Category Archives: Film

Vinyl Film Review | Raindance Film Festival 2012

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Vinyl was one of my favourite films at the Raindance Film Festival. It is a comedy film about an ageing rocker, Johnny Jones, who goes to the funeral of a member of his former band. Johnny is living in a caravan and trying to have a baby with his wife, A washed up rock star, he misses his former life.

When he sees the rest of the band at the funeral they all end up jamming and they make a record, it’s good but Johnny cannot get anyone to sign the band or play the record in the youth-obsessed world of the music industry. Instead he spins the truth and says that the song has been made by a Welsh teenage band, and will reveal the truth when the record is a hit.

This film by Sara Sugarman is a real gem of a film. It is funny and entertaining. With a stellar cast including Phil Daniels , Keith Allen and Perry Benson, Vinyl is full of punk spirit, a fun, likable film which has been described as ‘School of Rock meets Spinal Tap’ and I couldn’t put it better myself.

Dark Hearts World Premiere | Raindance 2012

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At the beginning of the Raindance Film Festival Frost went along to the world premiere of Dark Hearts. I had a good chat with lead actor Kyle Schmid and director Rudolf Buitendach. Rudolf is very friendly and I will be interviewing him shortly.

Dark Hearts is an oxymoron: a modern film which is also an old fashioned film noir. Made on a low budget, Dark Hearts is a technical achievement of the highest order. Rudolf Buitendach’s directorial debut looks beautiful and is very well done. It also has a famous cast including Goran Visnjic (Ridley Scott’s The Counselor, E.R., Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Beginners),  Lucas Till (X-Men, Wolves, Stoker, Paranoia), Sonja Kinski (daughter of Nastassja Kinski), Kyle Schmid (Lead Star of Copper – BBC America) and Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Ed Wood). Rudolf Buitendach is obviously well connected and Dark Hearts has some talented people working on it.
Dark Hearts was nominated for BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM at the 2012 Raindance Film Festival and is in the running for possible BIFA nominations as well. The acting is strong and it is a very enjoyable film. I loved Dark Hearts. Go see it if you can. An impressive debut from director Rudolf Buitendach.

 
Supporting star Rachel Blanchard (Snakes on a Plane, Clueless)
Director Rudolf Buitendach (Cannes-Venice Shorts Alum, Trailer for Bronson)
DP Kees Van Oostrum (2x Emmy-Nominated DP of Gods & Generals, Gettysberg)
Screenwriter Christian Piers Betley (13 Eerie, Stranded)
Executive Producer Jack Bowyer (Private Peaceful, Gallowwalker)
Gabrial McNair of No Doubt (Original Score Composer)
Paul Oakenfold (Original Score Composer)
Richard Strange (Original Score Composer)

 

Colson is an artist struggling to make it in the frenetically paced downtown LA art scene. When his brother Sam lands on his doorstep, Colson finds himself drawn back to the fractured family set-up that he felt lucky to have left behind. Out for a night on the town, the brothers run into sultry singer Fran. They both fall in love but Colson becomes obsessed and a passionate affair ensues.


Prodded by an influential gallery owner to push his work that much further, Colson stumbles across the perfect red and the power of painting in blood. Soon it seems like he’s made a deal with the devil as he immerses himself in an affair with Fran that has deception and betrayal looming in the background.

Sonja Kinski, daughter of Natassja, is stunning as Fran, having inherited not only her mother’s dark beauty but her acting skills and too, and she proves a powerfully magnetic muse. A real bonus is the film’s score which features some of the hippest artists around; tracks are provided by Einstuerzende Neubauten, Shirley Manson from Garbage, Fairuza Balk and Daniel J from Bauhaus and Love and Rockets. A debut feature from South African born director Rudolf Buitendach, this is a stylish odyssey that proves as alluring as LA itself.

Mark Potts Cinema Six Interview | Raindance 2012

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The Raindance Film Festival was as brilliant as ever, and we have an exclusive interview with Mark Potts, director of one of the festival’s films, Cinema Six.

