Simon Rumley (Red, White And Blue) Interview

Last year The Horror Channel premiered Simon Rumley’s stunning piece of award-winning cinema, The Living And The Dead and this month they are giving his equally astonishing and controversial movie Red White And Blue its UK TV premiere on Oct 20 at 10.55pm

 

Set in Austin, Texas, this dark love story follows the disaffected and promiscuous Erica (Amanda Fuller - Buffy The Vampire Slayer) as she sleeps with a series of nameless men, until she is befriended by Nate (Noah Taylor - Submarine, The Proposition), an ex-Iraq war veteran with a sociopathic streak.  Nate, seems interested in Erica for more than just sex - but when one of her previous partners, hard-rocking mamma’s boy Franki (Marc Senter) resurfaces, Erica’s actions come back to haunt her, leading to a terrifying climax which has shocked audiences worldwide.

Rumley talks about his deeply shocking yet tenderly moving film, what it was like shooting the movie in America and why distributors are confounded by his work.

Red White and Blue is very different to your film The Living And The Dead, where did the idea come from?

SR: It came from a mixture of personal fears, reading about crazy events on the internet, wanting to do another horror film that wasn’t obviously classifiable as a horror film and also wanting to make a film that was, like The Living And The Dead, equally tragic and disturbing…

Why set it in America?

SR: I'd been wanting to shoot a film for a long time in America and it seemed like the perfect setting for the film. Some films can work well in different countries but some are very country specific and I felt this wouldn't work in the same way in the UK as it would in America. There's a filmic classicism to neon lights and wide open spaces and the flipside of the American Dream which, naturally, we don't get in the UK.

What was it like shooting in Austin, Texas?

SR: Fantastic. Austin is such an excellent city and the people are so friendly and welcoming and laid back and cool in the best possible sense of the word. One of the reasons we went to Austin was because my friend Tim League and his wife Karrie, lived there. They own a bunch of cinemas called the Alama Drafthouse and pretty much know everyone there is to know so I knew if we ever got into trouble or needed help they'd be able to help us. As well as filming in peoples' houses and diners and bars, we also had a ton of local extras and our whole crew apart from the DP and editor were locals. It was a tough shoot and they really stepped up to the challenge really well.

It's a raw and very gritty piece, set very much in the real world. Would you agree this is where horror works best?

SR: Absolutely - escapist horror can be fun at times but for me, if I don't believe the situation and the characterization then usually I'm not emotionally affected which means I'm not scared and/or I'm not disturbed. Certainly for me, most my favourite horror films are based in a believable reality whether it be Freaks or The Omen.

The cast is outstanding, Amanda Fuller as Erica and Noah Tyler as Nate bring a brutal and heartbreaking honesty to their roles. Did you write the parts with these actors in mind?

SR: No; I'd never heard of Amanda before we cast her in the film but when I saw her audition and then met her, it did feel like the part had been written for her. Once I'd written the script and we started casting, Noah was my first choice for Nate. Although most people are bowled over by his performance, they're also slightly dumbfounded by the initial casting of him as such a character. I've been a massive fan ever since I saw him in his debut feature The Year My Voice Broke and although he's never played anyone so dark, I always felt he had a quirkiness and a darkness that hadn't been previously explored.

The characters are very "damaged" in different ways and you don't pull away from showing the audience how much. Do you censor yourself at all as you create a script?

SR: Good question! I generally don't censor myself but after Red White And Blue and my two anthology features I've done in the last few years (Little Deaths and The ABC's Of Death) I'm now making a deliberate effort to work on scripts which aren't as 'tough' because although they go down well with the audiences, most the film industry, that being sales agents and distributors, are usually confounded by my films because they're so uncompromising. I'm now writing scripts which are still very much my ideas but which are more 'identifiable' as product that can be bought or sold; sadly, what directors make is and always will be seen as a commodity by many.

What was the atmosphere like on set?

SR: It was actually pretty great. Everyone was really friendly and did their job really well. Initially people were a bit sceptical that we'd get everything shot in time but when we started picking up the pace, everyone loved it and had no time to do much apart from concentrate. Both the producer and I agreed it was the most harmonious set we'd worked on.

There's quite a twist to the story, was this to give it an extra layer, a moral in fact?

SR: Yep, absolutely - if it's the ending you're talking about - the very last shot in fact. I thought that justified Nate's actions even more and made the whole thing even more tragic; personally I thought it was a pretty devastating ending although I'm not sure what everyone else thought!

Red White And Blue is getting its UK TV premiere on the Horror Channel, how do you feel about that?

SR: Very excited. The Horror Channel used to be a bit goofy but nowadays it has the best selection of both contemporary and older horror of any channel in the UK so it's a must for any self-respecting horror fan.

What's your honest opinion of horror cinema at the moment, is it in good health?

SR: I think there's more interesting and unique horror directors around now than there have been in a long time and all you have to do is look at the ABCs Of Death to view the breadth of what's on offer. That said, I think much horror is still stuck repeating older formulae as well working on remakes and sequels. Even though there haven't been many fantastic horror films in the last few years, I still think it's a very exciting time generally for the genre.

So what projects are you working on at the moment?

SR: Well, as discussed, I've just finished The ABCs Of Death which premiered at the Toronto film festival. Beyond that I have a few projects which seem close to happening and a few which I'm still developing...

Simon Rumley, thank you very much.

SR: Thank you!

Red White And Blue premieres on the Horror Channel Oct 20 at 10.55pm

Luis Prieto's PUSHER Review

Luis Prieto's British made update of Nicolas Winding Refn's 1996 film, Pusher, received its world premiere at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival . The Spanish director has presented us with a gripping, adrenaline fuelled ride, which is by far one of the most exciting British crime thrillers in recent years.

Frank (Richard Coyle) may just be London's most unlucky drug dealer. After a deal goes horrendously wrong, he finds himself owing a ruthless Serbian crime boss over £55,000. In a desperate search for money, Frank soon finds his life spiralling out of control and relationships with those around him beginning to crumble.

