After Earth [2013] **1/2 Stars Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Zoë Kravitz, Glenn Morashower and Sophie Okonedo Directed by M Night Shyamalan Looking at the credits roll by and noting that the story was by Will Smith, one might have to wonder if this was a passion project, a vanity project or a little gift to his son. Or was it all three combined? It might be saying something when the opening prologue is far more interesting than the rest of the movie, and you end up wishing they had made a movie about those five minutes instead. The fall of Earth, colonising a new planet, fighting for survival… That would hold my attention far more than this movie. And does director M Night Shyamalan equate quiet with dramatic? Everybody speaks in same quiet and low monotone. It might have worked in something like The Sixth Sense and even Unbreakable, but as he continued to wrangle his actors the same way in the following movies, it gets dull very fast, as it does here. At least, the movie gets action driven for most of the second half- yes, it takes a while to get going- but even then, young star Jaden Smith (son of Will), has a ways to go if he’s to carry a movie by himself. His expressions barely vary between worried and fearfully worried. The elder Smith, in the meanwhile, sits and watches the adventure of his son trekking across an unfamiliar Earth as if he were one with the audience. The saving grace (and extra half star), as with Shyamalan’s previous movies, is once again the amazing score by James Newton Howard that drives the actions and emotions. It is a score that stands very well on its own (just close your eyes even as the movie plays and you’ll get every beat of the movie, just try it with any of Shyamalan’s other movies). Still, it doesn’t plumb the depths of The Happening, but it doesn’t reach the heights of The Sixth Sense. It might be considered on par with The Last Airbender though… that would get your sixth sense tingling about whether you’d want to watch this or not. The Possession [2012] *** Stars Jeffery Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Natasha Calis, Madison Davenport, Matisyahu and Grant Show Directed by Ole Bornedal I’m not usually one for horror movies. A lot of the modern horror movies don’t aim to scare so much as to gross you out with its effects and make-up and blood splattering. It’s more horrifying that those movies are what passes for horror movies these days. I suppose it’s more as to what I might consider to be a horror movie, and it’s usually the ones that give me the creeps that I might consider worthy of the classification. So while I would consider The Exorcist (1973) as a horror movie, I felt this one would come close, treading almost similar ground. A young girl is seemingly possessed by a demon and the broken family has to try to figure out what exactly is gong on. The unique aspect is simply that it deals more with a Jewish demon and exorcism rather than the Christian (usually Catholic) version. There are some very notable scares and effects work on screen, and the stars do well, particularly Jeffery Dean Morgan carrying most of the show as the father, Clyde, to the possessed daughter, Em (Natasha Calis, quite remarkable). Director Ole Bomedal keep things on a more realistic level, eschewing the typical grandstanding (jump scares) for more subtle scares, slowly building up the dread to the ultimate reveal, through medical devices, no less. Playing more to its PG-13 rating, the movie does well enough without the usual splatter of crimson and managing to keep things creepy, if not utterly disturbing for prolonged periods. Perhaps, that is where the movie fails a little, not to say that the rating restriction would have held back more gore (look at any episode of CSI). The CG effects, while obvious, are kept to a minimum. The editing works well with the lighting. It might even be considered a prep movie for young horror fans before introducing them to The Exorcist. Killing Season [2013] **1/2 Stars John Travolta, Robert DeNiro, Milo Ventimiglia Directed by Mark Steven Johnson A couple of soldiers on opposing side of the Bosnian War cross paths again over 20 years later. One (Robert DeNiro), haunted by the events of the war, hides away in the forest, trying to forget the past. The other (John Travolta) just can't let go and wants… it's not quite revenge, nor vengeance. Essentially, this is a two-hander with the two actors carrying the movie entirely. A cat and mouse thriller where tables are turned more than once in their game of one-upmanship relying on the talents of the stars. Without them, it's very much cable fodder - and it might have been a touch more intriguing. Of the two, it's Travolta who has to convince, playing the foreign soldier with accent, mannerisms and skills (traditional longbow). He does underplay it, reining in performance to keep it cool and calculated. DeNiro is no slouch either as one might expect, although given his output of late, this might feel a little like the method actor given some meat to chew on. Director Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil, Ghost Rider, When In Rome) keep things very real with some rather gruesome injuries inflicted on both characters. Away from the previous effects heavy films, Johnson still delivers a competent thriller but the material itself doesn't give very much to work with. Coming in at a slim 80 minutes (with a 9 minute credit crawl at the end), the movie is taut enough to entertain for its duration. It just doesn't rise to the occasion the stars might have promised a decade ago.
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