The Martian

Based on the novel by Andy Weir, The Martian is the story of an astronaut who is accidentally left for dead on Mars during a manned mission where he struggles to survive in the planet while the people at NASA discover he’s alive as they try to figure out how to get him back home with the man’s crew dealing with guilt of leaving him behind. Directed by Ridley Scott and screenplay by Drew Goddard, the film explores the world of science where people on Earth find a way to try and bring this astronaut home as the man himself would try to find ways to survive on the planet using what he has in his head. Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Benedict Wong, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, Mackenzie Davis, Askel Hennie, Sean Bean, Donald Glover, Eddy Ko, Chen Shu, and Jeff Daniels. The Martian is an adventurous and engaging film from Ridley Scott.

During a manned mission to Mars where an attempt to leave during a strong dust wind where an astronaut is struck by debris and is unfortunately left for dead by his crew. The film revolves around this astronaut who finds himself stuck on Mars aware that it is likely that it will take four years for another spaceship to come in and rescue him with the little rations he has where he is forced to find ways to survive. Meanwhile back on Earth, NASA who for two months believed the man to be dead make a discovery that he is alive through satellite photos as they try to find a way to get him back home but a lot of things are happening where they don’t even tell his crew for months. It’s a film that isn’t just about survival but also the need to rescue a man stranded on Mars where he is forced to left to his own devices yet would unveil what he is able to do to try and survive for the next few years.

Drew Goddard’s screenplay has a very unique narrative that moves back and forth in not just what astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) does to survive on Mars where he would grow potatoes and make water in the planet thanks to his skills as a botanist. It also showcases what is happening in NASA where they try to figure out how long he can survive as well as how to create a rescue mission. The Earth portion of the narrative also play into the world of politics as NASA’s director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) ponders the financial cost as well as the risks while he also has to tell the truth to the public that Watney is alive after declaring him dead during the botched mission months earlier. For NASA, the news of Watney being alive has become a public relations nightmare for the company where it also shows what is happening behind the scenes where they also need to get help from other sources including rival space exploration companies.

At the space vessel Hermes, there is a subplot that involves Watney’s crew led by Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) who, along with the crew, are consumed with guilt as they’re returning home to Earth where they play a key part in the film’s third act as it relates to the rescue. While they’re aware that the journey back to Mars will take another 18 months with a special booster created by this rival company. Commander Lewis and the crew prefer to take that risk knowing that if it goes wrong, they will all die. Especially as their mission director Mitch Henderson (Sean Bean) gave them the option as he is aware of the risks not just in space but also the financial risks where he finds himself sparring with Sanders since Henderson wanted to tell Lewis and the crew about Watney once the news broke. It all play into that world of politics and when Watney who would finally communicate with NASA’s Mars mission director Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who revealed what has been going on. Not surprisingly as there’s frustration where Kapoor and several other scientists try to find solutions where it would be a young astrodynamicist in Rich Purnell (Donald Glover) who would create what the Commander Lewis and her crew have to do as does Watney.

Ridley Scott’s direction is definitely quite vast for the world he creates not just in Mars but also outer space while also maintain a sense of ground for the fact that the film is also set on Earth. With many of the exterior scenes on Mars shot at Wadi Rum in Jordan with several interiors shot in Hungary, the film plays into a world that is quite large where Scott used a lot of wide shots for these exteriors in Mars as it has this air of mystique. Even in the some of the interiors in the base where Watney would have to live in and grow crops as Scott would also use small video cameras such as the Go-pro cameras to document everything Watney is going through. It has this air of the documentary in the film where it plays into what happens if a man is stranded alone in Mars having to survive by what he knows.

The direction is also intimate not just for the scenes inside the Hermes vessel but also on Earth where there’s a lot of discussion and squabbling going on about what to do. Scott chooses to keep things simple throughout the film by not going for anything flashy though he would utilize bits of style in some tracking and dolly shots but keep it to a minimum. The scenes at the Hermes vessel are quite entrancing to play into the world of this space vessel but also to show everyone trying to move on despite carrying this weight of guilt. While Scott is aware that it’s a sci-fi adventure film with a lot of drama, he knows that it’s a film that shouldn’t take itself too seriously by displaying the fact that Watney is kind of goofy. Even as there’s a recurring gag to the fact that the only thing playing at the base on Mars is 70s disco music that Watney hates yet it was chosen by Commander Lewis. All of which plays into a film that is about doing what is right no matter how complicated it can be. Overall, Scott crafts a riveting yet sprawling film about a man accidentally stuck on Mars and trying to survive as he awaits rescue.

