Orphan: Movie Review

Orphan: Movie Review

Rating: 6/10
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Peter Saarsgard, Isabelle Fuhrman
Director: Jaume Collett-Serra
It appears the scary kids are back.
Following hot the heels of the release of Renee Zellweger in Case 39, the latest contender Orphan arrives on the scene with its posters of a young girl, asking "What's wrong with Esther?"
Kate (Farmiga) and John (Saarsgard) are two parents trying to put the pieces back of their lives after losing a third child - however, the strain is showing as Kate also battles with going back on the booze and blaming herself for her youngest daughter Max's deafness after an incident involving a lake near their home.
So as they try to get back on track, they head to the local orphanage where they're immediately charmed by 9year old Russian girl, Esther.
Esther becomes a part of their lives - and splits the younger kids - with the elder Daniel wary and Max (Aryana Engineer) being overly welcomign and in thrall of her new sister.
However, it soon becomes clear that Esther is not all she seems&.
For the majority of its (slightly long) two hour running time, Orphan is racked full of suspense - with the sense of foreboding quite overpowering at times.
It's quite an honest portrait of a family trying to get back to a normal life - both Farmiga and Saarsgard are compelling and realistic in their portrayal of a normal couple who are stretched to the limits by what's happened.
It's also pretty damn good at creeping you out in some places and taking you somewhere you don't expect to go.
Of the younger kids, newcomer Aryana Engineer gives an impressive debut performance as Max (traumatized and empowered in equal measures)- but it's Isabelle Fuhrman who provides the requisite spooks and gives you the creeps as she skulks around on screen.
Some will find the brooding build up a little slow in places - and at times the soundtrack pulls no punches in screeching its terrifying intentions (not always to the best effect).
However, where Orphan triumphs over Case 39 (sorry, comparisons are inevitable) is in its revelation toward the end - I don't want to spoil it - but the twist is quite a smart one which director Jaume Collett-Serra just about manages to credibly pull off.

Unfortunately after the sucker punch, Orphan sadly has nowhere left to go and descends into a conclusion mired in clichéd horror films - but for shocks and moments where you find your nails digging into the cinema chair before the revelation, Orphan delivers in droves as it taps into everyday fears and makes them into a horrifying reality.

The Cove: Movie Review

The Cove: Movie Review

Rating 8/10
Cast: Ric O'Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Mandy Rae-Cruickshank, Kirk Krack
Director: Louie Psihoyos
Ok, first up, The Cove wears its unashamed activist colours on its sleeve.
It's a stunning call to action doco about trying to make a difference - and in places, it will break your heart before reassembling it into the inspired and galvanised heart of a crusader.
In the 1960s, Ric O'Barry was the world expert on dolphins - he spent years training the animals on TV show Flipper - which saw the rise of the popularity of world dolphinariums.
But one day, Ric had an epiphany - and in a moment of heart breaking sadness, he realized what he had condemned this species to.
And that's what this doco is about - for years, Ric's been trying to persuade world nations to open their eyes to what Japan is doing when it comes to the dolphins.
Enlisting the help of doco maker Louie Psihoyos and a gang of committed activists, they head off to Japan to try and capture some of the horrors which go on in a cove in Taiji, Wakayama.
Basically for years, the Japanese have denied that dolphins there are slaughtered or captured for use in dolphinariums- and activists have been unable to either negotiate their way past tight security or capture video evidence because of the rugged and hidden nature of the region.
It's no wonder The Cove has won various awards - it's riveting from beginning to end and it doesn't use heavy handed emotionally manipulative tactics to get its point across.
Yes, it is fair to say it's biased in places - and to be honest, that was only natural - but it's absolutely heart breaking as Ric eloquently recounts the moment he changed his view on dolphins and turns from their trainer to dolphin defender.
However, this is a remarkably restrained doco where you'd expect to see a stringing together of sensationalist emotional material aimed at turning you against the Japanese - this uses its power of reasoning and sense to argue its corner.
It's also like watching a live action version of Mission Impossible to protect the dolphins as you see the divers Mandy and Kirk try and place underwater microphones into the Cove's waters to capture the true sonic horror of what goes on there.
You would expect a film of this nature to have some footage which stuns you - and the final shots of what goes on at the Cove is shocking - set against a minimalist background with no music, the brutality of man versus animal is a cruel indictment of the evil we can do.
And yet, where the Cove is such a success is that it uses this footage as a footnote to its argument - it shows the Japanese are reticent to acknowledge the damage they're doing to their own people and the animal world; they refuse to face upto the facts which are presented.
Ultimately the Cove is about the bravery of someone standing up to one nation - risking their all and their lives (as well as their families) to ensure something changes.

I'm willing to bet by the end of this film, many of you will be wondering what exactly it is that you can do to make a difference - and for a small doco which is starting to make ripples around the world, it's only a matter of time before that change comes - surely, sometimes, that's what film making should be about?

