Film Review: DARK CITY (1998) – Director’s Cut

Director: Alex Proyas
Writers: Alex Proyas (Story/Screenplay), Lem Dobbs (Screenplay), David S. Goyer (Screenplay)
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Mystery/Sci-Fi/Thriller
UK Release date: 29^th May 1998

Watched on DVD Sunday 1^st April 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film I first saw many years ago and I must admit I really didn’t understand it first time around. Second time I fell in love with it and this is my third encounter with it, but this time I saw the Director’s Cut. I must admit it does flow better and there is a more coherent story line in this version. I will tell you more after this very brief summary.

We begin with a man, John Murdoch, waking up in a hotel room. He seems to have no memory and when he stumbles upon the semi-naked body of a murdered girl he starts to panic. The phone rings and a Dr. Daniel P. Schreber tells him he might be able to help him but he must first get himself out of the room, which he does. John discovers he’s married to Emma, a nightclub singer, and that he is very different to almost everyone in this strange city. The police, in the guise of Inspector Frank Bumstead, investigate the murder, but there are others also keeping an eye on John. These are much more sinister and much more dangerous; but John is different, and that’s why they want him. It never seems to get light in the city and things keep changing every time the clock strikes midnight. I won’t say any more or the (Dark City) Spoiler Police might be investigating my murder.

In this version of the film you are thrown into the action straight away and only slowly do the characters develop. I really liked this and (although I had seen it before) I thought it made for a refreshing change. The design is beautifully done and I love the way it was shot with a very ‘film noir’ feel to it. The performances were all excellent, I thought Kiefer Sutherland as Dr. Daniel P. Schreber, Jennifer Connelly as Emma Murdoch/Anna, Rufus Sewell as John Murdoch and William Hurt as Inspector Frank Bumstead were all particularly good. Ian Richardson played the sinister Mr. Book with great aplomb; Richard O'Brien as the freakish Mr. Hand and Bruce Spence as Mr. Wall were also very good.

This film is extremely dark, and I’m not just talking about the way it’s lit. Everything about it is dark. Yes there are things that people may find a little bit too freaky, flying men for a start, but I can overlook this ‘silliness’ because the story is so good. It slowly unfolds like a 1930’s detective novel, but with a very dark twist. I must admit that even on its third viewing I was still finding little nuances in there that just make it a little better each time. Without doubt: Highly Recommended.

My score: 8.7/10.

IMDb Score: 7.8/10 (based on 87,434 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0118929/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 74/100 (based on 80 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 80/100 (based on 137,465 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_city/

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http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Mr. Hand: [stomps on a newspaper clipping] So it seems you discovered your unpleasant nature.
John Murdoch: Who are you?
Mr. Hand: We might ask the same question, yes? Sleep... now.

John Murdoch: I was just thinking, what you do seems kind of dangerous right now. I mean, how do you know I'm not the killer?
May: I don't. Why, you feeling any urges I should know about?

John Murdoch: When was the last time you remember doing something during the day?
Inspector Frank Bumstead: What do you mean?
John Murdoch: I just mean during the day. Daylight. When was the last time you remember seeing it? And I'm not talking about some distant, half-forgotten childhood memory, I mean like yesterday. Last week. Can you come up with a single memory? You can't, can you? You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

John Murdoch: I know this is gonna sound crazy, but what if we never knew each other before now... and everything you remember, and everything that I'm supposed to remember, never really happened, someone just wants us to think it did?
Emma Murdoch: But how can that be true? I so vividly remember meeting you. I remember falling in love with you. I remember losing you.
Emma Murdoch: I love you John, you can't fake something like that.
John Murdoch: No, you can't.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://newline.com/properties/darkcity.html
Trailer:

Film Review: STAND BY ME (1986)

Director: Rob Reiner
Running time: 85 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

UK Release Date: 13th March 1987

Watched on DVD Monday 5th April 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Surprisingly, until today, 23 years after its release, I had never seen this film. I’ve seen many references to it in various TV shows and I’ve seen many reviews, but it always escaped my attention, until today. I’ve been off work for a while and decided to try and fit in a film a day for 10 days. Today was the last day and due to family commitments time was a little short, so decided to put this one in the DVD player. I’m really glad I did, it’s a little dated, but even so it’s a really great film. It’s based on a novella called ‘The Body’ by Stephen King, whose work I admire, and it’s set in Oregon in the 1950’s.

