Eden Review

Rating:15
Release Date (UK):
19th July 2013
Director:
Megan Griffiths
Cast:
jamie chueng, Matt O'Leary, Scott Mechlowicz,Beau Bridges, Grace Arends
South Korean, Cheong Kim was 19 years old when she met a man claiming to be in the United States military. Believing she had struck up a romance with the dashing stranger, she agreed to elope with him to Florida. En route she was handcuffed, had her identification destroyed and was held in captivity. Kim escaped, but with no means of identification and with no assistance, she grudgingly became an escort. Shortly after, she was raped and sold into slavery in Las Vegas, spending an horrific 2 years being transported to and from various warehouses with 40 or 50 other girls, many of whom were under 16 years of age.

Kim's captors tortured her by burying her in bathfuls of ice; they beat and even shot other girls who fell ill or didn't live up to their standards. Eventually Kim managed to escape by gaining the trust of her captors by convincing them she wanted to learn how to become a trafficker. She gained their trust, escaped and, after a decade, shared her story, going on to become a legal advocate promoting civil rights.

Megan Griffiths brings the story to the screen with an American Indie sensibility that eschews sensationalism or on-screen horror in favour of a more sombre, responsive aesthetic.

Intially you fear lack of visual punch seems to be a misstep; the absence of carnage seems to give the misery short shrift. It's Jamie Chung's heartbreaking, downtrodden performance which wrestles the film away from obscurity and offsets the lack of visual clout, delivering something which lingers and disquiets.

★★★☆☆

Chris Banks

Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) on BFI Blu-ray & DVD

Director:
Lotte Reiniger
Dual DVD Release Date:
19th August 2013 (UK)
Buy:
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (DVD + Blu-ray)
On 19 August 2013, the BFI will release Lotte Reiniger’s The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed) on Blu-ray for the first time in a Dual Format Edition (includes a DVD disc) with a newly recorded narration and the original orchestral score, along with a selection of short films and an illustrated booklet with contributors including Marina Warner.

Three years in the making, this beautiful 1926 silhouette animation brings to life magical tales from the Arabian Nights. The earliest surviving animated feature film – preserved in the BFI National Archive – it has been hailed as one of the world’s most innovative and influential animations.

Handsome young Prince Achmed is brave and eager for adventure, so when the most powerful sorcerer in the world challenges him to fly a magic horse, Achmed plunges headlong into a series of exciting escapades which take him from Baghdad to China via the enchanted spirit lands of Wak-Wak.

Made in card, cut entirely by hand, and then manipulated using sheets of lead joined by wires, Reiniger’s exquisite shadow characters move intricately through colourful worlds of demons, witches, beautiful princesses and flying castles. The incredible talent and creativity shown here has influenced the animation in other films including Snow White, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Sword in the Stone.

Special Features

• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
• Original orchestral score by Wolfgang Zeller
• Newly recorded alternative narration based on Lotte Reiniger's own translation of her German text Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed, spoken by actress Penelope McGhie
• The Adventures of Dr Dolittle (Lotte Reiniger, 1928, 30 mins): a series of three short films based on the classic stories by Hugh Lofting
• The Flying Coffer (Lotte Reiniger, 1921, 8 mins): a poor young fisherman tries to rescue the Emperor of China's daughter who is imprisoned in a sky high pagoda
• The Secret of the Marquise (Lotte Reiniger, 1922, 2 mins): an early advert for Nivea skin care products
• The Lost Son (Lotte Reiniger, 1974, 14 mins): the New Testament parable animated in Lotte Reiniger's inimitable style
• The Star of Bethlehem (Lotte Reiniger, 1956, 18 mins): the nativity story with music by Peter Gellhorn, performed by the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus
• Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays by Jez Stewart and Philip Kemp and a contribution by Marina Warner

Magic Magic EIFF Review 2

Rating:
15
Release Date:
25th June 2013 (EIFF)
Director:
Sebastian Silva
Stars:
Juno Temple, Emily Browning , Michael Cera
Tonally speaking Magic Magic hits the nail on the head, achieving from start to finish the truly disconcerting vibe of an oncoming storm. From the word go, things seem to be piling up against Juno Temple’s Alicia, a girl so wrought with anxiety and despair it’s a wonder she was allowed to travel on her own in the first place. It doesn't help that Sarah (Emily Browning) the friend Alicia travels to Chile to visit, has to abandon her for mysterious reasons with her Chilean friends on a lonely island.

