baba galacticus

DO NOT watch this in the dubbed version as it WILL almost completely ruin the experience. some of the commentators have dropped as many spoilers as they could (gee thanks derpie) but for my money it’s a solid & competent flick, certain predictable inanities notwithstanding. decent to good OST, be prepared for a little work if Spanish is not your native tongue. not QUITE as good as “TRAIN TO BUSAN” but definitely some of that movie’s emotional heft. SOME. slightly long running time at 2HRS, but if you enjoy the genre it’s 3.5 ⭐️ oh btw, there’s a feline actor in it.

VERY emotionally wrenching & sociopolitically absorbing. phenomenonal cast & music. that it’s taken from a true story makes it all the more poignant but therein lies a big problem. it’s certainly fair to employ inventions for the sake of narrative flow but when i actually did some checking on the bios of the author rebecca godfrey, i realized that there was something made up from whole cloth that astounded me. so while this project is in & of itself top shelf cinema, i’m ambivalent at best about the gross liberties that were taken that are a key element in the portrayal of rebecca godfrey who is a central character while also having written a book about the events depicted therein. it’s still excellent storytelling craft wise though & i recommend it unreservedly.

actually, 3.5 ⭐️’s. some VERY curious casting choices to be sure; an obviously jewish woman (probably from brooklyn no less) playing a catholic nun, a british actress playing a stylish “nurse ratchett” type, a comedic female playing an alcoholic detective in a downward spiral & an obese gluttonous looking young woman playing her daughter are just a few of the odd but resonating characters. courtney vance (no relation to JD😹) is producing & making the easiest paycheck of his career. appears to be an eccentric policier mash-up of lynch’s “lost highway” & fincher’s “se7en” which i don’t mind at all. but it’s the soundtrack that REALLY shines here, creating a great atmosphere. i can understand why people may not like it though; it’s not as easy as it might seem. a bit surreal, a bit edgy, definitely pitting the sacred against the profane. excellent cinematography too. the ending (which i JUST completed) is a bit of a letdown; too complicated & disjointed & even a bit trite & silly. went off the rails as it were. so i’m amending to 2.5 stars for music & cinematography.

every once in awhile when i need to torture myself with a good cry, i watch this absolutely masterful flick because of it's powerful underlying themes & top shelf casting & acting. essentially it posits a critique of late stage capitalism in south korea & the tensions it creates against the older established social norms of duty, filial piety, community service & sacrifice. it starts off slowly to establish the back story of an overworked father in the middle of a divorce & his (seemingly) neglected daughter who appears to be about 10yo. we see the beginnings of a mass contagion play out in the news broadcasts & in person as they become trapped on a train while fast moving munchers begin to run rampant, pitting the uninfected against those who have turned. one couldn't pick a more nail biting & tense situational environment. don't even bother picking any winners & losers but it's the WAY people are lost that elevates the story. heroism vs self-serving pettiness, terror vs split second life or death choices. there are a number of scenes that will have you crying like a baby but the finale is a REAL kicker unlike anything i've ever seen. & usually i'm not a big fan of saccharine korean soundtracks but somehow it works here superbly. a top shelf cast & another example of the wealth of extraordinary child actors the industrialized world is enjoying in the industry today. if this genre is your cup of tea (hell, even if it isn't), this movie will move & haunt you.

numerous other reviewers have commented that this is a new ‘take’ on superheroes or mutants or what have you & while it’s certainly true that those tropes are employed, they seem to be symbols for the inequities & collateral damage of late stage capitalism with all it’s attendant problems. how it marginalizes the politically powerless, sometimes driving them to extremes, leaving abundant social & ACTUAL wreckage in their wake but also the continuing problems of a society that consumes an inordinate amount of drugs. i’m not going to lay out the plot as that is easily found elsewhere; instead i will say that this flick is EXTREMELY well done as an ‘independent’ production & a very talented cast. it’s grittiness & color desaturation go a long way towards standing up an authenticity not seen very often. it’s big budget analog would probably be “LOGAN” (1 of the best of the genre from the hollywood industrial cinema complex). visually it is QUITE respectable but at it’s core it’s a narrative about PEOPLE & human society. & a 5 👍🏾 to the OST, especially the closing credits (which so many directors often bungle abysmally). i would have given this 4.5 but there’s no protocol for that. hard boiled but touching & poignant.

