A TWISTED REVIEW OF 2011

It should be pointed out that the films listed here are movies I watched for the first time during 2011. It should also be pointed out that I am always right. Happy New Year!

Best Action: Thor (2011)

Sarah Anderson would not be amused. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is back to his arrogant best, banished to Earth from his home world of Asgard, fighting to reclaim his lost powers, not working as a mechanic, and a plastic helmet isn't going to cheer him up, either. Thor is a welcome addition to Marvel's catalogue - it almost reignites my fire for the forthcoming Avengers epic - the perfect excuse to avoid a night on the town.

Best Adventure: Super 8 (2011)

Bleak our world may be, but J.J. Abrams has his rose-tinted spectacles on, and he’s created a wonderful yarn that reeks of childhood nostalgia but with enough originality of its own, and a monster that almost rivals the best this year had to offer, in the form of the Jotnar from Troll Hunter. Goonies for grownups? Why grow up?

Best Horror: The Woman (2011)

Woeful is the household that wants a woman. If only lawyer and proud family man Chris Cleek had listened to this proverb before he stumbled upon a wild, feral woman (Pollyanna McIntosh of Exam and Burke and Hare fame) bathing in a woodland stream near his isolated country home. Perhaps he wouldn’t have made a decision that would dramatically change both their lives. But then, he's more of an animal than she is.

Best Comedy: Bridesmaids (2011)

Following Annie, a maid of honour whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian, and a group of colourful bridesmaids on a wild ride down the road to matrimony started slowly, before quickly becoming the wittiest comedy of the year, even if some gags tried too hard to out-gross The Hangover (2009). Still, it was better than this year’s sequel, and included one of my favourite film moments of the last 365 days when Annie (Kristen Wiig) tries to get arrested. Besides, any film with Wilson Phillips is bound to be brilliant.

Best Drama: Confessions (2010)

Confessions tells the story of a teacher convinced that two of her students were responsible for her daughter's murder and begins a final lesson the students will never forget. Still high on the sugar-coated ripples of critical acclaim with his previous features Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko, genre-busting auteur Tetsuya Nakashima returns with a film bursting with inventive visuals and a slew of nasty surprises. Confessions is a beautiful piece of work harmonized with a cracking soundtrack, brilliant screenplay and wonderful performances. It’s worth watching just for Takako Matsu’s breath-taking opening monologue alone.

Best British: Attack the Block (2011)

Robbed by a gang of hooded youths isn't the worst thing that could happen to you on Fireworks Night, as Sam, a trainee nurse, discovers when a meteorite falls from the sky and destroys a nearby car. The gang, annoyed by such an inconvenience, investigate and discover an alien has crash landed, so instead of phoning home, they kick its head in. Injected with a sense of old-school fun, Attack the Block is one of the funniest films of the year, with an outrageous mixture of gore and gags.

Best World Cinema: Troll Hunter (2010)

Troll Hunter drags its heels from time to time, but you won’t have to wait long for the next burst of brilliance. With stunning effects, cracking monsters, lush scenery, strong performances and an inventive screenplay, André Øvredal’s second feature is one of the strongest and strangest horror movies of the year. Altogether now, “Troooolls!”

Best Classic: Who Can Kill A Child? (1976)

One of the most unsettling and infamous films of the 1970’s, arguably ever, an English couple holidaying in Spain travel to a small, apparently deserted island, but it isn’t long before the hideous truth soon reveals itself - all the adults have been killed by its whippersnappers, who are far from finished with their systematic slaughter. Made the more disturbing by the fact our female protagonist is heavily pregnant, with no real explanation as to why the children have gone completely nuts, this must-see psychological horror revels in the couple’s isolation and astounds with an unthinkable story you probably won’t be prepared for – seriously unmissable.

Best Television Series: Friday Night Lights – Season 5 (2010)

Adapted by Peter Berg from the book of the same name, Friday Night Lights dramatizes events surrounding two high school football teams based in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to the team's coach, Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his family. In the much anticipated (well, by me anyway) fifth and final season Taylor continues to take the Lions to unprecedented success. Cue lots of drama and conflict, make ups and break ups, warring teens and sparring adults, with a little bit of last-minute football mayhem thrown in for good measure. The Launchpad for many stars of 2012; I miss you already.

Hidden Gem: Burning Bright (2010)

Boarding your house up before a hurricane strikes is probably a wise move, but it probably also makes sense to check for any Bengal tigers that might happen to be stalking the downstairs hallway. I'm sure drop-dead-gorgeous Briana Evigan will do in future, after playing Kelly, a young girl with the responsibility of raising her autistic brother Tom after the apparent suicide of their mother. The effects are good, the set-pieces tense, and despite the fact a ravenous wildcat is stalking them in their own home, the well-paced Burning Bright still manages a sense of realism – hunt it down!

