Story

Billionaire Jack Morris arrives to groundbreaking research facility he paid for to meet scientist Dr. Minway Zhang. Morris has arrived right in the midst of lab’s biggest mission. Crew is diving into deepest section of Marianas trench to prove the theory that cloud of gases is masking real ocean floor. To everyone’s amusement that turns out to be true. But celebrations are short. Research vessel is almost immediately attacked by a gigantic creature. Damages of vessel prohibits it from raising and on surface everyone is scrambling for rescue operations. But there is only one person who can attempt such a daring act: ex-rescue diver Jonas Taylor. Despite his objections, Jonas is forced to join the mission when he learns that his ex-wife is one of the members of stranded crew. But his biggest fears will turn to be right when they will discover that the mystery creature is a megalodon!

Yes, they are trying to kill a giant shark with little cage…

Writing

There is literally nothing unique about the script of “The Meg”. It is riddled with cliché storylines, plot elements, character drivers and motivations, resolutions and outcome. From hero who no one believes to and his ex-wife being one of the victims, to main female hero in desperate need of a man in her life and father who never trusted his daughter. List is so big I can just spend whole night writing about it. In fact, the scrip it so unimaginative that characters themselves start making fun of sheer stupidity of some of the points. This self-irony somewhat saves the day, giving audience something to laugh at. That being said, film is not on the “Snake on the Plane” level of ridiculousness, so that’s somehow saves it.

Jonas (Statham) is expertly sizing up new opponent – a megalodon!

Directing

And what gives “The Meg” somehow good rap is directorial work of Jon Turtletaub. To my big relief, he didn’t make movie as a freaking big monster disaster movie (though the ending might seem like that), but as a horror/thriller. To that extent, “The Meg” tried to give more of “Jurassic Park” feeling than “Godzilla”. Side note – horror/thriller is a bit of a stretch, as a film is plagued by a financial decision to keep it PG-13 rated. Thus, violence is muted, however it was still pretty wild in some instances.

That pays off well. He uses subtle tension moments, combining with sudden jump scares and timely reveals. In that Turtletaub makes film at least enjoyable to watch. To the point that you might momentarily forget the shortcomings of the script. “The Meg” probably achieves same results as Dwayne Johnson’s “Rampage“. In both films, you just manage to shut down all logic and reason and just enjoy the spectacle.

Diversity rules!

Acting

Über-diverse cast of “The Meg” did actually surprise me. In fact, the only minority groups not represented were Hispanics and Arabs. Not because it is inconceivable to have so much diversity in a group of people, but the fact there was so much variation of nationality, race, age, sexual orientation, hair style, hell, even tattoo choices that it was quiet shocking. Not two members of characters carried same trait. And this diversity was so in your face, combined with stereotypical traits for each character, me, biggest proponent of realistic representation of diversity, was just appalled by how much “The Meg” overdid it.

However, I have to admit, cast did more than adequate job. Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor is very effective both as grumpy savior and funny romantic. Li Bingbing, though written cliché, proves she can stand her own ground. I did enjoy also Rainn Wilson‘s performance, who very nicely plays moneybag with ulterior motives.

Summary

“The Meg” may have a horribly cliché script, but combined with Turtletaub’s direction it actually turns out to be fun to watch. And while Jason Statham trying to kill monster shark will not go into history as a memorable film, at least it is enjoyable. Until next killer shark film arrives.

The post The Meg appeared first on Kino-AZ.

Story

Three years passed since the events of “Jurassic World.” In this time the volcano became active on Isla Nublar, the location of the original and new parks, and threatens to destroy the whole island and with it the only inhabitants – dinosaurs. People have different opinions on how to act. Some argue that dinosaurs are dangerous and should be left on the island to die. Others claim that dinosaurs are live animals, and despite being artificially created deserve to be rescued.

Leading the rescue initiative efforts is Claire, ex-manager of Jurassic World. She has organized Dinosaur Protection Group, but final decision by U.S. Senate arrives that prohibits any intervention to rescue. Right then she receives a call from Benjamin Lockwood, ex-colleague of original park’s creator John Hammond. He informs that he has arranged an island for dinosaurs and needs Claire’s help locating and transferring the dinosaurs on the island. He is specifically interested in Blue – velociraptor that was raised by Claire’s ex-boyfriend, Owen.

You would think that molten lava can stop dinosaur from trying to eat Claire (Howard), right?

Writing

In most cases, the reason for a messy movie is a screenplay. But with “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” the problem lays with the main idea of the plot. The whole idea of island getting destroyed by a volcano and rush to save dinosaurs from second extinction feels forced and ridiculous at best. Apparently, a lot of people are interested in replicating genetic engineering results, but ever since Hammond designed dinosaurs over 25 years ago, no one was able to come close. But wait, they did, that’s how the second park was conceived, wasn’t it? You mean to say that all that research was completely lost and the only copy of the materials and information is on the island?

Film opens up with a short clip about a military operation trying to steal remains of Indominus Rex. No need to say that their plan goes awry. But then we will find out that this whole scene made ZERO impact on the film plotline. Essentially, director could have just cut that scene and it wouldn’t have mattered even a tiny bit. Why is it there? To open the film with something? To give us a small teaser of what “might” happen? Or just to mess with our expectations for the movie? The scene is good and intense, unlike the rest of the film.

Heroes from previous films have changed tremendously. Claire, who was a calculating and pragmatic manager of operations of whole park has apparently overnight gone hippie and now is fighting for dinosaur rights. Wasn’t she directly responsible in design of Indominus Rex and also accountable for numerous deaths and injuries to the people in the first film? Why is she not rotting in jail, instead of going around and crying about dinosaurs dying? Film wants us to believe that she is a changed person, fine, but this change is so abrupt and so not in compliance with her personality. Oh, and Owen is essentially a freaking James Bond!

Owen (Pratt) can kungfu a dinosaur

And then there is a screenplay, of course. Film consists of two parts – on and then off the island. And here is where things go stupid. Each section has it’s own villains and film divides it’s attention. “Jurassic World” concentrated on one bad dinosaur, who was a bad guy from first scene all the way to the end. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” has a bad dinosaur, but it’s only in the second part. It gets really short amount of screen time and doesn’t even make a very compelling bad guy.

