Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Summary 
After stopping off at Starbase Yorktown, a remote outpost on the fringes of Federation space, the USS Enterprise, halfway into their five-year mission, is destroyed by a powerful, unstoppable wave of unknown aliens. With the crew stranded on an unknown planet and with no apparent means of rescue, they find themselves against a ruthless enemy with a well-earned hatred of the Federation and what it stands for. Only a rebellious alien warrior can help them reunite and leave the planet to stop this deadly menace from a possible galactic war.

Genre : SF
Country : USA

Cast : 
Chris Pine : Captain James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto :  Spock
Karl Urban : Doctor McCoy

Director : Justin Lin

My opinion

“Cut the throat.” 

Although I've seen a considerable number of episodes of the television serie Star Trek at a young age, I've never felt like a real Trekkie. It fascinated me, but not to such an extent that I'd greet everyone in my daily life using a Vulcan salute. When the next generation Star Trek episodes started (with the charismatic Captain Picard), I was even less interested and existence of this serie faded for me completely. Three years ago I saw "Star Trek Into Darkness". And to my surprise this was already the 12th motion picture with the Enterprise still boldly going where no man has gone before. It really didn't blow me away. It wasn't so adventurous as in the television version where they repeatedly discovered new civilizations. Probably it has something to do with nostalgia.

But to be honest, "Star Trek Beyond" made a huge impression on me with his breathtaking images and great action scenes. I was even a little bit moved by the scene with the Flagship Enterprise gradually being reduced to a pile of scrap metal. Seeing this legendary spacecraft lying completely destroyed on the planet Altamid, really hurts. But it's common for every Star Trek episode that they find a solution to resolve the impossible situation. The same applies to this film. Although there were a few moments when it felt a bit exaggerated. But I have to say that the images from the Space Station Yorktown, the attack by Krahl's swarm and the crash of the Enterprise were stunning and impressive. Yorktown is a spherical space station (with the look of a snowball according to Bones) with an ingenious gravity system. A futuristic-looking artificial planet which resembled what we saw in "Elysium" and "Interstellar". And it's populated by all sorts of races and creatures. And I must admit, the fantasy of the creators is still alive and kicking when it comes to creating alien species.

Relocating the field of action to the surface of the planet Altamid was a smart move. The breakup of the crew in different groups and their attempts to regroup was a refreshing idea and contributed to the build up of tension. The warlike Krall (Idris Elba) has only one goal. And that's destroying the United Federation of Planets by using the Abronath biological weapon. A weapon designed by his ancestors who lost control over this destructive weapon. Despite the immense layers of makeup, Idris Elba managed nevertheless to show an appearance full of expressions. Krall looked as threatening as ominous. The most exciting and fascinating character was that of Sofia Boutella as the alien Jaylah who can stand her ground in confrontations and also has some technical skills. What stood out were the various humorous situations and dialogues. Simon Pegg's contribution I suppose.

What bothers me the most about a movie like "Star Trek beyond", is the casualness when solving certain issues. The technical (unintelligible) lingo is being used again at that moment. So, warpspeed isn't functioning anymore? No problem. They'll momentarily redirect some energy from the warp core to the impulse engines. Want to bring the compressors from a wreck back to life? One well-aimed shot with your laser gun will take care of that. And during a chase at the speed of light, a problem occurs that needs a quick solution. Again no problem. A blueprint is projected (and I guess they know its content by heart) and before you know it a ready-made solution is being offered . But isn't this part of the charm of a legendary phenomenon like Star Trek? Otherwise they never could have gone boldly where no one ever set foot before!

My rating 7/10
Links : IMDB

Let's Be Evil (2016)

Summary 
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

Capsule (2015)

Summary 
Guy is an experienced British fighter pilot who is in command of Britain's first manned mission to space. He has trained for this for three years at the height of the Cold War and now he is alone in space with a malfunctioning capsule. He has limited contact with the UK, some unusual communication with the US and some unorthodox communication with Tyuratam deep in Soviet Russia. Who will help him? Will he make the right choice?

