Month: September 2023

Just over 50 years ago, a script was starting to come together for director Robin Hardy’s debut feature. Inspired by ancient Pagan rituals, The Wicker Man came together with a star cast including Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland and of course Edward Woodward. Having enough confidence in the script written by Anthony Shaffer, the film went into production, with the result being the best film that Christopher Lee said he was ever involved in.

50 years later and The Wicker Man not only gained cult status, but became revered as one of the best British films of all time. However, it didn’t start out that way and the lightning in a bottle story of how it came about is fascinating.

The Wicker Man: 50^th Anniversary Edition arrives on bluray on 25^th September and it gives its audience everything they may have wanted from the film. Including the theatrical, director’s and final cut of the film, there are also hours of special features. Including a location guide with Robin Hardy’s son Justin, interviews with the director himself and Christopher Lee and even a documentary about the enduring power of Summerisle.

Fans of the cult movie can also find out many things that they may or may have not known during discussions of the film. Things such as the mystery of Britt Ekland’s bottom to the shocking way some of the film reels were discarded and even how it was marketed (or wasn’t, as the case may be).

Relegated to B-movie status before the main feature, The Wicker Man soon took on a life of its own as the word spread. Christopher Lee himself was involved in getting critics to see the film and it just feels like it was worth the effort.

Now, remastered into 4K, The Wicker Man is given the respect it deserves as it stands proudly with the best that British horror has to offer. Fans of the film can delve into the special features, but also enjoy the posters, art cards, special collector’s edition booklet and even a copy of the soundtrack which still sounds so good.

For a film that was brought out to so little confidence by its distributor who had only dealt with the Carry On films, it feels like it’s The Wicker Man’s day in the sun. Keep your appointment with The Wicker Man 50^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition and you’ll not regret your visit to Summerisle.

Time travel movies are tricky. It’s fun and fantastic when this sub-genre hits the mark like Palm Springs, Hot Tub Time Machine, Looper, and others. But some of the time (no pun intended), these types of movies are complete misses, such as Project Almanac, Idaho Transfer, and more. Add in a high concept and a low budget, then you’re just asking for failure — unless you’re a filmmaker who has the chops to bring it all together in a clear story.

In Relax, I’m From The Future, writer/director Luke Higginson — in his feature film debut — showcases a hyper-visual, super hilarious, and utterly absurd time travel movie that has something to say about kindness, the value of one life, and our future as a society.

The science fiction film follows Casper, played by the very funny Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords, The Boat That Rocked), a time traveler from the future who gets stuck in the past — also known as present-day Toronto, Canada. However, when he meets Holly, played by Gabrielle Graham (Possessor, On The Basis of Sex), a punk rock anarchist, he has to convince her that he is from the future and has a plan to make the world a better place. 

Meanwhile, Doris, played by Janine Theriault (Pompeii, Upside Down), another time traveler trapped in the past, has to protect the timeline from anyone trying to alter the future, while a sad sack coffee shop server named Percy, played by Julian Richings (Man of Steel, X-Men: The Last Stand), might be the key to saving the world. 

The movie is a sharp and clever film that uses today’s political and global climate to paint a bleak picture of the future that’s virtually impossible to change. But, the filmmakers provide a dark and twisted look at how things could be different in an elaborate and detailed plan to make things better. Although the film takes a number of shifts and loops — it’s a time travel movie after all — it’s edited with precision and wit that reflects its overall comedic tone.

Relax, I’m From The Future is a breath of fresh air. The movie feels like the best of Back To The Future and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure meets Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It’s one of those movies that feels very familiar, but original all at once. It’s well-worth your time and attention for its unique storytelling and Rhys Darby’s hysterically funny standout performance.

Evie Elkins (Morgan Bow) works a dead-end job as a waitress where she’s forced to serve the rich and entitled while they treat her badly. She lives with her mother and her daughter and in her free time she enjoys playing table top RPGs online with friends.

One day the discussion turns political and their friend, Adam (Cody Alexander) starts to vent his frustration about how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and there’s nothing they can do about it. However, when they find out that Adam has kidnapped a congressman to try and redress the balance, the whole group find themselves involved in a serious crime.

Eat The Rich is a crime drama with elements of comedy and horror written and directed by Kermet Merl Key. Shot during the height of the pandemic, Key and his crew try to put something together which is relevant with social commentary as prevalent now as it’s always been.

As Evie and her friends keep the congressman hostage, they start to realise that they don’t know what they’re doing. Thrown into a completely unknown situation for them, it feels like Adam is the only one with a plan. The trouble is that Adam’s influences aren’t entirely of this world.

Unfortunately, this is where the trouble lies for the movie. That’s because for about a third of the relatively low budget movie, its presented almost as a crime comedy. Making the audience think that perhaps they will end up doing the right thing and learn their lessons.

However, when the horror aspect kicks in it becomes far more Lovecraft inspired than the audience may have expected. Making the movie feel like two stories put together as director Key may have not had a wholly realised plan.

The jarring addition of the supernatural may put off some viewers who were expecting something more casual and this goes along with an amateurish, but enthusiastic production. Perhaps a more promising start considering it’s Key’s debut feature, Eat The Rich still feels like its finer points could have been ironed out in a second draft.

Barber: The BRWC Review

Private eye movies like The Long Goodbye, The Thin Man, Klute, and others follow certain beats, such as taking a case, investigating, getting a new gadget from a “tech” guy, solving the case, and more. In between moments, you’ll find the private eye drinking hard liquor, breaking minor laws to get information, and following leads that end up nowhere. There’s usually a femme fatale that the private eye gets involved with, while she’s part of the bad guys at the center of the case. These tropes are comforting and battle tested with positive results.

However, in the film Barber — which was written by Fiona Bergin and Fintan Connolly (Eliot & Me) — Irish film director Connolly (Flick, Trouble with Sex) turns the private eye sub-genre on its head, while delivering a movie that’s tailor made for the socially conscious viewer. In some ways, it feels like a bizarro Irish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in tone.

Barber tells the story of Valentine Barber, played by Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones, The Dark Knight Rises), a private eye who’s hired to find the missing granddaughter of an affluent widow. Barber must also keep his family together — after coming out as a gay man to his wife — and business from falling apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The pandemic plays a hefty role in the movie because most characters are masked up, wearing face shields, and standing or sitting six feet apart, while signs posted around Dublin, Ireland remain a reminder of life during COVID. “Hey! Social distancing!,” Barber shouts at the police inspector who gets a little too close for comfort. The private eye was forced to resign from the police force after he was outed for his sexual orientation.

While the film is an old fashioned pot boiler with a lot of trickery and investigations, Barber looks to fit notions of hard-boiled detective work into 21st century norms. For example, Barber being openly bi-sexual makes older generations uncomfortable, but is presented as a matter of fact instead.

Moreover, the mystery of the missing girl ties into the #MeToo movement with inappropriate behavior being called out by victims and allies. Barber even calls out “Times up” when he confronts his homophobic former-boss. The film feels of its time, but does it casually instead of being shoehorned or virtue signaled. 

Overall, Barber is cool, charismatic, and well played by Gillen, while the film itself is subversive, clever, and sharp as a detective on their next case. It checks all of the boxes when it comes to a private eye genre film, as well as turning it upside down.