Behind The Candelabra DVD Review

Rating:
15
BD/DVD Release Date:
14th October 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
eOne
Director:
Steven Soderbergh
Cast:
Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Akroyd, Scott Bakula, Rob Lowe,Debbie Reynolds
Buy Behind The Candelabra: DVD or Blu-ray
For his last big screen outing, Steven Soderbergh delivers us something totally unexpected. A gloriously camp, hedonistic biopic of one of the world’s most famous performers, Liberace (Michael Douglas). The man who sued the Daily Mirror for libel and won. Columnist William Connor had called him

‘…the summit of sex - the pinnacle of masculine, feminine and neuter. Everything that he, she and it could ever want… a deadly, winking, sniggering, snuggling, chromium-plated, scent-impregnated, luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love’. Well, quite.

Soderbergh charts the homosexuality, excesses and superficial splendour that punctuated Liberace’s life and loves. Based on the memoir of jilted lover Scott Thorson (here played by a spectacularly buff Matt Damon), Behind the Candelabra is actually an insightful tale into the love story between Thorson and Liberace. Thorson goes from being young, starstruck and seduced, to live in lover to yesterday’s news as he is eventually replaced by a younger model. Their journey is both touching and witty as it navigates the pitfalls of love in the shadow of stardom and the hunger for youth and beauty.

Though Damon is excellent as always it is Douglas who steals show, giving an unselfconscious performance that treads the line perfectly between camp, kitsch and charming. Evoking sympathy for his character is no mean feat and Douglas is clearly loving being back in front of the camera. There’s also a deliciously sleazy cameo from Rob Lowe as a lizard featured plastic surgeon who attempts to create Thorson in Liberace’s image.

It really is damning to the film industry that such a well written script with Soderbergh, Damon and Douglas attached could not attract the backing of a major studio and was left to HBO to pick up - denying it eligibility for the Academy Awards. Douglas though, did walk away with a much deserved Emmy.

★★★★☆

Vikki Myerscough

Summer In February DVD Review

Rating: 15
DVD Release Date: 14th October  2013 (UK)
Director: Christopher Menaul
Cast: Dominic Cooper, Emily Browning, Dan Stevens
Buy Summer In February: DVD [Amazon]
Win Summer In February on DVD: Enter Here [link to the peoples movies]
Set against the idyllic backdrop of the Cornish coast, Summer in February is a haunting true tale of love and betrayal amongst a group of bohemian artists during the beginning of the 20th Century. Dominic Cooper stars as Alfred Munnings, the artist famed for his outspoken stance against modernism, and Emily Browning is Florence Carter-Woods, an aspiring artist whose introduction to the group sparks an interest from more than one viable suitor. Alongside the land owner responsible for the estate - Gilbert Evans, who is played by Dan Stevens - the trio form a tumultuous love triangle and friendships are tested to the limit as their passion for art soon becomes second to their desire for romance.

From the outset it is never too clear which direction the story will follow; as a biography focusing on Alfred Munnings the picture is considerably lacking in back story, and the audience are not provided with a full picture of what appears to be an intriguing character, with is a shame as Cooper's charismatic performance is a highlight of the film. The character of Florence is also not fleshed out enough for the audience to empathise with her, despite Browning's best attempts at bringing depth to the role which unfortunately lacks any real emotional impact.

Director Christopher Menaul does make great use of the beautiful Cornish scenery, with a number of scenes taking place amongst the luscious green woods and the inviting waters of the coastline, as Alfred paints portraits of a number of ladies who make his acquaintance, much to the frustration of Florence. It would seem that the reliable and trustworthy Gilbert would make the perfect partner for her but she eventually succumbs to the advances of Alfred, with his cheeky rogue persona weighing in his favour. The inevitable heartbreak hits the lovelorn Gilbert more than once and the story told throughout Summer in February is at times touching in its raw portrayal of romance and devotion, but could have had a greater impact if more time was invested in portraying the character's motives.

A number of characters are honoured with a small epilogue even though their appearances throughout Summer in February have little impact on the story. It is always interesting for factually based films to extend the story prior to the credits but only when this adds to characters that the audience develop an affection for, and most within Chirstopher Menaul's period piece do not have the required screentime for an emotional connection to take hold.