Then there is an issue with Blue, the raptor. He apparently not only recognizes good from bad, but also right from wrong. In fact, he is so humanized, that eventually he seems to be the only smart being in the whole film. Overall dinosaurs and what they do seems to be super ridiculous. That includes a dinosaur who gets burned by lava but despite this still wants to kill people; some predators who in the stampede to try to escape from volcano also decide to attack other dinosaurs for no other reason but to be assholes; ex-machina dinosaur who helps heroes when they are in captivity; super killing machine who can smell anything but fails to smell people hiding in plain sight, etc.

Supporting characters are just horrible. Like in all Jurassic movies, there is a) annoying child, who deliberately tries to put itself into peril, b) nerdy comic relief guy, who is very out of touch with real life but still can hack and open every door, c) crazy old school hunter, who is there for pure sport and joy of killing a dinosaur, and d) an old man who goes “what have we done”.

I don’t want to talk about the ending. It is so dumb and irrational it made me cringe. You will have to see it for yourself to understand.

I am sure you haven’t seen T-Rex before

Directing

J.A. Bayona directed “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” And though film is just miserable clutter struggling under its own weight, Bayona at least tries to salvage what he can, but with mediocre results. Rating is PG-13, meaning lesser amount of violence and lower levels of scares. And while original films were also not big on delivering scares, there were pretty awesome in building tension. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” struggles with that. As a matter of fact, the only scare involves a child jumping out to scare her nanny. There is nothing intense in this film and when film manages to get just a little interesting, something stupid would happen and whole tension would dissipate.

Magic of the Spielberg’s version was in the reveal of dinosaurs. The brontosaurus walking into the light, T-rex not showing up to eat the goat, raptors who destroy the cow. This is what made “Jurassic Park” a freaking miracle. Here there is absolutely no magic with the dinosaur reveals. No cinematography tricks, no editing magic. It is as plain as it can get.

Acting

Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt reprise their roles as Claire and Owen, respectively. I did enjoy Howard in “Jurassic World”, she really filled the role of uptight managerial figure with her performance. In “Fallen Kingdom” she feels very out of place playing a romantic animal-rights fighter. So does Chris Pratt. In “Jurassic World” he was a practical and strong every-man-Joe, who hated bureaucracy and politics. In this film he also apparently possesses James Bond-like powers to kick everyone’s ass and also do some Ethan Hunt “Mission: Impossible” level tricks.

Rest of cast is blah. Justice Smith plays nerdy-goofy-geeky-hipster-hacker, who is annoying and zero funny. Daniella Pineda is another hipster zoologist (“paleoveterinary” I think she said?) who is supposed to be badass but is just plain as hell. Film also manages to successfully waste talents of amazing actors Toby Jones and James Cromwell. And there is also Jeff Goldblum, who has literally more screen time in the trailer than the whole movie.

Summary

“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” has stupid plot, ridiculous story arcs, uncharacteristic heroes, wasteful supporting characters, irrational decisions, illogical consequences, and plain dumb ending. How this film remains to be even mildly entertaining, I can only attribute to the director. But there is only so much you can do to save the day…

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Story

Guy Montag is a Master Trooper. He burns. Books, films, music. Everything that is not on 9 – a futuristic version of government-controlled internet. His boss, chief fireman Captain Beatty reminds him constantly that books, fondly called “graffiti” by the government, is evil. People who spread “graffiti” are called Eels and are constantly hunted by firemen, just like Montag. Then one day, based on a tip, they stumble upon an old woman who has a whole room filled with books. Montag has never seen so many books in his life. Beatty tells him this is probably last time they will ever witness a view like this. They gather books and get ready to burn them. But before they can do it old woman sets her books and herself on fire. Montag is shaken. How could she kill herself over just a bunch of books? And he starts asking questions.

Writing

Ramin Bahrani adapted and directed “Fahrenheit 451”. His characters live is dystopian future, which is rather not so subtly based on our present. Guy Montag is a child of propaganda. He says what he is told to say. He acts however his superiors want him to act. Have to give credit here, his character is totally believable. His boss, captain Beatty is an epitome of Big Brother, that wants you to do everything without asking questions. Books are bad. He embraces that. “Why ask two questions, when they are contradicting each other?” he asks. Beatty is a character that understands that system is flawed, yet he believes in it and is ready to do anything for it.

Montag (Jordan) burns!

In the beginning, Montag worships Beatty. After all, Beatty raised him. Single-handedly selected him to be in the firemen program and nurtured him to be his successor. But maybe he raised him too well? Seeing woman burn herself creates a huge gap in Montag’s mind. Why did she do it? Are the books worth it? Why burn yourself for bunch of paper with ink on it? This is completely incomprehensible to Montag’s perception and that pushes him to explore, to know, to experience this all on his own. Wasn’t he just a product of the propaganda who deliberately wanted him to be the opposite?

What I didn’t like was overall the third act. It felt first of all weird, inconsistent with the whole film. The ending was rushed and, in my opinion, lacked emotional context to it. I also didn’t like several supporting characters. Unlike Montag and Beatty they felt unreal.

Directing

Bahrani uses several things to make this film interesting. Firstly, there is a weird “big brother watches you” version of Alexa that monitors everyone’s activity. You can’t hide from it no matter what you do. Secondly, I liked how Bahrani showed us the internal struggle of Captain Beatty with his own questions, that he masterfully pushes deep inside. Though Montag is our main hero, but by giving some focus to Beatty character, director gives us something else to think about. Thirdly, it was uncanny how much “future” looks like now. In the best tradition of “Black Mirror,” everywhere there are big screens with “live stories” and people liking/commenting in real-time to the events. For them it is all about reality show.

Again, my biggest issue was with the pacing of the third act. While first two were paced slow, with increasing tension, third act was rushed and raw.

