Today's Mini-Review: Deep Rising

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

Starring: Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Anthony Heald

Directed by Stephen Sommers

USA: Calimari Productions, 1998

Before Stephen Sommers sank his teeth in remaking The Mummy (and soon after milking it dry with various unwarranted sequels and spin-offs) and before going totally overboard with the remaining classic Universal Horror monsters with the lackluster Van Helsing, he had already shown his affinity for monsters with this delightful big budget B-movie. Assembling a diverse cast, including several notable character actors that would later be seen in more ambitious fare, Sommers brings us an excellent action chiller set on a luxury ocean liner on her maiden voyage that has the misfortune of being boarded by a band of ruthless brigands. Their trouble is something even more insidious beat them to their target and swiftly proceeds to move against them as well.

Treat Williams (a veteran of all kinds of TV and movie work, just not of the memorable kind) stars as smuggler captain Finnegan, who has taken on the thankless job of transporting a group of dangerous testosterone dominated mercenaries (think Aliens, except these are bad guys) to the Argonautica, a gargantuan cruise ship and playground for the rich and wealthy, that has just embarked on her first trip across the South China Sea. Offloading the volatile, loudmouth band of privateers – among them Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator, Blood Diamond), Wes Studi (Avatar, Hell on Wheels) and Jason Flemyng (Stardust, X-Men: First Class) – should be all in a day's work, but unfortunately all their plans are shot to hell when it turns out something far more sinister and deadly already boarded the boat and ate most of the passengers and crew. Stumbling upon a few survivors, including sexy con woman Trillian (Famke Janssen), the gang must soon alter their intentions as they are faced with ghastly sea monsters that mean to slither their grotesque tentacles all around their bodies to suck 'em dry. At least the revelation that the mercs planned on torpedoing the ship after they got away with the money allows them some firepower to retaliate and save their skin, provided someone is left alive to blow the boat sky-high. It's soon a matter of 'no honor among thieves' as it turns out nobody here can be trusted, not even in the face of getting devoured by slimey sea serpents, of sorts. Amidst pirates and sleazy cruise ship managers it's hard to step up as the voice of reason, but Finnegan attempts to do so anyway and at least succeeds in convincing Trillian to bail out while they still can, also making for some semi-romantic tête-a-tête between them that thankfully never gets in the way of the real fun but actually gives them both the necessary rogue-ish character. Unfortunately, Finnegan's contractors won't let them walk away and are set to complete their mission, even all through the maritime monster infestation that threatens to kill them all. Working their way through the vessel, Deep Rising's plot soon develops along the old fashioned 'ten little Indians' line, but the pleasure to be had proves none the less of it.

Unlike most of Sommers' monster movies soon to follow, Deep Rising feels like an actual entry into the horror genre, instead of catering to the 'PG-13 happy' crowd of Hollywood execs who want to make their films as accessible to most demographics as they can, which led to all his subsequent movies merely playing with horror conventions but instead devolving into typical FX driven blockbuster spectacle. Nevertheless, Sommers' willingness to throw in CGI where the budget allows him can already be felt in this film as the creatures often look overly digital (not surprising, considering digital effects were still largely new territory around this time) and particularly towards the climax end up being overused, but still the movie contains its fair share of suspenseful and gory moments. If you ever wondered what a half-digested human being looks like, here's an answer for you and it is kinda disturbing to behold. Despite the uneasy reliance on digital FX to allow the monsters to do their horrific killing, in terms of sheer fast paced action interspersed with moments of aptly timed comedy delivered by a cast that seems to thoroughly enjoy itself, Deep Rising proves to be about as entertaining as they come without feeling the need to be more than just solid popcorn enjoyment. There's a reason the film's finale comes with an hilarious open ended note – without the usual sequel pretensions – that underscores that everything that came before should not have been taken at all seriously, in case that was not perfectly clear from the onset of the film. In the annals of 'delightful movie pairings', Deep Rising's 'modern pirates versus sea monsters' deserves to be worthy of some credit.

Ultimately this effective horror extravaganza failed to attract an audience and became a typical box office bomb. Rather undeservedly so in my mind, as I consider this a vastly underrated, hugely entertaining action/horror flick. If you like dynamic action on the high oceans and you don't mind a bit of sea monsters slaughtering humans throughout, this is about as good as it gets. And if out of that sentence only the 'action' part appeals to you, Deep Rising definitely doesn't sink in its efforts.

