Film Review: AFTER.LIFE (2009)

Co-Writer/Director: Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo
Running time: 99 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Horror/Mystery
UK Release date: 28th August 2010 (Film4 FrightFest)

Watched on Sky+ Monday 11th July 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I really didn’t know much about this film before seeing it, apart from a mention it got on a film review TV program about a year ago. I was pleasantly surprised with this psychological thriller with a bit of a supernatural twist. It’s a lot better than it appears to have been rated on certain web sites (you know who you are Rotten Tomatoes!). Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my take on it.

Schoolteacher Anna Taylor has an argument with her boyfriend, Paul Coleman, at a restaurant one stormy night. She leaves in a temper, takes her car and drives into the night. Distracted by her thoughts she ends up in an accident. The next thing she knows she wakes up on a slab in a mortuary run by Eliot Deacon. He tells her she’s dead and only he can hear and speak to her. Of course she doesn’t believe him and tries to leave, but he won’t let her. Is she really dead, or does Mr Deacon have a secret? Well, yes, you guessed it; I’m not going to tell you here. Those Spoiler Police are getting tougher.

A pretty well made film that I found quite atmospheric. It always keeps you guessing with some quite clever plot twists. Good performances all round, particularly from Christina Ricci as Anna Taylor and Liam Neeson as Eliot Deacon. Both were excellent, as was Justin Long as Paul Coleman, he really surprised me with this one. Oh, and a special mention for young Chandler Canterbury as one of Anna’s pupils, Jack, he did a great job too.

Although it did fall into the odd cliché here and there, I found the plot entertaining and refreshingly different from many film of this ilk I’ve seen in recent years. Yes, it’s not the most original idea, and there were one or two continuity errors, but I liked the way it was done and I liked the ending (no clues here). Over all, certainly worth a rental… Recommended.

My Score 6.7/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0838247/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/after.life/
Official Site: http://www.afterlifethefilm.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: PLANET 51 (2009)

Director: Jorge Blanco
Co-Directors: Javier Abad & Marcos Martínez
Running time: 91 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): U

UK release date: 4th December 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 24th October 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

As you may or may not know, I’m a bit of a sucker for an animated feature and, having seen the trailer for Planet 51 a while back I was keen to see how it turned out. I must admit I was shocked how poorly it has been received. What I found was a funny, engaging film with a whole load of gags referring to just about every mainstream sci-fi/alien film. I admit it’s not perfect, but I think it deserves another chance. But more of that later, first, here’s a very brief summary (miss the next paragraph if you hate summaries).

Planet 51 is supposed to be lifeless, well, that’s what the data said anyway. Unfortunately for astronaut Captain Charles T. Baker, it isn’t. Alien life forms with green skin inhabit this little planet and they have advanced as far as the 1950’s, that’s USA 1950’s, just in case there’s any doubt. A teenager, Lem, befriends Baker and, with the help of his friends, Skiff and Eckle, hides him from the army and their leader, General Grawl and the crazy scientist, Professor Kipple. He is in love with Eckle’s sister, Neera, but struggles with getting the right words out. Back with the mission, help is at hand in the form of R.O.V.E.R., an advance scout robot who was sent ahead of the mission. Time is running out for Baker, his command craft, in orbit, leaves in 72 hours. Can Lem and his friends get him back to his Lander in time? Will Baker help Lem with Neera? Is there any end to these crazy questions? Guess you’ll have to wait and see.

As I said at the beginning, there are plenty of gags incorporated into the script and there’s also a lot of slapstick. My favourite character is the ‘Alien’ dog; you’ll know what I mean when/if you see it. The dialogue was adequately delivered, but then nobody was really stretched. Honourable mentions go to the voice talents of; Dwayne Johnson as Captain Charles T. Baker, Jessica Biel as Neera, Justin Long as Lem, Gary Oldman as General Grawl, Seann William Scott as Skiff and John Cleese as Professor Kipple.

Over all I found it a very entertaining movie with quite a few laughs. I guess it’s down to taste and I’m aware that we are all different, especially when it comes to comedy, but I urge you to give this one a chance. Although it’s not perfect, I’ve seen much, much worse… Recommended.

My score: 6.4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0762125/
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/sonywonder/planet51/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1592656409/