Tuesday, July 14, 2015

"Obscurities and Abject Pandering: What You’re Missing on NETFLIX"

"Obscurities and Abject Pandering: What You’re Missing on NETFLIX"

This week’s theme is courtesy of one of the Faithful Thirteen: I was challenged to review “end-of-the-world type movies”. I’m going one step further, and calling it ENDS-of-the-world…you get destruction, world-changing aliens, and desolation. And if this doesn’t whet your appetite for visiting the far corners of the globe, I guess…well…you shoulda come up with your own suggestion, then! Now go watch things blow up and freeze. Leave me alone, I’m busy, got kids to neglect…

NEW ARRIVALS

Science Fiction/Drama/Foreign

THESE FINAL HOURS
(2013, NR (solid “R”), 87 minutes, 8TH IN LINE/XYZ FILMS)


If you have to face the end of the world, by all means, DO NOT DO SO IN AUSTRALIA. Those eff'ers are crazy. When an asteroid sends a tidal wave of fiery death hurtling around the world, every single Australian goes around the bend to Looney Town. All, that is, except for James who is a selfish player in his normal 'not-gonna-die attitude' way of life, and Rose, a young girl separated from her father. James is hell-bent on going to a friend’s end of the world party and all his rescued passenger wants is to be reunited with her father. This could have been a simple 'odd couple' road movie, but the acting is too good and the story too painstakingly crafted to allow this to become anything less than a story about doing the right thing. James is played by Nathan Phillips (WOLF CREEK, “The Bridge”), and he does a more than capable job of convincing you he is a total ass-spigot at the start. But watching how he and Rose (the amazing Angourie Rice) connect with each other amidst the chaos of imminent doom is a lovely and haunting thing to see.

Sci Fi/Drama/War

MONSTERS: DARK CONTINENT
(2014, R, 119 minutes, VERTIGO FILMS)


This JARHEAD/THE HURT LOCKER/MONSTERS mash-up works for several reasons, but only if you are paying attention. A group of new recruits from Detroit are dropped into the Infected Zone of an undisclosed foreign country. It seems the alien behemoths from the first film have infected a desert in the Middle East and the U.S. military is hot on eradicating them. The only problem is locals are being caught in the crosshairs. The collateral damage is bad enough to give the insurgents an entirely new reason to hate the troops. So not only are our boys in camo having to fend off giant monsters from space, they also have well-armed militants to contend with. This makes for a nasty mix of violence. I’m sure there are military purists whom will tear this film apart, but it is the fastest moving two hours I’ve spent on Netflix in a while. Yes, the film borrows from several other classics, but hey, we’re talking about entertainment here, people. And the blending of genres works well for this film. My only gripe is that I’d have liked more monsters; that subtle use of them in the first film worked amazingly well, but here it kind of leaves you wanting. And don’t worry if you have yet to see the first one, it is not necessary to enjoy this movie. Although you really oughta watch that one, too…

Documentaries/Action and Adventure

ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE
(2013, PG, 91 minutes, ANTZWORKS)


I do not have the vocabulary necessary to do this film justice (but you kinda already know that going in…). Anthony Powell, a New Zealander who works in communications on Antarctica, took a whole bunch of cameras and retrofitted several to take time-lapse shots of the most unique continent on the planet. What he captured is the absolute best non-CGI special effects on film. ANTARCTICA gives you a year-long perspective of what it is like to live thousands of miles from a McDonald’s (Hell, if you ask me) or a Walmart (uh, Heaven, hello!). Half of this movie is focused on the unforgiving winter, a time of darkness and the most breathtaking views of the Milky Way you will ever see without use of a Hubble. By splitting time between the human experience and the natural wonder of it all, Powell captures a bit of every aspect of life (and death) on the loneliest place on earth. You can’t help but smile at the people who return when Spring arrives; pansies one and all, and the tougher blokes who managed to survive the winter suddenly overcome with social anxiety…wait, I found my brothers and sisters, and they live AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FREAKING WORLD. Again, amazing photography, and some truly unique people who are part-time residents of a world that has hurricane-force winds in the winter. Watch it with the lights out, and a blanket close by.

Make up a queue kids and put me to work! Suggestions are always welcome, and there are a few in the works for the weeks ahead. But I’m always up to new challenges!

T.S. Kummelman

No comments:

Post a Comment