Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

CASTLE ROCK SEASON 1 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: ANDRE HOLLAND, MELANIE LYNSKEY, BILL SKARSGARD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

2017 was a huge year for Stephen King fans as the big-screen version of IT made it to theatres to critical and commercial success. But it was the lesser-known The Dark Tower that King’s constant readers were more interested in, and not just for the visual feast of Roland and the Man in Black finally going at it on screen. What The Dark Tower offered was cinematic proof that all of King’s stories are connected, sharing a singular universe. To that end, the excitement of a TV show that does the same is potentially even more exhilarating. Welcome to Castle Rock.

For the uninitiated, Castle Rock is a fictional town in Maine that has featured in stories (and, in most, cases films) such as The Body (Stand by Me), The Dead Zone, Needful Things, The Mist and, perhaps most notably, The Dark Half. It’s also a stone’s throw from Shawshank Prison. Starting to see where this is going? But far from being a greatest hits compilation of King’s work, Castle Rock shows restraint, tickling the fancy of those in the know while spinning a multi-level mystery that will appeal to everyone.

Our introduction to Castle Rock is a gruesome one as Shawshank governor Dale Lacy (Lost’s Terry O’Quinn) commits suicide in horrific fashion. As a new governor is introduced and a lone man (King alumni, Bill Skarsgård) is unearthed in an oil tank in an unused part of the prison, a mystery starts to reveal itself slowly. The plot thickens as Henry Deaver (a Death Row attorney who went missing in Castle Rock as a child) is called back to his hometown to represent the mysterious man while strange things begin to happen.

Weaving in and out of the core stories are some familiar names and even more familiar faces. Characters such as ex-sheriff Alan Pangborn (played here by Scott Glenn and previously by the likes of Ed Harris and Michael Rooker) and Jackie Torrance (the niece of The Shining’s Jack Torrence) remind you of the world that you’re watching. Meanwhile, series regulars Sissy Spacek (Carrie) and Skarsgård (IT) tip their hat to King’s cinematic legacy.

This is far from the first TV series to emerge from the mind of arguably the greatest living American author. A plethora of movies and series have come before this, but where others have failed (and most of them have), Castle Rock succeeds in droves. Not tethered to a specific creature or supernatural phenomenon, this series is free to do what King does best; explore interesting and fully rounded characters, wrapped up in an absorbing mystery. The surroundings may be familiar but the story is entirely new and that is what’s most intriguing about this.

King’s involvement in this may be limited to Executive Producer, but his presence saturates the landscape of Castle Rock. As a result, this has all the makings of one of the best and most absorbing genre TV series of recent years (a fact that it’s been renewed already is testament).

OUT OF BLUE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: CAROL MORLEY / STARRING: PATRICIA CLARKSON, AARON TVEIT, TOBY JONES / RELEASE DATE: 2ND SEPTEMBER

Jennifer Rockwell (Mamie Gummer), an astrophysicist who specialises in black holes and is an advocate of the multiverse theory, is found dead next to her telescope having being shot three times. New Orleans Detective and recovering alcoholic Mike Hoolihan (Patricia Clarkson) is assigned the case.

Her first two suspects are Jennifer’s boss Professor Ian Strammi (the always excellent Toby Jones) and her boyfriend/colleague Duncan Reynolds (Jonathan Majors). However, Hoolihan’s investigations lead her on a twisted path that involves Schrödinger’s cat, string theory, quantum mechanics and dark matter, which in turn forces her to confront a repressed childhood trauma concerning a serial killer and has her questioning the nature of existence and the universe.

Based on Martin Amis’ 1997 short novel Night Train, director Carol Morley’s Out of Blue is part murder-mystery, part metaphysical neo-noir, but all weirdly trippy. Indeed, the David Lynch and Nicholas Roeg influences are blatant and, interestingly, Nicholas Roeg’s son Luc is the film’s producer. As interesting as the premise seems, the film itself doesn’t quite live up to expectations, but that’s not to say the film is without merits.

Morley has created a visually gorgeous film thanks to Conrad W. Hall’s cinematography. New Orleans is not the vibrant, colourful city we are used to seeing on screen – here it seems stiflingly claustrophobic, which serves the story well. Clint Mansell’s score is atmospheric, although it does sometimes become little more than sonic wallpaper. The cast all deliver fine performances despite a screenplay that meanders so much that it’s difficult to emotionally engage with the characters, let alone define just what the film’s point is.

