18 May 2015

DVD Review - A Most Violent Year (2015)

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DVD Review - Foxcatcher

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Genre:
Drama, Sports |
Distributor:
Entertainment One |
DVD Release Date:
18th May 2015 (UK) |
Rating: 15 |
Director:
Bennett Miller |
Cast:
Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller
| Buy: [DVD]


I'm aware that it's just the timing of the new home media releases, but I've had a run of true story Oscar bait titles recently. The two I've previously reviewed, Unbroken and The Theory of Everything, both shared the problem of feeling like they were more interested in being Academy catered affairs than being stand alone proper takes on what actually happened. I've always found the approach to making Academy pandering prestige pics to be just as shallow and calculated as the way something like Transformers is tailor-made to appeal to young teenage boys. I explain this to qualify my trepidation in reviewing Foxcatcher, which even without the reviewing streak I've been on, seemed like it belonged with the other two in being a true story with tons of awards buzz about it. I'm happy to say I was wrong. Foxcatcher is easily my favourite of the three films and definitely deserved better, if only to recognise the great performances held within.

Foxcatcher is based on a real story of obsession and murder, directed by Bennett Miller. Channing Tatum plays Mark Schultz, an Olympic wrestling gold medal winner. He, along with his fellow gold medallist brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) are in training for the next big global competition. Mark is soon recruited by eccentric millionaire John Du Pont (Steve Carell) to have access to Du Pont's state-of-the-art gym and equipment in return for joining Du Pont's Team Foxcatcher. If you don't know the actual story, I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say this is one bleak film. It's a dark and twisted little story that leaves you with more questions than when you started. The film certainly holds up its end of the bargain by making itself just as vague as to the actual motives behind what eventually transpired, but it certainly offers up some compelling theories.

Channing Tatum is really impressive as Mark. His character is not one to verbally express how he's feeling, so Tatum cranks up the physical storytelling. For one, Mark has a bit of a Neanderthal thing about him, with a furrowed brow and a stuck out chin. It's even down to the way he walks, kind of round-shouldered, like a Silverback gorilla. It's an intense performance and Tatum does really well. With this and Magic Mike can we stop calling the guy a bad actor now? He definitely isn't. Steve Carell's performance beneath a ridiculous prosthetic nose is a great one. Carell's roles normally require massively broad strokes and lots of yelling, but Du Pont is like an alien wearing a human suit. Everything from the way he shuffles around to the way he unconvincingly gives motivational speeches is straight from the uncanny. The performance does go comedic occasionally and it adds great depth to the character. At one point, Du Pont tells Mark that now they're friends, Mark doesn't have to call him “sir” any more. He then goes on to tell Mark, straight-faced and unironically, that his friends call him “Eagle” or “Golden Eagle”. Written down it looks like a joke from Step Brothers, but in practice, it's clear that Du Pont's got himself a bad case of arrested development, stuck in childish ways because he never had a proper childhood to grow out of .Overall, it's a great performance by Carell, I just wish the prosthetics had been toned down slightly. He looks more like a character in a comedy sketch than the real guy. Mark Ruffalo gives an incredibly naturalistic performance as Schultz Snr. Both Tatum and Carell are quite theatrical in their roles whearas Ruffalo plays an everyman dad and plays it straight down the line. He's a foil to the bigger acting and it works perfectly.

I didn't really enjoy Foxcatcher, but that's the point. It was never going to be a pizza and beer Friday night Netflix choice. It's a cold and bleak film that intentionally doesn't offer any easy answers when it comes to explaining what went down and why. It kept me glued to my seat. I was really taken in by the main three and no matter how uncomfortable I felt as things built up, I knew I had to finish it. Highly recommended, but not for date night.

★★★★
Ben Browne

17 May 2015

Dead by Dawn 2015 Review - Ava's Possessions (2015)

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Genre:
Horror, Sci-fi, Thriller
Distributor: TBC
Screened:
2015 Dead By Dawn (UK)
Release Date: TBC
Rating: 15
Director:
Jordan Galland
Cast:
Carol Kane, Dan Fogler, Jemima Kirke, Lou Taylor Pucci


The exorcism sub-genre has successfully stood its ground time and time again in every mode of the horror genre, so it’s a tough place to make your voice heard. Even then, Jordan Galland’s Ava’s Possessions is an absolute treat, not least because there seems to be a lack of post-exorcism films. Ava (Louisa Krause) is a young and beautiful girl who’s just been exorcised after a month of demon-fuelled mayhem. Agreeing to sign on with a support group for other people like her, Ava sets about atoning for her digressions, coming to terms with her benign other half, and unravelling the mystery of what happened to her.

