Lost in the Sun (2015)

Summary :
The story of John, a small time crook, who finds an unlikely accomplice in Louis, a newly-orphaned teenage boy. As their open-road adventure progresses and John drags the kid on a string of robberies, the pair forge an unexpected and powerful bond.

Genre : Drama
Country : USA

Cast :
Josh Duhamel : John
Josh Wiggins : Louis
Lynn Collins : Rose

Director : Trey Nelson

My Opinion   

“A scorned woman will tear your heart out,  put it between two buns and eat it, just as your life slips away before you. Don´t ever forget that.”

This is a movie you look back to in retrospect and say : what a beautiful story about two loners, with some magisterial played interactions and lastly, magnificently shot. Such a pity there isn't really anything exciting happening in it. The pace is painfully slow. You can only conclude that this muggy road movie is terribly boring. The story itself is simple and also filmed that way. Unpretentious without unnecessary side plots.

 

It's all about this teenager Louis (Josh Wiggins) who just left the funeral of his mother and is taken by the local priest to a bus station, with his meager possessions and an envelope full of money. Just when he wants to get on the bus, that'll take him to his grandparents who are prepared to take care of him, he's approached by a stranger called John (Josh Duhamel). Apparently he knows his grandparents and he's willing to give him a ride all the way to the boy's grandparents. Louis doesn't know that John is a selfish, ex-convict who uses people. He'll experience that soon.

You could compare this film a bit with "Mud". A film that has an almost similar format. In "Mud" there's also a criminal who becomes friends with some young boys and uses them to outrun the authorities. It's also a slow, sluggish film about developing relationships between some individuals and without some exciting, action-packed scenes. Although at the end of "Mud", there is a momentary flare-up, in terms of action. In "Lost in the sun" the occasional robberies can provide some momentary excitement. But you still get the feeling this all happened by accident and looks as if it's just part of the trip. Similarly, the interlude with Mary (Lynn Collins) and her daughter Rose (Emma Fuhrmann). An accidental encounter just to point out that John uses others in an unscrupulous way and dumps them afterwards in an indifferent manner. It's also the introduction for a bit of functionally nudity.

Only the performances remain. No bad remarks in that section. Josh Duhamel demonstrates he clearly has some acting talent. He's way better than in "Fire with Fire". But I guess that was because of a crappy script. He won't win an Oscar for his performance here. But it was extremely interesting to see how this unscrupulous layabout gradually shows he actually has some human feelings. The one who really impressed me was Wiggins. This slender, young lad, who sometimes looked like a very young Matt Damon, ends up in a very bizarre situation and his feelings balances between hatred and affection. Although I actually wondered why he stayed with John. So it's all about character development and the bond created between two individuals. How those two are related to eachother, is quite obvious at a certain moment.

"Lost in the sun" is a road movie with a dash of drama. And what do you do when you're "on the road" just to pass some time? Indeed, you admire the scenery. And that's something you should do, while watching this smooth, calmly proceeding film, because the scenery is pleasing to the eye and skillfully portrayed. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful. But finally, it's not only appearance that matters.

My rating 4/10
Links : IMDB

Child 44 (2015)

Summary :
Based on the first of a trilogy by Tom Rob Smith and set in the Stalin era of the Soviet Union. The plot is about an idealistic pro-Stalin security officer who decides to investigate a series of child murders in a country where supposedly this sort of crime doesn't exist. The state would not hear of the existence of a child murderer let alone a serial killer. He gets demoted and exiled but decides, with just the help of his wife, to continue pursuing the case.

Genre : Thriller
Country : Czech Republic/UK/Romania/Russia

Cast :
Tom Hardy : Leo Demidov
Noomi Rapace : Raisa Demidov
Joel Kinnaman : Vasili

Director : Daniel Espinosa

My Opinion  

“I would rather spend a lifetime in a shithole like this with you,
than spend one minute in Moscow without you.”