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography in creating some filters for the exterior scenes set on Mars as well as providing distinctive looks for the scenes at the Hermes space vessel and on Earth. Editor Pietro Scalia does excellent work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward with a few stylistic cuts for the big action sequences as well as a stylish montage sequence about the rescue planning. Production designer Arthur Max, with supervising art director Marc Homes and set decorators Celia Bobak and Zoltan Horvath, does amazing work with the look of the moon base and many of the interiors in that base as well as the space vessel interiors and rooms at NASA. Costume designer Janty Yates does nice work with the costumes in the way the astronaut suits look as well as the clothes of the people on Earth. Hair/makeup designer Tina Earnshaw and hair/makeup supervisor Csilla Blake-Horvath does terrific work with the look of Watney late in the film as he struggles to survive with the limited resources he had.

The visual effects work of Chris Lawrence, Anders Langlands, Richard Stammers, and Steve Warner is fantastic for the look of outer space as well as the Hermes space vessel along with some set dressing for the Mars exteriors. Sound designers Michael Fentum and Oliver Tarney do superb work with the sound in the way the dust winds sound in and out of the base as well as some of the computers and such along with the sparse and more natural sounds for the scenes in Earth. The film’s music by Harry Gregson-Williams is wonderful for its orchestral-based score that has some bombast in some of its intense moments while being low-key in its somber moments. The film’s soundtrack is definitely a joy to listen to not just in the fact that it consists a lot of classic 70s pop and disco music from the likes of ABBA, the Hues Corporation, Donna Summers, Thelma Houston, the O’Jays, Gloria Gaynor, and Vickie Robinson as well as inspired usage of David Bowie’s Starman.

The casting by Carmen Cuba and Nina Gold is incredible as it features some notable small roles from Eddy Ko and Chen Su as key officials from the Chinese Space program, Donald Glover as the astrodynamicisist Rich Purnell who comes up with an idea for the Hermes to travel back to Mars, Benedict Wong as a Jet Propulsion Laboratory director who tries to come up with ideas in saving Watney, and Mackenzie Davis as the NASA satellite planner Mindy Park who would be the one to discover that Watney is alive through satellite photos. Other notable small roles as members of the Ares III team includes Askel Hennie as the team’s navigator/chemist Dr. Alex Vogel, Sebastian Stan as flight surgeon Dr. Chris Beck, Kate Mara as the system operator Beth Johanssen, and Michael Pena as the team’s pilot Rick Martinez who is Watney’s closest friend.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is superb as the Mars mission director Vincent Kapoor who would be the first to communicate with Watney as he realizes with the severity of what is happening as he tries to figure out what to do to save him. Sean Bean is fantastic as the Ares III mission director Mitch Henderson who wanted to tell his crew that Watney is alive as he spars with Sanders about what to do. Kristen Wiig is terrific as NASA’s media relations director Annie Montrose who tries to smooth over all of the bad publicity NASA is facing as well as figure out how to save face for NASA. Jeff Daniels is excellent as NASA’s director Teddy Sanders who is trying to see anyway NASA can save money but also wanting to do what is right with caution. Jessica Chastain is amazing as Commander Melissa Lewis as the Ares III leader who deals with guilt of leaving Watney behind as she would later try to figure out every scenario into getting him back as a way to do what is right. Finally, there’s Matt Damon in a phenomenal performance as Mark Watney as the astronaut who is accidentally stranded on Mars following a freak accident where he manages to find a way to survive with his expertise on botany and wit while also providing some charm, humor, and humility to his role as it’s one of Damon’s finest performances.

The Martian is a spectacular film from Ridley Scott that features an incredible performance from Matt Damon. Along with a strong ensemble supporting cast, dazzling visuals, compelling themes on science, and a fun music soundtrack. The film isn’t just a sci-fi adventure film that doesn’t play dumb as well as reveal what might happen on a manned mission to Mars. It also showcases how someone is willing to survive with a positive attitude despite his hatred for disco. In the end, The Martian is a magnificent film from Ridley Scott.

