Review Category: Movie

It’s ridiculous that a man who claims to be 14,000 years old can be having a midlife crisis. Yet that’s essentially what’s happening in this follow-up to The Man from Earth. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it (it’s a low-budget cult film, so that’s pretty likely), it stars David Lee Smith as a mild-mannered professor who gathers his friends and tells them a story, claiming to be older than civilisation. He doesn’t age and avoids notice by moving on every ten years.

The sequel proves almost beyond doubt that his story is true, but now he’s aging and trying to keep his story buried. The main characters are a group of intelligent and curious college kids who stumble upon their teacher’s secret (Sterling Knight, in particular, is incredible in his role, and David Lee Smith is still acing it as the wise teacher). This plot does an excellent job of getting a new viewer up to speed – every clue and breadcrumb that the characters follow is expertly crafted to lead towards an inescapable conclusion.

In some ways, this is an improvement over the original film. It certainly looks better – they were able to showcase the gorgeous California locations to full effect. There’s a lot more conflict here as well, something which the original film lacked for the most part. 98% of the dialogue feels completely natural, and the performances are top-notch. But most importantly, it feels like a completely logical development of the premise and tone of the first film.

There’s a scene in this that we need to talk about. Although that might be the wrong word – is it one scene if it lasts for more than 15 minutes? Every screenwriting class will tell you to keep your scenes short and punchy, get in as late as you can and leave quickly, all that sort of stuff. But writer/director Richard Schenkman has managed to defy this advice and craft a 17-minute two-hander that is utterly compelling from start to finish.

If we do have one grievance, it’s the credits scene with William Katt. It doesn’t really work. It’s trying to create a hook for a potential TV series, but the ‘mystery’ doesn’t really fit with anything we know about John Oldman’s character as we know it, therefore we don’t buy into it.

But one misstep doesn’t really detract from the film as a whole. The truth of the matter is, if a series came from this film, we’d be right there on day one. The important thing is that we want to watch this one again.

THE MAN FROM EARTH – HOLOCENE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: RICHARD SCHENKMAN / SCREENPLAY: EMERSON BIXBY, RICHARD SCHENKMAN / STARRING: BRITTANY CURRAN, VANESSA WILLIAMS, MICHAEL DORN, WILLIAM KATT, STERLING KNIGHT / RELEASE DATE: TBC

The zombie genre continues to shuffle its way through horror and the fear of terrorism and mass viral outbreak drives short film American Virus by filmmaker Shane Ryan.

A group of terrorists plan on releasing a viral zombie outbreak on the populace but come undone as expectations in the group differ.

Things start off solidly enough. Working with an obviously low budget, the filmmakers take to the streets of L.A. for some guerrilla filmmaking, two of the cast running for their lives. It’s filmed with an urgency and opening shots of siren-blaring police cars conjure up a very real feeling of worry. Things start to fall apart from there. The plot concerns a group of activists/terrorists who say they’re unleashing the virus on America but we don’t see this really happen, just a test on a homeless man and the group getting their comeuppance. The film has some solid effects and some suitably bloody and fleshy gore effects but it lacks a narrative drive or anything to make it stand out or show it’s different. As the group falls apart, it loses credibility, with characters failing to act in the face of impending death and disaster like they’re actually in danger.

This being such a short film, with only five minutes to work with and kept to strict confines, it needs the characters to shine to make it a compelling watch but they never come alive on screen and their diabolical plan is hastily sketched in crayon rather than crafted with paint. Their relationships to each other seem to flip at the drop of a hat and you never feel anything towards them because no personality is ever built up.

American Virus works better as a calling card, with some effectively shot moments and nicely done effects but it struggles to find its footing when it comes to the core components of narrative or character.

AMERICAN VIRUS (SHORT FILM) / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: SHANE RYAN / SCREENPLAY: KATHRYN EASTWOOD, SHANE RYAN / STARRING: ADRIAN BAEZ, KATHRYN EASTWOOD, CHAD MEISENHEIMER / RELEASE DATE: TBC

If you’ve been paying attention to horror film and TV at the moment you’ll know that ‘80s nostalgia has taken over. The kids who grew up in that decade are now the up and coming filmmakers and their work is steeped in the culture of the time. So Guerrilla, from Shane Ryan, is a love letter to the decade.

