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Pitch Black (2000) A Neglected Classic

28-Feb-10

I thought I might try my hand at a review site – so this is a sample of what you’ll find there.

http://reviewsindepth.com

Pitch Black (2000), directed by David Twohy, is almost the perfect subject of review for InDepth - a movie widely dismissed as derivative sci-fi, schlock horror. Looking at the "top reviews" on Rotten Tomatoes reveals an establishment totally incapable of engaging with this film.  Robert Ebert is off put by the fighting crew and the implausibility of the existence of the aliens; Kevin Thomas from the LA Times complains that the movie gives us what we've seen a thousand times before.  Usually when a deeply subversive movie like this is misunderstood by the many, it is carried aloft by the cognoscenti few and branded cult. But this never quite happened with Pitch Black. Even those who express a liking for it often do so in the way one might confess to going off one's diet of green leafy salads, or high brow sophistication of an accepted sort.   In actual fact, Pitch Black is one of the best movies in its genre.  If it exposes the total inability of contemporary audiences to go beyond the conventions of genre and engage critically with a text, it humiliates the professional reviewer class whose job it is to elevate our understanding.  InDepth takes pride in rescuing such films from the dust and putting them on the pedestal where they belong.

Pitch Black is indeed derivative - but said with as much context as is usually given by most reviewers, this tells you absolutely nothing.  Yes, it takes elements from a number of films - particularly Alien.  Many will also point out its roots in classic westerns like High Noon and Rio Bravo, or the B horror flicks like Romero's Night of the Living Dead, and John Carpenter's Precinct 13.  And like these movies, the characters end up fighting amongst themselves - making them easy fodder for the monsters that come to gobble them.  Finally, the central theme of all these movies is the central theme in Pitch Black too - what remains of humanity when surrounded by inhumane circumstance?  But to label it "derivative" isn't even a description let alone a criticism.  Unless you think movies like Lynch's Eraserhead are the only thing worth watching, then "derivative" might be thought by many to be a compliment.  Even Romero admitted to ripping off Matheson's novel I am Legend.

As a piece of science fiction horror, it will not blow your mind.  The aliens look like a munted plasticine version of Giger's original.  It's motion sight idea was stolen for Jurassic Park.  Romero gave us splatter but there isn't a whole lot of it here.  You'll see it coming when a person gets eaten and you won't jump out of your seat.  But aren't these the essential elements of a sci-fi horror flick?  How can this movie be good when these aspects are so lame?

Well, we have a lot of ground to cover to answer that.  I'm going to start by walking you through the first scene in detail to show you just how well crafted this movie can be.  It opens with a classic shot of a long-barreled space ship heading toward the tail debris of a comet orbiting three suns.  Certainly another derivative aspect - but it looks nice and immediately gets you in the zone.

Pitch Black Opening Sequence

What's great about the opening sequence is the way it so tightly and expertly sets up the central theme of the film, while at the same time getting across an enormous amount of information about the characters.  Vin Diesal's baritone narration cuts in over the visuals to tell us what's what.  Unlike most narration, it's not artificial.  Whoever is talking (we don't know who yet), is talking to themselves, not to us.

They say that your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep.  All but the primitive side, the animal side.  No wonder I'm still awake.

Audience - meet Richard B. Riddick.  We see flickering red lights and a blindfolded man chained at the mouth.  He's a monster.  We know the central theme of the movie.  We know it from one line of dialogue and one single shot.

Riddick keeps thinking out loud.  Tries to assess his situation, what he has learnt about his fellow passengers.  As I said before, the narration isn't artificial.  He isn't telling us about them just because it happens to be a convenient way to introduce an enormous amount of important information (although it certainly is) - he's trying to figure out where he is likely to be based on what he knows about them.  It's completely in character and believable.  (Contrast with the corporate schmoe in Avatar who explains to Ripley why the mining operation exists - as if she didn't know!)

What does Riddick learn - and what do WE learn?  He recalls the Arab voice of a "hoodoo holy man"; the smell of a prospector woman, a "free settler type" who, Riddick tells us, only take the back roads; and Mr Johns, his captor that plans to take Riddick to back to the slam - but Riddick has already figured it out.  This is a rag tag bunch - outsiders hiding from the law, or worse;  the kind of people who take the back roads, the kind of people who have plenty to hide.  This is their undoing - another thing Riddick quickly surmises.