HO HO HO FOR HOLLYWOOD!

So this is it. Another action-packed year of sitting on my bed with back ache watching yet another zombie flick, on the sofa while the dog’s ridiculously large legs stretch across half the screen of my laptop and obscure many cinematic pearlers from around the World, or round the girlfriend’s house squinting at a screen the size of a matchbox to endure another chick flick, is almost over. Am I bored of sitting? Not a chance.

The defining theme this year, as with most years, was ‘horror’. It was the year I finally got some shit together and actually strung a few sentences together. I won’t, however, look back through the past 365 days just yet - that will be saved for another post - but before the Christmas period I could easily have stated that the significant trend of 2011 was disappointingly turgid and overhyped Hollywood movies. Yeah. Lots of them.

The trouble is, I’ve watched four movies in the last couple of days and all of them were surprisingly decent. As you might imagine, this is twice as many as I’ve seen all year, so I’m either being brainwashed, Christmas has worked its magic, or I’m still pissed. First up was Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) - set in present day San Francisco where mans’ own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. You know the rest. In fact, apart from James Franco being miscast, this was the only criticism. We never got to see the good bit. Granted, it was entertaining throughout, and Serkis stole the show, but all that build up for one decent assault on a bridge is a bit of a let-down.

Still, it bodes well for future instalments, and they managed to avoid a cringe-worthy comparison to Star Wars Revenge of the Sith (2005) when Caesar’s scream of, “Noooooooo!” was spine-tingling rather than spineless. So aside from such a small gripe, Apes had done enough to whet my appetite for one of the biggest blockbusters of 2011, J.J. Abrams Super 8. Armed with a glass of vino and tub of jelly beans, the story of six friends who accidentally film a train wreck only to discover that something unimaginable escaped during the crash excited me. And Coach Taylor was in it.

Apparently, the only thing more mysterious than what the alien thing was, is what it wanted (I’d question why Friday Night Lights never achieved far greater success in the UK), which in the end amounted to little more than a way off this planet. If you were unlucky enough to read the newspapers on the 27^th following the Oxford Street attacks and the Santa slaying in Dallas, you would be inclined to hope his spacecraft had room for more than one. Bleak our world may be, but Abrams has his rose-tinted specs on, and he’s created a wonderful yarn that reeks of childhood nostalgia but with enough originality of its own, and a monster that almost rivals the best this year had to offer, in the form of the Jotnar from Troll Hunter.

After two hours of thrills, I was prepared for the downward journey into hell, agreeing to watch the acclaimed chick-flick Bridesmaids (2011) on my girlfriend’s new television. Acclaimed by whom, I wondered, as the beginning of the movie, following Annie, a maid of honour whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian, and a group of colourful bridesmaids on a wild ride down the road to matrimony started slowly, before quickly becoming the wittiest comedy of the year, even if some gags tried too hard to replicate the gross-out-ness of The Hangover (2009). Still, it was better than 2011’s sequel, and included one of my favourite film moments of the last 365 days when Annie (Kristen Wiig) tries to get arrested. Besides, any film with Wilson Phillips is bound to be brilliant.

My luck was surely about to abandon me, then, when the girlfriend made a swift exit and I whacked Captain America – The First Avenger (2011) into the DVD player. To be fair, films based on Marvel comics have been pretty impressive of late, and Thor (2011) was one of the surprises of my year, but I still didn’t think I would enjoy Joe Johnston’s adaptation half as much as I did. Chris Evans and Tommy Lee Jones were on fine form, the action was well orchestrated, and the chemistry between Evans and Hayley Atwell, playing Peggy Carter, was surprisingly beautiful; her loss as he defrosted for the forthcoming Avengers movie disappointing to say the least. 

These four films had actually started rebuilding the goodwill for humankind that I’d lost recently. Trouble is, I have one more film to watch this year: Chile’s Descendents (2008, not to be confused with Clooney’s The Descendants out around about now), yet another zombie outbreak horror movie, so don’t expect me to be so charitable come 2012.   DW 

REVIEW: ELITE SQUAD 2: THE ENEMY WITHIN (DVD)

From the writer of City Of God (2002), The Enemy Within is the follow-up to 2007's Elite Squad, which was a critical and commercial success in its home country. Directed once again by Jose Padilha, the sequels continues to pursue the drug-busting operations of BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion), but can it achieve even greater success than the first visit to a crime-riddled Rio de Janeriro?

