Secret In Their Eyes (2016)

"Justice... I owe my daughter that.”




Oh Julia... They made you look like Glenn Close. 

A team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been murdered.

A remake of the 2009 Spanish film 'El Secreto De Sus Ojos', this film starts out as a heavy handed, non-subtle, predictable Hollywood thriller finishes as a heavy handed, non-subtle, predictable Hollywood thriller.



For having a pretty solid cast of veteran acting talent including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Dean Norris, not even the "all-star" cast could make this film work.



The film starts off on a slightly unbalanced foot as we find ourselves jumping between two different timelines, which is no bad thing, but when it's full of exposition and stating the obvious for the audience then it becomes tiresome pretty quickly. "Oh I've not seen you in 10 years, I heard you had 3 promotions, you never married?" Blah Blah Blah...

Subtly is never normally in the vocabulary of most Hollywood remakes, prequels and franchises and 'Secret in their Eyes' is no exception. Shoddy and lumbering dialogue slows every scene and makes for some cringe-worthy moments. Pieces of the puzzle are dropped like lead balloons in the attempt to mystify you when the big finale emerges. In the end it's as surprising as

 Cliff Richard being accused of being a paedophile, it was bound to happen in the end.

Probably the best part of this movie was Chiwetel Ejiofor. He's a great actor with some difficult scenes and he manages to make it work for the most part. There are a few moments in the film that make you pay attention and perks up what is a relatively straight forward mystery. However, the concept and puzzle that the film presents could have been a homage to the great murder mysteries of cinema, with intricate layers of plot and suspect characters, but all that is sacrificed for a benign love story between Ejiofor and the ever-whispering Nicole Kidman.

Julia Roberts is pretty quiet in the film and, despite the age defying quality she actually has, she has a lot of make up on to make her look haggard and old. Her character could have been a lot more interesting than she was but, unfortunately, she's simply functional enough to get the job done. 

Dean Norris plays Hank from 'Breaking Bad', complete with a limp, and we love him for it. "They're minerals Marie!".

The revelation that one of their own has been murdered is a tough scene for any actor to reign in but, despite this, it actually turns out to be one of the better scenes in the film. 

Having not seen the original film it's hard for me to judge this remake against the original but I can take an educated guess that the original is a whole lot better than this. The ideas and concepts of the film were there, they are deep and full of mystery and probably a lot better written in the original. Hollywood dumbs down movies for the masses and thrillers often tend to suffer the most. Especially foreign language adaptations. The nuances in the story are lost to dreadful exposition and characters become two dimensional plot devices. When the source material is obviously good enough to make you want to remake it in English, you better well keep the essence of the film alive, otherwise it loses all of what made it so successful in the first place.



The big twist finale isn't as shocking as it claims itself to be. It's no surprise when it comes because of the clumsy foreshadowing that flags up the fact that a plot twist is probably going to happen. It becomes a matter of counting down until it comes rather than being flabbergasted when it takes you by surprise.

 What is even more frustrating is the fact that it does have some good moments and it does explore some intriguing ideas but it doesn't do it well enough and doesn't go deep enough to make it worthwhile.




It isn't the worst of these types of films that I've seen. It's reasonably entertaining and will keep your attention for most of the film. Will I ever watch it again? No but I don't regret watching it by any means.



Overall, are the secrets in their eyes? I think the secrets are in the bad writing and mediocre delivery. 'Secret in their Eyes' is a bog-standard, run of the mill, by the numbers thriller that Hollywood has churned out to make a few quick bucks. The ideas and themes that they dilute are actually really interesting and challenging but are lost in the finished article.



There are glimmers of hope in the film that give us a taste of how good it could have been but, ultimately, your time is better spent digging out the original. That's what I'm going to do!



Despite this, Julia, I still believe in you.

The Green Inferno (2013/2016)

"Be careful, the jungle is a dangerous place."

Is it wrong that watching cannibals eat cooked human flesh made me quite hungry?

After campaigning to save the rain forest, a group of student activists find themselves captives of a cannibalistic tribe in the amazon.

