Blade Runner (1982) Review

To celebrate the upcoming release of Blade Runner 2049, we take a look back on Ridley Scott’s original sci-fi classic. Blade Runner 2049 will be hitting theatres the 6th October, directed by the always brilliant Denis Villeneuve and starring Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto and Harrison Ford.

Released : September 9th 1982

Certificate : 15

Director : Ridley Scott

Cast : Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah,  William Sanderson, Joe Turkel

Plot : Set on 2019 earth, robots with near human level of intelligence, called Replicants are used as a work force. When four of the most advanced models escape their work compound a Blade Runner, or Replicant Hunter, is sent to hunt them down.

Released just three years after Ridley Scott had cemented himself in the sci-fi genre with Alien in 1979, he returned to the genre for a much more thought provoking tale. While Alien showed how he could masterfully create new worlds with an authentic feel, in Blade Runner he showed how these sci-fi worlds had the capability of deeper meaning and reflection. Not only does the story of Blade Runner bring about deep questions, but literally the architecture of the world Scott create adds to and develops the themes. That’s one of the striking elements of Blade Runner, how the base storyline is a simple as Alien, but the setting, imagery, dialogue and sound all take this plot and help develop it into something more profound.

 

To refer to the simply nature of the plot, everything is laid out at the start in text form. Man creates intelligent life as a workforce, some rebelled, humans crush the rebels and ban these life forms from earth. Here the film opens up so many themes such as identity, morality, slavery, colonialism and social structure. Scott then creates a world which reflects these themes. It has been widely discussed how the social structural themes of the Replicants slavery in mirrored by the architecture of the city. The buildings that house the wealthy creators of the Replicants clearly look like a temples fit for a king. The inhabitants of this upper class society are white males and the interiors are all polished and neat, while the city life below it is multi-cultural, gritty and chaotic. A clear commentary on racial and social structure issues. The film is full of imagery such as this. A return to this series is so exciting as it promises a re-emergence of profound imagery that has been missing in the sci-fi genre recently. Denis Villeneuve has brilliantly attempted to bring back this importance of imagery to the genre with Arrival.

Which leads onto other aspects of Blade Runner. In Arrival while the imagery is sprawling and profound, Villeneuve always focuses on the human emotive aspects of the story. For Arrival that is the struggle of motherhood. Blade Runner also never fails to remain focused on the characters and their struggle, despite all of its morality and creationism themes. Blade Runner is a film that uses its simple narrative not only for deeper themes but aptly fleshes out the characters involved. Each main player in the film struggles with their identity, for example we see Harrison Ford’s Deckard identity as a Blade Runner fall apart as he questions the morality of his job. Scott is able to deal with the grand themes and the small personal struggles of the character seamlessly and in an even-handed way. It is the amalgamation of these large ideas and small character struggle which make Blade Runner amazing, and then there is the music.

The score of the film was created by legendary film composer Vangelis, whose work is too great to list. Probably most famous for his Oscar winning score for Chariots of Fire. The score for Blade Runner was created entirely in post-production as Vangelis created the sounds via initial viewing of each image and scene of the film. This layered a second vision onto the film, after Scott had finished, Vangelis applied his own interpretation via the music. The results is stunning and the music is an integral part of the experience. Throughout the film a distant dreamlike sound is created, in which distant echoes and drawn out notes are repeated. This distant the sounds create can be interpreted in many ways, firstly as a dream, or perhaps connoting how despite the futuristic setting many of the themes and issues are familiar to us. As well as this it acts to also reflect the characters emotions with great humanity. Just as Scott did, Vangelis was able to deal with the big themes and the characters equally.

Blade Runner works on so many levels. Visually stunning, rich with character drama and brewing with deeper themes and ideas. It’ll be a joy to return to this world next month, thirty five years after the original was released. The ability to juggle the big themes as well as the characters is something that Denis Villeneuve has proven he can do time and again, and his recent work in Arrival shows he’s more than capable in the sci-fi genre. Other reasons to be excited that the sequel will be treated with respect is the addition of Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto, as well as cinematographer legend Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men), and some of Villeneuve past co-workers such as editor Joe Walker (12 Years a Slave, Arrival) and composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, The Theory of Everything).

Verdict : A film worthy of the title of sci-fi classic. A film which visual beauty is matched by its richness of story and imagery.

Verdict : 5/5

Quote : “All those moments will be lost, like tears, in rain.”

