The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, and I Am Legend

Hello all,

As promised this post will talk about all three I am Legend movie adaptions (see previous post for context). So, without further ado, this weeks movies are:

The Last Man on Earth, directed by Ubaldo Ragona (1964)

Released in 1964 The Last Man on Earth was the first movie adaption of Richard Matheson's novel I am Legend. Staring Vincent Price, this low budget black and white film is by far the weakest movie spin-off of it's parent novel. It's bone dry acting and linear plot structure made the viewer more tired than anything else.

Because it was filmed in the 1960's the acting is dulled down quite a lot, in this case to the point of utter boredom. It's important to understand that acting in the 60's was very different then what it is now. Vincent Price was stiff and had an extreme lack of emotion, as did his supporting cast. I realize that many people have a prejudice against black and white movies, and it is because of movies like this that that prejudice exists. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho came out four years before this and was infinitely better; not only because Hitchcock was an undeniable genius but also because it's high-budget cast knew what it was doing. I only mention this so that the people reading who dislike black and white movies won't use this movie to support their case. 

This movie also played much closer to the original story line of Matheson's novel, the main difference being that the infected people were turned into very much self aware vampires as opposed to I am Legend's more animalistic creatures. One of these vampires also turned out to be the main character's friend/lab partner, which added some much needed depth to the characters back story, for this film was lacking some major detail where I am Legend told an amazing origin story which added significantly to the story (i.e. the dramatic death of his family, his dog Sam, and his insanity). Regardless of whether or not these details were included in the original text, I am Legend really benefited from their presence, where The Last Man on Earth failed miserably.

Another thing this movie lacked was a soundtrack. Without the suspense driving and emotional queuing of music this movie seemed to have an enormous hole that sucked in the viewers interest. The silent pauses that occurred so frequently throughout the film did a better job of putting the reader to sleep then capturing their attention.

One thing this movie did right was to drop major hints that the vampires saw Neville as the monster. At the end of the film, just before the character dies he experiences and epiphany where he suddenly realizes that the vampires were afraid of him the entire time, offering the ironic twist ending that I am Legend failed to include.

After watching this movie and writing the review I have decided to give this movie a 4.5 on the Severin Movie Scale (from now on to be known as the SMS). If you are interested by the story then read the book or one of the other movies, just don't see this one.

The Omega Man, directed by Boris Sagal (1971)

Released in 1971, The Omega Man stars Charlton Heston in this second movie adaption of the novel I am Legend. While following a very similar story line, Sagal's version had many more religious undertones than its predecessor and delivered a much more convincing story. 

The opening scene was almost exactly like that of I am Legend, with Charlton Heston speeds through the streets of an empty city in his bright red Mustang, showing Lawrence's subtle homage to the previous film. This is one of the best ways this movie could have started, because it really shows the circumstances of which Dr.Neville lives. Without telling us anything, the viewer already knows that Neville is alone in an abandoned city, is heavily armed and slightly paranoid (he stops the car to shoot at a shadow in the window of a building), and that he is otherwise copping with the fact of being totally alone. 

As previously mentioned, religion is a major motif and underlying theme is this movie. The vampires are still vampires, but they seem to be part of a cult of some sort. They call themselves "The Family" and all dress in black (which might just be because their vampires). They call each other "brother" and more prominently their leaders name is Matthias.

According to the Christian Bible, Matthias was  the apostle chosen to replace Judas by the remaining eleven apostles after Judas' betrayal of Jesus and his suicide. In the film, Matthias frequently reminds his followers  that they were chosen to rise up and take control of the planet as a superior race where humanity had been corrupted in the same way that Matthias was chosen to replace the corrupted apostle Judas.

"The Family" are also shown to have semi-regular gatherings, always to take place in a Church, where Matthias takes the place of the preacher and the rest of "The Family" sit in the pews. Later into the movie, "The Family" captures Neville and brings him to their meeting, unconscious and shackled to a table. After he wakes up, Matthias begins preaching that this human was evil and should be sacrificed to rid the world of the filth of humanity. He talks about how this person was taken by the devil along with the rest of his kind, which is why they are all now dead. This is important because it shows that in this movie, instead of being afraid of him like in the other adaptions, they simply think that he is evil. This also shows striking similarity to the Church as Matthias' monologue begins to sound more and more like a sermon. 

