Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Gatchaman Crowds Insight starts by focusing on the problem of the previous season, the Crowds and what is to be done with them once they have turned. This is only the opening chapter of the series, and it isn’t until episode 5 that the main narrative of Gatchaman Crowds Insight is revealed. When the Prime Minister steps down Gelsadra runs for the post, and wins the vote. Voting for the election is possible via smartphone and Gelsadra makes increasing use of voting this way in a series of referendums.

 

The various votes that Gelsadra holds, and their results become a focus of the series in the mid-point. While Gelsadra has some scenes with other Japanese leaders, his premiership is conducted almost entirely through referendums. The show uses this scenario to explore the nature of direct democracies, and their similarities with internet culture.

 

When Gelsadra takes office he is praised as something of an outsider, and background characters express dissent with traditional politics and Gelsadra gains something of a cult following. These elements all come together to form a show that shows the volatile nature of online discussion, the importance of dissent, and the dangers in raising one man above other people.

 

This review is almost half way over and so far the only character that has been mentioned is Gelsadra. That is because he is the character that Gatchaman Crowds Insight puts the most focus on. Tsubusa Misducachi always gets a considerable, and effective story arc about joining a movement and what happens when you realise it has gone wrong. The other characters are also here and important to the resolution of the story, but once Gelsadra becomes Prime Minister the show becomes about that. The other characters are mostly there to react to what he is doing, or what he unintentionally unleashes.

 

There is outlandish action in this show, there are superheroes, and there are some cool fights. But if that is what you have come to Gatchaman Crowds Insight for, your time would be better spent with another anime. The action takes up very little time this season. Most of the episodes are almost, if not entirely an examination of the effect internet culture might have on democracy.

 

Over the course of its 13 episodes (12 + 1 episode 0 that serves to catch up new viewers) Gatchaman Crowds Insight takes a look at how the best of intentions can go wrong. It looks at the dangers of blindly following one man who seems to be offering simple answers, and it looks at how easy it can be for a oppressive system of conformity to be created. An effective political piece, but maybe not the superhero anime older fans might have been hoping for, and some of the cast gets much more attention than the rest.

 

GATCHAMAN CROWDS INSIGHT / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: KENJI NAKAMURA/ WRITERS: VARIOUS / STARRING: CHRIS PATTON, CHELSEA MCCURDY, JESSICA CALVELLO, DAVID MATRANGA / RELEASE DATE: 15TH MAY

It’s an interesting time Universal, they are about to embark on a revival of their classic monster films, evolving into a shared universe. Their first outing will be The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, so what better reason to re-release the numerous Mummy movies into one Blu-Ray collection. Starburst gave it a look…

 

The collection includes The Mummy’ Hand (1940), in which two archaeologists pit their wits against a high priest and his mummy who are set out to protect the tomb of an ancient princess. Next up, The Mummy’s Tomb (1942) where Lon Chaney Jr. takes up the role of the mummy to take revenge against the events of the previous film. Meanwhile, The Mummy’s Ghost (1944) sees Lon Chaney reprise the role of the mummy and let loose when his master’s desires a young woman with a resemblance to an Egyptian princess. Next, The Mummy’s Curse (1944) makes use of stock footage from previous films to tell the story of the mummy’s revival in a Louisiana water project. And finally, Abbott & Costello Meet The Mummy (1955) see the classic comedy duo meet the eponymous antagonist in Cairo.

 

This reviewer’s response to these films is very dependent on what the viewer is trying to get from such films. Are these films classics? By no means! Are these films culturally significant? Possibly. Are these films in some places so bad that they’re actually quite good for an avid cult viewer? Definitely. They don’t have the selling prowess of the original classic Mummy film starring Boris Karloff, but should definitely not be ignored. And the transfer to Blu-Ray, has given them a much needed clean up and polish. Yet, they will not have a widespread appeal it must be said. Definitely one for the aficionados and those interested in the history of film.

