My Voyage to Italy

If you are a fan of Italian Neo-Realism then you must check out Scorsese's epic documentary and even if you are not a fan, after watching this you will no doubt have a new appreciation for the films Scorsese passionately discusses. For an insight into the documentary my review can be found here...

http://flickfeast.co.uk/reviews/dvd-reviews/voyage-italy/

Julia’s Eyes

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1512685/

Having watched three horror films in one day, this film being one of them, Julia’s Eyes stood out as by far the best and most affecting of the three. Julia (Belén Rueda) has a rare eye condition that means she will gradually go blind. Her twin sister Sara (also Belén Rueda) also suffers from the condition and went totally blind which she apparently could not cope with and so commits suicide. But we know that there is more to the suicide than meets the eye (no pun intended) as we see her talking to an invisible force just before she hangs herself. Having not spoken to her twin in six months Julia feels confused by the suicide, particularly as a song playing on the stereo in Sara’s house before she committed suicide is one Julia knew she detested. So Julia starts investigating her sisters life and soon discovers a mysterious man that no-one seems to have seen was present in her life. As Julia begins to uncover more of the mystery surrounding the death of her sister her eyesight deteriorates and she is rendered blind and vulnerable and becomes the victim of the same force that killed her sister. This might sound like a huge plot spoiler but there is so much more to the film than this.

I watched this film on a small screen on a busy coach and I was still completely riveted from beginning to end. This is one of the best horror films I have seen in a long time. Julia is an intelligent heroine whose vulnerability is deeply moving. There are scenes that are incredibly tense and quite a few twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. With Mexican director Guillermo del Toro on board as producer the film has extra kudos and Spanish director Guillem Morales does a splendid job of creating an original horror film.

Some of the techniques employed throughout, such as not showing the heads of certain characters, are extremely effective at allowing the audience to experience what Julia experiences and also means we have no idea what people’s identities really are until they are deliberately revealed. This film is a psychological rollercoaster ride made all the more authentic by Belén Rueda’s incredible performance. This is an intelligent film that employs great cinematic devices to ensure its audience experiences with and feels for the protagonist and if you are in the mood for an inventive horror film then this is the film to watch.

Submarine

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440292/

I was very sceptical of this film, I am not a fan of ‘quirky indie films’ that try so hard to be quirky, and was rather reluctant to see it. Having finally got around to watching it I conclude that it is a nice film but not as good as everybody said it was and therefore not overly memorable. Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is a school boy who spends a lot of time in his own head creating fantastical scenarios and analysing everything. He develops a crush on a girl at school, Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige), which eventually evolves and the two have fun setting fire to things and visiting non-romantic places. Meanwhile Oliver continues to spy on his strange parents and their new neighbours and worries that his mum is about to embark on an affair with an old flame Graham Purvis (Paddy Considine). As Oliver turns his attention to his struggling parents his relationship with Jordana flounders and his world starts to fall apart.

There are some great performances in this film, particularly Paddy Considine’s hilarious portrayal of Graham Purvis, a new-age hippy who sports a mullet and leather trousers. Sally Hawkins as Oliver’s mum and Noah Taylor as the father are brilliant and the adults do almost steal the film from the children. However the young actors who play Oliver and Jordana do a great job of keeping up with the calibre of the adults and that is where the strength of the film lies. The dialogue is spot on and Submarine is a charming film in many respects. Richard Ayoade (of IT Crowd fame) wrote the screenplay and directed the film and does a confident job with plenty of sardonic humour injected into the film.

Visually Submarine is very nice, although not perhaps as experimental as I was expecting, and colour is used effectively, the navy and red of the young teenagers’ duffle coats stand out beautifully. I don’t really have any negative things to say about the film but that doesn’t mean it was perfect. Nice is the most accurate word I can use to describe it, which is not meant in a derogatory fashion, and Submarine really is a pleasant watch but is not outstanding. I felt a lot more could have been done with the film but at the same time the subtlety and simplicity is quite refreshing. This is a character driven film with some great performances and enough idiosyncrasies to satisfy the trendy indie audience it aspires to have.

Kill List

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1788391/

I read a lot of good things about this film on Twitter and was very excited to see this British horror film but I felt it didn’t really live up to the hype. Jay (Neil Maskell) is an ex-soldier who lives in a suburban house with his beautiful wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) and their son Sam (Harry Simpson). The couple argue a lot due to money problems as a result of Jay not working for eight months. At a dinner party one night at their house Jay takes his friend Gal (Michael Smiley) up on a job offer to help with the money worries and it turns out to be contract killing. The two friends are given a kill list and go about their business, disposing of the people on the list but the victims behave rather strangely and Jay decides to take matters into his own hands.

I am deliberately being rather vague as to the plot of the film as I feel the less you know about this one the better. It does turn into a full blown horror film with supernatural elements but the less said about this the better. Kill List is a film very much made up of three acts; the first is mainly set in the couple’s house with a high level of realism and slow pace that introduces us to all the characters. The second act focuses on the kill list and the people on the list and builds momentum as the violence and chaos begins to increase. The third act feels almost like a completely different film but it somehow works and is edge of your seat scary.

Kill List is a film in the same vein as Heartless (2009), another British horror film with fantastical elements, but unfortunately I think Heartless executed the genre much more successfully than Kill List does. I was entertained and enthralled throughout Kill List but the ending really lets it down and a lot of things are left unexplained. Having said that I think it had some interesting ideas and some brilliant moments and the acting is really great throughout. I think perhaps this is a bit of a grower and maybe a second viewing is necessary and it is also a victim of its own hype. If you do watch this film go with low expectations and you may be pleasantly surprised and be aware that things are left for the audience to piece together.

Gary Oldman: A Life in Pictures

Read my coverage of the BAFTA event Gary Oldman: A Life in Pictures here...

http://flickfeast.co.uk/spotlight/gary-oldman-life-pictures/

The actor discusses how he got into acting, what it was like working with directors such as Oliver Stone and Tomas Alfredson and his plans to work with Colin Firth again.