When considering psychosis and exotic locations, things never really pan out. The Beach, Lord of the Flies, automatically the situation seems doomed. Mortality and youth, compulsion and human nature seem at the heart of the film, but aren't explored in any particular depth to maximize the impact of the film. This is a film which attempts to show how misunderstandings and over-dramatic, anxious minds can turn even the most innocent actions into purposeful attacks on personal peace. However it’s still a basic attempt at putting across a basically dull story.

                Under all the crossed wires, misunderstood moments, and exaggerated pains, the most unnerving aspect of Magic Magic is how it puts across genuine insanity; Temple does a wonderful job of letting her stability slip away in a way that is understandable yet entirely infuriating. Her unadventurous and cowardly nature are so convincing you’ll pity her more than anything, until she gets a little too kooky.  Special mention goes to Michael Cera’s near-demonic Brink, a creation so utterly loathable you can barely keep yourself from shouting at the screen. He’s prankster, manipulator and quietly closeted to a degree that’s just over the “bromance” line. Together Temple and Cera forge a screen relationship built on unspoken hatred that charges through sinister mannerisms, bird violence, and a different kind of oral rape to what you may have in mind.

Apart from performance and a gloomy aesthetic, not much else can push this slow-burning pscho-thriller into any exceptional ground, even a slap dash race for the voodoo vote. It hits the notes you expect and maintains a level head throughout bar a few brave moments where it musters the courage to show how much an insomniac and a compulsive fool can mess with each other.

★★☆☆☆

Scott Clark

EIFF 2013 - Leviathan Review

Rating: PG
Release Date (UK):
27th June 2013 (EIFF)
Director:
Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel
Cast:
Declan Conneely, Johnny Gatcombe, Adrian Guillette

One of the most intriguing films of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival is the experimental documentary piece Leviathan; an abstract look at the relationship between man and nature. It won’t be for everyone, in fact it will probably appeal to a smaller part of the audience who have the patience to endure its 87 minutes of non-linear strangely intense imagery.

                This isn’t the sort of film that offers up its direction with any ease, it’s a slog, a hard slog conveyed by the labours of everyone involved. Filmed on numerous cameras spread over a North Atlantic commercial fishing boat, Leviathan never attempts the perspective that would perhaps make the film easy- and thus inevitably dull- it is no accident that there is a lack of interviews and even general dialogue between the boat workers to ease the audiences viewing. Leviathan is bold on this front, unapologetic for a technique too pretentious for the casual viewer, but it’s this bold use of image and sound, the raw and honest quality of the film, that holds attention at some of the more startling images. The camera angles are carefully selected to give those points of view that are never really considered: the ship’s deck amongst the fish and swill, the merciless process of decapitating fish, an extreme close-up of the net chains as they are pulled too and fro in a storm. Among the catalogue of sequences are some real treasures that seem to offer a true fly-on-the-wall look at one of man’s oldest industries  yet on the other hand there are some too out-there for enjoyment, ensuring long stretches of the film crawl along ensuring attention dithers.

                By the end Leviathan seems unperturbed with relaying any true meaning or opinion on the fishing industry, other than to explore the gargantuan operation that it is and expose the isolated nature of its process. At points the film shows truly wonderful camera work be it the night-time filming of man vs. waves or the flipping of sea and sky,  and at others it starts to unravel itself through sticking to its guns as a varied selection of image and sound recorded on an actual fishing boat. By the end you cant help but wonder what it would have been like with an orchestral accompaniment.

An interesting look at the epic harsh relationship between modern man and the sea, Leviathan uses innovative camera work and a lack of non-diegetic sound to relay an isolated and chaotic atmosphere; however by the end it proves just as arduous a journey for the viewer.

