Transatlantic Tunnel

Transatlantic Tunnel came out in 1935, but was years ahead of it's time with the technology in the show.  If nothing else, everyone should watch this movie just for the technology they had.  These people dreamed of so many things.  A drill that would be able to drill through the bottom of the ocean to connect American and Britain being the biggest one.  I also thought it was amazing that they had big screens, flat screens and even made telephone calls through the TV.  Just a little over 75 years later, here we are with so much of this technology that people back then could only dream of.  It's brilliant just to see how far we have come.

Now that we have gotten that amazingness out, let's get onto the plot.  I thought it was a decent plot albeit a little slow from time to time.  It was really awesome to see all of the hardships these people went through to get this tunnel built though.  And I feel that this was less of a movie about Sci-fi and more a movie about the importance of family.  The messages this movie portrays are messages that pertain to all of us today.  This man gave up so much for his dream.  First it was missing out on little events going on in his son's life. Then it was his wife's health.  After loosing his wife and son because his project was too important, the story continues to delve deeper from there.  Although I won't give away too many spoilers for those of you who wish to experience this movie for yourself.

I really liked this movie and loved the morals that it was getting at, but for me the plot was a little slow and not really something that I really get into.  Now don't think that just because it wasn't one of my favorites that it's not a movie worth watching.  It is worth watching at least once, just to see all of the cool little technologies they put into and how far we really have come.  It's also got a great underlining moral about how family is the most important thing.  Which I agree with wholeheartedly.  As always, the movies that we review in Jess the Geek Girl's Movie Review are available on Netflix streaming.  So check it out, and if you like, feel free to leave your own little review in the comments section of my blog.

Jess the Geek Girl's Rating:

The Last Man on Earth

Anyone who has seen the movie "I Am Legend" with Will Smith will be familiar with the story line of this classic movie starring Vincent Price.  "The Last Man on Earth" is the first adaption of several movies based upon the book I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.  It was even the inspiration behind the popular zombie flick, "Night of the Living Dead".

The book was written in 1954 and told the story of society being run over by a disease which brought the dead back to life.  Although the book refers to the disease as vampirism, the monsters in this book, to me at least, seem to act more like sentient zombies.  Despite being over run with this disease, the people retain their memories of their former life and even are able to speak.  The main character in the book is a man by the name of Robert Neville, who for some reason seems immune to the disease.

"The Last Man on Earth" came out in 1964, and although I have yet to see "Omega Man" I have a feeling that this is the best screen adaption from the original book.  I loved what they did with this movie and how they stayed true to the story.  The infected were true to their nature and they were exactly as I had imagined them from the book.  In the book Neville's best friend would show up every night to try to coax him out of his fortified house.  I loved that they put this into the movie.  I think that it really gives the characters a little more depth.  Each night Neville has to listen to the pounding on his door and hear his best friend calling out to him.  I absolutely love that they kept this part in.  That's a part of the book that always creeped me out.  You're alone and the only survivor, but each night you have to hear your best friend calling to you, knowing that you can't answer that call.  They also did an awesome job showing exactly what Robert Morgan (in this version) went through to try to find a cure for the infected.  There was so much that he had lost, including his wife and daughter.  This movie did an awesome job portraying how that experience haunted him every night.  All of the details they took from Matheson's story and put into this film really made the film what it was.  It didn't become another story entirely, which is what I felt happened with "I Am Legend"

"I Am Legend" came out in 2007 and I really enjoyed this movie as well, but it just didn't feel anything like the book.  You had the main character named Robert Neville, a dog and some disease that had swept over the world.  Those were pretty much the common points.  I loved the lions in the city.  Anyone who knows me is aware that I love animals, so the cats were a big draw for me.  Although one thing that always bugged me is where are all of the other animals?  If the lions escaped from the zoo (which was the only explanation I could think of for a lion to be in NYC) then why didn't any of the other animals escape?  Another thing I really loved in this movie was the dog.  Now in the book and in "The Last Man on Earth" Robert did have a dog, but he found him wandering around and he wasn't able to keep him very long.  In "I Am Legend" I really loved the idea of Robert having this dog since she was a puppy.  I think it gave them more of a bond and you really got to see how much Robert loved Sam, his dog.  I thought the vampires in this movie or Nightwalkers, as they called them were great.  Once again, I feel they didn't fit the story.  All in all I feel that "I Am Legend" took the main plot line from the book and then turned around and made it something completely different.  So if you're a book snob, and really love the book, then "I Am Legend" probably isn't for you.