Guerrilla is a strange work. It feels much more like a mood piece than a narrative story in as far as it has a barely sketched plot. It’s much more concerned with its characters wandering about the deserted land, surviving, conjuring sometimes effective images but lacking enough of anything to really keep you interested. Split into several sections with headings like The Virus Outbreak and The Others it plays out wordlessly without much of a hint as to where it’s going. We don’t actually get a defined main character until a third of the way through, other characters just showing up and wandering about for a section until we move on. Luckily, the score is strong, full of ‘80s synths and it feels like it could have been the soundtrack to many kid’s programmes and films of the decade. Guerrilla also makes good use of its settings, finding sparse and barren landscapes for the characters to traverse, a huge section of abandoned piping being particularly impressive.

The film could do with building up a much stronger narrative, especially considering the film ends by saying To be continued. What plot there is concerns a young boy who is immune to a viral zombie outbreak (though we only see one or two zombies in one chapter and never threatening people) who saves a girl from being attacked by two other girls in spectacular, bloody, samurai sword fashion. There is a lot of time spent with people just wandering about the landscape which does start to grate a bit.

Guerrilla has some style to it and a couple of strong aspects but its lack of narrative and character hold it back.

GUERRILLA (SHORT FILM) / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: SHANE RYAN / STARRING: ADRIAN BAEZ, RANDY BURKE, CARISSA CARLBERG, LUCY DORADO / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Since making a phone call in Taken and issuing a cautionary ultimatum to some nasty sex traffickers (like there are any other kind), the action star image of Liam Neeson has grown stronger and stronger. It is remarkable to see how Neeson has flourished in this late career boom and delivered a consistent output of engaging and massively enjoyable films, be it fighting wolves in the wilderness or hijackers at high altitude. Well, despite false claims he was finished with punching people, ol’ quick hands is back in action again in The Commuter, his 4th collaboration with director Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) and one hell of a fun throwback to the ‘90s.

Hard working ex-cop and dedicated family man Michael MacCauley (Neeson) makes the regular rail commute to his job but one day he is unceremoniously let go. Needing the money and at 60 years old, how ever will Michael tell his wife and kids he has lost his job? But this day is about to get interesting, as the worried commuter makes his journey home and encounters a mysterious woman (Vera Farmiga) on the train, who temptingly offers him the chance to make $100,000. All he has to do is find out which of the passengers doesn’t belong on the train, before it reaches its destination and tell her who it is – thus sentencing a random person to an unknown fate.

Recalling the likes of Speed and Air Force One in its kinetic thrills and unashamedly much embraced preposterous concept, The Commuter is a film that blends Hitchcockian turns and Agatha Christie-esque mystery, alongside conspiracist sub-plotting and some white knuckle pre-millennium thrills. Throwing in moments of American anger at the banking system, a few plot twists and some ridiculously enjoyable goings on, Collet-Serra creates a slick ride that knows precisely what it is and where it is heading.

So what if certain sub-plots don’t really go anywhere or if this public-transport set Cluedo game stretches realism or if the CG set piece (a nod to The Fugitive) in the final stretch is OTT? Never, does this crowdpleaser fail to entertain and with its Unstoppable-like backdrop and scenes of Neeson dispatching people with guitar heads and axes, The Commuter is an irresistibly fun ride, with its star once more being a perfect conductor for Collet-Serra’s vehicle. After the paranoic intrigue of Unknown, the in-flight delights of Non-Stop (a similarly vehicular action mystery from this actor-director pair) and mob revenge beats of Run All Night, The Commuter once again shows how well Neeson and Collet-Serra work together because they understand what they are making.

As Michael, Neeson uses his believable badassery alongside his everyman charisma to anchor the movie with his commitment to its franticness. At 65, seeing Neeson clobber wrongdoers is still a stimulatingly simple but effective formula and long may it continue. The supporting cast of some familiar faces also keep you seated, with Vera Farmiga being rather creepily ambiguous in her part, her Conjuring cohort Patrick Wilson offering reliable support and it is always nice to see Sam Neill.

The Commuter is a ‘90s high concept action thriller that is well worth the fare and is another brilliant entry in the Neeson season collection! This writer only wishes more commutes were this gratifying, that said, if we ever see Neeson boarding our train we may take an early stop before all hell inevitably breaks loose.

THE COMMUTER / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JAUME COLLET-SERRA / SCREENPLAY: BYRON WILLINGER, PHILIP DE BLASI, RYAN ENGLE / STARRING: LIAM NEESON, VERA FARMIGA, PATRICK WILSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expected Rating:
7/10

Since making history with Toy Story, Pixar have gone on to create a filmography full of visually breathtaking and feature length and short projects. They are a studio of innovation and imagination; their films have a child-like glee and yet are structured with sophistication and poignant connection. From the married life montage in Up (still, perhaps, Pixar’s finest moment) to the triumphant action of The Incredibles, Pixar have offered us such an array of exciting, ambitious and staggering moments that it is rather a shame (some would say unfair) that they have in recent years attained a reputation for being more hit and miss.

