Review Category: Movie

Given the competition for places during the Summer months of any given theatrical year, filmmakers have to make sure that their stories and endeavours are given the right focus and exposure to ensure as much return on the investment as possible.

 

One of the key releases from Kaleidoscope for Summer 2017 is the debut feature from animator Leopoldo Aguilar, Monster Island, a Mexican production with some input from Asian artists and technicians. On balance, it is a hybrid of earlier animated offerings like Hotel Transylvania, Despicable Me and Monsters Inc. The last film is what this clearly shares its world with, but overall it still has a lot of considerable appeal to fans of the three films mentioned.

 

Young Lucas is your average kid trying to fit in. An easy target for the school bully, he is sweet-talked into attending a party by the queen of the hallway, although his father is intent on grounding him after a stunt in science class goes wrong. He sneaks out, but a Carrie-style prank causes him to transform into his true self – a monster. His evident embarrassment and intent on blaming his father for keeping this fact from him causes him to search for the mysterious Monster Island, where he might be able to gain some answers about his new-found identity….

 

Although the filmmakers’ intentions are honourable in their objective, Monster Island may suffer during release via two factors – the other blockbusters on show and the comparisons we have mentioned with the established successes.

 

Writer Billy Flolick is certainly knowledgeable enough, given his pedigree with Madagascar and The Jungle Book, but the film may get lumped in with those more independent animation offerings that may not get the same wide release as a Pixar or a Disney feature.  The film would have benefitted from keeping Lucas in the locality rather than Monster Island, making it all the more wacky in concept and execution.

 

That said, the animation is impeccably realised and the mannerisms and characterisation faultless. It certainly is a film that will appeal more to kids over discerning adults and critics like this writer. The design and colour scheme evokes memories of Laika and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, particularly in Lucas’ sea journey to Monster Island. The animation will certainly hold the attention of the younger audience, so we salute it for this reason.

 

The story structure does borrow in part from the best of Pixar, which is a real shame, as with some real brain-storming, Monster Island could hold its own in the same way that Guardians Of The Galaxy could when compared to Star Wars.

 

Monster Island is a competent animated film and may prove to be a better bet on DVD and Blu-Ray. However, do give it a shot if you need another choice in your Summer movie-going calendar

 

MONSTER ISLAND / CERT: U / DIRECTOR: LEOPOLDO AGUILAR / SCREENPLAY: BILLY FLOLICK / STARRING: FIONA HARDINGHAM, ROGER L. JACKSON, KATIE LEIGH  / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Ever since Charlton Heston fell to his knees on the beach of an ape-occupied world (is it still a spoiler to say where that world was?) back in ’68, the sophisticated simians have gone on to leave an indelible imprint on the silver screen. However, the ideologically inclined original film, based on Pierre Boulle’s novel, has remained the benchmark for the series, throughout the numerous (sometimes silly) sequels. And after Tim Burton’s disappointingly hollow remake in 2001, few expressed much enthusiasm at the CG-filled reboot/prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes. However Rupert Wyatt’s film kick started what has been the Apes’ best run onscreen in decades, a fact verified by Matt Reeves’ masterful sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014. So, with hopes high, can Reeves’ War of the Planet of the Apes even hope to live up? Well, it doesn’t…it exceeds.

The film picks up on the promise left lingering by the ending of Dawn, as the remnants of man are waging war on apekind, while Caesar (Andy Serkis) still hopes that a peaceful resolution can be possible. However, when the tactics of a ruthless military Colonel (Woody Harrelson) push the leader of the apes to a place he has not ever been, he is forced to question whether the same hatred that lived within Koba (Toby Kebbel’s big bad in the last movie), is growing within him. Utilising Western tropes in the opening third, before coming to blend War movie and Prison movie influences, War is an astonishing achievement in technological potential but, more importantly, in this trilogies raw emotive narrative power. Less a simple story than a gripping parable, this film is one of the most gruelling, poignant and triumphant watches since Kornél Mundruczó’s White God (a film it shares many parallels with).

