Room 237

Rodney Ascher's documentary looking at hidden meanings behind Stanley Kubrick's cult film The Shining. Various theories are presented using stills, diagrams and clips from the film, with commentary dubbed over the top by a number of different fans/experts/nutters. A range of ideas is explored including the film's connection to The Holocaust, slaughter of Native Americans, sexuality, history, the Moon landings, the meaning behind the number 237, etc. The film is suitably timed to coincide with the forthcoming special edition release of The Shining (2nd November) featuring extra 20 minutes of footage never before seen in UK cinemas.

I must have watched The Shining at least a dozen times over the years, it's a stunning horror film and something about it always draws me back, so I was very interested to see this documentary. I didn't expect much but I really enjoyed it (probably for all the wrong reasons though!). Some of the theories presented are intriguing, others are a little far-fetched or pointless, and one or two are definitely insane! But there's never a dull moment, it's all very entertaining to watch, and it's clear that the people who contributed to Room 237 are huge fans of Stanley Kubrick.

You can't help but be impressed by their dedication even if some of them are obsessively looking for explanations and subliminal messages in just about anything and reading too much into things. Can you see Kubrick's face in the clouds? I can't. Ever felt the urge to watch the whole film backwards? Well some guy did and unsurprisingly had little of interest to say about the experience. And so it goes on but the most bizarre is the idea that Kubrick faked the Moon landings on behalf of the US government. It's beyond ridiculous and claiming that Danny's Apollo 11 jumper in the film somehow proves it is just laughable. But that's conspiracy theorists for you!

Some minute details pointed out are admittedly things I'd never noticed before (the wallpaper, pattern on the carpet, continuity errors, etc.) so in that sense this will make future viewings of the film that much more interesting. Have you ever noticed the hotel manager's "hard-on" when he shakes Jack's hand? Me neither! Look out for it next time, though it's not what you might think! It's a shame no cast or crew who actually worked with Kubrick were interviewed for this documentary, their input certainly would have been useful. Even so, Room 237 is definitely worth watching, for entertainment value if nothing else.

UK release date: 26th October 2012

Where Do We Go Now? DVD

Director: Nadine Labaki

Cast: Nadine Labaki, Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Leyla Hakim, Yvonne Maalouf, Antoinette Noufaily

UK Certificate: 12

Language: Arabic (English subtitles)

Runtime: 97minutes

Format: DVD, download and on-demand

Extras: Scene selection, audio set-up

UK release date: 15th October 2012
(Revolver Entertainment)


Following her successful debut with Caramel in 2007, this is the second feature film from Lebanese actor & director Nadine Labaki. It tells the story of a group of women determined to ease the rising tensions between the Christian and Muslim inhabitants of their village, by any means neccessary.

With the blessing from their religious leaders, the women fake a miracle in the church, hire Ukranian belly dancers and bake hash cakes in the hope of keeping their sons and husbands pre-occupied with more lighthearted matters. They also sabotage the radio and TV reception, and newspaper delivery to the village in the hope of keeping the lid on the news from the rest of the country where the sectarian violence is on the increase.

An uncomfortable mix of comedy and serious drama, with random musical interludes scattered throughout, it feels like Labaki tries to cram too many things in one film. The shifts in tone are drastic, going from laugh-out-loud moments to personal tragedy, then back to a cheesy song-and-dance number in the blink of an eye. Sticking with one genre and mood throughout would have made for a stronger, more cohesive film.

Using a voiceover intro, Labaki's intention was to present the story like a fairy tale without a specific time/place setting, and certainly the film's overall strong message regarding the need for tolerance and the pointlessness of violence is worthwhile, and will resonate in many places around the world where there is conflict.

Somewhat dubious however is the fact that all women in the village are shown as a peace-loving, intelligent group acting in unison, while the majority of men (however true this may be in real life) are portrayed as prejudiced, easily manipulated morons. Only the village priest and imam come out of it looking civilised.

