Os Últimos na Terra

I was a big fan of Margot Robbie's work in The Wolf of Wall Street. I thought it was a fun, charismatic, electric turn, but I wasn't necessarily sure if that meant that she was an actual, capable dramatic actress. This really proves that she's one to watch out for. Although all three performers deliver some strong work, it's her moving, resonant performance that really stuck with me. I kept hearing a lot of negativity towards this film's ending and so I was sure it would be something out of left field, some turn or twist or something. It wasn't really any of that, and I actually loved the ending. It was semi-ambiguous, although not really, and the last scene was just pure magic and worked to conclude the film, beautifully. Definitely a very underrated, underseen film that I wish I had heard about before.

Margot Robbie lives alone in an isolated safe area following some form of epic destruction killing the population of the planet. She finds she is not alone when she comes across a weak Chiwetel Ejiofor. Using his engineering skills they start to build a life together and affection grows but this is put to the test when a third traveller - Chris Pine arrives.

Very gentle, believable love triangle tale set against a background of rebuilding lives in a post apocalyptic environment. There are no zombies etc, just a quiet interplay between the 3 and an interesting look at the physical and emotional challenges this world would bring. All three give good performances, especially Robbie, although I rather wished Pine had articulated a bit more.

This film tells the story of a woman trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world. She meets another survivor and form a strong bond, but this changes when a third survivor arrives onto the scene. Jealousy and rivalry takes over the struggle to stay alive.

"Z for Zachariah" seems like an intense drama on paper, but I found it very boring. There's little dialogue as there are only the characters. As a result, very little events happen, making it dull and non engaging. The behaviour if the characters are subdued and restrained, while events in the film are presented in a matter of fact manner, with no suspense or thrill. There were times when I really struggled to keep my eyes open, and I had urges to take a cup of coffee to stay awake! In the end I did stay awake, and the story didn't get any better. It's been a long time since I watched such a boring film.

New Zealand must be a beautiful country. I've never seen a movie filmed there that was not.

It's a not so ironic setting for a movie about the end of the world, as the film focuses on the emotions of three survivors of the apocalypse instead of the apocalypse itself. A good Christian woman left behind by her family who went to help others. A man of science looking to move forward and rebuilt, and the all-American heart throb who rains on the parade.

Chiwetel Ejiofor gave a compelling performance. it was so real, I think the majority of us would understand what he's going through. I was shocked by how outstanding Chris Pine was in this movie, just perfect. Margot Robbie was amazing as well, just a solid piece of acting by all.

It made for the perfect emotional love triangle. Even though only three people appear in this movie, it said so much about us as a society. I love sci-fi and I want to count this as one of the great Sci-fi stories ever told from beginning to end, and the outcome leads an interesting taste in my mouth.

It was a fantastic 97mins at the movies.

Z for Zachariah is the least conventional end-of-the-world film I've ever seen, and for the most part, I cannot figure out what to make of it. For the entire first half, it can't really figure out what it wants to do. There's no real story as Anne (Robbie) and John (Ejiofor), two separate survivors of a nuclear holocaust, meet and Anne nurses John back to health. Until Ejiofor is back on his feet, the film is relatively aimless as the director cuts between various shots of the valley and Robbie completing various chores. Even in the wider scheme of things, not much happens here - the film's plot is not much beyond building a water wheel while the characters interact around it.

As they talk, we gather how much they are worlds apart - John is an older, black man of science who relishes in typical vices and Anne is a young, pure, white Christian girl whose never touched drink and likely never looked at a man. John wants Anne, but is conscious of their differences, so when the script sweeps them together, John gently pushes back and says that they can take their time. After all, there's no competition.

But then there is. The mysterious and exceedingly polite Caleb appears in the valley out of nowhere, and he's everything John is not - he's a young white Christian boy who couldn't be more Anne's type if he tried. Here is where the film gets gripping. Director Craig Zerbel builds tension with a beautiful score, but this film is completely about the acting. Robbie dials back her supermodel good looks as best she can to play a plain-spoken country girl whose naivety is central to these two older men. Pine is unreadable and somewhat alluring, and his chemistry with Robbie is so off the charts that in one particular scene, I expected them to just start making out - despite John's presence in their midst.

Ejiofor is the only reason I watched this movie, and he's the best part. This doesn't scratch his performance in 12 Years A Slave, but he had me sold from his first screams of joy. His delirium and drunkeness are incredibly believable. He can convey so much emotion without even trying - jealousy as Anne and Caleb share smouldering glances, embaressment as his jokes of repopulation go over the naive Anne's head, rage and hurt as he gives a half-hearted blessing to what he feels is inevitable, and naked honesty as he speaks about an earth- shattering revelation. Tiny mannerisms in his performance make his third wheel status not only believable but completely uncomfortable, and as a result, makes John the most empathetic character.

The script is nothing special, but there is one reveal from John to Anne that actually made me drop what I was holding. Kudos all around. There's some beautiful mindgames between John and Caleb, with Caleb clearly outpacing John, who is clearly unaware of how to play this game. You just know that Caleb was wooing the local girls at school while John was in the library studying. When Caleb notes that something isn't in John's character, I completely agreed - because the characters created are so deep that I understood them intimately.

However, that goodwill cannot erase the aimlessness that permeates the first half of the film, and what did exist was lost to me when the film ends. The final ten minutes were completely out of context and gave almost no closure on any issue. The rivalry between John and Caleb is left hanging, with one outcome implied but then the opposite suggested as the truth. It felt like the screenwriter was told "pens down" and then hastily crammed together a few words while the teachers were collecting the papers. Considering the direction Z for Zachariah was going, to end so badly was the final blow in a film that had far tested my patience already. 95 minutes? Doesn't feel like it.