1. What made you want to be a filmmaker?
– It was probably a few things. First, The Blair Witch Project. It’s embarrassing to admit, but that got me into it initially. My friends and I took my dad’s Hi-8 camera and made a parody of it. It was a little over 2 hours long. I edited it with VCRs and honestly, I cannot really remember how I set it up. It was two VCRs connected to a television and the camera and somehow it worked. But from there, my high school Spanish teacher encouraged my friends and I to do a public access show, and we did that. Then, I started working at a movie theatre, met Cole, and it just clicked. That theatre was my second home and I loved being there. And the feeling I got being there and immersing myself in films and just escaping life made me fall in love with cinema. I wanted to give someone else that experience, that escape, and some relaxation.

2. Tell us about yourself
I’m currently living in Los Angeles but am from Oklahoma. My partner in crime, Cole Selix, and I met in Enid, Oklahoma while going to school together and working at the movie theatre. We started Singletree Productions in 2006 and have made, literally, 100s of shorts and four features (most can be seen on singletreeproductions.com, even the first three features.) I am married to Hailey Branson-Potts, who works at the Los Angeles Times and she is a million times funnier and smarter than I am but don’t put that in the story because then she’ll be a dick about it.

3. You were co-writer and director of Cinema Six. How did you find directing your own work?
Cole and I have been directing our own stuff for years, so it isn’t too difficult for us now. If anything, while directing, we discover all the things we missed while writing and it creates this odd paradox of feelings where we feel like good directors but bad writers. But a lot of that is because Cole and I are always changing stuff, trying to make it better, trying to make things snappier, funnier, more emotional. And that’s why we asked a lot of the guys who worked on it to come aboard because we trust their opinions and tastes and wanted them to help make us better.

4. Tell us about Cinema Six.
Cinema Six has been around for about nine years. Cole and I first started talking about it while working in the movie theatre back in 2003. Of course, at that time, the script was really just un-connected scenes of us messing with customers and complaining about customers and being jerks to customers. Since that point, Cole and I have moved multiple times, gone to college, gotten married, had kids (Cole has two awesome kids, I have a pug) and have gone through some big changes which all can be seen in the version of the film now. It’s a love letter to the cinema and a commentary on growing up and just doing whatever you have to do to be happy.

5. What was the hardest thing about making the film?
Oddly enough, there wasn’t anything too difficult about making the film. The two biggest things were the budget because we were very limited and finding the perfect movie theatre. We needed a theatre that was older, not that flashy, and still ran film. It’s hard to find film theatres, which makes me sad. For me as an actor, the hardest part was remembering lines. I don’t memorize lines, which is terrible. Brand Rackley and John Merriman, the other two leads, are as professional as you can get and they were always prepared even as far as to tell me my lines. It was embarrassing but also humbling to know I had two friends and actors that cared enough to do that and not give me too much shit for it.

6. Where did you get the funding?
We received our funding from Reilly Smith and some of his family and friends. They chose to believe in all of us and I will forever be in their debt. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t pray to God we make their money back. They deserve it because they took a chance on some young filmmakers who just wanted to talk about growing up and tell vulgar jokes. I can never thank them enough.

7. How did it feeling getting into Raindance?
It was shocking and awesome! I was dumbfounded by the news and still kind of am. I am incredibly upset I couldn’t make it as well. But, we did make a special video Q&A that we hope people stay and watch. It answers a lot of questions. Not really.

8. What advice what you give to others filmmakers?
The best advice I have is to keep making things. Just keep making, even if it’s bad. We made many, many bad things. We still do. But we’re always making something and you learn something from every video and every mistake. Watch movies, read screenplays, make stuff.

9. You co-wrote the script, can you tell us about your writing process.
Cole and I have written scripts together for over six years. Our process is pretty solid now. When we get ideas, we talk about them for a long time. We throw around jokes and scene ideas and if we still love it months later, then we feel like it’s worth writing and trying to make. This process has weeded out many, many ideas and I love doing it. Just talking things through and seeing what sticks. When we’re at a point that we want to write it, we’ve talked about it so much that it really just needs to be put on paper, so I write it all out, then we get to ripping it apart and fixing it.

10. What’s next for you?
I’m hoping to start another feature next year. I have a few ideas and none of them are like Cinema Six, which excites me. They are all funny, but much, much darker.

The Economics of Happiness | Film Review

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One of my favourite books is Ancient Futures: Learning From Ladakh, a riveting book by Helena Norberg-Hodge. The Economics of Happiness follows on from this book. It describes how consumerism and globalisation damages the lives of, not only villagers in Ladakh, but also the wider world in general. Making them less happy and affecting their livelihoods.

