Julieta: Film Review

Julieta: Film Review

Cast:  Emma Suarez, Adriana Ugarte, Daniel Grao
Director: Pedro Almodovar

Jumping between 30 years of one woman's life, director Pedro Almodovar's latest is a colour-soaked Greek tragedy of a story that circumnavigates Hitchcock, mystery and romance with relative ease.

Suarez is Julieta, who, as the film starts is packing up her life in Madrid and getting ready to move abroad with new love Lorenzo. But a chance encounter on the streets with another woman from her past sets her away from this course of action and into abandoning her plans.

As she sits down to reflect, she begins to write a long letter to someone from her past - and the film traverses a leap into the past where Julieta's younger version (played with dazzling ease by new find Adriana Ugarte) is a classics teacher and who has a chance encounter on a train with Xoan (Grao) that becomes so much more...

With flashbacks and a soundtrack that feels like it's straight out of mystery film with the beats it hits as well as some striking use of colour, Almodovar's latest is, for the first half at least, a film that has intrigue painted through its DNA as it weaves together three short stories from Alice Munro.

But during one pivotal moment, an action by a main character (which cannot be revealed here for its spoiler nature) feels so jarringly unrealistic and inhuman that it jolts you out of belief from the film and causes the rest of the emotional consequences to fail to hit at all.

It's a crippling shot to the film which hitherto has worked its immense charm thanks to Suarez's turn and the enigmatic Ugarte as the younger version. With talk of Ulysses and the siren, the allegory of a fisherman falling for a mysterious woman may be a little heavy handed but in works in large parts as the meditation on grief and guilt shifts away from a casual love story to a supposedly deeper and darker piece.

Julieta may be intended to deliver an emotional sucker punch but its frustrating flaws in the back half mean the investment of the first feels squandered as the drama shifts into melodramatic territory. Granted, the Spanish auteur may still be working well, but based on the pacing of Julieta, he's not firing on all cylinders.

Rating:

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks: Film Review

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks: Film Review

Cast: Patrick Troughton, Anneke Wills, Michael Craze

Missing for half a century, this six part 1960s tale of Doctor Who is one of the holy grails for fandom.

With telesnaps and audio recordings able to give some inclination of what it was all like when the Second Doctor met the Daleks for the very first time on the Planet Vulcan and when Polly and Ben met the new Doctor for the first time, there'd always been hope of it being found somewhere and somehow.

But, on the 50th anniversary of its transmission and in the lead up to it, the BBC announced a fully animated version of this serial to the delight of fans everywhere. Not only because it's the Daleks, but because it's the first time Troughton ever appeared as the Doctor after the regeneration of William Hartnell.

The story centres around a scientist named Lesterson is investigating a mysterious alien capsule found abandoned on the planet Vulcan. Inside it are three inert Daleks. And we all know what that means - trouble....

Remarkably tense and not often feeling its six part length, The Power of the Daleks is vintage 1960s Doctor Who. Set on a planet cut off from Earth, with various political factions at play within, the confused Doctor and the even more confused Ben and Polly are thrown into the middle of a minefield. Further complicated by the arrival of the Daleks, the Doctor's belief that carnage lies around the corner struggles to be heard by others.

The at times jerky animation, with its hues of greys, adds a lot to proceedings, though in fairness at times, it doesn't quite capture all of Troughton's exquisite facials and expressions to a tee - but it is to be commended for its relative faithfulness to what source material was used. It's the little moments that stand out in the animation, rather than the full scale recreations of the characters.

There are a few moments which juddered - the disappearance of a badge, the motion blurring of a nametag - but it's largely smooth and captures the atmospheric of the episodes. Troughton's performance, and to some degrees the animation thereof, comes into its own mid-way through the run, and it's almost as if he were there on screen again.

As for the malignant pepperpots themselves, they look wonderful in their on-screen execution, bringing levels to their sneakiness as they play the human factions off each other. There's much to love in their differing appearance from usual, though their race conquering comes to the fore eventually. It's clear to see why the writers used one of the most iconic characters to usher in a new era where regeneration was an unknown quantity - and while it's also the Doctor's story, it's very much a new story for the Daleks and their ways (even if their reason for being there and eventual scuppering are narratively conveniently papered over).

Ultimately, the animation and recreation (along with remastered soundtrack and audio) add a lot to bringing this to life on the 50th anniversary of its transmission. An extra at the end of the performance explains the 6 month creation period led to some haste being needed to be added, but all in all, Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks is fan-fulfillment at its best - and showcases animation techniques quite well too.

Newstalk ZB Review - Arrival, Nocturnal Animals, and Weiner

Newstalk ZB  Review - Arrival, Nocturnal Animals, and Weiner

This week on ZB, it was an Amy Adams double with reviews of new film Arrival and her second film Nocturnal Animals.

And with the US election news, I took a look at Weiner.

