Film reviews
Men In Black 3
It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.
Bel Ami
The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.
The Dictator
A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.
The Woman In Black
Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.
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Monsters (Film)
Rating: M
Running Time: 94
Distributor: Madman
Release Date: November 25, 2010
Film Worth: $13.00
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthExpertly paced and authentically detailed, this manages to weave a serious and meaningful narrative from an outlandish premise.
The brainchild and first feature of CGI animator Gareth Edwards, Monsters is a road trip of sorts, set in a part of Mexico that has become colonised by alien life forms in the wake of a NASA space probe crash. The film follows the journey of American photojournalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy) and Sam (Whitney Able), the young tourist who he is accompanying through the hazardous "infected zone" back to the safety of the US border.
Monsters' power lies in its naturalism, and its ability to evoke the imminent danger, exoticism and pathos of a third-world war zone. The sense of authenticity extends itself into the smallest visual details, with Edwards introducing casual alien references to such mundanities as road signage and children's cartoons. The use of local non-actors for all the Central American roles furthers the impression of realistic travelogue.
As far as horror goes, Edwards takes a restrained approach. The fear factor comes through in his characters' reactions, and in the quietly shocking aftermath of the monsters' attacks. Monsters is expertly paced, giving the viewer plenty of time to become immersed in its locations and situations. In this regard, it is oddly reminiscent of Ruba Nadda's very different film, Cairo Time (2009), with moments of remarkable beauty punctuating the rising tension. There is no jumpy editing here.
Lead actors Able and McNairy (chosen for the roles partly because they were a real life couple) put in believable, nuanced performances, and their dialogue is spontaneous and often wry.
As for the monsters themselves, well, gigantic tentacled creatures are always going to be far-fetched, no matter how impressive they look. What's more important is that Monsters pulls off the rare feat of weaving a serious and meaningful narrative around its aliens.
