vrijdag 4 november 2016

Let's Be Evil (2016)
 Nederlands HierSummary 
Three chaperones are hired to supervise an advanced learning program for gifted children, who wear Augmented Reality Glasses to assist in their education. Contained within a secure, underground facility, events quickly spiral out of control.

Genre : SF
Country : UK

Cast : 
Elizabeth Morris : Jenny
Kara Tointon : Tiggs
Elliot James Langridge : Darby

Director : Martin Owen


My opinion


“The past can define our future.
But I won’t let it.”

The opening scene of this sci-fi horror was promising. Even better, it was a snapshot that instantly caught my attention. A sublime and fascinating scene after which I snuggled in my cozy chair in anticipation for something magnificent. I was immediately convinced that this was going to be a hell of a movie. What did you expect? With a score like that on IMDb, this couldn't go wrong. The frozen image of a puzzled looking girl smeared with blood, seamlessly merged with a tv-show where we get the melancholic picture of a generation with no future. The education system needs to be changed so a new generation of intelligent young kids is being produced instead of a generation of obese and hopeless youngsters . The images looked futuristic with a suitable graphic design. And then the flashy google glass lookalike is introduced. A gadget we'll be watching through the rest of the film.


Just recently I've seen "Jeruzalem" where they used the same kind of glasses. A disappointing film though. The only feat I was excited about was that high-tech device. Unfortunately this facet of "Let's be evil" became a rather annoying element to me. Even worse. I got so sick of it that I wanted to give up already halfway the movie. The rickety soundtrack was perhaps an omen. Admit it. If you want to create a futuristic movie, you shouldn't be using those stale Jean Michelle-Jarre polyphonic sounds. It felt as if I was watching a third-rate SF from the 80s. Unfortunately these weren't the only disturbing elements. When the end credits rolled over the screen I made my final conclusion. This was probably the worst thing I've seen this year.


First, the overall picture you get to see almost the whole movie. The fact that it all happens in a virtual environment (the three selected candidates can only see by making use of the spectacles) was at first an exciting and interesting display. It all looked great and wellknown (especially for those who sometimes sit behind a screen to have fun with some PC games), but it has one major drawback. After half an hour of hazy and swirling images, you gradually start to hate it. Biggest advantage is that a not so talented cameraman with virtually no experience gets away with it when some blurry and out of focus fragments appear in between. Combine this with a dark underground bunker where the lighting consists of pulsating lights in all sorts of colors and your irritation level is reached very quickly. It looked as if the whole story was set in a concrete submarine.


And then you have the actors who were recruited based on some unknown requirements and who are participating in the Posterity Project. Judging from the conversations they have, the requirements concerning the level of intelligence needed for this job wasn't very high. Their ultimate function is to observe the group of teenagers that are also present in this underground facility (spending their days waving their hands in the air). And when necessary they accompany a lost teenager back to the group. Not exactly intriguing and exciting. The fact that the group of children organize a sort of artificial uprising afterwards in which they manipulate the electronic system in an incomprehensible way, was the start of a confusing outcome and a ridiculous denouement.


Finally, the part that frustrated me the most. I had no idea what the theme of this movie was about. And in the end, I still didn't know it. Perhaps it's me getting older and a mild version of dementia sneaked in my system, but I couldn't make head nor tail of it. What was the opening sequence about and how did this correlate with the rest of the movie? And the end didn't clarify anything either. In a subtle way they tried to demonstrate the dangers of technologies and the way it's intertwined in our everyday lives. Kind of obvious. But eventually I still had a few questions about the film. Occasionally I like to watch a sophisticated film with a not so simple storyline. But this was a level too high for me apparently. I suggest however that the creators of the IMDb website check their algorithms, because the score given to "Let's be Evil" is totally irrational. Or was there an artificial intervention by the makers of this movie? Well, that's a spooky thought!


