Filmstalker Reviews

Schrödinger's Girl

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:22:56 +0000

I took a real chance watching Schrödinger's Girl and it surprised me. From the opening scenes you could tell that the budget was really low, the effects were basic and the acting on occassion a little raw. It took me a lot not to dismiss it immediately, and that would have been a mistake. Not only is a Festival supposed to bring film to you, and you to films, that you wouldn't normally see, but it should also make available films from film-makers with aspiring talent, film-makers that may not normally get seen.

So I stuck with the film and was pleasantly surprised. Yes the film doesn't have a big or even low budget, but what it makes up for is intelligence and scope, and it manages to deliver a rather effective story. It does feel like it could be an episode of Primevil.

Pontypool

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:20:12 +0000

I had not heard about Pontypool until the Edinburgh International Film Festival screened it, and the few words I looked up to decide whether or not to see it were very complimentary, and rightfully so.

It's billed more as a psychological horror and/or thriller, and rightly so, for this is much more thoughtful than your average horror, but still provides for laughs and a few moments of blood while packaging them up in a great film that might have people rethinking the idea of zombies.

Salvage

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:16:33 +0000

Salvage sounded like a great film when I read the blurb, and what's more is that it's British and the trailer looked pretty good too. All in all this was looking like a surprisingly good horror film and free from the current run of comedy horror that Britain is thriving on.

Then I watched it, and while the first half might deliver what you thought it could, the second half has a number of issues which lowered the score for me.

I do wonder sometimes where things went wrong in films and why no one picks up on them in readings or viewings.

Antichrist

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:11:35 +0000

Antichrist is a very hard film to review for upon first viewing you'll probably be drawn into all the hype surrounding three moments in the film, the sex scenes with one showing actual penetration and the other showing a woman masturbating a man, and the scene of female genital mutilation. You see I've even mentioned them up front in the review, but that's more to get the shock and surprise out of the way so we can get on with the actual film review.

Once you're passed these moments you may, like I have, see that there's more to the film than just these upsetting scenes, but it is hard for some people to see past them. However I don't think they are the hard parts, the hard parts are the unsubtle and heavy handed plot moments and threads, and yet there's also a lot of good and great moments from the film too.

Outrage

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:14:27 +0000

Kirby Dick has delivered two of the best documentaries that I've seen, Twist of Faith (Filmstalker review) and This Film Is Not Yet Rated (Filmstalker review), and so there was absolutely no question of not seeing his latest documentary Outrage, especially with the material it's covering.

Twist of Faith was hugely emotional and incredibly personal, This Film is Not Yet Rated dug deep into a business that was aged and corrupt and exposed it perfectly well, and now he's mixing these two ideas together in Outrage, a film that delves into one of the most aged and corrupt areas there is, politics, and looks at the hypocritical politicians who are secretly homosexual and spend their political lives voting against gay rights.

It's a powerful and shocking film, perhaps not as much as his previous documentaries, but it really does power home some surprising and outrageous facts.

Surrogate

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:35:10 +0000

I have to admit why I first wanted to see Surrogate, because people told me I couldn't. Not because the film was bad, or it was an obscene or disgusting story, not because the cinema was closed, but because money had come from official sources in Israel to pay expenses to the Edinburgh International Film Festival to take the film and the director across for the Festival to talk about the film and help promote it. Well not really that either, it was an English director and various other British anti-Israel and pro-Palestine organisations who shouted about that payment and caused a controversy over it.

I'm glad I ignored them and looked to see what the film was about rather than leap on the bandwagon, because otherwise I would have missed a beautiful and touching film which is nothing about the situation between Israel and Palestine, and is much more personal and emotionally revealing film. Indeed if it weren't for the language in the film you'd have no idea it was anything to do with Israel.

So my advice is to ignore the negative associations with this film and watch it, you won't regret it.

Jerichow

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:21:46 +0000

Jerichow wasn't on my list of must see films, and I just came across it when I had just watched Moon and discovered that my second film to watch wasn't available, then realised my videotheque list was on my phone, a phone which I wasn't allowed to switch on, and with just enough time to watch one film I scanned through what was available. No...no....no...oh I recognise that name, play.

Well I was surprised. Although there's nothing major to this film I found myself being drawn into the characters and their relationships, where this film focuses on, and the ending gives a nice, satisfying, and slightly surprising ending.

Moon

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:03:11 +0000

Moon is a film from Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, and has been getting a lot of positive press since it was first seen. Starring Sam Rockwell as the sole occupant of an almost completely automated mining station working out his three year stint there. It almost sounds like a Bowie song itself.

Moon is an intelligent, superbly well written and paced film that carries bags of style and, despite the huge giveaway in the trailer, still packs some powerful moments and surprises, as well as a great performance from Sam Rockwell.

