Saturday, 22 January 2011

Beneath Hill 60: Blu Ray Review

Beneath Hill 60: Blu Ray Review

Beneath Hill 60
Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

Beneath Hill 60 is the latest recreation of World War I's horrors and is based on the true story of Aussie miner Oliver Woodward (an outstandingly compassionate turn from Brendan Cowell) and his part in the war effort in 1916.

After initially being held back from the war to help mine for munitions supplies, Woodward joins the Western Front and with a successful attempt at removing an Allied threat, he and his team are pushed up the line to try and help them take Hill 60 - by working underground.

But the Germans are also keen to ensure that the famous Hill 60 doesn't fall, thus setting up a game of cat and mouse.

Beneath Hill 60 is a claustrophobic, grimy affair - as you'd expect from a film about mining and the first World War. The recreation of the trenches and the daily horrors only serve to make me appreciate how much was given at the time by those who fought.

Woodward's story at the western front is interspersed with flashbacks to his time in his homeland - When the action (such as it is) cuts back to the trenches, there's plenty of nail-biting moments to be had - from scenes of men getting lost in No Man's Land to German miners getting ever closer to discovering what Woodward and his men are up to. Because of the quiet character moments of this film, when the shocks come, some of them are real surprises.
Gritty, and gripping in equal measures, Beneath Hill 60 is one of the best war films for a long time - even if it does lack a major emotional denouement.
Extras: Commentary, storyboards and Photogallery - very disappointing given that this is based on a true story - why nothing about the actual men involved?

Rating: 8/10 

Dr Who: Series 5: DVD Review

Dr Who: Series 5: DVD Review

Doctor Who Series Five

Rating: PG
Released by BBC


So the latest escapades for the Doctor are all bundled up into this fifth annual set since the revival of the show in 2005.

And with a new set, comes a new Doctor - this time, the youngest ever in the form of foppishly haired, manic Matt Smith who quite honestly, has inhabited the role of the Time Lord brilliantly from the moment he stepped into the TARDIS.

It's a new show in many ways this year with new cast, new producers (longtime fan Steven Moffat) and an entirely new ethos at the helm of it all. Yet, it still remains eminently watchable - despite the many ups and downs there were during the fifth season's 13 episode run.

It starts off with aplomb in the Steven Moffat scripted The Eleventh Hour as Matt becomes the Doctor so charismatically and so quickly - but with episodes like the Hungry Earth, Victory of The Daleks and Vincent and The Doctor, the show hits an uneven keel in the writing room.

For every miss, there's a hit - and this is clearly a show now being run by someone who was always a fan first and foremost - never before have so many echoes of the series' 48 year history been so in play; from the flashbacks during the Eleventh Hour to a reel of the Doc's previous female companions in one of the Meanwhile in the TARDIS scripted extras, this is a show which embraces and loves its past.

There are hints of an ongoing arc into the next series - but with a bout of unevenness, I'm hoping better writing next year will match upto the standard of the simply excellent Matt Smith.

Extras: Disappointing this year - although the two 3 minute Meanwhile in the TARDIS scenes link episodes well, there's a lack of anything major to stand out on this set. Monster Files have been brought in from the episodic releases and Behind the scenes series, the Cut down confidentials merely offer a lot of back slapping this time around. Vid cam diaries from the actors add something but I can't help but feel a little short changed all round this year from one of my all time favourite characters and shows.

Rating: 6/10

Friday, 21 January 2011

Harry Brown: Blu Ray Review

Harry Brown: Blu Ray Review

Harry Brown

Rating: R18
Released by Warner Home Video

Caine is ex serviceman Harry Brown, who lives his life on a council estate and getting by since being recently widowed.

His one real friend in life, fellow pensioner Leonard (David Bradley) drinks with Harry but confides in him one day that he's frightened and being terrorized by the estate's hoody brigade.

When the police show up on his door - in the form of Emily Mortimer's quiet and thoughtful DI Frampton - one day and tell him that Leonard's been found in a local underpass brutally murdered, Brown realizes that the fight against the lawless has come to his door.

So he decides to take his own measures to ensure the clean up of the estate begins.

Touted as the UK's answer to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino and Charles Bronson's Death Wish, there's certainly plenty of similarities in this one man campaign for violent vengeance.

But it's thanks to Caine's studied and underplayed performance, that it's more shocking when the quiet soulless eyed pensioner Brown finally explodes into a murderous rampage.