My rating 1/10

Links : IMDB

Let's Be Evil (2016) on IMDb

dinsdag 27 september 2016

Andròn : The Black Labyrinth (2015)
 Nederlands HierSummary 
In the year 2154, a group of young men and women awake in a dark claustrophobic maze. They don't remember who they are or how they got stuck in this labyrinth. The group must learn to decipher codes, understand the signals and beat the tests in this mysterious and bizarre place. Out of necessity they struggle to form a bond to survive, while the outside world watches and wagers on their fate.

Genre : SF
Country : Italy/UK/Malta

Cast : 
Skin : Anita
Alec Baldwin : Adam
Danny Glover : Cancellor Gordon

Director : Francesco Cinquemani


My opinion


“10 must enter the challenge.
The goal is the conquest of freedom.
Welcome to the season premiere
of the redemption games.”

There are bad movies. There are horribly bad movies. And there's "Andròn: The Black Labyrinth". Normally I succeed in finding something positive in a movie. But no matter how hard I looked for it, I couldn't find anything positive in this one. Whatever aspect I even looked at. The conclusion is that it's in each case a failure. It's nothing new that nowadays a moderate version of a successful Hollywood product is being made once and a while. They try to ride the waves of success of those blockbusters, of course. You would expect them to be at least a bit more creative with the stolen concept. Even this film doesn't bother about that. It simply copies the stuff shamelessly.


Ultimately, this looks like a kind of "The Hunger Games". It's set in a maze as in "The Maze Runner". And all of this is happening in a post-apocalyptic, overcrowded world, as you could admire in "Elysium". In "Elysium" the poorest population lived on earth in deplorable conditions, while the happy few floated in an orbit on an artificial paradise. In "Andròn" they keep the worldpopulation in balance by organizing bets on a contest organized in the black labyrinth. At stake are the lives of the wretched population itself. So, if you bet on the wrong person, it's goodbye glorious life (that's meant sarcastically). A kind of "Bet to Win". So it's better you don't lose.


Alec Baldwin and Danny Glover weren't really picky in terms of movies recent years. That's a fact. Baldwin starred briefly in "Still Alice", but I can't remember any film after "Lethal Weapon" with Glover in it, which was actually worth a watch. But what got into them to collaborate on this project, is a mystery to me. Not that they play such a weighty roles. And they aren't very excited about it either. The ten unfortunates who get caught in this maze where they have to struggle for survival, are all unknown actors to me. To be honest, this was noticeable. Sometimes it seemed like they were waiting for the prompter, so they could remember their next dialogue line. Even the battle scenes with terrible looking Ninja Turtles were poorly coordinated. It seemed sometimes like an ordinary game of tag. Mostly they just waited for their opponents to attack them.


The only one I recognized was Skin, better known as the lead singer of Skunk Anansie. I'm not a big fan of this band. And I won't become a big fan of her as an actress either. It all felt pretty forced. Although the characters sometimes seem really stupid and meaningless, the actors themselves aren't to blame. It's because of the worthless and confusing story. Most of the time you're wondering what on earth it's all about. The victims run around in a circular maze. But I guess it's pretty hard to walk in a circle when you look at the geometry of the walls. And that's the only thing you can expect. A group of contestants plagued with amnesia, stumbling through this maze (although it looks more like a factory building by the way) all distraught and confused. Alec Baldwin controls the show using high-tech gadgets. And Glover's contribution can be called ridiculous.


For those who have reached the end without falling asleep, the closing scene was really disappointing. Unprecedented one of the worst movies I've seen this year. A meaningless story, pitiful performances and also quite cheap-looking special effects. It wouldn't surprise me this will be a new way of torturing, used in a dictatorial country somewhere. Mandatory watching "Andròn : The Black Labyrinth" for hours. Painful!


My rating 1/10

Links : IMDB

Andròn: The Black Labyrinth (2015) on IMDb

woensdag 25 mei 2016

The dead room (2015)
 Nederlands HierSummary :
When a terrified family flees a desolate southern New Zealand farmhouse, two cynical scientists and a young psychic are sent to investigate their claims of a haunting. There they encounter a powerful spirit that will protect the house's secrets at all costs.

