karenkyla3

I'm wracking my brain for one redeeming virtue this movie has and honestly there's nothing. The acting was stolen straight from a second-rate daytime soap opera. The special effects were laughable. The setting was so unimaginative it was absurd. I love how sci fi movies think that creating another planet merely entails filming in a desert with Mideastern duds. The most absurd aspect of the film was the blatantly stereotypical casting. The religious zealots with their reign of terror on the people wore red eastern robes, were of arabic and eastern descent, and used ancient scythes. The desert nomadic barbarians were all African American with African war paint and spoke in mostly grunts. The University scholars were of course all white Americans.

I originally rented the movie wanted to see something of Isaac Asimov's as I'd heard he was a premier sci fi writer and the proposition was intriguing. At the end, I really hope this movie is no indication of Asimov's writing as the movie takes an amazing idea and twists it until it's virtually unrecognizable. It says nothing, it does nothing. It merely proclaims, "Look at what a bad movie I am!"

This is the worst drivel I've ever seen come to the screen. The so-called actors appeared to be reciting from scripts. The stereotypical teenagers were utterly unsympathetic - no, not unsympathetic, but just so cardboard that I could care less about any of them. (Spoiler Alert, if it's even feasible to 'spoil' a movie like this.) Then of course there's the little girl who looks up with her innocent praying eyes all but jumping up and down in front of the screen "I'm the Christ Figure!!! The sacrificial lamb, that's me!" Oh, but it gets worse. They've decided to throw in possibly the most cliched and outright groan-worthy pseudo plot-twist ever invented. The 'then she woke up twist' where you find none of it was really real. It was all in his head. Oh my gosh! How deep! Well that just makes the whole movie then! It just says so much about misunderstood teens in an oppressive adult society littered with sex, drugs, and violence. (dripping sarcasm, if you hadn't noticed). The only conceivable way to enjoy this movie is with a lot of alcohol, because really it's so ridiculous and bad it's just downright funny. You'll find yourself laughing so hard that tears will stream down your face as you contemplate that there were people that actually read this script and thought it was such a good movie they actually FUNDED it!

In most modern movies, the setting is a necessity that functions for no other reason than a casual fact. This movie more than anything had a sense of place. It knew where it was and the mentalities of those people, and how their perspectives were shaped by that area. It's polished with the ability to create the place without broadcasting it.

The other aspect that sets this movie apart is it's ability to create real people. It doesn't take cheap outs with the characters. A lesser movie would have readily made the main character a victim of some characteristic movie atrocity - abuse, amnesia, having been attacked, raped, who knows. It's the conclusion I immediately jumped to, knowing full well the modern movie quick explanations. The movie could have made the women of Silver over-the-top men-haters, uneducated hicks needing to be saved, who knows. The truth is tragedy is relative, and it's usually the small things that will eventually wear us down. The fact that this movie is able to convey that without resorting to cheap plot gimmicks is commendable and makes it well worth your time.

My parents taped this off the television for me as a child and since then the movie's gotten more than its share of use. The stories are imaginative and well-selected, from a fairy-tale to a humorous horror spoof, to a sort of Beverly Cleary type book. The main character, PJ, is stuck in the library overnight and each of the characters invite her into their book while she's waiting. Through each book she finds a tool to get out of the library whether it's to use her imagination, creativity, or master her fear. I'm guessing this is probably out of print by now, though I bet you could find it in some elementary school film rooms hidden away somewhere near "The Electric Grandmother". If you do find it you'll be glad you did.