Even with the cosmological trappings, it’s not science-fiction and it’s too predictable and clichéd to be a crime drama. That might be deliberate, as during the scene when Hoolihan first visits the crime scene the sound fades to near silence and the camera tracks away from the detective, which might suggest the irrelevancy of the crime to the story as a whole. It might also suggest that, in hunting down the killer, Hoolihan is in the process of discovering herself. While ambiguity is certainly no bad thing, not rewarding an audience with some clues endangers alienating them.

LOCK UP / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: JOHN FLYNN / SCREENPLAY: RICHARD SMITH, JEB STUART / STARRING: SYLVESTER STALLONE, DONALD SUTHERLAND, JOHN AMOS, TOM SIZEMORE / RELEASE DATE: 23RD SEPTEMBER

Long before he came up with an Escape Plan, Stallone was locked up in another prison. Frank Leone (Stallone) has six months left of his sentence when he is rudely awoken one night by a sudden transfer to a maximum security facility, Gateway, run by Warden Drumgoole, who has an axe to grind.

A few years previously, Leone escaped from another prison run by Drumgoole and he has not forgotten. His plan now is to make Leone make a mistake in his last six months and extend his sentence for as long as possible. Leone just wants to run his sentence down, but the guards, controlled by Drumgoole and Meissner (Amos), want to make Leone snap. They try to make his life a living hell by beating him, physically and mentally, and putting him solitary confinement.

When Leone makes some friends, Drumgoole decides to get to him through them. The always reliably extreme Sonny Landham plays the prison hardcase who is determined to kill Leone himself. He comes very close when he takes out one of Leone’s pals and. when Drumgoole hatches a plan to scare Leone into making a break for it by using a guard to pretend to be a prisoner who threatens to rape and kill his girlfriend when he gets out before Leone, our anti-hero tries to break out. It all ends with a showdown in the execution chamber and a war of wills, rather than muscle, between Drumgoole and Leone.

Lock Up is your typical 80s prison-based movie. All the natural cliches you can expect are there to be readily ticked off if you decide to have a drinking game – pigeon guy, canteen bonding, shanking, crooked guards to name but a few.

Fortunately, the talent on show raise this above the norm. Even Stallone is on good form and a performance of a completely buzzing Sizemore shows how he managed to carve a short-lived career. Amos literally takes no prisoners with his character who is hard but fair and Sutherland oozes malevolence without needing to shout or without turning in a camp performance.

It hasn’t dated brilliantly, but for an 80s vehicle with one of the biggest stars in Hollywood at the time, Lock Up is understated and doesn’t outstay its welcome, with or without parole.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME / CERT: 12 / DIRECTORS: ANTHONY RUSSO, JOE RUSSO / SCREENPLAY: CHRISTOPHER MARKUS, STEPHEN MCFEELY / STARRING: ROBERT DOWNEY JR, CHRIS EVANS, MARK RUFFALO, CHRIS HEMSWORTH, SCARLETT JOHANSSON, JEREMY RENNER / RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 2ND

It is finally here, the final chapter and the conclusion of Marvel’s Phase 3, arrives on Blu-ray. The collection is now complete. As referenced in San Diego Comic-Con in July, Phase 4 is going in a new direction, with more emphasis on television and diversity, it makes the conclusion of what could be termed the Iron Man and Captain America saga, feel that bit more final. The film itself stands up incredibly well, however, the disc is a disappointment and a missed opportunity.

After the emotionally draining but incredibly exciting Avengers: Infinity War, the hardest aspect to this sequel was always going to be: how do we follow half the population being erased? On a re-watch, the opening is actually the strongest part of the movie. This disc gives us an unnecessary introduction by the Russo brothers, then picks up with Hawkeye and what he has been up to, turning into a bad ass assassin called Ronin (although that name is used only in the comics so far) after his family disappear. Tony Stark is rescued and then the gang immediately crash Thanos’ retirement, relieving his head from his body! From this colourful and fast-paced start, we jump five years later, to a gloomy and grey New York, with Captain America in therapy (alongside co-director Joe Russo!). This is such a stark contrast between the two periods of time and perfectly balances the feeling of hope and hopelessness. What follows is great fan service, jumping into past movies, once Stark solves the riddles of time travel is his living room! It was an especially clever decision to revisit 2013’s Thor 2: The Dark World, as even though it is an enjoyable romp, is the lowest rated MCU film, and the one many decided was worth missing. The only main criticism of the film, is this section of it. It’s full of lovely ideas but very little action. As it turns out, retrieving the stones is surprisingly easy and doesn’t present the audience with much new material. It turns it around, however, with the epic final scene; one we were all craving, complete with comedy and tragedy.