 

Combining exhaustive scenes of suffering akin to Scorsese’s Silence earlier this year and Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, alongside bookend action sequences and Great Escape-like prison scenes, this is ambitious, emotionally riveting and soulful blockbuster filmmaking on an immaculate scale. Reminding of this year’s Logan in how it presents a desperate, shattered world, a worn down lead wrestling with issues and Western like violent confrontation, not to mention a youthful character who is a beacon of hope to the plot, this film arguably did Logan even better than Logan did! In this film war is rife but it is more mankind becoming primal savages, binarily opposing the sophisticated pacifism of some of Caesar’s apes (minus a few “traitors” who succumb to fear – another bold idea). This is a film that paints a picture of slavery (evoking real historical injustices) and tells a vital tale of how the human race abuses and uses what it holds power over and fears being torn apart by natural forces, when it is actually being destroyed by its own greed, misguided beliefs and lusts for power.

 

Reeves and Bomback’s story is a tour de force which uses groundbreaking motion capture and technically dazzling effects to accompany, as opposed to distract from, its story. The motion capture CGI is photo realistic throughout with the suffering of the apes being even more tear enduringly shattering, as a result of the realistic shell that allows the actors to provide the soul. Serkis deserves golden recognition, long overdue for his pioneering work in validating this approach to acting (be it as Golum or Caesar)…and that is just what it is, real acting. He is faultless in the role and as Caesar showcases the internal conflict within this noble but afflicted hero – both physically and verbally. His mannerisms and eyes gleam with pain and moral confusion, as he is lost in how best to fight this new level of human cruelty. Meanwhile Harrelson as the Colonel offers truly nasty and near psychotic support and opposition.

 

However in this film, the tetartagonists truly shine too, as Karin Konoval’s beloved character Maurice becomes the films biggest badass, and his connection with the human jewel in the movies crown in a young speechless child, played to perfection by Amiah Miller, is a further level of heart to a film already brimming with it. The final scene between Maurice and Caesar is a necessary, savage, beautiful and honest cap to the film, while a mid-film sequence involving Amiah Miller’s most kind hearted and compassionate character in the film is further proof of why Miller deserves even more praise than she is receiving. Then there is some much needed lightness provided to this dark and affecting tale by Steve Zahn’s Bad Ape, whose introduction is necessary in providing the story with some smiles amidst the tears. Terry Notary and Ty Olsson as Caesar’s loyal accomplices Rocket and Red also have their moments to shine in a film filled with moments of uplift, intensity and heartache, as it masterfully blends hellish Apocalypse Now conflict one minute with snow strewn horseback edge of seat Drama the next.

 

This is a journey that must be seen in cinemas and a finale to one of the greatest contemporary trilogies in recent memory. Michael Giacchino’s score (which is one of the talented composers most stunning to date) is the perfect partner for Michael Seresin’s cinematography in this artistic, intelligent and uncompromisingly mesmerising film. This is what can be accomplished when the passion for storytelling is as strong as the use of special effects to bring that story to life. You could hear a pin drop as this reviewer left the screening, which has arguably not been the case for this series since the monumental closing twist of the original motion picture. One of the years best films. Batman is in good hands.

 

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: MATT REEVES / SCREENPLAY: MARK BOMBACK, MATT REEVES / STARRING: ANDY SERKIS, WOODY HARRELSON, AMIAH MILLER, STEVE ZAHN, KARIN KONOVAL, TERRY NOTARY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expected Rating: 9/10

Actual Rating:

After surviving being bitten on the arse by a vampire, young slacker Tim becomes inducted into the Vampire Cleanup Department, a clandestine subdivision of Hong Kong’s sanitation sector. On his first night he encounters a wizened old vampire, only for his blood to transform her into a beautiful young woman. Unable to bring himself to kill her, he instead attempts to teach her human behaviour, all the while the rather more unpleasant bloodsucking undead monster with whom she shared a coffin begins to rise.

 

Yes, it’s all a very familiar setup, but is also one that’s actually quite fun, at least to begin with. Rather than the Dracula-derived night creatures more familiar to westerners, the vampires depicted here are the jiangshi, a type from Chinese folklore probably best known through the Mr Vampire series of kung fu horror comedies, to which this film attempts to be a successor. Inherently comedic creatures, they hold their arms in front of them as though sleepwalkers in a dated cartoon and move by slowly jumping forwards in two-footed leaps like a drunkard playing hopscotch, making it a small wonder they ever catch anyone.

