As Above, So Below

Year: 2014
Genre: Horror thriller
Director: John Erick Dowdle


Plot: Six individuals explore the catacombs beneath Paris to obtain a mysterious artifact, only to find themselves trapped in the dark and discovering something very sinister down there.


The gist: Found footage flicks have been done to death at this point, with very little variation. But every now and then, one or two rare ones stand out by doing things a tad differently. This year's Unfriended is one example. As Above, So Below is another.

In this film, six individuals led by a girl named Scarlett explore the famed catacombs beneath the streets of Paris, in search of alchemist Nicolas Flamel's legendary philosopher's stone. Scarlett is hoping to finish her late father's work by successfully finding this stone. So with her claustrophobic friend, a cameraman and three French cave explorers, she goes deep into the catacombs with a map and some clues. But as expected in films like this, trouble ensues when the group gets lost in the tunnels and really strange things start happening.

John Erick Dowdle, who directed and co-wrote the film with his brother Drew, does well in keeping the film moving constantly, never letting it stall. He also seems to have done some research in making the mythical and supernatural elements in the story seem plausible. 


The good: The cast perform up to mark, especially Perdita Weeks as Scarlett, who is easy on the eye and comes off as very likable. Credit also goes to the camera guys for keeping the shaky cam effects minimal, as well as successfully capturing the claustrophobic feel of the film. I also loved how the film breaks convention by not having a horrific, depressing ending like most found footage stories.

The bad: The film does suffer from lapses of logic at times, and the old "do stupid things when trouble hits" element is still there. There was also the presence of the spooky looking girl following them that was never explained.


Verdict: As Above, So Below is a nice little surprise in the found footage genre. It's not going to rewrite the book on the genre obviously, but it's very watchable for a scare or two. (7/10) 

The Guest

Year: 2014
Genre: Action thriller
Director: Adam Wingard


Plot: A soldier claiming to be a friend of a member of a family who was killed in action during their tour, moves into their home and becomes part of the family. However, he's not quite who he claims to be.


The gist: This film actually had potential, though the plot isn't anything we haven't seen before. The story of a stranger who seems too good to be true has been done countless times before.

The story begins with a man named David, who visits the Peterson home one day and claims to be a friend of the recently deceased Caleb Peterson, and offers to help them any way they can. Soon David becomes real helpful as we'd expect: he helps beat up a gang of bullies picking on Caleb's little brother, he connects with Caleb's rebellious sister and even helps around the house too. But he's not really who they think he is, and bad things start to happen.

I enjoyed Adam Wingard's You're Next but hated A Horrible Way To Die, and for me The Guest is somewhere in between. The action and violence is very welcome but a huge amount of suspension of disbelief is required to survive the second half of the film when things start to unravel.


The good: Dan Stevens is spot on as David, being a really charming guy who seems to know how to handle any situation he gets mixed up in. Maika Monroe is great eye candy and more as Caleb's sister Anna. The scene where David beats up the bullies is my favorite part, even more than the wanton violence that comes later.

The bad: Like I said, suspension of disbelief is required in the second half, when David has to fight back when the truth is exposed. There's a special ops team involved, and God help me, I don't know why they went down the way they did. It's almost comedic in an unintentional way. My other issue is how the family, especially the parents, just trust David so easily. And David himself just keeps blowing people away, and I know they explained this part, but it sounded like a lame excuse for more carnage.


Verdict: It's decent entertainment at best. If you don't mind absence of logic, go right ahead and give The Guest a shot. (6/10)

Transcendence

Year: 2014
Genre: Sc-fi drama
Director: Wally Pfister


Plot: A dying scientist's consciousness is uploaded into a program built as the world's first A.I., but complications ensue when he surpasses expectations and becomes a threat.


The gist: I haven't had the chance to watch Lawnmower Man, which I hear this movie shares plenty of similarities with. But I can tell you that this film is a failure when it comes to keeping viewers' attention on it.

The story is as follows: a scientist who has worked on creating an A.I. program is shot with a radioactive bullet by anti-tech extremists, and he's doomed to die. His wife decides that the only way to save him is to upload his consciousness into his A.I. program. And it works, but he isn't quite who he was before. Soon he becomes omnipotent and dangerous, and damn well unstoppable.

Wally Pfister has long known to be Christopher Nolan's go-to guy for cinematography, and while he does great work behind the camera, he isn't very good here. Despite the A-list cast, Pfister can't seem to rise above the dull script in his hands.


The good: The one bright spark among the cast is Paul Bettany, the only actor who doesn't look like he's on auto-pilot on screen. Some of the visual effects look good, but there's not much else good stuff I can say about this film.

The bad: Most of the cast look so bored, especially Johnny Depp. Morgan Freeman has too little to do, Rebecca Hall tries hard but not good enough, and poor Kate Mara and Cillian Murphy are just out of their element here. Pfister also fails to create a genuine feel of suspense and the climax is almost non-existent.


Verdict: Avoid this film. Every person involved here have made better films. Go look for those. (4/10)

All Is Lost

Year: 2013
Genre: Survival thriller
Director: J.C. Chandor


Plot: A resourceful sailor struggles to survive at sea after his boat collides with a shipping container and a storm arrives soon after.


The gist: All Is Lost is a neat little survival thriller that literally pits one man against Mother Nature.

