"The Time Machine (1960)" Movie Review

Original movie poster for "The Time Machine".

"On January 5, 1900, a disheveled looking H.G. Wells (Rod Taylor) - George to his friends - arrives late to his own dinner party. He tells his guests of his travels in his time machine, the work about which his friends knew. They were also unbelieving, and skeptical of any practical use if it did indeed work. George knew that his machine was stationary in geographic position, but he did not account for changes in what happens over time to that location. He also learns that the machine is not impervious and he is not immune to those who do not understand him or the machine's purpose. George tells his friends that he did not find the Utopian society he so wished had developed. He mentions specifically a civilization several thousand years into the future which consists of the subterranean Morlocks and the surface dwelling Eloi, who on first glance lead a carefree life. Despite all these issues, love can still bloom over the spread of millennia." Written by Huggo (Source below.)

Rod Taylor in the time machine.

Also known as "H. G. Wells' The Time Machine", it was directed and produced by George Pal ("7 Faces of Dr. Lao" - 1964, "Tom Thumb" - 1958, "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" - 1962) with a screenplay written by David Duncan ("Fantastic Voyage" - 1966, "Daniel Boone" - 1964) and based upon the novel by H. G. Wells. It stars Rod Taylor as 'H. George Wells', Alan Young  as both 'David Filby' and 'James Filby', and Yvette Mimieux as 'Weena'.

The script is available to read here: http://sfy.ru/?script=time_machine_1960.

Of course, there is the 2002 version of "The Time Machine" starring Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons, and directed by Simon Wells, with a screenplay written by John Logan. I saw that movie in the theater when it came out and it was a favorite of mine for a while (and I had a huge crush on Guy Pearce). I plan to see it again, to write a review of it, but also to see if it still holds up. I would also like to read the classic book itself, so those reviews will be forthcoming.

As this is a bit old, I decided I would mention a bit about the cast:

Hey, H. G. Wells predicted cds.
Also, Yvette Mimieux (L) and Rod Taylor.

For anyone who is a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, you may recognize Rod Taylor - he was 'Mitch Brenner' in "The Birds". He was also 'Winston Churchill' in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" that came out in 2009. 

Alan Young won an Emmy in 1951 for "The Alan Young Show" and does voices for animated tv shows, like "Scooby Doo", his most famous character to date being 'Scrooge McDuck'. 

Yvette Mimieux starred as 'Leni Martek' on "The Love Boat" from 1984 - 1986 and was nominated for two Golden Globes - once in 1965 for her role in the tv show "Dr. Kildare" and once again in 1971 for her dramatic turn in the tv show "The Most Deadly Game". 

Playing 'Dr. Philip Hillyer' in this movie, Sebastian Cabot once starred as Kris Kringle in a tv adaptation of "Miracle on 31st Street" in 1973, but is known more for his voice work: did 'Bagheera the Panther' in Disney's "The Jungle Book" and has done a whole slew of narrations, but is usually the narrator of Winnie the Pooh's animated adventures.

Playing 'Anthony Bridewell' in this film, Tom Helmore was 'Gavin Elster' in Hitchcock's "Vertigo" in 1958 and was 'Zachary Wilde' in "Designing Woman".

Does this picture feel like "The Planet of the Apes"
to anyone else?

I just wanted to show that though we as the modern audience most likely don't know these actors or the director, they were really popular in their day and were very esteemed in their profession. This movie was kind of a big deal in its day. Now, granted, the action sequences, music and makeup just aren't going to measure up to today's standards. But for its time, it was top of the line.

Now, about those action sequences, music and makeup..... I thought the makeup for the Morlocks was awesome. They were a bit chubby, but those glowing eyes were really eerie. You can tell that the 2002 version had made homage with their morlocks; they were a bit scarier and more animalistic, but their hair and overall coloring is very similar.

Pretty, pretty princess clothes.

I didn't like the music, because either it was nonexistent or it was overpowering for two very annoying seconds. 

I didn't like the clothes either. H. G. Wells and his friends were dressed appropriately, but the Eloi were in pastel colors which were pretty, but not very realistic. Wouldn't they be dressed in whites or hues of brown? And shouldn't they have been dirty? I can't possibly assume that even though they do nothing else all day that they wash their clothes. They didn't. 

I also have a bone to pick with Wells: If the Eloi were such sheep that they couldn't be bothered to do anything, even defend themselves, why on earth did they keep up the development of their speech? Should they really have been able to speak so well? If they were really like cattle, they should have been using as few words as possible. Just saying.

The Morlocks - look at those eyes!

I like watching some of these old movies. Especially when there is a remake. It's interesting to see the differences; like music is taken more seriously today than it was back then. Makeup and clothes lean towards being more gritty and realistic, whereas back then it was more theatrical. Even the acting is kind of more theatrical back then: some of the gestures they make are a bit too much for a more close up view.

Interesting facts concerning the remake that ties it to the old movie:

- They based the new screenplay written by John Logan on the older version written by David Duncan. 

- Alan Young is in both movies: as the Filby brothers in the 1960 version and in the 2002 version he can be seen as the "Flower Store Worker".

So what three books would you have taken with you, to save a future civilization?

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054387/plotsummary and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268695/fullcredits#writers. 

I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 typewriters.

"Looper" Movie Review

"Looper" movie poster.

"In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self (Bruce Willis)." (Link below.)

Written and directed by Rian Johnson (wrote the screenplay for "Brick"), starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("Inception", "The Dark Knight Rises"), Bruce Willis ("Die Hard", "The Sixth Sense"), Emily Blunt ("The Young Victoria", "The Devil Wears Prada"), Paul Dano ("Cowboys & Aliens", "There Will Be Blood"), and Jeff Daniels ("Good Night and Good Luck", "Speed"). It's an interesting concept and the first time travel movie in the last few years that has nothing to do with romantic bullshit.

