Clash of the Titans

Last weekend, I went to see this with my youngest son, Tyler. The ironic thing is that I saw the original when I was about Tyler's age. What I remember most was the animation created by Ray Harryhausen. The '81 version happened to be his last film in a long line great sci-fi films I enjoyed as a child through this day!

When I saw the ads for this movie and the animation, I was excited to revisit the story and see if the improved animation would make any difference. Gotta say, however, that the animation was the best part about the movie. I kept sitting there wondering when the storyline and character development would begin. I mean, it seemed like 5 minutes from the time that Perseus lost his family to taking on the quest to save Andromeda. The only thing that set him apart from any other soldier in Argos is that he was identified as a demi-god - half man, half human. To me, there needed to be so much more added to this opening sequence to draw you in. At 106 minutes, it could have easily had ten minutes added to it to create better adhesion throughout!
Admittedly, Sam Worthington does play a strong super hero, and I look forward to seeing him in other roles. I forgot that he was in Terminator Salvations, but I did like him in Avatar. He will go far in roles that require an action hero who has compassion for the weak.
More than the director, I blame the movie studio for pushing this into the theaters before it could be more than just a CGI fest!

THEM!

I haven’t had a chance lately to see any of the new movies. Although, I’m hoping to soon. This time of years, there is a wider range of offerings than say the summertime when the blockbusters are more popular. I have my sights set on an action/adventure and a comedy. Feeling will determine what I see next.
I, then, decided to talk about some of my favorite movies in my collection until I have something fresh to post. The one I picked for this time is “THEM!” It’s one of those black and white sci-fi films that I referred to in my profile. Sometimes, I can’t explain past enjoyment why I like a movie. Pretty much all the 1950’s sci-fi movies are very campy. The acting and the special effects are usually pretty bad. I think there are exceptions to this rule on the two Sci-Fi’s in my possession.
Since this isn’t a current movie that most people have seen, I’ll go against my rule and give a brief synopsis. The movie starts out with police, one of whom is James Witmore, searching the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico for a young, dazed, girl. After they catch up to her, they pass by a car and travel trailer that seem abandoned. Upon investigation, they find that the side of the trailer has been pulled out. The only thing of evidence is a strange footprint. They also discover piece of robe and doll that belong to the girl. However, no one else seems to be around. As they call in the finding, a high-pitched shrill is heard over the wind. Unbeknownst to the two officers, the girl reacts, but still in obvious shock.
After a couple of other disturbing instances, including the disappearance of James Witmore’s partner, the FBI is called in with James Arness as the agent. Oddly enough, both of my movies have him starring in them in two very different roles, however.(James Arness gained far more notoriety as Sheriff Matt Dillon in the TV series, Gunsmoke, some years later.)
Anyway, none of the pieces of evidence collected make any sense. Officials in Washington are contacted, and two entomologists from the Department of Agriculture arrive shortly afterwards. They start to put the pieces together quickly, but keep their conclusions to themselves until they find better empirical evidence. After viewing the original trailer sight, they wander deeper into the desert in search of more evidence. The shrill begins, but this time we get introduced to one of the THEM. )The special effects for this movie were nominated for an Oscar.) The rest of the movie is, of course, spent figuring out how to conquer these big beasties.
This is, also, one of the many movies devoted to the fear of what radiation fall-out from the desert testing years earlier might do. For years, there has been speculation of what this type of testing would do up to and including causing the death of icon, John Wayne, since he died of cancer and spent several years making his early films in that general desert area.
You may not experience the same thing that I do when I watch this movie. It certainly cannot hold a candle to current movies that benefit from CGI. However, it is a great example of the beginning of sci-fi cinema.