Monsters Review

Release Date Oct. 29

Countless films have seen our planet invaded by aliens and the human race must rally together to stop the invaders from taking over. This film is definitely not that type of alien film, but an engaging road trip love story that is set in an alien inhabited world. It is a great change of pace for an already saturated genre.

In Gareth Edwards’ “Monsters”, 6 years ago NASA sent a probe to collect samples of alien life in our solar system. Upon reentry the probe crash landed over Central America and soon after a new life form began to appear in Mexico. Today, half of Mexico is quarantined as an infected zone and the militaries on both sides of the border struggle to contain the creatures. The film follows Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) a US journalist that agrees to escort his boss’ daughter, Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able), from Mexico through the infected zone into the US.

For this film Gareth Edwards served as writer, director, cinematographer, production designer and created the visual effects for the film on a small budget of under $500,000. Before this film Edwards was a visual effects artist on documentaries and with this film shown his potential outside of effects. The film’s basic premise may sound very similar to “District 9”, also a first time feature director Neil Blomkamp, but “Monsters” shares very little in common with “District 9” even though they are both alien movies.

The aliens that inhabit the infected zone most closely resemble giant colorful squids, but you won’t be able to see them for most of the film until the end. The creatures mostly appear off screen or only with their tentacles on-screen. Despite the title, the film is mostly a love story between the two main characters which the actors make very believable.

Also despite the lower budget the effects are very well done except in a scene reminiscent of Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” where in this film some tentacles are slithering through a gas station after Sam. The film has another scene that reminds of another Spielberg film, “Jurassic Park” that takes place in a truck that is being attacked from the outside by the creatures. The influence of Spielberg is very apparent in the film, but especially in these two scenes.

 
Do not expect a film that is this year’s “District 9” or Cloverfield” even though the marketing team wants you to think of those films. The film is probably most similar to is “Sin Nombre” with Sci-fi elements. Edwards has created a great first feature just don’t believe the marketing this is not the tradition alien film

Leaves of Grass Review

Edward Norton works double in this dark comedy

Two types of film are very difficult to get right: the type of film where an actor/actress plays more than one role and the pot movie that appeals to more than just the pot community. “Leaves of Grass”, a film by actor turned director Tim Blake Nelson and starring Edward Norton and Keri Russell. The film manages to be a solid entry into both categories. The film is a solid entry into both groups and manages to feel a bit similar to a film by the Coen brothers, with which Tim Blake Nelson worked with on “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

The problem with most movies where an actor plays more than one role doesn’t come from the computer wizardry used to bring the characters played by the same actor to the same screen, the problem most often comes from the actor/actress themselves. When playing twins actors/actresses often fall into the hole of since their playing identical twins then the characters should act identical. Edward Norton manages to make the characters of Bill and Brady Kincaid feel differently enough that they come off as separate people.

Pot movies often fall into trap of underestimating the audience. Pot movies are seen by people who smoke pot and are probably viewing the film while under its influence because of this pot films only appeal to that minority and may only be amusing under certain circumstances. “Leaves of Grass” doesn’t fall into the trap that many other films have stumbled into. Sure there is recreational use of marijuana contained in the film, but those scenes aren’t the focus of the film itself.

The film’s premise is that an Ivy League professor, Bill Kincaid, is lured back to his hometown in Oklahoma by his twin brother, Brady Kincaid. His brother has lured him back to aid in the scheme to take down a local drug lord, Pug Rothbaum played by Richard Dreyfuss. Tim Blake Nelson also stars as Brady’s best friend Bolger. The film manages to go through a couple of dark twists and ends up in places that you won’t expect.

The film isn’t the greatest thing to hit screens this year, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but the familiar content is approached in different ways than has been traditionally seen. It was surprisingly good for what it was, but it won’t redefine the way we think of film or probably won’t get nominated for anything. Overall it is a fun time to be had with solid performances and direction, definitely for people that enjoy some dark moments with their comedy and for people that like a little substance to go with the laughs.

Catfish Review

Catfish Review:

Some movies are difficult to critique without spoiling the experience for the reader that has not seen the film yet. But then some films endings drastically change a person’s perception of the film as a whole and take on an entirely different identity after the first viewing. Films like “Fight Club” or “The Sixth Sense” to name a few. “Catfish” is a different sort of monster though and just like those films knowing as little as possible before the first viewing will only create a better experience.

 “Catfish” is a new documentary from Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, who begin documenting an unfolding story involving Ariel’s brother, Nev, a 24-year-old photographer living in New York, and Abby, an 8-year-old girl in Michigan who uses Facebook to contact Nev for permission to make a painting from one of his photos.

The film is billed as a documentary, but some elements do not seem plausible in an independent documentary. Whether the film is true or fabricated doesn’t effect how powerful some of the footage is and how entertaining the film is. If the film is real then some of the footage must have been recreated after the documentary began or if the film is false it is an interesting choice to bill this film as non-fiction and film it in a way that would support that idea.

Cinematography wise this film is shot with mostly handheld cameras and video equipment and it shows. The camera is grainy and shakes and sometimes doesn’t capture the full action, but it is meant to look like this and wouldn’t be as powerful if it was not. The film is heavily focused on the use of social-networking to connect with others, so several scenes are focused on texting or using Facebook. We watch as these people post messages on Facebook or instant message each other using Google talk. When they discus travel or locations the film expresses these scenes as full screen Google Maps, Street View or Earth. The narrative of the film is told through the lens of the internet.

“Catfish” deals with the idea that through websites like Facebook we are further apart than ever when these sites are supposed to be bringing people closer together. As the film progresses, Nev begins to fall more and more in love with a Facebook page, not  the real person behind that profile. Beyond these themes the film is engaging and often hysterical, mostly because of the people that are making the film. These people make the film’s slow parts interesting and allow the audience to be interested in Nev’s adventure and his personality. The film is even more impressive when the tone shifts halfway through and draws the viewer in even more. The film works on both levels because it is both social commentary and entertainment.

“Catfish” is a film that must be experienced by today’s generation, whether fact or fiction. The message of the film is that with social networking becoming a greater part of our daily live it is important to find out who are you really talking to.