TV | Helix (2014-15)

Cast: Billy Campbell, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kyra Zagorsky, Mark Ghanimé, Matt Long, Jordan Hayes

Summary: A team of scientists are thrust into a potentially life-or-death situation when they arrive in the Arctic to secretly investigate what could be an outbreak of a strange disease in a secluded international research facility.

Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi

Season(s): 2 (Cancelled after season 2)

Watched: May 2017

During my 150 Film Challenge last year (you can find how I got on here) I decided not to set myself another challenge but instead to watch more documentaries and TV shows, especially those on my Netflix watchlist, and Helix was one of those on my list.

I had already seen the first few episodes of Helix when the show first aired on Channel 5 back in 2014, but I never actually watched the whole season. Somewhere during the season the show was moved to a later timeslot (I think from 9pm to 10pm) which meant that I missed a few episodes and then I never got back into watching it.
I had no plans to watch season 2 when it came out, firstly because I never finished season 1 and secondly it had been moved to the Syfy channel (which I didn't have).

3 years later, I have finally watched both seasons!

Season 1

Experts from the CDC Alan (Billy Campbell), Julia (Kyra Zagorsky), Sarah (Jordan Hayes) and Major Balleseros (Mark Ghanimé) head to an Arctic BioSystems Research Facility, headed by Dr Hatake (Hiroyuki Sanada), to investigate a potential viral outbreak involving Alan's brother Peter (Neil Napier).
We quickly learn that Alan had been infected by an unknown virus, causing him and others to spew some sort of black gunk, Julia, Alan's ex-wife, slept with Peter while she was still married to Alan and Dr Hatake, Major Ballerseros and Sarah are all hiding secrets.

I enjoyed season one of the show and I really, really enjoyed the first few episodes especially episode 3, 4 and 5: 274, Single Strand and The White Room. Some of my favourite special effects and moments happen in the first few episodes: the first shot of the research station in the pilot in amazing, the vectors (especially the first shot of Peter in the pilot), the growing virus in the glass box in episode 3 and the frozen monkeys (but I can't remember which episode they're in).

I think my absolute favourite episode of the season is definitely The White Room, where after discovering that she is infected with the mysterious virus Julia is left on the quarantined level "R" with other infected & non infected people. Thrown out by the other abandoned workers she meets a mysterious woman named Jay who tries to help her find safety.
It was pretty much after this that things started to go downhill for me.

If you haven't seen the show look away now!

It turns out that Hatake is an immortal, the facility is run by the Ilaria Corporation, Ballerseros is working for the corporation, Hatake is actually Julia's father, Julia becomes and immortal, so does Sarah and a whole lot more!
I definitely started got a bit lost with the introduction of the whole immortality thing, Constance Sutton (Jeri Ryan), The Scythe (Robert Naylor), the connection between Hatake and Julia (was this explained, if it was I totally missed it) and that final episode, I definitely was not a fan of the final episode.

None of the questions I had were answered so I was greatly looking forward to watching season 2.


Season 2

Season 2 starts in a similar way to season 1. After a viral outbreak in another remote location, the island of St. Germain, which is inhabited by members of a religious community, Dr Farragut and his team are called in to determine the cause of the virus and how to stop it, but not the Farragut you're thinking of.
In the 15 months since season 1, Alan has been discredited by the CDC and is apparently in hiding after interrogating and killing immortals, in an attempt to locate and rescue Julia. His brother Peter is now in charge of the team, which now consists of Dr. Sarah Jordan and newcomer Dr. Kyle Sommers (Matt Long).

I thought season 2 was okay, but there definitely wasn't as many wow moments as with the first season and there were so many unanswered questions from both seasons that left me feeling disappointed.

Questions like:

What exactly happened to Julia after artic biosystems? Which in turns leads us to why did she join Ilaria? Hell what happened to all of them during that time especially Sarah, The Scythe, Hatake, Ballerseros etc.
Now, Alan, he's not in the final scene, we know the bones in the grave don't belong to him and we later learn that he is definitely not dead, so where is he and why is he not mentioned in the final scene?

Sarah's baby! Someone please tell me exactly what is up with that. It's quite a big part of the story in season 2, it's even removed from her, kidnapped and held for ransom. What was all that fuss about? Isn't the baby the reason she wanted to work for Illaria, but there's absolutely no mention of it in the final scene.

