CAPTIVE STATE Review

Rupert Wyatt passed on making a sequel, never mind a complete trilogy of Planet of the Apes movies which then gave writer/director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) an in to complete the trilogy and go on to now be penning and planning a solo Batman film for WB's DCEU. Would Wyatt have preferred this career path? Who's to say? And who's to say if Wyatt had rounded out the Apes films that he would have been offered the Batman film at all, but it does stand to question if Wyatt regrets his decision to pass on such high profile opportunities. Since deciding not to return to the world of stories about simians though, Wyatt has only made one feature (2014's re-make of The Gambler for Paramount which held a $25 million production budget and only turned over a $39 million worldwide gross) with Captive State being his second outing into feature-length material and a seemingly personal one at that. Wyatt co-wrote the screenplay for Captive State with Erica Beeney (The Battle of Shaker Heights) and serves as a producer, but this low-budget drama/thriller has more in common with Wyatt's 2008 breakout, The Escapist, than it does his 2011 introduction to the mainstream despite posing as a tale that typically functions on the same scale or budget as a Planet of the Apes sequel.

Teaser Trailer for CAPTIVE STATE Starring John Goodman

Say what you will about Matt Reeves and his two sequels in the latest Planet of the Apes trilogy, but my favorite of the bunch is still Rupert Wyatt's initial film. So much better than it had any right to be, Rise of the Planet of the Apes came on the heels of Wyatt's little seen, but insanely entertaining 2008 film, The Escapist. Hell, I even thought The Gambler was a solid genre exercise even if there wasn't necessarily a need for it to exist and Wyatt came up with nothing in the way of that purpose, but instead simply executed the beats in fine fashion. Next year though, the director is back with his first original effort since that 2008 prison break actioner in Captive State. Written with Project Greenlight alum Erica Beeney the film is set nearly a decade after the occupation of earth by an extraterrestrial force as the narrative will explore the lives of those on both sides of the conflict: the collaborators and dissidents. While this first teaser trailer doesn't give viewers much by way of story details it more offers brief glimpses the tone of the movie will take on in order to acclimate them with this grounded sci-fi setting that is said to attempt to shine light on the modern surveillance state, the threats to civil liberties, and the role of dissent within an authoritarian society. While Captive State is most definitely a sci-fi thriller it seems to have bigger ideas on the brain, but while it remains to be seen how well it will convey such ideas this first splattering of images certainly indicates the "how" in how Wyatt plans to convey such themes while keeping the facade of a pure genre picture. The teaser also only briefly highlights some of the names in the cast as well given we only have single shots of some and only split seconds of others despite the fact Wyatt has recruited the likes of John Goodman and Vera Farmiga to play alongside up-and-comer's such as Moonlight's Ashton Sanders, White Boy Rick's Jonathan Majors, If Beale Street Could Talk's KiKi Layne, and rapper Machine Gun Kelly AKA Colson Baker. Captive State also stars Alan Ruck, James Ransone, Madeline Brewer, D.B. Sweeney, Kevin Dunn, and opens on March 29, 2019.

NERVE Review

If the trailer spoiling the entire movie wasn't enough and you still decide Nerve is worth a trip to the cinema you'll likely be pleasantly surprised that it still proves to be (mostly) compelling. Despite ultimately knowing every beat this film is going to hit even if you've only seen a single trailer there is still something in the editing and overall emotional effect and where this wave of neon takes you in terms of a single experience that makes the film worth watching at least once. What that essentially means is that Nerve is not solely about getting from point A to point B and making sure the plot works which, considering the density of the details needed to understand the game is impressive enough, but more than that it focuses on the small moments in between those plot points allowing it to remain both compelling and more affecting than one might initially expect. One wouldn't think a film made by the guys behind Catfish (as well as a few Paranormal Activity flicks) would transfer so well to full on feature-length narrative storytelling, but with a script by Jessica Sharzer adapted from Jeanne Ryan's novel the filmmakers are able to tap into more than just the timely and relevant premise, but more the timeless relationships between high school students and the conditions of those relationships that being at that stage in life typically dictate. More than just another love story of sorts where the innocent/meek school girl takes the leap out of her comfort zone only to find a guy who she would have imagined was light years out of her league actually likes her for her-Nerve wraps its world in the dynamics between not only the young adults who are attracted to one another at the center of the story, but extends it to their circle of friends that tend to influence their decisions as much as their own minds. The fact the movie is about an online game with a countless number of viewers offering their "Likes" and comments only reinforces this mentality on a whole other (timely) level. By fleshing out not just the main protagonists and the game at its core, but rather by immersing viewers in this single night in New York City where neon can only mean more fun, exciting things Nerve overcomes its predictability and familiar story structure by giving us characters we care about.