The Weapon X Lab

Competition: Kevin Smith's Too Fat For 40 DVD

2012-01-23T18:25:00.002Z

Following the huge success of fan favourites “An Evening With Kevin Smith” and “An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder”, the acclaimed filmmaker, writer, actor and raconteur responsible for such diverse movies as “Red State”, “Cop Out”, “Zack And Miri Make A Porno” and “Clerks II” releases his first new stand-up DVD in five years in the form of Too Fat For 40. Filmed on the evening of Kevin Smith’s 40th birthday before a crowd of rabid fans at the Count Basie Theatre in his home town on Red Bank, New Jersey, this comedy special comes to DVD on 23rd January 2012 (coinciding with the release of “Red State” on DVD and Blu-ray) as a two-disc edition featuring the full, uncut and unexpurgated three-and-a-half-hour version of Smith’s performance and including a Bonus DVD loaded with extra features including additional encore Q&A footage and a look behind the scenes.

On offer to one winner is a copy of Too Fat For 40 on DVD. As usual, all you have to do is to send an email to wayfarer2007@sky.com. The first person to do so by 1st Febraury 2011 gets the prize.

Good luck!

Movie Review: The Innkeepers

2012-01-10T18:50:00.000Z

Directed By Ti West

Starring: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis

Synopsis:

During the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, two employeesdetermined to reveal the hotel's haunted past begin to experience disturbingevents as old guests check in for a stay.

Review:

Ti West continually frustrates me. The Roost was a promising debutthat I enjoyed. The House of the Devil showed more promise, with some tensescenes, but ultimately over-indulgent with little to get excited about. CabinFever 2 was just horrible and I couldn’t believe that the same director hadmade it. When I saw the trailer for The Innkeepers I got excited at theprospect of a Ti West movie that would finallyshowcase his obvious talent as a Director, and it does to a point. Unfortunatelyit suffers from the same problem as The House of the Devil; not much actuallyhappens.

For the most part of the movie we are observers of conversationsbetween Claire and Luke. They are both likeable characters so I forgave thejovial tone of the movie expecting it to darken as the film carried on. Afterall, the trailer made the film look tense, spooky and thrilling. Sara Paxton isgreat as Claire; a slightly kooky, off-kilter character. I found Pat Healylikeable but his acting seemed forced and I blame the screenplay for making himlittle more than a spokesperson at times. Otherwise both Paxton and Healyworked well off each other during the frequent exchanges that make up most ofthe movie. The trouble is for the movie’s duration there’s just too muchof the banter, and no adequate build up of dread. When tension comes it is wellcrafted by West, who generates dread and tension during the latter spookyscenes, but it’s too little, too late. The jump scares do nothing to help amovie that would have been better developing on the subtler and more sinistermoments. One cheap jump scare spoilt the mood of the beginning, for me.

Kelly McGillis, who I liked in Stake Land, doesn’t get much to do in this film but she is nonetheless important to theplot and provides much of the mystery we’re left with after the creditsroll.

Ti West clearly bases some of his camera shots on the Kubrickperspective shots in The Shining; which is ok, but this film doesn’t come closeto The Shining in its execution. There’s even a cheeky nod to the finale of TheShining at the end of The Innkeepers that I did find amusing purely down to thefact I thought West was going to emulate the final denoument of the Kubrick movie.

The make up on the female ghost is effective and advertised on theposter art. There is always something scary about eyes that have rolled up intotheir sockets. I would have been happier if I had seen more of thatspookiness in the rest of the picture.

I don’t mind when a film neglects to answer questions and leaves itfor the audience to work it out for themselves but there has to be aninteresting reason for the audience to want to do that. The Innkeepers doesn’tprovide enough interesting material for us to be bothered by what actuallyhappened at the end. I get that the movie is an unusual take on the hauntedhotel story but I have to ask “So what?” I don’t watch a romantic comedy to getmy scares so why should I watch a movie touted to be a horror movie for what isessentially a light-hearted character study. Considering the time taken to getto know the characters, the tragedy at the end should have been far moreshocking than it was.

Summary:

The Innkeepers will divide movie viewers, into those who slapthemselves on the back saying “I got it, it’s not like any old horror film”,and others who when they watch a Western want to see a shoot out. This is by nomeans a boring movie, I must be clear about that, but it does fall short ofwhat I felt it could have been, judging from the publicity. I wanted to enjoy it and in some ways Idid. Ti West still has a classic movie within him somewhere, because he surecan write fleshed out characters and generate tension in scenes. I just hope Iget to see it.

Score: 5/10

Win a Limited Edition Troll Hunter T-Shirt & Blu-Ray

2012-01-04T14:40:00.000Z

To celebrate the 9th January 2012 UK DVD and Blu-ray release of monster hit Troll Hunter we are offering one winner the chance to win an extremely limited edition money can't buy exclusively designed Troll Hunter t-shirt and a copy of Troll Hunter on Blu-ray! One runner up will also win a limited edition Troll Hunter t-shirt!

The competition is open to all UK film fans. To be in with a chance, please email wayfarer2007@sky.com leaving your name and address. All personal information will be held in strict confidence and not used by any third party. The competition closes on 15/01/12.

This “original and highly assured fusion of B-movie lore and fairytale terror” (The Hollywood Reporter) combines the vision of “Where The Wild Things Are” with the faux-documentary, found-footage stylings of “Cloverfield”, “REC” and “The Blair Witch Project” to produce an “enormously entertaining” (Variety) and suspense-filled creature feature that the Daily Star rated as 'one of the finest monster movies ever“ and Total Film described as being “like David Attenborough taking a stroll into Roald Dahl’s brain.” ”Troll Hunter is Magnificent" (Jonathan Ross).

TROLL HUNTER bursts it's way on to DVD & Blu-ray on 9th January 2012 (Momentum Pictures).

Get involved at the Troll Hunter fan web site: http://www.totalfanhub.com/troll-hunter/

Play the game and win a Home Cinema system at: http://apps.facebook.com/trollhunter/

Check out Ghoulish Gary's website (who designed the T-Shirt): http://www.ghoulishgary.com/

Borley Rectory: Trailer for new short film

2012-01-04T12:36:00.002Z

I was only young when I got a morbid fascination with the Occult; from ghosts to UFOs (UFOs weren't strictly occult but for some reason in the 70s, lumped into the same category). A book that I got hold of was the Usborne Guide to the Supernatural World. In it was a section on "The Most Haunted House in England": Borley Rectory. So began a lifetime's interest in the Rectory and the hamlet nearby. This interest included an investigation of the Borley Church that was fascinating, if only for the lack of wildlife in the area.

In the late 90s, I came up with a treatment for a trilogy of books set at Borley but felt that the rights to using the site, even for pure fiction might be too hard to get hold of...and too expensive.

I've always wanted to get involved with something, any project to do with Borley but never followed it through.

It's great to see someone else has taken an interest based upon the very same material and pointed me in the direction of this new short.

Thanks to http://www.heyuguys.co.uk

More info and Teaser Trailer

Blu-Ray Review: A Lonely Place To Die

2011-12-26T11:55:00.002Z

Directed By Julian Gilbey

Starring Melissa George, Ed Speleers, Sean Harris, EamonnWalker

Synopsis:

A group of five mountaineers are hiking and climbing in theScottish Highlands when they discover a young Serbian girl buried in a smallchamber in the wilderness. They become caught up in a terrifying game of catand mouse with the kidnappers as they try to get the girl to safety.

Review:

I was expecting this to be a survival horror and found it wasmore of a tense thriller, that had the threatof scenes in keeping with the survival horror genre. I kept an open mind to themovie, especially as I do like Melissa George. She has had a good run ofplaying strong characters and I was hoping that this movie would give heranother chance at doing what she does so well. I wasn’t disappointed in herportrayal as Alison. To say that she carries the movie is a little unfair onthe splendid performances from the rest of the cast, but the movie does centreon her character.

From the beginning it is apparent that the Directors have spentmuch time and trouble locating remote Scottish places that would lookbreathtaking on camera. The majority of the movie is very realistic, especiallywith the opening sequence’s footage of the climbers. At one point I marveled atthe way that Gibley and Ali Asad (director of photography) showed a guy hangingfrom the mountain face. The sheer terror is brought home from the way in whicha couple of shots were inserted; those from an inverted position, really givingthe audience an idea of what it could be like to hang suspended. I haven’t seenthis done properly and so evocatively in a bigbudget movie before. If ever a remake of Cliffhanger was on the cards, theseguys need to be offered the chance to make it.

The film’s first act is concerned with setting up the charactersas mountaineers and to show Alison’s dedication and experience of it. One ofthe group hears, what to me, sounded like Carol Anne in the TV set during themovie Poltergeist. Upon investigation, they discover a young girl. Anna (playedby the excellent Holly Boyd) and the movie moves from exciting Scottishtravelogue to a cat and mouse chase through unforgiving landscape that made methink of First Blood. The group are hunted by two guys with high poweredrifles. The pair are crack shots and Gilbey shows us this a number of times.Apart from one “Rambo” moment when Alison takes a tumble and falls somedistance with trees breaking her fall, the movie pulls the viewer in with itsrealistic approach. Eventually, additional characters are introduced andparticipate as the survivors converge on a small town in the middle of a streetparty (based upon the Beltane Fire festival). Once the characters enter thevillage I was reminded a little of the action movie The Tournament. This is nobad thing as the ante is well and truly upped with no holds barred gunfightsand brawls. The film is pacy, tense and thrilling, despite the last act thatstrays well away from the established location referred to in the title.

Melissa George must have gone through a punishing shoot tocomplete this picture in what comes across as a very physical movie, despitehow frequently a stuntwoman might have taken over during the more punishingscenes, not that it’s obvious either way if she had of done. She putseverything into her performance and even gets a Jack Bauer moment at one pointin the film. (To elaborate will spoil the movie but 24 fans will get my meaningupon viewing the movie).

Summary:

This is UKcinema on top form. It looks and feels uniquely British and is the old idea ofa cat and mouse hunt but put from a unique perspective. Enjoyably action-packedand highly recommended.

Blu-ray Comments:

The disc is full of interesting extras; from a commentary that is useful due to the technical information given throughout and a seventy minute making of. There is also an interesting featurette on Julian Gilbey getting the climbing bug and climbing the French and Swiss Alps to raise money for Cancer charities. The disc is available at Amazon at £10.79 (as at 26/12/11); a great way to start 2012!

Score: 8/10

TV Review: The Walking Dead 2.07-"If they move, kill em"

2011-12-01T20:53:00.001Z

I was all set to review episode 2.07 of The Walking Dead. It blew me away and had me almost in tears. It was a powerful, horrible way to end the mid-season, but it was done so beautifully I had to share my views. But, I read Darren Franich's great recap, that was so good it took the wind out of my sails. Why try to better it. Truth is, I can't. Read it here:

" To me, last night's episode was the show's finest hour since its series premiere, and I think it's because the show has finally decided to stop going for realism and embrace its inner melodrama."

My additional thoughts:

Franich captures much of how I felt about the episode. Jon Bernthal definitely deserves an award for his performance, but then most actors in this do.

2.07 had Frank Darabont's stamp all over it. Each character had something to do, well most; T-Dog still seems superfluous and potential zombie bait in the second half of the season. When the end comes and Sophia's fate is revealed, it's not so much a shock as perfectly built-up to and emotionally heart-wrenching. It's more the character's reactions that pulls at the heart strings and Bear McCreary's emotive music. Seeing Carl and his mother in such grief was painful. The look of shock and horror on each face is focused on. Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene is fantastic in this scene as various feelings flit across his face: From sadness to a kind of "I told you so, now you depersonalise these things" look.

Like the end of The Mist, the direction (from the very talented Michelle McClaren) doesn't let you off the hook with what you should be experiencing and what the characters are very much feeling. Incidentally, one shot reminded me of some artwork from Stephen King's The Gunslinger. After Shane and co have blasted most of the zombies from the barn, the foreground is taken up with the finally dead corpses, similar to this:

A page from The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

Not the exact shot that I meant but close

COMING SOON: Graphic Novel to TV show comparisons....

Blu-Ray Review: The Exterminator

2011-11-20T18:00:00.001Z

Directed By James Glickenhaus

Starring: Robert Ginty, Christopher George, Steve James, Samantha Eggar

Synopsis:

Scorching the streets clean...

Flamethrowers ready as the alleyways of skid row are set ablaze with the brutal vengeance of one man... The Exterminator!

John Eastland has been to ‘Nam and he’s seen things... Things you wouldn’t believe. Surviving torture and witnessing the brutal deaths of his friends, John returns home to a tough neighbourhood in New York and his loving family. But when some local thugs take a crippling dislike to his best friend Mike, leaving him paralysed, something snaps in John. Did he fight the Vietcong for this?

Taking the law into his own hands, Eastland sets out to clean the streets of every low life, good for nothing gang banger, mobster and ghetto ghoul across the city in director James Glickenhaus’ (McBain) brutally violent vigilante classic.

Review:
The 70s spawned a wealth of gritty, sombre vigilante action movies. The most famous of these was the Dirty Harry series, (Ok, he was a cop but the style was more of a vigilante thriller than cop drama), and Death Wish. In fact the success of these movies paved the way for cheaper and sometimes, livelier, cash-ins.

Unlike some of its peers, The Exterminator escapes being 100% cheese by casting an actor in the lead that wasn’t a recognisable face or built like a brick out house. The softly spoken Robert Ginty wasn't your archetypal action hero but perfect for the role of a killer avenging an attack on his best friend, and then finding he likes taking out New York sleaze bags. It was almost an early Punisher film as the characters share some similarities and so do the set ups.

Glickenhaus was responsible for the silly but fun 1991 movie McBain and the also fun buddy cop thriller from 1988: Shakedown (known in the UK as Blue Jean Cop). Both McBain and The Exterminator show Viet Nam flashbacks. I prefer the over the top style of The Exterminator’s opening sequence; full of huge explosions and a memorable and grisly decapitation (courtesy of Stan Winston).

The audience is treated very much as an observer in The Exterminator. Glickhaus seems reticent in drawing the audience in, as if he wants to distance us from the actions of Ginty's John Eastland. After all, he does go about business in a particularly brutal and sadistic manner.

Christopher George (who you might recall from City of the Living Dead) is entertaining, but his scenes with Samantha Eggar seem superfluous and incites to the viewer to call for more brutal action. Steve James is woefully underused and it would be films like American Ninja that showcased his fighting skills and likeable personality. He died far too early at age 41.

I can't help thinking that Glickenhaus' vision wasn't quite met by the budget as the movie seems to be building towards a huge action set piece that doesn't get realised. This shouldn't put you off, The Exerminator is still worth watching.

The Picture and Audio Quality is much sharper than previous releases, although I much prefer the audio on the Synergy DVD release. However that release was a 4:3 ratio. The movie appears uncut but I think that it's missing a grisly image of two bad guys with their faces being eaten by rats. I can't get confirmation if it actually exists.

Summary:
Ok, so seeing the softly spoken Ginty dispatching the bad guys with ever increasingly inventive ways seems a bit far fetched but if you want a cold hard real look at killing, this movie isn't it. If you want a fun revenge flick with dark overtones then this is the one to get hold of. Judging from the pack shots, Arrow have provided the standard
With Arrowdrome having released McBain, I can only hope they release other Glickenhaus movies, like The Soldier. Blu-Ray releases of Shakedown and the Jackie Chan vehicle, The Protector, would be very welcome.

The DVD or Blu-Ray contains:
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by critic David Hayles

The Blu-ray contains:
- Introduction to the film by director James Glickenhaus
- Fire and Slice: Making The Exterminator - An interview with James Glickenhaus
- 42nd Street Then and Now: A tour of New York's former sleaze circuit from director Frank Henenlotter
- Audio commentary with Mark Buntzman, producer of The Exterminator and writer/director of The Exterminator II, moderated by Calum Waddell.

Original Art by The Dude Designs

In original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
Original Uncompressed LPCM Mono Audio
Feature and extras 1080/24p Region ABC playable worldwide

Available now from all good stockists.

Blu-Ray Preview: A Lonely Place To Die

2011-11-18T16:48:00.000Z

After closing Frightfest 2011 and enjoying a nationwide release, A Lonely Place to Die comes to DVD & Blu-ray 26 December with a whole host of extras.

Starring Melissa George (Triangle, 30 Days of Night) and directed by Julian Gilbey (Rise of the Footsoldier) the film centres around a group of five mountaineers who are climbing in the remote Scottish Highlands when they make a horrific discovery: a young girl buried in a small chamber, with only a small air pipe to the surface keeping her alive.

