Is this the end of UK Cinema?

Forget Michael Bay making Transformers 3. Forget Johnny Derp (I mean Depp) making Pirates whatever. The UK Film Council is being abolished by having it’s funding cut by the government. And why I hear you ask –

“The UK Film Council is to be axed as part of a cost-cutting drive by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), it has been announced.” – BBC News

For those that don’t know the UK Film Council (UKFC) was made in 2000 and was given £15m to invest in UK,  talent. This is (as you can imagine) really bad news because it is hard enough for young talent to get a film funded and a lot of brilliant British films had been funded by the UKFC. Films such as Jane Campion’s 'Bright Star'; Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold's second feature 'Fish Tank'; Armando Iannucci's 'In The Loop'; and Sam Taylor Wood's 'Nowhere Boy', written by Matt Greenhalgh where all funded and possibly wouldn’t of been made without the help of the UKFC.

"People will rightly look back on today's announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency," – Time Bevan (UK Film Council chairman)

What does this mean for the future of British Cinema? Who knows? In the recent Little White Lies (#30, on sale now) there was an article about the future of cinema and with this news surfacing today it will have a great knock on the industry. Will something pop up which is similar? Will other investors like Film4 be swamped with people trying to get their films funded? It is truly bad news for film makers and fans.

Sources

UK Film Council to be abolished

UK Film Council Official Site

UK Film Council Wiki

Review for 'INCEPTION'

Directed by – Christopher Nolan

Cast – Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy

Release date: Out Now

After the roaring (and I mean roaring) success of The Dark Knight which made billions for Warner Brothers, the studio said to Nolan he could do anything he wanted and what he did was something beyond brilliant.

To review this movie, it’s hard because the best bit about Inception is to know nothing about it. Don’t bother even watching the trailers. If you want to know the bare basics they go like this - the film centres around Cobb played by DiCaprio as he delves into your dreams and steals you secrets. After a job goes sour Cobb has to assemble a crack team to help him achieve Inception whilst battling his own daemons in an attempt for redemption. The tag line for the film is – Your mind is the scene of the crime, and that’s the best way to explain it. That’s all I’m going to say.

Christopher Nolan has become such as brilliant director that he has acceded his previous work it in every way. Inception is a brain child Nolan has been forming for more then ten years and he did the right move by waiting till he had the right sources and tools. His first film Momento is just the icing on his very creative cake and if he continues to be allowed this sort of freedom will do wonders for Hollywood. Hollywood has some thought that audiences only care about brain numbing explosions whilst Nolan has clearly shown that audiences want to have a challenging narrative.

The acting is brilliant as DiCaprio once again shows this year that he is a Tour de Force of an actor (he opened this year with Shutter Island which I personally really liked). With a great co-starring cast of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page and Tom Hardy who we last saw as Bronson. Both the script and the cast have to be nominated at the Academy Awards because Nolan has found a great mixture of actors, script and visual style. Whilst the beginning of the movie seems rushed and confusing it all works out. Ellen Page mentions at one point “so who’s subconscious are we in” and whilst that is directed at the audience it shows that both the audience and the characters are lost in this crazy labyrinth and that it is good that you feel lost and confused. There are enough great acting, gunfights, set pieces in the movie to keep anyone hooked.

I plan on seeing the movie a second time because after learning all the rules you want to submerge yourself back into the world and decipher anything you didn’t manage to get.

This film will be hard to beat and it going in top of my list of films of the year. It could even go into my personal favourite film list. Everyone needs to see this, in IMAX or in a multiplex and the best thing about it is it’s not in 3D. Bat-three will be incredible.

Anticipation - 4

Enjoyment - 5

Retrospect - 5

Review for 'Predators'

Directors - Nimrod Antal

Starring – Adrian Brody, Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne

Release Date – Out Now

I’m going to start this review by going out on a limb: I liked Predators. At least I liked it as much as you could like a film like Predators. Now I know people will stop reading this and mock me as a Predator fan-boy but if you think about the movie well enough you see some interesting comparisons to other highly acclaimed films which you wouldn’t expects.

The movie opens with Adrian Brody (yes him from The Pianist and The Darjeeling Limited) waking up whilst in free fall. As soon as he lands he meets the motley crew different people who have also been dropped in to this mysterious jungle. Before long we are introduced with the most stupid generic people you will meet such as the black tribal person, the feisty Mexican chick, the crazy rapist, the Russian, the mysterious nice guy, the Japanese sword wielding Yakuza and Danny Trejo. It is only Adrian Brody’s character (and admittedly Danny Trejo’s) that I actually cared about which could be down to me loving him as an actor. Whilst they are fairly bland they begin to discover that they aren’t alone in the jungle and that this jungle isn’t on our home planet but rather a twisted game reserve. Around half way through Laurence Fishburne arrives and almost steals the show from Brody as this twisted survivor who knows what’s going on and what then need to do to survive. The thing with the story is even though it has some interesting bits on a whole it’s everything we’ve seen before.

