Moon- Review Thread

[Dracula]

Moon(7/6/2009)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/roadshell/7-6-2009Moon.jpg
The very first science fiction movie was Georges Méliès’ 1902 classic A Trip to the Moon. A fourteen minute epic in which a group of explorers go to the moon, walk onto the surface (no space suit needed), find a group of moon men, beat them off with umbrellas, then return home. The film is probably best known for a moment in which their ship crashes into the man on the moon’s eyeball, he doesn’t look pleased. After that the moon was the number one destination for fictional space travel, at least until we went there for real and realized it was kind of a boring place. In fact it quickly dawned on us that none of the planets in this solar system are really destinations for high adventure and since then we’ve been setting our science fiction stories in distant galaxies. The problem with this is that after a good fifty-some years of space travel it’s become increasingly clear how far away we are from being able to get to Mars, much less a new solar system. In fact the closest planet that might have life on it is 150 trillion miles away. That’s not a problem if you’re making a Space Opera like Star Wars or Star Trek, but it’s not all right if you’re making what you’d call “hard science fiction,” stories that predict very realistic and plausible future technology. Those kind of serious Science fiction movies have been looking back toward our home solar systems. Danny Boyle’s 2007 hard science fiction film Sunshine had the sun as its destination, while this latest entry of the genre is bringing the genre full circle by returning to our closest celestial neighbor, the moon.

Rather than having a twist ending, this film has a major twist about a third of the way into it. It would be ludicrously hard to talk about this film without giving away this twist, so this review is going to be a bit more spoilerish than most. I won’t give away any of the later developments, but be warned that I will be giving away some key surprises from the first act or two.

The film is set an indeterminate number of years into the future at a point where humanity has finally found a clean source of energy by mining a substance called Helium-3 from the surface of the Moon. A base has been established on the moon but travel there is still a slow and unwieldy process, and as such there is only one person manning the operation, a man named Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell). His main job is to drive to the automated harvesters mining the surface, remove the full capsules of Helium-3, and then launch them off to Earth. His only companion is a robot/computer system called Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey). One day Sam sees a strange vision while driving the lunar rover and crashes it right into the automated harvester. He wakes up the next day in the ships infirmary. Gerty wants him to stay in bed, but Sam convinces the computer to let him leave. He immediately drives out to the site of the crash, and looks into the rover where he finds his own body still in there and still alive. He runs the body back to the base and resuscitates it. Now he must discover why there’s someone else who looks just like him on the base and then must find out what the company plans to do about it.

A lot of this movie rests on the shoulders of Sam Rockwell as this is essentially a one man show; or rather a two man show in which Rockwell plays both parts. Rockwell is a great actor who, for whatever reason, has never really been able to break the A-list. He has everything a mainstream actor needs but has never become a household name, possibly because he’s attracted to more challenging material than some actors. His double role here is reminiscent of Nicholas Cage’s double role in Adaptation, he must play two people who look alike but who have fairly different personalities. The original Sam is the slightly more Rockwellish of the two, he’s a laid back person albeit one who’s gone through three long years of moon work and is rather tired from it. The second of the two is a bit more stern and aggressive, he hasn’t been beaten down by his situation and he’s less easy-going. There are physical differences from which you can tell the two apart, the first has a bandage on his hand and a black eye, but for the most part it is Rockwell’s acting which differentiates the two. Quite impressive. My one problem with the characterization (and I mainly blame the script for this) is the fairly unperturbed way Sam reacts to his “twin” at first. There is a portion shortly after the twist where the characters are way too calm about the fact that their staring at someone who looks just like them. If I was in that situation there would be a lot more swearing and more demands to know exactly what the hell is going on.

The robot here is a cross between HAL 9000 and R2-D2. I’m not exactly sure whether it is an independent robot or if the floating console is a manifestation of the base’s main computer. He floats around, has what looks like a camera lens for an eye and there’s a screen on him which displays various smilies in order to convey emotions. One usually expects these kind of robots to be nothing but trouble, especially when he’s been programmed by a seemingly conspiratorial corporation. This robot plays with that convention, his allegiance is never entirely clear, at least not until very late in the movie. That was an interesting take, but I would have liked a better explanation as to why the robot took the side he did. As it is he just takes a side because he does, I expected that to be resolved better than it was.

