Contact

Rating:
Summary: watch it just for william fichtner
Review: the movie's great... it's only downfalls i would say were that it was a bit lengthy and that matthew's character could have been more dynamic... but you should watch it just to see william fichtner as kent clark, the blind guy! he's an awesome actor and this was the part that really seemed to get him noticed. yeah... i like him a bit.

Rating:
Summary: This one grew on me.
Review: I like jody foster and Scifi, and Robert Zemeckis gave us the movie USED CARS, one of my favorites. I should have like this movie, but when I first saw it the ending left me cold and shaking my head.

After seeing it again, what I really liked is not the somewhat silly scifi part of the plot but rather the relationship between Jodie F and Mathew M and the nature of believing in something that you can't prove... like proving that your dad loved you or proving that god exists. It is our beliefs in this that can not be proven that makes us human.

The story about the puzzle and the trip to another planet was just background for the rest of it, and that is why I have seen this movie several times and enjoy it more with each viewing.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant and profound motion picture event
Review: I really wasn't sure that Carl Sagan's novel would translate very well to the big screen; after all, Sagan and his book were grounded in science, some of the most hardware-intensive scenes were left rather vague in the novel, and Sagan's atheism threatened to somehow taint the story's interplay of science and religion. This movie, though, despite the fact that it necessarily differs from Sagan's novel at times, works amazingly well, even resurrecting a powerful ending under conditions that could be criticized by some in the two words "nothing happens." Indeed, something amazing does happen, and even if it had not, one theme that I read into this story is that the journey is often more important than the destination.

This motion picture is (pardon the pun) stellar in so many ways, reflecting a rare level of commitment on the part of everyone involved. This really starts with the cast. The role of Dr. Ellie Arroway was a crucial one that, in the hands of the wrong actress, could have doomed the whole project. Any concerns along these lines, though, were dispensed with immediately upon the signing of Jodie Foster, the greatest female actress of this generation. Matthew McConaughey gives a better than average performance as Palmer Joss (the religious guy), Tom Skerritt is as unlikable as always in his role as the President's Science Advisor and frequent Arroway nemesis, and the rest of the cast excels as well. The injection of then-President Clinton and a number of CNN journalists into a number of scenes also brings a most welcome feel of reality to the profound events taking place here. The special effects are just wonderful. The opening scene is as beautiful and memorable as any scene you will find anywhere, the animation of the giant machine is extremely realistic, and the visual aspects of space travel are also a sight to behold. Not only do these great scenes delight the eyes, they remain true to the nuts and bolts of science that Sagan wanted in the movie. This movie may be long by some standards, coming in at almost two and a half hours, but there's not one wasted scene.

The story is, in a sense, not all that complicated. Ellie Arroway (Foster) finally gets a chance to realize her dream of searching for signals from outer space, only to find herself and her project stripped of funding by an unimaginative (or possibly secretive) government. She and her colleagues refuse to let the dream die, and on one remarkable day they pick up a signal. Once the signal is verified and word gets out, the public begins to wig out in a number of ways (quite overblown, in my opinion) and the government, specifically the military, swoops in to get their hands on the project. Ironically, yet very plausibly, part of the signal ends up showing a clip of Hitler opening the Munich Olympic Games (which was the first television signal broadcast over a sizable area). Arroway manages to persevere in her work, and eventually a message is discerned among the data, yielding blueprints for some type of great machine. After plenty of government haggling, the machine is built, and one person is chosen to travel in what the scientists now come to believe is some type of interstellar craft. The movie does not end here, though, not by a long shot.

I find a few aspects about this movie and Sagan's novel interesting on a personal level. Sagan was a long-time exponent of the search for extraterrestrial life, yet at a certain point in his career, he noticeably changed and became one of the most unobjective bulwarks of the movement to discredit any and all UFO sightings and encounters; some have speculated that he became a participant in the official government policy of disinformation and dismissal. I believe he would know better than most how the government would frown upon news as profound as the discovery of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and this movie certainly does show some of the dangers inherent in the military takeover of extraterrestrial projects. I am also somewhat surprised at just how effective the juxtaposition of science and religion is presented here, given Sagan's lifelong atheism. The religious aspect of the film works more in a spiritual than a Biblical sense, yet work it does. There is obviously a lot of Sagan himself in Dr. Arroway, and this story, in both novel and motion picture form, stands as a true testament to one of the most influential scientists of modern times.

Rating:
Summary: Is there alien life out there?
Review: I loved this movie, because it made me think. Jodie Foster is great to watch and Matthew McConaughey does some of his better acting, in my opinion.

The true sci/fi buffs seem to not like this movie, but I found it an enjoyable experience. It made my family think and that's a true sign of quality entertainment!

Rating:
Summary: A Question of Faith
Review: Like all good science fiction, the futuristic setting is only glossy packaging to capture our interest while distancing us to the role of specator...the content is about our contemporary world and the issues within it. Based on the late Dr Carl Sagan's book by the same name, "Contact" is an eloquent exposition about the conflict of opinion regarding science and religion. No where is this more evident than in the range of reviews listed here and how the reviewers felt about the movie's message.