In addition to all of these religious hints, the closing shot is probably the most obvious Christian reference in the entire film. It ends with Neville being killed by the vampires in a fountain outside of his house. As he slowly bleeds out, he falls against the statue in the center of the fountain, his arms splayed outwards in a position eerily similar to the classic depiction of Christ's crucifixion. This could be a symbol saying that "The Family" had just killed their last chance at redemption.

I really enjoyed this movie, and found that while it had it's similarities, that it told a fairly different story than it's sister movies. After long debate I have decided to award this movie with an 8.9 on the SMS, and I highly recommend this title to any who enjoy movies of such taste. 

For a review of the most recent adaption of the novel I am Legend, see my previous post which reviews I am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence (2007).

This has been a tri-movie review by Severin, the somewhat-informed movie critic. Stay safe America, and keep watching movies.

I am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence

Welcome back from week 5 of computer programming, this week we talked about problem solving. I enjoyed the mini-activities that we did, where we solved various logic problems. I enjoy figuring out puzzles, so I thought this activity was fun. Speaking of figuring out puzzles, this week's movie is about a Doctor who is the sole survivor of a global plague that killed every human being on Earth, turning some into zombies, and is determined to find a cure to a disease that already wiped out the human population. This week's movie is:

I am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence

Released in 2007, I am Legend is based off of a book by the same title written by Richard Matheson and has been made into 3 separate movies over the past 57 years of the books publication. It's movie predecessors are The Last Man on Earth, released in 1964 staring Vincent Price and Omega Man, released in 1971 staring Charlton Heston. Keep reading, because before the week is over I will make a 2nd post comparing the 3.

I am Legend is easily one of my favorite movies of all time; here's why.

Will Smith. This was by far his best performance, and he was perfect for the role. Being that he was the only living person on the planet and that he was constantly being hunted by zombies during the hours of the night, the character was a little unstable to begin with. This I thought the movie could have hinted on more, but I thought that the use of manikins to replace real people was an excellent decision to illustrate his level of insanity.

Like in every good movie, there is a companion. In this case it's a dog. Now everybody knows that if there's a dog in a movie then it's probably going to die. In this case, that assumption would be true. But even though you're expecting it, the manner in which it happens is so traumatic that grown men cry at this point in the movie. Many people can die (in this case billions) and the normal movie-goer won't blink an eye; but the moment a dog dies every person is touched with a sadness like none other. In this case, watching a man kill is only friend (who is also a dog) after said dog saved his life is torture. And also the fact that it happens so slowly, it is truly impossible not to be affected by this tear jerking scene. This was really important to the film because not only does it add to the loneliness of the character (Robert Neville), but it also emphasizes what dire circumstance Neville is forced to live under.

This movie also has some of the most suspenseful scenes I've ever seen in a blockbuster movie. Though I'm glad this wasn't a horror movie I think it was necessary to have these points of heightened suspense. It helped reiterate the kind of place the world has become, and what Neville is forced to live with, which bonds you closer with the character.

Yet another thing that this movie did right was to slowly reveal more about the character as the movie went on. As the film progresses, you get a closer and closer look into this man's life, and his personality and reasoning unfold in front of you. The series of flashbacks to the peak of the epidemic add an extra layer to the doctor's story.  His families tragic passing exposes his real motive for trying to cure this disease, and again bonds us closer to the character, which is one of the most important things that a good movie should do.

One of my favorite things about I am Legend was also the soundtrack. Robert Neville is, as it turns out, a huge Bob Marley fan (he even named his daughter Marley). This excites me to no end. Bob Marley is probably my single favorite musician, and his music also serves as an ironic but comforting motif throughout the movie. You begin to see the things that help him get through his day, such as Marley Bob and his dog Sam, and you see how he progresses as those things are taken away one by one.

It's also important to notice when Marley's music is played. In the beginning it's to get you familiar with it, but after that it begins to mean something more. His music quickly becomes a metaphor for peace of mind, played only when Neville and Sam carry out their daily routine. After Neville falls into a trap, Sam sacrifices herself to protect Neville, badly injuring herself in the process. Bob Marley is played when Neville sees that Sam is starting to mutate from the bites of the zombie dogs. He begins to sing "Three little birds" until Sam tries to attack him and he is forced to strangle her. After this major turning point in the movie, Neville suffers an emotional breakdown, and reacts harshly and irrationally in attempt to avenge the death of his dog. Bob Marley ceases to be played. That is until he discovers 2 survivors, a young adult girl and a child boy. He plays "Stir it Up" for the girl after she admits that she doesn't know who Bob Marley is. This is the last time we hear his music in the movie, and is a subtle message that Neville is coming to terms with Sam's death thanks to these 2 new companions.

