Aeon Flux (2005)

The Perfect World Meets The Perfect Assassin

Based on an MTV cartoon. Quite entertaining. Good concept and set design. The technology in use was quite cool: telepathy pills, body enhancements. Charlize Theron's minimalist acting was OK for her character, though that made her rather icy in demeanour. The action sequences were fun. I didn't predict the twist ending, thought it was going to be more like the Matrix.

Pete Postlethwaite in a sort of caterpillar costume was pretty ridiculous.

• Rating: Rental
• When seen: 29 Dec 2009
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added writer tags: "Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi"; actor tags: "Sophie Okonedo, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Frances McDormand, Amelia Warner". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Road (2009)

In a moment the world changed forever

It's a hard movie to watch, unrelenting: dark, dirty, full of violence, pain and despair. Apart from the full-colour flashbacks, the palette is reduced to muted dark colours, greys, browns, blues, as nuclear winter - as it seems, though never specified - takes its toll. I wept at the end. Don't know if I'd want to watch it again anytime soon.

The story is harsh, with humans pitted against their own loss of humanity and dropping of all moral behaviour in the face of starvation, with other people resorting to extremes in the their need for food. The father, Viggo Mortgenson, fights to remain "one of the good guys" in the eyes of his son. They are on a quest to the coast, but it becomes clear that the quest may have an ulterior purpose. The question underlying the protagonists' quest is whether there is really the possibility of a safe haven anywhere on earth. If not, what should a good man do? What should a good father do?

The performances by Mortgensen and the boy (Smit-McPhee) are brilliant, and supporting character actors met along the way are also excellent.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 10 Oct 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tag: "Joe Penhall"; actor tags: "Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.