Scream and other distractions

Don't you just hate it  when your local cinema has nothing of interest. So it was I found myself forced to hold boredom at bay by revisiting one old classic horror and the discovery of a well crafted expose of another of histories embarrassing episodes.

Bilibo is a 2009 Australian movie which relates the tale of the invasion of East Timor in 1975 by Indonesian troops. This is the background colour, the events this film explores is the death of the Balibo five. A group of journalists who were captured and killed while reporting on the invasion. The tales is told through the eyes of Roger East an Australian journalist who went to investigate the deaths of the Balibo Five and who ended up dead a day after the Indonesian Invasion.
    Anthony LaPagila who also executive produced the film plays East in a memorable and understated performance. East' s is at first reluctant to become involved in the search of the Five but Jose Romos Horta of the revolutionary front for the independence of East Timor shows East photos of the missing 5 and the search for the truth begins. Interspersed with this search are little vignettes that tell us about the Five, what they were doing there and their commitment towards the task of gathering news. This is a time, when news was gathered on 16mm camera's. When reels of footage had to be delivered by hand. When risks were much higher because of this method of news gathering. The tale is well told in an almost documentary fashion. The events as they unfold are devastating, more so when you realise that these are Australians and the proximity of East Timor to Darwin Australia.  This is a film that asks more questions than answers, most of them directed towards Austalia's government. It does not entertain but the truth seldom is, but it does inform and it draws you in slowly towards its devastating conclusion.

Scream is scream ,I  don't need to tell you the story of this re imagining of the traditional stalk and slash thriller. I find myself  referring to the Scream trilogy as the Scooby Doo slasher collection.The fun in re-visting a film is maybe seeing it in a different light. Scream was a fun horror at the time, my personal favourite of the trilogy is the second episode. But my  main reason to re-watch the first episode was the fact that I had just seen the  scream 4 Poster and as a result hunted down the trailer.
   I found  certain scenes between Billy loomis and Stuart Macher prior to the films concluding big reveal, to have more depth and meaning once you knew the big reveal.
   I look forward to part 4 especially after the disappointing part 3 and eagerly await to see if it is a real case of all bets are off.

My last discovery was a little film with big idea's Franklyn. Some people can juggle tales of reality and the warped fantasies of the mind with aplomb. I point you in the direction of one Mr T Gilliam who regularly visits these mind scapes with films such as Brazil, Time Bandits and of course The Tales of Baron Munchausen. Dark fantasy tales with hints of madness and beauty. Franklyn's budget is low but you wouldn't know it on first viewing. On the surface this film appears to be a tale of parallel worlds but by the films conclusion all makes sense. Though not in a totally  satisfactory manner.

It tells three tales, one of the title character in a city in which religion dominates all. A character who is hunting  his nemesis whilst avoiding the forces of the Church. The other tales take place in the now, our world our plain of existence. The second tale is a young man seeking out lost love, the third tale, concerns an avant garde artist who attempts suicide, and films her attempts as pieces of art. Lastly we have the tale of a father seeking his son in London. This is a frustrating film very hard to like, two of the stories left me feeling why bother, and the fantasy elements are just that, the fantasies of a troubled mind very much in the now trying to make sense of the world. Hats off to the director for achieving the visuals that he did on such tight budget, but the story could have been told in a much linear and simpler and less frustrating manner.

Love Birds

Doug played by Rhys Darby happy and predictable life falls to pieces when his girlfriend Susan suddenly dumps him.Doug doesn't know what to do , but an injured Sheldeduck later to be named Pierre crashes into his life and Doug s  romantic journey begins which leads him into rom com territory.
     This is a passable kiwi rom com. The duck scenes would be equally home in a Disney film and the romantic element is handled in a  very family friendly way. The love interest is played by Sally Hawkins who portrays a single mum Holly whose son is still trying to come to terms with the death of his father. Its all inoffensive fun and Rhys Darby proves he is perfectly capable leading man.
  In fact I enjoyed this movie, it was a pleasant diversion on an otherwise boring Saturday afternoon. Auckland has never looked better on film due to the fantastic presence of Alun Bollinger as director of photography. Its not as clever as some Rom Com's it doesnt bring anything new to the table. But what it does do it does well, and in an entertaining way. It' family friendly and thats rare in this genre, so if the romance doesnt get you, then the duck will. I have a feeling due to Rhys Darby's stateside appeal this will be a film that travels well. Also if you are a lover of Queen then you might also score this film a few extra points for having a Queen soundtrack.

Sanctum 3D

Well there is not a lot to be said about this film, don't be misled by James Cameron's name on the poster. Don't be taken in by the hype that this is the same digital technology that made Avatar a 3D behemoth.
     Take a group of barely sketched characters, plonk them in a cave system, add a dash of cyclonic activity and stir vigorously. Taste. mmmmmmmmmmm god help me what is this (fill in blank)
    This is a B movie, you can't feel for the characters in this film because their sketches, you know nothing about them more than their experts at what they do thus preventing any form of emotional investment. It follows the usual disaster movie clichés vigorously but brings nothing new to the table. I didn't feel claustrophobic like I did with Neil Marshall's  Descent. I wasn't on the edge of my seat like I was with say something like the original Poseiden Adventure. You expect clunky dialogue, this isn't Shakespeare,  but not at the expense of characterisation at least make them believable so that I care.
     Saying that the 3D has moments that are strikingly beautiful but on the whole in this movie it didn't really add anything to the mix. Flat or 3D its advertising offers so much but the film delivers so little.

