Vanishing on 7th Street

Released Year: 2010

Directed by Brad Anderson

Casted by:

 Hayden Christensen as Luke Ryder

Thandie Newton as Rosemary

John Leguizamo as Paul

Jacob Latimore as James Leary

 Story:

Paul is a projectionist in a Detroit theater who is reading about the 16th century disappearance of the Roanoke Colony when the lights suddenly go out in the theater. He finds that all the staff and patrons have mysteriously vanished, leaving only their clothes and non-biological parts behind. He comes across a security guard who is holding a flashlight. As Paul had a headlamp on for his reading they deduce that people holding sources of light are protected against whatever dwells in the darkness. The guard's flashlight goes out, and he vanishes. As Paul investigates, his headlamp goes out as well.

The following morning, news reporter Luke Ryder wakes to find that there is no power in the building. After descending from his apartment, he notices that the doorman is missing and the paper is still the previous day's edition. People have completely vanished from downtown streets, now littered with abandoned cars and pieces of clothing. He heads to the news station to find his girlfriend, and it is later revealed that he discovered a recording which shows his girlfriend vanishing on air when the lights go out. The only thing he is able to recover is her ring.

Three days pass, and Luke is alone trying to scavenge flashlight batteries or other sources of light. He briefly encounters a man who is taken by the darkness, before coming across a bar being powered by a backup generator. The bartender's young son, James Leary, allows Luke to enter, followed soon after by another survivor, Rosemary.

Rosemary proves distant due to the trauma of her baby disappearing during the blackout, while James is convinced that his mother is at a church down the street and will soon return. They hear a man outside, and see Paul, who has mysteriously ended up under the lit sign of a bus stop across the road. Luke reluctantly leaves the safety of the bar to recover him and Paul reveals that he had been taken by the darkness, but the headlight that he had on had activated and he had found himself in the street three days later.

Due to Paul's massive concussion, Rosemary says that they need to find a hospital, and Luke suggests going to Chicago, where he saw a recording of a man just before the power went out at the news station three days prior. Paul tells them about the mystery of the Roanoke Colony where over a hundred settlers disappeared overnight, and they seem to be experiencing the same sort of occurrence. He tells them that the word "CROATOAN" was found carved into a tree at the site of the empty colony when the next ship arrived. With the generator running down due to extended use, they realize it is only a matter of time before the power goes out on them.

Luke comes up with a plan to take one of the nearly dead trucks on the street and feed power to it with the generator. He and Rosemary leave to obtain one, nearly getting caught in the darkness when the vehicle breaks down and they lose the light. Rosemary hears a baby crying in the dark, ignoring Luke's warnings that it is the darkness trying to trick her, she is lured under a solitary street light, and the lamp goes out taking her with it.

At the bar, James goes to get Paul some water, and the drain on the power causes the lights to flash out. Wearing a glow-stick necklace, James is safe, but Paul vanishes from the pool table on which he is lying.

Luke manages to push a truck back to the bar, and he escapes with James using the generator to get the truck started. As they pass the church up the block, James gets out to find his mother. Luke leaves, but after a conflict of conscience, and seeing the word "CROATOAN" carved into a sign hanging off a bridge, he returns, using the high beams from the truck to fend off the darkness. When Luke gets out of the truck to get James, the car battery dies and Luke too disappears. As James cowers under the glow of candles, which begin to go out, he pleads with the darkness "I exist." and all but one candle goes out.

James wakes to daylight and sees the last candle had been burning all night. A little girl, Briana, appears and insists that James is sleeping on her bed, but urges him to stay with her. She shows him her flashlight, which is solar powered, allowing it to stay on all night without having to search for new batteries.

As they leave the church, they encounter a police horse eating spilled apples on the ground and decide to take it to Chicago. As the sun sets on the children leaving the city, the camera pans to the bar, casting the shadows of Luke, Paul and Rosemary watching the two leave as the darkness falls. As it gets dark, Briana's light comes on, ensuring their protection against the darkness as they begin their journey.

 L² Scored: 6.5/10 

L² Comment:

Well, this is something new to me... the whole movie talks about people vanishing after the lights gone out, their soul being "swallow" by the shadows... It did not explain what happen and the movie lets it end with mystery that makes you wanna find out more about it... But overall the movie is consider ok, the horror part is not too excited as other horror movie...

