Amongst Americans such as myself, there is a certain stereotype about our neighbors to the north. There’s a belief that Canadians are, for lack of a better word, nice. That during a visit to Canada, an American would be more likely to ride a moose around like a horse than hear the F-word. That hockey …
Based on a Philip K. Dick short story (We Can Remember It for You Wholesale), Total Recall is set in a futuristic society, where “it has become scientifically possible to implant fake memories into a person’s mind, while erasing their previous identity, thus creating a fictitious persona in such that the subject believes he or she is someone else.” The filmmakers took great liberty with the original story, but, luckily Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett (respected writers of some of the greatest science fiction films), whipped up one of the best produced Hollywood screenplays of the 1990’s.
Based on a Philip K. Dick short story (We Can Remember It for You Wholesale), Total Recall is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best films, and one of the best action films of the 1990’s. Under Paul Verhoeven’s frenetic direction, Total Recall is a fast-paced rush of violence, action, and humor that never, for a minute, …
RoboCop Written by Joshua Zetumer & Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner Directed by José Padilha USA, 2014 Paul Verhoeven’s science-fiction films RoboCop and Total Recall take place in different environments and eras, but share a similarly raucous, ramshackle, satiric attitude. These films are products of their time, filled with garishly practical effects and grimy, tactile …
On December 14, 2012, a young man named Adam Lanza broke into a primary school and fatally shot 26 people in the small village of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Twenty of them were children, aged 6 or 7. On that day, no matter where I went or what I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about the …
Whether you measure your movies by box office, reviews, or popular appeal, Sony’s $125 million remake of the 1990 Ah-nuld Schwarzenegger interplanetary action fest Total Recall looks like a strike-out. The movie opened with a lethal softness; a $25.7 million first weekend meaning Recall won’t even come close to making back its budget during its …
Total Recall Directed by Len Wiseman Written by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback USA, 2012 Taken on its own terms, Total Recall is a passable but not particularly dazzling sci-fi action film that survives almost entirely because its cast isn’t unpleasant to watch. But it’s hard to take this remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger …
With this weekend’s Total Recall cashing in on a trend we could conceivably never see the end of (at least in this lifetime), the question I’m posing refers to what we have to look forward to, but not from bombastic, shallow-minded “anti-auteurs;” we look instead to the distinguished festival elite. Putting aside the innumerable trademarks …
For moviegoers growing up in the last 20-30 years, big is the new normal. I’m talking about those big-budget, over-produced, effects/action-packed extravaganzas that are as expected and routine an arrival as a commuter bus, and never more so than during the summer months. Come a rise in temperatures, there’s an almost ceaseless parade of …
What a dark two months it has been. After such a long absence, I began to question whether or not I’d ever have anything to write about again. To have such a passion for film, but struggle to find just one thing to write a few words on, is a terrifying thought, one that left …
Fictional representations of Mars have been popular for over a century and with good reason. Apart from the beauty of the planet’s dramatic red colour, early scientific speculations that its surface conditions might be capable of supporting life have often inspired writers to take on either the possibility that Mars could be colonized by humans …
Want a prediction for 2012 at the movies? It’s going to look a lot like 2011. An awful lot. It’s going to be a case of, If ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Well, actually, the creative machinery in Hollywood is broke, but, as the numbers show, not broken enough to warrant fixing. So. Next year, …