Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, But Not Scary
Review: The genres of science fiction and horror are often lumped side-by-side in video stores and the appendices of motion picture textbooks. When Alien screamed onto the screen back in 1979, the SF/Horror movie became a sub-genre of its own. On the downside, movies like Pitch Black are inevitably compared to it and often pale in comparison.Yet, Pitch Black stands out. The background for the story is compelling. The camerawork is genuinely interesting. Best of all, it's a science fiction movie that dares to take place somewhere besides outer space. That alone should merit praise. When the deep space ship Hunter-Gratzner crashes on an unknown planet, the surviving passengers and crew are left with the task of surviving on a desert-like world that appears uninhabitable. The ragtag remains include an antiquities curator, a holy man and his sons, a cop and the killer he is escorting to prison. The only surviving crew member is the copilot, who nearly killed everyone on board in order to land the ship and save herself. Naturally, the survivors begin a search for water, hoping to survive long enough to afford a rescue. Luck provides them with both when they find the remnants of a geology camp that has been deserted for years. There is water and a small junked ship they may be able to repair. Just when things begin to look up, however, the carnage begins. Pitch Black can certainly be predictable at times, but very few movies (especially science fiction) come across as wholly unique. And yes, the characters are underdeveloped and poorly written. Despite all these problems, however, it can be quite entertaining. Between the barren world and the skittery creatures that inhabit its darker regions, special care has been given to creating a world where the story takes place. It is not just visually striking, but also photographed in a unique manner (with overexposed shots and filtered lenses) that provides the audience with a true sense of setting. The only interesting performance comes from Vin Diesel (Boiler Room). His ruthless killer remains in character for most of the movie, and his cold, manipulating manner is often more scary than anything else in the film. Science fiction fans expecting to see Claudia Black (the SCI FI Channel's "Farscape") will be disappointed. Her appearance is notable only in its brevity. Even though reviews of Pitch Black have called the movie derivative of Alien, it still manages to be interesting and entertaining. As a science fiction movie, it's average. But fans of the genre should still see it.
Rating: 
Summary: These creatures were ruthless
Review: This movie was entertaining to watch with its suspense, diverse character study, unpredictable plot turns, and not to mention the scary sequences. This movie did a good job in making these creatures be seen as terrifying. All these beings wanted to do was eat their human pray and no child or women was spared which makes the creature from "Alien" look tame compared to these carnivores. The story line on Pitch black was that the a crew was forced to make an emergency crash landing on this deadly planet shortly before the time this planet had a 3 sun solar eclipse to the moon. As a result, the entire planet goes dark indefinantly and these fierce creatures come flying out of the ground like locusts infesting the entire planet.
Vin Diesel of course was the unofficial hero in this film although his character portrayal was not one of a typical good hearted empathitic hero. Rather he was a melicious murderer held captive on this ship by a police figure who also had bad intentions but, I won't get into that, you gotta see it for yourself. Coincedentally, Vin's character has abnormal eye sight which allows him to see in the dark therefore, the crew members feeling helpless against these deadly creatures are forced to rely on Vin's night vision for thier survival. Vin's character however, has other ideas which is to sacrifies the crews lives to these creatures to ensure his own escape. I won't give away how things end up but, I'll just say that it is slightly unpredictable and action packed along the way. Even these aliens fall victim to Vin's bad azz gung ho approach. Great sci fi flick that isn't for everybodies taste but, if you like the sci fi thriller genre, definantly take a look at this film.
Rating:
Summary: it's fun to watch people die in the dark
Review: This film is so good it should be placed in hermetically sealed theatre and only shown to the five richest people in the universe(of which i am seven). To begin with, Vin Diesel shows he has more than just a deep voice inside his heavily waxed head, giving the kind of performance that directors like Rob Cohen seem to lose in favour of explosions and idiotic one liners. he's ably supported by Cole Hauser (who you will spot in Good Will Hunting and Tigerland) and Rhada Mitchell plus a cast of unknowns who play victims very well, especially the Paris P. Ogelvee character, who is hilarious. The script is good, building good characters, even the minor ones who get picked off by the vicious aliens, and throwing one or two unexpected twists into the mix, along with nice set pieces, and comes up with good ways to work round the lack of light that gives the movie it's name. The set pieces and special effects are also top notch, with director David Twohy opting, probably due to low budget, to keep the monsters in the dark and not ruin all the realism by carting out some rubber CGI piece of crap-ola that is so obviously green screened in it makes you want to stick your face in a colostomy bag. To put it simply, if you like horror movies, sci-fi, or Vin Diesel, get this film. and quick, before i comission the hermetically sealed theatre.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than it should have been.
