Oblivion Movie

Did anyone see the new Tom Cruise movie 'Oblivion'?

I quite enjoyed it. Good action, good effects. Lots of twists and turns. Went with the wife and another couple and the other guy and I quite enjoyed - the wives were hopelessly confused.

 

Looks like a redbox film or netflix streaming to me, I can wait.

 

I watched Wing Commander when that first hit theatres. I recall thinking the entire time "When does anything resembling a plot start?" but I still enjoyed it for that very reason.

 

I saw it last night in IMAX and visually it was glorious. The production design and future tech were amazing and the director it a fine job with pace and tension. I give it a solid B+.

The drawback for me was the derivative 1950's style soap opera at it's heart. Here's my reinterpretation of the character plot in the style of a Tennessee Williams or Eugene O'Neill play: (Warning: Spoilers)

Tom Cruise is the screw-up son of a controlling mother; a faded Southern Belle. She is very concerned with appearances and wants him to live above his station rather than show his blue-collar roots.
So to please her he marries an ambitious upper-society woman who shares some of her cold manner and manipulative behaviour.
Unsatisfied, he finds himself spending a lot of time alone, working down in the garage or outside playing hoops and listening to the rebellious music of his youth. He does his best to live the life they want for him.
But then an old flame turns up: a free spirit outsider who makes him question everything. They have an affair.
On top of that, his old gang rides into town, living their own rules on the freedom of the road. Why not get on that motorcycle and just break loose man?
Sensing the proper yet fragile life they have created for themselves is at risk, his wife and mother conspire to drive him and his old friends apart and crush his spirit for good.
But he’s seen the truth now and can’t go back so he burns his childhood home to the ground and leaves town with the old flame.

 

Loved it. I believe the director was trained as an Architect. Visually glorious. In more ways than one (omg Olga Kurylenko). The storyline was a little predictable, but I enjoyed its broader theme of timeless love.

 

One of my favourites is still the original Alien from '79. Too many kids these days do not appreciate that kind of story with the slow buildup that ends horribly for almost everyone onboard. For that matter Lt. Ripley does not fare much better when you consider that by the time she gets back to Earth not only has she missed her daughter's birthday but her daughter has been dead for a few years as a full grown adult. That sentence looks seriously wonky but whatever.

 

I was just thinking how a large part of my thinking is perfectly fine with renting/buying this kind of film on Blu-Ray and watching it in hi-def on my 40" screen rather than seeing it on the large theatre screen.