Dawn of the Dead

Image credit: Reel Rundown

I put off watching horror flicks and zombie movies in particular for a long time because a) I used to get scared quite easily and b) the gore factor. Having watched quite a few scary movies now I can say that I’ve grown out of this phase and so am now unafraid of familiarizing myself with the classic –and not so classic- zombie flicks. After all, the zombie is the ‘it’ monster when it comes to horror.

Last night’s movie was Zack Snyder’s remake of George Romero’s 1978 film Dawn of the Dead. The film depicts the bizarre outbreak of radiation that is reanimating the dead and turning them into cannibalistic corpses. Fast as jungle cats and just as vicious, they overrun the streets of Milwaukee forcing Ana (Sarah Polley) and a group of survivors to hole up in a shopping mall until they are either rescued or come up with an escape plan.

One of the best things about monster movies –and zombies in particular- is the underlying allegorical message or social threat that they represent. Zombies –I’ve always felt- are particularly brilliant means of depicting the inevitable breakdown of society, as the horde outside bays for blood and the group inside begins to tear itself apart under the strain. Once holed up with a bunch of strangers social etiquette and your sense of good will toward men goes completely out the window and part of the fun of watching zombie movies is reveling in the fact that the arrogant dickhead characters are bound to get eaten.

That was a nice part about Dawn of the Dead actually. Naturally it had a bunch of white guys with superiority complexes that turned them into total assholes and I couldn’t wait to see them taken down a peg –or several- and thrown into the belly of the beast, but the film actually took one of these characters and gave him a pretty interesting redemption story: saving his soul –so to speak- before the end. I found this particularly nice because one thing about horror movies and zombie flicks in particular is that they don’t have a long runtime and often feature a central core of characters that don’t get a back story because everyone’s suddenly thrown into the apocalyptic deep end. Some movies do a good job of dropping hints and showing without telling who these characters are –or were before- and it’s good when they do because it makes it a little easier to form some sort of attachment to them. Snyder’s film though not entirely reaching the critical point of emotional attachment managed to succeed in bringing just enough life and depth to its characters so audiences could be upset or peeved when they eventually bit the dust.

Image credit: Moviemovie

The zombies themselves are actually quite frightening: blood soaked, decomposing, and mindless, though when they get their sights on food they are scary A F moving with impressive speed and snarling like jungle cats.

As far as zombie flicks go Dawn of the Dead is pretty typical with a story and setting that doesn’t leave a lot of room for experimentation. However, the performances are solid, the monsters are sufficiently scary, and by the final shot you feel like the punching bag of a heavyweight champ.

Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jack Weber, Mekhi Phifer, Ty Burell, Michael Kelly, Kevin Zegers, Lindy Booth, Jayne Eastwood, Boyd Banks, Inna Korobokina, R. D. Reid, Kim Poirier, and Matt Frewer

Akira

Image credit: Wikipedia

Having just finished this movie I don’t think any dystopian, science fiction flick even comes close to rivaling the incredible devastation and annihilation of the Apocalypse! Despite being thirty years old, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira still proves to be an intense experience for the senses as well as the analytical side of the brain. Truthfully, ‘intense’ is an understatement.

Set in the dirty, decaying city of Neo-Tokyo –so named after the original Tokyo was destroyed in World War III- the film chronicles the struggles of Kaneda (Mitsuo Iwata) when his best friend suddenly develops terrifying telekinetic powers that could destroy hundreds. As Tetsuo becomes consumed and goes on an unstoppable warpath, Kaneda joins a gang of antigovernment terrorists in their search for the mysterious Akira – a telepath even more powerful than Tetsuo.

The cleverest thing about this movie is its links between the apocalypse and adolescence. The ‘world gone mad’ that is Neo-Tokyo – a genetic splice between Mad Max and Blade Runner- is characterised by a decaying society peopled with activists, the military, and angry rebellious teens. Violence and frustration is the norm so you can imagine how intense it gets to be when a repressed and angry teenager develops powers that take out the city. A delicious sense of doom and gloom peppered with distaste for your fellow man constantly hangs over the film, leaving you hopeless and repulsed but unable to leave your seat.

The crisp animation only heightens this filmic experience, sparing no one from the violence, destruction, and absolute horror that grip the world. The brightest colours in the paint box are yellow, orange, and red and they are used constantly to light up the city and bring it to the ground. The apocalyptic setting and continual bouts of city-wide destruction cleanly and horribly reference the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II as well as explore concurrent themes attached including malaise and social collapse.

Image credit: Boston Hassle

The paranormal theme running alongside the prevalent themes of social decline and enraged youth makes it extraordinarily disturbing. I’m seriously going to have nightmares about that climax! And because it’s animated there’s this extra sense of the macabre and the horrific as things happen to people that could not possibly be done in a live-action movie, cementing the film’s position in movie history!

