Reviews
Two of Us (2020)
More like two girls hang out in an abandoned mansion.
I forgot I started watching this before so when it got "rebranded" as Dead Earth I hit play again. Nothing really happens, they show some T&A in what turns out to be a lesbian romance for those interested, but if you didnt know what you were watching you would never guess it was set in a zombie apocalypse. Um, let's see, 275 character to go. So if you cant tell from the first ten minutes that this is a Z movie rest assured it's not suddenly going to get better. I'm really not sure why I gave it two stars instead of one. I guess it looks like it could be a movie of some sort. Just not what it's pretending to be.
Aniara (2018)
Dull and uninspired
Love the genre so really wanted to like this space odyssey, but everything fell flat. I was excited to see where they went with the premise. A transport ship adrift in space had so much potential and while it was visually appealing the acting was fine to good and, the plot and character development were not.
It's obvious things on Earth deteriorated as evidenced by the many scarred people on the ship, their memories and need to travel to Mars. I mention this because a "soothing" room that everyone seems to need shuts down because of all the ugly memories. Seriously? That's the linchpin to space travel? A room where pleasant memories are used to let people sleep/relax?
Clearly getting set adrift in space is going to be demoralizing, but with food and safety it's hard to believe people, especially those with families, would fall apart in a few years. Let's say it would. Is this what it would like like? Cults, religious groups, drugged fueled orgies? And would the parents really fall apart in front of their children?
I give them credit for going down the road they did and I assume if you like the execution you rate this much higher, but without sympathetic characters to care about it felt like I was being told a boring story.
Alien: Romulus (2024)
Enjoyable entry into the franchise
Went into it with fairly low expectations since it didnt seem to be trying to break new ground. I was pleasantly surprised by some things, but left scratching my head about others. Alien Romulus looks great, uses jump scares pretty effectively, and crafts a super creepy alien human hybrid that hopefully we see more of! I enjoyed the references to prior entries in the series, and a "friendly" face from the past.
We start off seeing the original alien finally being discovered by Weyland's organization. We then cut to the classic dystopian planet that seems like a popular world building choice in sci-fi. Pollution is rampant, an oppressive "company" essentially is treating people like slaves and values efficiency above all else including human lives.
We're introduced to the main character, the plucky Rain, and her slightly worse for wear synthetic human companion, Andy. When Rain gets an offer from some friends to scavenge an abandoned ship for life pods needed to make the trip to a far away utopia she reluctantly agrees so she can escape the tyrannical "company." Andy is critical to the plan since he is a Weyland product and can interface with the computer on board. The party is made up of Rain's ex, his pregnant sister, a male cousin and his girlfriend.
It seemed odd they went with such a small cast since the usual formula uses an escalating body count to build suspense. Given the small group it seemed really odd they didnt do much to build empathy with our travelers. Once on board the "ship" which is far bigger than anticipated the inevitable happens and a disposable human gets successfully attacked by a face hugger. Rain's Synth gets an upgrade from a chip retrieved from the space station they are on and explains what is going on with his new found knowledge and help of another damaged Synth that was on board. The already small group splits with the infected member and her boyfriend trying to flee on the ship they came in. The alien hatches pretty quickly after that escalating things rapidly for both groups. I loved the way they used gravity at an important part of the movie. Several other aspects are done extremely well, with the abandoned space station "decorated" with plenty of used human hosts, and how they expand on what Weyland is attempting to do genetically.
I felt the movie would have benefited from some additional characters with a few minutes devoted to some interaction to give them some more appeal. What they did felt superficial so when the few casualties took place it didnt have much impact beyond visceral. I found it odd Weyland enterprises would just abandon this space station give it was a couple days away from plunging into an asteroid belt ringing the planet and being destroyed. Overall it's an enjoyable, if somewhat limited, installment in the franchise with a very familiar ending.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Ups and downs.
I really wanted to like this movie. Got to see it on 6/27 in an IMAX and that paid off for early sequences. Pros were some terrifying scenes of the initial invasion, a cute cat, looked good and decent acting. Where it fell flat for me is we really only meet one character who survives the initial attack and her story wasn't very interesting. Maybe having her being driven to get a slice of pizza sounded quirky and compelling when they were discussing it, but it felt woefully out of place in context of what was going on. I would almost rather she said, "I'm going to Disney World" in response to the world collapsing.
