Chef

After making a couple of Iron Man films for Marvel,  Jon Favreau decided to make a smaller independent picture about a head chef in an LA restaurant.

Carl Casper is one of the best chef's around but is somewhat hampered by his restaurant's owner's insistence to stick to the popular dishes and not experiment.  When the menu (and him) is criticised by a food critic (Oliver Platt)  a Twitter war begins and Carl quits his job.

Travelling with his son and ex-wife to Miami, Carl sets himself up with a food truck making Cuban Sandwiches and aided by his buddy Martin (John Leguizamo) and son, travel across America bringing good food to the masses.

Favreau has assembled a top notch cast for the film which includes Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara and then gives them a smart sparkling script to play off on.  The relationship on screen between Carl and his son Percy (Emjay Anthony) is incredibly well written and touching as well as beautifully acted.  Overall this is a film to be treasured, it's not flashy but lovingly put together by a director who clearly can make great films whether smaller more personal pictures or wham-bam action.  Excellent and well recommended.

• Starring Jon Favereau  Robert Downey, Jr.  Bobby Cannavale
• Director Jon Favereau
• Distributor Lionsgate

Repentance

Tommy Carter is a man who has changed his life following a car crash, he re-starts it as a life-coach for people with problems. Tommy has also written a best selling book about his experiences and when he meets a troubled man Angel, he feels he must help him.  Angel is grieving about his deceased Mother and is having real difficulty accepting this.  Tommy does all he can but appears to be unsuccessful and when he is sets off to go on a book promotion tour, Angel has other ideas.

Repentance is one of those films with lots of ideas thrown into the mix.  There is the grieving son, the troubled brother and some old school hocus pocus going down with visions.  The central performance from Forest Whitaker is great, if slightly over the top.  I must say I love his twitching hand when he gets stressed.  Anthony Mackie does well as Tommy and he is backed up by Mike Epps and Sanaa Lathan as his wife.

It's perfectly acceptable entertainment, if a little cliched.  You have seen it all a million times before, so don't expect anything earth shattering but it's all very well made and a passable time waster.

• Starring Anthony Mackie  Forest Whitaker  Sanaa Lathan
• Director Philippe Caland
• Distributor Sony

Secrets & Lies

Ben Gundelach is your normal family man and on one particular morning goes out for a jog.  Unfortunately for him he finds the body of a murdered youngster.  The case catches the eye of the national press and Ben's life will never be the same again.

A terrible chain of events begin to occur with more twists and turns than a country lane.  That's all I'm going to say on this frankly superb drama series.  All six episodes are masterfully directed and acted with a script that takes you to places like the character of Ben you wouldn't want to go.

Martin Henderson acts his socks off as Ben the everyman going through sheer hell, you may remember him in the lead male role in the US Ringu remake and deserves a huge pat on the back for his thespian efforts.  Secrets & Lies is one of those mini-series you could easily binge on in one or two sittings, it's simply that good.  It's a reminder that our Australian cousins do produce quality television and not just Neighbours.  

A first class production and if you don't see it you're missing something very special.

• Starring Martin Henderson  Anthony Hayes  Diana Glenn
• Directors Peter Salmon and Kate Dennis
• Distributor Acorn

Our Girl - The Complete Series One

Following the success of the 'one-off film' last year on BBC One, a series was ordered to show the life of Lacey Turner's character Molly in the British Army.

Molly Dawes is a young teenager cheated on by her boyfriend, decides to join the army and the original film followed her training and subsequent deployment to Afghanistan.  The series comprised of five episodes where Molly is faced with her ex, Smurf, a local girl she becomes too close with and the on-going saga of her family issues when she returns home.

The stories are a little 'soapy' but with the high production values and brilliant central performance from Lacey Turner, it elevates it from the usual rubbish we tend to get when an actor from one of our big soaps tends to move on.  Here's hoping the Eastenders bosses let her have some more time off if the show is renewed.

Good stuff overall and Miss Turner proves again she is one of our very best young actresses.

• Starring Lacey Turner  Iwan Rheon  Ben Alridge  Sean Gallagher
• Distributor RLJ / Acorn 

found.

Marty is your typical twelve year old, he loves the horror genre, but is bullied and ridiculed at school.  His brother Steve is harbouring a secret Marty knows, he is a murderer.  Marty knows this because Steve keeps his victim's heads in a bowling bag in his cupboard.  

