A Little Bit Zombie Review (Kirk Haviland)

A Little Bit Zombie (2012)

Starring Kristopher Turner, Crystal Lowe, Shawn Roberts, Kristen Hager, Emilie Ullerup and Stephen McHattie.

Directed by Casey Walker

Direct off its win at the Canadian Film Fest last month, devoted to Canadian indie film, A Little Bit Zombie has taken a different tact to releasing the film to the masses. By self-distributing, the creators of the film have decided to roll the film out across the country with special screenings and the hope that they will inspire longer runs in the following weeks. I got to attend one of these screenings at the Toronto Underground Cinema and am here to tell you that this film deserves your support.

A Little Bit Zombie starts off with Max (McHattie) and Penelope (Ullerup), a pair of zombie hunters that use a mystical orb to help track their targets, in the middle of a zombie swarm. After the carnage we follow, through first person camera, a mosquito full of zombie blood fly around in search of a target. We meet Steve (Turner), Tina (Lowe) his fiancé, Craig (Roberts) his best friend and upcoming Best Man, and Sarah (Hager) Steve’s sister who is also Tina’s unwitting Matron of Honor and Craig’s wife. The foursome is on their way to Steve and Sarah’s family cottage for a weekend of bonding and relaxation before the wedding. Our mosquito friend attacks Steve, repeatedly, which sets off the events of the film, with Steve slowly turning into a zombie and developing a lust for brains. In fact, Steve develops a certain hilariously grotesque response to even the word ‘brains’. The “family” must decide what to do and how to handle what is happening to Steve, all while Max and Penelope start tracking the strange readings that will lead them straight to him. Tina proves she is willing to go to extreme lengths to protect her man and her upcoming nuptials, dragging Sarah along with her, while Craig has the hardest time dealing with the situation. Everything leads to crazy confrontation with a deadly outcome.

ALBZ shares a lot of similar themes with last year’s Zom-Com Deadheads (review here), with the biggest difference being that ALBZ is not a road movie like Deadheads is. The Cast is mostly up and coming Canadian talent, with McHattie the grizzled veteran chewing massive amounts of scenery. And while McHattie does steal the film, the foursome all put in fine performances, in particular Turner and Lowe as the engaged couple. The film is very light in tone and played for laughs throughout, and while in places it runs hit and miss, when it works it’s a lot of fun. Fans of the aforementioned Deadheads should check this one out as well.

Overall I feel that ALBZ works a lot more than it doesn’t. The exuberance and earnestness of the cast shines through, and the film benefits from this greatly. I can safely recommend A Little Bit Zombie for a fun night out at the theater, and I am NOT a zombie collaborator.

Screenings may be mostly finished by the time you get to read this, but do not shy away from asking your local rep theater if they can get a screening in your area. It’s a great chance to support some Canadian filmmakers out there trying to prove they can do it themselves.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

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Battleship Review (Kirk Haviland)

Battleship (2012)

Starring Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, Tadanobu Asano and Liam Neeson

Written by Erich and Jon Hoeber

Directed by Peter Berg

After a brief hiatus I have returned with a review that has had my head spinning. How do I talk about Battleship? Quite possibly the loudest and most annoyingly inconsequential film of the last decade, Battleship makes no apologies for its “script” which is a collage of the worst film clichés. But did we really expect anything else from a movie based on a board game?

Battleship starts with the brothers Hopper, Alex (Kitsch) and Stone (Skarsgard), in a bar while Stone laments the fact that Alex is a screw up who can’t stay employed. In walks Samantha Shane (Decker), whose request for a chicken burrito leads to Alex breaking into a closed convenience store for one to give her (yes, you read that right). Of course Alex is chased by the police and tased, but magically ends up waking up at home and not in a jail cell.  Stone decides it’s time for Alex to join the Navy with him. We jump forward six years to find that Stone, now in his early 30’s, has become a Commander of a Naval Destroyer (!!) and Alex is now a Lieutenant and 3rd in command of another Destroyer (in only 6 years and despite his criminal past!). Sam, as it turns out is the daughter of Admiral Shane (Neeson), who doesn’t like Alex at all and may make Alex’s plans for marriage more complicated. During the setup for Rimpack, a joint Naval games exercise with Naval outfits from across the globe (so we can sell to those overseas markets!), we are introduced to many more characters, including Petty Officer Raikes (Rihanna in her theatrical debut) and a rival Japanese Captian, Nagata (Asano). During the games aliens crash-land in the ocean and construct a barrier cutting off three ships from the rest of the fleets. They proceed to destroy them with propelled charges that look exactly like the pegs from the Battleship Board Game! Of course somehow Alex becomes a commanding officer and it’s up to him to save the day.