Visually the film is perfectly competent but never exceedingly great. The film was made relatively cheaply for a science fiction film of this sort, and I’m sure a lot of ingenuity went into the production. The production leans toward physical effects more than CGI, a decision I certainly approve of, though it was a bit annoying that a few shots of the moon’s surface seemed to be recycled at times. The most impressive element of the production was the space base’s highly detailed interiors, which seemed to share elements from some of the better spaceships of the genre like the Nostromo from Ridley Scott’s Alien or the Icarus II from Danny Boyle’s Sunshine.

I think the concept at the center of this is Chaos Theory. Admittedly, everything I know about this theory comes from the book and movie Jurassic Park, but bear with me. The idea behind Chaos Theory is that no system is perfect because the initial conditions will not remain the same continually. One example given in Michael Creighton’s novel is that of a billiard table on which a ball rolls with enough force to continue rolling forever. Deterministic Theory predicts that the ball would continue along the same pattern forever, while Chaos theory suggest that the felt of the table would eventually deteriorate, imperfections would form on the ball and eventually the conditions would change enough to throw the ball off course. Another film which I think shows chaos theory in action is Peter Weir’s The Truman Show, in which a television network has found the perfect way to keep an unsuspecting man living in their elaborate town-sized city for thirty some years, but bit by bit the illusion was destroyed and an evolving suspicion in the man’s mind about the solution eventually trumps the best laid plans of the producers. There is a similar situation in Moon, though I won’t spell it out for fear of giving away more than I already have, but like The Truman Show this is about a seemingly fool-proof house of cards that finally collapses partly because of an unforeseen accident but mostly because of the unanticipated factor of human curiosity and questioning.

Now, this theoretical interpretation is fine on an intellectual level, but it never really strokes any of the emotions that I expect great cinema to stroke. This film is neither as technically or intellectually ambitious as something like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Solaris, both films with a certain sense of awe that Moon lacks. Aside from my coldly intellectual chaos theory interpretation, I’m not sure this really amounts to much more than an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. Of course, an extended episode of The Twilight Zone is certainly worth watching, but I really wish this had amounted to more. Some of the earlier portions of this movie really seemed to be leading to something grander than the eventual explanation; I looked forward to a really profound explanation for Sam’s visions and for Gerty’s strange behavior. But the solution turned out to be the most mundane of all possible explanations. That was disappointing. Ultimately I believe this is a movie that draws inspiration from all the right sources but which does nothing to push its genre forward in any meaningful way. Still it’s a very well crafted and intriguing 97 minutes of cinema that never seems to drop the ball in a major way; I just wish they tried to run with the ball when they had it instead of standing still with it.
*** out of Four

[halo7]

Surprised to see this is actually coming to my town this weekend. Excited to see it.

[FranklinTard]

wow just made me check and its coming to the burgh as well.

definitely seeing this.

[Tornado]

I really want to see this, but unfortunately it's not coming anywhere near me. :(

[Drizzt240]

Sounds good. Can't wait to see it.

[donny]

Seein this tomorrow. Can't wait.

[saveus1011]

Full review: http://www.atomicpopcorn.net/moon-movie-review/

Pretty much Rockwell better get an Oscar nod for his work here, as I found him more deserving than a certain clown from last year. He carries the film, but that doesn't mean the production design isn't stellar as is Jones direction. It's one of the year's best.

9.5/10

[jbailey84]

I really want to see this, but unfortunately it's not coming anywhere near me. :(

same here.

[krushgroove19]

saw it at sundance back in january. very much enjoyed it. sam rockwell was perfect, with a pretty difficult role. kevin spacey's voice completely redeemed him from making 21 last year.

9/10

[halo7]

Full review: http://www.atomicpopcorn.net/moon-movie-review/

Pretty much Rockwell better get an Oscar nod for his work here, as I found him more deserving than a certain clown from last year.


But they wouldn't even be nominated for the same thing...

[saveus1011]

But they wouldn't even be nominated for the same thing...

Not the point. People claimed Ledger deserved it for Supporting, all I'm saying is Rockwell deserves just as much recognition, only for Best Actor.

[halo7]

Not the point. People claimed Ledger deserved it for Supporting, all I'm saying is Rockwell deserves just as much recognition, only for Best Actor.

Just kind of seemed like an unnecessary thing to say to get a rise out of people...