Ridley Scott Films: (The Duellists) - Alien - Blade Runner - (Legend) - (Someone to Watch Over Me) - (Black Rain) - (Thelma & Louise) - (1492: Conquest of Paradise) - (White Squall) - (G.I. Jane) - (Gladiator) - (Hannibal) - (Black Hawk Down) - (Matchstick Men) - (Kingdom of Heaven) - (A Good Year) - (American Gangster) - (Body of Lies) - (Robin Hood) - Prometheus - (The Counselor) - (Exodus) - (Alien: Covenant) -All the Money in the World

© thevoid99 2016

127 Hours

2008 was a huge year for British director Danny Boyle as his film Slumdog Millionaire became the surprise hit of the year. Winning several Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for Boyle, it was a big surprise considering that Boyle has made a series of strange films about Scottish heroin addicts and zombies running amok in the U.K. prior to Slumdog Millionaire. With Boyle still riding high from that film’s success, the British director decided to take on a much more intimate yet grander project about the impossible. Based on Aron Ralston’s real-life experience in which he was stuck inside a canyon by a boulder. Boyle takes Ralston’s experience into a film that is unlike anything in mainstream cinema (with the exception of a recent film called Buried) entitled 127 Hours.

Based on Aron Ralston’s autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, 127 Hours examines Ralston’s experience in being trapped inside a canyon and how he survived. Directed by Danny Boyle with an adapted script written by Boyle and his Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy. The film reveals Ralston examining his life while figuring out how to get out of his predicament. With James Franco playing the role of Ralston, the film also stars Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Clemence Poesy, Lizzy Caplan, and Treat Williams. 127 Hours is a powerful and intense film from Danny Boyle.

It’s April 2003 as Aron Ralston leaves early in the morning to go hiking and mountain climbing at Robbers Roost, Utah. Upon his arrival, he goes bike riding and then hiking where he encounters two young ladies named Megan (Amber Tamblyn) and Kristi (Kate Mara). He takes them to some special sights where the three have fun. After going their separate ways where the ladies invite Aron to a party later on, Aron continues hiking where he sees goes inside a cave through an opening between canyons. All of a sudden, a boulder falls on Aron trapping his right arm where the boulder wouldn’t move. Stuck and unable to get out, Aron tries to figure out how to get out his situation.

With a mountain knife, a video camera, and a water bottle with very little water. Aron deals with his situation as he tries all sorts of things with own mountain climbing experiences. For the next five days, Aron ponders his own life including his relationship with his parents (Kate Burton and Treat Williams), his sister (Lizzy Caplan), and his ex-girlfriend (Clemence Poesy). Even as he tries to entertain himself and see his surroundings where he makes a fateful decision to get out.

While the idea about a guy being stuck inside a canyon by a boulder for five days doesn’t seem like an exciting idea on film. The story itself is truly compelling about Ralston’s own survival and how he got through it. Screenwriters Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy however, was able to make it into an engrossing yet mesmerizing film for 95 minutes. Yet, the first 10-15 minutes were devoted to Ralston going to the Utah canyons and his meeting with two young ladies. Then when Ralston is trapped by the boulder, the story becomes intimate while having flashbacks about Ralston’s own life for the entirety of the film. The screenplay becomes a character study of sorts except having Ralston study himself. Even as the dialogue feels improvised and realistic to Ralston’s own predicament.

Boyle’s direction is truly hypnotic in its presentation as he shoots on location at Robbers Roost, Utah where he often shoots multiple angles and shots of the canyons Ralston is exploring. While some of the canyon scenes were re-created for the film, notably the scenes where Ralston is trapped. Boyle goes a somewhat, cinema verite style by shooting the film from not just the perspective of the audience but also having Ralston himself point the camera at himself. There, he can entertain himself while also being able to face up to his own sins. Even as the camera takes a shot from the perspective at his own water bottle to see how much water he has left.

