The Martian

10/11/2015

'The Martian’ is definitely in the creative wheelhouse of filmmaker Ridley Scott whose Science Fiction sensibilities are grounded in colorful futuristic fantasies that tiptoe in grand whimsy. The veteran auteur responsible for such pop cultural high-minded spectacles in ‘Alien’, ‘Blade Runner’ and even the mixed bag reception of ‘Prometheus’ certainly brings a sophisticated and thought-provoking vibe to the probing aura of ‘The Martian’. As with other Scott-helmed productions, ‘The Martian’ settles nicely in its majestic scope that taps into visual wonderment, humanistic curiosities, technical impishness and the surreal spryness of the SF experience. The exploratory nature of ‘The Martian’ is its own noteworthy mission. Scott arms his frothy planetary odyssey with a sense of thematic i

3/4/2016

This is a movie that I have to say that I have a bit of a difficulty in rating. Quite honestly I was sorely tempted to remove a star, or even two stars. Why? Because it is full of Hollywood nonsense, scientific errors, it is rather predictable and it did feel a bit like a Apollo 13 rip-off. Why did I not remove those stars? Well, it is rather entertaining even if, at times, I squirmed in my seat. The movie starts of with a somewhat implausible event where a unexpected storm hits the Mars camp which forces the ground crew of the Mars mission to hurry back to the launch vehicle before it tilts over. The launch vehicle gradually tilts a degree at the time. Is it just me finding this strange? Would storms on Mars defy the usual rules of weather dynamics that they would exert a constant pres

3/21/2016

This is a movie following the lead started with Gravity with the human main character fighting for survival in space. The plot has a good combination of suspense, action, humor and drama. Damon performs well and the rest of the cast does a good job and has been well chosen. It is not a magnificent movie but it is good enough to fill a couple of hours of entertainment.

4/22/2018

This movie is very entertaining and really imaginative. The narrative is well controlled so you don't feel bored or exhausted. The part that I like best is when the accident happened and Witney lost all his crops, the despair he had and the noisy scary sound of strong Mars winds blowing outside the base. The real loneliness. However, this movie's plot was too straight-forward as I see. Nearly every action proposed by the sorts of parties and organization was execute, taking the story forward without stagnation. But this also made everything look too artificial. In comparison, Robinson Crusoe was much more twisted.

12/8/2018

Liked it.

5/7/2019

***Realistic account of trying to survive on Mars while awaiting rescue*** In 2035 an astronaut (Matt Damon) gets stuck on Mars after he is presumed dead and his team departs without him. When NASA eventually finds out that he’s alive & well they have to find a way to save him. But can he survive for the next couple of years until they arrive? Jeff Daniels plays the director of NASA while Jessica Chastain plays the leader of the vessel. Sean Bean, Chiwetel Ejiofor and several other notables are on hand. The only way for Ridley Scott’s "The Martian" (2015) to work is if it can convince you that Damon’s character is actually on Mars, which it does spectacularly and realistically (minus a few forced dramatics or stabs at humor here and there). If, like me, you’re fascinated by Mars or