Contact a Piece of Stuff by alice (alice ) Just like a story from the bible, but with Jodie Foster. We walked out of the cinema, and I said 'Well, you have to admit that at least it had some pretty moments.' He said 'Well yeah, it was pretty - but you can just watch Delicatessen for that...' Which pretty much sums it up, really. If you took your best friend to see Starlight Express in the hope they'd find God (or some kind person took you) and it worked, then Contact is the film for you; Hollywood has clearly decided for us, yet again, that it is time for another religious experience - or at the very least an affirmation that you gotta have faith (in something). Perhaps, though, we should consider Contact in the context of Sci-Fi before condemning it for joining the ranks of great, uplifting American tales of faith, morality and heroism (all one and the same thing - as you know). After all, there are only two kinds of 'go meet the aliens' movies aren't there? There's nasty aliens ('Oh my god, they're big and ugly and gonna kill us!') and then there's the nice aliens movies (read: religious experiences with benevolent advanced beings that just wanted to say hi). So, on the grounds that as a film about meeting aliens it probably never had a chance, maybe you will be able to ignore Contact's religious overtones. If that's the case, and you like pretty pictures, or you like to see Jodie Foster looking passionate (as long is it doesn't involve looking lustfully at any male co-stars), then you may still find that Contact has some entertainment value. On the other hand, if you are in the market for a conversion to faith then go, go, go! See it twice. Take your friends.... Or go and see Delicatessen instead. Created on Thu, 25 Sep 1997 and last modified on Tue, 21 Oct 1997.

LOUDonline - http://www.loud.net.au - Fri, 10 Apr 1998