[star rating=”3.5″] GEOSTORM. Directed by Dean Devlin with Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Abbie Cornish, Richard Schiff, Alexandra Maria Lara and Andy Garcia.
I do love a good disaster movie, ever since I saw The Poseidon Adventure back in the 1970s and subsequently spent several years perfecting how to hold my breath underwater. Back in the day the special effects in movies were pretty basic, and most of the action was live (the Poseidon disaster was filmed with a scale model ship in a huge tub of water). Nowadays CGI is a part of the plot in its own right, and Geostorm is a perfect example of just how effective it can be. The film is set in the future when global warming and other factors have been “tamed” by a set of global satellites that basically control the world’s weather. Naturally, some baddies get into the system and want to take over, and it’s left up to engineer/architect Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) to save the day, via the international space station. In the meantime, cities and deserts and beaches are all either blowing up, freezing or flooding as the weather turns mean. And of course, these are the parts that audiences most love to watch. The effects are admittedly great, and while the storyline is predictable, the stunts and special effects are fantastic fun (especially when you know it’s all fake and nobody really dies). Ultimately, worth it for the stormy weather. EXTRAS: Three featurettes: Wreaking Havoc, Search for Answers and An International Event. – Karen Rutter
[star rating=”3″] VOICE FROM THE STONE. Directed by Eric D. Howell with Emilia Clarke, Edward Dring and Martin Csokas.
Confession time: I only watched this one because it stars Daenerys, Mother of Drag … sorry, Emilia Clarke. I was hoping for a little Throne-type action, seeing as we have to wait many more months before the season finale. Alas, this is an “art house” offering, with nary a Stark or a Lannister in sight. Furthermore, Emilia Clarke (better known as Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea) speaks Italian in the movie. Which doesn’t sound at all like Dothraki.
Anyhoo. So Clarke plays a nurse/psychologist who is summoned to a big stone Tuscan villa where a young boy has remained mute since his mother died a few months back. His father is (naturally) upset, and it’s Clarke’s role to get the boy to speak. Turns out there’s a ghost in the walls (well, the title is a little bit of a giveaway), who makes Clarke’s job a little tricky. There’re lots of silent long shots, and misty Tuscan scenery, and a weird beekeeper, and a creepy mausoleum. We won’t Spoiler Alert things by telling you if the boy finally speaks or not, but let’s just say the Tuscan scenery has its way with Clarke, and if she starts talking Valerian with an Italian accent in 2019, you’ll know why. – Karen Rutter
[star rating=”3″] SHOTCALLER. Directed by Ric Roman Waugh with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell and Jon Bernthal.
Once again, GoT was the driving raison d’etre behind my viewing choice, resulting in over an hour spent watching a gang of white-trash prison bangers go about their business. How’s that, you may ask? Because in Shotcaller Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister) finds himself in the Big House, and the contemporary prison code that operates is almost as complicated as those feuds between the Houses down in Westeros. Oops, I’m slipping again. Coster-Waldau plays a successful trader with a wife and kid who has an accident which has dire consequences. Once inside prison, he has to inveigle his way in with the local white power dudes or face violent consequences. He learns pretty quickly, and is soon calling the shots (as the title suggests). Thing is, the story is not that easy to believe, and his decisions even less so. The transformation from meek middle-class geek to stone cold killer is a little hard to swallow. Which makes Shotcaller a fairly average piece of entertainment, no more or less. EXTRAS: Featurette: Inside Job, Filmmaker Commentary. – Karen Rutter
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