She is terrified, dehydrated and half-starved. Deciding they must get her to safety, the group embark on a dangerous and nerve-racking descent.

Unwittingly, they’ve taken charge of a valuable bounty and are being hunted down by the girl’s ruthless kidnappers, who have everything at stake and nothing to lose. Caught up in a terrifying game of cat and mouse, they are in mortal danger and there’s no easy way out.

Described by Total Film as hitting “like a bullet between the eyes”, this is the ultimate uncompromising and brutally realistic pursuit thriller.

ON DVD & BLU-RAY

26 DECEMBER 2011

Directed by

JULIAN GILBEY

Starring

MELISSA GEORGE
ED SPELEERS
EAMONN WALKER
KAREL RODEN
SEAN HARRIS
KATE MAGOWAN

Extras:

The Making of A Lonely Place to Die – 70 mins approx (High Def)

THE CHALLENGE OF THE ALPS - Director Julian Gilbey attempts The Matterhorn and The Eiger – 17 mins approx (High Def)

Director’s Feature Length Audio Commentary

Theatrical trailer

Available at all good stockists from 26/12/11

Movie Preview: Villain

2011-11-16T19:24:00.000Z

Villain

(CERT 15)

A film by Lee Sang-il (Hula Girls)

NOMINATED for 15 Japanese Academy Awards

WINNER of 5 Japanese Academy Awards including:

Best Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor and Music Score

WINNER ‘Best Actress – Eri Fukatsu’ – Montreal Film Festival

WINNER ‘Best Actor – Satoshi Tsumabuki’ – 53rd Blue Ribbon Awards
WINNER ‘Best Japanese Film of 2010’ – Kinema Junpo

Starring: Eri Fukatsu (The Magic Hour, Bayside Shakedown)

Satoshi Tsumabuki (Tokyo!, Villon’s Wife, Pandemic)

Hikari Mitsushima (Love Exposure, Death Note, Sawako Decides)

Masaki Okada (Confessions)

UK DVD RELEASE DATE: 5 December 2011

DVD EXTRA FEATURES:

Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer with 5.1 Surround Sound and optional English subtitles

1 Hour long ‘Making Of’

Discussion between director Lee Sang-il and actor Satoshi Tsumabuki

Theatrical Trailer

With over twenty companies bidding for the film adaptation rights, and many of Japan’s top directors vying for the project, Lee Sang-il’s adaptation of Shuichi Yoshida’s award-winning novel Villain was one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2010. A critical hit at festivals both at home and abroad, Villain swept the board at the Japan Academy Awards, receiving fifteen nominations in thirteen categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Score, and winning awards in all four acting categories. Villain was also selected by the famous Kinema Junpo critics’ organization as best Japanese film of the year.

Directed by Lee Sang-il, whose inspirational and hugely popular Hula Girls (2006) won Best Picture at the Japanese Academy Awards, Villain boasts a stellar cast headed by Tsumabuki Satoshi (“The Magic Hour”) and Fukatsu Eri (who won the Best Actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival for her stunning performance), with support from Mitsushima Hikari, (“Love Exposure”), Kiki Kirin (“Still Walking”), Emoto Akira (“April Bride”), and Okada Masaki (“Confessions”). The music is composed by world-renowned
Joe Hisaishi, who has scored many films by Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano.

Yuichi (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is a construction worker who has lived his entire life in a dreary fishing village. With no girlfriend or friends, he spends his days working and looking after his grandparents, with no enjoyment in life other than his car. Meanwhile, Mitsuyo (Eri Fukatsu) also lives a monotonous life pacing between the men’s clothing store where she works and the apartment where she lives with her sister. When the two lonely souls meet using an online dating site, they immediately fall in love with each other. But there’s a secret Yuichi had been keeping from Mitsuyo: Yuichi is the one suspected of killing the woman whose body was found at Mitsue Pass only a few days before...

As Yuichi and his new lover try to elude the police, the events that led up to the murder and its aftermath are revealed. We learn the stories of the victim, the murderer, and their families - stories of loneliness, love hotels, violence and desperation, exposing the inner lives of men and woman who are not everything they appear to be.

A heart rendering story with electrifying performances from the two leads, Villain works both as a powerful character study and as a gripping thriller with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout.

Villain is based on Shuichi Yoshida’s novel of the same name, which sold over half a million copies in Japan. It has just been translated to English and was released by Random House publishing on August 18th, 2011 – a day before the theatrical release of the film.

Certificate: 15; Running time: 140 mins; In Japanese with English subtitles; Colour/35mm and Digital release

Blu-Ray Review: The Outsiders

2011-11-16T18:57:00.000Z

Directed By Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: C Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane , Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Leif Garrett

Synopsis:

Teen rivalry in a small Southern town sets the stage for this dramatic interpretation of the novel by S.E. Hinton. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Outsiders tells the story of the ongoing conflict between the Greasers and the Socs in rural Oklahoma. C. Thomas Howell stars as Ponyboy, the youngest of three orphaned boys who pal around with the local hoods known as the Greasers. When Ponyboy and his friend (Ralph Macchio) get into a deadly confrontation one night, the two go on the run from the cops, and they grow up quickly and soon realize the insignificance of their petty posturing. Matt Dillon stars as the tough-as-nails leader of their group and Patrick Swayze appears as Ponyboy's oldest brother. A host of other 1980s Brat Pack celebs fill out the cast.

Review:

It’s been a great month for Coppola fans, thanks to StudioCanal, with The Conversation having made its Blu-Ray debut, and now The Outsiders. Based on the novel by S. E. Hinton, the movie is a coming of age drama with so much more to offer. This version is longer, has more of the book’s content and has replaced the score with songs from that period.

I have to admit, I ignored this movie when it came out. There was too much emphasis on “The Brat Pack” and it made the movie look more like a “chick flick” than a movie I would be interested in. This is a shame because I would have enjoyed it had I seen it. Instead, in 1983 I was watching movies like Risky Business, Lemon Popsicle and any video nasty I could rent. So, that comes some way to showing where my head was at, in 1983.

The stand out performance for me is from Patrick Swayze. He is as cool as he is in Dirty Dancing (yes, it’s a “chick flick” but Swayze is cool in it), Point Break and Roadhouse, but with a bit more emotion. He does far better with his emoting in The Outsiders than in Road House, when he finds Sam Elliot lying dead on the bar. The Swayze plays one of three Curtis brothers who, through awful circumstances, have had to live on their own. The pressure of working and providing has taken its toll on Darrel Curtis. Rob Lowe plays Soda Pop Curtis, with C Thomas Howell playing the youngest; Ponyboy. Howell puts in a powerhouse of a performance that eclipses most of the cast. There are no let downs in this film, but Howell does such an excellent job. Matt Dillon is also very good but plays to type. Matt Dillon always plays characters that you want to slap and he doesn’t disappoint here. That said, the climax of the movie is very moving thanks to Dillon’s turnaround and sympathetic performance as his character Dallas breaks apart. Ralph Macchio also tugs at the heartstrings with his performance as the fated Johnny Cade. Emilio Estevez is his usual cheeky self and provides some light relief at one point, which was needed. Although the movie looks as if it should be upbeat, it’s anything but. It’s contemplative and thought-provoking.

Tom Cruise is in this; young, dumb and full of…odd teeth. Yes, this movie was made before the Cruise-meister had his teeth done. He looks kind of like the backwoods redneck that he doesn’t look like in any of his other movies. (Unless he looks a little like this in All the Right Moves. I don’t think I’ve seen that). Mercifully, for the older, better looking TC, he doesn’t take up too much screen time.

The cinematography is outstanding and sometimes resembles the scope of Gone With the Wind, the movie based upon the novel that Ponyboy and … loved so much, especially the sunset. This, of course, all looks great on Blu-Ray. The picture quality is very good. Zoetrope Studios have treated the movie with understandable care.

Summary

Despite the film being set in 1967, it is still easy to identify with the characters in the movie. They’re well fleshed out in this version of the movie and although we don’t see enough of how the “Socs” live their lives (it’s very much about the “Greasers” as the title refers) we can see the tragedy behind the segregation of two opposing cultures in many things. The Blu-Ray looks and sounds great for a movie from 1983. This is a great movie for parents to watch with children in their early teens, or simply for adults who know the movie and want to see it in it’s best presentation.

Score: 8/10

The Blu-Ray is out now from all good stockists.

CD Review: The Reasoning Live In The USA: The Bottle of Gettysburg

2011-11-09T17:33:00.000Z

Most people think when I'm talking about The Cohens that I'm talking about The Coen brothers; the Directors of some fine classic movies like the constantly quoted The Big Lebowski. I'm actually, usually, talking about one of my favourite bands: Cardiff based, The Reasoning. They've been through some turbulent times but always come through it with spirit and the urge to go one better than before. This has inspired the following that this band have got. It's infectious, and this first official live album captures this spirit, perfectly.

My earlier crap joke aside, The Reasoning is the sum of it's parts;

Rachel Cohen: Vocals and Percussion
Owain Roberts: Guitar
Tony Turrell: Keyboards, Piano & Vocals
Matthew Cohen: Bass & Backing Vocals
Jake Bradford-Sharp: Drums & Backing Vocals

Rachel's vocals immediately show why she's won the Classic Rock Society's Best Female Vocalist Award for four years running; she really has the voice of a (Dark) Angel. She also owns the stage and mesmerises both men and women. It was a brave choice of the band to include "geeky" introductions, though. I now take a nap during those moments.

Owain has no credit for vocal but I'm sure I've heard something issue from that mouth of his. Anyway, he more than makes up for it by making the guitar sing, and sing sweetly it does, when need be and roar when it should. Along with John Mitchell, Owain is one of the most exciting and inventive young guitarists around. (I say young, compared to Steve Howe anyone is young).

Tony Turrell was an inspired addition to the band and has proven he can not only fill in for vocals but also add some synth in at the right moments to embellish existing tracks. It's the new arrangements of some tracks that help make The Reasoning exciting to watch and listen to. Tony plays keyboards the old fashioned way too, not just hitting buttons on a computer.

Matthew Cohen is the soul of the band; the backbone through his construction of bass lines through to the hard working promotion of the band, with the maintenance of friendships. Not entirely sure about the vocals but he gets the job done.

Jake Bradford-Sharp is one wiry, mean drummer and great to watch. His skills improve at each gig. A band like this need a strong drummer and they've got in Jake.

The tracklist of this live album is a good collection of past and present tracks:

Intro
Diamonds and Leather
Fallen Angels
The Nobody Effect
Shadows of the Mind
The Thirteenth Hour
How Far TO Fall?
Chasing Rainbows
14
Dark Angel
Aching Hunger

Diamonds and Leather is a storming way to open a gig. This live recording evokes precious memories from High Voltage 2010, when The Reasoning opened the Sunday on the Prog stage. Fantastic!
Ending with Aching Hunger, The Reasoning's anthemic interactive crowd pleaser, this is an album for those that enjoy good solid live albums. If you like live music, you'll want to uncork The Bottle of Gettysburg and Rock!

Buy the album right here: http://www.thereasoning.com/shop.php

The Flash-Bang Facebook Page

2011-11-05T17:08:00.000Z

Hi Guys, and hopefully some Gals! Our Facebook page is looking a little sad, with only 11 "likes" lol! Maybe that's our fate but if you're into Facebook and like our reviews, please stop by and "like" our page. Thanks!

The Flash-Bang Movie Review Facebook Page

Blu-Ray Review: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

2011-11-05T11:09:00.002Z

Directed By: John McNaughton

Starring: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles

Synopsis:

Henry is an irredeemable psychopathic killer, a faceless, random murderer who targets mainly women. He ends up living with Otis, an ex-con acquaintance, and Otis’ young sister Becky, who’s just moved out to the city herself. In the course of his murder spree, he ends up taking Otis under his wing, while Becky becomes ever more enamoured with Henry’s stories of violence. Meanwhile, Otis’ lustful feelings for his sister start to become more apparent...

Review:

1986, when this film was made (it wasn’t actually released until 1991, not that it matters a great deal), there were no TV shows like Dexter where a serial killer is akin to a hero with everyday problems like looking after a child and wondering how I stop my sister from finding my blood samples. There was no CSI or Criminal Minds putting forth pop psychology soundbites on a serial killer’s motivations. In the movies we had Manhunter, where Francis Dolahyde is clearly given a back story that tugs at our sympathies until we witness, through his eyes, how he sees his world. So, when John McNaughton made this movie where we are complicit in the actions of the killer and seeing things in the same way as he does, it was a new concept: Because we are complicit in Henry’s life, and because the movie is so realistic, it’s not a nice place to be.

With the violence, there is nothing in Henry that’s any worse than in a good episode of Criminal Minds but it’s the grimy world in which Henry inhabits that makes the content less palatable and the way that it is presented.

McNaughton could have killed his career in making this movie, similarly to Michael Powell when he made the 1960 movie Peeping Tom, luckily, Henry was better received. The critical acclaim didn’t convince the MPAA or, initially, the BBFC. Henry went out unrated in the US . This is the kiss of death for a movie in the US . In the UK we got a slightly edited version. It’s the movies lack of apparent morality that troubles people the most. Yet, unlike movies like Silence of the Lambs (for example) there is no glorification of the subject matter.

The performances are raw and uncompromising. It was clear from this movie that Michael Rooker was a talent to be reckoned with. I recall, at the time, feeling the same about his performance as I did the entire movie; was it a bit too real? It didn’t hurt Rooker’s career. I last saw him in the first season of The Walking Dead and assume that we will see him again some time later in the story, perhaps as The Governor. We don’t get to learn what, if anything motivates Henry into killing the way he does. He is a true psychopath as in he feels little about it, whereas Otis is creepier because he should know better. Otis appears to get a kick out of it.

Chicago is a character in the movie too. McNaughton shows us the seedier side of the city. Along with the rest of the movie, it’s dirty and grimy. Henry does for Chicago ’s tourist industry what the Texas Chainsaw Massacre did for Austin . Unlike cities portrayed in some films, I didn’t think “Ooo, I must visit Chicago next time I’m in the US . No sir.

The Blu-Ray Picture Quality is what you should expect from this movie; grainy and grim. That said, it's still the best way to watch it. Everything is sharper than previous releases and it does help with a movie shot in the gloomy realistic style that McNaughton adopted.

Summary:

The ending is suitably chilling and downbeat. This is no feel good movie and is all the better for it. The honesty and frankness of the story telling is refreshing but only in that for the duration of the film you feel like you’re in a dirty, nicotine stained bubble and when the movie ends, you’ve gone out in the street and breathed in country air. This isn’t just another exploitation film despite the way it’s been treated. McNaughton’s film is something else entirely. It was a movie way ahead of it’s time and I truly believe that most people are ready for it now, even if it still has the power to shock, and make viewers uncomfortable.

Score: 8/10

Blu-ray Extra Features

• Commentary with Director John McNaughton
• Portrait: The Making of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
• The Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas
• Interview with Director John Mcnaughton
• John Mcnaughton in conversation with Nigel Floyd
• Censorship History
• Deleted Scenes and Outtakes with Commentary by John Mcnaughton
• Stills Gallery
• Original Storyboards
• Trailer

The disc is available now from all the usual retailers.

For an alternative view, Mike has reviewed this on Flash-Bang: Mike's Review

James Bond 23: Skyfall Speculation

2011-11-03T19:03:00.000Z

From the Press Conference we know that there are three characters whose names are shrouded in mystery. Naomie Harris has stated she is to be called "Eve". But is this a code name for Miss Moneypenny out in the field? One of the main set pieces could well be a chase on foot throughout London's Whitehall area.

The plot talks of personal cost. As some of the movie is being shot in Scotland, could Albert Finney be playing Bond's Dad, Andrew Bond who was from Glencoe according to Fleming. Maybe he faked his death? Sam Mendes said that Skyfall is not based upon a Fleming property, so perhaps they've decided to change Bond's mythology somehow.

Whatever the full details of the plot are, Skyfall is sure to be an entertaining movie.

Bond 23: Skyfall Press Conference

2011-11-03T13:39:00.001Z

Thanks to www.DarkHorizons.com for the image

I've just come away from watching the fairly short Press Conference, on Sky News, announcing and confirming the title of the new James Bond movie. The 23^rd Bond movie is called "Skyfall". According to Barbara Broccoli, the title has an "emotional context" that will be clearer once the movie is completed and up on the big screen. The story will not involve the Quantum organization this time.