The final set piece of the movie is set up with the very next scene.  Small meteorites from the comet debris go straight through the hull, killing the captain, and sending the ship hurtling toward a crash on a nearby planet.  The two remaining officers, Fry (Radha Mitchell) and Owens, are popped out of cryo in order to deal with the situation.  As the pilot, it's Fry's job to level the ship and prevent disaster, but she can't get the ship level.  Without hesitation she prepares to ditch all the passengers and cargo in order to save herself, telling Owens that she isn't prepared to die for them.  Owens prevents her and she still manages to level the ship and save some of the passengers.  Owens, however, is killed, leaving the crew grateful to Fry, but unaware she tried to kill them all.

The opening scene fulfills every conceivable requirement for a movie opening.  It gives us an enormous amount of information: the characters, the theme, the central conflict for our protagonist Fry - and none of it uses artificial tricks or devices.  The story telling is honest.

What's more - it's incredibly bold.  We have a story about an evil murderer among shady, back-road people - trying to survive on a desert planet.  Now how many movies like that are getting funded these days?  The formula is to stick us with a nice guy protagonist that shares our hopes and dreams and watch as he overcomes his difficulties.  But here our most sympathetic character is one that almost murdered the whole crew.  The only other perspective we have is Riddick's and he actually IS a murderer.  It's no surprise then that the climax of the film would involve these two facing off against one another.  But what two perspectives are being tested?  And how does it resolve?

Riddick is an anti-heroic character.  He is amoral and a self-confessed murderer, but also capable and self-sufficient.  Anti-heroes are common enough now to invoke a yawn, but this character is nevertheless quite an achievement.  The true art of the anti-hero is to make him as bad as possible and yet still have us either liking, admiring or respecting them.  Riddick is about as obnoxious as they come.  He has some of the elements of the Byronic hero - he rejects society, it's morality, but he seems to lack all of those elements of the Byronic hero that makes that archtype sympathetic.  He's not charming; he's not a mere "bad boy" that the woman profess to disdain but secretly wish to bed.  He takes pleasure in making the other crew members fear him, particularly Fry.  So what is it about Riddick that has us sympathetic?

The answer to this question reveals some of the deep subtleties in this story.  Riddick gets our sympathy because through him a light is shone on all the hypocrisy and falsity in his other crew mates.  Fry tried to kill all of the other passengers.  Johns, Riddick's captor, lets everyone think he is a cop and an upholder of law and virtue, when really he is a junky and a mercenary.  Riddick is just a job and a payday to him.  Even the minor characters all have their various flaws and inauthenticities: the Antique dealer has his materialism, the settler shoots another survivor out of fear of it being Riddick - even Jack, a girl who pretends to be a boy and constantly apes Riddick's masculinity and violent tendencies.  Riddick sees through all of it.  He's the only one who can accept what he is.

It's no accident then that the director gave Riddick surgically enhanced eyes that can see in the dark but cause him pain when exposed to the light.  It's not just a cool gimmick and plot device for a movie the half of which takes place in complete darkness.  He's the one who can see in the dark because he's the one who can see through the moral hyprocrisy of people in general.  The other characters are literally thrown into the dark in the second half of the movie when a total eclipse occurs.  But morally they are completely in the dark the whole time.  Riddick is authentic and true to himself and accepts the darkness for what it is.  The other characters all think they are living in the light and give off the airs that they do - but it's false.  That's why we ultimately sympathise with Riddick.

Fry is a character that is on the cusp of awareness.  She finds out who she is when she decides to kill the crew to save herself.  She can't stand the self-loathing this knowledge brings.  For most of the movie she is much like the other characters.  She engages in as much hypocrisy as the others - particularly in her criticisms of Johns.  But her niggling doubt is clawing away at her from the inside.  Repeatedly she asks Riddick for help in guiding them all through the dark - but she also wants help in coming to terms with who she is.  Riddick obliges in both respects.

The climax comes when Riddick leaves the three remaining characters behind, trapped in a cave, unable to escape because of the monsters.  He reaches the ship and perpares to leave them all behind to die.  Fry takes the only remaining light and reaches Riddick before he takes off in the shuttle.  She begs him to help her save the girl and the priest.  Riddick gives her another option...

He offers the choice of coming with him and explains that if she takes more light to go back and help the others, he will leave her and them to die.  He gives her the guidance she asked for.  He shows her how to be authentic - how to accept the amoral reality that defines them all.  He tells her it's easy.  All she has to do is just get on the ship.  But they both know this is a lie.  They both know the lifetime of guilt and self-loathing this entails.  Fry breaks down and cries.  She can't face it.  Riddick helps her to her feet and gently leads her up the ramp.

