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How It Ends (2018)
An atypical disaster film that won't understood by everyone
Like "Last Night", "How It Ends" makes good use of the chaos a global disaster event inevitably produces to drive home the point that, in reality, a doomsday survivor has very few choices and virtually no control over their own fate. The only thing you can expect is the unexpected. Not every building you search will have a surprise waiting around the corner. Not every stranger will be unwilling to help. Not every good ol' boy with a gun will try to shoot you. Not every person who flags you down for help is trying to rob you (although that doesn't mean you won't get robbed if you stop to help them). Not every piece of information you'll receive will be accurate. Not every checkpoint is inpassible. Not every trap is inescapable. Not every friend you find will stick around. Not every ally will stay an ally. And not every person you have to kill in order to survive is going to deserve it.
Also like "Last Night", the writers don't give a fig about the audiences' craving for answers and explanation. The viewer gets precisely as many answers as the characters get... which isn't a whole lot. We only see a few pieces of the puzzle and are left to make our own determinations about the cause of the disaster (which appears to be geological, but we never find out if its natural or man-made). The film could have used the old, tired trope of conveniently bumping into the only eccentric scientist who happens to know exactly what is happening... but that would be unrealistic and this is not that kind of movie. Unfortunately, in our modern age we're so accustomed to having instant information at our fingertips that it is difficult and frustrating to imagine not being able to know within seconds the cause and details of a global disaster, or to accept that we may never get to find out (this is evident once you read the other user comments). In "How It Ends", its very possible nobody in the world knows exactly what is happening or why. But again, the 'why' of the situation is simply not what this film is about.
The writers are also not gentle on the audience's sense of morality... there are no clear-cut 'bad guys' in the movie, or 'good guys' even, only human beings representing different mixtures of self-interest and ethics.
Is it the best apolocalypse movie ever made? Not by a long shot. It is, however, one of the more realistic end-of-the-world films to come out lately, has some decent acting (Forest Whitaker is a national treasure), and is a refreshing take on the American doomsday film genre. At the heart of the story are themes of family, acceptance, generational conflict, loss, and trust. The first act sets up the generational conflict. The second act enforces the title of the film's double meaning, which refers to the end of parental repsonsibility and how difficult it can be for a parent to entrust the safety of their child to that child's chosen partner and new family once they've become adults. This is visually represented as a slow gradual shift from driver to back-seat driver. The third act represents the challenges a new starter family encounters when the previous generation is no longer able to provide support, and their children have to assume the full mantle of adulthood on their own terms.
As for the ending, I found it fitting and appropriate. I'm not sure what others were expecting but I was satisifed with the characters' natural progression. Having recently lost my parents and started my own family without much outside help, I understand the film's final message and can relate to how the characters feel in the last scene. What they saw in the rear-view mirror and what they said to each other is exactly how it feels to have your youth finally come to an end and assume the burden of parenthood.
Watch this movie. And if you haven't seen Last Night (1998), watch that one too.
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Best DC Animated So Far
I know men and women(!) from all walks of life who watch DC Animated shows/movies religiously. A lot of us were expecting a Flash-specific movie after the awesomely climatic culmination of events at the end of the JLA series season 4 (Divided We Fall)... which pretty much told us DC fanatics what we already knew all along... that the Flash is probably the most powerful superhero in the DC universe, period. So why don't we know more about him? This movie serves three amazing purposes, each executed to perfection; first, bring the DC animated movie series to an even darker, more violent, mature place and audience; second, give us a glimpse into the Flash's personal back-story, top villains, and character development; and third, to showcase a period in DC comic book history that is crucial to further plot developments. But really, its just a beautiful film and great opportunity to showcase some of the newest animation tactics, and to give the animators some freedom to be a little more 'adult' in their drawings. This is definitely the best of the DC animated movies thus far, (that's saying a LOT, btw), and is truly one to get excited about watching. New Earth is portrayed hauntingly as a gritty, sullen place to exist... Aquaman is finally given full credit and accurately shown as a nigh-invulnerable multi-powered heavyweight... the Amazonians are beautiful and fearsome... and for the first time ever I was actually a little creeped out by the true alien that Superman is. But you'll get a little creeped out by all the characters, and that's the point (except the Flash, of course!). It was great to see the interpretation of the New Earth variants well voiced and drawn, especially Slade and Black Manta. Also huge kudos to the producers for making Yo Yo's voice the same as Harley Quinn's. I totally agree.
Skeleton Lake (2012)
A Canadian Review of a Canadian Indie Flick...
Like so many movies coming out these days, this film starts off strong... but ends up flat. A group of pro criminals on the run after a big score pick the wrong place to low law. OK, its been done.. but not for a while, and it could have been a fresh take on the story. The characters are developed, and by the midway mark you can see and understand the different personality conflicts and connections, despite all the black sunshades, grunts and head bobs cinema gangsters are for some reason restricted to communicating with. But regardless the movie sets itself up as an exciting and promising thrill ride.
However halfway through you realize the concept is flawed. By the time the bodies start to pile up, you realize you're not in for a ride but a slow crawl to a sad finish. The movie tries to become something its not, by adding old, typical action movie one-liners and having an ending with absolutely no twist at all (whoever says there's a twist ending must have watched another movie). The subplots finish at dead ends and the characters degrade into voiceless masses. The action is over the top and corny by the end. "And it started off so well", you will say to yourself...
I'm a Canadian who loves and wants Canadian film to progress, but we're not going to do it with movies like these. Please, please, please... remember movies need endings too!