Page 2 June 9, 2016 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Police Reports “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 Tribune in Barcelona, Spain Jon Olson and wife Queena of Torrance visited the Iberian Peninsula in May 2016. Queena photographed Jon while he scanned a copy of Torrance Tribune. Past Jon’s right shoulder, one can see the Gaudi-designed Sagrada Familia Cathedral, still under construction. • Robbery-Weapon 5/28/2016 10:49:20 PM 4000 BLOCK 190TH ST Suspect brandishes handgun and hits victim in the face with same before additional suspects jump victim and take property from his pockets/wallet, cell phone Theft 5/28/2016 8:47 PM 4100 BLOCK 176TH ST Suspect(s) takes property from front porch/ delivered parcel Auto Theft-All 5/28/2016 8:00:00 PM 16400 BLOCK VAN NESS AVE Stolen vehicle: ‘95 Honda Accord Theft 5/28/2016 6:00:00 PM 21200 BLOCK HAWTHORNE BLVD Suspect(s) takes property from employee area/purse Battery-Weapon/Agg 5/28/2016 5:20:00 PM 22500 BLOCK MAPLE AVE Suspect sprays pepper spray in victim’s eyes Theft 5/28/2016 2:00:00 PM 3800 BLOCK PACIFIC COAST HWY Suspect(s) takes property from seat as victim dines/purse Vandalism 5/28/2016 10:00:00 AM 4400 BLOCK SCOTT ST Suspect(s) scratches and dents victim’s vehicle’s bumper Battery-Simple 5/28/2016 2:30 AM 20000 BLOCK HAWTHORNE BLVD Suspect punches victim in the face Auto Theft-All 5/28/2016 1:10:00 AM 18000 BLOCK HAWTHORNE BLVD Stolen vehicle: ‘16 Dodge Charger Theft 5/27/2016 10:19 PM 17400 BLOCK HAWTHORNE BLVD Suspect(s) takes unattended property from table/cell phone Auto Theft-All 5/27/2016 9:00:00 PM 2400 BLOCK SEPULVEDA BLVD Stolen vehicle: ‘06 Ford van Burglary-Auto 5/27/2016 8:00:00 PM 3500 BLOCK EMERALD ST Suspect(s) enters vehicle by unknown means and takes property/sunglasses, backpacks, laptop, books, folders, cords, cables and cash. Burglary-Commercial 5/27/2016 7:00:00 PM 23500 BLOCK TELO AVE Suspect(s) uses vehicle to ram roll-up door for entry/unknown if loss at time of report Auto Theft-All 5/27/2016 6:30:00 PM 1700 BLOCK 220TH ST Stolen vehicle: ‘93 GMC van Vandalism 5/27/2016 6:30:00 PM 2400 BLOCK 205TH ST Suspect(s) smashes business window; no entry, no loss Burglary-Commercial 5/27/2016 5:00:00 PM 1400 BLOCK MARCELINA AVE Suspect(s) forces open post office boxes and takes property/mail Burglary-Auto 5/27/2016 1:45:00 PM 2300 BLOCK ABALONE AVE Suspect(s) enters unlocked vehicle and takes property/backpack, watch, medication, fishing reels, multi-meter tool, exacto knives, cables and toiletries Burglary-Residential 5/27/2016 8:00:00 AM 17800 BLOCK DOTY AVE Suspect(s) forces open door for entry, ransacks and takes property/cash Burglary-Auto 5/26/2016 6:00:00 PM 4100 BLOCK TORRANCE BLVD Suspect(s) forces open window for entry and takes property/third row seat. Auto Theft-All 5/26/2016 4:00:00 PM See Police Reports, page 9
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