Following the bloody aftermath of a disastrously handled prison riot, revered Lieutenant-Colonel Roberto Nascimento (Wagner Moura) and his second in command Aspirante Matias (Andre Ramiro) face unrelenting battles both on the streets and within the corrupt political system of Rio de Janeiro.

Caught up in the bloody dispute that involves not only government officials but also the deadly paramilitary groups, Nascimento must try to restore order while attempting to win the hardest task of all - to rescue the love his family once had for him...

(To read the full review click on either image)

REVIEW: OUTRAGE (DVD)

Film: Outrage

UK Release date: Out now

Year: 2010

Certificate: 18

Director: Kitano Takeshi

Starring: Kitano Takeshi, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Miura Tomokazu, Kunimura Jun

Running time: 109 mins

Genre: Crime/Thriller/Drama

Country: Japan

Reviewer: Adam Wing

Well, it’s about time. Kitano Takeshi is a complex individual it would seem, but with Outrage we are taken back to a time where life was much simpler. Not to mention a whole lot bloodier. You’d be forgiven for thinking he had fallen off the face of the planet, after a trilogy of films that dealt not with gangster warfare, but with his own artistic integrity. In truth, Takeshis’, Achilles and the Tortoise and Glory to the Filmmaker! struggled to find an audience on both sides of the water.

They are deeply personal films blessed with the offbeat eccentricities of their guiding light, but you have to go all the way back to 2003 to witness Kitano at the height of his power. It was the 1990’s that saw Kitano deliver his finest work, with films like Boiling Point, Violent Cop and Sonatine pushing the boundaries of a stagnant gangster genre. With Outrage, he returns to the genre that established his name and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Joining Kitano this time out are Shiina Kippei (Shinobi), Miura Tomokazu (Adrift in Tokyo), Kunimura Jun (Blood and Bones) and Kase Ryo (Letters From Iwo Jima). Takeshi takes a relatively harmless encounter and blows it up out of all proportion, along with most of the films characters I might add. In a casual conversation at a banquet - there’s a lot of deliberating in this movie - the Sanno-kai crime group chairman (Kitamura Soichiro) expresses to right-hand man Kato (Miura Tomokazu) his displeasure for the Ikemoto clan's connection to the Murase crew.

He suspects that Ikemoto has struck a forbidden alliance with the rival gangster. Ikemoto makes a move against Murase, which kicks off a chain of events that leaves a trail of blood and bodies on every sidewalk. The battle for supremacy takes centre stage, in an ultra-violent world awash with bad guys fighting for power and money. Watch your back folks, Kitano Takeshi is back in town and he’s dancing to the ‘Beat’ of an old drum, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Takeshi’s gangster movies have always taken the same approach, and with Outrage we’re invited to witness a comfortable return to past glories. There’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, but for many that will be just the ticket. Takeshi’s sombre delivery is punctuated by random bursts of violence and lots of them. Dental work, cinderblocks, chopsticks and the obligatory severed fingers take centre stage, overwhelming the senses with ruthless efficiency.

Allegedly, Takeshi built the film around a series of brutal encounters, and there’s more than enough evidence to back that statement up. The plot is relatively straightforward and rarely does it break the mould, the only confusion occurs when trying to work out which character belongs to what family. There are so many minor players it’s hard to keep up, and in the end you just have to go with it, revelling in the chaos as the rhyme and reason takes a backseat to finely tuned torture.

One of the subplots involving an African diplomat feels like it belongs in another movie and the wide-eyed theatrics grate in no time at all. Thankfully, Takeshi drops this undesirable misstep before the films conclusion, returning to his roots in order to deliver a master class of exhilarating action, pulse pounding violence and brotherly brutality. The final moments are the film’s most intoxicating, and the promise of a sequel is met with an enthusiasm I've not felt for Takeshi in years.

Outrage could never be considered his finest hour, maybe he’s saving that for part two, but Takeshi has come home to a cinematic audience waiting with bated breath and open arms. Some will come away disappointed by the familiarity of it all, we have been waiting for over a decade and the evidence at hand is hardly ground-breaking, but what Takeshi lacks in originality he makes up for in style, black humour and charismatic cool. Welcome back Takeshi, don’t leave it so long next time.

ONE TO WATCH? TRANSFORMERS 3: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

"Another day, another moon landing conspiracy theory, this time staged by Michael Bay and not at all by NASA, insisting that the Apollo astronauts did land and walk on the moon, but only to ransack a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden there. To be honest, I quite liked the premise, but echoing those conspiracists' arguments, Bay has somehow manufactured, tampered with and destroyed not the evidence, but a childhood classic.

