DVD/Movie Review: The Island

 

The Island is a 2005 movie directed by Michael Bay and starring Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, and Djimon Honsou. It was one of the few Michael Bay movies (along with Armageddon, Bad Boys, and Pearl Harbor) that is not explosion-laden the entire time. While there are explosions in this movie, to be sure, there is also good, quality acting, a story with some substance to it, and comedic elements that were not stupid or cheesy. The movie also has a good supporting cast including Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi.

The premise is that rich people can pay 5 million dollars to have themselves cloned as an insurance policy. Think instant organ donation. The clones are marketed as being held in stasis until needed, where in reality they are kept alive in an almost cult-like community until needed. That is as much of the story as I will give away, but the movie centers around the ethical dilemma that surrounds the program.

The acting in the movie is good all around. Scarlett Johansson (who was in her first major role after Lost in Translation) and Ewan McGregor play the parts of the escaped clones very well. McGregor also has to play the "real" person who interacts with his clone which he also does a great job with. Sean Bean plays the main bad guy role as the one who runs the cloning center. He did very well portraying the fact that his character basically had no morals and only cared about money. I personally think the best supporting performance was from Djimon Hounsou who basically plays a bounty hunter tasked to track down the escaped clones. He has to strike a balance between a guy doing the job he was hired for, and not truly believing in the ultimate purpose.

The DVD has a handful of extras, including a director's commentary track on the movie and a few making-of featurettes. Excluding the commentary track, the bonus features clock in at around half an hour in total. 

It does have some of the hallmarks of a Michael Bay summer blockbuster, but even if you are only lukewarm to his other movies, this one is worth giving it a chance. It is definitely more than just things blowing up. While it is certainly not an Academy Award winner or something that will keep you thinking about it for days after you watch it, there is enough substance to the story to make it worth seeing.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Ghost In the Shell

 

Ghost in the Shell is a 2017 movie adaptation of an Anime film starring Scarlett Johansson. It was controversial for casting a white actress in the role of a Japanese character, in a movie clearly set in Japan. The movie is set in the near future in which humans are able to make cybernetic improvements to their bodies to give them better strength, vision, intelligence, etc. Basically, the more money a person has, the more that person can improve themself. The cybernetics can be hacked, which also makes the people who have them targets of cyber terrorists. Johansson stars as Mira Killian, a survivor of a terrorist attack whose body was damaged beyond repair, so her consciousness has been integrated into an artificial body called a "shell". She is a major in a counter-terrorism police force, and as the movie goes along, she uncovers a larger conspiracy after her team thwarts an attack on a business conference. 

For those who get the 4k set, the UHD disc just includes the movie and the handful of extras are on the second, regular blu-ray, disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good. The video transfer is not quite reference quality, but unless you are a major A/V wonk that nitpicks the video quality to death, it is not likely to bother you. The extras on the regular blu-ray include a half-hour-long making-of documentary, a featurette on Section 9, the counter-terrorism unit that Mira is a part of, and a featurette on the philosophy behind the story. So, if you like watching the bonus features, all totaled, you get just under an hour of material.

The movie is good, but not great. One can make easy comparisons to movies like The Matrix and Blade Runner, although this is not as good as either of those. It does tell a decent story, has a lot of action, and even tries to explain away why Johansson's character is not Japanese. I think Johansson did a good job in the lead role, and as a stand-alone action movie, it is entertaining. So, if you are a fan of the dystopian future genre, this is a good one to check out. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Lucy

 

Lucy is a movie written and directed by Luc Besson that plays on the myth that humans only use 10% of their overall brain power (which despite some humans trying to prove it, is actually untrue), and bases the story on what would happen if we could harness all of our brain power. Apparently, this includes developing ninja-like assassin skills, the ability to link with computers, etc. Needless to say, the story requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. Lucy is also a nod to the member of the extinct Australopithecus afarensis species whose remains were found in the mid-1970s in Africa nicknamed "Lucy" and whose species was one of the first groups of apes to walk upright.

The basic plot is that Lucy (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a student studying in Taiwan. She is forced to become a drug mule to smuggle a synthetic drug that enhances cognitive function, and when some of it gets into her system, she becomes an unstoppable killing machine bent on revenge. The main co-star is Morgan Freeman as Professor Samuel Norman, a professor that helps Lucy understand what is happening to her. Throughout the movie, she is able to harness more and more of her brain powers, and with each increase, she becomes more unstoppable.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great. The extras include a 16-minute making-of documentary and a featurette on the "real" science behind the movie. While there is some real scientific material out there on increasing cognitive ability, it is nothing like what is seen in the movie. If you can accept that and then just enjoy that it is a very good, fun action movie with a ridiculously attractive star (who has also proven that she does have acting chops and does not just rely on her looks), then the movie is enjoyable. If, however, you are not a fan of movies whose plotlines overreach too much and go way beyond what is realistic, then you will probably hate this movie.