Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts

1 April 2015

GFF 2015 Review - Wyrmwood (2015)

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Genre:
Horror, Comedy
Distributor:
StudioCanal UK
Screened:
2015 Glasgow Film Festival,
Film4 Frightfest Glasgow
BD Release Date:
11th May 2015 (UK)
Director:
Kiah Roache-Turner
Cast:
Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradey, Leon Burchill Yure Covich, Luke McKenzie,Berynn Schwerdt
Buy:Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead [Blu-ray] [2015]

Wyrmwood, the stunning debut feature from Kiah Roache-Turner is an impressive foray into the world of schlocky hand-made horror by a group of filmmakers dedicated to the ideals of Indy cinema. And it totally works.

Barry (Jay Gallagher) is a loving husband and father, thrown into hell after a meteor shower brings the dead back to life. After his sister (Bianca Bradley) is kidnapped by gas-mask wearing soldiers, Barry heads out on a rescue mission with a group of apocalypse survivors.

The story itself isn’t anything new, it’s the tried and tested formula applied to most zombie films, and it works fine. Wyrmwood’s real flair lies in its execution; the comedy of the writing, the intimate nature of the project (the film took 4 years to film; the crew could only convene at weekends), and the skill with which the story is filmed.

Wyrmwood doesn’t look like trash and it doesn’t want to. A great sense of motion, intuitive camera work, and a demented kind of energy definitely don’t get in the way of this handmade extravaganza. Sure its low-low budget horror, but this is a film with a flawless sense of exactly what it is and how to make it happen without looking like shit. Too often a film with a low budget looks like a film with a low budget, but Roache-Turner injects such energy and insanity into his script that the film could never be accused of being lazy, inept, or dull.

Dialogue is surprisingly sparky and the acting is solid, which isn’t exactly something to write home about, but it’s vaguely impressive considering the calibre of most films released in the wake of the zombie exploitation craze. Gallagher makes a great and oddly iconic looking hero; barely skipping a beat between the quiet domestic and apocalyptic punk landscapes of Barry’s life. But that’s not to say the drama is missing, there’s plenty of gruelling and heartfelt zombie concepts at work here. Special mention goes to the trauma of driving miles with your zombified daughter screaming in the back of the car.

Practical gore is probably the fastest way to my heart, so Wyrmwood gets bonus points for appeasing the gods of hard work, manual labour, and disgraceful DIY. Saying that, the film’s most zany trick comes hand in hand with some ill-fitting digital effects. Wyrmwood’s zombies exhale an odd flammable gas that our heroes hijack to power their truck. It’s daft, but in a film where government scientists dance to KC and the Sunshine band in zombie autopsy rooms, you can’t let daftness get in the way of viewing this hilarious totally impressive horror adventure.

Director Kiah Roache-Turner is an innovative talent to look out for if his debut feature is anything to go by, Wyrmwood is fantastic and genre fans will adore its lack of sanity and band of zany characters. <

★★★★
Scott Clark


23 March 2015

DVD Review - Traps (1998)

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Genre:
Drama, Comedy
Distributor:
Second Run
Release Date:
23rd March 2015
Rating: 18
Director:
Věra Chytilová
Cast:
Lenka Vychodilová, Lucie Vackárová, Tomás Hanák
Buy: Traps - [DVD]

VÄ›ra Chytilová is often considered a feminist filmmaker even though she would always reject being labelled and called herself an “individualist”. Given the fact the Czechoslovakian communist government oppressed her for years, it’s understandable to see her desire to reject Western labels. Chytilová is best known to Western audiences for her psychedelic masterpiece Daisies, which annoyed the powers so much she could only made one film, Fruits of Paradise, in the next 9 years. In the late ‘70s her blacklisting was lifted and she resumed making films.

Second Run, after releasing Daisies (which I assumed is one of their best selling titles), have made it their goal to release more films from VÄ›ra Chytilová. The first one to come out is Traps, which is one of her later films, it came out in 1998. It has a decidedly mixed response on release and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a pitch black comedy about a young vet who is picked up by two men and raped, she later gets her revenge on them by cutting off their testicles.

It’s certainly not a subtle statement on the abuse of power; one of the men is a politician for example and the film starts with some pigs getting their balls cut off. It’s also a brilliant statement on male chauvinism banter; before they pick the woman up they talk about how easy it is to just pick a woman etc. The film pulls a near impossible balancing act when it comes to the depiction of the rapists, obviously you don’t, nor should you, feel sympathy for them, but you can feel their pain of losing their manhood. The two men are portrayed as bourgeois fools, which shows the influence of Luis Buñuel who was a massive influence on almost all Czech New Wave filmmakers.

It’s an angry rallying call to sterilize the ruling class of Czechoslovakia; the government may have changed from communist to capitalist, but their intent hasn’t. Traps also plays like an absurdist comedy, with even elements of populist slapstick comedy which may have troubled some viewers at the time. It completely subverts the genres it’s playing with, like the revenge genre and populist comedy, and remains such a startling film.

