Watch List: April

 

Undine

Full review is over at Filmhounds and can be read HERE. 3/5

 

Slaxx

Full review can be read HERE. 3/5

 

Willy's Wonderland 

 

A film where Nicholas Cage doesn’t utter a single word and fight a load of animatronic robots who have been possessed by the souls of serial killers? Well of course I am going to watch it, even if the murderous robots are terrifying. I don’t understand why children’s places like Willy Wonderland exist as I think they are far too scary for children, and me. But I’ve been told that these are all over the US, they are aren’t a ‘thing’ in the UK, thankfully. The story premise is basic and beautiful. Cage is stranger driving through town and his car breaks down and he’s offered to work of the cost to fix the car in an abandoned theme restaurant. At the same time, a group of stereotype teenagers are planning on burning down the restaurant to get rid of the evil souls within. These two stories collide while chaos rages on throughout the night as each robot attacks and Cage fights back. It’s ridiculous and I loved it. Every single horror trope is hit on the head while also offering something I haven’t seen before. I’ve also been told this is the same premise to a video game but as that isn’t my area of expertise, I’m happy to say I enjoyed the originality in parts of the film. 4/5

Effie Gray 

Full review is over at Filmhounds and can be read HERE. 2/5

 

Into the Labyrinth

Full review is over at Filmhounds and can be read HERE.3/5

 

High Heels and Low Lifes

 

The early 2000s, hanging off the end of the 90s were a mix bag of questionable CGI, mash ups and hybrid productions that were very hit and miss, of course with some great films too, but so does every era. British films went through a trend of including a token American to try and seem like they could sell the film to the US and that was the only way to do it. High Heels and Low Lifes was just such one of these films. Weird comedy crime caper where two friends, Minnie Driver, slightly uptight nurse and Mary McCormack, down on her luck actress, decide to outwit gangsters when they over hear a robbery taking place. The premise is ridiculous but the film was actually enjoyable. Driver and McCormack make a pretty damn good duo and if you can overlook a lot of the plot, its entertaining and not bad for when it was made. 3/5

 

 

Things Seen and Heard

 

First off, the title is very dull. Secondly, I wish I had read the book. The film has that feel to it as if it were adapted and there’s no escaping it, mostly due to the feeling that not everything is being explained here and how George goes from passably average guy to absolute bastard, with no hint in previous years, seems odd. Like horror thrillers before it, there is a continuous ominous feeling that things are not right from the opening scene and this neck tingling unsettlingly feeling never leaves. Some of the themes are also not explored fully which is disappointing, including spirituality, ghosts and the previous owners of the house. There just isn’t enough of the background context to flesh out the film so we’re left with uncomfortable shots of James Norton’s face looking pained, all the time. 2/5

Crisis

 

Full review is over at Filmhounds and can be read HERE. 3/5

 

Undine

 

Undine’s world feels as if it’s coming apart when her boyfriend ends their relationship. This is more than the end for her. But as soon as one love ends, another enters her life, in the most dramatic of ways. Christoph is kind, loving and gentle, completely different to the relationship before. Both swept off each other’s feet by this whirlwind romance, neither sees the dangers of the water coming.  After a sudden tragic and fatal accident almost takes everything away from Undine, she has to decide what to do; face her true nature and the real consequences of her actions. 

 

Full review over at Filmhounds HERE.

The Limitless Control of the Robot

 

Science fiction has never shied away from the possibilities that technology brings as well as the downfalls it could cause. Exploring the means and mechanisms of this genre, a cornerstone ideal that that provides endless ideas, stories and theories is the evolution of the robot. 

Cinema Year Zero explores Fritz Lang's films through 8 different essays. To read these and the full version of mine, as well as a recording, check it out HERE. 

Undine - BFI London Film Festival

 A modern retelling of a folktale about a water nymph who falls in love to gain a human soul is something quite unexpected. There is something in the water in more ways than one.

For my full review, you can read it HERE over at Filmhounds.

Murder Mysteries To Sooth The Soul

Over the past couple weeks, I've felt the sudden need and urge to watch old Poirot episodes. A few years back I recieved one of the greatest gifts, the entire Poirot (David Suchet, naturally) collection. This was quite a while before his final episodes so sadly those are not included. BUT I have the all the rest and one day I am going to sit down and watch them from the start. I mostly rewatch the episodes in the second volume as these have two of my favourites ('Death on the Nile' and 'Mystery on the Blue Train'). I started to make my way through all the favourites and even though I know who the murderer is, there is some sort of pleasure from watching these afternoon dramas that can be quite brutal and macabre. There's something about the murder mystery genre that has been seen as more of an older person's TV BUT I disagree. A murder mystery has to have the right suspects, the unexpected amount of actual murders, be suspensful and very entertaining. If its a period piece as well, all the better. If a murder mystery is set in modern day and isn't given the Sunday afternoon cosy crime stamp, its called crime drama. *Eye roll* Its a murder mystery no matter the year its set.