So we're introduced to our main character who is living in a hospice with terminal cancer, a loyal cat, and miserable personality (which to be fair is understandable as she's dealing with a lot of pain being managed by narcotics). Sure. She's real, but no one wants to go on that journey in an alien invasion movie. I mean she has terminal cancer. We know she's going to die soon. She doesn't have any family. Tricked into going into NYC for a show the movie hits its highpoint quickly. Police are seemingly on high alert as we get to the show. Shortly into the show the aid escorting the patients gets a call to get out of city. Suddenly we see streaks coming from the sky, an explosion and everything turns hazy from dust and debris. Within moments the aliens are ripping through any New Yorker who makes a sound. Really well done, adrenaline filled scene.
Unfortunately they really dont capture that chaos again. They try with one bizarre scene, but although it looks good it really felt contrived. After that it really bogs down and the weak character driven part of the story falls flat. That isn't helped by closer interactions with the aliens who for reasons unknown cant see or smell people creating a situation where you need someone to "accidentally" make noise to create tension. There are also relatively long scenes of the main character and a guy we meet along the way interacting in relatively uninteresting ways.
I didnt dislike A Quiet Place I just didnt find it very compelling after the first 20 minutes or so and for a few brief intervals after that. Part of that was not caring much about the main character who didnt seem to care very much about living (which makes complete sense given her terminal cancer), and the secondary character seemed to be there more to be a scared white male more than anything else. I know many people are going to applaud these decisions, but they are people who dont care about making an engaging movie they are the people who only care that the main character was a black female and that the white guy was relatively weak. It's a twist I have no problem with if the characters were more interesting. Unfortunately they werent. 5/10.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Powerful, but flawed.
Rating it 8/10 because I really enjoyed the movie, the powerful themes involved and maybe because of the nostalgia I'm starting to feel more frequently when dealing with reminders of my childhood.
Best parts. Looked amazing, the effective use of camera angles to deal with horrific scenes without having them overpower the viewer, acting was good, characters from Fury Road were expanded on. Although told in chapters with each dealing with distinctly different stages of Furiousa's life it never got bogged down. They do a great job in an incredibly short period of time with Furiousa's Mom. We're introduced to her sharpshooting friend. Oddly we're introduced to a sister who we never heard about in Fury Road. I wouldn't mind seeing the Mom's story and how the green place came to be.
What didnt I like? Right off the bat it seemed really convoluted. Furiousa and her sister are gathering fruit, see some raiders butchering a horse and instead of hiding or going to get help Furiousa decides to cut their fuel lines. Not surprisingly she gets caught because she's about 10 feet away from them, and despite being "too far away (from their village)" is able to blow a whistle for help. Once her mom secures a motorcycle the chase settles in, but I really found how they arranged it distractingly stupid. Then there is Furiousa's "escape." She shaves her head, slips away, and then pretends to be a boy. And that works. Suddenly everyone forgot the little girl Imorten Joe traded for. Including him. The other main thing was how Hemsworth played Dementus almost like a cartoon character. There was zero depth to his character and no discernible motivation for his actions. He didnt seem to care for anything or anyone and his one liners were really out of place. Oh, and they randomly throw a scene in with Mad Max overlooking what is going on, but it's about 10 years before he gets taken to the citadel so kind of pointless. Oh, oh...final pet peeve. For some bizarre reason they kill the mom prior to finding out where the Green Place was...and I guess never try to force Furiousa to tell them. It just goes away.
Overall great movie, but you certainly aren't going to leave feeling upbeat, but at its heart the Mad Max series is a dark look at humanity. There are flashes of hope, but few and far between. As for the nostalgia? Well, I was 11 when Mad Max came out. 45 years for this movie to come out. Goes fast so enjoy it!
The Judge (2014)
Heavily cliched and yet dull drama
If there goal was to fit in as many cliches as possible...10 stars. If their goal was to make an entertaining movie not so much.
