The Future of A Nerdy Blogger From Cornwall or: "I Got A Job!"

An Update

I have just joined www.nextprojection.com, a brilliant film website with a wealth of talented young journalists (and also me), which means content on this blog is no longer a priority. I will still write here on occasion, but my fcous is now on Next Projection and my radio show, which you can listen to from 9-10am GMT every Saturday at http://thehub106.co.uk/.

It's staggering that this blog now has over 3000+ views, and I thank everyone who has read any of my work. Remember you can follow me on Twitter ( @The_Hamster_Boy ) to learn my bizarre thought-process.

Anyway, if I don't see you again, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight. 

P.S. The Truman Show is wonderful.

Arrow Video Double Review: Buckaroo Banzai and Cemetery Without Crosses

Arrow Video Double Review

The lovely people at Arrow Films sent me two of their latest Blu-ray releases (both are released on 20th July) to review. So, I decided to put together a double feature of sorts in order to showcase their great work. Here are my reviews of two underrated cult classics. One of them involves a heroic guitarist/neoursurgeon; the other, an ultraviolent Western, doesn't...

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai 

One of the defining cult films of the 1980s, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (that's actually the title) has inspired filmmakers such as Kevin Smith and Wes Anderson, along with its small but evangelical group of followers. Peter Weller plays the eponymous character, a half-Chinese renaissance man, top neurosurgeon, particle physicist, race car driver, rock star and saviour of the world. With his bandmates, The Hong Kong Cavaliers, he must fight against an evil alien race known as the Lectroids, lead by Christopher Lloyd's John Bigbooté (whether or not you find that funny should tell you if this movie's for you) and mad scientist Emilio Lizzardo, sporting a hysterically unconvincing Italian accent by John Lithgow. As Kevin Smith explains in a recent Q&A featured on this set, the appeal of Buckaroo Banzai lies in its creators' unwillingness to commit to anything remotely conventional. The story is nonsensical, the tone erratic and the special effects charmingly hokey, and its clear director W D Richter and writer Earl Mac Ruach couldn't care less. It's a misfit of a movie, and couldn't be prouder of it. This is a film that wears its simple intentions like a badge, whilst meeting those aspirations admirably. The cast are all game for the gleeful silliness, a young Jeff Goldblum lights up the screen as New Jersey, newbie Cavalier and talented neurosurgeon gifted some of the film's best lines. "Why is there a watermelon there", "I'll tell you later" is my personal favourite exchange (we never actually find out, much to the chagrin of the movie's devoted fans, of which I now count myself). Buckaroo Banzai was made for a highly specific audience, one with a deep affinity for sci-fi, samurai and only-half-knowing cheesiness. I happen to meet that criteria, and if you do too, say hello to your new favourite movie...

Five-Word Verdict: 100 minutes of pure joy

Score: 4/5

Extras: Besides Arrow's customary collector's booklet and exclusive artwork, this excellent set includes a commentary with Richter and Rauch, brand new interviews with Weller and Lithgow, a "making of" featurette, a Q&A, a visual essay by critic Matt Zoller Seitz, an alternate opening featuring Jamie Lee Curtis as Banzai's mother, deleted scenes, trailers and a still gallery

Cemetery Without Crosses

Directed, co-written by (with Dario Argento and Claude DeSailly) and starring French-Italian Robert Hossein, this 1969 spaghetti Western is dedicated to Sergio Leone and has the master's fingerprints all over it. Staggering wide shots, a stunning femme fatale and copious amounts of bloodshed; all it's missing is Leone's directorial verve. Not that Hossein is a poor filmmaker, but it was probably unwise to draw comparisons with one of film's greatest talents. Cemetery Without Crosses concerns the mysterious Manuel, who voes to avenge the death of his friend, employing the help of the widow (Michèle Mercier) in order to bring down the tyrannical Rogers family. It's a basic set-up, yet allows some truly effective emotional beats and an escalating sense of dread which barely relaxes for the bracing 90-minute running time. Hossein handles the obligatory shootouts with clarity and vision, executing a Leone-esque editing style, ensuring white-knuckle tension throughout. His lead performance, although a tad stilted, is underplayed in order to allow the more outlandish Rogers family to grip the audience in uncharacteristically layered villain roles. Although hardly engaging on an emotional level, Hossein's competent handling of the material and the stellar performances make this a remarkable addition to a saturated genre.

Five-Word Verdict: Good, Not Bad or Ugly

Score: 3.5/5

Extras: The typical Arrow treatment, along with a new interview with Hossein, a French news report on the making of the film, an archive Hossein interview and a trailer.

