Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: unearth the dark secrets of Blackwoo Mansion

When young Sally Hurst (Bailee Madison) arrives in Rhode Island to visit her father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) at the Victorian mansion they are restoring, she already feels like an outsider, and her ornate new home seems a cold and unwanted prison. Once the private studio of famed nature illustrator Emerson Blackwood, the mansion’s dark and dank underground chamber houses the secrets of the past of this unstable and unholy place, and perhaps something even more sinister…

Thanks to StudioCanal we have three copies of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark to give away to a trio of lucky readers. To stand a chance of winning one of these terrifying DVDs just answer the following simple question:

Q: Under what title was Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark released in Japan?

a) Gobblin’ Goblins

b) Freaky Fairy Fury

c) Dark Fairy

Please email your entries to: info@devon-cornwall-film.co.uk before on noon, Monday, March 5

Please include your full name and postal address. Mark your entries “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark Competition”. This competition is eligible to residents of Devon & Cornwall only. Please limit entries to one per household. Winning entries will be drawn at random. Editor’s decision is final.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was released by StudioCanal on Monday, February 20. Look out for a review on D&CFilm later this week.

(Normal competition rules apply)

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Exit Through the Gift Shop: a winning documentary about street art…

I am not the world’s biggest fan of documentaries, much though it shames me to say it. I often find them dry and uninteresting. I can’t invest in them in the same way I would with a fictional film. Unless it’s related specifically to something I am interested in personally, you’ll have to try very hard to get me to watch one.

Exit Through The Gift Shop may have converted me.

Released in 2008, it is the tale of street art and its many followers. It begins as we follow Frenchman Thierry Guetta, a man who is either a genius or an idiot: he follows many local street artists around with his video camera, collecting hours of footage every night. Street art is his life, although he doesn’t make any of it. Through sheer chance, he meets Banksy, who is the most famous street artist there is, a form of global superstar (if you haven’t heard of him, Google him). Thierry follows him around like a ghost, becoming further entwined in Banksy’s craft. Originally trying to make a documentary (of sorts) about Banksy, Banksy took the footage and then crafted it all into a documentary about Thierry. Then the film was born.

It all sounds confusing, but as you’re watching it, it all falls into place nicely. Thierry is an incredibly likable man, and you come to genuinely care about him towards the end of the film. Banksy is urbane, witty, and dry, even though his face is blacked out and his voice distorted. The two, together, as subjects of the documentary, are fantastic, and some sequences will leave you gobsmacked (the Guantanamo Bay blow-up doll at Disneyland, for one…)

The film is a joy. It’s as simple as that. It invites you in with its selection of characters and leaves you enchanted. It changed my view of street art, and documentaries in general, and this is enormously to the film’s credit.

Thierry Guetta. The man who is the subject of this documentary, and he is as enigmatic at the end as he is when we first meet him. He is a walking bundle of contradictions, at some points appearing to be quite eloquent, at others coming across like a pretentious M. Hulot. We are never quite sure what to make of him, apart from at the end, when we are invited to laugh gently at his sheer ridicuousness.

Then, there is the pervading question throughout the film: is it all a hoax? We are never entirely sure. We are quite confident that Thierry is who he says it is, as it is quite hard to hoax an entire lifetime. We can also be quite confident that his events through the film are legitimate too: again, it is quite hard to hoax a multi-million dollar art exhibition for the sake of a street-level documentary. But there is always the niggling feeling there, that all of this is a massive con, and that Thierry and Banksy are in cahoots together. It’s something for you to ponder after the film is finished.

Even if you’re not interested in street art, or don’t even know what it is, this film is accessible. It explains it all to you, including its origins and founding fathers, and you come out feeling like something of an expert on the topic. This is an utterly enthralling, captivating, hilarious and fascinating film that I recommend anyone, of any age, to see.

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Boca: Brazil’s Boca do Lixo is brought vividly to life in this film based on the story of one of Brazil’s most dangerous criminals

Adapted from the autobiography of notorious gangland boss Hiroito Joanides de Moroaes, Boca (Universal) recounts the tumultuous life story of one of Brazil’s most dangerous criminals. At the age of 21 Hiroito was accused of the brutal killing of his father – who was razor-ripped 40 times in a murderous frenzy – but the police never got the charges to stick. After shrugging off the attentions of the cops Hiroito promptly bought two guns and moved to Boca do Lixo – a seedy downtown Sao Paulo neighbourhood known for its nightclubs, whorehouses, strip joints and drug dealers – and forged a reputation as one of the area’s most profitable pimps and pushers.

Boca do Lixo (which roughly translates as ‘Mouth of Garbage’) is brought vividly to life in Boca, and prolific TV actor Daniel de Oliveira shines as the fearsome Hiroito, who developed a fascination with the seamier side of Sao Paulo life after a teenage visit to a whorehouse with best friend-turned-rival Osmar. Despite the recent success of epic Brazilian crime movie Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within, Boca somehow slipped through the cracks in this country, and this welcome DVD release helps to re-dress the balance. Although Boca is a very different beast from the seminal City of God – and lacks the earlier film’s eye-catching verve – it is a vivid, gritty period piece that is sure to find favour with fans of retro gangster fables.

