Movie Review - Firequake

Firequake

2014

The Cast

I am a lover of B-Movies and usually the worse the better. I say this because usually the writer, director, and actors will generally try to give us something entertaining - and I thank them for that, a lot of my happiest times have been in front of B-Movies. However, there are times, such as this, when it appears that nobody really gave a damn about the film. Which is a shame as the concept isn't too bad for an ecological disaster flick. As we are running out of fuel we need to find new ways to generate power and Dr Eve Carter, played by Alexandra Paul, has come up with a way to use the sustainable energy from magma to create clean and free energy. The trouble is that this is where the writer ran out of good ideas and hit the cliche book for inspiration. Everything from here on out is so "By The Book" it's risible and ridiculous... and very boring as we've seen it all before.

I have to give credit to Paul and her co-star Browne who played Killian, as these obviously didn't get the memo and decided to actually try and give a decent acting job with the script and direction they were given. Sorry to say that this just wasn't enough. The worst actress, by far, was Barker who played Dr Carter's daughter, Nikki. Though she was supposed to be sixteen she looked to be more in her thirties and delivered her lines with the force of a sledgehammer. As for the rest of the actors, well they ranged from dire to wooden.

The direction of the film didn't help any as the director was very poor at creating an atmosphere of tension and excitement. He just plods the audience along with the story. Instead of sitting on the edge of my seat I was twiddling my fingers in an effort to stay awake. Even the special effects that were on offer were substandard - they didn't even rise to the dizzying heights of poor.

The one thing that made me smile was that all the roads in Prague appear to lead to the same intersection. When Dr Carter and her daughter are searching the town for a pharmacist and insulin, they seem to get stuck in a temporal location warp. Which doesn't allow them to leave one particularly badly staged intersection. It's also amazing that in all of Prague the bad guy can home in on them amazingly fast.

There's an awful lot wrong with this motion picture and very little that's right... and nothing to recommend anybody to watch. Stay well clear of this film.

I give this a blisteringly bad 2.5 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Predestination

Predestination

2014

Screen Australia / Screen Queensland / Blacklab Entertainment / Wolfhound Pictures

Stage 6 Films / Signature Entertainment / Arclight Films

7.5 / 10

This is a very well sculptured and acted time travelling tale about an agent who is on his final mission to stop the fizzle bomber.  Throughout all his travels back in time, the bomber has always appeared to be one step ahead of him.

The Spierig Brothers, Michael and Peter, wrote a nicely crafted and layered story based on the Robert A Heinlein's story "All you zombies".  As directors, they do a fantastic job of bringing the story to the screen and getting the best out of their actors.  I've always rated Ethan Hawke and here he excels as The Barkeep; the agent on his last assignment.  Along with Sarah Snook, who is brilliant as The Unmarried Mother, they add a touch of class to the movie.

This is not an action-packed movie as it relies on the story rather than glossy special effects and fight scenes.  At times, it's slow and thought-provoking as the audience is slowly immersed in an emerging mystery.  The climax makes Oldboy's seem tame in comparison.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this film...

Except for one thing...

From H G Wells' The Time Machine to Doctor Who to Back To The Future to Dr Who there's been one absolute that a time traveller must not do... but they always do...  The paradox.  Unfortunately, if you like science fiction and time travel then you will probably figure out the ending of the film before it comes.  I had an inkling in the first scene.  Then, by the twentieth minute, I'd got most of it figured out.  Ten minutes after that I understood.  Which left two-thirds of the film left to go.

However, this wasn't much of an issue as the film pretty much carries itself strongly throughout and I enjoyed every minute of it, right up to the chilling finale.

This is not a film for everybody, though if you don't mind the slower dramatic style of moviemaking then you should enjoy this film.

Movie Review - The Signal

The Signal

(2014)

Automatik Entertainment / Low Spark Films / Signal Film Group : Focus Features / KVH Media Group

6.5 / 10

This is a solid science fiction story based on an extraterrestrial encounter our three protagonists while trying to track down the hacker Nomad, who has been recently plaguing their lives.

The start of the film is pretty slow and the soundtrack does feel a little depressing, given that we are on a road trip with three friends I thought the soundtrack could be a little more happy and carefree as it adds an unnecessary and incorrect feel to the film at this time.  However, as the film progresses the music melds better with the situations and feelings the writers, Carlyle Eubank, David Frigerio, and William Eubank (who also directed), wanted to portray, which is mainly a sense of loss, confinement, and hopelessness.  I really loved the way the Nima Fakhrara built up the entire soundtrack to a climax at the end of the movie, just like an electronic symphony.  Well thought out and respect due.

As previously stated, the film starts slow and I nearly turned off, but I have learnt to at least give a film twenty minutes as this could just be scene setting and character building.  In this case, it was just that.  You learn of the relationships between the three friends, Nic, Jonah, and Hayley; the reason for the road trip and their ongoing trials and tribulations.  This builds a realistic and credible storyline with characters you can relate to and believe in.

