Space Time : L'Ultime Odyssée

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.

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

I was hopeful and enthusiastic to see this film but what a disappointment! I wanted to give my benefit of the doubt until the very end but, with all do respect… this film has not a single original thought or frame. Surely, for a beginner-director it may have been a triumph or even just a good effort but for any informed viewer (yet along movie buff), it's has less value than a bubble gum. Orange space suit in Victorian hotel? Really? Come on! Kubrick is spinning in his grave. We already have Space Odyssey 2001. And Moon after that. The only worthy thing was soundtrack - good atmospherics, even though mismatched at times. Sigh… Please, do make anymore of these.

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.