Below

Tags

2000's, Below, Bruce Greenwood, David Twohy, Dexter Fletcher, Holt McCallany, Horror, Jason Flemyng, Matthew Davis, Olivia Williams, Scott Foley, Supernatural Horror, Zach Galifianakis

Film Title

Below

Director

David Twohy

Starring

• Bruce Greenwood as Lieutenant Brice
• Matthew Davis as Ensign Douglas Odell
• Olivia Williams as Claire Paige
• Holt McCallany as Lieutenant Paul Loomis
• Scott Foley as Lieutenant Steven Coors
• Zach Galifianakis as Wally
• Jason Flemyng as Stumbo
• Dexter Fletcher as Kingsley

Although it offers nothing really new to the supernatural horror genre, Below is a tense and claustrophobic film that at least makes an impact due to atmosphere and cast and doesn’t promise to be anything bigger than it is.

It is August 1943, during World War II. The US Tiger Shark is a Navy submarine on patrol in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship gets orders to rescue any possible survivors from a sunken British ship. The crew rescue three survivors, two injured men and a female medical doctor named Claire Paige. Her arrival makes the crew uneasy due to the belief that a woman on board is bad luck and the fact that they haven’t seen a women for so long. The officer in charge Lieutenant Brice calms the situation the best he can, but then spots a German warship which they flee from by going underwater. Once underwater is when strange events begin to unfold. In the close and confined space, secrets that link to the mysterious Brice and his right hand man Loomis lurk. The opinionated and far from submissive Claire becomes the one most curious as to what transpired before her arrival. Yet there is another bigger set of problems that begin to come into fruition as seemingly supernatural events begin to take hold, including visions people can’t deny. Soon enough, the ship is haunted by an unseen force. With paranoia rising and the submarine depleted from attack, who will make it out alive? What is plaguing the ship with all these chilling events and why? And is the ship really haunted or is there something more foul at play within the submarine?

Director David Twohy displays confident enough direction that induces chills and a claustrophobic impact as the ship becomes littered with death and deception. He could have gone a bit deeper into some aspects, but this is a minor thing as he shows flair for the material and creates many spine-tingling moments of horror. A dark visual style of muted blues is excellent at crafting the underwater atmosphere and sense of no escape in Below as the ship continues to move down and the horror begins to awaken. One main flaw with Below would have to be the script. While it is far from shambolic, it could have benefited from a fixer upper in terms of some character development. Some of the characters, mainly in the supporting category seem to appear and disappear without any real explanation. The supporting characters that are defined are very good, but the ones that aren’t just don’t cut it. At least the main set of characters are decent enough in their own ways. There is a nice sound design to Below that highlights the fact that the crew may not be alone on the ship and a superb score brims with claustrophobic tension and sudden jolts of terror.

Despite the often repetitive and B-movie style dialogue found within Below, the cast contributes great work that makes the characters more interesting than they could have been. Bruce Greenwood is suitably mysterious as the man in charge, who clearly isn’t cut out for the job yet listens to no one. He gives the role a slimy aura that is unmistakable. Matthew Davis plays the role of the curious and suspicious Odell, who knows something is going on but seems to be admonished when he tries to unearth it. As the sole woman in the film, Olivia Williams makes a mark as the no-nonsense nurse who won’t be spoken down to just because of her gender. In the hands of another actress the part would be nothing much, but in the capable hands of Williams, it gets a lot of credibility. The muscled authority and strength of Holt McCallany is on show in his performance as the right hand man to the acting officer. Some good support comes courtesy of Scott Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Flemyng and Dexter Fletcher as other members of the crew and a wounded survivor respectably.

Below is not the best supernatural horror out there nor does it pretend to be, instead it is a very chilling and atmospheric movie that makes great use of the setting and tensions that begin to build.

Puss in Boots

Tags

2010's, Adventure, Amy Sedaris, Animated, Antonio Banderas, Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Miller, Comedy, Fantasy, Puss in Boots, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis

Film Title

Puss in Boots

Director

Chris Miller

Voice Cast

• Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots
• Salma Hayek as Kitty Softpaws
• Zach Galifianakis as Humpty Dumpty
• Billy Bob Thornton as Jack
• Amy Sedaris as Jill

An excellently animated and witty spin-off with the lovable rogue feline that proved so popular in the Shrek movies, Puss in Boots is proof that not all spin offs are a bad things. It becomes a bit bogged down at times when establishing some of the origins, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining due to the mixing of humour, fantasy and animation.

Years before encountering Shrek, Puss is a fugitive who while being a bandit, has his own sense of code and honour. Travelling from place to place, he becomes aware of the mythical beans that lead to the clouds, promising a Golden Goose. The beans are currently in the possession of murderous outlaws Jack and Jill. Our smooth talking furry feline makes it his mission to recover them, but something gets in the way on his first attempt. A sleek and slinky feline by the name of Kitty Softpaws intervenes and distracts him in her own mission to get the magical beans. After giving chase, Puss discovers that Kitty is in fact in league with someone from his past. The person in question is the talking egg Humpty Dumpty. As children, him and Puss were like brothers, but Humpty out of spite and jealousy, betrayed Puss during a robbery that left Puss an outcast from his town. Initially reluctant to help Humpty in his quest to get the beans, Puss eventually comes around to the idea because of his quest to rebuild his reputation, but is still unsure of whether Humpty is plotting something. There’s no time to think though as he, along with the unusual Humpty and the gifted thief Kitty, are plunged into a full-on adventure of the highest order with excitement and twists along the way, closely linked with Jack and Jill who they must commandeer the beans off.

I will admit that I was skeptical at the idea of a Puss in Boots spin-off, because I often find spin-offs tend to be lesser than the films that they are originally linked too. So I was really surprised that Puss in Boots was in fact a very accomplished film. Chris Miller and his set of animators really gave it their all here, bringing verve and colour to the proceedings. From scene to scene, the lively animation brought life to the adventure and was spectacular. And while the visuals were a clear highlight, the various gags and send ups to western movies and pop culture was really amusing to watch. I’ve always been a fan of giving old fairy tales a makeover, and Puss in Boots does it with an abundance of heart and style. Now the main flaw I found with Puss in Boots was the overindulgence of flashbacks. I know they were meant to establish the origin story of Puss and many were good, it just felt a bit much. It could have been tightened a lot more in my view. Yet that is the only real thing I can pick at in the movie because it is immensely enjoyable and fresh. A Latin accented score is the perfect accompaniment to the rip-roaring and hysterical adventure that Puss finds himself dragged into.

Antonio Banderas with his thickly accented and suave voice is magnetic as the thieving feline on the adventure of a lifetime. Equal parts humour and pathos, Banderas uses his masterful vocal talent to give stunning life to the lovable Puss. Salma Hayek is an ideal choice for the voice of the slinky Kitty, who can match Puss with her fighting skill and thieving expertise. Hayek and Banderas, having worked together before, clearly have a good sense of camaraderie, chemistry and banter that feeds into the characters they voice here. Zach Galifianakis masterfully keeps us on edge with his contribution as Humpty, whose capricious changes in character are called into question. Is he leading Puss on or is he genuinely trying to reestablish a friendship again? That mystery is given life by the talented Galifianakis. As the revamped and very dangerous Jack and Jill, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris display the right amount of villainy suited to the film with their long drawl.

Colourful, funny and with stellar animation, Puss in Boots emerges as a spin-off that is hugely charming and proves that when done right, these kinds of movies can work really well.