White Vengeance DVD Review

★☆☆☆☆

I'll level with you. I'm no expert on Asian cinema. I'm not completely ignorant, but I just tend to avoid films with titles like Honour Blade, Red Battle and the like. However, since White Vengeance plopped onto my desk, I thought I'd better give it a go, especially with the intriguing title, especially since the cover dispelled my initial theory that it was a Ku Klux Klan recruitment film.

Here's the thing, I sat through all 135 minutes of White Vengeance and I still don't know what the title is referring to. My best guess is that it's a reference to the board game Go which features in the film. According to Wikipedia: “the game is noted for being rich in strategy despite its relatively simple rules.” which makes sense from a thematic point of view.

White Vengeance is based on a tumultuous time in Chinese history where two brothers, Liu Bang (Leon Lai) and Xiang Yu ( the awesomely named Feng Shaofeng) end up in a power struggle, after it is decreed that whoever can subvert the Qin kingdom will be crowned Lord Qin. I honestly couldn't tell you more because that's basically all I understood. White Vengeance was confusing from the off. From what I understand, the film focuses on the Feast at Hong Gate, a notable period in in Chu-Han Contention phase of Chinese history. I gathered from the film that it was a time full of betrayal, intricate schemes and second-guessing strategies. The film isn't a history lesson, but it relies so heavily on prior knowledge of these various battles that I quickly got lost amongst the epic battles and overly verbose characters. It certainly doesn't make allowances for n00bs. Reading up on it, this particular bit of history does seem fascinating and has made me want to know more about the various dynasties. However, this film does not give you the information you need to become invested. No film should require prior reading or research.

Whilst huge chunks of the story were lost on me, I can tell you it all looks very nice. Director Daniel Lee definitely has a decent eye for shots and some of the battle scenes are well done. Not knowing his previous work, I guessed part way through that Lee was an action director at heart as the action scenes were the most confident and accomplished, with plenty to keep sword fans happy. It's a shame the rest of it doesn't match up. The film is overlong, way too talky and, as mentioned before, completely impenetrable to newcomers. I wanted this film to be my introduction to a new world of historical epics as I'm pretty sick of seeing the American Civil War and the two World Wars played out over and over again. Through internet research, I have found there is a budding interest for me there, it's just I couldn't get on with this film. If you're up on your Chinese history and familiar with this sort of flick I daresay it's probably a pretty solid entry to the genre. As a gateway film, it doesn't work at all. Still, it's made me think twice about blindly ignoring films like Honour Warrior: The Legend of Q'in Dinn or whatever.

Ben Browne

Rating: 15
UK Release Date: 20th August 2012
Directed by: Daniel Lee
Cast: Shaofeng Feng, Leon Lai, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang,

Short Film Review - 'English'

★★★★☆

This time last year, Britain was recovering from the riots that raged through areas of the country.  A police shooting and the protest that followed sparked a chain of events so brutal that it left a trail of destruction and fear we are still yet to come to terms with.  Broken Britain.  Was it ignorance, poverty, apathy or the fundamental breakdown of social values to blame? As throughout recent political history, the youth of Britain presented a large target for those looking find a reason for the hateful violence.

It is within this context that Tarun Thind looks to level the playing field, the youth culture.  Set in urban London, Thind looks to highlight the fundamental injustices that loom large over them.

The story follows two silent friends who discover a harmonica and attract the unwanted attention of figures within the back streets of London.

The short running time means that we get the broadest brushstrokes of this London subculture – hoodies, tramps and threatening thugs.  However, once finished, the film definitely warrants another viewing in order to tie together the relevance of certain scenes.

Each cultural assumption or injustice the protagonists encounter is subverted by Thind and while there are a few surprises the balance is never quite achieved between valid or unjust stereotyping by society.  The silence of the main characters is a clever move, providing an intimidating undercurrent to even the most harmless of their actions.

English has already been included in the Offical Selections for the Mingella, Slough, Portobello and British Urban film festivals – indicating that we as a society are still interested in deconstructing the stereotypes surrounding the youth of Britain.  The question is, do we have enough distance on the riots to be able to truly ponder the questions that Thind raises?