Megan Fox was busy. Instead she was replaced with one of the worst actresses (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) I have ever had the misfortune to watch. She almost single-handedly destroys the movie, which at least tries to do the same all by itself by being far too long and encouraging those annoying little critters, I forget their names, to do what Jar Jar did for Star Wars. And the bad guys are way cooler. 

A space bridge too far, then? Maybe not. It is based on a child's toy, after all, so I should really get back in my box. Besides, the cracking action sequences don't give you a serious headache this time, and it's easier to spot the good guys amongst the carnage, plus John Malkovich is genius casting, even if he doesn't hang around for very long. It was never going to be worse than the second instalment (actually thrilling in places), and if they do make yet another, you better pray LaBeouf's luck holds out so he can convince Fox to come back to her pleasingly renovated den."  DW

ONE TO WATCH: GUILTY OF ROMANCE (BLU-RAY)

"Completing Sono Sion’s famed ‘Hate Trilogy’, Guilty of Romance walks the same path as serial killer shocker Cold Fish and Love Exposure. Megumi Kagurazaka’s outstanding talents team up with the director once again, along with Makoto Togashi (Memories of Matsuko), Miki Mizuno (Hard Revenge Milly) and Kanji Tsuda (Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl). The story revolves around a bored housewife who awakens her sexual identity by thrusting herself into a world of prostitution. This being a Sono Sion film, there’s also time for a little degradation and murder. This being a Sono Sion film, a significantly longer cut played out to a packed house at Cannes, but the UK version comes in at just under 112 minutes, with less emphasis on the crime investigation and more time put aside for boobies.

When female body parts are found attached to two mannequins in an abandoned house in Tokyo's love hotel district, we are sent back in time to a place where Izumi has reached the age of 30 and is feeling incomplete. Not surprising really. Though she’s married to a famous local writer (Kanji Tsuda), his need for social order and complete lack of sexual interest causes her to take a job selling sausages in a supermarket. It’s there that a modelling scout approaches her. In no time at all the photography turns to porn and Izumi discovers a love of herself she had long since neglected. Unbelievable really, and anyone who’s seen Cold Fish will testify to that fact. She turns in to a slut basically, leading her to a deadly encounter with female academic Mitsuko (Makoto Togashi), who encourages her to express her desires in a more extreme fashion. Which means she turns into an even bigger slut basically, but a well paid slut none the less.

If you’re not a fan of Cold Fish then you probably wont warm to Guilty of Romance either. Once again Sono could be accused of revelling in the ‘m’ word, but seeing as he paints all of his characters in much the same light, the argument feels somewhat redundant. He takes his time as usual, opting for a slow and deliberate approach that some might find disheartening, were it not for the regular sexual escapades and sprinkling of violence scattered throughout. Sono is a world-class director though, and there’s something about the way he shoots that keeps me hooked at all times. Provocative, compelling and almost poetic, Guilty of Romance is helped along by a stunning lead turn with a body to match. The murder mystery is perhaps predictable, but Sono Sion continues to push the boundaries of world cinema, and he does it with lots of fleshy bits thrown in for good measure. He’s an acquired taste for sure, but Japanese cinema would not be the same without him." AW

SILENCE IS GOLDEN: 3 IRON (2004)

“A love story with barely any dialogue (our two leads muster three words between them) doesn’t sound like the kind of film I would normally watch, but 3 Iron, about a transient young man who breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days, is a wonderful achievement, with as much savageness as there is sentiment.

Such jolting, cleverly executed scenes are worthy of your attention alone, but there’s also plenty of heartbreak here, most notably when our young lead and his silent partner break in to an elderly man’s home as his lifeless body decorates the kitchen floor with his head wound. Why our lead chooses to fix broken appliances and wash their dirty laundry while they enjoy their vacations is baffling but wonderfully quirky, and the movie zips by at a beautifully realized pace despite drifting a little too far into weirdness during the final third - certainly demands a watch though.” DW

CLASSIC: THE VANISHING (1988)

“Ignore George Sluizer's own Hollywood remake in 1993, The Vanishing is a fascinating thriller in which three years after the mysterious abduction of his girlfriend (Johanna Ter Steege), Rex (Gene Bervoets) tracks down her kidnapper (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), a seemingly normal professor, and demands the truth about her disappearance.

After a tense opening (never has searching for a flashlight been so exhilarating), it's Raymond who actually forces the inevitable confrontation by contacting Rex through the mail, and it’s here we finally realise he’s actually a cold-hearted clinician of terror, chillingly promising to reveal the location of Saskia to help Rex finally get over his girlfriend’s vanishing.