Finally: the ending. I really admire the courage of the director Francis Lawrence has for killing off his main character. Normally this doesn't happen, or they're some how brought back to life, but I think Lawrence realized that Neville needed to die in order for the film to have any sense of closure. Needless to say, I strongly agree. I think this was the only way that Neville could ever have truly completed his task and to be reunited with his family. I am well aware that this upset many people, but I think that those who were upset by this ending are missing the point and aren't really thinking about what this movie would have been if he had lived. If you were upset by this ending then I think you're thinking with your emotions more than your brain.

The Blu-Ray version of this movie also contains an alternate ending, where Neville lives. While I believe that Neville should have died, this ending did one thing better than the theatrical version. In the original movies as well as the book, the main point of the story was that the zombies were afraid of him. They saw him as the monster; walking around in the daytime, capturing and killing their own kind for no apparent reason (they had no idea of what he was trying to do). I was disappointed that the theatrical version omitted this, but also think that him dying was more important.

After all of this I would give this movie a 9.4 on the Severin scale; showing that this really is an amazing movie.  This has been a review of I am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence, by Severin, the informed movie critic. Stay safe America, and keep watching movies.

Contagion, directed by Stephen Soderburg

Hey Guys, welcome back from the 4th week in Computer Programming! Yesterday we watch a series of Ted videos covering a wide range of technology related subjects. One of my favorites was when this software developer figured out how to create your own interactive whiteboard using only a Wii remote and a pen. He then extended his concept to make a computer screen respond to the movements of a persons head when wearing special glasses, making the image on the computer appear to be 3 dimensional. To check out these videos go to Ted.com, but in the mean time I have a review of a brand new movie (still in theaters if you wanna see it). This weeks movie is:

Contagion, directed by Stephen Soderburg

This movie just came out on September 9th. Directed by Stephen Soderburg, Contagion is a sci-fi thriller about the massive spread of a lethal virus and the CDC agents who are tasked with controlling it. It also fallows a father who lost the majority of his family to the virus and a lying blogger who is determined to make a fortune off of this epidemic.

First off I want to say that this movie had it's highs and lows. I'll begin with the highs:

To start, I absolutely loved the ways that the camera drew attention to all of the things that the characters touched without even realizing it. The frame would linger on every door handle, glass of water or handshake that occurred in the beginning of the movie. I was sad to see this go, because after about the first half hour it stopped following peoples point of contacts, which I would have like to see continue throughout the film.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Another thing that I really enjoyed was how the movie seemed to take into consideration the different reactions that different people would have in the face of a massively lethal plague. It talks about the father, who's wife and son are killed by disease in the very beginning and who goes to extreme extents to keep his daughter from being exposed. It talked about the CDC agent who wouldn't stop working until she found a cure, and was even willing to test the experimental drugs on herself to speed up the process of human trials. The corrupt and greedy blogger, who pretended to find a cure and sold it for millions of dollars. Even the people who kidnapped another CDC agent and held her as a hostage, demanding enough vaccine for their entire village, and the hostage who even after she was freed, returned to the village again to voluntarily become their hostage. The list goes on and on, and I was really impressed by the amount of thought that the writer (Scott Z. Burns) put into it.

On the other side, I think that Soderburg could have done more. Contagion, contrary to advertisement, is not a thriller movie (which by no means is a bad thing). Instead, it is a slow, creeping and meticulous film about the widespread death of a deadly virus. I for one appreciated this unusual approach to a global catastrophe such as this. It was a welcomed relief to all of the pumped up action in most modern movies. I do, however, think that Soderburg could have made it slightly darker. Don't get me wrong, this movie was in many ways disturbing, but I think that the death of millions of people across the globe deserves something a little more than that. I would have liked for him to put more emphasis on the sheer number of people that died, and what that would mean for the survivors post-vaccine.

Which brings me to my next and final point; the ending. To be honest, I thought that the ending was the worst part of this movie. I found it to be anticlimactic in too many ways. It ends after a cure is found and distributed to the masses by going back to the beginning, showing the origin of the disease. I did enjoy how ironically simple the creation of this elusive, killing virus was, but I did not think that it was an appropriate ending for this title. I think that something more like people rebuilding society after the death of a large portion of the worlds population would have suited this movie better. This ending left me thinking, now what? I think the audience deserved more than that.

