Fast & Furious 9 - Film Review

At the start of Fast & Furous 9, Dom and Letty are living the quiet life off the grid with Dom’s son Brian. You know, “family”. Their peaceful existence is interrupted when a skeleton from his closet comes back to haunt him. For a man who has preached the importance of “family”, the team and audiences alike are shocked to discover that the man plotting the end of the world is Dom’s previously unmentioned brother Jakob.

After chipping off The Rock (branching off to Hobbs & Shaw outings), they get a chip off the old block and fellow WWE superstar John Cena plays Dom’s estranged brother Jakob Torreto. I guess if you are casting a brother he doesn’t see, it makes sense to pick John Cena!

If the idea of Vin and Cena as brothers has you like “really?”, it would not be the first time the Saga has stretched the limits of believability. After all, this is a franchise that has evolved over twenty years from a Point Break remake that swapped surfboards for subarus to the world’s longest runway chase to The Rock casually changing the trajectory of a torpedo with his bare hands.

There have been moments where Dom’s Dodge Charger has threatened to jump the shark but F9 sees the car become a cow that jumped over the moon.

Yes, the trailer have hinted at it. At this point it was a space race as to who would get there first. Fast & Furious or Mission Impossible but Tom Cruise’s running was ultimately pipped at the post by the franchise running on Diesel. This is a man who no longer lives his life by a quarter mile at a time but light years at a time. Having graduated from street racers to self-proclaimed spies and secret agents, it makes sense that they have reached their own Moonraker.

The film has a bloated runtime of 143 minutes. If the film had stuck to a fast and furious pace, it could have probably clocked in at about 90-100 minutes. The problem is that everytime the movie gains momentum with a thrilling set piece, it stalls to retcon its increasingly convoluted continuity. We must learn about Dom & Jakob’s backstory, the #JusticeForHan explanation, etc.

It is a shame because when it gets going, it is admittedly a lot of stupid fun. The action sequences, of which there are many, are slick, entertaining and as ridiculous as ever (this reviewer must have rolled his eyes at least six times in the opening 20 minutes). As long switch your brain’s gear into neutral. Particularly if you are from Edinburgh as the geography of the car chase in that is completely non-sensical.

The most intense struggle is not between Dom & Jakob but between the movie’s internal logic and your brain. Ludacris’s Tej keeps banging on about science and math to explain how they get away with some of the crazy stuff they do but other times, they rip up the rulebook and say “what the hell, it’s a movie isn’t it?”. One example of this is the use of electromagnets within the story. They are strong enough to pull a car a street away through a building but somehow do not cause the car that they are held within to collapse in on itself. If it rips a fork out of someone’s hand while they are eating, why do they not rip out metal fillings from their teeth?!

The film, and the franchise’s biggest problem is the lack of tension or threat to the characters. There is a moment following the first mission where Tyrese Gibson’s Roman questions his immortality after unbelievable survival against the odds. The rest of the team laugh it off, saying they are not superheroes. As it happens, the FF movies are close to becoming the automotive equivalent of the MCU. Not in a good way however. One of the main issues fans have with superheroes movies is a lack of consequence to the actions. The stakes are not high enough. How can one truly believe in the danger of the missions when the threat of anyone dying is inconceivable? Especially when, just like superheroes, no one ever stays dead for long. To paraphrase The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain who lives long enough to join the team and welcome the return of the hero miraculously back from the dead”.

Fast & Furious 9 is the cinematic equivalent of a go on the dodgems. You have a great time but there is no risk of anyone being hurt and ultimately you leave the ride slightly underwhelmed.

⭐⭐

Fast & Furious 9 is in cinemas from Thursday 24th June

Dead In A Week (Or Your Money Back) - EIFF review

Dead In A Week (Or Your Money Back) is the blackest of black comedies that attempts to prove that suicide is painless… or at the very least, very, very funny.
Yes, there may be some audiences that are horrified by the idea of a film making jokes about a very difficult, emotional and topical subject matter. However those people probably haven’t actually watched it because the film manages to walk the fine line to handle the issue of ending one's life with sensitivity, care, humour and also how at the darkest moments in life, there is a chance to turn everything around. With the help of the right people.

One night struggling writer William, played by Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk), attempts to end his life by jumping off a bridge. As he stands there hesitating, he is approached by a mysterious shadowy figure who offers him some assistance.

After the attempt fails (it turns out this is his ninth - if you include the cries for help), William meets with Leslie (Tom Wilkinson) who explains that he is a hitman and will be able to take the stress out of ending one's life for a small fee.

After signing on the dotted line, William receives interest in his book about suicide from a publisher and editor Ellie (Freya Mayor). Turns out he might have a couple of reasons to live for now but will Leslie be happy to cancel the contract?

