Freejack

All time favorite sci-fi movie EVER!

Hey James, this should answer that question of yours. Yeah, Freejack is the sci-fi movie with Mick Jagger in it. He plays a mercenary named Victor Vacendak.

Sorry to be so pathetic, I just happen to love this movie, one of my fave sci-fi movies and normally I don't watch sci-fi movies, so it's a rarity for me to like sci-fi like this. 

Freejack

-Made in 1992

-Directed by Geoff Murphy

-Stars Emilio Estevez, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Mick Jagger

-When released in the US, it got mainly bad reviews

-Was adapted from the 1959 sci-fi novel Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley

-Aside from the concept of a modern man being sent into the future where anything is up for sale and there is the presence of a 'spiritual switchboard' in which souls are trapped, this movie bears little to no resemblance to the novel, where it was discovered that there was scientific proof of the afterlife altering the society's views on life

Did You Know?

-During the time this movie was being filmed, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall were married. And in the movie, there is a scene that shows Mick and Jerry almost together. When Jerry's reporter character is interviewing Alex in a nightclub, Mick's character Vacendak is watching intently on the TV, watching someone who in real life at the time was his wife acting. 

Plot

-In the year 2009, the multi millionaires can acquire immortality by hiring "bonejackers", basically mercenaries who use extensive time travel equipment technology, to grab people from the past just before their deaths. Those who escape the bonejackers are deemed "freejacks", and are considered to be the lowest rung on the human social ladder. The film is set in a dismal dystopic future where health problems plague practically everyone, from poor physical health from drug use, and environmental pollution, making them useless as replacements. 

-Alex Furlong(Emilio Estevez) is a professional race car driver who is just about to die in a 1991 car crash, right in front of his fiancee Julie Redlund(Rene Russo) and his agent Brad(David Johansen), when suddenly, out of the blue, a time machine grabs him from the cockpit of his car just as he crashes and into 21st century Bronx, New York, which looks like a deserted wasteland. When Furlong's captors- led by a hardened but honorable mercenary named Victor Vacendak(Mick Jagger)- are ambushed by a hit squad. Furlong is able to escape and is confused by what is going on. When he tries to find Julie, he finds she is no longer at her 1991 address. He takes shelter at a local church, where he is found by a sympathetic nun  who is armed with a shotgun(Amanda Plummer). She explains to him what happened. She also provides him with clothing, food and a small handgun.

-Alex is able to track down his former agent Brad to ask him for help, but he sells out Alex for the reward and is killed in the process. He tracks down Julie, who he finds out works for a company called McCandless Inc. She calls security on him, thinking he is not the Alex she knows. Vacendak shows up, and that's when she realizes that Alex is who he says he is. She goes to Ian McCandless(Anthony Hopkins) himself to ask for help in getting Furlong out of New York, McCandless promises to help. Unfortunately, the escape is a trap- Vacendak and his squad try to once again get Alex, but he manages to escape them and holds Vacendak at gunpoint. Alex demands to know who wants him so badly. Vacendak finally surrenders and tells him that the person who wants his body is none other than Ian McCandless, Julie's boss. Because Alex saved his life before, Vacendak gives him a chance to run, and Julie steals one of Vacendak's armored tanks to get away. 

-Furlong and Julie are able to escape VacendakMcCandless Corporation cops, but they also have to deal with private guards of McCandless' corporate X.O Mr. Michellete(Jonathan Banks), who is desperately after McCandless' job. He was the one who was behind Alex's first initial escape.  Alex then pretends to hold Julie hostage and makes a deal with Michelette to arrange a meeting with him. He hopes they don't know about the couple's past relationship, but it turns out that Michelette has already seen the footage of Julie's pain and grief after Furlong's death after his 1991 accident. Julie is immediately fired on the spot, thinking he will get the top position as top executive. Alex and Julie escape the meeting, only to be caught in a gunfight between the guards and Vacendak's mercenaries. 

-The elevator they take ends up taking them to the top floor of the building, where there is a spiritual switchboard where McCandless' mind is. A virtual reality hologram of McCandless explains why he wanted Furlong's body: so he could show his love for Julie. Apologizing, he offers Alex the chance to run the company while pretending to be him. But Vacendak arrives, McCandless reveals he was stalling. Alex, forced into performing the mind transplant, declares "You don't need a new body, you need a new soul, and your machine can't give you that!" Just when the transfer begins, Michelette stumbles in, wounded from fighting with Vacendak's men. In all the chaos, Julie grabs a soldier's gun and shoots the crystal performing the transplant. The crystal shatters, rendering the transplant inconclusive since no one knows if McCandless has control on the computers. The scientists present conclude that McCandless will have to identify himself. Michelette agrees, revealing that only McCandless would know his own personal I.D. code, something Alex would obviously not know. Vacendak receives a handheld computer which shows McCandless' code- he instructs "Alex" to tell him what it is.

