Moon

[The Doctor]

Opens July 17th in the UK. I'll give it a go. I like the premise. Been a while since we had an SF film that wasn't about explosions.

-Ralph

[Deleted]

It looks a bit too Red Dwarf-ish for my liking.

[Gav]

I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I have high hopes!

[The Doctor]

It was the poster that first caught my eye a few weeks ago. The art of the attention grabbing movie poster is not yet lost!

-Ralph

[Gav]

Exactly. It looks like a pretty unique experience, at least in today's current sci-fi/thriller dealings.

[Mark_Stevenson]

Does look rather good. If anything, I'd say it reminds me of Silent Running. Is there a UK release date?

Useless trivia for you - the director, Duncan Jones, is David Bowie's little boy...

Mx

[The Doctor]

UK release date is 17th July. I'll be seeing it that week: I don't expect it to be out long, crushed by the Harry Potter film.

-Ralph

[legios]

Ah, excellent. I know what I will be doing on the weekend on the end of my holiday in that case.

Karl

[The Doctor]

Saw it yesterday. A well told little drama. This movie only cost $5 million. Sometimes that's all you need to tell a story. Hurray.

Sam Rockwell is very very good.

-Ralph

[jameso]

My 15 (15!) screen cinema isn't showing this, I am a bit miffed. Hoping to see it in London during the week instead. Seriously, 15 screens, think we could find the room somewhere!

[The Doctor]

The local fleapit isn't showing it either, so a trip to Glasgow was required.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Five screenings a day at Cardiff Cineworld.

May give it a go during the week.

Martin

[Fortmax2020]

Think I will check it out. Not heard much about it and had thought it was a one off TV drama thing that I'd missed so pleased to find out its a bit more than that!

[Grand Moff Muffin]

'Twas very good.

I was very pleased to find that the trailer had misled me. I had expected/feared it was a film about a man on his own for years succumbing to loneliness and having a mental breakdown, or possibly a sinister computer making a man believe he was having a mental breakdown, neither of which I was really in the mood for (if I ever am).

But that wasn't what the film was about at all. No computer malfunctions or turns evil, and nobody loses his mind. It's not a film obsessed with psychology at all - it's solid plot, plot, plot.

I was pleased that it never got all pretentiously angsty or arty, and what I really liked was that the lead character(s) were as quick to make deductions and adapt to new information as the audience. There was no attempt to pretend that certain SF concepts were new ideas either to the audience or the characters - and I would expect such mental resilience from people who passed all the rigorous screening tests and training for going into space.

My down points were relatively minor - I would have dropped the musical score, which detracted from the emptiness and isolation of the Moon. I would have avoided the scene transitions where the dialogue from one scene overlaps with the visuals from the previous or subsequent scene, as they made it feel rather hurried. The scene with the Earth in the sky was nonsensical since they were supposed to be on the far side of the Moon. (No, he didn't have time to drive around to the other side.) And I never figured out who/why was the girl with long dark hair that he imagined seeing in the seat.

It had the feeling of a good short story. It could have worked just as well had it been made for TV. But I give it thumbs up.

Zudobug - it has nothing, _nothing_ of Red Dwarf about it.

Martin

[The Doctor]

While it could have been done for TV, I feel it's natural home is the cinema. I prefer seeing films in the cinema due to the total immersion of the experience. The really big screen, the surround sound, the darkness, the lack of distractions from other things (if the audience is behaving). At home, light comes through the curtains, can be distracted by the phone ringing, etc.

With Moon focussing mostly on one chap alone in an isolated situation, the cinema environment re-inforces the atmosphere for me. I don't think I would have got quite as much out of it if I'd watched it on telly. The moonscapes would not have felt so cold either.

RE: the musical score. It worked for me. It is very repetitious, but I found that style worked for the story being told.

Yeah, I know the shot of Earth did not make logical sense but it added so much to the emotion of that moment I was happy to let it go.

And I was most pleased indeed the plot did not go down the route of evil killer robot. I also really liked the ending.

That I'm still mulling over aspects of the film several days after seeing it is a big plus for me. Easily the best film I've seen at the cinema since The Dark Knight.

-Ralph

[Fortmax2020]

I saw this with a friend last night and quite enjoyed it and thought it was certainly one of the more thoughtful summer movies that I have seen. Great acting, sets and characterisation but all very practical in both a realism sense but also practically for the film's plot.

I was pondering the girl visions as well. I don't think they were fully explained but I think the girl he was seeing was adult Eve. Somehow. Company manipulation to make him go doo-lally and kill himself?

Gavin
---------

[The Doctor]

Yeah, I thought it was adult Eve too.

-Ralph

[Fortmax2020]

Two minds united as one! Hoorah!

[legios]

I have just returned from seeing this today. Wonderful stuff. It is really nice to see actual Science Fiction in the cinema - it has been a long while since I've had that pleasure.

I thought it was a very well put together film. It did create a wonderful sense of aloneness in the lunar surface sequences, and I thought that the performances did a wonderful job of emphasising that. (Yes I do mean performances, plural).

It was nice to be treated to a very intelligent script as well, some time had clearly been taken to think about the psychological impact of the films subject matter on a person. In short, it really examined its subject, and its consequences. (Actually, in retrospect I am struck by how much it reminds me of some of Philip K Dick's short stories, what with the calling into question of identity and memory).

(For the record I assume the hallucination was intended to be an older Eve. But as to how he can hallucinate an older Eve that he has never seen? I rather like the fact that the film leaves that question hanging).

Absolutely wonderful stuff, and I think it is a film that will stay with me for a long while.

Karl

[Mark_Stevenson]

Finally got to see this, after waiting what seems an age for it to turn up somewhere within reasonable traveling distance. A fantastic film, no two ways about it. Certainly the best sci-fi film I've seen on the big screen since God knows when. Very much rooted in the 1970's, which to me can only be a good thing. A staggeringly human performance from Sam Rockwell proves that all the fancy special effects in the world aren't worth a dime compared to a really good story.

If you get the chance to see it on what will doubtless be a very limited release, then please do. You will not regret it.

There is a star man, waiting in the sky...

Mx

[The Doctor]

The box office figures for it sadden me.

www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=moon09.htm

-Ralph

[jameso]

My cinema finally showed it! I think the delay ended up with me expecting more than I got whilst watching it, but it's really stuck with me. It's weird how something can be a grower whilst you are no longer experiencing it first hand.
I definitely agree the way in which the characters acknowledged what was happening and didn't spend ages pretending they'd never seen or heard of any other sci-fi concepts was a big plus. And I thought the score was really effective.
I don't think the visions were supposed to be anything more than Eve how she was in real life at the time (15 years old, like she says on the 'phone' later on). That doesn't really explain how they started appearing but I don't think it was deliberate by the company. But who knows, apparently there's two sequels planned.

[The Doctor]

Sequels? Hmmm. Not sure about whether that's a good idea.

-Ralph

[Deleted]

They're not very good box office figures for a film are they? Still, if people like it these kind of figures mean nothing.

[legios]

Those are extremely saddening figures. But I am resigned to the fact that it is a film that just isn't going to grab a mass audience.

A great shame though.

Karl

[blueshift]

It made back its budget at least!

[Mark_Stevenson]

Hopefully it will find a wider audience when it's released on DVD - it strikes me as the kind of film that will work well on the small screen.

Mx