All in all I did enjoy it but I think it would have been much better if season 2 had continued on from where season 1 finished or even took place over the 15 months between seasons 1 and 2, answered some of the questions that came up in season 1 and then season 3 (had it not been cancelled) could have been what season 2 was about.

Make sense?

Rating: 6/10
One Final Word: Okay

10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg, 2016)

Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr

Summary: After getting in a car accident, a woman is held in a shelter with two men, who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack.

Genre: Mystery, Horror, Drama, Thriller

Watched: January 8th, 2017

I absolutely loved Cloverfield (2008) when I first saw it. I still do, it's one of my Most Rewatched Films.
After I watched it I was hoping that there would be a sequel but I couldn't find any information about one on the internet.

Fast forward 6 years and I started hearing about 10 Cloverfield Lane. I automatically assumed it was the Cloverfield sequel I had been looking for but I later found out (after we had watched it) that it isn't actually a direct sequel but rather what J.J Abrams is calling a "blood relative".

Onto the review!

We're thrown straight into the story as soon as the film starts with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) driving through the countryside late at night following an argument with her boyfriend. As she listens to news reports on her car radio regarding black outs in major cities her car is struck.

She wakes up to find herself in an empty room chained to the wall, where her captor Howard (John Goodman) informs her that they are locked in his bunker deep underground following a chemical attack.
This film is a lot darker and much more sinister then what I was expecting. With Cloverfield you were able to see pretty much everything that was happening, but 10 Cloverfield Lane is definitely more about what you can't see.

With Cloverfield we were literally in Hud's (T.J. Miller) shoes throughout the film, even without the camera 10 Cloverfield Lane is also able to make us (the audience) feel as though we are Michelle.
Like Michelle we don't actually know what's happening outside, we only know what we've been told by Howard and Emmett (John Gallagher Jr) and again like Michelle we don't know these people so we're not sure if we can really trust them.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is brilliant as Michelle but for me it is definitely John Goodman who really steals the show.

I've heard quite a bit about the way the films ends and how a lot of people aren't happy with it. I did think it was a little random and at the time I didn't think it fit very well but when I think about it, for me it doesn't take away from the rest of the film. It's definitely a film I would happily watch again.

Take a look at these interesting articles I found about the film and it's ending: The 10 Cloverfield Lane Backlash is Missing the Point and Why the Ending of 10 Cloverfield Lane Sucks

Rating: 8/10
One Final Word: Excellent!

Under The Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013)

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Pearson, Jeremy McWilliams

Summary: A mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Watched: January 8th, 2017

I hadn't actually seen this film when I bought the DVD for my sister, it was another film that I bought because the cover looked cool (see: Timeshifters).

When I finally got round to watching it on Netflix I have to say, at first I didn't like it for maybe 5-10 minutes.

I wasn't sure what was happening because the screen was black and then I thought that maybe my Ipad screen had gone to sleep, so I pressed the home button only to realise that film had actually playing all along.
A shortwhile later We see The Woman (Scarlet Johansson) in a large white room undressing a woman (Lynsey Taylor Mackay) who is seemingly unable to move, before dressing herself in the woman's clothes.
During this whole scene not one person speaks, in fact the whole scene is pretty quiet. What am I talking about, apart from the sound early on, our next experience of sound comes at 10mins in and is a little jarring after all the silence.
I thought that I would lose interest because I was struggling to follow exactly what was happening combined with the fact that Johansson doesn't utter a word until 15 minutes in but as the film went on I found that I was really starting to enjoy it.

I think Johansson is absolutely brilliant and her accent is pretty darn good.

Shortly after I watched the film I had an interesting thought (which I'm pretty sure isn't correct, but I want to believe it's true) that maybe Lucy and Under The Skin are connected.
I don't want to say why just in case people haven't seen them, if you have let me know and I'll share my theory with you!

Rating: 8/10
One Final Word: Weirdly Brilliant!