Today's Mini-Review: Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips: ****/*****, or 7/10

2013 witnessed the release (in the Netherlands at least) of two very different films based on the exact same theme, ship hijacking (both reportedly based on true events, but not the same events). One was the excellent Danish production Kapringen which for a moment largely seemed to revolve on the reuniting of the cast and crew of Borgen but instead proved a psychological horror propelled by the sheer inadequacy of the ship's company to successfully negotiate terms with the Somali pirates for the release of the ship and its hostages. It kept the film devoid of true action for most of the film and caused the movie to keep its audience waiting endlessly for something to happen, which aptly illustrated the reality that such hostage situations usualy result in a deadlock that leads to months of uncertainty for victims, perpetrators and families alike. And when all seemed resolved, Kapringen still ended on a shocking note of unexpected, needless violence to top the agony that came before. Paul Greengrass takes a whole different approach to hijacking in his more action packed yet equally chilling Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks as the titular character. Commanding a large freighter and sailing it around the Horn of Africa, Phillips too is confronted by armed marauders out for money by seizing commercial maritime traffic and privateering its personnel in exchange for cash. Whereas that other famous American Tom (whose last name also inspires the thought of boats, though that fun fact is totally irrelevant here) plays the occasional everyman and always fails miserably because of his star status, Hanks yet again proves up for said job despite his own famous persona and portrays a stern but decent regular working Joe, insightful as to his situation and not afraid to back down when his opponent bests him and assumes command of his vessel. The lives of his crew come first, his own by comparison he considers dispensable. Money is the brigands' objective, not mayhem for mayhem's sake, but there are no negotiations with the ship's company. While the situation grows ever more tense and a happy end seems less and less likely to transpire, Phillips plays an increasingly dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with his captors that seems only to be able to end in his own unfortunate demise.

Greengrass (of Bloody Sunday and Bourne fame, while also responsible for another factual hijacking of a wholly different kind with United 93) applies his signature handheld 'shaky cam' style to great effect to get up close and personal with both Phillips and the bad guys (and to make spectators with poor stomachs seasick for sure) which delivers both visceral action and intense emotional drama. And though the movie ultimately proceeds into a fairly typical 'good guys versus bad guys' conflict, he inspires more than the slightest bit of sympathy for the perps, who are portrayed alarmingly accurate as people devoid of options. When you spend your life living in excruciating poverty in a rural area that supports no other means of employment or even food than the job of fisherman, and when western fisheries cut deals with your corrupt government to catch all your fish, what else is there to do than to go out to sea and commandeer foreign vessels in the hopes of ransoming their passengers? Somali pirates are desperate people who have no other means of sustaining themselves, Greengrass effectively reveals. The lead pirate, a skinny, intelligent young man (tremendously compelling performance by first time actor Barkhad Abdi, who commendably holds his own next to Hanks) is shown to be a man forced by circumstance to do things he needs to do to survive, but he definitely never enjoys doing them for a second. Both he and Phillips try to contain their crew from letting the explosive situation degenerate into bloodshed, something the pirate surprisingly succeeds in more so than Phillips does, as his crew attempts to regain control of their boat on multiple occasions without his say, further endangering all their lives. When the anti-piracy units of the American Navy arrive, the pirates are forced to make a quick exit in a lifeboat, and drag Phillips along with them as a human shield. It seems obvious that things can only end badly, but the movie delivers a forcibly happy end (of sorts) that does feel bitter for all present parties regardless. Captain Phillips is one-third action, one-third suspense and one-third human drama, but more straightforward in style (it's still Hollywood material after all) than its Danish predecessor, yet making for a fine companion piece to that film in showing a very different way these hostage negotiations tend to conclude.

