Movie Zone
Here I will post movie reviews and recommendations, opinions and updates on the world of film, lists/rankings, and the occasional film essay/analysis if I am feeling brave enough
65 is my favorite movie of 2023, and I am completely biased. WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS Released on March 2nd of 2023, 65 is a sci-fi action film that follows transport pilot Mills after he has crash landed on an alien planet devoid of human life and inhabited by monstrous creatures. He and a young girl named Koa, the only other survivor of the crash, must outrun death at every turn as they attempt to escape the planet before a catastrophic asteroid makes its way to them: Mills and Koa have landed on Earth, 65 million years ago. Dinosaurs roam the planet, and they have hours before the asteroid wipes them all out. The film was written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, and stars Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt. I figured, since my last review was on my second favorite film of last year, I might as well cover my favorite film of last year as well. As an Adam Driver stan, I was doomed to be biased from the start, and the moment I saw this in the theater last year, I was pretty positive nothing was going to knock it out of my number one spot. And here we are. For me, this was a fantastic return to old-school cinema, a blast in the theater, and an awesome concept for a sci-fi monster action movie. Tale as old as timeOne of the biggest factors that makes this movie work, and what delightfully made many movies of 2023 work so well, is the throwback style. This is a story and type of movie that feels like it could have easily been made in the 80s or 90s. A lone-ranger-type has to protect a child from crazy monsters and outrun a cataclysmic explosion that will blow up the planet. It is classic, epic, sci-fi fun. Much like movies such as Megan, Thanksgiving, Bottoms, and Cocaine Bear, it goes back to basics, when movies were just about being over-the-top, out of this world, kind of silly, but so confident in their craziness that you can’t really question it. We get a lot of specific influences coming together for this movie, most obviously from Jurassic Park with all of the dinosaur chases, fights, and suspense scenes; most notably in the cave scene with the awesome shot of the T-Rex hovering in the background behind our two heroes. There were also many King Kong moments, with the characters being on unfamiliar terrain with a different murderous creature at every corner. Also, the great moment of Adam Driver finding the huge dinosaur claw print in the ground, hinting at what he’s in for the rest of the running time, was a very big King Kong moment. And yes, we also of course have Star Wars vibes with all the space stuff, the sci-fi gear, Earth looking a little bit like Dagobah when they first land, and… well, the fact that Ben Solo is our main character. I was relieved that this got a theatrical release, and I think the theater experience really did add so much to this, again, because it is such throwback cinema. Thankfully, this did do decent enough at the box office, and I can say, having gone two times to see it, the theater was full each time and both audiences seemed very into it. So it definitely made for one of the best theater experiences of the year as well. It’s nice to be able to enjoy something with a room of faceless strangers that isn’t another awkwardly comedic Marvel movie. Which brings me to the last point I want to make here… this movie’s blessed run time: an hour and a half. No more, no less, and no more or less needed. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to just watch a movie and not have to dedicate a whole afternoon to it. There is a time and place for that of course, but most of the time, especially when it comes to a movie like this, all we need is likable actors, some exciting action sequences that move along briskly, an epic-feel-good ending, and that’s all. Leave the deep stuff to Oppenheimer. Sci-fi styleI thought this movie had a great look throughout, from the practical sets, to the few sci-fi/space scenes. The green and blue tint is very classic sci-fi, and I also really enjoyed the use of smoke/steam they would use in a lot of the shots to build suspense, whether it was fog, or the steam from the geysers. It created a great look whenever Adam Driver’s character would slowly walk through, making it not only feel epic, but also making you wonder if there was anything hiding somewhere near him. I actually think they could have utilized that a bit more. Speaking of which, the horror vibes were also super fun. Obviously, in any creature feature/monster movie, there are going to be horror influences even if the film is more in the action or sci-fi genre. There are some genuinely creepy shots, like the T-Rex one I mentioned, and when the (velociraptors? I don’t know my dinos) follow Mills and Koa deeper into the cave, shown only to the audience, so that we know they are going to jump out at some point soon. You also get some space-horror vibes in the beginning when the ship crashes and all the passengers are basically slaughtered in their cryo chambers. It had some Alien and Pandorum vibes which was awesome, especially with all the dark lighting that made the dismantled ship look very creepy and awesome. Something I absolutely loved in this was all the space gear that Adam’s character uses. I thought the huge guns were cool and how we the audience could see whenever he was running out of power, making the later action scenes incredibly suspenseful. There is a scene where he sets up this little circle of alarms while he and Koa sleep that start beeping whenever something is near, again, creating a great hair-raising scene as we wait for whatever is nearby to reveal itself. You also have these cool little bombs, that I refer to as the marble bombs, which cause some real damage to the dinosaurs. There is a great moment where Koa outsmarts one of the dinosaurs chasing her by trapping it in a log and pouring these things down with him to blow him to smithereens, which is very fun. Also… I don’t know why, but I love the shoulder flashlight. I’m not even sure if this is a sci-fi thing or just a regular thing that we humans use in this day and age that I’m not even aware of. But it’s so practical and I want one. |
AuthorCertified non-professional who just enjoys giving her random thoughts on movies and books. Archives
June 2024
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