Apart from being a contributor to BRWC, i am also a filmmaker. I write crime drama predominately but am strongly drawn to Horror as well.
I have recently completed my third short film – ‘Freshwater’. This is a 17 minute dramatic piece, with a strong story and equally strong characters. Here is the short synopsis –
“Two Police Detectives are door knocking in an area close to the suspected abduction of a fifteen year old girl. When Detective Christine Ambrose comes face to face with David Jennings, her instincts sense something is wrong.”
The film is about to embark on a long journey around the globe on the festival circuit and needs the support of the BRWC readers ! Please check out our Facebook Page and ‘LIKE’ it for all updates. You can find it here –
Lastly – you can see the trailer for the film on YouTube. Please check it out and help me by sharing it around to your friends and posting it on Facebook. Your help is much appreciated 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TqBee7s8v8
There are two trailer options for the new Superman film – each with a different voice over; one from Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) and one from Jor-El (Russell Crowe). Here is the better one – narrated by Jor-El.
Billed as the first Taiwanese zombie movie and coming to DVD this month is Zombie 108, a typical biohazard turned deadly affair with plenty of gore, undead, and definitely too much torture-porn style violence. Directed by Joe Chein this movie is a wildly meandering affair whose incoherence is matched only by it’s level of insanity.
The story, such as it is, follows the release of a virus in Taipei that (as is almost always the way) just happens to create a hoard of undead, flesh craving zombies. Opening to a desaturated and desolate city scene with cars crashed or left in reckless abandon we meet one of the many many characters that pop up throughout (to the degree that it’s difficult to keep track of them) and soon we realise the zombie peril that has befallen the city. Add to this Triad gangsters, strippers, CIA agents, a misogynistic rapist/pervert, a plethora of ancillary characters, and a SWAT team sent in to presumably try and evacuate any unharmed civilians and we have a fairly big cast of largely throwaway characters most of which are interchangeable and not even remotely compelling.
Zombie 108 features the fast running type of undead rather than the shambling, slow, walk of terror kind, and that works well when there are large groups of them attacking en masse. The make-up and effects are passable to good, especially considering the presumably sparse production budget. Unfortunately the action sequences, rather like the story, are completely unintelligible because of the stylistic decision to use shaky camera shots and fast quick jump cuts that rather than adding to the tension or upping the pace create confusions as to what is on screen.
As the situation degrades and the zombies take out more and more of the cast the few that are left somehow all end up in the home of a bizarre sadistic creep who kidnaps women and keeps them in his torture-rape basement. At this point the story has become so muddled and confusing, not to mention the frequent scenes of very difficult to watch violent-torture-porn exploitation, that Zombie 108 becomes almost entirely unwatchable. Perhaps if you are a hardcore zombie fan (I count myself as a zombie fan, but perhaps I’m not hardcore enough) this will be of interest as yet another example of flesh eating monsters, this time of a largle asian variety, but overall between the muddled story, the bad acting, and the less than stellar storyline Zombie 108 falls a bit short of being a decent genre depiction.
Now TV provides instant access to hundreds of films from the Sky Movies vault via a variety of Internet enabled devices. Launching initially with PC, Mac and selected Android devices, the service offers rapid & simple access to the UK’s most popular movie subscription service sans a contract, set-up costs and installation, providing a new way to watch the movies you love without any lengthy contractual commitment.
In addition to getting hands-on with the service last week, I spoke to Simon Creasey, the Director of Now TV to find out more about the service, and what the future holds.
At first glance, Now TV is a direct rival to Netflix and Lovefilm, what does Now TV offer that Netflix and Lovefilm don’t?
Well ultimately we’re bringing Sky Movies, which is the UK’s most popular service. We know it’s a great service, because it’s got millions of people who already subscribe. It’s all about content too, so if you’re into movies, you are more than likely going to find a movie you want to watch on our service. We have 600 exclusive films in the £15 a month package, and 3 quarters of the top 100 blockbusters are on our service. So if you like the big movies, then that’s what Now TV offers. We think that there is a place for all the different services out there, we just feel there is more choice for consumers and the consumers will make a choice. We’re confident that the service is bang on and will attract lots of people.
So what is included in the service? How are the payment plans split up?