This movie is so dull they desperately try to spice it up with moments that stand out like sore thumbs. Downey literally peeing on another attorney, proclaiming to be the ultimate mean guy over a mundane interaction, and throwing in some casual incest angles. It all falls completely flat in what boils down to your cookie cutter family drama only this movie doesn't offer any real reason for the drama.
It's made a lot worse by being about 40 minutes too long. Maybe it could have been saved by great courtroom drama, but the one big "gotcha" moment was Downey proudly proclaiming that because there weren't skid marks in front of a dead turtle it was reasonable his father wouldn't have seen the pedestrian that got killed. As if a prosector wouldn't be able to bring out the difference between a turtle and a human being on a bicycle.
The acting was fine and hint at something with a little more promise coming soon, but it never delivers. Do yourself a favor and skip this snoozer.
Morgan (2016)
Worth a watch for sci-fi fans
Pretty well developed, executed and acted if not particularly creative this held my attention throughout. The cast is made up of a variety pack of recognizable faces who all do a good job with their roles particularly Lee and Morgan. Semi-odd they give both leads male names for female characters. Not sure what that is about, but they do a great job of blending a very diverse cast in a way that didnt make it feel forced. The movie about developing Ai for military purposes moves briskly after taking some time to develop the roles and relationships. The scene that gets the ball really rolling is somewhat odd, but in hindsight I suppose it is illustrating the risk of blending emotion with automation. They also did a nice job with how humans might start coming to view AI. Mara's character is so suitably odd, and there was some pretty obvious foreshadowing, that the end was no surprise. Didnt make the film any less enjoyable.
The Forever Purge (2021)
More left wing propaganda than a movie
Kind of ironic as violence engulfs cities run by liberals that they make a movie transferring their violence to the right. It's blatantly obvious this is some bizarre representation of the US today. Which would be fine if the movie was entertaining. Unfortunately it fails there as well with one dimensional characters giving speeches rather than dialogue, constant conservative bashing and pretty bad effects. Borders bad, diversity good, evil white people. All the left wing cliches are in full effect with extra helpings of drama queen one liners about the state of the country. Like hey, have you heard white people stole the country? Or how about we got rich off minorities...like there arent any poor white people. Hey, if you enjoy some good white people bashing then it's a 10.
Castaways (2023)
Pretty misleading
When I read post apocalyptic thriller the first thing that comes to mind is not a lesbian romance. Actually that wasnt in the top 100. Why not just package it that way? Because I was expecting a completely different type movie I found it pretty dull. The acting was pretty stiff at first, but improved as the movie progressed. Another survivor is introduced giving it a bit of a Z for Zacarhia feel as the triangle creates trouble in paradise.
As the other reviewer indicated. It is set in paradise. Beautiful setting with gorgeous water and beaches. Problem is that gives it the least possible post apocalyptic feel possible, and more of a straight romantic drama. So if that is what you are in the mood for you will enjoy it more than I did.
On the other hand the man comes in and pretty quickly demonstrates he's stronger and more capable so even the target audience might take issue. Overall pretty bland entry into whatever genre this is.
Dead in the Water: A Fear the Walking Dead Story (2022)
Mixed bag
Because I'm a fan of the genre rated it about two stars higher than it probably deserves. Pros, fascinating setting on a Nuclear submarine, hints at what is going on in the rest of the world, reasonable introduction of the zombie outbreak with one of the sailor's dying, and the back story of the main character.
Cons: Acting was rough. While the initial outbreak was pretty reasonable with the deceased sailor managing to bite three other sailors before they shot him in the head it seemingly spread to the whole ship in a manner of a few hours. Did none of the three get sick before dying and turning? And how did they bite so many without them raising a general alarm? I get it, there's no way to have it spread that would hold up to scrutiny so maybe it should have started with multiple sailors dying from whatever it was that triggered this in the first place.
Overall I found it entertaining if you overlook (as you do with a lot of things in TWD universe) the things that dont make sense.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
So much nostalgia
Pros effects were amazing, revisiting some "old friends" and finding out how their stories progressed, fun scenes, great action sequences.
