Filmstalker Reviews

Earth 2

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:02:07 +0000

The road of American television is chequered with cancelled shows, and most of them for very good reason, but there are some shows that deserved more of a chance and still hold out well today, indeed there are some that have themes you can see repeated in shows or films since. I've been talking about a few of these types of shows recently online, shows like Dark Skies, Space: Above and Beyond and now Earth 2.

I had no idea about this series before I received the screener offer and to be honest I was drawn to it because it was produced by Universal TV and Amblin Entertainment who you will no doubt recognise as Steven Spielberg's production company, also the concept sounded interesting, and I'm a sucker for a good science fiction series.

44 Inch Chest

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:39:54 +0000

I had definitely set my expectations for 44 Inch Chest in a certain way and I'd wanted to see it for ages. It starred Ray Winstone, John Hurt and Ian McShane and it was billed as the story of a group of gangsters who reunite when Winstone's wife is found cheating on him and they bring the man in question to secluded location for him to exact his revenge.

All that built up in my head to give me an idea that this was going to be Winstone playing a strong gangster role and with Hurt and McShane backing him up delivering a tough and gritty film with some similarly played characters.

It wasn't, and it actually brought something very different to the story I was expecting to see. 44 Inch Chest is much more thoughtful and considered than you might expect.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:35:39 +0000

It's Kind of a Funny Story is a rather odd film, it's a comedy about depression and while that sounds a rather difficult dichotomy to tackle it does manage it well and perhaps is one of the more successful films about what depression really is more because of the fact that it's also a comedy.

While the core of the story is one we've seen before, it's the side stories, the main theme of depression and the location of the psychiatric ward make this rather different, especially when our main character is a confused teenager housed up in the adult ward.

Extraterrestrial (Extraterrestre)

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:30:29 +0000

Having seen the excellent Timecrimes (Los cronocrímenes) from writer/director Nacho Vigalondo I couldn't resist putting Extraterrestial (Extraterrestre) near the top of my list of films to see at the Glasgow Film Festival, after all if it was half of what Timecrimes was then it promised to be a thought provoking, engaging and entertaining film.

Mind you his new film seemed to be nothing like Timecrimes as the blurb promised a comedy, a romance, and a look into human nature. This is far from the time bending thriller that I'd seen before and I was intrigued even more. So often writers and directors get pigeon-holed and if they've written a great thriller that's what they'll deliver next, but Vigalondo obviously thought differently and decided to follow a different path.

To add to the excitement the director surprised everyone by actually attending the screening and he gave a funny introduction to the film saying that it was about aliens, peaches and tennis balls. Lots of tennis balls.

Ink

Wed, 02 May 2012 22:34:43 +0000

Ink is a very interesting film that starts off setting the standard that it intends to keep very high. Before I started watching the film I thought that this was a small production and that the scope of the film seemed a little grand, but the opening sequence shouts very loudly that this is something far more ambitious than I had expected and it looked like it was going to deliver. What often happens in these situations is that I end up being sorely disappointed; the film never lives up to the opening which usually has far more time, money and thought than anything that comes after. Not so with Ink.

While the opening sequence is surprising and sets the standard high, the rest of it lives up to it without a problem. There's not a feeling of being let down or fooled, the film builds on this opening, offers more of a similar standard throughout the film. It then builds the story to be the focus of the film rather than relying on the effects or the cleverness of the opening. Basically, Ink gets better, just at a time when you might have expected a film with limited budget might be getting worse.

The Cabin in the Woods

Wed, 02 May 2012 22:06:11 +0000

I had feared that the trailer for The Cabin in the Woods had revealed too much of what looked like to be a major plot twist, showing us that it isn't the usual young people trapped in a deserted cabin horror story and that there is something much more to it, in fact showing us what looked like it could be the core twist in the film.

The great news is that it doesn't give the plot twist away, in fact the film's opening scenes show that this isn't the plot twist at all as what we thought was the twist came from the very opening moment, so don't panic. There is a reveal in there but it's small and hopefully will go right by you.

So what of the film that we end up seeing? Well Cabin in the Woods is an innovative idea that really does poke fun of the clichés of horror films and at the same time deliver something much better, much more interesting and indeed much more entertaining.

Man on Ground

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:00:27 +0000

Man on Ground is based on a true story, but it's not something that is made much of until the end of the film when it reveals the rather shocking truth that the events actually did happen. The film is an independent production that is looking for a distribution deal. Written and directed by Akin Omotoso who is also an actor and producer the film stars recognisable talents such as Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Fana Mokoena as well as Fabian Adeoye and Bubu Mazibuko.

The blurb suggests that this film could be an interesting thriller that holds strong on characters and relationships as well as delivering some powerful messages, the location isn't one that we see in film very often, and more interestingly the leads aren't those that we often see at the fore of a film. All in all Man on Ground was one that was calling for attention.