 

THE MUMMY: COMPLETE LEGACY COLLECTION / CERT: / DIRECTORS: KARL FREUND, CHRISTY CABANNE, REGINALD LE BORG, LESLIE GOODWINS, HAROLD YOUNG, CHARLES LAMONT / SCREENPLAY: GRIFFIN JAY, HENRY SUCHER, JOHN L. BALDERSTON, LEON ABRAMS, NEIL P. VARNICK, LEE LOEB / STARRING: LON CHANEY JR., GEORGE ZUCCO, DICK FORAN, WALLACE FORD, FRANK REICHER, KURT KATCH / RELEASE DATE: 8TH MAY

Heading into the unknown in search of a mysterious beasts armed with little more than your wits and a snazzy camera has long been a template for aspiring filmmakers when approaching the found footage format. Bigfoot is a popular protagonist, but for his film Matt McWilliams has chosen the elusive American nasty, the Chupacabra. Generic, familiar and largely frustrating, Chupacabra Territory (or Lair Of The Beast depending on your preference) does at the very least bring something new to the canon: here the lead, who happens to be both student zoologist and chanting witchette, using masturbation and sex to help her commune with the spirits of the forest. Well, she would wouldn’t she.

 

Said horny mystic-cum-nature lover is Amber (Nicklin), who along with sweet-on-her-but-hasn’t-told-her Joe (Reed) is convinced of the mythical creature’s existence. Dragging along reluctant cameraman Dave (Jansen), who only offers some enthusiastic screaming when required, and cynic Morgan (Hayek, channelling his best Judd Nelson from The Breakfast Club), the unlikely group of explorers head out. Together they encounter suspicious locals, secretive cops, random hikers and the malevolent namesake of the piece.

 

As a horror film, Chupacabra Territory doesn’t work. The characters are unengaging to the point of unlikeable, leaving you with no-one to root for, and the supporting cast flit in and out of the film often for little or no apparent reason. The monsters are seen only through glimpses in the dark, and while not fundamentally an issue, here it feels like a lack of confidence.

 

As a found footage film, Chupacabra Territory does everything you would expect, without doing any of it particularly well. The GoPro is the new weapon of choice, and at least brings some camera justification, but you have to work hard to see what is going on at times, and this creates an unwelcome feeling of nausea. There’s also the genre-old issue of understanding who’s filming whom, when and why, and once you start questioning the mechanics, like our hapless foursome, there really is no way back.

 

Low budget, independent filmmaking must be supported, and there is no doubt everyone involved with Chupacabra Territory is really trying but sadly the film is let down by a flimsy premise and rough script that never feels entirely coherent. There is some mild menace, but no more than what is created simply by waving a camera around in the dark with some scary noises being made off screen. And then there’s the masturbation. Right…

 

CHUPACABRA TERRITORY (LAIR OF THE BEAST) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: MATT MCWILLIAMS / STARRING: SARAH NECKLINE, MICHAEL REED, ALEX HAYEK, BRYANT JANSEN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Universal’s monster cycle kickstarted the first golden age of horror as the talkies took over. Spearheading this was the 1931 release of Dracula, adapted from the stage play. Carl Laemmle Jr. was seeking to establish himself at Universal and saw the potential in horror with audiences. Junior’s instincts proved correct and the movie was a box office smash. This release collects together all of the initial series of films Universal made featuring Dracula or related characters.

 

A prevailing assessment of the first film is that it’s not actually that good. Certainly, compared to Frankenstein (also 1931) it lacks that film’s boldness and pitch-black thrills. The opening suggests a gothic tale of derring-do will unfurl. But when Dracula arrives in England it closely follows the play’s structure and despite occasional inspiration becomes a somewhat clunky tale of drawing room melodrama. Despite all this, there’s a reason Dracula was a hit and endures to this day, and that is Bela Lugosi. He dominates the film, his performance creating a mournful but dangerous vampire king that remains remarkably unknowable, death-like and embodies the themes of insidious threat and sexual colonialism. It’s one of the truly iconic versions of the character and more than makes the entire film worth it.