Genre
: Horror
Country : New Zealand

Cast
:

Jed Brophy : Liam
Jeffrey Thomas : Scott
Laura Petersen : Holly

Director : Jason Stutter


My Opinion 

“I would love to capture something conclusive..
To prove the existence of the paranormal.
Yeah, well, just be careful what you wish for.”

If it was the intention to show how boring the study of paranormal phenomena is, you can safely say that "The Dead room" is a successful film. You never watched a horror before? Well, this is the right movie to start with then. Nothing happens in it so to speak. And when something happens (exactly at 3 o'clock in the middle of the night) it certainly won't scare you to death. You could call it Horror for dummies. Ghosthunting isn't really a fascinating profession. You can compare it a bit with a birdwatcher. You're sitting on your strategic spot and wait until you can observe something. Waiting is the message. Waiting as in the waiting room of the doctor. Fortunately, the entity that runs amok in this New Zealand cottage, owns a well-functioning watch. So it makes an appearance punctually.


When a family pack their bags and leave because there are unexplained phenomena occurring in their home, three researchers arrive to sort it out in a scientific way on behalf of the insurance company. To be honest, I would be terrified if they would force me to live in this dilapidated hovel. The team of would-be Ghostbusters consists of Scott (Jeffrey Thomas), Liam (Jed Brophy) and Holly (Laura Petersen). Scott is a vexing cynic who wants to explain everything scientifically. When inexplicable facts happen, it's always the wind, according to him. A door opens and chandeliers sway back and forth ... probably a gap in the wall which causes a draft. The house shakes on its foundation ... probably a gust of wind. Furniture moving ... yep that damn wind again. Liam is the tech geek who ecstatically places his motion-detecting cameras and infrared sensors everywhere. However, he's the first one who wants to leave the place as soon as possible. And Corry is a psychic who feels the presence of supernatural abnormalities. It's also handy to have her around since she's a kind of living thermometer.


The horror "Paranormal Activity" was a huge success. You can hardly deny that. Personally, I didn't think it was that big of a deal and therefore I've avoided the successors (I'm not a big fan of commercial exploitation). The most annoying side effect are the countless imitations that make use of this success but lack substance. Most of them simply suck. The same applies to "The Dead Room". The first hour looks reasonable. Even though there's not much going on and you have to be patient and wait just like our three researchers. The only things you can witness in the beginning are the way they install themselves, how they go through room after room in search of ghosts and make small talk. The moment things start to happen, you'll be treated to the well-known phenomena such as moving furniture, slamming doors and swinging chandeliers. The use of such dull phenomena doesn't guarantee a successful paranormal horror however.


The denouement was substandard and downright ridiculous. The mood changed completely and this "Paranormal Activity" clone transformed into a third-rate horror. The denouement came so unexpectedly and took me completely by surprise. It felt as if they made it up at the last moment. All I could mumble was "Damn, that's it?". However, all praises for those three daredevils because although there were some life-threatening and quite frightening situations, they still went to bed hassle free and willingly. As if nothing was going on. Probably they've accepted that it really was the wind that caused it all. Honestly, reality shows shown on television are more frightening to me than this bland movie.


My rating 1/10

Links : IMDB

The Dead Room (2015) on IMDb

dinsdag 29 september 2015

The mourning (2015)
 Nederlands HierSummary :
20 years after going MIA in Desert Storm, Aaron returns home under mysterious conditions, not having aged since his disappearance, and must reestablish relationships with loved ones before an imminent return to an ambiguous other-worldly existence.

