Trailer: [rec] 3: Genesis

The eagerly awaited teaser for the latest in the [rec] series has finally debuted online. A teaser in the true sense, this gives next to no plot details away and only a few tantalisingly gruesome images for the gorehounds. Taking the action out of the old apartment block that [rec]'s 1 & 2 so ably used in their stories, this time the action is transplanted to a wedding just down the road. Secrets are still in abundance, but you can be rest assured that director Paco Plaza (co-director on the first two: Jaume Balagueró is helming number 4 on his own) will have plenty of tricks up his sleeve and pack the film with the same rollercoaster ride of fear the series is renowned for. [rec] 3 is due for release in it's native Spain in March 2012.

The Troll Hunter

It could be lazy to compare The Troll Hunter to fellow Scandinavian fantasy Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale from last year, but there are an abundance of similarities to be found. Both are fantastical tales, borne out of the dark side of fairytails. Both utilise their almost mystical landscape to great effect in helping to craft some of the fantasy. And then there is the fact that both come from histories steeped in rich mythos. So while Rare Exports centered on the fact that not only does Santa Claus exist, but he is a centuries old demon, imparting only terror and misery on those at Christmas time, The Troll Hunter rather matter-of-factly deals with the very real secret of giant trolls living in rural, remote Norway. The film begins on a small group of film maker students, interviewing the locals and trying to find the culprit behind the bear slayings in their town. Through this they find Hans (Otto Jespersen), a very private man reluctant to let any camera upon him or be interviewed. However, those pesky students follow Hans one night and find a lot more than they bargained for. As it turns out, Hans works for the Norwegian government as (very large) pest control for the problem of trolls. Disillusioned with his work and sick of being undervalued, he eventually agrees to let the small camera crew document his hunt for the various trolls that have breached their territories and the reasons behind this.

Through it's found footage mockumentary stylings, director André Øvredal has great fun in exploring the various types of troll, their behaviour and just how they have managed to exist all this time without the public knowing about them. Like the aforementioned Rare Exports it is also very refreshing to see films coming from somewhat smaller countries and competing with Hollywood in the broad entertainment stakes. While The Troll Hunter certainly had a small budget, it still delivers it's fair share of 'money shots' through the escalating set pieces and troll attacks. The film is a monster movie of sorts, as each of the trolls tower imposingly over our hero with each desperately eager to drink the blood of a Christian man. Hans is hilariously unfazed throughout. Wisely, the film doesn't take itself too seriously and this is personified in Hans. To the film makers and the audience, the events are frequently amazing and yet to him, it is all in a days work. The designs and effects of each troll is wonderful and original, giving valuable personality to many of the different creatures. The sound design must be applauded also for adding to the nuance and tension so that while the camera might not pick up what is stalking them, the various thuds and stomps let the audience know that something big and imposing can never be too far off. Alas, it's basic format seems to be the films main drawback. While it was obviously chosen as a means to paper over any budgetary concerns with the monsters, it seems that the 'found footage' format' is only growing old at this stage. Sure the film offers plenty of hair raising moments with great effects, but that is only ever followed by endless scenes of Hans driving through (admittedly stunning) Norwegian fjords and landscapes along with the dreaded Blair Witch patented effect of 'shaky cam running through the woods as something chases from behind'. Surely a more traditional narrative approach could have worked better while still keeping it's minimal effects to the basics. Don't forget that for Jaws the prosthetic shark on set barely ever worked which led to Spielberg having to come up with ever more ingenious ways of personifying danger without ever showing the monster. You don't need poorly shot shaky hand held camera for the audience to visualise themselves in the situation.

Verdict: 6/10
A frequently fun and exciting monster movie. Norway competes with Hollywood and for the most part admirably succeeds with it's effective low key CG effects and designs. It's themes and main character are original and it is only in it's mockumentary format that shows the genre is growing ever more tired and which takes some of the steam out of proceedings.

"The Troll Hunter" Trailer

30 Minutes or Less

Coming off the back of such mega successes as Ruben Fleischer had with Zombieland and Jesse Eisenberg with The Social Network, can always be tricky territory. Between Fleischers debut being the huge critical and commercial success that it was and Eisenberg's oscar nomination, it seems that all eyes are on them for what they will do next. I'm sure there might be some out there who bemoan the fact that they have turned their attention to something like 30 Minutes or Less, a film that flexes very little of it's brain muscles. However, while it may not be terribly bright, the film is terribly funny. Utilising a core group of hilarious up and comers in comedy to maximum effect, events coast by easily on the casts charms. So while some plot inconsistencies might be raised, they are quickly forgotten in a rapid quick fire assault of jokes and vulgarity. In a Summer crowded with R rated comedies (Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher, The Hangover Part II, Horrible Bosses) competition was certainly raised for 30 Minutes or Less. Thankfully, the film delivers laughs in spades and while it may not be the most memorable experience you will have in a cinema this year, it certainly packs in plenty of fun in it's sparse running time.