Helena Norberg-Hodge talks about the happiness index and gives a strong argument for localisation while exploding the myths that surround it. Did you know that most countries export as much food as they import? Critics say that it is not possible to feed the world without importing but this brilliant documentary sets the record straight on many environmental and economical issues. The Economics of Happiness lays waste with the idea that the relocalisation of food production in the West would cause starvation in the developing world.

People are sick of companies putting chemicals in our food. One of the problems of today is how far away we are from the reality of our food. Our food has become big business and it does harm to our health. It is depressing that we live in a world where a meal from McDonalds costs less than some vegetables. No wonder diabetes and other health problems are on the rise.

The Economics of Happiness has important people from six continents asking for economic change, including environmentalist and conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Michael Shuman, Andrew Simms and Clive Hamilton amongst others. The documentary runs for 65 minutes. It is well paced with high production value.

The documentary goes on to make 8 arguments against globalisation. It makes its point well and makes no apology, Norberg-Hodge thinks globalisation makes us unhappy and less socially connected. The documentary is well researched and it rightly points out that globalisation exists thanks to huge subsidies from governments. This documentary argues it’s case well and gives a strong argument for localisation.

I saw this film shortly after seeing the brilliant, Oscar-nominated, Foods Inc. As customers we have the power to vote with our wallets, even if that vote means we spend nothing at all.

I saw this documentary after Zac Goldsmith MP brought it to Richmond and afterward I met Helena Norberg-Hodge who has graciously said she would give Frost an interview. Something I am very excited about. Watch this space!

To find out more or to contribute; http://www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/

Taken 2 – Movie Review

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“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you….”

For anyone who doesn’t know, these now unforgettable words come from Taken; the surprise hit action movie of 2008, a film which saw Liam Neeson; an established actor in his own right become one of the most proficient killing machines and not to mention professional throat puncher since Bourne. What set this film apart from other action movies? Well a number of reasons, it was impeccably acted, superbly directed and (bar one or two questionable scenes) had an incredible screenplay. What’s more it had heart, it was hard not to feel for Liam Neeson’s character the humble, yet deadly Brian Mills in his struggle to rescue his daughter. If you haven’t seen Taken then I highly recommend you do so now.

Taken 2 sees Liam Neeson once again become Brian Mills, however this time the key motivation is simple revenge. Mills finds himself being hunted by Murad (played well by Rade Serbedzija) the father of one of the kidnappers he tortured and killed in the first film. He has sworn revenge on behalf of the families whom Mills destroyed in his attempt to get his daughter back and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their vacation in Istanbul. Thus the scene is set for more fights against the clock as time for Mills and his estranged wife runs out.

Things start nicely enough, at the beginning we are introduced to teen issues and daughter Kim, we see Mills ‘subtle’ reactions to his daughter having a boyfriend which can only mean one thing. At the same time his ex-wife, Lenore (played by the lovely Famke Janssen who never seems to age at all) is recently separated from her husband and there are hints of a possible reconciliation between her and Brian. However it isn’t too long before there is trouble and Mills ends up using those ‘unique special skills’ he talked about and his daughter Kim (played well by Maggie Grace) has to learn new skills of her own to help her dad.

This all sounds very good and believe me it is. However there are a couple of shortcomings – new director Olivier Megaton just isn’t as snappy on the editing as his predecessor Pierre Morel was. It is nearly 30 minutes in before we see anything in the way of ‘real’ action. Then there is of the absurd choice to make this film a 12A certificate – a choice, that to be honest baffles me. Taken earned a 15 rating for its ‘strong violence and scenes of torture’ so why would you choose to limit yourself by a 12A? What this means is that bullets enter walls rather than flesh, blades are brandished instead of utilised, while a supposedly life-threatening slash to Janssen’s neck is left to the imagination. By and large fight sequences have ‘just’ lost their spark and the shaky cam used in fights was just a plain bad idea. All of these issues just detract from what the film should have been.

On the plus side there is some really good car chases especially a good one from Kim who is about to sit her driving test and ingenious set-piece, involving a map, a shoelace and grenades whose detonations allow our Mills to ascertain his location. Yes he still has the grey matter.