Marty has just one real friend in the world, David who really doesn't acknowledge him at school because he would likely be bullied as well.  When Marty is picked on by a nasty piece of work called Marcus, his brother steps up to the mark and 'sorts him out'.  The parents aren't really supportive to Marty's cause and using his brother as a rather twisted mentor he takes matters into his own hands.

Found could be classed as a coming of age story, a drama, a horror film but I like to place it in a class of it's own.  It's a very powerful piece of film making and is no way a generic slasher film as hinted by it's cover.  It is very violent (on and off screen) and a couple of scenes are very hard going and brutal.  The acting from the young leads is first class and the supporting players are equally as good in particular the little dude who plays Marcus.

As I write this review, I'm still getting over the incredibly powerful ending, which in all honestly feels like a very hard kick in the stomach. Essential viewing, but it may seriously upset you.  It is however one of the best independent (horror) films I have seen in years.

• Starring Ethan Philbeck  Gavin Brown  Louie Lawless
• Director Scott Shrimer
• Distributor Monster Pictures

Heaven is for Real

Todd Burpo is a preacher at a small town church, he's a real community guy and has friends everywhere.  Todd has a great homelife with a loving wife and a small son, all that changes one day when his son falls ill.  Rushing him to hospital, his son Colton's has an emergency operation and pulls through.  

Colton then describes how he looked down at himself during the operation and the fact he met Jesus. Colton also begins to reveal facts that he would not know about his family.  Based on the best seller by Todd himself, Heaven is for Real is a beautifully made warm film.  

Acting wise, Greg Kinnear as Todd is on top form and is backed by Kelly Reilly as his devoted wife. Newcomer Connor Corum steals the film as Colton and shows a maturity well beyond his years.  Religious family dramas usually crop up on TV filler on an afternoon and it was a brave move for Sony to make such a movie and give it a large scale release.  It's well deserved and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling afterwards, forget the religious stuff (if that's not your bag) and enjoy a film with a real genuine heart.  Awesome stuff.

• Starring Greg Kinnear  Kelly Reilly Thomas Haden Church
• Director Randall Wallace
• Distributor Sony

Devil's Knot

In 1993 in the town of West Memphis, Arkansas three young boys were murdered.  The local god- fearing community was appalled and they demanded justice.  The police investigation led to the conviction of three young men.  These men continuously denied being involved and insisted they were innocent.  However they were convicted and so began a fight for their freedom.

The story of the 'Memphis Three' has been told in several documentaries and there is plenty of information out there if you are interested in the case which in all honestly doesn't paint a great picture of the investigation and the subsequent convictions.

Colin Firth plays an investigator who believes that the case is shaky and is determined to discover the truth and Reese Witherspoon acts her socks off as the Mother of one of the victims (as does Firth and the rest of the cast).

It's certainly upsetting and controversial material, in fact the harrowing scenes of the discovery of the murdered boys is possibly one of the saddest pieces of cinema I have ever witnessed.  It's wonderfully shot and I (and my Mum who was also watching) was deeply affected by the scene and shocked by how the case was handled and it's aftermath.

Devil's Knot has had mixed reviews, but I think it's one of the best 'acting' films I seen in quite a long time.  Highly recommended, but please be aware of the nature of the material.

• Starring Colin Firth  Reese Withspoon  Stephen Moyer
• Director Atom Egoyan
• Distributor Entertainment in Video

After the Dark

It's the final day of term at an international school in Jakarta, Indonesia.  Posh Philosophy teacher Mr Zimit wants to set his class a task, that task being how they would choose who would survive in an apocalypse.  Zimit says there is a bunker and the students have to pick who will live after knowing their set of skills such as a carpenter or an engineer.

What follows then are a series of scenarios where their survival skills and instincts are played out.  Although they are based in the classroom, the film moves to different exotic locations where the bunker is situated to give the film some dramatic weight.  Which in all fairness, works really well.

Zimit is a bit of an ego maniac and constantly pushes his students to their limits, they soon work out his twisted intentions and turn the tables on him in this rather sick 'game'.  There's some nice special effects thrown into the mix and pretty good performances all round from the cast.  Keep an eye out for Ron's Weasley's younger sister from Harry Potter who has a main role in the film.

I found the film quite refreshing, clever in parts and some good twists in the story.  Definately worth your time and effort.

• Starring James D'Arcy  Sophie Lowe  Rhys Wakefield  Bonnie Wright
• Director John Huddles
• Distributor Signature Entertainment

Grindhouse Trailer Classics 4

Trailer discs are nothing new to the market, but some are poorly constructed with any old crappy previews thrown together to create the 'Grindhouse Experience".  Things are different at Nucleus Films, these guys care what is shown and make sure the trailers are in good condition and in the right aspect ratios where possible.