Retreat 2011

Released Year: 2011

Directed by Carl Tibbetts

Casted by:

Thandie Newton as Kate Kennedy 

Cillian Murphy as Martin Kennedy
Jamie Bell as Pvt. Jack Coleman

 Story:

London architect Martin Kennedy and his journalist wife Kate often visit a small, remote, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland called Blackholme Island, for their holiday retreats. The only dwelling on the island, Fairweather Cottage, is seasonally operated by the owner Doug from the mainland and only reachable by ferry. After previously suffering a miscarriage, Kate's relationship with Martin has become tense, and in an effort to rekindle their marriage they decide on a return visit to the island. A few nights into their stay, the generator in the cottage explodes, injuring Martin's arm and leaving them without electricity. They use the CB radio, their only source of communication to the mainland, to call Doug who agrees to ferry out to help them.

Kate spends the next day waiting at the jetty for Doug to arrive, but to no avail. Later a mysterious man in green combat fatigues washes up on the island, bloodied and half-conscious. When he comes round, he identifies himself as a soldier, Private Jack Coleman. He tells Martin and Kate that there has been an outbreak of an airborne disease, Argromoto Flu, codenamed R1N16, which started in South America and has spread over the entire world in the timespan of a few weeks. The virus is incurable and highly contagious, attacking the respiratory system and causing the victims to choke on blood with a 100% fatality rate. Jack says that the military has lost control, and is now advising civilians to seal themselves up in their homes and not allow anybody access. With only static now coming from the CB radio, Martin decides to play it safe and help Jack, who aggressively takes command, board up the door and the windows.

Over the next few days, Jack becomes increasingly strange and erratic, and his intimidating behaviour begins to disturb the couple even further. They even suspect that the virus may not be real and Jack may be insane. When Kate asks him if he is married, he tells her his wife died of R1N16 and he becomes aggressive and threatening. Martin and Kate decide to leave the cottage and take their chances outside, but Jack refuses to let them, forcing them into the bedroom at gunpoint and locking them in. Martin sneaks outside through a skylight, finding the bodies of Doug and his wife at the pier, killed by gunshot wounds. Using Doug's hunting shotgun, Martin returns to the cottage and gets the upper hand on Jack, who is tied up. However, Martin suddenly begins coughing up blood; it appears the Argromoto Flu is very real and he is infected. Kate is forced to shoot her husband dead with the shotgun, to spare him a slow and agonising death.

Jack reveals to Kate that he was experimented upon at a secure military compound, from where he was released without realizing he was a carrier of R1N16. Jack infected his wife, killing her, and he fled to Blackholme Island to quarantine himself. Jack reveals the CB radio worked all along, and he just changed the settings so Kate and Martin would not be able to reach anyone. Jack fixes the CB radio and the military broadcast on it claims the soldiers have a vaccine to the virus. He tells her that the military are lying, there is no vaccine, and that the military will not allow them to leave the island alive. Kate does not believe him, and angered by the possibility that Martin could have been saved she shoots Jack dead. As she attempts to leave the island in the boat with Martin's body, a military helicopter flies over and she is killed by a sniper who shoots her in the head.

L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

This is a good thriller film which just involved mainly 3 actors & actresses. The storyline is fantastic and very exciting as well...but the flaw part is Newton's language... the way she tried to speak in the Britain slang is so funny and not convincing enough. But this is a movie which worth to watch again.

Crash

Released Year: 2004
Directed by Paul Haggis

Casted by:
Don Cheadle as Graham Waters
Matt Dillon as John Ryan
Ryan Phillippe as Tommy Hansen
Terrence Howard as Cameron Thayer
Brendan Fraser as Rick Cabot
Thandie Newton as Christine Thayer
Sandra Bullock as Jean Cabot
Story:

In the city of Los Angeles, all these characters life are related to one and another of their life. The story will start with 2 black youngster Anthony and Peter Waters complaining how the restaurant mistreat them because they are black. Just when they saw Rick and Jean, the white couple, the 2 black youngster rob them and took their car away.

Rick is a district attorney who manipulates racial politics in order to further his career. He tried to blackmail Detective Graham Waters so that he will not loss the support from the black community in the coming election. But Rick wife's Jean is super-duper racitst white woman, who does not wanna give herself in this and even scold her Hispanic maid, Maria and a mexican locksmith who came to fix their door.