Our service is really simple. It’s all of Sky Movies, all you can watch, unlimited for £15 a month. Or you can choose from the library in the Sky Store, which is over a 1000 films that are provided on a pay and play, pay as you go basis.
With Sky’s involvement in Now TV, what benefits will this provide to people who already have Sky?
Now TV is really for a whole new audience. For the 13 million who choose not to pay for TV for whatever reason, whether they don’t want the commitment, long contracts and they want a bit more flexibility. So Now TV is all about a new audience, and giving them a fresh new way to get into to Sky Movies. Sky Movies subscribers already have that way in, they have Sky Go so they can watch it on the move, so they’re really well catered for. Now TV is solely targeted at those 13 million who currently don’t pay for TV. They pay for movies in other ways, whether that’s cinema or other streaming services, so we know the demand is out there. Those are the guys we’re positioning this service towards.
What devices support the service and how will it evolve over the lifespan of Now TV?
From launch PC, Mac and Android smartphone are supported, and then really quickly going onto iPhones, iPads, Xbox and ultimately YouView when that’s released. I think we’ve got a really good head start using such a good infrastructure as well as the technology and expertise from the Sky Go service. We can move pretty leanly and pretty fast when it comes to device support.
As for the evolution of device support, we’ll work out what’s taking off, what’s working and what the consumers want to access the service on, whether that’s the new smartphones, streaming players, Roku players etc. We want to be on all major devices, so we’ll strategically look at all of them and work out whether it’s worthwhile to develop. It costs money to develop, naturally, so we will strategically pick and choose what to develop for. While the emergence of handheld devices is a big deal, I still think there’s a role for the main TV, so having the service through YouView, Xbox and eventually PS3 is very important for our strategy.
The Apple iPad and iPad will soon be added to the growing list of devices available to customers.
In terms of the actual content, are they high quality movies? How have you developed the technology to balance quality and playback stability?
Using adaptive bitrate, we spent a lot of time making sure the streaming quality is going to be smooth. That’s the most important thing. You can’t have the film stopping or buffering so we spent a lot of time focusing on that. As we go on to the main TVs, with Xbox and YouView, we can push a bit harder with quality. The Xbox for example streams at 1280×720 resolution with a higher bitrate. We’re going to continue to invest and push the streaming as far as we can, whether that’s with the rights to protection, or technology etc. We also want to know people’s boundaries, so right now with adaptive bitrate we can go so far to optimize the streaming for specific connections but ultimately until everyone’s broadband is there at high speeds, the quality will vary depending on broadband speed. Initially we’ve nailed the basics, which is to get the service playing consistently and then we’ll continue to push on. We certainly won’t be left behind; we’ll be at the forefront of getting the streaming as good as it can be. As the service is powered by Sky, the consumer will know that they will be getting a quality service. We will continually build the service over time, but will also be making sure we can guarantee our customers a great viewing experience as we phase this process. That is something that is really important for us.
So the Sky name will certainly help push the service forwards, what else do you think having such a big brand name will give you?
Trust and reassurance are hopefully massive factors. We believe that what we’re doing is innovative, so being powered by Sky; we’ve also got that infrastructure of technology and the quality backing up the innovation. We are very much a Sky entity; ultimately what we’re doing is bringing a new way for people to access Sky’s great content and opening it up in a new way for new consumers.
Having looked at the service and what it has to offer, I can safely say it’s got a lot of new movies that are very high profile and not available on any other service. Is having this high quality content your way of luring people to Now TV?
I think so. Content is definitely our strong point. Having access to Sky’s great content months before anyone else is big factor, and this is ultimately at the front and centre. But we’ve also got this intuitive and easy to use, slick interface. People want to get in and watch a movie as soon as possible, we’re there to help you find a movie, get in there and watch it with little messing around as possible. It’s all about the experience of watching the film, not looking for it.
Now TV is available now. Sign up for a free 30 day trial at www.nowtv.com.
The final part in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy is finally here, The Dark Knight Rises has been much hyped recently and given the level of success of Nolan’s last two movies, The Dark Knight and Inception respectively, it’s clear to see why. So, having avoided almost everything possible regarding the movie beyond my own internal hype, does it live up to it? The answer, unfortunately, is mixed.