Vikki Mysercough

You Can Watch The Full Short film of English here

Win Monster Brawl DVD, T-Shirt & Poster

Smashing its way onto TV screens on 20th August, is the hilarious and grotesque Monster Brawl! This is a dream come true for anybody who has ever watched a horror film and then discussed with their friends who would win in a face-off between their two favourite monsters (and who hasn’t had such a discussion?). Courtesy of Momentum Pictures, we have loads of amazing prizes to give away- DVDs, posters and T-shirts!

Celebrity Wrestlemania doesn’t get any scarier – or funnier – than the Monster Brawl, in which four contestants from the Creature Conference and four from the Undead Conference battle it out in the ring to take the title of the most powerful monster of all time. Representing the CC are Massachusetts’ nefarious necromancer Witch Bitch, Louisana’s slimy bog dweller Swamp Gut, Tennessee’s very own Werewolf and, adding some continental glamour to the group, the mythical Cyclops from the Ionian Islands of Greece. The UC’s creepily cosmopolitan line-up consists of Transylvania’s Lady Vampire, Ingolstadt’s Frankenstein, Egypt’s Mummy and, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the one and only Zombie Man!

The rule book is ripped up, no holds are barred, everything goes and heads definitely roll in this gory and horrifically hilarious satire of those ever-popular Pay-Per-View wrestling extravaganzas we all know and love so well.

To be one of the 3 lucky winners which we'll pick, answer the following questions:

Q. Jimmy Hart  Who stars in Monster Brawl belongs to What Famous Wrestling Family?

A.Von Erich Family?
B.Hart Family?
C.The Guerrero Family?

Email you answer, name, address, postcode only to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com Deadline for the comp is Sunday 9th September 2012, Must be Aged 18 or over to enter.

Terms and Conditions

• This prize is non-transferable.
• No cash alternatives apply.
• UK & Irish entries only
  The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and Momentum Pictures have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice
• The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse,Momentum Pictures employees
• This competition is promoted on behalf of Momentum Pictures
  
• If this prize becomes unavailable we have the right to offer an alternative prize instead.
• The Prize is to win Monster Brawl  DVD,t-shirt & poster 3 winners
• To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline September 9th, 2012 (2359hrs)
• Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
• automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned.
• The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes
• Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery.
• The competition is opened to Aged 18  and over 
• Unless Stated Please  Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, we don’t need them
• The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email
• This competition is bound by the rules of Scotland,England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland.
• By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
UK Competitions and Prize Draws at UKwins
Loquax Competitions
Free Competitions
ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

The Devil's Business Review

★★★1/2 

The achievement of telling a successful horror story is akin to the achievement of successfully juggling chainsaws. Both activities entertain an audience by making them tense, and both have their entertainment value severely reduced by a messy, shock-value ending. Of course the activities do differ a little. Telling a bad story does not result in a sudden loss of hands. But the analogy holds true, as The Devil’s Business shows. This is, for the most part, a really creepy, intelligent film, that, now and again completely drops the chainsaw.

The Devil’s Business is the story of an assassination. Two hitmen, the experienced Mr Pinner (Billy Clarke) and the inexperienced Cully (Jack Gordon), have been hired by the gangster Bruno (Harry Miller). They are to kill Kist (Jonathan Hansler) who has stolen something of Bruno’s. Having broken into Kist’s house, the two settle in to wait for their victim. Pinner is determined that the job be a simple one. But when the two hitmen stumble across a Satanic altar, things soon become very, very complicated.

The result is a profoundly creepy experience. Stumbling back into the light as the credits rolled, the sudden loss of tension made me feel empty and spent. This is a film that truly exploits the horror of the unknown, with the use of darkness and shadow at times approaching mastery. Indeed one of the film’s best sequences is nothing more than Mr. Pinner talking at the camera for a bit. It doesn’t sound like much, but with Pinner’s face covered in shadow, apart from two pinpricks of light reflected off his hidden eyes, the result is truly unnerving.

In fact, I might even describe Hogan’s abilities as Lovecraftian in quality, displaying craft worthy of a horror master. I might. But I can’t, because though the horror of the unknown is great, as soon as he makes it known, the film falls to pieces. As might be expected for such a low budget film, props and costumes ultimately fail to convey anything as truly scary as what we might imagine lurking in the shadows. Speaking to fellow critics after the film, I found overall opinions somewhat mixed. But one thought was repeated by everyone. This would have been a better film, if we had seen less.