(Note to movie trivia fans: the Boca do Lixo neighbourhood was also home to a exploitation cinema sub-culture known as ‘Mouth of Garbage Cinema’, in the late-1960s, early-1970s – specialising in cannibal movies!)

X: Night of Vengeance: a seedy erotic thriller that bears a passing resemblance to Paul Andrew Williams’ London To Brighton

X: Night of Vengeance (Revolver) is a seedy Australian erotic thriller set in Sydney’s sexual underbelly. At the film’s outset, high-class call girl Holly Rowe (Viva Bianca, Spartacus: Blood & Sand) is on the verge of retirement, with just one last job scheduled before she can quit hooking and move to Paris to start a new life. Meanwhile, Shay Ryan (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, Acolytes) is a teenage runaway, broke and alone, and struggling to make it through her first night on the game. When fate throws them together for a simple-sounding group-sex assignment, things inevitably take a turn for the worse and the pair become embroiled in a murderous game of cat and mouse with a demented woman-hating cop.

At face value, X: Night of Vengeance bears a passing resemblance to Paul Andrew Williams’ London To Brighton – albeit with the disturbing Brit-flick reimagined as a sleazy erotic thriller. After a provocative but slightly amateurish opening, X hits its stride in the second phase of the film, with enough twists to make the effort worthwhile. Fuelled by an impressively bleak energy and a few splashes of nihilistic sex, X is compelling if slightly uneven viewing, but its adult-only content is sure to divide audiences. Approach with caution.

The Girl From The Naked Eye: an interesting stylistic mash-up in this kung-fu/noir hybrid

Directed by young Chinese-American director David Ren – who earned widespread praise for his debut feature Shanghai Kiss – The Girl From The Naked Eye (G2 Pictures) is half a world away from the bittersweet culture clash romance depicted in the earlier film. Nevertheless, an unexpected romance also propels his new flick – albeit in a drastically different direction. When high-class escort Sandy (Samantha Streets) is found murdered, her driver/protector Jake (Jason Yee) is devastated, and their unconventional bond compels him to immerse himself in the city’s sordid underbelly and uncover her sadistic killer. The deeper Jake stumbles into the underworld, the darker his investigation gets, and the more brutal his actions become.

To director Ren’s credit, the kung-fu/noir hybrid makes for an interesting stylistic mash-up, but the threadbare plot flatters to deceive, and the narrative lurches between brutal fight scenes with scant regard for any real kind of character development. Stuntman Jason Yee is a potent force when he’s busting heads and dispatching henchmen, but – as is often the case when an accomplished stuntman co-produces a movie in an effort to get his name in lights – he lacks the charisma to carry the bulk of the movie. Factor in interesting (but slightly superfluous) cameos from Sasha Grey (the adult film star who appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience) and British boxer-turned-actor Gary Stretch (Dead Man’s Shoes) and The Girl From The Naked Eye is distracting but pretty inessential. All in all: a filmic footnote in waiting.

There Be Dragons: don't be deceived, there are no dragons in this stodgy drama from Roland Joffé

There Be Dragons (G2 Pictures) is a historical drama written and directed by Roland Joffé – the veteran British filmmaker whose CV encompasses everything from acclaimed Cambodian drama The Killing Fields to poorly received 1995 period piece The Scarlet Letter. The film tells the story of modern-day Spanish journalist, Robert (Dougray Scott, Mission Impossible 2), who is mending relations with his dying father, Manolo (Wes Bentley, American Beauty), who took part in the Spanish Civil War. Through his investigations Robert discovers that his father was a close childhood friend of Josemaría Escrivá (Charlie Cox, Stardust), a candidate for sainthood – with whom he had a complicated lifelong rivalry. As the movie unfolds, Manolo became a soldier during the Spanish Civil War and becomes obsessed with enchanting Hungarian revolutionary Ildiko (Olga Kurylenko, Quantum of Solace), who rejects him in favour of brave militia leader Oriol (Rodrigo Santoro, Lost).

A seriously stodgy drama with few real hooks, There Be Dragons marks the latest mis-step in a once-promising career littered with curious decisions. While Joffe’s son Rowan helmed last year’s enticing Brighton Rock remake, Joffe Senior has struggled to find work in recent years, turning out tepid horror movies such as 2007’s Captivity. Despite an appealing ensemble cast, few of the actors involved manage to boost their reputations, and the headline presence of Dougray Scott is misleading as he merely acts as a framing device for the increasingly cumbersome story. Don’t be fooled by the appealing ensemble cast – at times There Be Dragons is so boring it verges on the unwatchable. Even worse, not only is Dougray Scott barely featured – there are no dragons in it either!

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Artalde: another chance to see the Basque film which picked up the Two Short Nights International Open Screening 2011 award

Exeter Phoenix Digital is offering another opportunity to view the magnificent, creative and diverse selection of short films from last year’s Two Short Nights, International Open Screening.

The second chance screening will include the Basque film, Artalde, (dir Asier Altuna), last year’s International Open Screening award winner. Other films include locally produced short film The Beach House, (dir. Richard Stanaden) which has just returned from Newport’s Ffresh film festival and has also been nominated for a Royal Television Society South Awards.

This is a chance to get a taste of what Two Short Nights Film Festival is all about, an eclectic collection of short films, linked together by their creators who are all talented up and coming international filmmakers.

Tickets are free but limited, so contact Exeter Phoenix Digital to book, 01392 6670080.

