Thursday 17 March 2016

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

REVIEWS NO-ONE ASKED FOR
by Ashton Brown

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
dir Dan Trachtenberg



NOT WHAT YOU'RE EXPECTING BUT ALSO SO MUCH MORE

I have a thing for monsters, aliens and creatures. Many, many years ago when I saw JJ Abrams' shaky cam delight, Cloverfield, I was enthralled. I have always been a sucker for the shaky cam sub-genre of horror and we all know by now that Mr Abrams knows exactly what he is doing. So it was with pure excitement and high expectation that I headed along to the cinema today, solo, to see the kinda sequel, 10 Cloverfield Lane - which is not really a sequel to Cloverfield (nor is it shaky cam!). There are two reasons why I wanted to experience this alone. The first being that I hadn't been to the movies on my own before, let alone a horror, and I wanted to know if the experience was in any way enhanced by being isolated in what was pretty much a deserted theatre (Friday at midday). The second being that no-one else was free to see this movie on a Friday at Midday. I must admit I was excitedly nervous about watching a horror/thriller alone and it certainly did make the whole experience slightly more nerve wracking.

The film starts free from dialogue and continues this way throughout a large portion of it's opening moments. Our ears are introduced to an absolutely gorgeous musical score from the exceptional Bear McCreary (who's name I immediately recognised from the opening credits of The Walking Dead) and sets the tone of edge of your seat "something bad is going to happen" and holds this feeling for the entire 2 hour run time. The opening credit scene is one of my favourite opening scenes from the last year or so (up there with Deadpool but for entirely different reasons) and brilliantly merges the credits with the action without taking you out of the world of the movie, even for a second.

I watch a hell of a lot of horrors and thrillers. So I feel I have a pretty rough idea of what to expect from a film regardless of it's sub genre. Where 10 Cloverfield Lane succeeds is by frequently luring you into thinking that you have figured out the story, predicted the twists and it leads you to expect predictability but then rips the rug out from under your feet. Particularly towards the end I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself at having figured out what was going on - and was soon taken in an even more profound and interesting direction. Cloverfield Lane never quite let's you get on top of what is happening, but it also doesn't get caught up in trying to be too clever, or too twisty turny. It has the right amount of fresh plot to keep you intrigued for the entire film. Although I couldn't help but notice some similarities to the story of the more indie Hidden (2015), this was still unique and interesting in it's entirety and a stand out film within the genre. With some genuine jaw dropping moments (one in particular where I literally had my jaw drop), it's an intense and intriguing ride.
Part horror, part thriller, all great.

Newcomer director, Dan Tachtenberg, makes sure the film is so beautifully paced that we never loose interest, we never get distracted nor do we ever fully catch our breath. But the thing that really makes 10 Cloverfield Lane stand out is it's cast. With a core cast of three actors, all providing such grounded, believable and strong performances that we hang off every word they say and never doubt for a moment the reality of the world they have created. From a strong, smart, brave female lead (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to the exceptional John Goodman in a role where he is simply flawless in pitch and delivery of his character, to relative newcomer John Gallagher Jr in the supporting seat - this cast know how to perform and oh boy do they ever. A beautifully well cast ensemble.

10 Cloverfield Lane never gets bogged down in cheap jump scares but rather crafts an environment of suspense that doesn't just have you uncomfortable on a few occasions, but rather leaves you feeling claustrophobic, unnerved and reasonably uneasy for it's entirety. Whilst it honours some classic horror tropes, it doesn't rely on them and I would highly recommend getting along to the cinema to see this beauty of a thriller. You don't need to have seen Cloverfield in the slightest to get full enjoyment out of this cinematic journey - but you should anyway.

Highly recommend.

4 out of 5. 


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Sunday 6 March 2016

THE NIGHT BEFORE

REVIEWS NO-ONE ASKED FOR
by Ashton Brown

THE NIGHT BEFORE
dir Jonathan Levine



IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...every other comedy ever made.

Guys! Have you been holding out, waiting for a film where Seth Rogen plays a baffonish Jewish fellow who loves taking drugs?! A film where Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a love struck fellow (and despite being ten thousand percent charismatic and handsome) is unlucky in love?! Well wait no longer - the Christmas themed, The Night Before has arrived, providing you with nothing new, fresh or overly hilarious. It's enjoyable, sure, but is sub par given the creatives involved and the fact it's 2016 (or even late 2015).

Ethan (Gordon-Levitt) is sad and understandably so - his parents died on Christmas Eve. So every year at this time he get's together with his two best pals, Isaac (Rogen) and professional, drug abusing athlete, Chris Roberts (Anthony Mackie). It's become a tradition to get messed up and seek out this super secret party that they heard about many years ago but never managed to get an invite for. These three early 30s gentlemen learn to face reality as they deal with family, babies and reality. The formula is wondrously...well...formulaic...and I didn't expect any different from a Christmas film. I have no problem with Christmas films. I'm a big fan of Love Actually. I watch it every year or so with a santa hat over the corner of the TV, having a shot of whiskey whenever someone wears it. I love that guy from The Walking Dead's unhealthy and embarrassing obsession. I love Professor Snape (RIP) and his weird affection for a woman much younger than him. I love how tragic Christmas is! The problem with The Night Before is that it DOES have heart. It DOES have jokes. But it is so wrapped up in mediocre Christmas and romantic comedy tropes that the script never really blossoms into something new and the actors are pretty much performing outtakes of every other film they have ever been in.

