Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Magnificent. It is an epic three hour artistic feast. It is a visually stunning movie, surely to win the long overdue master Roger Deakins an Oscar. The colors! The futuristic production design that borrows from and yet somehow also modernizes the original. The epicness of each frame is enough to take your breath away. If you can't tell, I loved the look of the movie.

But of course, the strength and beauty of Blade Runner (perhaps of science fiction generally) is its ability to ask the tough questions. What does it mean to be human? In my opinion, this movie is a very natural sequel to the original. It builds off the established themes and pushes the boundary to the next logical steps. The character, less obviously but very effectively, advances this question of humanity. She is a computer program, pure software. She obeys orders. She is made to order. But does her capacity to love make her human? Does the capacity to love make a replicant more human? Does the ability to reproduce make you human? Is there a more abstract idea of a soul that makes us human? It asks the tough philosophical questions.

Denis Villeneuve has proven himself a phenomenal director of science fiction following Arrival. And in the same style, he has a way with reveals that shocks the audience. I won't give that bit away, but the reveal allows the viewer to discover another theme, and that is insignificance. We may find ourselves very important, but is it possible that our stories are insignificant in the arc of history? It's this willingness to tackle grandiose ideas that makes this sweeping movie a pure epic.

The Martian (2015)

This movie is perhaps the best advertisement for NASA and STEM. If this doesn't inspire you to pursue a STEM field, nothing will. It makes science cool. The characters are true experts in their fields, quickly solving complex problems with innovative out-of-the-box solutions. I think this movie will inspire a generation to pursue careers in astronomy, physics, and....botany. The script is well-written, fast paced, and sounds mostly scientifically accurate to someone like me who doesn't know (But to my credit I did follow some of it!).

The ensemble cast is excellent. Matt Damon carries the film with his likable personality, quick thinking, and one-liners. In the face of certain death, he finds a way. There is a moment at the end that reminded me of the end of Captain Phillips, when Tom Hanks gives a masterclass in acting--in a state of shock having just been rescued. In The Martian, this moment comes before the rescue attempt, when Matt Damon breaks into tears of hope. The scene could have been elongated to let Damon play it up a bit more, but it evoked a similar feeling. The casting of Kristen Wiig in a largely non-comedic role was a little strange. And as much as I like Chiwetel Ejiofor, he is decidedly not Indian, nor is Mackenzie Davis Korean. The characters were written as Asian, and so those roles should be played by Asian actors. There are not that many roles for Asian actors, so we should give the few that do exist to Asian actors.

Ridley Scott creates a convincingly barren picture of Mars on location in Jordan. He made a crowd pleasing, visually thrilling, and thought provoking story.