Everyone was excited and honoured to be part of this franchise. Sam Mendes said that he would be open to filming another, if his current enthusiasm still existed in 6 months time. When asked if the series was going to be higher brow, given the cast and director, the press were told that the emphasis was on making a great Bond film. With regard to the pedigree and Oscar winners making the movie, a member of the press asked if Mendes was looking to achieve Oscars for this film. Mendes said "That's not the reason you do a Bond movie, it's for the audience".

The producers promised that the budget would be reflected on the screen and that nothing was being cut back on, despite the current economic crisis.

Daniel Craig's intention is to make "the best Bond movie" and "is incredibly proud to be part of it". When asked about worries of typecasting, Craig stated that he was happy to be working and didn’t take that into account. He also said he would be happy to continue for a few years, if the producers allowed. Broccoli spoke up confirming that they’d be happy for him to continue.

Overall, during the press conference, all made clear that they couldn't talk much about the plot and three characters names are even secret at the moment. When asked if the names were being kept secret because Bond fans might recognise them, Same Mendes replied: "Maybe, maybe not" We've been promised "lots of surprises" in this movie.

Bérénice Marlohe is to play a glamourous character named 'Severin' and Naomie Harris a field agent called 'Eve'. That could, of course be a code name for Miss Moneypenny. Both actresses had to undertake the requisite stunt training along with weapons training.

The producers were asked what was going to be done to celebrate the 50^th anniversary, next year. It was confirmed that a special documentary was being made and anything else would be announced later.

Despite internet rumours, various artists were being looked at, to provide music for the movie but none chosen so far, it seems. It is assumed that David Arnold will be providing the score.

Skyfall starts shooting today using Pinewood Studios in the UK along with large amounts of filming around the London Whitehall area. Other locations to be used will include Shanghai, Istanbul and Scotland.

Well done to London Tonight for identifying a scene from Tomorow Never Dies but saying it was from The World Is Not Enough. Get your research done by better staff next time eh? Muppets!

Update: The Skyfall Facebook page has added this information:

Release date	October 26, 2012



Plot outline	In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Starring	Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw


Directed by	Sam Mendes

Screenplay by	Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan

Produced by	Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli

Competition Winners

2011-11-02T23:21:00.002Z

Congratulations to Stuart Mitchell (Scotland), and Stuart Ball (Buckinghamshire) who have each won a copy of a Straw Dogs Blu-ray. More competitions will be coming soon. Keep your eyes open....

Movie Preview: Strippers Vs Werewolves

2011-11-02T13:37:00.001Z

For the UK (forget the date on this teaser poster courtesy of www.blogomatic3000.com) 2012 will be the year that Werewolves are the new zombies.

Synopsis: When werewolf chief Jack Ferris is accidentally killed in a strip club the girls who work there have until the next full moon before his bloodthirsty wolfpack seek murderous retribution

Directed By: Jonathan Glendening

Written By: Pat Higgins, and Phillip Barron

Starring: Robert Englund, Barbara Nedeljakova, Steven Berkoff, Billy Murray, Joe Egan

Why watch it?

For genre fans who like their movies with a heavy does of trashy comedy, this looks to tick all the boxes. From the trailer, it looks well made and well thought out.

The cast is instantly recognisable to both us movie nerds and the general public. Mr Englund needs no introduction. He was in the recent Zombies Vs Strippers, so seems to be following a theme.

Barbara Nedeljakova is notable for being in Hostel as the lure, Natalya.She has also appeared in a number of genre flicks.

Steven Berkhoff is a well respected and experienced actor who isn't afraid of dabbling in projects that you wouldn't expect him to appear in. My favourite of these is Beverly Hills Cop, with Rambo: First Blood Part 2 coming in a close second. Berkoff is an established director and writer. He has a superb screen presence and I look forward to every one of his performances.

The charismatic actor Billy Murray is recognisable from his roles in both The Bill and Eastenders, but has also been seen in the excellent zombie comedy Doghouse, as The Colonel.

Martin Kemp, the famous singer from Spandau Ballet (hopefully, they get a song in the soundtrack somewhere) is also known for his role in Eastenders, but has also been in the very entertaining Waxwork II: Lost in Time,

Some of you might recognise Joe Egan from his role as Big Man in Sherlock Holmes.

Two fan favourites of mine also turn up in this: Sarah Douglas who was the original ass-kicking babe, Ursa, in Superman II, and Lysette Anthony who was Lyssa in Krull.

If that isn't enough, the gorgeous Lucy Pinder makes an appearance. There's a lot to love in this film.

With this pedigree, Strippers Vs Werewolves could well start off 2012, with a howl lot of fun. (Yes, I'm here all week).

Check out the trailer, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQlEpTM4abw

Some images from the movie (or related to):

Lucy Pinder, in case you're unfamiliar with her

One of the characters, knocking one out

There might be an injoke, here. Can you spot it? Mine's a Magners, by the way

Someone's got some cleaning up to do

I'll settle for a Mojito, if you're offering

Movie News: British Independent Awards

2011-11-01T18:48:00.001Z

NOMINATIONS AND JURY REVEALED FOR THE MOËT BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS

The nominations and jury members for the 14^th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today, Monday 31October at St Martins Lane, London by Helen McCrory.

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards’ Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: “This year’s nominees really highlight the immense wealth of British talent in this country today. We are incredibly proud that the Awards have grown to a level that garners attention worldwide, helping to bring British talent and independent filmmaking to the international stage.”

The highest number of nominations this year goes to three films, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Tyrannosaur, all with seven nods. All three titles are battling for the coveted Best British Film Award, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor or Actress awards. We Need to Talk About Kevin and Kill List each receive six nominations with Submarine following closely with five.

Nominations for Best Actress go to Rebecca Hall (The Awakening), Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre), MyAnna Buring (Kill List), Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur) and Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin). Leading men hoping to take home the Best Actor award include Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), Neil Maskell (Kill List), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur).

Directors who have delivered dynamic debuts this year and are fighting for the Douglas Hickox Award are Joe Cornish (Attack The Block), Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus), John Michael McDonagh (The Guard), Richard Ayoade (Submarine) and Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur).

Elsa Corbineau, Marketing Director Moët & Chandon commented: “Moët & Chandon is thrilled to continue to support the Awards this year. There are some truly remarkable films in today's nominations which reflect the talent of the British filmmakers. We look forward to celebrating all of the nominees and winners on 4 December."

The Raindance Award nominees for 2011 include: Acts of Godfrey, Black Pond, Hollow, Leaving Baghdad and A Thousand Kisses Deep. This Award honours exceptional achievement for filmmakers working against the odds, often with little or no industry support. Elliot Grove, Founder Raindance Film Festival and Moët British Independent Film Awards added: "Delighted to see that this year's nominations prove that once again British independent filmmakers have risen to the creative challenge of making astounding movies in the midst of economic chaos."

The Pre-Selection Committee of 70 members viewed nearly 200 films, out of which they selected the nominations, which were decided by ballot.

The winners of The Moët British Independent Film Awards are decided by an independent jury comprised of leading professionals and talent from the British film industry.

The Jury for 2011 includes:

Josh Appignanesi (Director / Writer), Lucy Bevan (Casting Director), Edith Bowman (Broadcaster), Mike Goodridge (Editor), Ed Hogg (Actor), Neil Lamont (Art Director), Mary McCartney (Photographer), Molly Nyman (Composer), Debs Paterson (Director / Writer), Tracey Seaward (Producer), Charles Steel (Producer), David Thewlis (Actor), Ruth Wilson (Actress) and Justine Wright (Editor).

The winners will be announced at the much anticipated 14^th awards ceremony, which will take place on Sunday 4 December at the impressive Old Billingsgate in London.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards is proud to announce the following nominees for this year’s awards:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Sponsored by Moët & Chandon

SENNA

SHAME

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

TYRANNOSAUR

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DIRECTOR

Sponsored by The Creative Partnership

Ben Wheatley – KILL LIST

Steve McQueen – SHAME

Tomas Alfredson – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR

Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]

Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios

Joe Cornish – ATTACK THE BLOCK

Ralph Fiennes – CORIOLANUS

John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD

Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE

Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SCREENPLAY

Sponsored by BBC Films

John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD

Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump – KILL LIST

Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen – SHAME

Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE

Lynne Ramsay, Rory Kinnear – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTRESS

Sponsored by M.A.C

Rebecca Hall – THE AWAKENING

Mia Wasikowska – JANE EYRE

MyAnna Buring – KILL LIST

Olivia Colman – TYRANNOSAUR

Tilda Swinton – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTOR

Brendan Gleeson – THE GUARD

Neil Maskell – KILL LIST

Michael Fassbender – SHAME

Gary Oldman – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Peter Mullan – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Felicity Jones – ALBATROSS

Vanessa Redgrave – CORIOLANUS

Carey Mulligan – SHAME

Sally Hawkins – SUBMARINE

Kathy Burke – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Michael Smiley – KILL LIST

Tom Hardy – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Benedict Cumberbatch – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Eddie Marsan – TYRANNOSAUR

Ezra Miller – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

Sponsored by STUDIOCANAL

Jessica Brown Findlay – ALBATROSS

John Boyega – ATTACK THE BLOCK

Craig Roberts – SUBMARINE

Yasmin Paige – SUBMARINE

Tom Cullen – WEEKEND

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION

Sponsored by Deluxe142

KILL LIST

TYRANNOSAUR

WEEKEND

WILD BILL

YOU INSTEAD

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Chris King, Gregers Sall – Editing – SENNA

Sean Bobbitt – Cinematography – SHAME

Joe Walker – Editing – SHAME

Maria Djurkovic – Production Design – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Seamus McGarvey – Cinematography – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DOCUMENTARY

HELL AND BACK AGAIN

LIFE IN A DAY

PROJECT NIM

SENNA

TT3D: CLOSER TO THE EDGE

BEST BRITISH SHORT

0507

CHALK

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

RITE

ROUGH SKIN

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FILM

ANIMAL KINGDOM

DRIVE

PINA

A SEPARATION

THE SKIN I LIVE IN

THE RAINDANCE AWARD

Sponsored by Exile Media

ACTS OF GODFREY

BLACK POND

HOLLOW

LEAVING BAGHDAD

A THOUSAND KISSES DEEP

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)

Sponsored by Working Title

To Be Announced

THE VARIETY AWARD

To Be Announced

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 4 December.

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone and Michael Winterbottom.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët & Chandon, The British Film Institute, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Deluxe142, The Creative Partnership, Exile Media, M.A.C, Raindance, Soho House, Studiocanal, Swarovski, Variety, Working Title and Zander Creative.

DVD Review: Erik The Viking

2011-10-30T23:21:00.000Z

Directed By: Terry Jones

Starring: Tim Robbins, Mickey Rooney, Eartha Kitt, Imogen Stubbs, Terry Jones

Synopsis:

Erik (Tim Robbins) discovers that he is not happy with the raping and pillaging customs of his people. Looking for advice, Erik asks the wise old woman Freya (Eartha Kitt) for a solution. She tells him that since Fenris the Wolf has swallowed the sun, the age of violence, Ragnarok, has begun. Worried by this revelation, Erik decides to travel to the legendary land of Hy-Brasil , in order to find the Horn Resounding, the magic artifact that will take him to Asgard and awake the Gods. With this in mind, Erik prepares an expedition and sails to adventure; but Halfdan the Black (John Cleese) and Keitel Blacksmith (Gary Cady) are not happy about finishing the lucrative business of war. Both decide to follow Erik in order to make him fail.

Review:

In 1989, Terry Jones turned his attention to the Viking way of life and the legends that surround it. Echoing work on the Python movies; Holy Grail and Life of Brain, Jones mixes a little fact with a lot of intelligent humour. Whilst it isn’t quite up to the quality of entertainment as the mentioned films, Erik the Viking still has a lot of likeability. The movie had gone largely forgotten outside of its fanbase, which is a shame. Perhaps this release will fire up a renewed interest.

Jones, a keen historian, made a movie that lightly uses the Monty Python style of humour whilst using his knowledge of the Viking way of life. The movie is peppered with historical references, but typically, they are twisted to ensure the comedy works and that the audience isn’t alienated. The tone of the movie is more in keeping with the Life of Brian, in that the comedy is more restrained than some of Jones’ collaborations with Terry Gilliam. It was this background, with the Python team, that ultimately harmed the movie, I believe. People, understandably expected a movie more in line with the Python humour and maybe felt a bit cheated that it wasn’t quite the same. The story lets it down, but the performances are top notch.

Tim Robbins effectively plays the naive, well intentioned Erik. This was an early role for Robbins and different from the roles that he would subsequently undertake. His crew are played by familiar actors and help flesh out their roles and screen time. John Cleese brings his usual magic to the mix and manages to steal every scene he appears in. Freddie Jones, recognisable to fantasy fans from the movie Krull, puts in a good turn as Harald the Missionary. Other recognisable faces include Tim McInnery (Spooks, Blackadder), John Gordon Sinclair (Gregory’s Girl), Samantha Bond (Bond films from Goldeneye to Die Another Day). Both Anthony Sher and Imogen Stubbs are interesting in their respective role. Sher plays a weasel-like Loki (the villain that is being used in The Avengers movie next year). Stubbs plays Princess Aud. Eartha Kitt plays the part of Freya, a Norse Goddess surprising well. I thought she’d camp it up a bit like her appearances in the Adam West Batman series but she dwonplays that side of herself.

Erik the Viking originated as a children’s story for his son, but grew into something more adult: The spirit of which still remains, in part. Whilst it loses the over the top zany style of the Monty Python comedies, it also loses something because of it. Sometimes, the movie is too clever for its own good, I hate to say.

This Arrow release includes the “Director’s Son’s Cut”. This cut reduces the movie’s screen time to just a lean 75 minutes long, rearranging some scenes into more of a logical order and speeding up the pacing. The problems with editing the movie tend to suggest that the movie was already troubled before release. This may come to explain how the movie disappeared from the audience’s consciousness back in 1989 and hasn’t really made a mark on pop culture since.

Arrow present the feature with the wonderful attention to packaging that we’ve come to expect from the “white boxes” with a vast array of special features, including featurettes and interviews. There are two versions of the film - the 75 minute cut, already mentioned, and the Director’s Cut that took away about ten minutes from the theatrical cut. It’s almost as complicated as the story of the many versions of Highlander 2, but not quite.

Summary:

I prefer movies like Time Bandits and the Python movies. I think there was a clear reason why those projects were successful and Erik wasn’t. These guys worked better writing and producing in collaboration rather than independently: Well, certainly Terry Jones with this project. Erik the Viking will appeal to those who can’t quite get the Python movies and like strange fantasy comedies.

Score: 6/10

Blu-Ray Review: The Conversation

2011-10-30T16:44:00.000Z

Directed By Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr

Synopsis:

Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) values his personal privacy and anonymity above all else. When he and his partner Stan (John Cazale) are hired by a mysterious client, known only as the director (Robert Duvall), to follow a young couple, Harry deduces that the woman, Mary, is the director’s wife, and the man is an employee with whom she is conducting an affair. Harry becomes convinced that the director intends to murder the pair. Haunted by guilt from a previous assignment where the information provided resulted in a loss of human life, sets out to prevent the killing himself.

Review:

When people talk about Francis Ford Coppola, they tend to talk about the Godfather movies and Apocalypse Now. But, if talk turns to The Conversation, there tends to be some blank faces. For a movie that won Coppola the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and three Academy award nominations, and features Gene Hackman in arguably his best role, it’s a crime that The Conversation isn’t better known.

The reason why is probably self-evident; the movie is bereft of obvious action scenes. It’s a character piece where the action is driven by the circumstances, dialogue, and revelation. The Conversation owes more to the spy genre, but is more a study in guilt than paranoia.

How many times have you seen a performance by Gene Hackman, conscious that it’s Gene Hackman? The Conversation brought out a career defining performance in Hackman that is my favourite of all his roles. As enjoyable as many of them have been, I’ve mainly been aware that Hackman is in his comfort zone. The character of Harry Caul is complex and troubled. Hackman does a great job of selling us this very private character that ends up being a victim of his own business.

Caul is not a likeable character. He is a loner that spends far too much time immersed in his work. He is supposed to be the best in the business but this seems more by chance than by skill alone, as Coppola reveals to the audience a number of reasons why Caul is actually quite sloppy. Whilst he might come up with innovative ideas and equipment to fulfill his client’s wishes, his approach to his private life is haphazard and puts his life in danger. The best example is how easily a pen, containing a sophisticated listening device, is placed in Caul’s top jacket pocket.

