Director: Kellie Madison Starring: Marguerite Moreau, Jack Davenport, Brad William Henke, Christopher McDonald. USA. 1h 25m
This film seems to be a poor relation to the earlier inventive sci fi horror, 400 Days (2015) which is a gripping futuristic piece, in this tepid thriller, a group are left in a bunker to simulate what it’s like to travel to Mars, sadly around the time they are to be released from the confines of their bunker, they lose communication and the crew start to break down mentally but that’s the least of their worries, as the paranoia seeps in the power cuts, have they really been left underground or have they really gone to Mars?Continue reading The Tank (2017)→
Director: Luigi Cozzi Starring: Ian McCulloch Louise Marleau Marino Masé Siegfried Rauch Gisela Hahn. Italy/Germany. 1h 22m
A ship carrying coffee,pulls into a New York harbour, but no one is on board, instead it’s filled with glowing “eggs” when tampered with they explode, spraying toxic liquid that causes massive tissue damage to anyone near them, an expert is called in to investigate the matter, Colonel Stella Holmes (Marleau) and her journey to discover the source is exciting and dangerous. Initially she freezes the samples but when more are found she brings in the flamethrowers, but how can we be sure that they have all been destroyed, where do they come from and what’s going on? WIth all these questions she digs deeper into the physiology of the “eggs” and soon comes to the conclusion that they are not from this planet, she tracks down one of two astronauts who have recently returned from Mars, but now Commander Ian Hubbard (MuCulloch) is a shabby down and out alcoholic but after some prompting he sorts his shit out and helps out the stunning Colonel.Continue reading Contamination (1980)→
I’ve done a few Horror collections so now it’s time for some sci fi, and this is really where things can get quite technical when it comes to short stories.
I have been a fan of sci fi since I really started watching films as a kid, with the The Thing (1982) and Alien(1979) being two of my earliest favourites. We’ve come a long way but our thirst for predicting the future has never faded and it’s always interesting to see what the raw and imaginative directors can come up with in the most creative movie art form.
All of these short movies come from a Youtube Channel Called CGBros I’ll try and add a link in here somewhere.
Mech: Human Trials Director: Patrick Kalyn Duration: 5.52 Starring: Steve Baran. ???. 2015
Despite not being a 110% original idea this dramatic short plays out more of an intro to something much bigger and it does look like the experienced director Patrick Kalyn, who’s worked on films such as District 9 (2009) and Avatar (2009) will be bringing into fruition this year. So what’s all the fuss about, the main protagonist, has always wanted to be somebody and in this pursuit he becomes addicted to a new drug, called Mech, which starts to morph him into something that belongs in any 90’s Manga film. While he starts to question the drug, it and it’s dealer disappear and another force makes itself known to him but is his a friend or a foe?
It’s beautifully shot, but does come across as a film preview more than an actual film and for a film this short it repeats a couple of scenes, I’m not sure if the director thought that we had forgotten or if he just wanted to showcase the most epic scene twice because it is so damned epic, either way it’s a just above average short, impressive on the graphics but not really a “short film” but just a stepping stone to a feature.
Rating 6/10
Singularity Director: Samuel Jorgensen Duration : 8:04 Starring : ?? Produced by Jeremy Pronk ????. 2015
A slightly longer and more epic film here, while it’s futuristic it’s also steeped in the look and feel of a modern warfare game (take your pic they all look the same to me). A special forces team have to rescue the president as there is a group of sentient androids out to destroy the president and it seems they aren’t all warm and mushy over any of the human race.
It takes a little while to warm up and doesn’t waste any time introducing any characters, mostly because the rest of the film is a blood bath! I was overly impressed with the effects and the acting, both are skillfully applied and neither one more overbearing than the other. And with a slightly predictable twist at the end there is a story that carries through to the end and isn’t forgotten among the robotics and bullets. It’s actually an okay movie, a lot better produced than some supposedly full length features.
Rating 6/10
Mis Drop Director : Ferand Peek Duration: 13:14 Starring : ????/2014
Possibly too long that it needed to be, this (not so) short film is presented as a found footage film, a forensic accountant is reviewing a video from a drop pod stream to understand why it was broken in the initial stages of a colonial invasion, upon opening this kinda black box recording of a young rookie Private Glenn’s first combat drop on an alien planet. First he’s strapped into his suit and given some advice by an old timer this scene is particularly wonderful just due to the presentation, the entire film is set up with a camera faced onto the lead like a gopro, all other characters are portrayed as voices or by their reflection.
The rookie is fished by the other “marines” and then things start to go awry. Taking a leaf out of the original Starship Troopers () this poor rookie has a rough introduction to life in a combat zone and even attempts to connect with his last one night stand, yep there’s even a hint of romance, this short is a mini epic.
It’s actually beautifully crafted, for the time and budget the resources, but it’s a bit too long for the short amount of story that it tells, and with an open ending I felt a little cheated by the end of the third watch, and it can’t be denied that it looks amazing, maybe if it is part of a series then it can redeem itself, but get in there now and check out this awesome first chapter.
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