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Reviews
The Core (2003)
A good movie
If only they had opened it with some hokey pinwheel FX to let us know it isn't going to be a special effects blockbuster -- oh, wait. They did that, and then took us into Earth orbit and landed the space shuttle in downtown LA to show they *do* know how it's done
If only they had started with a cold open that immediately shows the stakes -- oh wait. They did this, too
If only they had shown, not told, a skillfully edited, fast-paced human story through a series of closed-setting scenes where a highly-talented ensemble cast works off each other with snappy dialogue and physical acting in all sorts of believable dramatic ways -- yep, they did that, too.
And then they added in surprises galore and a charming villain who finally fills the character gap left after Hans Gruber's fall off a skyscraper.
I majored in geology and still LOVE this movie -- because I go to movies for escapism and to hang out with some people and share their experiences on the silver screen.
The only reason I didn't give it a 10 was "diamonds the size of Cape Cod." That local reference briefly took me out of the story for some reason.
Uchû Kaisokusen (1961)
A lot better than MST3K gave it credit for
I saw this first on MST3K, but there is a clearer version of the original, with English subtitles, called "Iron Sharp," at the Internet Archive.
Surprisingly, it's terrific!
First off, the opening credits image is an erupting volcano, not the art shown in the version used by Best Brains.
Secondly, it's clear at the start that the kids are dreaming this up after science class. Once you get that, the movie is MUCH more enjoyable.
Even the running. The kids, of course, but then the reporters, and finally the scientists and soldiers -- all running around like panicked children (the power room explosion/Dr. Tanigawa's being attacked): adults wouldn't act like that anywhere except in youngsters' imagination.
I don't think Mr. Tachibana is really meant to be Iron Sharp/Space Chief; the two are linked in the boys' minds. And since their imagination is running the story ("Level 5 clearance," as MST3K put it), it looks like the two characters are the same.
Space Chief/Iron Sharp actually says, when they ask who he is (I'm quoting from memory), "I think you know my name better than I do." Big clue, that: and that scene ends with them naming him (in English, another surprise).
The movie also addresses some serious issues of the day (in the 60s, I was about the same age as those children). For instance, the aliens almost start WWIII, and only the kids and Dr. Tanigawa know it. Then there's the nuclear explosion -- here followed by pictures of the destroyed town -- as well as duality about the first signs of the coming age (big power lines, for example, and the microwave tower).
Yes, the Hitler building is still in there. It makes more sense in this version: they're breaking with the past.
Oh, I just like this a lot. It's deeper than expected. You might want to check the subtitled version out.
Unlike the OG English-version "Prince of Space," also at archive.org, there is quite a bit of additional footage in this Internet Archive file, including an ending that balances the early scene where the boys first imagine Iron Sharp (and is much different in mood from what you would expect if the director had really intended that the devastating "Crispix" flyer attack, etc., was real).
Finally, there is an underlying theme, expressed by one of the kids at the end, that Japan shouldn't let the US and USSR get ahead of them in space exploration.
And IRL they didn't.
I'd guess this movie inspired a lot of young people in the 1960s to embrace the new technology and helped get the Japanese miracle going during the rest of the century.