It is hard to deviate from certain traditional elements in this genre, for example, risky deals and unrelenting Mr. Big figures are always going to feature. However, these elements feel utterly fresh and skilfully handled in Pusher, thanks to Prieto's energy as a storyteller. The Spanish director's film feels like a fusion of the classic British crime thriller (Coyle's performance drawing some parallels to that of Stacey Keach in 1977 feature, The Squeeze), with an added vibrant, modern twist.

The tension rarely drops in Pusher, creating a truly gripping ride. This is furthered by Simon Dennis' striking cinematography - creating a visually impressive piece taking on pulsing neon infused clubs to dank warehouses, with equal impact. Pusher also captures the ruthless and gritty criminal underworld of London through Frank's encounters with Serbian crime Boss, Milo (Zlatko Buric, star of Refn's original Pusher Trilogy) - most notably in one suspenseful scene involving bolt cutters and a finger. The high octane thrills are paired with a energetic electronic dance score from Orbital, fitting the tone of Pusher perfectly.

Even Pusher's day by day narrative structure acts as reflection of Frank's impending deadline, ebbing closer. This means it is hard not to feel part of the dealers' journey as he uses every resource he has to get money - whether it be calling in on old loans from vulnerable customers or simply by taking it from the sleaziest clients. Even Pushers' emotive conclusion is cut off in the height of anguish and tension, leaving the viewer to question the outcome.

Richard Coyle's solid lead performance thrusts us into the desperation and angst that faces the character, however, we as the audience are always on his side. Agyness Dean's supporting turn as Frank's girlfriend, Flo, proves equally flawless. Flo simply wants a better life for herself and Frank - she works as a dancer and escort, careers that are beneath her, and as viewer you want to see her and Frank happy. Zlatko Buric's intense performance as Milo also proves to be a chief scene stealer throughout Pusher.

Luis Prieto's Pusher proves to be an exhilarating, thrill ride that holds the viewer in a vice-like grip from start to finish. The vibrant cinematography combined with an outstanding lead performance from Richard Coyle and a razor sharp score from Orbital, help make Pusher one of the strongest British crime thrillers in recent years.

Andrew McArthur 

★★★★☆

Rating: 18
UK Release Date: 12th October 2012
Director: Luis Prieto
Stars: Richard Coyle, Agyness Deyn , Zlatko Buric, Paul Kaye

Raindance Film Festival Awards 2012

The 20th Raindance Festival came to an end on Sunday night with its closing gala feature, Sal closing the curtain on a successful fortnight in the capital. The independent festival achieved record attendance numbers with Londoners out in force to take in the best independent cinema from around the world. Short films, music videos, discussions, workshops, documentaries and debuts made up an eclectic 12 days at Piccadilly’s Apollo cinema.

    For some there was more at stake than merely the enjoyment of seeing your film play out to the masses as the competition element of the festival was decided and the gongs handed out. There was a distinctly Scandinavian tone to the ceremony with the recipients of Best Debut Feature and Best Documentary coming from Finland and Denmark. Scooping the former, Indebted is the downbeat Finnish tale of the lengths people will go to for money while the Danish documentary Ballroom Dancer focuses on esteemed Russian dancer Slavik Kryklyvy striving to regain his status several years after an injury forced him to retire.

    There was success too for Love tomorrow which took home the prize for Best UK Feature. The film has echoes of Sliding Doors’ time concept as it follows the 24 hour period after a chance encounter between two dancers in a London tube station. Laurentie was the only film to pick up a prize away from Europe as the slow burning Canadian film was awarded the Best International Feature accolade.
Full Nomination/Winners List 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Dark Hearts
Laurentie [winner]
From Tuesday To Tuesday
Vegetarian Cannibal
A Road Stained Crimson
SAL

BEST UK FEATURE

City Slacker
Confine
Live East Die Young
Love Tomorrow [winner]
String Caesar

BEST DEBUT FEATURE

After School Midnighters
The Ascent
Bad Hair Friday
Indebted [winner]
A Night Too Young
Strings

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Ballroom Dancer [winner]
Despite The Gods
The Lottery of Birth
Orania
Over My Dead Body
Trashed

BEST UK SHORTS

Achele
Bird
For Elsie
Mapmaker
The Pub [winner]
A Thousand Empty Glasses               

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORTS

Bolero
Buzkashi Boys [winner]
The End
The Foreigner 
Interview Date               
The Old Woman             
            

FILM OF THE FESTIVAL [SHORT]

For the sixth year running we are very excited to announce the Film of the Festival Award. This year’s award is supported by the Independent Film Trust and the winner will make next year's cinema advert.

One of the short films at the festival will be awarded Film Of The Festival. This film will be shortlisted for an 2013 Oscar^TM Nomination for Best Short Film.
The winner is:
Buzkashi Boys

FILM OF THE FESTIVAL [FEATURE]

Awarded to the feature film or documentary that best embodies the spirit of Raindance. The nominations are:
Death
How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song? [winner]
Corrode
Frank
Consuming Spirits
This Ain't California

Raindance 2012: Mon Ami Review

Smudged with the finger prints of the Coen brothers comes Canadian slacker-kidnapping caper Mon Ami, a darkly comic feature from writer/director Rob Grant. His first film Yesterday garnered widely favourable reviews, something he can expect to continue with this follow-up. Cal and Teddy are best friends unenthusiastically working at a Hardware superstore, undermined by customers and going nowhere fast. When these two long serving employees are overlooked for a promotion they concoct a plan and, like all good plans it involves kidnapping their boss’ daughter.

    Apparently unaware that ‘the best laid plans of mice and men oft do go astray’ this soon becomes plainly evident for our protagonists as, despite a meticulously prepared set-up theirs becomes a lesson in how not to conduct a kidnapping. From the offset the path is far from smooth as the practicalities of capturing the bait prove trickier than expected, quickly establishing our leads as truly inept hostage-takers. That (unlucky in more ways than one) hostage; Crystal, soon proves to be equally less reliable in her role as obliging victim than they had envisaged and when an attempted breakout goes unnoticed the stakes are invariably raised. Out of their depth and forced to alter their plan the two aren’t aided by the constant interruptions of Teddy’s wife Liz whose interspersed phone calls serve as effective tension breakers as well as to annoy the increasingly irritated Cal. The tension within the three is a running theme of the film and asks questions about male friendship and where they go if one’s life-plan differs to the other. Here, the perception is that they turn to crime to re-connect their bromance and there’s a felling that Cal is largely doing this simply to spend some time with his best friend away from his ‘nagging wife’ – that is very much the image of Liz in a role that won’t endear itself to many a female.

