Hmmm …
No, seriously.
Hmmmmm.
With possibly extra mmm …
He says.
You know, all these ‘Hmmm’ noises are possibly leaving you wondering what I’ve put in my cocoa.
Milk and sugar, to be perfectly frank.
Well, milk, sugar and cocoa powder.
Oh, and hot water, but that should be obvious …
‹‹•››
But outside of cocoa … ?
The reason for the assorted, thoughtful, Hmmmmm noises is the film I’ve just watched.
The recent released on DVD, 2010, low budget Brit-flick that is
Monsters.
And I have to confess, I’m none too sure if I’ve seen a work that’s wasted my evening, the science-fictional offspring of Apocalypse Now and District 9, a student piece done on a laptop …
Or a work of complete genius …
‹‹•››
Monsters sees Scoot McNairy as Andrew, a cynical photojournalist ordered to get his boss’ daughter — Sam, played by Whitney Able — out of Mexico.
The twist, here, is that not only have both Andrew and Sam lost their passports, and have to deal with nervous locals, and corrupt officials …
But that the Earth has been infested — yes, infested is the right word, here, I think — by the monsters of the title: giant creatures that resemble the glow-in-the-dark mutant offspring of octopi and spiders.
And they’ve been given some 48 hours to get to The Wall — the giant barrier that the US government has put up, between its territory, and the infested areas of the borders — before the next set of bombing runs …
‹‹•››
Now …
Work of genius, or waste of time … ?
I really am STILL not sure … ! And that’s some 40 minutes or so after actually finishing watching Monsters.
On the whole, I’m more inclined to say Monsters is definitely NOT a waste of time: although whether it’s a work of genius, I don’t know.
Well …
That’s not entirely fair.
I do know that — from reading both the IMDb and Wikipedia entries — that director, writer and special effects man for the film, Gareth Edwards shot Monsters mostly in Central America. With only Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able as his only two professional cast members, I should add here.
What’s more, he SHOT it, quite literally, on digital cameras, using a laptop to do the editing, and flash drives to transport the
rushes.
I have to admit, that — and the fact that the budget looks like it was the leftover tea-club* money from Avatar — left me SERIOUSLY impressed.
To be frank … ?
Monsters isn’t a ‘Wham, Bam, Thanking YOU, Ma’am’ film: don’t watch it, if that’s what you’re expecting or wanting.
But I AM convinced you’ll see a film that’s certainly and seriously watchable!
Monsters
★★★☆
*
Just so Debbi, Nina, Mr Strict and the rest of the off-shore Hard Squad know, a
tea-club is usual in the workplace, here in the UK: it’s usually where everyone clubs together to buy a BIG box of teabags, some milk and sugar. Mugs and spoons are, of course, an optional extra …
