Marshland: DVD Review

Marshland: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Vendetta Films

Mixing the same horrific themes and locations as True Detective but eschewing the philosophical debate, Spanish thriller Marshland arrives with accolades ringing in its ears.

Already the recipient of 10 GOYA Awards, it's the 1980s story of two detectives Juan and Pedro, unwillingly paired together and both serving a penance of sorts for past sins. Called to a small Spanish village to investigate the disappearance of two girls, it soon becomes clear that their going missing covers a wider net of conspiracy than was first believed.

Rodriguez has crafted something dour, grim and atmospheric which makes the best of its moody locations, characters and situation.

Revelling in the fact this pair are outsiders from the outset to both the community they're investigating and even their own attitudes, there's certainly overtones of True Detective's MO - even down to Arevalo's outward similarity to McConaughey's look in the series - which prove hard to shake from the DNA of the thriller.

There are also moments of lucidity and writing which is spot on with its veracity, wringing the drops of horror from the situation.

When the duo find the girls, the local cops implore them to be the ones to tell the parents what has happened, given that they see them every day. It's a peeling back of the veneer and a peeking below the surface that's queasy to watch.Visually, the film is a claustrophobic treat with Rodriguez making great fist of the marshlands locations, the 80s drained look and some aerial shots as transitioning from the scenes which seem like Google Maps or the pull backs from Grand Theft Auto V as it switches between characters. Every sequence is meticulously crafted, tightly executed and tautly directed. There's a sense of grim realism that permeates so much of the movie and leads to moments that are truly gripping.

But it's not without its faults - the final reveal of who's behind it all is muddily executed in the middle of a rain storm swamping the screen and hiding the unveiling, leading to some feeling ripped off. Equally, a side thread about Franco's army, a wage dispute between workers are jumbled and disjointed, feeling like they've been woven in and left a little under-developed and extraneous to the narrative.

Overall, Marshland brings together a sticky fear of dread throughout, thanks to a dour, grim atmosphere, dripping with unease and queasy revelations bubbling under a surface. Its ending is downbeat and troubling, a sign that atonement comes at a price and leaves you feeling unsettled - something which is well worth celebrating.

Rating:

Spy: DVD Review

Spy: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Ent 

After stinkers like Tammy and The Heat, the prospect of another Melissa McCarthy helmed comedy is not one that many may relish.

So, it's more than pleasing to report that, for the large part, Spy is a brilliantly funny and engaging comedy that sees McCarthy present her most likable showcase of comedy and character, replete with gross out moments that you'd expect from the re-teaming of the Bridesmaids director and star.

McCarthy is Susan Cooper, a deskbound CIA agent, who works in a vermin infested basement guiding her James Bond-style spy, Bradley Fine (Jude Law), on various dangerous missions. The rub is that Cooper was top of all her classes and was always sidelined from active duty, but has now the intelligence to work the desk, and practically save the day via satellite and ear-piece.

However, when a rogue nuke and a highly coiffured, tightly wound baddie Rayna, played with bitchy chutzpah by Rose Byrne, threatens the entire world, Coop's got no choice but to head into the field...

As already mentioned, this farcical pastiche of all of those spy films from your youth, works a lot better than your deepest fears would suggest, thanks in no small way to McCarthy's performance and Feig's realisation that an ensemble comedy with individual moments is the right way to go. (Peter Serafinowicz as a handsy Italian compadre and Miranda Hart's channeling of her own klutzy TV character also complement the team feel)

It's also very funny too, with Statham brilliantly sending up the action man career choices he's made and roundly mocking the genre with his character Ford, a spy who believes Coop's out of her depth and will blow the mission because she doesn't have the skills he's mastered. Feig's wise enough to know that by limiting Statham's presence and utilising his action skills sparingly, he superbly contributes to the feel of Spy.

There are a few moments when perhaps the R-rated humour borders on going too far and the crass could have been dialled back - but seeing Cooper blow chunks over a downed assassin is perhaps the icing on the edgy cake, as opposed to some lazy fart gags deployed on a falling plane as the global trot continues.

