Get ready to have a whole new reason to stay out of the ocean. The Reef is the latest based on true life, man against nature tale from Black Water director Andrew Traucki, and like that film it’s a skillfully told tale that ratchets up the tension to breaking point.

The film starts with brother and sister; Matt and Suzie, and Matt’s girlfriend Kate welcoming their friend Luke through airport arrivals from London. There is an unspoken tension between Luke and Suzie and the possible beginnings of a love affair, but their lives and careers have always got in the way despite them being crazy about each other. We learn this through well played scenes in the first act, where the characters come across as real people rather than tanned hot bodies waiting to die. They decide to go on a boat trip and take in some snorkeling off the coast of an island with Matt’s work friend Warren. Everything is going well until suddenly the boat strikes some coral during low tide and a hole is ripped through the hull. The boat starts to sink and the five of them narrowly escape with their lives. Taking refuge on top of the capsized boat, they weigh up their options. Realizing that they will starve, dehydrate and die within days; Matt, Luke, Kate and Suzie decide to swim in the direction that they assume land is in. Not being a strong swimmer and seeing it as his best chance, Warren decides to stay with the boat and await rescue. Out in the middle of the ocean with nothing for miles in any direction, the swimmers are stalked by something beneath the waves, something toys with them waiting for its moment to strike….a great white shark.

As well as Black Water, The Reef is reminiscent of Adam Green’s Frozen in the way that the characters are well developed before the tragedy unfolds and is obviously like Open Water in terms of setting, yet is superior to that film. Traucki builds the tension masterfully here, the situation is hopeless and the outcome inevitable but the actors do such a good job of portraying desperation and the yearning to survive that you are invested as soon as the fateful decision is made to swim for it. After all once you know there is a fourteen foot killer shark nearby stalking you, with no land and no boat what do you have to defend yourself with? The tension builds with the sightings of fins or splashes in the water nearby followed by one of the ladies freaking out and Luke looking beneath the surface through diving goggles. This seems to happen many many times and all the time we see from Luke’s POV that there is nothing but murky blue sea in each direction. These scenes are gut wrenching because you keep suspecting to see something jump out at you or some other kind of shock but it never comes. When it does happen, it’s done so well and so realistically instead of catering to the horror crowd for a cheap jump scares. Luke looks below the water a final time, and in the distance emerges the grey outline of a huge shark.  

Apart from one obviously computer generated shot of a shark, it looks as though all shark footage is actually real. Obviously the actors were not there in the water with a great white so it is a testament to clever editing and direction that the whole thing comes off with no obvious green screen or matte lines and is brilliantly done. When the attacks finally come, there is no meaty gore, instead we get a red patch in the sea and a line of dialogue like “My leg is gone“. Somehow this is worse than if they were to go into graphic details with the attacks and is a sign of confidence in the power of the story and the setting, the atmosphere of impending doom is enough. For fans of suspense and true life horror I can’t recommend The Reef enough. It’s a master class in tension building and making the most of what you have with a small budget that Spielberg would be proud of. Why it skipped cinemas is baffling…

DVD Extras: Shooting with Sharks – Making Of, Trailer.

 

There are sometimes films that rely on a gimmick to get bums on seats. The Blair Witch Project is a good example as it was the first in a new wave of ‘found footage’ films and for a time at least, people were unsure as to whether it was real or not. More recently there have been films that all take place in a very small or singular location. Phone Booth, Buried and the straight to DVD film Burning Bright spring to mind. As far as I know there has never been a horror film claiming to be shot all in one continuous take until now and the arrival of The Silent House. This proves to be an ace gimmick but kind of a mixed bag.

The film is from Uruguay, a country that hasn’t exactly been known for its cinematic output and is based on a supposedly true story that happened there during the 1940s. Laura (Florencia Colucci) and her father Wilson (Gustavo Alonso) arrive at a cottage they are planning to renew as the owner Nestor (Abel Tripaldi) is putting it up for sale. Nestor departs for the evening and Laura and Wilson settle down and relax, hoping to start work on the cottage in the morning. Whilst Wilson is asleep Laura hears loud banging and footsteps coming from upstairs, she wakes up Wilson who goes to investigate, there is a scream and a thud and Laura is left frightened and alone in the dark house. There is also someone or something in the house that has murder on its mind.

