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A review of Moon

Luke Harrington

Moon
United Kingdom, 2009
Directed By: Duncan Jones
Written By: Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Robin Chalk, Kevin Spacey
Running Time: 97 min.
Rated R for language
4.5 out of 5 stars

It’s not difficult to imagine that if Moon had been a Hollywood production, it would have been a very, very different film.  It’s “science fiction” in the traditional sense — i.e., it’s fiction about science.
You won’t see any giant robots, any cities getting leveled, or even any CGI to speak of.  What you will see is a haunting meditation on identity, technology, overpopulation, mankind, and the economic engine that drives all of us — and its devastating consequences to the individual.

In Moon, the surface of the titular satellite — a harsh, barren wasteland — swallows the screen and consumes the thoughts of director Duncan Jones.

What was once a triumphant symbol of the boundless achievement potential of mankind has here become a haunting metaphor for loneliness, disassociation and Marxist alienation.

The premise Jones presents us with is simple: the earth has run out of energy, and the moon has been found to possess an isotope that can supply as much as 70% of its power.

Lunar Industries, LLC, a for-profit organization, has established a base on its dark side in order to extract it. The base has a crew of one — and each crew member signs on to three full years of solitude.

Moon is a small, claustrophobic film with relatively modest ambitions (especially given its genre), and the story unfolds so perfectly and delicately that I’m terribly scared of giving anything away by summarizing it (much of the story’s power relies on an element of mystery).

The outside world is never seen (not counting an television ad for Lunar Industries that opens the film), and we are with crewman Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) throughout the hour-and-a-half running time (giving the film, depending on how you count, a cast of one).

We catch up with him just as he’s weeks away from completing his tour of duty, and we stay with him as he’s forced to come to terms with truths that are not entirely comfortable.

Like most independent films, Moon has an extremely tiny budget — about $5 million U.S. — but like the best independent films, it allows this to work for it.

The moon base Sam inhabits is a squalid, disorganized shack that puts the lie to whatever utopian visions others might have for the future.

The lunar vehicles roving the moon’s surface outside are represented by models, not the whiz-bang computer graphics that almost any other director would have chosen to use.

These are ugly, drab things without any flash — machines of industry, harsh realities and nothing more. Moon, in a sense, is a beautifully shot film — but you won’t find any eye candy here.

This is appropriate, because Moon is a film that, like the best science fiction, isn’t really about “the future.”

It’s about humanity — past, future, present — and the economic reality that one human being is always stepping on another in order to make a buck — no “advancement” comes without a price.

It’s quite telling that the film’s one non-human character, a robot named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey) turns out to be its most “human” character.

Jones has taken the now-archetypical character of HAL from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 and stood it on its head — a clever stylistic decision, certainly, but also a thought-provoking one.

The evolutionary process and human spirit that are so worshipped in Kubrick’s film are here shown to lead in circles and to dead ends — not because of evil or error, but simply because that is their nature.

As we as a species strive to “advance” — economically, technologically, etc. — it seems we always end up paying a price with part of our humanity — in every sense of the word.

There is much to ponder in Moon — much that I wish I could probe into here — but to go into it here would do the film a disservice. See it for yourself, and then decide exactly what “humanity” is.

Moon is currently showing at AMC Southroads. Click here for showtimes To view the movie trailer, click here.

Luke Harrington is a film critic, editor for MovieZeal.com, freelance writer and English major extraordinaire who currently resides in Tulsa. Contact him at luke.t.harrington@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

1st annual women’s noodling event

Staff Report

Friday, 31 July 2009
Edmond, OK — Waurika Lake July 31st through August 2nd is the location of what will be a very new and exciting experience for women in Oklahoma.

The First Annual Women’s Noodling event hosted and developed by WILD Oklahoma Television will be filming a group of Oklahoma women up for fishing adventure.

“WILD Oklahoma TV decided to get some daring and incredibly brave women together to jump into Waurika Lake and do some noodling,” said Ron Black, Founder and President of WILD Oklahoma Media.  “I am surprised at the response and how brave these women are – I sure wouldn’t do it.”

Oklahoma is well known for its outdoor heritage and noodling, or ‘hand-fishing’ as it is called, is one of those traditions.

Paul’s Valley is home for a nationally-recognized noodling tournament.  The diversity of women in WILD Oklahoma’s First Annual Women’s Noodling Event is striking.

An attorney, a county emergency dispatcher, two business owners and a radiology technician are included in the mix and all of them are excited to have this new experience. Black says that this is the first year for the event, and next year the event will be even larger.

“What started as some buzz on our website, became an all out earthquake of excitement. We’re still receiving notifications from women across the state who want to participate, and we’ll be –making it much larger and even more diverse next year,” Black stated.

WILD Oklahoma TV has a women’s division where women in the outdoors and shooting sports are the primary focus.

WILD Oklahoma is one of the few outdoor televisions where youth, women and disabled sportsmen are all celebrated with equal vigor and the programming is exclusively Oklahoma – WILD Oklahoma films only in the state of Oklahoma.