 

Anomalisa DVD Review

(Adult) Toy Story

Released : March 11th 2016

Certificate : 15

Director : Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson

Cast : David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

Plot : A man (Thewlis) who is depressed by the mundanity of his life, finds hope in a chance meeting with a stranger (Jason Leigh).

Famously wacky none mainstream filmmaker, Charlie Kaufman returns with Anomalisa, a film adaption of his play of the same name. Most famous for his writing ability, with a number of his films being Oscar nominated for their screenplay, including Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich. For this film he ventures in directing as well (this being his most famous director role), along with little known film maker Duke Johnson. Anomalisa gained an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

Several imaginative qualities are obvious within the framework of this film. Firstly there is the stop-motion animation work, and as well as this how all but two characters, our leads, are voiced by the same actor, Tom Noonan. This latter feature is obviously a clever way to convey how our lead character, Michael, views everyone as the same and finds no variety or pleasure from his interaction with people. A Guardian article (and others) have suggested, due to this voicing effect, the films dream sequences and how the all the character are animated to look alike (apart from our leads), that Michael suffers from Fregoli delusion. This is a delusion where a person believes everyone else to actually be the same person who changes their appearance. Without further research into Kaufman response or inspiration for the film, I am unaware if this theory carries water. But alike many of the Kaufman’s films, they are so jarring and imaginative in their storytelling, that is seems wrong to attempt to narrow it down to one meaning. If Kaufman’s intention here was to convey messages about the nature of mundanity and depression, instead of the delusion, then these effects are very creative.

The script for the film is much less subtle or effective in this respect of conveying meaning. While not all of his films preach about life’s deeper meanings and the human nature, this film and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, do carry these. Unfortunately ‘Eternal Sunshine…’ far surpasses Anomalisa in richness of dialogue and overall script. The overall negativity and pointless conveyed in the dialogue of Michaels character with everyone else is rather ‘obvious’ and unimaginatively done. People in the hallways of the hotel and always swearing or masturbating. As well as this the dialogue of the romance that ensues between Michael and the shy self-conscious Lisa, who he falls for were lacking in panache . While realistic, the scenes weren’t half as moving or gripping as his previous work which so greatly captured people’s spirits.

As for the story as a whole, without spoilers, the film will likely leave the bulk of the audience feeling unfulfilled. Not that a film is obliged to perform this task, and critiquing of a storyline sometimes feels obtuse, due to its very subjective nature, but I too was left dissatisfied. For those who enjoy and respect ending that rebel against a conventional film ending of boy meets girl, then there may be something here for you. But for a film that examines life and human nature, it would have been nice to have an ending that attempted to answer these questions or approach them a little better.

Anomalisa is alike all of Kaufman’s films, beautifully made, with create creativity and flare. This films approach to the topic matter is a bit more generic and less aesthetically surprising than his other films. But it still packs a lot more heart and craft than many other films of last year, just not up to his regular work.

Verdict : One of Kaufmans weaker films. It’s not quite as entertaining or thought provoking as his other works, but is still a heartfelt well-made study of the human condition.

Verdict : 3/5

Quote : “At last! Another person!”

Re-Animator DVD Review

The Evil Undead

Released : May 24th 1985

Certificate : 18

Director : Stuart Gordon

Cast : Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott

Plot : A medical student (Abbott) takes in a new room mate who has just moved to study medicine alongside him, and continue his secret work on his death defying serum.

In the 80’s, there were milestones of horror films made, and the genre in itself evolving. With the new practical effects available, there was the ability to make some hilariously violent films, on a shoe string budget. Re-animator, was alike The Evil Dead movies, one of these stand outs of the 80’s. For all manner of reasons you have some of most iconic horror films ever made, such as The Shinning, Poltergeist, The Thing and An American Werewolf in London. Stuart Gordon, made his one hit wonder film here based loosely on the writings of infamous early literature writer H.P Lovecraft.

As with some of the horror films that were made during this time, they became famous for their practical effects and gore, rather than for their craft of cinema. The first Evil Dead film introduced this style to the decade, and Re-animator raised the bar. So as with many gory horrors of the time, the makeup department surpass the importance of the writing and acting of the film by many a mile. With acting that would rival Halloween in its infamous quality, Re-animator is able to bring laughs even without the gore. As the acting alone, with the leading performance of Jeffrey Combs, bring the film well into the realm of so bad its brilliant. And this quality is head across the board, with all but one stars being aptly awful. Whether the acting choices of the film are intentional or not doesn’t really matter, as the spectacle is still as entertaining whichever is true.

