Film Review: WAKE WOOD (2011)

Co-Writer/Director: David Keating
Running time: 90 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
UK Release date: 25^th March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 9^th October 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I hadn’t heard much about this film before giving it a viewing. Reading just one review was enough for me to give it a look. I must admit I liked this atmospheric low budget horror flick, it definitely has the edge over a lot of the better funded more recent efforts on offer. It’s a tale about the loss of a child and the hope that the parents might bring her back, albeit temporarily… but possibly at a cost. I’ll give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

Grieving after the loss of their young daughter, Alice; Patrick and Louise move to the small Irish town of Wakewood (that’s how it is spelt on the sign… I’m unsure why they filmmakers felt they had to change it for the title). Patrick is a veterinarian and has a job working for Arthur, now preparing for retirement. Louise is a pharmacist and runs the local chemist shop. They are both still depressed about Alice but Louise feels the loss more and wants to leave. One night they stumble upon a strange, almost pagan, ceremony in which a person is “reborn” (for want of a better word). Arthur visits them that night and tells them there may be a way to bring their daughter back, but for just three days. They are so desperate they agree, but are they willing to abide by the strict rules Arthur lays out before them?... I will leave it there so as not to enrage the gods of the Spoiler Police.

With a haunting musical score by Michael Convertino, I found this film very atmospheric and quite poignant at times. Very reminiscent of earlier films like ‘The Wicker Man’ (original version) and ‘Don’t Look Now’. Great performances by all of the leading cast; Aidan Gillen was excellent as Patrick, as was Eva Birthistle as Louise. Timothy Spall was up to his usual excellent standard as Arthur and the young Ella Connolly did a really great job as Alice.

Being a low-budget film, there are many companies listed as being involved in the production. The most recognisable being Hammer Film Productions. This is the first of what I hope will be many new films that may bring this famous company back from the darkness (at it were). I really like the look and feel of the movie. Filmed on location on Ireland, it has a kind of desolate feel to it that adds to the haunting quality given to it by the score and the script. There is a nice little twist at the end that may surprise a few, but I thought it quite fitting. Probably the best horror film I’ve seen this year… Recommended.

My Score: 7.4/10.

IMDb Score: 5.5/10 (based on 1,712 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1296899/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84/100 (based on 19 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wake-wood/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
(None available)

LINKS:
Trailer:

Film Review: HEARTLESS (2009)

Writer/Director: Philip Ridley
Running time: 114 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller
UK Release Date: 21st May 2010

Watched on Sky+ Wednesday 1st June 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I put this film on with a lot of hope that it was going to be a little gem. But hope has a way of letting you down, and this one did just that, it let me down. It wasn’t all bad, but it could, and should, have been so much better. A mix of horror, mystery, a love story and a thriller, it’s almost like it didn’t quite know what it wanted to be! But more of my thoughts later, here’s a very brief summary first.

Jamie Morgan was born with a birthmark that covered one side of his face with a heart-shaped pattern. Consequently he is quite shy and doesn’t believe he will ever meet someone and have a family, due to this affliction. He is a photographer in London and runs the family business along with his brother, Raymond and Raymond’s son, Lee. Their father had set it up but had passed away several years earlier. Through work, Jamie had briefly met the girl of his dreams, Tia, but he thought she would have nothing to do with him. After his mother dies tragically, Jamie gets a call from a mysterious individual who calls himself Papa B. He is willing to give Jamie everything he desires… but there’s a price. Will this price prove too high for Jamie? I think you can probably guess I’m not about to tell you here.

This film had a very limited budget and it shows, in places it looks more like a gritty documentary than a feature film. It does, however, have a lot of atmosphere and there are some truly creepy moments when Jamie is roaming the streets at night. A decent performance from all of the main cast; Jim Sturgess as Jamie Morgan, Clémence Poésy as Tia and Noel Clarke as A.J. Honourable mentions go to; Nikita Mistry as Belle, Timothy Spall as George Morgan and Joseph Mawle as Papa B.

I can kind of see what writer/director, Philip Ridley was trying to do here, but it didn’t quite come off (for me). I never really engaged with the character of Jamie and because of that I found it hard to sympathise with his plight. It did get very baggy in the middle third and by the end I was checking my watch to see when it was going to end (never a good sign). Like many films set in London, a lot about how life is in a big city is assumed and this never comes off (for me). I live in a small town in Yorkshire and it’s a world apart from the bright lights and dark alleys of London. So, over all, I didn’t really enjoy this film, it did have its moments but they were too few and too infrequent to warrant a higher score… Not recommended.

My Score: 5.4

LINKS:
(RT=Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1220214/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/heartless-2009/
Official Site: http://heartlessmovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: THE DAMNED UNITED (2009)

Director: Tom Hooper
Running time: 98 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

UK Release Date: 27th March 2009

Watched on DVD Monday 21st June 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film about football, or soccer if you prefer, but I’ll stick to football because that’s what it’s called in most parts of the world. It’s about football in the late 1960’s, early 1970’s and one man involved in the game in particular. The man is Brian Clough, sadly no longer with us, and the film tells of how he came to manage one of the biggest teams in England at the time, Leeds United.

The story begins with Brian managing Derby County who are struggling at the bottom of the second division. He is ably assisted by his friend Peter Taylor. The biggest and most successful team at the time are Leeds United, managed by Don Revie, who Brian admires greatly. Leeds have a very robust style of play that Brian does not like, he believes players with talent don’t need to use these tactics (and I agree with him). When Derby draws Leeds in the cup, Brian is excited to meet the man he admires, but when Revie snubs him he vows revenge. Brian and Peter then go all out to make Derby a successful team. They win promotion and eventually win the championship. Brian now finds he has problems with his chairman, Sam Longson, who believes Clough thinks he’s bigger than the club. It all culminates in Brian and Peter both getting the sack. As luck would have it, at the same time Don Revie leaves the Leeds job to take over as manager of England. Brian is asked by the Leeds board to come in as the new manager. The film goes on to tell of his 44 days in charge and how it affected him and those around him.

As a football fan I loved this film, it tells of events that happened during my lifetime and events that, although I was quite young, I still remember quite well. As a movie fan, I also liked this film very much; it’s very well made, inter-cutting archive footage with an excellent drama. A tremendous performance from Michael Sheen as Brian Clough, he really looked and sounded just like the man. Great performances also from Timothy Spall as Peter Taylor and Jim Broadbent as Sam Longson. Honourable mentions also go to Colm Meaney as Don Revie and Mark Bazeley as Austin Mitchell.

I guess if you’re not a football fan then it might be one to avoid, but it is a really good drama. Personally, I loved it, although I don’t support any of the teams the film is about, I can remember many of the events portrayed. Over all, an enthralling drama, a true story, set against the world of football in the late 60’s, early 70’s. If you’re a football (or soccer) fan, most definitely recommended, if not, then it’s still a very decent drama (still recommended).

My score: 8.3/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1226271/
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.co.uk/movies/thedamnedunited/#/home/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi3912499737/