Into The Abyss: Review of Annihilation

Annihilation

Director: Alex Garland

By Alex Watson

Ex-Machina showed that Alex Garland had the visual flair to make a promising director. Annihilation boosts his credentials further and this picture is a visually jarring affair. Throughout this picture, there is a haunting and malevolent ambience surrounding the events. Garland's story is one that has a continually ticking brain and forces us to consider what could happen with any possible encounters with un-human species?

Lena (Natalie Portman) is a biologist who is still reeling from the disappearance of her soldier husband Kane (Oscar Isaac). When he unexpectedly returns home, he begins acting begins acting distant and strange then suddenly collapses. Taken to a secret location, Lena is told by the mysterious Dr Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) that Kane's prior mission took him inside 'The Shimmer', an area which is always widening and has claimed the lives all of who enter. Driven by curiosity and desperate to save her husband. Lena agrees to enter 'The Shimmer'.

Aided by an unsettling atmospheric score by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, Annihilation continually finds ways to make our hairs stand on end. There is a sinister presence from the moment Kane first enters Lena's home. At first, she is overjoyed to see the man she loves, but his aloof demeanour soon spoils the party. Garland spends minimal time with backstory and everything we need or want to know about our characters is given to us. Refreshingly, the characters aren't a bunch of 'get some' soldiers looking to off the baddies. Instead, we are given a group of intelligent females who are all from different walks of life. Lena is a biologist, Ventress a psychologist, Josie (Tessa Thompson) is a physicist, tough-talking Anya (Gina Rodriguez) was a paramedic and the quieter Cass (Tuva Novotny) is a geologist. All of these women have afflictions in various ways, but serious question marks point to Ventress' involvement. A soft-spoken yet sly leader, she may not be in this for 'gathering data'

This picture takes a well-trodden story of military people entering the woods and being picked off and turns it on its head. There are some real shocks in store for the audience and some truly horrifying visuals. One particularly graphic scene sees a soldier's intestines turns into a living creature. There is also the pressure question of what precisely is 'The Shimmer'? Inside it seems like perfectly normal and overgrown rainforest, but lurking in the distance is a mysterious presence. Material wise, this movie takes some big diversions away from the novel by Jeff VanderMeer. However, Garland keeps the narrative intrigue with some frequent and shocking turns. There is no interest in jump scares or any cheap trickery, so he makes full use of his bold and smart script.

There is an intelligence to this story that still remains intact despite being in horror territory. Garland forces his audience to consider the possibility of what could happen should another species arrive. Only when do we learn the true meaning of movies title does our blood run slightly cold. Our band of heroines must contend with the likelihood that this is a one-way journey. Lena in particular struggles to keep her marriage a secret so as not to unsettle the others. The final act of Annihilation is the one which will be imprinted on audiences minds. Giving us no end of tension, we are given some hard and shocking truths about earlier events. Salisbury and Barrow's score is particularly effective during this stretch and adds to the increasingly horrific feel.

Natalie Portman gives a central turn which is both tough and immensely compelling. As a woman determined to complete the mission and save her lover, she gives the movie's its heart. On the surface a collected and assured person, Portman gives her a vulnerability that makes her relatable. She's also supported by the excellent Jennifer Jason Leigh. As Ventress, she is a blank slate and her motives are always impossible to determine. Speaking barely above a whisper, she succeeds in giving an air of mystery that never once dissolves. Tessa Thompson also provides excellent support and is fast becoming one of Hollywood's most dependable talents. Likewise with Jane the Virgin actress Gina Rodriguez, who is a lifetime away from the sweet-natured character we are so familiar with.

Annihilation is a clever and unbearably edgy thriller, Alex Garland is now officially a talent to be reckoned with.

Ocean of Oil: Review of Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater Horizon

Director: Peter Berg

By Alex Watson

As a director Peter Berg is able to convey disasters well, his previous effort Lone Survivor with Mark Wahlberg was a thrilling yet poignant tribute to man's instinct to survive the odds. His latest picture Deepwater Horizon chronicles the 2010 disaster which resulted in the biggest oil spill and the worst oil rig disaster in history. After original director J.C Chandor stood done, many wondered how precisely Berg would approach this subject? This picture full analyses how greed by big corporations and unsafe practices can result in things going array very quickly.

Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) is a Chief Electrician on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. When arriving with his superior Mr. Jimmy (Kurt Russell) and co-worker Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez), they realize that the contractors BP are massively behind schedule are trying to recoup lost time by sidestepping important measures for rig safety. Although their superiors assure them all is fine, their negligence will soon result in a disaster that will put all lives on the line.

The first hour of Deepwater Horizon is a finely tense affair and Berg ensures our anticipation and dread is cranked up to the max. The opening is a calm and blissful affair as we see Mike bonding with his wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) and his daughter. Out of the grizzled rig vets on screen, Mike is the only one we really get to know and seeing his family again becomes an important character strength. When the crew arrives on site, things begin to technical and Berg doesn't hold back on jargon such as blowout preventers, kill lines, and negative pressure tests.  Mr. Jimmy is highly suspect about the methods being used by his BP bosses and when he notices they are 43 days behind, his suspicions are confirmed. Every little creak and bump that we hear in the rig could be a potential hazard.

Donald Vindrie (John Malkovich) is an arrogant BP bigwig who acts as if he knows the drilling business like a second nature and his over confidence and shortsightedness are what derails events. He is the very face of corporate corruption that values the dollar over their worker's safety. The underwater pipes are heavily overloaded and could burst at any second. To master the tension, each shot we see of a negative pressure test and the gasket meter running in the red zone makes our hearts jump. Vindrie sternly refutes that the pipe is the problem, not the overloading, Mr. Jimmy can see a disaster brewing but is powerless to intervene due to the stubbornness of the people above him. All around us, we cannot tell whether the workers or the rig will blow first?

When the explosion occurs at first it is a horrifying mixture of mud and flames, but asides from a quick burst Deepwater Horizon is unable to make use of the needed action. Everything that can catch fire does and what starts as a minor explosion soon becomes a fiery tomb. There are some nervy moments watching Mike sulking around corridors of the wrecked rig looking for any survivors. Unfortunately, these moments are seldom seen and it leaves a dampener on what has been a great ride. Each time either Mike, Jimmy or anyone attempts to kill off the flames, we all know that saving this place is a foregone conclusion. For the final segment, it just feels like Berg is attempting to draw more minutes out when it should focus on the workers running for safety. Aside from this slight lapse, this is still a fine tribute to the bravery and courage that people demonstrate when things are on the line.

Mark Wahlberg proves to be Peter Berg's go to guy when he needs acting chops and as Mike Williams, he gives a fine performance of an every man faced with an impossible task. A likeable family man, Mike is the one look we get at workers off the rig and his quiet intensity is what sets him apart. Kurt Russell also makes for fine supporting fodder as Mr. Jimmy, his weary and frustrated manner with his BP superiors is what gives this picture some friction. His character might appear to be a typically cliched one, but Russell owns every minute of his screen time. Skilled at villainy, John Malkovich is perfectly oily (no pun intended) as Donald Vindrie. Coming across the kind of self-serving swine you always cross in corporate offices, Malkovich perfectly emphasizes the meddling forces at bay.

Deepwater Horizon is a fine disaster piece and firmly demonstrates the heroics taken on what has become one of the worst disasters this century.