Two Short Nights 2011 International Open Second Chance Screening at the Exeter Phoenix on Tuesday, February 21 at 8pm (free, but booking required)

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Perfect Sense: an unashamedly cerebral drama full of striking, emotive scenes

Perfect Sense (Arrow Films) is the latest offering from offbeat Brit director David Mackenzie (Young Adam; Hallam Foe), and marks a welcome return to his familiar Scottish stomping ground, after a brief sojourn to Hollywood for 2009’s glossy Ashton Kutcher/Anne Heche vehicle Spread.

Based on a script by award-winning Danish writer Kim Fupz Aakeson, Perfect Sense is a set in a not-too-distant-future where the world is being ravaged by a mysterious new virus, which is slowly stripping people of their senses, starting with the sense of smell. With society spiralling into disarray, the film focuses on Glasgow chef Michael (Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting) and Susan (Eva Green, Casino Royale, The Dreamers), an epidemiologist who is conducting research into the outbreak. Following a chance encounter, Michael and Susan embark on an increasingly volatile affair that sees them share unforeseen moments of pure pleasure as the world around them crumbles into chaos. But with their senses failing them, how long can this emotional connection continue?

Full of striking, emotive scenes, Perfect Sense is an unashamedly cerebral drama that definitely ranks as one of McGregor’s most interesting films in years. Despite a clumsy moment introducing the two disparate protagonists, Mackenzie’s film rarely puts a foot wrong, and the use of stitched-together external footage offers a neat counterpoint to the intense central relationship. What’s more, the film is at its best when it is at its weirdest – such as the scene when the two lovers start snacking on soap in the bathtub in an effort to reignite their taste-buds! While it will be too art-house for some viewer’s tastes, to me this apocalyptic romance is the always-interesting Mackenzie’s best film yet. A compelling, thought-provoking drama.

Midnight in Paris: a time-traveling romantic comedy that plays out like a ‘thinking man’s Goodnight Sweetheart’

Another man with a well-documented romantic streak is Woody Allen – if romance includes marrying your own step-children, that is. After the potentially career-ending ineptitude of 2007’s cockney caper Cassandra’s Dream, 2008’s enjoyable Vicky Cristina Barcelona heralded something of a return to form. The latest instalment in Allen’s latter-day cinematic tour of Europe is Midnight in Paris (Warner Home Video), a time-traveling romantic comedy that plays out like a ‘thinking man’s Goodnight Sweetheart’. Although Woody Allen has never gone on record stating a penchant for dubious ‘90s Nicholas Lyndhurst comedies, Midnight in Paris bears a disturbing resemblance to the lamentable Blitz-themed BBC sitcom, with a number of the 1920s leading literary lights taking centre stage in the elderly director’s era-straddling flick.

Hollywood screenwriter Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) and his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams, Wedding Crashers, Red Eye) are in Paris on vacation with her ultra-conservative parents. Despite his success in the movie industry, Gil yearns to be taken seriously as a novelist, and hopes that his time in France will set his creative juices flowing. However, while Gil hopes to persuade Inez to move to Paris after their marriage, she struggles to see the city’s age-old romantic charms, and is keen to get back to Malibu. Out for a drunken midnight stroll, Gil finds himself invited on a night out with a crowd of enthusiastic partygoers in full 1920s dress. To his surprise, Gil finds himself in the company of F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, and realises that he has been transported back in time – to his favourite era. Understandably, rubbing shoulders with his literary idols on a nightly basis has a profound effect on Gil – but will it drive an irreparable wedge between him and the shallow Inez?

Despite a dangerously cheesy premise, Midnight in Paris boasts some quirkily appealing touches and a number of great one-liners. Although Owen Wilson delivers a winning central performance – and deserves kudos as an atypical Allen choice of leading man – the film gets progressively worse as it unfolds, and ends up too whimsical and self-indulgent for its own good. A frothy, uneven concoction.

Inkubus: Robert Englund is the malevolent figure in this grisly story

Directed by feature film debutant Glenn Ciano, Inkubus (Trinity X) tells the grisly story of a malevolent figure (played by horror veteran Robert Englund of A Nightmare on Elm Street fame) who walks into a soon-to-be-demolished police station with the head of his latest victim, and proceeds to unleash a bag of ghastly tricks on the handful of unfortunate cops still loitering in the building. However, despite his actions, the man – cryptically known as ‘Inkubus’ – has something special in mind – he wants to destroy Detective Gil Diamonte (William Forsythe, The Devil’s Rejects) – the retired officer who came closest to capturing him 13 years ago.

Shot in just 15 days, on an apparently modest budget, Inkubus is a sporadically intriguing slice of straight-to-DVD horror that crams plenty of ideas into its brisk 77-minute run-time. With a murderous legacy dating back to the middle-ages, the maniacal Inkubus is a character designed to strike a chord with horror fans, and the claustrophobic setting allows for some appropriately gruesome set-pieces. Director Ciano has reportedly described Inkubus as a “nuts and guts” throwback to nasty ‘80s horror, and the well-judged involvement of genre veterans Englund and Forsythe is certain to guarantee a level of curiosity in the picture. That said, the film is badly hamstrung by its low budget and scattershot narrative, and will struggle to appeal to viewers outside of its core audience. For genre purists only.