Starring: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozumo Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tessho Genda, Hiroshi Otake, Koichi Kitamura, Michihiro Ikemizu, Yuriko Fuchizaki, Masaaki Okura, Taro Arakawa, Takeshi Kusao, Kazumi Tanaka, Masayuki Kato, Yosuke Akimoto, and Masato Hirano

Rampage

Image credit: Blu-Ray

Nothing better on a Saturday night than to get together with some friends and watch a mindless popcorn flick starring the Rock. Cue Rampage: a new action-packed monster movie that is nothing but wondrous testosterone-fuelled chaos.

A fusion of the monster movie and the disaster flick Rampage tells the story of the relationship between primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) and an albino ape named George, which is suddenly put under terrible strain when a weaponised pathogen falls into George’s enclosure –along with one in the wolf enclosure and one in the crocodile den- and causes his genes to mutate and turn him into a violent and indestructible monster who then goes on a rampage through Chicago. With the help of a disgraced scientist and an arrogant agent, Davis must find the antidote to save George and the city.

Everything about the story screams B-grade monster movie horror, which I love because they don’t promise what they can’t deliver. Right from the beginning you know exactly what you’re in for –as well as how everything is going to play out- and while some might argue that it’s predictable and doesn’t make for a good movie experience I disagree because there’s no way in which you can be disappointed. People go to see ‘bad’ films because they offer an escape from serious thinking and this film definitely falls in with that crowd. Rather than be a ‘horror’ movie, Rampage treads the boards of the disaster flick, showing off its big guns in the multitude of buildings collapsing, firepower, and its explosions budget. From the first scene the entire film is dominated by action-packed special effects, which are definitely overpowering but so right for the experience.

Image credit: Rotten Tomatoes

But of course it’s far from a perfect film. As I mentioned, the story is hells predictable: all you really need is the trailer and the first scene to know everything that’s going to happen. There’s also a lack of any real chemistry or animation in any of the performances: the love story is non-existent, Johnson’s interactions with the CG George are funny but not really convincing, and the villain really didn’t have a shit to give.

But filmic criticisms aside this movie was not made to win an Oscar or gain critical acclaim: it’s an unashamed monster romp that does not take itself seriously and doesn’t ask to be taken seriously. Rampage is the perfect choice if you’re out with friends for a mindless night at the movies.

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jake Lacy, P.J. Byrne, Jack Quaid, Breanne Hill, and Matt Gerald

War for the Planet of the Apes

It’s here. The conclusion to a prequel trilogy spawned by a true 1960’s sci-fi classic. We saw the stubbornness and self-entitlement of humans in Rise and we saw Caesar and Koba battle through their own demons and start a war in Dawn. Now the war is in full swing and the end is nigh. 

It’s been two years since the U.S. military was called in to fight off Caesar’s tribe of apes and the war has not abated. After a rogue faction of troops are captured and released by Caesar with a message that he desires peace, the battle becomes personal when the ruthless Colonel infiltrates the tribe’s home and murders Caesar’s wife and eldest son. Forced to flee to a new home, the apes leave the woods, but Caesar leaves to go on his own quest of revenge against the Colonel. Followed by Maurice, Luca, and Rocket, Caesar’s simple mission of vengeance takes a turn when he discovers various humans unable to speak and his tribe is captured and forced to work as prisoners of war. 

This is the movie where the writers got to play with genre. The first was exposition and origin stories, the second was character exploration and development, this one is where they got to cram in all the clichéd metaphoric imagery and war movie references they could. Intertextual allusions are not a bad thing, when done right. But when done wrong or hurriedly, they can put the brakes on the cinematic experience. We’re left with no doubt from the beginning of War that this is a war movie. Various scenes immediately put us in mind of Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, which is cool for the film admittedly, but the cliché of it does take away from the excitement. Nothing about the story or the characters is heightened by them so they just end up sitting there with very little purpose, making us turn our attention to them and go,’ why’d they even bother?’ 

A brief interlude of the road movie provides breathing space before we’re thrown into the world of the POW film. The second half of the movie becomes a POW escape flick reminiscent of both The Great Escape and The Bridge on the River Kwai (at least narrative-wise). It’s weird because on the one hand, it does make the story engaging and empowering as well as proves opportune for film spectacle, but on the other hand it flattens a fair bit of the conflict that’s happening and shifts it aside. 

The confusing thing about this movie is its two conflicting central dramas. It’s a war between apes and humans, but it feels more like one trying to outdo the other in terms of reasons for fighting. Caesar’s driving force for the majority of the movie is revenge and defiance in the face of oppression, as well as the whole “apes together, strong” thing and that grows a bit stale after a while. The human side of the coin completely contradicts this with a story reminiscent of Apocalypse Now happening between this rogue Colonel and the rest of the U.S. military. Looking at the two side by side, it’s not so much war for the planet rather than little wars all happening at the same time and a lot of the grandeur and epic-ness of the title gets taken away. 

