Captive State is a science fiction thriller directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Wyatt and Erica Beeney. The film follows a young man who is a participant in the conspiracy argument against an alien race that has invaded Earth, and enforced strict martial law on all humans. I had never heard of this movie and after seeing it, I know why. I found it confusing at best. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $5 million worldwide.
Currently, Chicago is placed under martial law when extraterrestrials invade across the globe. The Drummond family is attempting to flee the city but every exit is barricaded. After breaking through an unmanned barricade that lead inside a tunnel, the car had to stop because extraterrestrials were waiting at the other end. Before they could put the car in reverse, the aliens attacked, vaporizing the father and mother in the front seat of the car, leaving their two sons traumatized but alive in the backseat.
Nine years later, the world has succumbed to the invaders and submitted to their governing authority, calling the aliens “The Legislators”, because all subsequent laws and rules of governance come from them. In the years that followed Earth’s surrender, the extraterrestrials conscripted humans to build suitable alien habitats far underground; the Chicago habitat is located in a region called the “Closed Zone” and is walled off from the rest of the city. Access to the Closed Zone is only granted to high government officials and requires intense preparation after an invitation is extended and before admittance. The aliens utilize Earth’s own human resources to police the population, including military and law enforcement, now called “Special Branch” and have placed biological implants in every citizen, which serve as identification when scanned by surveillance drones or other apparatus. Their use of propaganda and false narratives that state the country is prospering, allows the aliens to successfully lull the public into a submissive state.
Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders), the youngest of the sons who survived when his parents were vaporized years ago, lives in the impoverished neighborhood of Pilsen with his girlfriend Rula (Madeline Brewer) and tries to avoid any confrontations with the law. Gabriel is working at a scheme to escape using a boat he and his friend Jurgis (Machine Gun Kelly) have salvaged to cross Lake Michigan, hopefully to freedom. In the meanwhile, his day job is in a data reclamation center where various storage devices are seized to upload private content to a central server, which ultimately delivers citizen’s personal information to authorities and The Legislators. One day at work Gabriel witnesses a coworker attempt to smuggle a memory card out of the building and she is caught by government agents, then deported off-world. He is later confronted by Chicago Police Commander William Mulligan (John Goodman), who was partners with Gabriel’s father before the invasion. Mulligan is convinced that the resistance group called Phoenix has not been neutralized, contrary to what the public has been told.
As you can see, this is a very complicated plot because it gets deeper with each passing minute. I haven’t begun to reveal the meat of this story. Don’t forget, Gabriel has a brother, Rate (Jonathan Majors) or that there was or is a resistance. There are clues and flash drives and all sorts of twist and turns that go into this puzzling story. You never really get the sense that you completely know what’s going on nor do you get the sense that you know where this film is going, even when it goes. I think a lot more story telling was needed in order to bring closure to Captive State. There were too many loose ends introduced that didn’t really flow into the story line, leaving too much to the imagination. I’m unsure what was happening at the end, (maybe it was just over my head) leaving me confused and unfulfilled. I’m not saying someone else might not understand it, but I am saying a descent story could have been a great story with some much needed tweaking. Of course this is my opinion so Check It Out if you dare!
Since I don’t read comic books, I didn’t know what to expect or even that this movie was derived from a comic book series. The pitch was “Valerian is the most beautiful movie we’ll ever see.” It was compared to Avatar and I was convinced that if it was half as good as Avatar, it still would be pretty fantastic as far as outstanding special effects goes. As it turns out, some of this was right but not all. It wasn’t until two thirds through, I found Valerian becoming more than tolerable and even interesting. The acting was good but the story was a little confusing. Then something happened; camera, action, a change of pace — oh boy, I think I like this after all.
Kong: Skull Island trailers didn’t do the film justice. I actually wasn’t that motivated about seeing the movie. I couldn’t imagine the what they could possibly throw together to make another Kong movie worth making or paying good money to see. I was surprised by the plot and the relevancy of Kong, not to mention the passion I felt. I dare say, there are some brilliant writers around who really know how to tug at ones heart, get a message to the audience all while entertaining the crap out of you.