 

Lugosi wouldn’t return for the sequel which begins as the first film ends. Instead Dracula’s Daughter follows Countess Zaleska, the vampire daughter of Dracula, in her desperation to be free of her undead curse. A mix of straightforward horror-tinged pot boiler and psychological themes with some early Sapphic exploitation it’s a confused but interesting follow-up. Next would be more vampire offspring in swampy horror-noir Son of Dracula featuring a miscast Lon Chaney Jr. as Count ‘Alucard’ arriving in the U.S. to wreak havoc. It would be followed by two monster rally pictures in House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, here featuring a cadaverous, bug-eyed John Carradine as the original Dracula. With little to do with the first film, these were more post-Code horror movies that are fun in their own right but light in comparison, a cuddlier brand of bloodsucker.

 

The Universal vampire cycle would come to a close with the horror-comedy Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein wherein the hapless duo encounter Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Wolf Man. Meet might be broad comedy but it plays the horror mostly straight, providing a fitting send off for the finally-returning Lugosi’s Dracula. This set disappointingly brings no new extras other than those on the Abbott and Costello disc and earns a qualified recommendation. If you’re a Universal enthusiast and you simply must have the middle four films in HD then beware that’s all you get – good films in great shape and nothing more. But as a capsule of how horror cinema developed, these films witness how diverse (or rather disorganised) the Universal approach to horror was and for that they’re undeniably important, with the beautiful balefulness of Lugosi’s Count their cold, undead heart.

 

DRACULA: COMPLETE LEGACY COLLECTION / CERT: 12 / DIRECTORS: TOD BROWNING, KARL FREUND, LAMBERT HILLYER, ROBERT SIODMAK, ERLE C. KENTON, CHARLES BARTON / SCREENPLAY: GARRETT FORT, ERIC TAYLOR, CURTIS SIODMAK, EDWARD T. LOWE JR., ROBERT LEES, FREDERIC I. RINALDO, JOHN GRANT / STARRING: BELA LUGOSI, GLORIA HOLDEN, LON CHANEY JR., JOHN CARRADINE / RELEASE DATE: 8TH MAY

Back in 2014, Mad Max: Fury Road had to be one of the year’s most welcome surprises, with talks of reshoots, bad test screenings and on-set issues months prior, people feared the worst, even when the trailers looked good. Then, the film roared into cinemas like a lunatic rally and blew our collective socks off! 10 Oscar nominations (6 wins) later and George Miller can unleashes what he calls “the best version” in The Black and Chrome Edition. Essentially a black and white presentation of the film, this Blu-Ray also comes with the colour version too but, is it worth the colour-drained transfer?

In a word yes! True the special features (barring George Miller’s brief intro to the Chrome film) are the same as the last Blu-Ray release of the movie but, should you not already own it, this is simply a must buy and if you do own the film, seeing it the way the director intended is worth it. For those who have not seen the movie, it is a reboot of Miller’s Mel Gibson-led post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise and sees Max Rockatanksy (Tom Hardy) trying to survive the dangerous wastelands, as he is captured by the forces of a warlord called Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne – who fans will recall played the big bad Toecutter in the very first Mad Max). However, loner Max will soon find himself caught in the midst of a struggle as rig driver Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) has stolen something from Joe and he leads a full-force assault to reclaim “his property”.

Miller’s remarkable reboot remains a modern action classic, which sees the director’s outrageous, outstanding and anarchic aspirations achieved with jaw-dropping practical effects spectacle and a screenplay rich with timely ideas and incredible depth. In fact, in the mere 2 years since its release, you could easily argue the film has become more relevant. You know, what with its story of fighting an oppressive old man, dictating to the desperate masses, blinding them with ideology, while objectifying and using women as he sees fit from his towering home. Ring any bells?

Hardy is an excellent Max, silent and near emotionless, he’s a road warrior plagued (but also aided) by the ghosts of his past and beaten down by this ravaged, afflicted, earth. While Keays-Byrne, 35 years on, again delivers a gruesome villain in Joe, who is imposing (with toothy mask and booming voice) yet inherently weak, ruling through fear over force. There is also great support, especially from Nicholas Hoult as “war boy” Nux, who is a tremendously sympathetic figure. However the film is stolen by Charlize Theron, who is a new age action hero as Furiosa and her liberative tour de force of a performance is captivating.