[Knerys]

Much like complaining about supporting actor vs. lead actor? ;)

[Drizzt240]

Leave it to you *******s to bring up TDK in an indie sci-fi review thread.

[halo7]

Much like complaining about supporting actor vs. lead actor? ;)

Hey. I never said I was a saint. ;)

But I seriously do think it is weird to bring up Ledger's performance for no real reason and question it at the same time. You could say that Sam Rockwell's performance was better than most from Oscar nominees last year or something. Why bring up Ledger when they wouldn't have even competed for the same award in the first place? That was the question I was trying to ask.

[JBond]

I really want to see this, but unfortunately it's not coming anywhere near me. :(

Dammit, you're right. :(

[Justin]

I hate the word "indie".

[JBond]

More, I hate when things clearly try to appear indie.

[Fanible]

Seeing this on Friday. One theatre playing it within 10 miles from where I live. :D

[Boro]

Completely forgot about this. Maybe it will be here in a few months.

[Escape]

I saw this last Sunday and I enjoyed it as well. Especially the whole twist thing I found interesting.

I will agree with Dracula and say that the CGI's were not the greatest nor was the cinematography. I was hoping we'd get better moon shots at least throughout the film.

There are a couple questions going through my mind that weren't fully explained that I kind of reasoned out myself.

Since they were all alone up there, how did the next clone not notice the other footprints that the previous ones made doing the exact same jobs as he would be doing. It's been 12 years since the first Sam so in total we would have 5 of them walking around up there. Could it be blamed on the orginal Astronauts who set the place up to begin with? Perhaps.

Was that the orginal Sam back on Earth with his daughter? Did he know anything about this illegal activity with the clones and was a willingly participant? I'd like to think that he wasn't. Even one of the clones knew they weren't killers deep down and that's exactly what he'd be doing if he allowed this.

[Dracula]

I saw this last Sunday and I enjoyed it as well. Especially the whole twist thing I found interesting.

I will agree with Dracula and say that the CGI's were not the greatest nor was the cinematography. I was hoping we'd get better moon shots at least throughout the film.

There are a couple questions going through my mind that weren't fully explained that I kind of reasoned out myself.

Since they were all alone up there, how did the next clone not notice the other footprints that the previous ones made doing the exact same jobs as he would be doing. It's been 12 years since the first Sam so in total we would have 5 of them walking around up there. Could it be blamed on the orginal Astronauts who set the place up to begin with? Perhaps.

Was that the orginal Sam back on Earth with his daughter? Did he know anything about this illegal activity with the clones and was a willingly participant? I'd like to think that he wasn't. Even one of the clones knew they weren't killers deep down and that's exactly what he'd be doing if he allowed this.

I have no answer for the footprint thing, but I'm pretty sure that the original Sam was in on the scheme. The clones all wake up already knowing that they are going to spend the next three years on the moon, they had to get that memory from somewhere...

[Escape]

I have no answer for the footprint thing, but I'm pretty sure that the original Sam was in on the scheme. The clones all wake up already knowing that they are going to spend the next three years on the moon, they had to get that memory from somewhere...

But I would assume those thoughts are from the original Sam anyways. Except for being awakened, he did come to the realization he would be spending 3 years there as soon as he landed the first time. Unless you're thinking he didn't go there at all?

[Knerys]

This weekend!! I mean it. I really mean it!

[Justin]

Go see it, it's a really good film. My favorite of the year so far. Stellar acting and superb photography, along with an amazing score by Mansell. Another aspect that stood out was the script; it was very well written.

I'll add more later, when I'm not so lazy.

Rating: A-

[saveus1011]

Go see it, it's a really good film. My favorite of the year so far. Stellar acting and superb photography, along with an amazing score by Mansell. Another aspect that stood out was the script; it was very well written.

I'll add more later, when I'm not so lazy.

Rating: B+

Had a feeling it was.

[FilmJerk]

i really really wanna see this, plus Mansell score even makes me wanna see it more

[PsYkOoOoO]

i really really wanna see this, plus Mansell score even makes me wanna see it more

A Mansell fan!

[sshuttari]

Seeing this tommorrow! woot woot

[FilmJerk]

A Mansell fan!

Love the guys music. some of my all time favorite scores are his, make that most of the scores

[PsYkOoOoO]

Love the guys music. some of my all time favorite scores are his, make that most of the scores

The Fountain's soundtrack is probably my favorite from him.

