Film Flare

Film Flare's Film Diary 2013/36

In the name of the sun goddess, let us dance about the maypole and offer bountiful sacrifice that there is another fire hot edition of Film Flare Film Diary.

 

Oh, I saw The Wicker Man this week. The original 1973 version. At the Arts Picturehouse that they're looking at closing. Sacrilege!

 

Oh and if any of you read The Wicker Man and thought of Nicolas Cage rather than Clive Woodward then please find the nearest beehive and pour the angry swarm over your head, screaming "Not the bees. Blarg blarg rarg-a-blarg!"

Not Pictured: Apples

 

The Wicker Man (1973)

Still one of the creepiest and most unsettling films I have scene, Anthony Shaffer's tight screenplay and Robin Hardy's claustrophobic and visual direction take an already unsettling idea and form a near nightmarish film.

The clash between the strict Catholic values of Sgt. Howie (Clive Woodward) and the much more liberal, extreme Pagan views talked about by Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee at his very best) is what I still find most interesting about the film. But much more than a simple clash of cultures. The strict Catholic code of the policeman end up forming the reasons he's sent to the island to search for Rowan Morrison.

The film's greatest triumph though is making the whole film uniquely unsettling. From the moment he lands on the island, it's not just the misleading and lies that unsettle. It's the framing of people singing or the use of percussion to mimic heartbeat and sex. It's the (almost biblical) temptation of Howie in the now infamous scene with Britt Ekland. Towards the end of the film, the film gets more tense and it ends in a scene which has not lost a single iota of power even after 40 years. When Howie first sees the wicker man itself, it's goosebumps o'clock. Without fail. No matter how many times I've seen the film and knowing how it ends, the film still shocks.

So it's a horror film in the truest sense of it creating a sense of horror. It's not a horror film that scares throughout, it unsettles. It's quieter than the sudden noise jumping shock you expect from horror films these days. It's more measured than that. The pacing the of the film betrays that it's in no hurry to get to scaring you. The film is more than happy to take it's time to get you involved and then to ratchet up the tension, ending with something more terrifying than 99% of horror films could imagine. 

With the great script and the scene stealing performance from Christopher Lee, it's perhaps surprising that the best performance in the film goes to Clive Woodward. His Sgt. Howie is so nuanced and you can see him grating subtly and not-so-subtly with everyone he meets and the attempts to obstruct his investigations give rise to him taking more extreme actions. In addition to this, you have his incredulous reactions to so many of the Pagan teachings, it's outrage. It's a fantastic performance that even though he is the 'hero' of the piece, he has flaws that other characters are more than willing to take advantage of. 

 

So this film is without a doubt a landmark of British cinema. It's a perfect example of using direction, misdirection and a great script to create a palpable sense of tension. By the time the film ends, everyone in the cinema just sits there, utterly drained. It's a triumph.

 

Trailer:

(The trailer for this film contains too many spoilers which will ruin the film if you haven't seen it. If you want to watch the trailer, it's on Youtube.

 

 

See you next time.

Film Flare's Film Diary 2013/35

Evening everyone,

Although I do not have a driving license and am officially (and legally) incompetent, I do have a rather large fond spot for films involving cars.

...and stupidly hench men beating the shit out of each other.

Can you guess what it is yet?

 

Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

After the series high of Fast Five, director Justin Lin returns with the full continent of Fast and Furious crew to bring another seriously high octane action film to our screens.

 

This film doesn't quite hit the surprising heights of Fast Five but it's still a very enjoyable action film but it does stretch the limits of credibility of a film franchise not known for its subtle actions. The film wisely moves away from the colourful world of Brazil to the bright world of the Canary Islands and the endlessly cool streets of London.

 

The acting is once again made up of several things:

1) Gravel-voiced mumbles during emotional scenes. Hint: Vin Diesel is superb at this.

2) Evil British accents. (boo hiss!)

 3) Long, lingering stares.

 

To be fair, new villain Luke Evans is a great character. An ex-SAS soldier who has scenes which actually make him quite varied and interesting but towards the end, his actions just descend towards 'token evil man'. The idea of honour and family is mentioned quite a few times but provides a nice contrast between what makes Dom and his crew different from Owen Shaw and his crew. The crew of peripheral characters have a charm to them and there isn't quite the grotesque pornography of anything female that appears in previous instalments. Overall, the story has a nicely low key feel to it after the $100 million heist of Fast Five. The main draw being the emotional attachment Dom has to a character called Letty.

What surprises most about the plot of the film is how it draws on literally all the previous films in the series. It's like Saw, I'm not even joking. The film's opening credits give a brief run down of the plot and major players so far but similar to Fast Five, you have characters who appear in Fast and Furious, 2Fast2Furious and Tokyo Drift. They're all built up over the previous film and I certainly appreciated it more having certainly watched Fast Five. The end of the film leads really really nicely into the events of Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift (the 3rd in the series, although the 6th chronologically) with the introduction of the villain for the upcoming Fast and Furious 7, WHO IS MOTHERFUCKING JASON STATHAM! Ahem! sorry, got a little excited.

 

 The action though is the main draw and it is awesome. Whilst the main action scene from the trailers involves a tank, it was actually for me the weakest action scene. The final action of the film involves the longest runway in the world and Justin Lin has utterly nailed down how to do good action scenes. They're not only utterly incredible, they feature superb stunt work and they have a visual style to them so you're always aware of where things are in relation to each other. It's quite stunning, especially when several action scenes involve six of seven cars in one go.