    The graphically bloodstained moments of the film are reminiscent of Tarintino or American Psycho and well balanced with the comic elements of the film with the overall effect coming across as something far more akin to Fargo. It’s to Grant’s credit that the comparisons don’t feel far overstretched, taking care to establish these believable characters in unbelievable situations as well as crafting neat stylistic touches.
Yesterday was unfairly but inevitably compared to Shaun of the Dead but alongside his sophomore effort he can rightly claim to be carving out a niche very much of his own. By establishing his own set of rules, language and narrative his is a tone destined for cult following.

Matthew Walsh

Rating:18
UK Release Date: 2nd October 2012 (Raindance Film Festival)
Directed By: Rob Grant
Cast: Mike Kovac, Scott Wallis, Bradley Duffy,

Shut Up And Play The Hits DVD Review

    What’s the best possible way to end a band? Is there ever a ‘good’ way to end a project, musical or otherwise? These are themes that snake through the centre of Will Lovelace’s film Shut up and Play the Hits, a portrait of James Murphy and his band LCD Soundsystem as they perform their last ever concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Far from the usual infighting, drug overdoses and ubiquitous ‘musical differences’, theirs was a very planned departure from the music world, there was an announcement, a final album, a world tour and finally this – a farewell concert with a party atmosphere at the biggest stage in their home town. Then again, LCD Soundsystem were never an act to tow the lines of musical cliché. After 10 years and three landmark albums, the inventive New Yorkers depart leaving the lines between dance and rock, elctronica and punk distinctly blurred.

    Seeped in sepia, Lovelace and co-director Dylan Soithern’s film flitters between footage of the concert, taking in the fervent and enthusiastic crowds, and Murphy’s life outside the band framed by a one on one interview with journalist Chuck Klosterman. It’s these candid moments that capture Murphy as a considered, thoughtful and far friendlier character than any one of his hipster imitators clogging up the swamped Brooklyn scene. Despite the incessant interruptions and exhaustive length of questions coming his way, Murphy talks eloquently about his hopes for his bands legacy (a refreshingly laid-back and inclusive approach), his take on pretension “being a pretentious child allowed me to learn a lot of cool stuff” and why he decided to call it quits – a subject he’s had to openly muse upon in every post-announcement interview on chat show sofa’s around the globe.

    Heightening the focus on endings as a whole, we see Murphy in post LCD Soundsytem mode, solitarily roaming rooms and offices accompanied only by his faithful pug and coming in stark contrast to the packed, lively scenes backstage at Madison Square Garden that they come up against. What is his role now? Is he happy to turn his back on that life in favour of this new, infinitely slower paced one? Somewhat intriguingly these answers don’t come in the form of black and white answers from the horses mouth but are instead hinted upon with Murphy admitting that touring was never part of the plan anyway. Comprised of members used to a life on the road, his band came to fruition relatively late with the intention purely to make records and playing gigs very much an afterthought.

    It’s to our benefit that that afterthought turned into a lived-out reality as the concert footage shows a band in full swing, top of their game and with new poignancy added to their lyrics (particularly in the epic All My Friends). The complete four hour party comes on the second and third discs of this bumper DVD package which also includes the interview in full and James Murphy trying his hand as sound recordist, turning the questions on his former manager. The overall effect is one that leaves us too wondering why this band couldn’t just keep it going for another tour, now how about a reunion?

Matthew Walsh

★★★★☆

Rating:15
Directed By: Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern
Cast: James Murphy, Chuck Klosterman ,Gunnar Bjerk
Buy:Shut Up And Play The Hits DVD/Blu-ray

Eureka Entertainment Announce Early 2013 Masters Of Cinema Line Up

Stanley Kubrick, Federico Fellini and Sacha Guitry join the Masters of Cinema Series as Eureka Entertainment announce their release schedule for January and February 2013.

Eureka Entertainment announced today via their twitter feeds (@eurekavideo & @mastersofcinema) the forthcoming releases in The Masters of Cinema series for the months of January and February 2013.

Following a spate of epic releases for the last quarter of 2012 which included Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen and Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Masters of Cinema Series returns in 2013 with the nearly-impossible-to-see debut feature film by Stanley Kubrick, a long-awaited Blu-ray and DVD Dual Format release of Josef von Sternberg's classic first-collaboration with Marlene Dietrich, new restorations of films by the European giants Fellini and Guitry, and a Blu-ray upgrade of Kaneto Shindô's cult horror confection Onibaba.

Producer of the Masters of Cinema Series, Craig Keller stated “January sees the release of Stanley Kubrick's 1953 debut feature Fear and Desire, newly restored by The Library of Congress — a war-film psychodrama that exhibits many of the thematic obsessions and visual motifs that would course throughout all of Kubrick's films over the next four decades — needless to say, ravishingly photographed, even this early on in his career. We are extremely excited that UK audiences will at last be able to see where that body of work called "Kubrick" all began. Also this month: we've got the HD debut of Josef von Sternberg's immortal The Blue Angel, in both its German and English-language versions (shot by Sternberg simultaneously) featuring Marlene Dietrich as the impossibly erotic cabaret singer who bewitches Emil Jannings — and consigns him to perdition.

