The Guest

You will meet a tall dark stranger. He is polite, handsome and mysterious.

Oh and I forgot to mention, he's violent, manipulative and way too close to your children. What could possibly go wrong?

Brit heart-throb and one-time heir to an Earl Dan Stevens is David, a U.S. Marine who appears on the Peterson family doorstep to grieving mother Sheila Kelley and claiming to have served with her killed-in-action son, calling to check-in on the emotionally-charged homestead. He immediately settles in, his quiet charm and accessible facade allowing each family member (including over-looked father Leland Orser and bullied outsider brother Brendan Meyer) to open up and confide in him, with only breakaway rebel sister Maika Monroe reacting more slowly to his cool advances. 

And then he takes his shirt off.

That may be an over simplification of her change in opinion, as a series protective acts and surrogate-brotherly conversations help to wear down her icy exterior, and David slowly gains her admiration, if not her trust. As an audience, for forty-five minutes there's little evidence that this is anything less than a family drama exploring love, loss and PTSD, and then, like watching a shark blink, David doesn't. The first moment he is alone he does...nothing. He sits. He stares. And that charming smile slowly fades away.

To describe any more would be unfair, and one of the movies greatest strengths is it's ability to shock and surprise and do so with a wry devilish grin. Dan Stevens is excellent, his semi-mute David a walking construct, absorbing energy and information, and as with all energy when absorbed it must be expelled, somewhere, somehow. And on someone. Maika Monroe is a breakout star, her maturity and naivety the core journey of the piece, her reticence, acceptance and subsequent resourcefulness our gateway into this world, and the rest of the family are subtley and gamely played by the small ensemble of cast members (the superb Lance Reddick, with his killer combination of Greatest Stare and Gravest Voice, pops in for a visit).

With so much mystery hanging around, the number one question is motive, and it runs as a twisted thread through every part of the narrative. Every new introduction is accompanied by the question: why? Answers come, of course, usually followed by more 'why's' which can intrigue and infuriate at times. It's a deftly handled darkly black thriller-comedy, director Adam Wingard and writer-collaborator Simon Barrett combining these complimenting tones to great effect, but as a conspiracy thriller it is a little lost. While most answers are satisfying some 'why's' are answered with a 'who cares' and other times a swift 'huh?', leading to a little baggy and uneven middle third. After a ripped-open reveal the return to suburban disharmony is a little disappointing and the slow unnerving tension difficult to recapture. 

Thankfully Wingard does, and the dark horror finale is routinely hilarious and chilling, and effortlessly cool. It's greatest strength is an unnerving tone with a knowing glint, and accompanied by a too-cool-for-school electronica soundtrack that really pounds in amongst the lights and flashes, it provides a satisfying conclusion as it cranks up the crazy. Comparisons have been made to Winding-Refn's Drive, and while both feature silent blue-eyed anti-heroes and a retro score, the simple truth is The Guest dares to be a little more different and enjoy itself compared to the more sombre Drive. 

So while it attempts maybe a little too much genre-wise, for smarts and smiles and a rollicking good time, this tall, handsome stranger is welcome anytime.

--------------------------------------------

Director: Adam Wingard

Featuring: Dan Stevens, Lance Reddick, Leyland Orser, Maika Monroe, Sheila Kelley

Snowpiercer

How do we find out about movies?

These days there is one answer - the internet. Any film worth its salt has an extensive strategic online marketing campaign which at its very core sits one very simple but very crucial thing - The Trailer.

Snowpiercer had an A-May-Zing trailer.

That was January 2013. It looked epic, interesting and badass and came from one of the most celebrated Korean directors of the last 20 years, Bong Joon-ho. It was a mental mix of metal and martial arts, with slashes of sci fi and blood.

And then nothing. For months. Years. And the one thing that the internet tells us about Snowpiercer is that everyone has been having the same thought - where the hell is it? Now, let's not get bogged down in the whys and wherefores, but it is suffice to say that due to the traditional "big studio interference" complex, Snowpiercer was wrestled and wrangled away from a wider global audience, and despite being released in Bong's native Korea (breaking several box office records and become the tenth highest grossing domestic film of all time) and France, where the original source material was written (in mid-2013 to rave reviews) it eventually landed sparsely in the U.S. on barely a handful of screens. And in the UK it's still yet to be released. 

But thanks to the internet, it is available. Somewhere. Somehow.

Years in the future the human race survives a global devastative winter on a giant, constantly moving express train, which smashes through ice blocks with ultimate ease. A severe class system has been established with those in the rear of the train living in post-war-like poverty with no food and the front end elite controlling every aspect of their existence. Inspirer Chris Evans and aspirer Jamie Bell, sick of the established order, make plans to fight their way out of the back end grunge to the front carriages to fight for and find equality for their fellow carriage folk. And find some steak.

