Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist ****

by

Posted: 22/04/2011

Petrol heads unite; it’s the return of throbbing muscle cars tearing up the streets and desert highways with a bunch of thrill-seeking car enthusiasts at the wheel. Well, kind of, but the noise and adrenaline is certainly still there in full dramatic force.

Once you’ve adjusted your ears, seasoned Fast franchise director Justin Lin throws in a dusty desert chase at the very beginning for good measure for fans who have been waiting a couple of years for the next instalment. Apart from trying to work out (spoiler) how a car can flip a coach and still stay intact, lap up this incredulous first stunt because the latest film has turned all Jason Bourne/Ocean’s Eleven on us, and is more about a major heist and escaping authority in Rio, plus the gang’s relationship values, than the motorised chases/races the series is best loved for.

That’s not to say that the filmmakers have never placed a lot of importance on family in past films, but this one drums it home (schmaltzy ending aside), often in wholly sincere (and quite amusing) moments of self reflection, with the aid of much-loved characters, Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker), Mia (Jordana Brewster) and extended family.

Indeed, returning to the franchise’s successful relationship core Fast 5 sees Dom busted from jail by Brian and Mia who go on the run in the favelas (shanty towns) of Rio, before reuniting with some old personalities – one of the film’s major joys – for one last $100 million dollar heist. This is not just another ‘get rich quick plan’, though, but a skewed serving of justice to take down the local corrupt kingpin masquerading as a legitimate businessman. However, adding to the ‘misfit family’s’ woes is Rottweiler US federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) who carries out his job to the letter and is determined to hunt down and bring Dom to justice.

A serious suspension of disbelief is needed with a lot of the action scenes, but that’s not to say you don’t get the same entertainment value out of seeing our heroes narrowly miss objects by the skin of their teeth. Each energetic and well-edited set piece is set to a pumping Samba flava to depict the colour, vitality and spirit of Rio. It’s equally galvanising to see Diesel and Walker united in the driving seat once more, a little older and wiser, but just as tightly-sprung and testosterone-fuelled as before. In fact this film bathes in the latter, like an overpowering whiff of cheap aftershave that seems to rub off on the women, too. Mia has become more hard assed and hands on in this, but still keeps a dignified femininity. Sadly, even though this is set in Rio, you have to wait some time before the beautiful bodies lounging over hot throbbing bonnets come into view. Still, the willowy Gisele (Gal Gadot) returns for another job in biker leathers with a metal beast throbbing between her legs, and later in a miniscule bikini to whet the appetite first.

But by far the most gleefully splendid moments are those with Johnson as hunter Hobbs in the frame, especially the iconic one when the two ‘muscular man mountains’ of Diesel and him collide, which is worth the lack of car chase scenes alone, and could be one of cinema’s defining altercations. Indeed, Johnson is quite formidable in presence and gusto in this, but his character has a noticeable, fragile human side that adds to the intriguingly fine balance between good and bad in the narrative. There are a lot of guns and violence, so the film is at the far-end of its 12A rating, bordering more on 15.

Fast 5 also sees the welcome return of Dom’s nearest and dearest, including smooth-talking Roman (Tyrese Gibson), practical Tej (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges), quick-thinking Han (Sung Kang) and banished Vince (Matt Schulze), a ploy to bring delight fans back – and yes, Han didn’t die in Tokyo Drift, it seems. Gibson and Ludacris provide the comedy act, signalling the highs and lows and camaraderie of the whole operation. Apart from the final grand gravity-defying and breath-stopping car chase through Rio that all players mightily deserve to participate in, considering the otherwise driving drought, there are some energising on-foot chase scenes and shootouts within the twisting pathways of the favelas to indulge in, as well as the ever charismatic Joaquim de Almeida as kingpin Reyes, another Latin baddie/businessman role that he effortlessly moulds and delivers with total credibility.

