Over the course of three films, Neill Blomkamp has demonstrated a consistent interest in the body and the effects of the world upon it. “District 9” featured transformation into the undesirable while “Elysium” highlighted the inscription of class divisions onto the body. Chappie continues this conceit but with a reversal of Blomkamp’s debut — rather…
Wolfy: The Incredible Secret is a family film that tries to straddle the divide between entertaining younger viewers and not boring parents to tears. The best family films are those that succeed in this straddling act while those that fall into the gap can fail to impress anyone. Wolfy: The Incredible Secret mostly succeeds in…
Though Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind,” many of us deal with the frustrations of modern life by striking out against a society we see as oppressive. We rail against the politicians who misgovern us, the bureaucrats we tangle with, or simply against a world that does not…
Someone’s been watching “Pi.” With the grim black and white photography, slightly disheveled protagonist, explored thriller territory, talk of mathematical equations, and a search for secrets revealed by such equations, the influence of Darren Aronofsky’s 1998 debut are all over Richie Mitchell’s sci-fi-ish feature S.I.N. Theory. But based on this one effort, Mitchell is no…
Granted we’ve all enjoyed our fair share of them, but it is still a nice change of pace to watch a Hollywood film that isn’t one of those big budget, high-stakes films with product placements, massive CGI explosions and recycled plots. Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman is a tour-de-force western on the opposite side of…
From its opening images of our planet illuminated by technology, to a remarkable long take that takes the viewer through the inner operation and impact of computer processing, Blackhat hooks the viewer both emotionally and intellectually. The film delivers an enthralling rendering of both the macro and micro scale of our interconnected digital world, offering…
At St. Paternus University in Berkeley, CA, a small group of researchers has spent the last three years experimenting with the Lazarus serum, a discovery they hope will help the medical community escape the pressures of time, saving more patients while avoiding negative side effects and loss of cognitive function. Frank (Mark Duplass, “Tammy”) and…
