Meteor Storm

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Rating 1


Directed by Tibor Takács

Written by Peter Mohan

Starring Michael Trucco (Colonel Tom Young), Kari Matchett (Dr Michelle Young), Kirsten Prout (Kara Young), Brett Dier (Jason Young), Eric Johnson (Kyle Pember), Lara Gilchrist (Lena), Emily Holmes (Laura), Travis Nelson (Brad), Kevein McNulty (General Brock) and Viv Leacock (Colonel Jack Clancey)


San Francisco prepares for what should be a spectacular meteor shower speeding across the night sky. Astro-physicist Dr Michelle Young is angry when her estranged husband Tom forgets to collect their two teenage children, Kara and Jason, to bring them to see the display. However, instead of the spectacular display everyone was expecting, this is the first of a series of deadly meteor storms that threatens to destroy San Francisco and wipe out the population. Michelle and Tom have to put their difference aside to work with the US Military to find a solution – and rescue their kids.

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I am not a regular viewer of the Sci-Fi Channel, but I have watched enough “SyFy” movies to know exactly what to expect and yet I still cannot stop myself from hoping that the next one I watch will not be as laughably bad as the last one. So it was with ‘Meteor Storm’, which I watched because it stars Kari Matchett. This isn’t the worst example I have seen, but it was just a jumble of ridiculous clichés and pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo.

Michael Trucco, who starred in ‘Battlestar Gallactica, which I have never seen a single episode of, is the all-action hero here. We know this because he wears a leather jacket and rides around on a Harley. When he is not riding the Harley he is driving around in a Hummer. He rescues a pregnant woman from an overturned vehicle just seconds before it blows up. He rescues his wife from a downed helicopter – just seconds before it blows up. He rescues his children, who are trapped in an elevator, and his daughter’s boyfriend, who is sick and trapped in an apartment, just moments before the entire building collapses. However, to show that he’s only human, he fails to save his wife’s sister, who is driving across the Golden Gate Bridge when it is hit and destroyed by a meteor storm. As it happens, something that is conveniently overlooked, she would probably have safely got to the other side had it not been for Michelle calling her on her cell-phone while she was driving and screaming at her to get off the bridge, something that caused her to crash.

I cannot be too critical because it is not as if I do not know exactly what to expect when I watch these things, but ‘Meteor Storm’ leaves no cliché overlooked and has no sense of humour to alleviate the grimness of it all. It’s competently made, but wholly unimaginative.

Review posted 12 April 2010


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Cypher

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Rating 2¾


Directed by Vincenzo Natali

Written by Brian King

Jeremy Northam (Morgan Sullivan / Jack Thursby), Lucy Liu (Rita Foster), Nigel Bennett (Finster), Timothy Webber (Callaway), Kari Matchett (Diane Thursby), Kristina Nicoll (Amy Sullivan), David Hewlett (Virgil Dunn) and Peter Mensah (Vault Security)


Morgan Sullivan is an out-of-work accountant with a stifling suburban life and a wife who nags him about taking a job with her father. Instead, he gets involved in corporate espionage for “Digicorps” and is given an assumed name, Jack Thursby. Over time he starts to increasingly assume this identity to the point where the lines between reality and fantasy become more and more blurred. During his first assignment he encounters the mysterious Rita Foster and eventually begins to work as a double agent for “Sunway”, but he is warned that he is a pawn in a dangerous and deadly game being played by Sebastian Rooks, the enigmatic and shadowy boss and lover of Foster.

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‘Cypher’ is a 2002 Canadian psychological sci-fi spy thriller. It has been compared to the work of the late cult science fiction writer Philip K Dick and I guess it might be described as “cyberpunk”, although I am a little unclear about some of these terms. It was directed by Vincenzo Natali, whose previous film, his debut full-length feature, was the cult 1997 sci-fi film ‘Cube’, which received a fair amount of critical attention, although the reviews were mixed.

Stylistically, ‘Cypher’ is quite similar to ‘Cube’ and quite clearly the product of a director with a recognisable signature style. Both films are, effectively, about nothing. There is no clearly defined back story or reason for the events that unfold. In ‘Cypher’ we do not know with any certainty what Digicorps or Sunway are. We do not know the nature of the espionage or what it is intended to achieve. We know very little about Morgan Sullivan and while we might assume to know why he wants to assume this new identity, the details are never clear to us. Everything is slightly surreal and off-kilter. Nothing looks quite right, nothing is quite as it should be, as if perhaps it is all a hallucinogenic dream.