Beatty (Shannon) shows Montag (Jordan) the dangers of books

Acting

Michael B. Jordan plays Guy Montag. Just like his character Killmonger in “Black Panther,” Jordan gives us strong, propagandist version of Montag with precision and determination. But more than that, he is also able to provide emotional and nearly heartfelt performance whenever Montag seeks answers to his questions. Michael Shannon as Captain Beatty is a wander to watch. This role is made for him. And I now he has been typecast so many times into this role of ruthless and borderline maniacal supervisor. But Shannon never backs out from it. Instead he doubles down and delivers films best performance. Sofia Boutella stars as renegade Clarisse, but film doesn’t give her much to work with and never offers her enough time to do anything with her character.

Summary

Despite having its own share of flaws, film is a very interesting watch. Complex social commentary sticks out a lot, but director proves that even though half a century passed since Ray Bradbury wrote his book, “Fahrenheit 451” is still a valid cautionary tale of what might happen to us as a humanity.

The post Fahrenheit 451 appeared first on Kino-AZ.

Story

Several years after events of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” Caesar and his fellow intelligent apes are hiding in the forest. They still try to maintain peaceful relationship with humans, but it is getting more and more difficult. There are not many humans around, and most of the humans alive are military groups. One of these military groups finally stumbles upon Caesar’s hideout. They are led by mysterious Colonel, who commandeers his troupes to eradicate as much monkey as they can. His troupes are not all human – there are some apes (who they call donkeys) who are also under his command. They are followers of human-hating Koba, Caesar’s friend whom he killed. Colonel’s men ambush apes, but through heavy losses apes are able to fend off the attack. Caesar releases remaining soldiers alive, trying to send a piece offering. But later that night Colonel himself comes back and kills Caesar’s wife and son. Caesar understands that while Colonel is alive, apes are never going to be safe. So, he sets out to deal with Colonel once and for all.

Colonel (Harrelson)

Writing

In “War for the Planet of the Apes” Caesar has matured. All he is worried right now is taking his tribe outside the world they are living in. Koba who succumbed to his hatred and betrayed Caesar might be dead, but he is chasing Caesar in his dreams. He is always present, despite Caesar trying to put that behind. He feels personal guilt of letting Koba down. Of letting him become the monster. This internal struggle pushes Caesar to do something he has never done before. And with the progression of the film Caesar not only gets to understand Koba but realize that unfortunately he is not that much different from him.

Main catalyst of that is the plot. The humans around him are getting more and more crazy and apotheosis of that is Colonel. He is everything the Caesar tries not to become. Colonel is brutal, methodical, charismatic, unnerving, primal, and just insane. He is an incredible well-written villain. His

Colonel’s army is ready to greet him

persona is directly taken from Colonel Kurtz from “Apocalypse Now” (just noticed both are colonels, actually). But he is not the character immortalized by Marlon Brando. Our Colonel is somebody that Kurtz was before Captain Willard finds him. He is the version of Kurtz that Willard was reading about in his “dossier”.

In that we know of Colonel’s fate. We know how he will end. He also knows that. His soldiers are following him with NAZI devotion and totally ready to act on his single nod. His motivation to act according to his plan is beyond solid. And when finally, he gets to talk to Caesar, Caesar also totally understands him. To the point that it makes Caesar – the ape who started the revolution, who led his fellow apes through hell, who had to kill many, both enemies and his own friends – scared. Caesar understands he is dealing with someone beyond salvation. And he understands that he needs to escape before it is too late.

Caesar (Serkis) is trying to chase Colonel (Harrelson)

Directing

Matt Reeves returned from “Dawn” to do “War for the Planet of the Apes”. But this time he had complete independence on the project and he approached film with 100% dedication. He concentrates on Caesar and his struggle to become a leader that apes need so much now. Every shot, every scene is in direct correlation to what is happening to Caesar. Even when showing the other characters, their actions are in direct parallels of what would affect Caesar and his plotline. This dynamic works great, but unfortunately makes film very long and at times very slow.

Furthermore, Reeves achieves to show apes as the only sympathetic creatures and for the first time we want for humans to lose it. It is a tremendous accomplishment on its own, but at the same time alarming. By humanizing Caesar, we basically are pushed to accept humans as a dying race. How dangerous can that be to lose the faith and hope in your own kind and accept the apes as people to take over the World?

Caesar (Serkis) realizes what he needs to do

Acting

Andy Serkis reprises his role as Caesar in “War for the Planet of the Apes.” He has aged both physically and mentally. He is no longer that energetic, visionary monkey he was in two previous installments. Serkis takes this version of Caesar on another level. Woody Harrelson plays Colonel and is totally on par with Serkis to create a mesmerizing character. Just like in “Seven Psychopaths”, sometimes I just wonder how much Harrelson acts and how much he is just playing himself. His portrayal makes Colonel a worthy opponent to Caesar and once again reiterates that well-written villain is sometimes what is needed to make the hero great.

Summary

“War for the Planet of the Apes” is an amazing example of how project can be if director has maximum control over it. Well-written plot and amazing villain makes this film very intriguing watch. Despite being a sequel, plot involves evolution and development of the character of Caesar, and not just carries same qualities from previous films. Amazing performances by Serkis and Harrelson makes the duo one of the best on screen pairing of last year. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the film, it seems very long and at times way slower than I thought would be appropriate. And, it is the first film that made me completely root against humans.

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Story

Space ship is crash landing. Sitting in the hub, trying to subdue their anxiety are members of Robinson family. They know that computer will take care of landing, so all they can do is just sit tight and play cards. They were on the way to Alpha Centauri aboard mothership Resolute to establish a colony. And now they don’t know what happened and why are they crash landing. We will soon learn that they were handpicked to be on the ship. Despite being a family, each one of them had to pass a rigorous test to fill the needed position on the ship: Maureen Robinson is mission commander. Her husband John is mission pilot and ex-military. Their daughters: Judy is doctor and Penny is mechanic. Their youngest is 11-year-old brilliant engineer Will.