However, we know the film is mental, manic and marvellous but how does the film fare in Chrome? Well, as George Miller says in his brief intro, this really feels like the definitive version of the film, in fact, at times, it is like you are watching a new film entirely. The early scenes at Immortal Joe’s Citadel recall the artistic backdrops of silent films classics like Lang’s Metropolis, while the film as a whole reminds of the sensibilities of the early cinema epics. The monochrome amplifies John Seale’s cinematography, creating some powerful silhouettes thanks to the light, shadow and shades of fire. Each scene becomes a discovery of new depth and the night scenes blue/grey-ish tint gives the images an even more lingering and at times haunting quality, alongside Junkie XL’s perfect score.

So yes, Fury Road in colour or black and white is a visionary masterpiece of its genre and elevates the scuffs and scratches of Miller’s sand-strewn post-apocalyptic tale of redemption and freedom. Like Frank Darabont’s masterful Horror The Mist, the special effects bleed into the film even more in B&W and overall, this transfer feels like a whole new experience. Oh what a version, what a lovely version!

Special Features: Featurettes / Deleted Scenes / Chrome Edition Introduction by George Miller

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD BLACK & CHROME EDITION / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: GEORGE MILLER / SCREENPLAY: GEORGE MILLER, BRENDAN MCCARTHY, NICO LATHOURIS / STARRING: TOM HARDY, CHARLIZE THERON, HUGH KEAYS-BYRNE, NICHOLAS HOULT / RELEASE DATE: 15TH MAY (ALSO IN SELECT CINEMAS ON 30TH APRIL)

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Season 3 improves upon Season 2, and avoids committing that season’s mistakes. The random weird duelist of the week episodes that made up such a large part of Season 2‘s episode count are all but gone.

 

Season 3 also has more for people – who don’t happen to be Jaden Yuki – to do. There are four new main characters introduced in this season (not counting the villains), and they all have an important part to play in the story. Unlike previous seasons it doesn’t feel like Jaiden is the only person who gets to win a duel that is important to progressing the plot. Sadly older characters get pushed aside in favour of newer ones. Aster Phoenix and Hassleberry just about stay relevant, but Cyrus is pretty much relegated to the same level as Tristan from the original show.

 

The show also takes advantage of multiple antagonists that run alongside the main villain. Each of these characters get a few episodes to be the main threat that the heroes face. This means that the season has several mini arcs that build up one larger story. It stops the show from feeling like it is dragging on, or that the story is simply running in place. Unfortunately the pay off is affected by dubbing issues. For whatever reason 4Kids never bothered to dub the final episode of Yu-Gi-Oh GX Season 3, or any of Season 4. The ending that this leaves fans who watch the dub with isn’t terrible, but it is very abrupt, and it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

 

Perhaps more so than any other season of GX this one makes efforts to gives its characters story arcs, particularly Jaiden. The arc does experience some set up, and the show does bother to dwell on how Jaden’s experiences affect him, but it doesn’t quite work. It needs to be more specific on what lead to Jaiden changing. Later on he dwells over his actions with a particular card, but it isn’t one the audience ever saw him use in the way he now regrets.

 

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Season 3 is an improvement on what came before. It spends more time with its cast, the villains are more than standard Yu-Gi-Oh fare, and for the most part none of the episodes feel like filler. This season even goes towards giving its characters more depth, and working on their flaws. However it still doesn’t do as much as it could, and sometimes the cheesy humour feels a little empty.

 

All things considered Season 3 is better than its previous seasons but you will get more out of it if you already enjoyed what those seasons had to offer.