★★★★
Ian Schultz

16 March 2015

GFF 2015 Review - Clown (2014)

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Genre:
Horror, Comedy
Distributor:
StudioCanal UK
Screened:
Glasgow Film Festival
DVD Release Date:
2nd March 2015 (UK)
Director:
Jon Watts
Cast:
Eli Roth, Peter Stormare, Laura Allen , Andy Powers,Christian Distefano
Buy:Clown [DVD]


Jon Watts’ Clown is an exceptional example of how much fun can still be had in the darkest corners of the horror genre without sacrificing a good story. Playing it straight in the realm of clown horror proves a bit of a tone twister, but actually works pretty perfectly in this Eli Roth produced monster movie.

When the clown for his son’s birthday party doesn’t show up, loving father and real estate agent Kent (Andy Powers) is forced to don a mysterious clown suit he finds at one of his houses. But the suit doesn’t come off, instead altering Kent’s body and behaviour, giving him a taste for child-flesh.

Like Sinister, Clown plays on the old “found object” terror, but by its half way mark, it’s taken on more of a Rare Exports vibe, unearthing the horrific truth behind an everyday icon and letting chaos spark at every turn. Watts is astute not to lose his head amidst the terror and confusion. Keeping the ideals of yester-year’s monsters and camp creature-features alive through kitschy gore details and fabulous practical effects is a wise move. It lends further startling substance to a film that already has so many great ideas, the least of which is to structure itself like a slasher for kids, complete with its own set of rules.

Scribe Christopher D. Ford obviously had a total hoot crafting this sadistic little screenplay, and you can’t blame him. This is the perfect update of the clown horror film, a well-considered venture into social anxiety via a garish and gory display of child mutilation, body horror, bright colours, and total madness. Screw IT, Clown wipes the floor with contemporaries and its entire repertoire of inspirations alike, but still has a great time doing it. Its not just on Watts and Ford though, Powers is integral to the meat of the story, because, after all, there’s still a man inside that foul suit. Peter Stormare shows up as the expert/previous owner fo the suit and seems to be having a ball spouting bonkers sentiments whilst terrifying all the films’ sane characters..

There’s a strong element of cheesy fun at work here, but not quite to the point of outright comedy. Kent’s struggle to remove the haunting outfit is funny, but the resultant body horror genuinely gets under your skin. Once the suit takes hold the film sets on a path of ridiculously confrontational horror and insanity: child abduction, murder, graphic suicide, Stormare’s daft turn, great use of found footage, finger nibbling, kiddy-crunching its all here. A genius sequence of mass-terror at a soft play is arguably the crowning achievement of the feature, delivering every single nightmare you could want from a film about a killer-clown. Watts’ has constructed a perfect mash-up of genre ideals without losing his humour, and he’s done it beautifully.

A funny, but mostly horrifying, monster-flick flaunting terrific scares and a great story. Show your kids, show your wee brothers and sisters. This is the film that fucks children up for life.

★★★★
Scott Clark

19 January 2015

Blu-ray Review - I'm All Right Jack (1959)

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Genre:
Comedy
Distributor:
Studio Canal
Release Date:
19th January 2015
Rating: U
Director:
John Boulting
Cast: Ian Carmichael, Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas, Richard Attenborough, Miles Malleson
Buy: Blu-ray I'm All Right Jack

I’m All Right Jack is considered one of the great British satirical films, and although it is certainly a good film, it doesn't quite live up to it’s reputation. Back during it’s release it was the highest grossing film of 1959, how times have changed. The film’s highlight is a performance by Peter Sellers as the socialist union shop steward Fred Kite.

The film’s protagonist Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) is an upper class graduate who takes a job at his uncle’s missile factory. However, his uncle plans to have Stanley become the focus of a labour dispute that he plans to profit from. This all goes pear shaped when Kite takes advantage of the dispute for his own agenda.

As is so often the case with Peter Sellers, he completely steals the film from under all the other actors, and according to The Guardian, “it’s a career best performance”. Although that is a ridiculous overstatement, it is definitely considered up there with his finest performances, and Bafta agreed, awarding him Best Actor. British veteran thespians like Dennis Price and the recently decreased Richard Attenborough round off the supporting cast.

Unfortunately the satire is dated and isn't as funny as it should be, but with that being said, it’s still a very enjoyable watch. The film’s 102 running time flies by, and it does have something to say about how the greedy bosses will do anything to make a buck at the expense of their workers. This is certainly an issue that has relevance to today’s political climate. The disc includes a new interview with star Liz Fraser, a featurette on Peter Sellers, and an early Richard Lester short with Peter Sellers.


★★★1/2
Ian Schultz

24 April 2014

Sundance London 2014 Review - They Came Together (2014)

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Sundance London 2014
Genre:
Comedy, Indie
Rating: 15
Location:
Cineworld,O2 Arena, London
Release Date:
26th April, 27th April 2014
Director:
David Wain
Cast:
Paul Rudd, Cobie Smulders, Michael Shannon, Amy Poehler
Buy Tickets: Here

We’re all familiar with the rules of a rom-com by now. Boy meets girl, boy and girl hate each other, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl fall out, boy and girl get back together and live happily ever after. In fact we’re so familiar with the pattern that we could probably make one ourselves. Well there’s no need to anymore as David Wain has already done it for us in the sniggeringly titled They Came Together.