Robert Redford plays a lone man out at sea who wakes up one morning to find his boat leaking badly after it collided with a shipping container floating aimlessly. He mends the boat, but then a huge storm blows in and his survival skills are tested to the limit.

Director J.C. Chandor, who also wrote the script, successfully keeps the film going smoothly despite almost not having any dialogue. Unlike most films of the same kind, Redford's sailor does not spend time talking to himself or contemplating God, loneliness and life. He just fights against the current and strives to survive, and it works. 


The good: Redford's screen presence certainly helps here. Points are also earned by the visual effects crew and cinematographer for a job well done in realistically displaying a disaster at sea.

The bad: You might not understand some of the things Redford's character does in order to survive, especially if you've never sailed before. There are also a few slow moments here and there, but no big deal.


Verdict: A solid survival movie that you can put on your shelf next to Gravity, Buried and Frozen. (7/10)

Stonehearst Asylum

Year: 2014

Genre: Thriller

Director: Brad Anderson

Plot: Set at the turn of the 20th century, a young doctor arrives at a mysterious asylum looking for clinical experience but finds that nothing is what it seems.

The gist: Stonehearst Asylum turned out to be one quiet little thriller that flew under most people's radar.

The film follows one Dr Edward Newgate, who arrives at the mysterious asylum looking to practise psychiatry, only to discover that things there are far from what he expected. He takes a particular interest in Eliza Graves, one of the patients there, but has trouble in gaining her trust, while the other staff begin to look at him the wrong way.

Director Brad Anderson seems to excel at coming up with low key films that have great potential like The Machinist and Vanishing on 7th Street. For this film he succeeds in keeping the pace brisk and the story engaging enough right up to its final twist.


The good: Ben Kingsley excels once again at playing a sinister mental doctor here after Shutter Island. Jim Sturgess and Kate Beckinsale are convincing enough in the lead roles though they lack chemistry. The many twists and turns especially in the final third of the film is its main trump card.

The bad: Michael Caine is severely underused here but he owns every moment of his screen time. Same goes for Brendan Gleeson. There's also a character played by Sophie Kennedy Clark that is eliminated rather clumsily, which is baffling as it makes almost no impact to the plot.


Verdict: Stonehearst Asylum is a nice little surprise that deserves one watch, especially if you like films with a twist. (7/10) 

Killing Season

Year: 2013
Genre: Action thriller
Director: Mark Steven Johnson


Plot: Two former soldiers, one Serbian and one American, wage war against each other in the forest.


The gist: With the pairing of John Travolta and Robert De Niro, what could go wrong? Well, a lot apparently.

The story is as basic as it gets: a Serbian soldier goes to the States to find an American soldier who had shot him during the Serbian war many years ago, but failed to kill him. The two men then play a game of cat and mouse, each of them taking turns becoming the aggressor and the target.

The film has its moments, but it never quite rises above its made-for-TV movie quality.


The good: A couple of torture scenes come off looking solid enough, which involve arrows, a string through a leg and even waterboarding. The scenery was well filmed by DP Peter Menzies Jr.

The bad: De Niro sports an inconsistent Southern accent, while Travolta exaggerates his Serbian accent. The film, while mercifully short, takes too much time to get going as we have to watch the duo talk about their personal lives while listening to Johnny Cash. Their dispute also ends rather meekly, which is the ultimate disappointment.


Verdict: With the kind of calibre involved, one would expect a classic, but no such luck here. There's not enough action or thrills here for it to qualify as an action thriller. Skip this. (5/10)

Beautiful Creatures

Year: 2013
Genre: Romantic fantasy
Director: Richard LaGravenese


Plot: In the deep south, a boy longing to escape his little town falls in love with an outcast girl with strange powers. 


The gist: The comparisons to Twilight are unavoidable. Two good looking youths fall in love, both outcasts in their own way, one of them has a huge secret, and their love will be put to the test etc. Now, I'm one of those people that actually appreciated Twilight more than most, so it's probably because of that, I found Beautiful Creatures to be charming in its own way.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not partial on these kinds of films. Sometimes they can suck too. Mortal Instruments is a fine example of this. But I have to say, Beautiful Creatures manages to entertain more often than not despite its imperfections.

The story follows Ethan Wate, a kid in the south who meets a girl that seems to appear in his dreams often. Her name is Lena Duchannes and she is a caster, which is a nicer way of calling her a witch. They fall in love despite resistance from the townsfolk and her uncle Macon. On her upcoming 16th birthday, her destiny of either being chosen by the light or the darkness will be revealed. The chances of her going to the darkness is higher if she stays with Ethan, so says Macon. So what's gonna happen?


The good: Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert work well together on screen. Their portrayal of Ethan and Lena are quite convincing. Ehrenreich in particular deserves some points for giving his character the right level of humour and awkwardness. Viola Davis is also solid in her role as Ethan's guardian. The deep south setting as well as the filmmakers' move to not take things so seriously (unlike Twilight) also works in its favour.

The bad: Emma Thompson is badly miscast as the townsfolk's spokesperson on spreading hate towards Lena and her uncle, and as Lena's mother Sarafine when possessed. I can see she put in a ton of effort, but she's just not right for the role at all. Jeremy Irons' southern accent is also rather shaky and Emmy Rossum doesn't get enough screen time as Lena's bitchy cousin Ridley.


Verdict: It's really not as bad as it looks. Forget the Twilight comparisons and lukewarm box office takings. If you like love stories with some charm and magic, this is worth a shot. (7/10)