TOP MOVIES
Pitch Black
M-Net Movies Action, Channel 110, Saturday, 20:00 It seems whoever is in charge of the Riddick franchise grabbed the wrong end of entirely the wrong stick when sci-fi fans dubbed Pitch Black (2000) “the next
Alien”, which is high praise indeed. Lo and behold, the sequel, The
Chronicles of Riddick (2004) appeared, shifting the focus to Vin Diesel’s character and transforming him into an anti-hero rather than a psychopath. I haven’t seen the 2013 film Riddick yet, so I can’t comment on that one.
But let’s get something straight, film producers: the reason we liked Pitch Black was not because of Riddick. Not entirely. He was only part of an ensemble cast of survivors stranded on a desolate planet with hostile, man-eating creatures. He added a wild-card element to the story and we were never certain of his motives.
The other survivors are acted well enough for us to decide for ourselves how we feel about them, without the film barfing tragic back-story onto our faces to force us to sympathise with anyone in particular.
But none of them can do it alone and escaped criminal Riddick is clearly their best bet in terms of ability, even though they’re all leery of his character. That’s what made Pitch Black fun to watch, the dread and uncertainty, not Riddick being a badass — which seems to be the mistaken impression to which the sequels cling.
Mulan
SABC3, Channel 193, Friday, 20:30 Stories in which the hero doesn’t quite fit into society but eventually triumphs over adversity to prove that their alleged failings were actually merits have been done to the point of being tiresome.
But every once in a while, you find one that reminds you that it’s the delivery that counts. This Oscar-nominated animated adventure is a good example. Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) is tardy, ineloquent and headstrong in a society that dictates she must be efficient, quiet and subservient. But when her ailing father is called to war to fight the invading Huns, she realises he won’t last long on the battlefield, so she disguises herself as a man and runs off to fight in his place — something that only someone with her qualities would dare to attempt.
Even if you disagree with some of the things she does, her wanting to save her father is something everyone can get behind. It all snowballs towards a very satisfying, almost profound ending.