And after that two minute setup Snowpiercer throws you straight from the plotting and planning of the fightback and up to the break ins and breakthroughs of the daring ascent. With so much ground to cover - there are a lot of train carriages - there's no time for history and exposition, and Bong takes the wise decision to drop this information throughout the journey rather than in front of it. What follows is a brutal, uncompromising and action packed ride through the various wilds and wonders of people and places that are crammed into the speeding microcosm of human existence. The sheer imagination and scale of some of the carriage ordeals is breathtaking and often mind blowing, and Bong should really take a huge amount of credit for bringing his expert touch and the stylings of Korean cinema to create such a vision. Each section is a new experience, like a lethal lengthy Crystal Maze, with the carriage of armour clad axe wielders a particular highlight. 

It's conceptually intriguing, the ideas and thematic context elevating it above other standard action movies. The human condition, the power of survival, class systems, the power of consequence, the morality of sacrifice. And axe fights. The only aspect that really suffers is the story, which at times gets bogged down in Matrix-like monologues and musings, and at other times feels (appropriately) simplistic. It's a natural transfer of Asian cinema tropes, and means at times it's a little uneven with some sections slowing the pace down a little too much. This could all be a simple case of lost in translation, both in dialogue and framing, though not so much that it derails the movie, and the benefits of Bongs style and sensibility far outweighs these small grumbles. 

In a rich ensemble Ed Harris and John Hurt offer their thesp skills in the occasional expository moments, and Tilda Swinton steals the show with her harsh Northern twang a severe and ironic statement on the roles society has us fill. Chris Evans is heroic and stoic, his driven hero the driving force of story and Snowpiercer society. Jamie Bell is excellent as ever and Octavia Spencer's powerful mother-figure holds her own in place and action. And then there's Song Hang-Ko, Korean cinematic royalty, the crazy drug-addled visionary who is a part of the revolution for one reason (other than his promised fix) - to get his teenage daughter to a better life. With such an eclectic mix and with each getting their various moments, the films focus on character is commendable and adds real depth to their various journeys and the weight to the bold narrative moves.

It really can't be stressed enough how much of a gem this movie is, beautifully and inventively shot, with enough smarts and out-there moments to fill multiple blockbusters. At times it can be infuriatingly slow, only because at others it is exhilaratingly mental, and despite its flaws it really should be commended. It is baffling as to how its distribution was so badly handled and its a crying shame so many people haven't had the chance to watch it. It feels like a massively missed opportunity, an opportunity many thousands of people would have loved to have had in a theatre setting, where it belongs. And ironically, maybe because of it's storied history - and thanks to the power of the internet - Snowpiercer may have actually been transformed from a missed opportunity into a bona fide cult legend. 

After what it's been through, it's the least it deserves.

Thank you internet. And thank you us.  

--------------------------------------------

Director: Bong Joon-ho

Featuring: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Ed Harris

Power Review - Walk Among The Tombstones

There's no school like the old school.

At times we all pine for the old days. What constitutes the "old days" depends on your point of view - and your age - and the cinematic fare you grow up with can define your movie taste for life, even if those movies are, ahem, less than classic. 

Walk Among The Tombstones is an old school movie that boldly attempts to take a 'classic' movie trope - the ex-cop private eye solves a mystery and saves his soul - and drag it's dismembered corpse out of the lake of history and into the multiplexes. It's a low budget, mid-80's dark thriller shot as a mid-budget retro-revenge chiller, it's still angles and long shots echoing a bygone era but its sharp movement and lush lensing as modern as any blockbuster. 

Liam Neeson is the personification of this old meets new, young and strong enough to convince as someone who can hold his own, mature enough to fit the worn down PI trench coat, which he deftly does. The dialogue is slow, and occasionally over explanatory, but it suits and sits well within itself. It is a slow burner, and takes patience, and is routinely deadly and disturbing, unafraid to go to gore when needed. 

It is flawed in a number of respects - Neeson follows leads to find further information without ever having found the initial lead in the first place; he is the worst PI in movie history, constantly getting one-upped and missing obvious clues; sometimes it is far too slow; Dan Stevens as the drug dealer who's wife has been offed is the best thing about it and in it nowhere near enough - but has enough going for it to forgive these indescretions. It is unrelentingly brutal at times, the ending is satisfying and any movie with a rooftop pidgeon coup conversation is good in my book.

It may not be ground breaking, but it could teach a few new dogs some old tricks.