The Future is Now

Soylent Green was released in 1973, Directed By Richard Fleisher - whose works include Doctor Dolittle (1967), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Conan the Destroyer (1984), Red Sonja (1985) ....  featuring a solid cast lead by Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors and Joesph Cotton.   The film takes place 49 years into the future - that is in relation of the theatrical release of this film.  

The Premise - The world is overpopulated, our story takes place in New York City, a densely overpopulated and starving mecca.  Charles Heston  plays NYPD detective Robert Thorn who is investigating the murder of an executive at rations manufacturer Soylent Corporation, with the aid of an academic named Sol - played by Edward G. Robinson.  The duo begin to make some real progress, when without warning has the Governor intervene and shuts down the entire investigation.  Thorn now obsessed with this mystery decides to launches his own further investigation, without the knowledge of any law enforcement.  

The film is a science fiction murder mystery - that got many things right, our planet was seeing itself projected into overpopulation, there are catastrophic climate change taking place,  corporations do have some power over the government, and the 1 percent wealthy can afford a better and cleaner living as that divide of rich versus poor widens during these critical economic times.

Outstanding - This film is both a cult classic and is revered in the pantheon of movie history.  Its contribution has it being one of cinema's most daring and surprising twist endings for its decade.

No Escape was released in 1994, Directed by Martin Cambell - whose works include The Protege (2021) Casino Royale (2006), Vertical Limit (2000), GoldenEye (1995)..... features a very eclectic cast lead by Ray Liotta, Ernie Hudson,  Lance Henriksen, Kevin  Dillon, Stuart Wilson, and Kevin J. O'Connor. The film takes place 28 years into the future - that is in relation of the theatrical release of this film.  The film was released overseas under a different name as either Escape from Absolom or Absolom 2022.

The Premise - Corporations run the prison system - like Alcatraz  in concept - the worst criminals are exiled to this island for life.  Liotta is an ex-marine named John Robbins who is sentenced for murdering his commanding officer.  Upon arrival Robbins is captured by a group called the Outsiders whose leader is a sociopath named Walter Marek - played by Stuart Wilson,   Eventually escaping,  Robbins is taken in by the Insiders lead by a terminally ill doctor called The Father - Played by Lance Henriksen. 

The film is purely fiction - the only thing the film got right are surprising human characteristics, that society has now shown, politically in the United States  with the Republican Party, we had a dominant leader, whose members conform into a tribal mentality. Also when faced with a potential extinction level event like covid-19 which began near the start of 2020;  It would make sense in the film world that people would set aside their differences and come together for a common threat, However, (with the exception of the medical community) the reality was people today decided to double down to either being the left or the right.   No Escape talks about factions who live amongst themselves without outside authority, consequence or interference. Similar to the eco-system established in Lord of the Flies.  No Escape was based on a  1987 novel called The Penal Colony,  by Richard Herley.  Historically in concept Australia, was conceived to be a Penal Colony of sorts, and a world without a governing body or judicial system in place that is a  notion that has been explored in both film and in books for decades. Just it doesn't exist anywhere in today's world.

Outstanding - ITS NOT , this is widely a forgettable film, there is a 50/50 chance you may remember or recognize the film's 1994 poster.  Unless current society disintegrates due to catastrophic  climate change, which leads governments of countries to become decimated, or the economic crash becomes so tumultuous making 1st world countries impoverished -This film mirrors no semblance of the year in which it resides in, and has completely missed its mark 

Solo (1996)

When you think of the movie Solo, automatically one would assume its the prequel Solo: a Star Wars Story, a movie that did not receive much critical praise. This is not that movie, however its a disaster that pre-dates that movie.  Which would then lie the question of what was this original Solo  movie?  If the Hans Solo movie was cursed by making comparisons, what curses did this film inherited?  More importantly if it was that bad why have we not heard of it?  even at the release of Solo: a star wars story.

Well sit back and know it was a long long time ago,  a science fiction story, about a secret military mission that gone awry, when the latest military's prototype, an A.I. Android concluded that self preservation means keeping it's own long term memories over the military's desire to erase and restart his initial programming was it's primary objective.

Based on Vietnam veteran Robert Mason's first novel called Weapon. Whereupon an android named Solo lives among Nicaraguan villagers after he deems them innocent while his government handlers targeted them for execution. 

