Stoker: Movie Review

Stoker: Movie Review

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Nicole Kidman, Jacki Weaver
Director: Park Chan-wook

This psychological piece draws influence from Hitchcock and is written by Wentworth Miller, who's better known for his lead role as Michael Scofield in Prison Break.

It's the story of India Stoker, who, on her 18th birthday finds her life thrown into turmoil by the death of her father. India's been close to her father for years, and the death forces her into spending time with her mother Evelyn (a haughtily distant Nicole Kidman).

Things are further shaken up for India, when her uncle Charlie (a charismatic but creepy Matthew Goode) shows up at the funeral and moves into the home. Evelyn becomes obsessed with him and begins a relationship, but India's unsure of the new arrival but finds her interest piqued when people from around the house start disappearing...

Eerie, uncomfortable, full of great close ups and terrifically atmospheric, the director of Oldboy, Park Chan-wook has created something incredibly riveting and stylish on the big screen with this coming of age thriller, which is distinctly reminiscent of a Hitchcock piece.

It's also unbelievably stylish as well, with India's heightened senses proving to be a major part of the soundscape of the film. Every single sound is amplified and the effect is mesmerising as Chan-wook's taut thriller plays out.

With unusual camera angles and point-of-view precision shots scattered throughout, Chan-wook's made something which is disorientating and engaging. The visual and the audio are expertly used to play to our senses. One shot sees Wasikowska brushing Kidman's orange tresses and that morphs into grass blowing in the breeze - it's an audacious shot which screams style and is bravura film-making.

Matthew Goode makes a charming and psychotic uncle, who mysteriously appears on the scene and who charms both Evelyn and eventually, India. Kidman is distant as the mother trying to reconnect with her daughter and her life; and Mia Wasikowska is withdrawn as the different-from-everyone-else India, who's waking up to the world around her. She's terrific as the lead, and her awakening is an uncomfortable experience which horrifically boils over at the end.

It takes a while to adjust to the characters' distance at the start of the film, (there's nary a hint of humour throughout) but this aloof Addams Family psycho-drama chiller-thriller is unsettling, ethereal and artistic - and quite unmissable. 

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21 and Over: Blu Ray Review

21 and Over: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Following on from last year's Project X, and the slightly more adult Hangover series, it's clear that there's still plenty to be mined in the "One night out, deal with the regrets later" genre.

This latest focuses on two mates, Miller and Casey (Project X's Teller and Pitch Perfect's Skylar Astin) who head to their med-student friend Jeff Chang (Justin Chon) for an impromptu celebration of his 21st. But Jeff Chang doesn't want to party as he's got an important interview the next day. Still with friends like Miller, who says he will mess up his friend with alcohol (severely paraphrasing here), Jeff has no choice.

But, the night's antics spiral out of control - and soon, Miller and Casey are stuck on a college campus, with no idea of how to get their friend home - and with the threat of violence from Jeff's father facing them, are in a race against time.

21 And Over will clearly appeal to its target demographic - the kind of teen boys who like to party (or believe there's still a world out there made for partying and filled with beautiful college women who are there for the taking) and who are looking for nothing more than a dumb time at the movies. 

Heavily slanted towards the American college scene (with fraternities, hazing and debauchery aplenty), it may be a world which is slightly alien to others. But it's exactly what you'd expect from a film such as this - montages of slow mo drinking, dancing and puking, embarrassments and nudity, character stereotyping and casual racism - it's all in the chaotic mix of a night out. (And there's palpable relief it's not in 3D either, I can tell you).

The main trio are nothing spectacular - the situations they get into are fairly outrageous in a tame sort of way. But here's the thing with 21 And Over. It feels so old hat; there's no real stand out new entry into the genre; no defining moment which gives it the chance to stand out about the rest. It's not just a lot of loutish bad drunken behaviour though - there's a kernel of a nice story hidden within (which is rare in these types of films) as Miller and Casey realise they don't know much these days about their friend Jeff Chang (they call him that all the way through) after he went to college. Plus, Casey discovers there's more to life than a steady job and being reckless with a girl (Sarah Wright who looks uncannily like Alice Eve)

And it's a nice touch to demonstrate how friendships can wax and wane - before you see the guys naked in nothing but gym socks. So, to be honest, it's stuff we've all seen done time and time again - without the faintest whiff of originality or excess.