★★★☆☆

Scott Clark

Possession Blu-Ray Review

Rating: 18
BD Release Date:
29th July 2013 (UK)
Director:
Andrzej Zulawski
Cast:
Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen
Buy: [Blu-ray]


Possession is a film directed by noted Polish director Andrzej Żuławski. He worked as a assistant to Andrzej Wajda before he started directing his own film in the early 70s. He eventually moved to France after his 2nd film The Devil was banned in his native Poland. Possession came at the start of the 80s when Foreign films were finding an audience in the UK and US but was shot in English.

Possession is very possibly the oddest film I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something. The film recently has been compared to Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist by some critics most notably Mark Kermode. Both films deal with a total disintergation of a marriage and in both films take a suddenly surreal turn but even more so in Possession.

Mark (Sam Neill) is a spy and returns from a mission and his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) demands a divorce. She insists it is not because she is cheating on him but won’t explain her reasons to her huspand. Mark rather stay but agrees to turn the apartment and custody of kid over. He starts going mad in the process. He comes and visits the apartment and discovers she is neglecting the care of their son Bob. He decides to stay and care for the son.

He finds out she has a lover called Heinrich. He soons meets his son’s teacher who looks exactly like his wife (also played by Adjani) and is a nice and calm unlike his crazy wife. She eventually disappears off his radar so he wants to find her wherabouts and hires a PI. The film from this point takes a even more bizarre turn involving tentacled sex, gay lovers, milk bottles, body parts, murder and finally a possible apocalypse.

The performances from the 2 leads are extremely raw and times insanely over the top (Sam Neill especially). Isabelle Adjani won best actress for her role in the film (along with her role in Quartet) and she gives the kind of performance Shelley Duvall should have given in The Shining. The film boosts the most bizarre sex scene in the history of cinema involving Isabelle and a tentacled humanoid, that really needs to be see to be believed. The film has this truly unrelenting feel of disintergating, madness and fear that is very full on.

It’s a truly unique work that I will not forget anytime soon. I’m not sure it’s something I’m gonna pull out anytime but I’m happy I’ve experienced it. It’s being re-released on blu-ray by Second Sight (it was previously out on dvd). It also funnily it comes out right after their release of The Brood which also deals with divorce in a “horror setting” but not remotely as successful. It also includes as usual with Second Sight numerous special features such as an hour documentary on the making of, interviews, comparision of the UK and US reception, commentaries etc.

★★★★☆

Ian Schultz

The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie Blu-Ray Review

Rating:
15
BD Release Date:
15th July 2013
Director:
John Cassavetes
Cast:
John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel
Buy: (3-Disc Limited Edition) The Killing of a Chinese Bookie was my introduction to work of John Cassavetes many years ago. It’s probably his most accessible film in a way; it’s inspired by film noir (which John Cassavetes acted in a handful in his time) but it’s a very arty and gritty take on it. Its much more story focused than most of his work that certainly helps its accessibility. It also came near the end of his golden period of filmmaking, which was from Faces to Gloria.

The film stars frequent Cassavetes collaborator Ben Gazzara who plays Cosmo Vittelli. He is a strip club owner and is making his last payment of his gambling debt to this sleazebag loanshark (played by the film’s producer/cinematographer Al Ruban). He celebrates this by taking his 3 favourite dancers out and it eventually ends in another poker game and he looses $23,000. The mob uses this against him so he will do a hit for them. He believes it to be some small-time Chinese bookie but in reality it’s a capo of the Chinese mafia “the heaviest cat on the West Coast”. He manages to perform the hit but soon realises he is double-crossed.

The film not unlike many of his other films was originally released in a much longer cut. It was originally released in a 135 minute cut but he pulled it after a week and Ben Gazzara hated this version and said it was too long. It was eventually recut in a much more accessible shorter cut of 108 minutes. It mostly cut the strip club routines but true to Cassavetes’ form he ordered the scenes in the new cut. The BFI Blu-ray includes both cuts.

