#1 - RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR
Stars - Rory Cochrane, Mary McCormack, Tony Perez
Director - Chris Gorak
Memorable Quote - n/a
Review - This movie is a bit of a strange one. I've seen a lot of bad reviews of it, though most of them hinge around labeling the actions of the characters as unrealistic, an argument that can easily be overcome with a little logic (I for one found the ideas very realistic, given the thought processes that the script implied). It isn't the best movie that I have ever seen, but the cast is not a-list and neither was the budget, so that is probably to be expected. The plot at least was a new variant on a popular theme, and the twist at the end packed a killer and unexpected punch. The radio reporters in the background of the scenes provided a constant sense of how the situation was unfolding whilst not giving out too much information - the facts they came up with only seemed to bring up more questions about what was going on, which is great - the less you know in this situation, the less you can point at as scientifically inaccurate or implausible. Large swathes of the film were dedicated to looking around miserably or staring at one another, which may have attributed to some negative opinions, as it slows the pace considerably, making it all the more shocking as the frantic last scene takes over. The sub-plots (is she having anaffair? did the Spanish guy find his wife?) are left mostly unanswered, and although they could have given the film more depth there perhaps was no reason to overcomplicate a simple premise. I think more could have been made of this, but that does not make it a terrible film. Worth a watch if you're into the apocalypse scene and want to see it done differently. 3/5
#2 - TROPIC THUNDER
Stars - Robert Downey Jr, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Steve Coogan, Brandon T. Jackson, Tom Cruise
Director - Ben Stiller
Memorable Quote - 'Now the one man who made a difference five times before... is about to make a difference again, only time this, its different.'
Review - It goes without saying, when you look at the cast list, that Tropic Thunder is a very funny film. Jack Black for once finds a role that fits his goofball act perfectly, and with his looks changed you kind of forget that you're watching him do the same character as always. The storyline is an interesting concept - a set of actors who are filming a war story reenactment end up actually fighting for their lives, though at first the do not realise it. I can't pick out one person as the best performance, though Robert Downey Jr's was the most daring, and for that I can only salute him. A lot of the scenes were far-fetched and you can only really handle this as a comedy, since it goes so far into farce it almost comes out the other side. Stiller directed well, but the prominence of his own character raises a few questions - is this just an exercise in ego-grooming, for one? Whether it is or not, it works, and as an audience I suppose that's all that should matter to us. Like many viewers, the Simple Jack plot left a bad taste in my mouth; not because it satirized disability, but because it was awkward and largely uninteresting. We could have heard about the film without needing to see it, and again I think this is down to Stiller's need to feature heavily. Lastly, the biggest surprise comes from Tom Cruise - well done if you managed to recognise him before the opening credits, because this is a role that it's very difficult to believe is him until you've seen the actual evidence. The fake trailers were a good idea, though they maybe could have taken it even further. 4.5/5
#3 - HUMAINS
Stars - Lorànt Deutsch, Sara Forestier, Dominique Pinon, Manon Tournier
Director - Jacques-Olivier Molon, Pierre-Olivier Thevenin
Memorable Quote - n/a
Review - 'Humains' is another take on the people-get-lost-in-a-strange-place-and-attacked-by-natives plot. This time it's Neanderthals who are to blame, having managed to survive to modern times in a single cave system somewhere in a valley where no one but a few locals go. Now that they have run out of fertile females, they desperately need to impregnate a human woman, or their race will die out forever. If you like the sound of the plot so far, you will want to watch it. It's a thriller but not as scary as it could be, and some of the acting perhaps leaves a little to be desired. You'll be happy when some people die, but shocked when others do. The very final scene was quite intense, and I'll freely admit I didn't get it at all. Either it was an attempt at being dramatic which failed, or there was a deeper message I failed to grasp. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. Anyway, it wasn't a terrible film, and there were some moments that were quite cleverly done - for example, early on the tension was built several times only to have nothing actually happen, putting your nerves on edge and eventually lulling you into a false sense of security which was quickly shattered. There was a nice, neat full-circle moment towards the end as the earlier events of the film were explained by later discoveries, and there was certainly no softness in the inexorable execution of the characters. Good if you want an easy horror film, better if you want to practice your language skills. 3/5
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