-Alex responds by saying the code slowly and clearly, and Vacendak asks him to continue. Michelette concludes that that transfer took and tries to kill Alex,  but Vacendak guns him down along with his men. Furlong asks Julie to change into something more beautiful. Soon, Furlong and Julie take one of McCandless' cars for a drive. They are stopped by Vacendak and his team as the car leaves the estate. Vacendak reveals that the transfer was not complete, and that it was still Alex, but Ian McCandless could not drive, and Alex did not get the code right, so Victor lied for him. He simply waited for Alex to make a mistake and he did: McCandless doesn't know how to drive. Vacendak tells Julie, flashing a smile "You'll have to coach him better than that" and after withdrawing his men, the 2 drive away. 

Cast

Actor	Character
Emilio Estevez	Alex Furlong
Mick Jagger	Victor Vacendak
Rene Russo	Julie Redlund
Anthony Hopkins	Ian McCandless
Jonathan Banks	Mark Michelette
David Johansen	Brad
Grand L. Bush	Boone
John Shea	Morgan
Frankie Faison	Homeless man
Esai Morales	Ripper
Jerry Hall	Newswoman
Amanda Plummer	Nun
Jeff Scordino	Camera Man

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V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta

-Made in 2005
-Set in a near future totalitarian Britain
Did You Know?
-The crew were only allowed near the British Parliament building from midnight- 4:30am because they could only stop traffic for 4 minutes at a time
-All the buildings in the movie, like The Old Bailey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament were built at 1/10 scale

Plot
-In the 2030s, the world is plagued by environmental problems and the UK is ruled by a totalitarian government under the control by the fascist Norsefire party. Evey Hammond,a  young woman who works at the state run British Television Network, is rescued from an attempted rape organized by members of the secret police by a Guy Fawkes-like character known as V. He takes to a rooftop to watch his destruction of the Old Bailey. Norsefire tries to explain away the incident as a controlled demolition, but V takes over the state broadcast and exposes the lie. He urges the people of Britain to rise up and meet him in 1 year, on Nov. 5, outside the House of Parliament, which he promises to destroy.

-V brings Evey to his hideout, where she is told that she must stay until November 5 of the following year for her safety. When she learns that V is killing government officials, she sneaks out to tell her superiors, mainly one of her superiors, Gordon Deitrich(Stephen Fry). He has a comedy TV show and one night he makes fun of the government. The police raid his home and capture both him and Evey. She is imprisoned and tortured for days on end for info about V. She finds solace in notes written by another prisoner, actress Valeria Page(Natasha Wightman), who was arrested for being homosexual. Finally, Evey is told that she will die unless she reveals V's location. She is tired but defiant and says she would rather die than give up and she is released. She discovers that she's been in V's lair all along and that her imprisonment was staged to free her from fear. She finds Deitricj was killed for having a copy of the Quran. The notes were real, but they were passed by Valeri to V earlier when he was imprisoned.

-Inspector Finch, Scotland Yard's chief of police, learns that Norsefire came to power and about V's origins in the course of his investigation. 14 years earlier, the US had collapsed, the victim of an unleashed bio-weapon. It's also said that the US is suffering another civil war between the Midwestern states. Britain suffered in the chaos. Norsefire led a purge to restore order and enemies of the state disappeared. The country was divided over the loss of freedom until a coordinated bio-terrorist attack on a school, water treatment plane and tube station resulted in the deaths of 80,000 people. The fear started by this allowed Norsefire to win the election, silencing all opposition and turning England into a totalitarian state under High Chancellor Adam Sutler.

-As Nov. 5 nears, V's schemes cause chaos in England and the population grows more hateful towards Norsefire. V organizes the distribution of thousands of Guy Fawkes masks, and on the eve of the 5th, Evey visits V, who shows her a train in the abandoned London Underground which he filled with enough explosives to destroy Parliament. He leaves it up to Evey whether to use it or not. V is killed when he is shot multiple times, despite wearing an armored breastplate.

