OUTLANDER (2008):

OUTLANDER (2008):

“During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan, a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen.”

This is a movie about a space marine who crashes into medieval Norway, carrying an alien who can shoot lasers and impale people with its tentacles that everyone mistakes for a dragon. The marine, Kainan, loses his gun and vows to track down the alien. With Iron Age tech, he reasons it's easier to trap it.

But now, he is trapped in Norse politics. At first, they think he's a spy for the Franks. John Hurt, who plays the Viking chieftain listens to his story. They don't believe him at first, but after hunting the beast with him, they believe it's more than a bear. Kainan parties with the Vikings, and becomes friends with Freya, the king's daughter.

Now, this is where he gets mixed up. Freya is due to marry Wulfric, who Freya says is a tyrant. Thus, Freya entrusts Kainan, not him, with the king's sword. All the while building this “dragon trap”, he has to fend off enemies that Wulfric has made too. They suspect his tribe attacked, when it was the alien. But, Wulfric is too quick to think with his sword.

Thinking with his mind and heart, Kainan tries to trap the beast and bring the people together. This is justice for having brought the monster into their world. I really enjoyed this mix of hard sci-fi and mythical fantasy. It's free on Youtube movies. If you have time, give it a watch!

VIRTUOSITY (1995):

VIRTUOSITY (1995):

“When a virtual reality simulation created using the personalities of multiple serial killers manages to escape into the real world, an ex-cop is tasked with stopping its reign of terror.”

Virtuosity is free on YouTube for now, so I figured, what the heck? Might as well watch it. I'd like to mention a few things for wider cultural context first. I think in scifi (ostensibly what this blog is about, along with cultural issues.) you have more leeway with what can look dated, because it's more about imagination. That said, it's a very good cyberpunk crime thriller.

Denzel Washington plays Parker Barnes, the only cop who's gotten close to taking down Sid 6.7, an amalgam program of the worst killers, meant to train cops. One day, Sid tells his programmer that he wants out. The programmer tricks another researcher into constructing him an android body, and bringing the villain to life.

Now, Parker chases him through pretty much a landscape of 90s media culture. A techno club (where Sid takes hostages.), a store, a UFC ring, and a TV station. During the chase and shootout, we learn that one of Sid's personalities is the terrorist Michael Grimes, who killed his wife and daughter. Using this, Barnes tracks him down to the TV station.

Sid constructs a “Death TV” game show and takes hostages. Barnes realizes since Sid is a VR training program, he only enjoys playing the game with his favorite opponent. So, he accepts his showdown challenge. Meanwhile, a programmer's daughter is being held hostage with a bomb, just like when his wife and daughter were killed.

After Sid and Barnes fight, the policeman takes out Sid's program, and makes him believe he actually won, sticking him back inside VR. He diffuses the bomb. Cops run over Sid's program with a car. One thing I will say is, I like how the programs look. They're like little orbs. Both Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington add an air of drama to the action.

That is to say, I enjoyed the performances by both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Denzel is usually always a good action hero. Russell Crowe is intense and wacky in this early role. Lastly, I think its amazing what they could do with 90s CGI; essentially screensaver graphics. It's cool to imagine a world where VR and digital technology could immediately become physical.

I'd recommend the movie because it explores cool scifi ideas, stars two talented actors, and is free on YouTube. I can see influences of William Gibson and the Neuromancer trilogy in the writing. (I don't think Idoru was written yet, but it dealt heavily with VR. Seriously, check out those books.) In the end, I think it was an awesome crime movie from a time when we didn't yet know what the Internet would become. Check it out.