DVD/Blu Ray Archives - Page 218 of 421

i-LIVED

Where last year’s Unfriended looked at the dark, sinister side of social networking, i-Lived, from Franck Khalfoun who directed the 2012 Elijah Wood-starring remake of the classic 1980 slasher Maniac, sets out to warn us about the potential perils of the ubiquitous phone app, those handy/irritating (delete as) programs which clutter up our mobile phones and make us waste far too much time which we’d rather be wasting on something equally facile. If you thought The Angry Birds Movie did a comprehensive job of putting you off phone apps, think again: i-Lived is in a slightly different class and is only marginally less terrifying than the prospect of ninety minutes in the cinema watching animated birds hurl themselves at animated pigs. What a world…

Zach (Jeremiah Watkins) is a vlogger (hey, we’re down with the kids here at STARBURST) who reviews new phone apps on his moderately-popular internet channel. He comes across an app called i-Lived which promises the user than they can change their lives for the better if they follow its carefully-prescriptive instructions. When its advices helps him to hook up with a beautiful girl in a bar he begins to think that i-Lived might just have something going for it. All he has to do, it seems, is follow a few simple instructions, carry out a few good deeds and his heart’s desire can be his for the taking. Before long his channel becomes incredibly popular, his terminally-ill mother makes a miraculous recovery and he lands his dream job in a computer company. Job done, he unsubscribes from i-Lived and suddenly his new-found good fortune begins to slip away from him… His new girlfriend cheats on him, his mother suffers a relapse, his job prospects disappear; Josh has no choice but to re-subscribe to i-Lived – but to get back what he’s lost he has to carry out ever darker and more sinister tasks at the behest of the faceless computer program.

i-Lived is a refreshingly brisk, no-nonsense thriller which becomes increasingly bleak and uncomfortable as Zach’s fortunes deteriorate. Zach himself is initially difficult to warm to because of his magnificently-irritating online persona – you’ll want to reach into the screen and give him a good slap and tell him not to be such a tool – but we slowly become drawn to him as his life starts to improve even as we anticipate something going wrong and wait for the nasty stuff to start. When Zach loses everything he becomes desperate to get it all back at any cost – often at a terrible cost – and in time he embarks upon a course of action from which, we suspect, there can be no turning back. Punchy, unshowy and, in the end, rather nasty, i-Lived is in many ways an update of WW Jacobs’ The Monkey’s Paw for the computer generation (the relevance of the film’s title is a real facepalm moment) but Khalfoun’s nimble script and subtle direction, along with some decent performances from a game cast, keep the story pumping and the action moving at a fair old clip. What i-Lived lacks in genre originality it makes up in creeping dread and tension in a vaguely-cautionary tale which is sure to gain the app-robation of a horror crowd looking for something with a bit more wit and intelligence than many of the unapp-etising and app-alling phoned-in haunted house/mad slasher/found footage efforts which still app-ear to be the easy option for too many app-and-coming directors (ap-ologies).

i-LIVED / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: FRANCK KHALFOUN / STARRING: JEREMIAH WATKINS, BRIAN BREITER, SARAH POWER, THOMAS PAYTON / RELEASE DATE: JULY 11TH

THE DISAPPEARANCE

Lea
Morel (Camille Razat) goes out on her 18th Birthday to La City with her
friends, and in the course of the night goes missing. Even in the opening
episode, her Uncle, Jean Morel (Laurent Bateau), looks dodgy when he slips her
50 euros as a birthday present, and the tension is cranked up as the clock
ticks and she doesn’t return home.

Her Mother, Florence (Alex Poisson) is angry at
her son , Thomas, who should have been keeping an eye on Lea. Florence
withdraws into herself and seeks help from wine, pills and psychics to maintain
her belief that Lea is still alive. In contrast, Lea’s father, Julien
(Pierre-Francois Martin-Laval) takes a pro-active approach to finding Lea. In
the process he makes a nuisance of himself by listening-in to police messages
and turning up whenever they find a new clue or potential suspect.

Inspector Bertrand Molina (Francois-Xavier
Demaison), has newly arrived in Lyon from Paris and has to cope with his
teenage daughter Rose (Mary Luneau) as well as the shoals of red herrings that
emerge during his investigation.

