Page 6 June 9, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD “Approaching the Unknown” Won’t Have the Search Team Called By Ryan Rojas for www.cinemacy.com Apparently, movies have yet to learn by now the dangers of sending but a few scarce humans–in this case, just one–beyond Earth’s reaches and into the vastness of space to save humanity from some planet-threatening problem. Of course, this risk of the ‘what can go wrong does go wrong’ variety, drives a time-tested plot of which audiences are readily entertained; just look at recent cinema, “The Martian,” “Interstellar,” and “Gravity” for proof. The real danger that movies should be wary of is building a story around this premise alone, and without adding anything new to the equation. The result, which the latest solo-inspace survival flick “Approaching the Unknown” shows, is that audiences will fail to care if that character is fated to drift further and aimlessly out of orbit and into the forgotten beyond. While there might be enough familiar elements to satisfy those who are looking for something akin to background-watching, “Approaching the Unknown” doesn’t have enough original elements to generate the inertia of interest necessary to captivate viewers in its own right. The astronaut whose fate we are tied to is William D. Stanaforth (Mark Strong), on a one-way, sacrificial trip to Mars to colonize the planet for the rest of humanity–if he doesn’t perish before arriving. A former military man with instinctual intelligence and steely conviction, Stanaforth is also loaded with lazily tacked-on self-affirmations (“I’m not going to Mars to die; I’m going there to live.”), making him a comparable but cliche fixture to spend a full ninety minutes with. Strong, last seen in this year’s underperforming Sacha Baron Cohen spy-spoof “The Brothers Grimsby,” lends his action-hero looks and serious resolve to playing Stanaforth and it’s to the actor’s strengths that he brings the character to life. While he seems like the perfect person to have in a real-life situation–brilliant enough to discover a process to create water from dirt and fearless enough to disobey orders to manually fix his ship in a bind from Earth-residing NASA engineer and old pal Louis ‘Skinny’ Skinner (Luke Wilson), his cold exterior doesn’t lend itself to drawing the audience in, and proves the whole thing could use a little more humor and heart. You can tell before it’s over that “Approaching the Unknown” is a movie that didn’t spend its efforts trying to differentiate itself from other sci-fi movies as it does attempting to cash in on their successes. Sure, a few flashback scenes of Stanaforth convey his detachment from non-existent family and friends back home, but there’s nothing beyond his person that amounts to be developed. You’re probably already braced for when the solitarily-confined character loses his grip on reality, talking to himself and hallucinating characters from his emotional past. But all of this within the first twenty minutes? It fast-tracks all of what the movie has to offer in the blast-off stage alone. While “The Martian,” “Interstellar,” and “Gravity,” show that battling elements and confronting the certainty of death can do more than simply entertain audiences (each being commercially and critically received and Awards-positioned), Strong’s strengths aren’t in the department of amiability and warmth, unlike Matt Damon in “Martian,” or Matthew McConaughey in “Interstellar (or even Tom Hanks in “Apollo 13”), actors whose ingenuity comes second to their naturally likable selves. It seems the bigger irony that first-time writer/ director Mark Elijah Rosenberg doesn’t get right in his directorial debut is that the greater the dazzling technology, the greater a natural human presence must be there for us to relate to. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the search team will be getting called for this failed mission. “Approaching the Unknown” is rated R for language. Now playing in select theaters and On Demand. • Film Review Mark Strong in “Approaching the Unknown.” Courtesy of Vertical Entertainment. Traveling from front page cases of transmission through sexual contact and blood transfusion, notes the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. “Because infection in a pregnant woman is linked to a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other poor pregnancy outcomes, CDC recommends that women who are pregnant should not go to the Olympics,” the health agency said in a recent alert. The zika virus is active throughout South America, according to the CDC. It issued an updated travel alert “2016 Summer Olympics” last week. The CDC recommends that travelers “It’s looking like a bummer summer for overseas travelers because of renewed threats from terrorists, criminal gangs and a tiny flying insect in the Olympic host city of Rio de Janeiro.” take simple precautions, including wearing long-sleeved shirts, using insect repellant and sleeping under a mosquito bed net. The greatest threat is to pregnant women, while some adults who contract zika won’t show any symptoms, the CDC reports. The alert is posted at http://wwwnc. cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/2016-summerolympics rio. The U.S. State Department’s warning about terrorist threat levels in Europe was a buzzkill for Americans who decided to skip the Olympics and head for the continent instead. A “Europe Travel Alert” issued May 31 said law-enforcement officials believe terrorists may be planning to stage attacks on visitors between now and the end of August. “The large number of tourists visiting Europe in the summer months will present greater targets for terrorists planning attacks in public locations, especially at large events,” the State Department said. France is hosting the Euro Soccer Championships from June 10 through July 10, and the Tour de France cycling race from July 2- 24. France has extended a state of Venues aren’t finished for the Rio Summer Games, which open in less than two months. emergency to cover the soccer and cycling events, according to the State Department. Poland is hosting the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day event, which is expected to draw up to 2.5 million visitors between July 26 and July 31. Local infrastructure, including security, may be strained due to the large number of visitors to Krakow, officials say. “Poland will impose border controls at all of its national borders from July 4 to August 2, and visitors to Poland during this period should be prepared to show their passport and undergo stricter security screening throughout Poland,” the State Department said. The State Department warns Americans not to travel to North Korea under any circumstances, whether it be for a cultural mission or in a group tour. “North Korea has detained those who traveled independently and those who were part of organized tours. Being a member of a group tour or using a tour guide will not prevent North Korean authorities from detaining or arresting you,” said a May 16 alert. “Possession of any media, either physical or electronic, criticizing the DPRK government or its leaders is considered a criminal act punishable by long-term detention in hard labor camps and heavy fines,” the alert explained. The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea, and cannot assist Americans who are detained by the authorities who’ve held at least 14 U.S. visitors over a 10-year period. Most of the countries and regions with high travel-risk levels are off the beaten track for most Americans, including Somalia, Pakistan, Central Africa, Columbia, Syria and Iran. Travel to Mexico merited this warning from the State Department, with a reminder that criminal gangs and drug wars make some states more dangerous than others to visit. The risks run from being caught in a street fight between rival gangs to abduction for ransom, it said. Carjacking and highway robbery is a serious problem in border towns. “U.S. citizens are encouraged to lower their personal profiles and to avoid displaying indicators of wealth such as expensive-looking jewelry, watches, or cameras,” the State Department says. Tourists should avoid isolated areas or situations where they appear easy targets for robbers or kidnappers who demand a ransom or force their victims to withdraw money from an ATM before being released. U.S. citizens traveling on Mexican roads and highways by car or bus may encounter government checkpoints, staffed by military or law enforcement personnel. American travelers are advised to cooperate with the federal police and military personnel, who’ve been deployed by the Mexican government to combat organized criminal groups. The current U.S. State Department travel advisories and warnings are listed at https:// travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/go.html, along with useful travel tips. • Like Us on Facebook
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