That’s not the only problem either: about halfway through, Devil’s Business undergoes some odd pacing difficulties. I can’t go into detail because of spoilers, but essentially an event occurs that seemed to me to be a natural conclusion. I sat there for about 10 minutes, expecting the credits to roll at any moment, before belatedly realising that no, there was more to come. The pacing did recover from this upset, but still, that transitional period was awkward and ugly.

But though the plotting has its flaws, Hogan’s dialogue is excellent. One of the distinctive features of Devil’s Business is the artificial, quasi-theatrical style of the dialogue (the film has been described as Pinter-esque). This kind of writing style is a risk. As a positive, the oddness of it can be unnerving, and the artificiality allows for a spot of philosophising. As a negative, sometimes actors end up delivering their lines with an obvious lack of understanding. That kills a movie: certainly it destroyed Cosmopolis for me. It is a mark of Clarke’s ability in particular that he was able to sell the dialogue, his mournful Irish brogue instilling alien words with true feeling.

This delivery, combined with a deep, emotive performance, makes Clarke the best of the cast. Hansler’s Kist is as creepy as only the British upper-middle-class can be, but his one-dimensional character limits him somewhat. The same goes for Miller’s East End mobster Bruno. Gordon has strong emotional chops, able to convey feeling well, but he struggled a bit with the language. Still, despite these limitations, the cast put on a strong showing, the strength of their acting empowering the film.

As for the technical filmmaking, well, here unfortunately we have more problems. Nicola Marsh is obviously an inventive, experimental cinematographer, something which pays off as regards working with shadows and darkness. But at other times all the artifice just gets in the way of the story. What’s more, the camera operation was at times decidedly messy: one sequence in particular was so shaky it looked like an amateur home movie. The score too was of similarly inconsistent quality. In its subtler moments it proves to be quietly effective. In its louder moments, it completely destroys the atmosphere.

I think this dichotomy characterises The Devil’s Business. This film is at its most effective when it is being low-key: when the sounds, camerawork and monsters are all safely unobtrusive. It should be emphasised that this is the case for most of the film. This is a legitimately scary story, and definitely worth a watch. But still, it remains flawed. My hope is next time round, Sean Hogan and his team show more restraint. That would be a recipe for greatness.

Adam Brodie

Rating: 18
UK Release Date: 17th August 2012
Directed By: Sean Hogan
Cast: Jack Gordon, Billy Clarke, Jonathan Hansler, Harry Miller

Feature - Evolution of Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams most recently seen in My Week with Marilyn, opposite Eddie Redymane became known for her role as Jen Lindley in Dawson’s Creek and has since become one of the biggest actresses of our time.

To celebrate the release of Take this Waltz out next month The People’s Movies decided to take a look back on the career of Michelle Williams.

From her role in Dawson’s Creek Michelle went on to star in films including Perfume, Me without You, Provac Nation, The United States of Leland and The Station Agent.

Michelle is mainly famous for starring in Indie films such as Brockback Mountain a story of a forbidden relationship between two cowboys.

She also starred opposite Laura Linney in The Hottest State, I`m not There with Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett and Deception with Ewan McGregor.

Continuing with the indie genre, in 2008 Michelle starred in Wendy and Lucy a story of a women and her dog aswell as Mamoth in which she played Ellen Vidales a tale of a successful businessman and his wife and daughter in New York.

Michelle most recently starred as Cindy in Blue Valentine about a married couple over the years opposite Ryan Gosling.

Michelle also starred in Shutter Island opposite Leonardo Dicaprio and Meeks Cutoff in which she played Emily Tetheran with Bruce Greenwood.

Fans of Michelle will be looking forward to her latest role in Take this Waltz in which she stars as Margot, a happily married woman who falls for her neighbour opposite Seth Rogan.