For most of its running time The Silent House is a very effective film. Director Gustavo Hernandez limited by his one take gimmick, still manages to put his camera in some interesting places. Whereas in most horror films the leading lady would be framed mid close up with a large amount of space off to one side so you know where the next scare is coming from, here Hernandez camera will quite often pull right back so that the frightened actress is in the background and a creepy dark staircase is in the foreground. Then the shot is held right up to the point where it becomes uncomfortable. You expect something to appear at the staircase but this never happens, the tension as you watch expectantly is brilliant. When the jump scares do come, they are very effective, I’ll admit I haven’t shouted out loud in shock during a film since Insidious and before that very rarely did this happen. Hernandez also manages to use small hiding places and mirrors in the house quite well. Considering this was apparently all in one take I kept expecting the camera crew to pop up in a reflection but it never happened. They must have rehearsed the hell out of this to get it right. The performances from the three actors involved are also all very solid, especially Florencia Collucci who plays frightened and desperate without missing a beat.

The film falls down because in the end it gives into the problem that has plagued many a production. It introduces an unnecessary and redundant third act twist to try and make it all mean something. Truthfully the film didn’t need it and the makers should have stuck to their guns. It isn’t really believable and well thought out because a lot of it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It really is a letdown because much of the first hour is so brilliant. The all in one take gimmick does give the production an air of believability much like the previously mentioned found footage movies. The film isn’t a found footage horror though and the decision to film on digital does give the whole thing a slightly cheap amateur feel which is a shame because the acting is top notch. There is also a moment where the sound seems to go muffled after the lead actress turns and bolts off screen, it’s not clear if this was an artistic choice or actually a technical slip up where they had to keep going. If the film truly is all one shot as claimed then colour me amazed but you don’t have to be an editing genius to figure out where the hidden cuts could be.

It is no surprise that there is already a Hollywood remake on the way, directed by the team behind Open Water and starring one of the Olsen twins. The original is worth a look though, invite some friends round and watch in the dark for full effect, just don’t think about it too much.

Extras: None

The Silent House is out now on DVD/Blu-ray

Newly released as part of Cine-Asia’s relaunch of the Hong Kong Legends DVD catalogue, 2004’s New Police Story sees Jackie Chan return to the franchise most celebrated by action fans, in a modernised reboot that features a darker, more troubled super-cop on a road to redemption.

The head of an elite police team, Inspector Chan is charged with the task of halting a spree of violent bank robberies by a new criminal gang that show a murderous dislike of the police force. Underestimating the gang as just another group of young punks, the highly trained and determinedly bloodthirsty crew take apart Chan’s officers in a chamber of technological horrors, with every corner booby-trapped and rigged to maim. Left alone to helplessly witness the downfall of his crew, Chan is forced in to a confrontation with the gangs leader Joe Kwan (Daniel Wu), who scolds Chan for his arrogance, and punishes him with the untimely demise of his squad.

One year later, Chan is picked up from the alleyway floor by the enthusiastic and fresh faced member of the force, Zheng Xiaofeng (Nicholas Tse). The mysterious newcomer is heavily invested in Chan’s recovery, attempting to patch together every facet of his former life and getting him in shape to take down Kwan’s gang, who’s reign of terror has remained unchallenged in the time of Chan’s absence.

Starting a movie seeing Jackie Chan as a washed up drunk demonstrates New Police Story’s attempts at adding a new edge to the stars repertoire. Chan excels in the film’s early scenes that rely on both his still unmatched ability for physical performance and formerly untapped acting skills. While always cocky and confident on screen, its strange seeing Chan play a genuinely flawed hero, one that does its best to drive the audience away from any sympathy such is the level of his arrogance.

While the other cast aren’t of particular note, Nicholas Tse is a surprise as Zheng, carrying a great sense of timing and a truly charming personality, subduing early worries about his abilities beyond looking good. While most of the younger stars were clearly cast because of their faces, Daniel Wu comes across as a believable villain. A viable threat to Chan throughout the film, he conveys the characters childhood trauma and subsequent menace without subtlety, but with effect.

