13 September 2014
12 September 2014
Film Review - The Guest (2014)
Psychological Thriller
Distributor:
Icon Distribution
Release Date:
5th September 2014 (UK), 21st August (FF2014)
Rating: 15
Running Time:
99 Minutes
Director:
Adam Winguard
Cast:
Dan Stevens, Maika Munroe, Brenden Meyer, Lance Reddick
Never slow to pick up on the burning issues of the day, the horror genre is always ready to use hot topics to its own benefit. During the days of atomic testing in the 1950s, mutated insects roamed the planet in films like Them (1954). By the late 1970s when space was the new frontier, threats came from beyond the stars in big budget horrors like Alien (1979).
With this in mind it was only a matter of time before contemporary filmmakers looked to a subject which touches all our lives to some extent, for the basis of their work. In the new horror / thriller The Guest (2014) director Adam Wingard does just this, investigating the psychological and emotional effect modern warfare has on soldiers and their families to disturbing effect.
Laura and Spenser Peterson (Sheila Kelley and Leland Orser), along with their teenage children Anna (Maika Monroe) and Luke (Brendan Meyre), are struggling to accept the death of their older son Caleb in the war in Afghanistan. When ex-soldier David (Dan Stevens) appears on their doorstep one morning, claiming to be a friend of their dead son, Laura and Spenser find a sense of connection with Caleb by welcoming the stranger into their home. But is David all he seems? The Peterson family are about to discover to their cost that there is more to their new houseguest than meets the eye, and that his arrival will have terrifying consequences for them all.
In his first major starring role outside of television, Downton Abbey heartthrob Stevens stays just the right side of creepy as the outwardly benign David, who hides a nastily psychotic side beneath a deceptively caring facade. Monroe - last seen in the gritty drama Labor Day (2013) - also creates impact as the suspicious Anna into whose affections David insidiously worms his way. Small town America with all its 'apple pie' charm, as well as the claustrophobic frustration felt by its inhabitants, is wonderfully visualised on screen. The intensity of the setting is merely emphasised by the arrival of the enigmatic David, heightening the film's mounting air of disquiet.
It's always dangerous for a filmmaker to utilise techniques and set-pieces which - whilst not quite ripping off past classics shot for shot - are near enough in their visualisation to warrant accusations of, at best a lack of originality, and worst plagiarism. The final scenes of Wingard's film may fall short of the latter, but are never-the-less close enough in spirit to several outings from the golden age of 1980s slashers, to show a certain absence of inspiration. What was clearly meant as an homage to those teenager-in-peril landmarks, this film's climax is instead a pale imitation of the past. Which is a shame as the previous ninety minutes holds such promise.
The question of course arises as to the taste in the use of sensitive subjects matters - in this case the possible advancements in technological warfare - for what is, after all, mere entertainment. But since the horror genre is not widely known for its diplomacy in the handling of contentious issues, such thorny moral points are unlikely to trouble the consciences of the film's core audience of thrill seekers. Considering this, The Guest effectively delivers what is required of it, in a manner which it just manages to sustain until the final reel.
★★★1/2
Cleaver Patterson
11 September 2014
8 September 2014
7 September 2014
6 September 2014
Memories Or Dream? Reconcile Yourself With Dan Marcus Streamline Short Film
Put the questionable acting to one side Dan Marcus Streamline is a decent little short film that attempts to reconcile between memory and dreams. Throw in an dreadful father and a strange woman who can look like can access every nook & cranny of your mind no wonder the film's protagonist feels a bit all over the place.
Apart from the typical set up for sci-fi what Streamline does best is deliver a little emotion and a film that can shift it's emotions at the right time. Whatever you think father/son relationships can fit nicely into any genre, enjoy....
Source: Filmschoolrejects
2 September 2014
29 August 2014
Seijun Suzuki's cult-following film Youth Of The Beast To Join Eureka's Master Of Cinema Family
Eureka! Entertainment have announced the release of YOUTH OF THE BEAST [Yajû no seishun], the breakthrough film from Suzuki, the director of such '60s New Wave Japanese classics as Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill. Starring Jô Shishido, the iconic star of countless Suzuki and Nikkatsu Films pictures throughout the 1960s, this is the first release of the cult film, and will be released on Blu-ray in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition on 27 October 2014.
