Rings: Film Review

Rings: Film Review

Cast: Johnny Galecki, Alex Roe, Matilda Lutz, Vincent D'Onofrio

Director F J Guiterrez

The Hex files returns in the second sequel to the 2002 American horror that was a remake of 1998 Japanese scare fright.

But, quite frankly, with a run time of nearly 2 hours and nary a scare at all, its return is hardly warranted.

This time around, it centres around Matilda Lutz's Julia whose boyfriend Holt (Alex Roe) is heading off to college while she stays home and nurses her sick mother.
However, when Holt misses a Skype conversation and a strange girl is seen on the other end demanding to know where he is, Julia packs up the car and drives the 514 miles to his college to find him.

And it's here that Julia finds herself sucked into the world of Samara after she discovers that Holt's watched a computer file of the original video tracked down by Professor Gabriel Brown (a pudgy downbeat Johnny Galecki from The Big Bang Theory).

Realising that the only way to shake the curse is to find herself a tail (ie someone who will watch the video and take the curse on), Julia tries to do this - but she finds her digital file won't copy, so she can't pass it on (a la It Follows).

With 7 days before Samara claims her victim, Julia and Holt race to track down the truth of Samara before it's too late.

A ghost story with no (after) life and with generic leads that look like they're sleep-walking through proceedings, Rings is a dull, uninspired, frustratingly gloomy and predictable piece of fare.

It's a shame as it starts brilliantly on an aeroplane with tension and a devilishly clever way of bringing the curse to life (Samara's static image appears on flight instruments, in chair entertainment) before squandering its visual touches for a cut that robs you of anything other than a feeling you've been watching an out-take from a Final Destination film.

Director F J Guiterrez assembles some truly impressive apocalyptic visuals, from crows twitching to birds flocking near a church, but over-use of them dilutes their initial impressiveness and the final product resembles something from a 90s Nine Inch Nails video that didn't quite make the cut.
The leads don't do much better - Lutz looks like Rachel McAdams and Roe a little like Devon Sawa - and they can't do anything to bring any of this script to life, as they splutter from one choppy encounter to the next.

Every jump scare is signposted from a mile off and hits with a sickening dull thud that barely registers on the scare-o-meter - it's as if the execution of Rings is nothing more than hitting a series of familiar tropes and beats as a series of set pieces emerge into proceedings. There's a bit of an upgrade with phones and flatscreens taking on Samara's curse, but quite frankly, the film works too hard to achieve so little.

In much the same way that old VHS tapes used to fade in quality the more you used them or copied them, Rings is a pale imitation of the genuinely terrifying original. To call it derivative is to point out the blatantly obvious, but quite frankly, this shoddy sequel which has been shunted around the release schedule since November 2015 is nothing but a frank and unadultered stultifying mess of a movie, guaranteed to make you wish the curse would just take you out of the cinema. For a film that's supposed to look at what happens next to the soul, it's distrubingly soulless.

Nocturnal Animals: Blu Ray Review

Nocturnal Animals: Blu Ray Review

Released by Universal Home Ent

There's an icy coolness that infects many frames of Tom Ford's sophomore cinematic outing, adapted from the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright - and it may leave you quivering in its wake.

A terrific on-edge Adams plays gallery owner Susan Morrow; unable to sleep, with cracks emerging from under the veneer of her calm composure and falling out of love with her salesman husband (a smarmy Hammer), she's intrigued when a manuscript from her former husband Edward shows up unexpectedly.

Entitled Nocturnal Animals and dedicated to her, Susan starts to read the tale of Tony and his quest for revenge after his family is kidnapped and brutally killed off a highway in West Texas....

Juxtaposing a gritty Texas crime tale that plumbs the depths of depravity and desperation with the cool pristine glamour of the art scene works incredibly well for Ford's visual aesthetic and feel.

This is a film that oozes style and fortunately, has the substance and the power of its actors to back it up as the inter-woven threads of the narrative spool ever tighter together.

Parts of the film burn with a deplorable and detestable intensity that's distinctly uncomfortable and sickeningly gripping; the sheer ugliness of the novel unfolding in front of Adams' Susan is vividly brought to life by a stunning turn from Gyllenhaal. As Tony, the man stuck in a truly horrific dilemma as his family are snatched in front of him, Gyllenhaal recaptures some of the intensive fire that burned so brightly in Nightcrawler.