The performance of English actor Jeremy Northam is equally eccentric, but also rather engaging. It certainly fits in with the pervading sense that nothing here is as it should be. I am not sure what American viewers would make of his American accent. It reminded me of something that I cannot quite put my finger on, but I was, for some reason, put in mind of Cary Grant in screwball comedies like ‘Bringing Up Baby’ and ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’.

The film is a little bit too stylised for my tastes. I would prefer more human emotion and drama and less technological wizardry and hi-tech hardware. However, that would somewhat negate the point of the film. I did rather enjoy it, although I cannot imagine feeling any great compulsion to watch it again in a hurry.

Jeremy Northam made his breakthrough in ‘Hamlet’ at the Royal National Theatre in London in 1989. His first American film was the ‘The Net’ in 1995. I seem to be one of the few fans of this much-maligned Sandra Bullock film. Lucy Liu is, I guess, best known for her role in the long-running television series ‘Ally McBeal’, a popular show that certainly divides opinion. I personally find it offensive and demeaning to women. Her film roles have included the two ‘Charlie’s Angels’ films and ‘Kill Bill: Vol 1’. Kari Matchett is an excellent Canadian actress, best known for her work in American television series like ‘Invasion’, ’24’ (season six), ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’ and ‘ER’ (season fourteen). She starred in ‘Cube 2: Hypercube’, which was not directed by Vincenzo Natali. She was also featured in seven episodes of Gene Roddenberry’s ‘Earth: Final Conflict’. Natali directed three episodes of that series, although they did not work together on it. Her role in ‘Cypher’ does not amount to very much.

‘Cypher’ has a 56% rating at Rotten Tomatoes from 16 reviews. It is also known as ‘Company Man’ and ‘Brainstorm’.

Review posted 28 July 2009



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Wonderfalls

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Created by Bryan Fuller and Todd Holland

Written by Bryan Fuller, Todd Holland, Tim Minear, Liz W Garcia, Krista Vernoff and others

Starring Caroline Dhavernas, Tracie Thoms, Tyron Leitso, Katie Finneran, Lee Pace, Diana Scarwid, William Sadler, Neil Grayston, Jewel Staite and Kari Matchett


“Just look at them. They all work really hard every day and they’re dissatisfied. I mean, I can be dissatisfied without hardly working at all.”

Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas) is a highly intelligent graduate of Brown University whose cynical view of life leads her to choose a path of least expectation, taking a dead end job in a souvenir shop next to Niagara Falls. While her older siblings Sharon (Katie Finneran) and Aaron (Lee Pace) still live at home, Jaye chooses to live in a trailer park, away from her parents. Her best friend Mahandra McGinty (Tracie Thoms) works in a local restaurant, and Eric Gotts (Tyron Leitso), who she falls in love with, ends up working behind the bar when his new marriage to Heidi (Jewel Staite) crumbles during their honeymoon. Jaye’s life become complicated and begins to take unexpected turns when inanimate objects start giving her instructions to help people around her, often people she doesn’t know or doesn’t like.

The basic premise of ‘Wonderfalls’ is noticeably similar to the slightly earlier and superior ‘Joan of Arcadia’, although without the religious overtone (Joan’s instructions come directly from God, while here there is no hint of divine intervention). There were even plans, had the show survived, to have Jaye sent for psychiatric evaluation and be diagnosed as suffering from “Joan of Arc Syndrome”, something explored in ‘Joan of Arcadia’ at the end of the first season.

‘Wonderfalls’ premiered on the Fox network in America on 12 March 2004, although it was originally intended to have premiered much earlier, at the start of the “fall” season in 2003. It survived for just four episodes before being cancelled by a network that seemed to be particularly trigger-happy at that time, although it does seem that the nature of American television means that most shows are condemned to an early death. A total of 13 episodes had been made and these were released on DVD in 2005.

Bryan Fuller, who co-created the show, first made a breakthrough writing episodes of ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ and ‘Star Trek: Voyager’. He had previously created the acclaimed ‘Dead Like Me’, a show that ran for two seasons on Showtime before being cancelled. Todd Holland was previously associated with shows like ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ and ‘The Larry Sanders Show’. Tim Minear, the third executive producer, but not one of the creators of the show, had previously worked with Joss Whedon on ‘Angel’ and ‘Firefly’ – but not on Whedon’s signature show, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.

‘Wonderfalls’ is not as good as the wonderful ‘Dead Like Me’ and, as I have already mentioned, I do not think it is as good as ‘Joan of Arcadia’. I enjoyed watching it very much and I will watch it again, but it never quite managed to grip me the same way as my favourite American television shows of recent years, be it something like ‘Buffy’ or ‘Point Pleasant’. Equally, I am not sure I enjoyed it as much as shows like ‘Cold Case’, which I am happy to catch as and when, without becoming dedicated to watching them come what may.

