Category: REVIEWS

Demolition is a story of loss, love, heartbreak and self-realisation. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a man going through a crisis. Aided by the vending machine customer service representative he has been writing strangely heartfelt complaint letters to, and her transformational teenage son Chris, Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal) literally takes apart his entire life as he tries to understand what went wrong.

Gyllenhaal impresses me in this film. Now I’ll admit, I’m a big Gyllenhaal fan, but I’ll also admit he does produce a lot of similar performances. Yet in Demolition Gyllenhaal gives a little extra than his usual tough guy performance with genuine glimpses of love confusing and terror shining through. Intending to focus mainly on the relationship between Karen (Naomi Watts) and Gyllenhaal, for me, the show is stolen by the dynamic between the collapsing David and Karen’s teenage son Chris, who is struggling with his own identity. Together, through a mutual love of destruction, Davis and Chris find a bond that ultimately allows them both to discover who they are and how to go forward.

The music and direction delivered by Jean-Marc Valee (Dallas Buyers Club) for me are brilliant, and I like the way he pulls the film together with humour and a light-heartedness that is the polar opposite of the films subject matter. Nonetheless, Demolition does have its flaws. The ending and the realisation of Gyllenhaal’s character comes to quickly. Attempts to be profound end up in the usual Hollywood places.

A brilliant start with a great middle turns into an average end that wraps up quicker than I do in the cold. Having said that, I really like what Valee has delivered and was yet again impressed by Gyllenhaal, even is Waats gave a somewhat poor performance. I’d recommend Demolition to anyone who likes emotional tales and a good bit of fun!

“A young woman’s insecurities manifest as a job interview goes awry.”

Writer Anthony Garland pulls no punches as the director of this unnerving short film, Ophelia. The mood he creates, tense from the outset, will keep audiences rapt. It is not clear in which direction this story will lead, thus capturing the essence of pre-interview nerves. I couldn’t help conjuring up Daisy’s interview in Spaced, though for all its surrealism, Ophelia is so much darker. Visually, it is on a par with Richard Ayoade’s The Double, and it is clear, not least through the names of the characters (Grumpy, Sneezy & Doc), Garland has a sense of humour. Nevertheless, he is willing to tackle strong themes unflinchingly.

I am confident Ophelia will be well received at film festivals, and hopefully Anthony Garland will follow up with a feature. With Black Mirror in mind, Charlie Brooker ought to keep an eye on this one.

See also:

Steven Shainberg’s Secretary (2002)

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010)

From IMDb.

Greetings again from the darkness. The best short films somehow find a way to connect with viewers and make us care about the story and character(s) – in just a few minutes and usually on a very limited budget. The first film from director (and writer) Anthony Garland expertly establishes atmosphere and tone, creates conflict and develops a character we care about … all in less than 8 minutes.

Garland seizes on one of the biggest emotional stressors for many people … the job interview. The opening scene has a well-dressed Ali Mueller slowly making her way through a dilapidated building while ominous music cues us that we are about to watch a horror film. This horror is psychological in nature and plays to the power of the mind, and the internal battles we fight when plopped into a stressful situation. Ms. Mueller faces a tribunal committee of interviewers (named in the credits as Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc) played by familiar actors whose faces you’ll likely recognize (Mary Pat Gleason, Larry Cedar, Allen Blumenfeld).

The film has a dream-like feel and often we aren’t sure what’s real. However, there are certain segments that are clear manifestations of Ms. Mueller’s insecurities and fears. There is a Black Swan nod with her younger self in the mirror, and a razor blade used to remove any doubt that her outward confidence often fails versus her internal struggles.

It’s a nifty little look at how we seek to control our fears and doubts, and fits nicely with Ophelia’s line from Hamlet: “O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown”.

Spaghettiman is written and directed by Mark Potts with stars (and co-writers) Winston Carter, Ben Crutcher and Brand Rackley.

“Clark doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t care about the world. He barely cares about himself. But after an incident with an old bowl of spaghetti and a malfunctioning microwave, he becomes a superhero that can fight crime with the power of spaghetti. However, you have to pay him.”

From this film’s title; you might get the wrong idea and on first impression I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The premise itself is pretty diabolical; fortunately my worst fears were not confirmed as this film stays clear of taking itself too seriously whilst still presenting a some-what engaging story.

‘Spaghettiman’ sounds like the stereo-typical B-Movie superhero and that is what Ben Crutcher delivers here; however excellently so. He is like a low-rent Deadpool except rather than being fuelled by a sense of duty or revenge he does his good deeds mostly in exchange for tips. This contrasts excellently against his strongly moral housemate Dale (Winston Carter) who is an aspiring cop and a hilarious conflict ensues.

This film rips on tropes of the superhero genre as is evident from the plot and dialogue which is mostly hilarious and well written. The film is un-ashamedly indie and un-ashamedly a comedy at it’s core but I felt it actually punches well above it’s weight when it came to the action sequences and choreography which excels above many B-movies with much larger budgets; and these moments were genuinely thrilling. All this is backed up with kicking rock score and adept cinematography and performances. I would love to see these film-makers put their skills towards a more serious project given the level of skill displayed here.

For more information check out http://www.spaghettimanfilm.com

See also Motivational Growth

“When a mysterious girl falls into the sights of a violent stalker, she is left with only one means of survival.”

Super is a horror short from New Zealand based Little Dragon Pictures. An Official Selection at Screamfest Horror Film Festival 2015. Super is less than four minutes long, but it is filled with enough narrative to stand alongside a Ray Bradbury short story.

When a teenaged goth girl, skinny and pale, alone in a secluded industrial patch of land, is approached by a gruff middle-aged bloke with that entitled ‘Cheer up love’ swagger, any number of terrible scenarios will fly through the viewer’s mind. We know the characters and their stories right away.

The mood created by director Matt Inns is tense and the camerawork is skilfully executed. I usually avoid horror, but this one is up my street, as it will be for for fans of Black Sheep (2006) and Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers (2012). It won’t give you nightmares. Promise.

Watch Super here

When a mysterious girl falls into the sights of a violent stalker, she is left with only one means of survival.

Official Selection Screamfest Horror Film Festival 2015
Official Selection Dead by Dawn 2015
Official Selection A Night of Horror International Film Festival 2015
Official Selection Crypticon Seattle 2015
Official Selection Dragon Con Independent Film Festival 2015
Official Selection Sacramento Horror Film Festival 2015
Official Selection Eerie Horror Film Festival 2015
Official Selection FilmQuest 2014

Written & Directed by Matt Inns
Produced by Matt Inns & Steven Woller
Director of Photography, Ash McKenzie
Music Composed by Nick Reid

Starring Maggie Watts & Nathan Kennedy

Little Dragon Pictures/Crypt TV

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