After all, the studio’s only real failure was Cars 2 and even if they have detoured a tad into sequels and prequels a little more of late, the studio still has the power to floor and with Coco, we see Pixar deliver their best since Inside Out. Pre-release Coco was dogged by claims that it was a rip-off of The Book Of Life and while there are undeniably a few similarities, Coco is a much more emotional work and one that reminds a little of Moana, in how it tells an inspiring coming of age story with a great respect and a celebratory presentation of its chosen culture.

Young Mexican boy Miguel harbours a hidden passion for music, as he idolises late film/music star Ernesto de la Cruz. However his family see music as a curse, due to an unfortunate ancestral occurrence many decades ago. Miguel cannot ignore his calling though and, after a disagreement with his family, runs away to chase his musical dreams but one ill-judged decision sees the living boy enter the surprisingly vibrant land of the dead and he must find a way to return the world of the living before sunset, or else he will be trapped there forever. A task Miguel will soon find is easier said than done, as this adventure takes him to some unexpected discoveries.

Much like Laika’s Kubo and the Two Strings, Coco is a very spiritual film that has much to say about the power of memories and passing on tales of your family and while Coco is not quite as masterful as the aforementioned, it is a film that can proudly stand as another Pixar classic. Visually popping with colour and brimming with imagination, Coco is a lovely film that wholly admires the culture it borrows from and will speak to many a viewer on a personal level. Initially, it takes a little while for the plot to get going but by the second half (which, like a reverse Wall-e effect, is simply immaculate) and a tear-jerking climax (with one scene in particular that ranks up there as one of the studio’s most touching) you grasp the full brilliance of Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich’s screenplay.

Coco is a film that talks about the imperfection of choices and how it is never too late to build/mend bridges and its plot, while seeming to go down a far more comical and joyous route, shocks you with a double-barrelled twist that delves into darker territory than the studio is used to. That being said, the heart of the film never wavers and this is an adventure that is bursting with fun. One of the most enjoyable elements being the film’s incredible soundtrack, which is full of magnificent songs and scoring by Michael Giacchino, that highlight the film’s central ideal of music being a powerful conduit for remembrance and joy.

The characters are fantastic, with young Miguel being brought to life by the gorgeous animation and a wonderful vocal performance by Anthony Gonzalez, as he creates a strong and compassionate central figure that learns from his mistakes. There are also a whole host of excellent supporting characters, most impressive are the down on his luck land of the dead inhabitant Héctor (Gael García Bernal), the assertive Imelda Rivera (Alanna Ubach), Benjamin Bratt’s musical icon Ernesto de la Cruz (a homage to the roots of Spanish language cinema) and Miguel’s great grandmother Mamá Rivera (Ana Ofelia Murguía).

Coco is just a beautiful film that presents death as an adventure that is as big as life. We dare you not to cry, laugh or furiously tap that foot to “Un Poco Loco”!

COCO / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: LEE UNKRICH / SCREENPLAY: ADRIAN MOLINA, MATTHEW ALDRICH/ STARRING: ANTHONY GONZALEZ, GAEL GARCÍA BERNAL, BENJAMIN BRATT / RELEASE DATE: 19TH JANUARY

Expected Rating:
8/10

Keep your eyes and ears peeled as you watch Dmitrii Kalashnikov’s brand-new dash-cam 2016 documentary The Road Movie, which is distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories in the US.

OK, the concept is not new to anyone who has ever watched those TV hour-long specials Like Lights, Camera, Police in the UK and US that show footage from the dashboard of police cars with criminals and joyriders causing carnage and grief before their inevitable fate catches up with them, but we guarantee that you will still flinch and be shocked at the unexpurgated material that is on show here.

Effectively, The Road Movie is a montage of uploaded viral footage that has taken the Net by storm and on that basis, it would probably be more suited to users of YouTube and Vimeo who will probably get more joy out of scoping and searching for those popular clips and indeed, by the end of it, you may be tempted to seek out some new searches based on the list of clips that are shown during the end credit sequences.

At first glance, the one-angle view through the various dash-cams shown here would in any other context be a boring way to spend seventy minutes, but as we are for the most part voyeurs watching this kind of stuff, The Road Movie is anything but boring as we watch a group of Russian drivers encountering all kinds of obstacles and loonies that populate the highways of the continent.

It is a guilty pleasure throughout and we shouldn’t take joy in seeing other people’s misfortune as road rage and frustration take over, but there are some occasionally funny moments, notably the episode in which a taxi driver tries to haggle a sexual favour out of a prostitute with some very explicit verbal needs that should effectively remain private at the heart of his mind.

