Tag: Ebon Moss-Bachrach

The Last Ship: It’s Not a Rumor (recap/review)

Poster for The Last Ship
On The Last Ship season premiere, a lot of things were sorted out, not least being the self imposed dictator of Baltimore, and mother of Alisha Granderson, getting taken down along with her “utopian” organization. In this week’s episode of The Last Ship, It’s Not a Rumor at the start of the show, Amy Granderson’s daughter Alisha is recuperating from her injuries and putting off facing her fellow crew members on the Nathan James.

Chandler and his crew cannibalize everything they can from the Baltimore compound and then head to the White House to search for survivors and they pick up an encrypted hard drive with information about other facilities across the world. They find a bunker but can get no answer and are not able to get in to continue their search. Dr. Scott gets in touch with her mentor Dr. Hunter for an over the phone tearful reunion.

Niels Sorenson aka Patient Zero; the one who weaponized the genome and made himself immune and a carrier, first met in Two Sailor Walk Into a Bar from season one, shows up on a beach full of survivors. Two of them mention the man, “his accent is different but he’s not Russian,” and shortly after all of the people on the beach are dead, infected by Sorenson (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). He shows up later in another “safe zone” which is being run by a “preacher.”

He is questioned by a man, Curtis, in the park, “Why aren’t you sick?” Apparently, the sleeping bag that Niels is in had a dead person in it hours before he used it. Later Curtis takes Sorenson to a sort of “camp meeting.” In a large tent, an amused Sorenson watches as the “minister” claims that those in the tent are “the chosen.”

The crew of the Nathan James head to Norfolk where the first person they spot from the bridge is a Navy SEAL signaling the ship. When they disembark Chandler and his crew learn that quite a number of armed forces personnel are at the base. With the hard drive and the extra troops, they head out to the various facilities set up to help the general populace.

Members of the crew search for loved ones around the area. Lt. Foster finds her mother who left their house and joined a safe area set up in the local bowling alley. XO Slattery heads to another safe zone at Deer Park only to find it deserted and that his family were there but are not now. Andrea Garnett is another one who finds that her family are not home, however there is a missing car in the garage of her home and someone had been packing.

Chandler tells his kids that he will not leave them again and that he is staying home. The children tell their father that is not what he should do and that their mother would not approve. Ashley and Sam convince their dad that his place in on the Nathan James with his crew and helping the world to get better.

Alisha Granderson is promoted by Chandler for her heroism and her loyalty, he hands her the full lieutenant bars he wore in Iraq. By the end of the show Niels has aligned himself with the religious zealot in the park and when Curtis says that the news of a ship distributing a cure is a rumor, Sorenson says that it is not.

The Last Ship has sailed into season two almost effortlessly and the story follows a logical course. Not having read the book is not an issue here as the series, despite the pretty tame state of the apocalypse, in American at least, is interesting and there are many obstacles to face before an all clear can be sounded.

Chandler is a compelling leader and Scott may yet become a fixture in either Tom’s or Tex’s life. Rachel and Tex have a verbal sparing match in the gym, where Tex is coaching Bacon who is trying to get down to his regulation weight. The two end up getting a little closer and Rachel thanks Tex for telling her about his 14 year-old daughter.

All the actors are now firmly in their roles and fans of Adam Baldwin will be thoroughly impressed when his character breaks down in tears at one point in the show. It is interesting to see Niels Sorenson back and on what appears to be a nefarious journey motivated by madness. The Last Ship airs Sundays on TNT.

Come Out and Play (2012) Mexican Somnambulistic Scares

come-out-and-play

We all have a picture of life south of the border, Mexico has always evoked images of fiestas and siestas, one meaning to party hardy and the other to have an afternoon nap because of said partying. Things are slower and more relaxed in Me-he-co amigo. So is this little horror film from south of the border.

It features a film that moves so slowly it feels a bit like sleep walking. Sleep walking that leads you straight into a Village of the Damned cum Children of the Corn type nightmare. Oozing an atmosphere that feels like molasses trickling down a table leg, Come Out and Play is a film you can’t hurry along.

Written and directed by Makinov  and based on a novel by Juan José Plans, Come Out and Play is the first feature film by Makinov and it combines the slowness of an old ballad with the discord of a one legged dancer.

Starring Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Vinessa Shaw, and Daniel Giménez Cacho; whom I’d just seen in  Mel Gibson‘s Get the Gringo play the three main protagonists in the film, although Cacho isn’t in the film nearly long enough.

The film opens with Francis (Moss-Bachrach) wandering through Mexican streets during carnival asking for directions. He is trying to rent a boat so he and his heavily pregnant wife Beth (Shaw) can get to an island village that is famous for its carnivals. After securing the boat, Francis and Beth go down to the marina and head to the island.

When they arrive there are a group of boys lining the dock fishing. All of them seem to be friendly and help to tie up the boat and help the couple to bring their bags on the dock. Only one boy isn’t friendly and despite Francis’ best attempts, he doesn’t respond to his kindness. The couple then make their way into the village and it’s seemingly deserted.

The three protagonists.
The three protagonists.

When they find a cafe, it looks like everyone has left in a hurry, leaving half empty glasses on tables. There is a “ham” radio on the wall that keeps intermittently broadcasting a woman who sounds distressed. Since Beth is tired, Francis decides to go and find some people.

From the moment that Francis and his wife land on the island, the atmosphere of the film screams, “Wrong!” Everything seems off and eerie. The place is completely deserted and you know that if you were there, you’d run right straight back to the boat, get in, take off and never come back.

Of course the young couple cannot do that as there would then be no film. It is explained through their dialogue that these two are world travellers and that not too much spooks them. Too bad, it seems that travelling around the world dulls your “Spidey-senses.” They eventually find out what has happened on the island and it’s not good.

If you are expecting a “jump-scare” movie or one that throws horror at you in a violent manner, this is not the film for you. Come Out and Play builds an almost unbearable tension from the moment these two arrive at the island. Despite the slow pace of this film, I could not tear my eyes away from the snail like events on the screen. Although I did “second-guess” the ending, it still made sense and to be fair the director did signpost it very well.

I’d give this little gem a 4 out of 5 just for the slow moving creepy atmosphere of the village on the little island and for leading me twice to the wrong conclusion on how it would end; before I finally paid attention to the signs that the director so helpfully put in place.

fire

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