[Deexan]

Yes! Both The Fountain's and Solaris' soundtracks are among the best ever.

[Drizzt240]

I think everyone is a Mansell fan, didn't know he did the score for this though. Just got me a little bit more excited.

[Justin]

Mansell didn't do the score for Solaris. Cliff Martinez did.

[Dracula]

Mansell did do the score of Sunshine, probably his best work.

[FilmJerk]

this will probably never get released near me :(

[sshuttari]

This got released today near me. Definitely will check it out either tonight or sunday.

[Drizzt240]

Ah, I am torn. I NEED to see Moon, Anyway You Can Get It, and Bruno.

[PsYkOoOoO]

Mansell didn't do the score for Solaris. Cliff Martinez did.

I think he was trying to say that those are the best scores, and not that they are by the same composer.

Clint Mansell and Philip Glass are probably my favorite composers for scores, to be honest. I listen to The Fountain and The Hours all the time.

[Deexan]

Mansell didn't do the score for Solaris. Cliff Martinez did.

I think he was trying to say that those are the best scores, and not that they are by the same composer.

Clint Mansell and Philip Glass are probably my favorite composers for scores, to be honest. I listen to The Fountain and The Hours all the time.

I was referring to Mansell but yeah, I meant to say Requiem For a Dream rather than Solaris...I'm forever mixing up both he and Martinez, who is almost equally as awesome. See also: Traffic.

Drac, I don't think Mansell did Sunshine as I remember being a tad perturbed by the fact that it never got an actual release due to issues between Underworld and the composer, whose name escapes me right now.

[krushgroove19]

sunshine's score was by john murphy & underworld. not mansell.

[Dracula]

damn

I must have gotten mixed up because Lux Aeterna is used in Sunshine's trailer

[Deexan]

Lux Aeterna is such a trailer whore.

[FilmJerk]

listened to some soundtrack samples and i need to see this movie fast

[drob127]

Ah, I am torn. I NEED to see Moon, Anyway You Can Get It, and Bruno.

i feel the same way. those are the two movies im dying to see i just have no time to get to the theater. moon looks great. if i had to chose it would be moon in a heartbeat

[DAN!]

only one theatre near me is playing it and it is an hour away! bastards!

[Dogbert0228]

Excellent piece of sci-fi. Rockwell's experiences and emotions are so real and visceral, and the film is smart. It raises issues about humanity's decisions in the future in regards to industry and cloning and everything feels very real and practical in the setting and equipment. Clint Mansell's score drives the emotion and tension, and after leaving the theater, consider Rockwell's performance in respect to the fact that he was acting completely alone!

[Justin]

Totally agreed.

Picked up the soundtrack for this, it's great.

[FranklinTard]

soon enough moon... soon enough...

[Deexan]

The closest this is showing to me is 20 miles away in Leeds, fortunately I'm going there for a stag night on saturday so will be having a solo viewing after checking out of my hotel on sunday.

Bonus!

[Justin]

Enjoy.

[Deexan]

Well, I certainly did enjoy. And my girlfriend was nice enough to get the train to me so I didn't have to see it alone. The only downside was that I was suffering from the mother of all hangovers throughout and began feeling seasick for reasons unknown about half-way through... Despite this though I still thoroughly enjoyed it and am hoping to see it again soon in a more pleasant state. Rockwell really deserves the utmost recognition for what he has achieved here, I liked him already but he wasn't somebody I'd call a favourite actor of mine...until now.

I particularly enjoyed the exchanges between the two Sams where they would physically interact, such as the ping pong game; the effects were superb. Always love seeing Matt Berry on screen as well, he's my favourite comic actor at the moment (though he had a straight role here as one of Sam's bosses) and I had the pleasure of meeting him for my birthday in 2007.

A great, great film; the best of the year so far.

9/10

[sshuttari]

When you have a film that mixes both character work with little too no possible special effects. With great influence from a little known scifi movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" what you get is a very under appreciated film but great nonetheless called Moon. Sam Rockwell gives the best performance of his career.

9.5/10

[JBond]

Great movie, but I still felt like it could have been better. My mind could have been blown a bit more. It's so refreshing to see competent sci-fi, though.

***.5/****

[Escape]

Great movie, but I still felt like it could have been better. My mind could have been blown a bit more. It's so refreshing to see competent sci-fi, though.