In another hand, a persian shop owner went to buy a gun with his daughter to protect his shop and family. But due to his selfishness, he refuse to change the door as advice by the mexican locksmith. In the end, the shop was rob and no insurance coverage on his loss.

Tommy and John are 2 policeman who is on duty and found out a black couple is having oral sex on a highway. This black couples is Cameron and Christine. John sexually molests Christine under the pretense of searching for a weapon. Cameron did not do anything but just beg to let them go. Christine was frustrated towards her husband respond as Cameron is a tv cast producer who has been trying so hard to fit into the whiteman society.

Graham Waters is frustrated with his mother of keep on urging him to find his younger brother Peter who ran away from home. He pissed off his latino girlfriend, Ria when he answered on phone during sex. He later went to visit his mum but still not really put his effort to find his brother. In the meanwhile, Tommy cannot stand with John for his behavior and ask to on duty alone. John is happily work with his new partner when he saw an accident. John went for the help and Christine is the victim. The car almost explode and John finally persuade Christine to let him do the rescue and both of them are save.

In another hand, Cameron was rob by Anthony and Peter but he beat Peter off his car and crazily fought with Anthony in his car. Policy came for arrest and Tommy was there. To protect his own black people, Cameron finally dare to stand up and protest for his black society. While Tommy was driving back, he met Peter who is hitch-hiking. He tought Peter wanna rob him and accidentally shot him to death.

The persian owner was not happy that his shop was rob and went looking for the mexican locksmith with the gun he bought. He shot the locksmith but the mexican's daughter rush up and hug her dad. But luckily, the Persian's daughter did not buy the real bullet for him. Persian owner regret on his behavior and went back home. As for Jean, she falled from the stairs and called her best friend to help, but the best friend claim that she's busying doing her nails and is not free. Only the hispanic maid came for help. Finally Jean realised her own racists mind is not correct.

As for Graham, he finally found his brother's dead body. The mother will not forgive him.

L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

One word, wow~ Love the way how the story presented. All the actors and actresses are A class :) Especially Don Cheadle. The whole film mainly talk about the discrimination of races and the change of their thoughts, very nice and real. Kinda heavy though. But i would not miss this nice film. Oscar best film in 2005 which beat down the Brokeback Mountain.

2012

Released Year: 2009
Directed by Roland Emmerich

Casted by:
John Cusack as Jackson Curtis
Amanda Peet as Kate Curtis
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Adrian Helmsley
Thandie Newton as Laura Wilson
Liam James as Noah Curtis
Morgan Lily as Lilly Curtis
Story:

Adrian Helmsley, a scientist discover that the Earth Core temperature has been increase dramatically with a scientist in Indian, he then reported to the president in US. They then inform others throughout the whole world. They began to build noahs to prevent themselves from injured by the disaster that's gonna struck them in 2012. Tons of royal families, private businessman and billionaires donate money to build these noahs in china so that they can get themselves tickets to go on board.

In 2012, Jackson a science-fiction book writer, divorce with his wife Kate. While bringing his kids to Yellowstone, he met a crazy guy who talks about the disaster which he found hilarious and hard to believe. By sending back the kids to his ex wife, he have to serve as a limousine driver to a rich man. Jackson then discover this rich businessman has bought ticket of the noah. He quickly inform the ex and children to run for their life.

Kate current boyfriend has a pilot license, they then flew to China to get aboard. US president reject to go aboard and decide to stay with those citizens who didn't manage to go on board. Sending his daughter Laura to the noah, Adrian feels that its his responsible to take care of her.

As for the Curtis family, they got help from a LAMA in Tibet to find the noah. They sneak through the hole of the noah. When Adrian and others saw those who struggle outside of the noah to get inside, they open the door for them to get in. Accident happen and the door of the noah cannot be close, and engine cannot be start. Disaster happen and water starts to flow into the ship. They have to solve the problem before their ship hit mount everest. Jackson solve it and everybody was save.

L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

This is a bit similar with other disaster movie. Just that, its more advance of building the noah of letting everybody in. Those who deserves and contribute to the earth. Who draw this guideline then? who decide who can aboard? normal citizens like us will never got the chance of escaping this disaster if it really happen~ ish~ hate tat !!!