Abduction: Taylor Lautner finds life outside the Twilight series

The enduring success of the Twilight Saga is sure to open the doors of opportunity for everyone involved in it – not least the previously unknown Taylor Lautner (who plays hunky werewolf Jacob Black). Abduction (Lionsgate) sees Lautner draw first blood as a muscle-bound teenager tormented by inexplicable flashbacks to a vivid past that defies logic. Despite a happy home life with parents Kevin (Jason Isaacs, Harry Potter) and Mara (Maria Bello, A History of Violence), Nathan Harper (Lautner) needs weekly consultations with psychiatrist Geri Bennett (Sigourney Weaver) to help with his confused emotions. When researching a school project with girl-next-door Karen (Lily Collins, star of the upcoming Mirror, Mirror), Nathan stumbles across a website that identifies how missing children would look years later, and starts to question every aspect of his existence. Inevitably, his questions set in motion a violent chain of events involving corrupt CIA operatives and Serbian terrorists.

After a slick, purposeful opening half-hour, Abduction (which is improbably directed by Boyz n the Hood’s John Singleton) degenerates into a dim-witted chase caper that seems desperate to evoke the thrills and spills of the Bourne trilogy, only to fail dismally. Although he lacks any real dramatic depth, trained martial artist Lautner is undeniably convincing in the action scenes, and although his post-Twilight fanbase are unlikely to be too fussy when it comes to narrative coherence, Abduction is a pretty bog-standard product. With a misleadingly vague title and a surplus supply of childishly bad dialogue, Abduction is a weirdly unsatisfying movie throughout. What’s more, the impressive cast list – which includes Weaver, Bello and Isaacs, alongside the likes of Alfred Molina and Michael Nyqvist – is seriously mystifying, especially given the seriously weak script. All in all: a breezy, shallow slice of paranoia-lite.

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The Artist an enormously satisfying winner at the BAFTAs

Simon and Garfunkel waxed lyrical about the sound of silence and the same principle applied to the 2011 BAFTA ceremony. In what was a largely predictable but heartening show, silent movie pastiche The Artist swept the board – winning seven awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius) and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin).

Predictable though The Artist’s success was, it was also enormously satisfying. It’s wonderful to see a film in love with the medium of cinema doing so well – this is filmmaking with a purpose, made with care, compassion and a big heart. It’s no pompous, awards-baiting showcase – simply a massive feel-good experience that reminds us why we enjoy going to the pictures in the first place.

The other nominees were carried along in its wake but there were several satisfying developments. Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy deservedly won Best Adapted Screenplay (Peter Straughan’s elegy to late wife and writing partner Bridget O’Connor, a moving highlight of the evening); and Outstanding British Film. The Actor award was Gary Oldman’s to lose but Meryl Streep was a shoe-in for The Iron Lady (and a shoe off when it came to her speech). A braver decision would have been Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin but Meryl was pretty much a lock.

Asif Kapadia’s tremendous documentary Senna was awarded Best Documentary and Best Editing – making up for its disgraceful snub from the Oscars. Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In won Best Foreign Feature and Rango, Best Animated Feature – both satisfying wins. Disappointingly, Rise of the Planet of the Apes lost out on Special Visual Effects to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II – surely, if any film last year used effects to advance the storyline, it was the former?

Perhaps the most controversial win (at least to this reviewer) was Adam Deacon’s for the Orange Rising Star. That he received more public votes than the likes of Tom Hiddleston (whose output in 2011 was outstanding) is distressing, especially when one considers the witless Anuvahood (in which Deacon was star, co-writer and co-director) was one of the worst films of last year.

Away from that onerous, irritating inclusion, the awards stayed largely on track, culminating in a rousing Fellowship win for Martin Scorsese. Hugo had to be content with a clutch of technical awards but the celebration of Scorsese’s career made for a resounding capper to the evening. And on the basis of their hilarious podium double-act, the new partnership between Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe can’t come soon enough (Les Miserables is due for release at the start of next year).

The Full List of Nominees and Winners

BEST FILM

The Artist

The Descendants

Drive

The Help

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

My Week With Marilyn

Senna

Shame

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

We Need To Talk About Kevin

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

Attack The Block – Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)

Black Pond – Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)

Coriolanus – Ralph Fiennes (Director)

Submarine – Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)

Tyrannosaur – Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Incendies

Pina

Potiche

A Separation

The Skin I Live In

DOCUMENTARY

George Harrison: Living In The Material World

Project Nim

Senna

ANIMATED FILM

The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn

Arthur Christmas

Rango

DIRECTOR

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive

Martin Scorsese – Hugo

Tomas Alfredson – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Lynne Ramsay – We Need To Talk About Kevin

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids

John Michael McDonagh – The Guard

Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady

Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – The Descendants

Tate Taylor – The Help

George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – The Ides Of March

Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball

Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

LEADING ACTOR

Brad Pitt – Moneyball

Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

George Clooney – The Descendants

Jean Dujardin – The Artist

Michael Fassbender – Shame

LEADING ACTRESS

Berenice Bejo – The Artist

Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn

Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin

Viola Davis – The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Jim Broadbent – The Iron Lady

Jonah Hill – Moneyball

Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn

Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Carey Mulligan – Drive

Jessica Chastain – The Help

Judi Dench – My Week with Marilyn

Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids

Octavia Spencer – The Help

ORIGINAL MUSIC

The Artist – Ludovic Bource

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Hugo – Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Alberto Iglesias