Ant-Man Mini-Review

Ant-Man Mini-Review

Riotously entertaining and refreshingly small-scale, Ant-Man serves as fine counter-programming to Marvel Studios' more bombastic entries. The movie stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, a petty criminal hired by retired scientist/superhero/millionaire/generally awesome guy Hank Pym to break into Hank's old company to steal the Yellowjacket (a suit designed to shrink its wearer whilst amplifying their strength) using its prototype: the Ant-Man costume. Plagued by the controversy of visionary director Edgar Wright's untimely departure, the finished film is far better than I was hoping for. If nowhere near as inventive as Wright's version could have been, it remains an extremely likable summer-time distraction. Yes Man director Peyton Reed took the mantle for his blockbuster debut and displays a keen eye for thrilling action sequences, especially in the movie's climactic set-piece: an explosive battle on a child's train set. Honestly. The result is both gloriously silly and a visual marvel (ha). The parallel thematic arc of both Scott and Hank trying to reconnect with their daughters helps ground the superheroics, leading to some well-handled emotional scenes boasting a stand-out performance from the never-better Douglas.

The supporting cast, headed by Evangeline Lily and Michael Peña, also includes Corey Stoll as Darren Cross, Hank's protege and heavily sign-posted villain, along with Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer and T.I. Yes, T.I. the rapper. Rudd is possibly Marvel's best leading man to date. Equal parts relatable, charming and depression-inducingly buff, he anchors the movie's more outlandish with his natural charisma whilst also proving perfect foil for the frequent bouts of slapstick. By no fault of Rudd, who is excellent, Peña runs away with the whole movie with his over-excitable character's gut-bustingly unfocused monologues, one of which features Stan Lee's funniest cameo yet. I never thought I'd say this, but the 3D is actually worth it. The otherworldly perspective of mundane locations in the ant-scale scenes reveals a whole new world of peril and obstacles, recalling the Rick Moranis classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (never a bad thing!). Marvel have never excelled in the villain department, and the finale can't help but be underwhelming. Still, 3D meriting the inflated price tag in a hugely diverting and emotionally satisfying treat many were predicting to be a disaster?

Five-Word Verdict: Are Marvel capable of failure?

Score: 4/5

Love & Mercy Review

Love & Mercy Review

Love & Mercy, Bill Pohland's marvellous biopic of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, opens in much the same way as PT Anderson's There Will Be Blood. A strange comparison, I'll grant you, but also perfectly apt. Before begin with a single note, building in volume until the sheer aural assault is hard to take. Both set out to offset the audience with disconcerting music cues, before easing them with more gentle, visceral images. It's the perfect encapsulation of the film: the dark turns of Wilson's turbulent rise, fall and eventual resurgence, matched with the giddy highs of his boundless creativity and touching lessons in love (and, indeed, mercy). From that majestic opening onwards, Love & Mercy proves to be something truly special, and one of the year's best films...

In order to capture the full extent of Wilson's tumultuous life, Pohland and his writers Michael Alan Lerner and Oren Moverman weave between two distinct periods of Wilson's life: the first, featuring an electrifying performance from Paul Dano, depicts his dizzying artistic heights and self-inflicted decline during the late 60s, is the more immediately gripping. However, the 80s segment, in which John Cusack tackles the role of a psychologically damaged man desperate to escape the clutches of his domineering therapist Eugene Landy (the ever-excellent Paul Giamatti), who finds solace in saleswoman Melinda Ledbetter, played beautifully by the equally beautiful Elizabeth Banks is the emotional core of the movie. Pohland juxtaposes these disparate strands in a deeply troubled life to provide not only a heartbreaking tale of the struggle for perfection but a genuinely touching love story full of hope, optimism and redemption. The uneasy relationship between light and dark is what gives the film its raw power; what good is joy without the sadness that came before?

Unsurprisingly, Dano practically runs away with the whole movie, boasting an Oscar-worthy performance which never lets the audience settle. One moment he's celebrating a rush of inspiration in his compostions, the next he's experiencing an LSD-provoked mental breakdown. The most impressive scenes come from the wonderfully naturalistic recording sessions, where Wilson's undying search for brilliance generate some of the greatest songs of all time, along with furious reactions from his exasperated bandmates. Crucially, Pohland and Dano make the clear distinction between is turbulent mental state and his musical mastery; a distinction many biopics neglect to acknowledge. Cusack is equally fantastic in the 80s story, his blossoming romance with Banks forming the backbone on which the more eventful aspects of his life are framed. Brian in the second time period still bares the scars inflicted by his younger, more reckless self. Cusack and Banks work superbly together, sharing an easy chemistry which makes their relationship instantly compelling.

