Metropolis

Metropolis

1927

Directed by Fritz Lang

I've been waiting to see this for a while, wondering if it would live up to all the hype surrounding it. Hell yes it does. Metropolis is German director Fritz Lang's science fiction opus, a wild tale of a futuristic city run by great machines and fueled on the hard and thankless labour of a subterranean working-class. Unfortunately, as much as one third of the movie is considered lost; the version I watched, restored and distributed by Kino, drew from the original negative, partially destroyed, and scenes from later versions. Scenes that were not available are replaced by captions describing what would have been happening. These didn't really interrupt the flow of the movie as much as I thought they might. In fact, Metropolis was entertaining and very watchable in spite of its defects.

I don't know what sort of budget Lang had to work with, but Metropolis looks great. The city, the underground worker's city filled with giant machines, everything looks better than anybody could expect from a film made in 1927. The story is interesting enough. Drawing on the preoccupation with working-class struggles in its time, Metropolis is something of a call to arms for workers in an increasingly industrial and economically segregated society. But it also calls for compromise, as it is openly critical of violent revolt. The main story follows Freder, the pampered son of Joh Fredersen, the ruler of Metropolis, as he pursues his fascination with Maria, a socialist pedagogue and sort of worker's saint. This leads him from the leisurely high-society to the depths of the city, where workers slave away at great machines in a nightmarish industrial underground world. His support of the workers causes a rift between Freder and his father, and also leads Joh to discover Maria and her religious-toned oration. She is preaching that there must be mediation between the "brains" and "hands" of the city, but Joh wants to incite the workers to open rebellion so he can crush and demoralize them. To this purpose, he gets the unstable scientist Rotwang to create a robot in Maria's image. This alternate Maria is her opposite in every respect. Deceptive, sexual, she incites the male workers to violent uprising.

I feel that I should warn everyone that Metropolis is a silent film. It's hard to judge the acting performances without the benefit of dialogue; silent film acting is based on a different dynamic entirely. I thought they fit in well with the apocalyptic tone of the film, but I suppose they could be construed as being overly emotive. Brigitte Helm in particular seemed quite good, switching between the demure Maria and a vicious and feverish performance as the Machine Man impersonating her. There's a lot of hand-wringing and flailing about on the whole, but really, that's the way that actors had to express themselves before the dawn of "talkies."

Fritz Lang clearly set out to make a monumental film, and he certainly acheived that goal; he set the bar high for all science fiction to follow. I've never seen anything quite like it, and I doubt it will ever be imitated with much success. I have seen the anime by Rintaro and Katsuhiro Otomo, based on Osamu Tezuka's manga series; it's also quite excellent, but another animal altogether. In any case, Metropolis is a visionary work of art; I only wish the entire film was intact. I would highly recommend it to cinema nuts - but too much time may have passed for it to appeal to casual moviegoers anymore.

9.9

Sci-fi double-feature: Consider Phlebas and The Surrogates

I just finished a few sci-fi books, Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks, and The Surrogates, a comic by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele. Here I go.

Consider Phlebas
Published 1987
By Iain M. Banks

Iain M. Banks started off writing well-received (or so I've heard) fiction novels. Consider Phlebas was Banks' first foray into the realm of science fiction, and the start of his rightfully acclaimed series of Culture novels; and what a debut. A virtual Odyssey of a space opera, alternately mind-bogglingly huge in scale and surprisingly personal, Consider Phlebas really has to be experienced to be believed.