The film is a great piece of cynical neo-noir 70s filmmaking in the vein of Chinatown or Night Moves. It’s boosts a wonderful performance by the always great Ben Gazzara (I’m sure the Coens watched this before they cast him in The Big Lebowski due to his role in this). His performance really makes the film, which is not unlike most of Cassavetes’ films where the leading actor or actress makes the film like for example his wife Gena Rowlands in many of the films. It’s different cause it’s male protagonist when a good majority of his films have a female one.

It’s one of John Cassavetes’ best films partly due to its accessibility. If you’re a fan of Scorsese’s early films and other noir inspired films of the 70s it’s very much worth your time. BFI has released a 3-disc special edition, which includes the film on both Blu-ray and dvd and a bonus disc with a feature length doc on John Cassavetes, a short, a interview and the film itself includes scene selected commentaries by the producer and Cassavetes’ friend and contemporary Peter Bogdanovich.

★★★★★

Ian Schultz

Static DVD Review

Rating:
15
DVD Release date:
15th July 2013 (UK)
Rating:
15 (UK)
Director:
Todd Levin
Cast:
Milo Ventimiglia, Sarah Shahi, Sara Paxton
Buy Static: [DVD]

This year's horror features have mostly been sub-standard releases (with the odd exception e.g. Lords of Salem, The Conjuring), however, Todd Levin's Static serves as a stellar reminder that there are still filmmakers capable of crafting some classy scares without resulting to the use of lashings of gore.

Static follows writer Jonathan Dade (Milo Ventimiglia) and his wife Addie (Sarah Shahi) who quietly grief the loss of their child in their secluded home. However, the arrival of a hysterical young woman (Sara Paxton) chased by a group of masked men forces the young couple into a fight for survival.

Levin's feature is a slow-building one, captured with a quiet yet remarkably unsettling atmosphere (similar to 2008's The Strangers). Whilst the opening sets up this underlying unease in the couple's woodland-surrounded house, Gabriel Cowan's screenplay also establishes a sense of depth and humanity within the protagonists: we see Jonathan thrown off his work and Addie look for purpose as a result of their child's death. Therefore when the tension does escalate and the couple are threatened there is a genuine empathy and support for these characters.

The arrival of Paxton's character really takes the tension up a notch and thrusts Static into full gear. The actress plays the stranger with a sense of mysteriousness which could be construed as something more sinister as we see her skulk round the couples' home. Levin has a real knack for building suspense - perfectly showcased in one sequence which sees Jonathan venture out of the house to investigate the stranger's damaged car. As the film turns home-invasion thriller Levin fills Static with a variety of jumps and scares, avoiding the clichés traditionally found in these features.

Static's narrative is also filled with little titbits that allude to the film's twist ending - such as the couple finding security equipment in their home. These suggestions keep Static refreshing and unexpected, separating it from run-of-the-mill home invasion horrors. This is also helped by some terrific performances from the likes of Milo Ventimiglia, who is a captivating lead, conveying a convincing sense of emotion within the character and never resorting to overplaying things. Shahi is an equally powerful screen presence, whilst Paxton is a perfect addition to the mumblecore style of Static.

Static is an intelligent and well-crafted horror. It's quiet atmosphere and masterful tension, alongside some stellar performances ensure that it is one of the strongest horrors of the year.

★★★★☆

Andrew McArthur

"Do You like movies?" Watch The Canyons New Tailer

"Do You like movies?" Lindsay Lohan asks in the new trailer for The Canyons it's a logical questions but what we have is an Rhetoric mess that will be a cult hit years to come.

The Canyons is an erotic noir from Paul Schrader (writer of Taxi Driver,director of  American Gigolo) set in modern day Los Angeles a group of twenty somethings film actor wannabes attempting to break into the industry find themselves involved in various sex games and ove triangles.

Its been a troublesome film for director Schrader, from finance and with many mainstream press writing off the film you just have to look at the what film festivals have been picking the film up  like Venice it must have some quality. Taking the film seriously though with Lindsay Lohan as female lead and her porn star boyfriend James Deen  male lead is like asking Adam Sandler to star in a serious Oscar wining film which will never happen (but we do know he can act...Punch Drunk Love?!). On a serious note I despite the films negativity I do see some optimism in the shape of Brett Easton Ellis who the cult novel come movie American Psycho wrote the Canyons so there is a glimmer of hope maybe the film will have some dark twisted moments. Sadly I have the sneeky feeling that this may end up been  a The Room type film.

