film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Alton Williams

  • Slackistan

    Mara Pictures has acquired the UK theatrical rights for Slackistan – a rare independent film from Pakistan. Slackistan is the debut feature film by Hammad Khan and produced by Menhaj Huda, the filmmaker of the highly acclaimed cult hit Kidulthood. 


    Inspired by the genre of small-town slacker films, Slackistan focuses on a group of privileged college graduates who procrastinate their lives away in the sleepy capital city of Islamabad. The characters struggle to face up to reality as the country outside their small world begins to fall apart. The film challenges the images and perceptions of Pakistani youth dominant in international media while also being a “personal love letter to Islamabad and to its young dreamers as they continue to search for their identity and future”, states Khan, who is British-Pakistani and works for the British Board of Film Classification. 
    The production faced challenging circumstances not only due to the lack of an independent film production infrastructure within Pakistan, but was further impacted by ongoing suicide bombings which forced filming to take place under the radar. Slackistan features fresh undiscovered talent and an unique soundtrack including underground Pakistani rock and hip hop artists.

    With regards to his support of the film, Huda says “”I am a big advocate of films and filmmakers breaking new ground and Slackistan is definitely the first of it’s kind. I am very excited to have helped Hammad, in whatever way I could, to get this film finished and released.”

    We’re hoping to see this film very good indeed and grab some time with Hammad Khan.

    © BRWC 2010.

  • Stuff Coming Up On BRWC

    Just thought I would run through two bits and pieces that hopefully be reviewed on this here blog in the coming days/weeks.

    Stuff Coming Up On BRWC



    First up, Teenage Wasteland: Slasher Movie Uncut. 


    This book lifts the lid on the glory days of the slasher perhaps the most reviled but also commercially successful of all horror’s subgenres. Taking its cue from the Parisian theatre of the Grand Guignol, German krimis, Alfred Hitchcock, grindhouse movies, and the gory Italian giallo thrillers of the 1970s, among others, slashers brought a new high in cinematic violence and suspense to mainstream cinema.

    Packed with in-depth reviews of the best (and worst) slashers, and illustrated by the distinctive and often graphic colour poster artwork from around the world, this book is unlike any other published on this subject.  Expect a review soon.



    Stuff Coming Up On BRWC


    No Restrictions Entertainment makes independent film that is entertaining and deals with current social issues.  Their first feature One Hour Fantasy Girl is heading to big screen next year for a limited theatrical release.  We hope to have this on our laps soon.


    Based on a true story, it 

    is a poignant story of a young woman from the mid-west trying to make a better life for herself in Hollywood, pursing the American Dream without compromising her beliefs or goals.


    © BRWC 2010.

  • DVD Review: London River

    Many fellow Britons will remember the 7th July 2005 like it was yesterday. The country ground to a halt to watch 24 hour news, aghast at the horror that took over London’s public transport system as fifty two people lay dead or dying as a result of the first ever suicide attacks on the UK. London River picks up away from this chaos, on the Isle of Guernsey. We watch the green-fingered Elisabeth (Brenda Blethyn) tend her garden, go to church, and visit the grave of her husband, gently informing him of the family’s goings on.
    Then, the news is switched on. Terror in London, hundreds injured, a bus ripped apart. Filled with concern for her student daughter, who rents in London, Elisabeth calls her, only to get voicemail. A day passes, and motherly concern turns to actual panic as Elisabeth decides to travel to London in search of her missing daughter.

    Meanwhile, someone else is travelling to London, also in search of a missing child. Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyaté), a French speaking African Muslim, has not seen his son for years. With orders to bring him home, he sets off, with little but a name to search for. Thanks to some chance meetings, it becomes apparent that these two strangers have more in common than either would realise, and that their children may have known each other.
    Director Rachid Bouchareb, who’s previous feature Days of Glory was Oscar nominated, is clearly interested in the meeting of these polar opposites. Ousmane is a slow and gentle giant, with long greying dreadlocks draping over his broad shoulders. Elisabeth, in contrast, is a busy-body, rushing around like any British mum does. Their cultural divide is huge, and evident at first. When they first meet, she won’t even shake his hand, opting instead to phone the police, as she fears his son may have ‘corrupted’ her daughter with the ways of Islam. It soon becomes clear, to the audience at least, that these two people actually need each other. It’s a shame then that the film decides to bob along as they go their separate ways (occasionally bumping in to one another) until about 65 minutes in. It feels like an intriguing relationship isn’t given enough time to breathe before the conclusion.
    That said, both performances are excellent. Blethyn’s constant, pained expression, even through the occasional thin smile, really evokes how lost one must feel to be searching for a lost loved one. The underlying tension – what is the fate of the two offspring – is largely carried by Blethyn. In contrast, while Sotigui Kouyaté’s character does not betray his heartache so explicitly, you can see it deep in the eyes of his wise, lined face.

    London River sets up an interesting, genuinely emotive story. A Palpable feeling of concern and grief is present throughout as the two parents move from checking police stations to hospitals to mortuaries. It just seems a shame that it’s two leads don’t get to share more quality time together.