***.5/****
The one thing I feel it was missing is some intensity at the end there. The music seemed to surge in that area for about 10 seconds around the time the 2nd clone of the film, was getting into that escape capsule to return to the earth when it just vanished.
Also, during the end credits, I'd rather have visually seen for a few minutes more, the reactions of the public regarding this clone who's making these seemingly outlandish claims rather than hear a couple lines of it as the credits were rolling.

[JBond]

If they had done that, the whole movie wouldn't have taken place on the moon, and that would have ruined the integrity of it.

[Escape]

But it would only be video of it. Just like we see the video's of his wife which took place on the earth. I didn't mean that we'd visually see him walking about there talking amongst the crowd though. Just the reactions say from a News program interviewing a few people. Even if just a minute of it, I don't think would have harmed the film at all.

[halo7]

I actually liked the very very brief glimpse of what happened the end. It made the ending more effective and memorable to me.

[JBond]

But it would only be video of it. Just like we see the video's of his wife which took place on the earth. I didn't mean that we'd visually see him walking about there talking amongst the crowd though. Just the reactions say from a News program interviewing a few people. Even if just a minute of it, I don't think would have harmed the film at all.

Perhaps, but I agree with halo, the ending was great for me. Less is more, is my motto.

[Dracula]

Perhaps, but I agree with halo, the ending was great for me. Less is more, is my motto.

Small world, I know of a strip club that has that same motto...

[Drizzt240]

Damnit, now there are only 3 theaters near me that is playing this, I imagine there will be none soon and I still haven't seen it.

[FranklinTard]

i liked it, didn't love it. had no real problems with it, but i thought that gerty was going to be a bad guy type thing, kinda dissapointed me that he kept helping them, but he did grow on me. rockwell was incredible, no doubt. i would kind of consider it a cross between solaris (with the begining seeing things and what not, what did that 'mean' anyway? not that he was just you know, falling apart towards the end of his life) and blade runner.

8/10

[JBond]

Yeah, his hallucinations are unexplained. They're only there to keep you guessing and for trailers, but when you look back, it doesn't make any sense. I didn't like that either.

[the elmo zombie]

The one thing I feel it was missing is some intensity at the end there. The music seemed to surge in that area for about 10 seconds around the time the 2nd clone of the film, was getting into that escape capsule to return to the earth when it just vanished.
Also, during the end credits, I'd rather have visually seen for a few minutes more, the reactions of the public regarding this clone who's making these seemingly outlandish claims rather than hear a couple lines of it as the credits were rolling.

Was there a scene during/after the credits?

[Tornado]

Damnit, now there are only 3 theaters near me that is playing this, I imagine there will be none soon and I still haven't seen it.

Whine whine whine. ;) This still isn't playing anywhere near me.

[FranklinTard]

edit.

[shained]

I really loved Moon and thought it was a terrific watch.

Rockwell is superb and I agree with whoever said he should be in the running for the best actor as he was flawless. Like Franklin I too thought that Gerty was going to be bad and working agsinst Sam but unlike him I was really pleased that he wasn't as it was something different.

Loved Gertys character and he was voiced superbly by Spacey but it was the different smiley faces that appeared on his computer screen which impressed me most. They had me laughing quite a few times and really added a human touch to the character.

Once Sam 2 woke up in the infirmary without a cut just above his eye I turned to my mate and said he was a clone and it turned out he was. I still liked it though as it was explained very well and the interactions and differences between the older and younger Sam were brilliant.

I didn't know Mansell did the score when I went to see but as soon as I heard the opening credits I thought it was him and then lo and behold his name appeared on screen. For the record I believe his best is Requiem for a Dream and that is the only movie soundtrack I have as I was that impressed by it.

There are moments that aren't fully explained and need the viewer to fil in the gaps themselves. For example the halucination of the dark haired woman Sam kept seeing. The only explanation I can come up with for that is the fact the clones have a 3 year life cycle and they break down near the end of the 3rd year as the older Sams condition showed. In this state it begins to affect them mentally and halucinations are a part of that. Would have been nice to know who the dark haired woman was. In regards to the footprints and smiley faces, I imagine they are either cleaned up by Gerty or a clean up crew that arrives or a memory is implanted and they are explained off as the person who he replaced.

Stunning watch, beautiful to look at and expertly acted. Must see

9/10

[Justin]

Glad you enjoyed it so much.

