Posts Tagged ‘2011’
The Darkest Hour: Review
Emile Hirsch stars in this sci-fi/action movie about a pair of friends that take a business trip to Moscow Russia. When the deal goes sour the decide to go out on the town to drown their sorrows. As the evening progresses and they leave an establishment, they see glowing alien creatures coming from the sky that soon turn invisible. As the surrounding citizens get closer to inspect the creatures they find out quickly that they didn’t come in peace. Now all that matters is their survival and to find how to stop them.
I enjoyed this flick quite a bit. I think mainly because I’m a big fan of sci-fi movies. This isn’t the best sci-fi movie I’ve seen but it was still pretty interesting. The fact that the threat is invisible added a certain amount of suspense to it as well. The aliens themselves were unique also. They weren’t seen at all for the most part but when they were revealed their look was a cross between the aliens from Independance Day and a some sort of glowing ball of energy (sorry, that’s the best I could come up with….lol). At times it did kind of feel like a big budget SyFy Original movie but I think the thing that did keep it afloat was Emile Hirsch. His acting ability really did help make this movie enjoyable as well and I thought he did really good in an action environment. Too bad there wasn’t a sweet Eddie Vedder sountrack to go along with it (I kid, I kid). This movie had a very ambitious ending and left it open to a sequel but I think thats asking for a little too much. Either way, if you dig alien invasion movies then it won’t hurt to “Redbox” it and give this a view.
The Lie: Review
Directed and Starring Joshua Leonard (Blair Witch Project), The Lie shows us the life of Lonnie (Leonard) and how he feels stuck in a rut. He’s a married man with a six month old little girl and realizes his life isn’t the way he quite pictured it. On whim he decides to call into work and tell his boss he can’t make it into work because his daughter is sick. He then goes out and plays “hooky” for the day and enjoys himself. He enjoys himself so much that he decides to do it again the next day but scrambles for an excuse while on the phone and tells his boss his 6 month old daughter died the previous night. He starts to gain sympathy from everyone around him because of this lie and somewhat enjoys the benefits a tad. What comes next is a journey of regret and self discovery as a husband and father.
It has an interesting premise and that’s what attracted me to this flick. The acting is fair and it has a well rounded cast. The filmmakers did a good job at excluding the lie from any synopsis or description because I don’t think I would’ve sat through it if I would’ve known. It was kind of off-putting to know that even after Lonnie told the lie he kind of just went along with it. I’m not one to be appalled by subject matter in a film or anything of that nature. I think that if it serves a purpose to help the story along then fine but I think this was done just to get the cheap “shock” factor in. It worked to a certain degree but not in the way they probably wanted or expected. Although the underlining message was understandable, the rest of the film felt like a long complaint letter about the characters’ life thus far. I would say, if you’re curious then go right ahead and give it a view but other than that you should wait till it hits IFC at 2am and DVR it.
The Thing (2011): Review
This film tells what happens that leads up to the events of the 1982 film “John Carpenter’s The Thing”. A Norwegian research team stumble upon a spaceship and an extraterrestrial being out in the Antarctic snow. They return back to base with “The Thing” (frozen in a block of ice) and call on Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to examine the recent find. While celebrating their discovery it breaks out and wreaks havoc on the crew. It isn’t until after their first encounter with the creature that they realize it kills its prey and replicates its body, hiding itself in plain sight.
There’s something about this flick thats a bit more disturbing than the 1982 sequel. I don’t know exactly what it is but I think alot of it has to do with the advancement of movie effects. The way the creature reveals itself and tears the hosts’ body open on numerous occasions is the key “gross out” factor of this film…..and I loved every minute of it! It says alot when a movie makes me not want to eat or drink anything while I’m watching it. This one does the trick. That, along with the fact that everyone is being questioned and no one can be trusted makes this a great horror/thriller flick. I’m glad that this ended up being a prequel rather than a remake for the simple fact that I remember watching the original so many times and always wondering what happened at the base they stumble upon. They made the gap between the two movies rather seamless and it shows. If you watch both movies back to back (i really suggest you do) and pay close attention to the end of the 2011 version and watch the beginning of the 1982 version, the continuity that is kept at the Norwegian base excellent. From the creature that is out in the snow, down to a simple thing as an ax in a wall. A definite watch if you’re interested in a nice little scare.
The Thing is out on DVD and Blu-Ray 1/31/12