-As Evey places V's body in the train, she is found by Finch. After learning about the corruption of the Norsefire regime, Finch allows Evey to sent the train on it's way. Thousands of Londoners, all wearing the masks but unarmed, march on Parliament to watch the event. Because Sutler and Creedy are dead, the military stands down. Accompanied by the 1812 Overture, Parliament and Big Ben are destroyed as Evey and Finch look on. He asks her for the ID of V.

Cast

• Hugo Weaving as V: Originally James Purefoy was cast as V, but left six weeks into filming due to difficulties wearing the mask for the entire film.^[3] He was replaced by Hugo Weaving, who had previously worked with Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers on The Matrix Trilogy as Agent Smith. Portions of the film contain scenes with Purefoy playing V with a dubbing from Weaving.^[4]
• Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond: Director James McTeigue first met Portman on the set of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, where he worked with her as assistant director. In preparing for the role, Portman worked with dialectologist Barbara Berkery in order to perform with an English accent. She also studied films such as The Weather Underground and read the autobiography of Menachem Begin.^[5] Portman received top billing for the film. Portman's role in the film has parallels to her role as Mathilda Lando in the film Léon.^[6] According to Portman: "the relationship between V and Evey has a complication [like] the relationship in that film." Portman also had her head shaved on screen during a scene where her character is tortured.^[7]
• Stephen Rea as Detective Chief Inspector Eric Finch: Finch is the lead inspector in the V investigation, who, during his investigation, uncovers an unspeakable government crime. Rea is no stranger to politics and terrorism, as he was once married to Dolours Price, a former member of the Provisional IRA, imprisoned for bombing the Old Bailey. When asked whether the politics attracted him to the film, Rea replied "Well, I don’t think it would be very interesting if it was just comic-book stuff." "The politics of it are what gives it its dimension and momentum, and of course I was interested in the politics. Why wouldn’t I be?"^[8]
• John Hurt as High Chancellor Adam Sutler: A former Conservative MP and Under-Secretary for Defence, Chancellor Sutler was the founder of Norsefire and is the de facto dictator of Britain. Hurt played a contrary role in another dystopian film: Winston Smith, a victim of the state in the film adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four.^[9][10]
• Stephen Fry as Gordon Deitrich: Talk show host Gordon Deitrich is a closeted homosexual who, due to the restrictions of the regime, has "lost his appetite" over the years. When asked in an interview what he liked about the role, Fry replied "Being beaten up! I hadn't been beaten up in a movie before and I was very excited by the idea of being clubbed to death."^[11]
• Tim Pigott-Smith as Peter Creedy: Creedy is both Norsefire's party leader and the head of Britain's Secret Police, the Finger, and also the main antagonist of the film. While Sutler is the Chancellor, the source of the government's power over the people lies with Creedy. He is also revealed to be the mastermind of the bio-attack that gave Norsefire the chance to take over Britain. He comes under fire when the Chancellor threatens him after he fails to stop V. In the film's climax, Creedy kills Sutler before meeting his own end when V strangles him.^[5]
• Rupert Graves as Detective Sergeant Dominic Stone: Dominic is Inspector Finch's lieutenant in the V investigation.
• Natasha Wightman as Valerie Page: Valerie, a lesbian, is one of the "social undesirables" imprisoned by the Norsefire government. Valerie was played by Imogen Poots in flashbacks to her childhood. Her symbolic role as a victim of the state was received positively by many LGBT critics. Film critic Michael Jensen praised Valerie's scenes "not just because it is beautifully acted and well-written, but because it is so utterly unexpected [in a Hollywood film]."^[12]
• Roger Allam as Lewis Prothero: Lewis Prothero, "The Voice of London", is a mouthpiece for the Norsefire government. He was the former Commander of the Larkhill facility. He presented a show on the BTN (in Steve Moore's novelization of the film, he is also an egomaniac and apparently addicted to illegally-obtained prescription drugs). V kills him with a drug overdose. Some critics and commentators have viewed him as a parody of American right-wing pundits such as Bill O'Reilly, Morton Downey, Jr. and Rush Limbaugh.^[10][13]
• John Standing as Bishop Anthony James Lilliman: Lilliman is a corrupt paedophile bishop at Westminster Abbey, installed into this position by Sutler. Lilliman was a Reverend at the Larkhill centre. He was warned by Evey Hammond when she was undercover as a prostitute, then disposed of by V in the same manner as Prothero. In regards to his role as Lilliman, Standing remarks "I thoroughly enjoyed playing Lilliman... because he's slightly comic and utterly atrocious. Lovely to do."^[5]
• Sinéad Cusack as Dr. Delia Surridge: Dr. Surridge is the former head physician at the Larkhill detention centre, who had changed her name and become a coroner in London. V states that the torture and death at Larkhill was only possible because of her research. Surridge, unlike V's other victims, feels remorse about the crimes she had committed. As opposed to the fates of Liliman and Prothero, she was killed through painless lethal injection in her sleep.

