Pandorum

Under the category of "They can't ALL be 5-stars...", comes this (modest) recommendation.

I was in the mood for a sci-fi movie that I hadn't seen before. Pandorum is what I found streaming on Netflix.

You've already guessed that this isn't going to be a glowing endorsement. But it was entertaining enough to make The Blog.

Pandorum is about 2 astronauts who groggily awake from their hyper-sleep, isolated on an enormous spacecraft, and have to piece together their identities, mission status, and even mission goal. They wrestle with all these factors and, oh yeah, they're being hunted by super-quick ravenous creatures.

OK, The plot is trite: Amnesia, close-quarters, becoming potential prey... It definitely borrows from a lot of other films.

But what I liked most about Pandorum was just that borrowing. It is some of the best parts of Das Boot, Predator and Rear Window.

It's not the most mind-blowing movie ever. That's safe to say. But if you have Netflix streaming, Rent it.

The Lives of Others

Here's a highly recommended German film. It's 2006's, The Lives of Others.

It's set in 1984 East Berlin -where Politics means keeping an eye on potential dissenters and incarcerating the nonconformists - a meticulous, by-the-book Stasi (East German [GDR] secret police) agent is given a high-level assignment to spy on a local playwright and his lover. And to paraphrase the Netflix synopsis: none of their lives are ever the same again.

This may be the best debut drama by a first-time writer/director since John Singleton's Boyz in the Hood.

But the comparisons stop there. Whereas Singleton uses a sledgehammer in Boyz, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck uses a paint brush in Lives.

I keep reading reviews of this movie that use the term, "deeply nuanced". And I can't come up with a better way to put it.

In a dvd extra, Florian briefly talks a little of the research he did to write the screenplay - a year and a half worth. He talked about the roller coaster ride of personally interviewing people who had their lives ruined by the secret police and the next day interviewing a ex-Stasi agent who, with some pride, recounted his accomplishments.

Florian puts this roller coaster into the movie. I knew it's set in the GDR, but I kept guessing which way the movie would take me. This is why Lives is also listed, aptly, as a thriller.

Not only is this movie well written and direct, I give extra special credit to the acting (subtle, sincere, and effective) and art direction (I've never seen the GDR look so authentic).

I really enjoyed this movie. I think you will too.

The Man Who Skied Down Everest

I just found this old documentary and am really glad I did. I think a lot of different people will like this, for at least one of multiple reasons.

Released in 1975, The Man Who Skied Down Everest, tells the story of a world-class Japanese alpine skier, Yuichiro Miura, who got the bright idea to, you guessed it, ski the tallest mountain in the world.

So in 1970, he and a huge crew try to first climb one of the most dangerous peaks, then film as he tries to ski down eight thousand feet - on a slope of 40-45 degrees! (Ask anyone who skis the degree of difficulty of that kind of angle!) To add to the insanity...

No, I'm not going to spoil it. But it truly is crazy!

This is fun to watch for many reasons. It's old, so you can laugh at the outdated fashions. It's narrated using Miura's own diary, and he uses that cool, very-Japanese kind of poetry in his writing. It's touching and sad at points. It's adventurous and harrowing, to say the least - no one's ever tried this before (or since!).

Trivia: this was the first sports movie to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Rent this and I'd bet you'll re-watch at least some parts before you return it.