Tag / review

by hutchwp

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King (Jeanie Finlay, 2015)

ORION: The Man Who Would Be King (12A), the latest feature documentary from award-winning director Jeanie Finlay (Glimmer Films) is released into UK cinemas from Friday 25 September and has received distribution support to enhance this theatrical release from Creative England and Ffilm Cymru Wales.

Orion tells the story of Jimmy Ellis, an American singer with a natural voice that drew unavoidable similarities to Elvis Presley. In the aftermath of Elvis’s death in 1977, music producer Shelby Singleton of Sun Records played on the conspiracy theories about Elvis having faked his own death and created Orion – a masked singer with a mysterious past who had the look and sound of Elvis whilst never laying claim to being the man himself. For four years success lay in the hands of Ellis as he toured and rode the waves of popularity, but frustrations crept in about the public perception of him and the deals he had signed and he finally broke away from his deal in some style.

This documentary was spawned by a chance purchase at a Nottingham market, where director Jeanie Finlay picked up a copy of the Reborn album on 12″ vinyl, Orion’s debut release. That was where the interest in him started, and between then and now the director has visited almost everyone closely involved in his life to discuss their experience of a man driven by a desire to sing on his own terms. It is excellently put together. It is a story that threatens to be either not very interesting or flawed due to lack of decent source material (the Presley estate provide little footage for these kinds of films and many of the key people in the film were unavailable for interview). Fortunately, neither of these things threaten to creep in and the end product is fascinating.

Oh Ryan.

Oh Ryan.

It goes a long way into intimately portraying a man torn between being forced to hide behind a mask and enjoying the limited success he was achieving. It is balanced and as such avoids over-celebrating Ellis, concentrating on his personality rather than his success. As with most music documentaries, many of the anecdotes bring huge amounts of comedy to the table and Finlay has been careful to interview as many people as were available, no easy task when on such a tight budget.

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King is a documentary worth watching, and it’s an experience enhanced if you know nothing about Ellis. A full list of screenings can be found on the official website.

by hutchwp

Keith Richards: Under The Influence (Morgan Neville, 2015)

Keith Richards: Under The Influence is a documentary film by Morgan Neville, the man responsible for the excellent Academy Award-winning 20 Feet From Stardom. Richards has a new album out – Crosseyed Heart – and the timing of this film gives it the feel of being a bit of an extended promotional interview.

Indeed, that’s exactly what it is. Bringing in a few musical friends to offer further insight, the film is actually a series of interview filmed in various locations across the USA. The fact it is just a talking heads film is not to say this is a disappointment as a documentary. Fans of the band and/or the individual will find a lot of joy from watching the series of interviews with a man who knows how to tell a tale. Most avid fans have probably already read his autobiography “Life” and an 80 minute film is never going to cover the depths of a 500-page book.

Keith Richards: Under The Influence is available excusively on Netflix now.

by hutchwp

Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973)

One of the most sure-fire ways of making an enjoyable and effective film is to ensure the chemistry between the two lead characters is strong. What better way to achieve this than by casting a father and daughter in what is essentially a buddy film?

In Paper Moon, we follow the story of tomboy orphan Addie Loggins (Tatum O’Neal) as she is taken under the wing of con-man Moses Pray as he agrees to take her from her mother’s funeral to her aunt’s house in Missouri. She is convinced he is her real father, a point that is hinted at throughout, despite his continued denial of the fact. One thing that they’re both convinced of, however, is that they make a great pair as a scamming duo, going door-to-door convincing recent widows that their recently deceased husbands had ordered them a personalised bible. This serves as an excuse for them to go on a prolonged adventure of dishonesty, an adventure that seems far more appealing than their other limited options.

The chemistry between the O'Neals is excellent.

The chemistry between the O’Neals is excellent.

Much was made at the time – and has been since – of Tatum O’Neal’s performance. Indeed, she remains to this day the youngest person to win an Academy Award for Acting. At 1 hour, 6 minutes and 58 seconds, it is also the longest performance to receive a Supporting Actor/Actress Academy Award. It is playful and at times unintentionally comedic, but the playoffs with father Ryan are brilliant to watch. One memorable scene involves a long one-shot as they drive and argue, both livid at each other before turning it around to agree despite their tones still being that of an argument. It’s almost so good it doesn’t feel like they’re acting, although it allegedly took 39 takes over two days to get right.