On a more positive note, the performances continue to be mesmerizing, especially those of Andy Serkis and his troupe of motion-capturists. And, for the most part, there is a lot of exciting and engaging spectacle happening on screen that gets adrenaline going and inspires sound emotional responses. Drama is also heightened by the film’s wonderful soundtrack by Michael Giacchino. 

From the trilogy, Dawn is the one that really stands out, but War is a solid follow-on and, regardless of some of its flaws, it’s a perfect way to end the trilogy. 

Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zhan, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller, Terry Notary, Ty Olsson, Michael Adamtwaite, Judy Greer, Sara Canning, and Devyn Dalton 

Year: 2017 

Rating: M

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The first movie ever to blend animation and live performance within the same scene was a silent short film of the 1900s called, The Enchanted Drawing, and features an artist drawing a person with a hat, a bottle of wine, and a cigar, and then plucking the items one by one from the easel into the real world, angering the man in the drawing. The art of animation magic has certainly come a long way over the years, but one thing that has never changed is animation’s ability to create characters and personalities out of thin air. Iconic moments in cinema like Dick Van Dyke dancing with cartoon penguins, Jessica Rabbit’s lap-dance for Bob Hoskins, or Frodo and Sam’s interactions with Gollum and Smeagol simply pound the hammer over our heads more and make us continually marvel at how far animation has come. We now turn our attention to motion-capture animation, apes, and the deep breath before the plunge into the end of the world: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. 

Set ten years after James Franco created a super-smart ape named Caesar (Andy Serkis) as well as an accidental virus that has spread across the world and wiped out a large portion of the human race, Caesar and his colony of live peacefully in the woods until a group of humans show up with a plan to use the dam to power their city. As Caesar attempts peaceful negotiations with the humans about their presence in ape-homes, Koba (Toby Kebbell), still hateful of humans, distrusts their intentions and rallies together a group demanding that they fight. As tensions continue to mount within the colony, all that’s needed is a spark to ignite war. 

As filler movies go, Dawn works really well. A definite step up from the first movie, it not only draws out the suspense before the climax successfully, but also manages to achieve a lot of complex character development. Indeed the strongest component of this movie is the villain, Koba. We already know the whole ‘you maniacs, you blew it up’ ending and it was pretty clear from the first movie that humans, the stubborn and self-entitled species that we are screwed ourselves up, therefore, have no real status as heroes and villains anymore. Basically it’s, “sorry you had to find out this way, but you’re not that important.” 

So, with all that major drama and exposition covered in the first film, Dawn turns its attention to building the characters of the apes, namely the development of Caesar and Koba. Caesar’s leadership story is quite a recognisable one. The hard lessons that he learns, the hurdles that he must clear, and the walls that he must get through have all been seen before in everything from courtroom dramas to biopics about the Royal Family. This familiarity works on a dual level because it hammers home the film’s point of humans and apes being like each other. The fear of the Other is a strong narrative trope that works wonderfully in this type of story, and while the film is all about Caesar realising how alike the two species are, it’s nice that the audience are given their own illustration of that point. 

The development of Koba’s character is truly engaging. We’re given clichéd clues about his wickedness from his physical appearance and behaviour towards Jacobs in the first movie, but Dawn actually makes us retract a few of these primed judgements and prejudices. I cannot delve too deeply into this without giving away some spoilers, but I will say that Koba’s character arc is probably one of the realest that I’ve seen. He goes through loyalty, betrayal, and a constant struggle to see things how Caesar sees them and, in the end, there are more wars happening than the mere human vs. ape. 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes rises above its predecessor namely because it now has the time and freedom to explore and develop its characters and it does it really well. No opportunity is wasted in this movie and it’s great to see a film that does that. 

Starring: Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirk Acevedo, Nick Thurston, Terry Notary, Karin Konoval, and Judy Greer 

Year: 2014 

Rating: M

Piranha 3D [MA]

One thing about the movie industry that I really do love is its evolution and continuation of genres, both good and bad. You’re never wont for choice and movies cater to whatever dirty little craving you’re having. You want a testosterone-fuelled macho movie, here’s Predator, feel like a girly flick all about relationships, try He’s Just Not That Into You. A couple of nights ago, the mood was ‘a really bad and silly horror movie could be fun’, cue Piranha 3D. 

A remake of a 1970's post-Jaws movie, Piranha 3D plays to every marketable horror movie cliché, but at least this movie knows how crap it is and doesn’t attempt to take itself too seriously, which is why you can argue that it’s kind of enjoyable. 