If you are expecting high revs and racing meets, you may be a tad disappointed with Fast 5. However, the characters, with the welcome addition of Johnson, will quickly reel your interest back in and get you on board because of their strong sense of values and purpose, and because we just love to witness them in action. Make sure you stick around for the end of the credits, though, for two nice surprises… Fast 6 might be being tuned up as we speak, and ready to be rolled out any time soon. As they say, ‘where there’s demand, there’s supply’, and this franchise will shoot up the box office chart because it’s undemanding and fiercely electrifying entertainment.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Arthur ***

by

Posted: 22/04/2011

Love him or loathe him, there’s just no stopping the publicity juggernaut that is Brand at the moment – on both sides of the pond. Or is there? Those (seemingly) loyal to the Oscar-winning 1981 version of Arthur, starring the lovable late Dudley Moore, were especially keen in the US to get the knives out ready for Mr Katy Perry’s debut lead performance in this year’s remake of the same name – and no, voicing a talking Easter bunny in Hop doesn’t count.

Arthur is the story of pampered Brit billionaire and drunk Arthur (Brand) who’s always on the sauce, partying and shirking his responsibilities. He’s threatened with disinheritance if he doesn’t marry the woman his controlling and cold-hearted businesswoman mother, Vivienne (Geraldine James), wants him to – the terrifyingly competitive social climber, Susan (Jennifer Garner). Trouble is, he falls for the wrong girl by sheer accident one day, a cent-less illegal tour guide/wannabe children’s author called Naomi (Greta Gerwig). His only guiding hand in life is ‘surrogate mother’ and nanny figure Hobson (Helen Mirren) who has a love-hate relationship with her man-child charge. So, does he follow his heart or his head?

To be fair on Brand, the US critics’ backlash is rather unwarranted – unless you just can’t stand the man, so wouldn’t even entertain the thought of watching 110 minutes of him. Coming from someone who holds the original film dear to their heart, far from irritate the hell out of you in this, surprisingly, Brand injects a new infectious fun feeling into Arthur. He is the definitive Arthur of the Noughties, a decadent bad boy with too much dosh to squander, and if we’re to believe that reality mirrors fiction (and vice versa), Brand’s past is perfect practice for such a role of petulant over-indulgence and vanity – just think Sachsgate. Plus he’s an ex-addict, so knows the score and can draw on past experience. Indeed, just like Arthur, there’s always a glimmer of raw Brand vulnerability bubbling away below the surface, which keeps the self-depreciating moments more credible. However, he still doesn’t quite touch on the emotional tragedy of Moore’s more compelling performance when he loses Hobson in the story. This could be Brand’s acting inexperience, or the fact that Brand only ends up playing one kind of character – himself.

Never mind Brand, though. There was one major doubt in the mind, before watching this film: Replacing John Gielgud’s gleefully acidic-tongued Hobson with a female character of the same name. Thankfully and unsurprisingly, steadfast Mirren comes up trumps, but dripping in a lot less sarcasm than her predecessor. She absolutely steals the show, and this is evident when Brand has to finish off proceedings at the end by relying on a spot of near-nudity to squeeze more laughs out. And does their on-screen partnership work? It certainly keeps you entertained and in high spirits throughout – and you can easily imagine art imitating life with boss lady clipping any Brand random moments of madness down to size.

As for the other women in Arthur’s life, Garner sounded like an odd casting at first, but is hilarious in her own right and a good match opposite Brand’s larger-than-life persona, as he tries to repel her futile advances as Susan, accumulating in a rather magnetic moment of bedroom madness. Gerwig’s character makes a refreshing change to Liza Minnelli’s gobby Linda Marolla character, Arthur’s love interest in the first film, allowing you to develop more empathy for Naomi as she steps into a whole different universe.

Arthur 2011 would never win the accolades that the 1981 film did (Best Actor for Moore and Best Supporting Actor for Gielgud), but like its protagonist, it does deliver some cheeky laughs that balance out some of its flatter moments. Brand is a big kid at heart, and Mirren takes no prisoners, so casting seems near enough spot on. Therefore, when parts of this film do not work as well, the majority of the blame must lie with the film-making combination of TV director Jason Winer and Borat and Brüno screenwriter Peter Baynham’s adaptation of Steve Gordon’s original story. Or maybe times have changed, what with the banking crisis and the rich just getting richer, this story just comes at a time when things still smart, so the decadent, feel-good feel of the 80s no longer holds true? It’s a bold part to play, and Brand does his best, so here’s a toast to his efforts.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

TT3D: Closer To The Edge ****

by

Posted: 22/04/2011

If you’ve ever wondered what the appeal of riding is, no matter how we bikers try in vain to convert you to two wheels from four, Richard De Aragues’s new documentary film is an excellent place to start. Ok, it’s the extreme version of riding, but it absolutely hammers the message across in the bluntest and rawest of terms.