Naturally, the biggest attraction to New Police Story will be the film’s stunt work and action sequences. Chan’s unique style is used perfectly, continuing to demonstrate the stars ability to defy the years. Tse also manages to pull of some great action moments, often paying homage to the famous Jackie style. The film does fall foul of some of the less desirable trends of modern Asian film. Much of the CG work is poor, but thankfully it doesn’t rely on the technology too much. Major stunt scenes involving Chan are all done in the old fashioned way, most notable amongst them, a three man chase sequence down the side of a skyscraper.

Awkwardly, like many of the films that deal with youth themes coming from Hong Kong, the desired effect of appearing “cool” and current falls totally flat. Even in 2004, there really wasn’t anything new or dangerous about young rich kids on rollerblades.

Overall, director Benny Chan juggles many styles within one tightly constructed film. It has plenty of of the large scale stunt work fans will expect but incorporates more evenly balanced gunplay and some brilliantly choreographed fight scenes plotted throughout. New Police Story remains an entertaining return to form for Jackie Chan fans who yearned to see the star return to his action roots.

Extras: Trailers, Out-take montage, biographies, behind the scenes featurettes and interviews with Director Benny Chan and the cast.

New Police Story is available now on 2 Disc DVD from Cine-Asia

According to pseudo-science, us humans only use 20% of our brain’s full potential.

How much different would our existence be if we could tap into the other 80%? Would our newfound higher intellect raise us up to the point where anything becomes possible, or would it slowly rob us of all that makes us human?

Based on the book ‘The Dark Fields’, Limitless succeeds where countless other films have failed by tackling these questions with engrossing, entertaining and highly stylised flair.

Bradley Cooper plays hapless writer Eddy, whose unmotivated and lackluster attitude has left him bereft of inspiration, newly single and saddled with a hangdog appearance so disheveled that former acquaintances mistake him for a tramp.

His fortunes soon change when he runs into his former brother-in-law, who takes pity on Eddy and offers him a way out of his mundane existence – a revolutionary new pharmaceutical called NZT that allows him to tap his full potential. With every synapse crackling, Eddie can recall everything he has ever read, seen or heard, learn any language in a day, comprehend complex equations and beguile anyone he meets—as long as he keeps taking the untested drug.

Soon Eddie takes Wall Street by storm, parlaying a small stake into millions. His accomplishments catch the eye of mega-mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro), who invites him to help broker the largest merger in corporate history. But they also bring Eddie to the attention of people willing to do anything to get their hands on his stash of NZT. With his life in jeopardy and the drug’s brutal side effects taking their toll, Eddie dodges mysterious stalkers, a vicious gangster and an intense police investigation as he attempts to hang on to his dwindling supply long enough to outwit his enemies.

Limitless is a thriller that has great fun ramping up the conflict and paranoia of its lead character’s predicament while asking some surprisingly philosophical questions – are we still ‘us’ if we become, as the film’s title suggests, limitless? Or is it only when we start using our brains to their full extent that who we truly becomes apparent? And does advanced intelligence make us more or less human?

The film is at its most entertaining when Eddy’s running rings around the rest of us everyday simpletons, be it calling up martial arts moves from an old kung-fu flick to beat off a group of attackers or successfully predicting a car crash to intimidate a business rival. Cooper is so endearingly likeable that it’s hard not to be taken in by Eddy’s knowing smirks and air of overall superiority – in the hands of the wrong actor, the character could easily have come across as an arrogant, selfish prat. Instead he ends up motivating you to go out and better yourself by learning new skills or reading Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

It’s hardly surprising when it all starts crashing down around him, but the film does a good job of showing Eddy’s confusion and fear as he realises that despite its revolutionary effects, NZT is still a drug like any other, and boy do the withdrawal symptoms bite hard, with one blood-sucking scene showing his desperation with wretch-inducing effectiveness.

There are a couple of solid chase sequences, including an ingenious one that culminates in a slash-happy foray onto an outdoor ice rink, and the time lapse effects when Eddy begins losing track of time are gorgeously trippy, but the film’s loose threads hold it back from becoming the tense thriller it should be. One subplot involving a woman that Eddy may or may not have murdered during a period of sustained memory loss is brought up several times throughout the story before being dropped and never mentioned again. Perhaps the idea was for us to share in Eddy’s confusion, but in a film that ties everything else up so neatly, such loose threads threaten to unravel what is without a doubt a rich tapestry of mind-bending madness.

Still, it’s an exhilarating journey and one that’s sure to leave you wondering just how much more we could achieve if only our brains would let us.