Genre : SF/History
Country : UK

Cast : 
Edmund Kingsley : Guy Taylor

Lisa Greenwood : Charlotte Taylor
David Wayman : Harry

Director : Andrew Martin

My opinion

“I realize I’m stuck up here now.
And missed my re-entry point...
but my oxygen is down to 14 percent.
What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Looking for an action packed movie, full of thrills and spills? Such a film full of swirling action scenes or unprecedented conversations? Well just skip this movie then. The film is limited to an impressive solo performance, on board of a manned space capsule launched by the United Kingdom. The spacecraft looks as if Bob the Builder has put together this absurdity. And this indicates that this launch took place long before high-tech space shuttles occupied space. And not only the spacecraft looks primitive, but also Guy Taylor's spacesuit (Edmund Kingsley. Yep son of!) looks as if it's pieced together by the local carnival association. No wonder the amateurish structure starts to show some flaws, which leads to Guy finding himself in a hopeless situation with his capsule out of control and a lack of oxygen causing devastating effects.

Respect to the creators of this low-budget film. It's a considerably low budget, as I could notice during the movie. Except for the opening image of the capsule in space and earth in the background. That looked promising. Unfortunately it's the only spectacular fragment used in the entire film. From then on it's limited to the few square meters available to Guy. And his interactions are also fairly limited. First there is the ghost of his lovely wife Charlotte. Then there's a certain Harry,  from a space center in England, Guy has contact with. And finally he has radio contact with the Russian intelligence service, the CIA and NASA. Apparently the secret services of both superpowers follow this unknown manned space object. Probably they are impressed that a puny, small country such as the U.K., could achieve this. And at the same time they are full of suspicion since we are in the midst of the Cold War.

Kingsley's acting was impressive at times. Then again, there was no one he had to compete with or someone he could surpass when it comes to acting. That was the easy part when you look at it that way. But it was still an admirable piece of work. He effortlessly went through a whole palette of emotional feelings. Panic, euphoria, determination and desperation seized him at the appropriate time. Besides a few stiff looking Russian soldiers, there was nobody else to be seen throughout the film. There were a few implausible moments as well. Especially Guy's clumsy behavior. He looked like a sort of hobbyist and space enthusiast, who applied for the job and indiscriminately pushes a few buttons and randomly replaces a fuse.

All in all this was a fairly boring movie. Not only by the total lack of variety, but also because the outcome was quite disappointing. Granted, you can start fantasizing whether there is some truth to that legend about the success or failure of a manned space flight by England. Even if it sounds credible, with the serious-sounding text during the end credits, I don't believe it's based on true facts. I think this would have made public after the cold war, so the U.K. could take the credits for the first manned spacetrip. As a short film this story would be more appropriate. The duration of the film was too long to fill it with this limited story.

My rating 3/10
Links : IMDB

Independence Day : Resurgence (2016)

Summary 
Two decades after the freak alien invasion that nearly destroyed mankind a new threat emerges. This Alien mothership is more than twice the size as the last one and once again, the world's armies must band together to save the world. Do they have enough firepower or will this battle change and will aliens take over?

Genre : SF
Country : USA

Cast : 
Liam Hemsworth : Jake Morrison

Jeff Goldblum : David Levinson
Bill Pullman : President Whitmore

Director : Roland Emmerich

My opinion

“Are we dead?
We're okay.
You peed in your pants?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, me too.”

I never thought I would miss Will Smith in a movie. Well, for everything there's a first time. And damn, I missed our friend Smith in this sequel of the blockbuster from 1996. Not because of his acting talent or his good looks. But because of his dry humor and his sometimes hyperactive behavior. Smith was honored by the brief display of a picture somewhere in a presidential corridor. His absence in this film was due to a fatal accident during a test flight (Personally I think the paycheck was a disappointment to him). As a worthy successor his stepson Dylan (Jessie T. Usher and fortunately not Smith's son Jaden himself) is summoned to help.