Caul gains sympathy from the audience purely because he is fallible and is seen to be trying to do the right thing, but he seems to spend so much time observing others that he hasn’t fully developed his own identity. He admits to not having any real possessions of any value, for example.

This is another movie full of performances. Coppola must have known that any weak link in the acting chain and the movie would fall apart. Even the smallest role required the right actor and the casting process got it right.

John Cazale plays Harry’s under appreciated colleague that is pushed into working for the opposition.

Allen Garfield is superb as the pushy, irritating, rival of Harry’s. A few years before he shot to mega-stardom in Star Wars, Harrison Ford turned in a great performance as the Director’s shady assistant.

There are those that will tell you to switch on the subtitles to get more of an idea of what is being said during the recordings. No! Don’t do it! The whole point of the movie is how Caul is interpreting the conversation. That’s why the movie is called The Conversation. It’s the most important part of the plot. Harry bases his whole theory about the Director looking to terminate an affair with extreme prejudice on what he hears and upon his guilt from the outcome of previous submissions.

Summary:

The Conversation focuses on how much of our own beliefs and experience we bring to interpreting what is said and what is seen. The movie can offer a lot to those who enjoy a thriller and drama that requires a certain amount of intellectual input, such as the TV drama The West Wing, where conversations drove the drama along, coupled with top drawer acting.

Score: 9/10

The Conversation is out on Monday 31^st October 2011, from Studio Canal and is available from all good stockists.

Blu-Ray Review: Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence

2011-10-30T16:32:00.000Z

Directed By: Nagisa Ôshima

Starring: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryûichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson

Synopsis:

In 1942 British soldier Jack Celliers (David Bowie) arrives at a Japanese prison camp. The camp is run by Yonoi (Ryûichi Sakamoto), who has a firm belief in discipline, honour and glory. In his view, the allied prisoners are cowards when they chose to surrender instead of committing suicide. One of the prisoners, interpreter John Lawrence (Tom Conti), has come someway in understanding the Japanese way of life, and tries to explain the Japanese way of thinking to his comrades, but is considered a traitor.

Review:

People talk about movies that deal with the subject of War being futile, but this movie deals with it better than most. There is no heavy handed message. It’s there if you want to interpret it.

The movie also deals well with the theme of how choices made in childhood can haunt a person in their adulthood. It talks about the divisive nature of human beings, who during peacetime and without the complex differences that culture and religion can bring, could form strong bonds and find that they are, in fact, very similar in nature. This is why the title of the movie is very important. It’s not Merry Christmas Colonel Lawrence, its Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. Only at the end of the movie, do we find out how important this is.

The movie is more about performances than plot. No character is ever allowed to descend into caricature, although Jack Thompson’s nearly does with his take on the role of Group Captain Hickley (Thompson was Australian). Bowie appears out of place and almost more of an alien than he did in The Man Who Fell To Earth; but it works within the overall scheme of things. Bowie reaches into the character’s persona and shares some great scenes with Conti and Sakamoto. Sakamoto plays Yonoi with a mix of quiet and angry desperation as he tries to humanely deal with those he considers to be with little or no honour. As the story reveals, he was more of a compassionate person (perhaps due to his background in psychology) than his peers. Takeshi Kitano plays the brutal camp sergeant, Hara, with great relish and even manages to use his comedic background in providing some of the few genuinely funny scenes in an overall somber movie. Action fans will know “Beat” Takeshi from his excellent Yakuza movies such as Gonin, Brother and also, the massive hit Battle Royale (out on the Arrow label).

One might wonder why David Bowie appears to be the lead character despite the title of the movie. Cynically, it could have been a marketing ploy to sell the movie on the back of Bowie’s hugely successful singing career. That alone would have been alright, in my view, as it would have got more people to have watched this wonderful movie. However, I like to think that it was because of the effect that the character Celliers has on the situation at the camp. He becomes a catalyst upon his arrival, playing on the superstitious beliefs of the Japanese authority. In some ways, Celliers understand the Japanese psyche just as much, and perhaps more, than Lawrence. Through Cellier’s formative experiences, he has gained an insight into his fellow man; an instinct that helps form his decisions, and ultimately dictates his overall fate.

This is not to take anything away from Tom Conti’s role as Colonel Lawrence. He truly shines as a man who is balancing his sense of compassion towards his fellow man, be they Allied Forces or Japanese, and his suffering at the hands of the Japanese in a barbaric POW camp.

Unusually, (for this type of movie) there is a palpable undercurrent of homosexuality in the screenplay highlighted in the obvious; the Dutch soldier and the Korean civilian worker, and the less obvious; Yonoi’s feelings toward Celliers. I’m not entirely convinced that Ôshima had pure homosexual feelings in mind, from Yonoi , but instead an attraction that goes beyond mere sexuality and encompasses a different type of unrequited love: a feeling of mutual respect and recognition of a man who is the Yin to his Yang. Bowie is well cast in this role because of his androgynous look. Bowie brought an ambiguity to the role that is well exploited by Ôshima.

Sakamoto was famous for his work with the electronic group The Yellow Magic Orchestra, and provided a memorable and iconic score for this movie. I’m not entirely convinced that it fits the movie throughout, by providing an ethereal and dreamlike quality to scenes that maybe didn’t need to be as abstract as they ended up.

Summary:

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence put forward the view that no one is right in a war. It is about how you conduct yourself, and the strength of beliefs. I believe that this movie is underrated and another that can benefit from an enlightened, modern audience and this new HD release can only help get it out there.

The Blu-Ray presentation shows the glorious cinematography and is a welcome addition to Studio-Canal’s classic catalogue.

Score: 9/10

The Blu-ray is out now and available from all good stockists.

Blu-Ray Review: Mother's Day

2011-10-26T19:08:00.000+01:00

ANOTHER FILM OF THE YEAR!

Directed By: Darren Lynn Bousman

Starring: Rebecca DeMornay, Jaime King, Patrick John Flueger, Warren Cole, Frank Grillo

Synopsis:

Following a disastrous bank robbery attempt that leaves one of their number critically wounded, three brothers head for their childhood home to take refuge until the dust settles. What they don’t know is their mother (De Mornay) recently lost possession of the house in a foreclosure and no longer lives there. Instead, they stumble across the new owners, a young couple and their guests, who are in the middle of a birthday celebration. Seeing no alternative, the brothers take the partygoers hostage before contacting their mother to explain their dilemma. Willing to do anything to protect her offspring, mother arrives at the scene, along with her only daughter (Woll), and immediately takes control of the situation while masterminding a plan to help her family escape across the border from the US into Canada . Unfortunately for the hostages, mother’s plot requires some serious funding and she’s determined to get hold of it any way she can. So begins a long night of psychological terror in which loyalties are tested, secrets are revealed and sins are punished by a deeply disturbed woman with maternal instincts that can only be described as sociopathic.

Review:

Horror isn’t dead, it’s being reborn, and Mother’s Day is a prime example of how a “remake” should be produced. I used quotation marks because this isn’t so much a remake as a loose interpretation. However, it’s still a remake as some of the premise and character names of the original have been used. This movie has it’s origins in the Charles Kaufman directed Troma film from 1980. That film was comedic compared to this tense and dark version. Newcomer Scott Milam turns in a fantastic screenplay full of red herrings and twists. It’s great to watch the movie twist and turn against expectations. I don’t think there was a time when I could honestly say “I saw that coming”. The director Darren Lynn Bousman has plenty of experience, in particular directing Saw films; in ratcheting up the tension to almost brain curdling levels.

The acting is realistic and very good. Most of the cast come from good solid acting roles in television; gone are the days when that meant bargain basement. This production is not high budget but it doesn’t need to be, the quality is there.

Rebecca DeMornay is suitably creepy in the role of Natalie Koffin or “Mother”. She does wonders with this role. With Hollywood and US TV studios being youth centric because of the demographic that watch TV and movies now (apparently), it’s a joy to see Rebecca DeMornay give an outstanding performance, showing that the older woman has a lot to offer movies. Ok, for me, she’ll always be Lana, in Risky Business. That isn’t ageist on my part but more to do with the fact that Risky Business was such an iconic film.

Her acting, in Mother’s Day gravitates between maternal caring and cold brutality. A little like her onscreen siblings; just as you think the acting is going too far and too over the top, they rein it in: Both Warren Kole (Addley Koffin) and Matt O’Leary (Johnny Koffin) stretch credibility with their roles, without going over that line past melodrama with their psychopathic behaviour. The screenplay contains a metaphor for nature and nurture in the way that life has effected Natalie Koffin, and the subsequent way in which she has brought up her children. A bad situation has led to bad choices and then led to her doing bad things. It elicits a tiny bit of sympathy for the character and it helps in the way that DeMornay plays the part. At first we see the obsessive love she has for her children and how far she’d go to protect them. As time goes on, that sympathy erodes.

Jaime King (Beth Sohapi) is excellent as the wife with a few secrets. Beth gets punched, kicked, and generally abused. King makes it all the more painful by her realistic acting. Frank Grillo (Daniel Sohapi) plays her husband with the right mix of cowardice and guilt. Shawn Ashmore (the Ashmore from the X-Men, not Smallville) delivers another reliable performance as a Doctor forced to deal with the Tim Roth inspired performance from the gut shot Matt O’Leary. Ashmore plays the role with a nervous calm that is impressive to watch and similar to his role in Frozen (directed by Adam Green). I liked seeing Deborah Ann Woll outside of her role as Jessica Hamby, in True Blood. I thought she was a little underused in Mother’s Day. Her character, Lydia Koffin, looks as if she’s going to be act a certain way and then the movie moves on in a slightly, if not inevitable way. Lyriq Bent took time out from the excellent Rookie Blue and puts in a very physical performance. There is no weak link in the cast. While not all the characters may be likeable, the actors do a great job in maintaining the suspense generated by the plot and direction.

A special mention must go to the cameo by AJ Crook. She is known for playing the demure and stunningly pretty “JJ” in Criminal Minds. In Mother’s Day, she plays a girl out on the town, with a friend, waiting to use the cash point. I won’t say how that scene plays out but she’s dolled up to look a lot different than she normally looks.

Summary:

I’ve purposefully steered away from talking much about the plot. I feel that it’s very important to go into the movie knowing only the synopsis. If you like the sound of that, chances are that you’ll embrace the movie and love what the cast and crew have done with it. In promoting the film “From the Director of Saw II, III and IV” there is a suggestion that the movie might follow a similar route. I hope potential viewers will disregard the tagline and see it for the more original type of horror movie that it is.

The DVD/Blu-Ray is out now.

Score: 9/10

Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-Ray: Troll Hunter

2011-10-22T15:38:00.000+01:00

"THE BEST MONSTER MOVIE SINCE JURASSIC PARK.” – SUNDAY MIRROR.

One of the biggest hits with audiences at this year’s Film4 Frightfest and a major critical success during its subsequent UK theatrical release in September 2011, which saw it earning Four Star reviews in Empire (“spectacular fun”), Total Film (“ a true one off... it will quite simply blow you away”) and Time Out (“shot through with an unexpected, often unsettling, humour”), the horror-comedy Troll Hunter bursts its way on to DVD and Blu-ray on 9th January 2012.

The debut feature from Norwegian director Andre Ovredal, this “original and highly assured fusion of B-movie lore and fairytale terror” (The Hollywood Reporter) combines the vision of “Where The Wild Things Are” with the faux-documentary, found-footage stylings of “Cloverfield”, “REC” and “The Blair Witch Project” to produce an “enormously entertaining” (Variety) and suspense-filled creature feature that the Daily Star rated as 'one of the finest monster movies ever" and Total Film described as being “like David Attenborough taking a stroll into Roald Dahl’s brain.”

Following the deaths of a couple of tourists and a spate of livestock mutilations in the mountains and forests of Norway, the government’s official line is that rogue bears are responsible. But the local hunters don’t agree and neither does a trio of college students who have been stalking an alleged poacher, Hans, with the intention of making a documentary film about him. Their persistence in pursuing Hans finally pays off when the filmmakers become victims of a night-time attack by something that is obviously much larger than a bear. In the aftermath, Hans agrees to an interview in which he reveals the truth regarding his occupation – he is actually a government employed troll hunter. Sceptical, the students volunteer to assist this unlikely hero in his work on the understanding that they will be allowed to document the proceedings and publicly reveal the heavily guarded secrets of a race of creatures thought only to exist in fairly tales.

A “clever and engaging mock documentary” (The New York Times) that is “fun, funny and fearless” (Little White Lies), and "great fun" (flash-bang action movie reviews) Troll Hunter is “an instant cult classic” (IGN).

Troll Hunter (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Momentum Pictures on 9th January 2011. Special Features include; Trailer; deleted scenes; improvs and bloopers; extended scenes; visual effects; behind the scenes; HDNet: A Look at Troll Hunter; photo galleries.

Blu-Ray Review: Mr Nobody

2011-10-22T14:39:00.000+01:00

Directed By: Jaco Von Dormael

Starring: Jared Leto, Diane Kruger, Sarah Polley, Linh Dan Pham

Synopsis:

It’s 2092, and 118 year old Nemo (Jared Leto) is recounting his life story to a reporter. He appears confused, often thinking that he is only thirty-four years of age. His story becomes more convoluted as he tells of his life at three primary points: at age nine (when his parents divorced); age sixteen and age thirty-four. Woven into this story are the tales of alternate life paths, often changing course with the flick of a decision at each of those ages. One life path has him ultimately married to Elise (Sarah Polley), a depressed woman who never got over the unrequited love she had for a guy named Stefano, when she was a teenager; and who asked Nemo to swear that when she died he would sprinkle her ashes on Mars. A second life path has him married to Jean (Linh Dan Pham). Their life is one of luxury but one also of utter boredom. The third involves Nemo with his step sister Anna. They have a passionate affair but are torn apart; damned to spend the rest of their lives thinking or searching for one another.

The question is; which of the life strands is reality?

Review:

This is a complex, multi-layered, head-kick of a movie that will probably appeal to those of you who enjoyed the time-twisting and ethereal Donnie Darko or even the parallel universe melodrama Southland Tales (both directed by Richard Kelly).

The whole film is based upon a key decision that nine year old Nemo has to make; do I go with my Mother (following his parent’s divorce) or do I remain with my Father? As an old man, Nemo sees the many lives that either decision could have generated or did generate. Confused? Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. My telling you of this decision is, in effect, a spoiler as it is not revealed until about 20 minutes from the end of the movie. By knowing this detail you might enjoy the movie more. The boy’s imagination, as to what fate(s) await him, dependant on the mental flip of a coin lead to a multi-verse of strands that culminate with time reversing and taking the decision away. The dimension of time is broken down in the boy’s imagination and interpreted in a non-linear way. The journalist reflects the boy’s questioning of his own thoughts and ideas, in an attempt to make order of the chaos. Every single choice affects the future. This concept is reflected in scientific terms through String theory, Chaos theory and The Butterfly Effect. The latter is explicitly presented in a number of scenes; notably the use of a leaf and the raindrop that obscures and removes Anna’s phone number.

Reality is made up of the different choices in life, seen from a 9 year old perspective, which has the power of imagination; therefore we cannot accurately know that the future that the 118 year old Nemo inhabits is correct. Given the nature of the future, the elder Nemo inhabits, I’d guess that it is the child’s view of where humanity ends up. To the viewer, it’s not a stretch to believe that we could have found a way to become immortal, but the idea seems to simplistic and the future landscape just a little too over the top.

Mr Nobody’s “plot” involves a number of ontological discussion points about the nature of time and how an individual’s decisions affect it. The memories, if that’s what we call them, are filmed in distinct styles to separate each parallel life and give them identities and reference points. This careful and methodical presentation greatly helps when the lifelines entwine and become more involved.

Without wanting to sound any more pretentious than I might have already sounded: Even if you don’t understand some of the science and theory I have explained, you might well enjoy the movie for what it is and sub-consciously “get” what is going on. It’s beautifully photographed, well acted, has a great soundtrack and arresting visuals. With no word of a lie, I actually felt two instances of déjà-vu watching it: Seriously! I’m not sure why and what it meant and that might come to explaining quite how the movie affected me.

The Blu-Ray makes a stunning looking, visually exciting movie come into its own. The soundscape is adequate for a movie of this type and frankly I didn’t noticed it because I was so immersed in the plot.

Summary:

Perversely, the 160 minute running time isn’t enough to fully flesh out the movie’s themes. Even after the credits roll, I found myself thinking about the movie and felt that I could have sat through an hour more. It’s a great shame that Mr Nobody didn’t receive a wide cinema distribution, but then if the general cinema going public thought Inception was complex, I’m not sure what they’d make of this. If it had been sold as a kind of cross between Benjamin Button and Amelie, it might have stood a chance. Sadly, we’ll never know. I hope that this movie gets recognition on DVD and Blu-Ray because it deserves to be seen.

