Review Category: Movie

Whatever anyone thinks of the direction of movies since the new millennium, when film scholars look at animated cinema, they will undoubtedly look on the last decade or two as the maturation and evolution of mainstream animated filmmaking. From Pixar becoming a household name, to Dreamworks bringing a few stonking series’ to life, to Illumination Entertainment’s Minions swallowing up pop culture and masterful studios like Studio Ghibli finally attaining the notoriety they fully deserve. However, one form of animation that has thrived in a CG heavy market is stop motion, thanks in no small part to the effort of studios like Laika. After making their name with Coraline, the studio has consistently delivered with every offering, with 2012’s Paranorman and especially the sublime 2014 film The Boxtrolls. And now we arrive at the gates of Laika’s most ambitious outing yet in Kubo and The Two Strings, which not only delivers but also might just be the best film of 2016. 

The story centres on Kubo (Art Parkinson), a young boy who lives in a cave near the sea and cares for his mentally ailing mother by night and by day brings Origami to life and tells thrilling stories in a nearby village for money. However one night, the past catches up with Kubo as sinister presences related to he and his mother come calling to finish the job they started years ago and throw the young boy into a quest, alongside Monkey (Charlize Theron) and a samurai warrior turned Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), that will take Kubo on a journey to fight this darkness and uncover the extent of his power and humanity. Travis Knight’s film is not only the stuff dreams are made of but also is a dream itself, delivering a boundlessly imaginative undertaking that deserves the attention of a huge audience. 

The plot is indebted to not only Japanese legends and stories but also Greek mythology and cinematic influences as wide as Clash Of The Titans and Akira Kurosawa. Despite these influences though, Marc Haimes and Chris Butler’s screenplay is breathtakingly original and emotionally rich. This adventure is one that gave this writer a serious case of goosebumps around 5 or more times and is full of wonder and pure cinema magic. Watching Kubo and The Two Strings is like watching a tapestry of ancient times coming to life before your eyes and what is so fascinating about this film is how it conveys its story. Kubo’s stories of fantasy are not just that, they are his life and as the film progresses, we come to live his story with him, feeling and discovering every tear jerking twist and dangerous encounter, as he does, unsure of what comes next.

The film is about so many things but the theme of memory being more powerful than the sadness that comes with loss is one that stands out in a spiritual ideology, one that gives the viewer constant hope and jubilation. This is a film about the joy of living and creating our own stories, and keeping the stories of those we lose alive. No matter how dark or scary the film gets, with some tremendous creature designs – a skeleton sequence mid-film simply astounds – on display, the script never loses its constant sense of fun or joy, with laughs aplenty throughout. And this mastery of tone and pace is mostly down to just how comfortable you are in the company of these characters. 

The characters are wondrously realized, with magnificent vocal performances to match the immaculate and gorgeous stop-motion techniques (stay after the credits to see just how painstaking one sequence was to create). Art Parkinson is delightful as Kubo, who is a brimming core to the movie and his story (as well as his character) is one that develops so organically, with us eager to find out why as a baby his eye was taken, the extent of his magical power (as he wields his Shamisen and brings his origami to life) and who these dark forces are in relation to him. Charlize Theron is terrific in a maternal capacity as Monkey, a role so clever and layered and yet that allows time for some brilliantly comic lines, speaking of which Matthew McConaughey’s amnesiac Samurai turned Beetle is a joy and a real lovably kind knucklehead and loyal skilled warrior. Then there are other terrific turns by Ralph Fiennes as the villainous Raiden The Moon King and Rooney Mara is simply sadistic as the frightening sisters that are the Moon King’s daughters.

We are being purposefully restrained in revealing too much about the characters and their stories because there is so much to tell and so much we encourage you to discover for yourself. Kubo and The Two Strings’ animation surely ranks as some of the best in this field, with more eye absorbing imagery and scenes of stop motion enchantment than could be listed on a 4-mile long scroll. And next to the visual excellence is a score by Dario Marianelli, that is a perfect match and sweeps you along on this spellbinding tale. Emotive, human, witty, powerful and spectacular, Kubo is a film you don’t come out of, so much as one you sit in appreciation of for a few moments as its credits roll. Like all great art it looks astounding and the love and passion is evident in every detail, from its adoringly crafted animation to its poignant and witty writing, to its superb characters. 