We kick off with the famous Coming Attractions introduction to the strains of Funky Fanfare by Keith Mansfield.  In fact there are several different versions of this tune available, check them out on the KPM label among others.  The 'No Masturbation' title card is fun and we start with the first trailer which is 'The Little Cigars' which basically is gangster midgets and looks incredibly bad but strangely entertaining as well.

There is some good stuff here such as Sweet Jesus: Preacher Man, Curtains, Bamboo Gods and Iron Men, Deathmaster and Al Adamson's Blood of Dracula's Castle.  There tends to be a leaning this time around to a lot of T&A exploitation with boobs everywhere, no real issues there and there is a couple of films again on the compilation I shall try and get hold of.

All in all, another great value disc from a company that really does care what it puts out and nice Graham Humphreys art on the cover as well.

• Distributor Nucleus Films

Porphyrophobia

Porphyrophobia - An excessive fear of the colour purple.

That's not the Steven Spielberg movie, but an actual fear of the colour and this is the basis of this short film from a pair of Bristol based film-makers.

Violet Buxton lives a pretty sorry existence with her son Andrew, who appears to be a couple of cards short of a full deck.  Her life virtually revolves looking after him and her only solace is 'Trevor' who brings her presents from his travels and wants to take her out.  The social worker is poking his nose in where it's not wanted and things take a turn when it all becomes a bit strange in the sky one day.

The film written by Paul Holbrook and directed by Samuel Dawe gets straight to the point (it's a short film and an entertaining one at that) and features some great individual performances from the two leads.  The reason why young Andrew is fearful of purple is quite twisted and if you suffer from coulrophobia (fear of clowns) you're hate it.

The Kickstarter funded project is interesting and pretty original.  Holbrook and Dawe have done well on a small budget and the ending is particulary impressive visual wise.  The pair are busy with lots of other projects, feel free to visit their facebook and youtube pages.

• Starring Karen Payne  Danny Chase  Micky Two Shoes Scott
• Director Samuel Dawe
• Distributor Shunk Films

The Forgotten aka Falls The Shadow and Zombie Warz

The world has gone to ruins and mankind is on it's last legs.  There is an infection across the land and the remaining humans travel alone and in packs trying to survive.

We first meet the Reverend, a very sick man indeed who doesn't really like anyone who isn't white.  You know he's an evil twisted SOB as he commands a young black girl to be burnt at the stake.  We then meet Noah, a man wandering the land who meets a young woman named Elena who later on asks him to scrub her back.   As you would imagine Noah doesn't turn her down, nor would I to be fair.  Michael, his Father in Law Frank who has an axe to grind with the Reverend and a young Mother and her son.  

The film for its low budget pulls off a minor miracle as it looks far more expensive then it is.  Its brutal, nasty and pulls no punches. The acting at times is a little amateurish but overall the performances are just fine.  There are obvious influences from various end of the world movies and The Walking Dead TV show, but like I said its pulled off well.

Whilst watching it I got a Italian apocalypse movie vibe, you know like Endgame and the Fred Williamson 'classics' of the early 80's. Not to everyone's taste, but it appears a lot of hard work went into making it so well done to everyone involved.  Worth a look if this is sort of your thing.

• Starring Olivia Bishop  David Eby  Luke Hatmaker
• Director Steven Berryessa
• Distributor 101 Films

Saving Mr. Banks

(Mrs.) Pamela Travers is the author of the Mary Poppins books and for the last twenty years a certain Walt Disney has been pursuing the film rights.  Mrs. Travers won't let the rights go, but due to her financial situation she finally agrees to go to Hollywood to discuss a prospective film.

She is met by Disney and his team including the talented Sherman Brothers (the geniuses behind the music) and is shocked by what they have in store for her beloved creation.  Mrs. Travers being the proper English lady isn't impressed by the Americanisation of a very English nanny including the casting of Dick Van Dyke.  The story of the creation of the film is shared with Travers' childhood in Australia where it ended in tragedy.

Slowly Mrs. Travers warms to Disney's production team, but she learns there are plans for animation in the film which she dead set against.  The film is peppered with lots of material from the film Mary Poppins including the songs and some of the classic dialogue. The acting is first class, Emma Thompson being a brilliant Travers, Tom Hanks playing the man himself and Paul Giamatti in my opinion almost stealing the show as her driver, Ralph.  The supporting cast includes Jason Schwartzman, Kathy Baker and Colin Farrell acting his socks off as Mrs. Travers' Father.

