The Colony

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I feel that there will be a lot of dead humans in this movie.

Vampire Bat: Humans will still continue to exist with their souls.

Vampire Owl: Why are the humans supposed to have souls?

Vampire Bat: I guess that is because we are always in need of evil human spirits.

Vampire Owl: You mean, like the ghost which cleans the rooms of the castle?

Vampire Bat: Yes, such works are specifically reserved for the strange souls rejected by heaven, hell and purgatory.

Vampire Owl: I thought that they were souls of wizards or sorcerers. The costume seemed to point in that direction only.

Vampire Bat: Well, that is a lady who died during a fashion show.

Vampire Owl: Okay, at least it is not someone who died during a Halloween party.

Vampire Bat: You can at least be glad that this is not an evil spirit who wants to haunt the castle during the nights.

[Gets a ghee roast and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: The story takes place in a distant future in which multiple reasons like climate change, war and pandemics have made the earth not worthy of supporting life. But the elite class has successfully escaped from the misery to settle on Kepler 209, a space colony. After two generations, the rich and the elite are ready to try and find out if a return to Earth is possible through the Ulysses Project. Even though they have advanced science and technology out there, the heavy radiation has left the people of Kepler 209 mostly infertile. First mission to Earth was lost shortly after landing, but the second one named Ulysses 2 begins shortly enough. Louise Blake (Nora Arnezeder) arrives with her crew and crashlands on Earth. Tucker (Sope Dirisu) is the only other survivor of the crash. They are glad to understand that there is no radiation on Earth, despite all those terrible wars of destruction and global warming. They hope to collect enough data from the planet and take them back so that the scientists up there can make an analysis about the same.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: They are able to find lifeforms which are able to reproduce, and wonders if they will be able to adapt to the situation and be able for reproduction if they indulge in sex too. It also seems that the weather has managed to become a little too intense than they had known, and there is so much of flatlands with less visibility all around. At the same time, a few people attacks the space shuttle, and attacks both of them, taking them prisoners. These people seems to have very primitive technology in comparison to what they possess. The people talked in some strange languages and used bows and arrows as weapons, while living in an area which seems to be in the middle of nowhere. They destroy almost everything in the pod which can be used for communication or exploration. Tucker who lost too much blood decides to commit suicide against Blake’s assurance that he is eight seven percentage fertility match for her to have a child if they have sexual intercourse soon enough.

And what more is to happen in this world which seems to have no hope for future? :: After the death of Tucker, Blake is left in a well which has water up to her thighs. She almost drowns as water comes into this particular settlement, and is only saved at the last minute. She remember what she was taught about the planet, and continues to hope about Earth. She remembers that there were always hope about the planet if they could find the right area to grow a new Earth, as much as there was chance for reproduction against all odds. Soon, the area is raided by a group of hostile humans who kidnap all of them. The locals are captured and taken to a huge space that is located above the continuous storms and floods which terribly affects the people around. Now, Blake finds herself in a situation for which she was not prepared at all. Now, the question remains if she can defy all odds to get what she wants. With more ruthless humans being added to the list of enemies that she has to face, can she do what is enough to help these people and also those who are left in their space station? Is there still hope for a better future on Earth?

Defence of The Colony a.k.a. Tides :: This is one post-apocalyptic movie which is imaginative enough, but at the same time, is also close enough to keeping the whole thing as real as possible, despite having the chances to go the other way on many occasions. Nora Arnezeder who leads the cast comes up with a pretty good performance too. The world is nicely created, with water all around, and the premise helps it to progress nicely to the one goal that is revealed later. They surely have done some nice work with the computer generated imagery and some special effects to make it feel real.It does have the theme of racial supremacy in there too, as the races having advanced science and technology with them don’t stop enslaving people – such need for control and hatred for the other within humans is reflected yet again, and so is the corruption of science which goes deep into humanity. There are also some small twists added in here, and the secrets of this mostly devastated Earth could use a sequel too. It is still nice to see that they haven’t chosen Mars or its moons this time, and makes use of another world, even though that area is not shown.