Ever since I saw the trailer and read the synopsis for this film I was game. I eagerly watched for the release date to secure myself a ticket to see this enjoyably horrific video nasty throwback. I waited a couple of weeks... Then a couple of months... And before I knew it I had been waiting years for it to surface with a UK release date. 

I avoided all reviews and as many clips as I could to keep it as fresh as 'Cannibal Holocaust' must have been to the first audience that saw that back in 1980. It technically had a 2013 release date but in the UK we are only getting the DVD & Blu Ray release now... in 2016.

Rumours of banning and censorship were bounced around endlessly but, as it turns out, the truth was much less exciting with issues regarding distribution. Not quite the legendary status that 'Cannibal Holocaust', it's original predecessor and inspiration for the film, holds to this day.

The film starts out badly as you'd expect any horror of this level to start. Dreadful exposition, annoying characters and bland development. That being said, in these types of horrors, that's not what you're here for. You aren't looking for subtleties or nuances in performance. At the end of the day, you just want to see these students get fucked up by an angry cannibal tribe in the deep amazon jungle. That's it. So bring me their heads. 

Unfortunately when it does come down to the nitty gritty of it, and as much as it pains me to say, it's not actually that great. 

The idea itself is more terrifying than the delivery of the film. 

The sheer horror of having a cannibalistic tribe take you captive with the very real desire to cook and eat you would make anyone squirm. Unfortunately, it ends up being a very "meh" experience. It's not quite scary enough to be a cold blooded horror and it's not quite extreme enough to ranked among the goriest of horror flicks. This dumps the film in a strange grey area of horror where it lives in limbo and simply washes over you without leaving much of an impact. Not where a horror film wants to sit. 

The gore in the film is decent, its over the top and unflinching which is what these types of movies should be but it's pretty tame compared to some films of the same genre. 

If it had solidly stuck to one side of the fence rather than splitting its efforts then it might have been more effective. With a horror film like this, you need a huge set of balls and to just go all out. Like really go for it. If you're going for gore and shock factor then you better go the whole hog and make us spew in our seats. If you don't go down that route then it better be terrifying. That's a perfect world and I do believe that it is possible to have both in one horror but 'The Green Inferno' doesn't pull it off.

It seems to me like director Eli Roth had a little too much creative control over the film. It's always the same problem with directors who are given the reigns to do what they want and it always becomes a little self indulgent.

The balance of the narrative is way off the mark. It takes a long time to get where it needs to get and say what it needs to say. If it's a slow burn horror then that's great but when you're spending valuable cannibal time with some frustratingly irritating characters then the clock starts ticking. The tension just isn't strong enough to justify the drawn out story at the beginning. 

What I did enjoy about the film was the way it approached the tribe itself. There is a certain level of respect for them, albeit in the context of them being cannibalistic murderers, but it's dealing with the idea that we are just as, often more, savage than the tribe that is committing these atrocities. We are destroying the rainforest for profit and murdering tribes who have lived in these parts for hundreds if not thousands of years.

It takes a solemn look at female genital mutilation and, tragically, how it's still carried out today. It brings to light a different culture to our own that, on the surface, seems a million years behind our own society but when you look deeper you realise we are not that different. The brutalities are the same, just on different levels. After some research it's hard to believe that female genital mutilation actually still happens in some parts of the UK. 

'The Green Inferno' touches on some interesting ideas but, ultimately, doesn't deliver 100% on all the aspects that make these types of horrors a thing of myth and legend. It has gore but nothing ground breaking, it has tension but not enough to make you squirm and it's nasty but not as nasty as it could have (and should have) been. 

Worth the wait?
Not really. Your time would probably be better spent watching the original 'Cannibal Holocaust' if you're in need of some good ole fashioned human BBQ.

Spotlight (2016)

"If it takes a village to raise a child, 

it takes a village to abuse them."

A brave film about brave people.

The Boston Globe uncovers the massive scandal of child molestation within the Catholic church.

What I got in ‘Spotlight’ wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but, for all it was different, it was fantastic.

'Spotlight' is a very subtle, mature and gripping film that takes on some heavy subjects with quiet confidence and a steady hand.

The film follows a small group of reporters on their quest to uncover the horrific scandal of child molestation within the local Catholic Archdiocese. It starts off small with a thread but what unravels is something much bigger and much more disturbing.

