Doom: The Rock As You Have Never Seen Him Before

Doom is a science fiction action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, serving as a live action adaptation of the classic video game series of the same name. The plot sees a group of soldiers sent on a rescue mission to mars, however once they arrive they are forced to do battle with genetically engineered monsters.

So, this film is used as the poster child for bad video game to film adaptations, however, after watching it I can see a rough sort of charm to it and I don’t think this film is as bad as it has been made out to be by any means. I remember watching this film when I was young, my parents put it on one Halloween night, and before rewatching it for this review that was my only exposure to the film.

I easily think the best sequence in the film is the first person shoot out rampage towards the end of the film. Not only does it look somewhat like the games, which is nice as a point of homage, but also it is just cool to see first person action Hardcore Henry proved my point without a shadow of a doubt and it remains the case here.

Moreover, the performances from Karl Urban, The Rock and Rosamund Pike are all quite good, will any of them win awards for their roles? No they won’t. Though they are good enough to get you lost in the world of the film and its characters.

Overall, maybe I have a soft spot for this film because I am a fan of the games, but I do think that it is a lot of dumb fun and action movie cheese which makes it enjoyable. It is the best video game adaptation no it is not, but it is a good time.

Pros.

The first-person sequence

The acting though not great is good for a video game movie

The world

The creatures themselves

Cons.

None of it made sense

The effects are laughably bad

It is not really related to the games in anyway

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Possessor: A Very Different 2008 To The One I Remember

Possessor is a science fiction horror film directed by Brandon Cronenberg. The plot imagines a different 2008 wherein people have the technology to project their consciousness into your brain through and implant thereby taking over control of your body and forcing it to abide by their will. This technology is often used by high profile assassins.

This film felt like a feature length Black Mirror episode and I am not saying that as an inherent criticism, rather a note on the tone and generally aesthetic.

I will give this film props for its visuals and its concept, both were deeply unnerving in both a very real way and also in more of an existential way. The premise of the film itself is so deeply fascinating that you can’t help but think about it once the film has ended. There are sights within this film that you will not see anywhere else within the genre, such is its creativity: one of these shots is the opening when they are putting in one of the implants and it is visceral and sickening and honestly quite frightening when considering the implications.

The performances were all very strong, and I enjoyed the notion of how much of your own actions are really you if you are facing off against someone else’s consciousness. A lot of the things in this film are deep and wider reaching then your standard horror themes, and as such this might not be for everyone.

My one point of criticism would be the end. I disliked how messy and rushed it felt, it seems very much that the film is going a certain way throughout and then bang you just get a whole bunch of stuff thrown at you in the final few minutes and you are left to pick up the pieces and make sense of it. I truly do believe if this film was given even just another 15 minutes it would have fixed the ending.

Overall, very strong and very unique, a bleak look at a potential future where not even our own minds are safe from attack.

Pros.

The performances

The visuals

The concept and the execution

The horror and the existentialism

Cons.

The ending is a mess

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Into The Storm: Man Vs. Tornado

Into The Storm is a disaster film directed by Steven Quail. The film recounts the devasting effects of a tornado on a small town in America, thriller seekers, researcher and horny teens all get caught up in its destructive wake.

In many ways the disaster move genre is very like the shark attack sub-genre in horror, you know what you are getting, they all play out pretty much the same barring a few details, and they are all as predictable as hell: in short they are junk food, you know they aren’t enriching in any way yet you still watch them as they’re easy.

My issue with this film compared to others in the genre like The Day After Tomorrow or 2012, is that a tornado is fairly simplistic. There is spectacle to it sure, but it gets old after about half and hour and has nothing new to pull out of the bag. There is only so many times you can watch a car get sucked into a hurricane.

The acting is what would expect nothing spectacular, just a bunch of b and c listers trying their best to be serviceable and for the most part they do a decent enough job. I would say the cast could have done with being smaller, as at times it felt like there were too many people on screen and as such I couldn’t remember who everyone was let alone form emotional attachments to them.

Overall, if you like disaster movies this is passable enough, if you want something above average or god forbid fresh then yeah maybe give this one a miss.

Pros.

It is watchable

The tornado is neat for the first 20 minutes

Cons.

It is nothing special

You have seen all of this film before several times over

The effects don’t look good

It is boring after a point

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Midnight Sky: Stick To Acting George, Oh Wait

The Midnight Sky is a science fiction drama film directed by George Clooney based on the novel Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. The film revolves around a lone scientist (George Clooney), who together with a little girl must venture into the artic circle to deliver a warning to a deep space mission.