First let me clarify something. I'm not an anti-communist or supporter of anti-Russian propaganda. Neither am I an anti-capitalist or against the other superpower on the other side of the planet. I'm a tiny little person who leads a modest life in probably one of the smallest countries in the world. To label this film as propaganda against the USSR, sounds to me in the present world situation quite exaggerated. Who the hell would benefit from that? Isn't this movie trying to visualize the circumstances in which ordinary people had to live and survive in the post-war period? I can't tell if the shown images are truthful or not. But I'm glad I'm not living in such harsh conditions these days.

What a depressing and frightening regime this must have been with repression and blind obedience as main values. Turning in others as a resort. Those who are your blood brothers today, could become your worst enemies the next day. Regardless of your status or rank. Before you know it, you're deported to the farthest corner of Mother Russia to do some filthy work in deplorable conditions. Downgraded to a meaningless and insignificant person. And that's the strong point of this film. The portrait of a society under control of a police institution, in this case the Russian State Security (MGB, forerunner of the KGB) in a post-war, post-Stalin regime. The MGB was the security apparatus of the USSR that made sure that loyalty to the communist regime, remained intact. Dissidents, anti-communist and political opponents (and annoying individuals) were carefully chased down and removed. The MGB wasn't perhaps as violent as the NKVD, but they weren't choirboys either, I guess.

"Child 44" is grayish, dirty and confrontational. The misery, the poverty, the paranoia, the hopelessness and the ruthless repression are portrayed in an impressive way. It's certainly not a film that makes you happy. Unfortunately the main topic (a topic the whole movie actually revolves around) was pushed a bit into the background. The serial killer theme is rather poorly developed. The only interesting thing was the way they dealt with these crimes. The existence of a serial killer was unthinkable ("There's no murder in paradise"). Only a capitalist regime can produce a killer. That's what the Soviet doctrine claims. The actual murders are scanty visualized. The final denouement and unmasking was a bit too simple. So don't expect a "Silence of the Lambs Made in Russia", but a kind of docu-drama about this chilly Russia.

In terms of acting, there's really nothing to wrong, though most characters were stereotypical portrayed. Many will criticize the use of a fake Russian accent. Perhaps it's for some very annoying, but personally I thought this contributed to the overall atmosphere of the film. A Russian speaking perfect English would be unnatural to me. And it would make me really nervous if all conversations would be held purely in Russian. Tom Hardy plays an outstanding role as the war hero Leo Demidov who slowly but surely sees his status breaking down. Noomi Rapace (I thought she was magnificent as Lisbeth Salander in "Män som hatar kvinnor") stands her ground as the embittered wife of Leo. And Joel "Run all night" Kinnaman wasn't so bad as the vengeful Vasili (a coward who becomes threatening due to his acquired dominant position). Maybe it's because I haven't read the book this film is based on, since I thought this was an excellent film. But there's this golden rule when it's about book adaptations. In most cases they disappoint. Da?

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

The Pack (2015)

Summary :
A farmer and his family must fight for survival after a ferocious pack of wild dogs infiltrates their isolated farmhouse. Through a series of frightening and bloody encounters they are forced into survival mode to make it through the night.

Genre : Thriller
Country : Australia

Cast :
Anna Lise Phillips : Carla Wilson
Jack Campbell : Adam Wilson
Katie Moore : Sophie
Hamish Phillips : Henry

Director : Nick Robertson

My Opinion  

“Predators usually hunt in packs”

Films made with incredible big budgets, full of stunning special effects and well-known, famous actors, understandably attract the most attention. Sometimes one forgets that it's not only these qualities that'll entertain a movie lover. A fascinating story and the build up of a certain atmosphere is also needed. Something that's grossly overlooked sometimes. "The Pack" is an Australian low-budget thriller (I wouldn't call it horror) made with a budget you certainly can't compare with some films made in Hollywood and with not so famous actors. And also, there aren't any dazzling special effects. You can also say that the story on his own isn't that big of a deal and it's not impressive when it comes to originality (ever heard of "Cujo" or "Burning bright"?). But damn that vibe, the threatening tension and that survival instinct. You can smell the sweat in your living room. Yes, when it comes to atmosphere, you can say they've crammed it in this short but powerful (90 minutes only) film, filled with animal terror.

