film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: BRWC

  • The Wolves Of Savin Hill: A Review

    The Wolves Of Savin Hill: A Review

    The Wolves of Savin Hill is as dark as it comes; a crime thriller that packs a punch and takes you to the darker side of a childhood friendship.

    The film opens with two best friends who make a disturbing discovery in the woods of Savin Hill. Years later, after drifting apart, they find themselves back together, linked by an equally ominous event.

    David Cooley plays one half of the duo. A washed up alcoholic who has not recovered from his childhood secret, Tom (David) remained in Boston. His friend, Sean (Brian Scannell), equally disturbed by the event, moves to LA with Tom’s sister Emily and takes up the role of bent LA cop.

    When Emily is found dead in the bathub, Tom travels to LA to become reunited with Sean. What he doesn’t realise is the web of crime, locked away secrets and violence that awaits and he can’t help but get himself trapped.

    The Wolves of Savin Hill is director and writer John Beaton Hill’s debut. Hill intelligently uses perpective and techniques that mask the movie’s modest budget. While the setting changes are clear, jumping from the gritty streets of Boston over to the criminal underworld of LA, the camera shots focus mostly on the characters and their actions, delving the viewer into the dark psyche of each troubled situation.

    At times dialogue came across a little obvious and lines were clearly so well rehearsed that there were a couple of overlaps. But these hiccups were overshadowed by the overall atmosphere that Hill created. Throughout the film, Tom and Sean would flash back to the unfolding happenings in Savin Hill and Emily’s death, forcing the viewer to experience the inner torment suffered by the two main characters.

    As the plot progresses and Sean’s true nature is uncovered, the viewing becomes increasingly intense. The climax features a welcome twist, which ends with an answer you didn’t even realised was asked.

    The Wolves of Savin Hill hits the mark. It’s disturbing, well written and delivered flawlessly. A debut that Hill should be proud of.

  • Porky’s – Blu-Ray Review

    Porky’s – Blu-Ray Review

    Along with Animal House and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky’s one of the first wave of the more sexually explicit teen comedies that paved the way for those of my generation like American Pie and Road Trip. It’s not the kind of classic that wins awards or gets documentaries made about it. It’s the kind that passes from generation to generation by word of mouth in the back of classrooms and from older siblings, and it’s great to see films of this kind getting the Blu-Ray treatment.

    Porky’s follows a group of teenagers living in 1950’s Florida as they laugh, grow and, most importantly, try and get laid. It’s not the most intricate or complicated of plots, but being a teenager, for the most part, isn’t a complicated time. It’s the time when everything is black and white, when the grey area is just around the corner but you’re too busy taming new urges to notice, and this film really captures that feeling.

    One of my favourite things about this film, and pretty much every comedy of it’s kind that I like, is that we see the characters cracking up and getting the joke. It may seem like a minor thing, but it shows a real focus on the characters instead of the situations to generate the humour.

    It’s not a perfect film, with the over arching line of the eponymous bar becoming the far-fetched anchor weighing down the hormonal vignettes, but there is so much joy to be found in great pranks and howling gym teachers that it is easy to forgive it.

    Bob Clark’s portrayal of teenage life isn’t realistic but it is honest. These feel like situations and attitudes that are deeply engrained in every secondary and high school the world over, practically carved into the walls.

    Bonus

    Along with the trailer, we have Skin Classic, a short appreciation of the film by Mr Skin himself, Porky’s Through the Peephole, a glimpse at Porky’s history, production and legacy with writer/director Bob Clark and a more in-depth look with the Clark commentary.

    Available on Blu-Ray from Arrow now.

  • Salvo: A Review

    Salvo: A Review

    Salvo is the Italian crime drama collaboration debut of directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza. While the film was out in 2013, it has an almost timeless feel about it. Its slow pace and moody atmosphere creates a unique screening as the viewer is delved into the world of a hit man whose life is turned upside down by an unexpected event.

    Salvo, played brilliantly by the solemn Saleh Bakri, is a bodyguard and hit man who works for the Sicilian mafia. However, his life takes an unforeseen turn when he comes face-to-face with his next hit’s blind younger sister, Rita (Sara Serraiocco). It is unsure whether Salvo is the cause for Rita’s sudden recovery, or whether she is able to make out shapes all along. Either outcome, Rita’s presence stops Salvo in his tracks, causing him to hold the witness of his crime capture, despite the risky consequences.

    The film moves at a very slow pace. There is little dialogue, leaving the actors to put across emotions felt as their relationships shift and in Salvo and Rita’s case, strengthen. Salvo’s intentions are not completely clear until the final scenes, leaving you wondering where the twist will turn. In the backdrop is the ever-rising tension for Salvo, whose boss realises that he is no longer turning up for work.