All in all, 21 And Over will fulfill a need in some - and I predict moderate success for it - it'll appeal to those who pine to be college drinking gods; everyone else will just be glad they grew up.

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Homeland Season 3 trailer is here

Homeland Season 3 trailer is here

The first official trailer for Homeland Season 3 has just dropped.

Returning to the show are Damian Lewis as Brody and Claire Danes as Carrie.

Watch the Homeland Season 3 preview here....

The Host: Blu Ray Review

The Host: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

Fresh from Twilight Saga writer Stephenie Meyer comes the film version of her novel The Host, her first foray into the world of sci-fi.

An unseen but benign alien invasion force has taken over the Earth - by forming parasitic relationships with humanity and inhabiting bodies while erasing their memories. But a small batch of humans is standing firm in the face of this invasion  by stealth and is determined to fight back. Among their number is Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), a tough-willed fighter and sister to a younger brother after their father killed himself in the early stages of their coming. However, when she's cornered by the Seekers, she kills herself - only to awake to find a soul is now in her body.

But Melanie is a fighter - and soon there is a conflict within the body for control. And that conflict has implications for what's left of humanity....

So, is The Host movie any good? Well, if you can get past some of the soapy teen / slightly horrific love story contained inevitably within Host author Stephenie Meyer's writing, then there lies an interesting sci-fi movie cum meditation / philosophical piece on the soul and how we see our place in the world.

Kiwi Director Andrew Niccol's brought us a sterile world which is all starched whites, sheens, silvers and where the bad guys drive pristine silver Lotus while pursuing the bad guys. He's also managed to make some incredible use of the landscape scenery on offer - with the wilds of the countryside and the stark harshness of the buildings occupied by the invaders providing a nice contrast to each other.

But he's also managed to stick to some clunky dialogue, so redolent of Meyer's writing. Lines like "When you touch me, I don't want you to stop" litter parts of the movie and drag it down a little as it plays out. Why those couldn't be jettisoned I'm not too sure - even though it's young adult, and aimed at an audience, they still stand out a mile off. There's a haunting and elegaic feel to The Host movie, and it's certainly one which evokes feelings within as it ends - but there's also a bit of confusion over some of the characters' motives (even the final explanations still provide a touch of "Huh?") which nag during the film's quieter moments. This is not an alien invasion film with heaps of action and chases; in fact, it's the very opposite - a grown up meditation of the spiritual, which has moments of serenity within - despite a quite ludicrous love story being wrapped around an occasionally logic-lacking tale.

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Post festival Q&A with Bill Gosden

Post festival Q&A with Bill Gosden

So it's done in Auckland - another New Zealand International Film Festival and a load of cinematic treats are now being bundled up and sent around the country for others to enjoy.
I caught up with festival director Bill Gosden to get his thoughts on the cinematic circus leaving town.

Auckland is completed and Wellington’s in full swing, how do you see the 2013 festival going so far?
The biggest relief has been the technical/logistical achievement it represents. Everything played on schedule! We had some very close calls, not least a missing code to activate the very last screening on the programme, The Dream of Reality on Sunday night at the Civic. We had to rouse French crew from their beds at 6.00am on a Paris Sunday to extract the magic formula. It’s been great to see the almost universally positive responses to Antarctica and Gardening with Soul. I’d been touting these with such confidence from the get-go that certain cinephile commentators were accusing me of rank hucksterism.

And adding extra screenings of some films as well?
Some films have been popular this year and it's good to report that extra screenings of the Human Scale and Utu Redux were added in Wellington due to public demand.

Gardening with Soul

What’s been the best bit of an audience Q&A you’ve attended?
We’ve had a lot of help in that department in Auckland this year with some expert guest moderators, so I haven’t always been in the thick of it myself. My own biggest kick was seeing producer Leanne Saunders turn the tables and solicit some very thoughtful responses from the kids in the audience at The Weight of Elephants.

What have been the early break out hits this year?
Antarctica, Gardening, Candelabra , Only Lovers Left Alive,  The Gilded Cage,  Blinged –up Emma Watson, Blinged-up ponies....