Banks' Culture series is centred around an intergalactic society of eccentric, liberal, hedonistic humanoids and their incredibly intelligent machines, called Minds. So technologically advanced and resource-rich as to render commerce irrelevant, people in the Culture are left to their own devices, to pursue any interests, study, go native, defect, rejoin, change sex and appearance, and really anything else you can imagine. It's basically a pan-human Utopia, but a moral one. Naturally divergent in opinion, as its population is measured in many trillions of beings, citizens of the Culture share an interest in good works - helping "primitive" societies develop without resorting to violence, preventing genocides, and maintaining diplomacy with the many other galactic civilizations (both less and more powerful.) Banks' universe is easily the most fully realized, complex, and yet somehow utterly believable of any comparable science fiction I've read. If you are new to sci-fi or are only familiar with the classics, you'll probably be completely stunned by the depth and fullness of Banks' vision. At the centre of the Culture are the Minds, massively powerful and intelligent sentient machines that help to guide and assist the humans in achieving their goals. Banks should be commended for envisioning a future in which the tired old theme of sentient machines being the beginning of the end of civilization is abandoned for a more benificent possibility. In spite of our differences, might machines and humans not share similar sentiments?

Consider Phlebas is about a holy war between the mainly secular and materialist Culture, and a powerful race of tripedal religious zealots called the Idirans. The Idirans' religion calls for them to expand and conquer infidel civilizations in the name of their God. On the galactic scale, they eventually find themselves in conflict with a young and still developing Culture, unprepared for war and naturally prone to pacifism. The Culture objects to the Idirans' expansion on principal; what the Idirans' don't realize is how willing the Culture is to fight for its moral convictions. Expecting an easy victory, instead the Idirans are drawn into a full-scale war of immense proportions, measuring deaths in the hundreds of billions.

Banks' style bounces easily between these incomprehensibly huge scales - millions of light years, "gigadeaths," giant artificial worlds, extinctions of whole civilizations - and a very personal story of one man's crusade in the midst of this war. Bora Horza Gobuchul is a Changer, a shape-shifting human fighting his own war; except that he is fighting for the Idirans against the Culture. While not prescribing to the religion of the Idirans, he supports them precisely because they are against the Culture. For Horza, the Culture represents the unnatural; it is his belief that the Minds that run the Culture also strip it of its humanity. In spite of their bigotry and fanaticism, the Idirans are, as he says, "on the side of Life." Horza is recruited by the Idirans to find a rogue Mind that has escaped their grasp and hidden on a forbidden world watched over by god-like beings called the Dra'Azon. Hitching a ride with a mercenary ship, Horza sets out to capture the Mind with a captured Culture agent in tow, but things don't exactly go as smoothly as planned.

All this might sound like typical sci-fi, but what separates Banks is his atypical style. Behind the baffling technology, descriptions of hyperspace travel and impossibly grand scale, the story of Horza's quest is gritty and immediate. Filled with humour, lofty philosophical diatribes, sexual, violent, disturbing, scatalogical, unpredictable and oddly poignant, and almost never slackening its pace, Consider Phlebas maintains an earthy and personal feel in spite of its huge ambition. Banks is thoroughly hip and ironic, and these characteristics weave themselves into the story and into the fabric of the Culture itself; intelligent, knowing, reflective and self-depracating, Culture citizens seem to accompany all of their actions with a wink. Likewise, Consider Phlebas is easy to breeze through, but begs to be taken seriously as well.

It's not my favourite Culture novel, and it does drag a bit in the final chapters, but Consider Phlebas is a great intro to Banks' peculiar and bombastic brand of science fiction. As with all of his Culture series, highly recommended.

9.0

The Surrogates
2006
Written by Robert Venditti
Art by Brett Weldele

The Surrogates was recently made into a film of the same title starring Bruce Willis, but I heard it wasn't very good. However, the comic was generally well-received and I thought I would read it rather than watch a mediocre movie.

The story is about our society in the not-too-distant future, and the introduction of the surrogate, a marriage between virtual reality and robotics that allows people to live life by proxy without having to leave their homes. Originally created to help the disabled and paralyzed lead a normal life, big business sees the potential marketing value of the product to regular citizens. By the middle of the 21st century, 92% of North American society uses a "surrie." Surries are customizable, giving people the option of altering their physical appearance, even sex, recording and playing back data, altering sensory experience, and so on. As Virtual Self Inc., the company in charge of surrie production, says in its advertising campaign, living via surrogate is "Life. Only better."

