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The X Files: Lord of the Flies (2001)
Good Fun
This episode isn't anything particularly special, but I really enjoyed it. The tone was refreshingly playful at times, like some older episodes, without undercutting the more serious material. There is a particularly (relatively) moving scene between a boy and his crush, which is then upended in classic X Files fashion.
Scully also has some nice interactions with the entomologist Rocky, and she gets in a great one liner as he discusses never working with a partner before.
As well as this, we get to see Jesse Pinkman before he meets Mr White, and find out 2010-era Sebastian Vettel can control insects. Great stuff.
Ad Astra (2019)
Interesting premise and visuals, but fancies itself to be more heady and emotional than it actually is.
This film is set in the near future where space travel is widespread. Cue some great set pieces across the solar system with visuals to match, although that is no surprise. What may surprise is the frequency of these set pieces. By no means is this an action film, and it often runs along at a tempered pace.
Supporting the action and exciting visuals is quite a basic story. Brad Pitt is an astronaut following in his father's footsteps, who is called on a secret mission once his bosses have reason to believe his father may still be alive in the depth of space, after disappearing many years ago. Cue a lot of emotional reflection, narration, and exploration of this 'absent father' theme. And be ready, because you will get a lot of narration. Brad Pitt's character analyses himself within the film via psychological checkups, and then there is also further voice-over narration. At times this can prove to be almost redundant, and serves to spell out themes and character beats which the audience could reasonably infer for themselves.
Yet despite all the narration and inner dialogue for Pitt's character, the themes never seem to be explored all that deeply. A lot of the dialogue is emotional with no real consequence or insight, which is a shame. To me, it seems that they put this voice over so that average audiences could stay on-board with what the film was trying to say and explore - but the very people who need that voice-over will likely find the film boring and slow anyway. Removing the voice-over could have rendered many of the films themes more subtly and, perhaps, more powerfully to individual viewers, as what the voice-over spells out often seems quite shallow and surface-level.
Finally, when everything comes together towards the end, it all happens a little too conventionally. There is no interesting twist or revelations, and it seems the drama was meant to be the focus; but for me I never became quite so invested that the character drama itself provided a fulfilling ending.
Overall, I have to commend the film for trying something a bit different, and I can see myself watching it again. The acting is great, everything is beautifully shot, the ideas are generally great, but it all never quite lives up to its own ambitions. Somewhere in here there is a much more emotional and timeless film, but I think currently it is too slow-paced and heady for some, and too straightforward and obvious for others.
As either a straight action/thriller movie or a 2001-esque mindtrip, this could have worked better, but as it stands it exists in a strange middle ground where I can't see it completely appealing to very many.
Finding Dory (2016)
Solid and simple fun buckles under own weight.
This sequel introduces some memorable new characters, and sets them up within some really quite funny scenes. From scene to scene, and through a child's eyes, this film will deliver.
However, the weight of this jumble of frenetic scenes threatens to collapse the thin narrative and simplistic emotional framework underpinning it all. The scenes and dialogue are great, but there are too many ideas being thrown at a rather flimsy concept. The film feels long, there is too much geographic back and forth. Parts of the film, though entertaining, seem unnecessary in the larger scope of the tale.
It's a fantastic ride for the most part, but the adult in me can't help wonder whether this essentially basic story really needed an entire movie to tell.
For many, this film will provide an entertaining outing into a world we haven't heard from in 13 years. Sadly, while I can appreciate the film's many positives, it feels all too long, tries to do too many things without enough narrative drive, and the main plot was not enough to keep me absorbed throughout.
Prom Night (2008)
Succeeds where it needs to.
Alright, this may not be the most original or visually brilliant film, but then again thats not what you would expect it to be. It tries to be jump-out-in-your-face type of scary and for the most part I would have to say I think it succeeds.
The story isn't too crash hot, but I genuinely found myself on the edge of my seat towards the end, and it was especially sad when one of the characters is crying because his girlfriend who he was about to propose to dies. From the very start I could feel a sense of dread, and I knew that things were going to go haywire pretty quickly.
This film also doesn't waste much time in building up the plot, which is absolutely a good thing. It sets up the characters well, just enough so that the audience cares about them a little bit but not enough to drag the main story down. Many, many deaths along the way, although they are almost entirely gore-free (just a bit of blood spatter on walls, plastic drapes, etc), which is not really surprising for an M rated movie.
Overall I found myself enjoying this movie, more than I expected I would. Go see this if you want to get moderately scared or you just want to have a good time for a few hours.
Genuinely scary and atmospheric and I would recommend it!