War Horse – John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Jeff Cronenweth

Hugo – Robert Richardson

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Hoyte van Hoytema

War Horse – Janusz Kaminski

EDITING

The Artist – Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius

Drive – Mat Newman

Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker

Senna – Gregers Sall, Chris King

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Dino Jonsater

PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Artist – Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan

Hugo – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald

War Horse – Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN

The Artist – Mark Bridges

Hugo – Sandy Powell

Jane Eyre – Michael O’Connor

My Week With Marilyn – Jill Taylor

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Jacqueline Durran

MAKE UP & HAIR

The Artist – Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin Hugo – Morag Ross, Jan Archibald

The Iron Lady – Marese Langan, Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland

My Week With Marilyn – Jenny Shircore

SOUND

The Artist – Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener

Hugo – Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley

War Horse – Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn – Joe Letteri

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 -  Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery

Hugo – Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White

War Horse – Ben Morris, Neil Corbould

SHORT ANIMATION

Abuelas

Bobby Yeah

A Morning Stroll

SHORT FILM

Chalk

Mwansa The Great

Only Sound Remains

Pitch Black Heist

Two And Two

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)

Adam Deacon

Chris Hemsworth

Chris O’Dowd

Eddie Redmayne

Tom Hiddleston

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Hadewijch

Hadewijch: Julie Sokolowski as Céline on the religious path in Bruno Dumont's movie

Hadewijch is the ‘newest’ film from French provocateur, Bruno Dumont. It’s about the plight of religious enthusiast-extraordinaire, Céline (Julie Sokolowski), a young woman searching for acceptance, love and god. After Céline is turned away from her covenant – because of her ecstatic blind faith – she turns to the streets of Paris and finds herself being led, down a very dangerous path.

I’m not sure why we haven’t seen this in the UK sooner? It was released in France in 2009! Still, if it’s playing in a theatre near you, it should prove to be a thought-provoking analysis, on the potential dangers of religion.

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Position Among The Stars

Position Among the Stars: a documentary in the slums of Jakarta

My film of the week is this odd but enthralling looking documentary, from Leonard Retel Helmrich, called Position Among the Stars. Apparently, it’s the concluding film in Lemrich’s award-winning trilogy. The other two films being Eye of the Day and Shape of the Moon.

The documentary takes the POV of Rumidjah, a poor, Christian, grandmother, who lives in the slums of Jakarta. The film illustrates the economic changes taking place in Indonesian society and the influence of globalization, reflected in the lives of her teenage granddaughter Tari and her sons Bakti and Dwi. Helmrich not only directs, but is also the film’s DOP (director of photography) and he follows the family in his own unique style, using a “single shot cinema”, method. No, I’m not sure what that is either, perhaps it’s as obvious as it appears but it should interesting to discover first-hand.

• Catch more previews on The Misanthropic Monkey’s Movie Preview at The Electronic Farmyard

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Daniel Radcliffe in The Woman in Black, his first major outing since playing 'the boy who lived'

This film is many things. It’s atmospheric, tense, well made, it looks very good indeed, and it has a number of set-pieces that are on a par with the ones in Paranormal Activity. The director James Watkins has made this, when he wants it to be, genuinely scary, which is a rarity these days. When the film is inside the haunted house, it is very impressive, up there with such films as The Others.

Yet in the scenes where it isn’t set in the house, it lags enormously. Daniel Radcliffe is an unconvincing presence and suitably unfit for the role. The dialogue is ropy at best, atrocious at worst. The characterisation is straight out of the horror-movie cliché textbook, and despite it’s trim running time, it has one “final scene” too many. It’s also far too formulaic.

It is a film of two halves, and your enjoyment of it will rest solely on which half you focus on. It’s a small relief that a good half of the film takes place inside the haunted house, where the eponymous woman reigns supreme, because these are the most memorable bits, the bits that will make you jump, and make your heart beat that bit faster, in the way that only really scary horror films do. It pulls out all the stops and throws every creepy touch it has at you to elicit a scare, and it does this, often.

The plot is relatively simple; Daniel Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a depressed widower who is trying to make ends meet for him and his young son. He is a lawyer, and he takes a job on a remote island to settle the deeds and will of an empty house. But all is not as it seems, and after a string of suicides and sightings of the woman, Kipps tries to settle everything and restore the island to peace.

But the truth of the matter is, here, the plot is irrelevant. There is some attempt at making us care, but at the end of the day it’s what’s inside the house that counts, and this is where the film comes into its own. Noise, colour, mood, music are all manipulated to their full effect to make this as harrowing an experience as possible, when it wants to be. As I said, there are moments in this film that are on a par with the Paranormal Activity series, in terms of sustained threat. You genuinely feel scared.

Then there’s the issue of Daniel Radcliffe. This is his first chance to prove to cinema-goers that he can act outside of the boy who lived, and quite frankly, he doesn’t set the world on fire. His delivery of lines is off at most points, and he’s too unconvincing as a dad or anything else to be taken seriously. I have heard he is excellent in his stage work, but I have yet to see any of it: on this evidence alone, I am sceptical as to what he is capable of as an actor. He doesn’t show much here.