Cons pretty thin plot, undeveloped characters, just a little to formulaic for me. So many of the scenes were lifted right out of the first one and so little was added that I didnt feel like I was watching a Sequel so much as a remake. Tom's still out racing jets on his motorcycle, being a rebel, and daring to do what no one else can. But ultimately they take zero chances with this version of Top Gun preferring to stick to script and for that it's hard for me to rate it any higher.
I do like to think Penny is "Penny the admiral's daughter" from the first Top Gun. Maybe that's a nod to the nostalgia I felt for seeing the Top Gun story being dusted off after so many years. If you are going to dismiss McGillis' character with zero fanfare then I would hope her replacement was waiting in the shadows so she has some connection to original.
Ultimately a feel good movie that looks even better than the first, comes close to capturing the same magic, but like most imitations just isn't as good.
Stay Alive (2006)
One of my guilty pleasures
Okay, sure it doesn't stand up to much scrutiny and the "rules" are "flexible," but I genuinely think the first third is some of the best creepy movie making out there. The characters are colorful and not just the cliche cookie cutter types. We're introduced to the plot with a character dying in the game Stay Alive and then getting murdered in the real world by the same characters from the game. The main character, his boss and his friends wind up playing the same game and after the session his boss is murdered.
The second act, admittedly brief, deals with their struggle to figure out why these murders are taking place and quickly connecting them to the unpublished game they, and the victims, were playing. This is handled fairly well with the right amount of disbelief in the face of the mounting evidence until finally the last to believe is the first to be killed off.
It's the third part that gets increasingly clumsy as they blend the game world and the real world. The remaining gamers have to come up with a way to "win" the game and Stay Alive. As they struggle to find a way the lines between the game and reality are blurred. They struggle to execute this effectively, the movie loses touch with the premise and limps home to an awkward conclusion.
For all the warts the execution of the first third makes it well worth the watch for me. So grab some popcorn, turn down the lights, play your favorite scary game for a while beforehand, and enjoy!
Day 5 (2016)
Uneven but entertaining enough - Spoilers Ahead
The challenge with a premise like this is how do you maintain that apocalyptic intensity as the days drag on and sleep deprivation is quickly driving everyone crazy? They do a good job developing the characters so they carry the show as it gets more and more convoluted.
Initially it's pretty straightforward as people struggle to stay awake while meeting and interacting with new characters. Right off one survivor succumbs to the urge to sleep and dies confirming that the event is still going on. I would say Season 1 is mostly about that struggle, but Season 2 quickly introduces religious type figures, crazy military personnel, and some weird super assassins. At times the "sleep is death" theme is so secondary to the struggle against other survivors that it disappears all together.
In many ways it takes on a cartoonish vibe with the arch villain responsible for this, and his super soldier assassins, working to stamp out the last vestiges of humanity. In fact Season 2 wraps up with one of the super assassins killing a Messiah like figure who had established a safe sleep zone. The Messiah had figured out that it was magnetic interference in the atmosphere that allowed people to sleep safely. Enjoying his new found worship he didnt share the secret with any of his followers so his assassination ended the safe zone and set the remaining group on a path for revenge and discovery.
So since there wont be another season I will put my take on events here. For whatever reason some diabolic group invented a "death ray" that would kill anyone who went to sleep, but the ray's potency was disrupted by magnetic interference allowing "safe" areas where naturally occurring events like that were common. The mastermind used his fanatically loyal assassins to stamp out those survival zones. We know this because of the Messiah's explanation to his assassin, and another assassin was found to have a device implanted in her brain that used magnetic fields to altar impulses. What we dont know, and never will, is the end game. What was the future plan for humanity? No idea. All we're left with is the arch villain had a traitor in his group and that is who our heroes were off to find when the season wrapped up.
Well worth a watch warts and all.
The Wolf Hour (2019)
Watched it for Watts
Amazing actress and until this movie I assumed she could turn anything into something worth watching, but she met her match here with a bland script and even blander execution. It's still amazing to watch her bring a character to life, it's just the life here is pointless beyond being a neurotic mess. It's a character no one really cares about except for perhaps for her sister. She even pays an escort for some companionship.