The Bay (Barry Levinson, 2012)

Cast: Kether Donohue, Kristen Connolly, Will Rogers, Stephen Kunken

Summary: Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Watched: August 21st, 2016

There has been a lot of found footage films over the last few years, but the bay has done things a little differently.
Not only is it made up of various different pieces of footage taken from the residents of Claridge, Maryland but it is also interwoven with a Skype interview conducted 3 years after disaster hit the town.

The Skype interview introduces us to Donna Thompson (Kether Donohue), a young amateur journalist that happened to be in Claridge on the day of the incident speaking publicly for the first time about what happened.

The found footage within the film is made up of footage that had been confiscated by the government when the town was quarantined and includes footage from webcams, CCTV, video from holidaymakers, TV news, dash cams etc.
To be honest the use of this footage makes the film feel less like a horror and more like a ecological documentary or mockumentary.
For me it is definitely the webcam footage from the Skype interview that help to make the film as convincing as it does. The tinny sound, the poor quality of the image and the voice of the interviewer on the other end all add to the authenticity of the film.

I found the acting to be a little iffy in parts with certain characters but overall I thoroughly enjoyed the film and I loved watching the story unfold through the various different viewpoints of the town's residents.

Rating: 7/10
One Final Word: Very Good

Mindhunters (Renny Harlin, 2004)

Cast: Val Kilmer, LL Cool J, Christian Slater, Will Kemp, Jonny Lee Miller, Kathyrn Morris, Clifton Collins Jr and Eion Bailey

Summary: Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst.

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Horror

Watched: May 30th, 2016

I wasn't expecting much when I started watching this film, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A group of young FBI students are sent to a small island that is also used by the Navy and "populated" by incredibly creepy target dummies, to complete their final training exercise.
The killings begin the morning after the group arrives on the island, and I think it's safe to say that I was pretty shocked. I absolutely wasn't expecting it to happen as soon as it does and I wasn't expecting to be as gruesome as it was.

I really enjoyed this film. I really liked the characters within the group and the individual roles they played, but I don't want to give too much away.
So go watch it!

Rating: 8/10
Watched: Very Good

Altitude (Kaare Andrews, 2010)

Cast: Jessica Lowndes, Julianna Guill, Ryan Donowho, Landon Liboiron, Jake Weary

Summary: After a mysterious malfunction sends their small plane climbing out of control, a rookie pilot and her four teenage friends find themselves trapped in a deadly showdown with a supernatural force.

Genre: Mystery, Horror, Sci-Fi

Watched: September 4th, 2016

I decided to watch this film purely because the description above sounded incredibly interesting, but it didn't turn out to be as good as it could have been.

Sara (Jessica Lowndes) has literally just received her pilot's license and she decides to fly her boyfriend, cousin, best friend and her boyfriend to a concert because the drive is bad.
During the flight Sara decides it would be fun to let her boyfriend Bruce (Landon Liboiron) (who looks like he's just about ready to pass out) fly the plane, and just so we're clear he doesn't have a license or any experience.

When Bruce panics and loses control after hitting some turbulence, Sara realises that an obstruction in the plane's tail is causing it to climb higher and higher and they soon lose radio contact.
Everyone blames Bruce for endangering their lives, but no one seems to be bothered by the fact that their pilot is obviously crazy. Not only did she hand over the controls to an inexperienced flyer for fun and did nothing to help him out when she could clearly see he was struggling, she spends half of her time looking over her shoulder or sitting in the back with her friends instead of flying the plane!!

To be fair they're actually all crazy. Two of the boys decide to have a fight mid-air over Sara's best friend, Mel (Julianna Guill) and then there's Cory (Ryan Donowho) who decides to go outside to manually remove the obstruction from the tail of the plane, with no safety gear, in the middle of a storm.

Then there was the supernatural force, which for me was probably the better part of the film. Most of the characters were so unlikeable and the script was so awful that every second they weren't on screen was just amazing.

Maybe that drive wouldn't have been so bad after all.

Rating: 2/10
One Final Word: Rubbish

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (Harald Zwart, 2013)

Cast: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headley, Aidan Turner

Summary: When her mother disappears, Clary Fray learns that she descends from a line of warriors who protect our world from demons. She joins forces with others like her and heads into a dangerous alternate New York called the Shadow World.