TT3D: Closer To The Edge is an exhilarating and heart-stopping adrenaline rush full of big ballsy biking, which like the race magic the petrol-head ‘gladiators’ cherish, draws you in and injects you with the TT lunacy drug. And from some of the people present at our screening, attended by two of the riders in the film, Ian ‘Hutchy’ Hutchinson and John ‘Sheep Skin’ McGuinness, you don’t have to ride to begin to understand the passion of dicing with death – and the biking bug. With the utterly entertaining Elvis-and-Wolverine cross, Guy Martin as your maverick ace and the film’s anti-hero (the face on the film poster), you’ll experience the highs and shocking lows of the event, as if you were sitting in the rider’s seat.

The film follows a select few of the international array of riders in the days and nights leading up to and during the 2010’s TT race, one of the most dangerous road races held on the streets of the Isle of Man, and over 100 years old. The goal is the coveted Tourist Trophy – aka the Isle of Man TT. However, for those whose eyes might be glazing over already, it has to be stressed that this film is not all about the sport itself, so requires no in-depth understanding of the rules and regs (and there are numerous frustrating ones, as Martin exposes), but more about how the heart commands the head when someone is truly passionate about something. It’s also about what drives the thrill-seeker, regardless of the risks (i.e. serious injury or death). And parts of the ride place you firmly behind the tank and in control in 3D – apparently.

Our lack of a 3D experience, as we were watching an unfinished film version – and hence, the necessary drop to 4 stars for this review, as we can’t really comment any further on the matter, however much we’d like to – was the biggest caveat of the evening. Our disappointment was quelled somewhat by getting to chat to biking legends Hutchinson and McGuinness and discussing their incredibly optimistic racing plans for this season – especially as the former was still on crutches. It was this dose of reality that made the film even more impacting. But to be fair, as the film stood, it was still as effective as ever. Therefore, make sure you get the full experience, however much every film on the planet today seems to shout ‘I’m in 3D’, allowing the ticket price to be hiked more, as you will come out of this simply buzzing with energy. We did, without 3D.

There is the commonly used phrase, ‘the people’s hero’, but that is what De Aragues’s film is angling for, and how it is achieved. The film has lots of big personalities, but relies on Martin to hook you in and keep you in the frame for the entire duration. His babbling charisma, blatant rule-bending and stubborn ways, and mightily friendly and easy-going stance make him the idea ‘lead’. Therefore, as you feel you know him so well towards the end, there is THE shocking event that leaves you simply mortified and on tender hooks. Those who know the 2010 race’s history will know what that is, but it’s still horrifying to watch again.

In addition to the miles of road surface covered throughout that feels like an introduction to a racing video game, the film is not all ‘full-on’ action, and has some wonderfully humorous and reflective moments of calm, often defusing the tension that builds up. It shows an accomplished and thoughtful piece of film-making, spending time with the winners and losers of the whole event.

The biggest worry about TT3D is it missing an untapped audience – this biker would see it, regardless. The only thing to try and compare it to, particularly the racing moments, is watching an on-board camera YouTube video of some nut on a bike, which are always well received online. But this film is in another league and done with panache, and has some real characters you can get behind and continue to follow. Hell, you might end up at the TT on 30th May at this rate, spectating or otherwise. It certainly makes you seriously consider booking that ticket – or if a natural-born thrill-seeker, getting that CBT test booked…

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Your Highness ****

by

Posted: 12/04/2011

Panto season is (thankfully) a long way off, but if you want some pre-Easter sauciness to tickle your fancy, and are a big fan of sword-fighting fantasy adventures, Your Highness is at your service. Crass, crude and boundlessly bonkers, Your Highness is quite literally a hilarious, sex-obsessed adult fairy tale with a big heart – think a cross between Benny Hill, Monty Python, Stardust and Labyrinth, with a bit of Willow thrown in.

