Train To Busan: Film Review

Train To Busan: Film Review

Cast: Yoo Gong, Dong-seok Ma, Woo-sik Choi, Soo-an Kim
Director: Sang-ho Yeon

Despite starting off dangerously close to camp territory thanks to a resurrected road-kill, Train To Busan shakes off any silliness to provide one of the year's freshest and engaging takes on the zombie genre.

In South Korea, there's a crisis - amid concerns of foot and mouth inside a quarantine zone, trouble's brewing. Thanks to a "tiny leak at a biotech district", chaos soon reigns and the region is over-run by a zombie virus, turning the masses into rabid feral biters, determined to take down anyone and anything in their way.

Unaware of what's happening, Sok-Woo (Yoo Gong) is trying to get out of spending time with his estranged young daughter Soo-an (Soo-an Kim) because of work pressures. Separated from his wife in another district, Soo-an simply wants to board the train to Busan to go back to her mother, after her father failed to attend her recital.

Motivated by guilt, the pair board the KTX bullet train heading for Busan. Full of other passengers, the train suddenly becomes a killing field when one of the infected ends up on board at the last minute - and soon father and daughter, along with a clutch of other groups, are desperately struggling for survival as society breaks down around them.

It's rare to get a film that offers a fresh take on a tired genre.

But while Train To Busan, with its fast-knit horde of speeding infected may owe a debt to World War Z's scrabbling horde, it's thanks to Sang-ho Yeon's direction and some thrilling action sequences that this is a train well worth boarding.

As the eerie build up begins and glimpsed shots of varying elements of carnage play out just off screen, the sense of indiscriminate panic begins to pile on a level of suspense that's palpable.

Granted, some of the players in the train (a group of jocks, a pregnant woman and comedy partner, a villainous COO) are clearly a little blank canvas, but what the film manages to do is make you connect with them as the atmosphere builds up. Nowhere is this more obvious than the relationship between a selfish father and selfless daughter as they awkwardly reconnect, and the pair sell this worn out trope well. One of the more crucial scenes sees the dad telling his young daughter in such situations as this, to look out solely for herself. It's a shocking moment but one that speaks volumes to how frank and refreshing Train to Busan is.

With its contorting faceless infected, Train To Busan's action sequences are taut and exciting; from the confines of the train, a station stop to the final train yard showdown, the film's MO is one of edge of your seat emotional action. It's admittedly Snowpiercer crossed with 28 Days Later, but that's no bad thing as the film speeds as relentlessly as the train does to its destination.

Sure, there are some societal commentary moments thrown in (the father is a fund manager and his main nemesis is a slimy COO, a rich vs poor allegory hanging in the midst) but the simple MO of Train To Busan is to proffer frights, scares and emotional centres.

With a relatively unknown cast on these shores, it's an added frisson of thrills to wonder who will be picked off and thanks to the pace, tone and stakes for all, Train To Busan emerges as one of the best films of the year - and one well worth getting on board with.

Bridget Jones's Baby: Film Review

Bridget Jones's Baby: Film Review

Cast: Renee Zellweger, Patrick Dempsey, Colin Firth
Director: Sharon Maguire

What to expect when Bridget is expecting is perhaps the greatest fear facing many fans of Helen Fielding's titular beloved singleton.

But based on Bridget Jones' Baby which comes some 12 years after The Edge of Reason, there's every need to keep calm and carry on.

In this broad but occasionally bloated crowd pleasing comedy, Renee Zellweger's Bridget Jones's back and negotiating life in her own inimitable fashion.

The world may have changed plenty since we've seen her last - Hugh Grant's caddish Daniel Cleaver is disappeared, Darcy and Bridget have split - but, on her 43rd birthday, Bridget's solo and celebrating all by herself. However, that changes when work colleague Miranda (a scene stealing Sarah Solemani) takes her to a music festival to get laid.