My personal favourite action scene is a multiple car chase through the empty-ish streets of London and it is so, so cool to see the streets of London become a low gravity, action playground. Again, the chase is thrilling, varied and has you able to follow everything as it happens. Whilst not matching the sheer inventiveness of the train heist or safe scene from Fast Five, director Lin has certainly placed himself near the top of the pile for action scenes.

 

 All in all, this film satisfies every urge I could want for an action packed film. The idea of losing the 'street racing' angle works because suddenly the film isn't too technical or dense with the cars to put people off. Add in there a dash of sentimentality and a nice family angle and you have one good film.

 

Trailer:

  

Film Flare's Film Diary 2013/34

Evening everyone.

I've only seen one film this week that I've not seen before, and it's proper unusual.

 

The Skin I Live In (2011)

Directed by legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, this film was fantastic to watch for several reasons. Firstly, it is quite different in tone to any other Almodovar film I've seen so far. Secondly, it cements in my mind Antonio Banderas as a brilliant dramatic lead rather than a brilliant action lead as he appears in Desperado. Thirdly, it's creepier than Creepy the creepy crawly creeping over a wall of creeps.

Firstly, the similarities I assumed it shared with french film Les Yeux Sans Visage based on the use of skin and masks are thankfully absent.

 

Instead the film tells a story full of the typical intense character drama you'd come to expect from Almodovar film. The families broken by tragedy and the study of gender and transgender roles comes through in this film. Antonio Banderas is almost as good as someone like Cary Grant in a Hitchcock role or Sean Connery as James Bond, it's a suave and cool performance but with a dangerous edge and a chilling level of determination. The plot is such that I don't want to reveal too many details but needless to say, there are twists I didn't see coming.

Apart from Antonio Banderas, the other cast member who really stands out is Elena Anaya as Vera. Apart from a stunning beauty, there is an understated physicality to the role I almost didn't notice until more of the plot had been revealed. It's a stunningly played role that really brings out a strength of character with very little dialogue.

It's here also that Almodovar's brilliant direction also comes through. The film looks amazing, the scenes have a brilliant mix of cold metals and plastic whilst filling several scenes with intense and searing colour. The character of Vera is shot to look like some kind of mannequin which really adds to the character in many ways. Again, there is fantastic direction with several scenes which give Antonio Banderas a genuine menace and create a superior sense of tension. The film is also without doubt a thriller, I would argue a psychological thriller because much of the tension and suspense is created through simply exploring the minds of the characters and once you see how driven they are, the disturbing actions seem plausible. It's quite a horrific film in places but without a single scare in the film, it's just tension and atmosphere.

 

I thought it was one of those rare films that seek to unsettle you rather than have you leaping behind the sofa. It does this admirably.

 

Trailer:

  

Rush Film review

Hello everyone.

I saw Rush. Here is what I thought about it.

 

 

I thought it was really good.

I had little interest in Formula 1 but the winning strength of the film is that the Formula 1 aspect of it doesn't really play a huge part. It is an important part of the story because of the danger, the thrill and the politics that takes place in the film but the core of the film lies in the rivalry between two men, both very different.

There is some archival footage of James Hunt and Niki Lauda played right towards the end of the film and suddenly you are made aware of how similar the actors look to their real life counterparts. Daniel Bruhl is the real revelation here because I've not seen him in a leading role much before and he utterly nails the mannerisms and character. Niki Lauda comes across as a hugely driven, arrogant and talented man who manages to cross paths with so many people. It's testament to the well written script that his character isn't too unpleasant to put the viewers off. Chris Hemsworth has an easier job because James Hunt is the classic playboy with the heart type character. He doesn't need to try too hard to make himself the funnier, more laid back and easy to love of the two characters. 

 

The central story of the film is the 1976 Formula 1 season and the culmination of the rivalry between the two drivers. The film itself covers a far longer period of how they both meets and the frequent clashes the two had on and off the track. I've heard that in real life, the two were far closer friends but the film tends to portray the rivalry as a fierce one. The main scene of the film for me is where a crash occurs (won't say who, don't wiki it either!) and the films really becomes more interesting as the incredible recovery and character of the driver is almost too incredible to believe.

 

The direction is top notch. Ron Howard has a history of nice looking films with Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and Frost/Nixon. Rush is no exception. Firstly, the film looks fantastic. The authenticity of the 70s is amazing and the vibrant colours of the cars and the racing perfectly offset the slightly more brown world off the track. The racing scenes are also exceptionally well done. They are tense and tight and give off the sense of danger, especially a later race in the rain. The intensity is mainly due to the characters though. The racing scenes are never as 'action packed' as many other race scenes can be but they look painfully realistic, with exceptional detail given to the cars and the pit lanes too.

The script crackles along too at a fair old pace, each character has deep flaws but enough charm, charisma and personality to have the audience rooting for them and not being around to know how the Formula 1 season ended in 1976 meant that the final few races were actually shocking and surprising.

If there is one flaw of the film I had, it was that there was a scene towards the end in an aircraft hanger that just felt a little bit too convenient, that it had to be put in there to have the main character talking one last time before the credits rolled. It wasn't a bad scene at all, but it felt a tiny bit forced.

 

However, the film is a thrilling character study of a very interesting season of a very interesting sport. The racing scenes are incredibly well done but naturally play second fiddle to Daniel Bruhl and Chris Hemsworth doing really good work at playing their characters with a great script with great direction.

 

Great!

Trailer (complete with dubstep!):