What sells the film is the fully realised world that writer/director Tom Edmunds has created. Leslie works for a company of assassins and hitmen that present themselves as a legitimate business. They have brochures, away days for training and quotas to meet. It's like a British branch of the assassin's guild from John Wick.

Wilkinson's character is getting on a bit and faces retirement if he is unable to meet his quota for the year and William's contract is all that stands in his way.
Edmunds balances the two storylines perfectly; a young man wanting to end it all while an older man faces the end of his own life as he knows it. The performances from Barnard and Wilkinson are exceptional and pitched perfectly to sell the concept and make the audience empathise with both men.
There is also excellent support from Marion Bailey as Leslie's wife Penny and a scene-stealing cameo from Christopher Eccleston as Leslie's boss Harvey. Yes, he might be doing the standard British-thespian-as-a-gangster role which means doing their own take on Ben Kingsley's Sexy Beast performance (see also Ralph Fiennes in In Bruges) but who cares when it is this hilarious?
Dead In A Week should lead a long, happy life in cinemas, on DVD and streaming and is one film that won't have you asking for your money back.

4 stars

Listen to interviews with Tom Edmunds and Freya Mayor from the Edinburgh International Film Festival on the Filibuster podcast here at The Nerd Party.

Unicorn Store - EIFF review

Captain Marvel must complete a series of tasks set by Nick Fury in order to get a real life unicorn. It sounds like Deadpool's wet dream or, at the very least, one of his spin-off comics.
In reality, Unicorn Store is Brie Larson's directorial debut in which she plays Kit, a young woman who is kicked out of art school and moves back in to her parents house. While she tries to figure out her future, a mysterious Salesman offers her the chance to own a unicorn. If she can fulfil a number of chores and criteria. Will the challenge offer her a chance to gain some grown up responsibility or will it see Kit regress deeper into adolescence?
Brie Larson follows in the footsteps of indie actors transitioning into directing such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon), Ryan Gosling (Lost River), Drew Barrymore (Whip It) and Zach Braff (Garden State).
Of those, this is most akin to Garden State in terms of story, character and success.
Larson delivers a charming performance as Kit, showcasing her comedic side that was evident in Scott Pilgrim (2010) but not really called for in her breakout films Short Term 12 or Room.
She also has a great understanding of comedy as a director as well. Whether it is Kit's fears compounded via commercials as she channel hops the TV (a well worn gag but executed perfectly) or a single shot of someone's smile fading which is held to the perfect length that makes it one of the funniest moments you will see all year.
Larson has also surrounding herself with an excellent cast. Joan Cusack and Bradley Whitford provide great support as her parents who run an emotional retreat for troubled youths; Hamish Linklater has some great laughs as her borderline inappropriate boss and Samuel L. Jackson is Samuel L. Jackson as The Salesman. However it is Mamoudou Athie (Patti Cake$) who steals the show as the hardware store clerk Virgil who becomes Kit's potential real-life unicorn that could give her life meaning and purpose.
For all the whimsical nature in Samantha McIntyre's script that's choc full of more charm than a box of Lucky Charms, there is a moral message at its heart. Ultimately, the question of whether or not the mystical unicorn actually exists is irrelevant. The Salesman is teaching Kit how to get her own life in order along the way and that as long as you believe in something, whether that be family, a relationship, work or a unicorn, you will be okay.
Unicorn Store is the sweetest film of 2018 but not sickly sweet because beneath the quirky, glitzy exterior is a message at its nutty centre. So kind of like a Ferrero Rocher then. Brie Larson, with your debut you are really spoiling us!

4 stars

Unicorn Store has its International Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival on Friday 29th June, 8.45 and Saturday 30th June, 8.35.

The Most Assassinated Woman In The World - EIFF review

Synopsis:
At the dark and bloody heart of this period film by director Franck Ribière is real-life iconic actor Paula Maxa (played by Anna Mouglalis), the most famous of the Grand Guignol’s leading ladies and the titular woman, who was graphically slain on stage multiple times a day. A young journalist suspects the theatre is linked to a series of gruesome murders. After falling for Paula and learning of her painful past, he aims to save her from a mysterious killer.

Review:

Back in its heyday, the Grand Guignol theatre in Paris became so famous, or should that be infamous, that the name became synonomos with any form of theatre or film that was designed to shock and horrify its audience.
Although literally translated, Grand Guignol actually means "the big puppet". Who were the ones being manipulated though? Was it the actors or the audience? Will it be the same for this audience?

Paula Maxa was the reason that people came to the Grand Guignol and Anna Mouglalis is the reason to watch the film. Delivering a mesmerising performance as the woman haunted by the ghosts of her past and feels that the only way to truly live is to die.
The true story of Maxa is the inspiration for this gleefully gory tale of murder, mystery and intrigue set during a murder spree in the city of lights in the early 1930s. Imagine Theatre of Blood meets From Hell set in gay Paris. Jacques The Ripper if you will.
The Most Assassinated Woman In The World is certainly not for everyone but that is true of any piece of art. Some will call it art. Others trash. Some will be entranced, some will walk out in disgust but this is trash of the highest order and you have appreciate the pure theatre of it.

