Paul - Movie Review

The sci-fi spoof "Paul" has been well received by audiences the past few weeks. It stars Seth Rogen as the voice of Paul, a wisecracking, foul-mouthed, chain smoking alien who also has his soulful moments. The movie begins with Paul on the run from the infamous Area 51 in the Nevada desert. He crashes an FBI cruiser and meets two nerdy Englishmen played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They have just left Comic-Con, and are on the way to the Roswell crash site. The trio are chased by an FBI agent played by Jason Bateman, who takes his orders from "The Big Guy", played by Sigourny Weaver. He is helped, but mostly hindered by two agents who try to make a name for themselves by capturing Paul. Kristin Wiig plays the pent up daughter of a bible thumping RV park owner, and has several funny scenes as the love interest for Simon Pegg. Also, Jeffrey Tambor, as Adam Shadowchild, an offbeat sci-fi writer steals his scenes. The movie is filled with gay references, and inside jokes about area 51. It keeps moving throughout, and has very few stale moments. Paul has a predictable, but entertaining ending, and leaves you wanting more. Who knows, maybe Paul II. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Limitless - Movie Review

The sci-fi suspense film "Limitless" opened this weekend with much anticipation. Bradley Cooper stars as Eddie Morra, a down on his luck writer who can't seem to concentrate long enough to write a single sentence. In the midst of his writers block, he goes out for a drink, and on the way home bumps into his ex brother in-law on the street. This guy seems to be the poster boy for drug dealers. Wouldn't you know, he just happens to have a pill that will allow Eddie to concentrate long enough to write a few pages of his book. He tells Eddie, the pills are FDA approved, and just waiting for release. Well, then the guy is murdered in his own apartment while Eddie is running his errand, and Eddie realizes whoever did this was looking for something. He finds the pills and some cash, and it's up up and away from then on. He quickly realizes that he cannot stop taking the pills. The pills allow him to utilize 100% of his brain, and when they wear off, he is back to normal, and with bad headaches to boot. Billionaire investor Carl Van Loon played by Robert De Niro notices that Eddie has parlayed $12,000 into 2.3 million in 10 days and recruits him to work for him. The story now becomes a little predictable. Eddie's girlfriend, who had dumped him weeks earlier is now again attracted to the new and improved version, but is caught in the middle of a loan shark, a billionaire, and several other bad guys looking to steal Eddies stash of the wonder drug. The movie has it's moments, but De Niro's character was surprisingly weak, and the ending did contain a twist, but was not as creative as hoped for. I would give "Limitless" 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Battle LA - Movie Review

The long awaited alien thriller "Battle LA" opened this weekend to the delight of millions. No doubt many had seen the now forgettable "Skyline", which was made on a much smaller budget and was not well received by audiences or critics. "Battle LA" did not disappoint, and was action packed from start to finish. The plot and sub plots were carefully set-up, and they created a sense of compassion for the characters. Aaron Eckert as a battle tested Marine Staff Sergeant was the main character who had recently lost soldiers under his command, and was planning to retire. The arrival of the aliens changed that as he was thrust back into a leadership role under an untested Second Lieutenant  well  played by Ramon Rodriguez. The aliens were different than expected, and were not as advanced as you might have imagined. Their ships and weapons while futuristic, seemed to be hundreds of years in advance of Earth instead of thousands or even millions.The special effects were good, but again there were no alien death rays or huge flying saucers to assimilate. The picture was filmed like an old war movie from the 1950's. It was definitely shown  from the soldiers perspective. While not a classic like the original "War of the Worlds",  B-LA was action packed,  touching, and kept you on the edge of your seat. I give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5. 

SETI: NASA's Big Embarrassment

As the fine folks at SETI continue to aim their giant radio telescopes at designated areas of the cosmos, thousands of UFO sightings occur around the world. Every day becomes more embarrassing for this NASA program. The U.S.government has refused to fund the High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS), since 1993, so  it is now paid for by private donations. It is amazing how SETI has managed to obtain private funding for a project that would have been a ridiculous idea in the1950's. I can only guess that SETI is underwritten by UFO skeptics and diehards so set in their belief that Earth is the only inhabited planet in the universe, that they ignore worldwide audio, visual and physical evidence. What would happen if the HRMS actually found an alien signal from space? Based on NASA's track record, the information would be suppressed and denied. Who knows, the signal or signals may have already been received, and if not maybe the SETI crew should stop listening, and start looking at the stars. Heck, even the official NASA STS videos show evidence of UFO's.