Stumbling drunkenly into the wrong tent and a sordid tryst, Bridge hooks up with dating guru and dishy Jack (played by ole McDreamy himself Patrick Dempsey). Running off after, she ends up having another unexpected dalliance with Colin Firth's starched Mr Darcy at a christening a few days later.

Things get further complicated when she finds out she's pregnant but with no clue who the father is...

Swathed in an affectionate nostalgic glow for the character and playing up the usual neuroses and tics that made Bridget so relatable to so many, Zellweger steps back into the role - and its clipped English tones - with ease. 

(Let's not dwell on the slight cosmetic change as other media have been wont to do; this is still the same Bridget but slightly tweaked.) She's the perky comedy glue that holds this together and with some flippantly funny one liners, the film zings when she's around. (A line about glamping and Adolf Hitler garners unexpected laughs)

And even though it's not really much of a departure of a film from the usual choices of men that Bridget has to face as well as the predictable playing out of the klutzier edges and hitting a lull at about 80 mins in, the whole thing comes off as funny, warm and surprisingly familiar - and a potentially a saccharine riff on US and UK relations.

By making both males seem normal, the script wisely steers away from making Bridget's choice obvious or one of them kooky and nicely muddies the waters by playing with viewers' affections - even if the gloop and sentiment kicks in toward the end in this time honoured riff on the old trope two women/ one man.

Both Firth and Dempsey play their roles well, with Firth's humour coming off the more effective as he riffs on the social awkwardness that's always been at Darcy's core. Dempsey's a little blander, but still pleasant and helps sell the emotional quandary rather than over-egging it.

In a year that has already seen some middling 90s revivals (from Ab Fab to David Brent), it's refreshing to report that Bridget's latest (and hopefully last, even if a final scene pan teases something else) is both nostalgic and a little forward-looking. 

With its moments of honesty and its continuing depiction of one woman's messy life, Bridget Jones' Baby is no pregnant pause for the franchise. It's better than it could have been and consequently infinitely more enjoyable than you would have remotely expected. If you'll forgive the pun, this baby truly delivers in unexpected ways.

Sausage Party: Film Review

Sausage Party: Film Review

Vocal cast: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek
Director: Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan

Possibly one of the most messed up adult animations of its generation, Sausage Party is a Seth Rogen idea 10 years in the making.

Mixing Pixar and Disney through the potty-mouthed prism of South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut, it's the at times anarchic story of sausage Frank (Rogen) and bun Brenda (Wiig) who live in a supermarket and who long to be selected by shoppers and taken to the nirvana of the Great Beyond (aka outside the store).

But when Frank and Brenda are separated from their bagged colleagues trying to save a suicidal mustard jar who says the Great Beyond is a lie, they have to get back to their shelves in time to be sold for July 4th celebrations....

Puns, profanity, philosophy and puerility collide in this animated flick which thanks to one scene towards the end gives new meanings to the phrases food porn and root vegetables.

And yet in among the clearly deranged lust for frat boy crudity and puns, there's also a story of religious tolerance, beliefs and commentary on the Israel / Palestine situation thanks to a squabbling friendship between a lavash and a bagel. It's a paradigm of Sausage Party that it covers such higher topics while pursuing such baser ideals and potty-mouthed leanings.

At its heart, it's a simple take on the Toy Story style get home adventure of the first film as Frank and Brenda muddle their way through the shopping aisles being chased by a bad guy, while one fellow sausage negotiates the horrors of reality of being cooked out in the real world.

But it's certainly plenty of food for thought during this culturally diverse and occasionally subversive piece that embraces all and points out the absurdity of conflicts and differences with the use of puns and a polemic pushing of the envelope. From God hates Figs to Exterminating Juice, there's plenty to keep you guffawing here as the inevitable lulls start to hit the scatological highs. An all-out orgy scene goes as far as it can and a clever use of Meatloaf helps the film to hit parodies of films like Terminator 2 and slasher films.

All in all the Adult Swim-like Sausage Party is perhaps not quite as clever as it aims to be in parts, but with Rogen adding an animated sausage to his pot-headed frat boy filmography, there are signs that he's doing what he does best and to great comic effect with this CGI outing.