Keeping your eyes firmly focused on the screen is a must, as when particular sequences starts, you know that something will be said or shown that is going to astound and shock you. Animals and the weather elements also play a huge part, with rain and snow both adding to the challenges that face and sudden surprises of craziness (keep watching for the man who hogs the hood of a female driver and a man who suddenly passes out on the road), but it is the brutal reality of what may happen if you don’t observe the traffic regulations, which we are sure are as strict and prohibitive as they are anywhere else in the world.

The Road Movie will certainly re-stimulate fans of this type of entertainment who are fascinated by the lure of the road, but do not try any of this on the open road next time you get into your car. It has been described as a cross between Jackass and Faces of Death, but in both cases those two films created staged professional stunts and fake gore. This is a very real and occasionally shocking experience that deserves a look.

THE ROAD MOVIE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: DMITRII KALASHNIKOV / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 19TH (US), TBC (UK)

The Oscar-winning Nick Park takes the sole directing reins for the latest hilarious release from Aardman Animations. The crew take us back to the Stone Age and produce yet another fine movie to add to their collection. The Early Man movie posters with the quotes ‘Meet the ancestors of Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit’ highlight the success and joy Aardman has brought to us over the years since Chicken Run, their first feature film, which was released in 2000. It also jogs our memories as to just how creative and different the films have been in the movie industry.

Early Man focuses on caveman Dug (voiced by Redmayne) and his furry pet boar Hognob (who is played by Park himself, apparently). The pair are not alone as they are joined by a warming friendship group, members who are portrayed by some of Britain’s very funny and talented actors such as Johnny Vegas, Timothy Spall, and Richard Ayoade. We see a very close bond from the group who hunt every day for rabbits in ‘the Valley’, a beautiful green setting full of trees and natural creatures. That is until we see the arrival of evil Lord Nooth (Hiddleston), the leader of the Bronze Age City, who in true movie villain tradition, he kicks the gang out of their home. It’s all down to Dug to beat Lord Nooth at his own game in an attempt to get his home back. The battle is unexpectedly set within a game of football and all those beautiful game lovers out there will enjoy this story even more as there are many hilarious references towards the sport -especially the mention of ‘overpaid’ players. There is also a nice touching equality moment in which the film addresses that girls can play football just as good as the men, a statement that has seen women’s football has grown significantly over the last few years in the homeland of the film’s creators.

Early Man has some very funny moments and plenty of little touches such as a small door bolt sealing a massive door entrance to the Bronze Age City that was sealed off with circular-shaped locks. As with Aardman’s previous titles, there is always a storyline of good versus evil. Think back to Ginger the chicken vs. Mr and Mrs Tweedy and Wallace and Gromit taking on Victor Quartermaine. But it’s a tried and tested concept that does not get old for the family audience, as we all root for the good guy to defeat their evil nemesis. And let’s not forget the characters we all fall in love with during their journeys. As we laugh at the bad guys, we finish watching films like Early Man wanting to see more adventures for the protagonists.

It’s very unclear if we’ll ever see a sequel to Early Man but either way, Park and Aardman have once again made a great and amusing family film, which no doubt will be placed not far behind the classics of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run in the public’s affections.

EARLY MAN / CERT: U / DIRECTOR: NICK PARK / SCREENPLAY: MARK BURTON, JAMES HIGGINSON, JOHN O’FARRELL / STARRING: EDDIE REDMAYNE, TOM HIDDLESTON, MAISIE WILLIAMS, TIMOTHY SPALL, RICHARD AYOADE / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 26TH

Expected Rating: 6/10

The unexpected arrival of alien visitors on planet Earth. It’s a perennial staple of cinematic sci-fi. Whether it’s the buttoned-down tension of The Day the Earth Stood Still, the full-blooded conflict of The War of the Worlds, or the wide-eyed wonder of The Abyss, it’s a premise that movie writers and directors return to time and again. Attraction is a big screen, big budget extraterrestrial invasion flick from respected Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk, whose impassioned 2013 war film Stalingrad attracted considerable international attention. Scripted by Andrey Zolotarev and Oleg Malovichko, Attraction is a bold and sophisticated tale in which the phenomenon of allure and of repulsion take centre stage in the relationship between humans and the planet’s latest visitors.

