Season of the Witch Review

As an unashamed Nicolas Cage fan, it was heartening to witness the star’s run of form in 2010. Excellent turns in Kick-Ass and Bad Lieutenant (one of my films of the year) proved Cage to be the go-to-guy for unbridled dementia. The damp squib that was The Sorcerer’s Apprentice may not have achieved such heights, but as a 300 pound Texan once said, two out of three ain’t bad. Hopes were high then, that Cage would continue to impress with Season of the Witch.

The film stars Cage and Hellboy himself, Ron Pearlman, as medieval crusaders, who part ways with their comrades after becoming disillusioned by killing in the name of a supposedly benevolent god. They return to a country non-specific, which they find ravaged by plague. The local authorities deem the plague to be the doing of a young girl they have decided is a witch. Under duress, Cage, Pearlman and a selection of others are tasked with escorting the girl to a monastery for her witchcraft to be undone.

Season of the Witch is either enjoyable nonsense or a total dog’s dinner depending on how forgiving you are of cinematic stupidity, how many beers you’ve had and whether or not it’s ten o’ clock on Saturday night and nothing else is on. If you answered, ‘very’, ‘several’ and ‘yes’ to those three conditions, then you will no doubt enjoy Season for the romp it wishes to be. Otherwise, you may struggle to be impressed.

The film is stuffed to the gills with unoriginality – there’s a spot of the previous year’s Sean Bean starrer, Black Death, a dash of The Last Exorcism’s ambiguity (for a while), a vague air of Witchfinder General and Twilight’s naff CGI wolves to be noted in proceedings. There’s a certain ‘seen it all before’ feeling that mars the film throughout – up to and including a ‘cross the rickety rope bridge over the chasm of doom sequence’. Actions set-pieces are met with audience indifference, the special effects are no great shakes and the direction by Dominic Sena (Swordfish, Gone in 60 Seconds) is workman-like. It’s also a shame Cage doesn’t utilise his British accent.

The film does retain some charm in its occasional scares and its better than average cast, which includes the aforementioned Cage and Pearlman, Stephen Graham (This is England, The Damned United), Robert Sheehan (the gobby, immortal one from Misfits) and a cameo from an unrecognisably plague-scarred Christopher Lee. TV’s Claire Foy satisfies as the witch, but other than that, the cast don’t particularly impress, despite their accumulative on-screen charisma. Sheehan is wasted in a straight role – a crime given how natural a comedic performer he is. You keep expecting his earnest altar boy to crack a few unspeakably rude jokes, but to no avail.

Indeed, a healthy dose of humour could have improved the film no end. Whilst Season of the Witch may have pretensions of seriousness (a prevailing theme being the misappropriation of religion), what is required is a more full-blooded boy’s own adventure, with its tongue relocated to its cheek. There are merely two funny moments, one of which was unintentional (wherein Pearlman literally head-butts a minion of Satan – twice). An expansion of the supporting character’s pasts would also have been an improvement – a history between the accused witch and Stephen Campbell Moore’s priest Debelzaq is alluded to, but never elaborated on. Whilst these things would not have made Season of the Witch a classic, they would surely have made it a more memorable and enjoyable film than the stodgy filler that it is.

Films of the Year 2010

Initially, I could only think of a few real stand-out films of this last year, until I trawled through the UK release list for 2010 and found myself with a long list of twenty-three films, which by my reckoning means that on average, there’s been a great film in cinemas just less than once a fortnight, which seems pretty good going to me.

Here then, are my top ten followed by, in no particular order, a list of thirteen honourable mentions.

1. Bad Lieutenant
When Nicolas Cage met Werner Herzog the result was this bizarre and exciting film, which lit a firework under the arse of the crime genre and ran off giggling manically.

2. Inception
Christopher Nolan delivered yet another cinematic tour de force with this visually rich and debate-starting spectacle.

3. The Secret in Their Eyes
Winner of last year’s Oscar for best foreign feature, this slow-burning, generation-spanning whodunit was captivating and moving.

4. Four Lions
Filled with both mirth and tragedy, Four Lions proved to be the year’s most intelligent comedy and reminded us all once more of Christopher Morris’s superlative satirical talent.

5. Lymelife
A clever and melancholy teen rom-com that won me over due to the note-perfect relationship between its leads, Emma Roberts and Rory Culkin.

6. Splice
Almost certainly the creepiest film of the year, Splice delivered both Cronenbergian body-horror and Freudian psycho-sexual warfare, all wrapped up in creature-feature packaging and great visual effects.