It features a flawless ensemble cast of Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Live Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James and John Slattery. It is a team effort as each player takes their turn while supporting the group. Each performance is different and each one riveting. Michael Keaton, as you’d expect, gives a great performance as Walter ‘Robby’ Robinson, professionally capturing every subtle nuance and emotion within his character. He’s matched by a quiet but impassioned Rachel McAdams and a side-mouth mumbling Mark Ruffalo who steamrolls the film ahead. 

They selected a top line-up of actors and they all deliver. 

It is a sickening subject matter that the journalists are unearthing in the film but it doesn’t shy away from the issues that it is dealing with. Instead, it faces them head on without hesitation and in a matter-of-fact kind of way. A lot of it is shocking to hear but it has to be heard nonetheless. It goes into detail about the crimes and the extent to which the Church covered it up. 

Despite the slow pace of the film, it is gripping. Coming in at around 2 hours, it flies by. Each hurdle the team must overcome leads them to new evidence and information that adds another piece to the puzzle. It is exciting to watch as they put the pieces together and begin to get a glance at the bigger, more horrifying, picture. You genuinely feel a sense of pride and victory as they battle through the corruption and fight to get the story out there.

The film dives into the hard-as-nails reporting world and we get a look into the old school methods and philosophies of the journalism trade. It takes place just on the flip side of the millenium but you get a real feeling of the history of the newspaper world. They're not preoccupied with the Kardashians or simply satisfied to publish empty stories to quench the pop culture obsessed world we live in today. It boils down to good old fashioned reporting. Telling a story that needs to be told and one that could, and will, actually make a difference.

There’s a threatening undertone that is always present, you might say omnipresent, in the shadows of the film in the form of the Catholic Church. You really get a sense of the quiet power and influence the Church has over everyone. Both religious and non-religious alike. It is a threatening and imposing figure that abuses the power and sway that it has and uses it to cover up blatant paedophilia within the Church. Throughout the film, the church is everywhere and is always watching. You may not always see them but they're there. Crosses hung on walls and on neck chains, churches on every corner and religious imagery wherever you look. It took a team of courageous journalists to take on the juggernaut that is religion and expose what was really going on. 

It deserves every Oscar nomination and I see it standing its ground against the other heavy hitters this year. 

Overall, ‘Spotlight’ is a subdued but quietly thrilling piece of cinema that tackles some tough subjects. It brings light to some horrific facts and statistics that are as relevant today as they were when the journalists broke the story.

A very, very good film that people should see whatever religion they belong to.  

Not many jokes in this blog. Safe to say it’s tough to find digestible humour among religion and child abuse so I thought I’d stay well clear.
The Church may be watching...

  

Deadpool (2016)

"Whatever they did to me made me totally indestructible... 

and completely unfuckable."

They say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit and 'Deadpool' may be the most sarcastic film I've ever seen... But that doesn't mean that it's not funny. 

After a rogue DNA experiment, a former special forces operative gains the power of accelerated healing and adopts the alter ego Deadpool. 

Like most superhero films, I went into 'Deadpool' with low expectations and quiet scepticism. I'd heard a few rave reviews but I’d also heard good reviews of 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' before I went in to that so I figured that it was best to just go in and see for myself. 

However, to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed 'Deadpool. 

Straight from the start it sets the tone with quick fire wit, breaking the fourth wall, extreme violence and comic book madness. Even the opening credits got the whole audience laughing and it instantly sets everyone in the right mindset. 

It pokes fun at the whole genre and is very self aware. It knows it is a comic book movie and it knows what you've come to expect so, with great help from a very charismatic Ryan Reynolds, it flips the expectations and the clichés upside down and catches you off guard. 

It knows how ridiculous it is and it has fun with that notion. 

With a fantastic advertising campaign behind it, it was always going to smash R rated box office records in its opening weekend. It took over $135 million in the opening weekend which, with a budget of around $58 million, makes it one of the most successful comic book movies of late and one of the most profitable ever. On top of the traditional trailers, it has clever spoof movie posters, raunchy slogans and a multitude of funny interviews and clips to get everyone curious. 

