Scifi Methods

Films based on lesser-known graphic novels (ie the ones that aren't Batman, Spiderman and The Avengers) can be a sticky thing to handle. Taking a story from a medium based overwhelmingly on visual style and depicted action, and transplanting it into a medium where it is easy to over-depend on visual style and action brought us creations like Sin City, 300 and The Crow. Not necessarily a bad thing, and the fact that this film is directed by the author of the graphic novel on which it as based gives it a good start, but if you summarise the other information you have about Oblivion before seeing it, it starts to become a lot more worrying...

Our first film review this year is for a film which I very nearly passed by. I was aware that the 2004 novel “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell had been a success amongst scifi readers (and the literary world in general) but was cynical about a film adaptation, believing it would be messy, convoluted and confusing. If I left the review there, it would be pretty accurate, but in retrospect it has made much more of an impact than I initially thought.

Synthetic realities. Corporate governance. Enslaved artificial life. We've been here before many, many times – an author has to contribute something pretty damn good to be noticed whilst navigating these crowded themes. Matthew Mathers has a strong technical background in computer science, but does he have the ability to make The Complete Atopia Chronicles stand out?

This is an extraordinary film. The chances are that if you are reading this you are a sci-fi fan, if that is the case I cannot imagine how you would not want to see this film. More than that I think the majority will love this film. It has been informally described as David Lynch meets Stanley Kubrick. It has the eerie surreal feel to a Lynch film without making you feel that you are wasting your time or missing the bigger picture, Lynch for me is a bit like modern art- you know it is supposed to be good but you are not sure why, if you stare at it long enough you might work it out, but then is it worth it?

Time travel. It's one of the most potential-enabling yet hazardous narrative devices available at a storyteller's disposal. Taking a plot apart on a chronological level is a dangerous game and the temptation to do so can lead many writers to inadvertently damaging their story's timeline beyond repair and alienating audiences. Looper takes on this challenge boldly and isn't afraid to play around with the concept in an extremely casual manner.

The production of this film really has not been a smooth ride for anyone. I did love a lot of the design work in the 1995 Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone, but ultimately it was just a big-budget Stallone film which happened to be about Judge Dredd and nobody wanted another production like that, with it's "TAA-DAAAA!" musical score (no offence, Alan Silvestri) and "shooting-someone-in-the-face-requires-overemphasised-moral-justification" safeplaying.