Nearly everyone is suspect, from the Father whose
testimony about the events on the night of her disappearance is quickly found
to be untrue, to her motor racing boyfriend, rich-boy Romain, then there is
Nicolas, a worker at the Morel’s restaurant who seems to have been besotted by
her, and Mathia Tellier, Lea’s tutor at college, and then there is a weirdo who
turns up and confesses he has murdered her. Perhaps all these male suspects are
all a slight-of-hand to stop us considering any women being responsible for her
disappearance? The hand-wringing of the Mother might be because she did it? Lea
herself is found to have a secret life that seems to have involved drug dealers
and prostitutes, did they have something to do with her disappearance?

The whirling complexities of the story are
compensated by the beautiful, sun-drenched setting of Lyon, a far better
locality to disappear than all those grey, miserable places so beloved of the
Nordic Noirs! Francois-Xavier as Inspector Molina is suitably sour-faced
throughout the series, which reflects the general state of his life, whilst
Alex Poisson and Pierre-Francois Martin-Lava as Lea’s parents brilliantly
convey the multi-faceted emotions and torture that tears through their lives.

With so many characters, all of whom have
something to hide, and the head-spinning twists in the plot, you end up
thinking they should all be interrogated and locked up to preserve the peace of
Lyon and might even cheer-up Inspector Molina.

The disappearance is as addictive and enigmatic
as the first series of Broadchurch, so be prepared to watch all 8 episodes in
one sitting.

THE DISAPPEARANCE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: CHARLOTTE BRANDSTROM /
SCREENPLAY: MARIE DESHAIRES, CATHERINE TOUZET / STARRING: CAMILLE RAZAT, ALEX POISSON, PIERRE-FRANCOIS
MARTIN-LAVAL, FRANCOIS-XAVIER DEMAISON / RELEASE
DATE: OUT NOW

DÆMOS RISING

Billed as a sequel (of sorts) to the Doctor
Who story The Daemons, this is actually a 2004 video made by Reeltime
Productions and is far more a follow-on to events in another of their releases,
Downtime. It is linked back into the world of Doctor Who, and this is more
obstacle than blessing.

The central figure is Kate Lethbridge
Stewart (Cressman), daughter of the Brigadier, and visiting ex-UNIT operative
Douglas Cavendish (Ricahrdson). The backstory is Cavendish was broken by events
in Downtime (not needed to make sense
of this), steals an artefact from the UNIT vaults and acts as a catalyst for
events beyond his control. As Kate tries to help the alcoholic and desperate
Cavendish, a ghostly figure (Wisher) appears and offers his help. Writer David
J Howe’s story is bogged down by continuity and takes a long time to get up to
full speed. The later part is entertaining enough, but the first half suffers
from lack of pace and far too much exposition.

As a film it leaves a lot to be desired.
The slow paced beginning is exacerbated by over-long camera shots of Kate
Stewart walking around, and trying to avoid going in circles. She meets
Cavendish and fails to express any emotion beyond that of slightly distasteful
sufferance. This is a shame as Cressman can clearly do more, as is seen by some
of her darker moments later in the story. Richardson and Wisher are also very
one-dimensional, a flaw that extends over much of this tale. Director Keith
Barnfather has to take the blame for this, despite his good intentions.

There are positives. Given its budget it is
shot well enough, makes some use of lighting and has decent special effects.
When the Dæmon arrives, it is a convincing 3D render, voiced by Alistair Lock,
who also did the sound and music. This release also includes a 16:9 cut, and
plenty of behind the scenes features.

If you are a fan of Downtime, this is a
release you may wish to add to your collection. As a nostalgic look at how Doctor
Who could have evolved before its return it is interesting enough. For others,
it might be one to skip.

DÆMOS RISING / DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY: KEITH BARNFATHER / STARRING:BEVERLY CRESSMAN, MILES RICHARDSON, ANDREW WISHER, AMANDA EVANS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

STOMPING GROUND

We venture in to the woods for a monster movie that features the little used Bigfoot as its hairy antagonist. City boy Ben (John Bobek) and former country girl Annie (Tarah DeSpain) head to North Carolina to visit Annie’s old home town. After Annie reconnects with an old friend who she used to go on Bigfoot hunting trips with, they decide to take an impromptu camping trip to the woods to reminisce and look for Bigfoot.

