Review - Shuttle (2008 - Dir. Edward Anderson)

Bought from Poundland, I wasn't expecting much from this. But, for a pound you can't go too wrong. It looks like your typical 'Irritating teenager types get killed and our heroine is left alive at the end, all shot with super-flashy style and mega fast cuts' kind of film. 

But I was wrong. For starters, it's virtually monochrome. The editing is relatively slow and stylistically things are kept simple, keeping you firmly within the story and giving it space to breathe. This all came as a bit of a shock. There was more to come.

Shuttle opens like the aforementioned films. One of the teenagers is very irritating, but everyone else is strangely likeable. Mel (Peyton List) and Jules (Cameron Goodman) get on a shuttle bus to their homes after a holiday together. They are joined by two young guys. A nervous fellow is already on the bus and the driver (Tony Curran) seems very affable. Because it's a film, things obviously start to go pear shaped as the driver takes them on an interesting detour. And it's not to get a kebab from Mike's Kebab Shop.

Tony Curran makes a fantastic three-dimensional villain. At times, he shows a capacity for savageness and at others he seems to be resigned to what he is doing and almost tender. Never resorting to pantomime antics, he is the backbone of the film. Supporting him is Peyton List, who is a strong female heroine. Always believable in her acting (maybe not in her actions - a chance to brain the driver is inexplicably passed by - but that's the scriptwriter's fault) she is another of Shuttle's strengths.

There is one fairly obvious twist midway through, but this is soon dispensed with as we get to the disturbing ending. All the clues are in there for you to work out what is happening, so you don't feel cheated. I always like a nice bleak ending and this has a bleak ending. Not at all expected.

Give it a try, and like me, you could be pleasantly surprised.

7/10

evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:

Martyrs, Switchblade Romance, Wolf Creek.

Review - The Black Cauldron (1985 - Dir. Ted Berman, Richard Rich)

Before we start, have another look at the directors' names. I didn't know that Richie had a career in films or that he would make something so lacking in innuendo (although you can make up your own filthy caption for the picture below).

I also didn't realise that Skeletor appeared in a Disney film. He always was a tad on the camp side, but here he's gone the whole hog and wears a dress. Can skeletons have sex changes? It's not as if they've got any middles to actually change.

The final stunning revelation is that Andy Serkis is a homaging rascal. There is an irritating small character (as there often is in Disney films) called Gurgi, who speaks in a Gollum voice, even down to the rhythm of the words. Now, I've watched the extras on all of the Lord of the Rings and not once does Serkis mention The Black Cauldron as inspiration. Maybe it was just his tribute, like those kind, caring folk in tribute bands. (Am I the only person completely sick of Serkis and his motion-capture bothering ways?)

Anyway, on with the review. It might seem strange to see a Disney film on obscurendure. Even though I can vaguely remember this coming out, I haven't heard anything about it since. An obscure Disney film that ticks a lot of features on the Sword and Sorcery Checklist: I couldn't resist. 

With a running time of 77 minutes, it plods along at a slow pace and it seems to be missing five or ten minutes of action in the latter stages. Being based on The Chronicles of Prydain books by Lloyd Alexander suggests that they weren't short of material (this could explain Gurgi's similarity to Gollum though). Quite a few shots of people being hacked and slashed were cut to make it more family friendly; these might have gone some way to improving the ending. A scene of Princess Eilonwy partially nude, with her clothes in tatters was also removed (ooh, so close to getting all the features on the checklist.) Even with those cuts, the film is quite dark and scary (relatively speaking) for a Disney film, with skeletons being resurrected left, right and centre. (There's even some blood in it. Crikey.)

My main problem with The Black Cauldron is the casting. There is a strange unnerving disconnect between the voices of the heroes Taran and Princess Eilonwy and their onscreen characters. In a similar fashion to when an actor's voice is dubbed on to another actor's performance, you know that something is amiss. This jarring of sight and sound only served to pull me out of the film on regular occasions.