Once the film starts, Galland quickly gets us on board, mixing his demonic PTS with staunch referencing, vibrant colouring, and a wicked sense of humour. The result is a Day-Glo package of horror goodies that might be camp as Christmas, but still has the balls to bite. Krause makes a splendid lead keeping a tight rein on Ava’s fluctuating personality and dark dark turns. Imagine Linda Blair going full-Cage for a demonic Bad Lieutenant and you’re getting closer to Ava’s Possessions. It’s a truly remarkable experiment in horror.

As with any experiment in horror, there might not be enough spooks and shade to keep genre-racists at bay, Ava’s Possessions is its own beast and doesn’t take kindly to shoehorning. Galland is an obvious fan of horror films, but he has no interest in recreating the gloomy nihilism of classic possession stories. Instead he exploits every facet of his script visually to ensure it’s a magnificent spectacle for any audience: a piece of possession pop art dripping with colour and an awareness of what its audience has seen and wants to see.

Like any great story, the film starts with the pieces scattered and shattered, confusingly, ominously out of reach. Like 13 Sins last year, Dead by Dawn 2015 has its twisting adventure: a moral sink-hole where characters and audience swirl until liberated by the crushing tide of familial secrets and spiritual danger. But the facts of the plot aren’t the only nostalgic endeavours. A fantastic, varied, and magnetic cast of genre regulars, and outright watchables, (William Saddler and Deborah Rush) pins Ava to the board of credibility in a rabid attempt at ensuring our engagement.

Whether or not Galland is a horror fan is totally irrelevant since the genre will only survive in the hands of people who have the audacity to change it, rather than releasing films that, though void of originals, are still really just remakes. Ava’s Possessions is a fresh-faced triumph and one of the most vibrant genre experiences you’ll have this year.

★★★★
Scott Clark



Ava's Possessions (2015) Official Teaser Trailer from Jordan Galland on Vimeo.

15 May 2015

Film Review - Clouds Of Sils Maria (2014)

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Genre:
Drama
Distributor:
Curzon Film World
Release Date:
15th May 2015 (UK)
Rating: 15
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Cast:
Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jo-Ann Ellis

Olivier Assayas writes and directs Clouds of Sils Maria, an ambitious character study examining the lines between fiction and reality, and the effects this plays on all involved. As well as an intricate narrative filled with compelling themes, Clouds of Sils Maria features career best performances from stars Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart.

Internationally acclaimed actress Maria Enders (Binoche) has been asked to star in a revival of Maloja Snake, the play (and later film) that made her a household name. However, Enders is not wanted to reprise her role of Sigrid (the young and suggestive woman who toys with her employer), but for the role of her vulnerable, manipulated employer that is ultimately driven to suicide, Helena. After reluctance Enders accepts the part and ventures to Switzerland with her assistant, Valentine (Stewart), where they rehearse the play - unaware that they both falling into the respective roles.

Assayas has crafted a complex piece that examines the blurring lines between prose and reality. Whilst Maria and Valentine rehearse they do not mirror the exact characteristics of Helena and Sigrid, but the relationship dynamic between the pair begins to imitate that from Maloja Snake. Lines of dialogue read between the pair fuse seamlessly with their real life conversation - with viewers having to adapt, questioning whether the pair are rehearsing or conversing. This becomes more relevant as the tension between the actress and assistant builds - and both adopt further traits of their fictional counterparts.

Assayas fascinatingly examines how the actor (or those involved with the acting process e.g. Valentine) is influenced by the process of the roles they play. We see Maria confront the concept of ageing head-on, by taking the role of the 'unloved' older woman, a role which she fictionally scorned herself in a prior adaptation. Maria now has a previously unseen sympathy for the role of Helena, since she has become the older actress working alongside current box office star Jo-Ann Ellis (taking on the role of Sigrid). There is also a playful satire on the concept of the star - particularly the young tabloid celebrity, with some of the film's most darkly amusing moments coming when Maria is swept up the media frenzy surrounding Jo-Ann. A particular highlight sees Maria googling the young star, horrified of the trashy tabloid smarm that she finds.

Clouds of Sils Maria is spearheaded by dramatically sound and subtly complex performances from the divine Juliette Binoche and the outstanding Kristen Stewart. Binoche is outstanding in her reflection of a woman concerned by regret and fear, one that is essentially longing for and resenting her lost youth. Stewart excels in her representation of an unheard youth, bringing a magnetism and charm to the fold as the headstrong assistant. Both actresses shine on screen together with the bond between the pair surpassing that of star and assistant, feeling authentic and dramatically well-pitched.