In February we present three titles, two of which capitalise on sumptuous HD restorations carried out by Gaumont. The first of these is Federico Fellini's unhinged 1980 post-punk epic, City of Women [La città delle donne / La cité des femmes], starring the great Marcello Mastroianni in a kind of reprise of his role from Fellini's 8-1/2. The second new HD restoration is the initial entry into The Masters of Cinema Series by the French comic genius Sacha Guitry — La Poison [Poison] — starring the equally brilliant Michel Simon (of Renoir's La Chienne and Boudu sauvé des eaux, and Vigo's L'Atalante). We're so proud to introduce this venomously witty murder-comedy to UK audiences — it's a perfect example of why Guitry was revered as a kind of god both by the French public at large and by the critics and filmmakers that went on to form the New Wave. Our last release of the month is a new Blu-ray upgrade of the recently deceased Kaneto Shindô's Onibaba — one of our most popular films — an unsettling, atmospheric erotic horror film whose Scope frames veer between sunlit existential dread and moonlit mystery/suspense.

Managing Director of Eureka, Ron Benson added  “We're very excited by this Jan/Feb lineup — with new HD elements of all five films, each accompanied by numerous supplements and the kind of lengthy booklets our fans will be thrilled to pore over. But we're only getting started — 2013 might be our most exciting year yet."

No Exact dates have been confirmed yet however we’ll update you when we get the details and fingers crossed we’ll have the reviews of the films when they arrive as well as the remaining 2012 Masters Of Cinema releases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radioman Review

Radioman is a legendary figure in the New York City film world. He is a former alcoholic homeless bum who started his film career in 1990 on Brian De Palmas’ Bonfire of the Vanities. He simply walked onto to set and handed Bruce Willis a beer because he though he was a bum as well. His life story has been told in the recent documentary directed by Mary Herr also called Radioman.

It’s features interview snippets of such stars as George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Josh Brolin, Tom Hanks, Johnny Deep and the list goes on and on. They all say how much they like seeing Radioman on set and how they it’s the same if it’s a New York film and he isn’t on set. Robin Williams one of the first celebrities who he met on a film set (the film is question was Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King) jokes his resume is larger than his, Radioman’s IMDb page doesn’t list a 10th of the films he has appeared in.

It’s an interesting look at somebody who clearly has some mental health issues but has such a deep love for films. It shows his daily routine, which is getting on his bike and cycling to the daily film set and sometimes he evens go to other states besides New York.  It’s show shis mess of a apartment. It also mentions his desire to get more prominent roles, which he been getting. He has a noticeable role on Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island for example.

It doesn’t really just judgement on Radioman. However it’s at times very difficult to watch because some of his behaviour and the footage is so revealing it gets very difficult at times to watch. Overall it’s a good little doc about the other side of the film industry.

Ian Schultz

★★★1/2☆

Rating:12
UK Release Date: 12th October 2012
Directed by:  Mary Kerr
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep

Attack Of The Werewolves DVD Review

I had such high hopes for Attack of the Werewolves (2011), the new Spanish monster horror which has been impressing audiences and critics alike since its initial release earlier this year. Unfortunately as most of director Juan Martínez Moreno's hairy tale, starring Gorka Otxoa, Carlos Areces, Luis Zahera and Secun de la Rosa takes place in the dark, it's extremely hard to tell what is going on for most of the time and whether, as a result, it's any good.

Legend has it that in 1910 in a remote Spanish village, the evil Marchioness of Marino, captured a travelling gypsy and managed to get herself pregnant by him. In revenge the gypsies wife cursed the Marchioness's resulting offspring, transforming him into a werewolf and placing the village under a reign of terror from the beast. The only way to free the village and the Marchioness's son from the curse is for one of her descendants to be sacrificed to the werewolf on the one hundredth anniversary of the original atrocity.

The present day and Tomás Mariño (Otxoa) a semi-successful writer has returned to his home town, where he has been invited by the local people to receive an award - or at least so they have led him to believe. Unfortunately for Tomás the villagers have something darker in mind, if only they can get him to play along with their plan.

As I said I was really looking forward to this offbeat black comedy which, if I'm honest, is reasonably well executed, up to a point. The wolves when they eventually appear (you begin to wonder when you will actually see any, as it's almost a third of the way into the film before they actually put in an appearance) are effectively pulled off, albeit in a 1980's American Werewolf in London way. A sharp vein of black humour runs through the proceedings as a whole, with one scene involving the amputation and cooking of certain human appendages in order to placate a suspected werewolf being particularly effective. The relationship between Tomás and his hapless friends and relations who find themselves joining forces in a fight for their lives, also helps to add an extra dimension which leaves the viewer actually interested in what happens to the characters, which makes for a refreshing change.

Another aspect in the film's favour are the settings. Filmed in Galicia, Spain, the sun-bleached streets of the village and exterior of Tomás' family manor house lend themselves perfectly to this tale of late night lycanthropy. Or at least you imagine they would if you could see them. When the sun sets it's hard to see exactly what is gong on, other than the odd close up of a furry, fanged face, the odd severed limb flying through the air and a lot of screaming and crunching of, what one presumes, are bones.

In the glory days of Hammer, the studio which put horror on the map was well known for its day for night shots, which must have been reasonably effective as the scenes shot this way appeared to be taking place at night, yet still let you to see everything that took place. Many modern fright films should be provided night vision goggles in order to let you see what is happening once the sun goes down, and as a result leave the viewer guessing as to much of what is taking place.

Attack of the Werewolves is, on the whole, not bad. One can only imagine its brilliance if you'd been able to see it all.

Cleaver Patterson

★★★☆☆

UK Rating:15  
DVD/BD Release Date: 8th October 2012
Directed By:Juan Martínez Moreno
Cast:Carlos Areces, Secun de la Rosa, Luis Zahera, Mabel Rivera, Gorka Otxoa, Manuel Manquiña
Buy Attack Of The Werewolves:DVD / Blu Ray

Kotoko DVD Review

Mental Illness is no laughing matter nor should it be something we should ignore either and it comes in all shapes and sizes but most of all it can affect us all. We sometimes think we understand the illness or selfishly think we have all the answers to curing the illness, in Shinya Tsukamoto's Kotoko it never tries to answer but instead shows the illness from the person we sometimes forget about from the perspective of the sufferer.

