Tag Archives: Tension

Scurry – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A strong premise brings you into this world, but the narrative does not quite have the six legs to get all the way to the end.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

A man holds a lighter up for light.

Setting the Scene

This has been an excellent year for Sparke Films, with its flagship Primitive War showing that you absolutely can do a dinosaur film without the word Jurassic in the title. But that was a big, bombastic work, and I was interested to see what they could do on a more concentrated effort, and today we find out.   

So, to set the scene, chaos reigns as something is causing a city to be evacuated and destroyed in equal measure. At the bottom of a sinkhole lies Mark (Jamie Costa), who had the unfortunate luck of standing on the road as it gave out underneath him. Stuck and with no phone connection, things are not looking good for him, nor is that car hanging precariously over the edge, filling anyone with confidence. There better not be a helicopter crashing from the sky that will make this situation worse, and what was that chittering sound in the background?

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Tension That Kept You On The Edge Of Your Seat In 2024!

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Well, we have looked at Action, then Emotion and swung wildly across the spectrum to Fun, and now we are completing that trifecta by looking at Tension. Tension is one of the most challenging facets of filmmaking because it requires the script, direction, acting, and editing to all work in tandem to evoke the perfect pace. If just one part of that group misses, then an essential part of the film falls apart.

In 2024, we continued to see some excellent use of tension to build mystery, to be the harbinger of the coming dread, or even to tick the clock of inevitability.   

Our Highly Commended Films in 2024 are: Abigail, Force of Nature, Kill, The Moogai & Turtles All the Way Down
Our Highly Commended TV in 2024 are: Black Doves, The Diplomat, Dune Prophecy & The Lord of the Rings

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Carry-On Film Review: Tension and Action Combined

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TL;DR – This is a film that didn’t need to go as hard as it did, and I am glad that they went there.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Security in an airport.

Carry-On Review –

Many films just cost on their generic action beats or their main cast and give you a substandard product. Add enough charismatic smiles, and it feels like you can get away with anything. When I came into this film, I honestly thought this was what I was going to get, and I am glad to say that I was wrong.

So, to set the scene, Christmas is upon us, and millions of people are making the trip home to see their families. Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) and his girlfriend Nora Parisi (Sofia Carson) both work at LAX, and Christmas Eve is the worst day for travellers. But as Ethan tries to step up in his job for the TSA thanks to his wife’s pending pregnancy. Little does he know that someone is coming through with a package that will change his life. All he has to do is ignore one package, just one package, and his girlfriend lives. Surely, that can’t be that hard.   

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A Place Called Silence (Mo Sha, 默杀) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that wanted to be murky in its depiction of crime but ended up being muddled and frustrating.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

WARNING – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

A Place Called Silence Review –

Today, we are looking at a challenging film because it is filled with grand highs and deep lows. Because of this, we get a movie that is frightfully uneven in all the worst ways, even though it deals with some significant subject material. Also, before we dive in, please do not skip over the warning above.

So, to set the scene, Doma City has gone through many struggles in the past, including devastating storms. It is here where Li Han (Janine Chun-Ning Chang) is working as a cleaner in a local school so she can help support her mute daughter Tong (Wang Shengdi). However, while she tries to support her daughter through her struggles, it is made worse by the sheer torment Tong receives from local bullies, including getting glued to a wall. But when the bullies start going missing, it drags more than just the police into the lives of those in the school.

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Tension That Kept You On The Edge Of Your Seat In 2023!

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Well, we have looked at Emotion and swung wildly across the spectrum to Fun, and now we are completing that trifecta by looking at Tension. Tension is one of the most challenging facets of filmmaking because it requires the script, direction, acting, and editing to all work in tandem to evoke the perfect pace. If just one part of that group misses, then an essential part of the film falls apart.

In 2023, we continued to see some excellent use of tension to build mystery, to be the harbinger of the coming dread, or even to tick the clock of inevitability.   

Our Highly Commended in 2023 are Five Nights at Freddy’s, Killers of the Flower Moon, Knock at the Cabin, M3GAN, The Nun II & Saltburn
Our Best TV Tension in 2023 are Deadloch: Season 1, Doctor Who: 2023 Specials, The Last of Us: Season 1, Poker Face: Season 1 & Silo: Season 1

So, without further ado, these moments of tension kept us on the edge of our seats in 2023. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

And the Nominees are –

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Plane – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Not the biggest or most bombastic action film I have seen, but it knows precisely what it wants to be and makes it work because of that.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

Place Seatbelts light flashing.