The claws of flaw :: The movie begins slow, and is mostly predictable through its first half of the run, until things do change in the later moments. As we have movies like these, there are always those things which keep on getting repeated. With a fine premise in here, the movie could have always done better, and it doesn’t add anything further, even though the chance for a certain fortification was always there. The central problem here shifts to the need for reproduction instead of having a green Earth to live on, and that is a quick transformation, and same doesn’t get explored properly either, as the movie changes the focus to emotions and kids added to take it further. There could have been some bigger shocks and twists related to the same, but the movie just continues to play it safe, and the question remains if there was the need for the same. It is also surprising that a technologically advanced group of humans depicted in the film are not good enough to expect or fight the rather primitive locals who have lived without science and technology for so many years on Earth – even their space shuttle is not good enough when we look close.

How it finishes :: Also known as Tides, this is a less known movie which can surely use our attention. There has been some interesting post-apocalyptic science fiction works with a certain amount of depression associated with them like Oblivion and Io. For the full action apocalypse, we have always had Resident Evil movies or those belonging to the Mad Max world. Then there would be Elysium with a message. Our movie here has its own space. The divergence that we see here is pretty much acceptable. Well, we know what the future of our world will be about, and we are waiting for the terrible things to happen, just like what is seen in the movie or even worse – the wars are there, ready to go nuclear; the global warming is also there, ready to devour the lands and people; pandemics have been unleashed, ready to bring more deviations of viruses; we can only be prepared for the same, and watch movies like this one. As we know at all times, the reflection is here, as the most scientifically advanced community will always be the most godless and the most advanced in not believing in goodness.

Release date: 27th August 2021
Running time: 104 minutes
Directed by: Tim Fehlbaum
Starring: Nora Arnezeder, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Iain Glen, Joel Basman, Sebastian Roche, Bella Bading, Sope Dirisu, Cloe Albertine Heinrich

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Army of the Dead

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: We are the Army of the Dead. This movie should be about us.

Vampire Bat: We are not the Army of the Dead. We are the Army of the Undead.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that they are different from each other.

Vampire Bat: Yes, there is also an Army of Darkness, you know.

Vampire Owl: Okay, still it is the dead that becomes the undead.

Vampire Bat: Well, death is a beginning, and for the undead, it has already begun.

Vampire Owl: I think that you are pointing to the zombies as the dead.

Vampire Bat: Yes, without full brain acitivity, they are to considered dead rather than undead, as we look closer at them.

Vampire Owl: Well, not all of the dead are undead, we can be sure about that.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that this one has some fine zombies though.

[Gets a vegetable pizza and three cups of iced tea].

What is the movie about? :: A convoy coming from Area 51, the highly classified United States Air Force facility located within the Nevada Test and Training Range collides with the car of a newly married couple on a highway near Las Vegas. The high level of secrecy surrounding the base had already brought enough conspiracy theories to the scene including UFOs and aliens which are regular part of such talks. This time, the package which was part of the convoy is revealed to be a zombie, a very strong muscular creature which escapes, and during the process kills all the soldiers, among which some of them are infected and transformed into similar creatures, seeking to attack more humans. The zombies do head to the city, and infect most of its population. The United States military faces suffer heavy casualities, and is forced to retreat while facing the ever increasing hordes of zombies which are not that easy to kill as they only get stronger. The government decides to do what they considers to be the last resort, to deploy a tactical nuclear strike on the city to end the zombie threat forever, even though there are protests against the same.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Later, the very rich and influencial Japanese casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his associate Martin (Garret Dillahunt) asks a former resident of Las Vegas and earlier mercenary, Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) who is currently working at a burger joint to take over a job to recover two hundred million dollars from his casino vault in the quarantined Las Vegas. The time is running out, with the nuclear strike coming up. Ward agrees and recruits his former teammates Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera) and Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) as the maim mercenaries, along with a helicopter pilot Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), a safecracker Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighofer), and a sharpshooter Mikey Guzman (Raul Castillo), who also brings his associate Chambers (Samantha Win). Martin also joins them to make sure that there is access. They have a thirty two hour window to do what they have done the best in history, and even though they cannot fly in due to flight restrictions, they can fly out in one of the rescue helicopter located at the top of the casino.