Kotoko (folk singer Cocco) is a young single mother who lives alone with her young infant son.Suffering from an unknown illness that makes her see things double especially people making things difficult for Kotoko impossible to know which person is really leading her to violently lash out. With things getting harder for her in the daily grind her day to day chores become harder making her a liability not just for herself but also her young son. Her son is taken into care (looked after by her sister) Kotoko is now on her own her frame of mind and broken  is fragile her thoughts are dangerously scattered which makes it scary for all who share her life.

From the minute Kotoko starts we're thrown right into the chaos, the anguish of the film's protagonist which sets the tone for the rest of the film. At no point of the film does it attempt to figure out why Kotoko's mental state is what it is but taking us right into her mind giving us a voyeuristic  look at the horror from the eyes of the sufferer herself. What really annoyed me with this film was the use of 'horror' not from the film itself but from some of the reviews I read some calling Kotoko a horror or J-Horror which this is the film is not. This is not a film of mythical creatures or found footage malarkey, this one does have demons but the inner demons of psychological proportions.

Kotoko will hit you in the spot that will hurt you the most. It's a visceral, raw intense nightmarish journey which will leave uncomfortable, disorientating but will leave you with an everlasting reminder that people with this illness are human beings and their pain is their cry for help.

One of the success' of the film is the central performance of it's lead actress, Cocco. I've always been a little sceptical of films which have non-actors (sports, musicians) been picked especially in lead roles as sadly majority of the time history has shown it's ended in disappointment. There has always been a few exceptions like Cocco and on the level of her début acting role  in Kotoko has been nothing but incredible. Cocco really goes all out with a performance that really connects with you, it's intimate but also very claustrophobic , truly cathartic all thanks her drawing on her own real life personal experience making this one work.

Cocco her self-suffered from mental illness/ self-harm when she was younger though we never really know if it was intentional to use her in the role thanks to that dreadful part of her life it does give Kotoko a real genuine touch. As I said earlier the film never really delves into what triggered her suffering however when you watch the film you do get small glimpses what they might be with a lack of a father figure in her life (her own parents divorced when she was younger) which could be also the reason why there's no father figure in her own son's life either. Could the male population be the main reason, was she raped? Whatever you think the men who have entered her life including that good Samaritans  don't get a good ride here. What's really touching about this film as well as being an inaugural part is Cocco's singing within the film which gives Kotoko moments of escapism from her inner demons. As well as providing the film's score (like she did for the directors 2004 film  Vital) the music really adapts into film naturally reminding me of Bjork in Lars Von Trier's Dancer Of The Dark giving the film a sense of tranquillity among the madness.

Kotoko is a beautifully well-crafted film which will pull at your heartstrings as well as make it uncomfortable to watch but to appreciate the pain a sufferer has to go through we sometimes have to go to places we don't want to go to. There's a great David Bowie song called Fantastic Voyage which really sums this film up listen to it  read the lyrics as it reminds us this illness affects us all, there's no stereotypical profile of a sufferer just a stark reminder when the mind body and soul are fragile the world around us can be the most terrifying place to be in.

Paul Devine |★★★★☆

Drama, Horror | Japan, 2011 | 18 | 8th October 2012 (UK) | Third Window Films | Dir:Shin'ya Tsukamoto |Shin'ya Tsukamoto,Cocco |Buy Kotoko:DVD/Blu-ray

Electrick Children DVD Review

Electrick Children is the directorial debut from Rebecca Thomas. The screenplay focuses on Rachel – played by Julia Garner – who is part of a strict Mormon community. After listening to rock music on a cassette tape she stumbles across, Rachel then discovers she is pregnant. Convinced it was the music on the tape which caused this, she drives off to Las Vegas (unknowingly with her brother who has just been exiled after being suspected of incest in tow) in an attempt to unravel the mystery of the tape.

Although the plot does sound barmy, it is very watchable – mainly due to Garner’s charming and innocent screen presence. The lighting and photography are great, both on the farm in Utah and amongst the glittering lights of Las Vegas. However, although pretty on the surface, there is not much substance underneath this. After meeting a young guy from a rock band in Vegas he tells Rachel he doesn’t like her and then says he will marry her, what are his motives behind all of this? He seems to show little emotion. This is similar to all the characters, like the brother Mr. Will. He discovers what life is like outside of his Mormon household, but decides to go back to the community. Electrick Children is an artistic and compelling first film by Thomas, but is let down by a lack of character depth; as well as an ending that ties together a bit too neatly.

Sophie Stephenson

★★★☆☆

Rating:15
DVD/BD Rating:15th October 2012 (UK)
Directed By: Rebecca Thomas
Cast: Julia Garner, Rory Culkin, Liam Aiken, Bill Sage, Billy Zane

Rosewood Lane DVD Review

At one point in my life, Victor Salva was the master of nightmares. For some of you out there he’s probably that too, this is the guy who wrote and directed Jeepers Creepers, a film that’s a sort of induction into horror for a certain generation. His latest film Rosewood Lane comes nowhere near the same caliber of scare or even coherency of plot.

The story follows radio host Sonny Blake (Rose McGowan) as she ventures back to her peaceful childhood home after her alcoholic father’s death. Slowly the idyllic setting of sunny suburbia becomes more and more dangerous as she uncovers a neighborhood terrified of the local paper boy (Daniel Ross Owens), a boy with seemingly inhuman powers. When the paper boy begins to call Sonny’s radio show and recite nursery rhymes, a game of cat and mouse begins with more than just her own life at risk.

The first major issue with Rosewood Lane is a pretty big one: the basic concept is bad. Playing out like a woeful Stephen King story, the concept of a sociopathic paper-boy doesn't lift off the page well, in fact from start to finish you can’t stop thinking that this is a horror movie about a paper boy. Daniel Ross Owens isn't outrageously bad in his role; the failings are down to his scripting mostly, but even after that he looks too old for the part. The character choices all point to someone trying way too hard to add “Evil Paper Boy” to the canon of American psychos; instead the film plays out like the perfect argument against such a travesty. The nursery rhyme reciting is laughable and cringe-worthy, and is one of a plethora of bad choices that marks the script as undeveloped. Another bizarre focus in the film is its constant profession that bikes are intimidating, which, even after a handful of close ups and sinister music, they are definitely not.

