Screening Log: 24th Annual Ohio 24 Hour Science Fiction Marathon, Part One

Since I've got 11 movies (I slept through one) and a handful of shorts to blog about, I know this will take me a couple of entries so keep checking back. All the films will be reviewed and the entire event will be summed up with an entry about the experience itself. In other words, prepare for plenty more 24th Annual Ohio 24 Hour Science Fiction Marathon action.

----------------------------------------

Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Starring: Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian (aka Chuck Jones)

Three and a half stars (out of four)

Summary: Duck Dodgers (whose full name is apparently Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century) is shipped off to find Planet X, supposedly a source of the precious shaving cream atom. But all he finds when he gets to the planet is Marvin the Martian, trying to claim the planet for Mars. And, of course, hilarity ensues!

Short take: The sad thing about writing a review of this cartoon is that no matter how short you try to make it, it's bound to be longer than the cartoon itself. I'm not sure it was ever really designed to be considered an independent short film, but history has definitely elevated it to that level. I'm not sure quite why it's brilliant, especially since it's only 7 minutes long, but somewhere in the innocent humor of the whole thing, it goes from just another cartoon to a brilliant classic.

----------------------------------------

Twelve Monkeys
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Written by David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, David Morse, Frank Gorshin

Three stars (out of four)

Summary: By the year 2035, only 1% of the population still exists, the others wiped out by a plague released in late 1996. James Cole (Willis), a convict with a chance of parole, is being sent into the past to bring back a sample of the virus so an antidote can be found and the surface can once again by habitable. Mistakenly sent to 1990, he's quickly put in a mental institution under the care of Dr. Railly (Stowe) for ranting about the future, where he meets nutcase Jeffrey Goines (Pitt), the son of a famous scientist. When he's sent to the right time, he once again finds himself with Dr. Railly and Jeffrey, one as the victim of a kidnapping and the other as the man with his answers.

Short take: Based on the 1962 French film La Jette (which can be found in its entirety on youtube, in both French and dubbed in English) , Twelve Monkeys actually makes time travel seem credible to me, which is big since my mind doesn't let me forget that its physically impossible, not even for Back to the Future. I think it's biggest problem is that it's expanding a half hour short into a full feature and all the extra stuff sometimes seems to be unnecessary filler. I understand that Cole's trip back to World War I makes sense with the bullet and all that, but it seems like there were probably better ways to approach it. I don't know. Perhaps I'm being overcritical, especially since Gilliam has actually managed to put Stowe into a role that suggests she's talented. It's definitely got plenty of flaws, but there's plenty of talent there too.

----------------------------------------

Spaceboy
Directed by Ransom Riggs
Written by Ransom Riggs
Starring: Arman Zajic, Michelle Page, Chris Emerson

Two and a half stars (out of four)

Summary: Max (Zajic) is a kid aliened from his peers because of his obsession with aliens. He actually manages to make a connection with his older brother's punk rock bandmate/girlfriend, but when he thinks he's had otherworldly contact, he's so excited to tell her that he manages to alienate her too. Torn between his present and his potential future, he's faced with a choice: should he stay or should he go?

Short take: If Spaceboy is any indication, Riggs has a great future as a midlevel Hollywood hack director. Spaceboy has no major problems, but it's not exactly wonderful either. It just kind of is. It's entertaining enough and thankfully short, but completely predictable and totally forgettable. As I said, it just kind of is.

----------------------------------------

King Dinosaur
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Written by Tom Gries, Bert I. Gordon and Al Zimbalist
Starring: William Bryant, Wanda Curtis, Douglas Henderson, Patti Gallagher, Joe (a monkey, a lemur, a kinkajou???), a space alligator, a space iguana, a space Gila monster (AKA dinosaurs)

One and a half stars (out of four)

Summary: When a new planet is discovered, a team of scientists is sent to determine if its safe for human habitat. Everything seems fine until they set up camp and begin to explore their surroundings. After the doctor is injured fighting with an alligator, the others decided to investigate an island while he recovers. Accompanied by their new pet Joe, the scientists are attacked by ravenous dinosaurs (played by a variety of reptiles) and trapped in a cave that they may never escape from.

Short take: All you really need to know is that King Dinosaur was once featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, so if you're expecting any level of quality, look elsewhere. With that said, this is certainly one of those films that's hysterical to watch, especially with a large group of people cracking jokes at the film's expense. I mean, any movie that tries to pass an iguana off as a T-Rex is stretching pretty far. Joe, though, makes up for a lot of that and earns the film back a few points, especially when the actors seem to treat him worse as the film progresses. While it's certainly not the worst movie I've ever seen, it's pretty close, but unless you're an idiot, you know that going in, making this film pretty much exactly what you'd expect.