And the serial nature of the plot is to match. The film has gaping plot holes that you could walk through, cliches that match the dialogue, and due to the budget the film has about 6 settings for the entire film. The film is 1 hour and 44 mins long and is a combination of the over the top gory violence, poor acting and outright jaw dropping terrible features all around. The vibe of the film is perfectly captured by its original tag line, “He has a good head on his shoulders… and another one on the table”. As what this film is infamous for is that of its villain that carries his own head around for the majority of the film. As for flaws for the film that actually matter, they revolve around the highlight of the film, which is the special effects. For some audience it would be acceptable to gain very little pleasure from this film. For each year the practical effects become more and more dated, and there are plenty of other terrible horror films with a better level of gore. Hence the original shock factor that made the film famous disappears, so does maybe its laughability. For some might not find the dated nature of the practical effects as hilariously over the top as others.

Re-animator is a little know gem, as it deserves nothing else than that (it was lucky to snag a mention in the ‘stoned’ dialogue of American Beauty). But while of the majority of today’s horror film turn out quality just a low, unintentionally, with the promise of genuine scares, this film is a refreshing awful look at the early days of the genre. While it isn’t quiet on the level of Evil Dead 2, it did come before that film, and its style and structure may have well influenced ED2. A film that you watch for the lack of quality across the board and for the special effects, a brilliant comedy horror cult film.

Verdict : A key film in the genre of; it’s so bad and over the top, that its quiet brilliant.

Verdict : 4/5

Quote : “I was busy pushing bodies around as you well know and what would a note say, Dan? “Cat dead, details later”?”

Take Shelter DVD Review

Twister

Released : November 15th 2011

Certificate : 15

Director : Jeff Nichols

Cast : Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Tova Stewart

Plot : Haunted by apocalyptic dreams and paranoia, Curtis (Shannon), quiet family life is disturbed.

A small festival film that didn’t perform hugely at the box office. It gained great critical success and a few awards at minor festivals. Written and directed by film maker Jeff Nichols, who while isn’t well known has gone on to make more ‘small’ but critically acclaimed films after this one. He is the writer/director of Mud (one of MCConaughey’s break out roles), Midnight Special and this year Loving. Before this film he had little motion picture experience apart from one short. Shannon, the lead, would go on to collaborate on all of Nichols, as well as The Iceman and Man of Steel.

Nicholas style of storytelling, from what I have seen, is rather unusual. In the way that it has inventive and thought provoking story lines, but which are told and present very subtly and ‘non-Hollywoodised’. There good return to importance of character and a sombre tone throughout his films, these are some patterns which are established here and seem (from what I’ve seen) to continue throughout his work. Take Shelter takes its time with the development of its main plot, which is the mental state of our lead character Curtis, as he goes on a journey through these visions and the conclusions and actions that result from them. The effect of the style of presentation is hit and miss. Its ability to maintain tension and build the growing anxiety of the characters is done well, slowly and first and then at a developing pace it turns the screw on the tension. This isn’t done to such a degree that makes the film hugely memorable unfortunately, but keeps you hooked for the view time. This moderate level of success of the film, continues throughout the rest of the attributes, be it for some stand out aspects. Due to this, it is no wonder that Nichols has gone on to ‘better’ and more well-known projects, as there is definite promise here that isn’t quiet capitalized on.

For Nichols work here, there a pros and cons to both the writing and the directing. From the opening few shots of the film, you can see that Nicholas is a competent director, and is applying thought to the shot selection in order to actually develop the story. As with the poignant nature of all opening shots, we see Curtis in a wide shot, who is slightly off centre set. From this shot alone we can see that he isn’t quite sure of himself or of the world around him. Several other shots are of note, being that of his ability of knowing when to hold a shot wide stationary shot or when to pull in, executed well with the scenes of conflict and narrative progression. The writing however, isn’t quite as gripping. While it is serving the purpose very well of depicting our leads inability to describe his feelings, it doesn’t quiet garner the utopian family life or bound as well as it could to invest you with the characters.