    Salvo is a beautifully stylised and atmospheric film that takes its genre into a new realm. It’s a unique watch that is well acted, well thought out and delivered outstandingly.

  • The ‘Burbs – Blu-ray Review

    The ‘Burbs – Blu-ray Review

    Sometimes in life you get to work on something you love, today I get to review one of my favourite ensemble movies of the 80s. Well not so much review the film, but I do get to spend the evening reviewing the 25th anniversary blu-ray release of The ‘Burbs. This won’t be an objective and neutral review as you’ve probably figured out by now, instead I’m gonna state my case on why The ‘Burbs should be your next blu-ray purchase.

    The film. The film is sharp, steeped in 50s horror movie style and playing on suburbanite paranoia it’s got stuff that that beats most comedies released today. Joe Dante directed it, Joe Freaking Dante, you know the guy that brought us two Gremlins movies, Innerspace and the segment of The Twilight Zone which made us all terrified to look out of a plane window, especially if John Lithgow is on the same flight. Oh yeah and he also made Piranha. The opening shot did what Google Earth now does way before it was cool. Lets look at the cast Forrest Gump , Princess Leia, the dude from Nebraska, Rick Ducommun, Francine from American Dad, Edgar Frog and Henry Gibson who’s played creepy dudes in movies for years. I mean c’mon that’s a great cast and they’re all on top comedy form. The story is pretty simple really, some suburbanites suspect the creepy new family in the neighbourhood are occultists who have killed their now missing elderly neighbour. It’s creepy, it’s funny and well it’s genius.

    The extras. The blu-ray comes in a nice steel book edition and is packed with some great extras such as a brand new feature length documentary about the making of the movie, which discusses the trials of making the movie, Corey Feldman on the edge of addiction and Hanks and Ducommun’s troubled working relationship. It’s candid and charming to watch the makers and cast discuss how the movie got canned by critics upon release but over time has grown a huge cult following. Along with a rip of Joe Dante’s original VHS work print there’s some great features highlighting the different versions and their various merits.

    Right that’s it, I’m done talking about it, I’m just gonna go laugh my arse off watching it. It came out a couple of weeks ago so go get yourself a copy. “God I love this street”

  • Sullivan’s Travels – Blu-Ray Review

    Sullivan’s Travels – Blu-Ray Review

    Film director John Sullivan (Joel McCrea) who has made his name as maker of comedies and musicals decides he wants to try and make something with more dramatic weight, something about life. To try and get a greater understanding of the plight in the world around him, he decides that he must give up his privileged life and head out into the world but, as is the way with life, it is far more complicated than he thought.

    Preston Sturgess, king of the dry witted screwball comedy that characterised 30’s and 40’s Classical Hollywood, but he is so much more than just that, and this comes across so strongly in all his films, especially Sullivan’s Travels.

    A huge part of the film’s power comes from the use of faces; worn, beautiful and/or grotesque. Sturgess has an amazingly cinematic understanding of the face, similar to Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, using them as visual shorthand for more complicated ideas like the psychological weight of poverty. Also, while mainly a farce, there is enough of the real world to keep that comedy relevant and biting. This would be developed and pushed farther later in films like Forman’s The Fireman’s Ball. To make a film that can connect so easily to names likes these proves that he deserves to be among them.

    As with most of Sturgess’ films there is a lot dealing with the divide of the farce of the classes. Here, we have the argument of the rich talk about poverty, the poor just want to get by and humour can act as the great equaliser, bridging the gap to get to common ground. Those in tough situations don’t need social commentary, just a good laugh is enough to lighten the heaviest of burdens and it displays nearly all of the ways this is done in film, from slapstick to satire.

    As wide a spectrum of comedy this film covers, it also spreads into more dramatic territory with great success. It’s organically eclectic, changing tone with ease that only a master like Sturgess can accomplish, and is truly something to behold, seamlessly blends the comic and the tragic, the farcical with the natural.

    A film truly deserving of being called a timeless classic that every film reviewer should see, and not only for the fact that is one if the most interesting comedies out of Hollywood. There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh.

    Bonus

    The big pluses is the documentary on Sturgess The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer, chronicling his life as told by those who knew him best, and Safeguarding Military Information, a short PSA scripted by Sturgess about the dangers of loose lips at war time. We also have the Unoffical Sturgess Stock Company roster, going through one by one every actor who appeared in at least 3 of his films. There is the Terry Jones (yes, THAT Terry Jones) commentary, who is an obvious fan of Sturgess’ work as is Kevin Jackson who gets 20 minutes to show his appreciation for the film and, of course, the standard trailer.

    Booklet unavailable

    Available on Blu-Ray now