The Host (2013)

When it’s over, lots of kissing. Not much of a surprise, since this film was a Stephanie Meyer (author of the Twilight series) story. I have not read The Host, so I cannot compare the book's adaptation to film. I think this was a good thing, because I had no preconceived ideas of the characters or plot. An alien race has invaded Earth by taking over human bodies and erasing their memories. When Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) becomes the alien’s next victim, her consciousness fights to join forces with her Host entity, in the attempt to protect and save the people she loves. At times, I found the film slow and all the kissing a bit pointless, but once I accepted this was a sci-fi love story between beautiful young people (catering to younger audiences), it wasn’t hard to just let the cheesiness drip where they may. The story was actually interesting and entertaining. It was smart in that it did not leave any stones un-turned.  I was content with the ending, leaving me neither wanting more nor confused. The film offered an alternative perspective on alien invaders. They were still bad, and humans were still at risk, but what was different was the absence of excessive violence and overblown destruction, a much needed departure from the films dominating the screens in the past few years, especially in this genre. There were elements of The Body Snatchers and E.T., but The Host didn’t try to mimic those films. I liked the setting, and the underground caves, which took the viewer outside of the city and into the realm of mother nature. There were some beautiful photography, and the set designs inside the caves were really cool. I liked the cavern of glow worms the best, only seconded by the wheat field in the grand cave. The acting was decent, nothing noteworthy. The addition of William Hurt as Jeb, the leader of the human resistance, was a wise choice. He brought a good balance of strength and philosophical value to the story, which otherwise would have just been another love stricken teen flick. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this film. 

My rating: 4 out of 5

The Colony (2013)

When it’s over, imagine the next ice age when survivors must seek refuge below ground. Food is grown hydroponically, and small livestock are bred and stored underground. The endless snowfall and frigid temperatures make venturing outdoors dangerous. If you can imagine this, then you are imagining The Colony. Briggs, Sam, and Mason (Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Zegers, and Bill Paxton) are residents of Colony 7. When they receive a distress signal from Colony 5, they travel to their neighbouring friends, and discover something worse than the ice age. This is a low-budgeted film that has great potential, but a lack of a compelling characters keep the film cold and buried. Without giving away too much of the plot, I have to point out that the villains are not menacing enough to make them stand out from other gang-attack-like films. They remind me of Mad Max look-a-likes. Their acts are heinous, but they do not look atrocious. Based on their behaviour, they should have deformities that separates them from other humans. The heroes, Briggs and Sam, are one-dimensional and boring, while Mason is the stereotypical trigger-happy individual whose end is predictable. All three of these main characters could benefit from some backstories and personality traits that will better define them,  such as, fears, regrets, phobias, or a personal calling that pushes them to act and react. Give me a multi-dimensional character, and I will care, and their motivations and deaths will have greater meaning. Lastly, the ending is all wrong. This is a film that needs resolution. I need to see the “thawed” colony, which the survivors mention in several scenes and are trying desperately to get to. To leave this detail out makes the film incomplete.

My rating: 2 out of 5

Elysium (2013)

When it’s over, a sci-fi film with plenty of political undertones that comment on society’s world issues. Much like District 9, Director Neill Blomkamp highlighted the themes of isolation, segregation, and power. Max(Matt Damon) lives on Earth, overpopulated and ruined, but dreams of getting to Elysium, a man-made space station, where the wealthy live luxuriously. After being exposed to radiation and imminent death, Max risks everything to embark on a dangerous mission that will save his life and bring balance to the polarized worlds. The story was so-so.  Damon’s performance was better than I had expected.  Jodie Foster’s talent in portraying Delacourt, a government border control official, was wasted. I cared little for her role or the hard accent that became increasingly annoying as the story developed. Sharlto Copley as Kruger, Max’s nemesis, proved to be the most interesting character and best portrayed. Where action films and baddies are concerned, Copley’s performance was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. He was like a wave of bad air that made you stop and cringe. He made me hate him, but also made me chuckle. He was so evil, that even when he tried to be kind, he came on as cruel.  If Max had the kind of presence to equal that of Kruger’s, then the film would have the emotional charge it lacked. On that note, the film attempted at a love story, but it felt more like a friendship than devoted love. The slower moments when the plot tried to explore the relationship between Max and Frey (Alice Braga) felt rushed, and the couple never seemed to get “their time” together. Elysium was an entertaining film, and I would not discourage anyone from seeing it. The visuals and set designs were well thought out and very believable. Blomkamp took me to two different worlds as what he envisioned 2154 to be. When I look back on this film, it was the visuals that kept me most interested, and not so much the characters.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

When it’s over, simple story with complex issues. It’s not your typical high school story about boy/girl issues, but dares to address mature topics such as homosexuality, death, and sexual abuse. The film is never too depressing or judgemental, and offers just the right amount of humor in the right places to bring me closer to the characters, making me care about their circumstances. Charlie (Logan Lerman) is in his first year of high school. He is bullied and lonely, until he meets Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson), two seniors who show him the real world. The characters are beautifully cast and portrayed. Miller continues to impress me with his versatility. After portraying Kevin in We Need to Talk about Kevin, he shows he can be liked as well as feared. I forget Watson was once Hermione, because she becomes this very insecure, tortured soul. Lerman is the big surprise. Charlie is a huge departure from Lerman’s usual action hero roles. His turn as Charlie proves he can act, and makes me remember how good he was in 3:10 to Yuma, opposite Christian Bale. The soundtrack plays an integral part in the storytelling. With songs by XTC, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, David Bowie, The Smiths, and New Order, I can’t help but be pulled into the 1980’s when Director/Writer John Hughes’s coming-of-age films were all the rave. This film reminds me of Hughes’s style of storytelling – intense and sensitive. The soundtrack, plus music orchestration by Michael Brook, lures me into an euphoric tunnel of delirium, bliss, confusion, and sadness. This film is a journey, and I highly recommend it.

My rating: 4 out of 5

GI Joe: Retaliation (2013)

When it's over, all brawn and no brains – exactly what I was expecting. When the G.I. Joe team is terminated by order from the president (Jonathan Pryce), the surviving members must defeat Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) and his followers in order to save humanity. Don’t see this film if you are a Joe fan. You will be sorely disappointed. And if  you just want to see some action, I would still say “skip it” or be warned, because the action was mindless. Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, and Channing Tatum couldn’t rescue this film. Actually, both Willis and Tatum were in less than 20 percent of the film, leaving Johnson to carry all the weight. He did the best he could with the poor script and was the main reason why I sat through this film. (There is something about Johnson, that even in the worse films, he makes it tolerable.) The want-to-be love story between Joes, Flint (D.J. Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), felt forced into the storyline and served no purpose to move the plot forward. Popular characters, like Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) and Snake Eyes (Ray Park), were not exercised to their fullest potential. The fight choreography were not bad, but poor editing made them look too “planned out.” Also, I thought Storm Shadow died in the first film, Rise of Cobra? He showed up in Retaliation with no explanation on how he survived. If Retaliation was supposedly the continuation of Rise of Cobra, there was nothing concrete linking the two films, except for the presence of the characters. Retaliation was not complete fodder. It did have one memorable scene, the scene when Snake Eyes and Jinx (Elodie Yung) try to escape from the ninjas on the ice capped mountains of Asia. That scene was done well, lasting about 15 minutes, and was something different entirely, perhaps the only gem in the entire film.

My rating: 2 out of 5