Evil Dead (2013)

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Parent Category: Culture
Category: Movies
Created: Wednesday, 22 May 2013 21:42

Evil-Dead-Movie-Wallpaper

The Evil Dead is a remake/revisitation of the 1981 horror classic written and directed by Sam Raimi. The original film was a low budget (USD$90,000) supernatural horror that received excellent reviews in spite of the films rating (X in the US). The Evil Dead is widely regarded as one the seminal horror films of the 1980's and, while looking dated, that is more to do with the age and quality of the technology used than with with the quality of the storytelling, and still holds an audience today due to the (then) audacious camera work and black humour. The film spawned two sequels (each progressively more humourous), computer games, comic books and even a musical. The film's protagonist Ash Williams has become a cult icon, played by Bruce Campbell who has become a cult actor,

Here is the trailer for the original film:
 

The original film, and the sequels, are much loved and have a cult status few other franchises (let alone horror properties) possess which makes it an extremely risky remake in an era where remakes are generally looked upon with disgust and scorn. The Friday the 13th remake was an OK attempt to reconcile the various versions of that franchise into a singularly recognisable whole but failed to achieve anything close to the scares, slaughter or entertainment of the original. The Nightmare on Elm Street remake missed the mark by for the same reasons. A remake of something much loved faces the chance of even greater scorn than these other 80's franchises that had been great but not at all consistent through their many sequels.

Another thing that stands against the film is that horror audiences have come to accept different styles of horror film as the flavour of choice, films such as the Saw and Paranormal Activity franchises (the first of these films I rather enjoyed but couldn't make it through the sequel enough to go any further with the franchises), and while the original is loved for it's horror the sequels are remembered and revered for their black humour. There seems to me to be a predilection in modern horror toward torture that I don't enjoy or towards the found footage format with sub par scares (The last ones of each style that really stand out as excellent are Funny Games and REC). I have also found few characters in the last decade of horror movies that I like enough to watch them be killed let alone attempt to survive.
The film also has to contend with the excellent 2011 release of Cabin in the Woods by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon which wonderfully pulls apart the this particular corner of the genre to delightful result.
So it begs the question, where should Evil Dead fall? Should it adhere to the modern horror sensibility of horrible characters torturing each other and being tortured for 2 hours? She it be a black comedy with horror elements? Does the film need Bruce Campbell in order to appease fans and gain an audience? Does it need to distance itself as far from the original as possible and make it on it's own merits? Should it be a shot for shot remake with modern technology? Does it need to self-aware or naïve?
Below is the trailer for the remake, which is easily the most intense horror movie trailer I've seen in a while:

Evil Dead (2013) takes the full blown horror movie route much like the original, although devoid of the black humour. It is a beast unto itself whilst also revelling in revisiting the 30 year old film.

There are a few nods to the original including a similar cabin for our little drama and a rusted out Oldsmobile (the same model as used in Sam Raimi's films), Fede Alvarez also used the same visual movement of the 'Evil' travelling through the woods with a very similar (same?) sound as the original.
The opening of the film sets the tone of all that is to follow and allows for the orginal trilogy to still exist chronologically, a approach I feel that is for the better allowing a broader tapestry to play with in the future.
Evil Dead uses a drug intervention for Mia as raison d'etre for being out in the woods, isolated from the big bad city to ensure they can get their friend clean. This also helps with the characters finding Mia's ramblings a little unbelievable and thus allow for some incredibly violent things to happen rather than just leave before its too late. The plot isn't a new one, and that's perfectly fine because in this day and age because when the jaded audience has seen it all before it must come down to the delivery. The actors carry the script well, but the true masters of this delivery lie with the Fede Alvarez and crew.
This is the first feature length film for director Fede Alvarez, and it is an excellent debut. The crew assembled to support this first time director do their job very well, each unit bringing a variety of experience and talent that is well used. The film is visually stunning for the genre with the cinematography containing a great balance of perspective shots, skewing or angling the camera just enough to add to your visual unease. The palette is very well used and the lighting of certain scenes perfect, allowing for an intense atmospheric experience. The film is extremely violent and the imagery brutal and presented up close and personal, but the real impact comes from the entrancing use of sound. Even when you know what you are about to see the audio takes you further into discomfort than you would expect. This is a testament to the Director and his crew for producing and blening the images with such a engrossing soundtrack that gets under your skin.
I consider myself pretty experienced when it comes to movies, and I've seen my fair share of them, so I can be pretty harsh with my reviewing. The Evil Dead is an excellent horror movie filled with excellently grotesque visuals and is one of the best new horror films I've seen in a long time, and it is definitely one of the best modern revisits/remakes of a horror film. It keeps enough of what Evil Dead fans want without coming across as too derivative, respecting the source material, and adding to the mythology. It has also brought a new director to Hollywood and I very much look forward to what Fede Alvarez does next (I'm rather hoping to see if he is capable of doing something other than a gore filled horror movie). The Evil Dead compliments the original 1981 horror in a way very remakes could. It does not eclipse the original but can stand on its own or together with.

Evil Dead needs to be watched in the dark with the sound turned all the way up.
This is a 8 out of 10 blood soaked ride (7 if you are a not a fan of the first films and leave without watching the entire credits sequence). 