Funny, riotous, ribald and a bit deeper than you'd expect despite its filthy sheen, Sausage Party sizzles more than you'd expect it to do so.

Sully: Film Review

Sully: Film Review

Cast: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney
Director: Clint Eastwood

With its dedication to those who rushed to the aid of american airlines flight 1549 coming at the end, director Clint Eastwood's Sully wears its salute to heroism in New York on its sleeve.

On Thursday January 15th 2009, New York became alive with the chanting of a hero when Captain Chesley Sullenberger (a white haired and moustachioed Tom Hanks) force landed his plane onto the waters of the Hudson River with 155 people on board. But while the media heralded him, an investigation into his actions threatened to ruin him...

Sully is an odd film, one of quiet strengths and character weaknesses as it looks at the Miracle on The Hudson.

With little insight into the man other than brief flashbacks of his learning to fly and landing an air force jet in peril but with plenty of hints of troubled in his life, Eastwood plays the film remarkably straight, leaving the end result feeling a little muted.

Hanks gives his usual stoic and solid turn as Sullenberger, but a choice to play him as troubled or slightly sullen seems at odds with how little tension there actually appears to be in his background. Calls to his wife (Laura Linney) hint at problems that never seem to manifest, and to be frank, all that's really known about Sullenberger as a result, is what he did for some 208 seconds on the plane, and then consequently worried about thereafter.

With nightmarish flashes of jets powering through New York's skylines and crashing into buildings forming Sully's sleeping and waking life, and a passing comment that "New York's not had news this good, especially with an aeroplane involved" hinting at a post 9/11 city struggling still, it's clear Eastwood's Sully is a salutation to the resilience of those within.

But that's contrasted with the human factor that Hanks manifests here - it's another every man doing heroic every day things that he's made his career on. Yet even with that approach, Hanks' quiet resilience comes through and bleeds into Sullenberger where the script fails him. As the film leads to its inevitable trial by the National Transport Safety Board, there's a feeling that Sully really has relied on Hanks to carry the character through, even with brief interactions with Eckhart's co-pilot and his long distance wife.

Equally, Eastwood relies on the actual drama in the air to provide the emotional meat of the film, playing to generic fears many have on a plane that it all rests on the shoulders and actions of those in the cockpit. 

With some of the passengers falling into the generic mawkish stereotypes (woman with a baby, trio of late-comers to the flight), there's a tendency toward indifference as the bird strike hits forcing the engines into shutdown. 

But Eastwood gives it a calm muted sheen that gels with the feel of this languidly sedate film, which is the antithesis to Robert Zemeckis' Flight. As a result, the plane sequence is easily the stand-out of the film - though an over-reliance on re-showing it some three times from different perspectives becomes a narrative weakness and lends a strengthening feeling there is nothing else to the film other than what Sully did in the air.

The pitch for Sully is the incredible true story you didn't know, but based on a series of flashbacks, inter-cut narratives and an underwhelming fleshing out of the lead, there's little here that sings as sensational - other than the actions of one normal man "just doing his job".

Granted, Eastwood's workmanlike directorial touches during the flight sequences give Sully the frisson of excitement it needs, because in many other aspects, this film's circling in the air, waiting for clearance to land or even take-off.

Dirty Grandpa: DVD Review

Dirty Grandpa: DVD Review

Released by eOne

Have you ever wanted to see Academy Award winner and much revered actor Robert De Niro declare with deep gusto that he "just wants to f**k until my d**k falls off"?

Because if so, viagra comedy Dirty Grandpa will fulfill your dreams.

Ali G and Borat director Dan Mazer brings an energy and an eye for vulgarity to the fore in this raunchy Spring Break comedy starring Zac Efron as Jason, an uptight lawyer who's about to be married to his shrill fiancee, Meredith (Julianne Hough). But when Jason's grandma dies, he decides to try and reconnect with his estranged grandpa Dick (Robert De Niro) and the duo end up on a road trip in an attempt to recapture the bond they used to share.

