Solaris [2002] (DVD)

The space station is called Prometheus. Prometheus was the Titan who gave fire to man and in doing so, incurred the wrath of Zeus. His punishment was to spend eternity chained to a rock with ravens sent to eat his liver. Each time, his liver would regenerate, leaving Prometheus to endure the same agony day, after day, after day. However, Prometheus knew that one day Zeus would need him. One day, redemption and forgiveness would be his. He needed only to keep faith. The space station Prometheus is studying the planet Solaris. The question is what gift does Solaris represent? What punishment ...  Read the complete review

Remakes are a tricky business, especially when the original is considered as something of a classic. In the case of Solaris, writer/director Steven Soderbergh can claim to have gone back to the original novel by Stanislaw Lem, rather than just remaking the Tarkovsky film, and no doubt an English language version with a big name star like George Clooney will bring a far bigger audience than the original, so it has a chance of being a worthwhile remake. Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) is a psychologist living on earth at some point in the future. He receives a call from a friend on a research ship, asking for his help but not giving any real reason why. He journeys ...  Read the complete review

This is a film with a history. Based on an old Russian sci-fi novel by Stanislaw Lem, and previously filmed in 1972 by Andrei Tarkovsky, it comes fresh from flopping at the North American box office. This is unusual seeing as it features George Clooney's naked backside, and as it comes from Steven Soderbergh - however as he was behind Erin Brockovich the studios will probably forgive him. Enough of the background, then, let's begin at the beginning. And ooh look, there isn't one - no credits or even a title page, it's straight into the action, where George Clooney's character Kelvin wanders around slowly, being helpful to people and ...  Read the complete review

Since I was given a UGC Unlimited pass at Christmas I've seen 14 films, and 'Solaris' is the worst of the lot - and that includes 'I-Spy'! When you don't pay for the cinema ticket you generally see a lot of films you wouldn't normally go to. 'Punch Drunk Love' and 'The One and Only' are two that I've seen recently that I found to be both enjoyable and rewarding. Indeed when I slope back to the office having abused the flexi time I normally pronounce my latest distraction as 'Alright' - giving me the reputation of having cloth eyes. But not 'Solaris' it's rotten! To establish its ...  Read the complete review

When I first heard about Solaris I was fairly sure I wouldn't like it. It is based on Stanisław Lem's book of the same name which had already spawned a cult-classic film. The reviews, and even the opinion of the aforementioned author, all pointed to bad things. Me being me though, I rooted for the underdog and bought it anyway having never seen nor heard of the other versions. I was pleasantly surprised! First things first, I can completely understand why many people would loathe this. It is pretentious, artsy, slow and has an inconclusive ending. Am I a masochist? Maybe. Story: Solaris is set mostly on a space station over the mysterious ...  Read the complete review