Stranded

[0.0 stars] [IMDb Link]

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Out of habit, I am compelled to chronicle each and every movie I even sort-of watch. But this one did not hold my interest, not even in a so-bad-it's-good way. About the only way it would be enjoyable is as an episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. But Joel and the robots were not around.

Since I have nothing much interesting to say about the movie itself, let me tell you the meta-details. Mrs. Salad used one of those "if you liked that, you might like this" sites to put this on the Netflix queue. I'm wondering if some other movie than this was recommended: IMDB has quite a few.

And it even turned out to be a pain in the rear to get!

  1. Netflix's first try was sent from its Salt Lake City facility.

  2. That disk was unplayable; it had a visible crack.

  3. So we sent it back and asked for a replacement.

  4. They sent (I'm pretty sure) the same darned DVD back to us as a "replacement". At least it had a very similar looking crack.

  5. OK, second try at a replacement: this time, the disk came from Oklahoma City.

  6. Success! Unfortunately, then we watched it.

So, the plot: the first manned spaceflight to Mars. Instant kvetch: Their communications with Earth are instantaneous, a neat trick given that Mars never gets closer than about 4 light-minutes from us.

No big surprise: they crash. Bet you saw that coming, given the title. The survivors talk a lot about survival strategy. Maybe a few could survive until rescue if the others committed suicide!

Trivia: the late Johnny Ramone (yes, of the Ramones) plays "Lowell". His only acting role, according to IMDB.

The biggest star is Joaquim de Almeida, who has long been a Hollywood favorite for playing vaguely-Hispanic villains (off the top of my head: Clear and Present Danger, 24, Desperado). Spoiler: he's a good guy here, and he croaks.

Also here is the wildly-inappropriate Maria de Medeiros; she's in a lot of foreign movies (it turns out), but I only remember her as Bruce Willis's squeaky bewildered girlfriend in Pulp Fiction. Here she's a squeaky bewildered astronette.


Last Modified 2024-01-27 5:38 AM EDT