Gritty and uncompromising, Harry Brown shows why Caine is still the best at what he does.

Extras: Really, really disappointing here - simply a few deleted scenes and some trailers - almost enough to make me want to go Harry Brown on those behind the disc.

Rating: 7/10 

Thursday, 20 January 2011

The Green Hornet: Movie Review

The Green Hornet: Movie Review

The Green Hornet
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Tom Wilkinson
Director: Michel Gondry
Another superhero movie hits the big screen.
But unlike its predecessors of Spiderman, Batman et al, this one has its tongue a little more firmly in its cheek.
Seth Rogen stars as Britt Reid, the playboy wastrel - his father (Tom Wilkinson) runs a newspaper empire and has never really had much time for his son; he even goes so far as to dispense such bon mots as "Trying doesn't matter if you always fail."
So it's no wonder that Britt isn't exactly the life leader his dad expects.
One day after a party, Britt comes home to find his father dead and suddenly, he has the empire to run.
With a resentful attitude, Britt sets about doing what little he can to keep the workload to a minimum.
However, one night, teaming up with dad's former associate Kato (Jay Chou), the pair inadvertently find themselves fighting muggers and kicking some ass.
At the same time, a local crimelord Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) is keeping the city in his vicelike grip and that spurs Britt into taking on the crims at their own game.
Thus The Green Hornet is born.
But the birth of this villain cum hero sets Britt on a collision course with Chudnofsky&.
As I said, The Green Hornet has its tongue firmly in its cheek.
It's also brash, loud, over bearing, funny, entertaining and messy in equal measures.
There's humour in the fight scenes between Kato and Hornet with one long sequence resembling something from the Three Stooges. And there's even echoes of Benny Hill in one early scene.
Rogen (who co-wrote this) simply shouts his way through the story for the two hour duration - but there's something vaguely lovable about this waster and goofball hero who's only getting involved 'cos of serious daddy issues.
Stylistically, this film is pretty impressive - the early fight scenes are enhanced with visual effects and thanks to the eye of director Michel Gondry look pretty damn impressive. But it's also the way these have been sparsely used which make them work well and be as effective as they are.
If anything, Green Hornet is about the banter between Rogen and Chou as their jealous, bitchy bromance partnership grows. Because certainly the likes of the characters played by Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz are pretty much wasted and do little but serve to move the narrative along.
Which is a shame.

Overall, The Green Hornet is a bit of checking your brain at the door kind of fun - which for a superhero/ crime film, once in a while, is a pleasant change.

The Fighter: Movie Review

The Fighter: Movie Review

The Fighter
Rating: 9/10
Cast: Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
Director: David O Russell
Boxing films are all the same, right?
An underdog loses a series of fights in a desperate attempt to make a comeback and suddenly comes good when it really matters.
The Fighter is different.
And infinitely better than the usual fare.
Based on a true story, Mark Wahlberg stars as Micky Ward, a boxer who's living in the shadow of his older brother Dicky Eklund (a wonderfully wiry and sparky, Golden Globe award winning Christian Bale.) Eklund is the pride of Lowell, Massachusetts; a boxer who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard, he's the celeb of the working class town.
However, Eklund is racked with addiction to crack cocaine and is dragging the family down - as well as his brother's hopes of staging some kind of fighting revival. Plus along with the fearsome matriarch of the nine strong family, Alice (a ferocious Golden Globe award winning Melissa Leo) in charge of their careers, Micky is going nowhere fast.
So when Micky meets Amy Adams' Charlene, a local bartender college drop out, a tender romance develops and Micky begins to start to believe in himself and his ability again.
But Charlene realizes the only way to boost Micky's career is to remove the cancer of Alice and Dicky - and so the battle lines are set and the confrontation begins.
Let's get the boxing clichés out of the way now - this is a knock out of a film which pulls no punches.
But it's the ensemble cast which gives this true story a human feel and raise it well above the mire of a clichéd boxing film.
Christian Bale is astoundingly good as Eklund, a sinewy frame supporting a "can't take your eyes off him" performance. There's energy and world class acting on show here as the small town hero who was on the cusp of having it all but blows it for the cycle of addiction.
Yet, while Bale's great, thanks to the sensible and restrained direction of David O Russell, it doesn't detract from the rest of the cast - specifically Mark Wahlberg, whose subtly underplayed performance is the perfect antithesis to Bale's sparky energy. He's an assured presence here and conveys the torment of realizing the family's holding him back and the pain of having to try and make that clean break.
Amy Adams is also excellent as Charlene and Melissa Leo needs special mention as the most frightening mom in charge since the mom at the head of the clan in Animal Kingdom last year.
If you're expecting a series of montages of fights as well when we see Micky start to box again, that's another cliché dispensed with by Russell; at most each fight on the way to the title racks up about two seconds. It's a great move which means the drama's solely focused on life outside the ring (which is where the emotional core of this film lies) and because of it, when the title bout comes round and that plays out in its entirety rather than a brief snippet of narrative, there's more invested in you wanting to see Micky win.
With humour, raw honesty and brilliant casting, this tale of redemption and addiction will suck you in right from the very beginning.
The Fighter is guaranteed to leave your pulse racing and your heart beating from beginning to end - as it lines up with The King's Speech for potential Oscar glory, it looks as if 2011's finally off to a superb cinematic start.