Review: In a world of cheap knock-offs, bad scripts, and assembly-line plots, Pitch Black shines. Arguably an Alien derivative, this film could have been another sci-fi, big effects, lame catch-phrase waste of 120 minutes, but it found quality where other films of this genre find crap. Pitch Black did not need to be this good. Instead of flat, cliche characters, Pitch Black delivers suprisingly human, unique, diverse, sympathetic survivors. Instead of a reaching, ridiculous tale filled with pathetic attempts to spark a sense of morality, it delivers a solid sci-fi/horror punch and lets the character development reveal its humanity. And instead of over-dramatized, over-used, commercial direction, it pulls the viewer into a beautiful, haunting, frightening world where the nightmare creatures are just another hurdle for our heroes (and anti-heroes) to survive. Granted, the story had some holes big enough to drive a truck through, but they were truly lost in the overall feel of this new sci-fi classic. Pitch Black is a staple in my collection, because it is far better than it had to be.
Rating:
Summary: A Surprisingly Good Sci-Fi Thriller
Review: Pitch Black somehow managed to slip past me in it's original theatrical release, but the good word-of-mouth convinced me to buy the DVD. My original impression of the film turned out to be pretty much true: John Carpenter's "The Thing" meets "Alien". A diverse group of people are marooned on a desolate planet with three suns. One of the survivors, Riddick, (Played by Vin Diesel) is a mass-murderer/serial killer. The planet is inhabited by nocturnal, light-sensitive creatures who feed on human flesh....Luckily, the three suns force the Aliens to avoid the surface. Unfortunately for our hapless survivors, they've arrived just in time for a once-every-22-Years Total Eclipse....Is that the dinner bell I hear ringing....? And what's the bigger threat: The carnivorous Aliens or Riddick...? What sets Pitch Black apart is it's smart script. There are quite a few twists and turns here. Heroes who aren't so heroic, villains who might not be all that bad, a couple of unexpected deaths.....The effects are good, but don't overshadow the generally fine acting. Diesel did a good job as Riddick, but I did have to rewind and use the subtitles a LOT to catch some of Riddick's lines due to Diesel's mumbly delivery... The DVD has footage not seen in theaters, 2 seperate commentary tracks, theatrical trailers, production notes, cast & crew bios, a totally dopey "Pitch Black Raveworld Event" (20 minutes of people dancing while clips from the film play in the background), and a teeny-weeny little making-of featurette that clocks in at less than five minutes. Even though I'm not generally a fan of Vin Diesel's, if they do make a Riddick-based sequel, I'll be first on line....
Rating:
Summary: Modern Sci-Fi Epic inspired by, not derivative of, Aliens
Review: Science Fiction (and horror, for that matter) films are so numerous that their stories have been copied, remade, expanded upon, narrowed down so much that there is hardly an original idea still floating around in this genre. "Pitch Black" does little to change that fact. The concept of a rogue alien species endangering and eliminating human life is hardly a new one. The Alien Trilogy provides the seminal work for this type of story and several dozen other movies have tried to copy that formula to varying degress (mostly lesser) of success. "Pitch Black" manages to avoid the pitfalls of the path already paved in its approach to re-telling a similar story. A transport ship carrying 40 commercial passengers (and 1 maximum security prisoner) encounter a meteor storm that forces a crash landing on a barren planet seemingly devoid of life, leaving only about a dozen of the passengers still alive. The initial trick is in making the viewer think that the now escaped prisoner, Riddick, (played with remarkable style and depth by Vin Diesel) is the true threat to the survival of the rest of the passengers. The real danger isn't Riddick, but a species of carnivorous, raptor-like animals (seemingly inspired by the species in Aliens) indigenous to this planet. Initially, these animals are not much of a threat as they are deathly afraid of light (which scalds them) and this planet is privy to three (!) suns. However, in an unexpected twist of bad luck, the survivors find out that they are about the experience an event that occurs only once every 22 years on this world... a total solar eclipse of all three suns. Once the eclipse starts, these creatures are free to roam the surface of the planet and devour whatever prey they may find (humans, in this case). The goal of the survivors becomes trying to transport energy cells from the crashed ship to an intact escape ship left behind by the previous set of unlucky souls from 22 years earlier. With the interesting twists in its premise, this movie would still not be much more than sci-fi rehash with a gimmick if it were not for the stellar performances put in by an underrated cast. Diesel is the most noteworthy as convicted murder Riddick. This role practically sets itself up for a mail-it-in performance of detached coolness. Yet, Diesel brings surprising pathos to Riddick that enables the viewer to empathize with his struggle to do whats right for Riddick (because, he is a criminal after all) or do whats right for the survivors (because he is human at the core). One scene early in the movie demonstrates this range perfectly. Johns, the