Take this Waltz is in cinemas 17th August 2012

Emily Pontin

Cinehouse of Horrors

Greetings horror fans! Welcome to Cinehouse’s first ever horror newsletter, a fortnightly round-up of all things gruesome and macabre, from set pics to posters, trailers to tit-bits. Enjoy!

off, Hellraiser fans should know that some of Paul Gerrard’s (Wrath of the Titans) concept art for the troubled remake is online now. Gerrard and Mike Le Han also put together a teaser trailer as part of their pitch to Dimension Films, but that hasn’t “accidentally” found its way onto the web yet. The update of Clive Barker’s seminal 1987 gothic fable has swapped hands a few times over the past while, at one point Pascal Laugier (Martyrs) was attached to direct, but still hasn’t settled on a writer or director. The sketches are signs that it’s still early days for the production but it seems to be heading in the right direction. see the images here.

On the subject of remakes, Bloody Disgusting has revealed that Lionsgate are contemplating a reboot to the Saw franchise. The seven part saga which became a staple of Halloween horror, releasing a new film every October, ended in 2010 with what most fans felt was a rounded finale. Given that The Amazing Spider-Man has received so much flak for coming just 10 years after Raimi’s original, talk of a Saw remake only 8 years on seems ridiculous. An eighth instalment of the Jigsaw Killer’s legacy however could go either way, especially if the series’ head villain, played by Tobin Bell, returned.

A few new posters for upcoming points of interest have appeared. 2 new posters for Paul W.S. Anderson’s fifth instalment of the Resident Evil franchise is out and this one looks more than ever like an action epic. The films, inspired by the legendary Capcom survival games, have been a massive success since the first one back in 2002 and series regular Milla Jovovich has transformed into an action star over that time. Jovovich will be reunited with Michelle Rodriguez who starred in the first Resident Evil, along with Sienna Guillory and Oded Fehr. Resident Evil: Retribution will be out in cinemas September 28th.

Pascal Laugier caught our eye in 2008 when he unleashed Martyrs on the unsuspecting audiences and catapulted himself to the forefront of new horror talent. His next film The Tall Man (Phantasm fans relax, it’s not what you think) stars Jessica Biel as a young mother out to uncover the legend of a child snatching terror after her son disappears. We're pretty excited. The film is in cinemas August 31^st and the poster is out now.Last but not least Rob Zombie’s latest film The Lords of Salem now has its second poster which shows Sheri-Moon Zombie (Rob’s real-life wife and regular feature of his films) looking creepy as Hell. After Zombie’s pitch-perfect grotesque road movie The Devil’s Rejects and his two part reimaging of John Carpenter’s Halloween, his next feature comes highly anticipated.

Win Tickets To Closing Film At LondonMexfest Daniel and Ana (Daniel y Ana)

The inaugural London MexFest takes place this coming weekend, running from Friday, August 17th to Sunday, August 19th at Rich Mix, East London as part of the Shoreditch Fringe Festival. The festival closes with a screening of Daniel and Ana (Daniel y Ana), which follows the kidnapping of a brother and sister and is the first feature from acclaimed director Michel Franco (his second feature, After Lucia, won this year?s Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes).

We would love you to experience the festival and The People's Movies & Cinehouse have joined forces with London Mexfest to give away 2 pairs of tickets for that closing film Daniel and Ana.

Daniel and Ana, brother and sister, are experiencing important moments in their lives. Ana is about to be married; Daniel is discovering his personal and sexual identity. Yet this harmony is instantly shattered when they are kidnapped. Something shocking happens which forces them to confront their own desires and fears. Suddenly their old lives are a distant memory. Now, nothing they have known will ever be the same again.

The screening will take place Sunday 19th August around 8.15pm, so this will be a short competition and we're not going to ask you to answer a question. To enter All you have to do is like us at Facebook page spread the word of the comp over facebook/twitter. At the same send us a quick email (win@thepeoplesmovies.com) with your contact details including your facebook name. Deadline for this comp is Friday 17th August 12 Noon.