Danny McBride of Pineapple Express fame (the one in his pants) takes his first lead helm with all the full confidence and spunk that we’ve been waiting for. McBride is Thadeous, a spoilt, childish prince who is constantly in his older brother, Fabious (James Franco)’s shadow. After returning from yet another gallant and noble quest with a new bride-to-be, Belladonna (played by Zooey Deschanel), Fabious incurs the wrath of an evil sorcerer called Leezar (Justin Theroux) who kidnaps fair Belladonna on their wedding day, a virgin that he needs to procreate with and produce an all-conquering dragon. Bone-idle Thadeous is forced to go along on the new quest to recover Belladonna with his brother, but discovers he is also noble and quite the responsible adult when the chips are down. Along the way, he falls for a sexy warrior called Isabel (Natalie Portman), putting a whole new spin on his life.

Your Highness has a lot of daft subtle and observational humour, so it can take its time to stoke the frivolity. Hence, be prepared to get off your comedy high horse and come down to peasant gutter-level mentality to thoroughly enjoy it, as it’s laced with contemporary slang and swear words. In fact, as this is from the director of Pineapple Express, David Gordon Green, there are the running dope and bodily function jokes, too, as well as an obsession with sex organs (cue horny Minotaur), so this may not be to everyone’s taste. However, because it’s sleazier than a schoolboy’s wet dream in parts, the 15 rating is appropriate, where some might have questioned some of its content.

Actually, the most hilarious scenes are the ones between a deadpan Deschanel as Belladonna and the brilliant, scene-stealing Theroux as Leezar, when the flippant remarks and insults fly about as Leezar’s virgin prisoner mocks his egotistical plan. Childishness is definitely on the agenda, emphasised by the appearance of parental figures on the scene – Charles Dance as King Tallious who despairs with layabout Thadeous, and Leezar’s three domineering witchy mothers who are cringingly present when he tries to do the dirty deed with Belladonna.

Oscar contenders who’ve recently been associated with more serious roles, Franco (127 Hours) and Portman (Best Actress for Black Swan) just seem to throw career caution to the wind and have some wicked fun for a change, which is deliciously refreshing as each hams up their caricatures in this. Portman shows that all that ballet dancing has gone to good use, giving adoring fans a long, lingering taste of her curves in one scene. But it’s Franco as Fabious, who is instantly likeable with his endless puppy-dog enthusiasm and sibling love, that drives the film’s proceedings on the whole, allowing McBride to gleefully add the surly underdog humour, with the help of his long-suffering aide Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker). Sarcasm flows freely, too, enabling writers McBride and Ben Best (The Foot Fist Way, another McBride collaboration) to touch on more controversial topics, such as the scene between the brothers and a wise but stoned, bulbous-headed sorcerer who has dubious paedophile tendencies.

Your Highness is quite simply lowbrow, filthy fun that makes no apology for being anything other than that. It’s a true character-driven film as it’s a coming-of-age one with ‘men-children’ growing up in it that worships bromance in spades. Indeed, as the casting is spot on, the different personalities resonate well off each other, which is just as well as the deliveries and some of the script could have been slicker in some cases. McBride has chosen wisely for his first lead project, but helped in part by his co-stars’ recent notoriety and success at various awards ceremonies. Still, the adventures of man-children have had an endless appeal at the box office in recent months (Hall Pass etc), so this enjoyable mediaeval orgy is no exception. Let the silly smuttiness begin…

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer



To watch this video, you need the latest Flash-Player and active javascript in your browser.

Rio (3D) ****

by

Posted: 07/04/2011

From bunnies to birds, this Easter feels like a nature zone of full of cuddly cuteness. It’s the battle of the studio giants for your kids’ attention, with Universal’s Hop (out last week) verses 20th Century’s new holiday offering, Rio. What the latter has to offer, though, is all the spirit of Rio for weary adults craving a break in the sun, plus some vibrant, heart-felt fun set to infectious Samba vibes.

The story follows Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), a non-flying blue macaw who is smuggled out of the jungles surrounding Rio de Janeiro, and ends up by accident in small-town Minnesota, where he meets his devoted bookstore owner, Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann). After a doctor comes to town and tells Linda that Blu is needed as one of the last of his kind to mate with another macaw called Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway), both bird and owner find themselves travelling to Brazil’s party town. After meeting the fiercely independent Jewel, Blu finds himself on a self-discovery adventure in Rio that ultimately leads to love.