There is a hint of inter-faith romance between Amale (played by Nadine Labaki herself) and the village painter Rabih, they even sing a song to each other, but all that is soon forgotten about and never gets resolved. The sudden willingness of women to change religions and remove their head scarves is hard to swallow, as is the abrupt ending without much of a conclusion other than to pose the obvious question in the title, can we ever just live together as neighbours, in peace?

It's interesting to learn that a lot of the cast used were amateur actors. I wouldn't have known any different, they all came across perfectly fine and natural on screen, only one or two of the Ukranian "strippers" appeared a little stiff.

One very moving performance worth noting came from Claude Baz Moussawbaa. She plays a mother stricken with grief, after one of her sons is caught in the crossfire and killed. When her older son seeks revenge, she is forced into a desperate act to keep him safe and to prevent further bloodshed. Convincing portrayal by an actress who hopefully we'll get to see more of in the future.

Yvonne Maalouf's comedic timing was also a hoot, her scene where she's relaying messages from the Virgin Mary had me in stitches. Indeed there is great potential for laughs in the story, and it's a shame Labaki didn't go for an all-out comedy. I would have loved that.

Overall, Where Do We Go Now is still worth checking out on DVD, despite the flaws in the script. It's a well-intentioned, engaging and often very entertaining effort from a talented filmmaker.

http://www.revolvergroup.com/uk/dvd-bluray/view/where-do-we-go-now

http://www.wheredowegonow.co.uk/

Frankenweenie, Madagascar 3, Hotel Transylvania

Frankenweenie 3D

Feature-length stop-motion animation remake of Tim Burton's 1984 short film about a boy named Victor who brings his dog Sparky back from the dead with a bolt of lightning. It's Burton's best work in years, an absolute delight. A tender love story and a loving homage to old b-movies and horror legends, it's action-packed, very funny, and looks great in black & white. One of my favourite films of the year!

UK release date: 17th October 2012
Rating: 5/5

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted 3D

Fun family adventure and best of the three Madagascar films so far. On the run from Monaco's animal control, the gang join a travelling circus, revive its show and make new friends along the way. Fast-paced and entertaining, it has a lot of heart and humour, 3D effects are very good especially in the flying "Trapeze Americano" part, and hilarious Stefano the sea lion (voiced by Martin Short) steals the film.

UK release date: 19th October 2012
Rating: 4/5

Hotel Transylvania 3D

Over-protective single father Count Dracula invites all the famous monsters to his daughter's birthday bash, but chaos reigns when a backpacking dude stumbles in and steals her heart. This has some funny gags including a neat Twilight put-down, the animation is nice, but the full-on slapstick and the predictable storyline about finding true love bla bla bla drag it down. Awful Dracula rap song too.

UK release date: 12th October 2012
Rating: 3/5

Private Peaceful, On The Road, Hit & Run

Private Peaceful

After the success of Spielberg's War Horse, here's another Michael Morpurgo book adaptation. It's a rites of passage, anti-war drama about two brothers who fall for the same girl, at the onset of World War One. It has a low budget, made for TV look, but the performances are excellent, including support from Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths.

UK release date: 12th October 2012
Rating: 3/5

 
On The Road

Difficult big screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac's cult novel. It's a long and tedious journey, there's plenty of sex, drugs, alcohol and great 40s jazz, and yet it feels tame and boring at times. Garrett Hedlund is really good as the free-spirited Dean Moriarty, but I'm not sure the film really captures the book that well.

UK release date: 12th October 2012
Rating: 2/5

 

Hit & Run

Another poor attempt at a "crazy" road comedy genre, written and co-directed by Dax Shepard. It's littered with annoying and idiotic characters, including the lead couple (Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard) and is just painfully unfunny. Even Bradley Cooper and Beau Bridges can't save this banger. Nice muscle cars but it ain't no Smokey and the Bandit!

UK release date: 12th October 2012
Rating: 1/5

Ruby Sparks

Ten years after achieving great success with his first novel, Calvin (Paul Dano) is under pressure to produce his next masterpiece with huge expectations from his fans and publishers. He is also terribly shy and lonely, and struggles with writer's block. His only piece of inspiration comes from a dream where he meets his ideal woman, named Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). Encouraged by his therapist Dr. Rosenthal (Elliot Gould), he writes about her. Then one day she magically appears in his house just the way he saw her in his dreams. Is she real or a hallucination? Has Calvin gone mad?