4 stars

The Most Assassinated Woman In The World has its International Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival on Wednesday 27th June, 6.00 and Thursday 28th June, 11.10. To book tickets, click here.

In Darkness - EIFF review

Synopsis:
Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer is terrific in this psychological revenge thriller directed by Anthony Byrne from a script co-written by Dormer and Byrne. Dormer plays Sofia, a blind musician drawn into London’s criminal underbelly when her neighbour Veronique (Emily Ratajkowski) dies in the apartment upstairs. Initially, police believe it is suicide, but Veronique, the daughter of an alleged war criminal, knew she was in trouble. Caught between the police and criminals, Sofia must try to survive.

Review:
Having found herself at a loose end following the latest season of GoT (sorry, spoilers), rather than wait to for a good meaty role to come her way, Natalie Dormer has been very proactive.

Producing a film to star in that passes the Bechdel test plus writing herself a seriously, juicy role in Sofia.
The film, directed and co-written by Dormer's fiancee Anthony Byrne, begins very strongly with an homage to DePalma's Blow Out and introduces the audience to Sofia as a pianist who works on movie scores.
The following journey home to her flat in London features some fantastic use of sound design and mixing which highlights the importance of this sense to Sofia's ability to manage and survive day to day life.
One night she hears her upstairs neighbour in a struggle before falling to her death which leads Sofia into a deadly mystery.
The start of the movie indicates the film might be something akin to Rear Window or Wait Until Dark.
Instead it turns into a cross between a Eighties/Nineties erotic thriller and Eastern Promises.
Dormer delivers a committed and intense performance, convincing as a person who has suffered from blindness all her life.
The film is slickly edited and the cinematography elevates the action as it becomes increasingly ridiculous through a variety of twists that like the main character, you might not see coming.
In the kingdom of the blind movies, Natalie Dormer is Queen.

3 stars

In Darkness screens at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Tuesday 26th June, 6.00 and Thursday 28th June, 8.35. To book tickets, click here.
The film is on general release in the UK from Friday 6th July.

Listen to The Nerd Party interview Anthony Byrne and Natalie Dormer on the Filibuster podcast here.

The Eyes of Orson Welles - EIFF review

Synopsis:
The art, sketches, set designs and storyboards Orson Welles produced throughout his career act as an entry point for director Mark Cousins to delve into the life and career of one of cinema’s most talented filmmakers. Welles trained as an artist before becoming an actor and director, and Cousins has been allowed unprecedented access to a treasure trove of images that provide a fascinating glimpse into Welles’ visual thinking. This film is a journey through his life punctuated by delightful insight.

Review:

Mark Cousins' admiration for Orson Welles shines through in this intimate portrait of a man whose public persona was larger than life. Cousins uses access to Welles' personal works of art to paint a picture of the private man behind the image and how his artistic style on the page and canvas influenced his work on the big screen.
Cousins' uses his trademark and distinctive narration to converse directly to Orson via a series of "letters" looking at different stages of his life, career and personality.
Like the original cut of The Magnificent Ambersons, the documentary goes on slightly too long but provides a new perspective to Welles and new insights into his work. Even if, unlike Citizen Kane, he ultimately cannot be defined by any one particular piece of art.

3 stars

The Eyes Of Orson Welles screens at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Sunday 24th June, 8.35 and Monday 25th June, 6.00. To book tickets, click here.

The Parting Glass - EIFF review

Synopsis:
A family dealing with their sister’s death travel across country to collect her belongings and piece together their memories of the woman they lost.

Review:
Coming from a screenplay from Denis O’Hare, an actor equally at ease on the stage and screen, The Parting Glass feels theatrical in its origins. It is essentially a film with scene after scene of people talking in cars, motel rooms and diners.
However there is a point during the film that you start to feel that something this raw and powerful must have come from a real place and is inspired by true events.
O’Hare has assembled a group of friends (who also happen to be incredible actors) like Ed Asner, Melissa Leo, Cynthia Nixon and Rhys Ifans to become his family to help work through this traumatic event.
The group are completely convincing as a family and from the first couple of interactions, you feel as if these people have known each other all their lives. There is a familiarity and openness between that is almost impossible to fake.
Actor turned director Stephen Moyer makes an assured debut. Knowing when to let the actors take over and let a scene play out. Witness for example the scene towards the end where they get drunk in a motel room and share their memories of their late sister, wife and daughter.
Although only glimpsed briefly in flashbacks and memories, Anna Paquin makes a lasting impression as the woman who has brought this family back together. It is a demanding performance because it is essentially five different performances as she is remembered differently by each person she knew.
Similar to Pixar’s Coco, it understand the importance of memory in keeping someone alive and also how everyone’ individual ones will be unique to them. Whether that be in their thoughts or physically through photographs or video.
The Parting Glass certainly won’t be a parting film for Moyer or O’Hare as they have created a tender, moving film that celebrates the fact that True Blood is thicker than water.