The makers of this movie didn't waste much time, because before you know it a poor sheep farmer is killed with his guts scattered around a sheepstable. The responsible ones are a pack of wild dogs or wolves, moving in a militaristic manner. Guess they were sick of hunting defenseless, stupid sheep. Not much of a challenge for them anymore, so they developed the taste for a new prey, as indicated at the beginning. The end result is a kind of "home invasion" film like "You're next" but with animal predators. Whatever the ultimate reason is for their aggressive behavior, isn't explicitly explained. Are they just fierce, wild wolves? Or are they a mutated breed of dogs and the result of an intersection that went wrong? Or are they demonic creatures? The latter came to my mind when watching a scene in the movie. It seemed as if a prowling carnivore went up in smoke. Or was this due to the flickering lights and shadows?

And that's the only flaw in this film. The fact that it all takes place in the evening, makes this film pretty dark. Pitch-dark conditions with deep black wolves running around, isn't an ideal situation. So you really had to guess sometimes what was going on in the darkness. There were also some improbabilities. I doubt it that a predator with such instincts and a sense of smell won't notice a human scent when walking past him or her. But at the same crawling around with a shining flashlight apparently can be done unnoticed.

Further, nothing but praise for this Australian film. I start to appreciate horrors from Down Under more and more. Especially after watching "The Babadook" and "Wyrmwood". Everything feels like "back to basics" and priorities are set differently. There's much more focusing on suspense and tension without many bells and whistles. A straightforward movie experience without annoying intros and explications. The actors performed as expected. A typical family consisting of a stubborn family man Adam (Jack Campbell) who wants to keep his farm at all costs, his wife Carla (Anna Lise Philips) who tries to make ends meet with a veterinarian practice, daughter Sophie (Katie Moore) who's fed up with living on the countryside and Henry (Hamish Philips), the teenage son, future veterinarian and notorious kleptomaniac. The cast is fairly limited. The only people you'll also get to see are the farmer and his wife at the beginning, a banker who came over to talk about their payment problems and a cop on patrol. A short but intense contribution. It wasn't really horror, because the horrific massacres weren't visualized explicitely. Only some bloody close-ups are shown. For the most part you'll only see the bared teeth of the predators. This combined with the intense threat and the exciting cat-and-mouse game between man and predators, made sure it became an exhilarating and exciting thriller. And that's more than enough, mate!

PS. Don't watch the trailer if you're planning to give this film a try. It's spoiler infested !

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

The 5th Wave (2016)

Summary :
Four waves of increasingly deadly attacks have left most of Earth in ruin. Against a backdrop of fear and distrust, Cassie is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother. As she prepares for the inevitable and lethal fifth wave, Cassie teams up with a young man who may become her final hope - if she can only trust him.

Genre : SF/Romance
Country : USA

Cast :
Chloë Grace Moretz : Cassie
Alex Roe : Evan Walker
Nick Robinson : Ben Parish

Director : J. Blakeson

My Opinion 

“There were no messages from our galactic party crashers during the first 10 days.
But pretty soon, they had a name.
We called them The Others."

I'm not a believer of those New Year's resolutions which are traditionally made during a drunk moment. Usually they are long forgotten after a few months. However, I have a new resolution after watching "The 5th Wave". I'm never ever going to watch another post-apocalyptic, teen film based on a youth book, where there's also the intention to use it in several, successive films. Content wise it's obvious this movie is intended for teenage girls. The initial genres linked to this movies are completely useless. It all started great and it seemed to me it was going into an interesting direction. But the moment the romantic, pubertal storyline started in the middle of the film, the labels of action-packed, adventurous scifi for this twaddle, claptrap movie were replaced by lame and romance. Probably it'll grow a fanbase among pubescent teenage girls. 

