CAT. 8 (2013)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Well, where to start ...First off, this is the most scientific inaccurate movie I've ever seen. Not only that, they are butchering it to a degree where it gets pretty hilarious. OK, to be fair we don't know what happens if we shoot high energy stuff into the Sun. But if that was the only thing ...Secondly, there are several goofs. For instance there is a scene where they show something on a computer monitor which was supposed to be their "software" and you shortly see a "play / pause / stop / ffwd ..." toolbar appearing in the bottom right of the monitor. Or when Beverly and Jack Hillcroft had the car accident because of an EMP discharge, the lights of the car were still on when they left it. Etc, etc, etc. There are lots of these little things.But still, even tho the movie has a pretty generic plot and an interpretation of science which is ridiculous, I still gave it a chance and it had something which kept me watching for that 3 hours.There was nothing wrong with the actors or their acting. Even the idea isn't that bad (at least of the first half), but just poorly realized. I mean we don't have that much "Sun doomsday movies", do we?The acting wasn't Oscar-worthy, but still good enough to get you connected to the characters, their story, their hopes, sorrows and happiness.Also the CGI was pretty good. I've seen worse in Hollywood movies (*cough* Hobbit *cough*).The biggest problem this movie has is clearly the realization of their plot and script and their interpretation of science. I think in the 70's and 80's this movie would be great, because today we have a far more advanced standard of knowledge, of our planet and the Sun, etc. So therefore the common audience today expects more accurate "fiction", so to say.Second, its length. It was obviously supposed to be a two-part movie. However, they offer it as one 3h movie in Amazon Prime. You can of course split it in two sessions, if you like. But I guess most viewers who quit after the first half didn't watch the second half anyway. So what ...I think the movie would have been better received if they spent more time carving out the script and maybe talking to college physics and geology students about how to realize that scenario so that it could work.Personally I think it was worth watching. I would recommend the movie to those who have already seen everything and don't know what to watch.

A masterpiece of classic juvenile science fiction. Captures the pure joy and innocence of those glorious summer afternoon porch swing reads of youth. Excellent casting, special effects, and overall outstanding production values provide an easy and thoroughly enjoyable and healing suspension of belief adventure. I am researching the production crew to find other similar productions. The 10 line review minimum seems somewhat heavy handed. I personally appreciate quality over quantity. Having just finished the movie, I am simply trying to capture the good feelings from my youth that the movie gave me, as simply and honestly as possible. I simply hope that others will see the movie and come away similarly happy. To my surprise, it appears my line counting English teacher of my youth has also invaded my revelries. Alas, even now I still have mandatory lines to complete. My cat seemed to enjoy the soundtrack as it snoozed near by. Hopefully, this will be line 10 -- yes!

At the outset, let it be understood that there is virtually no suspension of disbelief to be found in this sci-fi folly.Science, and science fiction fans more importantly, understand that some scientific capital must be invested in a science fiction narrative to make it at least partially believable. No such investment occurred here, and therein lies the beginning of a bailout that never happened.The absence of suspension of disbelief is well supported. There clearly was a vulgar absence of scientific research within the arena's of the scientific disciplines upon which the (weak) foundation of this cinematic effort was based.Enough of this. Sci-fi fans of any stripe will understand the elements that are lacking. And that would be all of them. Satellites falling from orbit to impact Earth within MINUTES of critical solar events? International Space Station hitting the Earth and delivering an impact equivalent to the destruction delivered by hundreds of megatons of nuclear bombs? The I.S.S. is pretty much comprised of what amounts to little more than aluminum foil. The electro-magnetic effects of solar events assailing the Earth in mere seconds?It's hard not to laugh out loud at the sheer absurdity of these film elements. Oh wait. I did laugh. Out loud.The acting was careless and amateurish at best. Even veteran actor Matthew Modine delivered a performance that was stiff and over-rehearsed. The characters of the President and Vice President of the United States were just plain spooky and damned creepy. Personally, I feel the characters of the Prez and the Veep required lobotomies. That may seem a radical concept, but they *are* playing US politicians -- the majority of whom have already been lobotomized, I'd venture to guess. If you watch this film to its conclusion, I have the contact number for Lobotomies-R-Us.

Going into the second episode, however, there are some pretty significant issues with the main antagonist.There's just no background or reason for many of the things that the antagonist does. It's irritatingly irrational and the product of weak writing. The world is ending and everything is burning around you, and you're going to relentlessly hinder the one person who can help save mankind? For what purpose? To what end? This character just makes no sense. He's written as though he's suffered some sort of horrible psychotic break. It may have been mildly interesting if there was some sort of buildup that showed it was due to guilt or stress, but sadly this is not a series that strives for depth.I watched it over the span of a few days just for entertainment during my meals. I don't regret watching it, but it would be the bottom of my Netflix queue.