For More information on London Mexfest please head over to the official site
Terms and Conditions

• This prize is non-transferable.
• No cash alternatives apply.
• UK & Irish entries only
  The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and London Mexfest have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice
• The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse,London Mexfest
• This competition is promoted on behalf of London Mexfest
• If this prize becomes unavailable we have the right to offer an alternative prize instead.
• The Prize is to win one of  2 pairs of tickets for Daniel and Ana screening August 19th 2012
• No travel or accommodation included must be able to get to from London in your own accord. 
• To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, DeadlineAugust 17, 2012 (1200hrs)
• Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (win [at] thepeoplesmovies [dot] com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
• If the above form fails please email answer, name address postcode only plus any other instructions to win [at] thepeoplesmovies [dot] com
• automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned.
• The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes, The length of time a prize may take is out of our control as it varies per company, if we know we'll tell you.
• The competition is opened to Aged 18  and over 
• Unless Stated Please  Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, we don’t need them
• The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email
• This competition is bound by the rules of Scotland,England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland.
• By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
UK Competitions and Prize Draws at UKwins
Loquax Competitions
Free Competitions
ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

Meet Hammer Girl Berandal's New Character aka The Raid 2

It was the highlight of the Glasgow Film Festival this year or Glasgow Film4 Frightfest to be more exact, Gareth Evans The Raid. It's the only film I've witnessed which had the whole audience giving the film a standing ovation with Evans and the star of the film Iwo Ikais in attendance for what was UK premier of the film. Back then we already knew there was going to be a sequel (even a dreaded Hollywood remake) in the works but now Berandal the name of the sequel which is in pre-production Evans has decided via his Twitter account to reveal one of the new characters we can expect to meet, Alicia aka The Hammer Girl.

We don't know much about Hammer Girl especially if she'll be on Rama's side or against him, but if you've seen the Raid and that's the type of world she' lived in we can assume she knows how to use that Hammer quiet well! Production for the film will start next month for a 2013 release date at the moment the film will still be called Berandal here in UK with USA changing the film name to The Raid :Retaliation.

 

If you missed The Raid (or The Raid:Redemption as it's called in USA) The film will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray from September 24th.

Creature DVD Review

★★☆☆☆

Fred Andrew’s new schlocker Creature (2011) features Mehad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Dillon Casey, Lauren Schneider, Aaron Hill and Amanda Fuller, as six young people out for a weekend of fun in the Louisiana swamps.  Unfortunately they have chosen the wrong place to vacation and after Chopper (Sid Haig) a local gas station owner tells them the legend of a crocodile man who feeds on unwary travelers, the kids decide to search out the creature for themselves with predictably gruesome results.

There was something innocent about the age of video nasties - those sleazy frightfests which normally featured nubile teenagers taking part in illicit sex at some lakeside retreat of their parent’s empty house and coming to a sticky and usually unnecessarily gory end as a result.  Generally, though not always, the reason behind the grisly retribution meted out on the unfortunate victims was because the perpetrator had been unjustly wronged and as a result their killing spree could at least be semi-understood.  Scream (1996), that pastiche of all things Jason and Freddy soon put an end to any of these films having justification behind the atrocities around which they built their premises.  Now all the killers were out for was a good time.

Which unfortunately brings us slap up to date with films like Creature, today’s equivalent of those teenage slasher films from the 1980’s.  I won’t give too much away behind what limited plot line there is but lets just say that though the monster - who looks like a cross between Creature from the Black Lagoon’s (1954) namesake and the sharp toothed monster from Alligator (1980) - has, to an extent, an excuse for his actions, those who are behind encouraging him in his bloody exploits are just good old, inbred sickos in the best deep south American fashion.

Is there anything in the film’s favor?  Well, it starts reasonably well - and I don’t mean the pre-credit Jaws (1975) ‘rip-off‘ (pardon the pun) - with the gorgeous looking all-American twenty somethings in their 4x4 heading off for their dirty weekend.  However any hope there might have been soon dies like most of the cast once they stop at the first sign of civilisation (and that word is used loosely) so the girls can “go pee”!  Even if you’d never seen House 1000 Corpses (2003), one look at its star Sid Haig who appears here as the redneck proprietor of the gas station where the friends stop to stretch their legs, and you would get off this highway to hell and head straight back to civilisation.  Of course there wouldn’t be a story if these kids did anything half so sensible, so they walk straight into every kind of horror film cliche you can think of from searching out old deserted log cabins and camping in the woods to sex in a forest clearing - err, didn’t they ever see The Evil Dead (1981) or Cabin in the Woods (2011)?  Throw in some obligatory torture porn and a smattering of girl on girl action and this unfortunate film has something for everyone.

