Category Archives: Film and TV
I’ve watched a lot of films in the past couple of weeks
I had loads of annual leave that wanted using up before the end of next month so spent the past fortnight chilling at home and getting various things organised. This mostly consisted of spring-cleaning the house but when that was all done I started nailing a few song ideas down then sat back to watch some movies I’d been promising myself to see.
Fortunately I enjoyed pretty much all of them. Red Cliff was great, Shutter Island was a mindf***, Green Zone was also great, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was kinda fun…even Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland wasn’t as bad as I expected. I got through rather a lot of beer and ice cream during all this…
Chrysalis: very cyberpunk, very French
The cyberpunk genre is one of my favourites but I’m always mindful of the label being over- or mis-used just to make a science fiction piece sound all dark and cool. Ever since I first watched Blade Runner I’ve had a fascination with futuristic stories set in high-rise dystopias though; the atmosphere and style of it appeals to me for some reason. Quite a few sci-fi stories claim to fall into this category or, as is more often the case, have the term forced on them but the 2007 effort from Julien Leclercq falls squarely in cyberpunk territory. In a good way.
Perhaps part of the appeal is in the way cyberpunk draws so much from two other areas I appreciate: the twisting plotlines and ambiguous morality of Chandler-esque hard-boiled detective fiction and the gritty yet stylish feel of film noir. Being part futuristic sci-fi and part butt-kicking detective movie, Chrysalis ticks all these boxes…with the bonus of being French and therefore even cooler and more stylish. In other words, it’s pretty good.
The Devil’s Backbone
I was originally planning to talk about Pan’s Labyrinth but to be honest it’s so well-known and acclaimed there isn’t much point making it the focus of any sort of review. Don’t get me wrong, I do love that film: I often cite it as one of the most immersive and spellbinding pieces of cinema in recent years but del Toro’s earlier feature, The Devil’s Backbone, is equally deserving of a mention. It’s not quite of the same calibre but there are plenty of similarities between the two and it’s outstanding enough in its own right to warrant the extra attention.
Both films are set during the Spanish civil war in the second half of the 1930s so as well as being effective supernatural chillers the stories have a definite historical background that compliments the main events: the superstition that pervaded Spanish culture at the time, not to mention the sensation of fear and unease among ordinary people, runs behind and parallel to the main plotline. The social and political upheaval adds context to what is already an effective and atmospheric gothic-style horror, making it a great ghost story but much more too.
Control (feature film)
Anton Corbijn is a logical choice perhaps as the director for a music biopic: he has an extensive CV both as a photographer and film maker in the company of rock and pop artists, not to mention having first-hand experience with working alongside Joy Division, the earlier incarnation of the band that would later be known as New Order. His style makes an interesting transition to Control, an unavoidably gritty and ultimately tragic adaptation of Touching from a Distance, the story of Joy Division’s frontman Ian Curtis told from the point of view of his wife Deborah. It charts their first meeting as teenagers and follows Curtis’ tragically short life as a young husband and father, then vocalist of an upcoming band through to his eventual suicide from a combination of illness and personal demons; most importantly it is keen to portray Curtis the man rather than Curtis the rock icon.
House M.D. season 1
It is hard to believe that Hugh Laurie, the acting talent behind the bumbling Prince George in Blackadder, would go on to take the role of television’s grouchiest and most brilliant medic and win a Golden Globe for his efforts. In an industry that churns out one formulaic drama series after another, it might also seem strange that House M.D., another part of a very crowded ‘medical drama’ genre, could garner so much acclaim; it is after all fundamentally formulaic. The misanthropic hero and his team of talented specialists take on a seemingly insoluble case, which is followed by a slew of potential diagnoses, a patient’s life hangs in the balance then there’s the eventual resolution; it is a polished and modern blend of Quincy and Sherlock Holmes that takes a ‘case of the week’ approach. Within this structure though there is what could possibly be the smartest and most engrossing televised drama of recent years.
Laurie and his team of elite doctors, played by Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer with superb supporting performances from Lisa Edelstein and Robert Sean Leonard, make for a unique on-screen chemistry which is in no small part aided by creator David Shore’s razor-sharp script. Dr. House is one of the most memorable but also one of the most tactless, cynical and startling personalities to grace our screens; his no-nonsense manner hides a fascinating and deep-seated psyche of a brilliant but troubled individual. The dialogue is bristling with dry and witty wisecracks that flows effortlessly like poetry – poetry riddled with medical jargon, hidden emotions and a heavy dose of sarcasm.
A Scanner Darkly (feature film)
In the near-future the US government is facing a drugs epidemic. One of its undercover operatives, codenamed ‘Fred’ but working amongst the junkies and dropouts as Bob Arctor, finds himself drawn too closely into the world of the addicts as he tries to locate the source of the notorious narcotic Substance D. Arctor’s work causes him to become as addicted as the very people he is investigating as he attempts to unravel the shocking truth behind the nation’s drugs problem.
A Scanner Darkly is adapted from a novel of the same name, written by visionary science fiction author Philip K Dick. A number of Dick’s works have been given the cinematic treatment over the years but even Blade Runner, for all its moral questioning and chillingly convincing future world, fell short in portraying the full scope of the story that inspired it. In that sense, A Scanner Darkly is possibly the most faithful Dick adaptation to date. This is mainly due to the efforts of director Richard Linklater, who took the visual techniques of his earlier film Waking Life and used them to bring Arctor’s drug-addled experiences to the screen.
Totally Bill Hicks
Comprised of candid interviews with friends and family and a televised version of the comedian’s final UK performance, at the Dominion Theatre, London in 1993, Totally Bill Hicks is a fitting testament to what proved to be one of the most honest and controversial voices in the stand-up comedy world. The first half, It’s Just a Ride is an insightful documentary concerning his early life and career with clips from old performances; the second half, Revelations, demonstrates his boundless energy and conviction, launching vitriolic and outrageously funny attacks on politics, social standards and the dark flipside to the American Dream.
Those who are easily offended should stop reading now: this DVD is not for you. If however you are eager to see sharp, intelligent, no-holds-barred comedy with more than a little social commentary, I can’t recommend this enough. Described as the ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Comedian’, Hicks had a natural gift to pick out the things that are wrong in the world and tell it to his audience straight; if he’d ever heard of the concept of political correctness he obviously paid it no attention. While some may be discouraged from watching because of this, others will find his brutal and crude honesty refreshing. Successful stand-up is difficult enough but to throw politics and unpleasant home truths into the mix and still have an entire theatre in stitches is a rare talent indeed.
District 9
Heh, this was a type of alien visitation film I didn’t expect. Aside from the relatively modest budget, little-known director and no-name cast, it’s also one of the most unusual pieces of sci-fi I’ve seen in a while. It’s great to see familiar territory shaken up and given a new spin: it’s even better when the story takes on a lot of more terrestrial issues and throws personal drama into the mix. To me it does with aliens what Eve no Jikan does with robots.
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