Landing is not soft at all. Their ship lands on what seems to be an ice mountain, triggering avalanches and ice movement. They don’t know where they are, planet seems totally unfamiliar and yet has breathable air. Space ship starts sinking so they had to abandon it immediately. While trying to recover batteries from the sunken ship, Judy gets stuck in the immediately freezing waters. Family needs to act fast to free her out. At this point they don’t care that apparently the reason they crashed was because their mother ship was attacked by an alien robot, that surprisingly also crashed on the same planet. In fact, not so far from the Robinsons. And that robot might not be the most dangerous thing that survived the crash landing.

Jupiter 2 crashing to the planet

Structure

In the best tradition of Netflix series, season 1 of “Lost in Space” is also 10 episodes long. And the way it is structured might seem pretty weird. First couple of episodes play out like a survival video game. Go there, gather this, travel back, click here, do that. And repeat through different quests. Then the show makes a wild turn and totally abandons that idea and becomes family drama. Last two episodes becomes an action piece.

What I did enjoy is that each family member was given an independent backstory. Series pick us up from the crash moment, but there are flashbacks to what happened almost through whole season, even up to the last episode. These flashbacks basically answer most of the questions we have and help understand motivations behind each character’s action. There is a certain family drama. Maureen and John are on the brink of divorce, the only thing keeping them together is their children. I enjoyed their story arc, it gave them more emotional context to operate in. Maureen seems to be strong and independent, after all she is not only an accomplished scientist, but also managed to raise three children, while John was constantly away on military deployment. John knows literally nothing about his children. He understands and regrets that and tries to do everything to connect with them.

Children also have their skeletons in the closet. Judy, despite looking tough and agile like her mother, is still green and still needs a push to overcome her fears of being independent. Penny is a teenager, who no one listens to and who desperately wants her own space. And maybe a little faith from her parents. Will is a brilliant kid, but totally lacks social life. He has no friends and is in desperate need of father figure he missed so much. All these conflicts and their resolution is the backbone of the whole series.

Maureen (Parker) and John (Stephens) trying to figure out how lost they are

Style

While emotional conflicts between the characters carries “Lost in Space” it is that these exact conflicts that create most of the problems through the series. Characters constantly are trying to talk to each other, explain their feelings, or vice versa not tell anything because they are afraid how the other party will react to that. This turns otherwise potentially fun premise into an emotional rut. You will be surprised how much plot progresses because at some point children decide to withhold information from their parents. And for no apparent reason! Also, emotional state of several

members of the family leads to almost a disaster that could have been easily avoided.

As I mentioned above, episodes 3 to 8 are extremely slow. There is a lot happening, but everything is done with such slow pace that I wanted to give up watching the show. There were several cliffhangers throughout, that were never resolved or resolution extended to be the whole new story arc that didn’t lead anywhere. Like fuel recovery mission. Feels like it was written to fill the gaps and have an extra episode for nothing.

Unnamed planet looks like Earth, somehow

Other issue I had was with locale. The planet, at first seemed totally alien-like and full of danger. It turns out the planet is not that different, neither physically or visually from Earth. I mean, you can’t just add couple of moons and some weird insects/bats/hippos and call it an alien planet! Do some things to it goddamit! This is not 60’s, you can make ANYTHING with some CGI and whatnot. Otherwise it pretty much looks like a postcard view from Canada, Alaska or Iceland.

Series also has an identity crisis in terms of audience selection. For the whole run of season 1 “Lost in Space” juggles between being a kid-friendly space adventure to adult oriented survival and drama. There is certain emotional depth to it, so series is either too dark for kids or too lame for adults. Not sure why Netflix chose to do it. Totally messes the whole experience.

Acting

There is nothing much I can say about acting in “Lost in Space”. The actors do their job, but it is surprisingly the actors who play the children – Taylor Russell (Judy), Mina Sundwall (Penny) and Maxwell Jenkins (Will) who really shine. Firstly, I have to compliment acting department, they literally chose child actors who look like their on-screen parents. I even had to google if Mina Sundwall was an actual daughter of Molly Parker or not. Second, they are probably the sincerest actors in the film. Judy is strong and independent young woman who is just on first steps of her life path. Russell shows deep internal struggle, yet externally is determined and in complete control.

Children (Jenkins, Sundwall and Russell) teaching robot

Penny is a teenager who just wants to live her life. She wants for everyone to stop treating her like a kid and is the only one who completely misses her old life on Earth. Sundwall is able to portray her not as a moody princess, but as a girl who just wants to have a life of a teenager. She wants to fall in love and be loved. Will is young kid who needs a friend. Not a father, but just a friend. Someone he can talk to and share his thoughts. Although I found his character annoying, I did enjoy how Jenkins was able to show everything that was requested of him.

That I can’t say about the villain, Dr.Smith, played by Parker Posey. She was supposed to be a psychopath manipulator, which requires constant shift in her performance. Unfortunately, Posey can’t deliver that wide spectrum of emotions. Her manipulative version was good. She felt genuine. But whenever we see her true self, it just seems fake. And that ruins the whole picture.

Summary

“Lost in Space” has an interesting premise. Season starts as a survival, but then turns into a family drama and ends with action. These shifts are not subtle, especially drama stage seemed totally slow and at times incredibly dull. Season had 10 episodes, and believe there is enough ground to cover for 10 episodes, yet some of the episodes have been poorly structured. Emotional backstory to the Robinson family was a nice addition and made heroes really relatable, however most of the plot is dragged because of the inability of characters to resolve their issues. On top of that, the villain was not written/executed well.

The post Lost In Space – Season 1 appeared first on Kino-AZ.

Story

End of 24th century. Takeshi Kovacs wakes up after 250-year-long “sleep” in a new body. Humanity has long defeated death by inventing “stacks” – alien-based device that is implanted into all humans recording every single thing that host does – his personality, memories, character, etc. Human body is no longer a constraint. If you die, your stack (given that it was not damaged) is just inserted into new (or previously owned) body – or “sleeve” and viola! You can run again. Or you don’t even have to die to change sleeve. If you are rich enough you can just buy yourself a new sleeve and become whoever you would like to be.

