TRIANGLE

2009

8/10

DIRECTOR: Christopher Smith

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

This was an interesting, small budget Sci Fi/Horror flick. It is revealed at an early point during the story that this is primarily a time bending loop narrative, following a small group of people who board an apparently abandoned ocean liner after a storm.

There is some set up at the beginning which introduces the star, Melissa George as she makes her way to meet the rest of the group. Once they board the ship they are fighting for their lives, with varied levels of success and the a time loop takes hold.

This is a well told, acted and directed Twilight Zone episode that just about manages not to out stay it’s welcome. Also, the effects batted well out it’s budget and the performances were more than worthy. The premise is simple but the execution is a little more complex and to an extent, this borders on contrived but overall this an effective thriller.

The twists and turns, though for the most part expected, are generally delivered well and there are certainly memorable moments.  Recommended.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE (DIRECTOR’S CUT)

2008

7/10

DIRECTOR: Chris Carter

This was a welcome return of these two indelible characters (Mulder and Scully), absent from our TV and cinema screens since the show’s end after nine seasons in 2002. The X-Files bug has all but been cured as the decade rolled on and the endless talk of a sequel to the relatively poor, or at best average 1998 feature was finally realised and almost suddenly manifested out of nowhere.

They had stated that this would be a good old stand alone story and not part of the overall conspiracy narrative that had dragged the show down by the end of it’s run, and this is exactly what they delivered. This made me nervous as not being a fan of all things X-Files, I wasn’t sure how this would work, but I was presently surprised.

This was a classic X-File, with a healthy dose of gruesome death, macabre violence, forensic and meticulous  investigations, arguments of the importance of faith and science, all mixed together with a slice of comedy to create the perfect Mulder/Scully cocktail.

All that being said though, that is kind of the problem. This is a perfect episode, is very entertaining and should be given credit for not trying to theatricalise itself too much, as the show was already made to such high standards, but that was the mistake made by the first film; Which bore too little resemblance to the show. This does not suffer the same.

So, very enjoyable, very well constructed but I’m not quite sure that it was justified or necessary to have been made in the first place. But I’m glad that it was.