Practically faultless and utterly magical, you owe it to your heart and soul to witness what just might be the greatest film released this year. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be amazed, a masterpiece.

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: TRAVIS KNIGHT / SCREENPLAY: MARC HAIMES, CHRIS BUTLER / STARRING: ART PARKINSON, CHARLIZE THERON, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, RALPH FIENNES, ROONEY MARA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expected Rating: 8/10

Actual Rating:

Snipers, serial killers and the assassination of JFK. They affect our everyday mentality. Even Brenda Spencer, the young girl who didn’t like Mondays, became a song. This, kids, is director Sheldon Renan’s The Killing of America and is one of the most vital, sobering and fascinating documentaries on crime available. This is even more impressive when you consider that this is a reissue of a documentary that first came out in 1981, shown here at FrightFest for the first time on a UK cinema.

This documentary focuses on the ‘violence begets violence’ narrative, but because of the use of archive footage and despite its own retro status, it makes even these old news stories seem utterly up-to-date and prescient. Indeed, sometimes it is only by having footage of the killings as they happened that you can begin to realise just how much impact violence has on the everyday viewer. Citizenship is knowing and bearing witness to murder even if it is behind a glass screen. The media reaction to the dissection of celebrity President Kennedy’s image speaks volumes about how we react in awe and disbelief to the possibility (and indeed absurd probability) of terrorism today. It is not only a movie.

Gore-wise, appropriate talking heads are edited in between crime scene footage with no comfort given to our current ‘trigger warning’ culture. You see death here. It preserves the sobering and ghastly impact as a result. At the same time, however, the narrative manages to avoid the dirty feeling that clings after watching some documentaries on well-known channels. The Killing of America feels confidently (but confusedly) complicit rather than purely voyeuristic as the voice-over is old-style rather than cackling. It catches us in the moment where we genuinely thought of America as a pinnacle of the young-bold and that it really could be the land of the free rather than the land that feared. It reminds us not so much of what (who?) we have lost, but of the naiveté that withered away since mass media showed us ourselves warts and all and we decided superhero films were a good sticking plaster. Quite simply, if you like the idea of living, the way the statistics on gun ownership in America alone are given will make you soil your underwear (bearing in mind this documentary was initially released over 30 years ago).

After a while it becomes a litany of familiar headliners, but that’s partly the point: a catalogue of killing should lose its glamour but it doesn’t because we are, by fault of nature, rubberneckers.

The Killing of America manages to be harrowing today as its stark warnings have gone unheeded. The killers it showcases have gone on to become pop culture and the editing of them alongside scenes of violence truly cuts to the quick.

THE KILLING OF AMERICA / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: SHELDON RENAN / SCREENPLAY: LEONARD SCHRADER, CHIEKO SCHRADER / STARRING: CHUCK RILEY / RELEASE DATE: TBC

 

A few years back, director Darren Scales and his dedicated team produced The Drift, a full length space-set science fiction film made for £5k. More impressive than it being so cheap was that it was actually pretty good (our review is up on this very site), and as any film fan these days knows, something being actually, you know, pretty good and not just the sum of ‘brilliant marketing x underwhelming product = regular disappointment’ is getting sadly rare.

For short film Edge of the Storm, Scales is continuing to expand upon the DARKWAVE concept established in The Drift. Over 100 years in the future, humankind has colonised space using faster-than-light crystals. The ‘darkwave’ was a catastrophic event some decades earlier, which destroyed this capability and left colonies devastated as well as ships stranded throughout explored space. Where The Drift focused on a salvage crew encountering something dangerous out in space, Edge of the Storm moves that focus onto a planet. A young family find themselves on the run from the omnipresent martial law of the Ministry. Making their way to an outpost, and in dire need of rest and food, the family instead find something waiting for them as their hunters close in.

Edge of the Storm is, at its core, nothing particularly new. But then that’s really true of most films and TV shows ever released. To be successful, the trick is trying to present something in a fresh way and doing it well. For the most part, this is what Edge of the Storm achieves.  Scales has gone for a lived-in future with recognisable technology; it’s a not-too-implausible future, with a feeling of verisimilitude coming from only one major discovery (in this case crystals) making space travel and colonisation possible. The family at the centre of the story presents the human front to what this kind of future could be like: people trying to get by, to keep safe and find food, missing their relatives stranded impossibly far away across space.   Although it’s still a relatively low-budget production, this doesn’t really show on screen, and Scales has gone for a high-end feeling to proceedings, assisted by a full score that helps to convince that this is a professional product made to be taken seriously.

The dialogue is a bit unpolished and some of the acting is a bit rough too, but then again, when you don’t have the luxury of a long pre-production, shooting times or rehearsals, you make do. Overall, if the desire from producing Edge of the Storm was to encourage people to get interested in exploring this universe further, it’s certainly capable of achieving its aim.  We hope there’s more to come from Scales, his crew and the DARKWAVE universe.

DARKWAVE: EDGE OF THE STORM / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: DARREN SCALES / SCREENPLAY: DARREN SCALES, SUE MORRIS, DOMINIC K. BRIGHT / STARRING: NATHALIE COX, SHANE RIMMER, ROBIN KIRWAN, STEVE HEALEY / RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 16TH

 
 

In
the years since its production Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four has gained a level
of infamy among comic-book fans, but if this documentary proves anything it’s
that this misguided attempt at an adaptation is more than just a punchline.
Bringing together almost all of the major players involved in Corman’s feature,
Doomed offers a comprehensive guide as to how 1994’s The Fantastic Four came
into being. Starting from the conception of the idea and its arrival at the
desk of Roger Corman, this documentary goes on to chronicle the film’s casting,
principal photography, promotion, post-production, and of course its inevitable
shelving.

Where
Doomed is most effective is in its ability to get you emotionally invested in
the story of this absurd feature. Many of those attached to the project were
blissfully unaware that the film was never intended for release, to them this
was a chance to bring some much-beloved comic-book characters to the big screen
in the best way they could on a miniscule budget; ironically, those closest to
the 1994 film show a genuine enthusiasm for the source material that seemed to
be lacking in the eventual big-budget incarnations of Marvel’s First Family.
That’s what makes this situation all the more heartbreaking. The revelation
that the movie had been made purely as a way for the studio to get through a
loop-hole in their contract caught almost everyone completely off-guard, not
only dashing their hopes that this would be a big break for each of their
respective careers but also packing the added punch that not a single person
would get to see their hard work. Of course, the movie has since been illegally
reproduced but to this day is yet to see an official release.

Doomed
is without a doubt the definitive resource for information on this story, but
the documentary itself isn’t executed flawlessly. Certainly some parts of this
story are more interesting than others, and as a result there were a few points
about halfway through where it lost a little momentum. This wasn’t helped by
the broader issue that Doomed feels somewhat generic, adopting the standard
talking heads format so common in documentaries these days while failing to
offer a distinctive voice or bring anything new to the table. Doomed is still
an enjoyable watch particularly for those wanting the inside story on Corman’s
production, but given the intrigue that has surrounded this Fantastic Four
movie for the last two decades it would have been nice to see the story behind
it told in a more memorable way.

As
it is, Doomed is a very competent retelling of a strange series of events but
one which might struggle to stand out from the crowd, and perhaps isn’t
destined to find an audience outside of the niche community of comic-book fans
to whom Corman’s feature has become well-known.

DOOMED: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROGER CORMAN’S FANTASTIC FOUR / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: MARTY LANGFORD / STARRING: ROGER CORMAN, CARL CIARFALIO, JOSEPH CULP, JONATHAN FERNANDEZ, REBECCA STAAB / RELEASE DATE: TBC 
 

Some films can be sold by concept alone, be it one joke dross like Sharknado or something spectacularly insane like Panique Au Village. These movies require no more than a plot synopsis or trailer to inspire a viewing and in regards to Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan’s new animated comedy, penned by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and the gang, this is certainly the case. For if Rogen and co. were all not baked (and we are not talking Aunt Bessie here) when writing/voicing this motion picture, we would certainly have severe misgivings about their sanity. Sausage Party is what it says on the tin, for better and for worse.

Set in the fictitious Shopwell’s supermarket, the film sees sausage Frank (Rogen), starting another day, whereby all the food on the shelves break out into song, hoping and praying to be chosen by the gods (customers) and go to the great beyond. However when Frank and his bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig) are chosen, they are thrown into an unexpected adventure, and in the process Frank uncovers the horrifying truth behind “the great beyond”. Blending animated tropes with firebrand satire and simply filthy comedy, Sausage Party is Toy Story as envisioned by a high as f**k Asda clerk. 

From the offset the sweary script loads in the grossness and smut and while this will be enough to discourage some immediately – if easily offended steer clear – the film does actually back up its dirty mouth with some very interesting debates. In a film, where Nazism and war are passing gag material and the core villain is a juiced up Douche (Nick Kroll)…in every literal sense of the word, you may not be expecting much depth but Sausage Party does have a lot to say. The narrative dissects the ideas of organized religion, faith itself, sexual politics, and existentialism and even has many references to real world racial tensions (Israel and Palestine in particular). For all the vulgarity, there is also an all-welcoming core to this adult animation and while it feels preachy at times, this atheist animated adventure is never less than interesting or barmy. 

The jokes come thick and fast and hit and miss just as frequently, there are times here when swearing is just inserted as a make do comic routine and where the film slips into the atypical stoner shtick that Rogen has become known for. Sausage Party does its best to make you think (and does) but at times forgets to keep making you laugh. However for all the shelf filling supporting characters (some of whom are really there to aid a joke and nothing more) – the best of whom are Michael Cera’s Barry, Scott Underwood’s Stephen Hawking-like Gum and Salma Hayek’s lesbian Taco Teresa – and uneven moments, the film is often funny (even if you sometimes feel ashamed to have laughed) and worth the trip just for the sheer madness of seeing a world where a talking used condom, a food gangbang and a Chicken Run-like series of rebellion set pieces, are commonplace. 

Its weird, its wild and its trailer does show some of the best bits but Sausage Party still comes served with a lot of themes, far reaching ideas and a neat 4th wall breaking final twist that reminds a little of The Lego Movie’s final punch, albeit far more self depreciating. Sausage Party could be better and more tightly delivered but for what its worth, the film rewards fans with a stomach for gross out, as well as offering some large themes to indulge in, true its rendered with broad strokes but its still worth feasting on…if for no other reason than to say you have seen it! We’ll never look at a Lavash or Bagel the same way again.

SAUSAGE PARTY / CERT: 15 / DIRECTORS: CONRAD VERNON, GREG TIERNAN / SCREENPLAY: SETH ROGEN, EVAN GOLDBERG, ARIEL SHAFFIR, KYLE HUNTER / STARRING: SETH ROGEN, KRISTEN WIIG, JONAH HILL, BILL HADER, JAMES FRANCO, DANNY MCBRIDE, EDWARD NORTON, SALMA HAYEK, MICHAEL CERA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expected Rating: 8/10

Actual Rating:

Divorced
businessman Seok-woo (Yoo) hasn’t been the best of fathers lately. He reluctantly
decides to return his upset daughter Su-an (Su-an) to her mother in Busan. As
they get on the train at Seoul, there are reports of violence erupting in the
city. The train leaves the platform just as the chaos arrives and martial law
is declared. Of course this isn’t violence – this is the zombie apocalypse
Korean style – the result of biotech gone wrong. However, an infected person
has managed to get on board, and that’s where the fun begins…

The zombies are gloriously over the top
Evil Dead type zombies – jerking wildly, spasming like ‘80s breakdancers on the
floor and rampaging through each carriage like a feral mass of teenage girls at
a Justin Bieber concert. The action sequences are incredible – straight out of
a video game – and there’s palpable tension in every scene. This is the film that World War Z could have been.

After an ill-fated stop at the next
station, it becomes clear the train must head to Busan at all costs. Think Snowpiercer with zombies, and Raid style
action sequences, and a richly veiled layer of supporting characters that never
allow the film to have a boring moment. The zombies can’t open doors, and can
only attack what they can see, so there’s some amusing improvisation on the
train, allowing brief respite from an impending, bloody death. As with any good
zombie film – it’s often the humans you need to worry about, and Train to Busan gives us a bad guy for
the ages, as well as some true heroes. But when there’s nowhere to escape, not
everyone is safe.

Not just satisfied with dishing out the
best zombie movie since Zack Snyder’s Dawn
of the Dead remake, Yong Sang-Ho gives us layers of poignant drama here. The
theme of the banality of evil is touched upon – a worker part of the offscreen
‘biotech incident’ struggles with guilt as he says ‘we only do what we are told
to’.

Relationships are explored – father and daughter,
husband and wife, upper class and working class, showing us people’s true
colours when confronted with extreme circumstances. (That colour is usually red
and being splattered along the carriage floor.) Although by cleverly showing
their vulnerabilities too, it’s hard to simply judge them. One scene in the
film concerning the actions of a disheartened older lady sent gasps and cheers
through the packed Vue cinema screen at Frightfest, one of many iconic moments
this film produces.

Forget snakes on a plane, Zombies on a Train
is the best batshit crazy idea in ages and one the best zombie movies ever
made.

TRAIN TO BUSAN / DIRECTOR & SCRENPLAY:
YEON SANG-HO / STARRING: GONG YOO, JUNG YU-MI, MA DONG-SEOK, CHOI WOO-SIK / AN
SO-HEE / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 28TH
 

Junkie
Ellie (Gilchrist) wakes up in hospital after collapsing outside her house.
Only, she’s now nine months pregnant (she wasn’t before) and something very bad
seems to have happened inside the hospital. She finds Henry (Arthur), a man
chained to his bed in a quarantined section. They soon realise they’re not
alone as strange, pale creatures are lurking in the darkness, and they have a fondness
for blood…

Blood
Hunters is an imaginative movie, not merely about
monsters but exploring mortality, morality, the decisions we make, and just
what lurks on the ‘other side’. Classic techniques are used to good effect –
not revealing too much of the monsters, moments of dark humour for comic
relief, little clues as to what’s going on (you know when you see ‘cocoon phase’
on a medical record something’s not quite right). Other characters are gradually
introduced, including a hard-line priest (horror’s gentleman Julian Richings),
and there’s a strong focus on how they interact and why they make the decisions
that they do.

Unfortunately, the acting can be disjointed
at times, while the end is a bit prolonged, with themes of sacrifice and
redemption being overly drawn out. However, it has some classic moments – one
involving a spatula and another that’s reminiscent of Prometheus. The film might appeal to fans of Flatliners, Pandorum and Event
Horizon as a lower-budget, Canadian mix of all three.

It’s a solid feature – another example of
the strong creative work coming out of Toronto – and definitely worth a watch.

BLOOD HUNTERS / DIRECTOR: TRICIA LEE /
SCREENPLAY: COREY BROWN / STARRING: LARA GILCHRIST, BENJAMIN ARTHUR, TORRI
HIGGINSON, MARK TAYLOR, JULIAN RICHINGS
 

Ann
(Walters) is living in a forest in an apocalyptic world where humans have been
infected with a virus that turns them crazy with rage. Yes, this sounds like 28
Days Later, and yes this is essentially a zombie movie, but with a fresh
perspective. As the title suggests, she is completely alone. Her days are spent
running the risk of the nearby infected to scavenge food – an existence purely
about survival. Through flashbacks we learn about her husband (West) and baby,
starting with the outbreak of the apocalypse, through to living in the woods,
her learning how to survive, and the inevitable that happens.

One day her existence is shattered by the
arrival of teenage girl Olivia (Piersanti) and her sick stepfather Chris
(Thompson). She decides to help them; a decision that has powerful repercussions
for all three of them.

While not the most original concept, it
definitely adds depth to it. This is from the perspective of a woman, a mother,
and one who is completely alone and has been for some time.  It’s stripped down, about survival, about
characters, and very little about zombies at all really, although they’re
obviously an important part of the plot. Here Alone poignantly conveys a sense
of isolation and delivers it in both a beautiful and a bleak way.

HERE ALONE / DIRECTOR: ROD BLACKHURST /
SCREENPLAY: DAVID EBELTOFT / STARRING: LUCY WALTERS, ADAM DAVID THOMPSON, GINA
PIERSANTI, SHANE WEST