film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Ben Gummery

  • Documentaries Or Shockumentaries? 5 Of The Best

    Documentaries Or Shockumentaries? 5 Of The Best

    The trend in popular documentary film-making of recent years has been the ‘shock and awe’ approach. These are almost (anti)propaganda films in their use of music, graphics and shocking images and boldly covering a wide range of provocative subjects.

    It is now also an acceptable and widely used device to include the film-makers difficulties during production in the film itself. Popularised by Michael Moore & Nick Broomfield this technique even forms the basis of MTV’s ‘Catfish: The TV Show‘.

    corporation_ver2_xlg

    The Corporation (2003)
    -A classic of the genre this film describes the concept of a corporation as a person in a way that all can understand and uses a series of well documented examples, interviews (including Moore & Noam Chomsky), excellent polished production and graphics.

    Directed by Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott.


    Bowling for Columbine     (2002)

    Regarded by many as one Michael Moore’s finest works this film blew the lid off Gun Control in U.S. following the aftermath of the Columbine disaster. This film goes a long way to establishing Moore’s trademark confrontational and populist style.

    It also features many clever graphics and a South Park style cartoon sequence.

     

    Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)

    Here we get to see behind the scenes in a shocking exposé of one of America’s largest corporations. We see candid interviews with ex-staff, customers and those affected in the community.  A relatively low-budget effort (estimated $1,500,000) from director Robert Greenwald (Xanadu).

     

    Fed Up (2014)

    Fed Up is a timely & shocking look into the obesity crisis in the U.S. and highlight’s how sugar lobbyists have a detrimental effect on governmental food guideline policy and the resulting effect on children’s health . The film has been widely well received and has even led to celebrities such as Kevin Smith cutting added sugar out of their diet.

    Produced/Narrated by journalist Katie Couric and directed by Stephanie Soechtig. Also produced by Laurie Lennard (An Inconvenient Truth).

     

    Religulous (2008)

    religulous_ver3_xlgWith a lighter and more laid-back style presented by comic/commentator Bill Maher this film avoids shock tactics and instead lets it’s subjects make their own blunders as it points out the inconsistencies in many major religions.

    From director Larry Charles (Borat/Bruno/The Dictator).

     

    Please let us know your favourite documentaries/shockumentaries.

  • The Lookalike (2014)

    The Lookalike (2014)

    From director Richard Grey and writer Michele Davis-Gray, The Lookalike is a gritty noir thriller starring Justin Long (also a Producer on the film), Gillian Jacobs, John Corbett & Steven Bauer.

    This plays like any other drug deal gone bad, mixed-morals thriller. I did however find the plot baffling and hard to follow at times. The screenplay seems to assume you will figure out the back story as you go along as there are no real exposition scenes at the start of the film. It uses that old device of introducing us gradually to the characters intertwining tales; but this has been done better by others many times before.

    lookalike1

    Justin Long plays Holt, the socially-conscious flatmate of drug dealer Joe who sparks up a romance with junkie Lacey (Gillian Jacobs); but as the story develops we see there is more to this interaction than meets the eye. Long turns in his usual quirky performance.

    Steven Bauer & John Corbett play the archetypal ‘villains’ of the piece. However, it is very hard to decide which characters you should be rooting for as the balance of power shifts throughout.  I also enjoyed Luis Guzman’s small role as the psychotic gambling shark Vincent.

    Visually, it is obvious the film is going after a slightly noir look. However, this is far from exceptional and the cinematography does not really stand out. Overall this feels poorly executed and the pacing means the screenplay & cast does not live up to it’s full potential.

    The film does however feature strong female characters (played by Scottie Thompson/Gillian Jacobs) which could be considered some-what unusual for the genre and is to it’s credit; especially in a story where women are objectified and this aspect is managed adeptly.

    2.5/5

  • Cardiff Film & Comic Con – 9/11/14

    Cardiff Film & Comic Con – 9/11/14

    Event Reporters – Ben Gummery & Lewis Mainwaring

    This was our first ‘con’ as ‘Official Press’ thanks to Showmasters !!!!  This was our third overall convention (having attended CFCC ’13 & LFCC Summer ’14). Held at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena for the third time in a row.

    IMG_1968_Fotor_Collage

    Guests that attended today’s event included:- Harry Melling (Harry Potter Film Franchise), Catrin Stewart (Doctor Who – Revived series), Finn Jones (Game of Thrones), Jeremy Bulloch (Star Wars Film Franchise) & Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who – Classic series & The Hobbit Trilogy).

    cosplay

    Whilst not attracting as many guests as some other conventions, it was still fairly busy throughout the day – and attracted a large number of visitors from near and far.The number of Cosplayers attending the event has clearly increased since CFCC began in 2013.

    There was also ‘a place for all things Comics’ in the Comic Zone and an expanded Gaming Zone for video gaming fans – located on the higher levels of the arena.

     

    There was the usual varied range of stalls offering something for everyone, we came home with this official Breaking Bad ‘Pink Teddy-bear’.

    The staff where all friendly, professional and we felt the event was well run by all staff (and Showmasters).

    We found the atmosphere to be more enjoyable and less chaotic than our previous convention (LFCC Summer ’14).

    The first guest we met was Doctor Who legend, Seventh Doctor – Sylvester McCoy.

    Collage 1He was friendly, approachable and as eccentric as his character.

    We had our Doctor Who: Regeneration Limited Edition Boxset signed.

    Collage 2

    This boxset we later had signed by the wonderful Bonnie Langford (Mel – Companion to the Sixth and Seventh Doctors).

