Catching Up on SciFi Movies (Part 8)

As before, here are my quick takes on the genre-related films I’ve watched in the last several weeks…

1. Mirrormask (2005) – Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean team up for this inventive fantasy about a young girl’s quest to find a mask to save a fantastically-imagined world (and perhaps her relationship with her mother). The visuals are fantastic (it looks like a McKean drawing come to life) but the pacing was a bit slow for my tastes.
2. Repo: The Genetic Opera (2008) – This SciFi rock opera was seriously off-putting at first (almost forgettable, in fact) for its all-music format, but the story eventually won me over, and lingers long after viewing. The opera signifies two things: the music-only dialogue and the soap-opera-ishness of the plot. Overall, this was surprisingly intriguing, especially considering it boasts a cast that includes Paul Sorvino and Paris Hilton, the latter probably too oblivious to realize the social commentary made by her casting. (Note to self: yes, the setting for Eric Garcia’s book Repossession Mambo is similar, but the plot has quite a different emphasis.)
3. Moon (2009) – An excellent film that marks a return to intelligent, thought-provoking SciFi. And an excellent performance by Sam Rockwell, so important as this is a character study piece.
4. Planet 51 (2009) – An enjoyable animated family film with a nicely done 1950′s SciFi feel.
5. Astroboy (2009) – A fun family film with excellent animation and a storyline that skirts – but doesn’t quite explore – some meatier issues like segregation.

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