Gattaca (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Gattaca (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
Product took a while and I was unable to hear from sender, but it arrived in perfect condition. Thanks!Movie Review: Genetic Profiling Gone Mad in this Original but Uneven Tale!
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, this movie was an experience! Just a short commentary. Gattaca punches home a curious "What If." What if science got to a point where genetic engineering was perfected to where a parent could choose any trait, either sex, and practically guarantee a near-perfect human being with excellent odds at success?
And even with the genetic make-up totally in his/her favor, could said person achieve his goals? Can you genetically engineer a spirit, a will and an intention to succeed?
Vincent's parents decided to have him as a "natural" birth, i.e. without genetic prompting. The hospital took a blood sample from his heel at the tender age of 10 minutes old (practically!) and got a sterile computer read-out of the chances of heart failure, life expectancy and so on.
The parents tried again, this time conceiving Anton, who was a product of genetics but the parents decided they wanted to keep a few things "natural." Fascinating.
The movie is a story about conflict between one's genetic code and one's desires to overcome the obstacles that an immorally bankrupt society can throw in our paths.
The proof that this is true is when Anton, the genetically superior brother, yet loses swimming matches with his brother. His brother has the will and the drive.
Through a "handler", Vincent takes the genetic material of "Jerome" and in fact becomes Jerome. He sneaks in blood samples, straps urine bags to his leg and wears contacts as Jerome would. Jerome is genetically superior yet has no real drive or real dreams and though the genetic clock is in his favor, "always made second place." Jerome is locked in a wheelchair as the result of an attempted suicide and his only lot in life is to supply Vincent with enough blood and urine samples to maintain the pretense of Vincent being Jerome. Gattaca does daily genetic testing, so the deception must be perfect.
Uma Thurman plays a woman who works at Gattaca, a facility that flies a dozen or so flights into space. Jerome (aka Vincent) fools her for some time but when she discovers his secret, she can relate and protects him. The whole thing here is quite tender but the acting is somewhat forced.
In the middle of all this, Jerome (Vincent) is nearly found out several times during a police investigation of a murder that occurs at Gattaca. Will he be found out? Is his will so strong and his goal so pure (getting to Titan, a Saturnian moon), that he can even overcome the watchful detectives and even his brother Anton (who makes a surprise appearance)?
The film may take another couple of watchings since its commentary on the human condition and where society is going is quite fascinating and important to understand.
Oh, cool Ernest Borgnine appearance as the head janitor and former boss of Vincent. Priceless acting from a Hollywood veteran actor!
Word play: Jerome = Genome? Eugene = Eugenics? Curious.
The movie is a bit uneven at times, but overall has quite the "1984" message to tell in such an original fashion.
Recommended!
Movie Review: Slight improvement over previous editions
Summary: 4 Stars
I have two topics to mention: The "special features" and the "image quality".
It is worth noting that I own the both the original Gattaca DVD and Super-Bit version for comparison.
1) Special Features:
While maintaining the original DVD's ugly menu system, this edition contains a 22 featurette on the making of Gattaca with interviews of Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and a number of the production crew. I enjoyed this addition. There is also a new clip on gene manipulation (history, current, and future) which was somewhat interesting.
2) Image Quality:
The original DVD was only a single layer 4.5gb disk, which resulted in a grainy image with a slightly blue tint. The Super-Bit disk was disappointingly mastered, with visible dust and hair in the copy. The Super-Bit version took on a more natural tone but suffered from over-saturated browns and greens.
Finally, this reproduction seems to have a good balance between color and image quality, although some scenes are a little grainy and the movie overall seems darker.
Conclusion:
Is it worth buying this edition if you have one of the others? Probably not, but with the HD format wars over, I might be inclined to splurge on a Blu-Ray player to give the new Blu-Ray Gattaca disk a spin.
Movie Review: Good, not 5 stars though
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall I think this is an excellent movie! It is interesting, the acting is good, and I really like the movie.
I have only two complaints:
1- The movie could be longer. This is more of a good thing, because it means that I would like to see more of it. It really was interesting.
2- It sort of seems that the budget wasn't very big for the movie. If this movie was ever remade, the only thing I think they should do differently is make it even more futuristic. The cars look like regular cars, in fact even older, but they just make a humming noise to sound like they are advanced. Didn't like that detail. Other aspects of the movie are a little low budget.
I know I should be looking into the meaning of the movie instead of the flashiness (or lack there off) but I'm just saying it would have been 5 out of 5 stars if they followed those two points.
Bottom line; BUY IT! or at least rent it, because it is an excellent movie.
Movie Review: Gattaca (1997)
Summary: 4 Stars
Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, this provocative sci-fi thriller envisions a world in which society is fixated on genetics and human-enhancement, and everyone of privileged social standing is classified as either a "valid"--one who is genetically sound--or an "in-valid"--one whose genotype is lesser than that of a valid's. Gattaca is a strong and very intellectual film that poses questions regarding destiny and our society's burdening quest for perfection. It features an enticing cast (which includes Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Alan Arkin), a stimulating premise, and fervent execution of the done-over murder-thriller plot.