Praise should also go to the astounding visuals - with cinematographer Yorick Le Saux capturing the beauty and isolation of the enigmatic Swiss Alps setting.

Clouds of Sils Maria is ambitious, thoughtful, and performed with a heartfelt authenticity. Binoche and Stewart are simply magnificent here, whilst Assayas has crafted a compelling and gorgeously-pitched character piece.

★★★★★
Andrew McArthur


This review was originally posted on our main site at The Peoples Movies

14 May 2015

Top Ten Wartime Romances

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The backdrop of war has often provided an epic setting for some of the greatest romances in cinematic history, as audiences’ appetite for tragic love stories shows no sign of abating. To celebrate the release of Testament of Youth, out now on digital platform and on Blu-ray and DVD from 25th May 2015, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment, we take a look at some of the greatest wartime romances to hit the screen... tissues at the ready!

Testament of Youth (2014)


Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander), irrepressible, intelligent and free-minded, overcomes the prejudices of her family and hometown to win a scholarship to Oxford. With everything to live for, she falls in love with her brother’s close friend Roland Leighton (Kit Harington) as they go to University to pursue their literary dreams. But the First World War is looming and as the boys leave for the front Vera realises she cannot sit idly by as her peers fight for their country, so volunteers as a nurse. Both Vikander and Harington bring a wonderful playfulness to their initial courtship (with brilliant comedic support from Joanna Scanlan as their chaperone), and as the war separates them evolve this chemistry into something utterly moving.

Cold Mountain (2003)


This critically acclaimed wartime epic tells the story of Confederate soldier Inman (Jude Law) who undertakes a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina, in order to reunite with his sweetheart, Ada (Nicole Kidman), the woman he left behind to fight in the Civil War. Along the way, he meets a long line of interesting characters, all the while avoiding the soldiers tasked with hunting deserters. Parallel to his story is Ada’s, as she struggles to learn the ropes of managing her deceased father's farm with help from the scatty, no-nonsense Ruby (an Oscar-winning turn from Renée Zellweger), all the while fantasising about the return of her lost love. Kidman and Law spend hardly any screen time together, yet their brilliant, yearning performances more than make up for this to illustrate their desperation and longing to reunite.

Birdsong (2012)


This BBC mini-series based on Sebastian Faulk’s novel recounts the life and times of Stephen Wraysford (Eddie Redmayne). An English soldier fighting in the trenches of Northern France during WWI, he is continually haunted by the memories of the French Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), a married woman he had an affair with 6 years previously. Redmayne and Poésy are perfectly cast as the impetuous lovers, while the backdrop of a balmy summer in provincial France perfectly captures the claustrophobia and repression of their predicament.

Atonement (2007)


This heartbreaking wartime drama based on Ian McEwan’s bestselling novel boasts a stellar cast, including Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saiorse Ronan, Benedict Cumberbatch and Vanessa Redgrave. When the budding romance between Cecilia Tallis (Knightley) and Robbie Turner (McAvoy) is cut brutally short following a lie told by Bryony Tallis (Ronan), the repercussions span several decades. After choosing the army over prison, Robbie is stationed at Dunkirk, while Cecilia takes a role as a nurse in London. Knightley provides a masterfully reserved turn as the stoic Cecilia, while McAvoy’s take on the morally upstanding, innocent and fundamentally kind Robbie is completely heartbreaking – and special mention must be given to Wright’s masterful tackling of the novel’s twist ending.

Casablanca (1942)


This classic WWII drama, starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart as former lovers Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund, takes place in unoccupied Casablanca and is responsible for one of the most mis-quoted movie lines of all time. When the Nazi Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) arrives in Casablanca, the sycophantic police Captain Renault (Claude Rains) goes above and beyond to appease him- including detaining Czechoslovak underground leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Lazslo’s partner is Ilsa, who ran out on Blaine in Paris and left him completely embittered. But when it transpires that her reasons were honourable, the pair hatch a plan to run off together again, and pick up where they left off...

The English Patient (1996)


Anthony Minghella wrote and directed this multi-award winning epic based on Michael Ondaatje's novel about a doomed romance set against the backdrop of WWII. In a field hospital in Italy, nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) is caring for a pilot who was horribly burned in a plane wreck. Hana determines mid evacuation that the patient shouldn't be moved far due to his fragile condition, so the two are left in a monastery to be picked up later. Slowly, she begins to piece together the patient's story told in flashbacks. She discovers that her charge is in fact the Hungarian Count Laszlo Almásy (Ralph Fiennes) –who while mapping unchartered territory in North Africa, was thrown together with English couple Geoffrey (Colin Firth) and Katherine Clifton (Kristin Scott-Thomas) resulting in an affair which lead him to betray not only his friend, but his country.