Eisenberg stars as Nick, an underachieving slacker/pizza delivery boy. Playing fast and loose with a very crude screenplay, it is nice to see Eisenberg ditch his usual nervy, love lorn and misplaced genius persona and give Nick an air of apathy about him. If previous Eisenberg portrayals had the problem of caring too much, then Nick cares too little - about his life, his job and his friends. He suddenly finds he cares a lot more than he thought when bumbling and incompetent local bums Dwayne (Danny McBride) and Travis (Nick Swardson) strap a bomb to his chest and order him to rob a bank for them. Sure Eisenberg still retains his usual 'Eisenberg-iness', but he casts an air of palpable panic to Nick and grounds proceedings in his drama. As the two would be criminals Mssrs. McBride and Swardson are their usual reliable selves. Swardson usually only shows up in bit parts or brief comedy sketches elsewhere, so it's nice to see he has the chops to deliver a genuine full rounded character without growing tired before things end. McBride gives another one of his 'red neck asshole' performances that where he not so pitch perfect doing it, would have grown stale long ago. Contrasting their plight with Nick and his best friend Chet's (Aziz Ansari) is nicely handled. Chet is the only one left to turn to when Nick finds himself in his predicament. As his partner and accomplice, it is great to see Ansari finally get the break out role that any followers of his will know, was a long time coming. Eisenberg and Ansari have great chemistry and in that bank robbing scene alone, we see how well they play off each other. In fact, the comedy builds steadily throughout, only heightening as events get more and more dangerous. So as things get more and more farcical, the laughs grow bigger and bigger. Fleischer delivers a funny, fast paced, thrill ride comedy and doesn't dilly dally as things are quickly wrapped up in no time. In fact at a sheer 80 minutes, it's running time is one of the reasons it all works so well. It's cast do great work with their profanity-laden parts and Fleischer proves that Zombieland  was no fluke. Sure it's not big or clever, but it sets out to deliver laughs across a high concept format and it delivers in spades. It's cast ensure that the jokes keep on coming and it's short running time is enough to distract you from any glaring plot holes or contrivances. All the film wants you do to is sit back and laugh at stupid people doing stupid things, so why should you fight it - especially when it's got a killer car chase set to this.

Verdict: 7/10

It's not going to win any awards, but Fleischer's film delivers jokes by the bucketload. Naysayers of any the cast before will find nothing revolutionary here, everyone else will be laughing too hard to notice. Short, sweet, punchy and very entertaining.

"30 Minutes or Less" Trailer

Kill List

There is a stunning sense of dread that permeates every frame of Kill List. It is unfair to call the film an outright horror - although things do get mighty horrific, building steadily to more disturbing happenings; the film rather, is it's own thing completely. It's own curious oddity. That underlying tension throughout proceedings helps subvert genre. Parts gritty drama, hit-man thriller and buddy comedy, the film is every bit as original as you might expect from such a blend. Taking such stale staples of cinema as it's starting point, Kill List then uses them to mould an increasingly bizarre, violent and disturbing tale and is one that come it's end, will leave a cold grasp on you. In fact that is perhaps where the film may get it's true power from; in letting some of it's more subtler character beats and plot developments mature in your head, you realise just what director Ben Wheatley and his cast have crafted. This is a film that makes you work for it and you will only get out what you put in. But if you're prepared to go the distance - and Kill List goes to some pretty dark places, then you will have one of the more original hard hitting films this year. Somewhat unfairly, the film has been proclaimed to almost 'instant classic' status by some reviewers; a move that while it will surely help it's box office, can only leave most somewhat underwhelmed by such a high benchmark. Not to say the film isn't good enough, rather it would seem that the film is simply too small for the masses. This is something that works best as a more cult finding. Those who discover it knowing as little as possible will be those whom the film works best on. I would even go so far to suggest not even reading this review for fear of only adding to the hype machine, but I digress......