This film was a slog to get through. Of the positive comments and reviews I have seen most praise the score and the visuals, and yes whilst there are some nice artic shots and vistas that is not enough to make up for the paper-thin characters or the lack of anything original from the story.

When I began this film I had moderate to high expectations, however, as it went on I kept comparing it to other ambitious science fiction films like Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar or last year’s Ad Astra as a result of these comparisons I saw how much this film was trying to be like them but failing hard along the way.

Even if you only watch a few minutes of this film you will see that it clearly has a high opinion of itself: by that I mean it thinks it is far deeper and far more intellectual with its themes then it actually is. What it actually seems to be is a pale imitation of better science fiction films, whereas of itself this film seems to think it is competing for Oscars.

Overall, the two words I would use to describe this film are boring and smug.

Pros.

It has some nice visuals

Cons.

The characters are so thin you can see right through them

The story feels done better before

There is an ever-present air of smugness

It is far too drawn out and badly paced

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Boss Level: Don’t You Hate Waking Up With A Gun In Your Face

Boss Level is a science fiction, action film directed by Joe Carnahan. The plot sees ex solider Roy (Frank Grillo), become stuck in a time loop. As is customary he has to live out his death over and over again until he can find out what is going on and stop it.

Before I get into the review fully I just want to say, that ending- my my how much of a tease can you be.

This film will be familiar to most, the time loop concept has become very much a new fad in films over the last 5 years, with films like Happy Death Day and Palm Springs being good examples; by now you know what to expect from these sort of films. However, the thing I would say that sets this film apart from the others is Frank Grillo.

Grillo’s character goes on a real arc over the course of the film, as he makes various discoveries about his current situation and you can see the change in emotion and person happening before you very eyes. Grillo is incredibly versatile and he really sells his role. He made me both laugh and cry over the course of the film.

I enjoyed the film’s references and clear inspiration from classic videogames, I think this game feel helps it to standout and give itself some personality.

Overall, a nice surprise that has quite a few good moments and Grillo himself is superb.

Pros.

Frank Grillo

The character arc

The emotion

The ending

Cons.

It does feel a bit too familiar

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Dead Zone: Christopher Walken Saves Our Future’s, God Bless That Man

The Dead Zone is a science fiction film directed by David Cronenberg, based on the Stephen King book of the same name. The plot sees Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), awaken from a coma to see that five years have passed, not only that but he can now see into the future. Johnny then has to decide how he is going to use his power going forward.

I might be a bit bias, because I am quickly becoming a Walken fan, but I think this film is terrific. I think it is nice to see a King based film that is not an out and out horror, though there is nothing wrong with that. I find that as a thriller this film poses some interesting moral questions that are fun to think about after the film ends.

Walken is a strong lead and plays the role with the right level of otherness, to never really feel like he fits in in any situation, but also the right level of charm that we believe him as a hero who is trying to help people.

My one complaint of the film would be the second act. I think the first and third acts are both strong, they’re interesting and engaging and they move along at a nice brisk pace, however, the second act really feels like filler. Not only that, but it is also by far the slowest part of the film and is almost a drag to watch at times and you are desperate for something, anything to happen.

Overall, a strong King adaption that begs some interesting questions and has a great lead performance in Walken.

Pros.

Walken

Cronenberg

The moral questions

The ending

Cons.

The tedious second act.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Sister Tempest: Watch Out For The Cannibal Cold This Winter

Sister Tempest is a comedy horror musical film directed by Joe Badon. The plot sees two sisters troubled relationship come under scrutiny from an Alien tribunal. Adjacent to this one of the sister’s new roommate’s illness leads her to become a cannibalistic murderer.

This one was a lot of fun; the premise is just as whacky as it sounds, and it never lets up for a second. I enjoyed how the film never went the way you were expecting it to go, where you thought it was going to zig it zagged. The more or less light hearted tone, also made it a nice breezy watch.

The acting was strong with Anne (Kali Russell), being my particular favourite. She was a strong lead and had just the right amount of rootability to keep me invested in the plot for the entire runtime. I have to give props to the script here as well, as Anne as a character is quite well fleshed out over the course of the film and you feel like you really get to know her and her sister.

I didn’t find the film scary, though I did appreciate its gore. The comedy and musical elements worked better for me, and I found myself being thoroughly entertained. Smiling the whole time.

Overall, this is a sight to behold, all of the elements work together in harmony to create something special.

Pros.

The comedy

The premise and committing to the wackiness

The acting

The musical elements

Cons.