Another solid feature of the film are the performances. Chastain as always is able to convey and depict the extremities of emotion in a striking hyperbole way, whether they are always grounded is down to personal taste. Shannon performance is slightly definitely the highlight of the film, with an ability to convey the characters conflicted nature throughout well, and deals with the extreme emotive cases with great intensity. But the film doesn’t quiet breach the barriers of good into great and make it a hugely memorable film experience. The entertainment and thrill that come from the inner conflict of our lead, doesn’t quiet carry over into the family dynamic of the film. While the direction mirrors the story’s meanings very well, the script doesn’t, with dialogue which while realistic doesn’t have the level of depth that is memorable.

Verdict : A film with a great concept, an excellent performance and directorial competence and promise, doesn’t quiet overcome issues of pacing and overall lack of grip of the film.

Verdict : 3/5

Quote : “I still take off my boots not to wake her.”

Modern Horror Series : It Follows

It’s Behind You

Released : February 27th 2015

Certificate : 15

Director : David Robert Mitchell

Cast : Maika Monroe, Daniel Zovatto, Keir Gilchrist, Jake Weary, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi

Plot : After an innocent sexual encounter, teenager Jay (Monroe) is told by her partner that he has passed on to her an odd curse, in which she will be followed by an entity.

2014 was a big year for modern horror, with three standouts gaining big critical (although not box office) success. Those being, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, It Follows and The Babadook. It is rare, given the amount that fly under the radar, for a horror film to be praised by critics, and each of these films was for very different reasons. It Follows got noticed for both its indie vibe as well as its retro feel and setting, with homage paid to both the set design of the classic 1970’s slasher horror film as well as the style of filming. Directed and written by David Robert Mitchell (a filmmaker famous for little else) made a unique film, not only for the reasons listed, but also for the ‘monster’ of the film as well as the imagery that is used.

It Follow is full of imagery and style the reference many classic films, Halloween being a standout. While the directing is unique from Mitchell, the music score, the 70’s setting, the blonde and other aspects all reminisce of the classic horror film. From just this alone, it becomes clear that some a lot of thought has gone into the film from Mitchell’s end. Just as Carpenter in Halloween introduced the use of in depth and out of depth and movement in the corner of the frame into the horror genre, Mitchell plays with it both in his directing as well as pure nature of his monster (an anonymous being that audiences scan the frame to spot in scenes). The way the film has a close nit set of friends who are young and deal with the issue also brings in elements of many 70’s and 80’s classics. The imagery that Mitchell uses as well, although may be obvious and clear in meaning, are enjoyable to have present as it is rare that a director in this genre takes the time with such qualities. What all this amounts to, and is clear from the very opening sequence of the film, is that Mitchell is very skilled director who has thought out this little project of his very well.

Due to such skill, It Follows was able to create genuine scares without the use of much blood or a monster as such. This is a very rare feature of horror films, where the way in which a scene is presented, rather than what is being presented create more of the scares in the film. It was a quality achieved in Halloween, as it was just a man in a mask, and is again done so here, as it just a person following you. So above all else, It Follows was elevated to the level of prestige that it was due to its directing. As to the storyline, which the imagery suggests, there is a theme of innocence, and the loss of it that come with growing older. While the film doesn’t attempt to make a bold point about this topic, in horror films this is something that is repeated. In the slasher films revolving around teenagers, the sexually active ones are killed off first, and It Follows seems to play off this convention as its main theme.

It Follows isn’t a horror film for everyone for the following reasons. Not every horror film fan will appreciate the directional choices such as the imagery and the intertextuality that takes place. Also the story structure, which is basic on dialogue and characters, and could be labelled as repetitive at times as that characters continuously run away from ‘the following’, may result in a bore for some. But for people who appreciate the artistic craft and execution over a flasher ‘fun’ blood feast, they will have a very special time.

Verdict : A very unique horror film which has a great level of freshness to both its story and directing, providing genuine scares and a great atmosphere throughout.

Verdict : 4/5

Quote : “It could look like someone you know or it could be a stranger in a crowd. Whatever helps it get close to you.”

Modern Horror Series : Howl (2015)

British Werewolf on a British Train

Released : October 16th 2015

Certificate : 18

Director : Paul Hyett

Cast : Ed Speleers, Holly Weston, Elliot Cowan, Sam Gittins

Plot : A late-night train breaks down in a wood, where a werewolf circles.

