Evil Dead (2013, Dir. Fede Alvarez, USA) (Cert: 18/R) ****

 

 

 

Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci

 

Suffering from a drug addiction, Mya (Levy) is taken by her friends and her brother David (Fernandez) to her family’s cabin in the woods in order to go cold turkey. One of the friends, Eric (Pucci) discovers in the cabin a skin-bound book, wrapped in black plastic and barbed wire and that contains strange blood-stained messages of warning. Eric finds a hidden chant in the book and when he recites it, he seems to conjure up something in the woods that takes hold of Mya, even though the others simply think she’s experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

 

Remaking horror films is a tricky business. The rule of thumb is that generally horror remakes are wholly inferior (with some notable exceptions such as The Thing (1982) and The Fly (1986)) and a cheap excuse to make money; an act that large numbers of horror fans find tiresome and annoying. Evil Dead remained up until this point one of the few major American horror franchises from the 1980s left untouched in the world of remakes and boasts one of the most loyal (if rather eccentric, even by horror fan standards) fan communities in the horror genre. With the Evil Dead trilogy’s director (Sam Raimi), star (Bruce Campbell) and producer (Robert Tapert) to hand, this film seems to have been given the seal of approval.

 

To call this Evil Dead a copy-and-paste take on the original 1981 film would be misguided. This newer version is a more classically horrific approach that features none of the first film’s humour (the initial Evil Dead sequels are better remembered for the comedy, but the first Evil Dead still is, at times, a little tongue-in-cheek). In this sense the film is less unique when compared to its antecedent but it delivers a still vicious and thrilling story with involving characters. There’s a real love for the original material here with a series of homages that run from obvious to subtle. The film lacks a lead as charismatic as the original trilogy’s Bruce Campbell (although, to be fair, Campbell only really shone in the subsequent Evil Dead films). Inevitably, some fans will be disappointed. It’s not the same as what came before and the pre-existing prejudice towards remakes will hang on this a little (though not as much as most other examples in this category) but what the new Evil Dead does is preach to the Evil Dead-worshipping choir with a new hymnbook and speaking as a proud member of the congregation myself, the sermon still holds up a little.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013, Dir. Antoine Fuqua, USA) (Cert: 15/R) **

 

Starring: Gerard Butler, Rick Yune, Morgan Freeman

 

Eighteen months after being removed from personal security for the President (Aaron Eckhart) due to the failure to save the life of the First Lady (Ashley Judd) White House security officer Mike Banning (Butler) goes on a mission to rescue the President when a North Korean terrorist organisation takes control of the White House.

 

When Air Force One was released in 1997, many people dubbed it “Die Hard On A Plane”. It was far from the first film to be heavily influenced by the 1988 Bruce Willis movie (in fact, Die Hard has probably been the most influential action movie of the last 25 years). Well, now with Olympus Has Fallen we have Die Hard In The White House; borrowing the concept of using a lone-man action movie within a Presidential setting. Given that the film stars the undoubtedly manly Gerard Butler in a role suited to an action-heavy environment, Olympus Has Fallen should be superior given that Air Force One was an aging Harrison Ford playing a distinctly middle-aged President in combat-mode.

 The fight sequences in Olympus Has Fallen are impressive, especially the close-quarters fights and the film is snappily-edited but on a moralistic front, the film is in contentious territory. For the gung-ho patriotic and conservative audience of the US, Olympus Has Fallen has a fair amount to recommend it story-wise. A decisively post-9/11 film (the top of the Washington Monument is cleaved off with a plane wing and looks eerily like one of the World Trade Centre towers in the 2001 terror attacks) but for those with a more progressive slant, there may be issues with a lack of moral complexity even in circumstances that do seem shady (Butler’s ruthless actions would cross certain ethical boundaries for a lot of people) and portrayals of North Koreans that border if not completely fall into offensive territory (there is, to my memory, all but one East Asian in the entire film who isn’t an antagonist. One in a large cast. The use of suicide bombings is hardly sensitive either). Regardless of your political views, the film is at its best when it covers the events in the back-rooms with Morgan Freeman in an almost docu-drama style as the action is too flamboyant and unrealistic. If they’d focused on the quieter stuff this would’ve been a much more interesting film. As it is, it’s too dark and too disturbing to be really worth recommending.

FILM OF THE WEEK (14/04/2013): Jaws (1975, Dir. Steven Spielberg, USA) (Cert: 12/PG) *****

Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss

Whilst preparing for the Independence Day flood of tourists, the tranquil calm of the coastal town of Amity is shattered by the presence of a large shark stalking the coastline, claiming victims in a series of vicious attacks. Local police officer Martin Brody (Scheider) takes out a boat with a shark specialist (Dreyfuss) and an experienced sailor (Shaw) to kill the shark.

