Whatever Happened To Spielbergian Aliens? "The 5th Wave"

The 5th Wave (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Zackary Arthur, Liev Schreiber, Maria Bello, Ron Livingston, Alex Roe,

Directed by J Blakeson

The Story:

The aliens have made contact, and after 4 waves (Darkness, Destruction, Disease and Invasion) it's time to unleash...The 5th Wave!
But after so much destruction, what could possibly come next?

Cassie (Moretz) is desperate to find her brother (Arthur) who she lost when the Army came to round up survivors and take them to a training facility. There, Colonel Vosch (Schreiber) plans on training the young kids to be the soldiers of the future that can find and destroy the enemy. They shall be...

The 5th Wave!

So, now we know what the 5th Wave is.

How is it as a movie?

Meh, not bad.

It takes the trappings of the dystopian future and places a young female lead into the center of the conflict.

Her quest to reunite and rescue her little brother are the driving force behind the movie, and whether she helps save the world or not is only secondary.

Filled with an ensemble of fine characters to supplement that story, it's nothing earth-shattering and reinventing the sci-fi / action / dystopian future genre...

But entertaining nonetheless.

Probably nothing you haven't seen in one shape or form already, but it's done with enough gusto this go round, you won't feel like you wasted your time.

Final Grade:  C+

The "Spotlight" On A Great Movie About A Terrible Subject

Spotlight (2015)

Rated R

Starring Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

Directed by Tom McCarthy

The Story:

It's 2001 and The Boston Globe gets a new editor (Schreiber). As he feels his way into the job, he decides to pull his Spotlight team (Keaton, McAdams, Ruffalo, James) and put them on the hunt about a Catholic priest who may have abused multiple children and his exploits were known and covered up by the Catholic Church. What starts with dead-end after dead-end soon unravels one of the most scandalous real-life stories ever told.

Wow.

That is likely the feeling you will get as you watch the film and when it concludes.

It deserves every accolade it received, and while I see a great vocal assortment of film watchers clamoring that this movie should not have received the Best Picture Oscar, and it should have gone to The Revenant instead.

That simply reminds me that many people can be wrong.

:)

The cast all give strong performances, and it's a little sad that Brian d'Arcy James doesn't even get billing on the movie poster. He gives an honest, raw performance of a news reporter who wants to tell the world, or at least his corner of it, but can't due to his duty to the story.

Strangely, only Mark Ruffalo's performance is the one I cared for the least. He seemed a little too excitable and manic, and several times I smiled thinking he would turn into The Incredible Hulk when he started stressing out.

Well worth your time and energy.

It should begin streaming on Netflix sometime this summer if  you haven't seen it by then.

Final Grade:  A

Time After Time..."Kate & Leopold"

Kate & Leopold (2001)

Rated PG-13

Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer

Directed by James Mangold

The Story:

Stuart (Schreiber) has discovered a wormhole in time and is checking out New York in the 1800s when he is followed back to the present by Leopold (Jackman). A respectable gentleman of the past is suddenly surrounded by the modern society and he has much to learn, yet also has a few things to teach as well. When he falls for the lovely Kate (Ryan), it's a match made for the ages, but how can two people from two different times ever really be together?

This is one of those romantic comedies that has been bashed far too often, for far too long.

This was Meg Ryan at the height of her romantic comedy powers, before someone told her that it would be a good idea to get plastic surgery because she was getting older.

If I had a time machine, I would use it to go back and tell her it's not worth it, bad things are going to happen!

This was also Hugh Jackman before he became... Hugh Jackman!

Not yet the megastar he would become, yet he is so effortlessly charming, any plot holes you may have with a time travel film (and there's always plot holes!) are willingly overlooked just by how sweet this film really is.

Not to be left out Breckin Meyer who gives another great "aw shucks" character that he can do in his sleep, as Kate's brother. He is integral to the plot in both teaching Leopold a few things about the present while also accepting some sage gentlemanly advice from the man he is convinced is the greatest method actor of all time! :)

So if you haven't seen this one in the last 15 years, or managed to somehow miss it completely, both Netflix and Amazon have it streaming.

Considering some of the stinkers that Jackman has had lately (where he was usually the best part of the film), it was nice to revisit a movie at the start of his career where the movie was good and he simply made it that much better. You see a star being born, and it's a pretty cool experience.

Final Grade: B

Unclassified..."Hitler's G.I. Death Camp"

Hitler's G.I. Death Camp (2011)

Documentary

Narrated by Liev Schreiber

Written and Directed by Steven Hoggard

The Story:

From the National Geographic Explorers show comes the true story of American soldiers captured at the Battle of the Bulge and turned into POWs.  Over 300 were isolated because of suspected Jewish ancestry and sent to the Berga Concentration Camp.  They began working to build underground tunnels to work on Hitler's secret rocket fuel.

As the war drew to a close, the Nazis forced them to march away from the camp as quickly as possible.  The race was on to see if they would be liberated before they died from the death march.

Even Americans were dragged into Hitler's dream of a new world order, this documentary shines a light on an untold tale of drama and despair from the hundreds of soldiers who were forced into the Nazi slave labor camps.

It is a quick, insightful documentary that cannot possibly begin to do justice to the terrible tragedies endured by the hundreds of Americans and millions of German and Jewish people from neighboring countries.

However, it is a good place to start.


Available for streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Too depressing to watch repeatedly, but well worth at least one viewing.