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zaxxon25
Reviews
The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)
Microcosmos for paranoids
The Hellstrom Chronicle is a documentary about insects wrapped within a fiction. Visually it's incredibly stunning, very similar to Microcosmos in its "how did they get that shot?" camerawork. The film is narrated by a fictional scientist who claims that the final two lifeforms on earth will be man and insect, and when they face off man will lose. This places a very ominous slant on the action, and instead of Microcosmos's wonderment at nature we are treated with Hellstrom's dire dissertation on the various advantages insects have over humans. The voiceovers are hilariously over the top, and the musical accompaniment is splendid in its portent of doom. The movie does tip its hand with an obviously set up hidden camera segment 3/4 of the way through, though the knowledge that Hellstrom is a fiction doesn't diminish the drama. By the end I actually appreciated the kooky construction, which gave the filmmakers a rationalization to deal with some of the harsher aspects of insect life.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Incompetent
The plotting in this film is beyond poor. How can the Enterprise drop the warp core yet still make it back in time to save Picard? Why does the ship need to fly over the collector to transport Picard back to safety? Why doesn't the holodeck simulate the collection after simulating the collection sequence? And the proliferation of hideous cliches ... the child running back into danger; the ram scoot (which was tired by the 40's); the fight sequence predictably ending in the stretching chair. The villains claim they don't want to co-inhabit the planet because "it would take ten years" to feel the effects, yet the Enterprise crew are significantly affected within hours! And I haven't even mentioned the joystick yet...