Adapted from a novel by Peter Benchley, Jaws made an impact nearly unparalleled in motion pictures. The film started a wave (no pun intended) of animal-based horror films (most notably the Jaws cash-in Piranha (1978)) pioneered the notion of the summer blockbuster and provided the breakthrough success of Steven Spielberg. A film that combines elements of Alfred Hitchcock and Moby Dick, Jaws is much rougher than the relatively tame certificate and the, rather unjust, cuddly reputation of Spielberg would suggest. Tense and violent, the film pulls few punches on the violence front (this is one of the few, at least mainstream, horror films in which a child is not only injured, but killed and in rather gory fashion) and provides three great lead performances, especially Englishman Robert Shaw as salty sea dog Quint, near unrecognisable next to Shaw’s previous role as big blonde psychopath Red Grant in the James Bond film, From Russia With Love (1963). All of this brought to the fore by an unforgettable John Williams score. Duh…DUM!

Papadopoulos And Sons (2013, Dir. Marcus Markou, UK) (Cert: 15/Uncertified) ***

Starring: Stephen Dillane, Georges Corraface, Cosima Shaw

 

Harry Papadopoulos (Dillane) is a wealthy and successful Greek-born British businessman, heading the Papadopoulos And Sons business, specialising in Greek food and, more recently, property. When an economic downturn results in the business going bust, Harry and his family move in with Harry’s elder brother, Spiros (Corraface) who has dreams of reopening the chip shop where the brothers had first made their name.

 

To start with, Papadopoulos And Sons isn’t a particularly entertaining film. The setting and characters come off as either bland or unoriginal and the film never goes beyond faintly amusing. The film becomes noticeably better when Georges Corraface turns up; his performance as Spiros, the lovable rogue, lifts the film’s momentum and does start to endear you to the main characters in turn. The plot is a little disorganised (one plot thread seems almost dropped entirely without much of a resolution) and the film probably would’ve been served better as a TV miniseries, but there’s nothing here that’s hugely problematic; it’s just a little flat. 

The Place Beyond The Pines (2012, Dir. Derek Cianfrance, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ****

 

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Dane DeHaan

 

After quitting his job as a stunt motorcyclist, Luke “Heartthrob” Glanton discovers that he’s a father. Wanting to provide, Luke uses his skills as a motorcyclist to become a bank robber; a career that he discovers to be quite skilled in. However, when a bank robbery goes wrong, his encounter with a cop (Cooper) has far-reaching consequences.

 

The Place Beyond The Pines has accomplished something very difficult. The film has taken what is essentially a bi-generational saga and distilled it into a two hour long story. Conventional wisdom says that that shouldn’t work, however it is pulled off rather commendably. A tale of crime, corruption and the relationship between fathers and sons, the performances are strong, aiding an engrossing story. The mid-story twist is perhaps a little much to swallow, but other than that this film comes highly recommended.

Oblivion (2013, Dir. Joseph Kosinski, USA) (Cert: 12a) ***

Starring: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough

 

In the year 2017, aliens fleeing their dying home planet landed on the Moon and began a war between them and Earth. The destruction to the Moon caused earthquakes and floods and the resulting nuclear war finished off most of the Earth’s atmosphere. Sixty years on, Jack (Cruise) and Victoria (Riseborough) are two surviving humans living above Earth’s atmosphere, surveying the planet and ridding it of remaining aliens, known as “Scavs”. When Jack discovers and rescues a sixty-year-old escape pod containing a woman (Kurylenko) he recognises from his dreams, a whole new reality starts to dawn on Jack.

 

Directed by Joseph Kosinski (and based off of his own graphic novel), Oblivion treads a fine line between mainstream-friendly pop-science fiction and more cerebral and esoteric material, lurching further towards the latter as the film goes on. It’s a film that wears its influences on its sleeve, with a story that meshes elements from Aliens (1986) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). It twists and it turns but doesn’t take a very interesting shape until the movie is well underway, just enough to stop you losing interest completely. However, the film does have a great sound and set design and the final moments of the film are a real tour-de-force.  

A Late Quartet (2012, Dir. Yaron Zilberman, USA) (Cert: 15) ****

 

 

Starring: Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener

 

The New York-based Fugue String Quartet, consisting of cellist Peter Mitchell (Walken), first violin Daniel Lerner (Mark Ivanir), second violin Robert Gelbart (Hoffman) and his wife, Juliette (Keener) on viola, are preparing for an upcoming season of concerts when Peter discovers he’s having difficulty playing; a difficulty which transpires to be caused by the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. As a result, he decides to retire and makes the first concert of the tour his last performance before being replaced. However, before the performance can even take place, matters of dissatisfaction and infidelity threaten the continuation of the quartet.

 

Released in the UK the same year as Dustin Hoffman’s similarly-named, Quartet (2012) but released earlier in the US, A Late Quartet does bare some comparisons; both films are about musicians (more specifically classical musicians), marriage and aging, although whilst Quartet dealt with late life, three of the four characters in this film’s group are middle-aged. A Late Quartet is also less comedic in its approach, appealing more to a dramatic sensibility and, like Quartet, boasts a fine cast. As expected, the music is a thing of exquisite beauty but the film is also tasteful on a visual level. The over-riding problem to this, is the story. Whilst it gives decent concession to characters and allows the actors great opportunity to rise to the occasion, virtually all of the central plot points are dealt too soon and too quickly in the film, without allowing the chemistry or character development to come through much beforehand. Still, that aside, A Late Quartet is still a strong film that just manages to edge out its more comic, British counterpart.