Monsters (2010)

Sci Fi "end of the world" tales in Hollywood have been stretched so, so thin in the first century of the silver screen's existence. War Of the Worlds, Independence Day, It Came From Outer Space. Many setting (or inventing) the bar at which others must measure. Of course, with improved special effects came great possibilities to bring to us creatures from another world in a more believable way, the biggest and perhaps most vital tool leant to Science Fiction in cinema is CGI, a useful and expensive tool that has helped us cross the galaxy, see fully functioning, independently moving "non-puppet" aliens and enter extraordinary space ships. Before now it has been saved fore the elite, many directors getting the wrong end of the stick and trying so hard to get a beautiful image that they forget about substance and depth of story. Monsters, the ultra low budget (£320,000) 2010 sci-fi feature, is not part of that category.

It is, infact a journey that deals with how humans intereact with the world around them in extra-ordinary circumstances, and a very tangiable story of how human relationships develope during harsh times.

It isn't quite perfect though, Director/Cinematographer/Writer Gareth Edwards went uber-guerilla on this thing, shooting on location without permission and veering heavily from the script almost constantly. While it all makes a more realistic experience in an unrealistic setting, the loose reigns have let what could have been a huge middle finger to the larger studios (who readily invest $20-100 million for its summer blockbusters) wonders too far off course.

Sit in awe as this shoe string budgeted film hold up against its $100m+ counterparts,both in style and visual effects. But expect a plot that doesn't make a world of sense and doesn't stick strongly enough to a coherent story. A great first step and definitely worth at least your attention. 6/10

Edge (2010)

The BFI festival is running from the 13th until the 28th of October, and this gave me the chance to broaden my horizons and check out some Independant film yumminess, the first being "My Joy" and the second being Edge, written and directed by Carol Morley, and starring Maxine Peak, Marjorie Yates (both of Shameless fame) Joseph Dempsie and Nichola Burley.

The story revolves around 6 strangers staying at a little hotel in a non-descript area of the British coast, where each the guests seem to be in some way broken inside, the six main guests pair up into 3 groups which give us our 3 main stories (loosely flowing in and out of one another) as well as the Receptionist and Waitress phasing in and out as comic relief. the film cuts between each of the pairs, where usually one of the 2 has an issue the other is trying to help them overcome, while revealing their own flaws in the process, slowly working through each of their problems until the finale, which envelopes all three tales and culminates them into one ending.

Having attended the BFI film festival showing, the film was followed by a Q&A, in which Writer/Director Morely explained how delicate a balance it was between the humour and the dark source material, and that it was something she wanted to convey as all those darker moments in her life were usually surrounded by humour too. This, I feel, was something she didn't fully pull off in the execution, while stunning to look at, as long takes and the beautiful landscapes give you plenty to ogle, this Indie Drama feels a little watery at points, without giving too much away a lot of what happens, the climax feels a bit forced, something more likely to come out of a soap opera episode climax. But it was striking a balance between morbidity and laughter that something never quite clicked, while the humour DID work it just as if it were placed at the wrong time on some occasions.

Overall, great to see low budget Brit Indies being made at such a high calibre, the whole cast manage to convince us of their inner turmoil and angst, if only the story hadn't felt so much like a "made for TV deal" 6/10.