The supporting cast does sterling work (especially Ciaran Hinds) but it’s to little effect. Plot holes abide and dialogue jars. Maybe, if these aspects were less prevalent, and there were one or two more scenes in the house, I could ignore the flaws. As it stands, I was frustrated how a film could be so good yet so bad at the same time. I do recommend you see it, if only because for half an hour in the second act you will be absolutely terrified. It’s a mixed bag of a film, though, and this is the true ghost that haunts you while you’re watching it.

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Daniel Radcliffe is convincingly terrified as he prowls the darkened corridors of Eel Marsh House in The Woman in Black

The new adaptation of Susan Hill’s ghost story The Woman in Black is significant for three reasons. It’s the first time Hill’s tale has been adapted for the silver screen; it marks Daniel Radcliffe’s first major project after the end of Harry Potter; and it’s the first Hammer movie made in England since their demise in 1979 (The Lady Vanishes). The book spawned a radio series and a creepy, TV adaptation in 1989, but more significantly, the long running West End stage play (a truly petrifying experience).

Whereas Hill’s chilling novella is akin to a cold breath down the back of the reader’s neck, the film skews closer to the jolting, ghost-train scares of the play – after all, one shouldn’t expect subtlety from Hammer, in its newly revived status or otherwise. However, in comparison with the recent glut of stupid gore-porn movies, director James Watkins’ attempts to envelop the audience in a spooky yarn are entirely admirable, and the emphasis on atmosphere as opposed to blood means it carries an old-fashioned charm.

Screenwriter Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) does make one major deviation from both the play and the original tale, dispensing with the story’s flashback structure that explicitly connects it to the traditions of Victorian Gothic horror. In Hill’s original narrative, the narrator attempts to exorcise his demons by recounting the story of the woman in black on paper, and it builds to a grim, horrifying climax. By contrast, Goldman’s take on the afterlife is tinged with optimism, even sentimentality.

At the start of the film, Radcliffe’s Arthur Kipps, a solicitor, loses his wife in childbirth. Several years later, he is tasked with sorting the estate of a deceased woman in the north of England – should he not do it, his family will be out on the street (therefore offering a pragmatic explanation as to why he endures the eventual supernatural terror). On his arrival in Crythin Gifford (a village seemingly populated by outcasts from An American Werewolf in London), he discovers the area has been plagued by several bizarre child deaths – could these be connected to the mysterious woman in black he glimpses across the causeway at Eel Marsh House?

First things first – understated it ain’t. Hammer Productions may only have been revived in 2007 but there’s plenty to connect the movie to their past classics. Never mind the amusing ‘by gum, we’re Northern’ stereotyping of the villagers; rarely a moment goes by without a glimpse of billowing, Ingrid Pitt style robes or a cawing crow. It’s all somewhat overwrought and rather silly, bearing little resemblance to Hill’s story, but there’s no denying it’s a triumph of atmosphere, not least when Radcliffe relocates to the house itself – a masterclass in cobwebbed production design from Kave Quinn.

Radcliffe for his part is perfectly fine and stoic. His primary function is to react, and although the actor looks convincingly terrified as he prowls the darkened corridors of Eel Marsh House, he’s mainly there to prop up the movie, rather than imbue it with a nuanced performance. Nevertheless, Goldman’s script does expand on Hill’s original ideas as Radcliffe’s character (and those around him) seeks a kind of spiritual redemption, particularly in the bittersweet conclusion. The film also benefits from the gravitas of supporting players Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer, playing a grieving couple lamenting the loss of their son, and whose quest for solace adds further layers of melancholy to the story. Don’t read too much into it though: McTeer’s character is bonkers and prone to automatic writing – well, it wouldn’t be Hammer otherwise, would it?

The real star of the movie is Watkins himself, beautifully conjuring up a spectral, mist-laden atmosphere frequently sprinkled with jumpy shocks. On its own terms, the film is an uneven mixture of old-fashioned restraint and shrieking silliness, but although it’s a movie of visceral, atmospheric pleasures, there’s no denying the skill with which it’s made. At long last, the classic ghost story is making a comeback – frankly we need 10 of these for every one film in which someone is strung up by their eyeballs and tortured.

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Martha Marcy May Marlene: an air of doom never relents

Right from the off, Martha Marcy May Marlene builds a sense of minimalist menace, and this air of doom never relents for the remainder of the film’s running time. Sean Durkin’s supremely accomplished Sundance favourite draws comparison with 2011′s We Need to Talk About Kevin in that it’s a scary film, but not in the sense of monsters, ghosts and ghoulies. Rather, it’s a human horror story, one which plumbs the terrifying recesses of psychology and indoctrination with enormous skill. This is a movie which generates a sense of terror from its sense of tranquility and ostensible normality.

It’s also a movie which benefits from the viewer knowing less. The essential set-up sees a young girl named Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) fleeing a farm in an as yet undisclosed location. Distraught, she phones a relative named Lucy, later revealed to be her sister (Sara Paulson), and goes to stay at her bohemian lake house, along with her husband Ted (Hugh Dancy). Gradually, we come to learn exactly what it is that Martha has run away from, not to mention the significance of the monikers ‘Marcy May’ and ‘Marlene’ that occupy the remainder of the film’s cumbersome title.

