Movie Review Pandorum

Pandorum (2009) 

Directed by Christian Alvart 

Written by Travis Malloy

Starring Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse

Release Date September 25th, 2009 

Published September 25th, 2009 

Pandorum, we are told during the movie of that title, is a form of mental illness that develops from prolonged exposure to the nothingness of space. The crew of the Elysium space ship are more than a little prone to this ailment. Their trip is longer than any man has ever undertaken and there is no going back, Earth is gone.

As we join the story, the Elysium crew is informed that they are the last of humanity. From there we are shot into the future, how far is part of the film's mystery plot. In a hypersleep pod awakens Cpl. Bowers (Ben Foster). He has no idea who he is or where he is, only the vague notion that he has a mission. Next to him in another pod is Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid). He is supposed to be the ship's captain when it is his turn but finds himself and Bowers trapped in one room far from the control room.

Bowers soon has escaped through an air duct to search for help and finds himself in the middle of what can only be described as an alien invasion. Worse yet? These are zombie-cannibal aliens with a deep need for human flesh. With the ship hurtling toward nowhere, Bowers needs to crank up the engines for survival all the while avoiding getting eaten.

On his journey Bowers meets Nadia (Antje Traue) a ship's scientist turned survivalist and Manh (Cung Le) a member of the crew's foreign contingent; he speaks no English. These three alternately save each other's lives and call on one another to run away quickly from danger.

Meanwhile, Lt. Payton is joined in his little corner of the ship by Lt. Gallo (Cam Gigandet). He comes in the same way Bowers escaped only Gallo is covered in blood and balling like a small child with a skinned knee. He has an idea of what happened to the rest of the crew but may be too far gone mentally to help. Worse, his illness may in fact be Pandorum which points to one very disturbing reason for his being covered in blood.

Pandorum is directed with some flair by newcomer Christian Alvert. Alvert bathes the familiar plot inside his talent for atmosphere and tension. It's not until you leave the theater and really reflect on the movie that you realize how much of the story adds up to different characters yelling 'RUN'.

While you are watching Pandorum however, it's easy to get swept along by its creepy I Am Legend meets Alien plot. Dennis Quaid is his usual stabilizing, fatherly presence, even as he starts to lose it at the end. And Ben Foster is a surprisingly effective lead. Taking strong advantage of his odd vibe, Foster turns his weakness, skinny-nerdiness with a dash of creep, into a strength, his heroism is so unexpected.

He sparks well off of Traue's Nadia and their rather perfunctory scenes together take on a bit of life beyond all the running and the yelling of the word run.

If Pandorum comes up short for most audiences it is really more in the faded glow after it's over. While it's on, it is effective and compelling. Well acted, atmospheric and rarely boring. That may not be enough for some audiences, those who cannot endure the post show disappointment that comes from being hoodwinked, but for the forgiving audience, Pandorum is kind of fun while it lasts.

Movie Review: Case 39

Case 39 (2009) 

Directed by Christian Alvart

Written by Ray Wright 

Starring Renee Zellweger, Callum Keith Rennie, Bradley Cooper, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane

Release Date October 1st, 2010 

Published November 15th, 2010

There was really no good reason for “Case 39,” the horror thriller starring Renee Zellweger, to have sat on the shelf for 3 years. The film is no game changing original in the genre but compared to the kind of horror flotsam that slips into nationwide release on a regular basis in the US, “Case 39” is harmless and forgettable enough that it should have passed through theaters without issue several years ago.

Instead, “Case 39” arrives with the undue burden of a heavy coat of dust that muddies the perception of the film's inherent qualities. It's fair for an audience to wonder what the studio saw in the film that made them want to hold it back and that thought leads to the fair perception that “Case 39” is a royal stinker which it is not.

Emily Jenkins (Renee Zellweger) is a social worker with a lot on her plate. She has 38 open cases of potential child abuse and neglect to deal with when her boss Wayne (Adrian Lester) drops a 39th case on her desk. Naturally, Emily is put off by the new assignment but being the dutiful investigator she is soon at the home of the troubled little girl Lilith (Jodelle Ferland) and her disturbed parents Edward (Callum Keith Rennie) and Margaret (Kerry O'Malley).

Though her visit turns up no direct evidence of abuse, Emily's instincts are that Lilith is being abused and needs more attention and care. She moves the investigation along off the books with the aid of a friendly detective, Mike Barron (Ian McShane), and eventually catches the parents in the action of trying to kill Lilith.

Lilith immediately connects with Emily, even as Emily tries to make clear she has no instinct for parenting. Soon, Lilith has convinced Emily to bring her home to her modest suburban abode and just as soon afterward things start going from serene to weird to drop dead terrifying for Emily and any one in her life from co-workers to Mike the cop to her potential boyfriend, Doug (Bradley Cooper), who becomes a particular target.

It does not take a triple digit IQ to figure out where this story is going. Director Christian Alvart (Pandorum, Antibodies) directs “Case 39” with all of the nuance subtlety of a jackhammer. Alvart's direction of Ray Wright's insultingly simpleminded script signals each twist and turn of the plot with heavy-handed music cues and dimwitted direction.

This would be surprising considering that screenwriter Ray Wright also delivered the clever and thrilling screenplay for the 2010's update of “The Crazies.” Then, one remembers that “Case 39” is going on 4 years old and well before Wright had truly developed his talent. The same could be fairly said about director Alvart who followed up “Case 39” with the dull but efficient sci-fi horror flick “Pandorum.”

Renee Zellweger remains a talented and compelling actress who knows how to draw an audience to her. “Case 39”sadly is just too dopey for even someone of Ms. Zellweger's talent to work around. The plotting is clunky and perfunctory. The supporting players, no matter that they are played by talented familiar faces like McShane and Cooper, are little more than cannon fodder and Jodelle Ferland while cute, cannot carry the burden of a plot that is so poorly drawn.

All of that said, “Case 39”is better, more professionally crafted, than much of the garbage that has been playing to empty theaters in the time that “Case 39” has been gathering dust. I could name at least 100 films far worse than “Case 39” that did not have to carry the burden of being abandoned by it's studio for three years. Is “Case 39” good enough that you should buy a ticket? Maybe not, but if you've bought tickets for such lesser fare as “Piranha 3D” you may as well pledge a little money to “Case 39.”