As a period romance, Summer in February will inevitably please fans of the genre, although those hoping for a more detailed character study of the Edwardian artists residing at the Cornish colony may be slightly disappointed. A fine diversion, but ultimately a forgettable one, Summer in February would be more suited for a primetime Saturday television slot than a trip to the cinema.

★★★☆☆

Tom Bielby

Repost of the cinema review

Win LGBT Award Winning Film Out In The Dark On DVD

One of the big things we're keen to do here at Cinehouse and The People's Movies is extend our range of film writing and reviewing, one of those areas we are keen to explore is LGBT cinema. LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) cinema mainstream cinema the ga is closing and what better way to get things going by running a competition to win one of LGBT's biggest films of 2013, OUT IN THE DARK.

The award-winning directorial debut from Michael Mayer, gay drama OUT IN THE DARK (15) stars newcomer Nicholas Jacob as Arab student Nimr alongside Michael Aloni (Policeman, Infiltration) who plays Jewish lawyer Roy. A gripping story of forbidden Arab-Israeli love, Nimr is rejected by Islamic society for his sexuality, and outcast by Jewish society for his nationality. The film will be released on DVD 14 October 2013, courtesy of Network Releasing whom we've joined forces to give away 3 copies of the film on DVD.

OUT IN THE DARK made its UK debut at the BFI London Lesbian Gay Film Festival earlier this year and was screened as part of the Accenture Gala. The film also won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Mardi Gras Film Festival 2013. It was released at key sites in the UK on 5th July 2013 and now on 14th October you can own the film on DVD.

"A powerful love story with a fresh twist" Paul Burston, Time Out

“Danger, sensuality and excitement together” David William Upton, So So Gay

To Win Out In The Dark on DVD please answer the following easy question:

Q. What Major international film festival did Out In The Dark make it's World Premiere at in 2012?

You must be 15 years or older to enter.
Deadline for this competition is Sunday 27th October 2013 (23:59pm)

If you haven’t done already Like us and stay with us at our Facebook page (if you are already liking us just share this post)

Terms&Conditions: You Must be a UK or Irish resident aged 15 or older to enter. If your successful and win the competition then you will be asked for Postal address to arrange deliver of the prize.The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse,Network Releasing  who have the right to alter, change or offer alternative prize without any notice. The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control so please do not complain, we will tell you when prizes are sent to us, mostly all competition prizes come directly from the PR company representing the film distributor. Deadline Sunday 27th October 2013(23:59pm)..

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

The Wicker Man – The Final Cut Review

Certificate:
15 (UK)
Release:
11th October (Cinemas) and  14th October (DVD & BR)
Director:
Robin Hardy
Stars:
Edward Woodward, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, Britt Ekland, Christopher Lee
Buy The Wicker Man 40th Anniversary Edition: [DVD]/ [Blu-ray]
The Wicker Man is now considered by many to be the greatest British horror film ever made. It originally was released as support feature to Nicolas Roeg’s great Don’t Look Now. It faded into obscurity for a few years till the film magazine Cinefantastique called it “the Citizen Kane of horror movies”. I wouldn’t go that far but it is film from the get go that has such an atmosphere that is so off kilter and menacing. The closes I can compare it to something like Seconds or David Lynch even though it’s radically different in almost every way.

The film concerns Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward). He receives an anonymous letter that young Rowan Morrison is missing. Sergeant Howie travels to the remote Hebridean island. The local seems to have an ulterior motive from the get go, they keep saying they haven’t seen him for the bulk of the film. The film unsettling nature is certainly helped by the bizarre musical numbers that are sung by the locals. The film also has one of the most iconic endings in British film history, which is as bleak as you can get.

The film has a very interesting pro-Christian message through the film which very atypical of most films. The film Neil Howie is a devout Christian so much so he is still a Virgin and the villagers are all creepy and evil Celtic Pagans. The Pagans are lead by a deliciously creepy performance by Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle and gives one of his career best performances and it’s much better than his performances in those extremely overrated Hammer films.