All the actors give good performances though it's Laurence Fishburne, who portrays the governmental figure of Damon, who steals the show.  No matter what happens, he always keeps his composure, never overreacting whatever the situation.  It's only Hayley's character, played sparingly by Olivia Cooke, that seems a little flat, maybe the male writers haven't got in touch with their feminine sides yet.

This is a slow burner of a film which builds slowly up to major reveals, action sequences, and the big reveal at the end, which you know is coming because in sci-fi something big has to be revealed.  All of this is handled superbly by the director William Eubank.  Once I got through the beginning I really enjoyed this tale, there are enough strange happenings to keep you enthralled and wondering WTF is going on?  However, there are also disjointed flashbacks, which only serve to confuse, but this may be the director trying to show Nic's confusion of the situation, though, this didn't work for me.

If you love science fiction then this film is worth at least one watch.

Movie Review - Hunger Games Saga

The Hunger Games Saga

The Hunger Games - Catching Fire - Mockingjay (Parts 1 & 2)

2012 to 2016

8 / 10

I'm reviewing the entire saga and not the movies individually as it should be regarded as one story.  Even though the movies work in their own right I would advise watching, as well as reading, the entire saga since they are a perfect continuation of a rebellion and their reluctant figurehead Katniss Everdeen "The Mockingjay" played well by Jennifer Lawrence.

The first movie deals with the ignition of the rebellion, the Hunger Games.  Devised by the survivors of the nuclear way, when they say factions taking on factions.  It was decided to hold a "Games" where two members of each district, randomly picked (one male and one female), are forced to fight each other in an artificially created arena, until one walks out.

In relation to the book, this is quite a good conversion (as you would expect as Suzanne Collins helped write the screenplay), though I do feel as though it should have been an hour longer.  Everything seemed too rushed.  The bad thing is that there are quite a few key moments in the book, especially the relationships between Katniss and Rue and Katniss and Peter.  Because there was no time in the two-hour twenty-two minutes runtime to do these relationships justice.  The good thing is that in the next three movies the relationship between Katniss and Peter is done really well.  But not knowing if the first film would do well, they probably thought there would have been a chance that the follow-up movies wouldn't be made.

The acting is okay, Jennifer Lawrence does an amiable job in The Hunger Games and by Mockingjay Part 1 you can see her acting skills have grown as she is more believable as Katniss the reluctant rebel.  The star of the four movies though is the actor portraying Peeta, Josh Hutcherson.  Right from the start, he does a more than agreeable performance showing a quiet shy boy who has always loved Katniss, though from afar, right to the haggard brain-washed mutt of the capitol.  He even has some of the better scenes as his character is also intelligent enough to understand and rationalise the situations around him.  If anything Peeta is the strongest character in the saga.  I also loved Elizabeth Banks' portrayal of Effie Trinkett; it is splendid and as the saga continues she brings a warmth to the character that adds power to the story.  Woody Harrelson does an agreeable rendition as Haymitch.

However, Stanley Tucci is risible as the Television Host Caeser Flickerman, though there is a good chance this is how the character is meant to be - though I didn't read him that way in the book.  I just couldn't get into Liam Hemsworth as Gale, whose character gets more story-time as the saga continues, though he just seemed so two-dimensional and that made me distrust the relationship between him and Katniss.  Then Donald Sutherland (playing President Snow), Philip Seymour Hoffman (playing Plutarch Heavensbee), and Wes Bentley (playing Seneca Crane), just feel as though they've turned up, dressed up, and read their lines, which is a shame as they are good actors.

The direction throughout the four movies is pretty good and at times gives us some great moments.  One of my favourite scene's comes from Mockingjay Part 1, it's the segue that takes part in "The Hanging Tree" song - who would believe that Jennifer Lawrence can hold a tune.  Here you have Katniss and her propaganda team filming the destruction at District 12, her hometown, to the tech guys pushing the footage to all the other sectors and their rebels picking up the song as an anthem, to them singing it on a mission.  Brilliantly thought out and directed.  "The Hanging Tree" is also a pretty decent song, my favourite in the saga.

The story, though rushed in the first installment, is pretty well paced through the remaining movies building tension at the right moments and picking up the pace in the action scenes.

I would recommend this to people who like action films, dystopian futures, and drama.  I watched The Hunger Games and Catching Fire one day and both Mockingjay movies the next.  I believe that watching them pretty much back-to-back is the way to go as it made the experience more enjoyable.

The Hunger Games - Trailer

Catching Fire - Trailer

Mockingjay Part 1 - Trailer

Mockingjay Part 2 - Trailer

The Hanging Tree - Song

The Hanging Tree - Scene