At the last moment she learns to face her fear.  She chooses to sacrifice herself for the other two.  Riddick admires this - not just because it's selfless.  Either option is as difficult as the other for a person who can see.  He admires it because the choice is authentic.  He decides to help her because she has proved that she truly believes her code - and that's Riddick's code.  We only learn that he has one at the very end.

There is a lot more I could say about this movie.  But hopefully I've gotten across the main idea.  It's not perfect by any means.  But it certainly doesn't get anywhere near the credit it deserves.  Sometimes I wonder if Twohy the director fluked it.  The sequel is a pretty average movie.  And he did borrow a lot of sci-fi horror cliches.  But ultimately I believe the imagery and themes are too tightly woven to be accidental.  Let's hope for a return to form in the third installment.


Sydney Dust Storm Photos

23-Sep-09

I took some photos this morning of the view outside my house and a couple from within. The dust storm that hit Sydney this morning is the most extraordinary weather I’ve ever seen. You can smell the dust too… mmmm earthy. Hi res images:

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Nugget and the Boat

30-Jun-09

I wrote a children’s story for fun. Enjoy!

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Little Nugget stood shivering in the water. The boys in the other lanes looked perched with eagerness – ready to swim. But Nugget wasn’t so eager. Today they had to swim backstroke. He hated backstroke the most.

He was a short for his age and of stocky build. It was as though the same amount of boy had been poured into a smaller mould. Poking him was like poking rock. He was THAT dense. It was terrible for swimming. He just sank like a stone. That’s why they called him nugget.

The only thing that Nugget liked about swimming was that in between laps he would play with his little, yellow boat. He liked to push it against the waves and pretend that it was lost in a great, stormy ocean.
The swimming instructor was pacing up and down the pool, inspecting each boy as he passed. When he came to Nugget he began to shout.

‘I told you not to bring that silly toy!’ he said.

‘But it helps me swim,’ Nugget replied.

‘Nonsense,’ shouted the instructor. ‘It hasn’t helped yet!’

All the other boys laughed. Nugget felt terrible.

‘This time I don’t want to hear you swim,’ the instructor said. ‘I don’t want to hear those grunting noises you make. You always make grunting noises!’

‘I get water up my nose,’ Nugget replied.

‘Nonsense! I do not allow grunting little nuggets in my pool. If I hear you grunt once, I’ll take away your toy. Understand?’

‘Yes,’ Nugget replied.

‘Alright then,’ the instructor said. ‘Now everyone get ready to swim and wait for the whistle.’

And when the whistle blew, the boys pushed off from the wall with a flurry of fists and feet. Nugget swam as hard he could, but soon felt himself sinking below the surface. The water splashed about his mouth and into his nose. He couldn’t breathe. When he gasped for air, it caught in his throat and instead made a little, grunting sound.

‘Captain overboard,’ he heard from somewhere, but couldn’t tell where.

The waves felt like they were getting higher and higher around him. The water had turned a dark, inky black. From nowhere came a howling wind, a piercing gale. He could see his little boat behind him. The waves tossed it back and forward like the little toy it was. But it was closer than he thought it should be, and it looked like it was getting closer!

‘Captain overboard,’ he heard again. This time it was louder. It was coming from the boat! He looked again and it was closer than before. Little figures ran up and down the deck hurriedly.

Nugget couldn’t stand it. The waves were monstrous now. Everything had gone dark. He felt so tired.

‘Cap’n ahoy,’ someone shouted. ‘Someone throw him a rope.’

Something splashed next to him and he grabbed onto to for dear life. Slowly he was pulled toward the boat. But the boat was huge! Rough bearded men peered at him over the stern. He was lifted to the deck but he fell to his knees. The men crowded around.

‘Give him space, give him space,’ a man said. He extended a hand and helped Nugget to his feet.

‘First mate Barley reporting Cap’n’

‘Captain?’ Nugget asked.

‘You took quite a spill,’ Barley said. ‘Worst sea faring weather I’ve ever seen. Not to mention the giant squid that came at us. I thought we’d lost you for good when it hit you. It’s gone now, but I fear it’ll be back before we make land.’

‘I was swimming backstroke,’ Nugget explained.

‘You were swimming for your life!’ Barely said. ‘Me, I would have swum freestyle. But no one knows the ocean like you do. Now, we need a plan. My advice is for us to push forward against the storm. No point giving up now.’