And so Youth of the Beast is a yakuza tale with a premise like Akira Kurosawa's Yôjinbô, but denuded of an easy definition of which side is which. It stars Suzuki's iconic '60s regular Jô Shishido, with his dare-you-to-call-them-out artificial cheek implants like new acting blasphemy. There are drug-addled whores, gunfights in a new colour apocalypse, and at least one alien landscape: the sudden mind-searing eruption of a sulphur yellow desert like an action-figure playset with overspill of unbridled lust...
Suzuki's infectious go-for-broke energy is assisted by a telephoto lens that serves at once as phallus and yoni in the masterful, Minnelli-worthy 'Scope framing. His film would go on to inspire John Woo's forthcoming remake titled Day of the Beast; Nikkatsu have in recent times deemed this movie one of their treasures. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Youth of the Beast in a Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition based on their new HD master.
Youth Of The Beast will arrive in glorious 1080HD on blu-ray with improved optional English subtitles,as the release is in dual format so even the DVD has had an upgrade too. The whole package comes with a 36 page booklet featuring a new essay by Frederick Veith, and rare archival imagery making this release an essential release for fans of Japanese crime genre get your copy from 27th October 2014.
Pre-0rder/Order Youth Of The Beast [Masters of Cinema] Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) (1963)
25 August 2014
24 August 2014
22 August 2014
Send In The Clowns As Fellini's I Clowns The Masters of Cinema Series Release
Eureka! Entertainment have announced the release of I CLOWNS [The Clowns], the first ever UK Blu-ray release of Fellini's masterpiece which has been out of circulation for years. The film has long been regarded by Fellini enthusiasts and cinephiles as one of the director's greatest films. The release includes a lengthy essay-film by the greatest Italian critic, Adriano Aprà , and will be released in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition as part of Eureka’s award-winning The Masters of Cinema Series on 20 October 2014.
I clowns plays out in dazzling colour and in episodic cascade, just as in all of Fellini's late-60s-and-beyond films. As the circus rolls into town, and the big-tent gets erected, the clowns execute their acts with feverish can-you-believe-it bravado. It's all true — and yet not a "documentary" per se; rather, something in-between a dramatic-comedic portrayal of gags-at-play and the memoria of all that makes the spark for childhood inspiration to ignite into creative virtuosity... and/or into something like Federico Fellini.
A great and under acknowledged treasure of the cinema, I clowns takes its place alongside such films as Bergman's Carnies' Twilight, Ophuls's Lola Montès, Étaix's Yoyo, Jerry Lewis's The Day the Clown Cried, and Tati's Parade as one of the grand portraits of the clowning circus, of a bygone era of the wandering entertainer. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Federico Fellini's I clowns in a special Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition for the first time in the UK.
Watch this rare clip of I Clowns
SPECIAL FEATURES including:
• New high-definition 1080p presentation of feature on the Blu-ray, and in a progressive encode on the DVD
• New and improved English subtitles
• Fellini's Circus — an essay-film about the picture by the great Italian critic and scholar Adriano AprÃ
• A 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring new writing about the film, rare archival imagery, and more!
Hopefully nearer the release we will hope to review I Clowns and the date of Fellini's masterpiece will be 20th October 2014 released on Dual format. You can pre-order/Order your copy of I Clowns (The Clowns) [Masters of Cinema] Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) (1970)
20 August 2014
19 August 2014
18 August 2014
16 August 2014
11 August 2014
10 August 2014
9 August 2014
8 August 2014
3 August 2014
2 August 2014
1 August 2014
Top Ten Scandi Thrillers
Television in particular has seen a particular boom in successful Scandinavian shows making their way into homes of audiences here in the UK, but let it not be forgotten that cinema has had a fair bit of Scandinavian content trickling through for quite some time now, with many names in the Hollywood spotlight (Refn, Mikkelsen, Rapace, Coster-Waldau, etc.). With the Blu-ray and DVD release of Pioneer arriving on 4th August 2014 from Arrow Films, we take a look at the ten best examples of the Scandi thriller.