The cast is very good. Some of the actors I was already familiar with, others were new to me. I had not previously come across the French-Canadian actress Caroline Dhavernas. Her performance is interesting. Jaye is a slightly brittle character, not particularly sympathetic, and Dhavernas certainly doesn’t seem to be doing anything to add warmth to her. In fact, the Tyler family in general, including the parents, Karin (Diana Scarwid) and Darrin (William Sadler), are not especially likeable, although I am rather fond of the constantly neurotic and put-upon Sharon, the lesbian lawyer older sister.

Most of the episodes are very good, although I don’t recall any that were exceptional – episodes that really stood out and made me take notice. On the other hand, one, ‘Totem Mole’, the penultimate episode, was noticeably disappointing. Despite some nice touches, I thought it was very trite. It was also one of the episodes that reminded me most of ‘Northern Exposure’, a show that ‘Wonderfalls’ in general put me in mind of.

Although it may not seem to be of any great importance, the most disappointing thing about ‘Wonderfalls’ proved to be the various objects that talked to Jaye. They had a purpose and I suppose they fulfilled that purpose, but there was nothing appealing or interesting about any of them. Instead of drawing me into the fantasy aspect of the show, they did the exact opposite, pulling me out of the story.

In the end, I would recommend the show, with a few minor reservations, to anyone who thinks the premise sounds interesting.

Bryan Fuller later worked on ‘Heroes’ and subsequently created ‘Pushing Daisies’, a show that has gone into a second season as I write this. Lee Pace, who plays Jaye’s brother in ‘Wonderfalls’, has the lead role in this new Bryan Fuller show.



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Invasion

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Created by Shaun Cassidy

Written by Shaun Cassidy, Juan Carlos Coto, Michael Alaimo, Becky Hartman-Edwards and others

Starring Eddie Cibrian, William Fichtner, Kari Matchett, Lisa Sheridan, Tyler Labine, Alexis Dziena, Evan Peters, James Frain, Elisabeth Moss, Aisha Hinds and Ariel Gade


This 2005 science fiction show lasted for one season of 22 episodes on the ABC network before it was cancelled. It was broadcast immediately after the ratings hit ‘Lost’, but failed to hold onto the audience for that show. It was put on hiatus twice, eventually being broadcast over a period of 34 weeks between 21 September 2005 and 17 May 2006. The average audience numbers per episode was in the region of nine or ten million.

A hurricane leaves a small Florida town called Homestead cut off afterwards. Many people in the town went missing during the storm and when they turn up again they start to behave strangely. Dave Groves (played by Tyler Labine), a beer-drinking conspiracy theorist, believes it is the work of aliens. He involves his sister’s partner, Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian), the park ranger, in his theories. Varon’s former wife, Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett), a doctor at the local hospital, is married to the local sheriff, Tom Underlay (William Fichtner, in a fantastic performance). These people, and their children, have an uneasy relationship, which becomes increasingly strained when Varon begins to investigate further and becomes concerned about the sheriff’s suspicious behaviour.

It’s a variation of ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’. The story unfolds quite slowly, although not unduly so, and allows plenty of time to explore the lives of the main characters, who are all interconnected by family ties, but equally are in conflict because of these ties. It’s nicely written, with very good production values and excellent acting.

On first viewing I found Larkin Groves (the character played by Lisa Sheridan) rather irritating. That dissipated when I watched the episodes again. Whilst I was baffled first time around by her insistence that Eddie put the safety of their unborn baby above that of his two children from his first marriage, her seemingly selfish and sometimes unreasonable behaviour made more sense second time around. It is also interesting to contrast the reasoning of various characters for investigating the strange happenings taking place around them.

Dave is driven by the fact he is convinced he has found proof of the existence of extraterrestrials - and this obsesses him. Eddie is concerned about the town. Tom (the sheriff) also claims the safety of the people is his first priority, but the motivation for his actions often suggests a hidden agenda, and he and Eddie are constantly at loggerheads. Larkin is an ambitious news journalist working for the local television network. She begins to independently investigate the strange occurrences, hoping for a journalistic scoop. Although she talks about being concerned for the safety of her family, it is not, initially at least, the real reason for what she does. It can also be said that Eddie’s suspicions about Tom, the husband of his former wife and, therefore, the stepfather of his two children, is as strong a reason for his actions as any concerns about the town itself.

The premature cancellation of the show was a shame. It would have been interesting to find out where creator Shaun Cassidy intended to take the story. However, it still works very well as it is and the ending is actually rather satisfying.