You don’t tend to find a lot of Bigfoot horror films. Unlike his more popular horror antagonists, the zombie, werewolf and vampire, Bigfoot hasn’t been milked of ideas so there is room for a fun and entertaining Bigfoot movie. Unfortunately, Stomping Ground isn’t quite it. You may be hoping for a fun old school monster movie but Stomping Ground, for better or worse, concerns itself mainly with a love triangle as old flame Paul (Jeramy Blackford) tries to get back with Annie while Ben starts to have doubts about his and Annie’s relationship as he sees how much she misses her old country town. This is a dramatic struggle that entertains for a while but it isn’t enough to stretch through the entire running time. Further hints at the possibility of the film becoming a hippie slasher are liberally added but seem as if they’re there just to go against the cliché. The characters are okay but they aren’t fun enough to keep you really interested either.

One of Stomping Ground’s main problems is its tone. When going with an inherently silly story and antagonist as this, it’s important to keep a lightness of touch and tone to the film. Something like Troll Hunter is able to do this well; knowing that it has a silly premise and making the most of it. Stomping Ground seems to reach slightly towards this but never has enough jokes to really turn its attempts in to any genuine fun. It’s never completely dark levels of serious so it just sits, lost somewhere in between. With all the build up to actually getting to Bigfoot you would hope that his appearance would be entertaining, maybe with some over the top gore effects or fun creature design, but all we get in the end, after about an hour of rock throwing teasing, is a man in a dodgy looking suit and mask who is only on screen for two minutes.

Stomping Ground won’t make you fearful of the woods. It’s quite well shot but a dull tone and slow pace hamper what could have been a fun movie.

STOMPING GROUND / DIRECTOR: DAN RIESSER / SCREENPLAY: DAN RIESSER, ANDREW GENSER / STARRING: JOHN BOBEK, JERAMY BLACKFORD, THAD BATEMAN, TARAH DESPAIN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

RIVER

John is an American doctor living in Laos who ends up on the run from the authorities after intervening in the sexual assault of a young woman and is subsequently accused of murder when the perpetrator is found dead.

As plots go, River’s is an incredibly basic and straightforward one, but unfortunately it wastes the opportunity of its setup’s simplicity to properly explore the themes it introduces and instead focuses too much on a very slim story.

Even though in Laos a giant bearded white American tends to stand out in a crowd, John is able to move through each location with few people noticing him, and when he is identified the relative ease with which he escapes stops it from ever feeling like he is in much danger, resulting in a dearth of the unrelenting tension that should permeate a film such as this.

Unlike many man-on-the-run films, John is actually guilty of what he is accused of, and the intention of the film seemed to be to explore the morality of his actions when compared to those he was attempting to prevent. Specifically, it attempts to invite discussion on whether one violent act is justified in the prevention of another, but affords few opportunities for John to voice the ethics of his actions, thus leaving the film’s thematic undertones woefully underdeveloped.

What little philosophising there is might have been more effective if the morality in question was more debatably ambiguous in nature (there are certainly people out there who would argue that beating a rapist to death is not a question of morality, but obligation). Additionally, if the reports of the dead man in question had mentioned his also being a sex offender, it might have allowed for greater exploration into the justifiability of John’s actions and offered the possibility for a degree of ambiguity over whether or not the authorities actually want to catch him, something that may not have been too surprising in such a prolifically corrupt nation.

It’s an interesting choice to set the film in Laos rather than the far more popular (and geographically adjacent) Thailand, and the cinematography and location work are largely all the film has to recommend it. The nation’s undeveloped landscape looks beautiful through the film’s lens, portraying a nation of verdant jungle, dusty roads, and sparse buildings, all lit by the flare of fading light reflecting off the mighty Mekong river, the film’s titular waterway that doesn’t really play enough of a role to warrant referencing it in the title. It’s just a shame that such captivating scenery doesn’t also extent to the story taking place against it.