Flight of The Conchords: Series 2: DVD Review

Flight of The Conchords: Series 2: DVD Review

Flight of the Conchords Series 2
Starring: Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement, Rhys Darby
Rating: M
HBO Home Ent/ Warner Bros Home Video
The boys are back for another slice of the Big Apple.
Following on from the end of Series One, which saw Rhys Darby's manager Murray make the big time, the Conchords are down on their luck and struggling even more to get by.
However, the laconic pair find themselves in a brand new series of misadventures and generally confused at life around them.
Coupled with Murray's ineptitude, it's an explosive comedy cocktail which is so loved by many - and rightly so.
It's possible this second season could be the last for the Conchords - and if that's true, well, there's no finer way for them to go out.
With a clutch of high profile guest stars through this season (Lucy Lawless, Alan Dale, Art Garfunkel), it's clear the Conchords' fame has spread as their star continues to soar.
The laid back pacing of the comedy and occasional cringeworthiness of the material is the best possible mix - and before you know what's going on, they've reeled you in and you're instantly immersed in their world.
Some of the Conchords' musical interludes suffer a little this time around though - possibly because of the pressure to produce a second series for an eager audience and also possibly because some of the songs in this series feel a little manipulated in rather than the slightly more naturalistic feeling of those in series one of the show.
However, there are still some priceless musical moments - including the Hurt Feelings from the episode The Tough Brets where Bret takes on the rapper community of America.
And of course, there's the sublimely hilarious episode Unnatural Love which sees Jemaine waking up next to an Australian&.
Extras: FOTC: On Air Doco, Dave's Pawn Shop Commercials, NZ Consulate meeting with Murray and Greg, Deleted Scenes and Outtakes

Rating: 7/10

24 Season 7: DVD Review

24 Season 7: DVD Review

24 Season 7
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Cherry Jones, Carlos Bernard, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Roadshow Entertainment
Rating: Restricted 13
Jack's back in another pulsating series of perennial favourite, 24, the seventh day of torture, twists and trouble.
After the incredible disappointment of Day Six where the peril seemed to be apathetic writing off screen and Bauer's family onscreen, the pressure was on to ensure Day Seven didn't repeat the dizzying lows of the previous one.
And this time, it doesn't disappoint.
You know the formula - over 24 episodes, each lasting an hour, Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer is faced with a variety of plots, terrorism, deaths and shocks as he tries to save the day.
Four years after CTU (the Counter Terrorism Unit) has been disbanded, Jack's facing a senate hearing - however, his time of snarling in court doesn't last long as he's pulled in to help the FBI face one of the worst terrorism threats ever.
Only this time, ghosts from the past and threats from the present cause absolute mayhem for Bauer (Sutherland is never anything less than gripping as he deals with twists and turns left, right and centre) - and as the clock edges ever closer to the end of the day, it could finally be curtains for one of the greatest heroes the spy genre has ever seen.
24 Season 7 is a welcome return to form for the show which was, to be honest, starting to lag and appeared to be running out of creative juice.
However, this time, the threat of average seems to have lulled the writers and producers to pull out all the stops - with plenty of tension throughout each episode (and relatively no lows) this Day of 24 is perhaps one of the most dazzling yet.
There's rumours Day 8 could be Bauer's last - and it's incomprehensible to think the show will go on without him - but if this really is the case, it's nice to see the show which so radically shook up episodic television when it first erupted on the screens in 2001 could be going out on a high.
With an interesting mix of extras including audio commentaries on selected episodes, and the usual deleted scenes (well, the ticking clock has to stop somewhere), the 6 disc set of 24 Season Seven should be an addition to any fan's shelf - or a great introduction to those who've not experienced the thrills of Jack Bauer's life.
And yes, I have no idea why he never stops to eat or go to the toilet either....

Rating 8/10

The Boat That Rocked: DVD Review

The Boat That Rocked: DVD Review

The Boat That Rocked
Starring: Bill Nighy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Darby, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Chris O'Dowd, Kenneth Branagh
Universal Home Video
Rating: M
The swinging Sixties get yet another revisiting in this comedy "romp" from Richard "I'm single handedly responsible for Hugh Grant" Curtis.
It's 1966 when British radio wouldn't play much music to a public which clearly was living the pop music boom.
So the pirate radio industry is singlehandedly led by Radio Rock, a boat in the North Sea which doubles as a radio station complete with a gang of ramshackle DJs and a never ending supply of records, booze and babes.
18 year old Carl is dragged onboard to spend time there after his mother decides he needs straightening out (though quite why a pirate radio station replete with immature jocks and all manner of debauchery is the best place is anyone's guess)
However, Carl's not prepared for what's ahead as he's thrown into a world of hedonism and swinging sixties love and rock and roll.
But it's not all plain sailing for Radio Rock - Kenneth Branagh's evil Minister Dormandy is determined to scupper the scourge of the airwaves and rid the radio of the pirates.
The Boat That Rocked isn't a bad film - it's clearly in need of a bit of trimming and could have done with a beefier plot befitting of its truly excellent ensemble cast and superb soundtrack, which brilliantly evokes the sixties.
Unfortunately what emerges from Curtis' script is a somewhat bloated and beached affair which sees continual shots of people dancing by the radio and the antics of the DJs reduced to extended comedy moments.
I don't doubt the crew had a blast making this film - but without much of a story to go on, you can't help but feel that you're a little excluded from the fun and frivolity.
Extras: 11 deleted scenes, and commentary by Nick Frost, Chris O'Dowd, Hilary Bevan Jones and Richard Curtis.