 

YU-GI-OH! GX SEASON 3 / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: HATSUKI TSUJI / WRITERS: VARIOUS / STARRING: VINNIE PENNA, TONY SALERNO, KANAKO IRIE, MATT CHARLES, SEAN SCHEMMEL / RELEASE DATE: 8TH MAY 2017

It’s a century and a half after mankind has declared God dead, and hell has frozen over. Or rather, Arizona has (along with the rest of the planet), and a poor man’s version of the crackpot team of mouthy marines from Aliens are tasked with the job of driving out into the sub-zero wastelands and taking out the artificially-created rogue superhuman Ash-393 (not the one played by Ian Holm in the first Alien, nor indeed – despite outward appearances and much spouting of useless philosophy – Rutger Hauer’s character from Blade Runner either), who is leading a band of runaway Replicants (sorry, “Humanoids”) towards the possibly mythical oasis of warmth they’ve heard exists somewhere on the west coast. Long Beach, presumably. Most of which we learn via Paul Sidhu’s impression of Kurt Russell on the voiceover track.

If there’s a future action sci-fi cliché that story-liner Sidhu and screenwriter / director Joey Curtis skipped, it’s presumably because those pages were missing from their copy of the How to Do Future Action Sci-Fi handbook. Sidhu’s character Bishop is brought out of retirement five years after the death of his wife – apparently at the hands of Ash-393, but, well, you know – in order to lead the team, by hard-nosed boss Trajan (Brad Potts), who might just have had something to do with… no, we’re not going to spoil it for you. Suffice it to say, there’s a wise eccentric called Cage (Harwood Gordon) living in the wilderness whose help Bishop seeks after being saved from certain death by beautiful, barely clothed native American Atka (Anne-Solenne Hatte), prior to which Bishop’s hard-talking commandos – including pseudo-Kelly’s Heroes Donald Sutherland-alike El-Hatta (Kelcey Watson), fire-faced ingénue Ishmael (Timothy Lee Depriest) and bad-mouthed Hitler-spouting token hard-assed female soldier Kix (Holmes), plus some other guy who dies early – manage to lose their vehicle in an early skirmish before falling prey to Ash-393’s superhuman Replicants (sorry, “Humanoids”) one by one. The early subterranean sequences (future man has had to relocate “ten feet” under the snow-bound desert) are like the Korova Milk Bar from A Clockwork Orange as directed by Blade Runner-period Ridley Scott. The entire ultra-violent, humour-free enterprise reeks of a bastardised amalgamation of an over the hill John Carpenter and a budget-stripped Roland Emmerich.

We even get “I love the smell of in the morning”. Page One if you’re looking in that handbook.

On the plus side, the whole thing is more than competently produced, scored, shot, edited and (mostly) acted, so if derivative future action sci-fi’s your thing, there’s plenty enough enjoyment to be had. Just don’t go in expecting a single surprise, nor to have your grey matter tickled in any way whatsoever.

THE WINTER SOLDIER (AKA 2307: WINTER’S DREAM) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JOEY CURTIS / SCREENPLAY: JOEY CURTIS, STORY BY: PAUL SIDHU / STARRING: PAUL SIDHU, BRANDEN COLES, ARIELLE HOLMES / RELEASE DATE: 1ST MAY

Okay… what was that? Fallen is based on Lauren Kate’s best-selling book series and is the latest attempt of adapting a young adult/romance novel into a franchise. However, this is a film that has taken a long-winded journey to make it out into the world; with filming taking around 2014, there was a following two-three year silence with whispers of scrapping the film altogether, yet a few months ago it arrived into a few countries without any form of marketing or promotion, which is not a great sign for universal success. This clearly was something that was intended to fill the Twilight gap, and since Twilight’s release there have been many films like it that have tried to fit that mould, like The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and The Host (not so great examples), with the standout being the highly underrated Beautiful Creatures. In the case of this, this is a film that ends up feeling somewhat dated and ultimately uninteresting as a result of many misfiring elements.

 

The first of which is that this is essentially a clichéd, teen romance movie with a supernatural twist that includes a forced love-triangle with a girl that’s introduced by a boy to the world of the fantastical and magical and coming with this are these plethora of reasons why they shouldn’t be together, even though they want to be. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? This ashamedly regurgitates the seen-it-all-before formula that Twilight established, and this makes the movie feel more like a derivative carbon copy as a result. The second problem is that this movie lacks any form of energy or momentum to give the movie the edge or drive it desperately needs, so it just becomes something of a boring slog. It’s around 90 minutes long, which isn’t long compared to most films out there that feel the need to stretch things out to 2+ hours, yet for nearly an hour into the movie there isn’t anything that happens (this is Fant4stic all over again!). Also, by the time the movie actually starts happening, it just stops, setting up a sequel that’s never going to happen.