I'd like to bring a few shows to your attention. In the last few weeks I've not only managed to get through and then collapse through Stranger Things 3, Dear White People season 3, GLOW season 3 AND Mindhunter season 2 (I've watched quite a lot of TV) but I have also consumed three very different detective/murder mystery TV shows from Spain, Germany and Finland.

High Seas

Sisters Eva and Carolina board the luxury cruise ship sailing from Spain to Brazil, where Carolina will marry owner of the ship, Fernando. Having recently lost their father, the sisters are thrown into a mystery involving his death when they agree to help a mysterious woman stowaway on the ship. But when the woman goes missing on the voyage's first night, Eva and crewmember Nicolás witness a woman scream and fall from the ship, the plot literally thickens as various plot points are pulled together to solve the mystery.

I'd been wanting a period murder mystery thriller with multiple characters, some with secrets, others with clues and all very dramatic. Of course with a cast of characters this vast there were storylines bound to get lost BUT every piece of the grand puzzle was either solved or resolved, except for a couple of minor things that I believe will come up in the show's second season.

Perfume

Hailing from Germany, this mostly about the murder and less on the mystery series was inspired by both the novel 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' and the 2006 film of the same name. Taking place in modern day the show cuts between the investigation and the past when where the main characters knew each other from their school days. All the characters in the show are terrible people in one form or other, except for one but even he has flaws and lacks good judgment. The lead detective is no better, having an affair with her married superior, whinning at him to be with her even though its clear he won't leave his family. You start you loose sympathy and begin to really dislike and much later distrust her actions. With equal parts frustrating and entertaining, with the characters as terrible adults and as teens who practically create a cult based on the novel 'Perfume'. Its a twisted and you will hate everyone BUT its a show that needs no follow up, plus the hunt for the main killer is fascinating.

Dead Wind

Firstly, the title is off putting but look past it, the original Finnish title is better as its just the detective's name and become immersed in the world of air turbines, past trama and of course, murder. Slightly complicated to explain but here goes. After the body of social affairs consultant Anna Bergdahlis found on the site where a massive construction is going to happen, an investigation into the woman's life, family, her affair and her job is turned over, leaving no stone unturned, even going into her past which it seems she tried to forget. Detective Sofia Karppi is a classic flawed detective, she drinks but not to excess, her flaw is that she doesn't take great care of her son and step daughter having moved them back from Germany after the death of her husband. She's still not quite over the shock but is determined to close this case. Teamed up with rookie detective Sakari Nurmi from the financial crimes unit, he is very different from her. Clashing at first but soon have each others' backs. So far so typical BUT there is something so refreshing that had me hooked to this show. The suspects and other characters that dip in and out of the story are also compelling to watch as well as annoying as hell Karppi (don't worry she's amazing really). Luckily, the show is getting a second series which means more Karppi but no idea about Nurmi. Fingers crossed the dynamic duo will be reunited.

In the Aisles - London Film Festival

Love can be found in a hopeless place (as the song goes) and nothing is more hopeless than the place where ‘In the Aisles’ is set. Who’d have thought that a supermarket would be the setting of a delicate and innocent love story. 

Christian starts work at a supermarket as part of the night team, stocking shelves in the bottles department. He works with veteran worker Bruno, forming a quiet bond of friendship. He falls in love with Marion, a colleague in the sweets section, sharing moments of mutual affection even after he finds out she’s married. Christian lives alone and seems lonely but not in a hurry to create a connection.

Loneliness is ironically the connection between the characters. Bruno is isolated, living on a farm not far from the supermarket. He yearns for his trucker days and the comfort he found in knowing landmarks signalling he was almost home. Marion is married but isn’t happy, at least this is what everyone tells Christian.  Christian himself lives alone, avoid his old rowdy friends and doesn’t seem to go anywhere apart from work and his flat. Their conversations are all work related, although sometimes the barrier of silence is broken down and we learn about Bruno’s wife and Christian’s previous job and his days of being in prison as a minor. The images of the individual buildings, looming in the distance and up close, as well as frequent shot of the motorways, exaggerating just how isolated the supermarket is. It feels as if it isn’t really part of the real world. The supermarket has its own little village, helping each other and working as a team. The environment suits Christian who isn’t a talker, he is the definition of the strong silent archetype. 

The innocent love story that gently unfolds between Christian and Marion also serves as the lifeblood of the supermarket as various colleagues are aware of both their feelings for each other despite nothing being said with words. Their long looks, stolen glances and small kind gestures make the world of the supermarket bearable and a little brighter.

As a gentle love story and ode an ode to supermarkets, director Thomas Stuber makes the the place of unflattering lighting a beautiful place to be, especially at night. The best scene in the entire film is when Christian, who is learning to drive the forklift, elegantly moves between the empty aisles, at peace and obviously happy and even content in this moment. Not everyone can create such magic in a supermarket.

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