The Black Cauldron would be perfect to watch on a cold morning at Christmas time; the traditional hand-drawn animation and beautifully painted backgrounds give it a warm and nostalgic feel. Suffice to say, the animation is excellent throughout. I'm not surprised that this film nearly crippled Disney. It might have done better if it hadn't had the Disney name attached and all of the expectations that go with that.

4/10

evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, The Secret of Nimh, The Dark Crystal.

Review - Splice (2009 - Dir. Vincenzo Natali)

There is so much wrong with this Canadian/French tale of genetically engineered frolics that it's surprising how enjoyable the experience ends up. I'd go as far as saying that it's the most engaging film I've watched this year, but I'm not sure it's the best.

Let's start with the downside. The two lead actors Sarah Polley (Dawn of the Dead) and Adrien Brody (The Pianist) are both awful, which is a surprise really as they are both cracking actors. They do an amazing job of combining awkwardness, woodenness, gawkiness and bad fashion in the creation of the superstar scientist couple, Elasa and Clive. The script is equally suspect as everything happens so quickly it defies belief; it's like the genetic engineering equivalent of 20-20 cricket. Then halfway through the film we get thrown Elsa's back-story and this seems to accelerate the progression of events even further. Clive has a hell of a lot of explaining to do with his antics and he doesn't even have a back-story to bail him out!  To be fair it would have taken a good two and a half hours to do the story justice and the budget was just not there for that level of indulgence.

But what makes it such a good film then? As Natali says repeatedly on the extras, it is a film that had to be made. That passion, enthusiasm and vision shines through despite all the problems, most of which were caused by the lack of budget I'm guessing.

The major highlights are the Dren character itself, which is a triumph on the special effect front, and Delphine Chaneac is easily the best actor on show, making the character creepy, believable and strangely attractive. The atmosphere of the film is weird rather than scary and I like the clinical green tinge to proceedings. The plot is equally strange and even though you know the destination you never know quite how you're going to get there. Best of all is the overall metaphor of disfunctional parenthood. The whole thing could be repackaged as a guide for how not to bring up a child and Elsa and Clive could do worse than watch some episodes of Supernanny; the naughty step usually works without the need for amputation when Jo Frost uses it. Let's just file Clive's action's in Lupin the Third territory.

All in all it's great fun, and the bad acting and weaknesses in the plot can easily be forgiven in light of Natali's determination and ambition. It's a work of flawed genius, but definitely worth a watch.

8/10
Doccortex

If you like this you could also try:

Cube, Creep, Mimic.

Feature - Sick Statistics

Being a lover of lists and statistics, I thought I should do a little feature on the first 100 reviews. Here are some interesting (?) facts/opinions:

• 3 films have been awarded 10/10: Serenity, North by Northwest and Harold's Going Stiff.
• 2 films have received 0/10: Bare Behind Bars and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
• Doccortex is yet to award either a 0/10 or 10/10 (although he did say he would have given Scott Pilgrim vs the World 0/10 if it had been obscure enough to review).
• There have been 14956 pageviews so far.
• 2 references to Pek have been made. (Does that make it 3 now? I'm counting it regardless.)

• Best Actor: Stan Rowe (Harold's Going Stiff)
• Best Actress: Polyanna McIntosh (The Woman)
• Worst Actor: Robert Tessier (The Lost Empire, The Sword and the Sorcerer)
• Worst Actress: Raven De La Croix (The Lost Empire)
• Biggest disappointment: Troll Hunter
• Most pleasant surprise: Some Guy Who Kills People
• Approximate total number of words written: 40,873ish 
• Stupidest idea for a film: Cold Sweat
• Film that has grown on me the most since I've watched it: Cold Sweat

• Best death scene: Head + hammer incident in Kill List
• Biggest surprise in terms of page views: Waitress - 231 page views (Why are people searching for the word 'waitress'? Hmmm, I wonder...)
• 2nd biggest surprise in terms of pageviews: Lake Mungo - only 16 page views. For such a good film, it deserves a lot more.
• Most successful Intermission: Cocktails, who knows why.
• 3rd funniest search entry leading to an obscurendure page: 'old ladies in hot tub'

(I am getting seriously disturbed writing this blog. First the Julie Andrews incident, now this...)