In classic slasher style each character begins to be knocked off one by one with some very throw away kills which was disappointing. Robert Rodriguez who produced the film had a clear check list he wanted to hit which included: traps, referencing the first movie, a spear death, someone having their spine and skull pulled out and so on. Rodriguez has even gone on record as saying he wanted all the best bits from all the Predator movies and the two awful AVP movies.

So the comparisons which give the film some flavour. Let’s begin with the title: Predators. The title is obviously meant to mimic Aliens by James Cameron. A lot of people said Aliens was better then the original (I don’t agree because the first was brilliant) so I believe they wanted the same success with this instalment. Adrian Brody’s character is the renegade badass and I think the producers didn’t want him to be regarded as an Arnie rip off (as the good Dr Kermode mentioned in his review) but ends up being a total Riddick rip off from Pitch Black. Even story elements are the same, they wake up on a strange planet, they try to get off it and are being hunted by monsters. Later on in the movie the quiet Yakuza member has a showdown with a Predator as they battle swords. The scene is complete fan fiction however I was reminded of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and more importantly Seiji Miyaguchi character Kyûzô who in Seven Samurai was this quiet warrior. If you’ve seen Seven Samurai and know how influential of a film it has been over the years you’ll see the comparison. However the best comparison which I must admit I did not notice was with the Laurence Fishburne’s character. Basically his character has gone mad from war and being alone with the pressure and where have we seen this before? The answer is with Apocalypse Now and the Marlon Brando character. But the fact that Laurence Fishburne got his big break from Apocalypse Now was something I found fascinatingly interesting. Was it intentional? I highly doubt it but would love to think it was.

When you go to see Predators you know exactly what you are going to get. It’s not going to set the world on fire but you’ll see a lot worse this weekend. I recommend people seeing it because it will entertain but if you go thinking with will be on par with Aliens you’ll be disappointed. What you get instead is this generic movie which references bigger movies and adds a fan boy touch to the movie meaning the final product is only something to watch before Nolan’s INCEPTION next week (I’m glad I’ve booked my ticket.).

Anticipation 3

Enjoyment 3

Retrospect 2

We’ve got to send you back… to the 80’s!

What is the fascination with the 80s? I know the 80’s gave us great movies such as Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and The Breakfast Club but recently it is as if we’ve all gone in the Delorean and gone back in time.

Evidence 1

The recent comedy Hot Tub Time Machine which has little laughs but mainly revolves around three forty something men trying to imitate the Super Bad teenagers as they literally go back in time in this time machine. Now this isn’t a review for the film and whilst it has flaws it is actually enjoyable filled with pop culture from our present time and the 80’s with lines such as “What colours Michael Jackson?”.

Evidence 2

The remakes and reboots. Let’s start off with probably the worst four offenders. To start with the A-Team has come out with a new cast such as Liam Nelson and UFC fighter Rampage Jackson (please don’t say UFC is the new WWE) which looks like it’s all about high explosions and racking up a body count.

Then you have Karate Kid which looks dreadful as Jacky Chan teaches Jadan Smith to kick ass kung fu style, replacing “Wax on, wax off” for “Jacket on, Jacket off” among other silly gags to entertain the adults seeing the movie because the kids won’t get it. Now I haven’t seen the new Karate Kid and with its grand score of 5.8/10 on IMDB I doubt I’ll be seeing it anytime soon.

And then we come to Predators which I have to admit looks great. Obviously it’s not going to beat Arnie’s “Get to da’ choppa” but it will beat the crappy Danny Glover sequel. With Robert Rodriguez producing an the cast consisting of Danny Trejo, Laurence Fishburne and one of my personal favourites Adrian Brody (I hopefully with be seeing it with in the next few day so review with soon crop up) as they try to survive on a Predator game reserve. Now weather it will be any good or something to be swept under the carpet it is obviously suppose to be the Aliens of the Predator series.

And finally we come to MacGruber which I have little time to talk about. Made by the people form Saturday Night Live it is based of the ‘Hit 80’s TV Show’ MacGyver. The film looks atrocious and even though it is only a parody it still is guilty of bringing back past memories for some people.

Verdict - Guilty as charged.

I wasn’t born in the 80’s, so I can’t play the “I remember it the first time round” card but they’ve done it for the 90’s so I can start to understand. For some people they might enjoy all this 80’s madness as it reminds them what it was like to be young but I’m sure lots of people hate the thought of it all.

For anyone reading who was born in the 80’s I ask; do you like these remakes and reboots or does it get on your nerves?