Genre
: Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Country : USA

Cast
:

Louis Mandylor : David
Michael Rene Walton : Aaron
Sally McDonald : Lucey

Director : Khalil Sullins

My opinion    

Once and a while, you come across movies where you don't have a clue what's going to occur in it from the start. And finally, the end credits run over the screen and you're still staring at it, wondering what you've just seen and what the hell it was about anyway. "The mourning" is such a film. A SF (I guess) about a Marine who pops up again after he disappeared on a mission in Operation Desert Storm 20 years ago. And as naked as a newborn suckling. "So what", you say uninterested, "That's what Schwarzenegger already did before in Terminator II". Maybe he came back on foot and walked for 20 years all the way from the desert back to his hometown. Well, that's a possibility, except that he still looks as young as when he disappeared. And now you think perhaps the beneficent effects of the sun has something to do with that or maybe he only consumed biologically healthy food which is good for the skin. But then there's also the astonishing fact that he can't speak a single word. Yeah, now I got your attention ... uhm ... or not ?


And so you have a summary of the first hour of this slow and boring movie. Aaron (Michael Rene Walton) awakens in his birthday suit somewhere in the middle of a forest (a bit similar to "Almost Human"), not knowing how he ended up there. The first thing I noticed when he went to his home town, was the complete desolation. There's no living soul in the vicinity of the city or in the city center itself. It seems like everyone is abducted. You need not to be clairvoyant to realize that almost everyone's mouth drops open from amazement when seeing this long-lost war hero. And then it's time for the tedious Question Time.

 
I stopped counting after a while so I really don't know how many times people asked that same question over and over again : "Aaron, where have you been been all that time ?". It's understandable that he can't explain it the first half hour, since he produces as much sound as a broken radio. But the moment he starts speaking again, the guy still refuses to give a sensible explanation. Believe me, that started to get on my nerves severely.


Of course you can work out different scenarios as an explanation for the peculiar behavior of Aaron. It could be that he suffers from PTSD and therefore lost his speaking skills because of the traumas. Or perhaps the entire movie was just a dream for him. Or maybe (drumroll) he was kidnapped by Martians and he peacefully lived for 20 long years in a Martian colony. Or worse, in all those years he was subjected to sadistic alien experiments. The cause of his silence would be due to the fact that he no longer knows how to speak, because he communicated during that period telepathically. There's also someone else convinced of that. An annoying woman with a ridiculous haircut who suddenly appears out of nowhere, so she can cross-examine Aaron all the time about that last possibility.


Ultimately, it's all guesswork in the end. You'll sit there in front of your television without any explanation or clearance. I like a profound movie from time to time. A movie with things not that clear and obvious. But this was absurd. So if you have some spare time and you want to spend it in a meaningless and purposeless way, I recommend you watch this empty creation. At least it was still of some use. And hopefully I haven't stepped on an alien creature's green long toes, so they come and abduct me!



My rating 1/10
Links : IMDB

The Mourning (2015) on IMDb

donderdag 16 juli 2015

Big Game (2014)
 Nederlands HierSummary
When Air Force One is shot down by terrorists leaving the President of the United States stranded in the wilderness, there is only one person around who can save him - a 13-year old boy called Oskari. In the forest on a hunting mission to prove his maturity to his kinsfolk, Oskari had been planning to track down a deer, but instead discovers the most powerful man on the planet in an escape pod. With the terrorists closing in to capture their own "Big Game" prize, the unlikely duo must team up to escape their hunters. As anxious Pentagon officials observe the action via satellite feed, it is up to the President and his new side-kick to prove themselves and survive the most extraordinary 24 hours of their lives.

Genre
: Action/Adventure
Country : Finland/UK/Germany

Cast
:

Samuel L. Jackson : U.S. President William Allan Moore
Ray Stevenson : Morris
Onni Tommila : Oskari

Director : Jalmari Helander


My opinion 

"Not political, not religious. He is just a certified grade-A psychopath." 

I thought "Why the hell not ?" after seeing the poster of "Big Game". An adventure film, clearly aimed at a younger audience, with Air Force One crashing down somewhere in a Finnish forest and with the US president trying to saving himself with the help of a Finnish boy who just happens to undergo a local ritual so he can prove himself to the male population. And after I saw that Samuel L. Jackson also took part in this movie as the missing president, I didn't hesitate for a second. It's true that Jackson played some minor roles before this ("Oldboy", "Reasonable Doubt" and "Robocop"), yet I was pleasantly surprised by his last performance in "Kingsman: The secret service". So I went on the assumption that this was going to be a likeable youth film, full of unabashed and not too far-fetched action.


Boy oh boy. I didn't expect this to be such a crappy movie full of improbabilities, ridiculous situations and coincidences. Admittedly, it's indeed aiming for a younger audience, filled with teenage boys, who can have nice dreams that same night after watching such a film and imagine themselves acting as such a hero. But I'm convinced that most of them will shake their heads out of disapproval, while wondering if the makers of this film actually were convinced that they are really so naive.


First lets start with the positive aspects. The scenery is matchless and breathtaking beautiful. I had no idea that Finland looked like that and I was tempted immediately to choose this country as a destination for my next holiday. Onni Tommila, a youthful Finnish actor, performed properly and does his job as the Finnish guide Oskari remarkably well. The entire film is clearly a homage to earlier films with youthful heroism as a central theme. It's a kind of film like "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" in which Short Round plays a prominent role or a typical Spielberg film like "Empire of the Sun". It brings back the nostalgia of fathers going to the cinema with their son to enjoy a cool film for guys. A prerequisite for such films is that the youthful contribution should smoothly transcend the ingenuity of the adults. In other words, the adults are presented as utter fools.


What bothered me the most about this movie, were the totally absurd situations that arose. I admit, when you look at it from the perspective of a young person and you don't take it too serious, it comes across as an entertaining movie. A sort of "Home Alone" in a forest, where you're always a bit smarter and faster than the bad guys. But there are limits. Firstly I would like to purchase the brand of freezer they used here, because I think this hightech-wonder-equipment is indestructible. Swinging under a helicopter, mowing through the woods, tumbling from a mountain, splashing into a lake and afterwards popping up out of the water like a purebred Russian submarine. And this "undamaged" ! Now that's what I call solid quality. But beware ! Make sure you don't end up inside this miracle appliance, because apparently it can't be opened from the inside. The number of accidental meetings is huge. Coincidentally, the probe with the POTUS is landing where Oskari made his camp. The freezer pops out of the water where Air Force One incidentally crashed. And you just need to follow a suspicious helicopter on satelite, and you end up looking at POTUS. The criminal Hazar (Mehmet Kurtulus) apparently isn't such a hot-shot criminal afterall, because he doesn't even know how to load an automatic rifle. And the way the satellite images are used in the Pentagon to follow the president, is just hilarious.


I admit, It shouldn't always be that serious and occasionally a lightly youth film is also welcome, but there are limits to follies and ridiculous situations. As a boy I'd fall for this blindly. But as an adult, who started watching this film unprepared, it gradually began to annoy me more and more because of the series of stupidities. The final image full of patriotism and heroism ultimately, was a bit too much for me.

You gotta cock it, Motherf …. Oops.
 

My rating 1/10 
Links : IMDB


Big Game (2014) on IMDb

zaterdag 30 mei 2015

Vice (2015)
 Nederlands HierSummary
Julian Michaels has designed the ultimate resort: VICE, where anything goes and the customers can play out their wildest fantasies with artificial inhabitants who look, think and feel like humans. When an artificial becomes self-aware and escapes, she finds herself caught in the crossfire between Julian's mercenaries and a cop who is hell-bent on shutting down Vice, and stopping the violence once and for all.

Genre : Action/SF
Country : USA

Cast
:

Thomas Jane : Roy
Bruce Willis : Julian
Ambyr Childers : Kelly

Director
: Brian A Miller



My opinion

I'm afraid that no film can push this abominable bad created movie of the first place in my "Best to avoid this film in 2015"-list. After watching appalling movies such as "The Cold Light of Day", "Fire with Fire", "Red 2", "The Prince" and "A Good Day To Die Hard", I was hoping to see the old Bruce Willis back again once more. However, what a disappointment. I'm convinced that senile senior citizens are showing more enthusiasm than Willis here. He is known by his nonchalant attitude and coolness in previous films, but the lack of interest that he's showing here and the total lack of facial expressions throughout the film (even up to the last fragment) defies all imagination.