Today's Mini-Review: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, The

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

Steven Spielberg's first foray into the realm of motion capture, for which he used the classic comic adventures of Hergé's Tintin as the source material, combining elements from such beloved tales as The Crab with the Golden Claws, Red Rackham's Treasure and of course, The Secret of the Unicorn itself. Using real human performances from accomplished actors, the otherwise fully animated characters seem that much more convincing, making it a fine blend between animation and live-action, about as close to the original comics as an animated movie could hope to get. The young reporter Tintin (charming Jamie Bell) stumbles upon a model ship, the Unicorn, at a flea market, and soon gets caught up in a plot to find the location of the actual ship that sunk hundreds of years ago, loaded with treasure. The sinister Sakharine (Daniel Craig) is after his model and several others like it, to solve the puzzle of their predecessor's wherabouts on the bottom of the ocean. Tintin and his loyal dog Snowy team up with the ever drunk Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis, the undisputed king of mo-cap), a descendant of the Unicorn's commander, to keep Sakharine from achieving his goal and find the treasure first, for which they'll have to brave storms at sea, plain crashes, scorching desert crossings and the excessively high pitched voice of the Milanese Nightingale, Bianca Castafiore. Meanwhile, back at home, bumbling inspectors Thomson and Thompson (Nick Frost and Simon Pegg) – no relation! – are out to catch a shrewd pickpocket. Tintin may be the hero of the piece, but it's Haddock, Snowy and the two policemen who deliver the best lines, funniest gags and most memorable characters overall, just as in the comics: compared to them, Tintin himself remains fairly dull overall. Anyone who has ever seen an Indiana Jones movie and kept thinking of Tintin will be pleased to know Spielberg has perfectly carried over the tone of his Indy films to this first Adventure of Tintin, which is also quite suitable for a younger audience (and should adequately warn kids against the dangers of rampant alcohol consumption). Producer Peter Jackson is supposed to direct the next installment, but working on The Hobbit trilogy has thus far kept him from doing so. Hopefully he will pick it up soon, since it would be a darn shame if there ended up being just a single Adventure of Tintin.

Starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig

Directed by Steven Spielberg

USA/New Zealand: Colbumbia Pictures, 2011

Today's Mini-Review: Kapringen

Kapringen: ****/*****, or 7/10

Harrowing tale of a hijacked ship's crew on one side and the ship's company negotiators on the other. A Danish cargo ship is commandeered by Somali pirates who demand 15 million euros ransom. The company's CEO (Søren Malling), against sound advice from a hired expert in hijacking, decides to engage in negotiations with the pirates himself and soon finds himself in too deep where his personal emotions are concerned, which increasingly causes escalations in this dire situation. Meanwhile, the crew of the ship, including the cook Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk), must cope with psychological and violent abuse by the Somalis, while also suffering months of boredom and unhygienic living conditions, including a severe lack of food. However, they form an unlikely bond with their captors, who don't prove to be so inhuman at all (and rather hungry too), just poor, uneducated people driven to extreme action for the most part. Tense scenes of Mikkel being forced to cook for the pirates at gunpoint are interspersed with surprisingly uplifting scenes of the hostages and the Somalis engaging in boisterous song and dance to celebrate the capture and cooking of a fish. However, director Tobias Lindholm makes it perfectly clear that every act of sympathy and generosity the captives receive can be taken from them just as swiftly by their captors due to the ever prolonged negotiation procedures the CEO makes them live through, as he is stalling for time in an effort to bring down the amount of money demanded by the pirates to a more affordable level. Of course the uncertainty suffered by the hostages' families and his decreasing levels of success soon make even him hesitant about a happy outcome, as negotiations seem to rapidly spiral towards a boiling point. Kapringen is a terrific and terrifying movie, executed very realistically. Despite the solid performances this distills from the lead actors, at times realism does hinder the movie's pace since little happens, as it would over the course of four months sitting on a ship that goes nowhere while negotiations have turned so sour that both parties hardly communicate anymore. Nevertheless, the ever more critical situation onboard ship, where the crew has to deal with bored and impatient pirates, does result in many a suspenseful scene, made all the more disturbing by Asbæk's compelling acting. This film is made by the creators of the Danish hit series Borgen and, apart from the good writing of course, it shows: half the cast was featured on that TV-series, so occasionally you start asking yourself, why isn't Danish prime minister Birgitte Nyborg getting herself involved in this affair to save the day?

Amistad

Rating ***/*****, or 7/10

Spielberg's testimonial against the nineteenth-century African slavery industry. On the slaver vessel La Amistad in 1839, a group of slaves revolted, after which the ship was steered towards the USA, where a lengthy string of courtroom sessions controlled the mutineers' fate. Spielberg unfortunately lets the courtroom scenes dominate the film too much, which makes for a rather static and lengthy view that often fails to compel its audience, but the flashback scenes that illustrate the deplorable suffering of Africans aboard slaver ships fully underscores the horrors they underwent and the issues at stake for the Amistad slaves, and feels like a fist punch in the face of viewers who might otherwise have fallen asleep. The various parties involved, including the Southern and Northern American states, the British Navy and the Spanish royalty provide for an historically intriguing but narratively chaotic overall plot line. Spielberg made this film with the best intentions, but it's obviously not as much his cup of tea as the Second World War or the Holocaust proved to be. The movie does include some powerful performances though, both by veteran actors the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Morgan Freeman, as well as relative newcomers Matthew McConaughey and Djimon Hounsou.

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Hopkins

Directed by Steven Spielberg

USA: Dreamworks SKG, 1997