Clearly there was a lot of borrowing from other films. The minute Cassie (Chloe Grace "The Equalizer" Moretz), Miss Popularity at school and in love with hunk number one of that school, saw the alien spaceship dangling above the earth (enjoy it because this is the only brief moment those aliens are shown), it was as if this scene came out of "Independence day". Quickly it becomes clear that these intergalactic visitors aren't as friendly as E.T. Through several attack, which are called "waves", these villains try to decimate the world population systematically. You don't need to be an intellectual to guess how many waves there will be, after looking at the film title. Lets find some more parallels with other films. The first wave reminded me of "Dragon Day". The second wave caused a tsunami that was filmed in a similar manner as in "The Day after Tomorrow". There just wasn't an oil tanker in it. And the training camp where teenagers learn how to fight against "the others", can safely be compared with "Ender's Game". The similarities with other dystopian teen films, with an innocent person emerging as the savior of mankind like "The Hunger Games", "Divergent" and "The Giver", are so obvious that it's unnecessary to rekindle them.

As said earlier, it started quite reasonable and extremely shocking at the same time. The way Cassie's loved ones died, was even for me a lot to swallow. I'm sure Cassie's father Oliver (Ron "The Conjuring" Livingstone) imagined his fate less violent. And the third wave was fatal to Cassie's mother Lisa (Maggie Siff). It seemed as if the plagues that struck Egypt, were given a second life. Except that the fourth wave felt so infantile. A sort of laziness of the writer to make the twist used at the end of the movie a bit easier. It was so obvious to foresee what was going to happen when Cassie met the sturdy, wood chopping Evan Walker (Alex Roe). And from that moment on the film changed from a nail-biting, promising SF into an irritating, goody-goody teen movie that gave me cold shivers. Liev Schreiber still tried his best, but his role stands in sharp contrast to that in "Spotlight".

All my respect for Moretz who tried to play a proper role but probably was inhibited by the ridiculous story. What particularly surprised me was that her cosmetic case, full of make-up and hair products, was nowhere to be seen throughout the film. I have to give the filmmakers credit for that. They had to pay attention to that meticulously, because I'm almost sure she carried that case all the time with her, judging by her appearance. I've encountered a review title somewhere, that sums it up perfectly: "This SF-thriller doesn't want to tell a solid story to young adults – it just wants their money". I hope there won't be any sequels, so youngsters can spend their money on more meaningful things.

My rating 2/10
Links : IMDB

Containment (2015)

Summary :
No water. No power. No explanation. No escape 

Genre : SF
Country : UK

Cast :
Lee Ross : Mark
Louise Brealey : Sally
Andrew Leung : Sergei

Director : Neil Mcenery-West

My Opinion   

“Are you an artist?
No.Yes.
It's debatable.”

In "Tower Block" a group of residents were gradually slaughtered by a sniper and although they didn't really knew each other, they started relying on each other to save themselves from that situation. In "The Divide" it was about survivors of a nuclear attack locked in a cellar ending up in a chaotic struggle for survival. In the low-budget film "Containment", residents of several apartment buildings suddenly realize that their apartment is sealed off, there's no electricity or water and phones are dead. Meanwhile, a sort of field hospital is being set up between the buildings and several figures in orange safety suits escort people to it. Initially, there's the notification that a gas leak is the cause of all this trouble. But as a group of residents witness plain executions of fleeing victims, they realize that there's something more going on.

A group consisting of Mark (Lee Ross), a not so successful artist with a failed marriage, the young couple Sally (Louise Brealey) and Aiden (William Postlethwaite), the aggressive Sergei (Andrew Leung) and his younger brother Nicu (Gabriel Senior) and a somewhat senile older woman called Enid (Sheila Reid), attempt to find a way out. After some thin cardboard-like walls were being demolished (especially by the energetic Sergei), these colorful individuals were able to form a group. A group of individuals who have no idea what's actually going on and who are also total strangers to one another. Soon they start to panic, despite there are messages broadcasted on the intercom that they all should remain calm. The images of hysterical neighbors who try to bash in their window and the aggressive removal of an entire family, clearly don't help with that. As a viewer you start asking yourself what the hell is going on. Is it something military? Or just another epidemic with a deadly virus in the leading role?