the essential problem with this movie is it simply doesn't know what it REALLY wants to be. starting with the opening music (the strains of which intermittently repeat), you're treated to a lovely score that seems to have been lifted note for note from some obscure 70's spaghetti western (i'm not kidding & i'm not exaggerating) that morricone or alessandroni had lying around on the floor somewhere. the main character (wendy) is quickly established as a bit irresponsible & VERY young & really, a bit of a ditz. swapping to an outdoor assignment with another of the numerous kids working for the parks dept, we see immediately that she's in over her head, tra-la-la-ing through the woods with ear buds in listening to some 80's style new wave-ish fluff on high. she's supposed to post notices on trees. pretty soon though she gets lost but nonetheless is taking selfies from a high peak with a vast panorama in the background. she sends this to her best bud who asks her who is that person in the background? gulp; nervously she peers over the edge to see a body on the ground about 300 feet BELOW her position so how this shows up in her photo is beyond me but there it is, FACE UP. scrambling down, she approaches but the body is now lying on it's side. hunh?! and from here we ping=pong from one idiocy to the next, her behaviour would embarrass a cub scout & soon we're not sure if this is a murder mystery, a "babe in the woods" survival, an alien invasion, aupernatural horror... so many red herrings & false turns. i will note though that there is one stunning 360* pan at night that almost makes up for the overall juvenile &/or amateurish overall structure. also, i think the bear is one handsome chap; his name is "TAG". with some prudent polishing, editing & different music choices, this could have been a respectable indie but it misses the mark & leaves you grinding your teeth at the sheer rookie stupidity of the main character & the lack of a cohesive storyline. a shame really. a B- flick at best.

3 stars because while the plot narrative is quite intriguing, involving climate change & it’s possible effect in revealing long dormant viruses, genetic markers that immediately separate the infected, the ensuing creeping corrosive effects this would have on the general population including the prerequisite nasty politics, widespread panic & covert & public policy, family trauma, public social media & a number of topical issues, the acting craft is all over the place ranging from execrable to solid. it mostly takes place in upstate NY (which is in itself interesting), good solid music, casting that, again, is all over the place, & respectable production values. there are some weird plot jumps that make absolutely no sense in the beginning; 1st it’s these 2 guys who are infected in the arctic but then PRESTO change-o, the infected start coming out of the woodwork. there’s even a funny sequence involving 2 12 yo’s going into a dark basement. the series seems to end on a note that resolves itself while also allowing for another season. the medical epidemic aspect reminds me of “THE HUNGER” starring david bowie & catherine deneuve from the 80’s. the black male lead is superb as is the son of the dr. played by ian somerhalder. unless you’re a REAL snob who needs all manner of vampire lore from the orthodox canon, i think you may very well enjoy this. for what it is at any rate.

the narrative is rather implausible given the rather illogical behavior of the principal characters. curious twists that don’t add up & some ppl will intuit what’s coming. simon pegg looks cool with long hair but you’re still not quite buying what he’s selling. perfectly serviceable score & location set’s although one can’t help but wonder where this family estate with all this acreage is with the WTC looming so visibly in the background is. given the initial set-up, one wonders if there’s something paranormal lurking in the backstory but no, quite mundane after all is said & done. not worth the time & a pity for all that. in fact you’ll probably need a palate cleanser if you follow it to the end. 🫤

this series was not at all what i expected. it moved from what was a fairly “by the numbers” exercise in an FBI freshman class to a dystopian rumination that startled my narrative sensibilities. at times the ambience reminded me of “under the banner of heaven”, another police procedural starring andrew garfield & gil birmingham that is deeply immersive character wise & a bit of a forensic study of the morman church. with “class of ‘09” one gets short bursts of history lessons, american & personal. at a certain point the basic premise may well remind you of “minority report”, a rumination on what type of idealism can soon put you on a path to an unintended & unforeseen dystopia. what would americans do in the service of pursuing a dramatic reduction in crime? what would people be willing to sacrifice?

opens w/annoyingly illogical sequences like a scientist driving his family like a damn maniac while talking ON THE PHONE, to an obviously expensive bunker facility w/NO CC cameras or defense tools or mechanisms to a teenage girl whose stupidity gets her mother killed rikkitik. proceeds w/a lily white cast & the premise that this little white child holds the key to SAVING THE WORLD. Denmark is multicultural enough that these things make the series uninteresting & unpalatable. a series that shows solid, attractive casting choices is "bodyguard" from the UK, a film that gets it right is "the girl with all the gifts".