Underneath a tourist lake that gets flooded with partying teens every spring break lies another, subterranean lake. When the crust separating the two lakes is accidently cracked open, it unleashes a mass of ravenous prehistoric piranha that then flood the entire lake and turn the spring break teen dream of alcohol and sex on boats into a bloody nightmare. 

Everything about this movie right from the far-reaching plot to the ridiculous CGI is unashamedly terrible. The whole point of this movie is not to treat it like a serious horror movie; it’s there to be laughed at and made fun of. This idea is clearly established with the opening scene, which is, get this, a Richard Dreyfuss cameo (cue tuba music and let the irony bloom)! From there, the rest of the movie is a collage of horror movie marketing clichés strung together. 

Aside from the notable, telltale underwater predator scenes, which cannot help but put you in mind of Jaws, the most heavily favoured factor here is the sex factor. Hundreds of ‘teenage’ girls with unattainable bodies and false breasts dominate a fair portion of the duration, prancing around either in scant bikinis or nothing at all. 

Then we have the ridiculous gore horror aspect with people being devoured yet still living long enough to scream and give the audience a gruesome image of a person with the flesh ripped off their legs still kicking and flailing. Whilst it is pretty disgusting, it’s quite overdone and the wounds and gore itself can’t help but look creamy and fake. 

Oh, and let’s not forget the ‘hero’s story’ that is happening alongside all of this. That’s right; a local teen dweeb blows off babysitting his younger siblings to work on a porn shoot, which somehow manages to rope in the girl he’s had a crush on forever. Of course, out on the lake they all get attacked and he has the chance to be a hero. A very weak story, but one that manages to plausibly work an erotic underwater girl-on-girl ballet into the film. 

Yeah, Piranha 3D is a pretty terrible movie, but its redeeming feature is that it knows it’s that bad and, with that being said, you can’t really get angry about it because of its awfulness.

Starring: Elisabeth Shue, Eli Roth, Jerry O'Connell, Steven R. McQueen, Jessica Szohr, Kelly Brook, Adam Scott, Brooklynn Proulx, Ving Rhames, Richard Dreyfuss, and Christopher Lloyd. 

The Martian [M]

A severe storm hits a team of NASA astronauts forcing them to abort their mission. One team member, Mark Watley is struck by debris and lost in the storm. Assumed dead, Mark regains consciousness to find himself stranded alone on a desolate planet. Now he must find a way to contact NASA as well as sustain himself on a lifeless planet in the hope that an international team of scientists can execute a near-impossible recue mission to bring him home. 

Like the atmosphere in outer space, The Martian has the ability to take one’s breath away. Ridley Scott’s science fiction ode to the strength of the human spirit is a captivating drama that stimulates all the senses and the emotional rollercoaster ride that it promises is nothing short of wonderful. Within the first fifteen minutes I was completely enthralled and at the end of just over two hours I cannot find a single negative to say about this movie. 

First I want to talk about the visual experience. With most of the action happening against the red and barren setting of Mars, one could easily fear that geographical monotony would become a problem. Not at all! 
The harsh lighting mixed with breathtaking, sweeping aerial shots of incredible desert landscape not only leave the mouth of the viewer hanging open out of an immense sense of awe, it also succinctly depicts the drama and desperation of the story without piquing feelings of danger or fear. It’s not like Wake In Fright where the arid Aussie badlands give you the feeling that you’re going to die, the landscape and cinematography of this movie just piques those feelings of the dire and forlorn to a level where there is still a sense of danger, but you are not frightened by it. 
Also too, it ensures that when a moment of accomplishment and happiness takes place e.g. a tiny little spout protruding from the earth, tears of joy spring to your eyes. Quite a lot of the emotions that you’re made to feel in this movie are achieved through its incredible cinematography and that’s what makes it breathtaking. 

Coupled with a captivating landscape and story is an equally captivating soundtrack composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. The instrumental score for this movie mixed with light-hearted disco tracks as well as some David Bowie is phenomenally powerful in stimulating emotional responses e.g. tears, laughter, sharp intake of breath and a fair portion of the enjoyment must be attributed to it. 

Then we have the Oscar-nominated performance from Matt Damon. One could easily depict the story of a tortured soul in desolate circumstances with a harsh and dramatic, even gritty performance, but Matt Damon opts for level-headed nonchalance and even humour. 
I think a major portion of the fear and danger of the landscape is taken away too by Matt’s ability to take it in his stride. Yes there is pain, anger, frustration, stubbornness, and even fear, but for the most part of the film Matt saunters through it with a nice and healthy layer of smart-arsery and a humour that is made sincere and more poignant through his journalist inflection and deadpan delivery; a bit like Bill Murray’s in Ghostbusters but with ingenuity and less sarcasm.
Immediately, Matt presents us with a very likeable character that we want to succeed and we are with him for every minute of screen time.