Awkward though that title may be, the film itself is a smooth distillation of fear and mounting paranoia. It transpires that Martha has fled a cult, led by the charismatic and sinister Patrick (John Hawkes, building on his superb performance in Winter’s Bone), and as Durkin dips in and out of the past with stunning ease (it really does put the clunky Iron Lady to shame), he takes us inside the central character’s head. The film builds a nuanced psychological portrait of a very damaged girl: Martha’s apparently innocuous decision to take a nude outdoor swim for instance has its antecedent in the behaviour of the monstrous community from which she has fled.

Martha is a disruptive presence in Lucy and Ted’s lake house, not merely for the obvious reasons but because she represents an inexplicable enigma. She is never able to verbalise her story aloud – we the audience are the only ones privy to the horrors in her past, horrors which represent a kind of rot that can flourish (and have flourished) in backwater American society. Martha’s story draws obvious parallels with that of the Manson family from the 1960s, parallels which strike at the heart of the American dream and make a mockery of Lucy and Ted’s cosy, self-contained lifestyle.

Throughout, the tension remains high, as Martha is never sure whether she will be tracked down. Durkin sensibly keeps aspects of the narrative ambiguous even while others are brought screaming into the light of day: we’re never sure how much personal baggage Martha was suffering with before she joined Patrick’s cult, and her decision to join is never explored. Clear cut answers are never forthcoming – instead we are faced with the mindless terror of indoctrination and brainwashing, that peculiarly human fear that strikes terror into our souls.

But the film’s emotional impact would amount to nothing were it not for Olsen’s tremendously brave performance in the central role. Her willowy, unassuming demeanour conceals dark psychological torment, and it’s chilling to note how the film peels back the facade of normality. In fact, the film can be summed up in the ostensibly wholesome ballad, ‘Marcy’s Song’, performed by Hawkes for Olsen’s benefit on acoustic guitar. Much like the movie itself, the song’s ordinary veneer conceals terrifying hidden depths.

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Michael Fassbender in Steve McQueen's Shame 'a masterclass in non-verbal communication'

Steve McQueen’s Shame opens with a remarkable sequence that is a masterclass in non-verbal communication. Michael Fassbender plays Brandon, a man who appears trapped in an empty cycle of casual sex. The film swiftly establishes an air of dispassionate routine, as we see Fassbender walk stark naked around his sparse apartment post coitus on two separate occasions. The atmosphere feels conspicuously cold and detached; one senses Brandon is taking no pleasure from his conquests.

This is conveyed on multiple levels: through the moody tones of Harry Escott’s score; through the clinical decor of Brandon’s apartment; and, most significantly, through Fassbender’s intuitively physical performance. However, the opening of this powerful film is only halfway done. Afterwards, we watch in wonder as Brandon silently flirts with a woman on a subway train, glimpses, smiles and sly glances taking the place of words. But McQueen then turns our emotions and expectations on their head when it’s revealed that the woman is wearing a wedding ring.

All of a sudden, the rules have changed, and when Brandon’s fervent interest leads to him pursuing the woman out of the train and into the station, his actions appear unsettling, frightening even. Within five minutes, McQueen and Fassbender have conveyed an extraordinary amount of complex information, but Shame is dotted with mini-masterpieces such as these. Fortunately, the film is more than the sum of its parts.

It transpires that Brandon is a sex addict, a man staring into an abyss which threatens to swallow him up. When he cannot sate his relentless appetite, he is surfing the internet or making journeys to the men’s toilet at work. And he has another problem: his equally desperate sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) has decided to stay in his apartment, something which threatens to put a dampener on his routine.

Following on from his painterly, disturbing portrayal of the Maze Prison hunger strikers in 2008′s Hunger, McQueen solidifies his reputation as a director unafraid to go over to the dark side. His collaboration with Fassbender also soars to new heights, the actor baring all (in every sense of the word) and brutally exposing the insecurities of the male ego. Little wonder the Oscars found the movie hard to take. This is a movie which flays humanity raw rather than offering easy platitudes.

Brandon’s emotional degeneration is by turns disgusting, scary and pitiable, and McQueen’s penchant for long takes forces us to scrutinise this inscrutable individual. The film’s discreet visual style (less overtly stylised than Hunger) is tailored to the emotions of the central character: a world of corporate offices, faceless apartments and dimly lit nightclubs, a world which inevitably draws comparison with Taxi Driver. However, unlike Travis Bickle, Brandon isn’t so much disgusted by what he sees as disgusted with himself.

Perhaps that’s why he is unable to contain his violent self-loathing in Sissy’s presence: Brandon can see himself in her; he recognises they’re both damaged goods. It’s suggested that both siblings have fled a monstrous incident in their past but McQueen isn’t interested in verbose explanations. Instead, both Fassbender and Mulligan, two consummate performers, use all their skill to convey a tortured history through the slightest physical gestures and vocal inflections. Together, the pair are an absolute knockout, one of the most plausible brother-sister partnerships seen in a film in a very long time.

And when McQueen ruthlessly limits the focus to just Fassbender himself, the film is even more devastating. In what is perhaps the most heartbreaking scene in the film, Sissy intones a moody rendition of New York New York in a local club, draining the classic ballad of its vitality and bombast. Meanwhile in the audience, Brandon watches in a state somewhere between desolation and enchantment, clearly shaken to the core by Sissy’s haunting performance. As a single tear spills down his cheek, Fassbender suggests the agony that is eating Brandon up from the inside – but we know we’ll never understand what is driving him.