Anyway enough already.  Despite a couple or reasonable twists, by the closing credits the film and what’s left of its characters have got lost in a swamp of farfetchedness from which none escape with any degree of dignity.

Cleaver Patterson

Rating: 18 (UK)
DVD Release Date: 13th August 2012
Directed By: Fred Andrews
Cast: Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan , Daniel Bernhardt, Sid Haig

Jo Nesbo's Headhunters Blu-Ray Review

★★★★1/2

A friend said to me recently "the bubble is going to burst" maybe but for now myself and millions of cinephiles worldwide will continue to enjoy the current wave of Scandinavian cinema (&television)that's sweeping us off our feet. The latest invader is Jo Nesbo's Headhunters (Hodejegerne), the first from an author who has refused to climb onboard the trend of book adaptation but has now thankfully gave into temptation with the end result that's nothing but fantastic.

Roger Brown (Askel Hennie) seems to have it all, a beautiful wife (Synnove Macody Lund), luxurious home, a successful business  career. He may not be tall in stature but Roger seems to keep his wife happy despite the fact he can't keep up with the mortage payments. Been that successful corporate headhunter Roger crosses paths with many similar successful people , mostly potential candidates for the the companies he's working for . Through his wife's art exhibition he meets Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) who becomes the latest candidate for Roger's 'headhunting' who also help him live his alternative extravagant lifestyle by stealing high profile artwork they possess. Through Clas Roger learns he owns one of the most sought after paintings, a painting would answer all his financial problems and end this crazy alternative second 'job' Roger has.

Just as Roger pockets the painting he doesn't realise he has just embarked on his most dangerous heist to date, not even after what else he finds at Clas home. What follows after is a dark and relentless game of cat and mouse as the hunter becomes the hunted.

So what is it that's made Scandinavian cinema so popular these days?It's probably because it reminds us of the times of Hollywood before it was destroyed by 3D gimmickry and over reliance of CGI, a time when we focused on the story giving us a chance to appreciate the characters. At first when we meet Roger we don't really care much about him, he's smug, cocky, over confident, full of himself most of all insecure but as the film progress we become more sympathetic or even just empathetic as hardship prevails. As for Clas he seems the total opposite of Roger, very confident, tough as nails, alpha male providing those needs Roger fails to provide his wife, a threat.

Headhunters is a film stacked to the rafters with creativity, a little unconventional at times but in a way that the film's narrative structure holds fantastically well together. The film hits you at a fast pace you don't want to pause, step away from the screen as its a gripping exciting film start to the finish. What this film really excels at is it's ability to throw the book of common sense out the window to become a film that rarely takes itself seriously. There is moments what we're watching is totally farcical but in a way it never feels out of place with the whole tone of the film.There's one example I don't want to say much about it, but when I watched Headhunters at the cinema I volunteer for it had the majority of the screen roaring with laughter apart from those who adore animals, seeing is believing, that's all I'll say!

When it comes to calling films, writers, actors "the new...." I do tend to get a little annoyed as it brings unwarranted pressure on that person or if its a film gives the viewer a false sense of expectation. In Jo Nesbo's case he is been labelled 'the new Steig Larsson' I agree to the extent that Nesbo is keeping the Scandinavian film flag flying high but that is really where it ends. Larsson was a writer who excelled in writing dark, gritty psychological even political  thrillers as for Nesbo his stories a dark and do have visceral bloody moments but he brings comedy to the table so I would go as far as associating him more with Coen Brothers than Larsson.

Headhunters is probably the best dark satirical thrillers you'll see this year, it's neither controversial nor is it overran with violence and blood, it feels more at home with the farcical elements that made Fargo such a cult hit. As usual Hollywood has found a new cash cow, I would recommend seeing this before before it's destroyed by an un-welcomed  remake. If you really hate subtitles there is a dubbed version of the film on the disc which gives the film a extra layer of humour as the dubbed voices make this even funnier.

Paul Devine

Rating:15
DVD/BD Release Date:13 August 2012
Directed by: Morten Tyldum
Cast: Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund , Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

To