Extras: Director’s Commentary, Alternate Ending, Making Of, and Trailer

Limitless is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.

You already know the drill: rich and handsome yet completely self-absorbed, our hero meets his match, gets his comeuppance, and learns that its what’s inside that counts. Surely, I hear you cry, that’s the plot to every teen movie ever made, from Pretty in Pink to She’s All That! Beastly, however, tackles this theme in the classic architecture of Beauty and the Beast; a tale of what lies within for the Tween generation. The result is predictable, and if you are particularly allergic to cheese you may want to avoid ingesting, although it is sprinkled with enough magic to make an ultimately sweet (if incredibly earnest) fairy tale.

Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is our spoiled prince, his golden good looks transformed by kooky modern-day witch Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) and replaced by a contemporary equivalent of the beastly visage: a hairless anomaly riddled from top to toe by odd magical tattoos and painful-looking marks that best resemble tribal scarification. He is shunned by family and friends alike, his only companions in his lonely tower (a.k.a. penthouse apartment) the kindly housekeeper (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and his self-deprecating blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). Kyle’s one ray of hope appears in the form of Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), the girl who might come to love the real him – scars and all – and break the curse.

Alex Pettyfer makes for a serviceable, if rather bland lead. He carries the weight of the film and has too many emo moments to mention, and while he does put in a good effort, the results are forgettable. Vanessa Hudgens sparkles as the kind and thoughtful love interest, her accepting attitude making it easy to understand why he falls for her, although less understandable is why she would like him, what with his tendency to stalk her. Lindy is a social outcast in a world that values outside appearance above all else; considering that Hudgens is very pretty and sports perfect hair and makeup throughout, it’s difficult to believe that she’d be unpopular if popularity is based on looks (as is established early on in the film). Perhaps this is meant to be an indication that Lindy is a girl apart from the crowd, someone who chooses to be different; or perhaps this is just a reflection of Hollywood’s incapability of casting anyone who isn’t perfect (yes, in real life, ugly teenagers do actually outnumber pretty ones).

Mary-Kate Olsen makes an interesting turn as the witch figure; gone is the classic picture of the old crone, to be replaced by fashionista witch Barbie, complete with an impressive range of bonkers costumes (not to mention fabulous shoes) and heavy eyeliner. Olsen obviously relishes in the character’s power and confidence and makes the most of her small amount of screen time. While underused, Neil Patrick Harris manages to steal every scene he’s in as Kyle’s acerbic tutor Will and the less said about the atrociously grating Jamaican accent of the housekeeper the better.

The plot is pretty simple with no real twists or turns. There are some missteps, most notably in the abyss-like plot hole that becomes the reason for Lindy moving in with Kyle. Both laughably ridiculous and hopelessly contrived, it is easier to simply forgive and forget as it moves the plot along and brings Lindy and Kyle into close proximity. Beastly’s teenagers are romanticised to the point of being unrealistic, creating moments when you can’t help but cringe – particularly when Kyle and Lindy bond over a favourite poem in a moment that is faintly ridiculous, but obviously intended to be romantic (do teenagers actually fall in love over poetry nowadays, instead of Saw XI and a McDonalds?). Ultimately this fairy tale gets the fairy tale ending it was always going to get, and you can’t help but cheer a little once it all works out in true sappy rom-com fashion. It all ends with a delightfully satisfying coda where the film’s true ‘villain’ gets his comeuppance.

The visuals used to portray the magical elements of the story are interesting and pretty to look at. Hearkening back to the classic tale (which comes about when a merchant plucks a rose as a gift for his youngest daughter), Kyle’s tattoos are bramble-like and thorny. Following that theme there’s also a roof-top garden filled with roses in which Kyle woos Lindy (although perhaps less said about that the better). In a nod to the much-loved Disney version (which sees a rose slowly wilting as the Beast’s time runs out) Kyle also has the tattoo of a tree on his arm that changes with the seasons, it’s eventual flowering the signal for his own magical clock striking the proverbial twelve.

Despite its largely uninspiring lead, Beastly is a sweet-yet-slightly-emo love story that, while vaguely contrived in places, sparkles enough to make it a guilty pleasure. If you’re a romantic at heart, this is that feel-good film you save for a rainy day. The film is undoubtedly riddled with cheese but, ultimately, it’s a cheesecake – guiltily delicious, if you can bring yourself to taste it.