The story follows detectives Harvey Greer and Pete Ford as they track down a mysterious terrorist who seems intent on changing the world back to its pre-surrogate state. In its five issues, The Surrogates manages to cram in a lot of food for thought, despite being based around a fairly simple cat and mouse detective story. In between issues are supplementary materials a la Alan Moore's The Watchmen, designed to add depth to the future society. Between these materials and the philosophical implications of the adoption of surries into society, there's quite a lot to chew on.

The interesting (and scary) part is that I can totally see this happening. The surrogate to me seems to just be an extension of online anonymity. Millions of people are already opting to create personae for themselves in a technological milieu free of actual interaction. In many ways people already live "by proxy." We have grown so reliant on new technology even in the last twenty years; it's sort of hard to imagine returning to a pre-internet world at this point. But at which point does our anonymity and dependence on technology prevent us from living our lives as human beings? This is one of the main themes of The Surrogates, and it seems like a timely question to me. It's also a succinct commentary on our obsession with physical appearance and how we wish to represent ourselves in society; how we wish to be perceived.

Venditti's writing is the main attraction, but Bret Weldele's sketchy, monochromatic artwork definitely grows on you, and it suits this gritty tale. The Surrogates is quite accomplished for an independent comic. Recommended.

8.2

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

1984
Directed by W.D. Richter

It's difficult to give a rating to Buckaroo Banzai. Chances are, you're either going to love or hate this campy and extremely odd low-budget sci-fi spoof. To me, it's a complete riot, full of non-sequiturs, cheap gags, inside jokes and general weirdness; but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody said that they felt they were not in on the joke. You definitely have to pay close attention to get a lot of the humour, and even then you might find yourself lost. There is a non-sensical, slightly insane dynamic to Buckaroo Banzai, and if that's not your idea of comedy, then you might be better to avoid this film.

Discussing the plot could get a bit complicated, so I'll be brief instead. Dr. Buckaroo Banzai is a brilliant polymath, equally at ease performing brain surgery, engaging in theoretical physics, playing the guitar, french horn, piano, and singing in his band the Hong Kong Cavaliers, gunslinging, brandishing a samurai sword, and adventuring. When Banzai drives a modified Ford pickup through a mountain using a prototype Oscillation Overthruster, he discovers an 8th dimension existing parallel to our own universe - except that he wasn't the first to discover it. That honour goes to Dr. Emilio Lizardo, who literally made it halfway into the 8th dimension and was possessed by the evil dictator Lord John Whorfin of Planet 10. Stranded and determined to return to his homeworld, John Whorfin plans to take Dr. Banzai's Overthruster. With the help of other extradimensional beings called Red Lectroids (all named John), Whorfin puts into motion events that may lead to the destruction of planet Earth. It's Banzai's job to stop him, along with the rest of the Hong Kong Cavaliers - all gunslingers and scientists like himself.

The cast is awesome. Peter Weller plays Buckeroo Banzai with a combination of zen-like detachment and Flash Gordon swagger. The great John Lithgow is the nefarious Dr. Lizardo - a true lunatic. If this movie had nothing else but Lithgow and his ridiculously funny Italian accent, it would already be a classic. Definitely the funniest I've ever seen him be. Ellen Barkin is hilarious as the unbalanced and comically over-sexualized Penny Priddy (what passes for a love interest in this most bizarre film; at one point, being held for ransom and bravely telling Banzai not to give in to the kidnappers' demands, Banzai rather unromantically tells her to "get off the phone"). Highlander's Clancy Brown and Lewis Smith are standouts as Rawhide and Perfect Tommy, members of the Cavaliers. Jeff Goldblum plays a cowboy brain surgeon who for some reason is nicknamed New Jersey. Buckaroo Banzai even has Christopher Lloyd as a Red Lectroid.