Sorry for the extraneous use of punctuation during my synopsis, but the preposterousness of it all had to be emphasized. I didn’t even get to the scene where they commandeer a decommissioned Battleship that they have no idea how to operate, only to spark an ACDC accompanied montage where veterans magically appear on the boat and fire up the engines! The biggest issue with Battleship is despite all its goofiness and explosions galore, it’s actually really boring. Neeson is a footnote in the story, written out of over half the film due to the barrier supplied by the Aliens. While I found Kitsch quite enjoyable in the overstuffed John Carter from earlier this year (review here), he does not come off as well here. Spouting terribly clichéd dialogue and blankly starring at green screened alien foes, his Alex never seems credible at any moment of time during the proceedings. Decker’s Sam, while engaging in an utterly inconceivable side plot, is mainly eye candy for the teenaged boys this film is clearly targeted at. Rihanna, the only non-actor in the main cast, actually manages some charisma onscreen, even if her acting chops are obviously shown to be very limited.

As stated earlier, Battleship commits the cardinal sin of any action film – it’s boring as hell. Even pulling out the go to for action montages, ACDC (not once but twice), cannot make the film feel any more interesting. The good folks at Universal had high hopes for this becoming their Transformers franchise, but even they couldn’t have predicted how bad would turn out. Director Berg has made some fun stuff in the past, but seems to have left all the fun out his latest. Save yourself the hassle and go see Avengers again. Battleship is a Strong Non-Recommend.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

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Dark Shadows Review (Matt Hodgson)

Dark Shadows (2012)

Starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earl Haley, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Christopher Lee

Directed by Tim Burton

MINOR SPOILERS

Tim Burton, the great visionary behind Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, and many other films is at the helm of an adaptation of one of the oddest soap operas of all-time, Dark Shadows. Burton’s entourage is also on the scene as Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter play central roles in the gothic, supernatural, horror-comedy. I had personally never seen an episode of Dark Shadows despite there being 1225 of them. One would think that I would have bumped into one on the telly by now, but I suppose the fact that I wasn’t alive when the show was airing from 1966 – 1971 might have had something do to with my unfamiliarity with the vampire Barnabas Collins (Depp) and the rest of  his equally enigmatic family.

I’m not sure what the story-arc is like in the television soap, but Dark Shadows the film follows the accidental discovery and releasing of Barnabas Collins, who like many vampires before him, has been cooped up in his coffin and buried underground for nearly 200 years by a witch. Well maybe not all vampires have received this cruel treatment, but at least upon being freed Barnabas can return to the Collins estate. After all, the Collins’ have always been one of the wealthiest families in Collinsport. However, Barnabas soon discovers how quickly the world has changed since the date of his original imprisionment, most importantly, the family fishing business has been all but replaced by competitors. After some interesting introductions to his living descendants, Barnabas makes it his top priority to restore the family business to its former glory, no matter what the costs.

Tim Burton has been in this territory before, and so has Johnny Depp. The characters of Edward Scissorhands and Barnabas Collins have a lot in common – extraordinarily strange men in a normal time (to us), which happens to be very difficult for them to adapt to or fit into. For this reason I expected that Dark Shadows would excel on the comedic side of things as Burton and Depp could draw on their previous experience. Also, the trailer for Dark Shadows was quite good, despite giving away nearly every scene and plot device in the film. Despite these encouraging signs going in, I’m sorry to say that Dark Shadows is one of the dullest films I’ve had to sit through in the past few years.

The movie starts off with a recap that would be much more appropriate preceding a television episode. Maybe this was a nod to the soap of the same name, but such heavy handed use of narration should be reserved for much less experienced filmmakers than Burton. It’s almost as if Burton forgot he was dealing with subject matter that oozes atmosphere. The only thing that could have destroyed that atmosphere was the voice of a narrator recapping events from 200 years ago.

The cast itself also seems much more appropriate for TV. The quality of the actors is quite high, but to feature them all in a two-hour film is ridiculous. Depp and Green are the only two who get enough screen time for actual character development, the rest feel cheap and quickly assembled. It seems like Burton simply expected the audience to accept who he said these characters were and move on to something more important. For example, Carter’s character has an alcoholic drink at the dinner table, she also has a hangover another morning – there’s your character development! She’s an alcoholic! The large cast would be much more appropriate for something like…I don’t know…maybe a 1225 episode soap opera…oh wait. The screen time given to Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) is particularly ridiculous given that she is a central character. There must have been 20-minute stretches during which she didn’t even make an appearance or deliver a line of dialogue.

Finally, even though it’s a comedy, the plot behind Dark Shadows feels of miniscule importance. A vampire returns from a 200-year imprisonment and his goal is to get the family business back? Really? It may have worked with more whimsical and endearing characters, but not with the characters we watch onscreen. Sure Depp is good, but his eccentric characters are beginning to blur together for me. Perhaps it’s time for Burton and Depp to take a break from each other. I know that I’ll be taking a break from Burton.

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Gun Hill Road Review (Paolo Kagaoan)

Gun Hill Road was in the selection for last year’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival. It was screened at the Revue Cinema in Toronto last Sunday night as a preview of the diverse, complex and cinematic perspectives to come in this year’s program.

