Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Moon

This is topic Moon in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=001642

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-15-2010, 10:32 PM:

Location: my living room
Auditorium: my living room
Format: Blu-ray 1080p, 2.39:1 letter-boxed in a 1.77:1 TV screen
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 4

I didn't get to see Moon in its theatrical release -mainly because Lawton, Oklahoma, USA doesn't often receive "indie" movies of this sort or any sort for that matter. Once in awhile the booking powers that be will grace this tiny little 'burg with a good indie release only to see it play to scant audiences only with movie geeks such as myself in attendance.

So I watched Moon on a rented Blu-ray, via my PS3 Slim and modest 40" HDTV instead. Damn, I can't wait until I can have a proper big screen TV again. Oh well, I digress.

This movie will work as a nice, somewhat mind-bending treat and morality play for long-time fans of science fiction. The show works as an homage to 1970's oriented science fiction movies like Silent Running, TV series like Space 1999 and early 1980s movies like Outland. Throw in a good dose of 2001: A Space Odyssey cooked up in a different angle via Kevin Spacey's voice work as "GERTY" the station's robot and you have some of the parts that make up Moon.

Sam Rockwell plays "Sam Bell" the sole crew member of a lunar mining operation of Lunar Industries. He manages robots that dig up moon rocks and pulverize them to extract Helium 3 -an oddball, unstable element crucial to fusion energy that provides the Earth of the future with 70% of its power needs. Sam Bell is just 2 weeks away from finishing a 3 year contract aboard the moon when things begin to slip. The relationship with his wife back on Earth is not what it seems. He starts seeing things, possibly from the long term isolation and the story goes on from there. I can't go any further than that without ruining some of the fun.

I was pretty impressed with Sam Rockwell's performance. There was a great deal of technical challenge involved with it yet Sam Rockwell made it look very natural. Some strange things happen yet little if any of the performance seems forced. With some of the recent Oscar nominations handed out, one could make a solid case that Sam Rockwell was overlooked in this movie.

This movie was characterized as being a low budget endeavor, yet it was pretty slick regardless. Director Duncan Jones and his crew deserve credit for the movie looking believable despite budget constraints. I liked the use of practical models (old school 1970's style, with some post production wire removal) layered in with modern CGI atmospheric techniques.

Anyway, I recommend the movie. Check it out. It's thought provoking and even sad at times. I think the movie has a good pay-off. Also pay attention to the simple music score from Clint Mansell -known for his work on Requiem for a Dream. One of my female friends really loved the main theme for its monotonous and almost Nine Inch Nails inspired tone.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-16-2010, 12:07 AM:

I showed this movie theatrically, often to empty auditoriums. I think it is a great movie that really does deserve more attention. It doesn't have a huge budget and it can kind of show, but is still very entertaining. I will buy the Blu-ray when I see it for a decent price.

If you get a chance to watch this movie, don't pass it up!

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 03-16-2010, 06:09 AM:

I concur 100% with Bobby and Joe, but I will also add that on Blu Ray, the lossless soundtrack is absolutely stunning - one of the more immersive listening experiences of late.

Highly recommended.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 03-16-2010, 11:54 AM:

This was one of my favorites of last year. It really looks gorgeous on a big screen, and it has some of the best visuals that I have seen in recent years.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-16-2010, 05:01 PM:

Why movies like Up in the Air were nominated while this was left out is a travesty. Maybe the Academy doesn't like independent films, but it should have been nominated for something! Sam Rockwell could be a contender for Best Actor. He did a far better job than George Clooney did (who only plays himself in each movie).

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 03-16-2010, 07:11 PM:

Hi Folks:

I saw this at the theatre and really enjoyed it. It was a little slow moving (for me) but still a very good film. It's nice to see a science fiction film that relies on a good story and not special effects.

Mike C.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-16-2010, 07:39 PM:

Picked up the BD of MOON from Blockbuster this morning as part of my three rental a week plan and will watch it tonight. The other two movies are romantic comedies and cannot think of the titles at the moment.I also purchased A PRINCESS & A FROG and Akira Kurosawa's RAN on BD and have a lot of movies to watch during the next couple of evenings. This does not include the three other Clint Eadtwood movies I started to watch last night with PLAY MISTY FOR ME on DVD.

-Claude

-

Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 03-17-2010, 01:35 PM:

Saw it on the bid screen a few months ago. I can say I enjoyed it as much as I thought I was going too. It was a bit tedious.

Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 04-30-2010, 09:24 PM:

Just finished watching this on blu-ray; based on some of the comments it sounded like something that would interest me so I picked up a copy, and WOW, I absolutely loved it! If it was low budget, I don't think it showed; I thought the special effects looked pretty solid. Great story, Sam Rockewell was indeed excellent, fantastic music too (downloading some of the songs from iTunes as I type this...). Really wish I had seen it on the big screen.