This is one of the most conventional horror films around in recent years, a straight to DVD film about people being eaten by werewolves on a train. These films have always been the bottom of the pile for the horror genre, but it recent years especially there has been a huge surge in the amount of moderate budget horror created. Most of which doesn’t make it to cinemas and is lucky if it gets a spot-on television. But out of this vast abyss of corny horror films, Howl managed to scrape a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, miles ahead of most of ‘these’ film types.

First off, as with these generic horror films, they are extremely predictable and Howl is no exception. You can guess the people which will die early on within seconds of them being on screen. The biggest reveal this film has to offer is the surprise that there is more than one werewolf. Also, these films rarely have imagination to the direction, with the age-old point of view shots from the creature’s looking at the victims through the woods. Howl fits with this as well, with Hyett (Howl being his most famous picture) using his fair share of the troops. The acting as well will be often, terrible, Howl manages to maintain a mostly acceptable level across the board. And the writing could have been done by anyone, with characters making the poorest decisions and character archetypes of the genre being used fully. But surprisingly Howl manages to be an entertaining film, as when a film fits these conventions like a glove to a well-executed standard, and has enough budget in the special effects department, it can be irresistible.

The horror genre is one of the most successful genre at creating bad films, which make a good time. The film’s enjoyment can be mirrored by the style behind of special effects. When you finally see the beast, it is so over the top and borderline laughable, that you simply suspend all rational thoughts other than to just be entertained by the carnage. There is something extremely entertaining about a film which executes this style with fair levels of skill, harking back to the genre’s early years such as Friday the 13th. Films which knew that the sole pleasure that they offered was the thrills, chills and laughs and watching one character at a time being gruesomely dismembered. This is exactly what is offered by Howl, and the only aspect that makes it work is plenty of action and predictability and solid special effects department. The reveal scene of the first werewolf in all its glory comes unfortunately late in the film, but as you can see when you google the film, is such an odd spectacle that it’s just enjoyable.

It’s very easy to be critical of films like this, and any criticism that are made could be just as easy applied to any straight to DVD horror film that came out in the last 10 years. The only unique criticism that could be thrown at Howl is that the werewolves, don’t look like wolves. But this film can serve as a great guilty pleasure film, if the mood is right you can relish the violence and the cliché nature of the film type. So, Howl manages to separate itself from ‘the rest’ by the following. All the clichés are meet, which would usually be a drag but when they are done in such a (overall) visually well executed manor, with a great batch of monster to boot it offers great fun. Most likely the film isn’t worth by many people’s standards the price stage of the Blue-ray copy, but it’s a good bonus as well.

Verdict : Have fun in watching an classic style of horror film executed just as badly as all the rest. But with a lot of blood and hilarious monsters it’s a fun guilty pleasure.

Verdict : 3/5

Quote : “Bear’s don’t Howl”

Modern Horror Series : We Are What We Are (2013)

Dinner Time

Released : October 25th 2013

Certificate : 18

Director :  Jim Mickle

Cast : Julia Garner, Ambyr Childers, Bill Sage, Michael Parks

Plot : A family with an ancestral tradition find their rituals threatened when the mother dies of an unexplained cause. This leaves the daughter (Childers) with the duty of performing the family’s yearly acts.

We Are What We Are became noticed via its appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, it was up for a minor directorial nomination. The film was since meet with across the board positive critical success. Director Jim Mickle has gone on to have similar small film critical success with the equally dark and violent thriller Cold In July (2014). The film’s most abstract plot is that of a family with a cannibalistic ritual living in a secluded American town. The advertisement campaign didn’t boast this feature too much, and rightly so, as to label the film a straight out cannibal horror would be wrong.

For horror fans that are hoping to see a full blown flesh eating riot, they will be disappointed. As while this film is definitely horrific in parts, the film is more alike a family drama with sharp gothic atmosphere and horror sequences. The spends most of its time with the relationship between the children of the family, and their relationship with the father. Behind this is a slight religious aspect as the father believes the family has gained a level of purity from their rituals. So this is worlds away from a The Hills Have Eyes type cannibal film. This makes for a unique experience that for the whole works very well and provides some edge of the seat sequences, however pacing does become an issue. The highlights of this film is the two lead characters, the daughters, Rose (Garner) and Iris (Childers). These teenage actors bring a heightened level or performance that carries the film, and it’s the most impactful aspect. They carry the film in the sense that for a horror that devotes much of its time to drama, these performances needed to be solid in order to make the film work. The themes the children deal with in this film such as innocence and duty are gripping as well, equally to that of the violent sequences. These performances also balance out what is at times an over the top performance from the father figure (Sage).