The End of the Affair (1955)


Adapted by Lenore Coffee from Graham Greene’s novel, this classic stars Van Johnson as Maurice Bendrix, the clandestine lover of married Sarah Miles (Deborah Kerr). When Maurice disappears during the London blitz, Sarah is overwhelmed with guilt, feeling that her unfaithfulness has led to Maurice to be placed in danger. In a fit of desperation she prays for his safe return, promising to end the affair if only his life is spared... and the rest is in the title. Featuring wonderfully emotionally complex performances from all the leads, the film is also notable for a standout performance from John Mills, as the private detective hired by Sarah’s husband Henry (Peter Cushing) to keep tabs on her whereabouts. 

Gone with the Wind (1939)


One of the most beloved movies of all time, and winner of ten Academy Awards, including for Hattie McDaniel’s and Vivien Leigh’s performances, Gone with the Wind follows the life of spoiled, pampered Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara (Leigh). After discovering a former beau is engaged, Scarlett’s behaviour leads her straight into the arms of the wayward Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), the black sheep of a wealthy Charleston family, who is instantly fascinated by the spirited, self-absorbed Scarlett. The movie’s action continues, through the American Civil War, the burning of Atlanta, Scarlett’s journey from riches to poverty, and three marriages, all the way to the now-classic closing line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Life is Beautiful (1997)


This stunning tragicomedy was directed by Roberto Benigni and also garnered him a best leading actor Academy Award. Set in 1939, Benigni plays Jewish-Italian Guido Orefice working as a waiter to fund his plans to open a bookshop. When he meets a school teacher named Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), his effervescent humour ultimately sweeps her off her feet. On the fifth birthday of their son Giosué (Giorgio Cantarini), World War II is in full force, and since they are Jewish, the Germans take away Guido and Giosué to a labour camp. Wanting to be with her family, Dora insists she goes too, but is taken to the women's side of the camp. In an attempt to protect Giosué from the horror of their situation and ensure they are not separated, Guido tells him that they are playing a game, in which he can win points by staying out of sight of the guards. The first to win 1000 points wins a real tank. Guido's primary goal is to keep Giosué safe at all cost, while he desperately tries to find out a way to get his family out of the camp and keep the Germans at bay before they discover Giosué.

Shining Through (1992)


David Seltzer's adaptation of Susan Issacs' novel is set during WWII, and stars Melanie Griffith and Michael Douglas as work colleagues who ultimately become lovers. When Linda Voss (Griffith) applies for a job with international lawyer Ed Leland (Douglas), he hires her immediately upon discovering she is fluent in German. He’s an undercover OSS officer in need of a German translator, but when America enters the war, he abandons his practice to become a full-time spy. Meanwhile Linda travels to Berlin to infiltrate the Nazis and find out more about "a bomb that can fly by itself" ... as well as desperately searching for the whereabouts of her Jewish relatives.

Testament of Youth is available now  on digital platforms  and on Blu-ray and DVD from 25th May 2015, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

12 May 2015

Adam Driver Unravels The 'Dark Side' To Protect A Child In Hungry Hearts

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Before he heads to a Galaxy far far away Adam Driver has a small matter of an indie Psychological Thriller Hungry Hearts where he'll explore a different 'dark side'. The film is set for a limited release next month IFC Films have released the official trailer reveals a father love to protect his child from his wife's paranoia.


Hungry Hearts tales the story of New York City newlyweds Jude (Adam Driver) and Mina (I Am Love's Alba Rohrwacher) have a seemingly perfect relationship. But things take an unsettling turn with the birth of their son. Convinced that the baby must be kept free of all contaminants, Mina develops fanatical obsessions with veganism, cleanliness, and purity that may kill the child unless Jude can stop her. With stunning performances from Driver and Rohrwacher, this intense psychological drama suggests that sometimes a parent’s love can be the scariest thing of all.

Since it's world premiere at Toronto Film Festival last year the film has been getting some good reviews that good luck followed it to London too. Whilst some are promoting this as a romantic drama however it's more a thriller with dark and sinister undertones, them been the mental health of Rohrwacher's character. It's good to see a film underline the awareness of first time mums and how sometimes under the joy of been a mother for first times we forget the question "how are you mum?".