We find out that guilt over her past works has her punishing herself, but as soon as she needs the money she goes back to it. Now this is a lady who will dial up an escort, but apparently doesnt know how to deal with a courier service to deliver the only copy of a book she's written? We've got an incessantly ringing buzzer, an issue of no real import it turns out. Much like most of the movie. Turns out needing money makes you overcome your anxiety. Certainly did the trick here.
Plus I dont get the backdrop at all of the 70s riots/son of sam since it adds nothing to what the character is experiencing. A sticky, sweaty mess of a movie it had me wanting to put the AC on, hop in the shower and multi-task the last sixty minutes away. Did the final act make it all worthwhile? Was she a creation for a book or did she live it? Coming through on the other side to be the chic cosmopolitan author she was just four year before her "self-isolation?" Who cares? From her little smile at the end I take it the character we just spent 90 minutes with was just that, a character in her book. That would explain the disjointed scenes and red herring plot points. Bottom line I cant find fault with people for watching it for Watts, I did, but I can marvel at the people claiming it was a good movie.
Windfall (2022)
Has its moments
Production values are great, acting was solid, but for me the execution and script were at times sill and heavy handed. Part of it might have been the casting. Segal seemed misplaced as the desperate home invader and gave the whole thing more of a comedic tone then they were probably aiming for. And I get it, he's not a career criminal so wouldnt come across as one. On the other hand Plemons was great at the arrogant billionaire CEO and Collins as his icy wife heavily involved with running a non-profit.
Right off it's clear there are issues with the husband and wife, and a quick shot of some birth control pills in her purse reveals what is to come in that arena very early on. They could have done without the lethargic "chase" through the orchard which looked more comedic than anything else.
Through our third act personality traits continue to be revealed and a Gardner is randomly introduced. Of course instead of asking him to come back another day they hide which makes about zero sense. In the end it's clear this was solely to have another body in the mix while exploring a little further the dynamics of different socio economic classes.
In a more well dont move the finale could have elevated this to a 7-8 star movies, but in order for a twist to really have impact there should be some hints throughout you can point to that indicate it's simmering. In this case there were none making the final scene all the more detached and unbelievable. Is there a message here? A motive for the final action? A better movie outlines both. I dont need to know what happens next, but a random act seems unsatisfying.
The Stolen (2017)
One of the dumbest movies I've watched to the end
I'm not sure how you take a story about a women trying to rescue her kidnapped baby and make it both ludicrous and dull, but they managed it here. Ten minutes in and I already lost interest in the main plot line, twenty minutes in I was laughing at the ludicrous situations our "heroine" found herself in. Turned out exactly how I was expecting, but getting there wasnt entertaining at all. Give it five stars for looking good, no stars for execution so 2.5 overall rounded up to 3.
1883 (2021)
Looks great but flat characters and story
It's obvious they put a lot of money into this. The scenery and effects are fantastic and the acting is good, but that's where the positives end. There is virtually no character development as things happen and unfold in scenes that dont quite connect with a bigger picture or character. It's like we're being told and shown how dangerous this journey is when we shouldn't need to be. Just let the action speak for itself. Obviously I'm in the minority, but what should be an exciting story just seems flat and uninspired.
Paranormal Island (2014)
"A straight still beats a flush..."
No it doesnt and never has. As a few already indicated, this oversight is indicative of the quality of the movie. The acting improves significantly after the first scene so it's not as bad as some indicate. Overall just a below average horror flick.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
What is going on?
I sincerely perplexed why movies are so terrible these days. Are they too busy checking off the diversity quotas that they cant figure out how to execute a story? Maybe it's emblematic of how stupid people are getting. I dont know, all I know is they took what should be a foolproof idea and somehow turned it into a clown show.
The moronic aspects of this move make it hard to suspend disbelief. I mean it literally starts with time travelers arriving in mass armed to the teeth during the middle of a soccer game and announcing, "we're you from the future, aliens are slaughtering us, you have to come back with us and (fight) get slaughtered too..." No joke, that is pretty much verbatim how they introduce the plot.
