Page 6 June 2013 ‘Oblivion’ great concept, mediocre movie Oblivion Director: Joseph Kosinski Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, and Andrea Riseborough Oblivion was a great concept for a movie. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. Jack (Cruise) is stationed on a post-war Earth to collect its remaining resources. He and his partner Victoria (Riseborough) are two of the last people on the planet, fi xing drones and waiting to join the rest of the humans where they settled elsewhere in space. Aliens called Scavs invaded the Earth and tried to take over the planet, but they lost a war with the human race. Jack dreams about his life on Earth before the invasion, including a past love (Kurylenko), although it’s impossible for him to have been alive so many years ago. When Jack runs into a crashed spaceship, what he sees makes him begin to question everything he knows. Why is everyone in Hollywood so eager for the world to end? Apocalypses are in, with planet-destroyers ranging from aliens to zombies to humans. This one is pretty straightforward. Aliens tried to conquer Earth, war happened, humans won but planet lost. Or is it? Without giving away spoilers, not much can be said. However, it isn’t as cut-and- dry as it seems, and those plot twists are perhaps the best part of the movie. It may not be enough to make it a great movie, but it keeps the audience from walking out of the theater. Though potential viewers should be warned the ending is disappointing and predictable. Cruise plays Jack the same as his other roles, the generic male lead who wants nothing more than to save the world and have a girlfriend. Kurylenko is also a standard female role, nothing spectacular. Riseborough’s character may seem one- dimensional in the beginning, but there are hidden layers to Victoria that are a pleasant surprise to watch. Freeman brings his usual charm to the fi lm as the leader of a group of humans hiding and surviving on Earth. So while the two main actors can’t quite hold their own in the movie, the others back them up well enough to prevent it from falling completely fl at on its face. Even though this movie is tech-heavy, which most post-apocalyptic fi lms tend to be, at least this one didn’t go too far overboard. However, that may just seem that way, because recently movies are expected to be chock full of special effects. Don’t get me wrong, Oblivion is not a bad movie, just a mediocre one. The fi rst half hour drags on too long setting the rest of the movie up, though it does pick up its pace after that. The writing and acting fall short, which is the fi lm’s downfall. While it doesn’t feel like punishment to watch, it lacks the power it needs to be memorable. Overall, Oblivion tried to take on a story too much for it to handle, and didn’t meet the requirements to earn more than 2 ½ stars. Julie Demetros is a 17-year-old homeschooler from Arcadia who writes about movies and books at julieatthemovies. wordpress.com. Councilman Sal DiCiccio Big picture includes 3 reforms By Sal DiCiccio The repeal of the food tax is very important, but there is a much bigger picture in play. The persistence and determination I have shown in the past four years is about reform and getting us ready for the new world we live in. There is a bigger reason why I have been pushing so hard for change. It’s about getting Phoenix ready to compete in a global economy. Continued on page 8

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