Gun Hill Road is overcast, beginning by showing the last days of a long prison term of a man named Enrique (Esai Morales). When he’s eventually released to his home and family in the Bronx, the movie lets us hear the music and see the people in the neighbourhood. There’s no contrast, cinematographically, between those moments in jail and those portraying the outside. There are some moments when the camera feels claustrophobic, panning between characters during conversations. All of these elements effectively provide a tone of unhappiness that these characters feel.

At its worst, the movie is populated with the usual characters that come with queer youth cinema. There’s Enrique as the hyper-masculine father as well as the parental figure holding onto the conservative, rigid opinions about sexuality. Sharing protagonist duties with Enrique is Michael (Harmony Santana). To blow off steam, Michael skips school with his few friends and when the night comes, he recites bad poetry at all-ages bars under the name of ‘Vanessa.’ The household’s wife and mother Angela (Judy Reyes) is the person in between, sometimes sacrificing herself to negotiate between the strong men around her.

This movie adds elements to their archetypal characters to make them more specific. Enrique keeps hanging out with the same crowd, bearing the image of a forty year-old pistol-toting gangster. Angela has silent justifications for her affairs with Enrique’s enemies, and it becomes less clear whether the strife between the men causes her infidelities or vice versa. Michael visits an apartment of an older transvestite who gives him hormones and injections, these scenes depicted with brutal and claustrophobic honesty. These decisions portray an unconventional morality. And as much as it allows us to criticize either the ‘what’s or the ‘how’s of these people’s actions, this moral ambiguity on all sides and characters lets us sympathize with or normalize what they think is right.

Rashaad Ernesto Green, helmer and writer of Gun Hill Road, doesn’t just show these conflicts as having sides, but instead portrays them as part of a spectrum. Enrique’s generation – like his wife and best friend – don’t have the same narrow mentality on queerness as he does, and neither do all Michael’s peers accept him for who he is. The movie also allows Michael different ways of release and escape which are important in expressing that not all gay Hispanic youth or gay youth of colour are alone. And that’s why I relate to Michael’s side of the story more, by watching him transform and hinting at his potential.

He also approaches his movie in an impressionistic manner.  It’s as if we’re catching his characters mid-conversation, attacking the issues around them differently despite them being the same issues we see in other ‘coming out’ movies. Enrique embodies this raw anger despite his restraint, living in a world that has violently changed around him. Despite this movie’s structure and archetypes being too apparent, it’s the method in executing the story that elevates it.

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The Woman in Black Review (Matt Hodgson)

The Woman in Black (2012)

Based on The Woman in Black (1989)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer and Ciarán Hinds

Written by Susan Hill (novel), Jane Goldman (screenplay)

Directed by James Watkins

MINOR SPOILERS

The Woman in Black was on my radar for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s a throwback to the days of old Hammer Horror films in which atmosphere and a brooding feeling of dread were paramount, rather than today’s focus on grisly violence and silly teenagers; however, saying that I prefer the former doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the latter. Secondly, the trailers made it seem like director James Watkins actually pulled off a very creepy and scary horror film. Finally, this film marks the entrance of Daniel Radcliffe onto the film scene after the decade-long box-office bonanza that was the Harry Potter series. Quite a few good reasons for me to check it out, but after the end credits rolled I was left a little unsatisfied. The Woman in Black had done some things very well, but it failed to live up to my expectations.

The film tells the story of a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who must travel to a small pastoral village on business; a wealthy old woman has died and someone must pore through her documents to try and find her most recent will. The townspeople are less than helpful regarding information about the deceased woman, Kipps even has trouble procuring a reasonably priced carriage ride to the secluded mansion. The townspeople seem afraid of the old estate, but about what specifically, is uncertain. Kipps battles his nerves as he spends time in the old dusty mansion, as well as haunting memories about his wife, who died giving birth to their only son. But this is just the beginning of Kipps’ problems as he becomes involved in some dangerous events threatening the lives of the village children, not to mention the strange moments in the dead of the night when he witnesses the appearance of an apparition hiding in the shadows – the woman in black.

The idea behind The Woman in Black is so much more appealing than the finished product. In today’s age of relentless action, over-the-top CGI, and surprise convoluted endings that can make a Scottish Highland road seem straight, an atmospheric horror film may be exactly what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, while The Woman in Black features some excellent cinematography, setting the scene for a ghostly good time, the narrative is not even remotely interesting, let alone spooky. Yes, the film establishes an evil and mysterious force, the woman in black, and an innocent and duly skeptical lead in Kipps, but at no point will the viewer feel as lost, confused or as frightened as Kipps regarding the mystery of the mansion. The story arc is just too unimaginative, too relaxed, and despite the supernatural subject matter, too mundane.

As I’ve said, many of the visuals in the film are a delight to the eyes, the cinematographer has done their job well. Also, many of the performances, including those by Radcliffe and Hinds, are quite solid. Radcliffe can rest easy knowing that audiences will be able to accept him as someone other than the scourge of Voldemort. However, it would appear that The Woman in Black had problems at the conceptual stages, or perhaps someone completely ripped apart the script before filming. If you’re looking for an atmospheric horror film, revisit The Changeling, or some old Hammer films. Leave this one alone, it doesn’t even know what it’s supposed to be.

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