Weapon was published in 1989, making the original story pre-dating all the circa 1990's action troupes of that decade; stamping a precedent in original concept over movies of that decade (but not the 80's). This was screenwriter David L. Corley first commercial big budget theatrical movie adaptation, according to IMDB he continued to write three more adapted screenplays, all of which went straight to video.  Executive Power and Angel's Dance where films in which he also directed; and nearly a decade after the release of  Solo, David L. Corley wrote his final screenplay Jean  Claude Van Damme's movie titled Second in Command, a direct to video which was abysmally received by both critics and audiences and thus concluded his career in Hollywood and the film industry in general.  

 Solo's debut in theatres was August of 1996 and is ranked 160th in highest grossing films of that year. Making just over 5 Million dollars at the box office, with a projected budget of 19 Million dollars, the film was a financial disaster.  The movie was released one year after Van Damme's Universal Solider;  a film about a slowly self aware cyborg who turns rogue from his military handlers.

 Solo shares the  1991 story of Terminator 2's idea of a boy and a deadly robot bonding, and why the robot can't conceive of an emotion - in this case laughter as oppose to tears of sadness. The film shares an underlying comparison to the 1986 movie Short Circuit where a robot becomes self aware and runs away from its military benefactors  for its own self preservation  over the risk of losing its own long term memory, as it's battery source bleeds out; that until his creator and friend arrives to give him a new one.  The film borrows  visual cue's and the echoing sound ideas of laughter in a  jungle which can be seen in the 1987 film Predator. 

Popularizing itself with Michael Jordan's Nike commercial Ad  and utilizing his most famous Gatorade slogan "Be like Mike"-  Solo  uses a rolodex of familiarity of established pop culture with the hopes that the zeitgeist will carry over into it's box office receipts.

 Life after Solo, for a revered  Mario Van Peeple's career was very much under the radar for the remainder of that decade, until the semi successful movie Judgment Night; but it would take the 2001 release of Will Smith's Ali to gain recognition and awarded accolades for his supporting role.  That comeback bumped up his Hollywood status and saw Mario return to the Director's Chair since 1994's New Jack City; telling the story of his father's celebrated career in Badassssss! which garnered multiple Independent Spirt award & NAACP image award nominations.

On its own Solo fits the category of a 90's blockbuster film, with its' budgeted action, use of guns, explosions, chops, punches, and memorable one-liners. The success of this film rested on in its very own use of words when it decided to deal with the devil.

Hancock (2008)

 Initially titled "Tonight, He Comes", to which in context of the final movie, makes no connective sense , This film center's around John Hancock, the second conceived movie title, before settling to the single name ' Hancock'.

Featuring  Will Smith in the lead role, The movie was slated for a 2007 release, but due to changing of directors, problems with film board advisory warning and conflicted test audiences reactions;  the movie was trimmed and scenes re-shot. To the point of it barely resembles the original 1996 script of Vy Vincent Ngo.

Not much is publicly known of the original version as it was rumored to be gorier with a more sadder ending as Hancock suffered PTSD and had violent outbursts, The film script was initially sought out by director Michael Mann, Tony Scott and couple of other directors, as screenwriter Vince Gilligan took over and re-wrote the screenplay after creative differences with Vy Vincent Ngo had him walk away from the project.  The film had to pass the film advisory board twice to avoid the initial R- rating.  Test audiences did not like the movie and a particular scene of Will Smith.

In Ngo's version, Hancock was sexual frustrated, as he could not have sex with women, on the condition when he orgasmed it would kill them. Test audiences did not find it funny and the concept was one of the reasons for a R-rating.  Peter Berg came on board as director and had that scene re-imagined with Hancock being a hero dealing with alcoholism.  Berg sited the movie Leaving Las Vegas as an influence in which its leading star becomes a suicidal alcoholic,

 
It was in the re-write that critics notice the movie, and made their complaints; as the first two thirds of the film had Will Smith being charming and comedic with our hero causing millions in damages and become callous with consequences. To a tragic figure where the stakes in the movie had very real dramatic pull, the sudden shift in tone caught the ire of many film critics, but audiences still loved the movie as it became the 4th highest grossing movie of the summer of 2008.  Which wasn't much when the final budget of the film was just over a 150 Million.  

As for the initial title, I as a blog writer can only speculate as being a horror reference of the violence Hancock would inflict onto the character of Mary in the original draft, or its a double entendre for the character's short falls. 

The film also ear marked the beginning of the end of physical media, as it posed as a litmus test in consumers viewing habits.  Sony who is a divisional  producer of the film,  Offered an exclusive deal, if you owned a new Bravia television set and had an internet connection you could download the film and watch it at your leisure. One month before the release on DVD and Blue Ray.  This was the film that ushered in the proven success of video-on-demand to be a viable platform. The 2009 CES convention saw technology and distribution shift that way.