lathe-of-heaven
Joined Jan 2006
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Ratings1.4K
lathe-of-heaven's rating
Reviews370
lathe-of-heaven's rating
Look, I'm not saying that my 'Taste', such as it is, is the be-all, end-all of everything, but people are rating this movie a '5'? I mean, really, how many films not only have such a great concept, I feel one of the best since 'THE MATRIX', and are written, directed, and acted this well do we really come across these days? I mean with THIS kind of quality? And people rate it a '5'... Nonsense...
I don't know what people would want in a good, serious, 'Hard' Science Fiction story these days that this movie doesn't offer. More explosions, more killing, more effects? But, to me, being an avid Science Fiction lover ever since I could read, this is truly one of the better, well made films that I've seen in quite a while.
The main quality here is an extremely intriguing idea that is presented I feel in a very effective, exciting, and most entertaining way. Yes, there are films with more 'Action' in them like the Iconic 'TERMINATOR' (1 & 2) 'TOTAL RECALL', and such, and yeah, they are great Sci Fi films, no question. But, this is a much deeper concept driven story that really wows more in the area of the 'What is Real and what Isn't' theme, along with a great sense of Mystery and suspense, not to mention excellent writing and good performances. I mean, to me, I REALLY felt for that fellow in the beginning, powerfully so, and the only way you get that is through an extremely well done performance and this was one of them.
So, basically, if you appreciate or enjoy Science Fiction movies that have a bit more of a 'Hard' Sci Fi, technologically driven story that has the bonus of being very well made and well acted, then yes, you should absolutely have fun with this one, it will take you on quite a journey.
I gave this one what I feel is a VERY well deserved '8', not the completely puzzling '5' that it has now.
MOST HIGHLY Recommended!
I don't know what people would want in a good, serious, 'Hard' Science Fiction story these days that this movie doesn't offer. More explosions, more killing, more effects? But, to me, being an avid Science Fiction lover ever since I could read, this is truly one of the better, well made films that I've seen in quite a while.
The main quality here is an extremely intriguing idea that is presented I feel in a very effective, exciting, and most entertaining way. Yes, there are films with more 'Action' in them like the Iconic 'TERMINATOR' (1 & 2) 'TOTAL RECALL', and such, and yeah, they are great Sci Fi films, no question. But, this is a much deeper concept driven story that really wows more in the area of the 'What is Real and what Isn't' theme, along with a great sense of Mystery and suspense, not to mention excellent writing and good performances. I mean, to me, I REALLY felt for that fellow in the beginning, powerfully so, and the only way you get that is through an extremely well done performance and this was one of them.
So, basically, if you appreciate or enjoy Science Fiction movies that have a bit more of a 'Hard' Sci Fi, technologically driven story that has the bonus of being very well made and well acted, then yes, you should absolutely have fun with this one, it will take you on quite a journey.
I gave this one what I feel is a VERY well deserved '8', not the completely puzzling '5' that it has now.
MOST HIGHLY Recommended!
Unfortunately, some of the other reviews and especially their titles somewhat give away ahead of time what the audience really doesn't come to know until towards the end of the story. So, I guess my first suggestion would be to be careful which reviews you read about this movie.
It is a very unusual film, that sets off being somewhat of a Crime/Mystery story, which it definitely is, but later transforms somewhat into something else. Like I mentioned, I do not want to give anything important away.
I don't think I've ever seen an Estonian film before, it is an interesting language. I expected it to sound more like Russian and Polish, but it didn't really. I wonder what the roots of the Estonian language are?
Especially for the time and I'm assuming by filmmakers that didn't have a ton of experience, I felt it was quite a stylish and sharply written/directed movie that really kept the audience in suspense as to what was actually going on.
There are some really nice Surreal touches that many times in films like this may come across as a bit dated and pretentious, but quite honestly I was rather surprised that the cinematography, sound design, and the editing contributed to a pretty solid atmosphere that I think perfectly blended a Crime/Mystery with more Surreal aspects.
Someone else mentioned the movie 'ALPHAVILLE', and I would say that there are some similarities in the look and mood of the film. But, the eventual reveals are more subtle.
So, a bit on the 'Artsy' side, but for this type of movie done at that time, I think it was put together in an engaging and effective way. It may not appeal to everyone, but to ones who perhaps like movies that are a bit more on the Surreal and somewhat understated side, then you might find this one intriguing...