Don't be Afraid of the Dark

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:54:46 +0000

Don't be Afraid of the Dark is one of these films that is being sold more on the producer's status than anything else on the film, Guillermo del Toro is the big name being mentioned through the marketing but that misses out some of the other key names in the film for instance del Toro also wrote the film with Matthew Robbins, Troy Nixey directed and more importantly Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes led.

There are some strong names in there that should be sold more than the producer and co-writer. Oh I know some will be raising their eyebrows at the thought that Holmes is leading the film but I have to say she does a great job and holds well alongside her co-star of Guy Pearce.

So what of the film itself? Does it live up to the del Toro tag? Should it have been marketed on the other names in the film and allowed to go on its own? The answers are here.

Babycall

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:08:10 +0000

Babycall was shown as part of the Glasgow Film Festival and the write-up from the festival brochure as well as the blurb on IMDB all pointed to a solid European thriller and European film does deliver some strong thrillers. The fact that it was starring the newly internationally discovered Noomi Rapace was a big draw, but the plot itself seemed interesting and might offer something a little more different and thought provoking.

The screening for Babycall was pretty well attended, but I have to admit that the audience reaction afterwards was a little mixed and some of us were rather confused. It may not be the film you are expecting, it certainly wasn't for some of the audience and myself included.

Special Forces (Forces Spéciales)

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 22:50:08 +0000

When I first heard about Special Forces (Forces Spéciales) I was interested, a film about French Special Forces going into Afghanistan and Pakistan to rescue a French reporter who has been taken hostage by a terrorist threatening to behead her and broadcast it live. The team, who are originally going in for reconnaissance have their orders turned around and have to enact a rescue immediately.

The story did sound good, then there was the trailer which looked like the film was going to be very cinematic and exciting, and finally there was the allure of the cast with names such as Djimon Hounsou, Diane Kruger, Benoît Magimel, Denis Menochet, Raphaël Personnaz and Tchéky Karyo. It's fair to say that this is a strong sounding cast. Put all these facts together and you should be expecting a good film.

The Raid: Redemption

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 19:55:11 +0000

There have been some very strong comments about The Raid so far, a lot of praise has been heaped on the film, so much so that Hollywood have already decided to remake it for English speaking audiences and the writer/director has committed to making a sequel and even trying to go for a trilogy.

Still, some haven't found it as pleasing and the rather famous Roger Ebert has completely panned it, laying into it with as much fervour as some of the characters in mid fight in the film, writing it off as a crass, brainless videogame.

The trailers have compounded the positive comments not just by spraying positive review comments across the screen but by showing us some of the moments that have made audiences so excited by the film. Well, most of the audiences anyway.

Headhunters

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:03:22 +0000

Headhunters was by far the star of the Glasgow Film Festival this year for me. I have not read the Jo Nesbø novel from which the story is adapted and so I came to the film with no preconceptions or expectations for the film, but from what I had seen through the blurb, some stills and a trailer it was looking to be a stylish thriller with some unusual elements.

The film is set to be remade in Hollywood, which is usually a sign that the original is good but by no means an indication that the English language remake will be. As usual in these cases I'd recommend watching the original first and that holds especially true with Headhunters, let me explain why.

The Grey

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:35:21 +0000

I scoffed at the idea of this film originally, the thought of men against wolves in the wilderness just sounded a little contrived and would end up seeming like some sort of creature Hollywood action film. There were also comments made suggesting that it was another Taken, and I said as I walked into the film that I was off to see Taken with Wolves, expecting not that much more.

How wrong they and I were. I should have known that Joe Carnahan would deliver something much better than that and you don't really expect Liam Neesom to pick up a poor film - yes let's ignore the cash job of Clash of the Titans.

I am a fan of Carnahan and I do have to admit that he's surprised me here with The Grey. This is not really the film I was expecting and it's much better for it.

Carnage

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:31:59 +0000

I haven't seen the stage play by Yasmina Reza called God of Carnage but from what I have heard it is rather good and so seeing the trailer for Roman Polanski's version of the film which he co-adapted with Reza immediately had me hungry to see it, especially with Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet looking set to give great performances and Christopher Waltz and John C. Reilly also looking as though they were going to step back a little and let the ladies take the lead.

Another thing that drew me to the film was the fact that it didn't seem as though it was going to be hiding from the stage play roots, roots that saw it pulled into one location and keeping the main characters together with plenty of dialogue, conversation and interaction.

Carnage looked like an adult, intelligent film that still managed to be funny and entertaining as well as insightful; at least that's what I was hopeful for.

Drive

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:18:00 +0000

I've been seeing Drive appear on a lot of top lists, from Filmstalker's Stalker's lists to others peppered across the internet and television, and although it's not made a huge impact at the award nominations this year it's getting a lot of mentions and had a lot of notice, and quite rightly so.

I was looking forward to the exciting story of the stunt driver by day and getaway driver by night with another promising performance from the ever growing in stature Ryan Gosling and another stylish and intelligent looking film from Nicolas Winding Refn.