The film is funny, superbly written, incredibly well made and ridiculously moving, I had a tear on more than one occasion.  Simply one of the best films I have seen in years, totally fantastic.

• Starring Emma Thompson  Tom Hanks  Colin Farrell  Paul Giamatti
• Director John Lee Hancock
• Distributor Disney

Prisoners

Starring the great Hugh (Wolverine) Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal in a terrific thriller about missing children.  A bit of a hard going subject matter, but an excellent rewarding filmatic experience.

• Distributor Entertainment One

Lovelace

A lot of people have heard of Deep Throat, the first and really only porn film to hit the mainstream.  Now the story of that film has been told brilliantly in a HBO documentary a few years ago, but now we have the story of the young lady famous for the act where the film got it's name from.

Linda was your typical teenager but fell pregnant at an early age, her strict parents moved her away and the baby was given up for adoption.  Enter Chuck Traynor, who Linda soon falls for and then marries.  Now Chuck wasn't a nice fella and started to abuse Linda pretty much early into the relationship.  Of course it's well documented Chuck knew some unsavoury types and soon Linda was making entertainment of an adult variety.

As I said above, Deep Throat became the Star Wars of porn and Linda was a household name in America.  Her troubles with Chuck got worse and worse, finally she left him and got out of the industry forever.  Eventually finding love again, she started a family and campaigned for women's rights.

 

Lovelace is a well written, directed and acted picture.  Amanda Seyfried known for Mamma Mia and other fluffy roles is awesome.  She is brave with the nudity and it's a real departure for her, so a big well done.  Peter Sarsgaard is an evil sleazy bastard as Traynor and you immediately hate him within seconds of his screen introduction, his acting is truly magnificent.  Thankfully a lot of the more shocking aspects of Lovelace's story have been left out (if you want to know more Google her or buy her book) and what we are left with is an effective well made drama.  Sure the background (i.e. porn) isn't to everyone's tastes but if you pass it by, you are missing a pretty damn good film with great attention given to it's period setting.

• Starring Amanda Seyfried  Peter Saarsgaard  James Franco  Sharon Stone
• Directors Rob Epstein  Jeffrey Friedman  
• Distributor Lionsgate

Traveller

Young Owen McBride lives in a caravan in the back yard of a pub owned by his late Father's best friend.  As his Mother wasn't a gypsy he is looked at as a 'half breed' by the gypsy community but wants in to their way of life.

Gypsy elder Blackberry played by the legendary David Essex takes him and gives him a job with his horses.  He make friends with a Mongol immigrant but after a series of mishaps where one gypsy is killed, Owen finds himself pursued by the police and local hardmen who want the gypsy land for development,

Traveller is a very well acted  film with an interesting script based on the novel of the same name.  What could have been a simple exploitation film featuring gypsies as the main characters, we actually get a rather moving at times thoughtful piece of cinema.  Billy Cook playing Owen is great and their are some good supporting performances. 

Not at all what I expected and because of that I rather enjoyed it.

• Starring Billy Cook  David Essex  Kerrie Hayes
• Director Benjamin Johns
• Distributor Metrodome
• At cinemas from 6th December 2013

Snitch

Usually cracking heads and generally looking cool, Snitch is a departure for one Dwayne Johnson and he does rather well.

Johnson plays John Matthews, a successful businessman whose wayward son makes the mistake of accepting some drugs from a friend in the mail.  Next thing he knows he's in jail and John can do nothing as his son will not reveal any other dealers to lighten his jail term.  John strikes a deal with the powers at be and gets 'introduced' to the local drugs kingpin by one of his dodgy employees.

Unfortunately John is rather good at what he does and before long he falls in with a Mexican drug cartel.  If he can get some good arrests for the government his son walks free.

 

As I said above, The Rock does this 'acting lark' and he does it awfully well.  He's backed up by a good supporting cast including Barry Pepper and Susan Sarandon.  Before you think he's gone a bit soft there is some action and bloody well staged it is too.

A great film with a good story, simply an essential buy for fans of The Rock and I'm pretty sure it could convert non believers too.

• Starring Dwayne Johnson  Jon Bernthal  Benjamin Bratt
• Director Ric Roman Waugh
• Distributor Entertainment One

The Iceman

No this isn't a new Marvel film but the true story of a hitman, Richard Kuklinski played by Michael Shannon in a scarier role than General Zod in Man of Steel.

