VividSimon Simply Perfect

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Scott LeBrun Top Kiwi actor Bruno Lawrence ("Smash Palace", "Utu") stars in this post-apocalypse drama as Zac Hobson, a government scientist who awakens early one morning to find an utterly decimated New Zealand. This may have something to do with the multinational project on which he was working. He seems to be the last human standing, and for months he deals with loneliness by doing anything he takes a notion to do. I mean, what the Hell? He's now got tons of freedom. His existence is then thrown for a loop when he encounters two survivors: first, a beautiful young woman named Joanne (Alison Routledge), and later, an intense Maori trucker named Api (Pete Smith).This addition by New Zealand to the entire post-apocalypse genre is not all that satisfying at the end, but if it's true that the writers didn't quite know how to end this thing, it only adds a level of interest by not providing neat and easy answers. Viewers can interpret it how they will. And getting there is an entertaining journey. For about 36 minutes, Lawrence is the only living human on screen, and he makes Zac an easy character to root for. You can't blame him for the various wacky things he does in order to keep his sanity. And when he meets Joanne, and then Api, it does complicate things in believable enough ways.Give credit to director Geoff Murphy and company for their creations of the deserted and forlorn environments. They really do master the illusion of a world without individuals. The pace is deliberate, and for the most part their film lives up to the word "quiet". This is subtle, character-driven stuff, not for folks who'd prefer the thrills of something like "Mad Max".Our three main actors are engaging, especially Lawrence, who keeps you watching through the opening third. Lawrence also scripted (with producer Sam Pillsbury, and Bill Baer), based on the novel by Craig Harrison.This is worth a look-see if you're a fan of this genre and are searching for its less well known entries.Seven out of 10.

jlthornb51 Directed by Geoff Russell, this is one of the most visionary and imaginative science fiction films ever produced. Years ago on a Saturday night, this movie served as my introduction to the SciFi Channel. That was back before SyFy and when great science fiction films were shown instead of schlock and reality junk. This was a terrific introduction and one I've never forgotten. Featuring an outstanding and memorable performance by Bruno Lawrence, it is that rare combination of an intelligent script and superb direction fulfilling the true potential of science fiction to tell a meaningful story. The existential power of this film is realized in a stunning closing sequence of incredibly haunting imagery, beautifully scored by composer John Charles, with special effects that are simple yet breathtaking. It may be one of the most moving, breathtaking, and thought provoking motion picture climaxes ever filmed. It is certainly one you will never forget. This is science fiction at its finest and deserves to be recognized as nothing less than a classic.

hp-proli This movie had a fascinating premise and started out well enough. It held my interest and engaged my imagination. And, it made me truly interested in what had actually happened to create this situation. So, it had great potential, despite its obvious low budget.But, this movie basically ruined an otherwise decent science fiction premise by presenting us with what I will term as a "lazy" ending. It is as if the author started out with an inspiration for the story, but then lost it before he could complete it. The final scene scarcely seemed as though it actually belonged to this film - like it should have been tacked onto the end of another low budget science fiction film, but not this one. We are left with a non-ending. We do not know what happened to everyone else on Earth or whether they were restored to their previous realities. We do not know what happened to any of the characters presented in the story, with the exception of this bizarre notion that Zac Hobson, somehow, ended up on an entirely different planet - but we have no idea how or why, or whether he was alone there, too. And, the final image for the movie is also the one they associate with the film. Why? What does that image have to do with the story or Earth, or anything, for that matter? It quite plainly does not belong with this film, period. What were they thinking?Apart from Bruno Lawrence's performance in the first half-hour of the movie, the acting was bad, the characters uninteresting, and their interactions unrealistic. But, there is plenty of blame for this to be shared with the director.The budget was too low for the visual effects to be of any interest. And, while the venue, New Zealand, is a spectacularly beautiful country, the cinematography was so mediocre as to bring everything within the camera's view right down into mediocrity with it. They desperately needed a visual effects department that truly had an appreciation of where they were.I give it a five out of ten - only because I have seen much worse.

capone666 The Quiet EarthThe worst thing about a near death experience is you already told everyone off.Luckily for the suicidal man in this sci-fi movie, there's no one left to apologize to.Zac (Bruno Lawrence), a scientist who designed a singular electrical grid, awakens to find all of the world's clocks have stopped at precisely 6:12 A.M.What's more, he appears to be the only person left alive.Fortunately that assumption is proved wrong when he encounters Joanne (Alison Routledge) and Api (Pete Smith).With the sun endangered by Zac's ongoing electrical experiment, the three most decide who'll helm a suicide mission to destroy the device.A believable doomsday scenario colonized by a progressive love-triangle and philosophical ideas on death, this 1985 New Zealand import ends as inexplicably as it begins.Furthermore, when you are one of the three humans alive on Earth, it makes remembering your social insurance number so easy.Green Light vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca