Review Category: Movie

Filmmaker Álvaro Longoria heads in to Northern Korea to look at the life of its people and how propaganda operates in the country and on its population.

North Korea is a notoriously secretive country, shielding itself from the view of the outside world and also blocking its population’s view of the outside so has Longoria managed to crack this tough egg and produce a documentary that really uncovers the true reality of life under one of the few Communist regimes left? The answer unfortunately is no. With North Korea being so secretive it does not allow Longoria and his film crew to wander around by themselves. They are constantly escorted from one place to another on their rigorous and controlled itinerary with the North Koreans showing at every turn that their people are happy and peaceful. This does in part give you an idea of the control operating in the country but it also means Longoria is unable to break through to the truth on the underside.

The film is made up of, on the one hand, the documentary footage of Longoria’s visit to North Korea. On the other, is a selection of talking head interviews from experts about what is apparently really happening in North Korea. The North Korean side tell you that the regime creates a society of complete togetherness with the state providing free food, shelter and education for the masses, while the other side tells you what is behind the magician’s curtain; a country filled with starving and oppressed people, brainwashed by a totalitarian regime. North Korea is a highly militarised country, especially considering its size, and while to those on the outside this is a scary prospect, most notably their growing nuclear capabilities, looking from within you can see how it is North Korea attempting to protect itself. The country has been invaded several times and its Communist structure is one of very few left. The country of course will try and protect itself from the much larger enemies outside of its own borders. Experts, including some of those who escaped from North Korea, tell of how their people are oppressed and viciously controlled while those inside North Korea obviously deny this. As Longoria is unable to show us any proof, it makes it difficult to come down on either side. Occasionally things do seem a little off, such as the visit to a Catholic Church service, and the devotion and celebration of the country’s leaders does seem strange to Western eyes, but this doesn’t prove serious misdoings. As Longoria says near the end of the movie, we are all subject to propaganda and it is up to us to see through it and find the truth underneath the spin.

Longoria has made an interesting documentary about North Korea and to an extent, the propaganda at work on the country. However, he has been unable to break free from the strict controls that are imposed upon him and has not been able to show what the truth of life is like there. The Propaganda Game is an interesting documentary for those who don’t have a lot of knowledge of the country but it lacks the depth and revelations that would make it a must watch on the subject.

THE PROPAGANDA GAME / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ÁLVARO LONGORIA / SCREENPLAY: ÁLVARO LONGORIA / RELEASE DATE: 26TH FEBRUARY

It’s a brave move to make a kids film where there is a montage of the do-gooder main character dishing out 200 parking tickets. Zootropolis could have done without this scene, but impressively it manages to make its leading bunny likeable, no matter how many other Zootropolis-dwelling animals’ days she ruins by slapping them with a fine. 

Judy Hops (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the bunny tasked with parking duty, after she works her fluffy little tail off to get out of her small town, get herself through police academy and finally live her dream of tackling crime in the big city of Zootropolis. Judy is a dreamer, determined to leave her carrot-farming folks behind and be the first ever bunny police officer. But life in the city isn’t quite how Judy imagined it would be, and she is forced to team up with streetwise hustler fox, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), to unravel the mystery of some missing mammals.

Judy’s journey from small-town girl with big dreams to city-hardened detective is packed with enthusiasm. She could be an annoyingly optimistic one-note character, if she wasn’t constantly being put down by others from her own well-meaning parents to her new boss, Chief Bojo (Idris Elba). Sly fox Nick Wilde makes a good foil, but it’s yet another role where Jason Bateman doesn’t get to show how good he can be.

The city itself is filled with potential, a wonderland of different climates and different sized sectors to cater for its wildly varied population. Judy and Nick’s investigation takes them through TundraTown and into the territory of Godfather-riffing rodents, through tropical rainforests and swinging through vines, to one chase through a mini-street filled with hamster tubes. If Zootropolis were an animal-populated Grand Theft Auto style video game, you could have a bloody field day. 

It’s a shame Shakira has to be crowbarred in as a dancing pop queen who warbles the same song on the soundtrack, not once but twice. It’s as if Disney are concerned that they’re not going to make enough money by selling merchandise with cute animals all over it already. But the animation is impressively cute, with Judy’s emotions shining through particularly clearly, thanks to Goodwin’s voice work, but also through the character design and animated performance. 

The central mystery that Judy is eventually given 48 hours to solve has a few too many twists and turns, and though it’s got some neat surprises, it overstays its welcome and may well test a few kiddies’ patience. Zootropolis is at its best when exploring the wonderfully realised world of the film, as well as with its jokes about rabbits and reproduction that litter the script. The Breaking Bad and Frozen references might make it date quickly, but a film with Shakira on the soundtrack clearly isn’t too worried about that.

In tackling the differences between rural and urban life, civilisation and savagery, Zootropolis goes to some vaguely dark places. While some of the more adult gags and references will go over children’s heads, the message about the selling of fear through perpetuating negative stereotypes might just stick. A wild ride with some noir-ish undertones, Zootropolis packs in plenty to keep the whole family entertained.

ZOOTROPOLIS / CERT: PG / DIRECTORS: BYRON HOWARD, RICH MOORE, JARED BUSH / SCREENPLAY: JARED BUSH, PHIL JOHNSON / STARRING: GINNIFER GOODWIN, JASON BATEMAN, IDRIS ELBA, SHAKIRA, J.K. SIMMONS / RELEASE DATE: 25TH MARCH

Expected Rating: 5

Actual Rating:

Despite an abundance of naysayers and cynical critics, the found footage format trundles on. As with most genre films, there are good and bad but it remains a style open to everyone, with low budget and independent filmmakers honing their skills. The latest is Lilin’s Brood, but sadly this film demonstrates what can go so badly wrong with found footage.

An investigative news team, under the moniker W.H.I.S.T.L.E. (it is neither interesting nor important what it stands for), become stranded when their Winnebago breaks down, as they investigate the disappearance of several men. A mysterious stranger (aren’t they always?) leads them to the only house nearby, which turns out to be a brothel populated by a strange female cult and all kinds of bad things happen.

There are a number of issues with P. W. Simon and Artii Smith’s film, foremost of which is the lack of any semblance of credibility. For a found footage film to carry even an inkling of believability, and therefore justify the format, the audience must on some level be engaged by what they are watching. There must be some suspension of disbelief, some appreciation that all this is “real” but that simply never happens with Lilin’s Brood. The performances, premise and editing are so routine and formulaic as to be clearly scripted, and badly so for that matter. The film plays out along a standard narrative, as they investigate the brothel, with predictable cutaways preceding well-telegraphed jump scares. There is no tension or dread, and some deaths even occur off screen, which just comes across as confusing, as you try and follow what’s happening to whom and when.

The actual premise behind Lilin’s Brood is an interesting one. Legend states that Lilin was the first wife of Adam (yes, that one) but left him to hook-up with Archangel Samael. Subsequent offspring were demons named Lilin’s, which gives the film both its title and the plot justification for the satanic style twists and turns. Apart from an unnecessarily drawn out and tedious ritual that unavoidably conjures up images of the “greater good”, from Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, and the film’s dreadfully elongated finale, there is little demonic disturbance on show to provide any real horror.

Disappointingly Lilin’s Brood is “just another found footage film”. It offers little originality to the format and fails to tick even the most basic of boxes that could give the film some level of general interest. If you want to watch a found footage horror film with a demonic slant, seek out The Borderlands or Afflicted as examples of how original and exciting the genre really can be.

LILIN’S BROOD / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: P.W. SIMON, ARTII SMITH / STARRING: MARTIN SENSMEIER, MAXINE GOYNES, BRENT KING, MELINDA MILTON / RELEASE DATE: TBA

Deadpool fans (and Marvel fans)… you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. 20th Century Fox haven’t messed up Deadpool a second time.

After the simply awful big screen debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a couple of years trapped in development hell, a leaked screen test that seemed so right and an inspired, “too good to be true” marketing campaign; Deadpool the movie delivers… in bloody spades.

Already sporting his natty red suit, mask, Wolverine style “healing factor” and horrific scars from head to toe at the film’s start, Deadpool the film relates Wade Wilson’s (Ryan Reynolds) quest for revenge against the man who tortured and disfigured him while explaining how he became Marvel’s “Merc’ with the mouth” in nice, bite-sized, chunks.

Along the way he’ll banter with taxi drivers, try and get Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead from the X-Men to leave him alone, share his preferences when it comes to Ikea furniture, and attempt to keep an old flame safe from a nasty enemy.

If all this sounds a little light on plot it’s because it is but this is more than made up for by the almost perfect combination of horrible ultra-violence and coarse jokes visited on the bad guys by Reynolds as Deadpool.

Based upon the trailers, Deadpool was always going to be funny, what’s truly surprising is that just how funny it is. Yes, there are jokes every 0.05 seconds but a ridiculously high percentage of them land, from the in-joke packed opening credit sequence, all the way to the post credit sting.

If there was one worry going in to this movie, it was that all the funniest parts would be in the trailers but the filmmakers improve each trailer moment by adding an unexpected gag directly before or after it. Under the mask, Reynolds performance is, as fans had always hoped, perfect.  His non-stop delivery and manic clowning carries the movie, especially when his face is hidden under the mask.

All the trappings of comic Deadpool are present too; the constant quipping and breaking of the fourth wall, although rather than referring to issue numbers and comics creators, here it takes the form of incessant references to Wolverine (and Hugh Jackman), the affordability of cameos from big-name actors from the X-Men franchise, fast forwarding the plot and moving the camera at “private” moments.

Characters such as Blind Al and Weasel survive the transition from page to screen startlingly well and Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward children even makes an appearance.

On the other hand, the car chase featured in those trailers (and the leaked test footage that resulted in the film getting made) does take up quite a bit of the film’s running time, that laser focused plot can make the story feel a tad small and despite its structure, Deadpool is still just an origin movie, but it’s a very crude, very violent and very, very, very funny one.

Relax true believers; Daddy Deadpool’s home…Just don’t watch it with your parents.

DEADPOOL / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: TIM MILLER / SCREENPLAY: PAUL WERNICK, RHETT REESE / STARRING: RYAN REYNOLDS, MORENA BACCARIN, ED SKREIN, T. J. MILLER, GINA CARANO, BRIANNA HILDEBRAND, ANDRE TRICOTEUX, LESLIE UGGAMS, JED REES / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 10TH 

Expected Rating:  6 out of 10

Starburst Rating:

O-Ei is the daughter of the renowned Edo-era artist Katsushika Hokusai, who is probably most famous in the West for his iconic woodblock print ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’. She lives and works with her father and assists him with his painting, while studying hard to develop her own artistic style. They live in the city of Edo (now called Tokyo) which is – quite literally – a floating world on the edge of change: in a few more years the Shoguns and Samurai will be gone but, for now, this is a medieval society where a woman like O-Ei – free-thinking and outspoken – is an anachronism, forced to stand aside and watch, frustrated, while her less-talented male counterparts receive the lucrative publishing deals and secure all the glory.

O-Ei’s father is a great man, consumed by his art. O-Ei’s mother and much younger sister, Onao, who has been blind since birth, live a short distance away. O-Ei visits them often, but Katsushika rarely does. Onao thinks her father is ashamed of her blindness but the truth is much more complex – although on one level Katsushika can be considered an awful father, it’s clear that he cannot cope with the guilt he feels regarding his small daughter’s condition and that is most likely why he chooses to stay away. In one heartbreaking scene, O-Ei walks with her little sister along the street while their father passes by wordlessly on the other side. But it is clear, when Onao falls ill and Katsushika paints her a deity to ward off the evil spirits, how much he truly cares for the little girl. The bond between O-Ei and her father is even more palpable. He respects her and relies upon her, and even though she describes him as a ‘crazy artist’ and they barely exchange a word of affection, it is clear from the opening moments of the film how deeply they actually care for each other.

In fact, this is what makes Miss Hokusai such a wonderful experience – it is an enormously touching story that could have been told in any medium, but as an animation it seamlessly combines the realism of O-Ei’s everyday world and the challenges she endures (including an awkward trip to a brothel, after she’s told her erotic paintings lack the truthfulness that could make her art great) with occasional detours into supernatural fantasy (a possessed concubine, a dragon that materialises out of storm clouds, a demonic painting that O-Ei’s father is called upon to exorcise) which sit perfectly side by side with each other in a way that a live-action/special effects mash-up never could. The sequences between O-Ei and Onao are especially lovely, particularly a scene when Onao plays with a sighted boy in the snow that runs every emotion from joy to laughter to shock and sadness and back again that few films of any genre are ever able to achieve. This is much more than a biopic with fantasy elements. This is a film about the transcendence of art, the endurance of the human spirit and the fallibility and survival of the human heart.

With Hinako Sugiura’s historical manga ‘Sarusuberi’ as his inspiration, director Keiichi Hara and screenwriter Miho Maruo have pared down the episodic source material to create a work that is truly magical: must-see storytelling at its finest.

MISS HOKUSAI / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: KEIICHI HARA / SCREENPLAY: MIHO MARUO / STARRING: ANNE WATANABE, SHION SHIMIZU, YUTAKA MATSUSHIGE / RELEASE DATE: 5TH FEBRUARY

It’s the apocalypse. Everyone’s dead. You know the drill. The eponymous Survivalist (McCann) lives alone in a hut in the forest. He grows crops, he carries a shotgun, and at one point he has a wank into a plant pot. And then, one day, Kathryn (Fouere) and her daughter Milja (Goth) show up at his door, desperate for food. He lets them stay in exchange for sex with Milja. Somehow, despite his constant aggression and his habit of pointing guns at her, Milja falls for him. And it all gets bleaker from there.

That’s basically the concept of writer/director Stephen Fingleton’s début feature, a harsh survival thriller with minimal characters and action. In fact, it has minimal everything – the cinematography and sound design are stripped-down, while whole scenes go by with hardly any dialogue. All of this results in a movie as miserable and slow as the life of its characters, at times feeling like a short film being played at the wrong speed – indeed, this plot done as a short could be well worth watching.

What should, in theory, be The Survivalist’s strength is the relationships between the characters – with three leads in a confined environment, good performances are essential. And yet they often repel us, with little compassion or depth on show; McCann’s titular Survivalist is cold and nasty at the beginning and continues to act as such throughout the film, leaving his final act of kindness unconvincing. The saving grace is Mia Goth’s performance as Milja, the most interesting by far of the three characters; Goth lends nuance to the girl’s confusion between loyalty to her mother and affection for the Survivalist (despite his brutality and ridiculous hair).

At least the stark, unflashy presentation of its visuals does allow certain gory events, when they do occur, to have a believable, shocking impact – a gunfight against attacking raiders is very tense, while one particular operation Milja has to perform is difficult to watch in all the right ways.

Ultimately, though, these moments are few and far between. The Survivalist has been touted as an antidote to blockbuster post-apocalypse movies like The Hunger Games, but is it a needed antidote? At least those films (well, some of them) have characters we can enjoy watching and plots we can get invested in. Aside from a strong performance from Goth and a commendable willingness to show us the gory stuff, The Survivalist is a miserable film that outstays its welcome. Give this writer Katniss any day.

THE SURVIVALIST / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: STEPHEN FINGLETON / STARRING: MARTIN MCCANN, MIA GOTH, OLWEN FOUERE / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 12TH

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

It’s the apocalypse. Everyone’s dead. You know the drill. The eponymous Survivalist (McCann) lives alone in a hut in the forest. He grows crops, he carries a shotgun, and at one point he has a wank into a plant pot. And then, one day, Kathryn (Fouere) and her daughter Milja (Goth) show up at his door, desperate for food. He lets them stay in exchange for sex with Milja. Somehow, despite his constant aggression and his habit of pointing guns at her, Milja falls for him. And it all gets bleaker from there.

That’s basically the concept of writer/director Stephen Fingleton’s début feature, a harsh survival thriller with minimal characters and action. In fact, it has minimal everything – the cinematography and sound design are stripped-down, while whole scenes go by with hardly any dialogue. All of this results in a movie as miserable and slow as the life of its characters, at times feeling like a short film being played at the wrong speed – indeed, this plot done as a short could be well worth watching.