Kuklinski is a local hard man working in a film lab editing porno's.  He is approached by the local gangster (Ray Liotta) to be one of his 'guys'.  What he has to do to be 'in' with Liotta is quite sick but I found myself laughing which perhaps says something of me.  Kuklinski becomes one of the best in the business but due to a twist of fate he has to take early retirement from his job which he is very good at.  Unfortunately, for a man with his skills he soon teams up with a fellow hitman who drives an ice cream truck and the mad thing is his wife (Winona Ryder) hasn't a clue.

Violent, well acted and an impeccable production set throughout different times (with the fashions to match).  The Iceman is truly a cinematic joy and another example that Shannon is one of the best actors around.

• Starring Michael Shannon  Chris Evans  Ray Liotta  Winona Ryder  James Franco
• Director Ariel Vromen
• Distributor Lionsgate

uwantme2killhim?

Mark is your typical 16 year old and has struck up a relationship with a 'local' girl online.  It becomes intense as she reveals certain things about her life and also the fact she has a rather scary boyfriend.  It turns our her brother is in Mark's class at school and is the shy and retiring type.  Mark strikes up a friendship with him but then tragedy strikes.

The film is based on an actual true story from about ten years ago and the attention to detail in the film is pretty good (you can tell with the 'old' PC and operating system).  The two central characters are well drawn and very well acted by the two young leads and are backed by a selection of reliable British thespians including Joanne Froggatt and Mark Womack.

Overall, I found the film to be a very satisfying experience and a nice change from the usual carnage I watch.

• Starring Jamie Blackley  Toby Regbo  Jaime Winstone
• Director Andrew Douglas
• Distributor Entertainment One

Ghostwatch

 

Way back in 1992 for Halloween the BBC broadcasted a spoof documentary show featuring a haunted house and supernatural goings-on hosted by Michael Parkinson.  Set in a BBC studio and a normal house on a normal street complete with phone in's and experts offering their opinons, the show fooled plenty of people who thought it was real.

To be fair, if you thought it was real you really are quite sad as it's obvious the Beeb wouldn't put their biggest stars at the time (Parkinson, Mike Smith and Sarah Greene) in any kind of danger.  It was however put together incredibly well and the main three presenters are well supported by Craig Charles who is now more well known for Coronation Street than Red Dwarf.

The main haunting centres around a spirit named 'Mr Pipes' and although a spoof, it's played mainly straight and is still pretty suspenseful stuff but I can just imagine Michael Parkinson wanting to laugh as he knows its all not real.  It's all very quaint and British and would possibly be lost on anyone under 30 due to it being twenty years old.  I liked watching it again and it was nice to see Parky doing something else apart from giving away free pens and flogging life insurance.  Great alternative Halloween viewing if you don't fancy the usual blood 'n' guts.

• Starring Michael Parkinson  Sarah Greene  Craig Charles  Mike Smith
• Director Lesley Manning
• Distributor 101 Films

Thrones and Empires

 

Looking at the cast (Helen Mirren, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale) you would think this was some sort of epic movie you may have missed at the cinema, that isn't the case as this film is almost 20 years old but let it put you off.

It's a serious historical version of the 'Prince of Jutland' story from Denmark which a certain William Shakespeare adapted into a little known play called 'Hamlet'.  Gabriel Bryne sets the scene straight away as he plots to murder his brother and become King.  This he does along with killing one of the King's sons, the other son played by the future Batman fakes madness and plots his revenge.

The film has a complicated history, never finished by it's director, then edited and scored by others.  It popped up on DVD here in the UK about ten years ago and is known throughout the world by countless different names.  Watching it now seems strange as Bale and Beckinsale look like they have just left school and Gollum himself, Andy Serkis crops up in an early role. It does at times look a bit cheap and I couldn't make my mind up if a lot of the 'comedy' was intentional or was it just the way it turned out.  It is weird seeing Bale barking like a dog and fighting the legendary Brian Glover (who passed away in 1997) in one of the worst fights I have ever seen.

However, I found the film quite pleasant and it is very well acted by the leads, although Beckinsale is a bit hopeless and its always nice to see Brian Cox in anything, this time as a Duke.  Not too bad at all.

• Starring  Helen Mirren  Gabriel Bryne  Christian Bale  Brain Cox  Tom Wilkinson
• Director Gabriel Axel
• Distributor 101 Films