The big difference with its predecessor, is the total lack of credibility and excitement. In the blockbuster of 1996, the alien invasion was so brilliantly portrayed, that if we ever expect something to happen like this, it'll look exactly the same. In this movie everything is so over the top and out of proportion, that it starts to look ridiculous. For instance the dimensions of the alien ship. This giant ship covers almost a quarter of the planet. The advantage is that the devastation and ravages are so immense that the images of destruction are really impressive. I'm sure the CGI department was asked to get the maximum out of their computer systems. When those immense landing gears of the colossal spaceship dig into the earth's surface, it provides hallucinatory images. Quite some mainland is plowed and a huge tsunami hurtles across the continents. Compared to this, the one in "San Andreas" was a tiny wave.

 

About the story itself. Don't expect too much content or groundbreaking innovations compared to the previous one. It's more or less a second attempt of the alien warlords to conquer Earth and plunder resources. The only difference is that by studying the extraterrestrial material, left behind after the first confrontation, mankind has been able to develop their scientific knowledge drastically. The result is a mega plant on the moon in order to counter new attacks. The creation of a futuristic-looking society. A defense system around our planet by means of armed satellites. And the technology for intergalactic traveling at light speed. However, they didn't realize that twenty years ago a distress signal was sent from an alien ship, situated in the African desert where African rebels waged a long war against Martians which were wandering in the desert. They researched  alien technology  thoroughly. But the disorder in the X-band frequency detected the moment the mother ship was destroyed, apparently was a hard nut to crack . The result is a second attack. An unstoppable attack according to former President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) : "They are coming back. And this time we won't be able to stop them”.

The cast is a mixture of veterans who appeared in the old movie and a new generation. So you can see Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch and Brent Spiner again, as their twenty year older alter ego. Their appearance reminds you again how fast years flew by. Their intelligence is still as fresh and spry as before. Most problems are solved in an instant by shrewd proposals and intuitive inventions. A little too quickly in my opinion. This made it quite implausible. And this way the tension was completely ruined. Furthermore, I couldn't really appreciate the sometimes corny humor. All in all, this second film is a little bit of a setback. Granted, the images look spectacular. The special effects are majestic (but that was to be expected). And the action scenes are phenomenal. But there was no magical moment in this film. It wasn't really that impressive. But when you fancy a visual spectacle, this blockbuster should be on your bucket list. I just hope the descendants of those pesky aliens won't come up with the same idea in 20 years.

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

Andròn : The Black Labyrinth (2015)

Summary 
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

Kill Command (2016)

Summary 
Set in a near future, technology-reliant society is creating killing machines. Against this backdrop an elite army unit is helicoptered in to a remote, off-the-grid island training facility, to test the capabilities of the latest prototypes. They set up positions and make short work of the AI targets in the killing field. However, overnight their sentry goes missing, and when they find the corpse the next day they find themselves in the killing field and the tables have turned.

Genre : SF
Country : UK

Cast : 
Vanessa Kirby : Mills

Thure Lindhardt : Captain Bukes
David Ajala : Drifter

Director : Steven Gomez

My opinion

“Turn off that shit.
I do not want to be scanned, is that clear?“

Occasionally you encounter a low-budget film with overwhelming visual looks. Like "Kill Command". And that despite the limited budget. Besides that, you can also enjoy some successful performances and a narrative which is entertaining enough. Allthough it's not very original. We've seen enough films with sophisticated technologies doing crazy things because of a short circuit. The first thing that came to my mind is "Robocop". And recently something went terribly wrong in "Ex Machina". The only thing I could cite as a minus was the design of the robot causing mayhem. A bit too bombastic for my taste. And especially the practice-androids looked rather slightly dated.

Everything revolves around Mills (Vanessa Kirby), a kind of half-android who got a chip implanted into her brains that cured her paralysis at the same time. Working as an engineer at the firm that applied this technology, she receives some disturbing data from a training robot working with that same technology. It's suspected that the robot acquired a consciousness and operates independently. Mills goes along with a platoon of marines on a mission. It's a training session that takes place on the island from which this data originates. Despite being a well-oiled unit with a solid training behind them, slowly but surely they need to realize that those strategic androids (normally they just serve as innocent targets) are much stronger.