Beastly is out in the UK on both DVD and Blu-ray on August. Special Features were unavailable at the time of writing.

Source Code is the closest thing we might ever get to a Quantum
Leap movie. Therefore revel in it. The film pays homage to the beloved 1990s
television show directly twice. There’s a great early scene in which Captain
Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) looks into a bathroom mirror and sees his true
reflection and Scott Bakula cameos too. So keep your eyes, or rather ears, open.

Director Duncan Jones made a very
smart move with this sci-fi thriller. With Moon, he showed off indie quirk with
cult credentials, but this second feature demonstrates mainstream appeal. One
wonders whether Jones is our next big thing. The signs are good.

Stevens wakes up on a commuter train
heading into downtown Chicago. He’s rather confused by all this because he’s a
helicopter pilot fighting on the other side of the world in Afghanistan. This
identity crisis is the least of his worries. When the train explodes, he wakes
again, this time in a sort of flight simulator.

One of the key strengths of
Source Code is the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal as Stevens. He’s charming, funny
and handles the dramatic stuff with aplomb. In other words, the audience likes
him straight away. For a film like this to be effective the viewer must root
for the leading man and hope he gets out of his predicament. He’s an Everyman
in extraordinary circumstances.

Ben Ripley’s screenplay mixes
techno-thriller, sci-fi and good old-fashioned tension-filled drama to
brilliant effect. Source Code is a puzzle wrapped inside a Hollywood movie.
Stevens and the government program he works for must solve the mystery and save
two millions lives. There’s a deranged bomber on the loose.

The post-9/11 world appears to be
the main driving point behind a mad scientist’s invention of ‘time reassignment’,
where a select person can re-live the last eight minutes of another selected
person’s life. Colter Stevens finds himself inhabiting the body of Sean Fentress, a school teacher.

Colter Stevens, at first, doesn’t
quite appreciate the situation. He makes selfish mistakes – understandably so,
he’s a sacrificial lamb. Stevens’ story gives the film an emotional arc. On the
extra features Vera Farmiga, who plays Goodwin (Source Code’s Hal) says the
movie is warm and emotional in a genre that can be cold and technical. Quite
true.

Another mystery of Source Code’s
is whether or not we go with its pay off. Many
read the ending as highly ambiguous and that is precisely why it’ll stoke
debate for a long time.

The DVD extras include a
collection of interviews with the film’s stars and director. They’re electronic
press kit material re-hashed for the release but worthwhile. However given they
were recorded during production you won’t find any real detail regarding the
film’s subtexts and meaning. They don’t want to ruin the surprises in store!
You can choose to watch all the interviews in one batch or as individual
segments.

The mini-featurette ‘Source Code:
Focal Points’ explores the sci-fi aspects. They’re great and open up the
science behind the fiction. These are much more intriguing than the interviews,
in fact. You might want to check out the Quantum Physics short too given its
importance to the internal logic of the movie. 

There’s also the option of
watching the entire film with a trivia track, which is great fun if you’d like
to really know more. Did you know Chicago is home to the first steel framed
skyscraper or the Chicago River is 156 miles long? Great for a pub quiz. The best extra is the audio
commentary with Duncan Jones, Jake Gyllenhaal and writer Ben Ripley. It goes
into great detail on the movie’s origins and the thematic concerns. This is a
great movie backed up by well thought out extras (bar the EPK interviews).

Source Code works because it is entertaining
and makes you think. That isn’t always something on the Hollywood agenda. One
might also put that Zowie Bowie made a wowie. Source Code is destined for cult
classic status. No doubt about it. 

Source Code is released in the UK on August 15th, available in both DVD and Blu-ray formats.

Following in the footsteps of last year’s Machete, Hobo With A Shotgun marks the second film to be spawned from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s ode to the murkier side of cinema, 2007’s surprise box-office bomb Grindhouse. Unlike the mock Machete trailer which kick-started that film, Jason Eisner’s Hobo With A Shotgun began life as the winning entry in a companion competition for filmmakers to come up with their own faux trailers, and had to settle for playing before the main feature in select cinemas across Canada (though it can also be found amongst the Grindhouse DVD/Blu-ray Special Features). While the Machete spin-off would eventually go on to be co-written and co-directed by Rodriguez and attracted an array of Hollywood talent, Hobo With A Shotgun is entirely more authentic in its low budget interpretation of exploitation cinema of old, with added levels of video-nasty style cheap shocks and plenty of gore.