Fantasy sequences are also unveiled throughout the second act of the film whether it’s a good thing or something that would be horrific. Boyle even has shots where he uses the same images for repetition so Ralston can know what time of day is happening like the brief moment of sunlight passing by or a raven flying above him. These images plus other objects would become symbolic to Ralston’s own troubles. Even as it goes into the third act where he would free himself on the fifth day. There, what Ralston would do would become one of the most graphic but also intense scenes captured on film. Even in the aftermath where he would be free but still trying to survive. The end result isn’t just a film that just goes for the drama of being trapped but also what one has to do to survive. For Danny Boyle, he creates what is probably his most hypnotic and exciting film since 1996’s Trainspotting.

Boyle’s longtime cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, along with Enrique Chediak, brings a colorful yet stylish cinematography. While some of the photography style is similar to Mantle‘s work in Slumdog Millionaire. With Chediak, Mantle goes for a realistic look while adding some light for some of the scenes in the cave while also using grainy digital video camera for Ralston’s own perspective shots. The work that Mantle and Chediak do is truly superb as it definitely tops everything Mantle did in his previous collaboration with Boyle. Editor Jon Harris does fantastic work with the film’s stylish, rhythmic editing. Even with the use of multiple split screens to emphasize the numerous perspective shots of what Ralston is doing from his point of view and the camera’s view. Harris’ fluid editing with an array of different pacing speeds for the film’s intensity is truly spectacular.

Production/costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlab, along with set decorator Les Boothe and art director Christopher R. DeMuri, does an amazing job with the recreation of the cove and canyons that Ralston is in along with the boulder. Even for other scenes like the homes that Ralston lived while the costumes are mostly casual. Boyle’s longtime sound designer Glenn Freemantle does a phenomenal job with the film’s sound design in creating the atmosphere that Ralston has surrounded himself with. Even the realism for one of the film’s most intense scenes in the third act. Freemantle’s work is definitely a highlight of the film’s technical field.

Music composer A.R. Rahman brings a vibrant, exciting score that is filled with hypnotic dance-inspired tracks along with slower tracks to emphasize Ralston’s emotions. The soundtrack features an array of tracks including a collaboration between Rahman and Dido plus Sigur Ros, Bill Withers, Plastic Betrand, Esther Phillips, and Frederic Chopin. Many of which are used to either play up some of the humor or the heightened emotions of Ralston. The score and soundtrack is another of the film’s highlights as Rahman makes a triumph follow-up for his work on Slumdog Millionaire.

The casting is definitely inspired with appearances from Koleman Stinger and Parker Hadley as younger versions of Aron and Bailee Michelle Johnson as a younger version of Aron’s sister Sonja while Lizzy Caplan makes a small appearance as Sonja in the film. Other notable but small appearances include Treat Williams and Kate Burton as Aron’s parents, Sean Bott as a friend of Aron, and Clemence Poesy as Aron’s ex-girfriend Rana. Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn are great in their small but very memorable roles as young female hikers who join Aron early in the film exploring the cave as they later invite him to a party. Mara and Tamblyn really bring a dose of early joy to the film that is needed for something that is more in-your-face.

Finally, there’s James Franco in what is definitely his performance to date as Aron Ralston. Franco definitely brings a lively yet captivating performance where he starts off as this cocky adventurer who likes to have fun and do things. Then when he becomes trapped, Franco goes for the realism in the situation he’s facing while providing a sense of regret and angst to the role. While he’s nearly in every frame of the film, Franco really gives a towering performance that really serves as a true break-out following such memorable turns from the David Gordon Green-Judd Apatow stoner action film Pineapple Express and Gus Van Sant’s Harvey Milk-bio pic Milk. This is the film that will show that Franco is definitely one of the best actors working right now.

127 Hours is a spectacular yet chilling film from Danny Boyle that features a marvelous performance from James Franco. Fans of Boyle’s work will no doubt enjoy this though there’s some moments in the film that isn’t for everyone. Notably the third act yet it is a courageous film that people will see. Even with the recent events about the 33 miners who survived inside an enclosed Chilean cave for 69 days. It’s a film that shows what is great about the human spirit and how someone will do whatever it takes to survive. In the end, 127 Hours is one of the year’s best films as it comes from the dazzling mind of Danny Boyle.

Danny Boyle Films: Shallow Grave - Trainspotting - A Life Less Ordinary - The Beach - 28 Days Later - Millions - Sunshine - Slumdog Millionaire - Trance - Steve Jobs (2015 film) - T2 Trainspotting - (Yesterday (2019 film))

© thevoid99 2010