The Snobs Take a Gander at Moon

Brandon: Sam Rockwell is one of my favorite actors. He has a knack for picking rolls that feature characters that have a complexity of personality and emotion, and as an actor, he conveys the depths of these characters awesomely. I've been a fan of his ever since he played the double-crossing bad guy in the Charlie's Angels movie, and his acting prowess blew me away in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The man is incredible, and I was so excited to finally check out his latest cinematic masterpiece, Moon.



Jenni: I'm getting a little jealous over here. Although I also approve of Sam Rockwell as an acting professional, you're kind of gushing about the guy. Do I detect a hint of a man-crush?



Brandon: Never you fret, Jenni, my love. For although my admiration of Sam Rockwell and his superb acting abilities knows no bounds, you are my one and only. But from an objective male point-of-view, how could you not love that man?!



Jenni: Moving on....as I mentioned, I was also excited to see this movie. Other legitimate movie critics had given mostly positive reviews of this futuristic sci-fi flick, which features a very minimalist cast. In Moon, the story follows Sam Rockwell's character, astronaut Sam Bell, who is finishing up his three year tour of duty on a remote moon mining station where he is the lone process supervisor. The three years of solitude with only his trusty computer companion, GERTY (voiced superbly by Kevin Spacey), for company has started to take its toll on Sam, and, after a freak accident during a routine maneuver in one of the lunar rovers, Sam finds himself questioning his own identity, as well as whether he truly is alone on the moon.



Brandon: What a great story concept! The other critics we had listened to had promised a bit of a mystery to unravel, and I know I was excited to find out what was really going on. I suppose my hopes were a little too high for this movie. Not to beat a dead horse, but Sam Rockwell did deliver on the acting front. His portrayal of a man that may or may not be going insane is great. No, the acting wasn't the problem here, it was just my expectations of something more to this film.



Jenni: We're in agreement there. The film was done well, and I would still recommend it to anyone wanting a decent sci-fi flick, but I would hesitate to play up the suspense of the film. Sure, there is a bit of a mystery to the film, but it's pretty easy to figure out what's going on fairly early in the movie. No, the suspense in the film comes after the big "reveal", and you worry about how Sam's going to deal with the revealed truth. It was still a good flick, but it just wasn't the mystery film that I was promised.



Brandon: You summed things up very nicely there. So, go check out Moon, and enjoy it for the great job that Sam Rockwell does. It's worth it just for that! And with that, the snobs are out. Peace!



You can watch the trailer for Moon here.