Before he was put to sleep – “iced” – Takeshi was a renegade revolutionary with extremely deadly set of battle skills. 250 year has changed a lot and he soon realizes that everything he fought against during his life has now become a reality. But he doesn’t have much time to enjoy his new body. He is informed that he has been awakened by mega-rich businessman Laurens Bancroft. He needs Kovacs’ help. See, weeks ago Laurens was murdered. He has been restored to his old backup and has no recollection, of course, of what happened to him. Everything leads to conclusion that he killed himself. But Laurens, who has been living for 300 years, will not accept the fact that he would just end his life. Takeshi needs to find his murderer. And then he will be free.

Kovacs (Kinnaman) gets instructions from Bancroft (Purefoy)

To complicate things, Kovacs pretty soon realizes that a lot of weird things are happening. Firstly, police detective Kristin Ortega has 24/7 surveillance on him. Second, he immediately attracts attention of some high-level criminals. Third, he realizes that the body he has now has belonged to someone who had his own share of enemies. And lastly that Laurens has extremely deep secrets. After all, you can’t just avoid death and not proclaim yourself a God.

Structure

First season of “Altered Carbon” is 10 episodes long. Series starts literally as classic film noir. Character has hateful monologues about reality and what not, there is a “damsel in distress,” soon Kovacs finds a sidekick, in a form of AI hotel proprietor. Somewhere around episode 4 show slowly takes a turn into more of action-fantasy genre. Kovacs’ investigation takes him to investigate various underground gambling, fighting and prostitution dens. Series really slows down somewhere by episode 6, unfortunately. There are multiple twists that basically put Kovacs on completely different track from his main investigation. Of course, it all is tied together in the end and season finishes with strong comeback and offers an ending that will not disappoint.

Kovacs (Kinnaman) punches his way out of zero gravity fight club

There is a lot of social commentary. Series is full with philosophical discussion on what is soul and why should we avoid death. I liked how the world was setup – although the technology to replace bodies exists only the richest of them all can afford it. Regular people still struggle as they used to do before. Yes, if you die you get a new body, but this body can be anyone’s. Early in the first episode we see six-year-old girl, who has died in accident, given a body of older woman. You should have paid, they tell her parents. There is also religious people, called Neo-Catholics who refuse to be revived when they die. Police though has permission to bring back to life criminals for interrogation or victims to testify in court. This world is so rich and

very vivid, it almost makes total sense.

Style

“Altered Carbon” stylistically resembles Blade Runner in every single aspect. Neon lights, rain and gloomy scenes make dirty city even dirtier. But unlike another Netflix crap called Mute, “Altered Carbon” offers totally immersive world. Virtual reality and AI simulation plays a big part, which somewhat give series a new edge. Also I really enjoyed the action scenes through the series. I have double feelings about is Kovacs’ backstory. Directors intentionally withhold information, thus artificially moving plot forward. Up until episode 4, we are given almost no clue about who he was and what he has done and then suddenly there is almost 2 episodes devoted to his past.

Kovacs (Kinnaman) holds his body hostage

If I say that “Altered Carbon” has a lot of nudity, it would be an understatement. There is just a LOT of it. Mind, it is not more than Westworld and definitely less than Spartacus, but you will be surprised how many naked female bodies are there. One scene involves a fight with a dozen of totally nude clones. People are complaining that it is distracting. I don’t think it was distracting a bit, but then again even without nudity the series would have lost anything. It was just at times redundant, that’s all I am saying.

Acting

I have to give it to producers for a bold statement. “Altered Carbon” doesn’t have any A-list actors. Instead the cast is relatively unknown. Surprisingly they all deliver very precise performances. Joel Kinnaman plays new Kovacs and he is strong, cynical, sarcastic, unbending, and smart. James Purefoy is Laurens Bancroft and he is a total charmer as gazillionaire with God complex. I specifically liked the casting of Martha Higareda as

Martha Higareda kicks ass as detective Ortega

detective Kristin Ortega. She has short, dark complexion with curvy figure and is visually total opposite of basically every single female actress on the show. Higareda completely owns her part. She is strong, independent woman, who will not stop until she reaches the bottom of it. Since Kovacs is cynical and unemphatic, Ortega offers us a moral beacon for the most part of the season. Also I will mention Dichen Lehman and Ato Essandoh. Both deliver solid performances that require emotional investment.

Summary

“Altered Carbon” starts very strong, offers immersive world, interesting story and worthy heroes. Unfortunately pacing slows down drastically towards the middle and diverges from main storyline. But it is able to recover towards the end and deliver satisfying ending. Looking forward for Season 2.

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Story

In year 2045, after economic collapse, climate change, overall anarchy, etc. billions of people connect to OASIS. It is the virtual reality system that has been created by famous inventor James Halliday. People go to school, work, play, dream, study, dance in OASIS. They live in OASIS. See, there is nothing to stop your imagination in OASIS, you can be anyone or anything! And while World has embraced the idea and joined the online community, this also made it’s creator and sole owner, James Halliday, a trillionaire. But he passes away in 2040. In his will, Halliday reveals the he has apparently hidden a secret object, an Easter Egg, somewhere in the endless locations of OASIS. He who finds the Easter Egg will inherit the fortunes and also will own the OASIS. And so the hunt begins.

Or so it seems. Because to get to Easter Egg, one must find three keys. And for 5 years since the death of Halliday no one is able to even find the first one. Everyone knows that Halliday was a big nerd and was obsessed with pop culture of 80’s and 90’s. So nowadays what most of the users do is rewatch old movies, TV shows, play old video games, read old books over and over and over to figure out the clue to find the first key. And so does young Wade Watts. He lives in slums of Ohio and goes by the name of Parzival in OASIS. Suddenly, with the help of his best friend he never seen in real life, called AECH and mysterious blogger Art3mis, he has a breakthrough and is able to get to first key. Overnight Parzival becomes a celebrity. And he attracts attention of corporation called IOI, who wants to find the Egg in order to own the whole OASIS. And so the race begins.