In fact, the violent nature of Hobo With A Shotgun is probably the only real lasting memory that the majority of viewers will leave cinemas with, but after wiping away the bucketload of corn syrup that glazes much of the film, there are hints of a good natured and well meaning piece that attempts to address such lofty concerns as social exclusion, the desensitisation and compliance of audiences, and the acceptance of corruption throughout organisational structures.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, though. The level of moral messaging achieved by any film that features a villain torching a school bus full of children with a flamethrower is going to be limited to say the least. If you came for the schlock, the grit and the guts, you’ll enjoy the ride. Even for those less easily offended, Hobo With A Shotgun can prove to be a tough proposition at times.

Opening with a nostalgically over-saturated traincar ride through nowheresville USA, Rutger Hauer’s titular Hobo finds his way to the aptly renamed Scum Town in his search of a new home. The warm tones of the opening montage are soon replaced by oppressive and muted greys as the optimism of the 70s inspired introduction swiftly fades. All the Hobo finds for his troubles is near irreparable hardship and brutality as he makes his way through the streets hacking and coughing, shopping cart in tow.

The man at the centre of the cities problems, a nefarious crime lord named Drake (played by a wonderfully flamboyant LEXX star Brian Downey) makes examples of anybody foolish enough to interfere with his reign of terror, including his own brother, who we see dispatched early in to the film via a unique and messy method of decapitation.

Drake’s sons Ivan and Slick are learning the ropes of the business, and are looking to strike out on their own as crime lords in-the-making by dealing in their own brand of violence, drugs and prostitution. When about to perform some unspeakable act against defenceless hooker-with-a-heart Abby, the Hobo takes the initiative against the evil organisations favourite son. His rebellion is short lived however, as our unlikely hero learns that the city’s bad blood runs deep, with even the police department in Drake’s pocket. Abby returns the earlier favour by rescuing the badly wounded Hobo, and their blossoming relationship of innocent and protector forms the heart of the narrative.

From there on out, Hobo With A Shotgun spews forth all the blood and guts that a gore-fiend could hope for, in a convincing replication of trashy drive-thru film that even manages to make a brief stylistic detour via way of European fetish film in its final act. In fact, seeing the film in a modern multiplex offers a strange moviegoing experience in itself – festival screenings or late night DVD marathons will suit the film’s style and theme far better than a popcorn and Coke environment. The dialogue is suitably overblown and tacky, with some instantly quotable lines frequently cropping up, and even the end credits song alone (comprising of a reused theme from one of Canada’s most beloved media exports) will provide fans of the genre a great deal to enjoy and discuss.

Amidst the vigilante chaos, the central relationship of Abby and the Hobo is engaging and believable enough to carry the viewer through the film and almost justifies the on screen madness. While most of the cast are Canadian unknowns (those accents are tough to hide), Hauer’s grounded performance is surprisingly moving, and makes his grotesque journey worth making for a reason other than the ludicrous violence that genre fans will no doubt delight in. It’s not quite as reflexive and clever as its creators may think, but it’s very hard not to love a movie that features a trio of baseball bat wielding topless models playfully beating on a suspended victim like a meat piñata as a backdrop to character dialogue.

Hobo With A Shotgun is available in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray August 1st.

Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic manga series Akira was originally released over an eight year period within the pages of Kodansha’s Young Magazine. It is often cited as one of the most influential works of all time, hailed by writers, artists and fans alike. Much like the manga, the 1998 animated adaptation of Akira, directed by Otomo himself, is of massive significance across the world.

For many, the film adaptation was the first contact with Japanese anime, opening a door to a wider culture of art and entertainment. Akira, to the many young people in the US and UK unfamiliar with anime and Asian cinema, felt like something new, something dangerous, a whole new subculture for future sci-fi fans and cyberpunks to become a part of.

Historical context aside, Akira – released on Blu-ray for the first time – remains as important today as it ever was.