Review for 'The Killer Inside Me'

Director – Michael Winterbottom

Cast – Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson.

Release Date – Out Now

[SPOILER WARNING]

Part of Michael Winterbottom’s interest for the audience is how he is contently changing between genres. Now he has turned his attention from music to Noir by adaption pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me.

The story follows Lou Ford played by Casey Affleck (who isn’t to far in this role compared to his Bob Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James ), a quiet, hardworking cop in a small town in Texas as he falls in love with a prostitute Joyce played by Jessica Alba whilst also juggling girlfriend Amy played by Kate Hudson. As exciting as this could and should have been within the first half an hour I was turned off of the whole film. And I was never picked up again.

Lou isn’t just a simple man, inside him he literally has a killing side which is brought on by something we never find out. Lou lives in his fathers shoes, he lives in his house, reads his book and even sexually abuses the same woman his farther did. This unprovoked madness he seems to have just falls short of the audience being interested in this side to him. Within the first thirty minutes he viciously murders Joyce in a very graphic. Sight & Sound magazine (which is a view I and every film fan should take on board) noted that this graphic violence where done how they should be in contracts to the cartoonish violence form Tarantino but I’m afraid it doesn’t work and it is complete misogyny. You can’t gloss it up. The woman in the movie are portrayed as weak, sexually obsessed and who come back for more spankings and kicks to the stomach. Whilst the women are being kicked around the deaths which happen to the men are quick and brief and involve a gun shot to the head and an off screen hanging.

The story drains on and soon becomes boring and that as well as the unnecessary sex scene and violent attacks on the women characters makes the whole experience an endurance test. The only redeeming factors are Casey Affleck’s performances when he’s not spouting “I love you” whilst laying into his poor victim, and the end but those two aside the movie is nothing more then misogynistic pornography.

Winterbottom and Sigh & Sound are trying to defend the violence by saying its staying true to the novel but fifty years after the books release we should know not to convey something as horrific and unnecessary. But even more surprising is how the BBFC let the film slide without any cuts. Cuts where needed and so was a good editor to keep the pace going because you can judge a film by how many times you look at your watch. And during The Killer Inside Me it happened a lot.

Anticipation 4

Enjoyment 1

Retrospect 2

BEWARE THE YOB!

Indescribable... Indestructible! Nothing Can Stop It! It’s… it’s... the Yob!

Possibly a bit over dramatic but you know where I’m going with this. It seems these days the biggest thing we fear in our country (of England not America) isn’t nuclear war, or the economy but the yob culture. After watching film such as Eden Lake, Harry Brown and more recently Heartless I began to think about if this is such a national fear we all share?

Spoilers ahead

In Eden Lake, a group of teenagers terrors led by none other then Jack O’Connell, haunt a happy couple played by Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly as a beautiful day turns to hell by the evening. Whilst the movie as a whole is unbelievably flawed the performances are good (as expected from O’Connell and Fassbender) and you do actually fear O’Connell’s character. He shows so little care for human life and forces his followers into committing horrendous acts. The fact that they tie up Fassbender’s character and stick a utility knife in his mouth, over the death of a beloved pet is horrible to even think about. That scene still haunts me.

Then you look at Harry Brown in which an O.A.P (in this case Michael Cain) is so scared to walk down the street after the death of his friends that he has to fight back.

The yobs in Harry Brown are really threatening to society in one pointless scene two yobs circle a mother with child before gunning her down. It’s scene like these that make me wonder where the writer got the inspiration. Sure, you hear enough about it in the news but now that it’s seeping into our contempory British cinema shows that we as a society no long fear organized gang warfare but it’s the kids we fear most.

Also Harry Brown unlike Eden Lake is actually well told but still pretty unbelievable.

And then you arrive at Heartless which has the most interesting thoughts on yobs in the East End of London. Jim, the birth-marked photography who spends most of his time alone, stumbles across a gang of yobs one night around an open fire (typical Friday night) only to discover they are actually Lizard Demons. The new reports about their brutal murders and sacrificial ritual that it is just normal kids in masks however our hero knows. It’s this which leads him to descend into hell and back. The facts that the demons walk around in hoods and track suit bottoms really was an interesting twist on it.

What I believe is that the Yob culture in Britain is actually having an effect on the mental stability of the people in our society. We (the non-yobs) see them as a threat but also as animals that are reckless and naive and so carless for human life.

Is this a reflection of our current society? Or is it just over exaggerations for propaganda against them? Who know, but all we can do in the mean while is run and hide under a rock.

Oldboy vs The Chaser, Park vs Na, grit on grit.

