Author: Alex Cole

Evoking the rural shade of modern American cinema, Cub is Jonas Govaert’s debut ferocious slasher horror with nods to everything from Cabin in the Woods to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Cub tells the story of Antwerp Scout Group takes a trip into a secluded forest area supposedly haunted by a werewolf killer named Kai, only to discover the rumours aren’t rumours after all.

Though ostensibly not about werewolf but in fact a feral child who’s murderous rampage is led by a lunk-headed killer for seemingly no purpose, Cub has as many cracks in its storyline as the forest does trees, but that doesn’t stop Cub being an adrenaline filled 84 minutes that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. The character design of Kai and the vicious noises he makes were haunting and perfectly crafted thanks to the help of Nicolas Karakatsanis and made up for a great many plot holes and Gill Eeckelaert does a great job through a very physical performance as Kai. I cared not for how Kai’s elaborate forest traps were built, impractical as they were, simply because they were so beautiful and the obvious scout inspiration foretelling Kai’s unspoken origins were subtly beautiful and had me sold.

Where Cub falls down is certainly the story. Despite a significant 50+ minutes of build up before the action filled conclusion the backstory is poor and the motivation for the film’s protagonists is somewhat…unbelievable. Sam’s actions (Maurice Luiten) near the film conclusion just don’t fit with his earlier actions, despite the violent past they’ve eluded to. The physical similarities between Kai and Sam throughout the film and a suspicious photograph throw some suggestion as to why this might be the case, but it’s not well-explained and is left largely unanswered. Somehow though it still managed to keep my attention and for those looking for a good action thriller with
little to think about Cub is a revelation.

There were no stand-out performances in this film, though good performances by Maurice Luiten and Gill Eeckelaert has certainly convinced me I’ll see them again, though I’m not sure if they’ll move beyond Flemish cinema. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and will undoubtedly be watching it again!

‘Mystic aliens fight karate heroes for control of the universe’…or at least that’s what the tagline is.

Furious is a film that’s hard to summarise. Supposedly about aliens; but with almost no suggestion of extra-terrestrial life that I could see and no dialogue to explain it, in fact almost no dialogue at all, Furious seemed more an experiment in strange than a feature film. The film roughly follows the story of Simon (Simon Rhee), a martial arts teacher whose sister has been killed by white Mongols and Simon is set about avenging her death. On his journey Simon faces mysterious boxes, killer chefs, men who can change into chickens and pigs as he battles through office complexes, desolate fields and restaurants filled with elderly American ladies who struggle to eat their chicken all whilst aided by men in Hawaiian shirts and his band of trainee karate kids.

Not your typical film to say the least, it’s not even your typical B-movie martial arts film; It’s riddled with curiosities, including a 1980’s electro pop band who inhabit the office complex of the evil sorcerer Mika (Mika Elkan) but seemingly do nothing, as well as magical spinning tusks and a talking Buddha. The film has almost no dialogue, with no one speaking until about 12 and half minutes in. Not only that, the film’s longest section of dialogue is done by a talking pig. Furious is rescued somewhat by the magical B-movie fight scenes and the obvious skill of Simon Rhee; though the poor sound effects detract from that somewhat as well. Furious can’t seem to decide if it’s serious or a joke and I can’t either. If it was clearly intended to mock martial arts films I think this would be on my ultimate list, but it doesn’t quite do that which leads to it teetering on the edge of awful and outstanding, but not close enough that I could recommend anyone to watch it.

If you’re looking for an alternative to hallucinogenic drugs, or something to melt your mind, Furious is for you! It will have a certain appeal amongst B-movie lovers and those who adore films that make absolute no sense. If you however don’t enjoy a spot of nonsense, I’d avoid this film.

Furious is directed by Tim Everitt and Tom Sartori.

You can watch the trailer here.

Set in an unspecified era, but seemingly distant future, in a post-apocalyptic Ethiopia, Crumbs tells the story of Candy (Daniel Tadesse), a man on a search for meaning. Caught up in his own daydreams and his effort to collect the ‘crumbs’ of society as he attempts to escape Earth and return ‘home’ on the spaceship that hovers above his house that has recently been re-activated. As we follow Candy on his journey that takes him through a desert held by 2nd generation Nazis, confrontation with an aggressive Father Christmas and the re-discovery of his true past, Candy learns the true meaning of home and re-discovers the importance of those who truly love him.