Of course everyone rallies and gladly goes to get massacred. And when I say everyone I mean everyone. The old, young, infirm, obese all get sent forward in time to get massacred. When our hero's turn comes something goes wrong and he, and everyone else, materializes hundreds if not thousands of feet in the air...end of movie you think? No, he lands in a rooftop swimming pool! Apparently six feet of water can break any fall! Visually stunning, intellectually cringe inducing. But wait there's more. About 20 other members of his "squad" land in the same pool and all are perfectly fine (and a few seconds laster completely dry) so the movie continues. Seriously, this is so outlandish it's either in there on a dare, or the producers think very little about their audience. The action is often equally as ridiculous, but suffice it to say style over substance is the order of the day.
On the plus side it looked good, moved along quickly, and offered a lot of action. Very similar to the Aliens series it adds a dash of "the thing" for good measure. Fortunately most of the superficial characters we meet embrace death which allows for a high body count with zero negative emotional impact. So try not to dwell on how stupid it is and enjoy the loud noises.
I really am beginning to wonder if they are incapable of making a movie with action that also makes sense, or whether they know most of their bread and butter audience is so dim witted they wont care.
Soldier (1998)
Something compelling about this
I'm not sure what it is, perhaps the singular nature of Russell's character, but I find this movie fascinating. Yes, the plot devices are pretty ham handed, but this idea of a super soldier being cast aside like last years toy for the newest model is a reflection of so many things in society today. Todd is "killed" in a training accident with his replacement and dumped on a garbage planet that is inhabited by a group of cast offs who make use of the garbage drops to carve out a home on the barren planet. As Todd's long buried emotions awaken due to his exposure to normal life he retreats to his solider ways to stay grounded. Connie Nielsen is an ethereal beauty as both the "nurturing mom" and potential lover he's never had. A very linear, streamlined movie with nothing superfluous it's symbolic about a lot of things in life. Fear of change, being outdated, diversity of ideas (ie real diversity), being happy with what you have, hard work etc etc.
Sure it's a simple movie, but it's effective.
The Redwood Massacre (2014)
Dont waste the time
I usually try to find something positive to lead off with so I will say the production values, setting and effects were pretty good. It looked like a movie that could have been released in theaters.
Unfortunately that's where the positives end. The plot, direction, dialogue, and execution were bad too terrible. The characters are bland and make imbecilic choices. You've seen the "action" sequences a hundreds times before and combined with the other flaws made everything seem bland. Groups come out to this place, he collects them, and kills them. But it's just so boring and formulaic. They even throw in an avenging dad who gets killed off without even a fight after proclaiming he died a long time ago. Zzzzzzz.
But if you watch make sure to stick around for the hysterical ending. I mean it is so cliche and terrible it had me and my friends laughing out loud. Oh, okay, here it is. Our damsel escapes only to be picked up by a doddering fool who drives in circles until she wakes up...to find herself right back at the house she escaped! A tedious chase ensues and I was starting to think the real horror movie was I had slipped into the Twilight Zone with a never ending bad movie, but finally she prevails in the most anti-climatic finish in horror movie history. At 89 minutes it's about 60 minutes too long.
Add this to the list of movies I would like to talk to the producer and director about to find out what they were going for. It's so terrible I couldnt be sure it wasnt some kind of parody.
The Divide (2011)
Disturbing look at humanity
Spoilers ahead!
Starts off with a bang, literally, as bombs are hitting NYC and tenants scramble down steps futilely looking for safety. Eight do manage to force their way into the super's, Mickie, homemade bomb shelter. The survivors are Eva and her French boyfriend, Sam, brothers Josh and Adrien, Josh's friend Bobby, Marilyn and her daughter Wendi, and Devlin. Considering the situation things are pretty civilized despite the food shortage, cramped quarters and the different personalities.
They are found by some unknown military/scientific group after they disclosed their location on a walkie talkie type device. Wendi is taken, and the other survivors kill the three military types that stay in the shelter. With Marilyn going crazy due to grief Josh agrees to don a suit one of the military guys was wearing and go look for Wendi. He takes one of the two weapons they scavenged and goes outside.
Tunnels from doorway to doorway created ostensibly to provide protection from radiation lead Josh right to where Wendi was taken. He finds a main area with children being held in some kind of coma like state, but gets discovered and has to fight his way back to the shelter abandoning his weapon as he goes. The military then welds their door shut from the outside effectively trapping them inside. No idea what is going on, but if things are so bad they need to preserve children for when the environment settles down why are they searching in one of the places that got bombed? Why is a well equipped group in the city in the first place, why do they seemingly ignore three of their number getting killed, and then set up a tunnel to lead the people that just killed them right back to their main camp?
