dave355 Reviews

The Shift (II) (2023)

I must be the target audience

[9/10 · 18 April 2024]

I'm both a follower of Christ and longtime sci-fi fan (especially hard sci-fi, like Niven & Pournelle, and The Expanse). So science fiction with a Christian backdrop sounds great, to me.

But The Shift still managed to surprise me. I expected to enjoy it, but I didn't expect such an original plot, and I really didn't expect to be so drawn-in, emotionally.

Christian sci-fi is an unusual combination, these days. But it needn't be, and it wasn't always. Dante's Inferno was so close to being science fiction, already, that it inspired Niven & Pournelle to write a science fiction book of the same name, set in a modernized version of hell. C. S. Lewis wrote highly aclaimed serious theology, but he also wrote delightful fantasy -- and science fiction.

These days, it seems that most science fiction writers are encumbered by the prejudice that for a story to be scientific it must NOT be religious. As this movie shows, that's an entirely unnecessary restriction, and a really engrossing science fiction story can be built on a foundation of Christian assumptions.

Eleventh Hour (2008–2009)

Couldn't they find a writer who knew ANY science?

[3/10 · 16 April 2021]

If you're going to put a sci-fi twist on a procedural drama, or write lines for a "scientist" character, you need to know at least a little bit of science. I don't think any of the writers for this show could have passed a middle school science class. It was just pathetic.

Relic of the Jedi: A Star Wars Story (2020)

Someone's class project, maybe?

[3/10 · 13 February 2021]

Not bad for an undergrad project with a £1000 budget.

Squid Man (2013)

Surprisingly watchable little movie

[6/10 · 14 October 2020]

It's not a masterpiece, but there were a many funny moments and little surprises, that kept it interesting. The premise is cute, and the acting is excellent. There's something charming about having such realistic dialogue and well-developed characters in a film with such a silly premise.

I rate it about 6.5.

Earthbound (2012)

Not great, but not bad

[6/10 · 29 September 2020]

It's not a great sci-fi movie, but it is better than I expected. It was goofy, but still fun. I agree with the several reviewers who rated it as a "6". I'd probably say 6-1/2.

The story is original, if rather silly. There was no attempt to make it scientifically plausible, but if you can get by that, it was interesting. The two lead characters are engaging and likeable. (All the other characters are wooden, but oh well.) The pace is good, and keeps you interested.

Bottom line: I was glad that I watched it.

The Vast of Night (2019)

All buildup.

[2/10 · 25 June 2020]

The whole movie was buildup, and at the end -- meh.

"There's something strange! Something making strange sounds! Something strange in the sky!" Over, and over, for the whole stupid movie.

They had a lot of cool-looking antique cars, but, other than that, not much.

How on earth did this get so many positive reviews? Seriously??

Proximity (II) (2020)

Pretty good

[7/10 · 26 May 2020]

I was pleasantly surprised. The story was engaging, the characters were likable and intelligent, and the plot was a LOT better than you'd expect from an alien abduction movie. The bottom line is that I enjoyed the movie.

I can't believe the hate from the anti-Christian fanatics on here. This was not a "Christian movie." Nobody prayed, nobody got saved, abortion was never mentioned, there were no clearly Christian characters, and there obviously was no gospel message.

There was just ONE (1) brief mention of Jesus, around the 100 minute mark. That's all. But that's apparently enough to make an anti-Christian fanatic give a pretty good movie one star and a scathing review.

The movie certainly wasn't perfect. There were major believability issues. There were too many unexplained loose ends. The mix of crazy-advanced tech with 2018 tech, and even an old Heathkit oscilloscope, was jarring. The score was at times even more jarring, and at one point it was so loud that it made it hard to understand what the actors were saying. The end struck me as weird and unfinished.

That's a pretty big list of complaints. But, even so, this movie was fun.

Time Trap (2017)

For once the IMDB rating is about right (currently 6.2)

[7/10 · 30 April 2018]

This is not a fake review, and I have no connection with the film. I'm a sci-fi buff, and I enjoyed this film.

It's quite original, and pretty well-done.

It wasn't perfect. My biggest complaint is that there were some places where the characters annoyed me by being a bit slow on the uptake. But, really, it's pretty good.

It's not anywhere near the level of "The Empire Strikes Back," of course. But it IS on the level of the disappointing-but-still-fairly-entertaining "The Last Jedi," despite having been produced on about 1½% of the budget.

Lost River (2014)

I only made it through a half hour

[1/10 · 17 May 2015]

I only made it through about a half hour of Lost River, before I gave up. In that time, there was no discernible storyline, and there were no sympathetic characters. The closest thing to good guys were the old men who kept saying, "get out of here while you still can!"

They made some pretty pictures by dialing up the color saturation to unnatural levels, but extra-bright greens couldn't hold my interest for a whole movie. There's a weird contrast between the very dark tone of (the first half hour of) the movie, and the extra-bright green outdoor scenery, but I don't know what the point was.

I can't understand how this thing got a 5.9 IMDb rating. I found it incredibly boring. Maybe it gets better, eventually, but I didn't have the patience to find out.

The Lovers (I) (2015)

Nice score.

[4/10 · 3 March 2015]

The score is terrific, the scenery is gorgeous, the acting is mostly pretty good, and the story is... nonsensical.

There are two story timelines. The opening story timeline is set in the fairly near future, sometime later in the 21st century, with what appear to be Americans. But we spend very little time there. The main story timeline is 18th century India.

The backdrop of the main storyline, in India in 1778, was interesting and realistic, except that the British East India Company leaders were all hopelessly one-dimensional villains. The lead roles were well-played, the lead characters were sympathetic, and the story was drew me in.

But when you tell a great, big, long story, it ought to have a point. It ought to have something to do with the climax. This one left me wondering, "what was the point of all that?"

Plus, there was almost no meaningful connection between the two timelines. It just didn't make sense.

And the story made a promise that it didn't keep. At the beginning, we see an interesting artifact -- a ring -- in the wreck of a long- sunken ship. Someone with the initials "D.E." must have greatly valued it, we're told, because he or she drowned while clinging to the purse which contained that ring.

So, who was D.E., we wonder, and what was his story? The next scene takes us back in time, to 18th century India, and we settle back expecting to learn the story of D.E. and the ring. But we never do.

We do, indeed, hear a great long story -- but we never find out about D.E. and the ring, or how it got onto that shipwreck. That was very annoying.

And what's with the two names for this movie, anyhow? Is it called "The Lovers" or "Singularity?"

As Maxwell Smart would say, "missed it by THAT much." I'll be generous and give it a 4, mainly just because I liked the music.

I'll Follow You Down (2013)

A very nice little sci-fi movie

[8/10 · 29 September 2014]

I liked this movie!

As a scientist, I like sci-fi movies that don't have gaping, roll-your-eyes holes in the science. As awful lot of "small" sci-fi movie are just plain stupid. This is a small movie, with nothing much in the way of special effects, but it doesn't have that problem. It rings true.

I like smart characters, too, and I like decent, well-meaning characters. Too many movies are weighed down by characters who just make you want to grab them and shake them and scream, "what's the matter with you, you idiot?" Not this one.

There are no nasty, stupid, or unlikable characters in this movie, and, of the major characters, only Grace is a bit shallow. I'll Follow You Down combines excellent character development with a fine (if somewhat unoriginal) sci-fi plot, a couple of romances, a few nice plot twists, and just the right amount of suspense. Good movie!