Focusing on the minutiae of British suburban life, we open on Jay (Neil Maskell) and wife Shel (MyAnna Buring). Locked in a passionately violent marriage, the stress of bills and mortgages are taking their toll as their young son Sam (Harry Simpson) watches on helplessly. So far, so regular, until we discover Jay has the far from regular job as a hit-man. Eight months after what seems a disastrous job in Kiev, Jay reluctantly takes on another job with cohort and best mate Gal (an excellent Michael Smiley): the titular list. Of course in films, that 'one last job' is never a good idea and pretty soon, the two find themselves in increasingly murky territory as each hit on their list leads them down darker alleys. The cast are all uniformly excellent. Wheatley and the cast spent almost as much time improvising various takes as with scripted material and the result is incredibly effective. Maskell and Buring's relationship is painfully conveyed to almost too realistic effect. A couple that bicker and fight, only to make up seconds later; it is obvious to everyone but them, that they should not be together. At the heart of things however, is Jay and Gal. As the two embark on their murderous road trip, they paint a memorable couple. Killers with their own set of moral codes; they are fiercely loyal to each other. The two actors do a fine job in making the audience believe the bond between the two. Their core relationship also leads to some of the more wittier moments; never too far off it seems and perfectly breaking up all that tension and misery in between. However, as the List becomes unofficially longer, and the boys realise they are in over their heads there is only more and more unresolved questions stacking up. Who exactly is the man who hired the guys in the first place? Why do Jay's targets continually thank him before each murder? What exactly is that mysterious symbol scribbled on the back of the mirror in Jay's bathroom? All and none of these questions are answered. Mystery surrounds every corner of Wheatley's story and while he may not give a solid answer to any of them, you can rest assured that he has provided enough hints prior to let you connect the dots. It is also safe to say a second viewing will be almost as enlightening as the first, and help clear up some of the mystery. Throughout, Wheatley effortlessly builds tension. Though not much at all may be happening, there is a sea of violence just waiting to explode at any time. All this is only built on by the films atmospheric soundscapes, breathing deep unease into the images. Overall the film is an incredibly peculiar chiller. Not outright horror, drama or crime/thriller, it is hard to categorise.  Instead of this being a hurdle, the film uses this confusion to build a very original and disturbing tale, although definitely not for everybody. If you let the film work on you, by the time the lights come up you may be shocked, confused and just a little bewildered, but no less stunned. But don't listen to me, you're better off taking the film on it's own merits and finding out for yourself.

Verdict: 8/10
A frequently disturbing and odd film that effortlessly blends genres to stunning effect. Some will bemoan the lack of cohesion come it's end, but everyone else will be taken on a very uneasy and murky ride through the underside of British suburbia. Darkly comic and very unsettling, it is an experience you might not be able to shake soon after.

"Kill List" Trailer

Top 10: Aliens

A mainstay of all cinema since it's inception, has been it's exploration of science fiction themes. It is only natural for humans to ponder their own place in the Universe and whether or not there are any other forms of life out there. Through the varied forms of extra terrestrials in film, Hollywood has explored almost all sides of what our first contact with life from another world might be like; be they gentle and docile or ferocious invading monsters. Throughout the many genres Hollywood goes through the ages with such as musicals, pirate swashbucklers and epic period films, they inevitably will fall afoul of their time and cease to attract audiences. Sci-fi never goes out of fashion and is always a successful genre to utilise. However, this means it grows ever harder to provide new takes on any visitors from a different world. This Summer alone shows the genre has no signs of dying with Super 8, Cowboys & Aliens, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Thor, Green Lantern, Attack The Block and even The Tree of Life, each pondering the hows and whys of the Universe, to varying degrees of success. Here is a list of my personal favourites:

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

OK, obvious choice here, but he truly is one of the most memorable creations ever to grace the screens. That a creature as ugly as he could elicit genuine emotion and feeling from the audience to such a degree that no matter if they're child, woman or man, will always be left bawling on the floor come that end, is quite an accomplishment. In a genre crowded with terrifying marauders and invading robots, E.T. is a reminder that there are a few nice guys out there in space.





The Thing

Released the same year as E.T., but to far less commercial success, it was only in later years that the cult of John Carpenters classic began to grow and people realised what a terrifying achievement it was. To this day, many of the prosthetics and effects hold up brilliantly and still continue to shock and unnerve. It's terror comes from the fact that this life form could be your best friend and you might never know. That coupled with it's brilliantly utilised and claustrophobic Antarctic setting make it's effect all the greater. While we never actually get to see the original shape of the creature, it's various graphic shape shiftings is enough to imply we never want to. That remake/prequel due for release later this year sure has a lot to live up to.