Pusher (1996)
Before Drive and Only God Forgives, Nicolas Winding Refn made Pusher, a Danish crime thriller which launched his ensuing career. The film follows drug dealer Frank (Kim Bodnia) who grows increasingly more desperate when a botched drug deal leaves him with a large debt owed to a ruthless drug lord. Many have deemed Pusher the first Danish-language gangster film.The Hunters (1996)
This 1996 Swedish thriller follows a police officer who moves back to his hometown in Norrland where he starts working on a long-running case of reindeer poaching only to discover his brother’s involvement. Going down in history as one of the biggest box office hits in Sweden, talks of an American remake were scuppered when director Kjell Sundvall decided he didn’t like the idea of translating events of the film to cowboys poaching horses in the Nevada desert. A sequel - False Trail - starring character actor Peter Stormare followed in 2011Pusher II (2004)
Nicolas Winding Refn returned to this universe in sequel Pusher II, which instead follows Frank’s sidekick Tonny (an early role for Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen) in the same fictional Copenhagen underworld depicted in the first film. Refn reused many stylistic flourishes which he featured in the first enhancing the thriller aspect more so in this sequel.The Millennium Trilogy (2009)
Adapted from Stieg Larsson’s posthumously published trio of hugely-acclaimed novels, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was brought to life by director Niels Arden Oplev , whilst both The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest were helmed by Daniel Alfredson. The films are led by former journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) at the centre of an unlikely love story set to the backdrop of an extremely bleak Sweden in which the two of them uncover unspeakable horrors of men victimising women.Easy Money (2010)
This Swedish thriller from director Daniel Espinosa stars Joel Kinnaman (2014’s RoboCop)as Johan Westlund, a poor man living a double life in the upper class areas of Stockholm. Upon meeting a wealthy female, he is lured into the world of organised crime turning to drug dealing in order to sustain his luxurious lifestyle. A Hollywood remake is due to be released, with Zac Efron filling Kinnaman’s shoes in the lead role.In a Better World (2010)
Susanne Bier’s acclaimed Academy-Award winning Danish drama thriller follows two Danish families whose lives cross paths leaving loneliness and sorrow in its wake. Starring Mikael Persbrandt alongside Trine Dyrholm and Ulrich Thomsen, the film flits from small-town Denmark to an African refugee camp throughout.Headhunters (2011)
Norwegian action thriller Headhunters is based on Jo Nesbø’s novel of the same name, and stars Aksel Hennie and Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the lead roles. The film follows a successful headhunter whop risks everything in order to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary, and successfully merges thriller with comedy. The film boasts the statistic of being the highest-grossing Norwegian film of all time.A Hijacking (2012)
Tobias Lindholm’s Danish thriller (which he both wrote and directed) alternates between events occurring on a hijacked ship and those happening in the shipping company’s office back in Denmark. Many threw praise on the film’s ability to avert ‘conventional thrills’ steering the film into the direction of critical acclaim.Pioneer (2014)
The Norwegian thriller Pioneer follows Petter, a professional offshore diver during the 70s, tasked with laying the first petroleum pipe in the North Sea. Following a tragic accident during a test dive, he discovers that his superiors are attempting to put a smokescreen on the true events and that his life is at stake. This well-received conspiracy embraces the claustrophobic nature of the setting to deliver something altogether more thrilling.Fancy winning Pioneer on DVD? Over at our main site The Peoples movies you can win a copy on DVD, enter here (link opens new page)
Pioneer is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 4th August 2014 from Arrow Films
29 July 2014
Blu-Ray Review - Victim (1961)
Genre: Drama
Distributor: Network
BD Release Date: 28th July 2014 (UK)
Rating: 12
Running Time: 105
Director: Basil Dearden
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Slyvia Syms, Dennis Price, Nigel Stock
Buy: Victim Blu-Ray
The year is 1961 and homosexuality in the UK is still a crime, this was also the year that filmVictim was released. It became famous for being the first film in the English language to use the word “homosexual” and one of the first films with a sympathetic portrayal of a gay man. It is also widely believed to have played a role in the eventual overturning of the law banning homosexuality.
The police are after a young man named Jack Barrett who has stolen money from his employer and is on the run. He tries to get in contact with the barrister Melville Farr (Dirk Bogarde) who is married but in reality is gay and had an affair with the young man. Barrett commits suicide after he is caught but Melville is blackmailed.
Dirk Bogarde was widely known to be gay but rarely spoke about his own sexuality even in his own autobiography. It took him astonishing courage to take up the part in Victim in 1961 and gives a wonderfully paranoid performance throughout the film. It was a game changer and an important film for Bogarde’s career and for cinematic history.
The cinematography has a slight noir tinge which suits the material very well; Otto Heller who photographed many of the finest British films ever made such as Peeping Tom, The Ladykillers and The Ipcress File shot it. Basil Dearden-who did some of the most unique films to come out of the 50s and 60s British industry, directed it.
Network has done a very impressive disc for such an important film. The transfer is clean and has the right amount of contrast and grain. The features include a half an hour interview with Bogarde shot during the release of Victim and it also includes publicity materials like the original trailer and stills.