4 stars

The Great Buddha+ - EIFF review

Synopsis:
Pickle is a night security guard at a bronze statue factory. His colleague, Belly Bottom, works as a recycling collector during the day, and Pickle's biggest pleasure in life is flicking through the porn magazines Belly Bottom collects in the small hours in the security room. Having late night snacks and watching television are an integral part of their dull lives. One day when the television is broken, their lives are changed forever. The story involves gods, the middle-aged men's sexual desire and the conversation between ghosts and humans. Maybe the audience will find it preposterous, but isn't life itself a farce?

Review:
Documentary filmmaker Huang Hsin-Yao fingerprints are all over his debut feature, adapted from a short film of the same name.
In fact it starts off documentary style with Hsin-Yao introducing the film; talking about the financiers and how he plans to chip in on the story where he deems it necessary.
Immediately, this not what one is expecting and sets the bar for the rest of the film. It will follow the rules of narrative fiction but will happily break them along the way (along with the fourth wall) but it works. Drawing the audience further in to the story.
It begins as one thing; a sort of mockumentary on the lives of a group of men, working menial jobs and who are so low down on the class scale that they don't even have real names. They are referred to as nicknames like Pickle and Belly Button. Hsing-Yao describes their days, their motivations. Even stopping to mention how he had forgotten to ask one character why he was fascinated by those grabbing machine games. At which point the man stops, turns to the camera and responds to the director and audience.
Pickle works the night shift as a security guard at a workshop that creates giant Grand Buddha statues, hence the title of the film. One night, Belly Button comes over and convinces him to while away the boredom by viewing the dashcam footage of his boss's Benz.
This is where the film evolves into something else entirely as the footage from the car is in colour which provides a shock to the system but also a shock to the characters as they witness an incident that could have dramatic consequences for all involved.
Drawing inspiration from Hitchcock and Rear Window, plus films such as Blow Up and Blow Out, it proposes a mystery about obsession, voyeurism and the dangers of living life through a lens.
The Great Buddha+ is just like the statue that is featured in the film. Something to be admired and marvelled but also can never truly be completely understood or explained.

4 stars

Director Huang Hsin-Yao at Q&A with Dallas King

Lucid - EIFF review

Synopsis:
Timid Zel (Laurie Calvert), adrift in a city with no friends, simultaneously craves and fears intimacy. His eccentric neighbour, Elliot (Billy Zane), offers to help him try and win over dancer Jasmine (Felicity Gilbert) using an experimental form of dream therapy. While this so-called lucid dreaming helps him change and become more confident, his lust leads him on a dark adventure and the question remains as to whether he can charm Jasmine in reality.

Review:

Laurie Calvert delivers a quirky but sympathetic performance as Zel, a young man with a potential history of mental health issues who is plagued by a crippling shyness and inability to talk to girls. He makes the decision to listen to his friend Billy Zane (he's a cool dude) and starts to experiment with Lucid dreaming in order to practice wooing his dream girl who lives in his building.

Descending into the dream world, Zel immediately appears more confident, not only in terms of action but appearance as well (although one wonders why the decision was made to give him a hairstyle that resembles Donald Trump's). He is able to become the man he wishes he could always be; standing up to his bully of a boss and speaking to the woman in his life.

Imagine Inception except instead of an idea, the goal is to plant the seed of love.

This confidence starts to transfer over to the real world but the more and more Zel experiences with lucid dreaming, the more he begins to lose his grip on reality and is unable to determine which world he is in and in control of.

Lucid is a confident debut from writer/director Adam Morse who experiments with lucid dreaming himself. Even going so far as to rehearse shooting the scenes in his head in advance while asleep. What is even more astonishing is that Morse revealed that he is actually registered blind just one week ahead of the film's premiere in Edinburgh.

Any visual impairment that the director suffers from is certainly not evident in the visuals on screen as it has differing palettes for the real and dream worlds that slowly converge the deeper Zel goes.

There is bound to be some frustration from audiences relating to the ending but it is important to remember that this is not our lucid dream it is the director’s.

He is in control and the thing with dreams is they never end exactly when we want them to and that is what the film does well and will lead to some interesting debate and discussions in the foyer after the credits roll.

3 stars

Lucid received its World Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival on Saturday 23rd June, 8.35 with another screening on Sunday 24th June, 3.45. To book tickets, click here.

To listen to interviews with director Adam Morse and lead actor Laurie Calvert, check out this episode of the Filibuster podcast on The Nerd Party.