Score: 9/10

Mr Nobody is out now at the usual retailers.

Straw Dogs Blu-Ray Competition

2011-10-20T18:25:00.000+01:00

Coinciding with its 40th anniversary and with the forthcoming remake, director Sam Peckinpah’s notorious thriller Straw Dogs has been carefully restored and remastered for release on two-disc DVD and for the first time ever as a features-packed Special Edition Blu-ray on 24th October 2011.

Discover more about the original in a series of articles running on http://www.totalfanhub.com/straw-dogs/ which will include reactions to the remake, plus details of the screening of the original at The Barbican in London on 9th Nov.

And for your shelf we have copies of the Blu-ray to give away for two lucky winners.

All you have to do is email me at wayfarer2007@sky.com and a winner will be picked at random. Good luck!

DVD Review: Evil Things

2011-10-11T18:59:00.000+01:00

Directed By Dominic Perez

Starring: Elyssa Mersdorf, Morgan Hooper, Ryan Maslin, Torrey Weiss, Laurel Casillio

Synopsis:

It's Miriam's 21st Birthday. As a birthday gift, Miriam's aunt Gail has decided to lend Miriam her beautiful country house for an entire weekend. Aunt Gail's country house is amazing. It's a four bedroom house surrounded by breathtaking mountains and miles and miles of woods. Miriam invites her young college friends Cassy, Mark, Tanya and Leo to join her at the country house for what looks to be the most amazing weekend ever. Things get off to a sinister start though, as they encounter a van on route that starts stalking them. After they get settled into the house, they are unsettled by strange noises and occurances which lead them to believe that their “friend” in the van might still be nearby...and then a videotape arrives on their doorstep...

Review:

They say that if you copy something enough times, the quality degrades and that’s now happening with the found footage genre of movies. If you’re familiar with my reviews, you know that I like the genre, just as I like the zombie genre. The trouble is, like the zombie genre, filmmakers realise that they can make it on the cheap and use it as a directorial debut. Dominic Perez’s debut isn’t bad, it’s just badly timed. The TV series The Walking Dead has effectively made the idea of making any future nil-budget zombie movies redundant. Sadly, we will still get these efforts winging their way on DTV. Some will be good, some bad.

The Paranormal Activity franchise is helping to spur on studios to get filmmakers to create more found footage movies. So far, nothing mainstream (not even the PA movies) has been so good as to overshadow the genre with quality. Cloverfield came very close but it was one of the first mainstream examples that arguably started out with the mondo genre and arrived at Cannibal Holocaust. Then, Blair Witch brought the genre on to the screen again complete with an exceptional and atmospheric marketing campaign. The only series, in my view that eclipses most of the genre is the Spanish REC series. They’re superbly made with the right amount of tension and scares, but they’re not mainstream.

Ok, so Evil Things. Is it any good? It’s well made, for an ultra low budget thriller, but a little “So what?”

The direction and cinematography are both competent with little of the shaky camerawork that is a staple part of the genre but ultimately the thing that most people hate about it. I liked the framing and editing of shots, especially with the ambiguity of the van stalking the kids during the first act. The kids themselves are clearly first time actors but are no more annoying than any other characters in these movies. The guys seem a bit lacking in personality, and one of the girls gets so hysterical I was hoping she’d get a slap to calm her down; especially when she was supposed to be making a call to the police but couldn’t stop snivelling. I hope that my fate never rests on someone like that.

Laurel Casillo, as Cassy, comes out of this quite well. She was very good and shows promise for an acting career, especially with the impression of her boyfriend’s mother. It was genuinely funny.

The first act is typically scene setting. The group attract a stalker (or stalkers) in a van that appears to follow them. I wasn’t particularly eagle-eyed during this and liked the ambiguity that it might not be the same van every time they thought it was. It’s easy to relate to the characters while they are on the road and getting harassed by the vehicle. I’m sure many of us have had to put up with assholes on the road that seem to stay on our tails on a lengthy straight road.

The tension increases when they arrive at a house with no lighting and the subsequent Blair Witch style forest walk. The mis-en-scene was particularly bad with a house that has no curtains in winter! I get that the group had to be open and vulnerable to the antagonists but come on, let’s have some reality here, after all it’s supposed to emulate reality and not be a fantasy.

It’s not until they get a suspicious set of phone calls and a knock on the front door that things get a lot tenser. They receive a video tape that shows their movements since they hit the road. It’s the people in the van. It’s easy to empathise with the young people in this scene but the following events don’t live up to the promise. The feeling of oncoming dread isn’t followed satisfactorily by any real scenes of scares. There’s one where a door slams and presumably the occupant of the room meets an untimely end. It’s illogical, and makes no sense if you think about it. What follows is a half-assed finale, with an odd epilogue.

Although it’s effective in its execution, the score used is totally out of place in a found footage movie, unless we’re supposed to believe that the guy in the epilogue has added it. It’s something that takes us a little out of the movie. A noise that we hear during the forest scene doesn’t add up either. It sounds vaguely like a sound effect from the movie Predator. It turns up during the end credits too. What it portrays is anyone’s guess.

Dominic Perez should not be put off by bad reviews as I think that there’s talent there and future projects should be carefully considered.

Summary:

The bottom line is that Evil Things does not deliver the goods. There are far superior movies of this type currently doing the rounds. A movie with such little palpable ambition would have been ok at the beginning of the surge of found footage titles. But with REC having set the bar, it has been left behind by movies like Grave Encounters. It’s a shame that the last act of the movie is so shoddy and that we have no idea of what happens to the protagonists. (We’re pretty sure that they’re dead but have no idea what the antagonists were doing with them). It’s not left in an air of mystery, it’s just left. That said, there are positives that I listed above. Whether they’re enough to interest you is down to your taste. I feel that without the inclusion of cuss words, the film could easily have been a 12 rating. The movie would have worked far better without the swearing and if it was made clear that this was made to appeal, and to scare, younger generations.

Score: 4/10

By the way, to the imdb “reviewer” who thinks movies should be graded based upon the size and scale of the production. Really? A movie should entertain whether it’s a big budget Summer tentpole or a low budget indie flick. There should be no separation.

DVD Review: 51

2011-10-11T18:50:00.001+01:00

Directed by Jason Connery

Starring Bruce Boxleitner, Jason London, Rachel Miner

Synopsis:

Due to public pressure, a team of journalists get to go on a tour of Area 51, The US’s most infamous airbase. During the visit, one of the base’s extra-terrestrial “guests” escapes causing havoc and carnage.

Review:

Good news! This isn’t the worst movie that I’ve seen come of the SyFy stable. The bad news? That’s not saying much.

Last year, Bruce Boxleitner appeared in my “Movie of the year” Tron Legacy. I have a lot of time for the actor. He’s an all round nice guy and is always a pleasure to watch, even in this. Boxleitner tries so very hard in 51. The trouble is; it’s like he’s got a better script than everyone else. While he’s delivering his lines with enthusiastic relish, everyone else is chewing the scenery around him. John Shea (Lex Luthor from Lois and Clark) has a go at putting something into the movie but it's a futile gesture.

Whilst I applaud the filmmaker’s decision to film with physical effects rather than render the aliens with CGI, the results are amusing. “Patient Zero” who has the power to mimic base personnel is, in its original incarnation, a veiny body stocking worn by an actor. The alien protagonist looks like a cheap knock off of an Asgard in Stargate SG-1. Another evil alien looks like a cheap cross between an Alien from the Alien movie franchise and the creature effects in a 1987 movie called The Kindred. The positive is that the creature kills are quite effective. Unlike some SyFy generated projects this one isn’t afraid of the gore factor. An example is a nice tentacle through the eye shot.

The premise is promising enough but beginning the movie with a shot that takes you right out of the movie, because of an horrendous green screen application, was the first bad move. There are attempts at building tension and they work up until the point you see either the body stocking or the rubber tentacled creature. The movie is an anachronism merging 50s style plotting with 80s style special effects. There are scenes lifted straight out of other movies, to add insult to injury. One such example is the scene in which the characters test each other to see if they’re the creature, using a torch. This scene is borrowed and borrowed badly from John Carpenter’s The Thing.

Summary:

The SyFy brand continues to frustrate. They cancel shows like Caprica and Stargate Universe and spend the money on making genuinely dire TV movies of the week like the Craptocus Vs Shiteoclops type movies. 51 is marginally better but I can’t recommend it.

Score: 2/10

Blu-Ray Review: Manhunter (1986)

2011-09-25T18:10:00.000+01:00

Directed By: Michael Mann

Starring: William Petersen, Denis Farina, Tom Noonan, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox

Synopsis:

Will Graham, a former FBI agent and profiler is lured out of self-imposed retirement by his former boss Jack Crawford to help the FBI catch a serial killer, who has come to be known as the 'Tooth Fairy'. This killer is a house invader who chooses to kill families in their houses during nights when the moon is full. In an attempt to think how the killer thinks, graham returns to the most dangerous and intelligent killer that the US has experienced so far; Dr Hannibal Lecter. The trouble is Lecter not only very nearly killed Graham but he also sent him into rehab for a breakdown. Teetering on the edge of sanity, Graham hunts down his latest target, getting closer to the action that he would have liked and very nearly becoming the killer’s latest victim.

Review:

In this review, I won’t dwell too much on the plot as so much as been written about this excellent movie, which is a favourite of mine. Instead, I will give some views and information on the film and briefly focus on the Blu-Ray disc itself.

Manhunter (the title changed from the book “Red Dragon” that it was adapted from, because the studio thought it’d get confused with the movie “Year of the Dragon”) was the first film adaptation of the Thomas Harris novel out of the gate. It was an impressive feat to get the complex novel on the screen in a manageable two hour screen time. Naturally, it sacrifices a level of detail from the book that some Red Dragon fans must have found frustrating, including much of Dr Chiltern’s involvement.

You won’t be surprised to read that I have a view on the Hopkins ’ Lecter vs the Cox Lecktor (as it is misspelt). Hopkins did a superb job of making Hannibal Lecter his own and producing a performance that made the character a legendary bad guy in the history of cinema. Was it an accurate and scary portrayal of the Thomas Harris character? I say “no”. Brian Cox portrays Lecter as he is in the book; calculating but affable. Cox is believable. There’s none of that chewing the lips style of performance in the all too brief scenes that he is in. Yet, there’s something very scary about Brian Cox’s character. I think it’s the believability that does it, in his attempts to unnerve Graham. Simple statements take on a whole new depth when delivered by Lecktor. His opening statement isn’t a question. He already knows the answer and immediately attempts to socialise with Graham to put him of guard;

“That’s the same atrocious aftershave that you wore in court three years ago”

He acts as if Graham is the patient, and he knows that Graham has been a patient in getting over his ordeal following Lecktor’s arrest and trial. He follows with;

“Did you get my card?”

We assume that this was sent to Graham in hospital and furthers the relationship between the cat and the mouse, but which one is the cat?

Lecktor asks after an “Officer Stuart” who it transpires had emotional problems after seeing Lecktor’s basement. The line sums up what we need to know; how prolific Lecktor was when he was killing.

Graham appeals to Lecktor’s vanity by talking about a paper that he had written. Lecktor is amused that Graham refers to himself as a “layman” and finds that almost insulting because it was Graham that caught him and he assumes, therefore, that Graham could consider himself more intelligent because of that fact. The point of going over this is that Cox plays the role straight. You really wouldn’t think that this unassuming guy, that looks a little like a bank clerk, could be capable of extreme murders, that is until he has seen the file that Graham has brought for him, and Lecktor gives his views on the unsub (a term popularised by the TV show Criminal Minds). He talks about involving his lawyer as a mediator for sharing information, then just blurts out;

“Would you like to give me your home phone number?”

It’s the delivery of this that unnerves. It’s a fairly innocuous line to look at, but when watching Cox deliver it you suddenly realise that this guy really isn’t right. His eyes are as sharp as a shark’s and belies the patience behind them. There’s a quiet anger that never materialises but you feel it all the same. The nearest that Lecktor gets to anger is when he accuses Graham of attempting to re-gain the mind set of killers. Graham is accused of being too close to one himself. Again, this is Lecktor playing mind games, knowing that if you dip your toe into the ocean, you’re going to get wet. Graham’s reaction is to have an episode and get out of the confines of the hospital.

Given the amount of police procedure in the screenplay, Mann made the film interesting with its blend of style and substance. Modern viewers might have forgotten, or wouldn’t know, that films or television series about police forensics, and in particular “profiling” were rare back in 1986. Now, we have CSIs in three major cities, NCIS, Criminal Minds and a plethora of cop shows that deal with these subjects across the world on a weekly basis; they’re also very popular. William Petersen’s Will Graham is a world away from his role in CSI Las Vegas. Grissom was a far more placid character, Graham is more intense.

Many have focused on the influence that Mann’s initial time with Miami Vice has on the film but I argue that Manhunter was, in fact, a clear cinematic progression from his previous motion picture: Thief. In Thief, there was more of a reliance on Tangerine Dream as score artists. In Manhunter, Mann began his trademark habit of using various composers, artists and pieces of random music to effect an emotional response in certain scenes. This was practiced to a fine art in Miami Vice; hence the focus, I guess. As with the first season of Miami Vice, Mann doesn’t flawlessly use this technique. One edit in Manhunter that still irritates me to this day, is the edit at the epilogue; we see Graham and Crawford in a dialogue free, brief moment before a transition to Graham’s beach front property. The track “Heartbeat” by Red 7 cuts in too early in my view. It’s a minor niggle in an otherwise masterful movie of style and suspense. This may have been an edit in post-production that was never fixed.

The transfer on this Blu-Ray looks stunning after the initial scene. I’ve read complaints of Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) tampering, that has been applied, and that has taken away the natural grain of the movie and some of the detail that you'd expect from a Blu-Ray release. I didn’t notice this with a 37” Panasonic Viera television and a mid-range Panasonic Blu-Ray player; chances are you won’t either. It's the best looking release that we've had, of the movie, in the UK . Hardcore fans may find themselves importing the Region free US release as it has none of the DNR tampering that is so evident here, but as I said: Is it really an issue?

Summary:

This release of Manhunter is almost a reference quality disc of how an older catalogue title should be presented. The "Director's Cut" has been included as an extra. This is just as well as the picture quality is appalling. It's still a very watchable disc if you don't already own it and don't mind DNR.

Score: 9/10

Manhunter is available from all good stockists, from 26th September 2011

Movie Preview: Reuniting the Rubins

2011-09-18T15:48:00.000+01:00

In SELECTED Cinemas 21st OCTOBER

Directed by: Yoav Factor

Starring: Timothy Spall (Harry Potter Series, Sweeney Todd, King’s Speech), Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners), Rhona Mitra (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Number 23), James Callis (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Battlestar Gallactica) and Honor Blackman (Goldfinger).

Synopsis:
Lenny Rubins, (Timothy Spall) an up-tight lawyer, has to put his dream retirement on hold when his ailing mother (Honor Blackman) emotionally blackmails him into reuniting his estranged children for a Jewish holiday.
They may be peas from the same pod, but in Lenny’s eyes his grown up children are certainly not from the same planet: a survival-of-the-fittest hard-nosed capitalist (James Callis), an outspoken eco-warrior committed to the cause (Rhona Mitra); an outer worldly Buddhist Monk; and to cap it all a bible bashing born-again Rabbi!
They might not see eye to eye, quarrel, fight, but they are still family and it is going to take a whole lot of soul searching and sacrifice for all involved to come together in this heart warming, family comedy that will have you thinking of your own family with a smile.

http://www.facebook.com/ReunitingTheRubins

13 Assassins Competition: win a Blu-Ray and Letter Opener!

2011-09-17T11:52:00.000+01:00

13 Assassins sees director Takashi Miike, the man behind such uncompromising and unforgettable movies as “Audition” and “Ichi The Killer”, indelibly stamping his trademark style on the Samurai genre with an ultra-violent, all-action, blood-spattered epic that is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.

Explore a world of clips, images, review links and much more at the official fanhub: http://www.cult-labs.com/13-assassins/

What you won't get there though is the chance to win our money-can't-buy prize of a 13 Assassins sword (ok it's a letter opener sword but it comes in a natty box!) and a copy of the film on Blu-ray.

Email me before 25th September 2011, at wayfarer2007@sky.com to be in with a chance of winning this rare item! The winner will be drawn at random. Good luck!