 

Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton finally follow up their hit Little Miss Sunshine with this delightful indie fantasy / psychological drama / love story, written by Zoe Kazan who also stars in the film as Ruby. Kazan's script is a beautifully written, smart piece of work that looks at the difficulties of the creative process as well as the dynamics of a new relationship, controlling behavior fuelled by insecurity and jealousy, and learning to accept people for who they are.

Calvin gets his wish fulfilled and wakes up to the "perfect" girfriend who worships him, but as soon as Ruby displays a personality trait he doesn't approve of, he seeks to manipulate her by literally typing out what happens next, with often humorous and at times unsettling consequences. At his whim she speaks French, barks like a dog, etc. Without spoiling the rest of the story, I'll just say it keeps you guessing all the way along. It builds to a frenzied climax, followed by a more conventional, perhaps crowd-pleasing, resolution.

Dano and Kazan's on screen chemistry is excellent, no doubt helped by the fact that they are a couple in real life, four years together at the time of filming. Elliot Gould, Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas breeze through their supporting roles, Chris Messina is very good as Calvin's suspicious sibling (though he looks nothing like him!) and only Steve Coogan's slimy author Langdon is a bit of a distraction (couldn't help but think of Alan Partridge in one particular scene!) Overall, it's hard not to fall in love with Ruby Sparks. It's a charming little film and it easily makes my top 10 of the year.

UK release date: 12th October 2012

Pusher

Small-time London drug dealer Frank (Richard Coyle) gets a chance to do a big money heroin deal with a new customer. His supplier and good friend Milo (Zlatko Burić) provides the drugs but the deal falls through when police are tipped off. On the run, Frank dumps the heroin in the nearby pond destroying the evidence, and the cops let him go. Milo however is not amused and still wants either his drugs back or the promised cash from Frank. Meanwhile Frank's junkie pole-dancer girlfriend Flo (Agyness Deyn) piles on the pressure demanding a more serious relationship from him. As Frank's life spins out of control he becomes more and more desperate to make some money quickly and pay it back, before Milo's henchmen catch up with him.

There have been several Scandinavian remakes in recent years, from Let the Right One In, to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, all pointless in my opinion. And here's another one, the English language "update" of the first Pusher film, directed by Luis Prieto and exec produced by Nicolas Winding Refn, Danish filmmaker who made his name with the original Pusher trilogy.

Something about this just didn't grab me, like a fake ecstasy tablet, it has the looks but not the desired effect. The plot is dead simple, and when it runs out of plot there's a hefty amount of drug-taking and violence to fill the time. I was bored by the end and wished I'd taken some chemical to keep me interested. A valiant effort by Richard Coyle in the lead role, but as things keep going pear-shaped for Frank, the unluckiest and most inept criminal in London, you don't feel much sympathy for him and just want to see him put out of his misery.

Paul Kaye appears briefly as one of Frank's customers, and Bronson Webb (Frank's sidekick Tony) provides a bit of humour to start with, but sadly all that quickly goes out of the window, and things turn darker and more violent. Drug lord Milo is the nicest baddie ever, highly entertaining thanks to the brilliant Croatian actor Zlatko Burić, who weirdly enough played him in the original film back in 1996. An odd casting decision but you can't argue with Burić's screen presence and charm.

As for Agyness Deyn, she is bland and distant, with the personality of a metal pole. Was she cast due to her "celebrity" status, instead of giving genuine acting talent a chance? Someone like Carey Mulligan for example, who added so much depth to Drive? Oh well. On the plus side the score by British electronic band Orbital is pretty good, but overall this is a mediocre crime thriller not worth bothering with. Have a couple of beers and rent the original instead!