The film over the years has developed a rabid cult following. Mark Kermode made a documentary on the film in 2001 that is also included on this Blu-ray. It is now considered one of the finest British films of all-time and along with the film it supported Don’t Look Now is cited as one of the truly great British horror films. The film was originally cut by about 8 minutes in it’s original release. It was restored to a 92-minute cut (which is called the Final Cut on this disc) and a later even longer “Director’s Cut”. The director Robin Hardy now considered the 92-minute cut to be “the final cut”. The disc is absolutely packed with tons of documentaries, interviews, commentaries and the 3 aforementioned cuts. The release also includes a soundtrack cd of those creepy folk songs.

★★★★½

Ian Schultz

Le Week End Review

Certificate:
15 (UK)
Release:
11th of October 2013
Distributor:
Curzon Film World
Director:
Roger Michell
Stars:
Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent, Jeff Goldblum

Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan starring in a classy drama about the ever-changing relationship of two married sixty-somethings sounds like a must-see with more than a little allusion of Richard Linklater's Before... series. Whilst the lead performances are quite excellent, what exactly director Roger Michell has to say is never quite clear.

Le Week-End follows Nick (Broadbent) and Meg (Duncan) - a long-married British couple who travel to Paris for a weekend break. However, this is not plain sailing as the couple's relationship problems come to the forefront.

Nick and Meg are not likeable protagonists - which is by no means a bad thing, it simply results in a lack of compassion and engagement towards the pair. Both characters key attribute is their overwhelming sympathy for themselves - Meg feels unfulfilled (and has no issue about letting it be known) and Nick is a man plagued by demons of self-doubt and fear of abandonment. Both Broadbent and Duncan ensure that Le Week-Ending is watchable and strip back the veneer of faux-sentimentality that we traditionally see in the romantic drama. However, it is Michell's depiction of the couple's relationship that proved truly troubling to this reviewer.

Perhaps as a younger viewer, Le Week-End is alienating in that the complexities of a twenty-five year plus-marriage are not something that tends to be thought about a lot. Apologies for using that old cliché, but is love not supposed to be a universal language - regardless of what age or stage it is at? Le Week-End as a representation of how relationships can yo-yo is a fine one, but an extreme one: Nick and Meg can go from the height of intense love to threatening each other with divorce in the space of one short scene. It is this extreme change in dynamic that means it is never easy to grasp what exactly Michell is trying to say - other than people and relationships change and are not simple.

This results in a watch that is not particularly compelling to the average viewer. Yes there will be occasions where we can all relate to the impromptu moments of fun, blood-minded arguments, self-doubt, and unhappiness - although in this high volume it feels somewhat erratic and ultimately draining. The introduction of Jeff Goldblum's character Morgan - Nick's old university pal - perks things up through a spirited performance that only he is capable of. However like Goldblum's character, it is hard not to think that Le Week-End is slightly full of itself and smug about its own complexities.

Fortunately, cinematography from Nathalie Durand, captures the blustery Autumn of Paris and fits the tone of Michell's bittersweet feature, often resulting in a picturesque watch.

It is the stellar performances from Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan that dominate bitterly complex, and often alienating Le Week-End which may prove more of a hit with older audiences.

★★½☆

Andrew McArthur

V/H/S 2 DVD Review

Rating:
18
DVD Release Date:
14th October 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Koch Media
Director:
Gareth Evans, Timi Tjahjanto, Adam Wingard, Gregg Hale, Jason Eisener, Simon Barrett, Eduardo Sánchez
Cast:
Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, Adam Wingard,
Buy V/H/S 2: [DVD]


V/H/S rescued found-footage for me last year. It took the frankly tired cash cow medium and applied it to anthology horror, a concept that had taken a back bench in the past few years of mainstream horror. V/H/S 2 continues in the same strand, though this time a pair of private investigators stumbles across the ominous collection of tapes whilst checking out the home of a missing person.

Like last time V/H/S 2 is a mixed bag, some of the films are conceptually intriguing but things misfire in the execution.  The film presents us with four short films but- when teased with piles and piles of ominous tapes potentially containing horror gold-you can’t help but feel some of the naffest films got picked out.

