A Touch of Sin (2014) Review

A Touch of Sin

Director: Jia Zhangke

Stars: Wu Jiang, Tao Zhao, Lanshan Luo

Jia Zhangke’s latest film has finally seen a UK release roughly a year after its Cannes victory for best screenplay. After a long wait fuelling anticipation furthered by the buzz surrounding the Chinese director, it is fair to say that the payoff is more than satisfactory.

A Touch of Sin presents four separate narrative strands set in various provinces of modern day China, each unified by dealing with a violent struggle of sorts. Wu Jiang gives a fantastic performance as ‘Dahai’ the angry miner who feels forced to confront the corruption in his village. Lanshan Luo is equally intriguing as the downtrodden migrant worker struggling to make ends meet amongst China’s cutthroat world of neo-capitalism. But it is regular Jia collaborator Tao Zhao whose performance as the abused receptionist is particularly powerful, creating scenes of bloody retribution that wouldn’t be out of place in a Tarantino film. Jia Zhangke’s script and shooting perfectly uses violence as a cunning narrative tool, keeping audiences interested through an overbearing atmosphere of hatred and anxiety, culminating in visceral scenes of violence. We are given a vivid yet unflinching image of the lives of everyday Chinese citizens who are swallowed up by the country’s rapidly expanding economy. Jia Zhangke’s camera captures fantastic landscapes that emphasise the fear and isolation each character experiences, despite China’s staggering population density.

The fact that the film’s characters are derived from real news stories in recent Chinese history emphasises Jia’s message - scrutinising a nation supposedly experiencing a period of prosperity. The director has put a mirror in front of his own country, giving global audiences an image of China that many would have never considered.

It could be argued that such a message gets a little muddled at times through the film’s division of narratives. But the subtlety of its national statement and use of compelling performances ensure that those who watch A Touch of Sin will stand up and listen to what Jia Zhangke has to say. This is a director that promises an exciting future for Chinese cinema. So despite a somewhat unfamiliar setting, the film resonates with many of us that can relate to exploited individuals driven to extremes. 

RATING: 4/5

By Tom Boucher

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Review

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Review

Director – Doug Liman

Stars – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt

As soon as we heard that Tom Cruise was making another action movie it wasn’t a huge surprise. After all Mr Hollywood has managed to be cast in a variant of ‘photogenic hero’ since the 80’s and he isn’t showing signs of slowing down. However this isn’t a criticism, Cruise has been ‘ahem’ cruising (sorry) through a major blockbuster pretty much every year, each one a standing testament to what he does best. This time round he is joined by Doug Liman who is also an action veteran (The bourne Identity, Mr and Mrs Smith) Thus far so good. Based on the critically acclaimed Japanese novel ‘All You Need is Kill’ by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, the film has a great foundation to work off of and also has high expectations from the original fans.

Within 10 minutes of the film we get a huge chunk of the plot; most of the earth has been taken over by ‘mimics’ jelly fish type robots (think ‘The Matrix’ sentinels with superior CGI) and the cowardly Major Cage (Cruise) has been sent to the front line for an imminent battle across the English channel. Within this battle lies a majority of the action and film. After Cage kills an Alfa Mimic, in the process killing him, he gains the Alfa’s ability to‘re-set’ the day thus giving a ‘Groundhog Day’ effect. This enables Cage to live (and die) the same day over and over again, as this progresses we meet the infamous Rita AKA The full metal Bitch (Blunt). Blunt gives the film a different dynamic as she is the dominant solider, being the first time cruise has played catch up we see a nice element of comedy in the otherwise dramatic battle fields. Liman provides plenty of these action sequences which are able to grip and entertain us, whilst giving them a subtle edge of grit which suits both Cruise and Blunt well. The movie places most of its emphasis on these two leads who share great chemistry, and although we aren’t given a huge amount about Rita’s back story we can grasp a basic idea of her motivation within the war. It’s also refreshing to see a headstrong woman making Cruise feel slightly inferior, her hard exterior makes us attached to their story and the difficulties they face. This said it would have been great to have seen more of both of Cage and Rita’s past and also their future as the film does decide to end with a semi-teaserish feel.