The Blu-ray release represents a great opportunity for Disney to really unleash all the material we haven’t seen after making this epic, unheard of film experiment. Unfortunately, we just get the bare minimum here, we do get a nice Stan Lee tribute, showing him filming some of his cameos, which is followed by a five-minute documentary on Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, the Russo brothers, Thor, and female empowerment… well, why not? These just offer the standard back-slapping from cast members, with a few clips from past movies. We do get six deleted scenes, these are short but sweet, the funniest being Rocket asking why they didn’t blow up the mother ship when the Chitauri attacked New York. We get a very small gag reel and that’s it. You may have expected a detailed documentary about the process of planning this impressive undertaking, or how the filmmakers go about constructing a scene using cutting edge CGI, but you will be disappointed, perhaps Disney don’t want to give away any secrets, but they could of at least let us take a peek! None of this detracts from a great film that will be the final piece of the puzzle for many fans, we just deserved a bit more for the long journey we have all been on, see you all in Phase 4.

RABID / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: JEN SOSKA, SYLVIA SOSKA / JOHN SERGE, JEN SOSKA, SYLVIA SOSKA / STARRING: LAURA VANDERVOORT, MACKENZIE GRAY, STEPHEN MCHATTIE, JOEL LABELLE / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 7TH

“Why do we keep remaking old trends?” It’s a pertinent question, and the first line posed by bad-haired fashion designer Günter (Gray). “Do we cater to the masses or do we create art only for the few who dare experience it?” he poses, and it’s almost the mission statement of the Soska Sisters’ reimagining of fellow Canadian David Cronenberg’s Rabid. It’s different enough to be valid in its own right while boasting many familiar beats that bring the seventies classic up to date for people too blinkered to discover anything older than double figures.

As brash and obnoxious as Günter is, his assistant Rose (Vandervoort) is timid and soulful; the butt of the office jokes, she feels an outsider as she doesn’t partake of the usual ‘party’ lifestyle. Unfortunately, on the one night she thinks she’s being accepted, she suffers a horrific accident, resulting in her suffering horrific injuries. Shockingly deformed, she is offered an experimental stem cell cosmetic surgery that changes her life for the better. She’s more beautiful, confident, and – ultimately -successful. She also has an insatiable taste for blood and appears to be passing the rabies virus wherever she goes.

Although this version of Rabid has an individual identity, it keeps many of the same beats of the original. Cronenberg’s shadow hangs heavy over the film, with numerous references and nods to the low budget classic. The spirit of William Burroughs also permeates the Twisted Twins’ film, from quotes to the unsubtle naming of one of the characters. It takes the idea of transhumanism to the extreme, as something that instead of helping mankind could well bring the end of it.

Biting commentary on the cut-throat fashion world and vanity in general ends up being overshadowed by the visceral horror of the final act. For all the body horror and mayhem, some of the most horrific moments come from the bitchiness and cruelty of the society Rose chooses to work in. It might miss the bleak, underplayed climax of the original but the one we’re presented with takes it to a place just as dark. While comparisons are unavoidable, the Soskas’ Rabid manages to become a beast of its own and stands on its own merits. Whether it holds up as well remains to be seen.

UNDER THE SILVER LAKE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: DAVID ROBERT MITCHELL / STARRING: ANDREW GARFIELD, WENDY VANDEN HEUVEL, RILEY KEOUGH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

After a wayward man meets a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment block pool, her swift disappearance leads him on a conspiracy trip across LA in David Robert Mitchell’s ambitious yet flawed follow up to his 2015 masterpiece It Follows.

Andrew Garfield stars as Sam, an unemployed man who struggles to pay his rent. After he is threatened with eviction, he falls for his neighbour Sarah (Riley Keough) whose allure is enough to send Sam into a frenzy and ends up costing him his sanity as he does whatever it takes to find her.