 

The film’s tone harks back to the ‘80s when the sub-genre’s popularity was at its height, although with effects augmented with modern CGI. The resultant style is vibrant and colourful, matching the story’s surreal lack humour.

 

As well as the action, the film is also something of a romantic comedy. The scenes between Tim and the vampire girl – whom he christens Summer – are actually quite sweet, like awkward teenagers unsure of how to act around each other. Summer is a being of pure innocence, her vampiric tendencies instinctive and habitual rather than malicious, making her seem more than anything like a puppy being trained in acceptable behaviour. It’s clear Tim is infatuated with her and wants her to embrace the humanity his affection gradually brings forth, and she does genuinely seem to reciprocate, but her being undead leaves her unable to verbally respond, Tim instead receiving only proxy interactions via a Siri-esque app on a phone she swallowed.

 

Away from the romance there is some action, but not as much as you would expect, which leaves proceedings lacking in the required level of excitement, while some sub-plots, such as the police attempting to develop a cure for vampirism, are given basic lip-service before being forgotten about. The other significant plotline, that of the appearance of a master vampire, is not given adequate attention to strike with the required impact, and so upon its fruition it – and thus the film as a whole – ends up seeming rushed.

 

A good introduction to a segment of vampire lore with which viewers may be unfamiliar, Vampire Cleanup Department starts well but ultimately ends up in overly familiar territory that meanders through a short running time. While a fun distraction and an admirable attempt at resurrecting a once-popular subgenre, overall it’s nothing special.

 

VAMPIRE CLEANUP DEPARTMENT / CERT: TBA / DIRECTOR: PAK-WING YAN, SIN-HANG CHIU / SCREENPLAY: PAK-WING YAN, WING-HONG HO, ASHLEY CHEUNG / STARRING: BABYJOHN CHOI, MIN CHEN LIN, SIU-HO CHIN, RICHARD NG, CHEUNG-YAN YUEN / RELEASE DATE: TBA

 

Expected Rating: 7/10

 

Actual Rating:

Following the events of The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji, the implausibly prolific Japanese madman Takashi Miike delivers a second helping of yakuza infiltration insanity. It’s not really a handicap if you’ve not seen the first film, as the pertinent details are recounted in a lightning burst of prologue exposition, leading up to how our gormless hero Reiji opens the film dangling naked from a cage full of large sweaty men in towels being airlifted by helicopter across Tokyo. This also efficiently sets the tone for much of the rest of the film.

 

Despite being told he would be pulled out upon completion of his previous mission, Hong Kong Capriccio sees Reiji instead sent deeper into the yakuza underworld to take down a syndicate overlord. However, his mission becomes hampered by such handicaps as his own general incompetence, his inability to keep a thought in his head for more than a few seconds, his priapic reaction to virtually every women who crosses his path, and the voracious desires of his new employer’s daughter, who initially presents herself with the stereotypically demure shyness of a young Japanese woman, but soon reveals herself to be a bratty princess who wants Reiji as her personal boy toy.

 

The anarchy driving the film is highly entertaining to begin with, with numerous styles thrown indiscriminately at the screen, including the likes of dream sequences, animation, manga-esque thought panels, and impromptu musical numbers. A few of many running jokes include some quite literal toilet humour involving a filthy plunger used as an impromptu weapon of suffocation, and a comedic sound effect every time Reiji gets an erection that puts you in mind of our own Martin Unsworth’s ‘pink flute’ radio show running joke.

 

However, after a while the pace begins to falter as the relentless chaos slows the development of what little plot there actually is, a recurrence of the tendency for Miike’s films to run about twenty minutes longer than necessary, with their overdose of general madness occasionally resulting in the loss of focus of telling an actual story.

 

In spite of this, what could still have been a joyfully demented thrill ride is severely hampered by a severe undercurrent of misogyny that runs through most of the film. You can dress it up in all the histrionics you like, but with a plot ultimately revolving around a human trafficking auction where beautiful women are to be sold as slaves to sleazy rich men, while the nominal female lead spends half the film under the constant threat of vengeance-inspired sexual assault, it leaves a very uncomfortable feeling when the whole situation is played for laughs.

 

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio is a decent enough follow up and delivers everything we’ve come to expect of Miike, but pacing issues and unabashed sexism result in a film that unfortunately isn’t quite as much fun as it could have been.