Writing

Sreenplay borrows heavily from the book, since the screenwriter is the writer of “Ready Player One” Ernest Cline himself. That being said, there are numerous differences made to the story, mostly to contain the runtime within manageable film length. Also there were changes to the key challenges. They are made more cinematic and visual. Characters no longer have to play some old Arcade game for hours like in the book or lip sync “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” to get to the keys. Instead there are equally amazing new sequences and challenges that will surprise you.

Parzival (Sheridan) and Aech (Waithe) explore OASIS

That being said, character development has suffered tremendously. When the book had Wade as complete nobody who suddenly becomes famous there is a big arc relating to changes in Wade’s personality and his realization of commercialization of whole OASIS. Film doesn’t offer anything to explore that. Also romantic subplot with Art3mis was in my opinion very cliche and too fast. Her character seemed really one-dimensional in the film. So did all supporting characters, actually. Which is really uncharacteristic of Spielberg. I am sure given that film was pushing 2.5 hours already, this was an artistic choice that he made.

Directing

Taking account that 75% of the film happens in OASIS, it is mind-blowing how intricate the World has been made. The opening car race sequence will literally make your jaw drop. And Spielberg goes all in, cashing on his inner teenager, while creating this super engaging and thrilling sequences.  After so many years of period dramas, you would think he has forgotten how to make action enjoyable. After watching the film, I exclaimed “Wow! He still got it!” And interestingly, despite all the madness of color and explosions on the screen, action scenes never lose coherence and never bore you down. Spielberg also utilizes his famous fast/slow sequence alteration throughout the film, as usual, masterfully. Fast scenes are not too much, and slow scenes don’t make you yawn.

Art3mis (Cooke) on Akira’s bike cruises past IOI employees

Also it is visible how much actually Spielberg is loving making “Ready Player One”. Since the film is built on pop culture, he gives us EVERYTHING related to 80’s and 90’s. And by everything I mean, characters from Street Fighter, Alien, Mortal Kombat, Iron Giant, Chucky, Freddy Krueger, Duke Nukem, DOOM, Tomb Raider, Overwatch. Characters drive DeLorean, Christine and Akira’s motorbike. There are so many movie, TV shows, cartoon, comic book, video game, board game, toy line, book references that it will make you go “OHMYGOD! That’s freaking Alien bursting from the chest of Goro!” Unfortunately this abundance of pop culture references is so much, that it might drag you down, honestly, because at some point I caught myself trying to catch a glimpse of Halo soldier fighting with Ninja Turtle, than actually paying attention to the movie.

Spielberg also addresses his own nerd self and pays homage to his own heroes. There is T-Rex, taken directly from the “Jurassic Park” and also King Kong on Empire State Building (1933 film is one of his most beloved ones). He also pays tribute to his late friend and mentor Stanley Kubrick with whole “The Shining” sequence (which was, by the was amazing!). Surprisingly missing from all this action are Star Wars characters. Apparently Spielberg couldn’t get permission from Disney to use them.

Acting

Halliday (Rylance) explains Parzival (Sheridan) what OASIS really is

Tye Sheridan plays Wade Watts. His performance is solid in live action and also in CGI, through motion capture. His character is goofy enough and at the same time is very relatable. Olivia Cooke plays mysterious Art3mis. Unlike her weird role in “Thoroughbreds“, here she shows her emotional side to full extent. Strong and outspoken as her virtual self, awkward and vulnerable in real life. She and Tye share very nice screen chemistry, both in CGI and live action. Ben Mendelsohn plays main villain Nolan Sorrento, CEO of IOI. He is good, but it is virtually same role he plays in “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Rogue One”. Mark Rylance delivers outstanding performance as late trillionaire James Halliday. He is nerdy, awkward, shy, and at the same time delivers the biggest emotional performance of “Ready Player One”.

People of future live in slums called The Stacks

Visuals

The world of OASIS is all CGI with motion capture of the characters faces and actions. While real life is dirty and gritty, OASIS is complete opposite – radiant and cheerful. No wonder people don’t want to leave OASIS. At the same time, Spielberg goes a big way to make you understand the OASIS is not real. Despite how good and nice it looks, there are still some pixelization and meshing on the characters, specifically done to increase this “fake” effect. Visually “Ready Player One” has one of the best CGI effects I have seen in recent. Spielberg bets a lot on that and he wins it all. Some CGI sequences will shock you with detail and complexity.

Summary

Visually outstanding “Ready Player One” marks return of Steven Spielberg to action/sci-fi genre. Being one of his best films in more than decade, it shows that great director still got it. I hope he continues this trend and gives us more of this.

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Story

10 years passed since the heroic actions of Marshal Stacker Pentecost closed the Breach between the worlds. And since the war is over, his son, Jake, lives a careless and illegal life ravaging old kaiju and jaeger parts and selling them on the black market. While trying to find a highly priced capacitor he runs into young girl, Amara, who steals it before Jake can. Jake is surprised to see she is using it to build her own mini-jaeger. Right at that moment they get arrested. Defense Corps are interested in Amara’s talents and put her into jaeger pilot training program. Jake is given an ultimatum. Either to enlist back as a jaeger trainer (position he apparently abandoned years ago) or go to jail.

Even though he has to endure the presence of his ex-friend Nate, Jake figures it is better than going to jail. He returns to base. Coincidentally they both are summoned to be present on the latest Defense Corps conference where his adopted sister Mako will be makin a speech on drone program. Just as the conference is about to begin though a rogue jaeger appears out of the nowhere and starts shooting at them. Jake and Nate have to set their differences aside and drift together one more time to save the World.

Jaeger about to whip Kaiju

Writing

The magic of the first film lied deeply in the writing. Although all the characters were cliche, they each had an extra dimension to them. There was a lot of backstory to their personalities and by the end of the film we were able to connect to all of them and feel their emotions. There was also very well written details that dwelt into kaiju world, human interactions, science fiction. These minor details elevated the film from “robots punching monsters” to an acceptable level. “Pacific Rim Uprising” doesn’t have that, unfortunately. And it is all despite the fact that all the main cast is new, the world is changed, there is new technology available, etc. There is supposed to be backstory for all these, but we never get it.

For me, I wanted to find out more about supporting characters. Film defines (very partially) only Jake and (in one weird flashback) Amara. But think about the sequence of Mako walking with shoe in her hand in the original movie. How emotional and strong that one single sequence was. Del Toro managed in 5 minutes give us more emotions and understanding than the whole 111 minutes of the sequel. And to emphasize how big that scene was – it is the only scene that my wife (who hated the first film, by the way) remembers at all. “Oh that film with the girl and her shoe?”. Yeap, that’s the one, honey.

Another new Jaeger design

Then again, people didn’t come to see emotions. They came to see robots punch monsters and monsters tear robots apart. All this movie has to do is be better than “Transformers”. In that perspective film achieves more than it signs up for. There are numerous laughs, including Jake and Amara, Jake and Nate and pretty much everything Charlie Day’s character says. For what it’s worth, I have to give credit to screenwriters to avoiding one single cliche – there is almost no romantic plotline involved. The first film did it masterfully, instead of making heroes fall in love with each other, it made them complete one another. And so does “Pacific Rim Uprising.”

Directing

“Pacific Rim Uprising” is another example of how a first-time director can deliver a good product. Steven DeKnight (known as creator of TV show “Spartacus”) does a very decent job with this caliber of a movie. Not only he does a coherent sequel to Del Toro’s film, he also does it in his own style. Neon-light and rain induced fight sequences of the first film are replaced with bright and sunny versions, and in my opinion it works better. I enjoyed Del Toro’s choice of setting, it gave more artsy look to it, but to be honest it was at times incoherent and too dark. By bringing the robots and monsters to sunlight DeKnight manages to give us a new perspective. No longer you have to guess who punched whom and what kind of damage is done.

Another thing that DeKnight does well is he uses almost the same level of practical effects. Yes, you are watching giant robots and monster destroy cities and mountains and military bases. We don’t need to be reminded how much CGI goes in there. But the actors are also put into practical sets as much as possible with as little green screen as needed. This gives it way more authenticity. Action sequences are enjoyable. DeKnight uses several strategical slow motion shots, which also compliment the visuals. Overall flow of the film is lighter and it also reflects in the amount of comedy elements.

Jake (Boyega) and Nate (Eastwood) rushing for the mission

Acting

Movie gives our main hero played by John Boyega everything that “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” didn’t. And though he is still same kid from “Attack the Block“, you can see his evolution as an actor. He is complete opposite of self-righteous Raleigh in the first film and it is very fun to watch him. He plays cocky, arrogant, sarcastic and self-centered character who deep inside knows what is expected of him, but always fights against it. I was pleasantly surprised how he could deliver funny one-liners and jokes with a straight face. Scott Eastwood plays Nate, his friend from old times, and he is basically reincarnation of Raleigh. And while he is also good, he can’t deliver that sincere I-am-struggling-under-the-weight-of-the-World look that Charlie Hunnam did in the first film. Nevertheless their pair are fun to watch on screen together.

Same goes with Boyega and newcomer Cailee Spaeny, who plays young Amara. I loved how she plays a little sister to Boyega’s character and also their interaction with each other. Charlie Day and Burn Gorman reprise their roles from the first film. Despite Boyega’s amazing performance they both steal the show. Their characters are made quirkier and weirder and actors totally embrace it. Literally everything Charlie Day says will make you laugh. Every time Gorman shows up on the screen you go “Wait, didn’t this guy play murderer in Game of Thrones and mafioso in Dark Knight Rises?!”

Summary

“Pacific Rim Uprising” is a well made “steroid” sequel. If you enjoyed first film you will not be disappointed. Conversely, if the first film didn’t strike you well “Pacific Rim Uprising” doesn’t offer anything more than that. It is a well made film for people who can appreciate occasional CGI robot vs monster fight. And even then this film lacks charm and magic of the first one.

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Story

Leo is mute. He suffered an accident in his childhood and his mother, being Amish, decided not to fix his vocal chords. But so does Leo, even though he is now all grown up, he has put himself in a “vocal exile”. He is barmen at a strip club in futuristic Berlin. He is in love with Naadireh, who is waitress at same club. Surprisingly enough she is also in love with him. Naadireh has a secret. She wants to tell it to Leo. She should tell it to Leo. But she doesn’t, because all that matters for Leo is that Naadireh is with him and he doesn’t need to know her secret, see. Then Naadireh disappears. Leo tries to look for her to no avail. Until he starts receiving weird anonymous texts.

Meanwhile, there are two underground surgeons. Cactus Bill and Duck are their names. Cactus Bill has a six-year-old daughter and he is AWOL in Berlin. He is trying to escape Germany, but for that he has to pay his dues by working for local gangster. Duck has unhealthy obsession with little girls. That’s it.

Writing

This is the core thing that is messed up with this film. And since writing is a mess, nothing can make this film better. Mute hero (Alexander Skarsgard), designed in the likeness of a regular Liam

Leo and love of his life, Naadireh

Neeson type character gets into situation where he needs to get out of his bubble and do whatever it takes to save his love. Or so he thinks. We are supposed to root for this character, but he is so badly written that I can’t see how anyone would be on his side at all! Then there is the fact that he is not even the center of the film. Majority of the story takes place around Cactus Bill character. It is very annoying, until film tells us in the end that Leo and Bill are connected (which was not a surprise at all)

But even then it doesn’t make much sense! The whole movie literally takes place between this two. The contrast of their characters, personalities, moral values, backstories and developments is what supposed to be driving this film. Instead the resolution is awkward, fast and ridiculous. Which I think is best, because it would have made this film even longer than it is (already at almost 2 hours long). Supporting cast is even worse. Bunch of characters who we should not care appear in and out of the story at a random pace, just to have Leo go from place A to place B. There is not a single likable character in this film.

Then there is his girlfriend (Seyneb Saleh), the one that is the center (or one of the centers) of the whole film. Why Leo likes her, I have no clue. Maybe because she is the one and only person to ever speak to Leo, at all. She is supposed to see something in him, something others don’t. It is supposed to be a pure love. He is not just a mute, she sees beyond that. But from the resolution of the film we find out that she actually liked him because he IS mute, not in spite of it. So much for pure love, indeed.

