by hutchwp

Films I’m Excited About (Summer 2015)

2015 looks set to be a huge summer for visiting the cinema. I’ve already been blown away several times at the high standard I’ve seen (Birdman, The Tales of Princess Kaguya, Whiplash and The Theory of Everything are all very special films, and Avengers: Age of Ultron blew me away too). Looking forwards, there’s plenty more to be excited about. Here’s some of the film’s I’ve got in my diary.

German Concentration Camps – A Factual Survey

germanconcentrationcampsafactualsurvey

Probably the most historically important film of the decade.

A British documentary film covering the exploration of the Nazi concentration camps. Fourteen locations were visited in Poland, Austria and Germany. The purpose of this film was that it would be shown to all the freed prisoners leaving the concentration camps and sites of atrocity after the fall of the Third Reich. Unfortunately there were delays in production and by 1946 it was deemed to be inappropriate and the footage was shelved.

Thankfully the footage has been finished off and there have been some screenings schedules around the UK (which can be found here). I can’t wait to see this historically important and inevitably moving film.

Jurassic World

Is this going to be the return to form we've been waiting for?

Is this going to be the return to form we’ve been waiting for?

I’m sorry. We’re all thinking it. The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III were both utter dross. The first in the series was, in my opinion, one of the greatest films ever made. In the action genre it should be held up as a sepcimen of near perfection – its relentless and frequent peaks and troughs take you on an exhausting adrenaline rollercoaster as soon as things start to go wrong. It was also a hugely significant film in terms of advancing special effects. Since the sequels thus far have been huge let downs, the announcement of a new franchise reboot was met with groans across the internet and beyond. Then the trailer dropped and hope was restored. So far there doesn’t seem to be anything to quash the hope.

The release date is set for 10th June. The world is waiting!

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

I can't wait for fourth film in the franchise to be released.

I can’t wait for fourth film in the franchise to be released.

I’m a big Star Wars fan. I’m not the kind of person who knows the facts inside-out, certainly not on the same level as some people I know, but the original films are just absolutely fantastic action sci-fi films. It’s a shame that Episodes I-III were so dreadful. I do believe there is one good film to be found within their bloated running times. They just got them wrong.

The Star Wars community groaned when Disney bought the rights to Star Wars, but I immediately knew it would be a positive move. Disney know how to make a great live-action action film. The first three Pirates of the Caribbean films were actually not as bad as people have remembered them (our memories may be tarnished by the lackluster fourth installment). John Carter was actually far better than the first twenty minutes suggested. The Tron reboot wasn’t bad either. With a captive audience ready to give the new films a chance and no George Lucas around to mess things up, we’re set to finally be rewarded with a film worthy of the originals.

Terminator: Genisys

I do hope Arnie says "I told you I'd be back" just one more time.

I do hope Arnie says “I told you I’d be back” just one more time.

I don’t think this will be the return to form as the two franchise reboots above, but it will be good fun to see how it turns out. Since his retirement from politics, Schwarzenegger hasn’t really done any films that fully stand up to his releases in the late 80s and early 90s. I hope this is the one that shows us he’s still got it and with Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones favourite Daenerys Targaryen) on board we should have something to keep us entertained for a couple of hours.

Ant-Man

Films like this are in short supply.

Films like this are in short supply.

Paul Rudd, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. It’s Ant-Man. It has been a troubled creation process, but I still think this is going to find the balance of comedy and action that was sadly missing from The Green Hornet, the last superhero film that went down the comedy route. I’m hoping it’s successful enough to see him included in future MCU films. I guess time will tell.

by hutchwp

Cannes Film Festival – Full List of Winners

Palme d’Or
Jacques Audiard for Dheepan

Grand Prix
László Nemes for Son of Saul

Jury Prize
Yorgos Lanthimos for The Lobster

Camera d’Or
Cesar Acevedo for La tierra y la sombra / Land and Shade

Best Director
Hou Hsiao-hsien for The Assassin

Best Screenplay
Michel Franco for Chronic

Best Actress
Rooney Mara for Carol and Emmanuelle Bercot for Mon Roi

Best Actor
Vincent Lindon for La Loi du Marche

Short Film
Ely Dagher for Waves ‘98

Honorary Palme d’Or
Agnès Varda

by hutchwp

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (James Rolfe, 2014)

I remember a couple of years ago when I saw the queues of young girls stood outside the theatre awaiting the release of the latest One Direction Movie, 1D: This Is Us. I’m pretty sure I passed a snide comment to whoever I was with at the time berating the popularity of the film, which was clearly not aimed at me. I wasn’t the “target audience”. Nonetheless, what a bunch of idiots standing there to watch such a rubbish film.