This is a "deep" movie - meaning it will appeal to those who like to think about their movies, rather than just experience them. If you are hoping for a Heinlein "Starship Troops" action flick, forget it. There is some amazing eye-candy in form of the much touted Earth fly-away in the opening and the psychedelic trip to Vega, (an obvious nod to another "deep" sci-fi film by another accomplished sci-fi author), but on the whole, this is film that will keep you occupied well past its 150-minute run time.

Is there reality a conflict between Science and Religion? Or is one a form of the other? Can anyone really claim to be purely scientific or purely religious? Or perhaps these are mutually supporting methodologies where the human race decides what it knows and what it doesn't know, but believes. A review is not meant to answer these question, but viewing the film is certainly going to make you think about them.

Jodie Foster was perfectly cast in the role of Dr. Eleanor Arroway, an orphan turned scientist who is about as close to the purely-rational intellectual as a human can get. (Remember, Mr. Spock was only half human.) It was no doubt a risky move for a popular actress to play an atheist protagonist to an almost wholly religious audience, but Ms. Foster, noted for her integrity in choosing roles, delivers a performance that should have earned her an Oscar (or perhaps that was the price?)

In all a great movie that I'm pleased to have in my collection and one I'd unconditionally recommend for those deep-thinkers and lovers of hard science fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Is this what passes for popular entertainment?
Review: This movie symbolizes everything that's bad about pop sci-fi. A deep, meaningful movie that made no real sense, had a plot that DRAGGED, and was filled with countless scientific blunders, unfounded assumptions (evidently you have to be an atheist to be a scientist), and ultimately left the viewer asking the inevitable question "What the hell was that all about?". If you truly like science fiction avoid this movie at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: Why can't they make more like it?
Review: Contact is a work of art, a scientific masterpiece, and an all-around great movie. This is the kind of movie that gives you goosebumps while motivating you to explore your world as well as yourself. Truly amazing. I saw it 13 times in the theatre. I've seen it at least as many in my home. One of my top five all time favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Equal time for reason--quite refreshing
Review: In these times when Hollywood gives us so much ill-inspired pseudo-scientific and -technical bunk to wade our way through in the interest of entertainment, we also get this wonderful story by the late Dr. Sagan brought to decent special-effects life. Though much of what we hear coming from the mouth of Dr. Arroway (Jodie Foster), as directed at Palmer Joss (McConaughey), is presented with such an attempt at persuasion as you'd find in the characters of an Ayn Rand novel, the basic story is that life is a precious possession, to be cherished for all it is at the present moment. The relationship of Ellie to her father is one of profound loss, but she will not accept God's will as explanation: "I should have kept the medicine in the downstairs bathroom--then I could have gotten to him faster". We are really left wondering about just what the actual "phenomenon" is that we have witnessed, since evidence proves finally lacking for the rigorously-grounded scientist to follow. Sagan's awareness of the kind of fringe groups that "are out there" is illustrated by the mass-celebration and -demonstration held outside the Very Large Array, even to include a chapter of the Chevy Vega collectors' association, in honor of the star that has finally heard our stray RF from the 1930's and sent back its reply. The response of the Clinton administration (though I understand the clip of him giving a press conference was lifted from another context) in militarizing the project might even find support among the UFO conspiracy-types. But Dr. Arroway does not care; she has taken up the banner of scientific inquiry and integrity, so she needs to tell "everyone". The "machine" is exceptionally well-modeled for the screen, though we have to wonder about some of what is purported to go on when the capsule finally reaches the core. We are given imagery to remind us of the transport in "2001: A Space Odyssey", or as later seen in Neo's initiation via the Rabbit Hole in "The Matrix". This is a highly-developed story about a variety of developments in its human characters. We are left wondering, though...what COULD have taken place for those 18 hours?

Rating:
Summary: Call It Faith
Review: Though I did debate on whether to give this movie 4 or 5 stars, it truly deserves all five. This is another well-rounded movie, awe-inspiring, and is completely captivating to its audience. It is a movie about following your dreams, and it ultimately leading to your faith. Though in the beginning of this movie Ellie is not a faithful person, through her triumphs and long-waited success with SETI she grows on the inside as a person of character and of faith. It is inspiring, well performed, and the special effects (though few) were absolutely impeccable. This movie questions many of the beliefs and thoughts that are among us all and, through its intriguing tale, presents many of its own theories. All in all, a job very well done and a story very well written.

Rating:
Summary: Truely deeply terrific
Review: Carl Sagan was a wonder and this abridged audio version of Contact is the only version I've ever gone through. I saw the film, but never read any of his other books. I've since ordered them all. Amazing.

Wow. I literally didn't want to get out of my car. As good as Jodie Foster was in the film, her audio read was remarkable. She really is as good as they get on screen and in my car stereo. Her talent was to convey the wonder of the book and make me care about the issues and she really delivers.

If you are thinking about buying this, you won't regret it. The only regret you may feel is that Carl is now gone and there won't be any more of his wonderfully educating stories.