From its opening scene, Rio’s animation’s colourful jungle life gets you straight in the mood for the lighter evenings ahead, complete with solo songs later on from stars Jamie Foxx and Will i Am. Reminiscent of The Jungle Book, the animation is designed to pulsate with the beat in the livelier scenes, in stark contrast with the awe-inspiring, sweeping panoramic views over the coastline when Blu hitches a ride on the back of an unsuspecting, passing hand glider or bird. These sequences make excellent use of the 3D, as do others, showing the attention to detail that director Carlos Saldanha and his team have given to building each shot. In fact, since Ice Age, the quality and detail has noticeably improved, resulting in a radiant and totally immersive atmosphere that previous film’s backdrops lacked. The same erratic and energetic animal movements are still present, though, as are some of the clichéd storyline outcomes.

The height of coolness in increased with a voice provided by Oscar-nominated Eisenberg (The Social Network), indie’s current darling, who brings to life a touching vulnerability to Blu’s personality. Blu’s awkward ‘coming-of-age’ moments feel that much more real with Eisenberg’s self-doubting acting personality injected in them. Hathaway adds the ‘get-up-and-go’ spirit needed to trigger events, while boosting Blu’s ego, but not before she gives him a hard time. It’s the classic love story of opposites meeting and attracting that translates well to birds in this case.

No animation would be complete without the supporting cast, including the bad guys, a smuggling gang made up of men, birds (like Nigel, voiced by Jemaine Clement) and monkeys (note The Jungle Book nod), trying to derail proceedings – as well as the carnival. The greedy gang want to make money out of a pair of rare blue macaw birds, and are constantly pursuing our heroes. There are also the token ‘jokers’, an oddball grouping of Nico (Foxx) and Pedro (Will I Am), reacting to the older, wiser Rafael (voiced by George Lopez). This loyal trio are highly entertaining in their own right, often driving the action and plot. And as with any kids’ film, it is friends that make up the surrogate family that make the film. Nico, Pedro and Rafael are no exception, pulling out all the stops for the macaws.

With its sizzling, sunny premise, catchy beats, wild adventure and endearing cast, Rio is Easter’s winning combination. So, the Marvellous City is calling – and no need to get those inoculations and jump on a plane, either.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer



To watch this video, you need the latest Flash-Player and active javascript in your browser.

Tomorrow, When The War Began ***

by

Posted: 06/04/2011

Although adapted from the first novel in a series by John Marsden about an invasion and occupation of Australia by a ‘foreign power’, you can’t help thinking while watching Tomorrow, When The War Began, “Crickey, the Japanese are coming!” This rather untimely inappropriate and harsh fictional assumption, given recent natural disasters in the Land of the Rising Sun, is further enhanced by the film’s ultra-cool and contemporary cross between Pearl Harbor and The Bridge on the River Kwai – minus the massive film budget, but with all the blockbuster effects.

As in the book, the story is narrated by the main character, an average teenage girl called Ellie (Caitlin Stasey), who goes away on a camping trip with her best friend, Corrie (Rachel Hurd-Wood), and an oddball bunch of companions for a ‘last summer trip’ before school recommences in a remote area ironically nicknamed ‘Hell’. Whilst away, the group gets up to the usual teen antics and discusses the usual teen issues around the campfire. But a few are awoken from their sleep by passing military planes. It’s only when they return home that they discover all is not right in their fictional home town of Wirrawee. Their families are gone and the power is out. To their horror they realise that their homeland has been invaded and occupied by a foreign power that means business, with a never-ending parade of military might. They decide to wage a guerrilla-style war on the enemy with explosive results.

Confusing title aside, Tomorrow, When The War Began is packed with a wobbly plot, some dubious soap-style acting, and implausible set pieces, but it still brings a jubilant smile to the face at the end that the ‘little man’ can find the fighting spirit in the time of need. It isn’t too far-fetched either as a concept, given modern warfare is now often fought on a local, smaller scale. As world events show, nothing seems completely off the radar at present.

Admittedly, those who know the book well might differ in opinion, but the film which intentionally chooses action over words still triggers some healthy topical debate on how war is perceived by the youth of today, and what value it brings. It mixes these thoughts with that delightful brand of self-depreciating and sarcastic Aussie humour, making it a uniquely refreshing action flick with a younger stance.