Starring Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Bate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Benedict Wong, Donald Glover, Mackenzie Davis, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Chiwitel Ejiofor, and Jeff Daniels, The Martian is a stunning film that tells an amazing story and delivers a wonderful viewing experience. Filled with drama, action, suspense, and comedy, I absolutely adored it!

Cabin in the Woods [MA]

Five teenagers get the idea to spend the weekend in a cabin in the woods. But all the telltale signs of trouble are along the way. The place doesn’t show up on the GPS, a crazy man at the gas station attempts to ‘dissuade’ them from going, and the house itself is filled with strange and scary things. Soon enough, the group is attacked by horrific supernatural beings, but things get weirder as the night goes on. As the kids continue to exhibit clichéd horror movie behaviour, a group of technicians are sitting in a control room watching and sometimes orchestrating each move the terrified teens make! With their escape attempts being continually foiled, is there any hope of escape? 

Think The Evil Dead meets The Hunger Games. Essentially that’s what this movie is, except it’s not just zombies that orchestrate the violence and scares. Long-time collaborators Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard have come up with this delightfully fresh and modern form of metafiction that draws attention to itself as a horror movie, but in a more subtle and less invasive way than Williamson did in the ‘90s with Scream. Cabin in the Woods, the name itself sounds pretty clichéd and dumb admittedly, is actually a very clever movie that is more than homage to the horror genre, it’s a comment on the quality of horror in varying countries’ cinema. The more you watch it, the more surprises and gems you find within it and it’s just brilliant! 

The first thing that deserves a bit of a rave is the film’s complexity. You would think that it would begin with our heroes/victims establishing themselves as characters and heading off towards their fateful destination, thus setting the narrative in motion. However, this movie actually begins with what would normally be construed as the plot twist. 

We begin with our technicians chatting, grabbing coffee, and casually establishing the magnitude of the operation that they’re a part of. Significant plot points and historical points are dropped, creating scope and a sense of what’s going on and what’s about to come. Then it’s a quick cut to our heroes and the clichéd part of the movie begins with the teenage victim characters being established and the plot set in motion. 

From there, the film is very clichéd in practically every single aspect of the horror genre: we’ve got sudden appearances of people, the crazy man at the gas station, and the fun and harmless scenes of fun before night comes and changes the vibe of the trip. Even the teenagers themselves are clichéd: we’ve got the unlikely group of friends made up of the ‘whore’, the ‘virgin’, the ‘athlete’, the ‘academic’, and the ‘fool’, however it has to be said that those qualities do get amplified via conducting hands once they arrive at the cabin. 

As I mentioned before, this is more than just a metafictive horror movie that pays homage to the genre, it’s a comment on the quality of horror movies and how they differ in varying countries’ cinema. This is done in a very subtle way and I would encourage everyone to keep an eye out for it. Admittedly, it comes off as a bit of a wank with the final line on the subject being “you gotta go American”, but in context it still proves pretty funny and clever with all operations within Sweden, Germany, and other countries failing and America and Japan being the only ones still in the running for success. Again it’s subtle, but when you see it it’s very clever and brings that extra layer of freshness and meta to the movie. 

It’s Whedon and Goddard’s deliberate mixture of cliché and then a bigger, fourth dimensional story that makes this movie so good. 

However, it is not without its flaws. In my first viewing, I found the dialogue very fast-paced and discovered upon second viewing that I had missed quite a lot of vital clues and information regarding the operation’s history and purpose. So keep that in mind if you decide to watch this movie and don’t find it as brilliant as I say the first time. It’s a film that does improve with multiple viewings. 

Secondly, whilst the whole concept of the technicians and their operation is really clever and refreshing, during the climactic part of the movie there is a point where they sort of fall off the neat track and just cram in a scene that purely exists for the purpose of showing off every single monster Whedon and Goddard could come up with. The result is this cool, but flimsy gore fest that teeters on the line between necessary and unnecessary. 

Whilst the scene works very well to establish further scope of the operation and the intensity of it, its placement and orchestration just feels a little ad-lib or ham-fisted, literally thrown into the deep end of the movie on a whim. But it does still sort of work. 

Starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williamons, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Brian White, Amy Acker, Tim DeZarn, Cabin in the Woods is a fun and refreshingly meta horror movie for the 21^st century. Filled with violence, gore, suspense, clichés, horror, drama, comedy, and an entertaining cameo at the end, it’s a film that warrants a few viewings to appreciate the brilliance of it, but seriously it’s worth it!