The relationship between Mills and the marines is similar to that of Rupley and Bishop in "Aliens". They don't trust her at all, which in turn creates some hostile reactions. Especially Captain Bukes (Thure Lindhardt) doubts her sincerity and suspects she's withholding certain information. In essence, that's also the case. But Captain Bukes also comes to the conclusion that without Mills, they have no chance against the artificial intelligence of the raging robots.

"Kill Command" definitely was a pleasant surprise. A simple SF that sails an exciting course. Most actors were relatively unknown to me. Not that they all had an influential part. Most of the cast served only as victim. The clashes were limited to the battle between humans and robots on the one hand. And on the other hand a dispute between Bukes and Mills. What impressed me the most was the used footage and visual effects. For a low-budget film this section was surely impressive. You can start whining about the fact that this not the first movie about a battle between man and machine. But despite that it was a fascinating film. And once again one can start debating about whether or not a thorough automation is not life-threatening to human civilization. That's also a very old debate.

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

Equals (2015)

Summary :
In an emotionless utopia, two people fall in love when they regain their feelings from a mysterious disease, causing tensions between them and their society.

Genre : SF/Romance
Country : USA

Cast :
Nicholas Hoult : Silas
Kristan Stewart : Nia
Guy Pearce : Jonas

Director : Drake Doremus

My opinion :   

“I'd like to start you on a full course of inhibitors immediately.
There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to live a normal life.
At least for a while.” 

Kristen Stewart isn't exactly on my list of favorite actresses. As I wrote in my review of "Snow White and the Huntsman" : "She shows almost no emotion and I'm convinced she dips her face in starch before walking onto the set". But regarding this film, she was most suited. A postwar society (indeed, again after a devastating war) in which all the survivors their DNA has been manipulated in such a way that all feelings are gone. No impulsive behavior. No depression, pain or overwhelming feelings. No more feelings of lust, love, hate, jealousy and joy. Numb beings, functioning on autopilot. Their only purpose in life is to explore space. However, there are people who suffer from a particular syndrome which returns repressed feelings and causes them to react differently to certain situations and develop primitive feelings again. Such as the craving for eroticism (something that is completely forbidden). This disease is called S.O.S. (Switched-On Syndrome) and there's no adequate medication for this syndrome. Most patients end up in "the den" (defective, emotional, neuropathy facility). The only cure there is to encourage suicide. 

Sounds pretty depressing. And on the one hand it surely is a bleak and dreary society in a clinical white environment, with every feeling or pleasure nipped in the bud. Everyone lives individualistic in a high-tech Cubist house that responds to the necessary basic needs. And every day, everyone goes to work in a casual and comatic way. A bit like in "Metropolis". On the other hand it seems to me as a blessing to be rid of annoying human traits such as jealousy, envy and competitivity. It's in this utopian ( "Oblivion" -like) society that an impossible and forbidden love emerges. A loaded and (for them) exciting resurgence of an irresistible attraction between Silas (Nicholas Hoult) and Nia (Kristen Stewart). Naturally, all the ingredients of an impossible love are present, as in multiple other films about this topic. Only this is now soaked in a SF sauce. And the universal rule that love overcomes everything, is of course also present.

Despite the romantic aspect and the fact that "Equals" is a huge slow-burner, this film was extremely fascinating to me. Not because of the subject, but because of the overall visual image. Everything looks, despite its simplicity, overwhelming. The overall picture was spot on. And then there's this subdued, wait and see attitude of the two protagonists, which is depicted in a restrained but extremely adequate way. You can truly feel how they experienced that first touch. How painful it is to suppress the overwhelming feelings. And how wrenching it is to be separated. Superb acting by Hoult and Stewart. I have a little more respect for Hoult, because Stewart just needed to be herself to achieve this, I reckon.

It's been a long time since I enjoyed once again a pure SF without intergalactic battlefields and an abundance of special effects. However, many will say this movie is dull and superficial because of the lack of exciting action and sensational imagery. I, however, loved the simplicity the most. Tucked beneath this simplicity, however, there's a complex human process that everyone faces once anyway.

My rating 7/10
Links : IMDB