A group of four boys, Gordie Lachance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio hear of the whereabouts of the body of another missing boy, Ray Brower. They decide it would be cool if they went and found the body so they could return it to the family and become heroes. The only problem was it was about thirty miles away along the railway tracks. They arrange with their parents to be away for a night and set off the same day. Gordie is a sensitive type who had lost his big brother, Denny, six months previous. They were close and he missed him. Chris was the leader of the group and he had been in trouble at school for stealing the milk money. Teddy’s father had been on the beaches in Normandy and was suffering from shell shock. He had recently turned violent on Teddy and was now in an institution. Vern was overweight and not the brightest of the bunch, but seemed to fit in anyway. As these four set off they are unaware that a rival gang of older boys led by Ace Merrill also have plans to find the body, but these guys have cars and are really mean. I won’t say any more, don’t want to give too much away.

As I said at the beginning, this film looks slightly dated, but I think that’s more to do with the quality of the film stock and the fact the soundtrack is in mono. What really struck me was the quality of the acting, truly great performances from all four of the leads, Wil Wheaton as Gordie Lachance, River Phoenix as Chris Chambers, Corey Feldman as Teddy Duchamp and Jerry O'Connell as Vern Tessio. Also an honourable mention must go to Kiefer Sutherland who is quite intimidating as Ace Merrill.

Of course there are a lot of fifties songs in the soundtrack, including the title song. It’s a bit before my time, but the music fitted the mood really well. Over all it’s a really excellent film with some great performances, particularly from Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix. Although slightly dated for technical reasons I highly recommend this one.

My score: 8.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0092005/
Official Site: N/A
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi3398631705/

Film Review: MIRRORS (2008)

Director: Alexandre Aja
Running time: 108 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 10th January 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I really shouldn’t watch so many scary movies, but sometimes I can’t help it. Fortunately I had the good sense to watch this one (mostly) during daylight hours, otherwise getting to bed could have been a creepy experience. The film is set in modern day New York.

Ben Carson is an ex-cop who has been battling alcoholism after an incident that’s not really explained in the plot, but I guess it’s what made him quit the force. He is living with his sister, Angela, having split from his wife Amy and his two kids, Michael and Daisy. He takes a job as a security guard at a former department store that had been badly damaged in a fire some years previous. There is some problem with the insurance and so it has remained empty. Ben is working the night shift and soon realises the creepy old building is holding a secret behind its many mirrors. He starts to see things in the mirrors, like, for instance, a door opening and when he turns round, its shut. He sees victims of the fire burning in the mirrors; it’s all pretty creepy stuff. All is ok, though until one day he realises the visions are following him and he can see strange events in mirrors everywhere. More worryingly, these events are beginning to affect his family. He asks whoever, or whatever it is behind the mirrors what they want and they scratch the name ‘Esseker’ into the glass. Only after his sister is murdered, does Ben realise it’s only a matter of time before they move on his children and so he has to act fast and find the mysterious ‘Esseker’ before it’s too late! I think that’s enough spoilers for one day, hope that’s whetted your appetite.

First of all, I must say it’s nice to see Kiefer Sutherland playing a character who is not Jack Bauer. Don’t get me wrong, I love ‘24’ and have watched every season, but I only ever seem to see him playing that CTU operative. But I digress, this is a pretty well made film with some OK effects, obviously they didn’t have a massive budget. Having said that, it’s reasonably well made, the tension is built up well and there is a nice twist at the end. Decent performances for all of the major cast, Kiefer Sutherland as Ben Carson, Paula Patton as Amy Carson, Cameron Boyce as Michael Carson, Erica Gluck as Daisy Carson, Amy Smart as Angela Carson and Mary Beth Peil as Anna Esseker.

As I’ve already said, a reasonably well made horror that has a couple of scary bits in it. I think my main problem is, I was never truly convinced by the demons, or entities, or whatever they were supposed to be, behind the mirrors. I guess I know they don’t exist in real life and hence weren’t as scary as they were meant to be. Maybe in a setting other than contemporary New York, they might have been slightly more menacing. There is a good twist at the end though which is worth watching for.

My score: 5.9/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0790686/
Official Site: http://www.mirrorsmovie.com/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1518141721/