And what is with the humans and the zombies which we have around here? :: As they are not able to find a way inside, Scott searches and finds his daughter Kate Ward (Ella Purnell), and offers her his share of the millions, asking her to help him get into the city. Kate directs them to Lilly (Nora Arnezeder) or coyote, a smuggler who knows the city. Burt Cummings (Theo Rossi), an abusive security guard who knows exactly what happens inside with the zombies. When Kate understands that Geeta (Huma Qureshi) also went into Las Vegas with two others, she feels that she should also be inside. Being the badly raised dumb kid that she happens to be, she stops at nothing to get what she wants, and the returned father figure can only agree. When inside, the common zombies are not the only ones that they have to face, for there are zombie animals too, including a zombie tiger. There are also a different kind of zombies, which are not the usual mindless ones. They are smarter, faster and better organized, with a mark on their territories. It won’t be that easy to dupe these zombies. Can they get what they want and make it out?

The defence of Army of the Dead :: It is clear that we haven’t had a full fun zombie movie like this one for a long time, and there is a lot of entertainment with the action, thrills and even a certain amount of horror that has been going on with the undead creatures. It also has some humour in between, and a fine detail of the post-apocalyptic world as well as the zombie attacks with descriptions to support them. Among the performers, Dave Bautista and Ana de la Reguera are at the top, with Nora Arnezeder and Matthias Schweighofer following closely. The man who is known as Batista in WWE is another one of those ring performers who has done so well in cinema, after Dwayne Johnson’s classic performance, and also John Cena up-to an extent. Ana de la Reguera and Nora Arnezeder are perfect lady soldiers who know exactly what they are doing. The movie, with its ending, also leaves something for a possible film in the future. Even though it is pretty much a long movie, you don’t really feel the length, as there is so much of action going on at all times, and we are indeed taken to this world of post-apocalyptic chaos.

Positives and negatives :: There are moments which this movie could have avoided to cut down the length, and it also kills one of its interesting characters too early – Samantha Win played quite a strong soldier who is lost before the big battles begin. Ella Purnell, even if meant to be irritating, plays the character that causes the death of most of the character – one of the most foolish characters ever in an action movie, for only horror films have dumber characters suiting them. Huma Qureshi is also here, but she is also wasted in a character which provides nothing good to the movie – without her, the film could have been shorter as there was no need to spare some time for the unnecessary. At least half of the characters are not made to be memorable either. This is also a movie about which not many people knows, and that is a disappointment – it could have had some advertisements in this part of the world, as it is something which will appeal to our audience too. Zombies will catch our attention as much as any undead creature rising from the dead.

How it finishes :: With the title, one wouldn’t really know if this is about vampires, zombies or ghosts, but the zombie idea also does work that effectively as any other monster, proven already in Warm Bodies, World War Z and so many Resident Evil films which kept coming back again, one after the other. This one makes a fine progress with the story, even with some predictability in store, and as it does have a lot of action to go with it. The movie is indeed an all-rounder, and you can feel that quite early itself. Even though the corona virus pandemic didn’t create the zombie apocalypse as a gamer or zombie-movie lover would have anticipated, it is only safe to say that there is always hope for something like it in the future. When that zombie pandemic happens, we will have watched some quality undead hunting movies like this one, and we will be ready. After all, Zombieland already has us partially prepared for the big event. For the rest of the procedure, the next sequel of this particular movie will keep us prepared.

Release date: 14th May 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 148 minutes
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Dave Bautista, Ana de la Reguera, Ella Purnell, Nora Arnezeder, Omari Hardwick, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighofer, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raul Castillo, Huma Qureshi, Garret Dillahunt