The Verdict

Taken 2 was always going to be a predictable film, firstly for the context and then secondly because purely and simply the first film was so damn good. A common question between myself and my friends was ‘how on earth are they going to improve upon the first film?’ it would simply be too hard to supersede the original in terms of memorable scenes. To a certain extent this film doesn’t even try; of course there’s hairy situations that the family barely get through, big explosions and great action sequences and like the first film this one tries to mix all out action against a backdrop of family relationship issues. But whilst it is good, it is not great, whilst it is still a must-see, it does not come across as legendary as its predecessor. What it does accomplish is being a satisfactory conclusion to a remarkable story.

8 out of 10

Looper {Film Review}

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*WARNING! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!*

 

Every year, we are always gifted to a little sci-fi gem that knocks every other sci-fi flick that year. 2009 had two with Moon and District 9. Although 2010 had the fortune of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi mind-bender, Inception and turned out to be 4th highest-grossing film of that year. Every science fiction film tackles on an idea or theme or concept (District 9 on xenophobia, Inception with dreams). This year, we have Rian Johnson’s Looper and it tackles on probably the most used concept; time travel.

The year is 2044; a huge economic collapse occurred and social decay and organised crime has grown since. Thirty years into the future, time travel is invented but it is also outlawed. Crime bosses find it difficult to dispose their targets, so they send them in time machines to the past. Our protagonist amongst this dystopian future is Joseph “Joe” Simmons (Gordon-Levitt), who works as a looper. A looper are basically hired guns that kill those targets that are sent from the future. Life seems fairly routine for Joe, he goes to nightclubs with his fellow loopers and spends time with showgirl, Suzie (Piper Perabo). Until one day, he gets sent a target and is revealed to be his future self (Bruce Willis). Older Joe manages to escape, younger Joe is then tasked to find his older self but keeping low from “Gat Men”, led by Kid Blue (Noah Segan).

Rian Johnson has really gone all out to make us invested in his vision of 2044, it is something we have seen before (dystopian setting and different social class similar to Children of Men) but Johnson has managed to make this all seem fresh. The use of time travel is very cleverly conveyed on-screen, such as the butterfly effect with a horrific scene where a future looper is escaping but is suddenly receiving scars and losing limbs due to his younger self being tortured and mutilated off-screen. Also scenes where Joe meets Sara (Emily Blunt) for the first time and older Joe suddenly sees visions of what his younger self is seeing. The fact Johnson was able to make us delve into his future setting without much exposition is quite a remarkable feat and making us just go along with the ride!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a wonderful performance, he gets the essence and mannerisms of Bruce Willis rather than impersonates him (such as the smirk and raised eye-brow when he’s being complimented from someone). As the make-up does make him rather unrecognisable, there’s still a sense of uncanny valley with it all. Bruce Willis delivers a subtle and emotional performance, showing the amount of regret but also pain from the things he’s lost and trying to fix all that. The scene in the diner with both Gordon-Levitt and Willis is the highlight of the film, as the older Joe is telling young Joe that he’s a junkie and really needs to be fixed. Whilst the younger Joe is young and naive, pointing out that he can still make his own decisions no matter what has happened with older Joe. It is all very engaging and very amusing to watch as they’re basically trying to top each other. Emily Blunt makes a great performance as Sara, whose a farm girl living outside from the major cities and also tasked on looking after her son, Cid (Pierce Gagnon). She’s a tough character, but also carries emotional weight that makes her a strong character overall. It is also refreshing that Blunt actually delivers a convincing American accent, as most of her roles in her previous work just have her speak in her British accent. Jeff Daniels is one of the great supporting casts playing as Abe, who is from the future to manage the loopers but also run a nightclub Joe frequently goes to. The scenes where he tells young Joe to instead of copying something from the past and make something on your own. Even a funny line where he tells Joes to go to Shanghai, when Joe wants to go to France but Abe then says “I’m from the future, go to Shanghai!”