This skewed version of the genre takes all the conventions of an average rom-com and knowingly lampoons them to send up the formulaic nature with which they unfold. Paul Rudd stars as the “vaguely, but not overtly, Jewish” guy to Amy Poehler’s “klutzy but adorable” gal as the pair describe the story of their relationship to their friends over dinner.

It’s a story complete with all the well-worn traits which leads to a gag heavy 90 minutes, some landing slightly heavier than others. Crammed in are sight gags, slapstick gags, innuendo and nods to countless Meg Ryan, Jennifer Anniston and Katherine Heigl movies not to mention a pre-McConnassaince Matthew McConaughey.

The targets are certainly large and, for the most part, successfully hit but with the volume of jokes coming this thick and fast you’d be forgiven for hoping for a better strike rate. There is too a sense that this could easily have started as an idea for extended Saturday Night Live sketch and merely padded out to stretch to the length of a film to ape the genre that further bit.

Spoof movies range wildly in terms of success, by sending up entire genres they can sometimes have a rather scattergun approach; for every Airplane there’s a Scary Movie 4. Thankfully They Came Together is closer to the former than the latter, helped in no small part by the sheer likeability of the two leads Rudd and Poehler – cast perfectly and just as easy to root for as the characters they mimic.

★★★☆☆

Matthew Walsh


15 January 2014

DVD Review - Computer Chess

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Genre:
Comedy, Independent
Rating:
15
Distributor:
Eureka! Entertainment
BD/DVD Release Date:
20th January 2014 (UK)
Director:
Andrew Bujalski
Cast:
Kriss Schludermann, Tom Fletcher, Wiley Wiggins,
Buy: Computer Chess (Masters of Cinema) (DVD & BLU-RAY DUAL FORMAT)

The year of 1984 proved a seminal time for computer nerds. With Orwell's ideas of the impending doom of the human race becoming more apparent, alongside the release of The Terminator and Revenge of the Nerds, it was certainly a time in history which still conjures nostalgia for those who stayed up into the small hours discussing the future of computer technology and their makers. For Andrew Bujalski's latest work, Computer Chess, revisiting such a time resurrects various hypothesises, pandering to them in a manner which reveals something much more sinister underneath.

Set in a nameless budget hotel over a weekend convention, the film presents a group of obsessive computer software programmers as they attempt to compete for a grand prize for the best computer chess programme. Amongst all the competitive bragging and pot induced ramblings on artificial intelligence, the film reveals a larger frame-work of the relationships and insecurities between its characters and their machines, presenting a surreal de-humanised look of a digital age which has only considered to have been lost as technology advanced over time.

A popular Sundance veteran, Bujalski has usually been seen as the master of the American Indie sub-genre Mumblecore. With film-festival hits such as Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation within his canon, he has a skilful eye in directing intricate character studies where droll, yet textured, dialogue and interactions from actors prevailed over the main story. Unsurprisingly, Bujalski's idiosyncratic style is regularly compared to that of Cassavetes or Rohmer. However, in a refreshing move, he has broadened his skills, presenting a film that is as nightmarishly unique as anything by David Cronenberg or as complex as Shane Carruth's Primer.

Although the neurotic outsider characters which made Bujalski a significant indie director still prevail, exchanges in dialogue soon create a noticeably more ominous atmosphere once the humorous tone shifts into sci-fi surrealism. Starting off like a mockumentary, the cringe inducing obsessiveness of these characters slowly uncovers a few unsettling ideas once they themselves begin to question the power these machines actually have over them. Having one particular system refusing to operate until its chess skills are actually put towards another human soul, an uncomfortable paranoia lingers over the film. Despite these characters speaking at length about the expansiveness of the circuitry within their computers, their difficulty in emotionally connecting with anybody else - or even understanding what their machines are doing – makes one wonder that while the evolution in artificial intelligence still seems infinite, has the development and intelligence of the human race become more rooted sooner than one would think?

Yet, what turns transforms seemingly standard idea for a character driven piece into a compelling puzzle is in the actual look of the film. Entirely shot on an ancient and cumbersome Sony videocamera (the AVC-3260, incase you were wondering), the fuzzy, black and white footage gives a sense that the film was unearthed from the depths of an old government filing cabinet, deemed completely classified. Amplifying the uneasy atmosphere, the simplicity of the camera movements within the competition, combined with a discreet intrusiveness outside it, works well in creating a secretive knowingness from the man in control behind it. In all its retro simplicity, there is a warped satisfaction in being in on the act. Alongside a 4:3 aspect ratio and an unstable picture quality, it boxes these characters within the claustrophobic labyrinth of the hotel.With no sense of escape from these walls or their (now) imperfect mentality, Bujalski reveals an alternative point of view on the origins and mindset of the 'wired' generation that could still arguably be resonant today. Encouraging the viewer to philosophise over its development and origins from all possible angles, the unsettling conclusion concocts an uncertainty towards the future of these characters. It is not so much that the computer nerds came and conquered, it is just that they unconsciously laid the foundations for a future that is today.

★★★★

David Darley