UK release date: 12th October 2012

Liberal Arts, Sinister, The Knot

Liberal Arts 

Nostalgic drama / rom-com from Josh "How I Met Your Mother" Radnor. Gently paced, bittersweet and thought-provoking, though it offers no great revelations. Elizabeth Olsen shines, Zac Efron's campus drifter is amusing and Allison Janney's cynical maneating professor steals every scene she's in! Didn't like how it ended.

UK release date: 5th October 2012
Rating: 3/5

Sinister

A pretty decent chiller featuring Ethan Hawke, neat set-up, but didn't scare the pants off me unfortunately. Pants still fully intact. Only jumped a couple of times when there was a sudden loud noise, oldest trick in the book! I liked the score, I didn't like the very noticeable Apple product placement.

UK release date: 5th October 2012
Rating: 3/5

The Knot

Screenwriters Noel Clarke, Geoff Carino and Davie Fairbanks should hang their collective heads in shame. The Knot is a dire attempt at comedy. A series of unfunny sketches, pranks and toilet humour as we follow the bride and groom on their big day. Utter shit. Possibly the worst film of the year.

UK release date: 5th October 2012
Rating: 0/5

Holy Motors

A wonderfully bizarre French arthouse curveball from writer / director Leos Carax, in which the enigmatic Monsieur Oscar (played by Denis Lavant) is chauffeured around Paris in a white limo by his driver Celine (Edith Scob), as he attends "appointments" in various disguises over the course of one day. Using his dressing room in the back of the limo, he transforms himself as required into different characters, first an old lady begging in the street, then a motion capture actor performing an erotic dance with a female counterpart, then a one-eyed ginger-haired tramp gatecrashing a fashion shoot, and so on. The beauty of it is that we never quite know what the hell is going on, or what's coming next!

Featuring an amazing central performance by Denis Lavant, Holy Motors is a surreal, hypnotic two-hour head scratching experience, all the way to the end with the hilariously bonkers final scene involving the limousines and a supernatural twist. It's magical and awe-inspiring, baffling and disturbing, and guaranteed to leave you with more questions than answers in the same way recent films like Kill List and The Tree of Life may have done (i.e. "WTF just happened?").

Eva Mendes gets one of the coolest segments as the speechless supermodel, kidnapped by a grotesque figure and dragged back to his filthy cave. Kylie Minogue's brief cameo / musical interlude on the other hand is probably the lowest point in the film, but at least she makes a swift exit in the most satisfying manner.

Undoubtedly there will be impatient multiplex regulars who will sneer, call it pretentious crap and walk out. It's their loss. Holy Motors may be an audacious and infuriatingly cryptic cinematic puzzle, but it's a welcome change of pace. To try and make too much sense of it is perhaps missing the point. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, one like this doesn't come around too often!

UK release date: 28th September 2012

Killing Them Softly

A gritty gangster thriller from director Andrew Dominik, based on the 1974 crime novel Cogan's Trade by George V Higgins. A pair of junkies, Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) hold up a Mob-protected poker game run by Markie (Ray Liotta). Previously unreliable Markie becomes the prime suspect and soon Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is in town to arrange retribution, along with the heavy-drinking assassin Mickey (James Gandolfini) and the Mob's messenger Driver (Richard Jenkins).

This is a bleak, violent, slow-burn thriller, quite talky with a lot of cynical dialogue infused with black humour, and some patience is required as the film takes its time to get to the admittedly rather awesome pay-off in the final third. By the time Brad Pitt delivers the last crushing line, you'll be enthralled. The direction is assured, the cinematography stylish, with memorable slow-motion executions while sweet old-fashioned music plays gently in the background. It's just a shame Andrew Dominik leans a bit too heavy on the symbolism and political satire to ensure the message is understood. Less is more Andrew!

Brad Pitt brings his usual charisma to the role of a smiling assassin, with a subtle, nuanced performance that should see him collect a few acting nods come the awards season, while Ray Liotta is also very enjoyable bringing back his best Goodfellas persona to the proceedings. In fact the entire cast is fantastic. Bloody and gripping, Killing Them Softly may not be perfect but it's still worth the gamble!

UK release date: 21st September 2012