The Island - worth a rental? Sure. by chrisisall

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

The Island - worth a rental? Sure.

POSTED BY: CHRISISALL
UPDATED: Thursday, January 19, 2006 07:02
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VIEWED: 2350
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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 8:14 AM

It's mindless fun that rips off everything from Coma, The Matrix, and Logan's Run to THX-1138.
It had the makings of real science fiction, but was joked down to a slick chase flick.

Pass the brew and enjoy.
**1/2*

Chrisisall & Ebert

EDIT: on second viewing...it's better. I'll add half a star for the noble effort and cool music!
***

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 8:19 AM

NANDY

Actually it doesn't rip off any of those movies... it's a line for line remake of The Clonus Horror, a terrible movie from the 70s.

But yeh... The Island was pretty damn stupid but I loved it anyway!

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:19 AM

CHANNAIN

i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
It's mindless fun that rips off everything from Coma, The Matrix, and Logan's Run to THX-1138.
It had the makings of real science fiction, but was joked down to a slick chase flick.

Pass the brew and enjoy.
**1/2*

Chrisisall & Ebert

Chris, do you just keep this stuff in your brain? If so, that's an amazing feat. Even if you have an uber search engine for movies, that would be pretty cool too. I had to go look up "Coma" on IMDb. And let's face it - who isn't ripping off The Matrix these days.

For "Parts: The Clonnus Horror" a comment was, "it's just a harmless little piece of nothing that doesn't offend too badly." The taglines were pretty impressive, though: my favorite being "The only thing they don't use... is the scream."

I liked "The Island" for the exploration of what makes us human - what we are, who we are, where we came from, who we came from... life, death, life...

Okay, maybe I liked it more for Ewan McGregor. A non-bearded, not-endeavoring-to-be-Alec-Guiness-Ewan-McGregor, thank you very much. Sue me.

Imitation is, after all, the purest form of flattery.

I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/Nora_Leverson
Live in Minnesota? Join the Group! Yahoo Group, that is...
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/MN-Firefly

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 4:15 PM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Chris, do you just keep this stuff in your brain?

I have to; my wife won't let me use our closet.

Truth is, I'm a visual and auditory sponge, able to recall the smallest, stupidest movie or TV related nonsense in an instant.

I wish The Island had been a little more serious, but it was good fun, and Ewan was great in it.

Chrisisall, reviewer without a cause

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 4:16 PM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by Nandy:
Actually it doesn't rip off any of those movies... it's a line for line remake of The Clonus Horror, a terrible movie from the 70s.

OMG, can it be? A movie I've NEVER SEEN???

It had to happen someday Chrisisall

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 4:29 PM

FOLLOWMAL

As my daugher would say... I enjoy you Chrisisall.

I've seen that movie,(The Clonus Horror) but not "The Island" yet.
I unabashedly am gonna watch it for - Ewan McGregor-!

Mal: Do you understand your part in all this?
River: Do you?
Mal: This is what I do, darlin'.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005 6:05 PM

FINN MAC CUMHAL

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Okay, maybe I liked it more for Ewan McGregor. A non-bearded, not-endeavoring-to-be-Alec-Guiness-Ewan-McGregor, thank you very much. Sue me.

Consider yourself sued. I spent the whole movie waiting for the love scene in the vain hope that Johansson would give us a peak. I knew that Johansson had thrown a fit about not doing a nude scene and I was curious to see how that finally worked out.

I liked the Island. I thought it was reminiscent of the good old days of science fiction where people all wore the same sterile form fitting coveralls, and pontificated on a drone-like quasi-communist futuristic dystopia.

The chase scenes were a bit over done. Dramatic and exciting, but the 70 story fall was a bit hard to swallow. Part of the problem with the modern science fiction is that while special effects have allowed them to produce visually realistic images they often fail to really apply a realistic timeline to those images. Of course the timeline is often collapsed for fantasy type stories, after all Luke left Tatooine in the morning and by evening had destroyed the Death Star, but for a story to work in the real world it can help to suggest a plausible timeline.

-------------
Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.

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Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:38 AM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:

I liked "The Island" for the exploration of what makes us human - what we are, who we are, where we came from, who we came from... life, death, life.

I've got to revise my review a little, on second viewing, I 'get' it more. It was really good- the main characters WERE kids, actually, and a second time around knowing that up front really helps (that, and being able to view it straight through without interruption!)
If Blade Runner hadn't already addressed much of what The Island did, I fear The Island might have been one of my all-time faves.
As it is, it's just real good!
Thumbs definitly UP.

That fall was kinda high, though Chrisisall*ouch*

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Wednesday, January 18, 2006 8:36 PM

REAVERINA1985RIVIERA

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

Truth is, I'm a visual and auditory sponge, able to recall the smallest, stupidest movie or TV related nonsense in an instant.

Me too, but on a bit higher level. I don't need an Ipod, I can just think of a song and I can "hear" it as if I have the radio on. Which has it's drawbacks too (Fruty Oaty Bars, make it stop please).

---------------------------------------------
The real-life box droppin', man-ape gone wrong thing, now without the pesky falling boxes

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Wednesday, January 18, 2006 8:40 PM

REAVERINA1985RIVIERA

Quote:
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:

The chase scenes were a bit over done.

And the ending of the chase sucked (that poor Cadillac

)

---------------------------------------------
The real-life box droppin', man-ape gone wrong thing, now without the pesky falling boxes

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Thursday, January 19, 2006 2:12 AM

THATWEIRDGIRL

I kept watching the movie saying to myself, "It'll get good soon, it has too." The elements were all there: actors, story, director, effects...but it never gelled. Ah yes, I think that scene was more shocking in Coma.

www.thatweirdgirl.com
---
"...turn right at the corner then skip two blocks...no, SKIP, the hopping-like thing kids do...Why? Why not?"

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Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:37 AM

CHRISISALL

With a little distance now, I see The Island as a really rich layer cake that got jostled during baking so that it went all flat, and the cooks piled on extra icing so we wouldn't notice.

It tastes okay Chrisisall

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Thursday, January 19, 2006 7:02 AM

MRBEN

I have a friend who says that The Island was basically a rip-off off a sci-fi short story. I believe he said that they waited until the rights to it expired, and then ripped it off. He was not impressed and advised them not to watch it.

Aha - wait. I've found the blog entries. Aforementioned book is called 'Spares' by Michael Marshall Smith.

Blog entry 1: http://www.jedimoose.org/index.php/archives/2005/08/05/spares-vs-the-i
sland/
Blog entry 2:
http://www.jedimoose.org/index.php/archives/2005/08/12/more-reasons-no
t-to-see-the-island/

Official line from MMS:
http://www.michaelmarshallsmith.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=123

So there you go.

mrben

"Carpe Aptenodytes"
http://www.jedimoose.org

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