One thing the film never answers is the question of whether the two are really father and daughter. The decision is made instead to leave it open as they head off into the sunset, presumably to continue much as they did in this film (a relationship explored in a panned TV sitcom spin-off series starring Jodie Foster). It is a nice decision – the fact they need each other, either as a father figure or as a driver to act responsibly, is to them more important than finding out this truth, at least at this stage in their relationship.

The bonus features are worth watching and provide a valuable insight into the making of the picture. The highlight is an anecdote involving Tatum repeatedly fluffing a line, resulting in her father having to eat countless amounts of waffles, much to the delight of Tatum. In fact, this was deemed so important as an example of their chemistry that the outtake was incorporated into the original trailer.

The cinematography by the Hungarian László Kovács adds a great deal to the authenticity of the film and its success in recreating 1935 Kansas. Coupled with a timeless soundtrack and a great attention to detail in the scenery and costumes, the result is that it transports the viewer completely into the environment, adding further embellishment to the excellent performances of both stars and their supporting cast.

A unique film with a lot to offer even the most ambivalent of viewers, this is one of the best re-releases of the year.

Paper Moon is available on Masters of Cinema Blu-ray now.

by hutchwp

American Ultra (Nima Nourizadeh, 2015)

American Ultra is far better than it should have been. The basic story – a stoner grocery store assistant (Jesse Eisenberg) is actually an advanced agent from a secret programme that was shut down before his memory was wiped – sounds like pretty standard fare and doesn’t really suggest a great film is in order. A fast pace, short running time and well-judged performances make it an enjoyable romp.

  
Eisenberg is well cast and it’s a wise move to keep him in reluctant stoner character throughout, though it would have been easier to make him magically turn into an alpha male. Kristen Stewart makes another case for the ATL (Anti Twilight League) to take her a little more seriously with a solid performance and there are great turns elsewhere from Bill “Was That Bill Pullman?” Pullman, Topher “That 70s Guy” Grace, John “Luigi Mario” Leguizamo and Tony “Loose Seal” Hale.Perhaps this film doesn’t justify a trip to the cinema, but when it hits the steaming platforms it should be near the top of your list.

American Ultra is out now at cinemas in the UK.

by hutchwp

スーパーマリオメーカ / Super Mario Maker (Nintendo, 2015)

The latest excellent game on the Wii U for the majority of the gaming community to ignore is Super Mario Maker, a game that puts the gamer in the driving seat to control the content of Mario levels in one of four skins: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros.

As the trailer above shows, the content is quick and easy to activate, meaning a basic level can be created in no time at all. It may be fiddly at first but once the tools are used a couple of times it becomes remarkably intuitive. You simply control the content on the gamepad using the stylus (did you forget you had that?) and a giant hand replicates it on the screen. After a fairly basic tutorial you are ready to go!

Then comes a huge hurdle. One major issue you encounter at this point is the requirement to keep playing on consecutive days in order to unlock the more advanced level features. This means that perseverance is the key – the only key – to unlocking the tools to make the most innovative levels for friends to enjoy. The thinking behind it is clearly to make sure players don’t make a couple of exceptionally tough levels then disappear forever, though for the more dedicated amongst us it is frustrating. For anyone getting the game on day one and trying to put together a cool new course, get ready to be disappointed – all you get are four types of blocks, three enemies, mushroom power ups and pipes.

 

There wasnt mushroom for anything else in this level. Geddit? Mush room? Oh never mind.

 
As expected, Amiibo functionality is a key feature. When scanned, one of several things might occur, depending on which figuring has been scanned. For the most part a new playable character will be unlocked. This is fun but there is a flaw – the character is allocated at random so you can’t design the level around who you’ve placed in the box. It is quite fun to play as Link or Yoshi progressing through the stages he’s active in, though doesn’t add too much to the game. It’s disappointing that this is only available for the Super Mario Bros. themes and does nothing for the remaining three.