The Dark Knight Rises opens 8 years after the events from the previous outing, the fallout from Harvey Dent’s homicidal rampage being a cover up and The Dent Act enabling the cleaning up of Gotham’s streets. Batman is an outlaw who hasn’t been seen since the evening of Dent’s death and Bruce Wayne has become a recluse, shut up in one wing of his (now rebuilt) mansion. We first see Bruce, dishevelled and unshaven, in a dressing gown and walking with a cane. Enter Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle, posing as an unassuming server at a function being held at Wayne manner. Hathaway’s timid maid gives way to a confident, sleek, perfectly cat like creature in an instant and the transformation is flawless, as indeed is her performance throughout. This opening is just a precursor to the larger story, which won’t be given away here, the basics of which bring Batman out of hiding in order to try to defend the people of Gotham from Bane, a massive imposing agent of chaos who is seeking to redress the balance of power between the elite and the everyday man.
The pop at the stock markets/banks and big business is an obvious and heavy handed message (even more ironic given that these movies have made a lot of people very rich) but it’s not really the point of the movie, which seems to be seeking to resolve the purpose of Batman in the first place. As expected Batman’s return brings with it some new toys that afford some exciting action sequences – the chase when he first reveals himself, and the final epic battle sequence being the highlights. Bane is imposing, but ultimately feels wasted, like he’s holding back – particularly in the two fight scenes with Batman that come off feeling very blocky and not enough like an ‘ultimate showdown’ – there’s one very brief moment during the final battle where you feel Tom Hardy is really going all out, but it is short lived.
The biggest point of contention, and one that ruins the effect of Bane completely, is his voice; not only is it bafflingly goofy to the point of distracting from what he’s saying but actually understanding him is sometimes difficult. Add to that the growly ‘big boy’ voice Bale puts on as Batman and at certain points it’s like listening to two rock filled blenders attempting to hurl dialogue at each other. It contrasts starkly with the simple, heartbreaking exchange that takes place between Alfred and Bruce at one point. As always Gary Oldman is great as Commissioner Gordon, this time adding some more subtle layers to the character, making him a lot more flawed and he get’s a sidekick of sorts in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Gotham PD beat cop turned Detective, John Blake. However Blake’s sub plot revolving around child orphans and his ‘instinctual’ knowledge of Batman’s identity are just a bit much in terms of trying to hammer home an emotional or humanistic story. Mostly it is not the performances that let this film down, it is the script (the exception being a late on performance by Marion Cotillard where she completely Shatner’s up the scene).
Unfortunately in many respects TDKR is very predictable, there was little in the way of surprising plot twists that weren’t clearly signposted early on, and some of the story development is bloated and tiresome. There has always been some licence with the interpretations of the comic books, I have no issue with that because of the universe that these films have created is succinct and vastly interesting, but this one perhaps represents the most divergent removal from the DC universe. It’s as if the previous two films success had inflamed the ego of this one to the point where some of the dialogue is self-indulgently inane. Cutting a couple of the superfluous elements and streamlining the rather expansive length would have made a world of difference to the overall satisfaction of the film.
But, a mediocre Christopher Nolan movie is still a good movie by any standards and TDKR isn’t awful, it’s just a bit muddled. Nolan is a great director, no doubt, but his portrayal of the passage of time is bafflingly full of holes and at more than a few points drags. The overall tone that runs through the previous two, highlighted perfectly in the powerfully dark soundtrack from Hans Zimmer, comes to a crashing crescendo in this movie and it is likely for that reason that any plot or pacing eccentricities can be forgiven.
As a final film in a trilogy TDKR suffices, and at times almost does justice to the idea of Batman, and it seeks to resolve plot lines and link back through to the beginning of the story. However the first two thirds feel like a crawling, banal, series of exposition heavy and pointlessly complicated series of scene progressions (for what is essentially a very straight forward plot) to end up at the satisfying, if predictable, conclusion. The final fight for Gotham is suitably epic, even if the Batman vs. Bane fight is not, and it is really Anne Hathaway’s sleek, charmingly crafty, and refreshing portrayal of Catwoman that really steals the show. It falls a bit short of the grandness of endings that I was hoping for, but in between the unnecessary parts there are moments of brilliance.