For more information, contact Ron Black at 405-315-7938 or visit website www.wildoklahoma.com.

Last Updated ( Friday, 21 August 2009 )

New home sales rise 11 percent in June

Staff Report

WASHINGTON-Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, according to U.S. Commerce Department numbers released today.

Coming on the heels of an upwardly revised number for May, the gain marks a third consecutive month of improved sales activity.

"Today’s report is good news that indicates the nation’s housing market may be in the process of turning the corner," said Joe Robson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "That said, the key to moving us out of recession is to get Americans back to work.  Congress and the Administration should know that housing can be a significant generator of good jobs.  We need to make housing a priority in the recovery process, otherwise we could continue to bounce along a bottom for some time," Robson continued.
"The big gain in home sales last month was reflected in three out of four regions and helped shrink the inventory of new homes for sale to its lowest level in years," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe."Even so, the pace of home sales in June 2009 was still more than 21 percent off the pace of sales in the same month last year, so we still have quite a way to go.

The concern now is that complicating factors – particularly job losses, appraisal issues that are torpedoing more than a quarter of new-home sales, and the impending expiration of the first-time buyer tax credit – threaten to stifle the positive momentum."

The number of newly built homes on the market declined for a 26th consecutive month in June, falling 4.1 percent to 281,000 units. This marks a relatively thin 8.8-month supply at the current sales pace.

New-home sales rose by double-digits in the Northeast (29.2 percent), Midwest (43.1 percent), and West (22.6 percent) in June. Meanwhile, sales activity declined 5.3 percent in the South, which is the country’s largest housing market.

Article Source: The National Association of Home Builders

Teams needed for slow-pitch tournament

Staff Report

Thursday, 30 July 2009
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-Spirited teams are being sought for competitive fun in a slow-pitch softball tournament during the 57th Cherokee National Holiday.

The tournament will be held from Friday, September 4 through Sunday, September 6, at the Cherokee Nation softball complex, located next to Sequoyah Schools, as part of the Holiday schedule of activities.

To enter the tournament, teams must register no later than Friday, August 21, by 5 p.m. There is an entry fee of $175 per team.  The majority of each team must consist of players that are members of a federally recognized tribe. Teams may have up to four non-Indian players.

Awards will be presented to teams that place first through fourth in the tournament.  First place team will receive jackets, second place will receive hooded sweatshirts, third place will receive sweatshirts and fourth place will receive long-sleeved t-shirts.

There is a $1 per day admission for spectators to watch the games.  A separate fast-pitch tournament will be held the weekend prior to the Cherokee National Holiday on August 28 – 30.

The Cherokee National Holiday has been held since 1953 to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the 1839 Cherokee Constitution.

With its exciting array of entertainment, cultural and athletic events, it has grown into one of the largest festivals in Oklahoma, attracting more than 90,000 visitors from across the world.

This year’s theme is E-loh-i nu-s-di-da-nv de-ga-de-la-qua-s-ge-s-di ("I learn from all that I observe"), reflecting the Cherokee Nation’s long held belief in education as a means to uplift individuals and their communities.

The 57th Annual Cherokee National Holiday is a smoke-free event. For more information about the Cherokee National Holiday, please call (918) 453-5536 or visit http://holiday.cherokee.org.

For a registration form or a list of rules please contact Spunk Johnson at sherwin-johhnson@cherokee.org or Neesie Littledave at (918) 453-5341 or email nlittledave@cherokee.org.

Article Source: The Cherokee Nation, a federally-recognized Native American tribe

Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 July 2009 )

U.S. House votes $1.25 million for Tulsa

Staff Report

Thursday, 30 July 2009
TULSA, Okla.-Mayor Kathy Taylor announced Tulsa has been approved for $1.25 million in funding through the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives late last week.

Stuart McCalman, Mayor’s Director of Government Relations, said this legislation could provide $750,000 for the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority to purchase compressed natural gas buses and $500,000 for the Tulsa Airport and Improvement Trust and City of Tulsa to reconstruct Memorial Drive south of Port Road – the North Development Area at Tulsa International Airport.

The road project includes a waterline extension and upgrade from 8-inch diameter to 12-inch diameter.

MTTA would use the $750,000 as a federal share to purchase two full-sized transit buses. These would be heavy-duty, 12-year vehicles.

As bus ridership has increased over the past year, the new buses would allow MTTA to replace older ones and maintain service at current levels to meet demand.

Reconstruction of Memorial Drive south of Port Road will support redevelopment of this formerly residential area to accommodate facilities for maintenance, repair and overhaul of large aircraft.

"On behalf of the City of Tulsa, I would like to thank Congressman John Sullivan for his hard work and leadership to help secure House support for these funds," Mayor Kathy Taylor said.

With passage of this appropriations bill, the House now waits for the Senate to pass its own version of this legislation.

Once that occurs, the two versions will be resolved in a legislative conference. As soon as both chambers pass the final version of the bill, the legislation then will be sent to the President to be signed into law.

Article Source: City of Tulsa

Last Updated ( Friday, 31 July 2009 )
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