[shained]

So am I :)

We got a fairly new cinema in my city now which shows the more artsy style film that the mainstream cinemas won't so I get to watch films like thsi and Anti-chrsit etc :D

Much better than waiting for it to be on the internet haha

[Daniel]

I think what I have to say has already been said . Liked it, didn't love it. Thought Sam Rockwell did a fantastic job and he carried this movie well. Kevin Spacey's voice was great as well, and the story had a good albeit anti-climatic pace to it. It did feel like there was going to be a big buildup to something, but it turned out to be pretty steady and then it was kind of over.
Regardless, this was a great sci-fi movie and a real treat.
8/10.

[Tolkien]

If I had to discribe this film in a single word, it'd be; Beautiful...

[JBond]

I think mine would be "moon"

[Jack]

It was a neat movie, but not too much more for me. For such a deliberate and calculated little film, I was surprised the hallucinations were never explained. I usually like movies that stick with one idea and follow it to some end, but I thought the pace was lacking here and wished there were a few more concepts thrown around. It mostly just felt like a great short story stretched out to feature length.

[nick22]

I really hope Rockwell gets nominated.. I enjoyed Moon a lot. I thought it had a great story, excellent acting and solid direction. Its pace is slower than your usual movie but it quite liked it. Very intriguing

[Fanible]

I thought the hallucinations were self-explanatory. It was just a symptom of the deterioration of the clone and his mind. I thought when he was viewing video of the past clone(s) that they were even exhibiting traces of it as well. Unless you guys meant what it was that he was seeing (I thought it was his wife?), but I didn't think that detail was important.

[FranklinTard]

yea thats what my guess was, just was wondering if there was some symbolic meaning in them is all, making sure im up on my allusions.

[JBond]

Perhaps the hallucinations can be explained, but they're purposefully there to be misleading.

[unity768]

I was intrigued by Duncan Jones’s directorial debut Moon ever since catching wind of its compelling premise. A man all alone on the moon for three years. He begins to hear things he should not hear, and see things he should not see.Underrated character actor Sam Rockwell, who people may or may not have seen in David Gordon Green’s lyrical literary adaptation of Snow Angels was a wonderful choice to play a man who completely carries the movie, nearly in all of the 97 minutes. When first viewing Moon way back in July I was unexpectedly caught off my guard. Enjoy the film I did, but what unfolded on-screen did not match what I had envisioned earlier. The slow burn pace and the film’s third act did not do much for me. With time the story grew on me, and viewing it a second time helped me appreciate some of the undiscovered treasures Moon undeniably has in its arsenal. Although comparisons to science fiction classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Metropolis are miscalculated, Moon has enough talent and originality to be warranted as the best science fiction film since Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. This is certainly one the year’s finest motion pictures.

Sam Bell (Rockwell) has a contract that says he has to work on the moon for three years. He is mining particles on the moon and sending it back to Earth, in effect decreasing the planet’s energy crisis. You can say the job is a crucial one for mankind. This guy is all alone, with the exception of a talking robot named Gerty, voiced by Kevin Spacey. Much of the beginning covers your basic plot. Sam mostly talks to Gerty about his everyday issues and what seems to be going on in his mind. Three years is a long time, and Sam has two weeks remaining. If you do not feel like your going nuts after nearly three years on the moon without human interaction, than there is something wrong with you. You can see family photos on the walls in the heavily detailed base Sam is residing in. Video logs of his wife Tess keep Sam sane, with Tess stating that the trip has been good for the both of them. Their daughter has been born and Sam is itching to meet her. But imaginary images of a girl cloud Sam’s mind. He burns himself in the process of hallucinating. Things begin to get weird. His yearning for sex is completely apparent and understandable, with dreams of intimate moments with Tess being cut short by his alarm clock humming the song The One and Only by British one hit wonder Chesney Hawkes. Sam is out on the moon mining when he hallucinates again, only this time the consequences involve a huge crash. He wakes up, but is this the Sam that who we just saw crash…or a different Sam altogether? Since Moon is a tough film to review without giving some major plot points away, I advise you to stop reading now or forever hold your peace.

