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Behold, another DVD review double-header! First up this time around is the British thriller G.B.H, directed by direct-to-DVD regular Simon Phillips (of Jack Falls). Centring on Damien (Nick Nevern) a former London toe-rag turned Copper trying to get his life on track, the film unfolds around 2011’s London Riots.

Phillips’ film attempts to show London as a city stretched to breaking point, full of crime and discontent as it builds its way towards the riots. Confusing title cards keep popping up saying things indicating how many weeks are left before the violence erupts. Unless you’ve worked out their purpose, it feels like the film keeps showing scenes out of chronological order and muddles the narrative. We see Damien trying to negotiate an almost double life – one side a typical lad who appears to have some of humanity’s worst mates, and the other a beat-walking policeman who observes (and keeps commenting on) society’s collapse.

One issue here is that Damien is massively unlikeable. While Nevern is a capable actor, a squinting, grimacing former hooligan who won’t even stick up for his girlfriend when is dreadful, leery pal (Peter Barrett) intimidates her doesn’t make for the most engaging protagonist. Presumably he’s supposed to appear complex; not your normal hero. He just seems like a bit of a dick.

Speaking of dicks, Damien’s aforementioned friends are, in fairness, impressively played. They’re slimy to the point that they practically leave a smear on your screen.

As the story boils towards the explosion of violence in the city through recycled overhead shots of The Gherkin and dimly lit grubby council estates, we can see that things aren’t going to end well for Damien. There is some reasonable tension building here as the film swerves into revenge-flick territory, but ultimately it is devoid of much intrigue or interest. Another one to add to the growing stack of Brit-gangster-hooligan-crime thrillers that all appear to star the same people who say things like ‘you muggy little caaaant’ a lot.

King of Devil’s Island may be similarly grim in tone, but has a lot more to offer. Set on the Norwegian prison island of Bastøy in 1915, it deals with the day-to-day lives of young offenders as Stellan Skarsgård’s Governor attempts to reform them.

Starring a largely young and excellent cast (the ‘reform school’ was for children and teenagers) the film zones in on Erling (Benjamin Helstad) a young sailor who appears to be guilty of murder. Spared adult prison, he is set to work on the island in order to reform into a ‘good Christian Norwegian boy’.

As is often the way with prison dramas, things don’t being well for Erling, who soon finds himself in trouble for fighting and lack of discipline. Billeting with ‘C barracks’ and taking on the name C19, he befriends Olav (Trond Nilssen), who has been on the island for six years.

The stark and hard-edged Norwegian landscape seems the perfect setting for a film such as this, the cool colour temperature really leaving a chilled impression. The boys look the part – their glazed eyes reflecting childhood’s lost. Some are more vulnerable than others; particularly newcomer Ivar (Magnus Langlete) who it appears may be being abused by one of the older male staff.

As the boys become increasingly aware and angry with this, tension starts to rise, and it becomes apparent that a small staff of old men is no match for an island of put-upon teenagers.

It’s no surprise that King of Devil’s Island takes its inspiration from the real life Bastøy uprising in 1915. The moments leading up to this event are largely on the shoulders of the young cast, who do a fantastic job balancing the roles of vulnerable kids and hardened, institutionalised workers. Helstad and Nilssen in particular are magnetic, with solid supporting work from Skarsgård.

If the film has one problem it’s that this is an oft-told story. It’s setting however allows for intrigue, especially given the history of Bastøy, and the performances give heart that burns through the freezing vistas the film presents.

G.B.H and King of Devil’s Island are out now.

I don’t want to say that 2011’s Margaret is a bad film. Admittedly, I have warned my friends and family never to watch it, but I don’t actually believe it is awful. There are parts within it which are moving, interesting and well-acted, but somewhere along the line writer and director Kenneth Longeran apparently forgot how to edit.

The premise has potential: a teenage girl witnesses a bus accident – which she in part caused – and subsequently has to deal with her guilt and existential angst, emotions exacerbated by her youth. There is a stellar cast: Anna Paquin portrays Lisa, the 17 year old protagonist, while Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron and Jean Reno provide an impressive supporting line-up. It could have been this decade’s Crash (spoilers: it’s not).

My father picked up this DVD in Sainsbury’s for £3: this represented a decent bargain, at a mere £1 per hour of entertainment. Three hours is more than enough time to create a thoughtful atmosphere, examining in-depth Lisa’s solipsistic brooding amid the middle-class, post-9/11 New York world in which she moves.  However, by focusing so intensely and realistically on every aspect of Lisa’s reaction to the bus crash, it lacks momentum and climax, feeling more like a snapshot of someone’s life than a thought-out script.

30 year old Paquin portrays the tormented teenage soul with impressive accuracy, but this doesn’t necessarily warm you to her rather pretentious character. Lisa reminded me of the dangers of being an intelligent yet ultimately ignorant 17 year old (I remember this experience with shameful clarity): the naivety and nihilism that can lead to emotional turmoil, but also how bloody annoying you are to everyone around you – including, in this case, the audience.