One for the fans

One for the fans

It took me until last night to realise how wrong I was to do this. My wife was out of the house and so I saw it as a perfect opportunity to finally watch the imported copy of Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie [1]. Alas, my wife returned home and walked in just as The Nerd threw up over a copy of Eee Tee 2 and the woman holding it. As I looked towards the door, I saw myself reflected back: bemusement, disdain and a lack of willingness to understand. I guess that means that I’m a teenage girl and James Rolfe is Harry Stiles. Maybe.

And that’s the point. This is by no means a film for everyone. It is specifically a film for the fans of James Rolfe’s character The Angry Video Game Nerd, the central character in his webisodic (it’s now a word) series in which he reviews terrible old games in a foul-mouthed and occasionally aggressive manner. It’s a film full of references to the series, made for the fans, and a pet project for Rolfe to flex his big-budget muscles and show exactly what he can do once he leaves his underground lair.

The storyline concerns the release of Eee Tee 2, the sequel to Eee Tee, the biggest flop in video game history (and barely hiding the reference to E.T.). The Nerd has always refused to review this game, but when an opportunity arises to go to New Mexico and dig up the infamous New Mexico Atari landfill as a tie in to the sequel, he agrees. The Nerd and his two assistants start the quest but are pursued by federal agent General Dark Onward, who believes The Nerd is trying to investigate Area 51.

It is quite a convoluted plot but it’s not really there to win any awards for screenplays. It’s a platform on which Rolfe bases some quite hilarious moments and I see the film as a success. Yes, it’s probably a little long but I can forgive Rolfe for this – he was bringing his own dream to life and wanted to make sure his fans got the most out of it. Some of the script feels a little like it’s deliberately trying to aspire to be a cult film, and it gets very silly at times, but it’s delivered with enough charm to be forgiven for a few misfires.

There’s a nice bonus at the end, where he finally reviews E.T. The Extra Terrestrial on the Atari, which he has never previously done. The bonus features on the disc are plentiful and give a bit of insight into the film (though many of the featurettes were previously available during the making of the film on Cinemassacre).

Steer clear if you have never heard of The Nerd before but if you want to see what he’s capable of it’s worth the plunge.

[1] For those in the UK, the best option to see the movie in HD is to import from Amazon.com. Be warned though – you will pay through the nose for the postage and then get slapped with import duty when it arrives. It’s expensive and if you aren’t fussed about the HD then you have an option to stream from Cinemassacre for a small fee.

by hutchwp

Beyond Clueless (Charlie Lyne, 2014)

I previously talked about this essay film in a preview last October, and I finally managed to see it this week after it was added to Netflix. I had backed it in a Kickstarter campaign so I’ve had loads of updates from the engine that is Charlie Lyne, a man who has filled the project with as much man hours as he has passion.

Lyne covers the recurring themes we see in teen movies, taking an in-depth look at some key films on each topic. It takes the form of a long essay split into five sections: “Fitting In”, which deals with characters attempting to fit in and conform to their stereotypes (Mean Girls, Cruel Intentions); “Acting Out”, which looks at characters rebelling against suppression and leaving their comfort zones to break the status quo (Bubble Boy, Idle Hands); “Losing Yourself”, a discussion on characters who are keen to explore the wider world (Euro Trip, Jeepers Creepers); “Toeing The Line”, about characters having to conform to stereotypes or trying to break the brainwashed mould (The Faculty, Josie and the Pussycats); and “Moving On”, which explores themes of characters either needing to grow up or not wanting to (13 Going On 30, Drive Me Crazy). These are neatly bookended by a prologue and an epilogue, which tie the themes together nicely.