Also, Sourcefed's review of it convinced me to go and now, after having seen it, I agree with a lot of their observations (you can see their review below).

The makeup was very well done. They had Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis shot in profile in this one scene and they freakishly looked the same. I'm really glad they decided to make Gordon-Levitt look and act like Willis, because trying to make Willis look like Gordon-Levitt may have been impossible. But great work on their part.

One of the parts that I thought was well-done, but made me a bit squeamish, was when they got the one looper to come back by torturing his young, past self. So you could see him getting scars, losing fingers, his nose, his tongue, his feet, and basically every appendage until he gets close enough so that they can kill him. You couldn't see the actual torture, just the effects of it and that was more disturbing. 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (driving) and Paul Dano.

But it made me think that wouldn't that effect how the rest of that particular man's life would change and therefore he wouldn't be there to be tortured? Time travel is sort of a tricky subject like that. 

I also liked how they made the future more realistic than in previous science fiction movies. There are flying vehicles, but they are not quite up to speed. It seemed very messy there, like the world wasn't 'clean', which is probable with how people treat this planet. Everyone has solar panels on their houses and even their cars. They did a lot of good work with that aspect of it.

Bruce Willis.

I just couldn't completely feel for these loopers though. There were moments where I felt sympathy but then they usually involved somebody else. When things went wrong for them it really sucked, but they were still killing people and had a pretty good time doing it: cars, women, drugs, expensive getaways. I couldn't relate to them in that way.

I enjoyed it. There was gratuitous violence involving gunfire and torture. There was telekinesis, called TK. There was an interesting drug that you would drop into your eyes to get high. There was Bruce Willis yelling "Motherfucker!" which is always a treat. Also, there are boobies. 

Favorite Lines:

Found this awesome poster here.

Joe: Time travel has not yet been invented. But thirty years from now, it will have been.

Joe: Loopers are well paid, they lead a good life...

Abe: This time travel crap, just fries your brain like a egg...

[from trailer] 

Joe: I work as a specialized assassin, in an outfit called the Loopers. When my organization from the future wants someone to die, they zap them back to me and I eliminate the target from the future. The only rule is: never let your target escape... even if your target is you.

Older Joe: I'm going to stop this guy. 

Joe: None of this concerns me... 

Older Joe: It is going to happen to you! 

Joe: It's going to happen to YOU, it's not going to happen to ME!

Abe: I'm from the future, go to China.

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/quotes and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/.

I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 typewriters.

"Men In Black 3" Movie Review

"Men in Black 3" movie poster.

"An alien criminal named Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself." Written by Anonymous (Link below.)

I had a tremendous time at the movie theater with this one. Although now I have that new Pitbull song stuck in my head. Oh well. It's entirely possible that the buzz around the internet that this movie may be the best in the trilogy that is the "Men In Black" franchise may actually be true.

Jemaine Clement.

Josh Brolin is every bit as good an impersonator of Tommy Lee Jones as everyone on the web has been stating. He was amazing and very believable as a younger version of Mr. Jones. Speaking of Mr. Jones, he seemed very covered with a veritable mask of makeup in this movie. It was very disconcerting.

Josh Brolin (L) and Will Smith.

I thought that some of the best acting wasn't just from Josh Brolin, but also from Jemaine Clement who played Boris the Animal. I didn't realize until I looked him up that that is the same guy from "The Flight of the Conchords" and, I think, the same guy who narrates the Outback Steakhouse restaurant commercials. 

Emma Thompson and her lovely coif.

Her part was kind of small, but I love Emma Thompson, who plays Agent O, a love interest of Agent K. I don't just love her for her accent either, even if that high class British accent of hers does get me randy. Her hair was amazing in this film! Whoever did her hair should be commended. However, if that is the same person who did Mr. Jones 'makeup mask' it might be one of those things where they are only great every once in a while.

Will Smith astride a largely
disappointing 'space bike'.

There was a lot of stuff missing from the movie that was in the trailers though. I'm not sure if I have a problem with that because a lot of it seemed like excess material. The only thing that I had a real problem with were those space bikes. They looked awesome, but they couldn't beat a regular motorcycle on the freeway. That's the kind of disappointing and pompous computer generated effects that action movies need to stay away from unless the thing actually is astounding. 

Oh, the 3D wasn't necessary at all and there weren't that many scenes where it would've increased the enjoyment of the film.

I enjoyed it, but I kind of hope that that is the end of this series. Hollywood needs to get over its 'sequelitis' that it is making everyone suffer from. 

I give this movie a 4 out of 5. 

Favorite Lines:

(L to R) Josh Brolin as Young Agent K, Michael Sthulbarg
as Griffin, and Will Smith as Agent J.

Agent J: I'm looking for K, have you seen him? Sort of a surly, older gentleman, smiles like this... 

[J makes a poker face] 

O: K's been dead for over forty years.

Agent J: All right, pay attention... 

[neuralyzes a crowd] 

Agent J: Okay. You know how you kids won the goldfish in that little baggy at the school fair, and you didn't want that nasty thing in your house so you flushed it down the toilet? Well, this's what happened... 

[points to an alien fish being towed away] 

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1409024/

P. S. I want to watch the first "Men In Black" movie, but I am afraid that, because technological use in the movies has gotten so good over the years that I won't be able to appreciate this first movie. When I was younger I thought it was so awesome. I don't want to ruin it for myself. Oh, dilemmas.