Predator

Somewhat sullied by those pointless and horrible Alien Vs. Predator mash ups, this guys power remains undiminished. While the film begins as a very standard boys action rescue flick, it quickly morphs into a tense face off between the hunter from another world and Schwarzeneggers lone special ops agent. History has it that one of the creatures most defining physical aspects, it's mandible face actually came from a James Cameron design. While the late great Stan Winston helped create the iconic design, it's original effort was far from the imposing warrior. In fact it more closely resembled a small version of a man in a Godzilla costume mindlessly running about - brief snippets of which can be seen on the DVD. Had that actually been it's final design then you can rest assured, it would be a very different film than the one we are left with.




Alien

Perhaps possibly the monster that comes to your head when you think of aliens on film, HR Giger's unsettling and disturbing design of a phallic, acid blooded and almost indestructible killing machine was the stuff of nightmares for years after that first Alien film. Yet again, those pesky Alien Vs. Predator films, plus it's franchises own turds (Alien Resurrection) have come close to dwindling the immense power of such a classic movie monster, but have failed. A truly unsettling creation; a creature that grows inside it's host before unceremoniously giving 'birth' to itself through it's hosts ribcage would be bad enough, did it not also grow into a two metre tall, unstoppable and incredibly pissed off monster. From the facehugger to it's adult stage, it goes through many incarcerations, each one of them incredibly effective.




District 9

The aliens in District 9 are not part of a hostile planet takeover of Earth. Rather they are a weak species who have crash landed in Johannesburg. Interestingly, we do not treat them as an historical first meeting with inter dimensional beings we could learn something from, rather a burden on our economy in which director Neill Blomkamp makes some not so subtle comparisons with racism in his native country. While they are described as drone workers for a much stronger infrastructure of aliens that have already died by the time they get here, they are nontheless strong and vicious enough to take care of themselves. However, if these prawns are the weaklings, then imagine what the big guns will be like like when they return to Earth in the mooted sequel. Our main guide into their world is Christopher Johnson, whom we discover shares a few parallels with human behaviour and is sometimes more human, than the humans themselves.




Paul

The thing about Paul is that while the film may not be a classic by any means, the great animation on the character mixed with Seth Rogans delivery of him means he is one of the first CGI characters to hilariously riff and improv with our main live action characters. I love that thousands of dollars went into a character that moons, curses, smokes weed and quotes various sci-fi films at our heroes. Because of this, it is easy to forget that Paul is entirely CG. Putting so much pressure on the character to succeed was a risky move, but they pull it off; so much so in fact, that most of the films success is down to the little guy.




Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Spielberg's second appearance on the list with yet again, another cuddly pacifist view on what visitors from another world might be like. The true drama in the film comes from Roy Neary's (Richard Dreyfuss) obsession with his first initial and brief encounter with them as it threatens to overtake his life and destroy his family. So come the end, when the little grey guys (the most typical design on this list, but no less effective) turn up, they bring awe inspiring spectacle and dazzling technology shrouded in glorious light. These guys are more curious and insightful than hell bent on enslaving man kind for their own ends. The end result is one of the most incredible climaxes in cinema history, using music as communication to stunning effect.




The Abyss
Again, another variation on more peaceful aliens, this frequently overlooked James Cameron classic, is still an incredibly tense and often claustrophobic thriller, set deep under the oceans. The film supposes that aliens have been here all along, living unbeknownst to man in the deep abysses of our oceans. When they finally appear for the films climax, they appear almost angelic and help save our heroes. Of course they also manage to show mankind the error of their ways and come off more as observers than any life forms willing to make contact with us. This scene is perhaps the most memorable in the film.




Independence Day
OK, so some of it's power may have diminished with director Roland Emmerich deciding to do almost the exact same thing with each disaster film since this films release but the fact remains, that this films has has one of the most epic alien invasion build ups ever and some pretty great set pieces. Thank god that alien technology was compatible with Apple otherwise we would have all been screwed. This one is for the boy inside you.




Signs
Before both M. Night Shyamalan's career went down the pan and found footage movies were overdone, we had this great moment from Signs. Up to this point we know something is happening in the world, but don't know what and this brief but incredibly hair raising moment from the film works wonders in upping the horror stakes. It's cam recorded footage on the TV only adds to it's effect; we could imagine watching the news and reacting much like Joaquin Phoenix character does. It's effect comes from us putting ourselves in that situation and wondering just what the hell we would do? Of course, the film then squanders all this in the third act showing that the only thing that can kill the aliens is water. Good work then on invading a planet that is almost entirely covered with the stuff.

