Edge of Tomorrow

Earth is being overrun by an aggressive alien force that has traveled light years across the galaxy to find a habitable planet. In the process of Terra-forming Earth, they are wiping out humanity faster than we can learn how to fight them while turning the earth into a desert wasteland for habitation by an alien species known as Mimics.

A heavy-metal fusion of Battle L.A. (2011) meets Source Code (2011); Edge of Tomorrow is a repeating time loop story set in a futuristic earth at war with alien invaders. We follow William Cage (Tom Cruise), a public relations officer who has never been in combat, as he tries to make sense of the extraordinary events he is thrown into.

Based on the 2004 Japanese military science fiction novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, this story of an ordinary soldier’s unlikely relationship with a saber wielding, full metal female super warrior, while confronted with surreal circumstances, is very much in the vein of renowned Sci-fi author Philip Dick. 

To defend against this threat to all life on earth, the nations of the world have come together to form a United Defense Force (UDF) consisting of various armies from around the world. Cage is asked to cover the war on the front lines but refuses for fear of being killed. Ironically, not only is he killed but keeps getting killed again and again.

Tom Cruise has lately become fond of Sci-fi action films with a message and plenty of visual style. This is his fourth Sci-fi thriller since Minority Report (2001), War of the Worlds (2005) and Oblivion (2013). All are smart, innovative, thought provoking films that are packed with plenty of action and futuristic hardware, following one man’s personal journey to save himself and the earth from destruction.

By pure coincidence, Cage inadvertently taps into the alien’s powers of manipulating the future by resetting time to a point in the past. He must now find a way to use this alien time loop he’s trapped in, to help his squad of Jacket jockeys fighting with the aid of exo-skeleton suits called ‘Jackets’, that give them super human speed and strength on the battle field, to win the war against the Mimics and escape the time loop.

Not unlike Run Lola Run (1998), and Source Code (2011), excellent films that explored how small changes in our behavior can have big consequences in our fates, this film similarly explores the fate of a soldier who is caught in a single day that resets itself every time he dies. If you’ve ever played a difficult video game that keeps killing you before you can win or reach the ultimate prize, then you will have an idea of what this film is like.

In this case, Cage, living a video game nightmare, is the only one aware of the time loop and actually remembers everything he learns from previous days before dying, thereby avoiding the same mistakes and taking himself further into the future each time. Die enough times while learning enough tricks in a world that keeps resetting itself and you will eventually triumph over your enemies. 

Taking inspiration from the W.W. II Allied landings on the shores of Normandy, the film starts as a grungy and gritty ‘in-the-trenches’ war film from a grunt’s point of view as Cage is literally dropped onto the hellish front lines of battle. The experience is appropriately shocking, horrifying and exhilarating to watch.

As the mystery of what Cage is experiencing begins to unfold, with the help of a tough but attractive Special Forces soldier, Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), recently seen in such Sci-fi mind benders as The Adjustment Bureau (2011) and Looper (2012), who seems to have extreme abilities and experience beyond her years, the film evolves into a decoding of the alien strategy to find its weak point and the search to destroy it.

The action is relentless, even becoming absurdly and darkly humorous at times, but in the end, as in all video games, one eventually runs out of lives and then it’s time to see how far your training will take you in a game that wants to kill you at every turn.

JP

Maleficent

Following the trend of live action re-imaginings of Disney’s classic fairy tales such as Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), now comes Maleficent, a totally re-tooled version of Sleeping Beauty (1959) that’s told completely from the never seen perspective of the evil villainess, Maleficent, in the classic animated film.

The world is divided in two; the ordinary familiar human world and the enchanted world of strange supernatural creatures called the Moors. Visually, the two worlds are juxtaposed with the human world a vast manicured tapestry of fields and fences with neatly corralled domestic livestock; a safe and orderly world. 

The Moors, on the other hand, is a wildly dark mysterious thick forest of free flowing rivers, trees, roots and rocks where all manner of mysterious magical creatures reside. Protecting this magical realm from the greedy and ambitious humans is a pure hearted fairy, who grows up to be a beautiful woman with majestic wings that allow her to travel with the speed and grace of an Eagle.

