Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The Grand Master Rewind back to 1996 and I was at my local video store looking for a movie to rent that night. That particular night all the decent movies were all sold out and I was on the lookout for a movie to rent that night. As there was nothing else in the store I decided to hire out Screamers and give it a go. It turned out to be a regrettable mistake as Screamers was one of the most unmemorable and forgettable movies I have ever seen. Fast forward to 2016 and although I could not tell you what Screamers was about 20 years later, all I could remember was how forgettable the movie was. Looking back now, I should have hired a 7 day rental instead of an overnight movie. But it's no use crying over spilt milk.Screamers could have been a decent movie. The screenplay written by Roy O'Bannon (Alien, Total Recall) based on a short story by Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report) and directed by Christian Duguay (The Art of War, Hitler: The Rise of Evil) surely the end result could have been worth watching? And with Peter Weller (Robocop) who isn't a bad actor at all, this movie wouldn't be so bad? Right? Wrong. I was very disappointed with Screamers and regretting my decision to rent this movie out. I was actually hanging out for the movie to mercifully end and by that stage, I was indifferent how the movie was going to finish.Screamers should have been released directly to video and should not even have seen daylight in a cinema. The whole movie was a forgettable experience and I should have never hired out the movie in the first place.1/10.

david-sarkies This movie is an awesome movie and is one that leaves you wondering what really was the truth. In the end you find out but what seems basic at the beginning of the movie, that is the nature of the screamer, in the end becomes a plot with many twists. This movie is about what you think you know is really what you do not know.Screamers is set a little way in the future (2078) and is on a planet, Sirius 6B, that has been totally ravaged by nuclear war. An energy corporation, the New Economic Block (NEB), has discovered Berynium, a new source of energy. The problem is that mining it is incredibly lethal and the miners want protection. The NEB won't give it to them so they form an alliance and declare war on the NEB. The war turns into a cold war on Earth between the NEB and the Alliance while NEB obliterates Sirius 6B with Nuclear bombing raids. The movie opens at the tail end of this where both sides are holed up in bunkers and want to negotiate peace.This war seems to the something similar to the union disputes occurring today. The workers are being forced to work in harsh conditions and the corporation doesn't want to fund the extra money to protect them. The protests today are of a different matter, namely removing union control, but what we see here is the same sort of thing happening, except the war between the unions and the corporations has resulted in a shooting war.There is also the idea of the arms race. Both sides have struck with destructive weapons. The NEBs used nuclear weapons while the Alliance developed the Autonomous Mobile Sword, or the Screamer. They are called Screamers because they scream when they attack. At first they are just little nasties that burrow under the ground and attack anything with a pulse, but we learn a little way into the movie that the are built in an underground bunker, operated completely by automation, and they upgrade themselves. At first the Alliance believe they know all about the screamers, but when a new guy arrives, ignorant of it, they slowly begin to realise that what they accepted for so long they really don't understand.Then there is the nature of the war. It seems at first that the war is coming to the end and negotiations are nearby so they prepare to travel to the NEB bunker to talk, but then a transport crashes and they learn that the war is nowhere near over, but just moving to another planet. With the nuclear wasteland and the screamers, Sirius 6B has become uninhabitable. It is also interesting to note that Hendricksson says a number of times, "We were all NEBs once." The whole nature of war is that we are the same and in the end the whole reason of the war becomes moot and we just fight because we can.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com It's hard for filmmakers to adapt stories to the screen, especially when they resemble stories that have been previously told. Turns out though director Christian Duguay evens out the story and though it still recalls other movies before its time, it still has elements in it that make it have a quality worth watching.The story of Screamers is loosely based off of Second Variety, a short story written by Philip K. Dick, the novelist of Blade Runner (1982) and Total Recall (1990). Dick is a very prestigious science fiction writer. His work has multiple twists and it always was a pleasant read. I also read Second Variety and much of it was fairly close to this movie. I actually enjoyed the film adaptation more than the story itself.Peter Weller is Joseph A. Hendricksson, an eccentric commander of an alliance bunker located on a planet known as Sirius 6B. Years before on Earth, there was nuclear fallout between two major groups; the N.E.B. (New Economic Block) and alliance workers over a special mineral that could change energy usage for transportation. So the fighting was moved to Sirius 6B where there has been a "Cold War" ever since. For the alliance to defend themselves, they created the Autonomous Mobile Sword or better known as, the screamer. The screamer is a mechanical life form that was equipped with a razor sharp blade so it could kill its enemy. But like all man made robots, they become self-aware and are now deciding for themselves who they should kill. Strangely enough, they are always updating their software, even making screamers that look like humans. So from there, audiences might make the connection of these traits between Skynet from The Terminator (1984), and characters not knowing who's real and who isn't from the novel Who Goes There, by John W. Campbell Jr.But for those few relations, Screamers can hold it's own as an entertaining sci-fi horror movie. It does not contain a lot of blood but it can be very suspenseful. Weller's performances are always a welcome to the screen. His ability to make his character sarcastic as is serious is a great touch. Andrew Lauer plays a innocent rookie named Ace Jefferson who tags along Hendricksson to meet with the N.E.B. command. The N.E.B. group these two visit is lead by the lovely Jennifer Ruben as Jessica Hanson. And with her is Roy Dupuis, who looks like Matthew McConaughey's distant cousin, who likes bugging another soldier who has some serious patience issues. The special effects are definitely dated. And it's really obvious when the camera is focused on the screamer itself but hey, the creature looks cool enough to look at. I think the most baffling part is how the machine keep upgrading their models. It makes you wonder, "What's going on down there". The set design is also something to see. A lot of does have the same color like from the movie Soldier (1998) but it at least looks real. The backgrounds actually resemble Chernobyl; which is eerie. Normand Corbeil composed the soundtrack and it also another strong point. When Hedricksson runs into a homeless child, the music makes the scene so heartbreaking. It's emotional and soft on the ears.The film variation of Second Variety does borough ideas from previous movies, but it's put together in such a way that it won't matter to the audience. The music is good and so is Weller's performance as a tired out war veteran.

Richie-67-485852 This is a surprise movie meaning that turns out to be a great movie when you were expecting just a good one. The story has to be respected and understood. Then, what happens after that falls into place nicely. I am totally disappointed that they did not make a sequel to this winner. It was certainly set-up to do so. It has what I call genuine and satisfying scary moments brought to you via intelligence, not shock. Anytime you can engage the viewers imagination in a quality way after a movie viewing (as well as during) means you got a success on your hands. This is certainly one of those movies. The concept presented of something man has done that has mutated into something else is a good one. Now, if that something else wants to compete and then eliminate man, well you got my full attention thus this movie. Science Fiction treads a fine line of being believable or not when introducing a story. It doesn't have to be perfect to make its point. It has to be respectful and this movie respects the viewer. You will not have any trouble getting into this movie after the first few minutes. Then, all the dots start to connect and cause a viewing pleasure. It will suck you right in and when the ducks line up, scare you good and proper..Enjoy with a favorite snack so you don't bite your nails