Ideal Home - EIFF review

Synopsis:
Erasmus (Coogan) and Paul (Rudd) are a gay couple whose life is turned inside out when a ten-year old boy shows up at their door claiming to be Erasmus' grandson. Neither Paul, nor Erasmus, are ready to give up their extravagant lifestyles to be parents, but maybe this little kid has thing or two to teach them about the value of family.
Review:
On paper, given the synopsis, Ideal Home could have been a series of garishly cheap, cliched and jokes as over the top as Erasmus's wardrobe or interior design.

Thankfully the actual film under writer/director Andrew Fleming's careful eye is surprisingly sweet and never goes for the stereotypical “gay” jokes but instead the humour comes out of the odd couple situation of having to deal with a kid and also their dysfunctional relationship.
The chemistry between Coogan and Rudd is some of the best you will see all year and their relationship is always completely believable. A chemistry that is shared with Jack Gore who plays the grandson Bill.
Where Coogan may get many of the big laughs, Rudd delivers some surprisingly complex emotional work. Between this and Mute, Rudd continues to prove himself in 2018 as more than just the comedic actor he broke through as in the early Noughties.
Plus it is the best product placement for Taco Bell since 1993's Demolition Man.

4 stars

Ideal Home screens at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Saturday 23rd June, 8.30 and Monday 25th June, 8.40. To book tickets, click here.
Ideal Home is on general release in the UK from Friday 13th July.

The Secret Of Marrowbone - EIFF review

Sergio G. Sanchez effortlessly makes the transition from J.A. Bayona's screenwriter to his own directorial debut The Secret of Marrowbone.
And it is clear that Sanchez has learned a few things from his friend because the film effectively combines the emotional family drama and struggle at the heart of The Impossible with the mystery and chills of The Orphanage.
Scottish actor George McKay stars as Jack, the oldest of the Fairburn siblings who arrive with their mother's at her old family home called Marrowbone in upstate New York, having escaped from their abusive father back in England.
They slowly adapt to their new life, befriending a young woman called Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy) who lives on a nearby farm but their idyllic existence threatens to be shattered when their mother succumbs to illness. Jack promises to do whatever he must to keep them all together. Whatever the cost.
The appearance of a young, upstart lawyer dealing with the deeds to the house will force the family to confront the ghosts of the past and face up to a few skeletons in the closet.
Why are all the mirrors covered? Is there really a ghost in the house?
Sanchez wisely takes his time in drawing out the mystery of the true nature of the eponymous secret of Marrowbone, keeping the audience in the dark until the horrifying truth is finally revealed.
The house itself becomes another character in the film thanks to incredible set design and effective use of sound mixing to draw every creeping ounce of dread out of a creaking floorboard here or piece of splintering glass there.
McKay excels as a young man whose responsibilities to his family weigh heavy on his shoulders and at odds with his desire for a relationship with Taylor-Joy's character who offers a ray of light, hope and possible redemption.
With recent horrors such as The Babadook and Hereditary leading the way in balancing heartfelt family drama with chill-inducing scares, Marrowbone is one secret that will hopefully not remain a secret to audiences.

4 stars

The Secret of Marrowbone is on general release in the UK from Friday 13th July.

Listen to an interview with director Sergio G. Sanchez on the Filibuster podcast on The Nerd Party here.

Calibre - EIFF review

Calibre is the debut feature film from writer/director Matt Palmer. Matt has experience directing short films but many know him as the programmer and curator of All Night Horror Madness, an annual celebration of horror movies that takes place at The Cameo.
It is clear that his love of horror and film has given him the tools to craft a tense and thrilling tale.
Childhood friends Vaughn (Jack Lowden) and Marcus (Martin McCann) head up to the remote Scottish highlands on a hunting trip before Vaughn settles down with his fiancee and baby that is on the way.
After a night of heavy drinking with the locals, ruffling a few feathers along the way, the pals set out to stalk deer in the woods. Only the peace of the misty morning is shattered by a tragic accident that will set the friends down a road from which there may be no return.
What can let a horror or thriller down is when it strays too far from believability but this is not an issue here. Every single decision or choice that the two lead characters make comes from an honest and believable place from where they are at that time. It dares to ask the question of "what would you do?" in a situation like that. Would you have acted any differently? We like to think we would but...
Palmer understands the notion of "best laid plans" and slowly dials up the tension and naturalistically placing obstacles in the way of the duo's success and escape.
Yet the note perfect script would all be for nothing if not they had not assembled a talented group of actors to deliver the goods and they are uniformly terrific.
Jack Lowden is fast becoming one of Scotland's finest talents (Dunkirk, England Is Mine) and completely convinces as a young man whose life as he knows it is suddenly over with the click of a trigger. Torn between a need to tell the truth and a desire to be there for his growing family, he allows himself to be dragged further and further into an impossible situation by his friend.
Where Vaughn is quiet and reserved, Martin McCann's Marcus is loud, brash and cocky. The Northern Ireland actor has the swagger of a young Michael Fassbender and his behaviour sets him at odds with the rural locals (played by the likes of Tony Curran and Ian Pirie) and stirs tensions that potentially put any chance of reconciliation off the table.
The film certainly plays on the differences between the rural and city folk. Not to the over-the-top stereotypical levels League Of Gentlemen ("are you local? there's nothing for you here") or The Wicker Man (even though a bonfire is mentioned at one point) but instead coming in this modern landscape where the gulf in wealth and opportunity is as great as the physical distance between the Highlands and the City.
Palmer's debut deserves to be mentioned in the same conversations as the likes of similar genre films Eden Lake, Deliverance and Straw Dogs. Effectively ringing every drop of tension and menace out of this unsettling moral dilemma.
This is Scottish, and indeed, world filmmaking of the truly highest calibre.