Jurassic World [M]

After years of safety disasters and other chaotic misadventures Jurassic World has been created out of Hammond’s original Jurassic Park idea and is a flourishing theme park. But, as with all theme parks, the attractions are losing customer interest and a new attraction has been created, soon to be unveiled: a hybrid dinosaur bigger than a T-Rex and smarter than a raptor. Just before the unveiling of this new attraction, the dinosaur escapes from her enclosure and the island is thrown into chaos as she runs rampant, killing all the other dinosaurs for sport. It falls to raptor trainer and ‘whisperer’ Owen to help the park’s coordinator, Clair, and her team stop this terror before it takes the lives of millions of stranded customers. 

Set 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, this reboot is both satisfying and disappointing (depending on which way you look at it) in that it adheres to the novelty factor and deliverance of the specific thrills of its predecessors. 

Like the originals, there isn’t a lot in terms of plot: cool dinosaur theme park turns to a nightmare when the carnivorous dinosaurs escape. We’ve got characters with ulterior motives including a military operation that aims to use raptors as weapons seeing as the creatures are capable of obeying command of an alpha, which we see in the character of Owen. The fact that there are these two, actually three if you include the weaker plot about family ties, duelling plot lines is actually kind of good because it brings a level (not a strong one, but a level) of complexity to the movie and gives it a little bit of depth than say the second and third Jurassic Park films. 

Having said this though, I would have liked to see the stories of the characters, and indeed the central characters themselves, developed a lot more. As it stands the characters are all still sort of wooden and uninspiring, and it’s really hard to root for any of them. Chris Pratt who stars as Owen has possibly the dream role and yet we don’t get to learn anything about him, aside from the really stupid plot point that he and Claire dated once and it didn’t end well, and this annoyed me because you can’t really love a character just because he’s good at talking to raptors! 

The performances were all good for what they were, but ultimately they weren’t all that and there are just so many clichés at work: the over-enthusiastic young lad, the moody and nonchalant big brother, the hardboiled and slightly cynical action lead, the career-driven bitch with the annoying bob haircut and white blouse who ties it around her waist and shows off her boobs to indicate that she can be rugged, and the fat military man you just want to hit for being alive. Whilst it’s fun to laugh at these predictable tropes, at the same time it’s a bit ‘such clichés, much ugh’. 

On a more positive note, the special effects are still pretty damned awesome though everything is now computer generated, which depletes the fun of the original movies because the animatronics is what made this franchise. But the creatures that we get to see here are pretty epic and a definite standout feature. 

Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, and Judy Greer, Jurassic World is a solid reboot of a beloved franchise, elevating it just that much in scope and epic-ness without taking away anything from the original favourite. Filled with action, adventure, drama, romance, comedy, and some pretty gaping and ridiculous plot holes (Dr. Henry Wong being one of them), it delivers exactly what you expect from a Jurassic Park movie. 

Jurassic Park III [M]

The interest in palaeontology is dwindling and Dr. Alan Grant just barely scrapes a living with everyone being more interested in the tales of his nightmarish adventures at Jurassic Park. But there’s a glimmer of hope for Alan when a seemingly rich couple promise to fund a project he’s working on if he will be their guide on a venture to Isla Sorna, the second Jurassic Park site. Not happy about the entire venture, Grant reluctantly agrees but then things take a turn when they make an expected landing and Alan discovers that the couple of ulterior motives for being on the island. 

Like The Lost World, Jurassic Park III falls down a little with its annoyingly simple and relatively weak plot that just works as a narrative device to get the characters from the first movie to set foot on the island and become entrenched in a new, nightmarish, dinosaur-dominated adventure. At this point in the franchise, plots are irrelevant (not that they had much relevance to begin with really). 

What becomes particularly obvious, especially in this movie, is the sheer predictability of, um, practically everything. The writing does not leave much to the imagination with the screenwriters just going through the clichéd motions and dropping foreshadowing clues as big as triceratops dung piles over the viewers. Right from the off we know that there’s a connection between the stupid ‘rich’ couple and the missing kid at the beginning, we know that Alan’s going to take the job for hells knows what reason, and we know that along the adventure there will be raptors, death, and much running and screaming. I suppose because there’s no real plot to begin with, there’s not a lot of room to add twists and misdirections. Sigh. 

But, on a more positive note, the animatronics and computer wizards once again take centre stage with some pretty cool action sequences and, of course, dinosaurs. The raptors are back looking sleeker and shinier than before and their intelligence plays an even bigger part in this movie than it did in the first. Whilst there are no memorable and suspenseful scenes taking place in the kitchen, we do get more of a sense of ‘nature’ as we watch the raptors in this flick in the way that they communicate with each other and work as hunting packs. What’s also exciting about this movie is that we get to become acquainted with the flying pterosaurs, which just elevates the action sequences up a notch. 