Other positive aspects are that of the atmosphere that the film builds. There film as a strong gothic feel to it, which while is achieved with recognisable tropes, it is executed very well. This may be a flaw for some audience, as with the ‘scares’ being few and far between, some might understandable not be hooked by the atmosphere and the acting alone. Which is the man flaw in the film, is that it does drag in parts. This is mostly the price that the film pays for being tasteful with the cannibalistic side of the film, and focusing on something more character driven. The film takes time with its atmosphere building and character setup, which does mean the first act of the film fairly weak and the dialogue isn’t gripping enough to keep you totally engaged. By the second act it is worth it though as the film picks up, from both a character drama viewpoint and a straight out horror one. But the film doesn’t quiet manage to shake off the tropes of the gothic genre that it uses throughout, and when you combine this with the fact the film doesn’t use many conventional horror sequences (e.g. violent flesh eating and murdering), it can be easy to see how this horror is acquired taste which does require a patient cinema goer.

We Are What We Are is a bold piece of horror filmmaking which although uses conventional tropes, it is very refreshing to see a film of this genre that focuses more on characters and their arcs, rather than just resorting to blood and guts. The film does also have a couple of twists and turns to keep the narrative interesting, some are predictable, some catch you off guard. And what the film is mostly famous for is its final sequence which is rightfully left out of the trailer and is a more conventional violent treat which will please audience not hooked by the dramatic elements.

Verdict : An unique horror film with a refreshing level of depth and acting, but a script and a few more thrills to match would have helped.

Verdict : 3/5

Quote : “We have kept our tradition in its purity.”

Green Room DVD Review

Mein Band 

Released : May 13th 2016

Certificate : 18

Director :  Jeremy Saulnier

Cast : Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat,  Joe Cole

Plot : A down on their luck punk band take a last minute gig at a neo-Nazi club. After witnessing a horrific act, the band become hostages within the green room.

After gaining festival and critical praise with violent indie thriller Blue Ruin, writer director Jeremy Saulnier returns with Green Room. Most notable in its cast is not only the heavy weight of Patrick Stewart, who embodies the leading neo-Nazi, but also the late departed Anton Yelchin, who is most famous for his role in the recent star trek films. Very similar in structure to Blue Ruin, we have characters who are quickly set up to do battle in a film which depicts a brutally violent winding road of the characters survival. This film also marks what the director calledanother film in his unofficial ‘inept protagonist trilogy’.

From this set up, of inept protagonist, confined setting of film, feature of neo-Nazi and a director who’s breakout film is a violent unusual thriller, a pretty clear picture can begin to be built as to the nature of the film. This is a white knuckled survivalist thrill ride, made in the same vain as slasher horror films as the characters get picked off one at a time for the enjoyment of the audience. Some have claimed that the film spills into the horror genre due to the extent of the violence in the film, this doesn’t seem to ring true due to the way the film is quiet self aware and sarcastic in some scenes with the topic matter. Along this vain the film is very much aware of what it is in structure, which was a wise choice from Jeremy Saulnier as it made the film a lot more entertaining, with a tone and mood which is near perfect.

There are always flaws with a film of the style, which will offend audience depending on your inclination to this type of film and willingness to suspend criticism for the sake of ‘fun’. The characters themselves are likely going to be the issue that many audience will find with the film. Despite the striking good performance from both the well known and unknown actors of the punk band, they lack audience empathy. This ties in with the concept of the inept protagonist. Blue Ruin contained equally inept characters, but was able to build a higher level of emotive connection with the protagonist that you were more invested in the story. With Green Room the punk band aren’t given a back story, nor have much likability. For some this is not an issue and can relish the thrilling aspects of the film without any connection to the characters, others will see little interest or justification for the violence inflicted on them.

Despite this flaw and other issues, Green Room delivers a great level of edge of your seat thrills and tense atmosphere that keeps you in the palm of the movies hand. This effect is achieve via a combination of the brutal violence on screen, the very high standard performances throughout and the craft of Saulnier. While Saulneir might not have as much imagination with the dialogue or story of his writing, he is able to build the tension superbly as he did before with Blue Ruin, and here the claustrophobic environment is an asset to his work. While this in essence is a film style that has been done many times before in its different guises, Saulnier attitude towards the subject matter and a real fell for the humorously dark tension builder, Green Room is a riot of a time which captures you while you’re watching.