The Inbetweeners Movie

Whenever a successful British TV show is transplanted to the big screen, the resulting answer on how to update proceedings without repeating what has gone before seems to be always the same; 'let's go on holidays!' A recent example of this was Kevin and Perry Go Large, a film painfully stretched from it's sketch format across 90 uneventful minutes. Well unfortunately the makers of The Inbetweeners Movie have learned nothing from past disasters such as this. Snatched from it's small screen origins the film repeatedly mistakes bad language for genuine comedy and never reaches the highs of the original series. While the original E4 comedy show was never classic in my book, it still featured embarrassingly crude situations, a novel core relationship between it's four friends and amusing potty mouth. It had relatable teens doing relatable things and that was what was part of it's charm. Unfortunately, this does not translate to the big screen. Here the film finds Will, Simon, Jay and Neil finished with school and deciding to go to Malia for their holidays - as any young, girl obsessed teenage boy would. While there was plenty of comedy that could have been mined from their unfortunate trip, the film never manages to find it's gear and outside of one funny empty dancehall scene, is noticeably short on decent gags. It speaks wonders in fact that that one humourous scene is classic slapstick, while the rest of the jokes the film has to offer is based almost entirely on crude variants on words for female genitalia. At least the show balanced this out with relatable issues that any teen goes through, such as girls, social status and school. Here our morons act, for the first time like annoying morons - completely out of touch with reality, never learning a thing and end up as winners. As a result, any camaraderie you might have felt for the lads is gone. At least before they seemed to want to do the right thing and it was always their own bad circumstance and attitudes that tripped them up. Here they are just stupid and shallow and hard to empathise with. Overall the film gets by on the likeability of the actors who do just barely enough with their characters to make things bearable. However at the end, you can't help but feel that the film is the equivalent of when a young child screams out 'POO!' in public. He might think it's hilarious, but everyone else just wants him to shut up.

Verdict: 3/10
Sexist, far fetched, immature and crucially, not very funny. Timing for jokes is off, everyone seems to think they are crafting comedy gold and the guys likability factor dwindles. A shadow of what has gone before.

"The Inbetweeners Movie" Trailer

Final Destination 5

That a franchise with 'Final' in the title is now on it's fifth entry is deeply ironic. This is certainly one series that should have been left well alone long ago. Indeed, after eleven years of studios mindlessly hashing these things out, it is easy to forget that the first release was actually an effective little thrill ride. Sure it was never going to win any awards, but in a genre that at that time, was overcrowded with self knowing slasher flicks, this 'Mouse Trap' compendium took a novel approach to the way it offed it's respective teens. However, one sequel was more than enough before it started repeating itself and here we are somehow - on entry five. Each chapter follows the exact same formula as the last and this one is no different. Sam is on his way to a team building exercise with his company when he finds himself in the middle of a huge  collapsing suspension bridge disaster. We find out the tragedy was in fact a premonition and Sam luckily manages to save himself and a few of his friends by warning them just before the actual disaster occurs. From then on, it's business as usual as Sam and the gang discover from scary deep voiced coroner (Tony Todd) that they have not escaped death, merely slowed it down. Pretty soon, one by one each of the team slowly succumb to overly elaborate and very painful deaths involving freaks of chance. It's many intricate murders is what the series has always been known for. There was something original about it being fate itself hunting those victims, rather than any personification of evil. Here, those scenes seem to aspire for winces and groans, but end up becoming very yawn inducing, very fast. Sure the first few are fun, but after a while interest begins to wean seeing yet another one of the gang being conveniently left alone to fall prey to rickety massage tables/laser eye surgery/gymnastics and gain yet another supposedly hilariously gruesome death. And all in gore-popping-3D. It doesn't help that each one of the very annoying characters is played by very annoying actors. We hold absolute no sympathy for anyone and mostly look forward to their fates catching up to them. The first one was novel for not knowing who or when anybody could go; here we know exactly who and exactly when, subtracting all tension from proceedings. The only thing left is how and that is all the film seems to care about. Director Steven Quale is a protege of James Cameron no less and while he shows proficiency with effects and the like (that opening bridge collapse is admittedly, pretty impressive stuff) he couldn't care less about plot or character. Overall this is a dead franchise that should have been itself killed off long ago. After watching this, it begs the question; who did it have to kill for Death to pass it over?

Verdict: 3/10
Outside of a very well handled opening disaster, the film quickly fizzles out from there leaving you wondering what the point of it all is. At this stage of the game everything has become tired, monotonous and predictable and is yet another example of a franchise being hammered mercilessly into the ground, leaving no survivors.

"Final Destination 5" Trailer