mercenary cop who tracked down and captures Riddick, taunts Riddick while making a deal the ensure his cooperation and assistance in trying to get the survivors off-planet. To drive home the point that Johns is definitely in control, he quickly points and fires his rifle at Riddick, intentionally missing him by a few inches telling him, "Now I want you to remember this moment, as a way things could have gone, but didn't". Johns, gets a little too close to Riddick after this and gets surprised when Riddick, now unrestrained by the cords holding him at bay, grabs the rifle from Johns, quickly flips around in his face and screams at him "Now you remember THIS moment!". While it would be easy to display over the top rage or unnatural coolness during this turn of events, Diesel's facial features betray a sense of frustration and fear in knowing very well that Johns could have killed him and that he does indeed control Riddick. Vin Diesel is a relatively new actor who first came to audiences' attentions playing Private Caparzo in "Saving Private Ryan". He has such a prescence that watching him on-screen is truly compelling, from roles like a shady stock broker in "Boiler Room" to science fiction a**-kicker in "Pitch Black". Diesel's Riddick makes some of the characters played by Schwarzenegger and Stallone look like Little Lord Fauntleroy. Diesel could own Hollywood before it's all said and done. Cole Houser adds strength in the role of the merc cop Johns. Johns is seems focused primarily on greed (Riddick is a large payday to him) and his next drug hit. He is so cold and calculating that by far exceeds Riddick as the most dangerous human. Radha Mitchell as the ships surviving crew member and Keith David as an Arab holy man also turn in effective performances in the struggle to survive this alien world. While certainly not an original story, "Pitch Black" takes familiar plot elements and weaves them together into a re-telling that is refreshing and captivating.
Rating: 
Summary: waste of time
Review: i did not see this at the theatre, and don't recall if it was at the theatre, however i did notice the alien type filming, but also sorta reminded me of mad max due to the accents of the characters, and t he desert envionment.
this film should have been made at a faster pace, to slow, and to dumb of actors speaking just to comsume time.
after 1 hour..i stopped it, and got it ready to ship back to the rental company...! vin diesel was ok, not super crazy about him.. or see what other's see in his acting ability.
Rating:
Summary: If Riddick Ruled The Planet...
Review: PITCH BLACK is a very well thought out thriller, that on premise alone sounds a lot like ALIEN, but upon execution, is not. When a spaceship crashes on a remote planet, the survivors must face their darkest fears, to stay alive. Their power supply is at a minimum. When the planet loses the warmth of daylight, horrible creatures attack, and their only weakness is the light. The ranking crewmember, Carolyn Fry, (Radha Mitchell) must turn to a psychopathic killer passenger for help to defeat the creatures of the dark. Actor Vin Diesel is the man known as Riddick., who is evil, put in charge of the group's very lives. Diesel's first star turn after SAVING PRIVATE RYAN suits him. His deep voice, shaved head, and imposing manner make his Riddick, one of the best anti-heroes in recent memory. Co-written and directed by David Twohy, the film is creepy, and its effects are well done. The unrated version of the film, inserts about 3 minutes of footage into the movie, not seen theatrically. The new stuff does very little to enhance the plot (more gore). Anyone who is a fan of sci-fi/horror will like this film. The DVD has a by the numbers "making of" featurette. There is an excellent commentary track with Twohy, Diesel, actor Cole Hauser, producer Tom Engelman, and VFX supervisor Peter Chiang. It also includes a rather freaky Raveworld event deadicated to the film and its theatrical trailer. Personally, I would recommend the unrated film over its rated counterpart, because I happen to like the "new" scenes. **** Stars
Rating:
Summary: Don't be afraid of the dark, be afraid of what's in the dark
Review: With the release of The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) aka Pitch Black 2, Universal Home Video has decided to try and squeeze a bit more juice from the original film, releasing a Special Wide Screen Unrated Director's Cut edition. Is it worth it, for all of you out there who've already bought one of the numerous previous releases? I'll answer this question later. Pitch Black (2000) was directed by David Twohy, better known to me for his writing credits, specifically the Kevin Costner suck fest Waterworld (1995). Despite that particular credit, he did write and direct The Arrival (1996), which I did enjoy, but when the hole you're trying to exhume yourself from of is Waterworld, you have a lot of digging ahead of you. The most notable star in the film is Vin Diesel as Riddick, and, while not his first film, this is probably the one that really got him and his bald head noticed by the public. The film also stars Cole Hauser as William Johns, an actor I most recall from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused and sometimes get confused with Ben Affleck, who was also in that movie. Also appearing in the film is the delicious Claudia Black, a woman that any sci-fi aficionado would recognize as Aeryn Sun from the popular Farscape television series and Keith