There are a lot of misdirected emotional scenes that play out like bad excuses to get the actors involved, which a shame is considering the fact the cast is actually pretty good. Ray Wise, as always, adds a touch of class to an otherwise dismal affair, playing a cop investigating Sonny’s stalker paper-boy. McGowan floats along giving a performance dented only by what she has to say, and everyone else looks like they’re on stand-by for better lines. Rosewood Lane fires a hell of a lot of blanks too, pushing vague strands of story out into the screen and pulling them back just as quickly. These half-hearted attempts at depth end up sinking the boat faster by not taking the story in a concrete direction. The film feels like it’s supposed to be an episode of something rather than a feature film and if there are any tense sequences or good jumps, they unfortunately come few and far between.

By the time the twist arrives you won’t care, the film’s snail pace and stunted story see to that. Rosewood Lane is not a film bothered by giving the how’s and why’s, instead it focuses too much time on taking itself too seriously. So between the ridiculous nature of the story, the stunted flow of the film, and the lack of real thrill, the piece falls flat and tedious. If the paper boy had been written differently and the film managed to sort its pacing out, then it might have been a mediocre attempt but, as is, it’s a messy and often silly state of affairs that leaves you wondering how Salva could have gotten it so wrong.

Scott Clark

Rating:15
DVD Release Date:15th October 2012
Directed By: Victor Salva
Cast: Rose McGowan, Ray Wise, Bill Fagerbakke, Lesley-Anne Down, Lin Shaye
Pre-order/Buy Rosewood Lane:DVD

On The Road Review

★★1/2☆☆

Sam Riley channels Jack Kerouac in Walter Salles's adaptation of the author's cult book, On The Road, loosely based upon Kerouac's own jaunt across 40's USA.

Often considered a prime example of that most tantalising of literature, the "unfilmable" novel; Salles has succeeded in bringing Kerouac's vision of travelling excess to the screen in a manner which is both laudable for it's visual impact, and excruciating for it's navel-gazing pomposity.

Living in New York in the 1940's and, having just lost his father , Sal (Sam Riley) finds himself in limbo as he struggles to put pen to paper and begin in earnest his life as a writer; spending his time with wittering junkie-poet pal Carlo (Tom Sturbridge), and waiting for inspiration to strike.

This changes with the arrival of the enigmatic Dean Moriarty, a restless, carefree sort, with a girl in every port, an in unquenchable lust for adventure; who immediately charms Sal, and instills in him that same yearning for life on the open road.

Salles's adaptation of the source material is nothing if not visually stunning. Sal's tramp cross-country gives Eric Gautier the perfect chance to plaster the screen in the best that the vast, beautiful country has to offer.

Garrett Hedlund's performance as the responsibility-dodging, serial shagger, Moriarty, is spectacular; brimming with confidence and more than a hint of passive-aggressive arrogance. A realisation of a character who is both endearing for his naive, lust-for-life energy; and terrifying for his total inability, or unwillingness, to cease his wanton trail of emotional destruction.

Riley's Sal has much less to do, too often he's relegated to the role of standby fag-smoker, or backing singer on some tedious bout of improv-jazz. But Riley's performance is laudable too; dripping with tar and croaking along with a twenty-a-day drawl that sounds caked in coffee and ash.

All that visual beauty, and those performances cant', however, save the film from it's crushing sense of pointlessness. On The Road meanders across the screen while it's characters swagger across the country in a state of perpetual aimlessness. Too often the piece descends into orgies of self-reverential beat-influenced poetry, or laughing, preening sessions of tiresome jazz.

For all its visual clout, and individual brilliance; On The Road will make you wish you had the same laissez-faire , drug-induced outlook as it's characters. That way you could just drift away too.

Chris Banks (@Chris_in_2D)

Rating:15
UK Release Date: 12th October 2012 Directed By:Walter Salles
Cast:Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams

'Apartment 143' DVD Review

For a film with the tagline: “The first real ghost story”, Apartment 143 (also known as Emergo) doesn't really seem to be pulling out the stops to show us something new. Written by Rodrigo Cortes, the man who brought us Buried and Red Lights, Apartment 143 feels like it surely can’t have been written by the same man.

After being chased out of their home by unexplained paranormal events, Alan White (Kai Lennox) and his two children take up new residence in an apartment building in the city. After a week the malevolent force catches up to them and once again the family is put through Hell. Desperate for answers Alan turns to a small team of parapsychologists who, with an arsenal of high tech equipment, set out to unravel the mystery and free the family from the grips of an unrelenting nightmare.

The best thing about Apartment 143, very quickly becomes evident: the dialogue and casting. Particularly Kai Lennox’s performance as Alan White, a troubled and emotionally distraught man sent to breaking point by the supernatural occurrences around his family. Lennox’s performance is a careful study in bumbling but unrelenting love with an undercurrent of menace that allows him at least one really good scene. Also, watching Paul (Rick Gonzalez), Ellen (Fiona Glascott), and Dr. Hezler (Michael O’Keefe) interact  together, on what surely becomes their most involving case, is a plus considering that one of the few traits of Cortes’ scripts that carries to this project is his skill with dialogue.

As for plot and scares the film is a mixed bag. An early series of bumps and bangs goes for the ballsy all-out approach, but instead jumps the gun wasting a scare that we’re not in the right place for yet.  That idea unfortunately encapsulates the whole film: bad timing on scares results in non-points in the spooky department. An interesting decision on Cortes’ part is to set a lot of the paranormal action during broad daylight, probably in an attempt to dilute the predictability of the piece, but the decision rarely pulls off. Still, brownie points must be awarded for blatant affronting, the kind Cortes shamelessly pulls out the bag in both Buried and Red Lights, those shameless moments of OTT horror that could go either way actually give the piece an edge at points that many horror films fail to achieve.

The problem with the film is that we've seen it all before, it’s so recycled you know the plot before the mystery is put in place. The scary moments rely on jumps and the tension rarely gets a chance to build, the few really eerie sequences have already been done to death in other movies. Still, there are no issues with acting, it does manage a few good scares, and it at least tries to be interesting through the parapsychology slant.