Movie Review:

2011-09-08T10:40:00.000+01:00

"It looks and feels uniquely British and is the old idea of a cat and mouse hunt but put from a unique perspective. Enjoyably action-packed and highly recommended."

A Lonely Place To Die has just opened at selected cinemas in the UK. My review: http://www.flash-bang-movie-reviews.com/a_lonely_place_to_die.html

Competition Winners

2011-09-08T10:20:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to Paul Lambert, Edinburgh; Chris Kelly, County Armagh; and Frances Morgan for winning the Hobo with a Shotgun T-shirt!

Congratulations to Gareth Earls, Cornwall for winning the Hatchet 2 signed poster and Blu-Ray!

Competition: Win an Exclusive Insidious T-Shirt and a Blu-Ray

2011-09-08T10:13:00.000+01:00

Are you ready to get scared all over again - but this time in your home? The smash-hit horror movie  Insidious is coming out on DVD and Blu-ray on 12th September. You can  get into the spirit by swapping spooky stories on the Insidious UK  Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/InsidiousUK where you'll also be  able to report sightings of the black Insidious Routemaster bus as it  terrorises London streets for the week of release!

We've also got something very special for you - a money-can't-buy  ‘haunted’ Insidious t-shirt! How can it be haunted? Turn it over to find  out… but to do that you have to enter and win our competition where  you'll also be in line to get a Blu-ray copy of the movie.

Email wayfarer@sky.com to be in with a chance of winning. A winner will be chosen at random. Competition closes on 19th September, so get emailing us :O)

“SO SCARY I WAS WHIMPERING IN SHEER TERROR.” (5 STARS) – ROBBIE COLLINS, NEWS OF THE WORLD.

A global box office smash thanks in no small part to unprecedented critical acclaim and overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth from cinemagoers who delighted in being scared witless by its supernatural shocks, the year’s scariest movie, Insidious, comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on 12th September 2011, giving thrill-seeking horror fans the opportunity to take the terror home.

Directed by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell (together, the co-creators of the “Saw” movies) and produced by Oren Peli, Steven Schneider, and Jason Blum (the team responsible for “Paranormal Activity”), Insidious stars Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) and Rose Byrne (X-Men: First Class; Bridesmaids) in a chilling ghost story that has been hailed as “utterly terrifying” (Zoo), “unnervingly creepy” (Sunday Express), “nerve-shredding” (The Sun) and, in a Five Star review as “so scary I was whimpering in sheer terror” (Robbie Collins, News Of The World).

Eschewing the gross-out, “how much can you endure?” torture porn principles of many recent horror hits in favour of a return to the traditional and much more subtle method of thrilling the audience by playing on people’s natural fears of the dark and the unknown, Insidious, like other horror classics such as “Poltergeist” and “The Exorcist”, is a welcome reminder of how much fun it can be to be absolutely terrified by a movie.

The story concerns Josh (Wilson) and Renai Lambert (Byrne), a happily married couple recently moved into a new suburban home with their three young children. When their eldest son, Dalton, inexplicably falls into a coma his condition coincides with the start of a series of disturbing events that defy any rational explanation. The ghostly goings on suggest a sinister supernatural presence is at work in the house, one that is intent on tearing the Lambert family apart. Forced to seek unconventional help to protect themselves and their children, Josh and Renai are awakened to the terrifying truth – it’s not the house that’s haunted.

Co-starring Barbara Hershey (Black Swan), Angus Sampson (Spirited), Lin Shaye (2001 Maniacs: Field Of Screams), Ty Simpkins (Revolutionary Road) and Andrew Astor (The Hangover), Insidious is “a classy and chilling horror tale” (Sunday Mirror) and “one of the scariest, most entertaining, enjoyable horror-watching experiences in years” (Collider.com).

Insidious (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Momentum Pictures on 12th September 2011. Special Features include: Horror 101: The Exclusive Seminar; On Set With Insidious; Insidious Entities.

DVD Review: Julia's Eyes

2011-09-03T14:39:00.000+01:00

Directed By: Guillem Morales

Starring: Belén Rueda, Lluís Homar, Pablo Derqui

Synopsis:

Julia, (Belen Rueda) like her twin sister Sara suffers from a degenerative nerve disease which is slowly turning her blind. When her sister dies, seemingly having committed suicide, Julia senses something doesn’t quite add up. Evidence leads to her sister not being depressed, and had been looking forward to a possible cure following an operation. Discovering that Sara also had a mysterious boyfriend, Julie makes it her goal to investigate Sara’s death and discover the truth. But as she carries out the investigation her disease affects her eyesight more and more, and she keeps feeling that somebody is watching her every move. Is she cracking up? Or is something more sinister going on?

Review:

The “Guillermo Del Tor presents” tagline looks set to becoming a very reliable seal of quality on a horror or thriller. Julia’s Eyes can be described as a horror and a thriller for reasons that become obvious as you watch the movie. I’ll try and avoid spoilers, but from the start of this review, it’s going to be difficult to avoid them all.

The movie begins leading us to believe that what we are watching is another supernatural thriller, after all The Orphanage (also presented by Del Toro) started as a supernatural movie and was for the most part of its running time, or so it seemed. As Julia’s Eye progresses, it explores a fine line between supernatural thriller and giallo until the last third which follows a more conventional route, which while slightly disappointing is rescued by the convincing performance given by Rueda.

The fairly simple premise is given substance by Julia’s journey; that of investigating the death of her sister. The lack of supernatural threat is given away within minutes of the film starting but I wasn’t disappointed by this as the movie was kept interesting enough as we follow Julia in her journey of discovery. Tension and atmosphere are adeptly created and maintained, despite the amount of clichés peppering the movies such as the constant disbelief in Julia’s theories and the initial speed in which Julia decides that her sister has been murdered.

One particularly effective scene is where Julia visits a home for blind women and wanders into their changing room. Julia overhears them talking about Sara and listens in, knowing that they can’t see her. In an eerie moment, one of them detects a new scent in the room and one by one the rest do too. The scene reminded me of Day of the Triffids, but typically goes off in a direction I wasn’t expecting.

Julia’s Eyes is refreshing in that it doesn’t rely on the jump style scares that we’re too used to from Hollywood movies. The movie twists and turns, but to a climax that is a little drawn out and reminded me slightly of The Silence of the Lambs, with a camera flash instead of a night scope.

The direction and cinematography is part of what makes this movie special; we see some interesting POV shots from Julia as her eyesight deteriorates, for example. The expert use of lighting and close-up shots help to give the movie some gripping suspense.

The only distraction, and I’m sure it was intentional, was the constant focus on Belén Rueda. She’s a striking looking woman but the director knows and uses this a little too often. Rueda wears a collection of clothes so blatantly figure hugging, I thought I was watching Julia’s Breasts not Julia’s Eyes. It doesn’t make for unpleasant viewing but took me out of the film a couple of times. Maybe, it’s just my male side working a little too much.

Summary:

Both Belén Rueda, and Lluís Homar give memorable performances helping to draw us into the story but unfortunately at the sacrifice of depth of other characters. Whilst Julia’s Eyes deviates from the clichés of Hollywood thrillers it still relies on too much convention, especially towards the end. It’s still miles better than the current crop being churned out of the Hollywood recycling machine.

Score: 8/10

Coming Soon: Coriolanus

2011-08-29T14:36:00.000+01:00

Lionsgate UK presents

CORIOLANUS

UK RELEASE DATE: 20 JANUARY 2012

Directed by Ralph Fiennes

Starring

Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, James Nesbitt

Official Facebook Page:

www.facebook.com/Coriolanusmovieuk

YouTube Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsYrGIQnmxo&feature=channel_video_title

CORIOLANUS is the explosive directorial debut of Ralph Fiennes, which premiered to great acclaim earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival. Set against the backdrop of a republic caught up in a long and bitter war, Fiennes’s CORIOLANUS is a tense and timeless thriller based around power broking, political manipulation and the arguments and prejudices of opposing social extremes.

Caius Martius “Coriolanus” (Ralph Fiennes), a feared Roman General is at odds with the city of Rome and his fellow citizens. Pushed by his controlling and ambitious mother “Volumnia” (Vanessa Redgrave) to seek the exalted and powerful position of Consul, he is loath to ingratiate himself with the masses whose votes he needs in order to secure the office. When the public refuse to support him, Coriolanus’s anger prompts a riot which culminates in his expulsion from Rome. The banished hero then allies himself with his sworn enemy “Tullus Aufidius” (Gerard Butler) to take his revenge on the city.

Mixing the classical and the contemporary, CORIOLANUS retains Shakespeare’s language, but boldy combines it with modern technology and a contemporary environment, to enhance the visceral quality of the original story. Shot in Belgrade, Serbia, CORIOLANUS reunites Fiennes with cinematographer Barry Ackroyd and sound mixer Ray Beckett following their BAFTA and Oscar success with The Hurt Locker. Joining Fiennes, Butler and Redgrave is fellow stage and screen veteran Brian Cox (as Coriolanus’s political mentor “Menenius”) alongside Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life) as Coriolanus’s wife “Virgilia”, and James Nesbitt (Bloody Sunday) as a conspiratorial politician, “Sicinius”.

CORIOLANUS is produced by Fiennes along with Gabrielle Tana (The Duchess), Julia Taylor-Stanley (The Tempest), Colin Vaines (The Young Victoria) and writer John Logan (BAFTA and Oscar nominee for Gladiator and The Aviator), who has adapted Shakespeare’s historical tragedy for the screen.

CORIOLANUS will be released by Lionsgate UK on 20 January 2012.

Running time: 123 mins / Certificate: 15

Movie Review: Fright Night

2011-08-29T14:29:00.000+01:00

"If you haven’t seen the original, and love the vampire genre but gravitate towards the True Blood style vamps instead of the Twilight vamps then this is for you. It’s fun, it’s frantic. Go see it"

My review of Fright Night (2011) is up: http://www.flash-bang-movie-reviews.com/fright_night.html

It opens in the UK, later this week.

DVD/Blu-Ray Review: The Beaver

2011-08-24T18:20:00.003+01:00

“Everyone likes a train wreck, especially one they’re not in”

Directed By Jodie Foster

Starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Riley Thomas Stewart, Cherry Jones

Synopsis:

An executive deals with his spiralling mental illness by adopting a beaver hand puppet as his sole means of communicating.

Review:

I have a lot of history with Mel Gibson, in that I’ve followed his career from the very beginning. He’s starred in at least two of my favourite all time films; Mad Max 2 and Lethal Weapon. I used to have lively “debates” with my Dad about the quality of Gibson’s acting. I would always be on the defensive, pointing out scenes of worth, like the “suicide” scene in Lethal Weapon and Gibson’s incredible performance of a guy that really looks as if he’s going to pull that trigger. My Dad would always counter with the wide eyed acting in the second “suicide” scene; “Do you really wanna jump? Well, do ya?”. Mel Gibson’s performance in The Beaver is his best yet. There was a danger that an actor in this role would go overboard, but Mel never does.

Sadly, many reviews for The Beaver seem to be concerned with Gibson’s off-screen issues - you know the whole "Mad Mel goes nuts on the phone" thing. I’m reviewing a movie here, not a star’s personal life. If you want that, read The National Enquirer.

I’ll be honest with you, when I first learnt of this project, I was stunned; was Mel Gibson really going to return to acting with this story? What a gamble, after his success at directing. When I saw the film, I could see that it was the perfect role for any actor, but it was a role crafted for Gibson. What is mainly interesting for me is the way in which the film has as much to do with the rest of Walter Black’s family as it has to do with Walter. So, whilst Walter is the main character, the parallel story about his son Porter, played by Anton Yelchin, is just as interesting.

Yelchin turns in another great performance as a son that looks upon his father with fear, fear that he might turn out exactly the same. This fear manifests itself when Porter writes down all the character traits that he and his father share, on a number of post-it labels. Porter has a sense of empathy that allows him to get in his fellow class mate’s heads and writes schoolwork for them in a style that emulates the pupil. This comes to a head when he is approached by head cheerleader Norah, played by Jennifer Lawrence. Up until this point, Porter has seen Norah as unattainable and unapproachable, but Norah hides her own secret. Their relationship is hampered not only by his father, but Porter’s brutally honest appraisal of what a person is burying in their psyche. Sometimes, an honest and forthright opinion is not welcome. Whilst watching the end of the story arc between Porter and Norah, I saw Norah as another Meredith. The direction of the scene was exemplary.

Jodie Foster plays the long suffering wife and mother, Meredith. Foster plays her with just the right amount of nuanced reactions that reflects a woman that has tried to make do but has now found the final straw in the form of a hand puppet and her husband’s willingness to talk through it. Foster has a couple of exceptional scenes with Gibson that highlight the tragic nature of Black’s illness.

Gibson’s scenes with Riley Thomas Stewart (who plays his younger son Henry) are amongst the most heart-warming in the movie and might cause a tear or two. Even when Black is communicating through the Beaver, the performance is natural and entertaining. It is through the Beaver that Black starts to try to mend his relationships and that begins with his younger son. I particularly took to the scene where they are crafting a piece of woodwork together. The change in Walter’s personality has achieved so much in so little time.

There’s a melancholic sadness that permeates The Beaver, that you may or may not feel. Foster never over-sentimentalises the subject matter, but there are gestures and lines that get across the truly tragic nature of the character. I felt a foreboding as we learn that Walter’s Father committed suicide through his deep depressions, for example. Comedy often precedes sadness, especially during the scenes of the Blacks attempt to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

The character of the Beaver itself, whose voice sounds a little like a mix of Mark Sheppard, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Mel Gibson, could have inadvertently belittled and mocked the subject of mental illness, but this never happens. The reactions of the staff of the toy company best reflect the feelings of the audience; that we buy into Black’s “performance” because what is being said is believable and workable. Ok, so the guy has his fist up a Beaver toy (that sounds ruder than I meant it to be) but he talks sense and, initially, the company reaps the reward of his outlook.

Despite my open mind to this story, some of it doesn’t quite make sense. Meredith’s solution to run off and leave Walter seems callous and dangerous when the next step should have been to have Walter taken into care or at the very least to have him looked after and counselled by the guy that Walter was already supposed to have been seeing. The scenes in the last act resemble similar scenes in Evil Dead 2, when Bruce Campbell’s Ash has a possessed hand that takes over and hurts him. Walter’s solution is the same as Ash’s and eventually leads to a nice neat ending that isn’t too forced but is warm and convenient.

I can’t help but speculate what kind of movie this would have been had either Steve Carrell or Jim Carrey starred in it. I’d guess that the tone would have been lighter and the mental illness factor been more superficial. Both actors have proven that they’re more than capable of playing straight roles but Gibson nails the part so well, I’m glad that he took it on board.

Summary:

There are few movies that have the stones to tackle mental illness in such a way that it treats it with respect whilst entertaining the viewer. The only other movie that comes close, in my view, is Rain Man. They’re two entirely different movies but both share a common aspect; great acting, direction and writing. This is Mel Gibson at his very best and it is a terrible shame that his personal life overshadowed this movie. I think of it as a must-see movie, although I appreciate that the subject matter and how it appears is not everyone’s idea of how a fun night in with a movie should be.

Score: 9/10

Fright Night (2011) Q&As

2011-08-23T18:21:00.002+01:00

High school Senior Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all—he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the hottest girl in high school. In fact, he’s so cool he’s even dissing his best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But trouble arrives when an intriguing stranger Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there’s something not quite right— yet no one, including Charley’s mom (Toni Collette), seems to notice! After witnessing some very unusual activity, Charley comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on his neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone that he’s telling the truth, Charley has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this Craig Gillespie-helmed revamp of the comedy-horror classic.

DreamWorks Pictures presents “Fright Night,” directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Michael De Luca and Alison Rosenzweig, with a screenplay by Marti Noxon and story by Tom Holland, based on the film “Fright Night,” written by Tom Holland. The film will be released on August 19, 2011 in the US, with a UK release of September 2nd.

What follows is a series of Q&As with the cast and director. A review of this movie is due on the Flash-Bang Action Movie Reviews website on or around 29th August 2011. It's a lot of fun and I look forward to sharing my view of the movie with you.

COLIN FARRELL & CRAIG GILLESPIE Q & A

COLIN FARRELL (Jerry) is a native of Ireland. He won a Golden Globe^®Award for his performance in the dark comedy “In Bruges,” which followed a pair of hit men who hide out in Bruges, Belgium after a difficult job in London.