• 2nd funniest search entry leading to an obscurendure page: 'bitch nurse gimp boy'
• Funniest search entry leading to an obscurendure page: 'the netting of homeless people' (All three of these searches are actual things that people have Googled. What thought processes went through their heads before they typed those?)
• Top eye-spice for the gentlemen: Natalie Portman (Garden State)

• And for the ladies: any of the fat, hairy moustachioed fellas from Bare Behind Bars (they don't call me 'evlkeith: the spoiler of ladies' for nothing).

• Most successful Feature: Prison Checklist
• Best comedy fall: Atanarjuat
• Number of days to post 100 reviews: 199
• Average time between posts: 1.99 days = 1 day 23 hours 45 mins and 36 secs.
• Amount of time on my hands: far too much.
• Biggest pervert: Lupin (Lupin the Third)
• Most improbably proportioned lady: Fujiko (Lupin the Third)
• Creepiest villain who you wouldn't want to wake up and see them leering over the top of you in just their pants, making an unnerving 'he he he' noise: Mamo - the lilac suited freak (Lupin the Third)

To finish off, here's a sick little graph to show the overall quality of the first 100 films.

  

So, a bit better than average then. It should be. I don't try to choose duff films to watch. It just seems to happen. A lot.

Let's see what delights the next hundred brings us...

evlkeith

Review - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984 - Dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

I've saved a treat for our hundredth review. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (can I shorten that to Nausicaa for the rest of the review, please?) has my favourite opening ten minutes of any film. It starts with the titular Nausicaa heading alone into a cavern containing a huge shell from a creature known as an Ohmu. The sense of solitude reminds me of Metroid Prime on the Gamecube. These first scenes are a masterclass in sound effects and music; Nausicaa tapping on a cartridge to empty out the gunpowder is a particular highlight. After this atmospheric start, can this level of quality be maintained? Well, let's see...

The plot becomes a tad more complicated as we progress. Nausicaa comes from a small village of farmers in the Valley of the Wind, a quiet, peaceful settlement. The Earth is dying and a poisonous forest, guarded by huge insects, has grown and the villagers have to work hard to keep it at bay. Entering this simple life come the Tolmekians, intent on war and destruction. Throw into the mix a crashed ship from Pejite containing a dormant Giant Warrior (a big scary fire vomiting creature capable of scouring the planet of everything) and there's quite a lot of story to keep track of.

So, let's have a look at the quality then. I love 2D hand-drawn animation (I'm not adverse to a bit of CGI; take a look at Appleseed Ex Machina or Vexille for instance). The painted backgrounds convey such atmosphere and beauty and give the film a nostalgic quality. When things kick off, the animation shines. A Tolmekian ship exploding must have taken the artists ages to draw and it looks fantastic. There are many more moments like this; anything involving Nausicaa's manta ray inspired glider is a treat.

The music perfectly fits the style of the film. There are pieces that utilise pianos and full orchestras, again adding to the nostalgia. But then you get bits that sound like early Philip Glass. Next, along comes a section of score seemingly inspired by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Finally, up pops a creepy child's singing that reminded me of Deep Red (although not quite as unnerving). If you hear any piece of music from Nausicaa, it immediately takes you back into the world of the film. Here's a sample of some of the music in easily digestible YouTube clip form:

Although it slips up sometimes, Nausicaa is great at showing rather than telling. An early scene sees Nausicaa running up through a building past an insect-like gunship. Nobody mentions it. You don't get some dodgy mechanic saying, "This is the new Mark III Insecty-Shippy-Flying-Thing. It's got some cool weaponry that you'll no doubt see used to devastating effect on some poor unfortunates later on." It just gets shown incidentally and whets your appetite for what is to come.

