A girl is raised by an android in an underground bunker as part of an Earth repopulation project. Well-designed and acted SF that sustains itself for an hour, but which doesn’t have the nous to engineer a third act; ultimately frustrating, even if there are many pleasures along the way.
Tag: eamonn’s reviews
Terminator: Genisys (2015, dir. Alan Taylor)
Time-travelling freedom fighters attempt to prevent a digital apocalypse in near-future (2017) San Francisco. Muddled series reboot saddled with awkward plotting, key unanswered questions, and too many borrowings. Only JK Simmons brings some fun in support.
The Woods (2006, dir. Lucky McKee)
A rebellious teen with latent psychic powers finds herself in a sinister all-girls boarding school. A well-paced 60s-set supernatural tale that does what you might expect, but with some class and style.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014, dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
A serial killer re-enacts the true-life killings immortalised in a 70s drive-in movie. Well-directed horror flick with a neat premise (the 1976 film of the same name features throughout) and a decent cast of character actors, though the whodunnit climax is underwhelming.
Office Uprising (2018, dir. Lin Oeding)
Nerdy colleagues band together after co-workers become murderous via a weaponised energy drink. Okay-while-its-on comedy-horror with a Larry Cohen-esque conceit and a whiff of The Belko Experiment. No real surprises or scares, but some nice lines and action details.
Chef (2014, dir. Jon Favreau)
A former high-flying chef finds himself again as a food-truck operator after being humbled. At once obvious and sentimental yet fun, sweet and charming, bolstered by great character actor performances, Chef is a treat if you go with it.
Triple Threat (2019, dir. Jesse V Johnson)
Mercenaries accidentally free a terrorist. This gleeful team-up of multiple DTV action stars doesn’t quite hang together in story terms, but there’s no doubting the fun to be had if shootouts, martial arts combat and fistfights are your thing.