David, popular character actor I recognize mostly from John Carpenter films like The Thing (1982) and They Live (1988). Anyhow, the film opens on a giant ship traveling through space. We see a number of people in cryo sleep, as since we all know, space travel takes a long time, so in order to pass the extended periods of time, people must be partially frozen, like green peas, and then thawed out when needed. Well, something goes wrong with the ship, and various peoples begin popping out of cryo sleep, as the computer, who probably screwed things up in the first place, now needs people to fix matters. But there's no fixing these particular matters as the ship makes a crash landing on a pretty crummy desert-like planet. As the surviving members of the ill-fated cruise extricate themselves from the wreckage, soon begin to learn more of these individuals. There's the Skipper, Mary Ann, the Professor...wait, that's not right...ah skip it...anyway, we do get to meet Riddick, the only passenger chained and bound during cryo sleep, who manages to escape his bonds, to which Johns begins to run around looking for him. As the others begin looking for water, a couple stay behind, one in particular to begin burying those who didn't survive the landing. As he's digging, he finds a hole, decides to stick his head inside, and poof, he's gone, leaving an awful lot of blood behind...where did he go? We see Riddick standing over the hole, to which everyone assumes he killed the man, but we learn pretty shortly afterwards that's not the case. An investigation turns up some pretty hideous (and hungry) creatures that can only venture out when the sun (or suns, as there's three of them on this world) is down. The stranded individuals eventually find water, in the form of a deserted mining camp. Also in the camp is a space skiff, a small ship capable of getting them off the planet and into space shipping lanes where they would most likely be picked up by a passing freighter. Only problem is the skiff needs power to operate, so heavy power cells from the crashed vessel must be transported to the skiff, and the distance is more than a hop, skip and a jump. Oh yeah, night is falling, causing the indigenous inhabitants to stir, and stir they do...by the millions...by the way, did I mention Riddick has some strange modification to his eyes that allow him to see in the dark? You can see where this might come in handy in the darkness of a planet inhabited by big, hungry, scary, carnivorous nocturnal creatures... So, is this film any good? Being so inundated by B-movie flicks over the many years of my movie viewing existence, I was pleasantly surprised to find this was actually a very good film with better than average special effects. Okay, originality isn't its' strong point, but certain elements within the story makes it better than most, the key being that there is a coherent story throughout. And real, honest to goodness character development, to the point where I became unsure who was actually going to make it to the end of the film. The presentation of the character of Riddick, the anti-hero, was fun, and the notion of fighting evil with evil, as the tag line states seems a misrepresentation, as I really didn't see the creatures as being evil, only doing what they would normally do...the one character I found most annoying was that of Jack, given his whining and such, and sacrifices made to accommodate him. The element about the story I enjoyed most was that very little seemed to be what it appeared to be, specifically with the major characters and plot lines. Things get a bit topsy-turvy as revelations are made. So, is it worth buying this version if you've already bought a previous DVD release of the film? Probably not...the special features included are commentaries by the director and stars Diesel and Hauser, additional commentaries by the director, the producer, and the guy in charge of the special effects, which were available on previous releases. The list of new features is listed on this website, but I found very little of them really worth my time, so if you already own a previous version (I didn't), you're not missing much. There was a free movie pass included in the DVD case, one for the new movie The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), so that's pretty sweet, give that going to the theater to see a new film has gotten so expensive. Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: One Of My Favorite Movies...Wost Special Edition Ever
Review: I am a huge fan of Pitch Black. This is one of the greatest reasons I purchased the special edition. Big mistake. You can save alot of money if you just buy the original on DVD. This is by far the worst "Special Edition DVD." I have ever encountered. The Bonus Features are on average about 1 minute long. The Picture quality is the same and the missing scenes are nothing you would care about missing. I can just see some big wig saying "hey let's just throw together this movie with a few commercials for the game, upcoming movie and 20 seconds of making of footage and make a quick buck off these sucker fans of ours." Even the "Encycolopedia" is an outright insult to anyone. Poorly done, this narrated encycolopedia has 3-4 concept art sketches and lasts about 20 seconds. RETARDED AND A HUGE DISSAPOINTMENT. Definately buy this movie...just not the Special Edition if you dont have to. Vin Diesel-your new game is awesome but how could you let them do this... Its like spitting in our faces.
|