Starring Sam Neil, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni (who was just annoying from go to whoa), Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan, Michael Jeter, John Diehl, Bruce A. Young, Taylor Nichols, Mark Harelik, and Laura Dern, Jurassic Park III is really just another dinosaur dirge delivering the same thrills as its predecessors. Filled with action, adventure, drama, romance, and comedy, you get what you expect from it. 

The Lost World: Jurassic Park [PG]

Ian Malcolm had seen enough of dinosaurs since his nightmarish exploration into Jurassic Park and would rather not be reminded of the dangers of such an adventure. However fate has other plans when John Hammond contacts Ian and informs him of a second Jurassic Park site, located on a remote island. Hammond asks Ian to go there with an exploration group and document the progress of the dinosaurs. Initially adamant that there is nothing in hell or on earth that could persuade him to repeat the nightmare of his previous exploration into the dinosaur park, Ian’s attitude changes when he learns that his girlfriend Sarah is already on the island as park of the exploration group. 

Having recently engaged in a Jurassic Park marathon as lead-up to the new movie, I have come to the conclusion that the whole franchise is, for me, a reflection on the central theme of the movies in that it’s really just a novelty. I only saw Jurassic Park as an adult, I was not really raised with it and I cannot help but feel that this is a strong contributing factor to my not being whole-heartedly enamoured with the franchise. I liked the first movie fine, the animatronics were absolutely amazing, but in retrospect there is really nothing by ways of character or plot that elevate these movies into the realms of brilliance. I know that diehard fans are going to develop the cloning technology, hunt me down, and unleash raptors in my kitchen as a means of punishing me for being so blasphemous, but these really are my feelings on the franchise. 

So, The Lost World. The second instalment in a series that works upon its foundations of animatronics, special effects, suspense build-up, and action movie foundations, this movie really just takes the moral of the first film and drops it into a bigger enclosure that it quickly escapes from and goes to cause a grander scale of chaos as a means of hammering home the point. I have to admit that I do like movies that play with this idea that mankind is going to eventually shoot themselves in the foot by trying to ‘play God’ and overtake even the forces of nature as the dominant driving force that makes the world spin. It’s an idea that gets uniquely explored and expressed in the reboots of The Planet of the Apes and it still works to solid effect here. 

Essentially the film doesn’t hold an awful amount of gems in terms of plot or characters, the thrills that it delivers continue to come in the form of suspense build-up, action, and gore with the animatronics taking centre stage as the most awesome driving forces of the film. 

At the end of the day, I’m a bit at a loss; what do you say about a movie that pretty much just redelivers what the first one did? 

Starring Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Peter Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn, Arliss Howard, Vanessa Lee Chester, Peter Stormare, Richard Schiff, Thomas F. Duffy, and Richard Attenborough, The Lost Word: Jurassic Park is a fine sequel as far as sequels go, but it does just deliver similar thrills as its predecessor as it’s filled with action, cool special effects, romance, comedy, drama, and suspense. 

What I will say for the Jurassic Park franchise in its defence is that you’re never going to be disappointed in what you receive from it. You expect a movie with dinosaurs and action and a bit of gore and that’s exactly what you get. Whilst they don’t really exceed expectations, these movies don’t disappoint them. 

District 9 [MA]

Twenty years ago, aliens landed on Earth. Specifically in Johannesburg where their mother ship lies suspended in the air whilst the aliens themselves were exiled to a slum on the fringes of the city known as District 9. Now the government is readying to undergo a project to evict the aliens, commonly known as ‘prawns’, from their houses in the slum and relocate them elsewhere. Wikus Van De Merwe is charged with the task of overseeing the entire operation, but that takes a turn when he discovers the secret behind alien weaponry and some confronting home truths about the people he works for. 

Part science fiction action movie, part documentary and commentary on apartheid, District 9 is a must-see if you like films that push the boundaries. Addressing some pretty confronting themes regarding the ‘evolution’ of humanity (I seem to be on a theme here, first 28 Days Later and now this), this movie is one of those flicks that really makes an impression. 

Twenty years ago, aliens landed on Earth. Specifically in Johannesburg where their mother ship lies suspended in the air whilst the aliens themselves were exiled to a slum on the fringes of the city known as District 9. Now the government is readying to undergo a project to evict the aliens, commonly known as ‘prawns’, from their houses in the slum and relocate them elsewhere. Wikus Van De Merwe is charged with the task of overseeing the entire operation, but that takes a turn when he discovers the secret behind alien weaponry and some confronting home truths about the people he works for. 

I am first going to say that this movie is not for the fainthearted. If you’re at all squeamish about blood and bodily mutations, penetrations, and abnormalities then I would probably attach a warning to this movie. There are some pretty gruesome things that happen and, of course with modern makeup and computer tricks, a lot of it looks quite authentic and highly plausible, which makes it all the more gross and confronting. 