Post-Apocalyptic , sci-fi, post-modern romance emerging from Ethiopia with a plot that on the surface, seems to make no sense isn’t something most people have in their DVD collection and for good reason. Crumbs is surreal at its clearest and confusing at its worst; Ethiopian based Spanish director Miguel Llansó has delivered a visually brilliant film bolstered by beautiful acting from Tadesse and Selma Tesfayie (who plays Birdy, Candy’s beloved), but it took two viewings and a brain numbing amount of thought for me to figure out any semblance of a plotline. Now, that may mean I’m stupid, or it may mean this film is meant for a particularly nuanced art film audience and I’m choosing to go with the latter. When you do pull it together, it makes for a beautiful piece and I am still a little bit in love with Selma Tesfayie.

Overall, I’ve no doubt Crumbs is a beautiful film and on reflection I can see its nuances and appeal, but it is something you’re probably going to have to watch a couple of times. At just over 60 minutes, this luckily won’t kill you, but it may leave you questioning why! Fans of arthouse should definitely see this film, but if you’re looking to switch your mind off, maybe you should check out Chappie instead.

The pressures of fame and persona have up and coming singer Noni on edge. Suffocated by a lack of self-expression and the pressures of living up to the hip-hop lifestyle she’s been forced into by her ambitious mother, Noni looks to end it all. Driven to the point of suicide, she is rescued by strikingly handsome (and I mean, no one looks like that) NYPD officer Kaz (Nate Parker) who helps to break down her walls and find her true self, broken but beautiful.

At its best this is your classic romantic film with beautiful on screen chemistry and a stunning solo performance by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, a British actress on the rise. At its worst it can feel a little soap opera, but in truth, although writer and director Gina Prince-Bythewood brings nothing new to the genre (expect for a nice twist in that our star is running from fame and not achieving it) this is a brilliantly put together romance. Love & Basketball director Gina Prince-Bythewood delivers a commercial romance that’s surprisingly rare, never pretending to be something it isn’t, it’s simple yet artistic. This film has your classic villain, Minnie Driver takes the form of Noni’s mother and manager so intent on fame she’s forgotten to make her daughter happy, the handsome love interest, true blue and looking to change the world and not forgetting the broken artist whose voice has been muffled by fame and success. These are all clichés, but they’re honest ones and for that, I applaud this film.

Beyond the Lights’ tenderness and soulful delivery eliminates all remnants of the TV movie premise and I simply cannot wait to see another performance by Gugu whose performance, supported by somewhat under-rated Nate Parker brings a true beauty to this film and when they end up together…you’ll love it!

Tasked with documenting the end of life as we know it, 51 Degrees tells the story of Damon Miller (Moritz von Zeddelmann), a YouTube sensation whose life is changed forever after he takes a job for the UK Space Agency making a film about the very REAL threat of asteroids.

With an increasing number of independent films choosing the Blair Witch style of film making it’s no surprise that 51 Degrees chooses this route. I’ll admit I was a true love of this style and Cloverfield blew me away, but I’m seen it a little too often and its getting tired. 51 Degrees infuses a little bit of character to this tired style by adding in CCTV footage, but also by incorporating a voiceover featuring the voice of our protagonist’s son from a post-apocalyptic world, but unfortunately doesn’t build on it enough. Throughout the film Damon’s son discusses the footage and his mother’s relationship with his father but never really tells us why and at the films conclusion I almost expected to see some vision of the future, but was left with nothing. Whilst unsure of the reason CCC(The Director) chose this path it certainly adds to the mystery of the whole film, which is a hallmark of this type of film-making, but it left me with an empty feeling that I don’t think added to the experience.

The performance of Zeddelmann is pretty good. His character is flawed enough to be real and he takes on the role well. None of the other characters make a huge impact on the film and so it’s difficult for me to judge them, but there isn’t really a striking performance from any cast members. A lot of production value has definitely gone into this film with the music even arranged by Queen’s Brian May. A particular scene of apocalyptic terror filmed in Leicester Square must not have only been expensive, but difficult to film with a huge number of (presumably volunteer) extras. However this scene is a real credit to DIRECTOR and all involved, it was beautifully worked and more realistic than what you seen in many big budget Hollywood blockbusters.

Overall, this is a very watchable and enjoyable film. It’s nothing to write home about and I won’t be on the lookout for any particular names as a result, but it’s a perfect 90 minutes and although a little slow to start you won’t be left thinking about the ironing you should be doing.