This uninspired story is a mix of "Westworld", "Blade Runner" and "Groundhog Day". The only difference is that each of these three top films are a joy to watch and are based on an enjoyable and original idea. "Vice" is a sort of theme park for adults, populated by artificially intelligent robots that are indistinguishable from human beings. They can be in pain, have feelings and have a human body with high-tech features (not that you get to see it explicitly throughout the film). The format of the park is that visitors have total freedom and can do as they please. Do you want to murder a prostitute, cut a barmaid's throat or organize a gang rape of an innocent visitor at the local nightclub, you can go ahead safely with no adverse consequences. My first thoughts were : what kind of sick people visit this park and wouldn't it be better that such potential criminals are shipped immediately to some state prison. Anyway, it's all about entertainment for the crowd, I guess. 

 
Everything goes smoothly and without any problems until Kelly (Ambyr Childers) starts getting flashbacks and relives crimes she was the victim of. Of course a reboot won't help and she's brought back to the workshop for maintenance. Now isn't that a surprise ? She gets the opportunity to escape (No way !) and with the help of Evan (Bryan Greenberg), the designer of all these artificial beings, she tries to escape to the real world. Furthermore, there's also the rebellious police officer Roy (Thomas Jane), whose biggest wish is to close down "Vice".


The concept offers opportunities but is certainly not very original. As Roy stipulates a few times : there's a possibility that visitors get to familiar with deeds they can do in the park and that they can't see the difference between the fictional world and reality. It could be that when they return to society, they start committing the same crimes over again. Besides naming this problem, there's nothing they do with this assumption. The self-awareness that arises in Kelly, isn't elaborated further. Ultimately, she's an ordinary blonde without external technical faults who tries to flee. Before you know it an hour has passed without any significant actions. It's all rather boring and tedious. To be honest I was struggling to keep my eyes open and it didn't matter to me anymore how it would end.



This is again a creation that can be added to Willis's palmares under the title "Complete nonsense" and you surely shouldn't waste any valuable time on it. The only positive point was those gorgeous ladies parading around. As an ultimate tribute here are some points that irritated me. For the umpteenth time a heroine manages to escape while being shot at by a small army of security agents. Even a bazooka couldn't prevent that. They'd better replaced these officers with artificial intelligent personnel. Look at those "Chappie"-robots. They never miss. Kelly had the opportunity to get an update at a given moment so she could acquire certain talents. The moment she decided to update herself, so she could join the others for some action, I was wondering what this upgrade was about anyway. Besides throwing some clumsy punches there wasn't much special to admire. But above all it's the demise of one of the action icons from the past, who plays one paltry role after the other. The only thing he shows in these roles are comatose glances and some mumbled dialogues. You want to see this charismatic and extremely cool action figure in action again, then I suggest you start up "Die Hard", "The Last Boy Scout" or "Twelve Monkeys" once again. Yippee ki yay ... uh .... whatever!


My rating 1/10 
Links : IMDB

 
Vice (2015) on IMDb

dinsdag 19 mei 2015

Project Almanac (2014)
 Nederlands HierSummary
As a group of friends discover plans for a time machine, they build it and use it to fix their problems and for personal gain. But as the future falls apart with disasters, and each of them disappear little by little, they must travel back to the past to make sure they never invent the machine or face the destruction of humanity.

Genre
: SF

Country : USA
 
Cast
:
Jonny Weston : David Raskin
Amy Landecker : Kathy Raskin
Sofia Black-D'Elia : Jessie Pierce

Director
: Dean Israelite


My opinion 

“There's a slight chance that oxygen and nitrogen naturally found in the air could catalyze.
What does that mean?
We could explode.”