What should, in theory, be The Survivalist’s strength is the relationships between the characters – with three leads in a confined environment, good performances are essential. And yet they often repel us, with little compassion or depth on show; McCann’s titular Survivalist is cold and nasty at the beginning and continues to act as such throughout the film, leaving his final act of kindness unconvincing. The saving grace is Mia Goth’s performance as Milja, the most interesting by far of the three characters; Goth lends nuance to the girl’s confusion between loyalty to her mother and affection for the Survivalist (despite his brutality and ridiculous hair).

At least the stark, unflashy presentation of its visuals does allow certain gory events, when they do occur, to have a believable, shocking impact – a gunfight against attacking raiders is very tense, while one particular operation Milja has to perform is difficult to watch in all the right ways.

Ultimately, though, these moments are few and far between. The Survivalist has been touted as an antidote to blockbuster post-apocalypse movies like The Hunger Games, but is it a needed antidote? At least those films (well, some of them) have characters we can enjoy watching and plots we can get invested in. Aside from a strong performance from Goth and a commendable willingness to show us the gory stuff, The Survivalist is a miserable film that outstays its welcome. Give this writer Katniss any day.

THE SURVIVALIST / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: STEPHEN FINGLETON / STARRING: MARTIN MCCANN, MIA GOTH, OLWEN FOUERE / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 12TH

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

With his new short film The Giant Scorpion, Italian filmmaker Andrea Ricca successfully channels 1950s “creature features” such as Jack Arnold’s Tarantula and Gordon Douglas’ Them! When a meteorite crashes into a suburban street a passing scorpion grows to the size of a large dog and proceeds into the nearest apartment block to attack the quintessential attractive young woman.

Ricca visited this format previously with the arachnophobe-baiting Spider Danger and his latest is very much in the same vein. What is most impressive is that this zero-budget auteur films his productions on a simple camera and constructs the final effects on a home computer. There are rough edges of course, and some moments are a little cheesy, but there is an energy and exuberance to the film that it is impossible not to be engaged by. The effects themselves are equivalent, if not better than many straight-to-DVD releases and the whole short feels very polished.

What Ricca is doing is demonstrating that, with some talent and a whole lot of passion and perseverance, anyone can make a film. That in no way diminishes the achievement of this one-man Italian film industry; instead The Giant Scorpion is a short that embarrasses some of the lazy filmmaking that is seeping into the horror genre.

THE GIANT SCORPION / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ANDREA RICCA / STARRING: ILARIA LAMBERTI / RELEASE DATE: TBA

Here’s something a little different; a grim, but incredibly absorbing short that crosses the line between harrowing drama and fantasy in an effortless way.

Doyle (Halsey) has died, laid on his squalid bed with a needle in his arm. Yet he wakes up, pulls a tooth from his mouth, and then confronted by an enigmatic stranger, Alexander (Rendino). He tells Doyle that he will be guided through the afterlife if he does a job for him. Doyle considers himself a loser; an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD whose only reason for existing is heroin. Unfortunately, despite his best intentions, things may not be what they seem.

Within the eighteen minutes of the film, we are sent on a horrific journey into the dark underbelly of the world of a junkie. Doyle isn’t repentant of his lifestyle, but is dismayed to find out he’s overdosed on a lethal strain of his favourite vice. However, when he realises the drug he’s taken has been laced, and is lethal, he becomes more focused, particularly because a close friend also succumbs.

Halsey is believable as Doyle, and although the character of a smacked-up junkie may not be the most glamourous or even easy to take to, the portrayal of the torment that has brought him to this place is relatable and sympathetic – even if we’re given all his backstory in one info-bomb (the restrictions of the short film format on show there, unfortunately). One feels this is a story that could comfortably benefit from being expanded to feature-length. Despite a limited budget, the look of the film is suitably grimy and atmospheric, with the use of restricted locations providing a claustrophobic and intense mood. The cross-genre approach allows the film to be enjoyed without being pigeon-holed. It’s certainly worth tracking down, or catching if it plays a local festival.

JUNKIE HEAVEN / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: STEVE SAGE GOLDBERG / SCREENPLAY: LEE KOLINSKY / STARRING: JOSEPH A. HALSEY, SAL RENDINO, MYLES HUMPHUS / RELEASE DATE: TBC