If The Aliens Were Scientologist…

In the past week I have gone out to see two movies at the threatre. This is the first time in a while that I have gone to two movies in a week, on my own volition and at my own expense. I used to be a rabid theatre attendee, yet now with Digital Cable, Netflix and the World Wide Web, plus a more limited budget, I find my entertainment cheaper and closer to home.

So, it takes a real “event” movie to get me to shell out the money to actually sit among my peers watching a movie on a huge screen, yet I think these two movies met the label. Not only were they the “must see in the theatre” types, but they fit into one of my favorite genre’s in both movies and books, post apocalypse.

The first movie, Land of the Dead, brought a return of George A. Romero to the genre that has made him a legend. Romero does zombies like no one else. While I am a fan of zombies and such, in the hands of Romero, the gore is intense but not pointless and the story isn’t just about chills and thrills but a commentary of society. In Land of the Dead, Romero takes a new turn that he only touched upon in his last “dead” movie, Day of the Dead. In Day, Romero created zombies as not just issuers of mayhem, but potential sympathetic antiheros. Romero develops that concept even more in Land of the dead. Here, the true evil is not the zombies, but the greed of the powerful.

Easily Romero’s best produced movie, thanks to finally a workable budget. He breathes a new life into the dead, while the few human hero’s in the tale search, not for riches, but for peace. My only true complaint in the movie, is that his human villains were much less developed than his zombie villains. Dennis Hopper plays the quintessential evil rich man, yet his portrayal could have appeared in any number of movies, without the supernatural aspects of Land of the Dead. Hopper basically is just a rich, greedy bastard who will do anything for money. Romero doesn’t explain what good paper money will do you in a society overrun by the walking dead. I truly doubt the gold standard existed, and society has become more about bartering and scrounging. It seemed a cheap cop out of a villain.

Yet, past that this movie took us places yet unseen in the genre. Romero busted apart the clichés that we have seen. We have some decent living dead movies recently, namely the Dawn of the Dead remake and 28 Days Later. Yet, Romero’s vision remains the freshest.

The second movie I saw was the bang them up, sci-fi thriller War of the Worlds. While it was an epic, world in jeopardy CGI fest in the vein of Independence Day, it is done on a more intimate and emotional scale. For fans of big budget blockbusters, it should fit your fancy, for those who love the original, it also should make you happy.

From the opening scene, Spielberg, the true star of this movie, let’s you know that while this is a remake, it’s not a reworking. He stays true to the elements of the original, while transporting it to our day. I for one was concerned that he would bastardize the ending, but he stayed true.

Yet, between that opening scene and the ending, we have a lot of fun. Things blow up, people are disengaged, and huge “tripods” reek much havoc. This is not a tale for children. Tom Cruise is a suitable hero. While I am not a huge Cruise fan, and he can be a bit of an ass, he takes on this roll with the right amount of grit, while still keeping his pretty boy charm.

The first hour of the movie should delight everyone. It is just full of action and special effects. The movie than slows down and brings the human tale home. Fans of hard sci-fi an post apocalyptic tales should enjoy the slower segments, while others should use the slow times to use the bathroom or juts patiently wait for the payoff ending.

The ending works well, like it should. Although it always leaves me asking questions. If this superior race had been waiting, watching and planning, don’t you think they would be ready for what was their ultimate demise. The other question I was forced to ask myself was:

If the aliens were scientologist, would they have won?