Scott Clark

★★☆☆☆

Rating:15
UK DVD Release Date: 15th October 2012
Directed By: Carles Torrens
Cast: Francesc Garrido, Fiona Glascott, Kai Lennox, Gia Mantegna, Michael O'Keefe
Buy Apartment 143:DVD

Blu-Ray Review: The Wild Geese (1978)

Monday sees the Blu-Ray release of perhaps the last great British action film, The Wild Geese. Starring Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and countless familiar faces from film and television, The Wild Geese can only be described as a complete classic.

A wealthy British industrialist hires a crack group of mercenaries to travel to the wilderness of Africa and rescue a deposed political leader from a heavily guarded prison. However, the group leader Col. Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton) soon discovers that the threats do not simply lie in the war torn African nation but in the corridors of power back home.

From the onset of The Wild Geese we are immediately struck by the Britishness of it all - from Faulkner's Harry Palmer esque meetings with shady industrialists to Moore's Lt. Shawn Flynn's drug busts on swinging London clubs. The Wild Geese is a film chock full of atmosphere - whether it be from the gloomy darkened urban streets in the UK to the untamed wilderness of Africa, this is a visually rich tale - and what better way to compliment the classic home-grown feel of The Wild Geese than to cast some stellar British (and German) acting giants?

It is this round up the mercenaries in the first act that proves to one of the key highlights of The Wild Geese. Held together by the fearless Col. Faulkner (Burton), old pals Capt. Janders (Harris) and Lt. Flynn (Moore) are soon rounded up. This is followed by appearances of classic thesps Kenneth Griffith (as scene stealing medic, Queenie), Hardy Kruger and Ronald Fraser. Seeing the group of mercenaries "team up" builds the integral sense of camaraderie that runs through the heart of The Wild Geese, whilst also providing the viewer with a chance to see these acting icons have some fun.

The Wild Geese feels like a classic boys own adventure, taking on classic romanticised notions of the British empire. Andrew V. McLaglen (The Sea Wolves) directs this like a classic war film, but with some refreshing modern twists - most notably giving the film a gritty realism with more violence and bad language. After all being a mercenary isn't going to be all smiles is it? This gritty modern take also fuses with the classic British feel of The Wild Geese for some unforgettable results. Most notably the introduction to Moore's character where we see him take on a drug dealers, stating: "You boys are pushing bad stuff!" then forces one to eat a bag full of coke - this is action done British style.

The African based action sequences prove equally as gripping as the portrayal of the British crime scene. Starting with a tense air drop sequence and a raid on a renegade camp it becomes clear that McLaglen and editor John Glen (director of several James Bond features) have a keen eye for the action film. A personal favourite sequence sees Hardy Kruger's Lt. Coetze take out a barrage of guards with a crossbow - this gives Kruger a very welcome chance to shine.

To further improve this seminal classic, Arrow Video have remastered The Wild Geese to perfection for the Blu-Ray release, which truly looks magnificent.  As a further bonus, there is also a copy of Code Name: Wild Geese (an Italian near-remake of the film) starring Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine and Klaus Kinski included on the disc.

The Wild Geese is one of the all time great British war movies and somewhat of last hurrah for the genre. Burton, Moore and Harris prove themselves to be unparalleled cinematic icons and it is a joy to watch them do what they do best in this unforgettable classic.

Andrew McArthur 

★★★★★

Stars: Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris , Hardy Kruger
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Release: 8th October 2012
Certificate: 15 (UK)

Raindance 2012:Despite The Gods Review

Jennifer Lynch’s directorial debut, Boxing Helena, a complete and utter critical failure, earned Lynch a Golden Raspberry award for “worst director of the year”, and was described by Time Out as “grotesquely misconceived”. Despite some success with 2008 follow-up, Surveillance, it’s apparent that initial critical drubbing still weighs heavy on the director’s mind.

Ostensibly a behind-the-scenes documentary about Lynch’s troubles directing the Bollywood horror movie Hisss, originally entitled Nagin; we find Lynch in India, about to embark on the most complicated and demanding shoot of her life, well aware that another botched movie could spell the end of her career as a director.

In fact Penny Vozniak’s documentary is simultaneously much less and much, much more than a typical making-of doc. Despite The Gods aims its sights squarely at Lynch herself, detailing her personal ordeal juggling the multiple demands of playing filmmaker, mother and stranger in a foreign land. As with all documentaries in this vein, it becomes doubly interesting should the wheels begin to fall off; and fall off they do.
As the shoot goes over-time and over-budget, Lynch’s relationship with producer Govind Menon becomes fractured; a superstitious crew insist on blessing the set before every take; and the whole production is hampered by the very worst weather the country has to offer.

Pozniak keeps her camera firmly on Lynch, filtering the story of the faltering production through the director herself. The end result is a film which feels profoundly personal in its telling of a complex and wide ranging series of events. It’s interesting to be given such an intimate look at the everyday stresses and strains placed on a director, desperately attempting to juggle numerous balls. With the ever-present spectre of Boxing Helena hanging over Lynch’s head, it’s a treat to see her unwind as a character over the course of the documentary. Beginning the film as the anxious and uptight “worst director of the year”, she thaws considerably, ending the journey as an infinitely more relaxed person, mother, friend and lover.

The fact that Hisss bombed in its native India, and that Lynch’s involvement continued to be constrained to the bitter end, adds another layer of intrigue to the whole affair.

An intimate look at a cluttered and chaotic subject.

Chris Banks (@Chris_in_2D)

★★★★☆

Rating: NC 15
Directed By: Penny Vozniak
Cast:Jennifer Chambers Lynch, Sydney Lynch, Govind Menon, Mallika Sherawat

'Despite the Gods' Theatrical Trailer from House of Gary on Vimeo.

Blu-Ray Review: Who Dares Wins

From famed British action producer, Euan Lloyd comes Who Dares Wins, patchy, all star action thriller.
Starring The Professionals' Lewis Collins, Judy Davis, as well as screen icons Edward Woodward and Richard Widmark, Who Dares Wins was one of Lloyd's last features. Here we are told of an SAS trouper infiltrating a group of radicals who plot to launch an attack upon the American embassy where several key dignitaries including the US Secretary of State, are staying.