Farrell most recently starred in the New Line Cinema comedy “Horrible Bosses.” He is currently filming the Sony Pictures feature “Total Recall” for director Len Wiseman. The film is in production in Toronto and also stars Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston. Farrell recently wrapped the Peter Weir film “The Way Back,” starring opposite Ed Harris and Jim Sturgess. The film tells the story of a group of soldiers who engineer a grueling escape from a Siberian gulag in 1942. He also completed William Monahan’s feature “London Boulevard,” based on the best-selling novel by Ken Bruen, about a South London criminal, newly released from prison, who resists the temptation to go back to a gangster life by taking a job looking after a reclusive young actress played by Keira Knightley.

Farrell was recently seen in “Ondine” for Irish director Neil Jordan, which revolves around an Irish fisherman who discovers a woman he thinks is a mermaid. His other films include Gavin O’Conner’s “Pride and Glory,” Woody Allen’s “Cassandra’s Dream,” “Miami Vice,” Oliver Stone’s “Alexander,” Terrence Malick’s “The New World,” “Ask the Dust,” based on the novel by John Fante, “The Recruit” with Al Pacino, “A Home at the End of the World,” based on the Michael Cunningham novel and Joel Schumacher’s “Phone Booth” and “Tigerland.” He also appeared in “Minority Report,” “Daredevil,” “American Outlaws,” “S.W.A.T.” and “Intermission.”

Born and raised in Castleknock, in the Republic of Ireland, Farrell is the son of former football player Eamon Farrell and nephew of Tommy Farrell. Both Tommy and Eamon played for the Irish Football Club, Shamrock Rovers, in the 1960s.

It was Farrell’s early teenage ambition to follow in his father and uncle’s footsteps. His interest soon turned toward acting, however, and he joined the Gaiety School of Drama in Dublin. Before completing his course, Farrell landed a starring role in Dierde Purcell’s miniseries “Falling for a Dancer,” a starring role in the BBC series “Ballykissangel” and a featured role in Tim Roth’s directorial debut, “The War Zone.”

Farrell currently resides in Dublin, Ireland.

CRAIG GILLESPIE (Director) gained widespread recognition early on in his feature-film directing career with the critically acclaimed “Lars and the Real Girl,” starring Oscar®-nominated Ryan Gosling.

For television, Gillespie produced and directed the highly acclaimed Showtime series “United States of Tara.” His direction of the pilot episode earned Toni Collette both an Emmy® Award and a Golden Globe® Award.

Gillespie resides in Los Angeles.

Q: Colin, what attracted you to this project?

A: I had done a lot of dramatic films and dramatic roles back to back for three or four years. I literally said to my agent, “I'd love to do something that's really, really different and that has some comedy to it, something that's fun.”

Then this came along. I was dubious about it, because I had seen the original when I was 11 or 12 and I loved it. I particularly loved how Chris Sarandon played Jerry and I had a little boy crush on him, so I didn't want to like the script when I read it. I said, “They're remaking ‘Fright Night.’ That could be a really bad idea,” but then I just really just loved the script and saw how this could be a lot of fun.

It was also very contingent on who was directing it, since that would determine whether the film worked or not. When I heard that Craig Gillespie was involved and we sat down and spoke, I realized it would be a blast to play a character that is unbridled by any human sense of fear, remorse, regret or compassion. The screenwriter, Marti Noxon, designed the character in a very particular way. She wanted Jerry to be the kind of vampire that is more malevolent, violent and cruel than the vampires who have been presented onscreen in recent years.

Q: What attracted you to this project, Craig?

A: Marti Noxon's script. I hadn’t really been dying to do a vampire movie. I felt like there was so much of the vampire stuff out there and I'd been working on a couple of smaller projects I was trying to develop. Then DreamWorks sent me the script for “Fright Night” and it was a great blend of horror and humor. I love mixing genres and I couldn't stop thinking about it and visualizing it, so I went for it.

Q: Did you consciously try to bring a sense of humor into the role, Colin?

A: No, I never felt any pressure to bring humor into the film. I think that was left up to David Tennant and Christoper Mintz-Plasse. Their two characters had a lot of the humorous dialogue and those boys know their way around humor. I was the horror and they were the humor.

Q: Craig, were you conscious of that as a director, that there was a split between humor and horror?

A: No. It had to be a horror movie. I wanted to make sure that the audience was genuinely scared at times and on the edge of their seats. The humor comes second and it’s about figuring out how much you can get away with. Much of the time, it's a great release in the middle of scary moments, but even as we were editing, we might decide that there was one too many jokes in a scene. It's a constant battle.

For Colin’s character, it was more important that he was having fun as a villain. That's what makes great villains for me, is that they have a sense of humor about what they're doing and they seem to enjoying it, as hellacious as it is. That part, he got down in spades. He was having fun with his cruelty.

Q: Was it obvious at the beginning that you would shoot this film in 3-D?

A: In my first meeting at DreamWorks, they told me that they wanted to make the movie in 3-D. I thought, “All right, I've seen these huge tentpole movies like "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland" in 3-D. Wouldn’t it be kind of cool to do a horror film where you've got two guys walking down a corridor and you want to look around them and see what's at the end of it?” I really got into the idea and had a great time shooting it that way.

CRAIG GILLESPIE Q & A

Gillespie resides in Los Angeles.

Q: How was it different working on something like “Lars and the Real Girl,” which is a relatively small film, and “Fright Night”?

A: I really liked what Marti Noxon was able to achieve in her script because it has such a great a mix of horror and humor, but on a much bigger scale and canvas than “Lars and the Real Girl.” I like to create a tone in my work that an audience has to participate in. I want them to have to make a choice about whether or not they think it’s funny, or if they think it’s tragic or scary. Everybody has a different interpretation of a story when they hear it and I love it that that they bring their individual take on things to a film.

One of the things that I haven’t had the opportunity to do in a film yet is make the camera one of the characters. In horror and thrillers, that’s a huge part of the style of the films. In my other work, it's been all about the acting and you want the camera to be invisible. In this one, the camera is a major character that is creating suspense, fear and trepidation as it sneaks down a hallway or around a character. That was really fun.

Q: What was the most challenging thing about shooting the film in 3-D?

A: I really wanted to use the medium in an elegant way and not have it get in the way of the performances. Shooting in 3-D uses a completely different muscle. There are a lot of rules out there about what you can and cannot do when you’re using 3-D cameras, but at the end of the day, I felt like it came down to having an artistic sensibility about it.

I also worked with cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe and he’s just amazing. He’s worked on 54 movies, including “The Others,” “The Road” and, ironically, the last two “Twilight” movies. We really liked using a shallow depth of field, which you’re not supposed to do with 3-D, but we thought would make the audience feel like they were in a tight, enclosed space.

The other aspect of shooting in 3-D is that your camera can’t be too frenetic. You can’t really do any handheld because the cameras are just too big. In an odd way, shooting “Fright Night” took me back to classic filmmaking. I did these big, long dolly moves and blocking with the camera because the shots had to cover the whole performance in one take. It was fun to create that sort of elegance.

Q: How was your experience working with DreamWorks?

A: It was great. They took a leap of faith with me, because I'm not the obvious choice to do this kind of genre. When you’re dealing with tone, it’s really one of the trickiest things to harness. You need to know you’ve got your studio’s support, because if there are too many cooks in the kitchen, things get diluted very quickly. You really need a singular vision about what's going on as a filmmaker and DreamWorks was very supportive and made sure I had that. They also gave me a lot of freedom during the casting process and on the set. I have some very complicated shots in the film and they helped me make those happen.

Q: Were you happy with your cast?

A: I think it was Howard Hawks who said, “Casting is 90 percent of making a movie.” Anton was so emotionally invested in his character, Charley’s, journey and the coming-of-age aspect of the story. He's the straight guy in the movie, which is always hard. For Imogen, the primary focus was her relationship with Charley and what was going on between them. Christopher Mintz-Plass and David Tennant brought the comic relief, but they’re both still very grounded. We had to find actors that could get the tone of the film right and we did. They make it look effortless.

Q: Do you think Colin does a good job of playing a vampire?

A: I thought he was perfect. Anton’s playing a boy who’s trying to come into manhood and Colin gets to play the alpha male he has to challenge to get there. It’s a classic male confrontation and a very primal situation where two males come together and face off. Colin is so clearly the dominant species in that relationship, both because he’s a vampire and because he’s just Colin. He just stepped in there and was so in the zone. He's got no fear and has a very primal sense of what’s going on. Colin added a lot of little details to the role of Jerry that really brings him to life.

ANTON YELCHIN Q & A

ANTON YELCHIN (Charley Brewster), with his recent highly acclaimed performances in “The Beaver,” “Star Trek” and “Charlie Bartlett,” as well as other starring roles in major films, is one of Hollywood’s rising stars. He will soon be heard as the voice of Clumsy Smurf in Sony’s animated feature “The Smurfs.” In addition, Yelchin starred in “Like Crazy,” which won the Grand Jury Prize when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011. He recently began filming “Odd Thomas.” In the title role, Yelchin stars as a short order cook with clairvoyant abilities who encounters a mysterious man with a link to dark and threatening forces.

Yelchin’s past film projects include his role in “New York, I Love You,” with an all star cast that includes Ethan Hawke, Robin Wright Penn, Shia LaBeouf, Orlando Bloom, James Caan, Julie Christie, Andy Garcia and Natalie Portman. He also starred in “Terminator: Salvation,” opposite Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, “Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac” with Emma Roberts, and “Middle of Nowhere,” opposite Susan Sarandon. His other film credits include “Alpha Dog,” “Hearts in Atlantis” (for which he received the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film––Leading Young Actor), “Fierce People,” “House of D” and “You and I.” Yelchin also received the Explosive Talent Award at the 2002 Giffoni Film Festival in Italy.

Yelchin has appeared on some of television’s most critically acclaimed dramas. He starred opposite Hank Azaria on the Showtime original series “Huff” for two seasons, and had guest starring roles on “Criminal Minds” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

Yelchin currently resides in Los Angeles.

Q: What made you want to do this movie?

A: There were two reasons. The first one was that I thought the script was very solid, with a very relatable arc for my character of Charley. He’s a kid who loses track of what's valuable to him and then he’s faced with something that threatens to take away everything that is precious. He struggles through a lot of guilt and remorse but overcomes that to protect the people he cares about. That's a very relatable story to me.

The second was that Craig Gillespie was attached to direct. I was a fan of his movie “Lars and the Real Girl” and I thought he was such a cool choice to make a horror genre film that's a bit more mainstream. He’s known as someone who likes really interesting characters and makes actor’s movies. It turned out to be true. Craig is very much an actor’s director. He gives you a lot of freedom to create your character.

Q: Did you see the first “Fright Night”?

A: Oh, yeah, I love the first film. I think it's really intelligent and enjoyable. I think it also represents the horror genre’s transition during the 1980s from classic Hollywood horror into a more entertaining, very self-conscious, funny, campy genre.

Q: You play a teenager in “Fright Night.” How was that for you?

A: I played an architect in “Like Crazy” and a week later I was in New Mexico shooting “Fright Night.” I'm happy it turned out that way, because the movies are so different and the characters are completely different people. That always gives me a certain level of satisfaction because that's what I try and do in my career, is shake it up a bit. Otherwise, I don't understand the point of this job. You have to try and take different roles every time.

Q: Imogen Poots plays your girlfriend in the movie. Is there a difference between English and American actresses?

A: I've been very lucky. The last couple of films I’ve done I’ve worked with Jennifer Lawrence, Imogen and Felicity Jones, all of whom are extremely talented and intelligent, regardless of their nationality. I think these women are just very interesting people and I feel lucky to have been able to work with them.

Q: You were born in Russia but immigrated here when you were six months old. Are you interested in making films in Russia?

A: I worked on a film there once. It was a very different experience. For me, it’s always about the filmmaker and I'm not particularly interested in going to Russia just to work in Russia. There are filmmakers there that I would really like to work with, though. If Alexander Sokurov was making a movie and called me up and said, ”Come make this movie with me,” I would be there in an instant. I’d also go to Austria to work with Michael Haneke or Denmark to work with Lars Von Trier. It isn’t about the country they’re in, it’s about their talent.

Q: What makes you scared?

A: What scares more than anything is probably the nature of humanity and the kind of horrible things that people can do to one another. That’s partly what “Fright Night” touches on.

IMOGEN POOTS Q & A

IMOGEN POOTS (Amy) is an emerging actress on the rise who challenges herself with each new role and continues to evolve with each project she takes on.

Earlier this year, Imogen starred alongside Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in Cary Fukunaga’s “Jane Eyre,” portraying Blanche Ingram, a socialite whom Mr. Rochester flirts with to make Jane jealous.

Imogen is currently in production on Daniel Algrant’s “Greetings from Tim Buckley,” co-starring opposite Penn Badgley. Based on a true story, the film is focuses on the days leading up to Jeff Buckley's eminent 1991 performance at his father's tribute concert. Prior to this, Imogen completed production on Yaron Zilberman’s "A Late Quartet,” starring alongside Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Mark Ivanir. The film charts the tensions that threaten to divide a group of celebrated classical musicians.

Prior to that, Imogen completed production on "Comes a Bright Day" alongside Craig Roberts, Kevin McKidd and Timothy Spall. A dark comedy written and directed by Simon Aboud, the film centers on a group of Londoners held hostage in a jewelry store during a heist that goes terribly wrong.

Notably, Imogen made her breakthrough performance in Juan Carlos Fesnadilo's critically acclaimed film "28 Weeks Later" portraying Tammy. Set in post-apocalyptic England, the story focuses on a group of survivors who attempt to rebuild their lives amidst the chaos following the mass outbreak of a rage virus.

Additional film credits include James McTeigue’s “V for Vendetta” with Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving; Richard Linklater’s “Me and Orson Welles” with Zac Efron and Christian McKay; Jordan Scott’s “Cracks” with Eva Green and Juno Temple; Brian Koppelman and David Levien’s “Solitary Man” with Michael Douglas and Susan Sarandon; Neil Marshall’s “Centurion” with Dominic West and Michael Fassbender; and Hideo Nakta’s “Chatroom” with Aaron Johnson.

On television, Imogen’s credits include BBC’s "Miss Austen Regrets” as Fanny Knight; ITV’s "Bouquet of Barbed Wire” as Prue Sorensen; and BBC’s “Christopher and His Kind” as Jean Ross.

Q: What do you think about our culture’s fascination with vampires?

A: I think the fascination has developed because the vampire is such a malleable creature and represents hyper-sexuality and religious imagery. “Fright Night” is a movie that goes back to the original form of the vampire, which is that they are predators in a horror environment.

Q: How was working with director Craig Gillespie?

A: It was wonderful. He’s the best. I’m a huge fan of his film "Lars and the Real Girl" and I think he has a wonderful understanding of character. That's why this project was so intriguing to me. Craig was taking on this commercial beast of a film and he was going to bring something very human and believable to the characters.

It was really fun going on the journey of the film together. We were all aware of the original “Fright Night,” but this new one is really our interpretation and it was fun exploring those ideas. We all became very close on the film, maybe because we were all living near one another and we spent practically every day together for quite a few months. Inevitably, we developed a bond. As actors, Craig gave us full permission to go off script, have fun and try stuff, even if it didn't end up in the film. It was a wonderful technique to ease ourselves into the characters and go beyond the confines and barriers of the dialogue.

Q: Did both you and Craig have the same ideas for your character?

A: I believe we did. We didn’t want her to be dismissed as “just the girlfriend,” an object for the male protagonist to bounce off of. We also wanted her to take part in some of the humor and find a dynamic there that was light and poignant and real.

Q: How was it doing battle with a vampire?

A: Well, Charley (Anton Yelchin) and Amy are battling a vampire but they’re also battling to not lose their innocence. That's part of why you love them and want it to work out for them. They don’t understand the greater force that Jerry personifies, which is everything you have no control over and succumb to in the world. They don’t understand that there are things in the world that make you seem completely insignificant.

Q: Did you and Anton get along well?

A: I adore Anton. I think he's an extraordinary talent. He’s so well informed, bright and well mannered. He’s also such a charming guy and a very, very good friend of mine.

Q: How embarrassing are the intimate scenes?

A: They're not too embarrassing. You just get on with it.

Q: Marti Noxon, the film’s screenwriter, has said that she was conscious of giving your character more to do and making her more empowered in the film. Did you feel you were playing a strong character?

A: That's definitely how I felt. Playing a girl who was strong, had an arc, was a character in her own right and got to be funny was key for me. It really elevates Amy’s character and takes it somewhere. Craig really cared about the characters and making a character based film, too.

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural?