His bizarre decision to do so transforms this already taut thriller into an absorbing masterpiece, allowing interesting personalities to step up to the plate as Sluizer weaves a story with a surprise around every corner. All three leads give strong performances, but Donnadieu stands out the most, bringing some real intensity and odd humour along for the ride. The screaming competition is ingenious, the final reveal as shocking today as it was when the film was first released – brilliant.” DW 

REVIEW: VILLAIN (DVD)

Film: Villain
UK Distributor: Third Window Films
UK Release date: 5th December 2011
Certificate: 15
Director: Lee Sang-il
Starring: Eri Fukatsu, Masaki Okada, Hikari Mitsushima, Kirin Kiki
Running time: 140 mins
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Reviewer: Adam Wing

I usually avoid award-winning films because the height of expectation is often a curse, but it’s hard to ignore a success story of this magnitude. Based on Shuichi Yoshida’s novel of the same name, Villain is director Lee Sang Il's follow-up to the award-winning movie Hula Girl. Not that Villain has proven any less successful. Villain earned 15 nominations at the 2010 Japan Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Score and six nominations for its cast.

It took home 5 of them, including Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Fukatsu Eri, herself victorious, also took home the Best Actress award at the 2010 Montreal Film Festival. Tsumabuki Satoshi (The Magic Hour) stars as one of the villains of the title, suspected of murdering his on-off girlfriend (Hikari Matsushima, Love Exposure). He is supported on this bleak journey by the likes of Kiki Kirin (Still Walking), Emoto Akira (April Bride) and Okada Masaki (Confessions). Lee Sang Il’s Villain is available for the first time on UK shores this month courtesy of Third Window Films.

Yuichi (Tsumabuki Satoshi) lives at home with his grandmother (Kiki Kirin) and meets women through Internet dating sites. Like most of the characters here, he’s awkward and socially inept, and there’s a good chance that his latest find Yoshino (Matsushima Hikari) is only stringing him along until she finds someone better. When Yoshino is found dead, Yuichi becomes the main suspect, but not before the police dismiss arrogant upstart Masuo (Okada Masaki), the cocky young college student who could’ve seen her last. Yuichi moves on to lonely shop clerk Mitsuyo (Fukatsu Eri) and the two begin an intense relationship destined to end badly. With Yuichi's grandmother getting involved with brutal con artists, and Yoshino's father investigating his own daughter’s death, it soon becomes clear that no matter where you go, villains can be found on every corner.

Considering the films length, Villain doesn’t actually give its characters much to do for the majority of the movie. It’s a measured approach that manages to hold your attention throughout, thanks in large to a trio of standout performances. Of all the young characters Mitsuyo is perhaps the most innocent, and it’s Eri’s tender yet memorable turn that acts as a guiding light through the darkness. She’s not without her flaws - Villain comes complete with a fine array of imperfection - but her naivety is perhaps her biggest weakness and compared to some of the other characters, she seems to be the most humane. It’s an engaging turn either way, one we can all relate to in one way or another, looking for the ‘good’ in people can be both a blessing and a curse at times.

A couple of minor players deserve more screen time, probably because their faults evoke more sympathy than anybody else’s. Yuichi’s grandmother (Kirin Kiki) feels a sense of guilt for the way she raised Yuichi, a situation worsened by the blame laid on her by his actual mother. Yoshino’s father (Akira Emoto) is determined to find the person responsible for his daughters murder and his journey is more affecting than any of the others. Yuichi and Masuo are less likeable of course, not to mention deeply flawed and occasionally tragic. Both Satoshi and Masaki are asked to dig a lot deeper as a result, with uneven results that don’t always punctuate. Satoshi’s Yuichi should’ve been more engaging as a pivotal character, but his sulky teen approach doesn’t always hit the right notes. Masaki’s role is less demanding, but he succeeds in making his character arrogant, unruly and unsympathetic, which is all that’s expected of him at the end of the day.

On the evidence of Villain, Lee Sang Il appears to be a straightforward, no thrills filmmaker. That’s not a criticism, it’s refreshing to find a director that doesn’t rely on big twists or flashy direction to bail him out; he puts his faith in storyline, characters and raw emotion. It’s not a complete success, and there is a nagging doubt that he could’ve dug deeper, but noteworthy performances keep Villain on the right side of compelling. Bleak, drawn out and occasionally plodding, a wise man once said that true perfection has to be imperfect. Villain touches on brilliance from time to time, whilst painting a complex portrait of guilt and innocence, good and evil and right and wrong.

The faint whiff of missed opportunity lingers even longer than the prolonged running time, and Villain loses points for siding with its sensitive star, but there’s something about Il’s latest that keeps you from kicking it out the car on a murky night.