Adams is stand-out as well, imbuing an emotionally detached Susan with that desire to know more but a repulsion to do so; early on, there's subtlety in her less-is-more delivery approach (Though there is an argument for saying she does little else in the back half of the film other than supply reaction - but, to be honest, she brings so much with simple facials and reactions to the unfolding fiction).

Equally, in flashbacks, Gyllenhaal brings a softness to the role of former husband Edward as we unpack the story of his and Susan's romance as another thread unwinds.

However, it's also the ensemble that excel as well - from Shannon's determined Southern lawman to Taylor-Johnson's hillbilly sleaze, there's much to luxuriate in this darkly delicious psychological puzzle as it plays out in its sophisticated manner.

While there's much debate to be garnered from the ending (and to a degree, whether there's style over substance in the present day storylines), there's a haunting melancholia that proves hard to shake from the revenge elements of Nocturnal Animals. There's no denying Ford's style and preciseness which shines from the screen (thanks largely to the work from cinematographer Seamus McGarvey) - the callous and ugly nature of Edward's story makes a great contrast to the pristine world that Susan inhabits.

Don't be surprised if Nocturnal Animals proves difficult to loosen its grip on you; one suspects come awards time, there'll be recognition for this piece of obtusely seductive noir and more acclaim for Ford's singular vision and execution.

NZ Cast unveiled for Mortal Engines

NZ Cast unveiled for Mortal Engines

Hot off the presses, the NZ arm of the cast of the upcoming Mortal Engines has been unveiled

MORTAL ENGINES ANNOUNCES NEW ZEALAND CAST

Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh to produce adaptation of Phillip Reeve’s award-winning sci-fi fantasy novel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 A talented ensemble of New Zealand actors have been cast in Mortal Engines, a film based on the award winning book series of the same name from British author Philip Reeve.

Local Kiwi actors Mark Hadlow, Nathaniel Lees, Caren Pistorius, Joel Tobeck, Stephen Ure, Maria Walker, Khan West, Peter Rowley and Megan Edwards join the cast, as well as Australians Sophie Cox, Menik Gooneratne, Andrew Lees and Terry Norris. Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Leila George, Stephen Lang and Jihae have also been previously announced.

Producing the film adaptation are Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies), having been involved with the project for several years after optioning the rights from Scholastic. They co-wrote the screenplay with long-time collaborator Philippa Boyens (The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies).

Christian Rivers will direct. Christian has spent the majority of his 25-year career working closely with Jackson, beginning as a Story Board Artist, later moving into supervising visual effects and finally serving as Splinter Unit Director on The Hobbit trilogies.  Christian won an Academy Award® for his work on the 2005 film, King Kong (Best Achievement in Visual Effects). He also recently served as second unit director on the remake of Pete’s Dragon. 

Production is slated to begin in New Zealand in Spring 2017, and the film is set to be released December 13, 2018.

Doctor Strange: Blu Ray Review

Doctor Strange: Blu Ray Review

Released by Sony Home Ent

Back in 1963, Doctor Strange joined the Marvel Universe thanks to Steve Ditko - and magic came into the world of the MCU as well as mysticism.

Marvel's Doctor Strange sees the studio taking and embracing the more spiritual edges of the Eastern mythos and putting a superhero-esque slant on proceedings.

Focussing on arrogant and talented neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the story of this hero's origin is deeply rooted in tragedy after a moment of texting and using his phone causes an almost fatal accident.

Crippled by the fact he will never be able to use his hands again due to massive nerve damage, Strange heads to Kathmandu in search of a miracle. But he ends up in the sights of the Ancient One (a bald-bonced Tilda Swinton who brings gravitas and a down to earth approach to a lot of the mystical rubbish her character spouts) and slap-bang in the middle of a fight to stop the Dark Dimension taking over....

Marvel's Doctor Strange is a curious beast; a sort of "You're a Wizard now, Sherlock" Harry Potter shenanigans with some po-faced dialogue that wouldn't be out of place on a Hallmark Third Eye greeting card range (sample - Death is What Gives Life Meaning).

