Love

I think Angels & Airwaves has only gotten better with every record. This film continues the upward trend. While it's not the best movie ever and I have my issues with it, I think the fact that it is a narrative film that stands on it's own with or without that band's involvement is a real testament to the artistic creativity of this band. This is not a visual interpretation of the record or some completely avant garde piece -- it's a real film with the score done by the band that produced it.

There are very few tongue-in-cheek references to Angels' song titles and themes but where they are, they are appropriate and feel organic. This film was made not to blatantly promote the band but to make a film based on a story they wanted to tell. The music contributes to the story best when the instrumental versions of the songs the fans know the words to accompany the scene they are backing and vice versa.

This film is well shot, production value is high, visuals and sound are stunning, and Gunnar Wright takes us through this space odyssey with grace and poise with direction from freshman director Will Eubank.

I cannot wait to see the scenes that were cut and great the commentaries on the DVD/Blu- Ray.

The cinematography of this movie was beautiful. The dialogue also, especially that introductory scene, I wish there was more of it. A&A did a terrific job with the score. And the idea of the plot was also really interesting: comparing the isolation of a man deep in space who loses contact with Earth, to a soldier in the civil war hundreds of years in the past who must leave his regiment to perish.

I only wish these stories had tied together more strongly. The parallels were there, but there wasn't enough exploration. There were only a few times the astronaut is even reading the journal, and I felt that should have been the focus. Instead the two stories were tied together using a very unnecessary and bizarre deus ex machina type plot element.

That is my main complaint. My second complaint is the pacing of the movie was very irregular. I'm sure this had to do with the fact that it was made over a 4 year, inconsistent, time span.

I feel this movie had amazing potential, and obviously Will Eubank is extremely talented, but these inconsistencies took away a lot of the beauty of the movie for me.

Solitary confinement aboard a faltering space station isn't blockbuster Hollywood material. Those expecting Bay pyrotechnics will rightfully feel cheated. 'Love' is a film about the human condition, not science, and an unexpected jewel of a film.

Set in the near future, Captain Lee Miller is the first in twenty years to board the ISS space station, assigned to repair and reactivate. Early in the mission all contact with earth is lost after a final apologetic recorded message of 'things going on down here' and advice to hold tight. Interspersed with events from the American Civil War, numerically indexed testimonials and reminisces of random strangers, encroaching hallucinations and madness, 'Love' documents Lee desperately following that advice to the end as ISS fails around him.

'Love' is beautifully shot and beautifully paced. Rare today it treats every character with respect and dignity, always inclusive and never ridiculing. Emotions and reactions ring true. The dialogue is intelligent and real. The score is perfect. It demands attention, setting fleetingly on critical plot elements, not a movie that rewards distractions. A surprise future classic worth seeing.

Love is truly one of those rare films that dares to challenge your knowledge of human existence and experience while allowing you to view the effects of long-term isolation. When astronaut Captain Lee Miller is stranded aboard the International Space Station, he must do his best to survive while coping with the effects of being isolated away from people- without any connection to Earth, for he is oblivious to the catastrophe that is underway. When his life support systems begin to dwindle, he tries his best to save the station, but not before finding a strange discovery that will change everything...

Love, directed and written by William Eubank, is a classic. Yes, it may draw various ties to three other classics (2001, Moon and Solaris (the older version)) but the film has its own unique and impressive take on the "space exploration" sub-genre. Gunner Wright gives an astonishing and breath-taking performance as Captain Lee Miller, who may remind you of Sam from Duncan Jones' Moon; when he begins to lose his grip on reality, you can just see his talent. The visual effects are top-notch (even with the low budget), the sets are convincing, and the feeling of dread and loneliness really hits you when you see its effects on Miller.

All in all, Love is a phenomenal film that is a must-see for anyone who loves the sci-fi genre, and anyone who likes to have their mind screwed with.

9/10 Stars***

I almost forgot to mention, read "Pale Blue Dot" by Carl Sagan for a slightly better understanding of the storyline

Usually, I think a work of art should stand on it's own without the viewer every having to hear a single word from those behind the project. Because in the end, the real art is what we see, not what they see. But in the case of Love, I feel like the filmmakers' feedback turned me from just being okay with the movie, to loving the work they came up with.

Love is a film that was made, not to tell us a story, but to get us thinking about what it means to connect with another human being and how essential that connection is to survival. Our Space captain returns to a new International Space Station and after a few days of communication, he is cut off. Unbeknownst to him, the world below him has completely destroyed themselves.

As I said before, Love is about inspiring thought within the viewer more than it's about telling a linear story. Their story of connection and how little we mean to the rest of the universe is quite clear. The sparse writing involved isn't too preachy and doesn't give away all meaning, giving the audience a bit of work to do. Gunner Wright does a decent job of playing the lonely astronaut, although I wish we could have gotten a bit more emotion out of him at times.

The visuals of the film were fantastic. The ultra slow motion of the Civil War battle scene up to the spectacular visuals at the end of the film, these guys did an amazing job. Also, there is an intense sense of isolation and desperation going on. Routine becomes the only way our captain stays together, but it's obvious there is a thin string holding him.

There were just two problems I had with Love...one of which I immediately wrote off after the talk back. Certain portions of the film looked professional and absolutely amazing for an budgeted film. But there were aspects, such as the astronaut's joke of a space suit and the obvious wall of box fans oddly added to the space station. The space station itself was supposed to supersede our current one, but the interior still looked like it was from the 1970. There was also unexplained gravity. After the film, we learned it was made for $500,000. What a phenomenal job. The director talk about how he filmed the battle scene in his parent's backyard and built every aspect of the film himself just by going to Home Depot was ridiculously awesome. The Space Station was built in the driveway by him and his little bother. Still, a lot of those very distracting things could have been taken care of in the script. Instead of a new Space Station, make it the one we've used for years. Mention we discovered artificial gravity. But those were left out.

My other (and really only) problem was Love was full of thought, but no love. We have this guy in space that is completely alone for years and the only thing we see him do is lose track of his sanity at times. But we never see moments where he breaks down There are moments of him missing his family, but the filmmakers spend too much time with the mundane tasks of life in Space rather than the emotional journey he is going through.

Love was well worth the wait and I almost wish they could do the film again with more money and small changes in the script. But I would say if you can excuse a few budget problems, you're going to have a glorious time watching the movie.

I'd also recommend reading that Carl Sagan quote on Pale Blue Dot before hand. You'll see the film closer to the filmmakers if you do...

I encourage people to read the quote from Carl Sagan about the photo "Pale Blue Dot" before going to see the film.