The Last Days

David & Alex Pastor, 2013

IMDB

4/5

Just when you think that it's all been done before in the apocalyptic genre, The Last Days proves that you can still make a film with some originality. Set in Barcelona, the story focuses on a global epidemic that causes humans to become agoraphobic, where they cannot go outdoors without seizing up and immediately dying. This of course creates chaos, which turns into a quick collapse of civilization. While everyone is stuck inside, they become confined to the buildings that they are in. Supplies begin to run out, and in some areas there are just no supplies to begin with. What transpires is sort of a Mad Max stuck inside.

It's creative storytelling, the concept of a epidemic hitting the world and instead of attacking innocent humans at random - you actually have some sense of control over your own fate. The story largely focuses on character Marc (Quim Gutierrez), corporate computer programmer who is stuck at his office building and is desperately trying to reunite with girlfriend Julia (Marta Etura).

One impressive feat of the film is it decides to not just focus on the early moments of the virus but instead focuses on Marc's journey months after he has been stuck inside the office. Resources have basically run dry and the inhabitants have been working to mine their way to the subway system in an effort to travel without actually having to go outside. You see some flashbacks that give you some more insight into Marc's character. By the final act of the film, you are fully invested in Marc's mission to find Julia. One of the most extraordinary aspects of The Last Days is it doesn't just stop with a story about a guy trying to find his girl. It really makes some ambitious leaps with the story that make it an even more rewarding piece of work.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Matt Reeves, 2014

Can I Stream it?

4/5

Dawn picks up some time after the last film ended. A pandemic has wiped out the majority of the human population, the remaining survivors left to start over again. Without power and still heartbroken from losing close family and friends, a group of survivors colonize in the ruins of San Fransisco. When they venture into the forest in an attempt to restore power from a broken hydro-plant, they encounter the apes they blame for the collapse of civilization.

This Matt Reeves (Let me in, Cloverfield) directed sequel to the first and also good Apes film (directed by Rupert Wyatt), is rooted in some compelling story threads between both ape and man. You have leader ape Caesar, now a father and husband. Many years have passed since his days living with the Rodman family, although some of the memories still linger. They have started their own civilization in the Northern California forest. They have assumed all humans have died off, as they have seen no signs of them. But they are surprised to encounter group of humans led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), a compassionate man who they ultimately form an alliance with. Malcolm is accompanied by his young son Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and girlfriend Ellie (Keri Russell). Colony leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) pushes them to get the power plant up and running in three days before he launches a military strike against the apes.

The tension between the apes and humans is glaring. The humans blame the apes for the world's destruction. The apes consider the humans to be cruel and not trust-worthy, after years of keeping them captive. The film explores family dynamics, diplomacy, perseverance, and the realization that the genetic divide may not be so wide between the two when it comes to behavior (which we all know isn't so vast, but for some reason nobody in the film realizes). Perhaps the greatest feat of this picture is the fact that you become invested in the CGI creations, as invested as their human counterparts. There is some acceptable confusion in terms of rooting for a particular protagonist, but you are able to get behind multiple figures for multiple reasons. Films like this, films like the Life of Pi show a promising future for film. The CGI builds that we are able to create now are so lifelike. They are not only just resolute in image quality, they can be complicated characters. As the technology improves it will become cheaper to produce. It will be interesting in the coming years so see what other filmmakers can do on smaller budgets with computer generated characters. Until then, some of these big budget movies are not bad when they are put into the right hands.