Justin's Log

Children of Men (2006) • Universal Pictures • Used for review and commentary purposes A frightening vision of the future where humanity is losing its future, while fear and social division are taking its place. What happens to a society when people slowly stop believing there will be a tomorrow? Some science-fiction movies try to impress us by showing how different the future could be. Children of Men (2006) takes almost the opposite approach. Its future is frightening because so much of it feels familiar. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the film takes place in 2027, in a world where humanity has mysteriously lost the ability to have children. Society has not completely disappeared, but h...

Source Code (2011) • Summit Entertainment Jake Gyllenhaal stars in a smart, razor-sharp sci-fi thriller that asks a gripping question: What would you do if you had only eight minutes to prevent a catastrophe? What would you do if you had only eight minutes to understand what was happening around you? That question is at the heart of Source Code (2011), a science-fiction thriller directed by Duncan Jones. The movie takes a familiar idea—being given another chance—and turns it into a tense mystery where every minute matters. Captain Colter Stevens, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, suddenly wakes up on a moving commuter train. A woman sitting across from him, Christina, seems to know him, but he has no idea who she is. The passenger...

Upgrade (2018) movie poster. Source: Universal Pictures. Used for review and commentary purposes. What if technology could make your body stronger and faster than ever before—but you were no longer completely sure who was in control? Leigh Whannell's Upgrade (2018) takes that idea and turns it into a fast, violent, and surprisingly thoughtful science-fiction action thriller. At first, the movie may look like a straightforward story about a man searching for answers after his life is suddenly destroyed. But underneath the fights and futuristic technology is a more interesting question about the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. Logan Marshall-Green plays Grey Trace, a man who is uncomfortable with a world becoming increasingly dependent on technol...

Prisoners (2013) movie poster. Source: Warner Bros. Pictures. Used for review and commentary purposes. “A dark and gripping thriller about fear, desperation, and the dangerous choices people make when time is running out.” What would you do if someone you loved suddenly disappeared, and you believed the person responsible was standing right in front of you? That uncomfortable question sits at the center of Prisoners (2013), directed by Denis Villeneuve. On the surface, the movie is a mystery about two missing girls and the desperate search to find them. But underneath that mystery is something much darker: a story about what fear and uncertainty can do to ordinary people. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal approach the crisis from very different positions. One is a father who feels that every passing minute matters. The other is a d...

Extraction 2 (2023) • Netflix Original Chris Hemsworth returns as Tyler Rake in a sequel that knows exactly what many viewers came to see: bold action, dangerous situations, and very little time to catch your breath. How do you make an action sequel feel bigger without simply adding more explosions? Extraction 2 has a pretty simple answer: put Tyler Rake in increasingly dangerous situations and keep pushing the action until you start wondering how much more punishment one man can possibly take. That may sound excessive, and sometimes it is. But that is also a big part of the fun. What impressed me most about this sequel was how bold the action was. The movie rarely seems satisfied with an ordinary fight or chase. Just when ...

Extraction (2020) movie poster. Source: Netflix. Used for review and commentary purposes. Some action movies spend a long time preparing for the big fight. Extraction does not seem very interested in waiting. Directed by Sam Hargrave and starring Chris Hemsworth, Extraction (2020) is a hard-hitting action thriller built around a dangerous rescue mission. The story is simple enough to follow, but the movie's real strength is the way it puts you close to the action and rarely gives you much time to relax. I especially enjoyed how the action becomes more intense as the movie moves toward its final stretch. The battle around the bridge was the sequence that stayed with me the most. Without giving away what happens, it feels like the danger, exhaustion, and pressure that have been building throughout the movie finally come together in one brutal confront...