10 Cloverfield Lane is a good one. Advertised as a thriller/horror movie, it’s a lot of one and some of the other. It keeps you guessing all the way through. I was entertaining at lease three endings before we even reached the middle of the movie. A young lady Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) apparently leaves her fiancé, Ben. On the way to where ever she was going, she drives through Louisiana late at night and has an accident with something (lets assume it’s another car). The next scene, she’s bolted to a wall, unconscious in a bed, locked in a concrete room with bruises on her leg and face. Soon a man named Howard (John Goodman) appears who eventually tells her a story about why she is there, in his bunker and how grateful she should be. The air outside is contaminated, according to Howard, and there may be aliens who have taken over the world or not. Perhaps the explosion she allegedly saw, only took out the United States of America or just the state of Louisiana. At any rate, there’s no escape for at lease two years. Many things happen that support Howard’s theory eventually making a semi-quasi believer out of Michelle. They become friends for a time but Howard shows a violent side which makes it difficult to trust him. As time goes by, Michelle learns more about Howard and their situation and grows more suspicious. There is also one other young man named Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) living in the underground bunker with them. He seems normal and very nice and they get along well. Howard however, seems to be agitated with Emmett most of the time. Forming her own conclusions, Michelle plots an escape, but Howard is too smart and too suspicious. As the film forges on, we begin to draw our own conclusions but things are not what they seem. We are mostly incorrect right up to the very end. This movie is different, entertaining, well thought out and very well acted. Dan Trachtenberg, in his directorial debut, left no stone unturned as closure was brought to all. I wouldn’t be surprised if a sequel is in the works. Nicely done!
Based on a true story, Trumbo is about an era in Hollywood that referred to “The Hollywood Blacklist” or the “Entertainment Black List”. This list was dedicated to Hollywood producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, musicians and other entertainment professionals who were suspected of belonging to or politically sympathizing with the American Communist Party. The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) was created in 1938 to investigate and carry out the elimination of Communist sympathizers in America. The first Hollywood Blacklist was created in November of 1947, immediately after ten writers and directors refused to give testimony to the HUAC. These ten were called the “Hollywood Ten”. Senator Joseph McCathy conducted the “Witch Hunt” on all those suspected. His paranoia and over zealousness became known as “McCarthyism”. Many lives were destroyed during that time. One of the Hollywood Ten was Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) known for Breaking Bad, who gives a fantastic performance as a brilliant Hollywood writer, husband and father. Diane Lane plays as Cleo Fincher Trumbo, Bryan’s understanding and patient wife. You also wouldn’t want to miss John Goodman as Frank King, the B rated movie producer who mysteriously manages to save the day or Helen Mirren as Hedda Hoppa the newspaper columnist who’s poison pen pulled many strings.
The Monuments Men is a true story that takes place during WW2 and covers a very important era in history. However, I am sorry to report that this film is not what one would expect. It was a little confusing in the beginning, as I felt the director (George Clooney) assumed we knew military lingo and protocol proceedings. It was as if the characters were carrying on their very own private conversations during an ambiguous opening. The plan was to retrieve art stolen by the Nazis and return it to the rightful owners. The plan was hard for the audience and, surprisingly, the military to understand. I tried to follow along but soon became lost. Midway through, The Monuments Men started to come to life. I feel this was a noble gesture on the part of the US Military and was carried out to the best of their ability. The Nazi’s still managed to destroy millions of paintings rather than allow the owners to repossess them.
I can’t say I liked Inside Llewyn Davis. I found it a little weird. I understand the movie was about a young folk singer who had no where to live in 1961 and that he slept on anyone’s couch, and that he was unsuccessful at being discovered, and of course, he had little to no money but, because the film only spanned over 1 week of Llewyn’s (played by Oscar Isaac) life, I didn’t really get a since of consistency or relevance. The cast was awesome but the story, for me, was not. I’m not sure why this movie received high ratings (I looked it up in IMDB and found it received a rating of 7.8) and 2 Oscar nods. Maybe I’m missing something. I found it boring, discombobulated, slow and dreary. I might add Justin Timberlake played Jim, another singer and friend to Llewyn. John Goodman also starred in the film as another homeless person (Roland Turner). The movie took place mostly in Greenwich Village in New York. Apparently, Llewyn had a singing partner who committed suicide by throwing himself off the George Washington Bridge. Like I said, this movie was all over the place. It’s probably worth seeing if you’re into folk music and a bit of Greenwich Village history. Other than that, I would skip this one.
This mini series takes place in the 1930s in London, England. Blacks were still not accepted in the mainstream and many laws were still in place to keep them separated from Whites. This story is about a jazz band and it’s leader Louis Lester (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) who became entangled with England’s upper class resulting in deceit, murder and love. Most of this is brought on my one character who wasn’t going for a racial incident but who was a mentally disturbed person who performed out of sickness. Dancing on the Edge has great entertainment through it’s music and divine singing. John Goodman has a significant role as an extremely rich businessman who has an unusual obsession. I thought this series ended leaving the viewer with a taste for more. I really liked the series but I felt it should have given us more information at the end. There’s a bevy of actors and actresses who make Dancing on the Edge a success. It’s currently playing on HBO and is considered a mini series. It’s aired in 6 parts.
CAROL's WORLDS 