    © BRWC 2010.

  • Trailer: Red Eagle

    I can’t say I’m all that familiar with Thai cinema, but this looks a little interesting. Apparently based on a super-hero franchise from the 60’s, Red Eagle is a somewhat ‘Nolanesque’ (yeah, it’s a word) reinvention of the character, by director Wisit Sasanatieng.

    Batman similarities aside, there are a few things that the titular hero does differently to the Caped Crusader. Namely, killing everything that moves as stylishly as possible. Check out the trailer for what looks like an intriguing actioner…

    © BRWC 2010.

  • Film Review with Robert Mann – The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud

    The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud ***

    For Zac Efron, High School Musical was the film that kick-started his acting career but it is also perhaps something that is holding him back from really achieving his true potential as an actor. Of his first few prominent movie roles that saw him playing a role besides Troy Bolton, parts in Hairspray and 17 Again had him playing parts that weren’t that far removed from the role he is best known for and his first true serious acting role in Me and Orson Welles was little seen as the film failed to attract any notable moviegoing audience.
    But this hasn’t deterred Efron from his attempts to be taken seriously as an actor and now comes The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud (the title was shortened to just Charlie St. Cloud in marketing), a romantic drama with a fantasy twist, based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Ben Sherwood, which sees Efron reunite with 17 Again director Burr Steers. If that puts you off in anyway, it is also worth noting that Steers also previously directed the considerably darker 2002 film Igby Goes Down, a film which shows that he is capable of handling more serious material. This isn’t to say that Charlie St. Cloud is in any way a dark film, however, as it is a drama of the much lighter variety.

    Accomplished young sailor Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron) is adored by his mother Claire (Kim Basinger) and his little brother Sam (Charlie Tahan). His college scholarship will take him far away from his sleepy seaside hometown, but his bright future is cut short when a tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it. A car accident claims Sam’s life and almost claims Charlie’s as well but for paramedic Florio Ferrente (Ray Liotta) bringing him back from the dead after he has flat lined for several minutes. A broken man, Charlie discovers some solace at Sam’s funeral when he encounters the ghost of his dead brother and there Charlie makes a simple promise – every day at sunset he will meet Sam to teach him baseball. Five years later, Charlie has given up his scholarship and any chance of ever leaving his hometown, now working as the caretaker at the graveyard where Sam was buried and having kept his promise every day since he first made it. However, after his high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between the promise he has made and the chance to find love. But as he finds the courage to let go of the past, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own. In this emotionally charged story, Charlie begins a romantic journey in which he embraces the dark realities of the past while discovering the true meaning of love.

    It would be a lie to say that The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is going to be Zac Efron’s breakthrough film as that most definitely isn’t going to be the case, the film having been rejected by many critics and not seen by many moviegoers on its release across the pond – a fate that it will likely experience here as well. To say that this film is bad, however, would also be a lie as, while this film isn’t particularly remarkable in any way, it is nonetheless a pretty well made romantic drama and one that shows that Zac Efron really can act. His performance here is one full of real emotion, his response to the tragedy he has experienced being entirely believable and truly moving, made all the more so thanks to the strong brotherly dynamic that he has with co-star Charlie Tahan both before and after Sam’s death, something that makes us really believe in the brotherly bond between them. Many will be able to relate to his character – the ghost of his brother is essentially a representation of his difficulty moving on with his life, something that anyone who has lost a loved one will likely have personal experience of. This is a film about Charlie himself not the ghost(s) that he sees (the fantasy element is not the real focus of the film) and Efron’s performance really makes for a character who we can care about. Not only that, but he is also very charming and likable, which makes the attraction between Charlie and Tess all the more convincing, there being a real spark between Efron and Amanda Crew from the very start, her being a strong romantic interest and the chemistry between them seeming genuine, allowing us to truly believe that they are falling in love with one another. Elsewhere, the acting is not very noteworthy though with both Kim Basinger and Ray Liotta being underserved in roles that are little more than cameo appearances in terms of how much they appear on the screen. In other aspects the film is less noteworthy however. There are some instances of quite beautiful cinematography – a shot of what appears to be stars in the night sky but turns out to be the surface of a road, a zoom out from a forest to a wide shot of the stunning coastline and a shot of Charlie and Amanda at night with them appearing almost like silhouettes being clear examples – but while the film looks pretty good, the writing fails to deliver anything remotely special. The film essentially comes off like a teenage version of The Sixth Sense but without that film’s mystery and lacking that twist (although there still a reasonably surprising twist in the tale here), managing to avoid treading on too many clichés but coming across in no way original. The story also seems a bit overly sentimental at times as well although some will undoubtedly find this charming, even sweet. Overall, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is a decently made and very moving tearjerker that tells a simple story about moving on with your life and that features some very good performances but lacks the depth in the writing that could make it truly great or memorable. You won’t die if you don’t see this film and it certainly won’t change your life if you do but if you are looking for a solid drama this is worth checking out.

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    Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

    © BRWC 2010.