Rating: 4/10

Inglourious Basterds: Movie Review

Inglourious Basterds: Movie Review

Rating: 6/10
Cast: Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger, Melanie Laurent
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Is this the Tarantino film which will divide the fans and the critics over the wunderkind's abilities?
Set in an alternative World War 2, where Germany still invaded, Inglourious Basterds is essentially two stories intertwined into a common narrative.
The first is that of Shosanna, (Melanie Laurent) the only Jewish survivor of an attack led by Nazi Colonel Landa (an absolutely stunning debut by Christoph Waltz).
After narrowly escaping with her life, Shosanna finds herself running a cinema in France where Hitler and the rest of the high rank and file of the Third Reich are to attend a premiere.
At the same time as Shosanna plots her revenge, Lieutenant Aldo Raines and his motley crew of Nazi (or as he says in his southern Tennessee twang, Nah-zee) hunters are in league with the British and a German double agent and plotting to kill Hitler at the very same premiere - as well as killing Nazis wherever they find them (after having been dropped into France to wreak havoc on the Nazi regime)
So the traps are sprung - but will any of them bring about the end of World War 2?
Inglourious Basterds is a curious beast - it will be the Tarantino film which the diehard Tarantino fans will adore but may leave others lost as to the ongoing appeal of the man who revolutionized films with the likes of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.
Tarantino has grown as a director - sure, he's still referencing and homaging his favourite film genres (Basterds is in part spaghetti western, part Mel Brooks, and the Dirty Dozen) and providing long scenes of stretched out dialogue (which all end in graphic violence) as well as running strands of narrative into a giant patch work screen quilt.

But some are going to find this film a little drawn out in parts (dare you even whisper it, slow)- and an odd sum of all of its parts.
Personally, I felt its best scene was its opening one - as Landa quizs a French farmer about hiding Jews over a glass of milk in occupied France. The dialogue and sense of dread during this section of the film had everyone in the cinema on the edge of their collective seats.
If the one great thing to take from this film is Christoph Waltz's debut movie performance as the lead Nazi, then that's enough for me - his Landa is oozing slime and menace mixed together with a multi lingual charm. You're never quite sure when he's about to explode - and when he does, it's equally mesmerizing and shocking.
Maybe that's part of the Basterds' strength - it has some stunning character performances (leaving aside Brad Pitt's Aldo Raines - which seems to have come directly from a comedy or an outtake of O Brother Where Art Thou? - and Mike Myers who appears to channel Austin Powers as a top UK official).
But more than the character moments, it has some of the most gorgeous long shots committed to the screen; sweeping camera movements and Tarantino's trademark 2 hander scenes where character swap dialogue and deep rooted opinions - it's clearly a director who's still in love with creating beauteous moments of cinema.
And once again, he uses music sparingly to great effect - with long scenes simply using the dialogue to bring them to life before the music kicks in as a precursor to some violence.
Ultimately Inglourious Basterds will spark plenty of debate after you leave the cinema - as some claim, it's an intelligent antidote to a summer which has seen many in-your-face action flicks; whereas others believe Tarantino has lost the plot.

Go and see it yourself - and make up your own mind.

Wallace and Gromit: DVD Review

Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Roadshow Entertainment
Starring: Wallace and Gromit
Rating G
Rating: 8/10
More animated brilliance as Wallace and Gromit return to the small screen after their Curse of the Were-Rabbit feature film.
This time, the pair have started their own bakery "Top Bun" whose slogan is delivering from Dough to Door.
Business is booming - but poochy pal Gromit is deeply worried about the news 12 bakers have been dispatched to the great bakery in the sky during the past year.
Wallace, however, is unconcerned by the news; preferring instead to go dough eyed in love with Piella Bakewell, the new woman on the block.
But when Gromit digs deeper, he discovers Piella's not all she's cracked up to be&.and the pair face a new danger.
A Matter of Loaf and Death continues the tradition of brilliance (and bad puns) from Aardman Animation.
The sheer imagination with which Park and his co-creators bring to life this duo's world and adventures gets ever more astounding.
A behind the scenes doco shows just how well this is story boarded - but the work which goes on behind the camera at all levels is just astonishing.
Their eye for detail during the film - and cinematic references (which this time include Aliens, Hitchcock and Batman) make the whole 30 minutes short zip by - although there must also be credit given to those behind the story as the narrative flows seamlessly from beginning to end.
Funny, warm and touching, A Matter of Loaf and Death will keep kids of all ages amused for an hour or so - not just for the short but for the extras which keep on piling on the hilarity.
Extras:
- The Making of A Matter of Loaf and Death
- 10 Cracking Contraptions
- 10 Cracking Contraptions - behind the scenes
- When Wallace Met Harvey

Rating: 8/10