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

Manhattan Night (2016)

Summary 
The story of Porter Wren, a New York City tabloid writer with an appetite for scandal. On the beat he sells murder, tragedy and anything that passes for the truth. At home he is a model family man, devoted to his loving wife. But when a seductive stranger asks him to dig into the unsolved murder of her filmmaker husband Simon, he can't resist.

Genre : Mystery/Thriller
Country : USA

Cast : 
Adrien Brody : Porter Wren

Yvonne Strahovski : Caroline Crowley
Campbell Scott : Simon Crowley

Director : Brian DeCubellis

My opinion

“I'm always running to the place where the bad thing just happened,
arriving just after the danger has passed,
watching from a safe distance,
searching for an angle,
that little wrinkle,
the kick to the heart that makes you want to put down the dollar and pick up the paper.”

After seeing two not so good films with Adrien Brody ("Backtrack" and "American Heist") I noticed that sad look of him on the cover of "Manhattan Night". It might sound weird, but every time I see Brody's facial expression on a cover, at once a sense of gloom and sadness overtakes me. Examine once again the cover from "Backtrack" and that of, lets say, "Wrecked". Every time you see a person filled with melancholy. With those sad puppy eyes and a grim facial expression. He stares at you with a helpless and beseeching look. The man exudes melancholy.

Despite his distinctive physical traits, he reminded me of Jake Gyllenhaal hunting for sensational news in "Nightcrawler". The same profession, the same eagerness and the same melancholy look. The only major difference is that Porter Wren already had his victory moment in the past when a young girl was found after his journalistic work. Hence, he still takes care of a daily column in the New York Daily News. Even though the new owner of this newspaper isn't very enthusiastic about it. At first you might say that Porter is a boring and rational person. But then again, he hasn't taken Caroline Crowley (Yvonne Strahovski) into account. The moment he sees her at a party, he's lost and he becomes entangled in the seductive web of this blond vamp. Caroline's interest in Porter is also of a practical nature. She wants to use Porter's "Sherlock Holmes" skills to investigate the suspicious death of her husband Simon Crowley (Campbell Scott).

You'll experience something similar like "Basic Instinct" with Brody acting as a sort of Poirot who's persistent in solving a case. In addition, he has to deal with a case of extortion, so the whole thing gets even more complicated. A story full of intrigue and erotically charged scenes. Brody's daily column is about other people's misery. It looks like he's becoming the main character in such a column. Although all my attention should be drawn to the stormy affair between Porter and Caroline and the complicated developments gripping Porter, my attention went to the rather extravagant personality of Crowley. A slightly deranged movie producer with some absurd traits. A real weirdo with a weird sense of humor. Such a person who pretends to having commit suicide after swallowing a large number of pills. And then he gets up calmly and says it was just a joke. And a highly attractive, breathtaking erotic blonde falls in love with such an eccentric who looks like a bum? Women are unfathomable and inapprehensible. But the acting of Campbell Scott was beyond dispute extremely brilliant.

All in all not a bad movie. Not bad at all. But not a high flyer either. Turn it into a black and white film and you can place it between other Hollywood classics which are shown on a pay-per-view television-channel. It won't be noticed. You can call this film stylish though. "Manhattan Night" pretends to be a neo-noir film with a mystery build into. But in the end it isn't really mysterious.

My rating 5/10
Links : IMDB

Kill Game (2015)

Summary 
In the fictional town of Grace Arbor the answers are never clear.Who is underneath the mask? It's the story of a group of high school kids who amuse themselves by pulling pranks on unsuspecting students and teachers. They are all popular, good looking, the kids voted most likely to succeed. But at their core lies a cruelty and shallowness which comes with the territory of privilege. One night, a prank goes horribly wrong and a teenager is killed. The gang covers it up as a drowning accident but five years later, their lives are turned upside down when Jimmy Edwards, is killed by a serial killer wearing a haunting Marilyn Monroe mask.

Genre : Horror
Country : USA

Cast : 
Pierson Fode : Ryan

Laura Ashley Samuels : Courtney
Michael Galante : Liam

Director : Robert Mearns

My opinion

You know the saying "What goes around, comes around" ? That really applies to seven friends who graduated together and share a terrible secret with eachother. Until the group of friends slowly starts to shrink, because they are murdered one by one. Now, when hearing the stories of these annoying bullies, you're inclined to think they had it coming. Because the tricks they played upon their fellow students (and even teachers), wasn't something to be taken lightly. Those jokes were so radical, a fellow student got killed. And now there appears to be someone who wants to take revenge on this gang of clowns. And the way they are killed, is linked to a particular joke they've pulled.

"Kill Game" isn't an unbelievable good horror. But it tries to honour the traditions of the better hacker / slasher films from the 70s (for instance "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th"). So this means that a group of stupid and arrogant teenagers is gathered again to serve as cattle for slaughter. And the mysterious serial killer wears a grim mask, of course. In this case, it's a Marilyn Monroe mask. Also a list of all candidate murderers is needed. This list may turn out to be exceptionally long. After counting all fellow students and teachers who were victims of a malicious prank, you'll get a significant number of candidates. And as a highlight, the twin brother of the poor devil who didn't survive a joke appears.

But beyond these few similarities with older slasher films, this is a film that effortlessly will sink into oblivion. Anyhow, the lousy acting (inherent to this kind of films) and the not so original storyline are also present. What remains is a typical game of guessing who's the perpetrator, what's the motive and who'll eventually survive. And there's also someone whose profile complies with the characteristics of the perpetrator. Obviously that's a wrong assumption. How surprising! Indeed, a stack of known clichés. The only thing that remains is how the victims were killed. So, it isn't exactly breathtaking cinema. The only thing I've learned out of this movie, is that it isn't very smart to bully others.

My rating 3/10
Links : IMDB

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Summary 
In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to London, England, where single mother Peggy Hodgson believes that something evil is in her home. When Peggy's youngest daughter starts showing signs of demonic possession, Ed and Lorraine attempt to help the besieged girl, only to find themselves targeted by the malicious spirits.

Genre : Horror
Country : USA/Canada

Cast : 
Patrick Wilson : Ed Warren

Vera Farmiga : Lorraine Warren
Madison Wolfe : Janet Hodgson
Bonnie Aarons : Demon Nun

Director : James Wan

My opinion

“My name is Bill Wilkins.
And I am 72 years old.
Where you come from?
I come from the grave.”

My wife was asking me already for weeks if we'd go watch "Lights out" in the cinema. Now, I really have no problem going to a cinema and watch a movie. Sitting in a cozy chair with a mega large popcorn and a maxi coke. Yet I wasn't so thrilled to go and see this one. Simply because my wife isn't such a fan of horror. It's a waste of money since my wife would watch it with her hands over her eyes all the time. So we compromised. What if we first tried "The Conjuring 2". From what I had read, "Lights Out" is much more intense and frightening than this sequel directed by James Wan. Let's call it an assessment test. Based on this test I'll decide whether or not we'll go and watch "Lights out".

Well, my wife failed the test (Can you believe that?). But I have to admit something. I was scared to death a few times. This was actually my wife's fault, whose screeching effortlessly exceeded that from an ordinary pig farm. There are indeed some strategic and perfectly timed frights in this movie, but overall I thought this film wasn't much better than its predecessor. Again Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are asked for their assistance, because there's somewhere a frenzied poltergeist who's driving a family nuts. So again it's a story based on true events (sigh). This time the story takes place in the United Kingdom. You can conclude the following. Not only in the U.S. people are being haunted by restless souls. And you can also state that there are civilians in the U.K. who make up such stuff due to lack of attention or intelligence.

Ed and Lorraine Warren are notorious for their paranormal investigations but won't get off scot-free. The stories of manipulations to get a bit of the media attention, ensure that the label "true events" will be treated with some skepticism. And also in this case, better known as "The Entfield Haunting", were some rumors that the whole story was financially advantageous for this poor family. There's one advantage though. We also get a nice, creepy horror once again. And Wan is also a master in finding the right balance for such a horror. Both seasoned horror fans as an occasional film viewer can find something to their liking in this film. The dangerous frontier of excess is never exceeded, so to speak. Again horror fans can prepare a comprehensive list of movies in which certain sequences of "The Conjuring 2" were used already before. In other words, nothing new under the sun.