Pohland, having not directed for 25 years, makes a glorious comeback in an often restrained film that ensures its jaw-dropping moments always feel earned and natural. His skill in capturing human emotion is never clearer than in the formative episodes of Brian and Melinda's touching romance. Melinda gives Brian an escape and a new lease of life, whereas she receives more thrills and surprises than she could possibly hope for. This perfect marriage between director and performance makes every scene effortlessly watchable. The cinematography, courtesy of Wes Anderson favourite Robert Yeoman captures both the vibrancy and agony that defines much of Wilson's life, employing both 16 and 35mm film to lend the movie a tactile urgency that would be lost with the use of digital photography. The purposefully oppressive score by Atticus Ross again combines whimsy and pain, and works largely due to Pohland knowing precisely when to employ it, Brian's panic attacks being a prime example of the score's unsentimental purity.

If the side characters are underdeveloped (greater insight into the other Beach Boys would have provided far clearer context for Brian's fall from grace) and the film's free-flowing structure result in occasional tonal whiplash, the magnificence of Love & Mercy is that its minor flaws are rendered all but negligible by the film's perfection elsewhere. Simultaneously life-affirming and heart-breaking, Love & Mercy is a film for the ages, one that will be remembered for years to come as career highlights for its absurdly talented cast and a great calling card for its highly promising director. Note to Oscars: if Paul Dano isn't at least nominated for Best Actor, may God have mercy on your soul...

Five-Word Verdict: I'm picking up good vibrations *tips hat*
Score: 4.5/5

Second Coming Mini-Review

Second Coming Mini-Review

Unambiguous title aside, Debbi Tucker Green's superb debut about a supposed Immaculate Conception, makes minimal concession to religion throughout its absorbing run-time. Set in urban London, it tells the quietly powerful story of Jacqueline Trent (a virtuoso Nadine Marshall) and how her inexplicable pregnancy gnaws away at her friends, family (Idris Elba as her husband, Mark, and JJ, played by the hugely promising Kai Francis-Lewis) and, inevitably, her sanity. The main cast are quietly stunning in challenging, layered roles filled with guilt, regret and thinly masked rage. Green acquits herself marvellously, finding visually dynamic methods of shooting the mundane locations of this secular parable. A frigid therapy session late in proceedings, shot in one increasingly uncomfortable shot is nothing short of miraculous (get it?). As Jacqueline's denial grows ever deeper, and Mark's frustation reaches boiling point, decades of misunderstandings and unresolved history is unleashed, allowing the characters, and  by proxy the film, to let loose in a barrage of deeply troubling scenes of a family in crisis. Matters are in no way improved by Jacqueline's refusal to acknowledge the baby-sized elephant in the room. Regrettably, Green lacks the strength of her social-realist convictions; settling for a misjudged conclusion which leaves marginal room for interpretation. For such a deftly handled movie elsewhere, the ending feels forced and unnecessarily po-faced. If the finale leaves much to be desire, the overall impact of the film makes it forgivable. Moving, honest and enthralling throughout, Second Coming is one of the best British films of the year...

Five-Word Verdict: "Come, let us adore it"

Score: 4/5

3 Women Blu-ray Review

3 Women Blu-ray Review

Review: Roger Altman's 1977 classic 3 Women, loosely inspired by Persona (my favourite film of all time), is a masterpiece in unease and discomfort. Whether or not you enjoy it is up to you, but one thing is certain: it is absolutely unmissable. Or you could just see Ted 2. Your choice, really. Roger Ebert's favourite film of the year on release, this disquieting portrait of obsession will bury itself into your subconscious and refuse to leave. The film follows Pinky (Sissy Spacek, walking the line between irritating and compelling perfectly) as she joins the staff of a Palm Springs day spa and becomes infatuated with her colleague (Shelley Duvall, stealing the show as the delusional Millie). The third woman of the title, Janice Rule as Willie, plagues the movie with disturbing murals of demonic, well-endowed...things (yours truly is evidently an expert in description), becoming a key motif as the increasingly disturbing relationship between Pinky and Millie goes fully down the rabbit hole. Lesser filmmakers may have produced a shlocky, brain-dead male fantasy from the palpable sexual tension of the premise, but Altman assurredly clinical direction gives it a far more cerebral edge. Released 2 years after Eraserhead, it had a clear on David Lynch's later psychosexual lesbianic headtrip Mulholland Drive. Best described as a bizarro blend of Bergman's philosophical musing on identity and Stanley Kubrick's unsentimental perspective on the human condition, this is bold, uncompromising and wholly absorbing filmmaking from one of the greats of modern American cinema. Devoutly singular yet utterly engrossing; essential viewing, even if just to say you have.

Extras: This magnificent new package from Arrow Films' Academy label includes an excellent analysis of the film with David Thompson, author of Altman on Altman, as well as an archive interview with Duvall, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, a trailer and a new 4K restoration, making this the best-looking dream you'l ever experience (warning: not guaranteed).

3 Women is out on Blu-ray on 13th July

Five-Word Verdict: A masterful diatribe of humankind

Score: 5/5