But it's McCarthy's film through and through; she's imbued Cooper with a sympathetic edge that's appealing from the get-go. Whether it's railing against the mousey disguises the agency's given her ("I look like someone's homophobic aunt" she decries at one point - a sly mocking of the glamour of spy films and also of the perception of her) or keeping the riffing under control, she really does shine through. It's a timely reminder that with the right material and clearly the right director in Feig, she's less irritating than the material of other films have afforded her.

Feig gets the pastiche of the spy genre down pat from Bond style credits to a feel at times of Get Smart, but he doesn't border too far on parody choosing to slyly mock the conventions of the genre, and pepper it with some, at times unnecessary, R-rated gags. He's tapped brilliantly again into the rivalries and insecurities of his female leads (a la Bridesmaids) and they get to rule the roost.

Roundly mixing the bawdy with the bluster, Spy is a pleasant surprise; it's a chance for McCarthy to cement her position as a comedienne who excels when the material is right.

Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to go into Spy, with an open mind. You may well be pleasantly surprised.

Rating:

Gemma Bovery: Blu Ray Review

Gemma Bovery: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Shock Ent


Gemma Arterton once again becomes the cinematic muse to Posy Simmonds' writing in this latest, a big screen adaptation of Gemma Bovery, which ran weekly in The Guardian back in 1999.

Lucini plays Joubert, a Frenchman obsessed with literature - and specifically Madame Bovary - in Normandy. This baker finds his life turned around when Gemma Bovery and her husband Charles (Arterton and Flemyng respectively) move into their neighbouring house.

Struck by the literary parallels between Gemma and Madame Bovary, Joubert becomes unhealthily obsessed with Gemma, and finds his interest piqued even further when she begins to drift from her own husband and into the arms of a younger man (Schneider)...

Gemma Bovery is a breezy, light piece of French fare that's gorgeous to the eye, but light on the brain.

Simmonds' cartoon/ graphic novel was all about a woman bored with life within a rural idyll and Fontaine carries this off to maximum effect with the picturesque surroundings of Normandy, and an eye for what a perfect French life would be.

Initially, there's a humour present that rumbles along nicely - mainly thanks to Joubert's overt snobbery and literary diatribes (much to the horror of his family) - but it soon diverts into your usual story of unhappiness once the seams are picked away.

Tamara Drewe star Gemma Arterton is easy on the eye throughout, a fact Fontaine is clearly aware of, stopping just short of using soft focus each time she's on screen to convey Joubert's perception of her and the idolising he does. But she occasionally brings some of the depth needed to the character to make the actress seem less of a character from a cartoon.

Which is perhaps just as well as any supporting characters outside of Bovery and Joubert get little other than a once-over-lightly; Joubert's wife is nothing short of a harpy, his son a simpering idiot and Flemyng's Charles is nothing more than a presence rather than a partner.

As light and fluffy as a cloud in the skies above the south of France,Gemma Bovery is a forgettable flick once the lights have gone up kind of movie; it's visually appealing, but offers little to the grey matter when it's over.

Rating:

Newstalk zB Review - Spectre, Inside Out and Love and Mercy

Newstalk ZB Review - Spectre, Inside Out and Love and Mercy

This week on Jack Tame, I took a look at the new James Bond film, Spectre, and on DVD, took a look at the brilliant Inside Out and the much overlooked Love and Mercy.

Take a listen below:

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-spectre/

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter: DVD Review

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter: DVD Review

Rating: PG
Released by Madman Home Ent


Kumiko The Treasure Hunter finds itself obsessed with Fargo and never lets up.

It's the apparently urban legend of Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi), a young Japanese girl who works soullessly for a company that sees her daily strength and will to live being sapped. But keeping her alive is a daily viewing of a video tape of Fargo, the Coen Brothers classic which she pores over and tries to ascertain where the buried treasure may be kept.

Finally reaching snapping point within her work life and the over-bearing phonecalls from her mother enquiring about promotions or personal life, Kumiko makes off with the company credit card and heads to America to find the treasure buried by Steve Buscemi's character in the snow of Dakota.