All in all this is defiantly not a standard blockbuster, it has a great script, cast and heart that make it more notable than most of this summer’s offerings. It’s only flaws can be forgiven and although it spoon feeds most of the story it’s hard to judge with its leading man and lady giving it everything on screen. If only more big budget productions based their ideas on well written books rather than Hasbro toys (that’s right Optimus Prime) we would have a higher calibre of cinema.

RATING 4/5

By Joshua Tanner

Oculus (2014) Review

Oculus (2014) Review

Director – Mike Flanagan

Stars – Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites

Over 2 years after initial filming was complete Oculus has nearly arrived in cinemas across the globe. It has been a long time coming for Director Mike Flanagan who seems to have made it a lifelong ambition for it to be made, as he also worked on a TV movie Version back in 2006. This time round he is equipped with $5 million budget and a cast led by Karen Gillan (a veteran with monsters/supernatural beings/ dodgy BBC CGI) after her outings with Doctor Who.

The film’s premise is based on a mirror with supernatural powers which over the centuries has made people slaughter their friends, families, pets, ect. Flanagan uses an interesting technique of showing us the past and present life’s of Kaylie (Gillan) and her brother Tim (Thwaites) as they struggle to cope with what has happened. As we pan backwards and forwards between their childhood and present we begin to uncover a story of horror and gore. The film grabs us in the first half as tension builds and builds where we see the two attempting to destroy the supernatural being whilst facing what happened to their family at the mirrors hands (sounds great right?). It’s around the hour mark where we begin to wish that we had just watched something else. The rest of the film is dull, predictable and simply doesn’t satisfy. All the small cleaver details that gripped us seem wasted as the film ends abruptly with no real conclusion to whatever the hell just happened in the first place. However Gillan is the film’s saving grace, she manages to guide us past all the small hiccups and bland camera work and even makes us wish there was more room for her character without a killer mirror.

Although this film seems to be another attempt to cash in on the supernatural movie market its clear to see that Flanagan holds it dear. There are some small touches that really work, especially in the childhood scenes where we get a Paranormal Activity vibe. With that said this B Movie doesn’t make a mark against a competitive horror genre. Its dull script makes it hard for us to care at all about the characters on screen and by the time the big reveal is upon us it’s too late to win us back. Oculus unfortunately isn’t a film that will keep you up all night if anything it will do the opposite.

RATING - 2/5

Bad Neighbours (2014) Review

Bad Neighbours (2014) Review

Director - Nicholas Stoller

Stars – Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron

Nicholas Stoller is probably best known as a director of features such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek, films instantly associated with actors such as Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and basically anyone else that has worked with either Judd Apatow or Evan Goldberg. It therefore comes as little surprise that he would choose to direct a film starring Seth Rogen (amongst other familiar associates), complete with more dick jokes than you could possibly imagine. But there is more to be said for Bad Neighbours than what is suggested by this.

  Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) are the couple who have just begun to settle into family life when all semblance of normality is destroyed by the arrival of a frat house moving in next door. The unruly college students are led by an idiotic yet charismatic Teddy (Zac Efron) accompanied by equally absurd right-hand man Pete (Dave Franco). Despite an initially warm first encounter, an inevitable turf war ensues resulting in plotting and scheming on both sides of the fence. Penis jokes aside, the film takes care to give a degree of depth to its characters, giving Rose Byrne a surprising amount of scope as the new mother reluctant to adjust to the routines of family life. Rogen performs his usual slacker shtick in a way that works well in the context of a grown man who still doesn’t quite know how to be a responsible father. Zac Efron’s character is also more than just the obnoxious frat boy, displaying an element of compassion whilst ensuring the unity of ‘Delta Si’ in a bizarre and somewhat contradictory notion of “Bro-hood”. One particular scene that demonstrates this involves a fantastic appearance from Craig Roberts (of Submarine fame) aka ‘assjuice’, proof that the film’s funniest moments are often produced from its more minor characters. As an actor who has been involved in some painfully unfunny films (That Awkward Moment was just plain awkward), Efron is brilliant in Bad Neighbours through embodying everything equally terrible yet redeemable about being a frat boy.