The main issue with Who Dares Wins is its completely stodgy screenplay, which was surely felt dated even upon its 1982 release.  Feeling more like right wing Conservative propaganda commissioned by Margaret Thatcher, than an entertaining action film - you would be forgiven for siding with the terrorists here (well that would be if they were not so inept). It is a struggle to get past the concept that this is a terrorist group that wants nuclear disarmament, but they went to achieve this through the detonation of a nuclear bomb - someone needs rethink their plan. 

Considering that Who Dares Wins was inspired by a real event (the Iranian embassy siege in 1980), it feels completely unrealistic and unbelievable. Reginal Rose's screenplay also spends far too long focussing on Captain Skellen (Lewis Collins) infiltration of the terrorist group which verges on being completely tedious. At a bloated 125 minutes, the only particularly exciting sequence is the embassy raid - the key set piece of the film.

This sequence sees director Ian Sharp come into his own, showing a clear flair for the action scenes. Here bullets fly, smoke bombs are detonated and the previously wooden leading man, Lewis Collins gets a chance to shine as an action star. The raid sequence has not aged too well but in a film as patchy as Who Dares Wins, it is manages to become the most exciting sequence in the film.

 Fortunately appearances by the completely watchable Edward Woodward as a grandstanding police commander and Richard Widmark as the US Secretary of State, keep things reasonably entertaining. However, these are simply supporting roles with most of the screen time falling to Collins and Davis, who are rather part bland leads.

Being the top distributor that they are, Arrow Video have also included the more entertaining low-budget Italian feature The Commander (starring Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef and Donald Pleasence) on the release, which is worth a look.
Who Dares Wins is a forgettable, often hit or miss affair. Despite, the energetic embassy raid  in the film's latter half and two watchable supporting turns from Widmark and Woodward - there is not much else worth watching this stodgy feature for. 

Andrew McArthur

★★1/2☆☆

Starring:Lewis Collins,Judy Davis,Richard Widmark ,Edward Woodward
Director: Ian Sharp
Release: 8/10/12
Certificate: 15 (UK)
Buy Who Dares Wins: Blu-ray [1982]

Archipelago Director Joanna Hogg's Third Untitled Feature Starts Production

Principal photography is now underway on Joanna Hogg’s third writing/directing project, following the critically acclaimed and award-winning Unrelated and Archipelago. Known as Hogg’s “London Project”, the as-yet-untitled film will shoot in West London and surrounding areas for six weeks. Presented by BFI, BBC Films and Rooks Nest Entertainment, the film is produced by Gayle Griffiths (My Brother the Devil, Archipelago) for Wild Horses Film Company Limited.

 

Cast in the lead roles are artists Viv Albertine and Liam Gillick. A British singer-songwriter, Albertine is the ex-guitarist of all-female punk group, The Slits; Gillick is a British conceptual artist and former Turner Prize nominee. The supporting cast includes previous Hogg collaborator Tom Hiddleston (Thor, War Horse), who made his acting debut in Unrelated and went on to star in Archipelago.

 

Hogg’s debut feature Unrelated won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at the 2007 London Film Festival in addition to the Guardian Best Film Award and won Hogg the Evening Standard’s Best Newcomer Award. Both Unrelated and Archipelago, released last year, garnered outstanding critical acclaim upon their UK releases, with the latter film resulting in Martin Scorsese heralding Hogg as a “uniquely gifted filmmaker”. 

 

Hogg comments: “I continue to be fascinated by the blurred line between the comic and the horrendous - but depicting this in an ordinary, everyday context which is closer to home, and therefore more terrifying.”

 

The creative team behind the film includes previous collaborators: Director of Photography Ed Rutherford and Editor Helle le Favre both worked on Archipelago and Production Designer Stéphane Collonge worked on both previous features.

 

Artificial Eye is already on board as UK distributor and talks are ongoing with international sales agents.

Win SINISTER Poster & Bag

We love to spoil you at Cinehouse and The People's Movies  with competitions and tomorrow a horror that's been living up to it's hype Sinister will be released in UK&Ireland. When great films come out we love to celebrate a great film by giving away some great prizes and our kind friends at Momentum Pictures have given us a  poster  for one lucky reader and as a extra bonus the winner will also receive a limited edition film bag to carry those spare trousers & underwear after you check Sinister out!

"The producer of “Insidious” and “Paranormal Activity” delivers a chilling horror like no other with a movie that is being hotly tipped as the most effective edge-of-your-seat cinematic experience of the year"

Desperately in need of a best seller to revive his struggling career, true crime writer Ellison (Ethan Hawke), moves his family to the scene of his most recent story; the unsolved, gruesome murder of a loving, happy suburban family.
Shunned by the local community and strained by his obligations to his family, the discovery of a batch of home movies in the attic offers Ellison shocking proof to the crime he is investigating. Ellison notices the same unidentified figure appearing in each of the 8mm films, leaving him convinced that all the incidents are linked by a truly bizarre connection. As his investigations uncover the terrifying truth he starts to lose his grip on reality and it soon becomes clear that he is placing his own family in harm’s way.

Sinister (Momentum Pictures) is out at UK cinemas on Friday 5th October. Read Our Review

To enter this competition please answer this simple question:

Q.Director Scott Derrickson directed whose Exorcism ?

a.The Exorsism of Emily Jane
b.The Exorcism Of Emily Rose
c.The Exorcism Of Emily Blunt

Send Your Answer, Name, Address, Postcode and 2+8-5= to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com, header your email as 'Sinister' , Deadline is Sunday 21st October 2012

Sinister is released in  UK& Irish cinemas from the 5th of October and you can find out more on both Facebook and via their twitter: @Sinister_UK.

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 a signed Robert Cargill poster and limited edition Sinister bag
• To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, 2+8-5= Deadline October 21ST, 2012 (2359hrs)
• Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
• label your email 'sinister'
• 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 which is out of our control.
• The competition is opened to Aged 15  and over 
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• The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email
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• By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

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