5 stars

Calibre has its World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Friday 22nd June, 8.30 with extra screenings on Saturday 23rd June, 3.15 and Saturday 20th June, 3.15. 
To book, click here.
Calibre will debut on Netlfix from Friday 29th June.

To listen to interviews with the cast and crew of Calibre, check out the latest Filibuster podcast on The Nerd Party/

Blood Fest - EIFF 2018 review

Synopsis: 
Fans flock to a festival celebrating the most iconic horror movies, only to discover that the charismatic showman behind the event has a diabolical agenda. As attendees start dying off, three teenagers with more horror-film wits than real-world knowledge must band together and battle through every madman, monstrosity and terrifying scenario if they have any hope of surviving.

Review:
Just like in the film, the titular Blood Fest will have massive appeal to die hard horror genre fans. Particularly those who enjoyed the likes of Scream, Cabin In The Woods and The Final Girls.
Because this is a horror film for horror fans and clearly made by someone with a huge affection for the genre.
Owen Egerton is a triple threat as writer/director/actor as he also takes on the role of Blood Fest host and movie producer Anthony Walsh. He also resembles Zach Galifinaikas.
Set in a world where all the famous horror movies exist and can be referenced by name but unable to feature due to obvious copyright reasons, Blood Fest is a festival designed to celebrate fictional horror films like Arbor Day and Hell's Gate which all represent recognisable sub-genres including slashers, torture porn, zombies, vampires and killer clowns.
Attending the festival are a group of friends including Dax (Robbie Kay), who like all good horror leads has a slightly androgynous first name and a tragic backstory in which he saw his mother murdered by a psychopath.
He grew up obsessed by horror films as he felt safe knowing that violence was fake but his psychiatrist father feels rather differently. Making a career out of writing and teaching on the subject of violence in the media.
This theme plays out through the film with many of the characters commenting on it. One such character is Walsh. Fed up with watered down, PG-13 genre flicks, he sets out to put the scares back into scary movies by slaughtering the attendees.
Dax and his friends (including Jacob Batalon, best known for playing Ned in Spider-Man Homecoming) must make it through the night by keeping their heads when others are (literally) losing theirs and follow the rules.
If the film has a flaw it is that as it is targeted to hardcore fans who know all the rules, tropes and cliches, there are very few surprises and the few twists and turns the story takes are easily signposted ahead of time to anyone with knowledge of the genre.
That being said, it is the epitome of a Ronseal film and does exactly what it says on the tin and provides lashings and lashings of blood at a festival (the Edinburgh Film Festival).
Best enjoyed with a late night crowd baying for blood... and a wicked Zachary Levi cameo.

3 stars

Blood Fest screens at the Edinburgh International Film Festival as part of the Night Moves strand on Friday 22nd June, 11.35pm. To book tickets, click here.

Puzzle - EIFF 2018 Opening Gala review

This year's Edinburgh International Film Festival kicked off in style on Wednesday night with the Opening Gala film Puzzle by Marc Turtletaub.
It tells the story of a downtrodden domestic housewife called Agnes (played by Kelly MacDonald), who spends most of her time looking after her house and her family but she is sleepwalking for life and inside is screaming for more out of life.
When she receives a 1000 piece puzzle at her birthday party (which she had to organise and host herself), she discovers a passion and talent for putting them together.
Answering an ad for a puzzle partner, she meets Robert (Irrfan Khan), a divorced puzzle champion and inventor who is also coasting through life.
Will they find each to be the missing piece of their puzzle?
Unfortunately the film has all the right pieces to make for a cute and quirky romantic comedy but the filmmakers don't put them together in the right order and the end result does not look like it does on the box.
Kelly MacDonald is superb as Agnes, able to find the pain and pathos in the character and is completely believable and the audience know exactly who she is within the first five minutes and you are willing her to find happiness.
If this had been a film about Agnes finding her calling and growing in confidence through her training sessions with teacher and partner Robert, going on to compete in a competition (complete with training montage which is sadly missing), this could have been a terrific film. Like a female Good Will Hunting but with jigsaws instead of equations.
Instead, it goes down a tricky and uncomfortable romance and affair subplot that doesn't really convince as the chemistry between McDonald and Khan isn't really there.
Puzzles just aren't all that sexy and no amount of fingers accidentally brushing against each other will prove otherwise.
The real issue lies with the treatment of Agnes's husband Louie (David Denman). Yes, he is a bit boorish and takes his wife for granted but he is clearly a good man at heart and has just lost sight of how to appreciate her and show her love. Because of this, it doesn't feel like the affair is justified and lost this particular viewer at that point.
MacDonald's performance is as impressive as the feeling you get from completing a 4000 piece jigsaw but is ultimately let down by some puzzling story choices.