 

Life of Pi 3D (2012)

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Parent Category: Culture
Category: Movies
Created: Saturday, 05 January 2013 03:58

Life of Pi Movie PosterThe Life of Pi is an adaptation of the novel by Yann Martel, published in 2001, that tells the story of a young man's survival after the ship he is travelling on sinks in the Pacific. He survives on a life-raft with a Zebra, an Orangutang, a Hyena and a Bengal Tiger.

The film version has been adapted to screen by director Ang Lee (Eat Drink Man Woman [1994], Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [2000], Brokeback Mountain [2005]) and writer David Magee (Finding Neverland [2004]) and they do it very well. One of the hardest things with adapting a novel to screen is what do you leave in or take out. With Pi, I found nothing missing from the book, and if there was it was not necessary for the telling of the tale, making this by far the best literal adaptation of a novel to screen that I have seen.

The film opens with the writer meeting Pi Patel at his home in Canada with a brief explanation of how the writer came to find the Life of Pi – “a story that will make you believe in God”. This in itself is an excellent adaptation of the Author's note from the novel merged with the central narrative, and proof of David Magee's desire to provide a concise yet accurate telling of this tale. Pi then begins his story...

The film take us on a beautiful journey, filled with humanity and humour amidst tragedy and some spectacular visuals. The performance of Suraj Sharma as the young Pi is excellent in its innocence, bookended by Irrfan Khan's delightfully engaging elder Pi. The rest of the cast do a great job of establishing their characters and value to Pi with their limited screen time.

Life of Pi uses 3D incredibly well - The opening sequence of the animals in the zoo, some of the raft and underwater scenes (there is an almost palpable depth and scale to the imagery rather than the decoupage effect I have witnessed in other 3D films and trailers) entrancing the viewer with intense, vibrant, and surreal image in a manner that feels pure and inescapable. The technology is rarely used to hurl objects at the audience, instead focusing on the splendour, isolation and intimacy of the stage to great affect. The 3D is not perfect, but this is the first film since Avatar that has made me believe this technology can add something to the cinema experience.

Life of Pi brings to cinema a wonderful, humour and hope-filled fantasy to movie theatres inundated with gritty, realistic, heavily dramatic, or moronic films. It easily earns 9 out of 10.

 

7 July 2012 - The Bamboos @ The Gov

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Parent Category: Culture
Category: Music
Created: Sunday, 08 July 2012 01:06

Saturday afternoon we were wondering what we would do that evening and whilst pottering around the house doing the weekly chores I came across an article that Rina had torn out of the Messenger last month. It was a simple statement: The Bamboos play Sat 7 July at the Gov.

Rina had heard them as a feature of ABC Dig Radio and thought they were cool A quick trip around the net and through Youtube and I realised why: They were indeed a very cool and funky band which, whilst I wasn't really aware of who they were I had heard their songs over the years and what I heard today was enough to make me want to see them live.

The Gov is an iconic music venue in Adelaide, situated on the western edge of the parklands across from the Entertainment Centre on Port Road. It is Iconic in that it has managed to survive as a music venue while others in Adelaide have been crushed by the increased urbanisation in their immediate vicinity. I've seen numerous bands there (some good, some not, and others brilliant) including 'The Cherry Poppin' Daddies', 'Soul Sistas', and 'The Beards', and many more. The venue hosts a range of genres and bands of various popularity and notoriety and for the most part is pretty cheap. It can also hold around 700 people so you can get a good sized crowd.

Tonight's show cost $35 at the door and we got the last two tickets.

After we got in we saw the schedule. 7:30-8:30 DJ, 8:30-9:15 The Transatlantics, 9:30-10:45 DJ, 10:45-12:15 The Bamboos. It was going to be a long night.

TransatlanticsThe Transatlantics took the stage late, which isn't so bad because it means less DJ before the main act. The Transatlantics are an Adelaide band inspired by 1950/60's Soul with 3 vocalists and a 7-piece band. They cover the small stage and dress the part. Their music is pretty decent but their performance kept us from truly enjoying ourselves. Quite a few of them seemed bored and distant which I find prevents a live show from achieving Awesome. It's quite a shame really because if you closed your eyes, you started to really dig their music and vibe. I would gladly see them again as I hope this performance was just one of those days for the band. They've got some of their tracks available on the website, so pop across and have a listen.

Bamboos2The Bamboos took the stage and they instantly set themselves apart from the Transatlantics. There was a vitality that had been sorely lacking earlier in the night. These were musicians who truly believed they had the best job in the world and it came through in each movement, note, chord and octave.

The band has been around since 2001 and has steadily grown and evolved to the current 9 piece format. The music is easily digested funk – upbeat, well orchestrated and excellently delivered.

When Lance Ferguson, the band leader and guitarist, starts playing there is an instant familiarity to his performance. You feel as though you've been here before and are glad to be back. Kylie Auldist, the lead vocalist, opens her mouth and immediately establishes an intimacy connection with the audience. The rest of the group all play their roles well and the room fills with warmth from their delivery. There isn't a moment of their performance that feels lacking or wanting for more, even when Kylie hands over the stage to Ella Thompson, the other vocalist, the pace and atmosphere continues unabated proving herself an excellent singer.