Ryan Reynolds is the star of the show as the charismatically annoying Deadpool. He's an asshole but he's totally likeable. Without Ryan Reynolds at the helm, this film would crumble. He steals every scene and makes the character come alive. 

'Deadpool' looks and feels like a comic book strip. From the way it's shot to how the violence is portrayed, it's all straight off the page of a 'Deadpool' comic book. Having never read a 'Deadpool' comic it's hard for me to compare but I imagine it to be stylistically the same based on the choices that the filmmakers make.

It is a violent film but the gratuitous violence is in good humour and matches the immature nature of the story and characters. It brings out the fun in the video-game like action and violence and sticks a middle finger up to the people that will be offended. It's nice to see a film that embraces the fun of it for a change and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s not a kids comic book movie and it revels in that.

Deadpool's background and his love story felt a bit dull compared to the rest of the film that's pretty fun and imaginative. Not that it's lazy but I suppose they don't really care too much, you want Ryan Reynolds in the suit as fast as possible so the finer details can get lost in the crossfire. It's functional to give you enough exposition but in terms of storytelling it's not great.

His wife/fiancé Vanessa played by Morena Baccarin is just horrific. If ever there was a casting just for someone to get naked on film, this was it. They may as well have got a pornstar to play her character because they would have matched her acting ability and wardrobe. 

It felt very contained for a marvel movie which was nice, it didn't feel too large and it didn't take itself seriously. I am curious to see how they can fit the violent, swearing, asshole 'Deadpool' into the existing PG Marvel Universe but that's a conversation for another day. The fact that it’s not a Disney owned property might help.

Overall, 'Deadpool' is one hell of a sarcastic film that keeps you laughing and does the comic book film genre justice.

It's total trash and it's a lot of fun. 

Bad ass.

Smart ass.

Great ass.

Das Experiment (2001)

"Are you a faggot, Nr. 82?”


Gets you thinking, if I were locked in a cell... Who would I most enjoy being imprisoned with?


For two weeks, in a scientific experiment, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a simulated prison environment. 

Having a wish list on Amazon is extremely useful but it can sometimes be a painful reminder of how many films you want to see but haven't got round to yet. Now and again it's nice to rectify this and splash out a bit and buy a whole bunch of new films. 'Das Experiment' had been on my list for quite some time and I got it cheap without thinking too much about it. 

I don't think I had thoroughly prepared myself for what I was about to watch. This horrific and mind bending film has the power to shock, agitate and unsettle you in a whirlwind social experiment that goes horribly wrong. 

The stage is set as we are introduced to the candidates who are going to be taking part in the experiment. Some will be guards and the rest will be prisoners, handing over their civil rights and placing themselves in the hands of the scientists and the other half of the group. 


There's an ever-present feeling of dread as you venture into this dark examination of human emotion, endurance and psychology. There are details and traits in the characters that give you information as you piece together who they are and, quite terrifyingly, what they're capable of. 


I love the way the film is constructed. It utilises so many different elements, one of which being hidden cameras. You get a real gritty sense of reality as the world is realistically created and you are drawn into the prison alongside the prisoners and the guards. You become the scientists as you watch on, through the glass, and see the effects of the experiment. Almost like holding up a mirror and letting us see what we are. 


On top of this, it's a pretty violent film. Not only is it physically violent but it is psychologically violent as well. It's shocking and it can be nauseating at times but this is all part of the experience. You get a dark glimpse into the human psyche through how the men react to the experiment from both sides. I would not like to take part in this experiment, no matter what the money was like... Well maybe for a couple of million... Screw it, I'd do it for a couple of hundred quid for sure. 

It's mostly a male cast which is a deliberate decision driven by motives that you learn about in the film. It examines the primal nature of human beings and how easily we can be corrupted. It takes advantage of male testosterone and masculinity and embeds that in the story. 



The cast are strong, they all do a solid job of portraying realistic and relatively believable characters. It's a tough job to handle such extreme and intense scenes while keeping it within the realms of reality and within the confines of their established characters.


Apparently it's based on a true story and there is an American remake that was made in 2010. I haven't seen this remake but, based on 90% of American remakes of foreign films, I think I'll probably just stick with the original. It stars Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker, who are both great actors, but I don't imagine it translating.