The Film

Neo-Tokyo, rebuilt from the ashes of the Third World War, is going through an unprecedented time of societal disorder and rebellion. Left with little to aspire to and losing confidence in government, the people of Neo-Tokyo live in a fragmented manner, caught within a power struggle between groups attempting to bring about change in their own image causing society to implode amidst chaos and confusion.

Biker gangs terrorize the streets while guerrilla groups attempt to destabilize oppressive authorities and religious cultists pray for the return of Akira, a powerful force believed by its worshippers to be the saviour that will return to cleanse the world of its depravity and chaos. The brash and impulsive Kaneda exemplifies the generation of teenagers who the system betrayed, and along with the rest if his crew, waste their lives away in a never-ending cycle of violence. During a street battle with a rival gang, a freak accident involving a mysterious child causes Tetsuo, the put-upon runt of the group, to be taken in to custody by a secretive and shadowy military force after being exposed to the mysterious youngster.

The subject of increasingly brutal tests, Tetsuo discovers burgeoning psychokinetic abilities and powers that swiftly grow beyond a level he can control. Under observation by a typically untrustworthy scientist of government employ, Tetsuo’s new found abilities prove to be massively destructive, potentially rivaling those of the prophesied Akira. Upon trying to rescue Tetsuo from his captors and attempt to stop his increasingly dangerous behaviour, Kaneda and friends fall in to a vortex of events that they can barely comprehend, leading to a conflict that will either save or destroy the citizens of Neo-Tokyo.

From its opening scenes Akira rattles the senses. The intense detail of Otomo’s obsessively drawn artwork are recreated effectively, capturing the atmosphere and style in a motion form. To consider the age of the film is a little unfair, but comparatively to modern animated work, Akira’s level of detail and unique art design still set it apart, and remains truly iconic within international cinema. Neo-Tokyo itself is beautifully rendered throughout the films most kinetic scenes of motorcycles cutting their way through the neon blazed night, and the crescendo of devastation and destruction as the film reaches its end.

One commonly cited criticism of the adaptation is its failure to flesh out the characters met along the course of the narrative. Considering the task of truncating Otomo’s sprawling masterpiece in to a running time of just 119 minutes, some loss of characterisation can be forgiven. While often sparse in specific details, we understand each characters motivations and standpoint enough to believe in their actions. The final act of the film does get bogged down somewhat by some clumsy backstory that brings the viewer up to speed regarding the deeper machinations behind Kaneda and Tetsuo’s lives. While absolutely necessary to the story, it does disrupt the momentum of the film.

Despite its occasionally uneven pacing, Akira distills an expansive plot that interweaves the lives and motives of the factions at work within Neo-Tokyo, from the top of ladder executive committees of the government, to the people on the streets fighting for a life while their world collapses around them. The action sequences are believable and impacting regardless of their increasingly fantastical nature.

The film has a relentless atmosphere that has rarely dissipates, and provides an incredible example of what animation can convey in terms of drama. While a little impersonal, the grandeur and scope of the films intentions in portraying how a world gone crazy can affect those at the very bottom, and how those who were previously disenfranchised can bring about irrevocable change, far outweigh its anemic characterisation. Even those unmoved by the story, can revel in the timeless animation and art design.

The Disc

Akira has been the recipient of many releases on several formats over the years from a multitude of distributors. Even for those fans who have purchased the film previously, the Blu-ray release represents an essential choice in any collection. While aged, the visual fidelity of the film is as clean as one could hope, featuring an impressive HD transfer. High Definition can be particularly cruel to older animated films, but Akira stands up to inspection with the unique colour palette of the movie appearing vivid and strong, and scenes like the famous bike chase though the tunnels and highways really pop on screen.

This Blu-ray presentation really shines in the audio department in particular. Both the Japanese and English audio tracks are astoundingly clear, with an intelligently produced 5.1 “Hypersonic” mix. The English language dub is the version recorded in 2001 by Pioneer, and while much internet debate continues to this day over which was the better recording, the English voice work works well, both accurate to the original Japanese script and the mouth movements of the onscreen characters.

Minor squabbles aside, the overall audio-visual quality of the Blu-ray means that this is the definitive presentation of a classic work that no fan should be without.

Extras

The Blu-ray collectors edition is available in a limited pressing steelbook casing with a bonus 32 page booklet detailing the impenetrably technical process behind the audio restoration, and previously published interviews with the creator. The two disc edition also features a DVD copy of the film. Extras include trailers, and the Production Report behind the scenes documentary that has been available in other releases of Akira.