It's never an unenjoyable journey by any means. We always love seeing Rogen getting high on ridiculous amounts of drugs. We love seeing Gordon-Levitt being charming and tragic. We love the always exceptional Mindy Kaling being the always exceptional Mindy Kaling - and Christ knows we love Home Alone references. It's just disappointing that this is all that is happening. When the script finally allows it's actors to discover a real moment of true vulnerability or suggests that the moral is going to be something more than a really poor and last minute feeling nod to The Night Before Christmas - it too quickly rips the rug out from under the audiences feet and returns to the more simplistic ease of stupidity and predictability. I'm not suggesting I was expecting otherwise - but I did expect more.

The movies saving grace, for me, is the "ghost" that provides the premonitions to the leads. The always ridiculously amazing Michael Shannon, portrays a very restrained and hilarious drug dealer whose magical pot drives the visions that are clear references to the source material.

So did I enjoy it? Well I didn't hate it. But I watched it because of how much I like Rogen & Gorden-Levitt and how although I don't expect 50/50 from them every time (amazing film - if you haven't seen it - watch it) I don't want to feel as though they are just cashing cheques. I don't want to say that this is the Your Highness of Christmas films - because fuck, it's not THAT bad. But it was disappointing. I shouldn't have to lower my expectations further when they weren't that high to begin with. 

2 out of 5. 


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Thursday 3 March 2016

DEADPOOL

REVIEWS NO-ONE ASKED FOR
by Ashton Brown

DEADPOOL
dir Tim Miller



DEADPOOL: PARTY LIAISON

Firstly let me make one thing clear. I am a MASSIVE geek. I'm just not a comic book geek. I am a film geek, a gaming geek, a superhero geek. So although this review comes from the perspective of a geek, it doesn't come from a geek who is familiar with the source material.

I was really keen on seeing Deadpool. It had received great reviews. Great responses. I was looking forward to seeing a superhero film that was actually allowed to portray violence, swear, and generally just not give a fuck. After seeing it, I think two things. The first being that although Deadpool is a highly enjoyable film - it certainly doesn't live up to the hype. The second is that the film spends so much time NOT trying to be anything more than it is, that it feels like it tries too hard to be WHAT it is. Yes it has some humerous fourth wall breaking. Yes it has adult humour. Yes it has references and straight up mocking of actors, franchises, the nature of superhero films and glorious moments of being meta. But in not caring about what it is, or being defined by the traditional rules of film making, it feels like it's 'not caring' goes full circle and it turns into trying just a little too hard to prove that it doesn't care.

The story is simple. Guy loves girl. Girl loves guy. Guy gets cancer. Guy can be saved from cancer by being made into a superhero. Guy accepts. Villains happen. Girl gets taken. Guy saves girl. The End. Story-line wise there is nothing new or even overly interesting about it. What sets Deadpool apart from others like it is the way it tells the story. Through dick jokes, blood and decapitations. This is something that is hugely missed from other films in the Marvel franchise and it certainly makes Deadpool an enjoyable two hours as a result. However beyond the excitement and visceral nature of the R16 content, Deadpool doesn't really offer anything else that you couldn't get from any other film in the Marvel Universe.

The things Deadpool does well - it does do very well. Reynolds is exceptionally well cast. Despite just doing exactly what you'd expect Reynolds to do. He doesn't offer any suprises in the role but he does play it with the perfect amount of humour, bravado and emotion. Never does he get too bogged down in a single aspect of the character but instead portrays Wade Wilson with a suitably comic book 3-dimension. If I closed my eyes, it could have been a Van Wilder: Party Liaison spin off. But it works.

As far as exposition goes, the film starts with an action sequence and then cuts back to the origin story. The action in these opening 15 minutes is absolutely spectacular. Beautifully shot and directed and it makes no apologies for using a superfluous amount of slow motion to showcase how sexy and sleek the action is - and it's real great. In fact, it is so great that it's like the film peaks here and for me, this is where the film climaxed. They say as an actor you should never start a scene with the most extremes of your characters emotions being portrayed or you have nowhere to go but down and this is how I felt about Deadpool. It orgasmed in the first 15 minutes and it spent the rest of the film spooning with me. The spooning was nice, but compared to the orgasm it felt like I was just waiting for it to be ready to go again. I can't wait for the sequel. Hopefully it can last the full 2 hours next time.

Overall - Deadpool is good. It's fun. It's edgy. It's brainless and it's entertaining. But for me, it climaxes too early, the fun of it being grown up wears out pretty quickly and it tries too hard to come across as though it's not trying at all.

3 out of 5.