However, Dick is after finding his second wind in life, claiming his former wife urged him to go live while on her death - bed and Jason is tricked into heading into Florida's Spring Break.

For all of its shortcomings and the feeling of repetition toward the end, coupled with a few saggy sentimental moments which really slow things down, there's something amusing about this energetic and at times, capable comedy that aims low, hits every target and then heads to pick even more low-hanging fruit.

Though that comes with the proviso that you must be into puerile material and of a disposition that finds copious swearing, genitals and prolonged jokes around sex and getting laid amusing.Efron proves game and is interested in humiliating himself where necessary, (including showing off his physique once again) and De Niro goes for the shock factor by debasing his acting legacy as much as he can. Parks and Rec star Aubrey Plaza and Sleeping With Other People's Jason Mantzoukas are the real stars though, intially putting their trademark patter into full effect before starting to grate; Plaza's horny girl wanting to sleep with an old man gathers some laughs to start with and then starts to feel a little creepy.

Mistaken paedophilia, gay stereotyping, crude and crass all form parts of Dirty Grandpa, and while there's no denying there are moments which are laugh out loud funny, most of this film starts to grate and become repetitive very quickly.

Granted, it's the perfect antidote to the Oscar films which are out there now, but it's no long term comedy solution and while it will find its audience, the laughs aren't quite enough to see it push the envelope

Phoenix: DVD Review

Phoenix: DVD Review

From the director of the critically acclaimed Barbara, Phoenix is a tale that aims for powerful and gets there - for the most part.

Hoss plays Nelly, a survivor of the concentration camps, who's badly disfigured and needs reconstruction surgery after the war to start to rebuild her life. Choosing to ignore surgeons' advice and seeking her own face be restored, Nelly's determined to find her husband Johnny, who was arrested the same time she was and the thought of whom kept her going in the camps. However, Johnny didn't sustain that hope and believed she was dead, killed at the hands of the Nazis.

But when Nelly discovers Johnny's working in a local cabaret club as a busboy, and despite the advice from long term friend Lene, she ingratiates her way back into his life as he concocts a scheme to get her inheritance, believing Nelly to be the spitting image of his wife...

With its weighty subject matter and universal concerns, Phoenix could so easily gone for overblown sentiment and mawkishness,

But what Petzold does is strive for subtlety and for a more intimate drama that really becomes more about Johnny and Nelly than it does its global implications, which is where the suspension and suspense start to diverge.

By scattering elements through the story of a post World War II life and of Jews trying to deal with their PTSD and of a nation trying to rebuild, but by concentrating on the struggle between the duo, Petzold creates a film that's as much Hitchcock as it is post-Holocaust tale.

Evocatively lit and carefully choreographed, this is a film that relies on its cinematography for its atmosphere and one which demonstrates a proliferation of victims by concentrating on a singular one. But it's also a story which requires a leap of faith that Johnny wouldn't become suspicious of Nelly and the incredible coincidence that the tale pivots on.

Granted, it's the stuff of film noir, but Phoenix doesn't quite convince on that front and the eventual denouement of the piece lacks the real shock factor that it should have. And nowhere is this more evident than in Lene's ultimate fate, coming as it does like a shot out of the blue and with no resonance.

If anything, Phoenix is more of a film of survivors, of trying to find one's way again and of a nation trying to find a new face, as well as an individual. It's here that the power of Phoenix lies and it's here that the story is perhaps more desperate to be told.

As it is, Phoenix is beautifully and masterfully executed, but one can't help but feel its vision should have been better placed. 

Newstalk ZB Review - Talking Chasing Great and David Brent

Newstalk ZB Review - Talking Chasing Great and David Brent

This week, I caught up with Jack Tame to discuss the Richie McCaw doco and the David Brent mockumentary.

Thankfully, I didn't get them mixed up.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-chasing-great-david-brent/