After suspicions raised by odd behavior from Gerty, Sam takes an unauthorized trip back to the broken harvester. What he discovers in the broken harvester is a body. But the body is unlike any he has seen before. It is him, Sam Bell. But how can this be? It is determined that the Sam we opened the film with is the one who was found in the broken harvester (Sam 1). As for the Sam that awoke in the base camp after the crash, well, we can refer to him as Sam 2. Sam Rockwell has a very difficult task at hand, but seems to pull it off with ease. Slowly but surely Sam 1 begins to discover the truths behind the scam the corporation seems to be operating on him. The interaction between the two Sam’s are a sight to behold. Rockwell plays two versions of Sam. Sam 1 seems to be the more humane of the two, a heavily exhausted man who is just dieing to come back home by any means necessary. Sam 2 is the tougher, more serious astronaut. He whispers theories behind the reasoning for their existence, and Sam 1 is not too keen on his ideals. The contrasting behavior behind the two is all the more compelling when Sam 1 confesses to Gerty that Tess and himself had split up for six months prior to his departure. In some ways, his trip could have been viewed as a means for therapy. Gerty, who carefully goes from creepy robot to sympathetic companion claims that Sam 1 has changed over the course of his stay. This transformation is represented in the interactions between the two Sams. Although Rockwell’s performance has not been mentioned by many to be Oscar worthy I believe at the very least the talented actor deserves a nomination. But do not be surprised when Rockwell is omitted.

Writer/Director Duncan Jones, son of famous musician David Bowie, breaks out a startling debut effort in the form of Moon. Working behind a low-budget with limited resources at his finger tips, the visuals presented here are a triumph. Certain sequences, like a harvester running down a feed pole or when the harvester crashes in the beginning reels of the film, are all done magnificently. The entire base camp is a sparkling invention, easily the best accomplishment from the artist. It is hard to believe this is the first time he has gotten behind the camera. Surely the visuals are accomplished, but what about the narrative? Viewers have questioned the compelling drama in Moon. As for me, and especially the second time out, Moon does carry enough emotional drama with its twisty science fiction plot. A scene involving Sam 1’s effort to call back home, and haunting dream sequences that suck you in to the life of this lonely man are all successful and effective. Even the chemistry between Rockwell and Gerty sparks intriguing drama. My perception of Gerty, as aforementioned, took a dramatic but slowly calculated turn for the better. It is one of the more unappreciated elements behind Jones’s story.

Sam 2 conjures a plan to head back to earth. Gerty tells of a rescue package on the way and Sam 2 knows that if he and Sam 1 do not make it off the moon before the team comes, they will probably be killed. Moon looses a tad bit of gas here. Jones seems to conform to science fiction clichés exhibited in 2001 and Solaris. I was slightly disappointed the first time I saw this because my expectations were too high. Here I was expecting a masterpiece, and instead we get a very good, if not a near great film. Sometimes we have to sit back and try to enjoy the elements solely presented to us, rather than hanging on certain quibbles that, on the whole, never really intrude on the success of the story. The discoveries the two Sams make, with the help of Gerty are both haunting and depressing. Themes like the scamming of major corporations and the relationship between robot and man, and whether or not that relation can be viewed interchangeably or not is all put on major display here. Sure they are not the most original of themes, but are intriguing and interesting all the same.

Every time New Year’s comes upon us the now newly titled “Syfy” channel runs a long marathon of the beloved Twilight Zone series. I grew up on these short skits, usually depicting a story where not everything appears as it seems. Duncan Jones’s Moon can be viewed as a 97 minute Twilight Zone episode. Although I am a huge fan of the latter series it does not mean I take lightly on films that are inspired by it. M. Night’s The Village is strikingly similar to a Twilight Zone beast, and I believe the film, with the exception of some awesome performances, is just as good as watching someone swim laps. The score from Clint Mansell, done mostly on a piano, is creepy, catchy, and mysterious. The craft from Duncan Jones promises a new filmmaker worth caring about for the next coming years. The powerhouse performance from Sam Rockwell is astounding and is worthy of award consideration. Fans looking for nifty science fiction escapism, rather than Star Wars space opera will not be disappointed here. Moon may leave some questions unanswered with its ending, but a poignant ending it is, tugging on your heart-strings while simultaneously giving you a good amount of themes to keep your thoughts provoked.

Stars (out of four): ***1/2

[Doomsday]

Just caught it today, and I think it's pretty safe to say it was my favorite film of 2009. No use comparing it to 2001 or anything, but in terms of modern sci-fi it's definitely toward the top.