Verdict : A thrilling fun time, which rekindles the film type of watching the characters fall one at a time in spectacular style.

Verdict : 4/5

Quote : Nazi punks! Fuck off!

Captain America : Civil War DVD Review

Avengers Angered 

Released : April 29th 2016

Certificate : 12A

Director : Joe Russo, Anthony Russo

Cast : Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Scarlett Johansson

Plot : After a mission goes wrong, the governments of the world decide that the Avengers too dangerous to not have restrictions. The political proposition that restricts their actions divides the team, while Bucky reemerges to cause additional friction.

As the Avengers world enters its final films before the climatic epic that will be Infinity Wars, Civil War stands out as both an Captain American independent film and a Avengers film. The buss for the film was monumental due to the trilogy of impressive trailers, the marketing campaign of which team (Captain America or Iron Man) you side with and the fact that the Russo brother return to direct after making Captain America : Winter Solider, what many consider one of Marvels best films. With the hindsight of this review being late, it is now evident that Civil War is one of Marvels most critical acclaimed films to date.

Aspects of the film that were rightfully praised across the board were that of the films ability to involve both in depth and emotive story lines as well as the spectacular action. Something that the Russo brother were able to bring to the second CA film, and have definitely done so a second time. It will be interesting to see whether the Russo brothers or Joss Whedon take the mast on Infinity War. Whedon wasn’t the writer for this film, as he was for the other Avengers movies. Instead this time we have Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who have written for all of the CA films. They deserve mention as Civil War had a near perfect balance of humor and drama that keeps the film entertaining from multiple stand points. The one liner for all the characters within the climatic airport scene, kept the film from taking itself too seriously very effectively.

Another aspect of the film that is also a stand out, and should set and example for the recent comic book universe is that of utilization of character. As DC continues to be diversity among audience despite such big characters on screen such as Suicide Squad, it seems the films need to utilize the character more effectively. Civil War does this brilliant, with a lengthy run time there is plenty of time devoted to the differing characters, which was needed since there was introduction of new characters. A common complaint in the vain of character for this film would be that of the villain, many labeling him as unnecessary and forgettable. The villain played by Daniel Brühl has a subtle nature to his performance that is likely the reason behind this criticism, where the film is filled with larger than life characters.

Issues with the film are few and far between in a very high standard Marvel outing. The films ending, avoiding spoilers, uses poetic licence to a large degree to allow for the set up of Infinity Wars. Which in a way makes the Civil War itself seem slightly rushed in its resolution to allow for a idealistic return to a ‘team’ formation for the hero’s next outing.  Some could complain about the lack of gritty nature to a film that is stage as a dramatic and daring division between one of cinemas greatest assemblies. But there are little issues that many die hard fans as well as general observers will find in this picture. With action sets and stunts that will please many cinema goer, and the emotional edge and depth to story that is unprecedented in the Avenger universe to this date, Civil War is a real game changer. It can be easily seen that Infinity War will be held to the same quality as this film, and it will have a lot to live up to. As here we have the intelligence, character drama and action quality that possibly surpasses all previous Avenger films.

Verdict : Big on the brains, action and heart, this is one of Marvels finest.

Verdict : 4/5

Quote : Can you move your seat up?

The Gift DVD Review

Couple Retreat 

Released : August 7th 2015

Certificate : 15

Director : Joel Edgerton

Cast : Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton, Jason Bateman

Plot : Childless married couple, Simon (Bateman) and Robyn (Hall), with a bumpy past move into a lavish new house in a new city for a fresh start. Upon arriving Simon is approached by Gordo (Edgerton), a high school friend of Simon. Gordo’s persistent attempts to become friends is uncomfortable and soon leads to dark waters.

The Gift is first feature length film to be directed by Joel Edgerton, and first written film in the sense that it’s his first feature length film that he hasn’t adapted from other material. Edgerton has had a limited acting career (in the sense of mainstream success), but since his arrival has turned out some critically praised performances, most famous for his lead role in Warrior, and more recently a supporting role in Black Mass. As well as Edgerton going into new water, Bateman is a lead who has the famously comedic runaway star of Arrested Development, how has had limited success with his ventures into drama grounds, with the films being little acknowledge in the mainstream and receiving modest critical praise (the films not Bateman). Hall is most at home within the genre, after her famous turn in The Awakening has proven herself a worthy thriller component. As a writing and directing debut, it gives a good insight into the tone and style the Edgerton could be taking with his future career outside of acting. Here we have a twisting, jarring thriller about one man’s friendly yet sinister relationship with a couple. With a limited cast and restricted setting of story, there’s little to distract from Edgerton three components in this film.