What attempts to be a complex and ambiguous morality thriller merely ambles along with virtually nothing in the way of exploration of the themes it wants to present, leaving us with a substandard chase thriller, which in spite of the relentless nature of its protagonist’s plight is barely worthy of either of those designations.

RIVER / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JAMIE M DAGG / SCREENPLAY: JAMIE M DAGG / STARRING: ROSSIF SUTHERLAND, SARA BOTSFORD, DOUANGMANY SOLIPHANH, VITHAYA PANSRINGARM / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

COCOON – 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION

Having made a splash with his directorial debut, Splash, Ron Howard followed up his fishy tale with Cocoon in 1985. It was successful enough to spawn a less than satisfying sequel a few years later.

A group of quite literally old friends living in a retirement village spend their days, well, getting older, becoming less mobile, looking on anxiously as fellow residents die – a kind of Hollywood Waiting for God. Three of the old timers sneak out now and then to an abandoned house not far away where an indoor pool offers some much needed fun. On one such journey, one of the group reveals he doesn’t have much longer to live… When a mysterious group take the house over, harvesting strange pods from the ocean and keeping them in the pool, the old timers find that their illicit swims start to have unexpected rejuvenating effects.

Cocoon is a lovely film, a kind of cross between Close Encounters of the Third Kind and On Golden Pond. It warms with a script mixing science fiction with very human situations, it’s funny – the scenes of the aged revellers dancing, flirting, dive bombing into the pool with new spunk are genuinely delightful, the three old men talking about their erections is wonderful – and its heart is very much in the right place. Admittedly, some of the Oscar winning effects haven’t aged well and there are some shots of the aliens that look like Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire when he puts his head in the cream cake, but overall they remain impactful.

But where the film scores most highly is in its touching and honest look at what it means to grow old. There’s a genuine sense of friendship and shared understanding that, for these people, living out their final years in some shady pines rest home, this is it. When a second shot at youth comes along, who wouldn’t take it?

The performances from the older cast are a joy, with The Thing‘s Wilfred Brimley a stand out. Golden era Hollywood royalty Don Ameche (winning an Oscar for his work here), Jessica Tandy and Hulme Cronin are joined by the then-recent Academy Award winner Maureen Stapleton (who won for Warren Beatty’s outstanding REDS in 1982), and young things Tahnee Welch (daughter of Raquel), Brian Dennehy and Steve Guttenberg, wearing a pair of shorts so tight as to almost warrant a special effect credit of their own.

There aren’t many films of this nature where the main characters are of pensionable age and this is one reason why it’s such an affecting film, perhaps more-so now given that many of the stars are no longer with us and that we too have aged 30 years since it came out. There’s a reason why the aliens glow and flit around on wings and have been around us for thousands of years – they look like angels, carrying a group of old people away towards a new adventure in the sky where they’ll feel no more pain and will never grow older.

The allegory isn’t subtle but, when a film is this charming, it’s far from old hat.

Special Features: Audio commentary with Ron Howard / Five featurettes / TV spots / Trailers / Collectors’ booklet

COCOON – 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: RON HOWARD / SCREENPLAY: TOM BENEDEK / STARRING: DON AMECHE, WILFORD BRIMLEY, HUME CRONYN, BRIAN DENNEHY, JACK GILFORD, STEVE GUTTENBERG / RELEASE DATE: JULY 18TH

CURTAIN

As concepts go the one behind Curtain is “out there” to say the least. When burnt-out nurse Danni (Smith) moves into a recently vacated apartment, all she wants is a little peace and quiet. What she doesn’t expect is that her bathroom contains a portal; a portal that will suck in every shower curtain she hangs and send it careering through another dimension. When friend and potential love interest Tim (Lueke) suggests writing her phone number on the next curtain it seems like a way of getting to the heart of the mystery.

There are many things to admire in Jaron Henrie-McCrea’s low budget comedy horror. The central idea itself, which carries more than a little Twilight Zone DNA, is clever in its bizarre simplicity, and is certainly one you are unlikely to have seen before. Combining humour with horror is always a tricky balance but Curtain succeeds through not trying to be too much of any one thing. The tone is consistent, being weirdly amusing throughout, before slipping into gorier territory at the end.