One last thing of note, unimportant as it may be, Rose Varon (played by Ariel Gade, who is also featured in the film ‘Dark Water’), the youngest child of Eddie Varon and Mariel Underlay, is surely the cutest child ever seen in a television show.



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5ive Days To Midnight

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Directed by Michael W Watkins

Written by David Aaron Cohen, Robert Zappia, Anthony Peckham and Cindy Myers

Starring Timothy Hutton, Kari Matchett, Randy Quaid, Gage Golightly and Hamish Linklater


This is a Canadian mini-series made by David Kirshner Productions (the same production company that made ‘Seed of Chucky’) for the Sci-Fi Channel. It was broadcast in four episodes in June 2004.

It stars Timothy Hutton, living proof that being an Academy Award and Golden Globe winner does not mean you will automatically become a “film star”, Randy Quaid and Kari Matchett. I have just finished watching it for the third time.

Hutton plays a psychics professor who has recently lost his wife. His young daughter is also dealing with this loss, as well as coming to terms with her father’s new companion, played by Kari Matchett. The daughter is played by Gage Golightly, who reminded me of Drew Barrymore, although lacking Barrymore’s screen charisma. Golightly was one of the cast of ‘Heartland’, the recently cancelled TNT show that starred Kari Matchett.

A mysterious attaché case, seemingly from the future, contains a police file about the unsolved murder of Hutton’s character, a murder that takes place five days after the discovery of the case at the graveside of his wife. He now has five days to prevent his murder from happening.

The story has a lot of twists and turns, many of them verging on the utterly implausible, although for some reason it quickly dispenses with any interest in the fact that the case and enclosed documents have clearly been sent back from some point in the far future –- the only thing that gives the story its “sci-fi” tag.

There are many flaws, not least of which are the numerous cheap visual tricks (slow-motion shots, for example), but it starts out well. The first episode is good enough to make it worthwhile watching on. Episodes two and three sustain enough interest to continue. The whole thing only finally collapses in the final episode, which degenerates into a long-winded and not altogether exciting chase, complete with an ending that doesn’t exactly come as a big surprise.

On the plus side, the cast is likeable and it’s fun to watch.

“Timothy Hutton, a personal favourite of mine, is good here, able to portray an intelligent person pushed in an extraordinary situation… 5ive Days to Midnight is a miniseries of above average quality, thanks to its exciting plot, good performances, and dense production design.” Rachel Sexton: MovieFreak.com



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Cube 2: Hypercube

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Rating 3


Directed by Andrzej Sekula

Written by Ernie Bararash, Sean Hood and Lauren McLaughlin

Starring Kari Matchett and Geraint Wyn Davies


‘Cube’ was a very low budget ($365,000 CAD) Canadian horror film co-written and directed by Vicenzo Natali. Widely compared to the writings of Franz Kafka, it was critically acclaimed and became a cult hit, although not so much so in America. 29 reviews collected at Rotten Tomatoes result in a 59% rating and the film grossed $500,000 at the American box office. The film is, perhaps, most famous for what is, effectively, a single small set, making a virtue of the tiny budget.

‘Cube 2: Hypercube’ followed in 2002. This time the Polish director Andrzej Sekula was at the helm. Sekula was the cinematographer on ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’. This film has a 56% rating at Rotten Tomatoes from nine reviews, but it is largely considered to be very poor compared to the first film. One of the main criticisms -- apart from an ending that is hated by most hardcore devotees of the Cubeverse -- is the supposedly dire quality of acting.

I can’t identify a problem with the acting, which seems to me to be on a par with that found in the first film. Personally, I think you have to go a very long way to find acting as bad as that featured in the 1993 British horror film ‘Beyond Bedlam’. Elizabeth Hurley, in particular, gives a performance of almost surreal awfulness.

‘Cube 2’, like the first film, is an ensemble piece, but the best-known actor here is Kari Matchett, who has subsequently made her name in American television shows like ‘Invasion’, ‘24’ and ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’ and ‘Heartland’. The director makes the most of her distinctive features by frequently framing her face in close-up.

One of the interesting themes of ‘Cube 2’ is the behaviour of the character Simon, played by the Welsh actor Geraint Wyn Davies. The cube exists within constantly shifting time and space. As Simon becomes increasingly psychotic he turns to cannibalism, repeatedly killing and eating the same person over and over again, desperate for survival despite having no apparent means of escape and no quality of life.

A third film, ‘Cube Zero’, was made in 2004. This one was co-written and directed by Ernie Barbarash, who also co-wrote the second film. This third film took the tried and tested route and was a “prequel” to ‘Cube’. It also takes the action outside of the cube itself. I didn’t think it was especially good.



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