Archive (2020): Theo James, Vertical Entertainment US
Archive is a new sci-fi film from writer/director Gavin Rothery and stars Theo James, Stacy Martin, Rhona Mitra and Toby Jones.
Set in 2038 Archive is the story of George Almore (James); a man who’s been working on a true human-equivalent AI and he’s in the riskiest and most sensitive stage of his latest prototype. Particularly considering the very secret nature of his goal…
Right away one of my favourite AI/ sci-fi movies came to mind as this trailer played. I’m of course talking about Ex Machina (2015); a movie I liked so much that I wanted a sequel to be available sooner than immediately.
I hope that Archive is memorable for all the right reasons and I can’t wait to see what the human-equivalent AI does once she’s out there in the world.
Jeremy Wheeler, Peter Ferdinando and Hans Peterson also star.
Lying And Stealing (2019), Theo James, Emily Ratajkowski, Vertical Entertainment US
Crime / drama Lying & Stealinghas Emily Ratajkowski as an aspiring Hollywood actress with debts, and Theo James as a gifted art thief who wants out of the game. To get straight to the point, I neither love nor hate Lying & Stealing. I was drawn to it mainly because I like the two lead actors.
The premise of Lying & Stealing is nothing new and this is part of the reason the movie isn’t especially notable. What I did like right away about director Matt Aselton’s film is the Yiddish proverb shown at the very beginning: ‘When a thief kisses you, count your teeth’. The second highlight for me is the scene with the bloody nose in the car towards the end – because it’s satisfying and nicely executed. Everything else in-between simply wasn’t bad enough for me to stop watching. In fact, the film seemed to become that little bit more engaging as the conflicts the protagonists were facing got closer to a resolution.
As for the parts of Aselton’s movie that stood out in a bad way, that would be the camera work at the very start of the opening party scene; ‘Unnecessarily dizzying’ is the phrase. So much so that I literally had to shield my eyes. Then there’s the movie’s single sex scene which had me convinced that the filmmakers must have been thinking something along the lines of: ‘OK guys. We have two incredibly attractive people here. It would be madness to miss out on featuring them in at least one intimate scene – even if it is gratuitous.Theo, Emily, let’s get to work!‘
Last and not necessarily least, the hue of the red wine in the movie. Is it me or was that particular hue of red especially unconvincing? I confess that I actually don’t drink alcohol, so maybe I shouldn’t be the one to comment – but still!
Theo James and Emily Ratajkowski’s latest crime / drama Lying And Stealing is co-written and directed by Matt Aselton.
A gifted art thief who wants out and an aspiring Hollywood actress with huge debt team up to pull off the ultimate con / heist. All so they can can be free of their troubles…
I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised by this one.
A part of me kind of needed to see more of an example of the consequences for James’s character if he were to just abandon his criminal lifestyle. I think that such a clip would have made me buy into the villainy of Fred Melamed’s Dimitri character a tad more.
Fred Melamed, Aris Alvarado, Fernanda Andrade, Tim Bader and Ray Ray Chase also star.
How It Ends is the story of a desperate father trying to get home to his pregnant wife in the chaotic aftermath of a mysterious apocalyptic event.
Theo James, Forest Whitaker and Kat Graham star while David M. Rosenthal directs…
‘Please be good, please be good, please be good…!’ Just my heart felt wishes for this movie. I’d really love to love a Netflix movie as much as I did the first Netflix movie I remember seeing; Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation (2015). Please, Netflix.
Kerry Bishé, Grace Dove, Mark O’Brien, Eric Keenleyside and Nancy Sorel also star.
Directed by Drake Doremus of Like Crazy (2011), Zoe is a new sci-fi / romance centred around two colleagues working on technology to improve and perfect romantic relationships. As their work progresses, their discoveries become more interesting.
Ewan McGregor, Léa Seydoux, Theo James and Rashida Jones star…
The subject matter definitely has my attention. Before the trailer ended, I was already having quite a time with the question of who I’d choose if I were in Seydoux’s character’s shoes.
Now looking forward to finding out about all the variables; the ones that will help with the final choice of man or ‘machine’.
The Movie My Life 