It's at this point things take a turn for the worse. Devlin is killed while confronting McKie over a hidden food stash. Marilyn's mental state deteriorates, Josh starts showing signs of radiation poisoning, his friend Bobby starts acting more bizarre, Sam gets more ineffectual and lost as the protections of civilization are now completely gone, and Mckie gets tied up and tortured to reveal his food source.
Josh and Bobby start abusing Marilyn who appears to go along with it initially and, after her one attempt to seek help from Eva and Sam fails, she quickly deteriorates mentally culminating in her casually being killed by the duo who merely state, "she just broke." Eva turns to Adrien for companionship as Sam's inability to cope with what is going on renders him useless. I'm glossing over the depravity that takes place, but suffice it to say Josh and Bobby take control of group and reveal the worst people have to offer.
Eva enlists a mostly broken Sam in a scheme to get a gun Mckie told her about. While he's successful getting the gun, in the confrontation that follow he's not mentally strong enough to control the situation. As Josh and Bobby, who for a while now look like they belong in a Mad Max movie, try to get the gun from Sam, Eva tells him to give it to Adrien. Sam, probably jealous of the more competent Adrien, shoot him instead. Josh starts beating Sam while Bobby picks up the gun and in a curious twist appears to point it at the back of Josh's head, but before he does anything Eva slits his throat with the lid of a can. Had their depravity finally sunk in to Bobby? or was he realizing that siding with Josh would eventually lead to his own demise? We'll never know, but interesting development to throw in that late.
Josh is shot, but before dying sets the shelter, and himself, on fire. While Mckie and Sam try to put out the fire, Eva dons the one remaining military suit, grabs some supplies and escapes through the sewer leaving Mckie and Sam to certain death. As the shelter burns Mckie takes a glance of a photo of him and presumably his wife in a long ago time, and Sam appears content knowing Eva was trying to get to safety.
Unfortunately Eva finds a city devoid of any signs of life, no signs of the military presence and what looks like debris is still falling from the sky. The camera pans around with Eva representing a spark of life appearing completely out of place in the desolate landscape, her bag of meager supplies hanging inadequately at her side. I'm pretty sure their is life somewhere, but it certainly doesnt appear Eva will be able to find it given her surroundings.
A disturbing, but perhaps accurate, look at what would happen if civilization breaks down.
Anderson Falls (2020)
Thriller or comedy?
You be the judge, but it's pretty bad. I'm not sure how you mess up such an easy premise, but any budget went to the cast not the writing. Lines like, "at least I can give you back your job" did get a chuckle out of me. Starts off with a bang as the synopsis indicates, but it never picks up any momentum from there.
None of the characters are developed beyond the lines they deliver and that's just not enough to get invested in what happens. It's one of those movie I just kept streaming as I worked on things for work. How two unemployed bums come up with the finances to make this happen is another mystery, but one I wont think of again once I hit submit for this warning.
The Twilight Zone (1959)
Amazing in every sense
Kind of the polar opposite of most of TV these days. The effects weren't very good and it wasnt action packed, but it more than made up for it with creativity, imagination, and heart. Always catch part of a marathon around New Years and no matter which episodes are on I get drawn in. Guess I'm getting old when the I feel nostalgic for an old favorite like this.
The Hollow (2016)
Great example
That a movie doesnt have to have the best plot or even a good one, to be entertaining. What do I mean? It's convoluted, full of stereotypes and cliches, but the acting is fantastic, the dialogue sharp, moves quickly and looks great. Loved the cast with some faces you will know well playing their parts perfectly.
Great movie to turn off your brain, because it wont withstand much scrutiny. Just enjoy the interactions from the hard drinking FBI agent, to the corrupt town elder running the show, the damaged vets, genteel ladies, tough Northerner female FBI agent, the bad cop and his toady, all set against a backdrop of gospel spouting rednecks. Probably will never go back and watch it again, but it kept my attention and that's saying something.