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

Watched: February 21st, 2016

Way, way back in 2013 I did a What I'm Excited to See post on The Mortal Instruments.
First a little update on that, I have now read every book in the Mortal Instruments series and I'm getting ready to buy the first book in the Dark Artifices sequel series which was released this month; however I still have to read the last two books in the Infernal Devices prequel series.

Clearly as you can tell I'm quite a fan of these books so watching the film was the obvious next step (despite it being a good couple of years after it was released, whoops). I also remember reading somewhere that the film wasn't very good but I was still looking forward to seeing it.

I did enjoy the film; however it missed out a massive chuck of the book (which I suppose is somewhat normal with film adaptations of books), but there was so much of the book that is missing/not even explained that made the whole story a bit confusing.

I wasn't keen on most of the actors chosen for the characters especially Clary, Jace and Valentine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was 100% not the right person for the role and Jace for me just felt a little too creepy rather the mysterious, but I loved Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane and Robert Sheenan as Simon.
Despite having read all the Mortal Instrument books I've always had my own idea of what the characters looked like and for me Jace has always had black hair and the Lightwoods have all had white blonde hair.

I felt even more disappointed in the film as I started watching the TV series Shadowhunters straight after the film and I absolutely love it! I prefer most of the actors chosen to portray the characters and it seems to be a lot closer to the book then the film which makes the story easier to follow.

Rating: 7/10

The Box (Richard Kelly, 2009)

Cast: James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella, Sam Oz Stone, Holmes Osbourne, James Rebhorn

Summary: A mysterious stranger deposits a box at the door of married couple Arthur and Norma Lewis who are then presented with a choice. If you press the button sealed within the dome and you will receive a million dollars, but somewhere someone whom you don’t know will die.

Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi

Yep that’s right, this is film is number 100!! Which means that my goal to watch 100 films that I’ve never seen before in one year is complete and I’m super, super happy. Even though my goal is complete I’m going to see how many films I’ll have watched at the end of the year. Now on to The Box.

Firstly what would you do? Would you press the button? I don't think I would.

The film starts straight away with the introduction of the Lewis family and the mysterious stranger who leaves a strange box at their doorstep. After that things start getting pretty strange, well stranger then a man with a missing cheek leaving you a mysterious box, but mysterious people who have nosebleeds appear, there's conspiracy theories and time travel, yep that's right time travel.

The story is really interesting the whole idea of giving people that kind of choice and seeing what their thought process is before they finally make a decision.
Personally, I think some people (like the Lewis') would press the button because they're struggling for money and need to provide for their family, and I would hope that people wouldn't push the button just because that the person that will die is someone they don't know.

As we get deeper into the story I just found that things became really confusing and maybe the last 30 minutes or so for me were not good at all. Also Cameron Diaz was a let-down for me, I thought her accent was awful.

My Rating: 5/10

2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood

Summary: Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer H.A.L. 9000, sets off on a quest.

Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery

The only reason I bought this film was because my media teacher said that it is one of the greatest films ever made, and I thought oh let me give this a watch then.

I didn't like the film and most of the time it was just background noise. I was completely confused, I didn't understand half of what was going on and to make it worse there was no talking for the majority of the film which made it even harder for me to try and follow what was happening.

I do have to admit that although I lost interest pretty quickly the one thing that I did like was the sound, and how different sounds were used like speech and to identify various items.

My Rating: 2/10

Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)

Cast: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Jorja Fox, Stephen Tobolowsky

Summary: A man suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

I think this film is absolutely brilliant, very confusing but brilliant.

The film opens with a Polaroid photograph of a dead man and plays in reverse taking us to before the man is killed. This is the beginning of the confusion.

Now this film is presented in two alternating timelines, one in colour and the other in black and white. The black and white sequences are shown in chronological order while the colour sequences, although shown playing forward they are actually ordered in reverse.

Are you still with me?
Now if you’ve not seen the film this sounds quite confusing; actually even after you see the film you’ll probably still be confused.

After studying this film as part of my A Level Film Studies I feel like I understand the structure a little bit more (after watching it multiple times) and it totally makes you question everything you thought you knew about the characters.

I would definitely recommend doing some reading up about the film’s structure to get a better understanding of what's actually going on. Personally I think this Memento Analysis is pretty good.

My Rating: 7/10
One Final Word: Very Good