The Arrival – review

Before he became the punch line to his own set of jokes, Charlie Sheen was considered a serious actor. What better role for a man who acts insane in his daily life than one who acts like a paranoid radio astronomer.  The 1996 style of effects are very present in The Arrival. A handful of decent practical effects along with strange blurry CG effects that have not aged well.

Radio astronomer Zane Zaminsky, played by Charlie Sheen, has just discovered a radio signal from a star 14 light years from Earth. When he brings it up to his supervisors he is promptly let go for “budget cuts.” Zane then starts a one-man crusade against NASA to get his data from the signal to the public. Unfortunately there is a conspiracy afoot involving extraterrestrials with goals of terraforming the Earth for their needs. Zane must watch his step or his life and the lives of the people he tells about the signal are in danger.

Charlie Sheen is great in this movie.  He plays paranoid well and he has the charisma to pull off a roll as strange as this. You want him to succeed in his goals because he isn’t a cocky scientist but one that just wants to have the truth revealed. Just because the main character is likeable does not mean others are. For instance, for some reason there is a little urban kid written to follow Zane around named Kiki. He is annoying and honestly nobody outside of the movie Naked Lunch should be named Kiki. Zane also has a girlfriend named Char, played by Teri Polo, who should have been named Red Herring.

The story tends to move very slowly towards the conspiracy, giving occasional glimpses of what is behind everything.  It becomes a little silly once you find out what is behind everything and you realize that it creates massive holes in logic. For example: Why would aliens that have no qualms about destroying and killing things using their technology use several boxes of scorpions to murder a woman? If aliens could terraform a planet to fit their needs, why wouldn’t they find a planet without existing life so that the move would be easier?

The scorpion scene is at least filled with tension and is well shot. In a hotel room a woman is walking about, doing her nightly routine. We, as the audience, see that there are several scorpions in the room and she is narrowly stung several times. The entire time you are wondering when the killing sting will occur.  It is very much like the build up before a scene in a Final Destination movie. The memorable moments are very few and far between. Some characters you are introduced to only to have them die soon after so they cannot be developed.

The practical effects are fine and show a lot of skills to the filmmakers. Where it gets ridiculous are the CG effects, which look cartoonish and unbelievable and have not aged well.  The Arrival has the same sort of feel as an episode of The X-Files. The alien’s ultimate goal of using green house gases to warm the planet for terraforming purposes has an obvious environmental message but is, thankfully, not super preachy about the theme.

The Arrival is not scary. If that is what you are looking for then you are in the wrong ballpark. This movie is more along the lines of a sci-fi conspiracy thriller.  It is okay and might be worth seeing as a rental or if you have nothing better on television and it happens to play. The movie is a forgettable part of the alien hype that got lost in the shuffle when Independence Day came out the same year. If I want a movie with aliens, conspiracy, and paranoia I would recommend sticking to John Carpenter’s The Thing or They Live.

Ex Machina – review

The sci-fi genre is rife with films that query about the wisdom of creating computers with functioning artificial intelligence.  Ex Machina seems to ask a lot of valid questions regarding the Turing test when it comes to the nature of programmable behavior. It is a smart film that has some great ideas and will have you pondering long after the movie is over.

Caleb, played by Domhall Gleeson, wins a lottery to spend a week with the CEO of Bluebook, a fictional search engine. He is greeted by Nathan, played by Oscar Isaac, who tells him he has created an android with near perfect AI and he needs Caleb to perform a Turing test on her. The Turing test is a test, which is used when an interrogator is needed to ask questions of a person to determine whether they are a human or computer. The android, Ava, played by Alicia Vikander, meets Caleb and soon develops a strong friendship with him.

The psychology of this movie is fascinating. I couldn’t help but wonder what questions I would ask to determine what makes a human truly human. The philosophical nature bleeds into a psychological story when we realize that some characters might not be as truthful as others and Ava is not the first android to be built.  The acting is great and the small cast really utilizes their relationships together to make this a compelling film. Oscar Isaac in particular is intimidating and yet also the sort of person who has a magnetic personality. The set is also interesting because there is a huge contrast between the home of Nathan, which is bare of nearly all décor and the land surrounding it since it is around some of the most scenic glaciers, forests, and waterfalls.

Ex Machina is a heavy movie. If you are into sci-fi with some content that will lead to conversations then this is for sure a movie you will enjoy. If you are into lighter films or movies with heavy action then it is probably good to give it a pass. There are just some existential questions you will be coming to terms with at some point.

House at the End of the Street-review

The new 2012 horror movie “House at the End of the Street” is a mixed bag.  On one hand the first half of it is fairly trite and feels like it gave up the goods in the previews.  On the other hand, the second half of the movie gives a different twist that allows for some decent tension.  It still fails on some basic levels.

Sarah, played by Elizabeth Shue, and her daughter Elissa, played by Jennifer Lawrence, move into a big new house.  Their next-door neighbor is the home where a girl killed her parents in their bed.  The boy that lives there begins a relationship with Elissa. As they get closer they find themselves drawn more and more into the mystery of what happened in the house.