Throw in some time travel and some thinly sketched astral plane silliness and the final mix is a curious mish-mash that tonally gets some things right and some others wildly all over the place.

It's hard to care about the arrogant Strange, a man so contemptuously cold on his "Physician Heal Thyself" journey that you barely see what Rachel McAdams' ER doctor ever saw in him in the first place.

Don't even get me started on how badly written and under-used her Christine Palmer is  - a real shock for Marvel's relatively strong female leads and co-leads. She simply shows up as a cypher to showcase Strange's brilliance rather than feel like a fully formed character.

Coupled with some even worse written bad guys, led by Mads Mikkelsen's fish-scaled emo-eyed leader who's hell-bent on bringing the Dark Dimension to all of us, the script's wildly caught up in its paper thin ethos and preferring to concentrate on some eye-popping visuals to keep you entertained during the 2 hour run time.

In many ways, it feels like character's really taken a back seat in this Marvel outing which is a surprise. (Even though Swinton is the best part of the film, a mysterious Obi Wan-like mentor who never ascends into absurdity but transcends the material with grace and distinct presence).

A lot of the time, mysticism masquerades under the auspices of providing character development; it's almost as if you are supposed to care for these characters because they say sage and wise things. It's not a road travelled or an emotional journey experienced; a lot of it is mumbo-jumbo hokum to paper over the growing narrative cracks as those involved accept the call.

Grating and irritating is the lack of consistency over the physics and time travel, as well as the magic involved.

In the astral plane, when Strange fights off his nemeses, it's unclear when they can hit walls or travel through and they only land on solid objects when it suits. Equally, when the time travel is pulled in for narrative contrivances, you can't help but wonder why it's not used to rewind moments that have proved fatal for others.

Throwing everything under the mantle of "it's magic" just doesn't cut it; even the world of Harry Potter had rules and restrictions.

Granted, the eye candy on offer is incredible (we're not talking Benedict Cumberbatch here) as Derrickson uses Inception-style folding over and bending of city scenes to fire up some of the more magical sequences; buildings rotate and the kaleidoscopic images and stereo-scoping feel like a downtown planner's nightmarish dream. Equally, a trippy third eye opening psychedelic sequence is astonishing in its scope and visual execution, a sort of purple hazed LSD trip on speed.

But, for all intents and purposes, Doctor Strange is a very ordinary, very formulaic origin story that leans on its visuals to help disguise this fact, and becomes strangely reliant on a lot of self-aware / meta comedy in among all the po-faced mysticism to try and help move things along.

There's a nice twist on the rote formulaic CGI destruction of the world that's become so commonplace in Marvel Cinematic Universe films, but there's plenty here in this rather typical yin and yang tale that doesn't quite feel like it fires on all cylinders and it certainly doesn't leave the MCU feeling like a vast space much like Guardians of the Galaxy did.

While Marvel's confidence in the weirder elements of the MCU has taken time to come out and manifest itself in Doctor Strange, there is a feeling that this multiverse tale feels very ordinary. As the tale of the Benedictine Monk plays out, there's a strong sense of apathy sweeping over proceedings, where the strangeness of what was being embraced could have helped it soar.

In a weird way, Doctor Strange, this superhero tale is anything but super-heroic; it lacks the emotional pull of other Marvel films and sacrifices depth for sly throwaway one-liners that become a crutch as the movie goes on and the endless set up for further franchises continues.

It's not a bad Marvel film by any stretch of the imagination, but given these films have held themselves up to such strong accord and have become more enriching as they go on, the 14th Marvel film feels like it would have fitted in a lot earlier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 1 rather than being trotted out this late on. 

Beauty and the Beast: Film Review

Beauty and the Beast: Film Review

Cast: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Sir Ian McKellen, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Emma Thompson

"Tale as old as time."

Well, to be precise, perhaps 26 years ago, the ultimate version of 1740's French tale and the best Stockholm Syndrome story ever, La Belle et le Bete was released.

A Disney animated classic, there was intimicacy and warmth in the re-telling of the story wherein Belle falls under the spell of the titular Beast, cursed for all eternity. And Disney's re-tooling of the tale was perhaps the most popular, being turned into a Broadway musical in 1994.