No word on a UK or Irish release but The Canyons is to get a very limited USA cinematic  release on 2nd August.



Source: The People's Movies

Frightfest 2012 Thriller The Seasoning House UK Home Release Coming This August

Buy: [DVD] [Blu-ray]

The Seasoning House arrives on DVD & Blu-ray 12th August and is a must-own for fans of revenge thrillers at their best.The film picked up some positive reviews at Film4 Frightfest in 2012 (our review is here) and now it will be yours to own.

Directed by special-effects maestro Paul Hyett (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake, The Descent), the film was highly anticipated and didn’t disappoint when it premiered at last year’s Frightfest, where it was described as “nerve shredding” and “exceptional.”

Starring talented British newcomer Rosie Day (Ironclad 2) in the lead role of captive Angel, and with support from Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers, Wild Bill) Kevin Howarth (The Last Horror Movie, Gallowwalker) and Anna Walton (Hellboy 2, Mutant Chronicles) The Seasoning House is a dark, gripping exploration of a young orphaned girl’s psychological terror as she is kidnapped and enslaved by soldiers.

SYNOPSIS: Set in the war-torn Balkans, The Seasoning House is a grim and soulless place where young girls are bought and sold for men’s pleasure. Here we meet Angel (ROSIE DAY), a young, mute, orphaned girl enslaved by Viktor (KEVIN HOWARTH). Unbeknownst to her master, she moves between the walls and crawlspaces of the house – silently observing, learning and planning for her escape. When her closest confident is savagely killed, Angel can no longer contain her rage and sets out through both ingenuity and brutality to seek justice.

The Seasoning House will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray 12th August 2013.

BFI To Bring Satyajit Ray’s The Big City To Cinema's Across UK.

On 16 August the BFI brings Satyajit Ray’s The Big City to cinemas across the UK. This richly absorbing tale of family and city life from the master of Bengali cinema is set in mid-50s Calcutta, a society still adjusting to Independence and gripped by social and financial crisis.

The film’s nationwide release will coincide with a two-month complete retrospective of the director’s work at BFI Southbank during August and September.

Subrata Mazumdar (Anil Chatterjee), a young bank clerk struggling to support his entire extended family on a meagre salary, firmly believes that ‘a woman’s place is with her cooking pots’. Unsurprisingly, he experiences conflicting emotions when his wife Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee) helps out by taking a job as a door-to-door ‘salesgirl’ peddling knitting machines to rich housewives. Though shy and nervous to begin with, Arati soon proves a huge success, relishing her new-found independence (not to mention the joys of lipstick) and thoroughly upsetting the family dynamic.

Bengali star Madhabi Mukherjee, with her expressive frown and mischievous smile, gives a ravishing, spirited performance as Arati. This was Mukherjee’s first film with Ray (she was later to star in his Charulata) and she confessed herself ‘stunned’ by his extraordinary ‘woman-centred’ screenplay, so different from anything she had previously encountered. Indeed, Ray originally considered calling the film ‘A Woman’s Place’.

Yet, for all his focus on Arati’s problems, Ray – who is renowned for his breadth of sympathy – also deploys warmth, abundant humour and deep psychological insight in his depiction of a large, multi-generational cast of characters, including Arati’s conservative old father-in-law, her studious teenage sister-in-law, her feisty Anglo-Indian colleague and her benevolently despotic boss.

For this new restoration of The Big City, undertaken in India, the original negative was scanned at a high resolution (2K), enabling the film’s epic scale and intimate detail – from the portrayal of bustling urban life to the exquisite play of emotions on Arati’s face – to emerge in greater beauty and clarity.

Now re-released by the BFI to mark its fiftieth anniversary, The Big City, with its emphasis on conflicting social values – and most particularly on the role of women – feels as fresh and relevant as ever.



The Big City is part of The Sayjit Ray season next month at The BFI Southbank from 16th August, more details here.For listings of when The Big City will be playing near you please check with your local independent/Arthouse cinema for exact dates.