Moon (2009)

Sam Rockwell is perhaps one of the most under-appreciated actors working today. Despite excellent turns in The Green Mile and Matchstick Men (just to name a few), Rockwell never received the real notoriety he deserves. Now at age 40, Rockwell may have finally found the role which will grant him A-list status. Moon is the futuristic story of Sam Bell, a man who has been stationed on the moon in order to collect a valuable energy source. With two weeks left on his three year contract, Sam is looking forward to returning home to see his wife and daughter. But just as his trip home looms around the corner, he begins noticing some strange occurences going on around his solitary station. With robot companion GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), Sam attempts to unravel the mystery behind his mission.

Moon is the debut film for writer/director Duncan Jones, who was formerly famous for being David Bowie's son. Jones' ideas are familiar enough to any science fiction fan. The ideas of solitude and dehumanization are prevalent throughout the film, which seem to be staples of the genre. But Jones handles these tried and true ideas with care, and uses apt direction to bring them to life. His frequent use of wide, expansive shots is key to showing Sam's loneliness. In one particularly powerful scene, Sam drives out to the middle of a wide open range and begins to cry for his home. Jones brilliantly places the camera in a position that shows Sam's vehicle all by itself on the moon's surface, with Earth looming in the background. As a first time writer, Jones also understands that most audiences do not like to be kept in the dark too long about a film's mystery. By revealing the "secret" halfway through the film, we were able to appreciate Moon as a character driven powerhouse.

But the true reason anybody and everybody should see Moon is Sam Rockwell's beautiful performance. As essentially the only actor on screen for what must be 95% of the film, Rockwell is burdened with keeping this movie afloat for the 97 minute runtime. Masterfully, Rockwell tackles this chore with ease, turning this one man show into Academy Award material. Unfortunately, Sony Pictures decided to not send this film out for consideration, a move which has caused much uproar in the film community. There is no doubt that Rockwell would have been nominated for Best Leading Actor, and he maybe could have won,

Just because Sony snubbed this film does not mean you should too. Moon is one of the best science fiction films of the decade, giving new life to old conventions of cinema. This film should be at the top of your movie rental list. My rating: (9/10)

Paranormal Activity (2009)

Has the best horror film of the decade been discovered? Audiences and critics alike have heaped praise on Paranormal Activity as being one of the scariest movies they’ve ever seen. Steven Spielberg even claims that while watching the film in his home, the door to his room inexplicably locked from the inside, and he had to call a locksmith to set himself free. The film’s producers set up a viral campaign asking for one million signatures if people wanted the film to get a wide release. In less than a week, the million signature mark was achieved. But is this a case of bandwagon hype, or has something special truly been found in Paranormal Activity?

Paranormal Activity is a lower than low budget film that was conceived by video game designer Oren Peli. The story follows couple Micah and Katie, who have been experiencing some strange occurrences in their new home. Shot from the point of view of the camera that Micah bought to document the disturbances, we are placed directly in the house that is supposedly being haunted by a demon that has followed Katie since she was eight years old. After consulting a psychic who claims to be unable to help them, the couple must do what they can to flush the demon out, or at least just survive.

Expecting a let-down after all the hype, I was pleasantly surprised by Paranormal Activity. Though the all out “scares” were hard to come by, Peli does a great job of creeping out the audience using clichés such as “stuff moving by itself” and “loud noises coming from the other room”. He even finds a way to make the worn out handi-cam gimmick seem new again, just by placing the camera on a tri-pod once in a while. Despite a rather dull first 20 minutes, once the paranormal activity in question starts, it is very hard to look away. Rookie actors Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat (I wonder where their characters got their names from) do a well enough job to keep the eerie tone of the film alive. Their dedication to the roles was definitely essential to keeping Paranormal Activity watchable.

However, the claims of Paranormal Activity being something special are a bit of an over-statement. Though it was an effectively creepy film, I would not say it was unnerving enough to keep me up at night. Shortly after leaving the theater, the effects of the film wear off and you can go about your day undisturbed.

Overall, Paranormal Activity is good enough for an unsettling movie-going experience, and is certainly much better than most of the so-called “horror” films being released today. You also may be interested in knowing that there is an alternate ending to the film online, which is said to be Peli’s original ending before the studio made him change it. My rating (7/10)