To open by addressing his storyline, it’s a patchy piece of brilliance, with a conflicting amount of falls and success. The film has a mostly fresh and exciting concept, which devolves issue with its deliverance with a slight issue of pacing. Reaching the end of the film, it falls into a bad trap of feeling slightly too long, the reason for which can be spotted easily. The middle act of the film is slightly extending and the plot point aren’t gone through as fast to allow for what is Edgerton directorial padding which has the function of building tension and displaying his acting talent. Some of the sequence could have been without, and the great story premise might have gained better impact if it was delivered more relentlessly. Secondly the issue that fights against the power of the strong story premise are slight issues with predictability. While the overall ending and third act of the film comes as a surprise, there are scenes which set up for later tools of tension and thrill building that you can see being constructed, which will not be named for the sake of spoilers. These two issue due reduce from what is an irrepressibly dark thriller story that has some inventive twist on the generic for an opening stance.

For Edgerton directing, he is stronger than his writing, with ability to build very impressive set pieces of tension for a first directing job. It isn’t a Sam Mendes American Beauty, but it’s the most notable quality of the film for Edgerton and why it’s exciting to see where he will next take his talent. The shot choices did use its share of the generic modern horror effects, but they were few and far between his own directing ingenuity, that they weren’t a bother. From the opening shots that prowl the house the couple are moving into you can tell that Edgerton has thought through the shot choices very well for both meaning and effect. For effect he’s presentation of the house, the camera looming with creeping shots around the house, clever camera trickery to create a really high quality jump scare and fair share of meaningful shots choices such as glass imagery in the beginning to forebode certain plot points. As upon reflection of the story not a huge amount of action or progression is actually present in comparison to modern day thrillers, however the directorial work presents the tense scenes that are effective enough to mostly account for the lack of quantity. Some might find the iconography of toys and gifts for atmosphere not quite as effective as many other Blumhouse production films, but the film tastefully relies on other effect.

For the acting, the performance that surprisingly prove the strongest out of the trio would have to be Jason Bateman for a believable and vivid performance which is the strongest performances outside of the comedy genre ever. Bateman was able to deliver a performance that served the mystery aspect of his and Edgerton characters past well enough to keep the audience entrenched in the enigma of the film, whilst the same time come across as a genuine grounded character. The strongest parts of the performance were generically the ones with the extremist of emotions, particularly within the final act of the film, where he effectively reflected the gravity of the threatening situation. There are faults in the acting, such as the scenes of childish mocking of Edgerton character which seem a little over the top. Edgerton performance in the film seemed slightly stiff, an impression was built that Edgerton was very conscious of his performance as so much was invested in this character. Resulting in a character that didn’t quiet smoothly flow on the screen as most villains do, but it can be forgiven has the first attempt at having such a wide involvement in a films making.

The Gift unfortunately isn’t up there with the greatest writing/directing debuts of actors, so this is no Dances With Wolves, however it did show promise. The initial plot concept was enough engaging the audiences from the start, however as the enigma element becomes more prevalent as the narrative progresses the quality of the film pals. As this side of the story as to the murky past of the Egerton and Batemans character is just not unpredictable enough to render a lapse in the films thriller elements, which the film sets aside for Hall’s character investigation. The directing work is by far Edgerton’s best achievement of this film as a feature length debut, as it has a slightly greater level of originality than the writing did, and only ever featured the generic effects in sprinklings. The overall feel of the film has a great establishment of an all aspects, but the different trio of genres that it attempts to incorporate create for an uneven and patchy arch of the film, not committing to either one enough. However, The Gift is an undoubtedly thrilling experiences while it lasts with a twist ending to catch the majority of audiences off guard, and a maintain atmosphere of unease and threat to provide the best film Blumhouse has made since for a while, but their recent content isn’t much to compete with.

Verdict : Edgerton has enough imagination to keep you on board for his next outing as a writer or director, but not enough talent here to establish his skill in either field, as it can’t quiet shake some aspects of the generic.

Verdict : 3/5

Quote : “You see what happens when you poison other people’s mind with ideas?”