And to be honest, this was the most successful part of this indie film. The way the viewer is kept in the dark and information about the entire situation is offered in dribs and drabs. Granted, the whole thing isn't very original and sometimes really looks cheap. No breathtaking action scenes or hallucinatory special effects. The acting wasn't very impressive either. Only Leung was able to convince me, and acted at times really grandiose. And especially Sheila Reid stood out with her demure and brilliant acting. And occasionally the humor was rather enjoyable.

Despite the simple storyline and the typical features that come with this kind of film, Lemon succeeded to distance himself from the most obvious outcome. It's not just another film about a virus outbreak that turns innocent people into bloodthirsty zombies. The oppressive atmosphere  maintained in this short film (also a plus). However, again those typical characters appeared as usual. The most positive side about this movie was the bigger picture behind this seemingly simplistic story. A story without a clear answer and open to conjecture. Not exactly a feature I'm a fan of, but here it didn't bother me that much. What did bother me were some practical issues. First of all, I admire the team that managed to seal all those windows and doors in the buildings in such a short time. That must have been a hell of a job. And furthermore I was dumbfounded that no one came up with the idea to throw something heavy through the windows. It don't think this organization succeeded in replacing all that glass by shock resistant material.

My rating 5/10
Links : IMDB

Wyrmwood (2014)

Summary :
Barry is a talented mechanic and family man whose life is torn apart on the eve of a zombie apocalypse. His sister, Brooke, is kidnapped by a sinister team of gas-mask wearing soldiers and experimented on by a psychotic doctor. While Brooke plans her escape Barry goes out on the road to find her and teams up with Benny, a fellow survivor - together they must arm themselves and prepare to battle their way through hordes of flesh-eating monsters in a harsh Australian bushland.

Genre : Horror
Country : Australia

Cast :
Jay Gallagher : Barry
Bianca Bradey : Brooke
Leon Burchill : Benny

Director : Kiah Roach-Turner

My Opinion  

“Oh shit, he wasn't a zombie?
No he fucking wasn't!
Is he alright? Is he ok?
His head is fucked!”

Are you sick of zombie movies? That´s understandable when you look at the amount of zombie movies that flooded the horror landscape recent years. There were some excellent movies that tried to handle the subject in a creative way like "Maggie", "World War Z" and "Dead Within". But most of what I´ve seen however, was plain bad and not really innovative. Instead those movies transformed me in a zombie-like appearance while watching at the screen in an empathic way. "Buck Wild" is an example of this. Is "Wyrmwood" groundbreaking? Nope. Is "Wyrmwood" different than other zombie films? No, actually not. Is it more shocking than other movies with those flesh-eating, bloodthirsty undead? No. The million-dollar question is : Is it worthwhile to watch it? And my resounding and enthusiastic answer to that is "YES". 

It´s not as if this subgenre is reinvented here, but this is a splatter film of the first rank. A rollercoaster through zombie land full of unrestrained gory scenes, ruthless massacres and with sometimes absurd and tasteful humorous contributions. All this taking place in the bushes of Australia: That´s why it feels like a version of "Mad Max" mixed with the "over the top" absurd, madcap humor of "Evil Dead 2". From the first second I knew this was going to be a storm flood of flying limbs and helpless victims brutally butchered by blood-soaked, slow moving creatures. The group of men who tried to drag a jeep inside at the beginning dressed as post apocalyptic warriors, looked as if they had played in "Mad Max: Fury Road". And the horde of zombies looked frightening (I was about to say "lifelike").

The part in Brooke's (Bianca Bradey) workshop wasn't so great, but from then on it only got better. Brooke is the sister of Barry (Jay Gallagher), who, after killing his turned wife and daughter in an inhuman way, is on a mission to rescue and save his sister out of the hands of a crazy scientist. Expect a splatterfest of exploding zombie heads and unabashedly tearing apart of bodies. And this interspersed with absurd, hilarious moments. The zombies are highly flammable and when properly installed they can be used to drive vehicles: This was an extremely inventive approach. And the gift Brooke has in the end to make life (uh, yeah) difficult for those damn zombies, was highly entertaining. I am convinced that those who have written this script, were amazed by the fact they could come up with stuff like that.