A: I think you've got to be open to something out there. The whole idea of us being here on this planet is pretty peculiar to start with, so I think it's good to have an open mind to things both scientific and spiritual.

Q: How was working with Colin Farrell?

A: He's a very intelligent man and a very gentle, extraordinary, fun actor. Plus, the film we were making is fun and watching him transform into Jerry the vampire was really intriguing.

Q: Was Colin different than you expected?

A: You never know what to expect from the actors you're going to work with, so there's no point in having any expectations. Everyone is just a person in their own right. But I found Colin to be charming and wonderful and I love him.

Q: American movies are full of young, English actors these days. What do you think about that?

A: I think it's great, of course. If you look at the cast of “Fright Night,” it's certainly international.

Q: You’re from London. What do you think of the United States?

A: I've met some fascinating people over here. I like coming to Los Angeles, since I've found people I love, but New York remains my favorite city. I just walk and walk around the streets and find it a really creative place to be. I've had the chance to see parts of New Orleans and New Mexico also, so it was cool to understand the states from a perspective that wasn't a metropolis. America is so vast, too. There's a lot to see.

Q: When did you start acting?

A: I was about 14. I joined a theatre group near where I grew up in London. It was something that I really enjoyed and wanted to have a good shot at.

Q: What's it like to see your face onscreen?

A: It is always bizarre, but at the same time, it's interesting to see the finished product and what the other members of the crew and cast have been up to. You just have to try to take yourself out of it and view it as a piece of art rather than think, “Oh, no. They made my nose 3-D.”

MARTI NOXON Q & A

MARTI NOXON (Screenwriter) most recently wrote the screenplay for DreamWorks Studio’s “I Am Number Four.” She is currently writing “Bad Baby” for DreamWorks, which she and her partner Dawn Parouse will produce.

Noxon has written and executive produced for many critically acclaimed television programs including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Point Pleasant” and “Still Life.” She has also served as consulting producer for “Mad Men,” “Prison Break” and “Angel,” and is currently a consulting producer on “Glee.”

Under her Grady Twins Production banner, which she co-runs with Dawn Olmstead, Noxon is currently producing projects for Lifetime, Showtime, FX, The CW and NBC.

A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, Noxon currently lives in Hollywood with her two children.

Q: How did you get involved in the “Fright Night” project?

A: Because of my work on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and other things, I get sent a lot of supernatural projects and frankly, I don't respond to a lot of it. But there was something about the original “Fright Night” and its tone and the character’s stories that I really liked. I felt like I had something to bring to it and that in the years since the original movie came out the culture around vampires has become so prevalent that it might be a fun time to comment on it.

Once I decided to work on the project, it became one of those once in a lifetime experiences.

Craig was amazingly collaborative and let me into the process a lot more than some directors might. I saw right away that he understood exactly what I was seeing myself. I didn’t get rewritten a million times, which was really kind of amazing and we’d love to work together again. This really was the ideal project.

Q: So you and director Craig Gillespie were a team?

A: I think we were, yes, and that’s something I'm so grateful for. It's really true that you can write a scene and it lives or dies with how it's executed. I've written things and thought, “I know that this can be played really poorly, but if I trust that the director understands the way these lines are to be delivered, it could be really good.” From the moment Craig came on board it was clear that he understood the way to do the humor in this movie without making it seem forced or campy. He let the humor live with the characters. It was such a pleasure to go on set and see how it was shaping up because it is kind of a rare thing when it all gels.

Q: What did you think the most important things were to keep from the original movie?

A: I think we had a lot of affection for the original because the premise was so strong. One of the things we talked about a lot was that Charley, Anton Yelchin's character, is in the process of becoming a man during the film. He has to face Colin’s character, Jerry, this stereotypical portrayal of masculinity. Jerry’s a predator and he's described as a player and that's certainly not who Charley is. Charley has to prove himself against Jerry, the bad boy and the guy who typically gets the girl. That’s definitely something I enjoyed writing about.

We also re-imagined Jerry a bit. There's so much of the “ romantic” vampire out there right now that it was fun to create one as a super-villain.

Q: Are there many scenes that didn't make it into the movie?

A: Actually, no, there's not. It was already a relatively tight screenplay and we took out a few things, but what we ended up with was pretty much an edited version of the original script.

Q: Were you happy with Colin's embodiment of a vampire?

A: Oh, yes. Colin brought Elvis to the table. There's a moment in the film when he literally snarls, and I thought, “Yeah, that's what we were going for.” We had imagined a very muscular, charming, but ultimately empty, sociopathic character. His friendliness in the beginning is all an act. Colin said that he saw his character as someone who just likes to play with his food.

Q: Why did you choose to set the movie in Las Vegas?

A: I spent time in Las Vegas during the Obama campaign, so I was in those neighborhoods and I saw how many of the houses were abandoned and how many were in foreclosure. I thought that phenomenon was in such stark contrast with the Las Vegas lifestyle and the night culture where anything goes. I thought, “If I were a vampire, I would move here.” I'd been thinking about that ever since, and when I was approached with “Fright Night,” I made it part of my take on the story. DreamWorks embraced it, which I was really glad about.

Q: Did you have any specific actors in mind when you wrote the screenplay?

A: No. When I started in this business, I wanted to be an actor, so when I write I tend to become all of the different people in my head. It’s a lot more fun than going to auditions.

Q: Do you love vampire culture? Have you seen all of the B vampire movies?

A: I grew up in a house that my Mom said was haunted, and I believed her. Then I snuck in to see the movie “Dracula,” with Frank Langella, when I was much too young. I honestly think that it imprinted on my DNA because I just loved it. I also love Ann Rice and "Interview with a Vampire."

Q: Do you think the sexual element has always been a big part of vampire movies?

A: I think vampire movies have always been sexy. If you go back and look at the original Dracula, the biting is obviously a metaphor for sex. Frank Langella was dead sexy. I still remember him walking through those gauzy white curtains, with his shirt open. I didn’t know what was happening in my body, but I thought, “This is all good.” What’s inherent in the vampire myth is carnality and the longing for eternal love.

CHRIS SARANDON Q & A

Chris Sarandon (in a cameo) is a renowned stage and film actor best known for playing Prince Humperdinck in the film “The Princess Bride,” the vampire Jerry Dandridge in “Fright Night” and Detective Mike Norris in the first entry of the “Child's Play” series. He also provided the speaking voice of Jack Skellington in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and was nominated for an Academy Award© for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Leon in “Dog Day Afternoon.” Most recently, he appeared in the play “Cyrano de Bergerac” as Antoine de Guiche alongside Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner and Daniel Sunjata.

Sarandon currently resides in upstate New York.

Q: What was your reaction when you first heard of the “Fright Night” project?

A: My first thought was, “Who knows?” I knew that Mike Deluca was one of the producers and Mike is a smart guy, but I didn't know anything else about it. To a certain extent I was skeptical, but after reading the script I was completely sold. Then I heard that Craig Gillespie was directing and who he had cast. I thought, “Well, how can they miss?” All the promise of the script was fulfilled.

Q: How similar is this “Fright Night” to the original film?

A: The tone is the same. The original was scary and frightening, but it was also funny. The relationships were also very strong between the characters, which is very important. If the audience isn't carried along in some sort of emotional conflict with the characters then the jeopardy that they are in is lost or at least diminished. I thought Marti Noxon’s script captured all of those elements without completely copying the original. This is a different time, so that was important.

I was also happy to see that they went back to the older tradition of the vampire genre as opposed to what’s been happening for the last seven or eight years in "Twilight" and "True Blood." Jerry isn’t a romantic vampire. He’s much more in the tradition of Bela Lugosi, Nosferatu and Bram Stoker - a vicious killer.

Q: What did you think about casting Colin as Jerry?

A: I thought it was brilliant. First of all, to me, Colin is the right age. He's a mature man and he's not a boy. Colin also has an indefinable quality and charisma that comes across onscreen. There's something very special about him, plus he’s very funny and very smart. All of these qualities are important for the character of Jerry, as well as being dangerous.

Q: How was it working with Colin?

A: Great. He's a terrific fellow and a real Irish charmer, but he was also a big fan of the original movie. The first time I met him, he walked into my trailer and gave me Karl Dreyer’s film “Vampyre” and a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild. It was quite touching and wonderful. I was very flattered, to say the least. He's a lovely man.

Q: Do you think that CGI has changed the horror and science fiction genres?

A: I think it has certainly made it a lot easier for directors and writers to bring to life what's in their imaginations. For instance, they made this “Fright Night” in 3-D and I have always thought that 3-D was a gratuitous, money making proposition for studios so that they could charge more money for tickets. But the fact is, I think 3-D really enhances this movie because it gives it a sense of depth and, oddly enough, of claustrophobia. I think this is because you have much more of a sense of what the character's relationships are dimensionally. In my mind, that’s the proper use of technology.

Q: Have you had any bizarre encounters with fans since you made the original “Fright Night”?

A: I had one cable guy who was looking at me out of the corner of his eye the whole time he worked in my house, but he wouldn’t say a word to me. This went on for four hours until I was signing the bill and he said, “I’m surprised that you come out in the daytime.” Generally, though, people are very polite and very happy to see me.

Review: Grave Encounters

2011-08-19T18:02:00.000+01:00

Directed By The Vicious Brothers

Starring: Sean Rogerson, Juan Redinger, Ashleigh Gryzko

Synopsis:

Lance Preston and the crew of "Grave Encounters", a ghost-hunting reality television show, are shooting an episode inside the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital , where unexplained phenomena has been reported for years. All in the name of good television, they voluntarily lock themselves inside the building for the night and begin a paranormal investigation, capturing everything on camera. They quickly realize that the building is more than just haunted - it is alive - and it has no intention of ever letting them leave. They find themselves lost in a labyrinth maze of endless hallways and corridors, terrorized by the ghosts of the former patients. They soon begin to question their own sanity, slipping deeper and deeper into the depths of madness, ultimately discovering the truth behind the hospital's dark past...and taping what turns out to be their final episode.

Review:

Ok, I had just watched Trollhunter and thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt like watching another “found footage” movie and Grave Encounters seemed like a good one to stick in the player. I was a little put off but ultimately intrigued that the movie was directed by “The Vicious Brothers”. It’s not the first time (and won’t be the last) that I’ve seen a movie directed by “brothers” (The Spierig brothers for example) but it just seemed a bit contrived and pretentious. Whether it is or it isn’t doesn’t matter because Grave Encounters is a lot of fun.

We get the customary beginning; test card followed by an introduction that explains what the footage was edited from. The edited “found footage” then starts properly and we meet the guys involved. I haven’t seen much in the way of reality ghost hunting TV shows but I’ve seen enough of Most Haunted (the UK version) and I’m aware of them. The first part of the movie is very tongue in cheek and shows how the crew intend to make up scares if nothing presents itself. They don’t expect it to but rely on a fake medium to add atmosphere to the scenes of them wandering through the abandoned hospital.

The ghostly apparitions begin slowly but build up to the point where you really don’t know what to expect and what’s around that corner, up on the ceiling or coming towards the camera, or in the basement area corridors.

Grave Encounters is a mish-mash of what we’ve seen in recent movies of the same style. You can tick off references from Paranormal Activity, REC, House on Haunted Hill, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Exorcist and probably others but the references didn’t add up enough to annoy me. Although there is a potpourri of references, the movie entertains.

The acting isn’t A-class and it doesn't seem quite as natural as it is in REC for example, but it isn't bad for a budget this size.

I’ve always wondered what it is about the Paranormal Activity movies that scare people, because rightly or wrongly (depending on your perspective) Grave Encounters shows much more than the PA movies do. It could work against it, but I preferred the approach. The PA movies rely on too much of the stare at the screen and then something will eventually move type of scare.

The synopsis (from the producer) says that the building is not just haunted, it’s alive. I prefer the idea that the spirits in the building are playing with the characters mind, that the speeding up of time is only in their heads and not a change in the law of physics. It’s up to you, the viewer, to determine what you believe is happening.

The only minor letdown, as with most movies of this type, I’d like it if a director arranged some effects that weren’t signposted, as in, have some spooky stuff going on without the camera pointed right at it. For example, the constant footage of walking down a corridor could have included some imagery in the background that only we, the viewer, notice. It’s only a minor point. What we do see isn’t signposted in quite the same way as most of the current US horrors, which is by using visual or aural clues, followed by a crescendo of sound. One scare is lifted right out of the 1985 original Day of the Dead and is very effective.

Summary:

You’re probably all used to it by now, but I’ll say it again; go in with an open mind and a suspension of disbelief and you’ll be rewarded. This is one of the better “found footage” movies that has been released. It’s quirky, fun and there are enough scares to keep it interesting. It takes a little while for the spookiness to kick in but the last forty minutes more than make up for the build up.

Score: 8/10

DVD Review: The Lost Bladesman

2011-08-17T18:44:00.000+01:00

“EPIC BATTLE SCENES AND FURIOUS DUELS… YEN’S CHOREOGRAPHY IS A STUNNING AS EVER.” – BEYOND HOLLYWOOD.COM.

The source material for several screen adaptations over the years (including John Woo’s “Red Cliff” and Daniel Lee’s “Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon”), Luo Guanzhong’s classic historical novel “Romance Of The Three Kingdoms” provides the inspiration for the sumptuous period martial arts epic and Chinese box office smash, The Lost Bladesman.
Co-written and co-directed by the duo responsible for the “Infernal Affairs” trilogy, Alan Mak and Felix Chong, and starring Donnie Yen (14 Blades; Bodyguards And Assassins; Ip Man), Jiang Wen (The Founding Of A Republic), Alex Fong (Triple Tap; Once A Gangster) and Sun Li (Fearless), with stunning action choreography by Yen, the film has been described as “an emotionally-charged, high-octane adventure [and] a couple of hours of rip-roaring entertainment in the company of one of history’s greatest badasses” (Twitch Film).
Yen stars as the legendary warrior Guan Yun Chang, sworn brother of the great warlord Liu Bei, who, on becoming separated from his friend during the tumultuous warring period of the Three Kingdoms, is taken prisoner by and agrees to fight temporarily alongside Liu Bei’s enemy and rival warlord, Cao Cao.
Guan’s heroism on the battlefield is rewarded with the title of Marquis of Hanshou and promotion to the rank of lieutenant general in Cao Cao’s army. The position allows him the freedom to escort Liu Bei’s concubine, Qi Lan, who is being held hostage by Cao Cao, back to her lord and master. But the journey is fraught with danger as Guan and Qi Lan must make their way through a number of mountain passes, all of which are occupied by enemy generals and their armies.
“Glorious martial arts mastery” (Variety) and “impressive vistas and gorgeous scenery” (BeyondHollywood.com) add a visual splendour to a film that is “brimming with action” (Twitch Film) and reaffirms Donnie Yen as one of Eastern cinema’s most appealing and enduring action stars.

My Review:

Stories within the context of the Three Kingdoms have proven quite popular and The Lost Bladesman is a worthy entry into the series of films based upon legends in and around this period in history. The film is based, loosely on the story Guan Yu Crossing Five Passes and Slaying Six Generals by Luo Guanzhong; the title of which sums up the movie and what the viewer should expect. In a twist, the character of Cao Cao, normally portrayed as a bad guy, is seen as a warrior for the people. Instead of being seen as a power hungry, blood thirsty character, Cao Cao is altogether a different person in The Lost Bladesman. He’s still badass but not the outright villain of the piece as seen in Red Cliff, for example.

With the success of Ip Man, it must have been a no-brainer to cast Donnie Yen in the role of Guan Yu. He’s perfect for the role and does a good job. As a counterpoint to Cao Cao, one perspective could have Guan Yu as the aggressor as the locals see him as a marauding monster rather than a man fighting with conviction for a cause he believes in. However, the main actor of interest in Lost Bladesman is Jiang Wen who plays Cao Cao. Wen plays the character with a sly edge and with a quiet intimidation towards other characters.

Most viewers will be watching for the action. There is plenty of it as set pieces mark each of the five passes and Donnie Yen uses a variety of weapons in the large scale action scenes that see him take on entire legions. The action set pieces are thrilling, including a spear fight on horseback. Yen’s technical abilities are used to their fullest extent as he choreographed the battles.

Summary:

The locations where the action is set are diverse and interesting. Those who revel in the cinematography of movies such as these won’t be disappointed. Obviously, Blu-Ray is the ideal way to watch it but my upscaled DVD review disc was still stunning. Unlike some Chinese movies about large scale battles, this movie not only looks great but has interesting characterisation to back it up. Recommended.

Score 8/10