Where the game comes into its own is the ability to access other people’s levels. There is a leader board based on popularity and spending an hour in there was a joy. One level I played was called “Don’t Touch The Shrooms”, a tough level that can only be completed if you can avoid mushrooms due to a carefully placed spring board. When mushrooms are being fired at you from all angles it gets quite stressful!

Feel free to add me on your Wii U account and try out some of my Super Mario Maker creations. My username is Hutchie and I’ll be slowly unleashing increasingly complex levels throughout the weekend.

This game has legs. It might not feel impressive on first look but get the hang of it now and it will reward as more features are unlocked.

Super Mario Maker is available as a Wii U exclusive worldwide now.

by hutchwp

How To Change The World (Jerry Rothwell, 2015)

HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD – Trailer

How To Change The World is a documentary film from director Jerry Rothwell that charts the history of the company Greenpeace, from its humble beginnings as a group of activists in 1971 to the internationally recognised brand it has become today.

The film concentrates on several key moments in the early history of Greenpeace: the attempts to prevent the detonation of nuclear bombs in Amchitka in 1971 (essentially the birth point of Greenpeace); the anti-whaling campaign of 1975 in which Russians fired harpoons over the heads of a boat of Greenpeace activists to kill a whale; and the organisation-dividing seal-dying campaign of 1982, which aimed to prevent the skinning of baby seals for their fur and led to a confrontation with Canadian hunters and a public standoff.

One of the cornerstones of the film is the evolving dynamics of the group. As the Greenpeace movement grows in stature the original members become celebrities and uncontrolled splinter groups popped up globally. Director Jerry Rothwell has clearly decided that the best way to hold the film together is to use Bob Hunter’s writings as the narrative. As he explains, “Greenpeace has a contested history because of what happened to them, this maelstrom of fame. I’ve tried to bring that out in the film. Bob Hunter’s writing had to be the central voice of the film. It is poetic. That needed to be the heart of the story.”

The film is presented stylishly with a great soundtrack of artists that have supported the cause over the years. Indeed, a 1970 Joni Mitchell and James Taylor concert funded the first whaling trip, but that is footage that doesn’t feature here. Instead, she features only over the end credits as Big Yellow Taxi aptly brings the film to a close. “There was a recording of that concert”, Hunter concedes, “but from a narrative point of view we needed to get them out to sea as soon as possible.”

It is a film that almost never existed, because the footage was unknown and ready to be destroyed. It was only when Rothwell had a chance encounter with the footage that he realised there was a film to be made out of it: “I realised there was 1000 canisters of film in Amsterdam. I happened to be in that archive for another project. There were some extraordinary images. For Greenpeace at the time the function of the films was to make campaign films for seals and whales. The cut offs were in a way what I was interested in, as it showed a glimpse of the dilemmas they had faced.”

As documentaries go, the content of the film is fascinating. It doesn’t force the current agendas down the viewers’ throats (there is plenty of information on their website should you care to take a look), instead taking the stance that the history of the organisation is a story interesting enough in itself. The way it is presented is also extremely polished and easy to digest. I’d be surprised if it isn’t at least being mentioned when the awards season kicks off in earnest next year.

How To Change The a World will be released at cinemas worldwide on 11th September 2015.

by hutchwp

青春残酷物語 / Cruel Story of Youth (Nagisa Oshima, 1960)

Released in 1960, Nagisa Oshima’s cutting critique of Japanese outsider youth culture was an unexpected success upon its original release, amid controversy and criticism over its content. Viewed now in its glorious 4K scan restoration by Shochiku, it is an enjoyable, if flawed, experience.

It is the story of high-school girl Makoto (Miyuki Kuwano), who we first see being advanced on by a sleazy middle-aged man. She is saved from being sexually assaulted by Kiyoshi (Yusuke Kawazu), a university student. As their unconventional romance blossoms, so too does their alienation from the society around them, running a corrupt business that involves using Makoto to lead men on, only for Kiyoshi to appear and demand payment to keep them from going to the police.

An unusually morose ending to the film.

An unusually morose ending to the film.