I went from having no idea about this band to fan within a matter of hours. I would heartily recommend that you check out their website to have a listen and check them out the next time they come through town.

Samsara (2011)

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Parent Category: Culture
Category: Movies
Created: Saturday, 29 December 2012 21:55

Samsara PosterSamsara is one of the most beautiful, disturbing, elating and haunting films I have seen. It is the third film collaboration by director Ron Fricke and producer Mark Magidson.

Their first film was Chronos (1985) was a 43 minute IMAX film that is regarded as the first non-verbal non-fiction motion picture. Sadly in Australia I have only ever come across a 4:3 version of this film and have not seen it in its full 65mm 1:78:1 aspect, but it is still a beautiful piece of film showing the grandeur of our planet to a very elegant musical score.

Their second film Baraka (1992) was a far more impressive film. Shot on 70mm in 2:20:1 aspect, it was released in Australia in 1994 and had a profound effect on me. Featuring footage of 24 countries, filmed over to an epic musical score, the film displayed some of the epic wonder of our planet and the people upon it, while also showing a number of the ills of our modern society. I have seen this film over 20 times since its release and it is one of the few films I have found that truly benefits from the Blu-Ray High Definition format. Baraka means 'blessing'.

Samsara (2011), released to the general public this year, is an intellectual and thematic continuation of Baraka, once more offering a range of visuals from 25 countries and filmed over 5 years. Samsara means 'the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound.' The name informs the viewer of the nature of this venture, being a weightier film than the 20 year old Baraka. The visuals that the team has put together must have been a logistical nightmare to obtain, ranging from Thiksey Monastery in India, to sweat shops in China, the Hawaiian Volcanoes to the Chateau de Versailles, the Ninth Ward of New Orleans to Mecca.

From the moment the film begins you are entranced, ensnared. For the next 100 minutes your life belongs to film. The musical score controls the rhythm of your breath, the images your thoughts. It is a meditation on the world and your place within it, taking you from calm to elated glory at the wonder of the natural world, human rituals, as well as the traditional and modern world we have built, then through to roiling distressed horror at the inconsistencies of how human life operates, before returning you to the epic beauty of our world and the people upon it.

Samsara is a wonderful film project that engages you, emotionally and philosophically, and the experience can not be shed immediately upon leaving the cinema.

A joyous and concerning film that I think everyone should watch. 9/10 for sheer epic brilliance.

Samsara (2011) Trailer

Baraka (1992) Trailer

 

The Raid (2012)

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Parent Category: Culture
Category: Movies
Created: Saturday, 30 June 2012 01:39

The-Raid-Redemption

Every year there are a slew of action films that come to the cinemas and DVD outlets. For the most part these are relatively generic films suffering from uninspired plots/script and starring cookie cut actors. It is a genre where you check your head at the door and watch the mediocrity for two hours with the occasional cheer and/or chuckle, and rarely an incredible action sequence that you talk about later.
Then along comes an action film that stands apart... this is one of them.
The Raid doesn't sport a new or unique plot: A Police unit must raid a tenement to capture a gang lord – hijinks ensue. But, oh the hijinks.
The film opens with our protagonist (Rama, played by relative newcomer Iko Uwais) enjoying marital bliss – waking with his pregnant wife and preparing for his job – establishing that Rama is just like us, an Everyman. Dressed for action he joins his team in a truck driving towards the tenement and is given his briefing. Who the bad guy is, who his bodyguards are, etcetera etcetera. Lieutenant Wahyu, who is commanding the Raid, makes the point of singling Rama out as a rookie amongst the elite team and gets him placed at the back so as not to cause trouble.
The Raid begins easily enough, the team infiltrates the complex easily enough with some nicely shot manoeuvres, scaling the tower. As always though, after a while they are not quick enough and the alarm is sounded. What follows is a beautifully shot battle between the scum and villainy of the tenement and the 'elite cops', culminating in the film's conclusion.
One of the things that sets the film apart is the form of martial art used, the traditional Indonesian Pencak Silat. The style as portrayed in the film is efficient and brutal in its elegance. The camera work in this film, particularly during combat is brilliant, conveying inertia and potency that leaves almost all of the big budget actions films I've seen these last years, well behind. There is care and forethought to how the actors move on set as well as to what the viewer will see of it. Very rarely does the camera not move fluidly, which keeps the audience's adrenaline running rather than making them queasy, which is surprising considering how close into the fray it gets.
I can't really speak to the acting as I've only been to Indonesia a few times and am not sure what the standards or nuances are for actors there, but it does hold up well compared to western action heroes. Although, being that most of the movie is an action scene, most of the extras just throw punches and take hits with the appropriate screaming and gurgling and thus not requiring Academy Award winning dramatists.
Watching this film I look forward to seeing what Director Gareth Evans, Cinematographer Matt Flannery, and Iko Uwais have in store next. As a second film for the team, this is a great outing keeping me engaged throughout.

I gladly give this film 8/10 for pure entertainment.

 

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