The pacing, editing, production design, visual effects are very well executed and very well done. The first act is slow, letting you delve into the future and the narration helps you get an idea the tone the film will go. Another scene I really admired was the montage of young Joe growing to the older Joe, it could’ve gone to the conventional route on having a voice-over explaining to us about his choices after his looper contract had ended but it doesn’t and it works beautifully. The technology within the world all felt very plausible, as it was only thirty years into the future that you can imagine cars having one or two additional features. The director wasn’t interested on focusing on the technology or using it as a spectacle, we are aware it is there and will only be used when it is required to (not having to rely on a chase sequence here and there to grab audience’s attention).

Overall; this is a great sci-fi film. The script is very smart and competently written. It is refreshing to watch after the blockbuster season has finished. Gordon-Levitt, Willis and Blunt all make great performances and is certainly one of my favourite films of this year. Highly Recommended!

5 out of 5

St Albans’ first ever Film Festival hopes to reel in the next Kubrick

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St Albans’ first ever Film Festival hopes to reel in the next Kubrick
St Albans will be hosting its first annual film festival from 8th– 10th March 2013.
The Festival programme will feature talks, workshops, parties and a short-film competition, with thousands of pounds up for grabs. The festival is already attracting interest from around the globe. Filmmakers from as far as Australia, Singapore,
Greece & USA have submitted their work along with entries from around the UK.
The festival is currently OPEN for submissions until the end of December 2012 and Filmmakers of any age
(including children filmmakers) can enter their short film into one or more of six categories:
Main Short Film – Top quality, slick shorts.
Student Film – Made by a student of any age from 5 to 95. We will be splitting this award in 2 and giving a prize
to the best child filmmaker and one to the best over age 16 filmmaker.
Music Video – Any Music Genre accepted.
Documentary – inspiring short docs
Children’s Film – U Certificate films for family audiences. Eg: Animations!
Over 18s Films – Something for the grown-ups! Horror, Erotica, War etc..
The city’s Roman heritage has made St Albans a popular location with film-makers, directors and actors. It is
just 20mins by train from London and close to some of the most prestigious film studios in the
world: Pinewood (Superman, James Bond); Elstree (Star Wars, Indiana Jones); and also Leavesden (Harry
Potter). Tom Cruise is currently filming his new movie with Emily Blunt, All You Need is Kill, in the area, and,
as was widely reported, Cruise is so at home in St Albans he recently took his entourage with him when he
popped out for a curry at a local Indian restaurant!
St Albans’ rich film-making history goes way back. Arthur Melbourne-Cooper – the pioneer of moving pictures
– was born in the City, and the much celebrated film director Stanley Kubrick came to settle in the area, where
he created some of his most famous work. Kubrick’s manor was used as a nerve centre for his film
productions. The Shining was finished there, and Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut were started and
completed there.
Interested filmmakers can submit their work via the festival websitewww.stalbansfilmfestival.com and each
entry costs £20. Selected films will be showcased in the festival and the best film in each category will win a
cash prize of £500. There will also be a cash prize for the best performance by an actor or actress in the
festival, sponsored by Top Talent Acting Agency.
Festival Director, Leoni Kibbey, says: “I really want this festival to demonstrate how important St Albans has
been and is, in the UK film industry. It will encourage talented filmmakers in the area to make films and show
them to a live audience and will contribute to the cultural consciousness of this historic city. Both local
residents and visitors alike will get the chance to sample some exciting, original films, and we may even find
our new Kubrick! The Festival will put St Albans on the filmmaking map.”
More information regarding venues and judges will be announced in the coming weeks.
“The best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and
make a movie of any kind at all.” STANLEY KUBRICK

 

Shell Film Review

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Shell is a gripping and lonely film which follows the life of a father, Pete (Joseph Mawle), and his teenage daughter, Shell (Chloe Pirrie), who live in a remote petrol station in the Scottish Highlands. They spend their time doing chores and tending to the needs of rare passing motorists.

Pete is a battered wreck who has never recovered from losing his wife who left when Shell was a baby. Shell is wild and timid. Both Shell and her father feel trapped. Shell loves her father and she won’t break his heart by leaving him like her mother did. Too further complicate matters her father also suffers from epilepsy and relies on her support.

This is a film about being trapped and lonely. The director (Scott Graham) and actors do a great job of getting these feelings across to the audience. The atmosphere is set perfectly by the haunting desolate landscape and the excellent sound and camera work. This is not the most enthralling or uplifting film but it does achieve its objectives. The film is gripping and flows well. It is definitely worth seeing.

6.5/10