Take a listen below

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-arrival-nocturnal-animals-and-weiner/

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-arrival-nocturnal-animals-and-weiner/

Lights Out: Blu Ray Review

Lights Out: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Creating an atmospheric horror that's more a parable about the creeping darkness of depression is the MO of David Sandberg's expansion of his Lights Out short film.

In the James Wan produced flick, the monster haunting a family is Diana, a creature who disappears when the lights go on, but when the lights go out, it's full tilt terror. But at its heart, it's an effectively taut parable about depression that keeps an eye on jump scares as well.

Essentially, Teresa Palmer's Rebecca, a rocker who left home after her father walked out becomes concerned when her younger brother Martin (Bateman) starts displaying symptoms of sleeplessness and claiming that an entity is haunting his mother Sophie (Maria Bello). The reason she's so worried? Because these were exactly the fears she faced when younger....

So, taking Martin under her wing, Rebecca starts to face up to old fears once again....

Relatively taut (though occasionally bogged down with parts of backstory) first time director Sandberg's Lights Out is quite effective at dealing out chills and the obligatory jump scares. The strength in Lights Out comes from the casually dropping in elements of back story to illuminate the characters and expand on the familial straining of the ties and relationships.

But the whole piece works more effectively as a film about depression, as well as an occasionally dig your nails into the cinema chair fright fest. (That said, its ending and ultimate denouement is perhaps controversial in some aspects).

Palmer turns in a performance that's eminently watchable as the rocker daughter who thought life had moved on, but whose return home sees her having to face her fears, both literally and figuratively. As the kid in terror, Bateman fares well in parts, while in others, he succumbs to the trappings of the genre and becomes a screaming sibling; admittedly though, his selling of the creeping fear and dread early on is more than impressive as the house comes under greater siege from the unseen horror. (Equally stirring and note worthy is the soundscape of the film which works effectively to build an atmosphere of eerie unease.)

However, it's Bello's turn as Sophie, the mother under pressure from demons both within and without that really stands out as this allegory for the creeping black dog is brought to life. Tapping into her own real life fight against bipolar disorder clearly helps her, and the subtleties brought to the fore by Bello's simple facials and odd looks of terror work wonders to underscore the inherent fear within.

Ultimately, Lights Out is an effective and short chiller that does occasionally lapse into dumb horror movie territory, but seen as a wider cautionary tale about depression, it presents a more thoughtful allegorical piece to keep the horror genre fresh. 

First trailer: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

First trailer: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Here's the very first look at the first trailer for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

Starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevigne and from Luc Besson, the sci fi drama is due next year.

Rooted in the classic graphic novel series, Valerian and Laureline, visionary writer/director Luc Besson advances this iconic source material into a contemporary, unique and epic science fiction saga.  

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories, charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner – blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance.

But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.  

Under a directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all over the universe. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time, uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

Swiss Army Man: Blu Ray Review

Swiss Army Man: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Ent

"People don't like other people's farts".

It's this line which will sum up the polarising but utterly beautiful Swiss Army Man, the story of Paul Dano's Hank, a man who's stranded on an island with no hope. Setting up a noose to relieve him of his own life, Hank's life changes when he spots another person washed up on the beach.

This is Manny (Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe) - but the problem is Manny is a corpse.

Well, a farting corpse - that Hank saddles up and rides off the island like a jetski. But the pair end up lost in the woods and Hank struggles to freedom, while reflecting on his life.

Mixing the profound and the puerile, Swiss Army Man is like nothing else at the movies at the moment. (And is potentially why people walked out at screenings at Sundance).

A meditation on life and love that's occasionally punctuated by flatulence at the start, Swiss Army Man is actually an incredibly moving piece that may or may not be told by an unreliable narrator. Whether it is a descent into madness and sanity or a realistic story remains deeply in question once the film's ended, but what's clear is that the directors have crafted a flick that's as visually engaging and crammed with original visual ideas as anything from Michel Gondry.

Surreal in parts, and laugh out loud humorous, with an ethereal soundtrack that builds on loops and riffs on meditations of love, as well as human connections, both Dano and Radcliffe are incredible in a kind of Pinteresque Godot type survival story that crosses Castaway and Wilson.

It could do to lose some of the more bottom obsessed moments, but equally some of the earlier scenes with the farting bizarrely add to a level of humour that transcends the childish. And there's a profundity throughout that's ultimately quite moving.

Mixing spirituality, existentialism and life, the fresh and utterly original Swiss Army Man is a hallucinatory and melancholy trip that's worth taking. It's an affecting and tragic film that speaks to loneliness and reeks of the sincerity of co-dependancy of the human condition.

Watch Dogs 2 - Launch Trailer

Watch Dogs 2 - Launch Trailer

The brand new trailer for the launch of the highly anticipated Watch Dogs 2 has dropped.

It arrives ahead of its November 15th release date

After being wrongly profiled as a criminal risk by a citywide operating system, Marcus Holloway investigates to find rampant corporate corruption and manipulation of the public. Marcus and his group of hackers, DedSec, wage a war to take down the system and return power to the people.