 

It’s also not helped by the fact that the clumsy script and its wooden dialogue ruin any potential this movie had, as it consists of stilted phrases, awkward interaction and large lapses in logic. Plus, there are too much beauty shots of the Sword and Cross school and the forest surrounding it, almost as if the filmmakers are more interested in the characters walking around aimlessly in the fog-drenched scenery, rather than actually delivering any character development or substance. Oh, and could someone just turn on a light!? As far as performances go, every actor does try their best, yet none of them have anything to work with. Addison Timlin is perfectly fine, but she’s just reduced to brooding in silence, looking sad, or standing around looking attractive (as if we need to know that, Californication anyone?).

 

As for the two male leads, both Jeremy Irvine and Harrison Gilbertson are one-dimensional in their roles as the Edward and Jacob clones. The supporting cast are completely wasted in their respective roles, since the side characters are mostly resided to the background, which means the actors like Daisy Head and Joely Richardson are given the short end of the stick. The only actor and character in the film you actually like and care about is Lola Kirke as Penn, since Kirke gives a likeable performance and is the only character with personality and growth, but what they do to her by the end is almost unforgivable.

 

Fallen is a film that took a long time for an “official” release and you can see why. For a fantasy movie, the production is pretty poor, with a clunky script, bland characterisation, awful CGI, lousy editing, slow pacing, not much direction from Scott Hicks (famous for helming the Nick Sparks movie The Lucky One) and a talented cast that are ultimately wasted. It’s not as mind-numbingly boring as City of Bones or as aggravating as the Twilight movies, but that’s not really saying much, and the fact that it’s only for home release shows just how little effort the studio put into this. Fallen really could have stood a chance if the production company had tried harder, but alas, what we have here is as mediocre as it gets.

 

FALLEN / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: SCOTT HICKS / SCREENPLAY: NICOLE MILLARD, KATHRYN PRICE, MICHAEL ROSS / STARRING: ADDISON TIMLIN, JEREMY IRVINE, HARRISON GILBERTSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Adapted by Patrick Ness from his own universally acclaimed bestselling novel, A Monster Calls centres around Conor, a 12-year-old boy struggling with deep personal issues of his own, including dealing with school bullies, an absent father, a strict grandmother, and a mother struck with a terminal illness. Meanwhile, every day at seven minutes past twelve, a monster (a giant humanoid tree who almost looks like Groot’s grandad) visits Conor and promises to share three stories with him in exchange for one truthful confession. These stories intertwine with the real human drama at the centre of this powerful movie, which explores the concepts of courage, loss and faith, showing that through these allegorical tales comes lessons that have to be learnt in order to pick yourself up and move forward.

 

Like with The Orphanage and The Impossible before it, director J.A. Bayona has crafted an emotionally, heart-wrenching movie that displays real genuine and raw power when it needs to, as well as delivering a story that speaks universal truths to all, which will make certain audiences identify and connect with it on that level. It deals with the subjects of loss and grief and the need of enduring emotional pain when dealing with the inevitable fact that you could lose a dear loved one very soon, and both Bayona and Ness portray those emotions in a way that feels very real without it becoming overly sentimental or saccharine. It’s very little surprise that gifted actors were chosen for these specific roles; Toby Kebbell impresses as the absent father that’s struggling to make amends, while Sigourney Weaver makes for a classy addition as the stiff yet emotionally conflicted grandmother. Even with it being a motion-captured performance, Liam Neeson is still a commanding presence as ‘The Monster’, thanks to his rich vocal delivery, which is complimented by the brilliant special effects work.

 

Felicity Jones also brings real life and soul into the role of the caring mother that’s going through very trying times both physically and emotionally, bringing real heart and compassion with her truly heartbreaking delivery (“I wish I could give you 100 years”). But it’s Lewis MacDougall that truly astonishes, not only by veering from angry and sensitive to hurt and conflicted, but also by making Conor’s emotions come across as genuinely real and raw, as he goes on his transformative and inspiring journey.