2 stars


Listen to an interview with director Marc Turtletaub on the Filibuster podcast on The Nerd Party.

Edinburgh International Film Festival - Top Ten Things To See

This morning I travelled to Edinburgh, and more specifically, the Filmhouse to attend the programme launch for the 72nd Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Festival Director Mark Adams introduced us to the launch, the festival and went through a selection of his own personal highlights before making sure we all had our goodie bags...

With over 120 films in the official line-up it can be daunting to know where to start when deciding what to go and see. To help you out a little bit, I've gone through the entire brochure with my trusty highlighter and selected my top ten recommendations for what to watch this June.
Tickets are on sale now to Filmhouse & Belmont Filmhouse members and on sale to the general public from 10.00am on Friday 25th May.

Blood Fest

Screening 22nd & 24th June

Dubbed a razor-sharp synthesis of Scream and Cabin In The Woods, this meta horror sees a group of hardcore film fans having to use their knowledge of the genre to escape a horror movie festival when events take a gory turn. This could be one of the breakout late night hits of the fest.
To book tickets, click here.

Calibre

Screening 22nd, 23rd & 30th June

A World Premiere for writer-director Matt Palmer’s tale of two friends on a hunting trip in the remote Scottish Highlands that takes a deadly turn. The film also sees a welcome return for Festival favourite Jack Lowden who opened the Fest in 2016 with Tommy’s Honour and closed last year’s with England Is Mine.

To book tickets, click here.

Flammable Children (Swinging Safari)

Screening 27th & 29th June

Sold on this film by the image of Guy Pearce with a moustache to rival Paul Rudd’s from Mute, this Australian comedy set in the “swinging Seventies” and also stars Kylie Minogue this is one movie made especially for you (sorry, not sorry).

To book tickets, click here.

Humor Me

Screening 30th June & 1st July

Sometimes just a couple of cast names is enough to merit a viewing and the double act of Jemaine Clement and Elliot Gould as a father-son duo is a must see.

Clement stars as a struggling playwright who moves in with his father in a retirement village and finds himself coaching a group of woman putting on a staging of The Mikado. Could this be Flight of the Concubines?
To book tickets, click here.

The Incredibles 2

Screening 24th June

Someone at the Festival must have something on Disney because this is the 4th year in a row that they have scored an advance screening of the new Pixar film for the Family Gala and this year it is the sequel to The Incredibles, one of the greatest Pixar films of all-time. Will it be a Toy Story 2 or a Cars 2? Only time will tell but I’m keeping my elasti-fingers crossed for this one.
To book tickets, click here.

Jaws - In Concert with RSNO

Friday 22nd June

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Festival Theatre, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will play one of John Williams’ most iconic scores live at a screening of Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster Jaws.
Following in the footsteps of previous year’s screenings of Back To The Future, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, this will be one night not to be missed.
To book tickets, click here.

Life After Flash

Screening 28th & 30th June

A light-hearted documentary that follows Sam Jones as he tours the convention circuit. Finally embracing the fame and fandom that came with starring in Flash Gordon, a film that for a long time he had a difficult relationship with.

To book tickets, click here.

Searching

Screening 21st & 22nd June

The plot of a father trying to track down his missing daughter might not sound like anything new but this film tells the story entirely through various screens from laptops to mobile phones which could elevate this crime thriller to something truly special.
To book tickets, click here.

The Secret Of Marrowbone

Screening 21st & 22nd June

Expectations are high for Sergio G. Sanchez’s haunted-house drama given that he wrote the screenplay for The Orphanage. It stars Scottish star George Mackay as part of a family that move to a dilapidated old house to escape their brutal father but realise there might be an even greater danger lurking in the attic.

To book tickets, click here.

Unicorn Store

Screening 29th & 30th June

One of the hot tickets of the festival, Brie Larson’s directorial debut sees Captain Marvel herself play a woman obsessed with unicorns who is offered the chance to adopt a real unicorn by a flamboyant salesman (Samuel L. Jackson), if she completes a series of tasks in this quirky and charming story.
To book tickets, click here.