Before I say anything else I have to warn you, although it may already be too late. Don't watch the trailer. If you have, try and put it out of your mind, for there is a massive reveal in it, far too huge in fact. However if you have seen it, don't panic. I watched the film the day after a friend did, I had seen the trailer and understood the reveal, he had not, and we both came away with the same feelings for the film. Although seeing the trailer and realising one of the reveals didn't hurt the film, it did take a moment or two of enjoyment away for me.

The Hurt Locker

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:57:47 +0000

Reading about The Hurt Locker it has the potential to fall into a number of categories of similar themed films, a film about the gung-ho over the top soldiers in Iraq, a "war is tough and terrible" film preaching to the audience, and so on. However The Hurt Locker is not like that at all, and many of the expected clichés of the various genres that it could be assigned to just don't appear, or are treated with an even hand and an open mind.

Yes, the film does show how harrowing it can be in combat, but there's something far more real about this story and the characters than I think we've seen in most modern war films, and that comes through Mark Boal's writing, Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty's acting, and the superb direction of Kathryn Bigelow.

Van Diemen's Land

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:44:24 +0000

Van Diemen's Land had a lot of promise. Based on a true story of Alexander Pearce, a man described as Australia's most notorious convict, who in 1822 escaped with seven other convicts from one of the toughest prisons in the world.

It's a great story to take from and sounded like it could make for a great psychological horror and\or thriller, and with it gaining some positive comments I was intrigued. However the film doesn't live up to the expectations and does falter for the seconds half.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:07:19 +0000

I must admit to being a little biased towards this film when I first heard about it, after all it leads with the gorgeous Robin Wright Penn backed by Maria Bello, Monica Bellucci and another surprising return for Wynona Ryder, and while watching it I have to admit to being not only captivated by Robin Wright Penn, but also totally convinced and drawn into her character, and that goes for Maria Bello as well.

The female performances in this film are excellent, and they lead the way with the actors barely able to keep up, but this film is about Pippa and Robin Wright Penn's amazing ability to tell a story and emotion through the simplest of movements or pauses. She does take control of the film, and rightly so.

Martyrs

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:45:44 +0000

I had heard a lot said about Martyrs, the French horror film that was being described as incredibly brutal and horrific, and the comments I'd read about it were suggesting it was a tough and harrowing experience. Since I love cinema that makes you feel something, even if it is terror and an incredibly uncomfortable feeling, I was keen to see it, but it took a long time before I managed to get my hands on it, and that came with the DVD release.

Martyrs is a tough film to watch, and some might have an immediate knee jerk reaction against it complaining about the horror and violence, but to that I say watch the film and look further than that, and to be honest it's not that hard to see the depth and the meaning within Martyrs. Sure you might find it horrifying and uncomfortable, but that's for a reason, there's a strong story behind it too.

Terminator Salvation

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:50:03 +0000

I may be a little late with this review but this is one of these reviews I really wanted to do for myself because I've been through quite a roller coaster of excitement levels about this film, from the lows of the third, the announcement of McG directing, and the odd Terminator robots to the highs of the cast announcements of Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard and Michael Ironside and the trailers and teasers.

There's also some history here too, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day were superb films, and I still believe that having watched them again and again. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was terrible, with Terminators talking to camera, a joke made of the Arnie Terminator, the running "gag" of the sunglasses, and the three way dialogue scene to get the time travelling plot out of the way before more action, it was a terrible addition to the franchise.

So what was Terminator Salvation set to bring? I genuinely didn't know. There were positives and negatives on both sides and hope upon hope I wanted to see something special from McG and for him to succeed. With that, I went to see the fourth Terminator film.

The Da Vinci Code

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:43:04 +0000

The Da Vinci Code has been earning money hand over fist and also helping Dan Brown sell books galore. When it came out in the cinema it did really well, but perhaps not as well as the studio would have wanted. However films can gain new lives on DVD and Blu-ray, and I had the chance to sit down and watch the Blu-ray release.

One thing I was concerned about when getting ready to see the film again was how many times I'd been through the story. Reading the book reveals the twists and turns and when I watched the film I was dissapointed as the story played out as per the book, and when I'd already visualised everything happening the film seemed a step by step copy. Would the same happen with the Blu-ray film?

Notorious

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:18:41 +0000

Although this is the review of the Blu-ray version of the film, let me open with the summary from the DVD review.

Notorious B.I.G. has become a legend after leaping to the top of the rap scene with the help of P-Diddy, or whatever he's calling himself these days, and then being murdered by an unknown gunman before his second album could be released.

Some fifteen days after he was murdered that double album was released, it hit the number one spot, and three years later the album was certified as diamond in terms of sales, one million copies.

While his murder remains a mystery, his life has been chronicled in a film about the man, called Notorious, and here follows the review of the Blu-ray offering of the film.