★★★★
Ian Schultz
28 July 2014
DVD Review- Hunting the Legend (2014)
Horror, Thriller
Distributor:
Image Entertainment
Rating: 15
DVD Release Date:
21st July 2014 (UK)
Director:
Justin Steeley
Cast:
Christopher Copeland, Hannah Wallace, Jeff Causey
Buy:Hunting The Legend [DVD]
Bigfoot, Yeti, and Sasquatch, all different variations of the same age-old terror: a gargantuan primate thought to roam the wilds of Earth’s mountain ranges and forests. Of course, little evidence exists, but a quick google search can prove that plenty people claim to have seen these elusive terrors. In fact, so many people claim to have seen them, it seems ignorant to totally dispel the rumours. Where Bobcat Goldthwait’s recent Willow Creek is an enthusiastic venture into the mysterious territory, and 2012’s The Lost Coast Tapes plays with what the legend might be hiding, Justin Steeley’s debut feature Hunting the Legend is every bit a gonzo bigfoot film.
Christopher Copeland plays himself (as do the rest of the cast), a young man out to discover the mystery behind his father’s mysterious disappearance on a hunting trip. Setting off into the woods with his best friend, girlfriend and two camera technicians he hopes that he can once and for all prove the existence of the legendary Bigfoot.
The film successfully sets up a kind of road movie vibe, having the group collect weapons and even a defensive dog before their venture. The early parts of the film superbly relay the effect bigfoot has on local communities, splitting them into believers and non-believers whilst glazing the whole community with an ominous kind of deniability. Steeley expertly manoeuvres his crew into a similar structure throughout the film, slowly toppling each character into a state of disbelieving belief. Special mention goes to the townsfolk who seem to be genuine locals with genuine stories. Half way through, Stan Copeland’s threatening forest hermit appears and delivers a much needed breath of gusto and menace to the laggy first half.
Though the film spends too much time running wildly about in the woods with hysterical people, it works because Steeley is so stingy with what he actually shows, but even then your still failry spooked. In those moments when he might actually present us with a Bigfoot (we are told there are many) your brain kind of scrabbles to make sense of the sheer size. There’s a density to these beasts that lets them drift out from hearsay, but enough shadow to keep everything veiled.
In the end, Hunting the Legend has perhaps too much reliance on the viewer’s own innate discomfort with a camera pointed into darkness. Other than that there’s plenty suspense and enjoyment to be found in one of the most rounded and terrifying Bigfoot features of recent years.
Scott Clark
27 July 2014
24 July 2014
22 July 2014
Blu-Ray Review - Too Late Blues (1961)
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Distributor: Eureka
BD Release Date: 21st July 2014 (UK)
Rating: 15
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Director: John Cassavetes
Cast: Bobby Darin, Stella Stevens, Seymour Cassel
Buy: Too Late Blues (1961) Blu-Ray
Too Late Blues is a fascinating film from the filmography of John Cassavetes. It was his second directorial effort after his pioneering independent Shadows; Paramount hired him with the idea of making him the American art house answer to the numerous European auteurs of the early 60s. In many ways he was, and it showed incredible foresight by Paramount, but things weren’t quite as hunky dory for Cassavetes.
Too Late Blues is about a leader of a jazz band played by Bobby Darin. He meets a young singer (Stella Stevens) who he becomes infatuated with, she joins his band but his ego is too strong and everything falls apart for both of them. The film’s main theme is the idea of selling out, which for a film in the early 1960s is quite startling; Bobby Darin’s bandleader is forever being asking to compromise his music for commercial success. It’s not hard to see the parallel between this and Cassavetes himself.
Casssavetes dismissed the film as a commercial experiment but his singular personality certainly shines though the film. It has enough interesting aesthetic choices akin to that of his later more independently minded films. The drain shot near the end, for example, doesn’t quite work but it is beautiful in its faults. It also contains a subject matter close to his heart: commerciality vs. art and the world of jazz.
The performances are the film’s biggest strong points; both Bobby Darin and Stella Stevens are electrifying. It’s a shame Darin died so young because he could have easily had the film career Sinatra had, if not more so. The rest of the cast is mostly Cassavetes’ stock cast- most notably Seymour Cassel as one of the band members who is still working in films today.
Overall it’s a fascinating attempt by Cassavetes at more commercial filmmaking so early in his career, but it doesn’t quite work. The first half is far superior to the second, although the performances and interesting stylistic approaches Cassavetes takes makes it’s far from being a failure.
★★★1/2
Ian Schultz
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