Overall I thought that this movie was entertaining and worth seeing, though by no means a flawless film. After a lot of thinking I think I would give Contagion a 7.9 because of the creative story and let down of an ending.

This has been a review of Contagion, directed by Stephen Soderburg, reviewed by Severin-the some-what informed movie critic. Severin signing off. Stay safe America, and keep watching movies.

There will be blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Welcome to the week of 9/11. I wanted to do a special movie review of the film Flight 93, directed by Peter Markle, to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the fall of the twin towers, but unfortunately I have yet to see this film and it isn't available on Netflix's instant streaming. It tells the story of the courageous passengers of the 4th plane that was hijacked on 9/11 and how they overcame their terrorist captors and prevented the plane from ever reaching it's destination.

Instead I have another truly amazing film to talk about...this week's movie is:

There will be blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

This movie is really quite amazing. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, it tells the story of a country oil tycoon and his rise to power during the turn of the century. With his son as his business partner, the prospector slowly looses his mind as his greed and craving for vengeance grow along with his profits, eventually consuming him in his later days.

Released in 2007, There will be blood didn't do great opening weekend, making only about $300,000 (IMDb) but slowly rose to fame and ended up winning two Oscars; Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Performance by and Actor in a Leading Role. 

But enough boring stuff, here's what I think. I was absolutely blown away by the movie. This was the first Daniel Day-Lewis movie that I have ever seen, and I was really impressed with his performance. He did a great job of slowly transitioning from a caring father simply trying to make a living into a power hungry and conniving business man.

As for film making goes, I was also impressed. The first 20 minutes or so are filmed in pure cinema (story telling through film without dialogue), which is pretty rare for a movie these days (my favorite example is the beginning of Wall-E). This movie also does a great job of telling the story from the very beginning, with Daniel silently mining the Earth in search for oil before he had established himself and when is son was only a baby.

Even with all of this going for it, what really made the movie for me was Paul Dano's performance as Eli Sunday, an extremely righteous young pastor who dedication to God is all but loving. It is partly Eli constantly trying to break Daniel and force him into Christianity that drives Daniel over the edge, and they quickly become enemies pitted to destroy each other.

I would give this movie a solid 9.4 on my movie scale, which is pretty good. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who asks, Daniel Day and Paul Dano definitely deliver.

Following, directed by Christopher Nolan

I have been in Computer Programming now for 7 hours 25 minutes and 36 seconds total. So far it seems pretty sweet I guess. We haven't really done much yet except for set up these things called blogs. If you don't know what a blog is them you either have Alzheimer's or are one of those weirdos who just browses the web for little to no reason.  Regardless, blogging is pretty cool so far (but that's just cause I like to hear the sound of my own voice... yes I'm talking to myself as I write this).
To be honest I know almost nothing about computers, so most everything we talk about is new to me, which isn't really a bad thing I guess. OK, enough introduction. I am now going to segue into what my true passion is... MOVIES.
Too keep my posts a reasonable length, I will only talk about one movie per post (I could literally talk forever about movies); this weeks movie is:

Following, Directed by Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is probably my favorite director. His movies always seem to blow my mind, and I am determined to watch all of his movies, which is how I stumbled upon this film. Some titles you may recognize that are also by him are Following, Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, and Inception (in that order chronologically). His new movie, The Dark Knight Rises is the end to his Batman trilogy, and is set to release on July 20th of 2012; which I am highly anticipating.

Following was his first movie which came out in 1998. Filmed in black and white, Following tells the story of a starving writer who begins to follow random people to gather information for his characters. It follows him through two time lines that happen simultaneously, similar to Memento. After this continues for a while he becomes addicted to following people and is taken under the wing of a professional burglar, Cobb, who shows him the ropes of breaking and entering. As their relationship grows, the writer, Bill, becomes attached to a woman who's house they broke into and he begins to see her romantically; but this woman is not exactly who Bill thinks she is...

With only a somewhat surprising twist ending, I was somewhat disappointed with this film. Being that Memento came out directly after this one and the similarities of the two story lines, I feel like Following was really just an underdeveloped Memento. The twist at the end, while surprising, was much less daring then that of his other movies such as Memento or The Prestige, or even Inception, all of which had extreme surprises at the end.

After much debate, I would give this movie a 7.9 on my movie scale (from 1-10, 10 being absolutely perfect) but probably would not recommend it to other Nolan fans, being that it doesn't quite live up to his reputation.

This has been a film review of Following, directed by Christopher Nolan, by Severin- the informed movie critic. Severin signing off, stay safe America, and keep watching movies.