Acting

Paul Rudd in Mute. No comments.

Here I must note that the half responsibility for the lack of likability falls on the actors. First, you have Aleksandr Skarsgard trying something out of his shell, but what he basically does is just sit quiet. Because he is mute, see. He walks around with the notepad, which instead of using it to communicate with others, he just doodles into. All his traits make Leo look not just mute, but mentally impaired. And this is not only my impression, even other characters in the film refer to him as a big dummy. Paul Rudd playing ridiculous character Cactus Bill looks even more ridiculous in his weird handlebar mustache and most ridiculous when he tries to act seriously. Justin Theroux who plays his “friend” Duck is a creep, even without the whole pedophile context to him. Rest of the cast is not even worth mentioning.

Directing

“Let’s just throw in bunch of neon signs and have a stupid voice do public announcements over the speakers” was the idea of giving this film a science fiction look. This is the most boring display in any sci-fi film of recent that I have ever seen. There is literally zero novelty, zero logic and zero rationale to the whole science fiction aspect of it. This makes Lord of the Rings look like the greatest sci-fi movie ever.

Then there is editing. When you have a film that is slow, you just can’t have fast cuts. It just doesn’t make sense. In this film there are literally no shots that last more than three seconds. This is

Leo (Skarsgard) watching some neon signs that represent our bright future

supposed to be a long and contemplating film, man! Not just random action BS made by Michael Bay.

Which is a shame, because director is Duncan Jones, whose previous works are acclaimed “Moon” and “Source Code“. This was apparently his pet project for a long time. Was it really? It feels like he did it just to throw off his chest.

Summary

It is clumsy, ridiculous film, that makes little sense. Badly written and directed, this film should be avoided, if possible. Another dud from Netflix, it solidifies the trend that Netflix is becoming a dump space for movies that otherwise would bomb incredibly at the box office.

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It starts

with disoriented Lena (Natalie Portman) surrounded by medical team in hazmat suits in what seems to be a military contamination room. She doesn’t know how she got there. Or what she was doing before. She thinks she has been “gone” for weeks, but she is told it has been four months. She is not sure if her teammates are dead or alive. Apparently she is only the second person in three years that went into the “Shimmer” and was able to return. See, place they call “Shimmer” is a weird exclusion zone that surround the area where an extra-terrestrial object struck the Earth. And Lena will tell her story. Story of unhappy marriage and self-destruction. Weird memory lapses and hallucinations. Mutation and evolution. Psychosis and hysteria. And maybe annihilation.

The Book

that the film is based on, they say is even weirder. Not sure, I have not read it yet. Regardless of that, story seems to be convoluted for a specific reason. First thing we learn as soon as they get into the shimmer is that none of what Lena says might actually be true, because all of her team were missing recollection of first four days (according to their calculations) in the Shimmer. What happened during that time? Does it matter anyhow? Why sudden mass memory loss? Second, Lena is lone survivor of the group (it seems). How much can she be trusted? Since we don’t have any other source to confirm her words, do we need to believe her? Third (and this is important) is Lena even a positive hero? She certainly is more complicated than your usual hero. Why should that matter to us?

It’s not first time in movie history when the sanity, morality and trustworthiness of hero is under a question. There is even a word for that, called “unreliable narrator”. But is Lena unreliable? And even if you take it at a face value, this movie tries to steer away from that. What if Lena filters what she is saying? Maybe she just truly believes her words? What movie does is that it basically ignores our need to know that. And it is a big slap for you, see, you can’t not know what is happening. You can’t take things a face value, can you?

Visually

Lena (Portman) ready to get into Shimmer

this film is easily compared to works of Tarkovsky, the master of the genre. Imagine stylistically a blend of “Solaris” and “Stalker“. Difference of Alex Garland‘s directorial work though shows up in the subtleties. The long shots are not long. Pauses are not forceful. Exposition is only visual. All the questions and answers appear in a viewers mind. Garland basically forces you to think, analyze and comprehend. Design of the film is impeccable. Insides of Shimmer will remind you of a very vibrant and weird hallucinogenic trip. From outside Shimmer looks like an oil spill on the surface of a water, with rainbow reflections and constant movements. It is visible that there is something different going on inside the Shimmer. But this colors and mutations and transformations, are they for good or bad?

I didn’t like much about “Ex Machina” (for my own reasons) of Alex Garland. That film was more story with very little showcase of directorial work. “Annihilation” vice versa, shows the ingenuity and evolution. Whereas the first two acts are slow and passive, third act is very direct and nail-biting. Creepy, probably is the best word. I was surprisingly unnerved by it. And very big kudos to Garland to be able to deliver you there. That was no easy feat, to still be able to get you on the edge of your seat after what might have seem to be very long ride.

Soundtrack has to be noted separately. I am not sure how this movie can be viewed without the amazing music score. Especially how the music follows the action and elements on the screen is something that keeps the movie flowing and being coherent, and at times even adding more uneasiness.

Expedition members are not sure what is ahead of them

Natalie Portman

is something out of this world in this film. Her unbelievably convincing portrayal of character is what keeps the movie intact, especially during slow first part of it. You can see this intricate details in a contrast of Lena’s behavior with her husband, where she is caring, emotional and optimistic, and without him, where she is cold, measuring and realistic.

I will also commend supporting cast members Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez and Oscar Isaac. Leigh specifically delivers a very cold and emotionally distant portrayal. Some would say that Isaac’s role was a blah, but I was surprised how he played that blah role. I am more used to him playing more emotional and straightforward characters.

In the end

we have a very innovative and proper sci-fi, that is bound only by it’s own nature, not by what is dictated by anyone else. And here comes the biggest issue why you, my dear friend, will not like “Annihilation”. Inadvertently or no, you will try to compare it to another sci-fi masterpiece “Arrival“, which this movie is not. I am not sure how much it was brought up during production, but “Annihilation” lacks that big, deep emotional punch in the face that “Arrival” had. With that it goes into more of a indie, arthouse territory (think “Melancholia“, maybe). It works very well for me, but does it for you?

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