The film received criticism on its release, perhaps due to the fact it is an essay film and that is a slightly unusual format. Don’t get me wrong, this would have worked perfectly well as an essay, but the content lends itself to being delivered in this visual medium. There aren’t any topics that fall outside the content of teen films and the production team has meticulously sourced footage from every film discussed, which aids the digestion of the discussion points. The concept seems so obvious it’s a surprise it hasn’t been done more often.

Fairuza Balk’s powerful voiceover further endorses the content of the film, and this is further enhanced by an excellent soundtrack by Summer Camp. The script shows a passion for the subject matter that can sometimes lead to the content being given a little too much gravitas. This is never more prominent than the section discussing Euro Trip, which is one of my least favourite films of all time. I found it banal and tacky, but here it sounds like one of the greatest films ever made – I actually want to re-watch it to make sure I haven’t missed anything. In many ways, this is just testament to the passion of the scriptwriters, particularly Lyne, and can hardly be a justifiable criticism.

It’s a film that won’t do much for people who don’t like teen films and will also be lost on anyone unfamiliar with most of the films discussed. It’s a celebration of the genre and works as a great boost to go and re-watch a heap of teen films.

Beyond Clueless is available to stream on Netflix now in the UK.

by hutchwp

Pitch Perfect 2 (Elizabeth Banks, 2015)

The sequel to the smash hit musical comedy Pitch Perfect, covering Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson et al. as they struggle to break down boundaries and show the world that a capella singing is actually really cool… Wait, what? In their world, a capella is already cool? They just aren’t cool enough to do it because they’re outcasts. Okay…

I have a slight vested interest in this film, on at least one level. I myself am in an a capella group and also take part in local theatrical productions so performing on stage has always been in my life. From memory, though, I don’t ever recall a capella singing being this popular. When there’s a tournament in Pitch Perfect World, the whole town drops everything to show their support for their favourite group. For me, I’m usually pulling in favours just so my closest family members turn up. Maybe I just don’t have the right acca-skills.

Pitch Perfect 2 has plenty of big laughs but you may have already seen them all in the trailer.

Well, this is a chick flick and it doesn’t have to have a watertight storyline. However, despite throwing away any grasp on reality to accept the film for what it is doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great film. It’s basically a rehash of the first film – pretty much the same cast going through very similar personal struggles but pulling it together because their dedication to their friends supercedes anything else in life. It’s sweet, and I buy into the basic principal.

Unfortunately, outside the handful of really hilarious moments – most of which you’ve already seen in the trailer – the jokes consistently fall flat. Chrissie Fit’s Guatemalan character is just plainly not funny and every line she delivered felt like it was about forty years out of date. Likewise, Cynthia-Rose (portrayed by Ester Dean) is a really throwaway lesbian character that doesn’t really add anything to the storyline other than some cheap gags based on rudimentary stereotyping.

It was nice to see Hailee Steinfeld – who I know only from her Oscar-nominated performance in the Coen Brothers’ remake of True Grit – in a comedic role but, like the more established Kendrick, she almost seems a little above the content. I’m not sure whether the plan is to keep her in line to do Pitch Perfect 3. I guess time will tell.

So what can I say? It passed the time and I enjoyed parts of it. I wanted to see Mad Max but the majority of the seven other people I was with preferred this. I won’t rush to see it again, but I doubt my indifference towards it will change the fact that its target audience (basically the millions of people who loved the first film) will buy tickets and love it.

Pitch Perfect 2 is out now at cinemas worldwide.

by hutchwp

Blackfish (Gabriela Cowperthwaite, 2013)

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s 2013 documentary is an investigation into the life of Tilikum, a bull orca living in SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Tilikum has been involved in the deaths of three trainers: Keitie Byrne in 1991, Daniel Dukes in 1999 and Dawn Brancheau in 2010. It is the third of these that is given the most coverage in the film, which is understandable as it was the starting point around which the rest of the investigation grew. The film also explores the cruel living conditions of orcas once in captivity when being used in waterpark entertainment shows, also touching on the hunting of Tilikum in the early 1980s and discussions on a psychological level on his mental condition after being mistreated for so long.