Take "Back to the Future", mix it with "Weird Science" and add the MTV mentality to it and you end up with a pale project as "Project Almanac". A group of nerds who are too stupid to pass a chemistry test, but do have enough brain cells to build a time machine. I've seen a lot of nonsense in my life, but this beats everything. At first sight it was a nice concept, but after watching it you realize you have looked at a Teletubbies version of "Back to the Future". I asked myself which audience they were aiming for. Of course that would be a teen audience, because there is no trace of difficult theories such as the paradoxes of time travel (way better elaborated in "Predestination" and "About time"). The complete film is no more than a list of ridiculous time jumps into the past to solve trivialities that turn the personal lives of these wizkids into a hell, I guess. If I had this time machine, I would have made a time jump to the moment when I was starting this movie. And then I would change my mind quickly.

 
What would you do if you could use a time machine and go back in time ? Would you try to change world history ( Murder Hitler ? No, that's only on the 101st place on the "bucket list" of time travelling)? Would you try to meet legendary figures? Would you at least try to save a human life? I would go back to prevent Kurt Cobain from committing suicide, damn it ! Well, these brats have higher priorities. Nothing important for any ordinary earthling, but for these young people who live in their self-centered world where everything revolves around self-interest, the desire for adoration and complacency, these are extremely important items. They could get filthy rich by means of foreknowledge, solving all those other teen facts in a blink and making them irrelevant. But then there wouldn't be the fun of flying to the past anymore.


It all starts when David (Jonny Weston) fails an MIT test and starts searching in the attic for a forgotten project of his father. Instead he finds an old camera with footage of his 7th birthday. However, he discovers on that footage him appearing in a mirror as a 17 year old boy. Eventually he finds in his father's basement plans to create a time machine. Them using a disassembled X-box and the battery of a hybrid parked out front, was surely a firm warning for all the other ridiculous things that were to come.

There are really a lot of awful stupidities in this movie which leaves you with a "How is it possible" gaze. I really would like to know what brand of camera that was because the battery should be of exceptional quality since it's still working after being on that attic for 10 years. I own a not so cheap camera myself and now I really think this is a piece of junk since these batteries only last for about a month. Furthermore, isn't it logic that after realizing that you picked a wrong number and you didn't win the lottery, that you go back in time and repeat the procedure (with the correct number of course) so you can continue your life as a multimillionaire ? Well I would do that but apparently this wasn't really necessary for these wiseacres. Also I was stunned about the fact that a highschool student immediately notices, after a glance at highly sophisticated military plans, equations that can be compared to the theory of relativity. But then again, moments later when David makes a logical remark, no one understands. And before the first time jump David notices calmly that there is a possibility that they could explode because of some physical epiphenomenon. But those youngsters are daredevils because they simply disregard this. 



Comparing this with "Back to the Future" is an insult to this successful teen film about time travelling. The latter was an original, entertaining, ingenious and creative film which I've watched with pleasure. "Project Almanac" is boring, childish and unoriginal. I even expected that they would seek for a "flux capacitor" in the DIY store. This is simply a fusion of two endlessly copied hypes : time travelling and found footage.

And that's the next weak point of this film. I recommend not to watch this flick with a full stomach, because it's completely filmed with a handheld camera. David's younger sister was instructed to record everything (and that means really everything). And that's what you get dished up,in full. So you can expect a camera constantly being waved around with blurry images as a result. Sit close to the screen and you'll be as sick as an amateur fisherman who's sitting on a fishing boat for the first time in a heavy storm. You might even wish you had that time machine to prevent "The Blair Witch Project" of being made, so that we were spared of more found footage nonsense like this. Some films succeed in getting the imprint of being "timeless," but this film will, in spite of the applicable topic, never achieve this. Best you avoid this movie because it'll only cost you valuable time you'll never be able to recover again.

 

My rating 1/10 
Links : IMDB


Project Almanac (2015) on IMDb