An Indie sci-fi film on the precipice of where we might be heading, Creep Box, written and directed by Patrick Biesemans (and based upon his own short from 2022), ruminates on a hybrid artificial intelligence that is both intriguing and terrifying. Following Caul (Geoffrey Cantor), a PHD in psychology and parapsychology at HDTH Corp, he is currently working on a sleek black tech box... a device that can be used to collect the memories of the dead, which are then fused with an A.I. that can utilize the past of the deceased to not only communicate with loved ones, but also gather information that could lead to solving crimes of those who have been murdered.
Fans of Quentin Tarantino and his iconic crime thriller Pulp Fiction may remember the cryptic glowing briefcase with the lock that is opened by the number 666 which is held by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. This mysterious plot device was borrowed from one of the last great film noir pictures from that genre’s classical era, 1955's Kiss Me Deadly. Similarly, this gimmick was also used (but this time in the trunk of an automobile) in the Alex Cox 1984 cult classic Repo Man, starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez.
The 1980's and 1990's were two superb decades for amazing action films that contained easy on the eyes stunts, clever storylines, touches of comedy and great villains. Movies like the Die Hard trilogy, Lethal Weapon 1-4 , Mission Impossible, and James Bond entries like License to Kill and Goldeneye entertained in all of these categories. One of the best action movies to come out of the 90's though, is known as Léon or The Professional.
One of my favourite film styles is the post apocalyptic genre. Depending on the time of production, these movies depict the fears of the day. For instance, in 1973 Soylent Green was made, which highlighted the possibility of overpopulation, lack of employment and most importantly, food shortages; (look for a review of this film at a later date). Quite differently, in the 2006 motion picture Children of Men, we see quite the opposite – a world that is dying as humans are no longer able to procreate.
Roger Ebert’s top film of 2006 was the Spanish motion picture Pan’s Labyrinth, which he considered to be one of the greatest fantasy movies of all-time. A fairy tale meant for adults, the storyline follows a young girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), as she moves to a secluded old mill with her mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) and new stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez).
No, I will not be talking about country music or Shania Twain, but this line aptly describes what either of the two main characters could have said during the 1959 classic comedy Some Like It Hot.