Essentially, this movie is all about our attitudes towards the Other. Whether it be legit aliens from another planet (which really only heightens the existing problems and conflicts within our own societies) or people from other countries, the racism, speciesism, people respond in the same way: with a dehumanising attitude that allows us to not feel so icky about some of the horrible, unforgiveable, and hostile things that we do (normally for the ‘greater good’: our own progress). 

The story itself harbours all the drama, action, and complexity that you could want in a movie, but I do want to give a shout out to the special effects and the way in which the movie was shot. Part of it is action movie, part of it is documentary complete with interviews, on-the-spot shooting, and character interaction with the camera. 

The aliens themselves were really cool and an impressive little piece of computer wizardry as they not only look awesome, but connect with us on a human, emotional level. You look at the eyes of these things and there’s an instant connection, which is further established when we get subtitles all the way through when they speak, not just to humans but to each other too. 

Starring Sharlto Copely, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, Elizabeth Mkandawie, John Summer, William Allen Young, Nick Blake, Nick Boraine, and Jed Brophy, District 9 is a really compelling movie that’s filled with action, conspiracy, drama, betrayal, and tragedy. It’s seriously one of those films that you watch and you feel fundamentally altered in some way afterwards. You can’t quite explain it, but something about this movie has struck you and that’s what this film was like for me. 

28 Days Later [MA]

Within 28 days of a powerful rage virus being unleashed, England has become an empty and burnt out husk of a country. Transmitted through a drop of blood, whether by a bite, through the mouth, etc, the virus locks those infected in a permanent state of murderous rage. Jim, a car crash victim, wakes up from a coma to find the country in this state. He is soon amongst a group of survivors who aim to travel to Manchester in the hope of finding salvation. But along the road, they discover that starvation, the deadly virus, and the murderous Infected are not the only things that threaten them. 

Not to be confused with the American sequel, which admittedly I have not seen but harbour strong doubts as to whether it is any good (I saw what they did with Death at a Funeral), this British post-apocalyptic flick is pretty damned impressive! A montage of high-speed camera direction as well as a multitude of those classic sudden shocks as well as dealing with some pretty confronting themes about humanity, 28 Days Later is a horror movie that stands up within the canon and if you’re a fan of the genre, I would definitely recommend it! 

Within 28 days of a powerful rage virus being unleashed, England has become an empty and burnt out husk of a country. Transmitted through a drop of blood, whether by a bite, through the mouth, etc, the virus locks those infected in a permanent state of murderous rage. Jim, a car crash victim, wakes up from a coma to find the country in this state. He is soon amongst a group of survivors who aim to travel to Manchester in the hope of finding salvation. But along the road, they discover that starvation, the deadly virus, and the murderous Infected are not the only things that threaten them. 

I would go as far to say that not since George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead have we seen a movie that delivers the main meat of its thrills and frights through the actual questions it raises regarding the nature of humanity. Where we saw the breakdown of social order and the nuclear family in Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later goes one step further and explores the frightening ideas that, as humans, we are not as evolved as we think we are. I don’t want to give too much away for fear of spoiling the brunt of the movie, but some of the themes that get picked apart in this film are really eye opening and it’s these that make the movie really scary. 

What I think really makes this movie stand out as a horror flick as that it travels along a recognisable subgenre track, but really cannot be classed as being part of that subgenre. I’m referring to the fact that many people, for fair and arguable reasons, class this movie as a zombie flick, but it really isn’t! True, it’s set within a post-apocalyptic world and it does look very much like a zombie movie, but the Infected are not zombies! They are still very much alive, just in a state of extreme rage that completely eradicates their capacity for rational thought and judgement. This actually, I think, makes them more frightening because they are still incredibly fast, more so really because they’re running on the adrenaline mode of fight and thus the chase scenes actually make for good thrills. 

A shout out has to go to Danny Boyle who also directed Trainspotting. The guy has an incredible talent for shooting in a very indirect and off-centre way, which makes this stand out as a film alone. There is absolutely no symmetry within the mise en scene, the Infected attacks are depicted in really hurried and fleeting snippets (almost handheld, documentary style), and the blurry out-of-focus lens look is used to brilliant effect! 

Starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Noah Huntely, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Luke Mably, Stuart McQuarrie, Ricci Harnett, Leo Bill, Junior Laniyan, Ray Panthaki, and Christopher Eccleston, 28 Days Later is a really impressive movie: confronting and compelling at the same time. Filled with survival, drama, dystopia, horror, action, and even romance, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And it’s not all darkness and destruction and heavy-handed scenes either! There are some really beautifully shot sequences that alleviate the threat of prowling rage creatures that want to disembowel you! It’s a goooood movie!