If you enjoy watching college debauchery in all its absurdity along with routine performances from funny-men like Seth Rogen then Bad Neighbours will tick all the boxes. Unfortunately the film will do little to stand out from the Canadian’s earlier work like The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad. Despite a more interesting plot, the film’s obsession with giggling at the male anatomy becomes a little tiresome – not to mention blowing its load of decent gags in the trailer.

RATING 3/5

By Tom Boucher

Her (2013) Review

Her (2014) Review

Director – Spike Jonze

Stars - Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams

Spike Jonze normally spends several years between directing major productions, one might believe that this is because he has his hands full, writing and producing various other Hollywood pictures. Or you could suggest that it’s because he only takes on films that have personal meaning to him. His last full feature was 2009’s ‘Where the Wild Things are’ which was a great piece of cinema. Ever since he has spent his time playing small roles in a handful of big budget features (The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Money Ball (2012)) and making short films. Jonze had seemingly disappeared off the radar until the news of ‘Her’ surfaced and we first glimpsed that pink poster, the movie making legend had returned.

The film is set in near future LA where a lonely Theodore (Phoenix) has bought into a new A.I operating system called Samantha voiced by Johansson who creates the invisible companion ‘Her’. Among the blank skyscrapers and block coloured clothes that everyone in LA seem to be wearing (American Apparel are probably raking it in) we follow Theodore’s developing relationship with this perfectly voiced machine, and old love affairs which include his ex-wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) who makes her small part pivotal in emphasising what Samantha does best; make Theodore happy. As each scene rolls past we notice that every shot is perfectly placed and gives us a wonderful view of this man’s life. From his day job writing nostalgia filled letters between families, friends and lovers to his plain apartment in one of the towering buildings in central L.A. We are also given comedy; when Theodore plays a virtual game he comes across the best animated invention ever, in the form of a foul mouthed blob-like creature who insults Theodore’s choice in women. This in turn provides relief from what might have been a fairly monotone film. Another crucial part of the film is making Samantha’s existence meaningful as she begins to discover things for the first time and becomes self aware. Even though we don’t get to see Samantha’s face we don’t need to, it makes it better that we can imagine our own perfect companion, which is the whole point; Although Theodore craves to escape loneliness its Samantha that longs to feel the touch of another person, which in turn mirrors Theodore’s solemn tone at the beginning.

'Her’ has been seen by many critics as a question about our over dependence on technology, but it is so much more than this. Although it was widely overlooked at this year’s Oscars for various titles which included Best film, best score and best song (Let it go by frozen won which makes it worse), this film is a modern great. It’s nothing short of genius. Amy Adams' amazing performance helps to make sense of Theodore’s relationship with Samantha whilst we follow every twist and turn that they face in a society reliant on constant contact. In short this film is a masterpiece, Jonze has made something unique and special that everyone should see. 

RATING 5/5

Big Bad Wolves (2014) Review

Big Bad Wolves (2014)

Directors – Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado

Stars – Lior Ashenazi, Rotem Keinan, Tzahi Grad

Israeli cinema isn’t commonly seen in mainstream western cinema; however this deeply black comedy horror surpasses pretty much everything in its genre in recent years. After appearing over the course of a year at various indie festivals it managed to transfer to screens across the U.S in large part to Quentin Tarantino stating it is ‘The best film of the year’. This set the goal post fairly high considering Mr Tarantino knows a thing or two about cinema. It also indicts the films themes; violence and gore, seeing as we’re pretty sure he doesn’t watch anything without these two elements. The film centres around three characters: a corrupt policeman who is investigating a string of grizzly child murders, the father of the latest victim and the main suspect.