The contents of the film have been vehemently discredited by SeaWorld, who have distanced themselves from the final product. In the aftermath of its release, the company published an open letter to refute a number of the claims in the film and created a dedicated section of their website titled “Truth About Blackfish”. Despite this, a number of high profile musicians (including The Beach Boys and Barenaked Ladies) dropped out of an annual festival at the Orlando park and they also saw a drop in park attendance, though these two facts are likely closely linked. Furthermore, Pixar altered a section of the upcoming Finding Dory film that featured a depiction of a water park. It is clear that the message contained in Blackfish has resonated around the world and it’s significant that the general attitude has changed.

The reason for this is the huge power in both the content of the film and the expert manner in which it is told. Cowperthwaite is understandably very passionate about the subject matter and clearly open a can of worms in the journey she went on in the creation of the film. Like any great documentary, that passion is transferred directly to the viewer.

Regardless of any bias included in order to help tell the story, any other details would be mere branches of excuses and extenuating circumstances. The bottom line here is that the capture and holding of orcas in order to get them to perform in shows is a travesty. The saddening thing for me is that I have been to the Orlando park and enjoyed the show there, just before the film was released in the UK. Had I known about it my attitude would certainly have been completely different. Like the thousands of people who have seen this film and also attended the shows, I’m embarrassed by the fact I saw the show as a fun experience. Now I can see it more clearly: it’s plainly a form of cruelty to animals and should be stopped.

Blackfish is available on Netflix and can also be bought on Blu-Ray and DVD.

by hutchwp

Competing in the Settlers of Catan Regional Heat, 03/05/2015

On Sunday I spent the day at Thirsty Meeples for a Settlers of Catan tournament. If that opening sentence has confused you, then I apologise. But I’ll explain.

Thirsty Meeples is an excellent café in Oxford centre, which specialises in board games. It’s a little bit like a board game library, only you can’t take the games away with you. You pay a small fee and can rent any games you want for the whole day. And they have plenty. 100s. It’s an immersive experience. The selection they have tends to pander to the modern board gamer, with plenty of German-style board and card games, gateway games and the like. So whilst they have the likes of Operation and Monopoly on offer, they also have five versions of Ticket To Ride, all the versions of Carcassone you can imagine and many, many copies of Settlers of Catan.

It is this last point that was critical to the surging popularity in these kinds of games in recent years. More than any other game, Catan (or Settlers if you prefer) has become the go-to game to introduce friends to a whole new world gaming. Designed by Klaus Teuber 1995, the basic game involves up to four players who each represent a settler on the resource-laden island of Catan. Players place settlements from the start, and these provide the ability to gain resources based on the roll of two dice. These can in turn be used to buy more settlements, cities (which double the resources gained), roads or development cards. The ultimate goal is to get to ten victory points before anyone, with points handed out for a number of different achievements (one for settlements, two for cities, two for the longest road, etc.) I’ve perhaps not explained it very well, but its simplicity led to it being taken up at a hugely rapid rate and it is now the leading light in getting people into these kinds of games.

  

So it is for this reason that there is now a National Settlers of Catan tournament, with regional heats held in 12 different locations, one of which being Thirsty Meeples. It was a worthy excuse to make the long journey over from the East Midlands to check it out.

  

The tournament was set up so that you received 5 points for a win and 2 points for a second-place finish. There were 11 players, each playing 3 games in the round robins. After these games, the four players with the most points were pitted against one-another in a single game to determine who the heat winner was.

I won zero games and came runner up in two, though one of them was a joint runner-up position so I only amassed three points in total. I was out, but thankfully my wife was having a much better day. She managed two wins in three games, landing her 10 tournament points and a place in the final. Unfortunately, she didn’t win, but it was closely fought and she left with her head held high.

It was a fantastic day and we also found time to play a number of other games. We ended up buying Love Letter, Splendor and Star Wars: The Card Game, having either played them or had them recommended to us.

We’ll be back next year to see if we can go one step further and reach the national finals

by hutchwp

Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (John Korty, 1984)

Revisiting the familiar forest moon of Endor but set prior to the events portrayed in Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, Ewok Adventures: Caravan of Courage brings back the popular Ewok characters from the third film in the original trilogy, including fan-favourite Wicket (reprised by Warwick Davis) in a family-oriented fun adventure. The plot revolves around the children of the Towani family – Mace and Cindel – who are marooned on Endor when their civilian craft crash lands and their parents are kidnapped by the evil giant Gorax. Teaming up with the Ewoks, they go on an adventure to rescue their parents and escape to safety.