Clearly this isn’t an ideal way to build a relationship and it is by no means a traditional love story. It does make for an interesting dynamic for our two leads. At least, it would do but for an underwhelming performance by Kawano. Whilst Kawazu perfectly plays the disillusioned and rebellious student on the cusp of either prison, gang warfare or death, his female counterpart struggles with the dynamics that the role demands.

In a memorable early scene, soon after Kiyoshi saves Makoto, he takes her to the local docklands, forces himself on her, then threatens to drown her. It’s an uncomfortable scene to watch due to the nature of the content, but her efforts to make it look like she’s struggling to swim let the scene down. It’s also not very convincing that she is either desperate to avoid his advances, nor is the contrast to her giving in particularly stark.

This is all filmed in a brilliantly bold colour wash by Ôshima, which creates an unusual but impressive contrast to the wholly depressing content of the film. The negativity contained in the social commentary surrounding outsider youths became a staple of Ôshima’s later films. Whilst it isn’t a masterpiece, it is not without merit.

The package offered by Eureka and Masters of Cinema makes this release another great value for money Blu-ray. The transfer is top class and the booklet and extensive discussion with scholar Tony Rayns give a massive insight into the film. It’s rather like a short film study course on the film. If you can find an equivalent for around £10 then you’re doing well.

青春残酷物語 / Cruel Story of Youth is available on Blu-ray now.

by hutchwp

Vacation (Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, 2015)

The newest addition to the Vacation legacy is an attempt to reboot the previously successful franchise and bring the story to a whole new audience. It’s a shame then that it fails to do either and also tarnishes the memory of the originals in the process.

It stars Ed Helms as the now grown up Rusty, who we know as the son of the old Griswold family. He now has a family of his own to look after. Following in his father’s footsteps, he decides to reboot their family bonds by taking his wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) and two sons Kevin (Steve Stebbins) and James (Skyler Gisondo) to Walley World. Hilarity ensues.

The opening twenty minutes or so as they set up the characters is delivered in a very tedious manner and doesn’t really achieve the desired results of showing a truly dysfunctional family. There are some cheap gags as the four family members conform to some stereotypical character traits before the real action gets going and some fun starts, but to have such a slow start to a big summer comedy is a risky move that contributes to the film’s downfall.


The best moments come when the Griswolds interact with other characters appearing in cameo roles. Most notable are Chris Hemsworth as Stone, the well-endowed brother-in-law, and Charlie Day as Chad, a depressive river rafting guide. Both spawn some great moments that are let down by the punctuating gags between about rim jobs and swimming in poo.

The lowest point is when Chevy Chase appears in a wholly unfunny late scene. Watching him attempt to make the removal of a medium sized guitar from a large cabinet look awkward and clumsy for over ten seconds is simply excruciating.

It’s a valiant attempt to bring the kind of humour that made the originals so successful to a new audience but it actually tarnishes the originals as I’m now questioning whether they were all of this quality. Avoid this film unless your main priorities are familiarity with a rehashed storyline and a lack of anything remotely thought-provoking.

by hutchwp

Fear The Walking Dead – Series 1, Episode 1 (Scott Dow, 2015)

It’s an interesting prospect, this new series. The Walking Dead itself wasn’t spectacularly popular on its original debut run, though thankfully AMC stuck with it and had faith in the comic to the point where it was given a lot of breathing space and has become one of the biggest sleeper success stories on TV this decade. Plenty of people who would never watch a zombie film have tried out an episode and found it to be much more than a gore-fest, with characters afforded the time to develop without the two-hour constraint a movie imposes on them.