In modern-day Moscow, the city turns out in force to watch the spectacle of a meteor storm that should light up the sky as it hits the Earth’s atmosphere. When the approaching space rocks strike an unseen alien vessel, the craft is sent spinning out of orbit and hurtling towards the streets of Moscow. The opening set piece, showing the destructive, ruinous crash landing of the alien ship is brilliantly realised on screen, as the spinning vehicle slices through the tower blocks of the Chertanovo district trailing smoke and fire. Nothing else in the movie matches the visceral, heart-in-the-mouth quality of this premise-setting sequence, but the brilliance of the special effects, CGI work and sound design showcased in these early scenes is evident in the rendering of all of the movie’s recurring action scenes.

The crisis that the ship’s arrival trigger is seen through the eyes of headstrong student Yulya (a winning performance by Irina Starshenbaum), her bad-boy boyfriend Tyoma and his crew of reprobates, and Yulya’s military father Colonel Lebedev who is drafted in to run containment operations. Director Bondarchuk gets a huge sense of scale from the vast swathes of empty city streets, parks and intersections that he is able to use as impressive, real-world locations. The desaturated colour palette of the film stock, and the brutalist Soviet-era city architecture help to give an unromantic, tough-edged feel to proceedings.

As the authorities try to manage the alien incursion (with the Russian government demanding that other countries keep their distance), and Yulya and Tyoma break into the exclusion zone in the search for answers, the film runs through the recognisable beats of an adventure story. But in the third act, as Yulya and Tyoma react differently to the retrieval of an injured crewman, things break in two different directions: the burgeoning love story between Yulya and the visitor, and the efforts of the increasingly volatile and unhinged Tyoma to stir up popular hostility to the aliens now siphoning water supplies from Moscow rivers and reservoirs.

Bondarchuk is clearly aiming to conjure up an alien invasion story that is emotionally intelligent. He is keen to explore themes of belonging, family, love and compassion as well as the less palatable reactions that sometimes greet new arrivals: those of fear, intolerance and xenophobia. It’s always a tough ask to blend the epic and the intimate, and there are some abrupt switches of tone and focus as Attraction unfolds. Yet while the movie sometimes strains at the limits of its own internal credibility (especially as characters switch loyalties and romantic affinities with unconvincing speed), this remains a landmark entry in the modern Russian sci-fi film canon. Ignore the redubbed edition, and instead immerse yourself in the audio authenticity of the original Russian-language version (complete with English subtitles, of course). Attraction is a film bursting with a sense of creativity and confidence that could rival that of any Hollywood studio genre behemoth.

ATTRACTION / DIRECTOR: FEDOR BONDARCHUK / SCREENPLAY: ANDREY ZOLOTAREV, OLEG MALOVICHKO / CAST: IRINA STARSHENBAUM, ALEXANDER PETROV, RINAL MUKHAMETOV, OLEG MENSHIKOV / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 19TH

What could be the best horror film of the year is ingeniously crafted with twists and turns you don’t see coming.

Professor Goodman (Nyman), a renowned paranormal sceptic and television psychologist is given information by his dying idol and fellow cynic that the supernatural world they both fought against all their lives is actually true. Goodman must interview three people who have had contact with the dark side, but his nature believes that he can prove them as hoaxes.

We follow Goodman on his quest and each tale is a story mystically horrifying in its own way.

The first is a night watchman’s tale, which begins in an abandoned insane asylum and is quite the creepiest of the three. It sets the scene for the tension to come and the brilliant cinematography really adds to the foreboding atmosphere. The shades of dark and light give it a John Alton feel as if he directed a colour movie. Nyman wonderfully adds to this scene, nervously wondering what could be in the dark and reacting to an unseen force. After visiting a priest, Goodman wonders if there is more to the supernatural than he’s thought to disbelieve.

The second episode is a haunted house story in which Simon Rifkind (Lawther, chewing up the scenery in his performance here) may or may not be imagining there is something unnatural that goes bump in the house. Then there’s the ‘thing in the woods’ to contend with.

The final episode begins with Mike Priddle (Freeman) and his uneasiness at the loss of his wife and baby that haunt him as ghostly spectres. Freeman steals the show in this episode.

There isn’t one bad performance in Ghost Stories. Every cast member shines in their roles. Dyson and Nyman have created a scary film, which is based on the play that they successfully created for the stage and it works very well. It has elements of Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, the spookiness of Night of the Demon and a horror feel as if M. R. James wrote the story. The humour injected in works well with the pacing. The effects are outstanding ranging from practical to crafty CGI. Production design is spot on, bringing to mind the look of the old Hammer films. A definite must see!

GHOST STORIES / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: JEREMY DYSON AND ANDY NYMAN / STARRING: MARTIN FREEMAN, ANDY NYMAN AND ALEX LAWTHER / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 13TH

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10