Hungry Hearts gets an US 5th June limited/VOD release, co-starring Jake Weber, Roberta Maxwell, and David Aaron Baker.

The Bullied Rise In International Trailer For Young Adult FilmFaeryville

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This Autumn the king(or Queen) of the Young Adult films The Hunger Games will be ending so we'll then see many wannabes fighting for that crown. YA films are not just Hollywood based Singapore have Dystopian Young Adult film Faeryville is on the verge of a release in it's native Singapore and we have a look at the film's official trailer.

It was 8 years in the making but the long road for filmmaker Tzang Merwyn Tong the end is nearly in sight for his indie produced film is weeks away from it's official cinematic release. A film that inspires the bullied to stand up what they stand for whilst they might be afraid of what they fight for...


Poe and his friends are pranksters in Faeryville College, often bullied by the oppressive fraternity. To protect themselves, they form a clique calling themselves The Nobodies. Enter Laer, a new transfer student who joins The Nobodies, inspiring them to move from stink bombs to homemade explosives. Youthful idealism soon becomes an excuse for all-out anarchy.

Faeryville doesn't have a UK release however back in January the film made it's international premiere in USA leaving with some fantastic reviews. The above trailer is the films 'international version' so they are expecting for the film to be released globally. Faeryville will be released cinematically in Singapore 26th May.

The film stars Lyon Sim, Aaron Samuel Yong, Tanya Graham, Jae Leung, Farid Assalam, Kris Moller.

source:Twitch

8 May 2015

Dead by Dawn 2015 - Amnesia

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Genre:
Thriller
Screened:
Dead By Dawn 2015
Rating:15
Director:
Nini Bull Robsahm
Cast:
Pia Tjelta, Christian Rubeck

Amnesia, the second directing credit from Norwegian filmmaker Nini Bull Robsahm, is a slow but often jolting consideration of domestic abuse. A couple travel to their beautiful remote island getaway for a week of writing and romance. Both are authors, but Kathrine (Pia Tjelta) is perfecting her first novel in the hope she can become as successful as her domineering partner, Thomas (Christian Rubeck). After a fight leaves Thomas with serious memory loss, Katherine jumps on the opportunity to live with the man she really loves.
It’s a great idea for a horror film, but Robsahm seems ultra-cautious of letting her film become just that. Placid colouring and wide shots take a dark seedy story and try to pull its trousers up. If this had been grimier, it could have been a Nordic exploitation film, instead, its an emotionally troubling but visually dull attempt at reconciling with the aggressive male superego. Even with a run time of 80 minutes, Amnesia feels tired and somewhat irritating by its finale: a lack of drive in any real direction keeps the film from ever really impressing or- worse- finishing comfortably. But then that is, perhaps, the point: dreamy fatigued visuals project the purgatory of Kathrine’s constant struggle, whilst the lack of catharsis seems oddly fitting in a film plagued by disastrous moments of aggression.
Though brutally realistic and unrelenting in its studied portrait of abuse, Amnesia seems content to show us high-tension confrontations, but skimps on much of the between-space. Considering the film covers a week, and it’s a pretty interesting week, Amnesia can be identified by its long stretches of nothing before its few staunch moments of anguish. Though, Rubeck makes a terrifying psychopath, an amalgam of nightmarish men; controlling, cold, fierce, and, arguably worst, entitled. His performance consistently punches out from the drabness to keep the film on course.


Sadly, Amnesia is rarely gripping and infuriatingly anti-cathartic. It is however, a sincere look at what people really are and what we would like them to be.

★★
Scott Clark


Win Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead On DVD

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It’s Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead as the apocalypse goes down under in the year’s darkest, most hilarious zombie splatter-fest!

It’s a zombie movie with a twist, as Barry (Jay Gallagher) tools up for a mission to save his sister from a mad scientist – and battle hordes of the undead in the Australian bush!

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead is available to own on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download from 11th May. Courtesy of StudioCanal we have a DVD copy to give away.

A post-apocalyptic zombie invasion turns personal for Aussie mechanic Barry (Gallagher) when a team of sinister gas-masked soldiers abducts his sister Brooke (Bradey) for a mad scientist’s flesh-eating experiments.

Teaming up with fellow apocalypse survivor Benny (Burchill), Barry must lock and load to battle through the undead and save Brooke!

To Win your copy of Wyrmwood: Road The Dead on DVD please answer the following question...

Q.What classic zombie movie from 1970s was set on a tropical island directed by Lucio Fulci?



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