Stasey as Ellie gives the story its substance and purpose, necessary to see the physical and emotional change that each teen must adopted. She does this with total and unfaltering conviction that she’s easy to get behind. But she still shows Ellie’s vulnerable side, procrastinating over kissing a boy, without making her into some younger, tooled-up version of Terminator’s Sarah Connor. Indeed there are some engaging conflicting moments to her character as she gets propelled into a leadership position. However, apart from Hurd-Wood, the rest of the cast simply make up the teen body count of extreme views, lifestyles and ethnicities that revolve around Ellie in her ‘new world’, and are never really fully developed, given the timescale, aside from snatched moments of 15 seconds of fame, before their very own ‘mission’ begins. Presumably, fans of the book might take issue with how their characters have been made more two-dimensional in this.

Sure to thrill those watching is writer/director Stuart Beattie’s obsession with ‘monster vehicles’ smashing up the town and scattering ‘baddies’ aplenty. If it’s not a dustcart, it’s a ‘rigged tanker bomb’ – all of which (incredulously) Ellie can operate because she’s ‘driven a tractor’ on the family farm. The action is brazenly explosive and designed to arouse, more so as it’s a bunch of teens in the thick of it, showing some patriotism that many older cynics may think is lacking in the apathetic ‘yoof of today’.

At the end of the day, the war may have started, but this armed group has some unfinished business to attend to, paraded like action heroes at the end, then accompanied by some comic-book credits. So, TWTWB shamelessly sets itself up for a possible sequel. And if it’s not in the bag already, the film-makers will get it because TWTWB captures the imagination and a sense of purpose, with its quite unique brief and attractive and armed-to-the-teeth young characters that gaming fans (evoked by the film’s score in parts), in particular, can get behind and heartily cheer on. Girl Power has been reborn and reinvented to cultivate a cult following, here.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Blooded **

by

Posted: 06/04/2011

You can’t deny that a film’s synopsis about a bunch of activists chasing a bunch of semi-naked hunt supporters across the Scottish glens doesn’t sound a tad appealing? And that’s the immediate hook of debut director Edward Boase’s new ‘blood sports’ film, Blooded. The first issue to overcome, though, is ‘realism syndrome’, where everything slightly sinister or scary on film, nowadays, has to have grainy ‘real-life’ footage added to make any of the events anywhere near believable or effective. This is the amusing irony of cinematic production values that usually strive for the best quality in any other genre. This handy-cam footage determines whether such a film sinks or swims.

Blooded sinks slower and slower into the peaty bogs of the stunning Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland where it is set because, although it has said footage, it piles faux documentary footage on top of faux documentary footage that the end result is just screaming for a feature film to have been made instead, regardless of the real-life news footage at the front to give it a sense of authenticity.

Blooded is effective in the sense that if you didn’t know that everything you’re about to watch isn’t real, from the people involved to the supposed ‘The Real Animal League’ who are on the prowl, it makes you curious and impatient, wanting to watch until the very end to (hopefully) see the ‘real’ victims and their outcome. However, the latter is irrelevant because all the characters are present and being interviewed in front of the camera throughout, but it’s what could happen to them over the fateful period keeps you watching.

Told as a documentary, five friends (two of them estranged brothers, one of which is a known pro-hunting activist called Lucas Bell (Nick Ashdon)) go to Mull for a spot of deer hunting. After a successful virgin kill by their American companion Eve (Tracy Ifeachor) who gets ‘bloodied’ – blood smeared on her face to symbolised her first kill, the friends bunk down for the night. However, it’s clear that Lucas and his on-off love Liv Scott (Cicely Tennant) have had a quarrel, and he goes off into the night. Cut to daylight the next morning, and each of our friends finds themselves alone and in their undies, confused, freezing and out in the isolated countryside of Mull. Did someone spike the whiskey last night? That’s the big question, but once the shots start raining down on them, and balaclava-wearing men with their rifles chased them across country, they soon discover that they are being hunted.

The first thing that jars is the use of two sets of actors to play ‘interviewee’ and ‘reconstruction victim’. This may work when the interviewees are the real McCoy, but just seems a little overkill in hindsight. Some of the interviewees/victims try and fail to come across as anything but scripted and theatrical to camera, not quite getting the right balance of emotion, and this is the first thing that triggers a glimmer of disbelief for the viewer. Crimewatch reconstructions have evoked far more sympathy and had better actors, to be honest. In fact Blooded is like an extended feature of the TV crime programme at times. That said the grungy, urban film score Ilan Eshkeri of Kick-Ass and Stardust fame suitably accompanies the visuals and gets the adrenaline flowing.