The humour is weird to say the least. So many things are going on at any one time, your head might be spinning a little bit. Some of the humour is immediately appealing, but a lot of it doesn't make sense at first. You sort of just have to roll with it and be prepared for anything. I honestly still don't get some of the jokes. I have no idea why there is a random watermelon in one scene, and they never explain anything. I'm thinking the commentary in the special features might be instructive. But for the most part, Buckaroo Banzai has me laughing my ass off constantly. An example of the humour: in the middle of a rock concert, Dr. Banzai stops the show because he hears somebody crying in the audience. His encouraging words for the suicidal woman and the restless audience? "Hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean... cause wherever you go... there you are." He then mispronounces her name and launches into a sappy ballad. Using completely absurd deduction, various characters have epiphanies about the nature of the bizarre phenomena they encounter. A Lectroid with a Jamaican accent (a hilarious Carl Lumbly) wearing something out of Little Richard's wardrobe and named John Parker, arrives with a big pink box for Dr. Banzai. In the box? A hologram player that can only be viewed with goggles clearly made out of bubble wrap. One Red Lectroid announces his comrade's death in complete seriousness: "John Valuk is dead. He fell on his head." You get the idea.

The filmmakers make the best possible use of their limited budget. The interiors of the alien spacecraft are full of random junk ranging from tin cans to plastic tubing held up by electrical tape. The Lectroids themselves are just people wearing Halloween-costume grade masks. The ship itself looks like a conch shell. Clothing ranges from new wave to lounge act to cowboy. All of this just makes the movie funnier. It actually blends together to really compliment the overall feel of the film.

It's actually amazing to me that they managed to get Buckaroo Banzai produced at all. In today's market, there is no way that it could exist. People are not willing to work for their laughs anymore; everybody wants everything laid out, plain and accessible. The makers of Buckaroo Banzai were not going to have any of that. Good for them, and too bad for us that we won't see another film like it. A true original, Banzai is deservedly a cult favourite. I just wish more people knew about it.

8.8

The Faculty

The Faculty
1998
Directed by Robert Rodriguez

I watched this right after Wind Chill, so I'm probably biased in its favour, but I thought it was an awesome movie. It was just fun to watch. Yeah, it doesn't do anything new at all, and I've seen better horror/sci-fi movies. But if you don't have anything better to do, I'd definitely recommend giving it a spin.

The premise of The Faculty is that aquatic alien parasites are attempting to take over the world, starting with an Ohio high school. Some students notice and they have to attempt to stop the invasion before it's too late. The best thing about this plot is that Rodriguez is fully aware of his predecessors (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing) and pays due homage to them during the movie. You never get the feeling that he's ripping these classics off.

The cast is excellent. Where do I begin? Portraying the student outcasts who discover the plot are: Josh Hartnett in fine form as a brainy drug dealer; Elijah Wood; Laura Harris of "Dead Like Me"; Shawn Hatosy as the star quarterback who quits football to avoid preferential treatment and go back to being a D student ("I earned that D!"); Jordana Brewster (I actually thought it was Kristen Bell at first, oops); and last but not least, Clea DuVall (Girl Interrupted) as a sci-fi nerd who suddenly finds her expertise in some demand. The always reliable Robert "T-1000" Patrick is perfect as the possessed football coach. John Stewart has a small part as a science teacher (?!) Hell, even Usher is in it!


What with my constant glee at the various cast members it's a wonder that I even managed to pay attention to the plot, but it wasn't difficult. You can pretty much guess for yourself what happens. Honestly, it hardly matters. The characters are entertaining and there's plenty of great dialogue, including a scene where Elijah Wood discusses his theory about how the entire science fiction industry has been created to prepare for an actual alien invasion.

That said, I have at least one complaint: crappy-looking CG. It's not the worst I've seen but this was 1998, it doesn't hold up well. However, the final scene features an actual model alien, so that mostly makes up for it. Also (SPOILER) I have to give it big credit for avoiding the "twist" ending that ruins so many otherwise decent horror movies. Don't worry people, no surprises here. Even though it's not nearly as good as the classics it pays tribute to, The Faculty is an enjoyable movie and you should watch it if you like horror and sci-fi.

6.4