eric_beer Reviews

Cosmos (1980)

Stunning, provocative, fascinating...

[10/10 · 19 April 2007]

I remember watching this series when it first aired in the fall of 1980 - I was 12. I was mesmerized by it then, and at 39 I am still in awe today. Carl Sagan quite simply had that uncanny ability to make even the most abstract concepts accessible. Take for example his explanations of the Theory of Relativity (from "Travels in Space and Time") or very great numbers like a "googol" (from "The Lives of the Stars"). Each and every concept is developed and explained so lucidly that educators should routinely use it as part of their curriculum; depending on what field they teach.

In addition, the visuals are quite entertaining (although some may be a bit dated by today's standards) and serve to further clarify the lessons. His language is thought-provoking yet easy to understand and will no doubt have you considering our little corner of the universe and the life on it in a whole new way. The series on DVD contains several updates made 10 years after the initial airing (c. 1991) where Dr. Sagan expounds on new findings and developments in the areas discussed in that particular episode.

The series is really part science, part history, part parable but entirely enthralling. Never will 13 hours be better or more constructively spent!

War of the Worlds (2005)

Excellent!

[9/10 · 30 June 2005]

***POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS*** When I first saw a poster in a movie theater lobby for War of the Worlds (back in February) and saw Steven Spielberg was the director, I began counting the seconds! I always hoped a legitimate director would do a good sci-fi that was somewhat grounded in reality - unlike, say, Independence Day which ended up being very cartoonish. Signs I thought was much better, but relied too heavily in the psychological with not enough visual to hammer home the point.

Spielberg gets it mostly right. This film contains all the great aspects I was looking for: terror, drama, suspense, irony, and humor all rolled into a 2-hour package. Tom Cruise is very good as the indifferent-turned-super dad Ray Ferrier, but the show belonged to Dakota Fanning. Justin Chatwin is also good as the wise-ass kid who clearly resents his almost non-existent father. Tim Robbins was wonderful in his role as the unstable and off-center Ogilvy.

The special effects, as expected, were brilliant but not overdone. The tripods were amazingly real and terrifying - not to mention ubiquitous which adds to the tension. The scene where the first one emerges from beneath Bayonne, NJ will go down in cinema history as one of the most tense and startling.

We do get a look at the aliens: they are other-worldy but inquisitive and cold and calculating. Just what you might expect from beings who presumably traveled a zillion miles to wipe out humanity.

The only problem I had was the one shot Tom Cruise gets at heroism - he, of course, succeeds but I didn't think it fit with the theme of realism so well executed to that point.

The ending was a bit hurried but not so much as to ruin the rest of the film as some people have complained. A longer ending sequence would have been more gratifying, though.

This was a great achievement in science fiction ans will leave you white-knuckled and tense - and believing that indeed they may NOT come in peace after all.