‘But what if the squid comes back?’ Nugget asked.

‘Then you’ll just have to kill it,’ Barely replied. ‘I see you lost your cutlass. Here, take mine.’

‘But I don’t know how to kill a giant squid,’ Nugget said.

‘Ah Cap’n,’ Barely said. He knelt down beside Nugget and placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘I aint seen a finer swordsman than you. Aint known a finer Cap’n neither. You’ll slay the beast if anyone can. She’s your ship and we’re your crew. We’ll go forward if you order it and we’ll make it to land I’m sure of it.’

‘Then let’s do it,’ Nugget ordered.

‘A har!’ the crew shouted and the dispersed about the deck, tending to rigging and pulling at the sails. The boat heaved against the storm, but they pushed forward nonetheless. Every now and again Barley shot Nugget a wink that gave him hope.

Just then there was an almighty crash. A huge tentacle had risen out of the water and snapped a mast. The sound of wood and rigging collapsing to the deck was deafening.

‘Squid!’ shouted the crewman and they dashed about in panic. The head of the beast could be seen at the bow. Tentacles were flying everywhere. A great, yellow eye scrutinised the vessel.

‘Now’s your chance,’ shouted Barley.

Nugget nodded and rushed to the bow of the ship. He swung his cutlass at the great eye but his reach was too short. He climbed to the tip of the prow, but still could not reach. There was nothing for it. He would have to meet the beast in the water. He let go the prow and fell into the water.

The beast was just in front of him. He thrust the sword into its belly and heard a thunderous cry of pain. The tentacles rose up in the air all at once and then disappeared beneath the waves. The beast was gone.

‘You did it,’ shouted Barley from the boat. ‘Now swim for land. Our mast is broken, but you can still make it. Swim now before you lose your strength. We’ll catch up when we can.’

Nugget smiled and waved goodbye. He swam as hard as he could against the waves. It wasn’t long before he felt the wall of the swimming pool against his palm. He looked around. The great ocean was gone, the waves had returned to their normal size. His little yellow boat bobbed in the water beside him. He was the first to reach the other side. The other boys gasped when they saw what he had accomplished.

‘So, it seems you know how to swim after all,’ the instructor said. ‘And you didn’t even grunt!’

Nugget didn’t say anything. He was feeling too pleased.

‘But what was all this nonsense you were shouting. Ahoy this, and matey that. You sounded like a pirate. I won’t have any nuggetty little pirates in my pool.’

‘No sir,’ Nugget replied. But he no longer cared what the instructor said.

Ubuntu Hardy + Compiz + Dual Desktop = True Nerdom

29-May-08

Again, have had little time to write a post. Have all sort of interesting things to write too. Hopefully events will permit soon.

I do want to announce however, that I have made it into the ranks of the truly nerdy. I have recently setup a dual boot ubuntu/xp on my main pute – and I gotta say Ubuntu looks absolutely fantastic on it. I’ve also recently acquired another monitor from my good friend Hamish. Here’s to you old friend. Enjoy it up in Paris for me.

Anyway – here’s a poor quality video of the setup with some of the compiz effects. Swish!

Save the Kitty

21-Apr-08

Haven’t had time to write anything particularly profound on this blog of late – way too much to do thesis wise. But I do have a cute kitty story.

One of my neighbors started feeding a feral cat that had been skulking around. It got used to the idea of free food and started hanging around more frequently. One day it brought this little kitten – left it in the garden in the pouring rain. My neighbor cleaned it up and gave it residence in an unused toilet out the back of our building. Mama cat liked the idea and now that’s where they both hang out.

Problem is – none of us wants a cat (well I want one – but am unable to take on the responsibility right now), and so kitty is going to have to be taken down to the cat protection society. Problem is that not all cats can find a home and they get put down when they can’t. Poor Kitty! But it’s young and cute – so maybe it has a chance. If anyone wants a kitty – then feel free to contact me via the contact form on this site.

Things are probably more dire for mama kitty. She’ll keep breeding – and so something will have to be done. She’s feral and isn’t approachable by humans – as you’ll see in the video. It’s unlikely someone will adopt her – as she’ll be quite a bit of work to tame.

Anyway – here’s a video of the cute little kitty.

Response From Anonymous

06-Feb-08

Just a short post – as I’m at an internet cafe on holiday.