Conversely, which film do you feel more people should have been at?
The Broken Circle Breakdown and The Past fell far short of our expectations, but I’m sure we’ll see some improvement as the word spreads.

The Broken Circle Breakdown

What’s been your highlight of the Auckland festival?
Revisiting 1928 and coming away enriched.  Jo Contag’s score for The Crowd is a wonderful work of sympathetic imagination across the decades. Tim Brock’s scores for the two Keaton movies are both fiendishly fast and precise.  Marc Taddei marshalled the APO players into a miraculous match of music, movie and live performance.

Wellington was hit with nervousness due to the earthquakes – have audiences headed out a bit more since things have quietened down?
Yes, but we have not made up for that initial cessation in sales. Spring-like weather has not helped (though it has probably settled shaken spirits somewhat).

What’s been the best bit of audience / punter feedback you’ve had?
The person who didn’t tell me how tired I look.

With the festival heading off to the provinces, including Gore for the first time, what would you recommend people don’t miss out on?
I don’t change my tune for the provinces. The programme may be smaller but it’s still a great mix of hot international features, documentaries and NZ work.

Antarctica- a Year on Ice

Which film do you feel will play the best around the country?
Gardening with Soul is an instant classic.

So, Auckland’s ending for 2013 – what’s next for you?
Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch - and a lot of taking stock.

What can we expect at the festival in 2014?
A major sponsor would be good....

Jack The Giant Slayer: Blu Ray Review

Jack The Giant Slayer: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

Fe, fi, fo, fum. Another fairy-tale film this way does come.

In the latest to be released (after Oz: The Great and Powerful, Snow White), Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy, Warm Bodies) plays Jack, who, as a young boy, was enthralled by the stories of the giants in the heavens above.

He's not alone in that admiration of all things tall as Princess Isabelle (Tomlinson) is also fascinated by the fairy tale.

The pair meet in later life when Jack is a young farmhand and Princess Isabelle is, well, a princess. Jack's sent to the market to sell off the horse and cart to ensure there's money for the farm to survive. However, he comes back with only a couple of magic beans - as the story goes.

Those beans are also being sought as well by Stanley Tucci's toothy Roderick, who's determined to enslave the giants and use them to wreak havoc below. But when Jack accidentally drops a bean in his cabin, while fending off a visit from the princess, it sprouts a beanstalk re-connecting the humans to the Giant kingdom - and unleashing all manner of complications as well as a potential for war.

Jack The Giant Slayer (aka Jack The Giant Killer) is a perfectly fine, adequately re-telling of a tale so familiar to many. Bryan Singer manages to slightly subvert your expectations of what you may believe the fairy tale is telling by bringing a final section battle sequence to life that challenges anything proffered up by the Lord of the Rings series (albeit on a slightly smaller scale). He's also fond of the work done by his FX team, throwing in numerous swirling shots of the Giants' world to show off the scale of what's ahead and what's been achieved. 

But he doesn't lose sight of the human side of the story; Hoult is warm and affable (if a little wet) as Jack; Tomlinson is a little wishy washy as the princess / romantic lead; Tucci is (as previously mentioned) toothy and a bit hammy as the villain of the piece (as is an OTT foppish Ewen Bremner as his snickering buffoonish No2) and Ewan McGregor rocks out a terribly stilted Obi-Wanesque accent as the head of the guard. Some dignity is provided by Ian McShane's king, but to be honest, they're all second fiddle to the FX and the Giants themselves (which inexplicably all speak with Irish accents)

All in all, Jack The Giant Slayer delivers more on its Less Stalk, More Action (as one wag has coined it) and presents a perfectly enjoyable, if entirely forgettable and relatively unoriginal, family movie. If anything, you could say it's a case of Fe, Fi, Ho-Hum.

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New Thor: The Dark World trailer is here

New Thor: The Dark World trailer is here

A brand new trailer for Thor: The Dark World has arrived

The first official trailer for Thor - Dark World has dropped.

The sequel to Marvel's Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston and Christopher Eccleston.





We've got a first look at Thor- Dark World with the launch of the new Thor Dark World poster.