Nausicaa was made nearly thirty years ago and the fact that its themes are still relevant speaks volumes. The Earth is dying, so what do they decide to do? Burn even more of it. Funnily enough the Earth fights back and tries to wipe out all humans. Maybe governments need to be a little bit more like the tree-hugging, animal-loving Nausicaa. But they can miss out the part where the wind blows their skirt up and flashes their pants. That would be bad.

To answer my initial question, the quality does stay at a remarkable level, it just never quite matches the first ten minutes. To be really picky, the pace of the film is quite slow in the middle sections, but it helps to make it the perfect film to watch on a Sunday afternoon. During any slack periods you can always play the 'Spot a fella from the Valley of the Wind who doesn't have some manner of facial hair' game. 

This isn't quite my favourite Miyazaki film. The best is still to come...

9/10

evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:
Laputa: Castle in the Sky, The Castle of Cagliostro, Princess Mononoke, 5 Centimeters Per Second, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

(Not normal behaviour, but the walking Ohmu baby is a classic.)

Review - Elite Squad (2007 - Dir. Jose Padilha)

Elite Squad was apparently a massive box office success in its native Brazil, so I was looking forward to some serious gritty South American streetwise cop action, and the film doesn't disappoint. If you like cops with guns, shooting drug dealers with guns in slums, with loads of guns and shooting then this is the film for you. If this is a mainstream film in Brazil then you've got to worry about the state of the nation a little.

The whole thing is based on the antics of the most streetwise, brutal and trigger happy group of cops possibly in the world: the BOPE or Special Police Operations Battalion. Their logo says it all really: an evil skull with two crossed pistols and a dagger sticking through the skull. Easy going community police work this isn't. It's way beyond zero tolerance as BOPE officers have all tolerance trained out of them at boot camp.


Surprisingly, amongst the 25,000 bullets fired at drug dealers and the scenes of drug dealers being tortured in interesting ways, there is an interesting plot. Andre (Andre Ramiro) is a tortured soul who cannot chose between a life as a humanitarian lawyer or as a streetwise cop. The film basically tells the story of how and why he ultimately makes his decision and poses the philosophical question; can anyone who dances in a camp fashion to 'Shiny Happy People' by REM go on to become a successful member of a South American paramilitary police outfit? Forget Schrodinger's Cat, this is philosophy in the fast lane!

The film jumps about a bit, but is generally well structured with some excellent acting performances, especially by the uber-streetwise BOPE captain; Roberto Nascimento (Wagner Moura). There's a fairly standard BOPE training sequence, once the film gathers momentum, that could have been developed to show how the characters descend into brutality, however it's slightly less well done than G.I. Jane in the end.

If you like lots of shooting and torture in a gritty slum type setting then Elite Squad is going to be a winner, but throw in the bonus of some semi-intelligent thought provoking dilemmas and you've got a decent film on your hands. It's not in the same league as City of God, but it's well worth a couple of hours of anyone's time. It's possibly worth noting that if you are a Brazilian drug dealer then the whole film may prove a tad disturbing and you should possibly watch Tango and Cash instead.
6/10
Doccortex

(I've watched this too, after the Doc kindly lent it to me. Generally, I agree with his findings but I would give it a 7/10. I'm not normally that bothered about grit-fests but I really enjoyed this one. I actually cared about the main three characters because they were all trying not to be corrupt, which is tricky when you see the level of corruption in the other police officials. I thought the training camp was really funny, the way the BOPE guys laughed when they'd actually broken someone and got them to quit. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is out on boxing day. It might be worth a look...
- evlkeith)



If you like this you could also try:
Gomorrah, City of God, Amores Perros.