Overall, 'Das Experiment' is a ride that will stay with you for a while, it's still playing in my head days after seeing it for the first time. It's not diluted in any way and hits you really hard in the face. 


Not a film for the faint hearted but if you can get through it it's a rewarding, yet harrowing, experience that will make you feel like you were actually involved in the experiment. 


Morgan Freeman. 
Morgan Freeman is who I'd like to be locked in a cell with. 
I'd be his Andy Dufresne, I'd call him Red and we'd be friends after we got out. 

Making a Murderer (2015)

"Reasonable doubt is for the innocent."

If I've learned anything from 'Making a Murderer' it's don't live in a small town... Especially if you've pissed off said small town's sheriff and police department... Just don't trust the police... Ever.

After serving a sentence for a crime he didn't commit, Steven Avery is released from prison only to find that things may not be as they seem. 

For the past two or so months, all I saw and heard about was Netflix's 'Making a Murderer'. Usually, too much hype will put me off even going near something but I thought I'd give 'Making a Murderer' a shot to see what everyone was raving about. Admittedly, I am so glad I did and I urge everyone else to do the same. 

I don't really review TV series' mainly because it becomes a gargantuan task both watching and writing about seasons worth of material. However, I look at 'Making a Murderer' as more of an extended documentary. It's broken up into ten edible chunks that are easier to watch than a 10 hour epic. It took approximately 10 years to make it so I think that a series was the logical choice. It is a mammoth story that spans over so many years so giving it the room to breathe and elaborate on the details helps construct the clearest picture of what is already a very complex set of events. 

It starts out as any other true crime documentary would, we've got our list of characters, the crime and the evidence. However, what follows truly solidifies the phrase 'Truth is stranger than fiction'. 

This documentary series follows Steven Avery, a man who has spent a large portion of his life in prison for a crime that he didn't commit. We learn the backstory to the case and of his life and then the story kicks off. 

Over the next 10 episodes you'll be taken through Steven Avery's unbelievable story and you'll be left on the edge of your seat at the end of every episode. 

If you like your courtroom dramas then it doesn't get better than this. 

It explores some dark themes such as corruption, greed, prejudice, hysteria and abuse of power. What makes these themes all the more harrowing is that it is a documentary. These events actually happened and the themes that we are dealing with are present in real people. It poses some tough questions while presenting all the evidence in a relatively unbiased manner. You make up your own mind but, with such overwhelming information, you can only really come to one conclusion. 

For me, it reminds me of Arthur Miller's play 'The Crucible'. It is essentially a witch hunt. Everyone gets swept up in a wave of mass hysteria as people are more concerned with hanging a witch than finding the truth. Accusations are thrown left right and centre and a hopeless battle against "the system" ensues. We look at corruption in government, the influence the media has and the blatant abuse of power from people who are respected and who are trusted to uphold honour and justice. 

'Making a Murderer' does a great job of getting a close and personal look into the lives of the people who are affected by the whole situation. More interestingly, the filmmakers seem to hone in on Steven Avery's parents and we look at how they try and cope. Amidst the dramatic and unbelievable murder story, we focus on the personal struggle of two parents and that is where the humanity of the series lies.

The way the documentary is constructed brings such drama and tension to the story itself. With the passing of each episode, the stakes become higher and higher as more and more evidence is uncovered in what is already an unbelievable story. It takes a long and hard look at the American judicial system and really tears it limb from limb. 

It sparks debates and discussions with people that have seen it too as you become defence and prosecution lawyers going through the evidence piece by piece. It gets you talking and thinking about it which is what any great documentary should do. It should ignite your interest and make you challenge the norm. 

Overall, 'Making a Murderer' is a fantastic piece of documentary filmmaking that is unbelievable, frustrating, jaw dropping and mystifying. It will make you scream at the screen and it'll break your heart. 

Unbelievable is a word that I have used a lot in this blog but it is the most apt word to describe 'Making a Murderer'. Never have I used the phrase 'that's just ridiculous!' as much as when I was watching this series.

Now, time to crank up some N.W.A... You know the one.