jennyburnett-25810 Reviews

Chimera Strain (2018)

Should have been longer

[13 May 2019]

This is a decent movie. It shows us what we can achieve through science soon (It takes place around 50 years from today); A genetic scientist (Henry Ian Cusick- quite good actually) fails to save his wife from a genetic disorder and she goes in a coma. Their two children are also afflicted by the same disease and he decides to freeze them to buy time to find or invent the cure. He takes help from Masterson (Kathleen Quinlan looking and acting silly) who is his ex-boss. She finances his experiments in exchange for Quint's findings and is rather hard on him to get it asap. What I felt was that this film should have been longer. The characters were fascinating, and I would have loved to see more of Quint- his past life, his relationship with his wife and children which is barely addressed in the 80minute running time. Another 20 odd minutes would have helped the film. Still, worth a watch.

Dark City (1998)

The thinking man's sci-fi

[15 December 2018]

For science fiction fans the late 90s were great years. The most famous and popular of all was The Matrix but Alex Proyas's much more thought-provoking(which is saying something as the Matrix, at least the first movie was very thought provoking itself) film is just as good. No movie can ever have too much atmosphere, and Dark City exudes it from every frame of celluloid. Alex Proyas' world isn't just a playground for his characters to romp in -- it's an ominous place where viewers can get lost. We don't just coolly observe the bizarre, ever-changing skyline; we plunge into the city's benighted depths, following the protagonist as he explores the secrets of this grim place where the sun never shines. Visually, this film isn't just impressive, it's a tour de force. Thankfully, Dark City doesn't have an "all style, no substance" problem, either, because there's a mind-challenging story to go along with the eye candy. Proyas hasn't written this film for the passive viewer. To become involved in Dark City, thinking is mandatory.

Knowing (2009)

Worth a watch for some disturbing scenes

[21 September 2018]

There was a time when Nicholas Cage wasn't a laughing stock and he time was before Knowing was released. Knowing is a strange film to review. On the one hand it contains some genuinely creepy scenes including a plane crash that is convincing and a scene in the woods that is eerie but the story about a professor who goes out to prevent catastrophes based on a list contained in an unearthed time capsule falls flat. This is probably the film when Nicholas Cage started going nuts and acting in every film that was probably thrown his way, though this cannot be faulted at the film. Alex Proyas could have done a better job but it is a decent effort containing some great isolated sequences.

Pitch Black (2000)

Go watch it for the set design and production values

[19 June 2018]

An alright film with a pretty decent atmosphere Pitch Black is a Vin Diesel vehicle and the start of the Riddick franchise. You can go and see to see where it all started and some scenes are pretty good but overall the film is a middling affair which should be getting the cult status in the future. David Twowy is in good form but could have done better.