Adam Wingard’s introductory Phase 1 Clinical Trials is a step into sci-fi horror: a man’s new synthetic eye starts shows him things beyond our world. Like I say, conceptually interesting, but its already been handled to a tee by Oxide Pang Chun in The Eye, however that doesn’t stop it pulling off a few good scares. Tension is depressingly fizzled away by the introduction of a girl with a more auditory connection to the afterlife (perhaps a more unnerving idea?), and a laughable way of keeping the ghosts at bay. Wingard’s section ends in a mess that leaves the viewer more bamboozled than scared.

Next up is the slightly better A Ride in the Park; a zombie film from the zombie’s POV. With a camera strapped to his helmet a biker is assaulted, transforms, then goes on his own undead rampage through a sunny camper-filled wood. There’s nothing clever going on here (see Colin) but its concise, enjoyable, and well put together.

The third segment, put together by Timo Tjahjanto who’s most repulsive segment L is for Libido, is the most impressive and by far the most creative.  There are more than a few moments that will stick in your mind, but it really works best as a bit of a blind-sider. With the best and most accomplished narrative, the most striking visuals, and the most intense journey, Safe Haven is a great and commendable addition to the V/H/S collection of short films.

Last and probably least is the near-woeful (comedy?) Alien Invasion Slumber Party. It does what it says on the tin, but not in a great way. Sure there are a few cool moments, some woodland running and a tense pier scene, but overall not well done. Watching it, you can see what the direction is and maybe even enjoy it at points, but bad effects and overexposure – the same over exposure that killed the first V/H/S’s alien story- ultimately spell doom.

By the end of V/H/S 2 we are no closer to understanding the reasons for the macabre collection of bizarre snuff films, but that’s not a bad thing because genuine interest has been tickled. However, when the overarching story draws to an anti-climactic slap-dash finale you can’t help but feel a little cheated. The same hasty regard with which- at least two- of the shorts were hobbled together is reflected in those in-between segments. No desire to build tension is displayed. First time round, the film showed us groups of bastard Jocks who we couldn’t wait to see get offed, this time round there’s an unfortunate lack of any reaction to characters. We can only be led through horror by asshole types for so long.

V/H/S 2 lacks the ingenuity and surprise of the first, so unfortunately it’s not a step up but still a watchable, enjoyable, and varied collection of films. Frankly it’s worth a watch just to get the third segment. If you’re easily peeved at run-of-the-mill film making, then perhaps steer clear.

★★★☆☆

Scott Clark

Much Ado About Nothing DVD Review

Rating:4 stars
12
DVD/BD Release Date:
7th October 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment
Director:
Joss Whedon
Cast:
Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Fran Kranz ,Spencer Treat Clark, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion,Clark Gregg.
Buy Much Ado About Nothing:
DVD / Blu-ray [Amazon]
When it came to blockbuster spectacle circa 2012, Joss Whedon ruled the waves. His reflective, genre-busting, The Cabin in the Woods had audience and critic alike lauding its equal measures of critique and entertainment. Marvel extravaganza The Avengers knocked it out the part, pulling off an ambitious superhero epic that fulfilled expectations and left us hungry for more. But what did Whedon do next?

Filmed across 12 days at Whedon’s home, this modernisation of the bard’s most humorous work is beautifully realised. His own taste for the comic picks out the silliest physicality and most subtle jokes of the play then relays in his sharp - yet light hearted - way. Much Ado seems to translate Shakespeare’s humour in a way that makes this feature one of the best adaptations to date.

Whedon has always been fairly character driven, The Avengers, for all its action and effects, was essentially driven by the balance of screen time awarded each of its larger-than-life characters. And thus Much Ado is made better time and time again by the band of talent committed to creating this balanced love-play. Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker shine as foe/lovers Beatrice and Benedick, relaying the thin line between love and hate with a vicious kind of tenderness.  Clark Gregg threatens to steal the show as Leonato, his dominating presence and dry humour perhaps fit the script best out of all the cast. When the drama of the lovers perhaps starts to grate, Nathan Fillion professes a comic control second to none as Dogberry.

