February 6th
For Sama
Colour out of Space

Excitement! The Oscars are just around the corner. This week sees the release of one of this year's nominees for Best Documentary Feature. It is superb. and for sci-fi fans, there is a freaky, cultish sci-fi offering, starring the ever-crazy Nicolas Cage.  

For Sama
Director: Waad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts
Length: 96 min

 © Umbrella - prepare to be moved to tears
with this unflinching documentary

In 2012, director Waad was a marketing student at Aleppo University where students began to protest the oppressive regime of Bashar al Assad. As the protests escalated, it became all out war between the rebels in Aleppo and the government forces, backed by the Russians. Around that time Waad met a courageous young doctor, Hamza. Over five years, Waad filmed everything that took place in the besieged city, as she and Hamza married, Hamza set up a hospital, she gave birth to Sama, and gradually Aleppo was turned into rubble. Waad says she made this film to tell her daughter Sama why her parents decided to stay, rather than run for their lives. A finalist for this year's Best Documentary in the Oscars, For Sama is a searing look at the horrors of the Syrian war. Some footage is filmed shakily on mobile phones, some on handy cam, but all of what is shown is immediate, horrific, distressing, and at times inspiring. The courage and dedication of the hospital staff; cameraderie among friends; children still able to play and laugh, parents' love for their kids - all these are juxtaposed with traumatic scenes of injury, blood, death, bombing, grief, and the utter inhumanity of that war. The film had me in floods of tears - to think people have endured such oppression and suffering. It's not new, but the way Waad has captured it, and her co-director edited it, creates a powerful movie that will stay with you and remind you of the insanity of so much of today's world. Tragically, it still goes on in Syria with the same dictator in power.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Colour Out of Space
Director: Richard Stanley
Length: 110 min

 © Umbrella - prepare to be weirded out, 
even grossed out - but entertained

Nathan Gardner (Nicolas Cage), his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) and their three kids have recently headed to the countryside to escape the city hubbub and live a tranquil rural existence on an idyllic New England property. Nathan wants to farm alpacas (so cute, stars of the film), Theresa is recovering from cancer, and the kids are a weird bunch, daughter Lavinia a self-styled witch, son Benny a stoner, and youngest Jack a cute oddball. Local water engineer Ward (Elliot Knight) and forest-dwelling crazy recluse Ezra (Tommy Chong) round out the cast. Life is disrupted when a meteorite crashes into their yard. The meteorite "evaporates" overnight, but some strange alien life force or pathogen begins to cause havoc - coloring the air, creating lurid flowers, and infecting everything it contacts - including Nathan and his family. Based upon a short sci-fi story by HP Lovecraft, this is one of the oddest films I've seen in a while. The opening scenes are mesmerisingly beautiful, with towering, (but slightly menacing) trees. Overall, the cinematography is stunning, and Cage (love him or hate him) gives one of his most crazed, out-there performances, which, unfortunately, towards the end runs the risk of becoming laughable, though it does capture one's attention! The film gets more horrific (think body horror) and bizarre as it goes along, but I guess this goes with the genre. However, I can't say I was bored, and I suspect for fans, it has the potential to become a cult classic. 
3- recommended (if only for Cage-o-maniacs and to see the alpacas)!