 

The art design involved is beautiful, especially with its gorgeously rendered animated fairytale sequences, echoing the artstyle of the famous scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Fernando Velázquez’s score is used both intelligently and effectively to reflect the sombre and emotional atmosphere. The cinematography by Oscar Faura is practically faultless, perfectly capturing the dreary reality of a Northern winter (Chorley/Horwich and Marsden Denshaw creatively used as backdrops), as well as fantastical warmth and serenity of the strange dream-like sequences.

 

Although A Monster Calls offers epic visual spectacle, the beauty of this film is that it’s always rooted in truthful emotion. At its core is a mother-and-son story that is universal in scope and would connect with anyone watching on a deep and personal level. Many have compared J.A. Bayona to Guillermo Del Toro (that would be right considering this is similar in ways to Pan’s Labyrinth), but comparing him to Steven Spielberg is more valid considering his films occasionally revolve around a troubled young child who goes on an emotional discovery about himself. Whichever way you look at it, A Monster Calls is an expertly crafted and powerful story that is heartfelt, as well as inspirational.

 

A MONSTER CALLS / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: J. A. BAYONA / SCREENPLAY: PATRICK NESS / STARRING: LEWIS MACDOUGALL, LIAM NEESON, FELICITY JONES, SIGOURNEY WEAVER, TOBY KEBBELL / RELEASE DATE: 8TH MAY

Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) wakes up disorientated and groggy inside a hibernation pod, a hologram (Nazanin Boniadi) tells him that he is a passenger on the Avalon spaceship heading for the planet Homestead II.

That’s great news, and as an engineer he is eager to help build this new colony far beyond Earth. Unfortunately, he soon learns that he has been woken up too early. As his 4,999 fellow passengers remain hibernating in their forest of pods, Jim finds they are 90 years away from their destination.

He explores the beautifully designed ship that has a grand concourse, themed gourmet restaurants and the ultimate in infinity pools. For a time he can enjoy walks into space and the entertainment facilities on this cruise liner in space. Jim is even able to up-grade from his modest cabin to a sumptuous twin-level room, but he finds he is like a bird trapped in a gilded cage.

The only interaction Jim can enjoy is with the eager-to-please android bartender, Arthur (Michael Sheen). This doesn’t dispel his frustration at not being able to go back into hibernation – there has never been a fault with a pod, so there was no reason to provide a way of returning to it (as stupid as not having enough lifeboats on the Titanic). Neither, can he break into the main control deck, and the information points are worse than useless.

After a year of loneliness, Jim has grown a beard and turned into a slobbish Robinson Crusoe who is literally ‘lost in space’. The only thing that pulls him away from suicide is his obsession with the video logs of budding journalist  Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence). He agonises over reviving her from hibernation, but inevitably succumbs to his urge for human companionship.

Jim has to pretend that her revival is a computer glitch, and they have to cope with the fact that the ship’s systems are progressively failing. The system failures are due to an encounter with an asteroid belt, echoing the Titanic’s fatal brush with an iceberg. Indeed, Jim and Aurora can be seen as extraterrestrial counterparts of Jack and Rose in Cameron’s Titanic film, and for good measure we get a pinch of Wall-E, The Martian, Gravity, Silent Running and The Shining.

Thomas Newman’s score, Guy Hendrix Dyas’ production design and Rodrigo Prieto’s cinematography makes Passengers a sumptuously entertaining Space Age romance.

The DVD contains featurettes on the Homestead Company, the casting and visual effects of Passengers, outtakes, how Avalon was created and Chris Pratt on set. They are worth seeing to appreciate how much work and skill goes into such a production.

PASSENGERS / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: MORTEN TYLDUM / SCREENPLAY: JON SPAIHTS / STARRING: CHRIS PRATT, JENNIFER LAWRENCE, MICHAEL SHEEN, LAURENCE FISHBURNE  / RELEASE DATE: 8TH MAY