It appears these days the only movies that seem to captivate or spark my creative imagination is World Cinema. And anyone who knows me knows that I am pretty big on Asian cinema and more importantly Korean cinema. I just feel that they are aloud to go the extra step in comparison to Hollywood. Oldboy (2005) was directed by my personal favourite Park Chan-wook and The Chaser (2008) was directed by first time director Na Hong-jin. Both movies are being transferred to the Western audience: The Chaser has been picked up by the makers of The Departed whilst Oldboy he been picked up by Spielberg with Will Smith playing the lead. I won’t even go there.

But upon watching both movies I thought about there similarities and differences which I will go through in an attempt to interest you the reader into seeing them before and if indeed they are remade.

I’ll start chronologically, Oldboy tells the story of Oh Dae-su, who is captured on the night of hi daughters birthday and imprisoned for fifteen years in what appears to be a shabby hotel. He is given a bed, a toilet and a television which becomes his whole world. Be begins to attempt suicide before eventually training his body and teaching himself his own sloppy martial arts. After his lengthy time he wakes up in a suitcase on a rooftop left to seek revenge on his kidnappers in the streets of Seoul in South Korea.

The Chaser on the other hand follows tells a tale again on the streets of Seoul. This time follows Eom Jung-ho a detective turned pimp on the hunt for someone who he suspects have been selling his ‘girls’ but instead there is more sinister work at play as Jung-ho is soon to find out. The tag line sets the movie up perfectly “In 60 minutes he found the killer, in 12 hours he must find the next victim.” As Jung-ho learns more and more he finds himself becomes a detective again working with the Seoul police department on and off to find Mi-jin who is at the mercy of her kidnapper.

So with that out of the way, here is what I thought about the movies. I wanna first say I really enjoyed them both. And the fact people have taken interest in the west to remake them it shows how popular they are. I first heard about Oldboy in an advertisement in a movie magazine. I haven’t seen anything from Korea and from the poster I was enticed by something which I to this day do not know. I bought it and was thrown into a culture I had not seen previously. A tragedy so dark it would make Shakespeare spin in his grave. After seeing the rest of Park’s back catolog I have not become an avid fan on Korean cinema and actor Song Kang-ho (The Host, JSA, Thirst). I have blogged about Park Chan-wook before so check it out for further information. Oldboy is about the psyche of man who had everything and was striped of it, “Oldboy is a powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare” Ebert mentioned in his review (which I will mention for both films).

Now even though I complement the movie I must say it is certainly not for the weak stomached. There is visceral horror like for example someone being tortured by pulling teeth with a rusty hammer, but also with plot developments which I won’t go into. To add to that Choi Min-sik, the actor who plays Dae-su, is Buddhist but in one awkwardly disturbing scene towards the beginning decides to eat a squid live. I mention his religious background because they used real squid and had to ask for forgiveness before eating them in such a grotesque spectacle. I don’t enjoy or accept animal cruelty in movies and I even believe that that scene is one of the most brutal in which I have to skip or look away.

In Ebert’s review of the movie he consistently notes how much he enjoyed the movie and with the violence and graphic scenes with statement such as “Oldboy ventures to emotional extremes, but not without reason.” And I totally agree and it’s this which makes it stand out from most modern thrillers which focus on governmental conspiracies and explosions.

I believe the same could be said about The Chaser with some diversions. In Ebert’s review of the movie he did enjoy it as well hailing it as “a poster child for what a well-made thriller looked like in the classic days.” He noted that the chases in The Chaser are realistic as we feel like the characters do as they stop to breath - “There are no supermen and no sensational stunts. When the actors run, we see that they are running.” This adds to the grit the film has. In Oldboy there is a sequence which is my favourite fight scene in any movie and involves Dae-su with a hammer fighting fifty men in a narrow corridor all shot with one long take and not editing needed.

It’s is gritty edge in both films which feels more authentic and realistic. In Oldboy there are dream like sequences and more ‘out there’ sections but over all the possibilities of events happening are quit possibly and scary.

My only problem with The Chaser [*Possible Spoiler Alert*] is something I don’t believe Ebert didn’t pick up on. And that would be the misogyny. Granted the movie is about a prostitute murderer however through out I feel the women are treated weaker then their male counter parts. All the infliction of severe pain happens to women excluding one male death. I hope it was not an intentional move by the director by I thought it wasn’t. Some distressing scenes happen in which a man inflicts pain on a woman several times with various tools, whilst the men in the film chase and punch each other only to later be ready for round two.

I would be hard pushed to say which movie is better and if you take Rotten Tomatoes as the stand point then Oldboy is the winner. However over all as a piece I thought The Chaser is more consistent. Oldboy is fully of brilliant scenes and I can see why it received a lot of attention in the West. As the title state on the DVD for The Chaser “I urge you to see it” and the same applies for Oldboy.

Roger Ebert's reviews

Oldboy

The Chaser