You can appreciate how Boase is trying to show human evolution against nature’s surroundings by stripping the actors back to their bare skin (near enough), and making them look helpless without their clothing and technology, and there are some compelling and beautiful snapshots when each victim awakens, and their bodies intertwine with the undergrowth, or when they run across the picturesque terrain, totally out of place in their birthday suits. However, the ladies, and Ifeacher in particular, seem like they are doing an M&S undies ad, or a perverse ad for hermit holidays on Mull. The attractive, female Amazonian cast go to lessen authenticity and our much-needed empathy, but this may have something to do with the fudged character development at the start of the film that is prone to meandering and pregnant pauses of supposed ‘tension’.

Those hoping for a bit of gore, too – beast or human kind – will have to make do with the gutting of the deer after the kill. What’s more interesting on the DVD is the ‘making off’ feature that tells how this was a one-take opportunity, with actor Joseph Kloska having to really get in there up to his armpits in hot deer innards. For horror enthusiasts, though, there is decidedly less blood than expected. This is no isolation horror flick, but there is a shocking moment that involves missing Lucas that has a nice, surprise twist to it.

The film does show the anti-hunting activists as demonised IRA-styled terrorists in fatigues and balaclavas, but however well tooled them may be, Boase does try to show their disorganisation and mutiny in the ranks. They still remain virtually faceless thugs, though, meaning emphasise appears to be on empathising with the pro-hunting bunch of victims. It is interesting, though, that both sides have faults as beings, and that the film-makers’ aim to show the extent of extremism, rather than focusing on the issue of hunting, is apparent. Indeed, the real cause or issue is lost when violence is introduced.

Boase tests the water in this genre, making a visually compelling and musically emotive film that tackles extremism. But it cannot avoid the hunting debate, and is in all intents and purposes a film about the controversy, with an unbalanced slant as the hunters who become the hunted are the only people we can put a face to, and therefore, feel anything for. Some of his actors let him down because their reactions during interview damage any veracity we need to feel. We have all seen Blair Witch, so the stakes in this type of film-making are a lot higher. Still, on a small budget, Blooded is a commendable entry-level film that does stoke the debate on the wider issues it tries to tackle.

Available via download & on demand APRIL 1st 2011, further details available from the official site at the following:

ONLINE – http://www.bloodedmovie.com/online.html (LoveFilm, iTunes, BlinkBox)

ON TV – http://www.bloodedmovie.com/ontv.html (FilmFlex, Playstation, Sky Box Office)

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Sucker Punch ***

by

Posted: 01/04/2011

It’s too easy to be blasé about visual maestro Zack Snyder’s new film Sucker Punch, and call it gaming-action porn with scantily-clad women – the opposite of the half-naked 300 men. Just as its Japanese manga influences revel in dubious paedophilia-like images of prepubescent schoolgirls kicking ass, this film could easily be dismissed as a pervert’s ‘wet dream’. That’s on one extreme.

The other side is an intriguing feminist angle that sees an empowering action film, starring an all-female lead cast that just happens to look good and dress sexily, but delivers the goods when the going gets tough – the Bond girls have been getting away with it for years. This band of no-nonsense ladies know what they want and use their charms to get hold of the five keys to freedom, egged on by their rather odd, fantasy-world mentor, a wrinkly guide played by Scott Glenn with an arsenal full of ‘wise’ one-liners that actually mean nothing. Is Snyder mocking such genre films here? It also boils down to the age-old debate about anything of a ‘gentleman’s adult entertainment nature’, and purely depends on your perspective when watching the seduction scenes that are fairly tame.

The story follows Babydoll, a grieving daughter who loses her mother, accidentally shoots dead her younger sister, and gets incarcerated in an insane asylum by her evil step-father – who has sexual desires about both of his step-daughters. Right there, the controversy is triggered, but you do understand where Babydoll’s coming from. After that, we get shuttled around a series of fantasy realities that help her cope with ‘life on the inside’, from a brothel environment – hence the excuse for the working girl outfits and a little bit of hip swaying, and a gamer’s paradise full of Japanese warriors, fire-breathing dragons, ghostly WW1 soldiers and I, Robot androids. All this is to avoid the day that the ‘High Roller’ (played by Mad Men’s Jon Hamm) comes to town, ready for Babydoll and carrying out her lobotomy/taking her virginity (as the brothel side implies).

