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The Earth stood still for me ... plus my Top Ten TV dramas
(December 19, 2008) -- I suppose that Keanu Reeves does not suffer from allodoxaphobia, or a fear of opinions. If he does, he’s probably hiding under his bed in some faraway land where movie reviews are banned.
In his latest movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still, most movie reviewers panned the sci-fi retooling of a 1951 so-named classic by the same title; and, they were not kind to Reeves – who, by the way, is one of my favorite big-screen actors.
And, of course, I beg to differ with those reviewers who could not watch the 2008 version without referring to the 1951 classic in their media articles. Now, so must I.
In comparison, the Robert Wise-directed 1951 flick was in black and white, had a plausible storyline (an alien alights in his spacecraft on Earth to warn earthlings that peace is far better than war) and had special effects that are so antiquated by today’s standards.
The latest version was in wide-screen color, had an updated storyline (similar to the 1951 flick although the earthlings were destroying the Earth instead of warring with each other) and the special effects were dynamic – especially the swarm of metalbugs that created havoc toward the end.
I enjoy catching pieces of the 1951 film on TCM, which starred Michael Rennie as Klaatu, pre-Oscar winner Patricia Neal (Hud in 1964) as Helen Benson, Billy Gray as Bobby Henson and Sam Jaffe as Professor Jacob Barnhardt. Without today’s innovative special effects, the 1951 flick trudges toward an ending in which Neal’s character utters the chiseled-in-stone line, “Klaatu barada nikto,” that stopped the gigantic hulk of metal, Gort, in his destruction-intended tracks.
As the new movie kept unfolding, I eagerly waited for Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly (best supporting actress in A Beautiful Mind in 2001), as Dr. Helen Benson, to say the magic words – but she did not. Though slightly disappointed (I had written the phrase in my Datebook so that I could mouth the words at the same time she did using my free Anson Rescue Squad LED flashlight in the theater darkness ), but it did not spoil the movie for me.
Reeves played his Klaatu role to a “T.” He has a certain panache for strange roles – i.e., Neo in The Matrix trilogy or John Constantine in Constantine, plus Johnny Mnemonic and his cartoonish character in A Scanner Darkly, which was based upon a Phillip Dick short story.
Jaden Smith, the son of actor Will Smith and actress Jada Pinkett Smith, played Jacob Benson (not Bobby this time around) and stole the screen time from Reeves and Connelly. John Cleese had the Jaffe role of Professor Jacob Barnhardt and Kathy Bates played the secretary of defense.
The Day the Earth Stood Still garnered top honors at the box office for the Dec. 12-14 weekend, unseating Four Christmases.
To me, the reviewers of the 2008 movie missed the boat since it held its own and, likely, will become a classic itself – in time.
SOME THIS AND THAT
Triskadekaphobes will be nervous in 2009. There are three Friday the Thirteens – in February, March and November. Wonder where that faraway place that Reeves found to hide from opinions?
The USA Network is advertising the January dates for Monk and Psych (Jan. 9 at 9 and 10 p.m., respectively); and for Burn Notice. However, I have not seen any tube ads or any info on the Internet about Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which will introduce us to Jeff Goldblum, who replaces the departed Chris Noth in the NYPD special case unit.
And, as TV viewers enter a brief rerun season (and Christmas specials), my Top Ten drama shows for Fall/Winter 2008 are as follows: NCIS, CSI, The Mentalist, The Eleventh Hour, CSI: New York, Bones, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, CSI: Miami and Numb3rs.
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