With this, surely a benchmark for performance has been reached within Whedon’s repertoire, for this is a near-entirely performance based feature. Though, the visual impact of the film is obvious, there are few scenes of genuinely touching image, bar the funeral procession which mixes Gothic imagery with the modern setting, the film can be a bit straight forward. However a tender laid back control of image means his monochrome Shakespeare is impressive and proves the director is just as at home with smaller intimate features as he is with mega-budget fantasy adventures.

A Sleek, sharp, excellently acted, and above all well-orchestrated update, Much Ado About Nothing explores love in all its cruelty and tenderness, whilst keeping intact that staunch element of humour integral to the play. It’s not Luhrmann’s Romeo +Juliet, but it’s definitely Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing

★★★★☆

Scott Clark

TIFF 2013 Review - The Strange Little Cat (Das merkwürdige Kätzchen)

Rating:
PG
Release Date:
12,13th September 2013 (TIFF)
Director:
Ramon Zürcher
Cast:
Jenny Schily, Mia Kasalo, Anjorka Strechel, Luk Pfaff,

Hands down the hardest film to talk about at Toronto’s International Film Festival this year is The Strange Little Cat, a charming study into the quant and often bizarre realities of everyday family life.

Very loosely (almost unthinkably) based on Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Ramon Zurcher’s first feature is an exercise in mastery on many levels. The keen and prying eye he exudes into every facet of the busy household can at points seem mundane and others alien but nearly always utterly riveting. The mechanics of household relations seem to spiral silently into a weird dance as a family convenes for a celebration. As each member pops in and out of the films’ frame we are presented odd short narratives from each in an attempt to reveal the complexity of human emotion and everyday life.

The most interesting layer of the feature is the staunch absurdist thread that weaves throughout the film. The study of domestic relation and interactions we perform on a daily basis successfully reveals the inherent weirdness of human endeavour through those short tales relayed by the family members. Alongside these short tales of zany familiarity, Zurcher picks out individual visuals of the home environment and sequences them alongside the narrative to ensure the familiar becomes something unavoidably strange. A young girl screams as a household blender is activated, a remote control helicopter floats in the background pestering the scene, a basket floats past the window, all the while the strange little cat (the most ordinary of the lot) saunters through this bizarre stage.

These instances are then pointed out by the entirely despondent family to a point where you’ll start to wonder if you’ve tottered into a parallel where no one is capable of emotive reaction. This just goes to show how entirely invested the actors are in Zurcher’s strange little play. A wave of honesty seems to possess each character at one point or another, forcing the family to surrender a strange experience from their day. Altogether the stories render a world of near-surrealist quality, by their confronting everyday actions, but the full point is relayed with the actual performance that relays the tale in a distracted bittersweet fashion.

For a film where the most exciting action is a bottle cork smashing a light bulb, The Strange Little Cat is a fascinating feature. A film like this -no matter how absurd- is still a tedious affair across longer distances, so at a wise run-time of 75 minutes it maintains its quality as a strange little vignette into a strange little world performed by some wonderful German talent.

The Strange Little Cat is ponderous, beautiful, and ultimately mysterious in its experimental exploration of the everyday. Though a highly developed and intriguing film, from a skilled hand, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea as it required a patience that comes hand in hand with such slow artistic endeavour.

★★★★☆

Scott Clark

Break Loose (Vosmerka) - TIFF 2013 review

Rating:
15
Release Date:
7,8,13th September 2013(TIFF)
Director:
Aleksey Uchitel
Cast:
Vilma Kutaviciute, Aleksey Mantsygin, Alexander Novyn

Russia circa 1999 (perhaps even now?) looks like a dangerous place, a place where men are men and looking at someone the wrong way can result in carnage. At least in Aleksey Uchital’s Break Loose,  a high-testosterone tragedy that documents the concepts of family, poverty, and cyclical violence around a Russian Ghetto at the turn of the millennium.