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A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

-1971 film adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess
-Features disturbing, violent images relating to psychiatry, gangs, and is set in a dystopian, future Britain

Did You Know?
-Anthony Burgess had sold the movie rights to Mick Jagger for $500 when he needed quick cash. Jagger intended to make it with The Rolling Stones as the droogs, but the resold the rights for a much larger amount.
-During the filming of the Ludovico treatment, Malcolm McDowell scratched one of his corneas and was temporarily blinded. He also cracked a couple ribs during the humiliation scene
-1 of only 2 movies with an X rating to get a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards
-Filming the rape scene was so difficult that the actress originally cast quit the part and actress Adrienne Corri was cast.
-Mick Jagger was actually considered for the role of Alex and the rest of The Rolling Stones were to be cast as Alex's 'droogs'

-The name 'clockwork orange' is a Cockney slang phrase for a gambling machine in England
-The car used by Alex and his gang is an Adams Probe 16, only 1 of 3 ever made
-Alexander, Peter, Dimitri were common names of Russian kings and princes and Georgie(Gyorgi) was their patron saint
-Malcolm McDowell's eyes were numbed with anesthesia for the torture scene so he would not be in any pain, but that did not stop the metal lock lids from scratching his corneas.
-The doctor standing over Alex while he is forced to watch violent images is a real doctor who was keeping a close eye on Malcolm to make sure his eyes did not dry up
-In 1973, there were 2 copycat crimes which prompted to have the movie withdrawn from the UK. The first was of the rape of a Dutch girl in Lancashire in 1973 while men sang Singing in the Rain and the beating of a 16 year old boy who had beaten a younger child while wearing the uniform Alex wore: white overalls, black combat boots and a black bowler hat. The 16 year old beat the child with a baseball bat called The Ultra-Violence Stick
-One of the highest grossing movies of 1971
-The character of Alex was supposed to be a 14 year old, but Malcolm McDowell was actually 27 when he played the role.

Plot
-In London, Alex DeLarge(Malcolm McDowell) is the leader of his "Droogs", Pete(Michael Tarn), Georgie(James Marcus) and Dim(Warren Clarke), one of the many youth gangs in the broken down future. One night after getting drunk on something they call "milk plus", they engage in an evening of "ultra violence", which includes beating an elderly vagrant(Paul Farrell) and fighting a rival gang led by Billyboy(Richard Connaught). Stealing a car, they all drive to the home of a writer named F. Alexander(Patrick Macgee), where they beat Mr. Alexander to the point of crippling him, and then Alex rapes his wife(Adrienne Corri) while singing Singin' in the Rain

-The next day, while gone from school, Alex is approached by probation officer Mr. P.R. Deltoid(Aubrey Morris), who is very well aware of Alex's violence and warns him. After the events of the previous night, his gang express anger with Alex's petty crimes, wanting more equality and more high yield thefts. Alex rethinks his leadership by attacking them and throwing them into a canal. That night, Alex invades the mansion of a rich woman(Miriam Karlin). While his gang remain at the front door, Alex beats the woman with a statue. Hearing police sirens, Alex tries to run away, but is betrayed by his gang. Dim smashes a pint bottle of milk across his face, leaving him stunned and bleeding. Alex is captured and beaten to within an inch of his life by the police. Deltoid, gloating at this, spits in his face anad informs him of the woman he beat died in the hospital, making him a kilelr. Alex is then sentenced to 14 years in prison

-2 years in to the sentence, the Minister of the Interior(Anthony Sharp) arrives at the prison looking for volunteers for the Ludovico technique, an experimental aversion therapy for rehabilitating criminals within 2 weeks; Alex volunteers. The process involves drugging the subject, strapping him to a chair, propping his eyelids open and forcing him to watch violent movies. Alex, initially pleased by the images, then becomes nauseated due to the drugs; and he starts to realize the music of the movies are from his favorite composer, Ludwig van Beethoven and that the Ludovico technique will make him sick when he hears the music he loves. He tries, unsuccessfully to end the treatment

-After 2 weeks of the treatment, the Minister of the Interior puts on a demo to prove Alex is cured. He is shown to be incapable of fighting back against a man(John Clive) that insults and attacks him, and becomes violently sick at the sight of a topless woman(Virginia Wetherell). Though the prison chaplain(Godfrey Quigley) protests the results saying "there's no morality without choice", the prison governor(Michael Gover) assesses they are not interested in the morality but only the means to prevent violence.