The emphasis in this film lies on the threatening and gloomy atmosphere, without introducing bloody and gore scenes. This means that you'll be treated to some eerie fragments with spooky shadows, moving objects, scary sounds, banging on doors and even the manifestation of demonic possession. You can certainly expect some successful horror moments. They are as good as predictable, so I could warn my wife in advance (a waste of time anyway). But the absence of such a shock moment, is sometimes even more frightening. Despite its long running time, the film holds you in its grip the full two hours. Not only by the eerie moments, but also by the story about the interference of the church and the debacle about the veracity of Ed and Lorraine.

To be honest I thought this film met my expectations but didn't exceed the previous one. The demonic nun was more funny than frightening. Bill Wilkins, however, will scare the shit out of you. The cast was sublime. And not because of their performances, but because of their resemblance to the original persons who experienced this event. And if you don't believe me, you can check the original BBC documentary about The Entfield Haunting. Furthermore, the environment where everything happened looked gorgeous (a true vintage look with elements from the 70s) and everything was portrayed impeccably. For horror fans this is definitely a must. I'm sure we'll see a bunch of similar films, because Ed and Lorraine have compiled a whole series of similar disturbing incidents. Be my guest, I'd say.
 

My rating 7/10
Links : IMDB

Captive (2015)

Summary 
In this fact-based thriller, a single mother struggling with drug addiction is randomly taken hostage in her own apartment by a man on the run from the law for breaking out of jail and murdering the judge assigned to his case - only to realize before the climactic finish that they have actually saved each other's lives.

Genre : Drama
Country : USA

Cast : 
Kate Mara : Ashley Smith

David Oyelowo : Brian Nichols

Director : Jerry Jameson

My opinion 

“Every time I do it I think : "This is the last time. I can control this."
And I do it again and again and again.
I just can't... I just can't stop.
I like it too much.”

The transformation Brian Nichols (David Oyelowo) undergoes, is irrefutable miraculous. He's a convicted criminal who manages to violently escape out of a courthouse, where he was waiting for his conviction after allegedly raping his girlfriend. During this escape he murders a number of people in cold blood, including the judge. This is the beginning of a major manhunt, initiated by the police departments in Atlanta. Until he bumps into Ashley Smith (Kate Mara), a young woman who is trying to kick the habit of using Crystal Meth, and takes her hostage in her own apartment. And thus the miracle happens. The reading of the bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren brings Brian to repentance. Hallelujah.

I don't want to detract from what actual happened and how the offender Brian, by hearing positive messages and a religious inspired guidance, managed to get his act together so his humane and kind side could take over again. And this despite the fact that his life is a complete mess and there isn't a bright future awaiting him. From my own experience I know that resorting to the basic elements of a balanced life is lifesaving. And it doesn't matter this is accomplished by listening to a learned person or a soul mate. Or by reading appropriate literature. 5 Years ago I found myself with my back against the wall. By adjusting my philosophy of life, rearranging my priorities and fighting daily against what would be my downfall, my life has changed radically. Yes it"s something wonderful and miraculous, but no need to make a film about it.

That's my feeling about this film. The message in this film contains a wonderful thing and is unique. The fact that it's possible for an individual to give meaning to his life. That applies to both Brian and Ashley. Ashley sees how her life slowly derails. Her husband murdered because of her drug addiction. And her daughter taken away from her because of her disability to be a caring mother. And Brian seeing another opportunity to meet his newborn son sometime in the future. That this happened again by the hands of the Almighty God, of course will please the religious community in our society. Therefor this film is ideal as an educational film for an ecumenical community or a religious tinted television channel.

The only thing I found inappropriate, was the ending showing Ashley Smith in person during an Oprah talk show where she tells her story and promotes the book that saved her live and at the same time that of the abductor. The moment the author of the acclaimed book walks into the studio, I was overtaken by a sickening feeling. The entire film was suddenly reduced to nothing more than a teleshopping program. I'm sure there are people whose life drastically changed after reading this book. But I can imagine there are thousands of people who experienced a drastic change of life thanks to another inspiring book. Lets hope they won't turn every such experience into a movie ....

My rating 4/10
Links : IMDB