However, the Disney remake machine, already in force with The Jungle Book and Pete's Dragon (and coming soon with The Lion King, kids!) is back with another re-telling, cannibalising from their own back catalogue.

This time, the remake strays barely away from the formula, but adds some touches in that have enraged certain sections of the world (step forward, Russia and Alabama) but reflect the times we live in.

It's still a tale of the kindness of strangers in a way - and still front and centre of it all is Emma Watson's Belle, a small provincial town girl who yearns for a life beyond the walls of her French village. Though as her father, played with warmth and little else by Kevin Kline cautions: "Small also means safe!"

But when her father goes missing, Belle tracks him down to a castle and finds he's the prisoner of the Beast (Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens, mo-capped to the hilt and looking furry as heck). Tricking the Beast into freeing her father, but remaining his captive, Belle is encouraged by the residents of the castle to look beyond his exterior and see the heart within.

Desperate to lift the curse dumped upon them all by an enchantress, time is running out for the house's servants, all turned into various items, from Ian McKellen's Cogsworth the clock to Ewan McGregor's slightly iffy French accented candlestick Lumiere. For if the Beast doesn't learn to love and have his love returned, the enchantress' spell will doom them all to stay like they are forever.

In many ways, Disney's take on Beauty and The Beast, directed by the director of Dreamgirls and The Twilight Saga's Bill Condon, is more an adaptation of a big stage musical than the more intimate touches of Disney's animated classic.

From the opening opulence of the prelude, set deep within the walls of the castle with its stunning array of chandeliers and costumes (plenty of accolades deserve to be showered on the costume designer Jacqueline Durran for her work), everything is more, more, more. There are people bursting to the edges of the screen than you would deem possible as Steven's foppish prince is transformed to a Beast in all its Hammer Horror glory.

Post-opening titles, the film's familiar refrain of Belle soars, even if one moment within sees Watson's Belle take to the hills and bring them to life with the sound of music.

That's partially the problem with this iteration of Beauty and The Beast - it all feels so familiar, as if Condon and the crew are more interested in hitting the expected beats rather than providing the cinema with something new to revel in.

Even Lumiere's show-stopping tune "Be Our Guest" becomes an overtly OTT show tunes number, with Busby Berkeley's aqua-musicals providing the cue for the LSD style visuals as the plates, food and cutlery swirl around Belle's astonished face.(Let's not even get started on how Chip the cup's movement is very reminiscent of BB-8's rolling). And while the visuals on display are dazzling, it's almost as if those in charge had decided that more should be more in this, to try to differentiate it from its past and draw a line in the sand that this is the definitive take on the film.

If this sounds too much like a grumble, it's not - merely an observation that the charms of the animated were so successful because of their paucity.

The 2017 version of Beauty and The Beast has a lot to offer audiences seeking both nostalgia and a new generation to drag along.

Watson's book-worm Belle is a finely solid and spot-on positive addition to the Disney canon - from her protestations that she's not a princess, she's a firm, yet occasionally feisty, Belle to look upto. And while some of her facial expressions give you the feeling she's seen all this magic before in Hogwarts, her down-to-earth touches in the new back story brought to Belle are warm and tender, bathed in a pathos that may have been missing before.

Evans' Gaston, complete with boasting and braggadocio,is a pantomime villain who actually brings more of the cartoonish to life in his murderous desire to marry Belle ("She's the most beautiful girl in the village, so that means she's the best" being just one of the retro-sexist lines uttered and roundly mocked by the audience); even Josh Gad's Le Fou, who's at times camp and clearly in love with Gaston, is an oafish caricature there for comic relief and conscience in the vein of a pantomime best boy. While there's talk the progressive nature of this film has enraged some, from its gay subtext from Le Fou to Disney's first inter-racial kiss, it's good to see the House of Mouse has finally, albeit tentatively, opened its doors to the world around it.

And while some of the Pans Labyrinth- CGI on the Beast leaves a few of the subtler moments and reactions wanting, Stevens, complete with sub-woofer voice, brings levity to the lighter moments and sadness to the inherent tragedy of the Beast's trapping.

Ultimately, while the very musical 2017 version of Beauty and The Beast has some tinkerings around the edges both narratively and musically (whether the new song additions will become classics in their own right is highly debatable), and is blessed with some flaws of execution, despite this, its magical and enchanted edges will mean that families will flock in their droves to be its guest.

