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quietearth [Celluloid 02.05.08] movie review scifi

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Year: 2007
Release date: Unknown
Director: Jordan Giulivi
Writers: Duccio Giulivi, Giordano Giulivi, Luca Silvana, Silvano Bertolin
IMDB: N/A
Trailer: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

In the tradition of Italian cinema going way overboard (ie Fulci's shark vs the zombie scene, I just had to mention that) is Apollo 54 which is getting so little press, I'm wondering if they have any idea how to market it! It's filmed like an old black and white movie, complete with scratches, but more akin to an old western photo with shades of sepia. It's brilliant, from the comedy to the cgi to the cinematography, it makes me think, if I had enough talent and wit I could actually make my own masterpiece, but alas, I don't. (I suffer from both lack of talent and wit.)




I think this movie was inspired by American pop culture of Italians like Saturday Night Fever and Saturday Night Live because the two stars look like a couple of guidos straight out of Brooklyn. There's also quite a bit of disco flair with the music and the faux cop show with Inspector McMaradona fighting Captain Gut and his gang. Throw in a disco ball for a computer screen, a lamp in the front of the spaceship, and this is a great cross between Young Frankenstein and The American Astronaut.


It's that spiral again! Uzumaki conspiracy? Hmm..


The film starts out with news reports of strange symbols cutting in causing what they call a "media blackout". This has caused suicide rates to skyrocket and trance like states among some viewers. Cut to Bobby Joe, who seems to be wearing a blong wig, tromping through the woods for some unknown purpose. Eventually he finds a telephone pole with a cable at the top which stretches off .. into space! Queue the credits and spaceship design schematics. It's pretty quick here but next thing you know Bobby Joe and Jim Bob are in the ship heading off into space.


The cableship against the backdrop of the Earth antenna which refuses to broadcast since tv shows have gotten so bad.


The first major issue they run into on the cable is when Bobby Joe BREAKS HIS GLASSES. BJ tells JB to start up the SDC (the Spectable Delivery Column) and a little water fountain pops up holding a new pair of glasses and announcing only two optical aids are left. This is our real first taste of the ridiculous humor, but it's shortly followed by JB watching Inspector McMaradona and stuffing his face full of spaghetti. After coming to a fork in the cable, they choose a direction and end up going to another planet which is deserted. BJ declares this SPECTACALAND and they find a curious rock with the same symbols as those that appear as part of the media blackout on Earth. The hints continue from here that the problems on Earth are more far-reaching then previously thought!



There is only one fault and that was a dragging scene where they attempt to recover the key for the oxygen systems. It started out good with Bobby Joe making a sandwich then draining some spaghetti while Jim Bob was searching throuh the ducts, but too much time passed before it got to Kazuya the Blazing Space Dragon! Aside from that, let's go back to the greatness that is Italian bragadaccio. The fact the film is in Italian only makes the deadpan comedy all the funnier, the dialog being performed with such exaggeration. There is so much more I'm not telling you, plotlines, animation, music, this really delves into alot more then a simple cable. I really enjoyed the entire production and will be following future work from these boys closely. Let's hope they get funding for more features! Apollo 54 is currently running the film festival circuit, so if you want to see it, send them an email and tell them to submit it to a fest near you!



Molto buona! Pass the pasta!


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