 

THE MOLE SONG: HONG KONG CAPRICCIO / CERT: TBA / DIRECTOR: TAKASHI MIIKE / SCREENPLAY: KANKURÔ KUDÔ / STARRING: TÔMA IKUTA, SHIN’ICHI TSUTSUMI, TSUBASA HONDA, NANAO, ARATA FURUTA / RELEASE DATE: TBA

 

Expected Rating: 8/10

 

Actual Rating:

It’s often referenced only half-jokingly that everything in Australia can kill you in a variety of terrifying and indignant ways, that the entire island continent is a blasted hellscape whose every species of plant and wildlife is out for your agonised destruction. If the films coming out of the country during the last decade are anything to go by, we can also add commonplace humans to that list, with Killing Ground joining the likes of Snowtown, The Loved Ones and Wolf Creek in its tale of psychotic killers painted all the more brutal by their seemingly everyday banality.

 

Young couple Sam and Ian head off for a camping trip, only to find an empty tent already at their proposed site. Soon after they are stalked and menaced by a pair of local psychopaths who engage in the odd spot of murder as a hobby, and as the story jumps back and forth in time the events of earlier are revealed, along with the fate of the family who first encountered them. You’ll never look at camping the same way again!

 

One thing that separates Killing Ground from many others of its ilk is its focus on characterisation. Too often both murderers and victims are treated as being generic and disposable, with the focus being on acts of depravity erroneously believed to be the only appeal of such films. The time spent with the killers German and Chook attempts to portray them as relatable people with normal lives, with stalking, sexual assault and murder as merely non-standard extra-curricular activities. However, despite knowing more about how they spend their time, it doesn’t afford them much greater depth than that of any anonymous prowler of countless similar movies. Sam and Ian, meanwhile, are practically a study in ordinariness, their purposefully standard lives intended to have something with which most audience members can identify, thus making their reactions when everything goes to hell that much more relatable. As events intensify it’s Sam who becomes the far more interesting of the pair, although she never descends to becoming just another Final Girl.

 

Rather than most horror movies that stand in sanctimonious judgement of the lamentable decision-making skills of their assorted victims, the film instead demands you consider – and really think about – exactly what you would do upon finding yourself in the same situation. While it doesn’t show the ordeals of its characters in as graphic detail as you might expect, it doesn’t make them any easier to stomach, as you are still well aware of what’s going on, and in some ways it’s actually a little worse as it sends your imagination spiralling.

 

Killing Ground makes a genuine and wholehearted effort to be something different, and to a certain extent succeeds, but with the rest of it being too much of more of the same it doesn’t stand out quite as much as it hopes to.

 

KILLING GROUND / CERT: TBA / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: DAMIEN POWER / STARRING: HARRIET DYER, IAN MEADOWS, AARON PEDERSEN, AARON GLENANE / RELEASE DATE: TBA

 

Expected Rating: 7/10

 

Actual Rating:

Hunter Minokichi and his elderly mentor shelter from a snowstorm, whereupon they encounter a ghostly figure who kills the elder with her frost breath but spares Minokichi with a warning that if he ever speaks of her she will return. He later meets lost young woman Yuki, who has no personal history and looks just like the killer spirit, and they soon fall for each other and marry. Many years later when their daughter Ume has grown to a teenager, history seems to begin repeating itself.

 

The plot synopsis above might read somewhat disjointed, but such lack of cohesion is an accurate reflection of Snow Woman’s structure. While certainly a distinct story, it doesn’t follow traditional narrative flow, having some scenes end suddenly once pertinent details have been related but before events draw to a natural conclusion. This is in no way meant as a detraction, far from it the ethereal atmosphere is what gives the film its unique nature, which at times feels like a visual interpretation of a recounted dream.

 

The story is inspired by the Yuki-onna figure from Japanese folklore (and more specifically a tale recounted by myth collector Lafcadio Hearn), and despite being a Japanese movie featuring a murderous supernatural woman with long dark hair, it’s a far cry from the typical J-horror ghost tales so popular in the early ‘00s.

 

The film has a timeless quality to it, not only due to the impression that it could take place at any historical or present-day point, but also because the setting seems to exist in different times simultaneously. The stark black and white opening sees the hunters dressed in what appears to be feudal-era garb, while the subsequent softly-lit colour sequences feature contemporary settings such as a factory or a school playground. No attempt is made to explain the existence of the supernatural, rather there is a straightforward expectation to accept that a mystical forest realm of spirits and tradition exists directly alongside a real world of modern industry. Such dualities abound throughout, with practically every element of the story – be it character, location, setting or occurrence – having some opposite or reflection to balance its inclusion.

 

As the frostbitten bodies of people Yuki and Ume have encountered begin to mysteriously turn up, the issue isn’t really whether or not Yuki is a physical manifestation of the Snow Woman, but rather what the developing situation means for all involved. While the film poses its questions more or less directly, it leaves it up to the viewer to interpret for themselves what the answers are.

 

Far more introspective than most genre fare, Snow Woman is as beautiful and haunting as its titular spirit, a sinister and mesmerising tale that lingers in the senses like the deep chill of her deadly breath.

 

SNOW WOMAN / CERT: TBA / DIRECTOR: KIKI SUGINO / SCREENPLAY: KIKI SUGINO, MITSUO SHIGETA, SEIGAN TOMINOMORI / STARRING: KIKI SUGINO, MUNETAKA AOKI, MAYU YAMAGUCHI, SHIRÔ SANO / RELEASE DATE: TBA

 

Expected Rating: 7/10

 

Actual Rating:

Rescued from straight-to-DVD Hell thanks to the surprise success of last summer’s The Shallows, 47 Metres Down, directed and co-written by Johannes (Storage 24, The Other Side of the Door) Roberts, continues to wrest the shark movie away from the clammy grasp of the SyFy Channel and their never-ending Sharknado series and increasingly-silly monster mash-up cash-ins. 47 Metres Down is a brisk, tense, surprisingly-effective little chiller which ticks all the boxes we might expect from a movie in which pretty ladies are terrorised by voracious sharks and yet adds a little something extra by way of a real sense of panicky jeopardy as our terrified leads face a fate perhaps even worse than becoming shark fodder as they find themselves stranded at the bottom of the ocean with their air supply running out. Sometimes a bad day can get a whole lot worse…

 

Sisters Lisa (former pop moppet Moore) and Kate (Holt) are holidaying in Mexico and an evening spent being lightly romanced by a couple of buff local hunks leads to an invitation to spend the following day cage-diving so they can get up close and personal with some distinctly unfriendly neighbourhood sharks. On reflection, perhaps a day playing bingo at the hotel might have been a better option. No sooner have the feisty pair donned their wetsuits and clambered into the cage in pursuit of an activity only slightly more pointless than slamming the fridge door repeatedly into one’s genitals than the inevitable happens; the winch cable holding the cage snaps and the two by-now terrified girls find themselves plunging into the inky depths to come to rest…yep, you guessed it, 47 metres down. They’re out of radio communication range, their air supply is perilously low and swimming to the surface isn’t a good idea due to the risk of decompression sickness (the bends). Oh, and there’s also the little matter of the circling sharks, metaphorically licking their metaphorical lips at the prospect of a tasty, easy meal…

 

Like The Shallows, 47 Metres Down plays with our preconceptions of the shark movie and manages to cook up something new from ingredients we’ve been served fairly regularly since Jaws back in 1975 to the extent that perhaps it isn’t really just a shark movie at all. So whilst we get the obligatory shots of (extremely well-realised CGI) sharks swooping and snapping we’re also diverted by the more pressing peril of the dire situation the two girls find themselves in, stuck at the bottom of the ocean with only a limited supply of air. In a sense, the sharks are the least of the girls’ worries. It’s ferociously watchable stuff as the resourceful pair battle terrifying odds to stay alive; rescue and salvation are snatched away time and again and there’s a real sense of hopeless, stifling desperation in their plight as one rescue attempt in particular goes catastrophically wrong. Films set predominantly underwater can sometimes drift into murky incomprehensibility but Roberts keeps his action snappy and sharp and we are right there with those girls, trapped in their cage, terrified witless and yet really rather glad we’re actually sitting in the cinema munching on our popcorn and thanking the Gods that we’re not stupid enough to do something as foolhardy.

47 Metres Down is great fun – despite a slightly dodgy twist ending clunkily telegraphed halfway through the film – and Moore and Holt carry the drama well and, despite the inevitable  sketchiness of their characters, do enough to make us genuinely give a damn about their piscine plight. A surprise hit in the States, 47 Metres Down should perform well in the UK in another blockbuster-saturated cinema summer and again suggests that Johannes Roberts is a talent who ought to be given a shot at something bigger and ballsier.

 

47 METRES DOWN / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: JOHANNES ROBERTS / SCREENPLAY: JOHANNES ROBERTS, ERNEST RIERA / STARIRNG: MANDY MOORE, CLAIRE HOLT, CHRIS JOHNSTON, MATTHEW MODINE / RELEASE DATE: 26TH JULY

Another addition into the found footage genre, The Dark Tapes is an anthology horror movie which is about as entertaining as watching paint dry. Having found much success on the festival circuits and earning several positive reviews along the way, The Dark Tapes was picked up for US Distribution by the Epic Pictures Group. However it now seems that it’ll soon be reaching our shores to haunt the shelves of many retailers around the UK. Much like the rats that travelled over here on the merchant ships hundreds of years ago, all this writer can say is avoid this like the plague.

The main culprit behind this monstrosity is Michael McQuown who not only directed the vast majority of the film (Vincent J. Guastini took on directorial duties for the segment titled “To Catch a Demon”) but was also responsible for the writing, producing, editing and the cinematography, to this poorly conceived mess.

 

With the found footage genre having had its fair amount of critics in recent years, movies like Unfriended, Creep and VHS have shown how the genre is still very much alive. Through innovative filming techniques, clever script writing and genre bending antics, the found footage genre still has plenty of mileage behind it with the right people at the helm. Unfortunately, The Dark Tapes consists of nothing but uninspiring directing, poor writing and a whole load of weak performances.

With a running time of 98 minutes, one could be mistaken for thinking it was a lot longer due to its slow, apathetic pace. Consisting of 4 segments titled, “To Catch a Demon”, “The Hunters & The Hunted”, “Cam Girls” and “Amanda’s Revenge”, we’re treated to many familiar horror tropes such as alien abduction, paranormal activities and a dash of murder. With a couple of segments containing some interesting twist and turns, it’s never enough to keep one engaged due to the unimaginative direction.

With some costumes looking like they’ve been taken straight from the set of a 1980’s Doctor Who episode, the fear factor is nowhere to be seen. With the exception of a couple of cattleprod moments, where you’re shocked into submission through the usual quiet, quiet, bang scenarios, The Dark Tapes doesn’t offer enough to entice horror fans in any way, shape or form. The suspense is limited, the blood is scarce and the nudity is nowhere to be seen. If you’re going to have a segment titled Cam Girls and not even reveal a bit of nipple then you know something is going seriously wrong!

 

Overall, The Dark Tapes is a colossal waste of time. With performances that would be better suited to a porno you’d find on the top shelf of a seedy newsagents and a script that’s about as thrilling as anthrax, there’s truly nothing of value to see. However if you’re truly a dark connoisseur of horror and feel the need to check this movie out then be our guest…but be afraid, be very afraid. This writer’s advice: Avoid at all costs!

THE DARK TAPES / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: MICHAEL MCQUOWN, VINCENT J..GUASTINI / STARRING: CORTNEY PALM, EMILIA ZORYAN, BRITTANY UNDERWOOD, DAVID HULL / RELEASE DATE: TBA

Remaining on his native island after a brief stint in Hollywood, Icelandic master of gloom Baltasar Kormákur follows the excellent TV series Trapped with another tale of moody suspense.

 

Despite The Oath’s setting of Icelandic capital Reykjavík suspended with dark beauty in the frozen arctic winter, those looking for their next fix of Nordic Noir might be a little disappointed, as this is far more of a personal tale than the grim mysteries the sub-genre provides. It is, however, a straightforward yet gripping psychological thriller driven by a study of just how far a father is willing to go to protect his daughter.

 

The story centres around Finnur (Kormákur directing himself for the first time since his 101 Reykjavík debut), a successful surgeon and family man whose 18-year-old daughter Anna has become mixed up with her dealer boyfriend Óttar’s criminal lifestyle. Despite the relationship being clearly detrimental to her safety, as Anna is legally an adult there is little the authorities can do. Held in dual thrall to her addiction and passion, she does in may ways still behave like an irresponsible child, so Finnur takes it upon himself to save her from her own self-destruction despite what it might end up costing him.

 

As Finnur and Óttar’s personal war of attrition gradually escalates it’s soon shown that all actions and decisions have consequences, and what might seem like a crafty or dangerous move cannot be guaranteed to simply resolve the situation outright. It’s difficult to directly talk about the story’s events as a major turning point takes place far enough into the film to warrant being classed as a spoiler, but when it comes the story is catapulted in a new direction and opens up questions about what is morally justified in the defence of your family.

 

The title refers to the Hippocratic Oath that all doctors take, often oversimplified as “Do no harm,” which the film’s opening states to include the acknowledgment that a doctor has it within them to save a life, but also take one. This duality is seen in Finnur’s determination to push himself into doing increasingly objectionable things to keep safe those he loves, and provides an indicator of the extent to which we can expect events to intensify.

 

The decidedly bleak portrayal of the human condition means that there’s no reason everything should all tie up neatly, and so you remain constantly on edge, convinced that at any moment something is about to go horribly wrong and tragedy will mercilessly strike. A happy ending is most certainly not a guarantee, and it becomes clear that whatever resolution there is will come at a price that cannot easily be repaid.

 

The Oath begins as merely involving, but as its emotional intensity pulls you deeper into its spiralling vortex of scheming, it soon becomes utterly compelling.

 

THE OATH / CERT: TBA / DIRECTOR: BALTASAR KORMÁKUR / SCREENPLAY:  BALTASAR KORMÁKUR, ÓLAFUR EGILSSON / STARRING: BALTASAR KORMÁKUR, HERA HILMAR, GÍSLI ÖRN GARÐARSSON, MARGRÉT BJARNADÓTTIR / RELEASE DATE: TBA

 

Expected Rating: 7/10

 

Actual Rating:

Underachieving police officer Jo dreams of joining RAID, an elite unit she envisions as living out the action movie lifestyle she fantasises about. When she is repeatedly rejected on account of her uncontrollable clumsiness, her politician father pulls strings to get her into training, thinking its intensity will dissuade her. Unfortunately, it only has the opposite effect and gives Jo the opportunity to prove her detractors wrong.

 

There is nobody in the world who does farcical comedy quite like the French, and Raid: Special Unit is another in a long line of movies marrying serious subject matter (in this case Balkan terrorists terrorising Paris) with knockabout antics.

 

Jo is an endearing character whose perpetual cheerfulness makes you root for her in spite of her numerous faults and clear unsuitability for the position she desperately wants to attain. Her good-natured personality and willingness to believe the best of everyone might make her a nice person, but severely blunts her instincts as a police officer, and also results in her remaining rather sweetly oblivious of why and just how much her new hyper-masculine teammates enjoy having a tall, curvy and attractive woman to share a physical routine with.

 

Alice Pol, a popular French actress from a number of comedy movies, puts in another game performance as Jo, her talent for timing and physical comedy (not to mention willingness to be the butt of much of the film’s humour) keeping her heroine appealing even when she repeatedly sets herself up for failure. However, pratfalls can only entertain up to a point, and when Jo’s cluelessness ends up genuinely putting her colleagues’ lives in danger it limits the extent to which you can truly empathise with her.

 

The bulk of the characterisation consists of interaction between Jo and training instructor Gene (writer and director Dany Boon), who has been driven to misogyny after a bitter split with his wife and constantly attempts to prove Jo a liability purely on account of her being a woman, which of course leads to a mutual respect gradually growing between the pair. There is also a wavering sub-plot of Jo’s deteriorating relationship with her fiancé, which is never properly developed and later on is only resuscitated in order to be swiftly resolved.

 

RAID: Special Unit is a lot of fun to begin with, but its simple setup doesn’t have the substance to sustain it for the length of an entire film, and by the time the plot pulls itself along to its inevitable conclusion it feels like it has spent too long not really going anywhere.

 

RAID: SPECIAL UNIT / CERT: TBA / DIRECTOR: DANY BOON / SCREENPLAY: DANY BOON, SARAH KAMINSKY / STARRING: ALICE POL, DANY BOON, MICHEL BLANC, YVAN ATTAL, SABINE AZÉMA / RELEASE DATE: TBA

 

Expected Rating: 6/10

 

Actual Rating: