she claimed, Bowie's drug problem was so bad she
thought raising a child might stabilize him. Yikes. (Duncan, or Zowie,
still isn't speaking to his mother. Apparently their relationship would
be record-setting toxic, if there were a relationship. This is worth Googling.)
Oh yeah, the movie. Duncan Jones directed two of my favorite hard
science fiction movies: MOON and SOURCE CODE. They are terrific; I've
watched both several times; I'm sure I'll watch them again; if you've
never watched them, well, what are you waiting for?
The other day I discovered he'd directed another science fiction movie,
MUTE, and I'd never heard of it. Based on my experience with Jones'
other movies and hoping for more hard science fiction, I immediately
looked this one up even after I'd read a few unenthusiastic reviews. How could it disappoint? I mean it's directed by Duncan Jones and he's
proven he knows what he's doing when it comes to SF.
Well, I have to say the tepid reviews were right on the money. Duncan
Jones and some other guy wrote the screenplay, so he has nobody but
himself to blame for the story's unbelievable setup. For some reason he wanted the main character to be able to hear but unable to speak, so he
wrote a speedboat accident that chopped out the character's larynx when
he was a child and to explain why the injury wasn't repaired he made him American Amish for whom modern medicine is a no-no, and to explain why
the story was set in near-future Germany he invented reverse Amish
migration and when the movie was all over I realized I had no idea why
his being mute or even Amish added to the story in any way whatsoever.
The rest of the movie makes about as much sense and a sweet little child spends much of it in mortal danger and I hate when that happens and I
grew really tired of it all long before it ended. C'mon Duncan, do
better next time.
I did find it interesting that the movie is dedicated to Duncan Jones'
father and nanny, both now deceased. I'm telling you, his life story is worth Googling if you're interested in toxic family relationships.
On 11/28/2021 1:44 PM, Bill Anderson wrote:
I've been a fan of science fiction since I was a kid and I've come to
understand there are several broad categories of the genre. For
instance, I think of movies like Star Wars and Star Trek and E.T. as
soft science fiction: their entertainment value comes more from the
interactions of people than from futuristic gadgets and gizmos. And I
think of other movies (and books) as hard science fiction -- movies in
which fictional science is central to the plot. That would be movies
like Blade Runner with its androids and Edge of Tomorrow with its time
travel. This is the category I favor.
That's why I'm so enthusiastic about two movies by Duncan Jones, son
of a mother who deserted him as a child to be raised by his father,
David Bowie, because as she claimed, Bowie's drug problem was so bad
she thought raising a child might stabilize him. Yikes. (Duncan, or
Zowie, still isn't speaking to his mother. Apparently their
relationship would be record-setting toxic, if there were a
relationship. This is worth Googling.)
Oh yeah, the movie. Duncan Jones directed two of my favorite hard
science fiction movies: MOON and SOURCE CODE. They are terrific; I've
watched both several times; I'm sure I'll watch them again; if you've
never watched them, well, what are you waiting for?
The other day I discovered he'd directed another science fiction
movie, MUTE, and I'd never heard of it. Based on my experience with
Jones' other movies and hoping for more hard science fiction, I
immediately looked this one up even after I'd read a few
unenthusiastic reviews. How could it disappoint? I mean it's directed
by Duncan Jones and he's proven he knows what he's doing when it comes
to SF.
Well, I have to say the tepid reviews were right on the money. Duncan
Jones and some other guy wrote the screenplay, so he has nobody but
himself to blame for the story's unbelievable setup. For some reason
he wanted the main character to be able to hear but unable to speak,
so he wrote a speedboat accident that chopped out the character's
larynx when he was a child and to explain why the injury wasn't
repaired he made him American Amish for whom modern medicine is a
no-no, and to explain why the story was set in near-future Germany he
invented reverse Amish migration and when the movie was all over I
realized I had no idea why his being mute or even Amish added to the
story in any way whatsoever.
The rest of the movie makes about as much sense and a sweet little
child spends much of it in mortal danger and I hate when that happens
and I grew really tired of it all long before it ended. C'mon Duncan,
do better next time.
I did find it interesting that the movie is dedicated to Duncan Jones'
father and nanny, both now deceased. I'm telling you, his life story
is worth Googling if you're interested in toxic family relationships.
Uh, it's worth noting "Duncan Jones' father" is the incredibly talented
David Bowie.
| Sysop: | Keyop |
|---|---|
| Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
| Users: | 296 |
| Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
| Uptime: | 63:35:31 |
| Calls: | 6,654 |
| Files: | 12,200 |
| Messages: | 5,331,702 |