Also, if you prefer to listen to my picks, check out this mini Filibuster podcast where Lee and I talk about our most anticipated movies...

Avengers Infinity War - On Location in Edinburgh

Avengers Infinity War is the culmination of ten years and eighteen films of the Marvel Studios and you can read my full 5 star review here that is more glowing than a fistful of infinity stones.
The film's release this weekend is a cinematic event of monumental scale and looks set to have box office records falling before it faster than War Machine out of the sky after being blasted by Vision.
Wind the clock back a year to a cold, dark night in Edinburgh in early April, where hundreds of Marvel fans were patiently camped out on the Royal Mile for a glimpse of some action.

Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had come to Scotland.
Edinburgh was chosen by directors the Russo Brothers as the only location outside of their Atlanta base for filming Infinity War and Marvel Studios spent six weeks in the Capital doing night shoots for a major sequence involving Scarlet Witch and Vision.
Not only was there a night shoot taking place on the Royal Mile and inside Waverley Station but the team took over a hanger at Leith harbour and turned it into a makeshift sound studio for filming.
Reports estimate that the shoot brought in around £10 million to the local economy and furthers the argument for Scotland to have its own proper film studio.
During April, Twitter was alive with rumoured sightings around town of Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany and Chris Evans. Anthony Mackie's Falcon had flown the coop to St. Andrews for a round of golf and Team Thor (Hemsworth, Ruffalo and Tessa Thompson) were spotted at the Waldorf Astoria.
So enamoured with the city was co-director Joe Russo, he returned during the world press tour to screen 20 minutes of footage to a hugely appreciative crowd of fans. Full report here.
With the plot kept a complete secret until the film was released, fans were left to wildly theorise and speculate as to the plot of the sequence shot in Edinburgh.
Based on what was seen, it appeared as though Scarlet Witch and Vision were hiding out in Edinburgh following the events of Captain America: Civil War. They seek to fan the flames of their burgeoning  relationship when they are attacked by Thanos's Black Order, looking to reclaim the Mind Stone.

*Mild spoiler warning - the plot of Avengers: Infinity War will be briefly discussed from this point but nothing that is not already featured in the trailers*

Upon seeing the film, this is pretty much how this storyline plays out but with the addition of Steve Rogers, Black Widow and Falcon arriving to save the day.

What is immediately noticeable to anyone from Edinburgh, is how geographically accurate the sequence is. The action flows from Cockburn Street up to the Royal Mile before heading back down the road to Waverley Station. This level of accuracy is something that T2 Trainspotting could not even achieve!

So if you want to visit the "set" of Avengers Infinity War, here are the spots to go:

Miss Katie Cupcake, 52 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh

Don’t worry if you don’t immediately recognise the location because Miss Katie Cupcake, a vintage inspired store, was transformed into Hüsnü Kebab House for the purposes of filming.

This is where Vision and Scarlet Witch stop to discuss their relationship. Probably before sampling some of that Avengers-favourite schwarma or the Scottish twist on the delicacy - the deep fried kebab - pay attention for the sign in the window.

Laila's Bistro, 63 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh

Scarlet Witch is sent flying through the window of this Mediterranean bistro by Proxima Midnight before returning to save Vision as Glaive attempts to remove the Mind Stone rather forcibly.

St. Giles' Cathedral, High Street, Edinburgh

Located on the High Street on the Royal Mile, St. Giles' is the historic city church of Edinburgh. Some of the fight scene between Vision, Corvus Glaive and Scarlet Witch takes place upon the top of the Cathedral.

City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh

Down on the street below the Cathedral, Proxima Midnight and Scarlet Witch go one on one outside the City Chambers, resulting in the spectacular explosion that featured in the above video.

Waverley Rail Station, Edinburgh

The site of the biggest night shoot for filming, the attempt to retrieve the Mind Stone from Vision's head climaxes inside Edinburgh's main railway station and sees the appearance of Captain America's beard (no, not Sharon Carter!), Black Widow and Falcon to turn the tide and save the day.

An area towards the rear of the station next to Platform 20 was cordoned off for the duration of filming. A green screen was installed along with a fake coffee shop that could and would be destroyed in the fight.

 

For those wanting to recreate the moment Steve Rogers emerges from the shadows, you will need to hop over to Platform 1 and look for the third alcove which has some graffiti and a mark on a brick that makes it easier to identify.

The station has installed a couple of standing screens displaying photographs from the filming plus video and still images from the final film to allow fans to check out exactly where the shots were taken. That way you can recreate the scenes from the movie using cosplay, LEGO figures or just yourself.

So there you have it. complete guide to the Edinburgh locations featured in Avengers Infinity War. We'll just all have to wait and see if there is a deleted post-credit scene where Thanos goes for a deep fried kebab to celebrate a job well done!