Back to the Future (1985)

Note:  I will be giving away important details.  If you haven’t seen the movie, I won’t blame you for wanting to watch it before reading this.


It seems odd that Back to the Future would be considered a great film, yet it is.  Someone pointed out that the main character, Marty McFly, ends the movie the same way he began it.  He also has a lot of less-than-stellar people surrounding him.   The father, George McFly, is a loser and Biff’s yes man.  His mother, Lorraine McFly, is an alcoholic.  Both of his siblings, Dave and Linda, seem destined for low-end jobs.  That’s not even getting into Uncle "Jailbird Joey”.

He has two things going for him:  Girlfriend Jennifer Parker and best friend Dr. Emmett Brown.  It’s not clear why Doc and Marty are friends or how they met.  However, Doc seems to be a failed scientist.  Every invention he ever made didn’t work.  In fact, a strong case has been made that he’s suicidal.  (If you watch the video, be warned that it’s not safe for work.)  This is why it’s surprising that Doc is willing to test a brand-new time machine.

Not only does he test it, but it works.  He shows off the controls to Marty, demonstrating with several important dates.  The last one he puts in is November 5, 1955.  This is the date that Doc Brown invented time travel, or rather, the flux capacitor.   It provides the necessary 1.21 gigawatts of power necessary to propel the DeLorean through time.  Alas, before Doc can do any traveling of his own, the Libyans catch up with him.  (Don’t judge.  He had to get his plutonium from somewhere.)

Marty is able to escape to 1955, but soon discovers that it’s a one-way trip.  In the rush to avoid a machine gun, Marty neglected to take the spare plutonium with him.  He’s able to find Doc in 1955 and get back home.  The catch is that he has to wait a week, during which he interferes with his parents’ first meeting.  He does get them back together with some interesting consequences.

When I first saw the suicidal Doc theory, I have to admit that I found it interesting.  There were a few things that I missed, like what exactly was Doc doing hanging a clock in the bathroom?  Also, why hadn’t Doc done any sort of small-scale test on the DeLorean?  Really?

I tend to look at it another way, though.  If the suicide theory is true, Doc does eventually get his wish.  It’s a shame that he finally has a working invention right before his demise, but he does die.  When Marty goes back to 1955, Doc finds out that he has a working invention, giving him thirty years to think about it.  He heeds Marty’s warning and chooses to use a bullet-proof vest.

The argument could be made that Marty is a good influence on those around him.  Not only does he make life better for his family, but he gives Doc something to live for.   (Sure, Doc always had something to live for.  It just took Marty to show him.)

I remember reading once that Back to the Future was odd in that Mary didn’t really learn anything.  He did seem to inspire things in others.  In fact, there was some question as to whether the parents knew who Marty was in the altered time line.  We know that Doc did, as he was in on it.  Marty introduced himself and explained everything.

I would say that Lorraine probably didn’t.  Marty didn’t have much interaction with her.  In fact, of all the people Marty interacted with in both 1985 and 1955, the only person Marty dealt with less was Mr. Strickland.  On the other hand, Marty had to deal with his father to help train him to be more assertive.

To that end, we see three people on the cover of George’s book.  There are the two teenagers, presumably representing a George-like and a Lorraine-like character.  Between them is none other than Darth Vader of Vulcan.  To say that Marty made an impression on him is an understatement.

IMDb page

9 (movie review)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

It’s not easy to predict what life will be like after humans have come and gone.  Sometimes, it’s by disease.  In many cases, we’ve all but wiped ourselves out, usually by way of nuclear weapons.  In the movie “9”, we built machines that turned on us killed every last human.  9 sentient dolls are left as the last proof that any of us were ever here.

When the movie starts, even many of the machines are gone.  Those that are left are running out of power.  The title character, 9, awakens in a scientist’s workshop alone.  He looks out to find another like him, but finds that he can’t speak.  He follows and eventually catches up with the other doll, who goes by 2.  (Each doll has their respective number on their chest.)  2 is able to fix 9’s voice.

Shortly thereafter, they’re ambushed.  2 is taken and 9 is left unconscious.  He awakes to find 1, 5, 6 and 8.  They take 9 back to their sanctuary.  He finds that each doll has their own personality.  1 is a pope-like leader.  8 is his enforcer.  5 tends to be shy.  6 is obsessed with The Source.  1 has kept the dolls safe from the remaining machines.  The others fall in line with him, usually out of fear.  (When they don’t, there’s always 8.)

What we have is a battle of wills.  1 wants to play it safe.  No harm can come to them if they hide.  However, 9 feels that action needs to be taken.  2 has been captured and may be in danger.  Yes, 1 has kept them safe and yes, 9 does create a fair amount of trouble that would never have happened had he listened to 1.  However, at what point do you stop playing it safe?  Sticking your head in the sand isn’t always the way to go.

I don’t want to give away the entire movie.  Even by animation standards, 79 minutes is short, so it’s easy to give away big chunks of the plot.  I will say that this is more of an adult-friendly movie.  I’ve said in other reviews that animation doesn’t always translate to kid-friendliness.  This version of the future is a dark and scary place.  Earth has become a wasteland with big robots preying on small dolls.

The plot is a simple one.  9 screws up a system that seems to work, but presents a case why it won’t always work.  He sets out to prove he’s right, screws things up and then has to put things back as best he can.  As I said, the characters have personalities, but tend to be one-dimensional.  With such a short time, there’s little chance at character development.  (The only thing that 8 is good at is pushing people around at 1’s command.)

The animation is great.  With few human characters in the movie, you can easily forget that it’s CGI.   This can also lend a sense of realism that may make the movie a bit more disturbing for children.  You have characters trying to outrun machines that are trying to kill them.  This does happen on occasion, and quite graphically.  I think that children would have a few sleepless nights if they saw this movie.

I did get to see this in theaters and had the chance to see it in 3D, which I really enjoyed.  Now that it’s on DVD, I don’t know if you’ll have the same option.  It would be nice if you did, as I thought it was worth it.  If the movie is ever shown in theaters in 3D again, I’d recommend seeing it there.  If you can’t get it in 3D on DVD, don’t worry about it.  It’s still a good movie.  While I’m glad I got the chance to see it on the big screen, I’d still recommend it on the small screen. 

Official Site

Official Trailer