Looking at the good aspects of the movie Jennifer Lawrence brings a good performance.  She is a fantastic actress. The writing is not the best for her character but she pulls it off.  The other actor that impressed me was Gil Bellows as the Sheriff. He brings a very likable character to the screen. 

The twist at the end is rather good.  It would have been nice to have more interesting build up to it.  At face value it comes off fairly dull at first.  The film also has a lot of moments where it goes out of focus for no apparent reason.  It’s a very strange choice.

Elizabeth Shue is painfully dull.  The character of the boy next-door Ryan, played by Max Thieriot fills his screen time with far-off stares and dialogue that is a bizarre mix of mopey and dreamy.  It takes you out of the mood considering the situation.  Their lame attempts at acting can only be carried so far by the better actors.

As a whole this movie is pretty so-so.  The first half is fairly crappy and the second half makes up for it with some good tension scenes.  The problem is that there is a not much to make this whole movie a must see.  It’s worth a rental at least.  It’s got some creepy scenes but there are tons of plots holes and lumps of bad acting that weaken it. So if you are dying to see a thriller, than go and see it as a matinee.

Bug-review

The 2006 movie “Bug” is a film based on a play of the same name.  Directed by William Friedkin of “The Exorcist,” we get a movie that is well acted and incredibly psychological.  The movie takes a lot of creative chances and considering the limited use of sets it works well.   The acting is also some of the boldest we’ve seen from Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon. 

Agnes, played by Ashley Judd, is a waitress that has a lot of emotional turmoil.  She meets up with Peter, played by Michael Shannon, and an emotional connection eventually develops.  In the night, Michael sees bite marks on his skin and convinces Agnes that she is infested with some sort of blood-sucking aphid.  Are these bugs really plaguing Agnes and Peter or is it a part of their imaginations?

The story is really well done.  It is psychological and relies a lot on the developed character to carry the thrills as opposed to gore or jump scares.  I was not a big fan of Harry Connick Jr., but he plays his part as an abusive ex-con well. It’s fun to see him play something different then his standard fair of romantic lead.  On that same note, Ashley Judd is amazing in this movie.  She is vulnerable, terrified, and her infatuation with Peter shows a level of raw paranoia.

“Bug” is a really great movie. It’s possibly one of Ashley Judd’s best films.  I recommend it for anyone looking for a thriller with a bit more substance.  It is a slow movie at the start but once the action gets going it gets disturbing fast.  If you get a chance to see this movie check it out. You won’t be disappointed.  

We Need to Talk About Kevin-review

There are a lot of movies and television shows that really explore the criminal mind. With “We Need to Talk About Kevin” we get a slightly different take on it.  Instead of watching things from the killer’s perspective, one of the victims, or even an omnipresent point of view, we get the story told through the eyes of the killer’s mother.  It’s a disturbing story that will have you leaving the theater talking about it for a long time after the credits roll. 

Eva, played by Tilda Swinton, goes to visit her son, Kevin, in prison. As she goes through her day-to-day routines we are treated to flashbacks of her past with her family; such as when she gives birth to Kevin.  They don’t quite connect as child and mother should which is off-putting.  Kevin shows signs of being a sociopath but Eva can’t convince her husband, Franklin, played by John C. Reilly, to take her seriously.  He dismisses everything she tells him. What is it Kevin is planning on doing? 

The acting is really great in this movie. Tilda Swinton delivers a top notch performance as a mother who you can tell might actually dislike her own son.  Both of the kids playing her son did a fine job playing a sociopath. The acting was believable at making the character seem manipulative and was easily more disturbing than Damien in “The Omen.”  John C. Reilly brings the audience a serious style role as the goofy father who can’t take his wife seriously.  It’s good to see him return to his roots from time to time and do something more down to earth.

The plot itself will have you either debating with your fellow movie goers on child psychology, or it will have you sort of stewing in the disturbed juices of what you just witnessed.   Kevin comes from a wealthy family. I am left wondering why they didn’t get him psychological help.  He kills small animals, he is manipulative, avoids intimacy, has lack of remorse- these and more are textbook signs that the kid is a sociopath and heading down a path to be a danger to society.   When the family has a second child, she immediately becomes victim to Kevin’s abuse.

Then of course there is the fact that we are dealing with Eva after the crime so the town pretty much hates her.  She is openly attacked by some of the victim’s parents.  I understand their anger. It just seems so misdirected.  It probably should be towards the teenage wasteland that killed so many people.  It’s not as if Eva doesn’t experience loss in this film on a grand scale. 

There are a few flaws to this movie.  The music choice is rather bizarre in contrast to the mood.  There are also scenes that seem to tell rather than show.  If there was a way they explain by showing us exactly what the hell was going on in scenes that would help.  Still, these things are relatively minor and don’t seem to cause a huge problem that it utterly devastates the movie experience for me.

If you are looking for a decent drama “We Need to Talk About Kevin” certainly does the trick.  The story is good, the acting is very solid and the theme will leave you thinking long after it is over.  It’s a smart movie that really is well done and is relevant and worth seeing.  If you want to reaffirm your decision not to have kids or even that spanking is the way to go then you’ll appreciate this movie.   It’s a chilling look into raising an insane mind.