Simply a knock out and unmissable.

The King's Speech: Movie Review

The King's Speech: Movie Review

The King's Speech
Rating: 9/10
Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham-Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall
Director: Tom Hooper
Here comes the early contender for Oscar glory - and rightly so (and it's already been lavished with plenty of pre award season nominations.)
Colin Firth stars as Prince Albert aka the soon to be King George VI, who's crippled by a stammer. With the health of his father failing and the second World War looming, his wife Elizabeth (Bonham Carter) decides Bertie needs help.
So, after doctors fail him and other therapists come up short, she finds a potential salvation in the shape of Aussie Lionel Logue (a brilliant Geoffrey Rush), an alternative and maverick therapist.
After a slightly dodgy start to their relationship, Bertie and Logue begin to work together in unusual ways to overcome the problem.
But with the death of his father, the forced abdication of Edward and the looming Second World War, Bertie soon finds it'll be his words which will inspire the Commonwealth.
However, it's those words which don't appear to be coming any time soon.
The King's Speech is, quite simply, marvellous.
A brilliant crowd pleaser, with a script liberally peppered with dry wit and humour, along with some stunning turns from Firth and Rush, it's a riveting watch from beginning to end.
Colin Firth will be a shoo in for some form of glory with this performance (although as ever, early buzz sometimes cripples the front runners) but his role as the monarch to be is mesmerizingly good. The frustration Albert clearly feels in his inability to speak is etched perfectly on his face - and not once do you feel Firth is over egging the role. In fact, it's his restrained turn that may have you doubled with nerves as you will him to speak every single word when he's struggling.
Throw in the great laid back and human performance of Geoffrey Rush and it's a brilliant double act which will entertain in ways you couldn't possibly imagine on screen.
Bonham-Carter and Spall are equally as good as the Queen Mum and Churchill. Bonham-Carter particularly brings the mischievous twinkle in the Queen Mum's eye vividly to life.
But it's Firth who effortlessly commands the screen in this - you won't believe how much you've emotionally invested in the build up to one man delivering a speech.

Simply the first unmissable crowd pleasing film of 2011, which will leave you lost for words.

Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Soul Kitchen: DVD Review

Soul Kitchen: DVD Review

Soul Kitchen

Rating:M
Released by Madman


Winner of the Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2009, Soul Kitchen is the tale of Zinos (Bousdoukos) a German restauranteur whose life is at a crossroads.

His girlfriend Nadine is about to fly to Shanghai for a job, his ex con brother Ilias (Bleibtreu) is on parole and his Hamburg hangar based restaurant, The Soul Kitchen is facing a crisis with a lack of patrons.

One day Zinos hires a new chef - and despite the initial frostiness towards the cordon bleu chef's offerings, somehow the kitchen manages to take off and become the hip centre of town.

But when Zinos' back gives out, he realizes he has to try and heal his broken heart and head to Shanghai. So he leaves the restaurant with Ilias - and that's when everything starts to go wrong.

Soul Kitchen is a vibrant comic film with a bustling cool soundtrack (it's got one of the best opening scenes I've seen in a long time in terms of hooking you in and getting you grooving)- it's also possibly one of the most over the top pieces of cinema I've seen in a while, thanks in part to the apparent overacting of Bousdoukos at odd moments.

There are screwball moments, warmth and heart in this kitchen - and the final result is somewhat of a crazy yet very digestible and insanely enjoyable mix.

Rating: 6/10

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