That the film is able to grip without offering concrete answers is a testament to the power of the script (a collaboration between McQueen and Abi Morgan); McQueen’s incisive yet understated direction; and Fassbender’s tremendous central performance. The sex meanwhile may have raised the pulse of international censors but that’s by the by. It’s not a titillating film; really, it could have centered on drugs or alcohol and produced the same effect. The focus instead is on the pain of addiction itself, and we can’t help but be dragged headlong into Brandon’s nightmare. It’s a gruesome, heart-wrenching journey but one that’s laden with as much compassion as despair.

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Exeter filmmaker and writer Ashley Thorpe is in the running for a Rondo for his interview with Hammer legend Peter Sasdy for Fangoria magazine

To celebrate Exeter filmmaker and writer Ashley Thorpe being nominated for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award, we thought we have a quick look at some of his work.

It’s no surprise to us in the D&CFilm office that he’s been nominated for a Rondo for his  two-part article interviewing Hammer legend Peter Sasdy for Fangoria magazine (it’s in category 14 – vote now!).

Many moons ago, Ashley compiled his top five horror picks for D&CFilm.

But Ashley is best known for his film work, and he does seem to be making true his revival of British Horror claim (which he made on receipt of his Media Innovation Award for Independent Film).

Here are a few of the trailers to his movies. And remember, you can help bring a Rondo to the South West by voting for him!

Borley Rectory Teaser Trailer from Ashley Thorpe on Vimeo.

The Hairy Hands – Trailer from Ashley Thorpe on Vimeo.

‘The Screaming Skull’ – Trailer from Ashley Thorpe on Vimeo.

‘Scayrecrow’ – teaser trailer from Ashley Thorpe on Vimeo.

(psst – vote Thorpe! category 14…)

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D+CFilm is part of the social enterprise News and Media Republic, an independent media company. We believe communication helps build confident communities. We don't believe in paywalls or barriers to information, and we rely on advertising and donations. To help us keep doing what we're doing please donate (suggested donation 40p).

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Shields of Justice: a no budget US 70s cop movie filming in Exeter

Shields of Justice – the best no-budget feature film shot in Exeter and set in the 70s (according to a tweet) – is nearing completion.

The retro cop comedy, which draws on classic American cop shows of the 1970s – think a fast-paced, snappy dialogued pastiche of Dragnet and Starsky and Hutch – has been turning locations in the South West into US metropolis Patriot City, circa 1978.

The movie is directed by Exeter filmmakers Tom Hutchings and Ben Tallamy, and went into production in 2009.

The plot follows the fearless cop duo of Crash and Burn as they piece together the killing of retired officer by demented uber-villain Cop Killa.

The team has pieced together a cast of character to create depth and backstory to their movie, and you can catch up with them on the Shields of Justice site, which also includes the behind the scenes footage, wallpaper and other goodies.

And while you’re waiting for the movie to be completed, here’s a teaser trailer

Shields of Justice teaser trailer from Shields Of Justice on Vimeo.

You can keep up with development of Shields of Justice on Twitter and Facebook, or on the Shields of Justice site.

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Something for Valentine's Day, Michael Moore's Capitalism – A Love Story

Feeling all mushy for that damaging relationship this Valentine’s Day? The Transition Town Totnes film club is screening Michael Moore’s own love story, the one with Capitalism (we reckon he plays Ryan O’Neal… )

This year is the 20-year anniversary of Michael’s Roger & Me, and his Capitalism: A Love Story comes home to the issue he’s been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans. But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene is far wider than Flint, Michigan.

Our guess is there will be laughter and tears, and that’s even before the informal discussion at the end of the movie.

The film will be screened at the Dartmouth Inn (on the Plains) Totnes on Tuesday, February 14. Doors open at 7:30pm. Film starts 8.00pm. Entry £4 / £3 TTT Film Club

Here’s a trailer:

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A Dangerous Method: a spanking performance by Keira Knightly in David Cronenberg's look at the Freud/Jung 'relationship'

The theatrical releases this weekend range from the tween horror, The Woman in Black, to the 3D release of, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. But sadly they’ll be no more mention of Daniel Radcliffe, nor double ended lightsabres… pity.

Anyway, despite the ominous shadow of half-term, those kind distributors haven’t completely abandoned those above the age of 16. Nope, because here comes a David Cronenberg film.

However, Viggo Mortensen’s third film with Cronenberg also looks to be their dullest. I find myself feeling somewhat apathetic to, A Dangerous Method, a drama about the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and the birth of psychoanalysis. Did I mention it also stars Keira Knightley. She gets spanked you know! Knightley’s been talking quite a lot about that, it’s almost as if she’s attempting to divert our attention away from something else *coughs!*  – her acting (obviously).

All pessimism aside, a Cronenberg film is always worth watching and it’ll be interesting to see what he does with the Freud/Jung ‘relationship’. What’s more, it stars Vincent Cassel, who is always an entertaining watch – he was excellent in Cronenberg’s, Eastern Promises. This may prove to be the weakest of the auteur and actor’s collaborations, but at least we get to see Mortensen chewing on a big stogie. Now of course, there’s nothing Freudian about that!

• Catch more previews on The Misanthropic Monkey’s Movie Preview at The Electronic Farmyard

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