From the opening shot of children playing in a derelict house we can sense a solemn tone that carries throughout the film, it’s an eerie atmosphere that makes the steady pace even more captivating. As we begin to see each character’s story we get a sense of the strong complexity of their roles within the film. Micki (Ashkenazi) the Policeman is a man who has strong family values yet will torment and stalk Dror (Keinan) the main suspect who is also a school teacher, and after being shunned from his job because of these accusations he also has to take abuse and beatings from others. It isn’t until we are introduced to Gidi (Grad) the father of the latest victim when things start to ramp up. The film's real trick is determining Dror’s innocence or guilt and whether the lengths we see Gidi and Micki go to are morally right.

The film makes clever use of the script providing moments of light comic relief especially between Gidi and his elderly father as they discuss torturing Dror. This in turn makes these following scenes much darker as the men begin to inflict hammer blows and blowtorch burns upon the suspect. As an audience we’re not sheltered from the breaking of fingers or indeed any bloodshed. It uses elements of ‘Hostel’ (2005) without going overboard, as the build up to the first painful attack is thoughtfully prolonged.  As the second half of the film continues, the suspense mounts as the story twists and turns until eventually we arrive at a shattering finish. In the final shot you almost shout out with shock with the conclusion you are faced with. What really makes this film great is the well rounded characters, played by an amazing cast. Quentin wasn’t wrong.

RATING – 3/5

By Joshua Tanner

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) Review

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) Review

Director – Bryan Singer

Stars – Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Stewart

When Singer announced shortly after the release of X-Men: First Class that the next X-Men film would be a crazed mash up of old and new, many people were hesitant. It’s a bold idea and one that plays well. We see the original X: Men cast that we grew up watching combining with the recent incarnations; as Wolverine (Jackman) is sent back in time to stop a war that will wipe out humans and mutants from ever beginning. The feel of the film is defiantly more like ‘First Class’ than the originals, as it has more of an edge to it rather than the trilogy’s fun feel. It also makes sure not to mention the awful stand alones that Mr Jackman decided he would take on. With this in mind it has the combination to be a great success, each cast member was as excited to be back as the rest of us and with Singer at the helm we were in familiar territories.

The Film begins well, we are thrown straight into the action as we see old faces including Ellen Page’s Kitty battling it out in the future against Peter Dinklage’s Sentinels. These Sentinels have the power to adapt to any mutant’s power in order to beat them, and so we see the perilous situation faced by Professor X and the gang from the word go. Without over complicating things in the story we are sent back to the 70’s where we can reunite again with the younger mutant’s who are faced with their own problems. After we are introduced to each member the story can finally progress as our heroes plan to free Michael Fassbender from his cage in the Pentagon. Aided by newcomer Quicksilver we are given great action sequences and great acting. Singer makes these sequences combine well with the heightened tension as we cross back from and forth between past and present. With major set pieces including stadiums crashing around the white house and a slow motion battle set to classical music being a major highlight. Another thing that Singer does well is making the characters use their powers together to make these moments that more effective. However that said the only thing that lacks is the character development, with a great story that is never boring it manages to sacrifices it’s key players. We never see much of Ian McClellan nor Ellen Page, and even when we do they aren’t able to grab enough screen time to help us remember what they have been doing when the last film ended. We are hurried along the story with each character attempting to make the most of their moment, even though they are great to watch they are left feeling somewhat hollow and disjointed.

Singer does his best to provide drama and action and it works, well. It’s great to see his big ideas play out and unfold in front of us. Jackman is a predictably sturdy lead who navigates us along at a great pace, whilst the supporting roles are filled with A list talent who manage to cement themselves within the X-Men universe. Singer’s well written script and amazing fight sequences make Days of Future Past is a crowd pleaser, and we are even treated to some old faces making cameos at the end. With this in mind and the next instalment X-Men-Apocalypse fast approaching it’s going to be a spectacular comeback for the franchise, let’s just hope we get to see more of the characters we have learnt to love.

RATING 4/5

By Joshua Tanner