It’s a risky move by Disney to go with such a departure from the original film with a much darker and adult story, which still manages to exist in the same world as the well-loved original but where the characters are not what they seem at first.

One day she meets a curious human boy, Stefan, lost in the Moors after attempting to steal a rare gem stone. She is kind to Stefan and shows him the way out while also showing him the error of his deed. Over time they continue to meet on the edge of both their worlds and become close friends.

Be prepared for a visually spectacular film that faithfully captures the fantasy elements of the original tale but shows us a whole new side of the story never seen before. I have to give credit to Disney for not just doing a straight remake but trying to create something fresh and new while building on the original concepts.

Eventually, while growing into adulthood, Stefan falls prey to the greed and ambition of his human nature and betrays the love and friendship he has developed with his fairy loved one.

Angelina Jolie steals the show here with here sensitive and superb performance easily holding our attention against all the visual effects. Showing her character’s back story, we see now that she is not the evil person we all thought she was. Sleeping Beauty’s character, played by Elle Fanning, has been relegated to a secondary role here.

The betrayal plunges Maleficent into a deep sorrow and hatred for the man she once loved. Realizing that their love was only and illusion, she places a curse on his new born child that can never be broken accept by true love’s kiss.

Digital advances have revolutionized our film making industry to the point now where nothing is too fantastic to make real on the screen. Magic and myth in fairy tales used to be the domain of children’s books and drawings, but today anything we can imagine can be realized in full cinematic splendor.

The human story here is compelling enough to keep us engaged throughout some of the more enchanting flights of fancy in the film. It’s a timeless tale worthy of the fairy tale genre and will entertain both children and adults.

JP

The Grand Seduction

In the small harbor village of Tickle Head, Newfoundland, the plight of a proud dwindling fishing community, who have long ago lost their traditional way of life, are now living a miserable and unsatisfying existence on welfare.

An English Canadian remake of a French Canadian film called Seducing Dr. Lewis (2003); The Grand Seduction does a surprisingly deft job of telling a moving and heartfelt tale of hope and optimism with a combination of humor and poignant reflection.

Coming from a proud tradition of sea farers, the small community is slowly dying and the few remaining residents are determined to do what is necessary to keep their way of life.

The film is reminiscent in many respects of the sleeper hit of 1983 Local Hero, about a Scottish coastal village that is being courted by a big Oil Company that wants to build a refinery on their land and sends a scout to get a sense of the locals.

The way the people from this coastal fishing cove go about reinventing themselves is often both desperate and hilarious but the film maintains a truthfulness that keeps the story believable at all times.

The Grand Seduction is also an elaborate hoax or lie perpetrated by the local mayor (Brendan Gleeson) to get an oil company to build a repurposing facility in their town and create much needed jobs. There are a number of requirements that stand as hurdles in their path to prosperity. One of which is that they must have a doctor living permanently in their town. 

But to get this doctor they must somehow convince a young naïve plastic surgeon (Taylor Kitsch) from the big city to spend a month in their remote run down collection of shacks and make him believe that it’s the best place on earth to live. Not an easy task by any means.

Coming off two big blockbuster films that performed disastrously at the box office, John Carter (2012) and Battleship (2012), Taylor Kitsch has finally found a fun, meaningful project grounded in character and emotionally satisfying.

Armed with knowledge from a tapped phone line about his private life and tastes, the town’s people come up with all manner of unorthodox ways to impress the doctor and make their village more attractive; a makeover in the form of a beautification project and a new found enthusiasm for the doctor’s favorite sport, cricket.

The breathtaking windswept rocky sea side locations of Newfoundland’s harbors and inlets make for an authentic experience where one can imagine the hardships that many of these small communities have endured. There is a sense of loss and hopelessness in the older generation as friends and family have moved away to other places in search of jobs.

As the young city doctor falls prey to their seemingly well-meaning lies and manipulations, the town seems to be willing to go to almost any length to secure their future. Naturally, he is seduced by the simple charms and warm inviting way of life as they eagerly welcome him as one of their own. But for how long can they keep up the charade?

English Canadian cinema has so often disappointed me in the past, but I am pleased to say that this charming Canadian gem is far better than I imagined. 

JP