Watched two films over the last two nights.
Crimes of the Future
This one has been on my radar for quite some time. It's received quite a polarising opinion, with some people just not taking to it and others finding the concept great and well-executed. I watched this one whilst tired after work, so perhaps not the optimum time to watch a film of this calibre. However, I liked it enough, whereas my wife found the overall idea interesting but just not quite enough/satisfying for her. She said that she found it dull. I enjoyed the premise and do agree that with the ideas being mentioned, there was a lot of scope to do more with this film. But, I still liked it. It's not your typical sci-fi film and the acting/script/characters are going to be a 'miss' for a lot of people, but it's so 'out there' throughout that I feel that it works. It's short enough to be worth a go if you're on the fence. I do think it could have gone on for another 10 or 15 minutes (possibly) to elaborate on a few things - e.g. I can imagine some finding the ending a little lacklustre as it does cut to the titles quite abruptly.
Personally, I think it's one of those that will develop a **** following years from now, but won't be making the top of any lists. It's in that mid-tier sci-fi realm, with an unusual idea and attack with the way it's carried out, but it'll hit the mark for some people, and miss for others.
Minority Report
I had never seen this film before and knew very, very little behind it - other than it having Tom Cruise as its star. As soon as it began, I was hooked. Loved the premise and the overall setup of the film. The opening murder-prevention sequence is stunning. It takes a good idea and runs with it, combining that great mix of action, science-fiction, politics, whilst also making it all very relevant for the current day. It's definitely in that same realm as films like Blade Runner and Total Recall, with the ideas being presented and with the way the world is constructed. I really had a good time with it and enjoyed it all of the way through. It's an intelligent blockbuster and it hits the mark that other film such as I, Robot don't. Samantha Morton's presence in the film is just great, and her performance gradually gets better and better throughout the story. Loved Colin Farrell's character, too.
Overall, I'm disappointed with myself that I had not watched this sooner. It's a different breed of Science-Fiction to Crimes of the Future, in the sense that it's more accessible and just much more high end with production values. This is a blockbuster whereas CotF is niche, but I liked and appreciate both in different ways.