No one can ever say that David Robert Mitchell never tries to tell his stories in a unique way. This dramatic mystery is soaked from head to toe in atmosphere from the eloquent cinematography FROM Mike Gioulakis (who also collaborated with Mitchell on It Follows) to a terrific lead performance from Garfield as a man who clearly isn’t stable.

However, all of these positives cannot save the film from being a quite frankly convoluted and messy narrative – think a visual representation of the Charlie Day meme from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. At multiple moments throughout the 139 minute marathon of a runtime, one was left baffled and confused trying to piece together what was transpiring on screen. The film is littered with obvious Hollywood and pop culture references (even though the year the film takes place is never made entirely clear) that it is hard to tell exactly what style and tone Mitchell was going for.

On the surface it’s a neo-noir thriller but towards the final act it slips into a weird cult film that is sure to alienate a large portion of the audience.

One final positive that just about keeps everything together is another stellar score from Disasterpiece (who yet again worked on It Follows). The soundtrack perfectly accompanies the pure drug fueled insanity that takes place before you snapback into reality wondering where you are when it ends.

After his home run debut, David Robert Mitchell continues his unique style of telling strange stories in a visually appealing way but majorly misses the mark with Under the Silver Lake. A muddled narrative containing too many tangled plot strings that confuses rather than entertains.

BLU-RAY EXTRAS

The Blu-Ray release of the film contains a few behind the scenes featurettes that will be beneficial for fans of the film, otherwise, there isn’t anything overly worthy of purchasing the disc over a VOD rental.

Q&A WITH ANDREW GARFIELD @ PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA, LONDON [11:44]

WHAT LIES UNDER THE SILVER LAKE [10:25] – Behind the scenes of the movies production design

BEAUTIFUL SPECTRE – MUSICAL NEO-NOIR [9:30] – Behind the score interview with Rich Vreeland (aka Disasterpiece), the composer of the films score

 

CRITTERS ATTACK! / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BOBBY MILLER / SCREENPLAY: SCOTT LOBDELL / STARRING: TASHIANA WASHINGTON, AVA PRESTON, JACK FULTON / RELEASE DATE: 26TH AUGUST

The train of remakes, sequels and revisions trundles on. You can pretty much hear the discussion at the studio executive’s office. “OK, so we’ve done Friday the 13th, Freddy has come and gone, we did Evil Dead, we did Carrie, we’ve just done Chucky, Halloween is doing big numbers again. We even did those piranhas twice! What old horror movie franchise next?” “Uh… how about Critters?” “Let’s do it!” And so we welcome Critters Attack!

In case the 90s were too hard on your brain or you’re too young to remember them, critters are furry aliens that look like big hedgehogs / porcupines. They gave Leonardo DiCaprio his first feature movie role in Critters 3, then they went into space in Critters 4. In Critters Attack!, they’re back terrorising a small town, with Drea (a very game Tashiana Washington) attempting to keep her brother and the kids she’s babysitting alive during the invasion.

Critters Attack! is a movie that knows exactly what it is and plays to that. It doesn’t try to create a dark or gritty tone. It’s about hedgehog aliens and brings a very playful and fun sensibility. It’s a film that revels in its practical puppet effects and over the top blood splatter. Its synth-drenched soundtrack is straight from a direct to video creature feature of the 80s, and it features Dee Wallace, returning as her character from the first Critters, sure to please fans of the original cult movie. It also throws in a new critter into the mix, Bianca, a female and seemingly friendly member of the alien invaders, who is basically Gizmo from Gremlins. The film franchises share a similar tone and a lot of DNA, but Critters Attack! lacks the higher joke rate and bigger comedy ideas that Gremlins brought. As such, it’s unlikely to be remembered. It’s an enjoyable watch (almost a surprisingly entertaining one, considering it’s the fifth entry in a lesser-known franchise coming almost twenty years after the last one), and the cast and crew all throw themselves into it making it what it is.

The extras on this home release are slim but interesting enough. We get three short videos about the film’s main draw – the critters and how they’ve been created through practical effects. As usual, everyone is very excited and happy to be working on the film, and it’s interesting to see the practical work that went into getting the critters back onto the screen.

It’s doubtful that anyone was asking for a new Critters film, but the one we’ve got is entertaining enough, if completely forgettable. It’s camp, it’s silly, it’s fun, it’s Critters.