    Boxset

    Previous signatures are Colin Baker (Sixth Doctor) and Paul McGann (Eighth Doctor) – from LFCC Summer ’14.

    Later in the day we were able to secure a brief Q&A with Sylvester McCoy about Doctor Who and The Hobbit.

    Throughout the day there was a number of free talks and panels available for all attendees on a first come first served basis – but there was plenty of seating available.IMG_1964

    We attended three of the talks/panels throughout the day.

    The first was with Star Wars and Convention legend Jeremy Bulloch, who entertained us with tales from the sets of Star Wars, James Bond, Doctor Who and his experiences as an actor throughout his career – he even had members of the audience up on stage, reciting classic lines from Star Wars. See the full talk here.

    Our second talk of the day was with various Doctor Who cast members sharing their experiences of working on the show and being a part of the Doctor Who universe. These were Catrin Stewart (Jenny), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), William Russell (Ian Chesterton) and Bonnie Langford.

    IMG_1997

    These guests have worked with various doctors throughout the shows 51 years – from the very first episode ‘An Unearthly Child’ (William Russell) right up until this current season ‘Deep Breath’ (Catrin Stewart).

    The Q&A  sparked some very entertaining and insightful discussion such as mishaps on the set, but also covered more poignant topics such as Richard mentioning on several occasions working with the late Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor) and Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart).

    They also discussed at length more recent topics such as ‘cross-gender’ regeneration (i.e. The Master regenerating into Missy – currently played by the mesmerising Michelle Gomez) and the suitability of the show for children due to increasingly ‘scary’ villains and plots.

    IMG_2017_Fotor_Collage

    We rounded off our day with the final talk from Sylvester McCoy. This talk was the highlight of the convention for us. Sylvester amazed the crowd by engaging in Q&A not from the stage (as traditionally done) but by going around the room himself with a microphone for the entire length of the panel.

    He entertained the crowd and had everyone in hysterics with stories from Doctor Who and his other works such as his involvement with The Hobbit Trilogy with his trademark wit and charm.

    He even played the spoons as he famously did as The Doctor – thanks to a member of the audience pulling them out during an anecdote.

    Sylvester McCoy is a true gentlemen and we can truly say it was a pleasure to meet him and every other guest we have interacted with during the show.
    The next Cardiff Film & Comic Con  is on Sat 21st – Sun 22nd of March ’15 at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena with the first guest already announced Kristanna Loken (T-X in Terminator 3). For more details visit Showmasters.

    IMG_1958See you next year 🙂

  • Horror ‘B’ Movies – Bats (1999)

    Horror ‘B’ Movies – Bats (1999)

    In the run up to Halloween this year I’m looking at some horror ‘B’ movies that are watched mostly for the sheer comic value of the laughable story, production & performances. Horror is a genre which continues to deliver this type of film in spades. These films have picked up a cult following over the years however.

    Bats (1999)

    IMDb 3.6/10 – Rotten Tomatoes 17% – Budget £6.5 Million / Opening $4.7 Million

    The eponymous ‘batastrophe‘ from director Louis Morneau is a comedy of errors right from the start; but not intentionally so. It also deserves some kind of award for the number of times the characters say the name of the film. The ludicrous plot borrows heavily from many stereotypes of the small town horror/disaster genre and the result is only worth watching for the comic value.  It did manage to spawn a TV movie sequel ‘Bats: Human Harvest (2007)‘ for the SyFy channel. The bats here are a poor patchwork of CGI, animatronics and real bats.

    batslc1

    When a population of bats in a small Texas town starts attacking the unsuspecting citizens, Dr. Sheila Casper (Dina Meyer), a zoologist specializing in the species, is called in to investigate. With the help of her assistant and the local sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips), strange details about the bats begin to emerge: It’s discovered that they are the product of a governmental experiment gone awry. With people dying and the military threatening to take action, a solution must be found.

  • Open Grave (2013)

    Open Grave (2013)

    Open Grave is the new thriller/drama from Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego(Apollo 18) and writers Eddie & Chris Borey. The film stars Sharlto Copley (Elysium/District 9/Maleficent), Thomas Kretschmann (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and Josie Ho (Contagion).

    We open boldly with a stylised shot of Sharlto (John/Jonah) gasping for breath and seeing only by candle-light; discovering for the first time his strange and scary situation, waking up in a huge pit of corpses having no memory of who he is, where he came from, where he is now or how he got there. He soon realises he is not alone however when he finds a house that is occupied by others in a similar predicament. None of them know how they got there or what connection they have with each other.

    This plays like a mystery and has a similar feel in some ways to the TV show Lost. Details are revealed gradually to the characters as they try and discover who they are and what part they play in the story; in-particular who is responsible for all those dead bodies in the pit. The story for the most part how-ever avoids cliché and convenient plot devices which is refreshing and exciting. sharlto_copley_37282

    Sharlto does a good job here of portraying a tortured soul with incredible depth and is ably supported by the rest of the cast; in-particular Kretschmann as the paranoid and unstable Lukas.

    The film starts incredibly dark visually; even the clothes the characters wear are dark colours which results in a distinct lack of colour on screen. This gives the film it’s own strong visual style that continues to develop throughout the piece aided by a haunting and reflective score. The end shot of the film is beautifully poignant and certainly makes it worth watching the film all the way through and the story pays off in a big way. This film is admittedly more successful as a drama than an all out action or horror fest but this is what makes it stand out.

    Open Grave is distributed in the UK by Signature Entertainment and is available now on DVD & On Demand.

    4/5