If you’re looking for a cohesive plot, this is not your film. Although packed with Snyder’s trademark, other-worldly wonderment and graphic detail that never fails to amaze, including beautifully-shot slow-mo shots, the plot feels like jumping from level to level of a video game. The unpleasant, vaguely misogynistic undertones make you question the 12A rating, too, in addition to some of the violence against the women characters. But the kick-ass female cast packs a defiant punch in the right direction, giving it their all and proving their worth, even though some of their characters’ back-stories required to have an ounce of empathy with their situation are sorely missed. Emily Browning (Babydoll) will be certain to gain the most from this project, suddenly appearing on the studios’ radar for her angelic beauty. The likes of Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung and Jena Malone are just good-looking distractions with weapons. What is amusing is watching Vanessa Hudgens in fishnets, throwing off her High School Musical/Disney chains once and for all in a part that seems underdeveloped while playing to a lot of men’s fantasies of her Gabriella school days. There’s that manga influence surfacing again…

The hypnotic and grungy soundtrack sets the Snyder graphics off perfectly, although some Pixies fans might take issue with the alternative-sounding version of Where Is My Mind – this one did, a clichéd choice for depicting a loony bin scenario, or fairly apt, considering the ‘adventure’ you’re about to embark on with Babydoll in her series of realities. We just can’t tell if Snyder is being too simplistic or inadvertently clever, but some might question his sanity after this.

On the whole, Sucker Punch is superficial and erotic visual stimulation, much like the kind of experience some might have when they immerse themselves in a video game to do battle with the enemy. Think ‘plot lobotomy’, and you’re on the right track. The ending will not help matters, either. Snyder is an acquired taste, and this is more 300 than Watchmen, so art, action and angst are on the menu, which is all Snyder seems to serve.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

Source Code ****

by

Posted: 01/04/2011

With the acclaimed Moon, his debut film under his belt, Duncan Jones is fast proving to be a master of sci-fi mystery, a scholar of MacGuffin in his film plots. Source Code is no exception. It toys with its lead character, US Army pilot Colter Stevens, played by Jake Gyllenhaal – no stranger to military fatigues after Jarhead – to the point of insanity. It goads both characters and viewers as to what is reality, right to the very end in a succinct and compelling storyline that feels too unreal not to be real.

Confused? You might be. And you would certainly not be alone. The story follows Stevens who wakes up on a train opposite a woman who claims to know him (Christina, a teacher, played by Michelle Monaghan), but he finds himself in another man’s body – much like an episode of Quantum Leap. Before he has had time to get to grips with his situation, the train he is on blows up on its way into downtown Chicago. Stevens is then rudely awakened to find himself in what looks like the ruins of a spacecraft capsule, in his pilot gear, and being spoken to in confusing but urgent riddles by a female military officer, Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), while being coerced into completing a mission; find the bomber of the train – but he has eight minutes to comply. Each time he fails, he is propelled back into his capsule state, but each time he goes back to the train, he picks up more pieces of the puzzle, and so on. The other story concepts and the end reveal are a treat to mull over. Can Stevens save the day?

As in Moon, there are questions upon unanswered questions, which is the purpose of the Hitchcockian-styled plot. This constant state of limbo is scintillating cerebral frustration for the viewer, as it is for the players. This is Jones’s triumph. In fact the ending is even more powerful but equally challenging, setting off a whole new dimension of the truth. Added to the mystery is a healthy but suitable amount of action that drives Stevens’s determination to fruition.

Gyllenhaal adds intelligence to the action hero role that is infectious, and Monaghan delivers the graceful style of his ‘love interest’ (in the loosest terms, with regards to this). More intriguing is the relationship Stevens has with Goodwin, a beautiful but controlling being that is android-like and initially detached, but like some sci-fi classics, like Bishop and Annalee in the Alien films, begins to learn and feel humility. In this case Goodwin is actually human, but there would be a fair case for thinking otherwise, as who knows what the US military get up to behind closed doors?

What’s it all about is for you to decide and not to reveal here, but Source Code implants the ideas for you to make your own judgments in a well-directed action thriller with a sci-fi twist. Coupled with an engaging cast, Jones offers you another voyage of discovery; so if you like puzzles, check this film out.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer



To watch this video, you need the latest Flash-Player and active javascript in your browser.