The supporting cast simply aren’t given the space to develop and their characters remain, on the whole, two-dimensional, seen only through the prism of Lisa’s introspective “journey”. At one point, the character Emily argues with Lisa, telling her “this isn’t an opera! And we are not all supporting characters to the drama of your amazing life!”. The film itself would have done well to heed that advice.

On the whole, it does feel like Lonergan was attempting to create an opera or play, rather than a movie. The intense dialogue, the frequent use of interior sets and the sprawling philosophical themes all combine to create a sense that you are watching something intended for the stage, rather than the screen.

Perhaps this is the only way to appreciate Margaret: have some little tubs of ice-cream at the ready, build in an intermission time, and prepare yourself for the long-haul. If only I had known this beforehand, I may have fully enjoyed this potentially moving and insightful piece of cinema, rather than wondering when it would finally end.

Recently I reviewed Massimo Dallamano’s The Night Child – an aesthetically cheerful Exorcist knock off – now from the same director we have a different proposition in Super Bitch.

I know. What a fantastic title. The pleasures seem boundless from such a title. Although the film’s original English title Blue Movie Blackmail does make a lot more sense in terms of conveying the plot. This time Dallamano tackles international espionage and criminal organisations with a story that could have been a potential Bond plot, with less sexy results. Ivan Rassimov stars as an undercover officer who plays to gangs off against each other. One being a high end escort agency dealing in blackmail of government officials. The other a gang of Turkish drug dealers is led by Mama, played with glee by Patricia Hayes (who you may remember as the elderly lady with the dogs from A Fish Called Wanda). Mama is your average patriarch who kills with ease, enjoys high speed chases with the police and loves her children. Also key to the plot is top escort Joanne played by Stephanie Beacham who is at the centre of the blackmail plot and then a kidnap plot (there are a surprising number of plot strands). Joanne ends up falling for Ivan, or he for her, and seems to be the Super Bitch of the title. The poster suggests the “Super Bitch” will do anything to get what she wants. In this regard Joanne is actually quite pleasant as expensive, entrapping escorts go. She’s surprisingly vulnerable and has a back story that seems far more interesting than the film gives credit. Super Bitch is a film built around discussions of double dealings, some action scenes and good bit of casual 70s nudity. Mama would be a more appropriate recipient of the Super Bitch title, but I suppose distributors can’t really plaster Patricia Hayes on DVD boxes in a seductive pose.

Super Bitch is surprisingly well put together film. The expensive London locations look great and the plot spans across Europe to New York. But ultimately it takes itself just a little too seriously. Ivan Rassimov is Yojimbo-esque figure which could have given way to a knowing grin here and there to let us in on the fun of playing off both sides. Instead he plays it so cool that he rarely registers an emotional response. Hayes on the other hand adds a more camp touch which suits the film. She gives a widely over-the-top performance that comes across as fun rather than misplaced. Beacham too seems to be more knowing of the films more ridiculous aspects, especially in a scene where she has to dress like a rabbit in a clients fetish games. But she still brings both a sympathetic and vicious streak to Joanne.

As with The Night Child, Dallamano has made a beautiful looking film. Although slow and bogged down in un-engaging criminal conversations in places Super Bitch is enjoyable enough thriller that should be seen by more on the strength of it’s performances. If it has pushed further toward out-and-out action fun it could have been a classic 70s romp.

By Jenny.

Over the last six years, these dance flicks have continued to pour in and with today’s modern television have been eaten up by the public. While the dancing has always been entertaining on various levels, the producers are still struggling to add diversity and that something new to keep the crowd interested.

Of course if you’re like most fans of this movie you care less about the story and character development. Instead the focus might shift to other aspects like dancing, music, and eye candy for both guys and girls. Well this movie is definitely all those characteristics wrapped in a colourful, techno/rap wrapper with lots of flashing lights. Fans of the previous instalments will be impressed with the dance numbers this instalment has.

Step Up 4 does a nice job showing off the bodies of the stars and helps get people howling without stepping over the line. Most of these people can dance and are okay actors, but they were also chosen to rope in a wider array of audience members.

Overall Step Up 4 may be one of the better movies of this series. With awesome moves, fitting soundtrack, and decent acting, it’s definitely refreshing for the audience. However it is still a dance movie with a lot of skewing towards dancing and less to story, so don’t expect a masterpiece.

This is a whimsical examination of the lesbian singles scene told with a science fiction angle.

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same uses its low budget very creatively to give the feel of the old-fashioned Sci-Fi B movies. In a nod to Ed Wood’s output the spacecraft are simple cardboard models. The aliens are bald with jumpsuits. They speak in a high-pitched robotic monotone similar to The Coneheads.

The black and white photography gives the film an intimate and otherworldly feel. The effects are appropriately crude, but effective and the cast of unknowns bring a lot of energy to the satirical script. The film is an engaging mixture of low-budget science fiction satire and the emerging lesbian indie-film scene.

I enjoyed it.