I gave it a '7' due to its quality and effectiveness, perhaps leaning more towards it's artistic slant. But, maybe considering 'Mass Appeal' some may consider it more of a '6'
It is a very unusual film, that sets off being somewhat of a Crime/Mystery story, which it definitely is, but later transforms somewhat into something else. Like I mentioned, I do not want to give anything important away.
I don't think I've ever seen an Estonian film before, it is an interesting language. I expected it to sound more like Russian and Polish, but it didn't really. I wonder what the roots of the Estonian language are?
Especially for the time and I'm assuming by filmmakers that didn't have a ton of experience, I felt it was quite a stylish and sharply written/directed movie that really kept the audience in suspense as to what was actually going on.
There are some really nice Surreal touches that many times in films like this may come across as a bit dated and pretentious, but quite honestly I was rather surprised that the cinematography, sound design, and the editing contributed to a pretty solid atmosphere that I think perfectly blended a Crime/Mystery with more Surreal aspects.
Someone else mentioned the movie 'ALPHAVILLE', and I would say that there are some similarities in the look and mood of the film. But, the eventual reveals are more subtle.
So, a bit on the 'Artsy' side, but for this type of movie done at that time, I think it was put together in an engaging and effective way. It may not appeal to everyone, but to ones who perhaps like movies that are a bit more on the Surreal and somewhat understated side, then you might find this one intriguing...
I gave it a '7' due to its quality and effectiveness, perhaps leaning more towards it's artistic slant. But, maybe considering 'Mass Appeal' some may consider it more of a '6'
I really enjoyed this one, and I'm not a huge fan of Zombie movies. But, I really liked the Native American setting and wherever they filmed it had a strong, desolate, kind of isolated feeling which really added to the doom filled atmosphere.
The actors were mostly Natives too, you could tell by their names. That gave the film kind of a unique setting where you had a genuine feel for the people.
The writing I felt was particularly sharp. I really liked some of the clever lines and the dry, subdued humour, it worked really well especially in such a grim film.
The suspense was extremely well done too, building the dread and relentless fear quite effectively as time went on. I really liked some of the quirky characters too which I feel due to the excellent writing and acting really came across as very believable.
Towards the end of the movie I kind of questioned the motives of why a certain guy did what he did, especially after the writers and the actor did such a good job of building this complex character and some true sympathy for him. I found that rather strange that they took the story in that direction, although I can see how they wanted to plot to go.
Also, for me personally, the one critique that I would have is that when you have such a powerful and relentlessly grim film like this, I think then you really have to 'Pay Off' the audience to some extent with the ending due to putting them through so much throughout the movie. And, without giving anything specific away, I really feel that with all that the characters and the audience went through, they could easily have made the ending a lot less grim. Just for me, I think at that point, the audience could have used a bit more of an uplifting ending and I feel that they just went a tad overboard with some negative happenings, that honestly just were not really necessary.
But yes, overall an extremely well made and very effective, very scary Zombie movie that has very sharp writing and acting and is far above average for a film of this type.
The actors were mostly Natives too, you could tell by their names. That gave the film kind of a unique setting where you had a genuine feel for the people.
The writing I felt was particularly sharp. I really liked some of the clever lines and the dry, subdued humour, it worked really well especially in such a grim film.
The suspense was extremely well done too, building the dread and relentless fear quite effectively as time went on. I really liked some of the quirky characters too which I feel due to the excellent writing and acting really came across as very believable.
Towards the end of the movie I kind of questioned the motives of why a certain guy did what he did, especially after the writers and the actor did such a good job of building this complex character and some true sympathy for him. I found that rather strange that they took the story in that direction, although I can see how they wanted to plot to go.
Also, for me personally, the one critique that I would have is that when you have such a powerful and relentlessly grim film like this, I think then you really have to 'Pay Off' the audience to some extent with the ending due to putting them through so much throughout the movie. And, without giving anything specific away, I really feel that with all that the characters and the audience went through, they could easily have made the ending a lot less grim. Just for me, I think at that point, the audience could have used a bit more of an uplifting ending and I feel that they just went a tad overboard with some negative happenings, that honestly just were not really necessary.
But yes, overall an extremely well made and very effective, very scary Zombie movie that has very sharp writing and acting and is far above average for a film of this type.