Alone in Berlin: Film Review

Alone in Berlin: Film Review

Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Emma Thompson, Daniel Bruhl
Director: Vincent Perez

The pen tries to be mightier than the sword in this war film that looks at the quiet more passive side of resistance.

In 1940s Berlin, Gleeson and Thompson are Anna and Otto Quangel, whose German lives are irrevocably changed when they receive word their son has been killed in combat.
The working class family is, obviously, shattered and Otto decides to take action, losing faith in the Fuhrer and the war which has robbed them of so much.

So, picking out postcards and lacing them with anti-propaganda messages, Otto starts leaving them in prominent parts of Berlin, hoping to instil a sense of revolution in the downtrodden working classes.

While he manages to persuade his wife to join the cause, the campaign gets the notice of the German authorities who dispatch an inspector (the ever reliable Daniel Bruhl) to try and quash the seeds of rebellion before they gain any light.

Alone in Berlin is blessed with a pair of quiet and unassuming leads that skirt around the prestige edges of the film.
But it lacks a palpable sense of tension to really ramp things up as former actor Perez guides the film through its workmanlike touches.

There is power in some of the language used within, and there's certainly a degree of thoughtfulness which has gone into the script and its debate and discussion over the wearying costs of war.

And despite the work of Bruhl, the film never really ignites in perhaps the way you'd expect as it moves from one sequence to the next. A forlorn Thompson, a harried looking Gleeson, great shots of period detail which are evocative - the elements are all there, ready for the lighting, but it never quite catches.

Alone in Berlin's sedentary pace is staved off by some of the lush orchestral score which passes through the film and gives it the feeling of something simmering.

It's perhaps more noteable for its philosophical edges - Gleeson asks "What more can a man donate other than his child?" to the war effort, and the pangs of loss are certainly felt.

Alone in Berlin's power lies more in the resistance of words, and the seeds of revolution rather than playing out the direct consequences of those actions. And, as a result, the film feels rather muted in its execution.

Operation Avalanche: DVD Review

Operation Avalanche: DVD Review

A found footage film that proves the Moon Landing was fake may sound like a joke too far, but director / star Matt Johnson’s relentlessly inventive piece is nothing but a pure blast of cinephile love and an ode to the American space race.

In 1967, it’s the height of the Cold War, and there are concerns Russia’s going to beat America into space. At NASA, there’s an even deeper fear – that a mole has infiltrated their ranks and is stealing secrets.

Enter four undercover CIA agents (helmed by Matt Johnson’s goofball) who convince NASA to let them in under the pretense of filming a documentary about NASA – and who end up pitching the idea of a spoof Moon Landing film to ensure American interests win the day. To their surprise, the CIA says yes….

Endlessly clever and draped in 70s aesthetics with Super 8 footage and an infectious joie de vivre, Operation Avalanche is a film within a film conspiracy and it damn well knows it. But the meta doesn’t become so smart that it’s alienating – in fact, it’s anything but.

By taking the time to build character early on and set you a little off expectations by dishing out off-kilter moments and genuine laugh out loud moments at the geeky group as well as the premise that the CIA would allow a crew to blunder around filming, Operation Avalanche works incredibly well.

Unless you’re a diehard conspiracy theorist, you will love the flourishes in this gonzo film, and to be honest, nobody’s trying to convince you this found film footage is real but that’s not really the point of Operation Avalanche.

Effectively mining the special FX with ease and without obvious joins, there are authentic feeling moments which provoke marvel on a technical level – via Shepperton Studios and Stanley Kubrick. However, it’s not just these moments which stand out in Operation Avalanche.

Johnson’s created a group of likeable guys, spearheaded by his own giddy boy’s own chutzpah and it’s infectious. So much so that the final act of the film becomes a tensely filled nail biter of a finale creating as real a sense of terror as any decently done spinetingler of found footage horror can muster.

By never losing sight of the humanity in this space race shaggy dog story, Operation Avalanche is terribly evocative and effective. Clever and intelligently plotted within its layers within layers, it may be the smartest mass appeal found footage the audience will see.

Unless it proves to be true.