As for the two leads, they do a pretty good job of maintaining some level of sensibility amongst the ridiculousness, even when they are visited and warned about continuing on by a group of hillbilly, Cenobite-like characters who go around branding “curtain hangers”. All in all, Curtain is a decent throwback for those who remember The Twilight Zone with nostalgic fondness.

And therein lies the problem. This film feels too much like an elongated episode, with a central premise only strong enough for a much shorter feature. Even with a trim running time of 74 minutes some scenes feel unnecessary or overdone, something which becomes even more evident in the hasty and brief finale. As for the hillbillies, it’s difficult to know quite what they add, or why they are dressed like hillbillies for that matter, but when compared to the idea behind Curtain, perhaps it isn’t worth worrying about.

What we should do is celebrate Curtain for its bizarreness. This is a fun, if flawed, film that showcases the abilities of its director and cast, and if nothing else demonstrates there is still some originality out there.

CURTAIN / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: JARON HENRIE-MCCREA / SCREENPLAY: CARYS EDWARDS, JARON HENRIE-MCCREA / STARRING: DANNI SMITH, TIM LUEKE, RICK ZAHN, GREGORY KONOW / RELEASE DATE: JULY 18TH

HIGH-RISE

Watching Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of J. G. Ballard’s High-Rise, you find yourself debating whether you are supposed to fully engage with the madness and chaos on screen. Nominally seen through the eyes of new resident Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston), this tale of luxury, idealised living descending all too rapidly into violent anarchy is in many ways brilliant, but ultimately feels somewhat unsatisfying.

The High-Rise of the title is a monolith of social experimentation. Simply put, the lower and middle-classes live at the bottom while the well-heeled upper-classes inhabit the higher floors, with the “visionary” architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons) at the very top. While the block houses all a disparate community could need, from shops to swimming pools, issues with basic utilities instigate a social rebellion.

So extreme is the story, and so fantastical are the characters, the performances needed to be nigh on perfect, and without exception they are. Sienna Miller, Elizabeth Moss and James Purefoy (enjoyable as a war-mongering toff) all deliver performances of balanced craziness but it is Luke Evans as rebellion leader Wilder who impresses. Flawed and riddled with envy, this “every-man” becomes the voice of the people, before his quest for the top reaches an inevitable conclusion. This is primarily Hiddleston’s film, however, and he portrays the outwardly civilised, inwardly ruthless Laing with suave gusto. Whether subtly causing a fellow resident’s suicide or casually feasting on roast Alsatian, Hiddleston retains a demeanour of imposed control as the events around him become increasingly debauched and dangerous.

The cast vie for top billing with the horrifically beautiful building. Wheatley and his team guide you through the squalor and filth of the corridors, into the varying extremes of the resident’s apartments. Never has such unpleasantness looked so appealing, and Wheatley’s horror-tinged sense of humour is evident in so many of the scenes.

An abundance of great performances then, a setting so ludicrously luscious as to be a visual delight; so why doesn’t High-Rise quite work?

For one thing, the pacing is inconsistent bordering on frustrating. Interactions are drawn out which, while attempting to provide an insight into the confused motivations of the residents, often leaves scenes feeling padded. On other occasions time passes too quickly, with stunted montages offering little assistance as you try to fully absorb all that you see. There is also an intentional lack of a sympathetic character, one to offer balance against this collection of malevolent misfits. While this distancing is important in demonstrating the social decay at the heart of High-Rise, it leaves the film feeling too voyeuristic, too observational, rendering it a cold viewing experience.

There are many conclusions to draw from High-Rise. For some, one viewing will be more than enough, the disjointed narrative too awkward to be enjoyed. For others, repeat viewings will be essential, if only to latterly approach the film with a much more focussed eye, anticipating the lurches in the story and therefore able to experience the film from a different, more relaxed point of view. However you feel, it seems unlikely you will love this film, and perhaps that’s exactly what Ballard and Wheatley would want, but you will need to talk about it.

HIGH-RISE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BEN WHEATLEY / SCREENPLAY: AMY JUMP / STARRING: TOM HIDDLESTON, JEREMY IRONS, SIENNA MILLER, LUKE EVANS, ELISABETH MOSS / RELEASE DATE: JULY 18TH