The Thing 1982

Well when there is nothing on at the local cinema its time to revisit the old blu ray and DVD collection. Last weekend and before the big Christchurch Quake I was in the mood for a little classic horror. I had just managed to get the blu ray version of John Carpenters classic 1982 remake or I prefer re imagining of the Thing.
Unfortunately the timing of this classic films release was awful putting it up against ET a film which offers a more positive take on alien visitation.
I remember my first introduction to this tale was Howard Hawkes original 1951 movie which took a more classic route with the source material. ie a almost Frankenstein like alien monster. But as a classic it had its own iconic moments which John Carpenter tipped his hat too. Such as the men measuring out the circumference of the saucer they discover in the polar ice.
What Carpenter did was instead of revisiting Hawkes movie wholesale he went back to the source material John W Campbell Hr "Who Goes There?" and turns up the idea of being taken over and the paronoia that would take over those trapped with the creature.
The last version of this I had on HD DVD prior to that DVD. Yes I backed the wrong format in the disc wars of three years ago. Well in my defence I had an X BOX and the HD DVD drive was a lot cheaper to purchase than a blu ray player. The Blu ray is superb nice natural grain giving a very film like appearance. Colours rich very much a product of its time.
Revisiting this classic after almost 3 years I allowed myself to get sucked up in the story again, brilliantly adapted by Bill Lancaster ( yes Burt Lancaster's son) To the point when the infamous blood test scene came up I leapt out of my skin. That's a sign of good horror and a reminder why CGI may not always be the way to go. In fact the Wolf-man remake is a perfect example of practical effects over digital. They had Rick Baker do the make-up for the title beast but the transformation was digital. How ridiculous was that, American Werewolf still stands out as a remarkable transformation scene.
  Rob Bottin of course did the practical effects and in this film they are a total force to be reckoned with and after viewing remain in the minds eye.Kurt Russell is once again the tired anti hero, though I would say more a survivor than hero, tired and jaded and more than a little pissed with life and this alien invasion isn't progressing his day well.
 Well sometime this year, the prequel will be released, focusing on the initial discovery at the Norwegian base. I'm sort of excited but i wonder how it will pan out. It has pretty big boots to fill but has a promising cast and first release images look interesting. But you know digital and practical effects will be on the table this time and I wonder if it will be a marriage made in heaven or hell.

The Hobbits press conference

Well Friday saw all the dawrves and Hobbit introduced to the press and world at large at Stone St Stuidos. For those who haven't seen them attached are all the Links you could want. Of coure the one ring net is the best place for all in one Tolkien news and representatives were at the press conference. But for those outside of New Zealand here is our local link.
 http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/4648990/New-dwarfs-sing-Hobbits-praises but the One Ring net has an excellent amount of coverage including  audio of the press conference and it is worth listening too. Yes its the usual press conference small talk but what does come through is the excitement, and humour of the main cast.
So things are picking up and the buzz has begun. Next month filming begins and no doubt more news and images will come to light as I suspect press spies seek out exclusive copy.

True Grit

Think of the classic movies of the 40' -60's and what comes to mind are the panoramic vistas, simple stories with a rich assortment of scenery chewing character actors.
     Now we've had the revisionist western, we've also had the pop culture western and now we have a real return to form, True Grit is true to its roots with a  more literary spin of Charles Portis's original tale of a young 14 year old hiring a tired old law man to hunt down her fathers killer.
     From the opening shot to the final scene everything moves along with a poetic grace, in a world populated by rich and grizzled characters. This is pure Coen territory with its mixture of humour, rich and sometimes grotesque characters all of which are there to propel the story forwards. No character is wasted in this film even if they have minor roles they are their to shine a light on some facet of the main characters make up.
     Roger Deakin's photography brings both mood, time and place to the scenes and the opening scene is stand out. This is just such a rich tale and Jeff Bridges makes the role of Rooster Coburn his own. This is not John Wayne's take on the character this is Bridges with a Coen sensibility.
    But the real revelation in this tale is Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie , this is her story afterall and if this role had been miscast then all the effort would have been for nothing. Hailee hits this role out of the park the chemistry between her character and Bridge's Coburn is believable and propels the movie towards its conclusion.
      Matt Damon as Texas Ranger Le Boeuf maybe the comic relief but its a brilliant role with some great dialogue to deliver and some painfully comic relief. Barry Pepper is another stand out role unrecognisable as the outlaw Lucky Ned such is the great make-up job they performed on him. Josh Brolin as the dangerously stupid Tom Chaney is understated and memorable.
    This is the perfect Coen movie, poetry in motion character and visuals merged into perfection. Wordy but never boring, violent without repulsing the viewer, moody and atmospheric without being boring.
A must see and I can't wait to see how this one fares in the oscar's

Captain America

And here is the advance one sheet for the upcoming Captain America.

Dark moody and respectful, I think this will be Marvels year.

However on sour note, Aint it Cool has some more Spiderman images, I'm not too sure about the new look Spidey costume. But thats for another day.