When this series was announced many months ago, it seemed like an odd choice. Everyone was happy to follow Rick Grimes and his band of merry survivors as they loosely followed a path set out by the comics. This would be a new series, following a completely different set of survivors in a completely different area of the same country. Why should we care about them? Doesn’t Rick eventually jus any other group anyway, so the fate of anyone we see is ultimately sealed anyway? As the plot and approach were slowly revealed, mega-fans were somewhat appeased and given hope that the new series would actually be able to survive on its own two feet.In this first feature length episode, we are introduced to a highly dysfunctional family living on the wrong side of Los Angeles. School councillor Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) lives with her two children: over-archiving Alicia (Alycia Debnam Carey) and drug-addict Nick (Frank Dillane). Also living with them is Madison’s boyfriend Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis), a teacher at her school. The episode opens with Nick waking from a drug comedown and seeing what we know is an early sign of the oncoming zombie apocalypse. Running outside, he is panicked and quickly finds himself run over and ends up in hospital. However, given his frame of mind, nobody believes him, least of all his family, who all think he is going insane.

One of the big promises made by the series creators in the early days of the promotional material was that it would provide a cause of the zombie apocalypse. That is hinted at in the first episode and will no doubt be looked at further in the future.

Did it live up to the hype? Honesty, it’s too hard to say at this point. They’ve laid the groundwork for what could be an excellent series, or it could be seen as a slow start to a series that won’t speed up too much as it needs to stretch out the five weeks between the start of the apocalypse and where the main Walking Dead series started in earnest. The dynamics between the four main characters were on show already and it has to grow quickly to retain the attention of the many millions of viewers that have already tuned in.

AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead will continue next week at 9pm.

by hutchwp

The Walking Dead: Weird and Wonderful Merchandise

As with any hugely popular TV series, there’s always a big attempt to get its fans to part with their hard earned money by any means necessary. The Walking Dead is no exception. Check out these weird and wonderful items that could be yours if you have more money than sense.

Bland Officially Licensed Socks

Why wouldn’t you want to put some cool images from The Walking Dead on your feet? Imagine the heads of zombies exploding as a bullet impacted on their undead skulls. What about the mixture of fear and anger Michonne has when seeking revenge on The Governor? Or, maybe you’d prefer a picture of Andrew Lincoln portraying Rick Grimes pensively looking out into the distance whilst crouching in the middle of nowhere? No? Oh… Pick them up here.

Shit socks? Yes please.

Shit socks? Yes please.

The Walking Dead Comic-Con Exclusive Zombie Burst Guitar

Yours for just £329 plus shipping, this guitar will make you the envy of all your friends who will sit back and think “I wish I was so rich that I could blow so much money on a terrible-looking guitar and think it was a good idea.”

“This would look great alongside my CSI: Miami saxophone”

Michonne Sword Letter Opener

If you’re asking yourself “Why?”, I say to you “Why not?”. Then I laugh and say “No seriously, why?”

Available for just $89.99.

His success had gone to his head.

His success had gone to his head.

Rick Grimes Resin Deluxe Boxed Statue

Clearly the $350 asking price on the official website didn’t put many people off. It has to be said, this looks spectacular. It’s a lot of money to spend on something like this, but of all of the comic book range of toys and collectibles, this is up there with the best.

A collectible as bad-ass as the man it portrays.

A collectible as bad-ass as the man it portrays.

The Walking Dead Plain Logo T-Shirt

Another stylish piece of merchandise is this, a nice, plain and simple logo t-shirt that really works in the charcoal grey colour. There are plenty of other options with catchphrases and other gimmicks, but if you want something more subtle then this is what you need. It will set you back $19.99.

Simple and stylish clothing for fans of the comic.

Simple and stylish clothing for fans of the comic.

Stern Pinball Machine

Not much to say here, but if you’re sitting in the middle of a Venn Diagram that consists of the categories “Loves The Walking Dead”, “Loves Pinball”, “Has too much money” and “Had no sense” then this is the product for you.

Yours for just $7495. I would if I could.

SUCH A SUPPLE WRIIIIIST!

SUCH A SUPPLE WRIIIIIST!

The Walking Dead Battle Scene Wallet

This may be more within your price range. A mere $20 will get you this stylish wallet inspired by the All Out War story arc of the comic book series. It will be cool to get hold of it now and then when the story kicks in early next year in the television show you can say “It was much better in the comics” as you whip out your cool wallet and pay for a mug of smug.

Both cool and practical.

Both cool and practical.

Check back tomorrow for a review of the first episode of Fear The Walking Dead, the new series that premieres on the BT-exclusive AMC channel.