Plane Review –

For a long time, if you went to watch a Gerard Butler action film, you knew entirely what you would get. Some fun moments but no real substance. However, Greenland changed all that, and suddenly things became interesting again. But the question is, can that interest last?   

So to set the scene, Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) is running through security, which is important because he is the plane’s pilot. It feels like a relativity typical run on New-Years Day, bar for some weather and for a surprise passenger Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), who is being extradited for a murder. But then a lighting strike takes out all the avionics and radio, giving them only 10 minutes to land the plane before they drop out of the sky. They make a miraculous landing, but getting the plane down might be the easy part.  

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Star Trek: Picard – Surrender – TV Review

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TL;DR – This week’s episode had me on the edge of my seat for the entire runtime

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

The Shrike looms over the Titan.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There is an art to naming an episode. You want it to be relevant, and the more esoteric, the more disconnected you leave your audience. Indeed, Chuck famously titled all their episodes a version of Chuck Versus the Colonel for that reason. However, you can’t be too literal with the title because why watch a show when you already know what will happen. The goldilocks of episode titles are those that are relatively straightforward but then can have multiple meanings. This is what we get this week with Surrender.

So to set the scene, well, things are actually at the darkest [I hope] for the crew of the USS Titan-A. Because in last week’s Dominion, Seven (Jeri Ryan) didn’t sacrifice Shaw (Todd Stashwick), Vadic (Amanda Plummer) was able to storm the bridge and take over the ship. She is looking for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and is now using the crew as pawns to lure him out of hiding. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Crusher (Gates McFadden) do not want him to turn himself in, knowing they will destroy the Titan once they have their prey. But that is easy to say but hard to do when you hear the voices of the crew being killed around you. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Knock at the Cabin – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An intense, claustrophobic look at the potential end of the world    

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an audio queue at the end but not something you need to stay for.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Warning – This film contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Cabin.

Knock at the Cabin Review –

If you look across the media landscape, the post-apocalypse is all the rage at the moment, but what about an excellent old-fashioned apocalypse? A film about struggle against all odds, looking doom in the face, and maybe not getting out alive in the end. Today we look at just such a film that both embraces and is a bit sly about it simultaneously.

So to set the scene, Eric (Jonathan Groff), Andrew (Ben Aldridge), and Wen (Kristen Cui) have gotten away from the world and are spending some time relaxing in a cabin in the middle of the countryside. A perfect escape from the world, so remote there is no cell service among all the trees and picturesque lake you can swim in. It is a delight until one moment, Leonard (Dave Bautista) walks up to Wen when she is collecting grasshoppers. He tells her not to be afraid, but he and his friends need to get into the cabin her fathers are in, and they need the whole family for something special to stop the end of the world.

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Tension That Kept You On The Edge Of Your Seat In 2022!

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Well, we have looked at Emotion and swung wildly across the spectrum to Fun, and now we are completing that trifecta by looking at Tension. Tension is one of the most challenging facets of filmmaking because it requires the script, direction, acting, and editing to all work in tandem to evoke the perfect pace. If just one part of that group misses, then an essential part of the film falls apart.

In 2022 we continued to see some excellent use of tension used to build mystery, or to be the harbinger of the coming dread, or even the ticking clock of inevitability.   

So without further ado, these moments of tension kept us on the edge of our seats in 2022. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

And the Nominees are –

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Fall – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Captures that tension of being isolated from the world with rescues just being out of reach at all times.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid to view this film.

The tower from afar.

Fall Review –

As we get closer to the end of the year, there has been one film that I have been avoiding. I have a deep fear of heights, and seeing an epic tale of survival (maybe) half a km up in the air on the big screen was a bit of a stretch. But on the small screen, where I can pause and walk away, well, it is now time to give it a go.   

So to set the scene, on a sheer cliff face, two married climbers Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Dan (Mason Gooding), make their way up the side of the mountain with their friend Hunter (Virginia Gardner). But just when they are going to make it to the top, Dan gets spooked by a bat and falls off the mountain. He tries to swing back when his anchor gives way, and he falls to his death. Fifty-one weeks later, Becky has cut herself off from the world and is at the bottom of a deep bottle pushing everyone, including her father, James Connor (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), away. Trying to help her friend get out of their funk, Hunter gets Becky to come out and climb a decommissioned 2,000-foot (610 m) B67 TV tower in the middle of the desert. The accent went well, but coming down is always the most challenging part.      

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