-Alex is released and discovers that his possessions have been taken by the police to help make restitution to his victims and his parents rented out his room. He encounters the same elderly man from before, who beats him several of his friends. Alex is saved by 2 policemen but is shocked to find they are 2 of his former gang members, Dim and Georgie. They drag Alex to the countryside, where they beat him and attempt to drown him. The stunned Alex wanders the countryside before coming to the home of Mr. Alexander and collapses. He wakes up to find himself being treated by Mr. Alexander and his manservant Julian(David Prowse). Mr. Alexander does not remember Alex from the earlier attack but has read about his treatment in the papers, and sees Alex as a political weapon to bring down the government, exposing the Ludovico treatment as a step towards totalitarianism by way of mind control. As Mr. Alexander prepares to introduce Alex to fellow colleagues(John Savident and Margaret Tyzack), he hears Alex singing Singin' in the Rain in the bath, and the memories of the assault return. With the help of his colleagues, Mr. Alexander drugs Alex and places him in a locked upstairs bedroom, playing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony through the floor below. Alex, in excruciating pain, throws himself from the window and is knocked unconscious from the fall.

-He wakes up in the hospital, having dreamt about doctors messing around in his head. While being given a series of psychological tests, Alex finds he has no longer an aversion to violence. The Minister of the Interior arrives and apologizes to Alex, letting him know that Mr. Alexander has been put away and offers Alex an important government job. As a sign of goodwill, the Minister brings in a stereo system playing Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Alex realizes that instead of an adverse reaction to music, he sees an image of himself having sex with a woman in front of an approving crowd. He then states "I was cured all right!"

Cast

Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge/Narrator

James Marcus as Georgie

Warren Clarke as Dim Corby

Michael Tarn as Pete

Patrick Magee as Mr. Frank Alexander

Adrienne Corri as Mrs. Mary Alexander

Michael Bates as Chief Guard Barnes

John Clive as Stage actor

Carl Duering as Dr. Brodsky

Paul Farrell as Tramp

Billy Russell as Professor attacked by Droogs in Library (scenes deleted)

Richard Connaught as Billyboy, Gang Leader

Clive Francis as Joe the Lodger

Michael Gover as Prison Governor

Miriam Karlin as Miss Weathers, Cat Lady

Aubrey Morris as Mr. P. R. Deltoid

Godfrey Quigley as Prison Chaplain

Sheila Raynor as Mum

Madge Ryan as Dr. Branom

John Savident as Conspirator

Anthony Sharp as Frederick, Minister of the Interior

Philip Stone as Dad

Pauline Taylor as Dr. Taylor, psychiatrist

Margaret Tyzack as Conspirator Rubinstein

Steven Berkoff as Detective Constable Tom

John J. Carney as Detective Sergeant

Lindsay Campbell as Police Inspector

David Prowse as Julian, Mr. Alexander's bodyguard

Themes

Morality

-The film's central question is the definition of goodness and whether it is logical to use aversion theory to stop immoral behavior.

Psychology

-Behavior psychology. Showing the rehabilitated Alex being repelled by both sex and violence, the movie suggests that in depriving him of his ability to fend for himself, Alex's moral conditioning has dehumanised him

-The Ludovico treatment has been compared to chemical castration

Locations

-The attack on the tramp was filmed at the southern underpass below Wandsworth Bridge roundabout, London

-The Billyboy gang fight occurs at the now destroyed casino on Taggs Island, in Kingston upon Thames

-The record store where Alex picks up the 2 women was in the former Chelsea Drugstore, on King's Road.

-Alex throws Dim and Georgie into a lake at the Thameshead South Housing Estate, London. This is the same place where Alex walks home at night kicking trash

-The house where Alex is caught by the police is Shenley Lodge, in Hertfordshire, at Blackhorse Lane

-Alex is attacked by the vagrants under the north side of the Albert Bridge, in Kensington and Chelsea, London

-The check in at Ludovico Medical Clinic entrance, the brain washing theater, Alex's house lobby with broken elevator, Alex's bedroom and police interrogation room are all at Brunel University

-The Minister's presentation to the media of Alex's cure takes place at the Nettlefold Hall inside West Norwood Library.

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