Once the put upon Kumiko is free to roam, she finds that the Americans of Dakota are as oddball as the inhabitants of the film; from the people who meet her at the airport and try to get her into religion, to the bus driver with carpal tunnel syndrome who's unable to change a tyre, they're all here on display.

But in among the oddness and goofy moments, there's a small vein of sadness running through this piece, which has pathos and hints of tragedy. Kumiko is a sad figure, and while there's no attempts at using this for comic effect, the overall feeling is one of sympathetic frustration as the story plays out. There's a humour here, but it's a bittersweet one and it's one that makes you question whether Kumiko's on the verge of a breakdown rather than a genuine acceptance of her limitations.

Kikuchi plays Kumiko with an earnestness and a bowed head that sees you on her side from the moment the journey begins. As eccentric and as bedraggled as she becomes, you never lose faith in the quest in among the beautifully cinematography which makes the most of the conditions around Kumiko - from vast shots of ice to blasts of cold ice wind blowing across the roads, it's almost like the chill jumps off the screen.

Quiet and quirky, Kumiko The Treasure Hunter is a hidden treasure 

Win a double pass to see The Program

Win a double pass to see The Program

From Academy Award® nominated director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) and producers Working Title (The Theory Of Everything, Everest, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), comes the true story of the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most celebrated and controversial men in recent history, Lance Armstrong.

Based on the award winning book “Seven Deadly Sins” by David Walsh, and featuring a stellar cast including Ben Foster, Chris O’Dowd and Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad), this tense and suspenseful thriller looks at how one of the greatest deceptions in the modern era was exposed while Armstrong convinced the world he was a hero, winning the Tour de France seven times.

The Program is in cinemas from November 26th.  

To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com  and in the subject line put THE PROGRAM. Please include your name and address and good luck!

NB Competition closes November 26th.

When Marnie Was There: Blu Ray Review

When Marnie Was There: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by Madman Home Ent

"It's such a sad story" are among some of the words spoken in the final run of Studio Ghibli's latest, When Marnie Was There, based on Brit writer Joan G Robinson.

It's the story of Anna, a shy girl, an outsider who moves to the country to be with her aunt and uncle to help her get better from her asthma. However, while she settles into life there, she fails to garner any new friends in the area due to her inability to socialise and overcome her outsider depression.

But that changes when she becomes enchanted with a mansion on the banks of the shores near where she's staying. There she meets the mysterious blonde girl Marnie, and the two form a secret friendship...but Anna's convinced she's been there before - what is the mystery of Marnie?

When Marnie Was There is a pretty standard Studio Ghibli fare - which is to say it's the usual mix of gorgeous animation, beautiful water-coloured painted backgrounds and amusing moments. And so, nothing to be sniffed at or dismissed.

But there's a vein of sadness that runs pretty heavy in this piece, which mixes child depression, alienation, neglect and abuse into the pot as Anna tries to work out the mystery that haunts her. And unfortunately, it doesn't quite work as well with the central intrigue feeling like it's drawn out a little too long in places, and the piece is book-ended by some seriously garbled quick exposition that tries to join the dots, fill in the blanks and conclude it nicely.

It's not that there's anything inherently wrong with When Marnie Was There in the slightest; it's more that it appears to lack the emotional heft of prior outings. Certainly, the dubbed version has some bright vocal work from the likes of Hailee Steinfeld and John C Reilly. And while the visuals are as gorgeous as ever, the flow seems to be a little disjointed with viewers spending as much time confused as Anna does throughout, keeping the connection a little at bay.

While the themes of friendship and being an outsider are fully embraced and expanded upon, the issues that Anna faces are going to feel very real to some and for that universality, Ghibli is to be commended.

There's no doubt that the ultimate reveal of what's actually going on is heart-breaking to say the least, and the tragedy of it all is wonderfully conveyed thanks to a subtlety of story, but When Marnie Was There didn't quite hit the rich resonant highs I'd been expecting for Studio Ghibli's latest.