Akira is available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Manga Entertainment

Uh-oh. Earth’s taking a hammering again; meteorites are splashing down in the world’s oceans and out of the surf are striding vaguely humanoid alien things which are set on obliteration. Before long the world’s cities (but especially LA) are being besieged by big hanging post-’District 9’ spaceships and Terminator-style aliens are striding around just generally blowing stuff up and wiping people out. These bad boys, it seems, are a thirsty bunch; they’re draining the Earth’s seas and colonising our world by exterminating us! Here we go again…

If last year’s ‘Skyline’ was a bit too cerebral for you, ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ may be more your cup of carnage. This, it has to be said, is one dumb movie and ticking off the clichés as they roll by might actually be more fun than the movie itself which descends all-too often into tiresome shaky-cam handheld footage of sweaty soldiers clambering around rubble in a constant pall of smoke. After an introductory sequence featuring “our heroes” in a chopper flying over war-torn LA ready to plunge into battle with hostile parched extra-terrestrials, we zip back 24 hours and see gasping US Marine Staff Sergeant Nantz (unfortunate name) struggling to keep up with his rookies on a running exercise. Ah, we get the idea; he’s old and disillusioned and coming up to the end of his career. Sure enough Nantz (square-jawed Aaron Eckhart who I thought had stopped making films like this around the time of ‘The Core’) is soon handing in his notice and idly remembering his experiences in I-raq where some of those in his charge lost their lives. But before Nantz can pack up his old kit bag he’s dragged back into service again because the aliens have arrived and they mean business. Amongst Nantz’s gang this time are the usual bunch of suspects; the soldier about to get married, the brother of one of the men killed in I-raq under Nantz’s previous tour of duty (you’re right, he’s got one Hell of a grudge), a naïve young marine who’s ready to earn his spurs, a stressed-out soldier eager to prove he’s battle-ready again. The group are charged with penetrating deep into devastated LA to rescue a bunch of rather stupid civilians who have gotten themselves trapped in an abandoned Police station. Doh! Nantz and the Nantz boys (does that sound okay?) are choppered into the city where they quickly come under attack by the rampaging aliens who soon wheel out their big guns (some very big guns) and so begins…. Battle: Los Angeles.

That’s about it for your plot then. For the rest of the film the marines rush about the LA debris shooting and getting shot at, running and ducking for cover and being offed one by one. Unfortunately the characters are generally so sketchy it’s hard to keep up with (much less care) who’s been shot but never mind, ooh, look, there’s another big spaceship! When Michelle Rodriguez turns up playing her patented big butch soldier character all the cliché boxes are ticked and we can relax. Then someone gets the idea of attacking the aliens’ Control and Command centre (a big spaceship parked conveniently in plain sight) and we can all see where this is heading…

Except we probably can’t. Obviously with an eye on a sequel (unlikely) the situation isn’t resolved, the aliens aren’t seen off, a battle’s been won but there’s a war still to fight. Despite the gung-ho nature of the narrative it’s quite surprising to see a film which, like ‘Skyline’, doesn’t necessarily suggest that humanity (ie America) is always going to get its own way and emerge triumphant. ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ clearly takes its lead from real-life war zone film footage with it’s ‘you-are-there’ approach but the weight of its clichés and its perfunctory dialogue and wafer-thin characterisations can only work against it. Visually arresting (if a bit tiresome,) the FX are generally impressive (especially in the long shots of LA being mercilessly pounded) but with the Earth having been visited a little too much recently the movie loses what power it might have had because, at the end of the day, we’ve seen stuff like this a few too many times in the recent past and, despite its focus on a handful of grunts, ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ has nothing new to offer except a vague sense that it’s trying to depict what a situation like this might really be like.

It’s watchable, predictably and intermittently exciting but shafted by its less than sparkling script and one-dimensional characters. ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ isn’t a bad film but it’s just a bit exasperating because we’ve seen it all before and we’ve certainly seen it done better.

EXTRAS: Featurettes ‘Behind the Battle’; ‘Aliens in LA’; ‘Preparing for Battle’; and ‘Creating LA’.

‘Battle: Los Angeles‘ is out now on DVD and Blu-ray