I'm not going to talk about the ending of either of these movies, or the book, just because I'll let you go and experience that on your own.  Each ending is a little different (in the case of "I Am Legend" a lot different), so you can decide the one you liked the best.  "The Last Man on Earth" did a great job of keeping the ending similar to the book which I loved.  It gave a little bit of a twist at the end, and I love twists.  So go ahead and check these out.  I suggest starting with the book, but then I always suggest starting with the book.  But if you can't at least be sure to watch "The Last Man on Earth".  It's a great movie and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Jess the Geek Girl's Rating

Introduction

So who is Jess the Geek Girl?  I'm sure many of you who are visiting this blog are avid listeners to a radio show called Residual Haunting Revived.  If you are not, links will be provided at the end of this post and I highly recommend that you check us out.

I was invited to be a co-host Residual Haunting Revived a couple of months ago.  For anyone who listens to the show, you know that we have a Sci fi movie that I watch every week and review.  We talk about what we loved and what we didn't love about that week's movie.

So what's the purpose of this blog?  At times I feel like the movie we reviewed doesn't quite give as much attention as is deserved.  We do a few minutes talking about it on the show, and then we are done.  I wanted to do a blog where I could write full reviews of all of the movies.  Below each review will be a rating based on a number from 1 to 20.  So for anyone who wishes to have a little bit more in-depth view on the movie can check out this blog and see exactly what I have to say about it.

Alright, now that we've covered the basic purpose of this blog, let's get a bit more into my background.  Obviously, my name is Jess.  I've from a very small town in Central Utah where I've always said there are probably more cows than people.  Probably just in my uncle's herd alone.  So yes, I enjoy all the simple joys in life that living in a small town brings.  I love horses, I love animals, I love my mountains and yes, I love to hunt.  I have a very awesome and very loving husband who keeps me laughing on a daily basis.  We have two dogs, Kash (our St. Bernard/Labrador mix) and Rowdy (our Border Collie) who are our babies.

I have always been into Sci fi, Fantsay and Horror, but living in a small town, had a hard time finding someone to share it with.  It is true that Tom (host of Residual Haunting Revived) was the one who introduced me to Firefly and Doctor Who, two of my favorite things.  I love reading and have even written a little ever since 7th grade.  I love playing video games, which I believe is one of the reasons I was brought on the show, since out of the three hosts (Tom, Russ and myself) I seem to be the one that knows the most about video games.  I also love table top games, I absolutely adore RPGs.

In addition to everything I am also a team lead of Wasatch Paranormal Investigators.  I've been with WPI pretty much since the beginning and I love my team like my own family.  I've always been into the paranormal and when I was a child I used to see a lot of dark shadows.  But I believe my love of the paranormal was sparked by seeing Ghostbusters for the very first time.  I was 6 or 7, maybe younger when is was shown on tv.  Ever since that day I had dreamed of being a Ghostbuster.  In 4th grade I even dressed up like Peter for Halloween.  As a kid I loved to read ghost stories and I especially loved the ghost stories that were told to me by people closest to me, the main one being my brother.  He was probably telling them to me to freak me out, but it just helped to fuel my curiosity.  My freshman year of high school I saw my first episode of Ghost Hunters and I was hooked.  I would visit the library every day after school finding anything I could on the internet and reading anything I could get my hands on to learn more of the paranormal.  

Freshman year of college my roommate and I decided that we would run our own investigation and LUPA (Logan Utah Paranormal Association) was formed, mostly just for fun than for any professional reason.  We didn't catch anything, but after making a Myspace page I was contacted by other investigators which in turn lead me to more connections in the paranormal.  I was originally part of another team when I met WPI.  A few months later I decided to move to WPI was a much better fit for me and I have been with them ever since. 

As I've said, be sure to tune into Residual Haunting Revived on Mondays.  We talk about not only the paranormal, but anything that we find interesting.  We always have a good time and it's always very entertaining.  Come and join in on the fun.  Also be sure to check out Conclave of Horror that will be held at Neumont University in South Jordan, Utah.  Links to the websites are below.

Jess the Geek Girl

Residual Haunting Revived: Mondays 8:00 - 11:00 MST

www.paraquestradionetwork.com

Residual Haunting Revived on Podomatic

http://residualhauntings.podomatic.com/

Residual Haunting Revived on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/residual.live

Wasatch Paranormal Investigators

http://www.wasatchparanormal.com/

Wasatch Paranormal Investigators on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=326157695085

Conclave of Horror

http://www.conclaveofhorror.com/

Conclave of Horror on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110454979011609