I did find the horror lacking

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Honeymoon Project: Can You And Your Partner Survive A Year Alone Together?

The Honeymoon Phase is a science fiction thriller film directed by Phillip G. Carroll Jr. The plot follows a young couple who volunteer for a science experiment, to test the idea of ‘honeymoon’ phase. After they move into a new house together, thing soon take a turn for the sinister as it appears that the house and the scientist monitoring them behind the scenes are trying to pit the pair against each other.

I enjoyed the Black Mirror esque, dark science fiction. I thought the film uses the threat of existential dread well to create a haunting atmosphere that lasts for the whole film. The acting is top notch and both Mike Sutton and Chloe Carroll flourish in standout performances.

My issue with this film is it takes things a step too far, into bad taste. Bear in mind that taste is subjective to the person, so you may feel different to me. Examples of what I am talking about are the sex scenes that are scattered throughout the film, these border on the soft core pornographic and get to the point where you feel uncomfortable watching them.

I understand that maybe this was done to push the art form and the boundaries, but for me it was too much.

Another example of what I am talking about is the curling iron scene. There is a part of the film when Eve (Carroll), is pregnant and is trying to lose the baby and rather than do anything else, that would be much easier, she decides to stick a curling iron up her vagina to kill the baby and I am left saying why?

Overall, though this has strong performances and a well-formed premise, the bad taste issues are just too much for me to overcome I found it very difficult to watch.

Pros.

The performances

The premise

The sense of existential dread

Cons.

The curling iron scene

The oddly pornographic sex scenes

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Phineas And Ferb The Movie, Candace Against The Universe: Ashley Tisdale’s Finest Performance

Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against The Universe is an animated family film directed by Bob Bowen. The plot sees Candace (Ashley Tisdale), get abducted by aliens whilst trying to bust her brothers, naturally Phineas (Vincent Martella) and Ferb (David Errigo Jr.), mount a rescue mission. However, once they find her, they find that she is no prisoner and has finally found people who appreciate her. Or has she.

I assume this film is the end the series, I don’t know as I haven’t kept up with the series for over 5 years, but if this was a conclusion to it then it works well to end things. If this is a just a film that will lead into the next series ignore this point. It did have an air of finality to it.

The humour of this film reminded me of more adult fare like Family Guy, which is either a pro or a con depending on how you view that show. The humour for the most part left me cold, but it did manage to get a laugh out of me a few times.

I enjoyed seeing things work out for Candance for once, it was nice to see her side of things as I felt it carried a nice duality to the series.

Overall, a nice flipped perspective that showed the series can still hit the highs it used to.

Pros.

The flipped perspective

I enjoyed the finality to it

It made me laugh a few times

Cons.

More often than not the humour left me cold

It wasn’t as strong as a lot of the classic episodes

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bill And Ted Face The Music: One Last Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted Face The Music is a science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot. The plot reintroduces us to other favourite rockers Bill (Alex Winter), and Ted (Keanu Reeves), who are now all grown up and have teens of their own. Life hasn’t been so kind to the pair and they still haven’t managed to make the song that will unite the universe, then one day they are told it is now or never and the duo set out on one last excellent adventure to save time and space.

This is a very wholesome watch at a time where we need wholesome watches, it is nice to see the duo back on the screen and it feels like they have never really been away. Winters and Reeves still have strong chemistry and it is fascinating to see them now as middle-aged family men.

I enjoyed the fact this film introduced us to Bill and Ted’s daughters, who are just like them, I thought that was a neat twist. The casting of Bridgette Lundy-Paine and the ever-excellent Samara Weaving is pitch perfect and part of me hopes they get their own spinoff; though that is unlikely. My one issue with them would be that the film never uses them enough and often side-lines them, they need more screen time.

The cameos worked well for me and a lot of the best humour came from them. I enjoyed the Dave Grohl bit, and it was nice to see Death (William Sadler), return. However despite this I found the biggest issue with this film was the comedy. A lot of the time the jokes didn’t land for me and were a bit weak and lame, the film often made me smile but never made me laugh. Comedy is subjective.

Overall, a welcome return/conclusion Winters and Reeves are still great together and the daughters are well cast and interesting in their own right. The comedy is a weak point for me, but I still had a lot of enjoyment from this film.

Pros.

Reeves and Winters are still great

Samara Weaving is a scene stealer

The cameos and returns

The ending and the feeling of closure

Cons.

A lot of the humour didn’t land for me

4/5

Reviewed by Luke