The first and most prominent thing about Uchital’s delve into the grungy atmosphere of Russian casuals is the inherent violence of that circle. Violence is rife and actually egged on in both the professional and non-professional lives of this band of brothers. With a keen sense of the injustice of fighting, Uchital professes at first what could be a romancing, but is ultimately a condemning of Clockwork Orange gang violence. Fighting here receives a sort of make-over, becoming as fierce, deadly, and frankly distressing as it really is through the raw and honest quality to both the choreography of the fight sequences and the shadowy grit of Alexander Demyanenko and Yuri Klimenko’s cinematography. This edgy understanding of colour and camera movement relays the alleys of ghetto life in turgid shadows and switches to circus lights for the garish ensemble of a tacky nightclub. This nightclub play a prominent part as the setting for the gangster, thug, femme fatale love triangle that threatens to rip the young thugs’ hopes.

The film manages not only to drag you into being audience to the uncomfortable overt masculinity of its characters, but also to a kind of cultural cross section of Russian life at a certain time. The revolt of working class being contained and policed by working class men is surely one of the tragic strains of the film alongside the foul solvency of arguably degenerate businessmen. So, from a point of view, there’s an interesting communist dialogue at work here.

The entire cast are fantastic, each successfully adding to a painting of Russian life caught in the throes of a daunting cycle: violent people lead violent lives. This is perhaps the message of a feature doomed from its very beginning to end in tragedy. The further the film’s hero strives against his destiny, the deeper he sinks into its unrelenting grip. His hopes of running away with Vilma Kutavichute’s femme fatale are constantly in the shadow of her gangster boyfriend, his friends hold him to a life of tradition and family whilst his job tells him to stay in line. All of these forces mount to breath-taking finale which sees revenge and love clash.

A stunning fast-paced and brutal tragedy set against the backdrop of the Russian millennium. Break Loose is a stirring exploration of the limits of control and what people will do to escape them.

★★★★☆

Scott Clark

TIFF 2013 Review - Almost Human

Rating:
18
Release Date:
10,11,13th September 2013(TIFF)
Director:
Joe Begos
Cast:
Graham Skipper, Vanessa Leigh, Josh Ethier

The main problem with Almost Human is that its poster is almost cooler and more grabbing than the film itself. The feel of the film exudes a kind of B-movie charm and cult excellence that has crept its way into vogue over the past decade, thanks to a general boredom with the shiny glaze Hollywood seems to trail over any horror/sci-fi project it touches. Ignore the professional allure of the marketing, scrape away any preconceived notions and there’s still enjoyment to be had.

Joe Begos and his team are obviously passionate about their project and the genre it occupies, their love gushes, as do the 70’s references until Almost Human feels like a high school ode to the work of John Carpenter. The story of an abductee returned to convert the people of a small sleepy town is canon to say the least. Seth (Graham Skipper), who watched his friend get abducted,  thinks something is up when townsfolk turn up murdered and goes on the hunt for his possibly half-alien friend. The cult feel isn’t just spawning from a sci-fi narrative, but in effects conception and sound too. The retro vibe of the film is appreciable and charming at points, but overall its execution is lazy. For a film set in the 70’s there are a few glaring errors that could either rupture your investment in the vibe or strike a point for the charming lunacy of the underdog horror film.

Almost Human seems to spend all of its 80 minute run-time dodging between an impressive, original, low-budget, first-time feature to dopey indie flick lacking in the IQ dept. For every stupid line of dialogue or woeful bit of acting there’s a contrasting sequence of genius effects and zany queasiness.  Make no mistake; the most proficient parts of the film are its highly bogging effects which have the accomplished Cronenberg ability to turn your stomach.

Even for all its faults, the general direction of Almost Human proves a last point that Joe Begos is a young director to look out for. The many low points are in return awarded with moments of humour and well-shot violence that leave the viewer unsure as to whether they just saw something awfully good or just plain bad.

A bizarre venture into 70’s and 80’s sci-fi horror that can bore with its lowest points, but thrill with its best, Almost Human is for the most part dismissible. Bad acting, awful dialogue, and dodgy narrative are at points unburdened with impressive effects, well-edited action, and terrific direction.

★★☆☆☆

Scott Clark