So, you are a huge fan of this type of film and you´re a little bit tired of the soft, romanticized approach? You certainly can´t skip this one. It has been a while since I saw such an energetic and enthusiastic homemade zombie flick. It's a low-budget movie and was made over a period of three years during the weekends. But it exudes passion. The only thing missing was a mad, bloodthirsty kangaroo. In my opinion, Australia is the new source of great horror films.

My rating 7/10
Links : IMDB

Standoff (2016)

Summary :
Carter, a troubled veteran, gets a chance at redemption by protecting a 12 year-old girl from an assassin  after she witnesses a murder. Holding a shotgun with a single shell, he engages in physical and psychological warfare in a desperate fight for the girl's life.

Genre : Thriller
Country : Canada

Cast :
Thomas Jane : Carter
Laurence Fishburne : Sade
Ella Ballentine : Bird

Director : Adam Alleca

My Opinion  

"Well, well, well.
That man knows his guns.
So do I.”

As I said in my review about the film "Weaponized" : "I have a weak spot for low-budget, straight to DVD, B-movies" and occasionally I discover "a piddling, unknown and unloved movie, which surpasses some blockbusters in terms of content and design". "Standoff" is such a movie. An unpretentious film with a straight forward script. The makers don't waste too much time and introduce practically immediately a deadly, accurate assassin (Laurence Fishburne), who turns a modest funeral into a bloody massacre without batting an eye. His appearance reminded me a little of "The Terminator". But this time with a jet-black balaclava.

The only thing this professional, routinized killer didn't take into account, is Bird (Ella Ballentine). A skinny, shy girl with a camera around her neck serving as protection against and a window at the unjust world, who unwittingly takes a snapshot of the face of the killer. What follows is a chase because the murderer wants to clean up this last witness at all cost. An isolated farmhouse owned by Carter (Thomas Jane), an ex-soldier full of self-pity and remorse trying to forget his grief using booze, is the endpoint. Remorse because of an unfortunate accident that happened to his son. As a result his wife also left him. Bird showing up there might probably be interpreted by Carter as an opportunity to show a sense of responsibility for once.

And before you know it, those two ex-military are in the grip of a standoff. Sade, the assassin with enough firepower, installs himself on the ground floor, while Carter and Bird entrench themselves upstairs, only armed with a "20-gauge shotgun" and only one shell. And so the psychological warfare between the two rivals can start with Bird at stake. There's no lengthy intro or a detailed explanation. Even the multiple assassination at the beginning isn't explained or elucidated. This is in fact of secondary importance. The story develops rapidly at the beginning. Within 10 minutes you are fully aware what situation both men are in. There's the possibility that from there on it could become boring, monotonous and slow. However, the opposite is true.

Sade tries in a verbal manner (and also in other ways) to persuade Carter to turn in Bird, while Carter guards the staircase. The subsequent dialogues between these two are on the one hand provocative and offensive. But on the other hand they are also psychologically thought through. Fishburne is clearly in his element as the unscrupulous villain. It was a pleasure to see him again in a leading role (it's at least more impressive than his roles in "The Signal" and "The Colony"). Jane surprised me and this shows that it wasn't his fault that his acting in "Vice" was worthless, but indeed, that film was quite appalling. Not to say utter crap. Here Jane plays a perfectly balanced role as a tormented heap of misery, full of despair and weariness of life, who transforms into a responsible savior. And finally an honorable mention for Ella Ballentine who did great.

Even though this "home invasion" film wasn't very original and the storyline was quite simple, it still managed to captivate me. And even though the end was kind of predictable, I still wondered how it would eventually end up anyway. An additional advantage was the short playing time which in turn led to a proper pace. All in all, a fascinating film. Yet another proof that films that take place exclusively in one particular location, can also be entertaining. At least I didn't need to fight against sleep, as those two guys.

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB