Maggie (2015)

I've heard complaints from a number of people, expressing disdain for Maggie; people keep insisting that it was slow or boring. I don't know what any of them are even talking about. My only suspicion is that they are burdened with a poor attention span. Sure, it is slower than the typical Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick (and I can't deny that I have enjoyed quite a few of those)...and it isn't one of the generic shoot-em-up zombie movies (which I happen to enjoy quite a bit). What people seem to be forgetting is that it wasn't written to be either of those things, and if that was what they expected, the fault is their own...as the movie never makes an attempt to trick the viewer into thinking it might be that sort of movie. The minimalistic score is somber and about as perfect as it could be, the washed out cinematography lends itself well to the desolation of both the world of the movie and the depressing narrative itself, and the acting in all cases is superb...seriously, this is one of Schwarzenegger's most impressive performances, displaying greater depth and humanity than his typical roles allow. Think of this movie as being a beautifully executed amalgam of The Road and The Walking Dead...leaning a little more toward The Road. It is a touching, and intensely sad story of a man desperate to milk the last little bit of fatherhood out of the limited time he has with his dying daughter, and a girl who just wants to live a couple of weeks longer as if things were still OK. There are a couple of tense scenes arising from the nightmarish place the world has become that end up being fairly understated, but they are not the focus of the story, nor are the zombies that people are becoming...those are simply elements of the setting in which the story takes place. In that sense, this movie ends up sharing one of my favorite things about The Walking Dead, that it is ultimately a character study, a detailed focus on human beings and how they are forced to adapt to a situation that no one could ever truly prepare for. Unlike the Walking Dead, Maggie felt like it had a much more even flow to it, it wasn't as unevenly paced, in part because it had no pretense of being action-oriented at any point. It's sincerely quite depressing, but well worth the time spent watching it. I'm sure that plenty of people will disagree with my assessment of this movie, but I really found no fault in it.

Fmovies: Saw the premiere of this and haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Schwarzenegger is tender and subtle, I saw one review describe his performance as 'gentle', which I bet is not an adjective often used of the man. Abigail Breslin is a sad, scary, horrific lead. Joely Richardson plays a difficult role in a stepmother; a terrified third wheel doing her best with two small kids of her own. Movie is 90 minutes long and destined to be a cult classic. I think my only criticism is that the director's palette looked like an instagram 'old photos' filter; there was enough great acting in this film, and sad suspense leavened with humor, without having to wash it in beige.

Overall loved the film, and the studio will regret not putting it in wide release.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

A contagious virus has spread across America that is causing the infected to slowly mutate in to cannibalistic zombies. Wade Vogel's (Arnold Schwarzenegger) daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) would be one such person, a young girl grimly aware of her terrible predicament. As the inevitable closes in, father and daughter bond in a final, all encompassing way, before they're drawn towards a terrifying final outcome.

After his much hyped comeback a few years ago, Schwarzenegger has achieved what can only at best be called the most hit and miss results with his new batch of explosive, '80s flavoured action films. There was still something resembling an audience, but most people's tastes have cleaned up quite a bit. And so, out of nowhere, it seems, he delivers this latest offering, which on paper comes off just like one of his regular shoot 'em up type films, with him versus zombies. But instead, he's taken such a plot line and given it a more mature angle, as a more tender and heartfelt examination of the final days of a father and daughter, that shows a departure from his usual type of fare.

As more emotionally driven as the plot is, it doesn't really have the best sense of structure or direction, and instead seems to be driven more on a moody, lingering sense of atmosphere and tension, with the lighting drained out and brightened up in subsequent shots to affect the mood. Debut feature length director Henry Hobson has shown a certain knack and sense of style behind the camera, but he needs to go back to school a little on his structural narrative abilities, and crafting a film that has somewhere to go in spite of it's heart.

So, we have it, then, Arnie's most bizarre film, ever, a totally unexpected and different effort from him that's appeared out the blue. In spite of it's strangeness, it's better than anything he's done lately, and shows a more mature and emotional side developing after so many years. ***

Maggie fmovies. 2015 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: Zombies have been all the craze for quite sometime with shows like "The Walking Dead" and films like "World War Z" dominating the box office. I've never been such a fan of the genre as something about the undead just hunting on human flesh never seemed appealing. In Henry Hobson's "Maggie," where he recruits Arnold Schwarzenegger and Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin as a father- daughter pair that spend the final days together before the young Maggie transforms into a zombie is one of the more compelling works on the genre seen yet.

Charismatic and truly very moving at times, it's surprising to see where debut screenwriter John Scott 3 brings this compassionate tale. We're introduced to Maggie as her father Wade, just after finds her after a two-week search. She's brought to their farm home where her step-mother Caroline (played by Joely Richardson) and her two younger siblings reside. As Maggie's transformation is sure to become erratic and certain, the entire family sits on the edge as their beloved daughter deals with not only her changing self, but addressing the surroundings of her friends and a future that is now to never be.

In his most reserved and accessible performances of his career, Arnold Schwarzenegger proves what happens when you work with some of the most talented people in the business for decades. You're surely to pick up some of their ticks and beats. Internalized as any performance seen by an actor, Schwarzenegger digs deep to show the soul of a broken man, helpless against a virus that is taking away his most precious gift. In addition, he fights for his daughter's right to live out her final days from the local authorities who believe she must go to quarantine, where the infected are put to death. It's a shocking display of emotion from the former governor of California in what will surely be a talking piece of many following a viewing.

Oscar-nominee Abigail Breslin truly is a talent. "Zombieland," which many will think of based on themes, kept her at an arm's distance in terms of allowing the environment to reveal itself through her actions. In other zombie films and TV shows, the ongoing theme and narrative is survival. "Maggie" takes it in a different direction. You see the deterioration of not just the person's body, but their hopes and dreams. Breslin displays the broken heart of a girl who sees her former boyfriend get taken away despite pleading with his father to stay just one more day. You see the realization of her new self in the behaviors she acquires along the way. And most importantly, and probably the most heartbreaking, is in the final interactions with her friends and in the truth of a future that will never come. Breslin shines like no other. It's happy to see her stretching her acting capabilities at this point in her career.

The technical traits of "Maggie" are spot on for the most part thanks to director Hobson. In his feature directorial debut, Hobson hones in on the tone of an emotional drama, not a horror film with something extra to offer. I think back to something like M. Night Shymalan's "The Sixth Sense" when the thrill factor was secondary to its story and characters. Hobson captures most of those things. Cinematographer Lukas Ettlin paints the canvas beautifully as we've seen in other efforts like "The Lincoln Lawyer" and TV's "Black Sails."

"Maggie"

First off I just want to say that this is my first review of any film. I attended the world premiere of Maggie last night at the Tribeca Film Festival and I am also a huge Arnold fan. It was great seeing him perform in a different (dramatic) role.

The cinematography in this film was absolutely stunning. From the location setting, the small town, old house; it was all well put together. I thought the cast was great and Arnold did a great job in his role but this film was focused on Abigail Breslin. And she stole the show. She outperformed the rest of the cast and made each viewer connected to her character very closely. Abigail had many scenes alone in this film and without giving too much away, there were times you can feel her pain and sort of understand what she was experiencing as the film progressed.

Maggie really shed new light to the zombie genre because it showed intimately how a family member was deeply affected by an outbreak. A father and daughter bond filled with love and courage and the chemistry played on screen between Arnold and Abigail was fantastic. Each character showed great passion throughout the film and it was well directed by Henry Hobson, his directorial debut.

I recommend this film to viewers who are interested in character development, great cinematography, a well written script, and a solid meaningful ending. Please don't come into this movie expecting The Walking Dead/ Zombieland type of action film because this isn't it. Hopefully Arnold will take on more of these roles in the future and from what we saw in Maggie, Abigail has a great career ahead of her. 9/10

'MAGGIE': Four Stars (Out of Five)

An indie zombie flick, made on a budget of just $4 million, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin! It was directed by first time feature filmmaker Henry Hobson and written by first time feature film writer John Scott 3. The movie is actually more of a dramatic character study, than an action or horror film, dealing with the relationship between a teenage girl, in the Midwest, and her loving father. The catch is that the girl is infected with a deadly zombie virus. It's definitely not the type of movie that a lot of Schwarzenegger fans are expecting, but I really liked it.

The story is set in a small Midwest town, where a virus, called the necroambulist virus, has broken out. It slowly turns it's victims into zombies and the government deals with the problem by throwing 'the infected' into isolation wards. Maggie (Breslin) is a young teenage girl, who was recently infected by the disease. Her father, Wade (Schwarzenegger), must do his best to care for her, in her last days, and also come to terms with what must be done, when she finally changes.

I wasn't sure what exactly to expect, going into this movie. The premise, and idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger starring in a low-budget zombie drama flick, were both very intriguing to me. I am a little disappointed it doesn't have more action, and gruesome thrills, but it is a very well made drama film. Arnold gives, arguably, his best performance to date, and Breslin is pretty impressive as well. I wish there would have been a little more to the story, than just another drama flick about a terminally ill teen, and her relationship with her friends and family. It's almost like a zombie version of 'MY SISTER'S KEEPER' or 'THE FAULT IN OUR STARS', except with a little Schwarzenegger thrown in as well. I think he's making a lot of wise career choices lately, and he's starting to resemble Clint Eastwood, more and more, with each movie. This isn't a great film but it is a nice entry in Arnold's impressively expanding resume.

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