The Man Who Fell To Earth..."The Space Between Us"

The Space Between Us (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Asa Butterfield, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, Britt Robertson,

Directed by Peter Chelsom

The Story:

Gardner (Butterfield) was the first human born on Mars. His mom died during childbirth, and there was no clue who his father was. Inquisitive, the astronauts that have been at the Mars facility have helped raise him, and he is very smart and inquisitive, but a tad socially awkward. Thanks to technology, he has been in contact with one girl, Tulsa (Robertson) on Earth. What Gardner wants more than anything is to come home to Earth and find his dad, meet Tulsa, and feel what it's like to be human. Unfortunately, since he was born in space, his body and organs are not used to Earth's gravity, and the trip very well may kill him.

Not your typical coming of age storyline, but one that I found enjoyable to watch, cliches and all.

Gardner has pretty much learned anything and everything in life from NASA engineers and technology at his disposal, but he has to still learn what it's like to be human.

He has found a kindred spirit in Tulsa, who longs for a life that is anything but the life she currently lives.

Of course how can a boy who cannot live on Earth come home, find his father, find true love and survive all in the span of 2 hours?

While not perfect, for the most part the movie works just fine from start to finish.

The cast does a fine job, and it's always a pleasure to see Oldman and Gugino in just about any movie.

The ending really works for the film and ties up the narrative nicely

Final Grade: B-

War Is Just A Game With A More Serious Outcome..."Ender's Game"

Ender's Game (2013)

Rated PG-13 for violence

Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Aramis Knight

Directed by Gavin Hood

The Story:

In the future, the Earth was threatened by an alien race.  Saved by a heroic pilot (Kingsley), the Earth regrouped and has formed a battle fleet that will chase down the aliens and ensure that they are never again threatened by the species.  To do this, the military uses children who they push and assess to see if they can find their next great leader. Colonel Graff (Ford) believes he has found such a prodigy in Ender Wiggin (Butterfield) and he is recruited to lead the forces into battle.  But is a child really the right leader in the balance of life and death?

Well, it was no After Earth, thank goodness!

But again, I've been stuck in a rut with a bunch of average movies.

Granted, at the end of the day, that's way better than a bunch of terrible movies.

This film feels like it could have used a bit of trimming to shorten it's almost 2 hour runtime down to 90 minutes.

A few tweaks here and there, could have lifted this one a little higher.

No complaints with Harrison Ford, thankfully growing his hair back.  His gruff demeanor lends more believability to the film and tries to anchor it with his performance.

Ben Kingsley is also a nice, but wholly underused, addition to the cast. The character is integral to the film, and I would have liked to have seen more.

Otherwise, the kids engaging in military games, pushing each other in the pursuit of their objectives and the final question of who were the real monsters keep this film from being a total letdown.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again, but I'd be in no hurry.