Movie Review: Chaos Walking

Todd (Tom Holland) lives on a sparsely colonized planet. Some unique property of the planet allows the thoughts of men to be projected out loud, accompanied by misty tendrils that are visible from a distance. Memories can also be seen, and Todd is skillful enough to project images. All the women in his village were killed years ago.

Viola (Daisy Ridley) is part of a second-generation colony ship. When her scout ship crash lands, she is the only survivor. Todd has never seen a girl, so when he discovers Viola, he is immediately smitten with her. Unfortunately, the mayor of the village wants to attack the main ship when it lands while most of its people are still in cryogenic stasis. Viola overhears the plot and runs. Todd chases after her, trying to help her avoid the men of the village who pursue on horseback.

Chaos Walking is a serviceable film that kept my interest. Todd and Viola alternate between being frantically on the run and pausing to discover more of the remains of attempted civilization on the planet. All agree that the movie is completely dependent on the acting talents of Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, who do a great job. Critics tend to bash it, saying it becomes predictable after the intriguing beginning. Also, there is rabbit-out-of-a-hat trick with the images that was problematic.  

Ordinary people (probably a lot of teenagers) enjoyed it. I might have enjoyed it more if I were an insecure teenager—more than once Todd visualizes being kissed by Viola, which outrages her. But as I said, it kept my interest.

So if a theater is open near you, you might consider Chaos Walking. Keep in mind the very different reactions to it, and that there is no accounting for taste. 

Writing at the Mall

I usually do a good amount of writing at malls. It doesn’t always work out (see my entry on Mallrats). But I write in malls because if I write at home I start thinking of other things I need to do, like cleaning.

Last Saturday, I was in Bellevue Square. (Bellevue is the largest suburb of Seattle.) It connects by a skybridge to Lincoln Square.

Here’s a view from it looking north:

Oddly enough, there is no glass on this side of the skybridge. They must have figured that having glass on the south was all that was needed to keep the wind from blowing through.

Here’s a view looking south:

Here is from a different angle. It’s a little hard to see, but there are three movie posters, each as tall as a floor—a very tall floor. They showcase A Quiet Place 2 and Bad Boys for Life. I’m not sure what the third movie is. Any guesses?

click to enlarge

It’ll be nice when the theatres are open again.