I just wanted to say that the response from Anonymous to my post on their movement has been fantastic. Their ability to address the criticism contianed in the article and respond positively to it gives their movement credibility and I believe – strength. I wish them the very best for their day of protest on the 10th of Feb – and urge all to join in on the legitimate peaceful protests.

I was contacted by a member of anonymous and asked to post their email to my blog. So I now post this email in full:

Anonymous <***@***.com> wrote:
I’d just like to infrom you that “Call us many, for we are legion.” Is actually
from the bible, I forget what book and chapter. My now Atheist views have
somewhat dimmed my previous knowledge of the bible.
I would also like to comment on the astounding accuracy, bar the legion
reference, of your article. We have now moved on to Peaceful protesting and, as
The wise beard man calls it, Ghandi-tech. The support and advice of people like
you is much appreciated by anon and has been taken into account.
We will remove any anon who disrupt the proceedings on the 10th of February and
provide the police with evidence, thus hopefully discouraging anon from illegal
activities. The same tactic will also be helpful for uncovering $cientology
spies and eliminating them legally.
Anon would appreciate it very much if you posted this on your blog.
Many thanks, Anon.

A couple of problems…

01-Feb-08

The guy I was sharing a server with freaked out about my piece on Anonymous – and has insisted that I get off ‘his’ server before it got hacked. I was critical of anonymous to some degree – but am of the opinion that they are more reasonable than that, given especially that many of them have left positive and constructive comments. My friend did not share this view.

So I have had to change hosting. This has led to some problems – with the links to posts not working. Am working on the problem – but not sure when it will be fixed.

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Update – just turned out to be the permalinks.

The Anonymous War on Scientology

29-Jan-08

What should we make of this war on Scientology being conducted by the enigmatic internet group – Anonymous? (I hesitate to label them as anything beyond a ‘group’ since they themselves seem to try to resist various kinds of labels (such as hackers)) For those who don’t know, this group has popped up in the last week or two with a number of videos on youtube claiming that they were going to conduct a war against the Church Of Scientology. I’ll come to those videos in a moment. Subsequently, they were able to shut down the Church of Scientology website with a denial of service attack, an act designed to gain them media attention. If their boast to the effect that they are a force strong enough to destroy a powerful institution like the Church of Scientology is accurate, then we should be disturbed enough to ask a couple of very important questions. First we should ask after the nature of such a group. Second, what does it say about our culture that such a group should arise (obviously you need to answer the first to answer the second). And last, is the existence of such a group desirable? I’m going to examine these three questions in order. Anonymous – I believe is the product of a culture starved society that is losing faith in the institutions designed to protect its freedoms and its liberty.

More…

An Interview with Dmitry Davidov

05-Jan-08

Dmitry Davidov is an internet marketer and adsense guru (although he probably doesn’t agree with that label) that has achieved the dream of self-sufficiency by making money on the internet. In this interview I ask him about the means by which he has achieved his success and the kind of lifestyle this affords him. We also explore in depth some of the philosophic and ethical issues that concern the science of marketing. This is a must read for anyone looking to earn a living on the internet. As anyone who reads this blog might know, I don’t see eye to eye with Dmitry on many things (which makes for a great interview), but his answers are thoughtful, well considered, and insightful. My thanks to Dmitry for the time taken to give me this interview.

More…

The Art of Narrative in Half Life 2

03-Nov-07

Gaming will probably become the dominant form of entertainment within the next decade. With games now beginning to hit the mainstream, expectations continue to grow with respect to the entertainment experience provided. It’s no longer enough to throw a couple of monsters in the way of the player’s crosshairs to shoot – a rich visual and narrative experience is expected as well. This creates choices for the game designer that are not decided with ease. In particular, a tension is created between the desire for a rich narrative experience, as opposed to player freedom to determine their own experience. This post will be an exploration of that tension as it plays out in the Half Life series of games. I’ll look at how narrative is constructed in the half life games. My argument will be that while games are capable of providing a rich narrative – this is generally at the expense of gameplay; and secondly, that if this decision is taken then a very strong and rich narrative is required to ensure an enduring an memorable experience for the gamer. The half life series serves as an example of this sort of game – where gameplay aspects are sacrificied for the sake of the narrative. While Half Life 2 had perhaps the best narrative of a game I’ve ever seen, it’s sequels have lost the depth that made Half Life 2 so great. With Valve continuing to limit player freedom (irrespective of their claims for the latest episode), along with the shorter episodic content – this combines to give a fairly shallow gameplay experience – limiting replayability. In what follows I will attempt to demonstrate why I think this to be the case.

More…