The first thing that jumps out at you when you start watching this film is the low production costs. It retains a lot of the production team that were involved in the original trilogy, but the budget and time constraints meant it feels a lot more cinematic than we’d expect. Indeed, it was a made-for-TV movie and the resolution available in 1984 meant they didn’t need to worry about spectacular visuals. Crucially, George Lucas was on board as a scriptwriter and a producer, meaning the film doesn’t escape from the canon in ways that the Star Wars Holiday Special was unfortunately allowed to.

The main human characters Mace and Cindel are interesting. The former, played by a young Eric Walker, was clearly chosen for his similar appearance to Mark Hamill. This is a bit of a cheap shot and his character is a little whiny, meaning he’s never very likeable. His younger sister is portrayed by Aubree Miller, in one of only two films she ever made (the other being this film’s sequel, 1985’s Battle For Endor). She is far easier to like and the fact she is a young girl in a leading role was probably a decision based on widening the male-centric fanbase of the Star Wars universe.

There has been much debate over whether or not this film should be classed as part of the official canon. It’s a tough one to call. In my opinion, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be, though it is more complicated than you’d think. The sequel, in which the Ewoks begin to speak English, plants it after the events of Return of the Jedi. This one, however, is set prior to that film, meaning the timeline of events over the three films is pretty tight if they are canon. To be honest though, if they’re happy for Episodes I-III to be included then these should be. They’re better films.

Neither of the Ewok Adventure films are currently available on Blu-ray, though they did enjoy a double DVD release around ten years ago. They’re still freely available online to purchase, though occasionally the entire films are put up on YouTube and stay there until the rights holders realise and remove the video. I think they should be embraced with a full re-release, with proper restoration, commentary and extras. It’s a no brainer. It would be a popular release and would widen the popularity of two films that really aren’t bad enough to want to hide from the public.

These are nice options to watch on Star Wars Day this coming Monday. I’ve embedded the YouTube video below for ease of watching as a sample in case you wish to purchase.

by hutchwp

The Offence (Sidney Lumet, 1972)

Sean Connery is one of the most renowned British actors of all time. He has starred in so many well regarded and successful films, including The Hunt For Red October, The Untouchables and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He is, of course, remembered most fondly for his performance as the quintessential James Bond, starting with Dr No in 1962 and finishing with Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. He also reprised Bond in 1983 with Never Say Never Again. 

His prominent films remain prominent and he will be remembered for these great successes. That said, unless you go out of your way to seek his wider body of work, it’s quite difficult to build up a fuller idea of his talents.

Fortunately, Masters of Cinema are on hand to help us out a little, pointing us in the direction of The Offence, Sidney Lumet’s cross-section of Detective-Sergeant Johnson (Connery) and his struggle to cope with the inner demons he has as a result of the constant horrors he sees in his line of work. Released in 1972, it was one of the earliest post-Bond films he released so was one of his first chances to show the world his full gamut of talents.

The film opens with a bold slow-motion shot of policemen rushing into an interrogation room, where we find Johnson fighting off his colleagues, with the dead beaten body of Kenneth Baxter (Ian Bannen) lying on the floor. Evidently Johnson has killed Baxter and through a series of flashbacks we discover the chain of events that lead to this happening.

This is an excellent performance from Connery, adding weight to a character that has been carefully constructed by screenwriter John Hopkins. The story is told in a non-linear way, which is cleverly executed to ensure the reveals happen at regular intervals. Bannen’s performance kept me second-guessing throughout and ensured it wasn’t just a one-man-show. It’s a stylish and grim view of Britain in the 1970s and it hits home further by being so realistic, which I credit to director Sidney Lumet and his work with cinematographer Gerry Fisher.

It’s a film that warrants a first and indeed second viewing. The latter will undoubtedly come before long. I’ll be devouring the bountiful array of extras first.

The Offence is available on Master of Cinema dual-format Blu-ray and DVD now.