7. A Single Man
A combination of Colin Firth’s compelling performance and Tom Ford’s stylish direction created this heartbreaking and quietening film about love and, more importantly, loss.

8. The Disappearance of Alice Creed
A twisty and twisted British thriller centred around three outstanding performances from Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston and Eddie Marsan.

9. World’s Greatest Dad
A Robin Williams comedy devoid of mawkishness? World’s Greatest Dad was wickedly funny dose of pitch black humour with what has frequently been described as the mother of all plot twists.

10. Agora
A historical epic that had more on its mind than simply swords and sandals, Agora was an unashamedly intelligent drama that boasted a superb central performance from Rachel Weisz.

Honourable Mentions
Made in Dagenham, Chico and Rita, Jackboots on Whitehall, Centurion, American: The Bill Hicks Story, Tetro, Cemetery Junction, The Road, A Prophet, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Another Year, The Social Network and Toy Story 3.

Notes: 127 Hours only fails to make the number two spot as it isn’t actually out until next year. I saw Monsters the other night just in case it made my top ten (I had a feeling it might), but I thought it was pretty rubbish. Finally, there are more than a few films I missed this year which may well have made my top ten or long list, such as Buried, Black Dynamite and, of course, The Last Airbender.

Tangled Review

After their brief return to traditional hand-drawn animation with The Princess and the Frog, Disney have revisited CG rendering for their new feature, Tangled. Loosely based around the Rapunzel fairytale, Tangled sees Princess Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) stolen from her cot as an infant and imprisoned in a tower for eighteen years by the fiendish Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) so that the hag may use the power of Rapunzel’s magic hair to remain youthful. Though raised to trust the villain as her real mother and falsely warned of the treacherous nature of the outside world, Rapunzel is desperate to leave her tower and see it, specifically to learn the true nature of the thousands of mysterious lights that appear in the sky every year on her birthday. When the charming thief Flynn Rider (Chuck’s Zachary Levi), pursued by zealous police horse Maximus, arrives at her tower to hide out after a crime, Rapunzel, along with her chameleon companion Pascal, sees the opportunity to escape.

Recently, it seems that fairytales cannot be told without irony, as proven by the incessant pop-culture references of Shrek and by the far more charming genre-skewering of Enchanted. It is somewhat of a refreshing relief then that Tangled plays it pretty much straight. That’s not to say it isn’t funny – far from it. Many laughs are derived from the relentless pursuit of Flynn by Maximus, which plays out a little like a child friendly version of The Fugitive. A posse of rough-looking pub-goers also raise more than a couple of smiles.

Rapunzel, with her permanently bare feet and seventy feet of hair is a perfectly lovely heroine and, with her self-belief, intelligence and sense of adventure is a likable role model for the hordes of young girls who are sure to take her to their hearts. Interestingly, she is not a flawless character and the sequence shortly after leaving the tower in which she flits between revelling in and regretting her decision to deceive her ‘mother’ and leave the tower feels both surprisingly real and amusing. Flynn, who could so easily have been a rather annoying character, is funny and charismatic. The balance of between the two lead characters is poised cleverly enough that the film should have as much appeal for boys and girls.

The animation is predictably polished but stops short of photo-realism, ostensibly intentionally, which gives a warm, inviting look to the film. The action set pieces, particularly the chase at the dam (has there ever been a dam portrayed on the big screen that hasn’t at some point been destroyed? I can think only of the one in Goldeneye) are well executed and visually interesting. Another highlight is the truly beautiful scene in which Rapunzel and Flynn are surrounded by thousands of Chinese lanterns, which is stunningly rendered.

Unfortunately, despite boasting a fun central couple, humorous characters, a scary villain and an energetic plot, Tangled messes up one crucial ingredient of the classic Disney cartoon recipe: the songs. Though sung by with impressive gusto, the tunes are largely unmemorable and fall a little flat. Also slightly troubling was the central romance. Whilst the film makes a point of establishing Rapunzel as only just turned eighteen, Flynn is implied to be several years older, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. Parents are also advised to implement caution when taking more sensitive sprogs to see the film: there were more than a few tears in the screening during the scarier moments, especially towards the end, when even I began to question whether there would be a tragic ending rather than a happy one.

Despite some minor quibbles though, Tangled is a perfectly good animated adventure and will likely prove very popular with legions of children. It also the only film I can think of in which a man armed with a frying pan fights a sword-wielding horse, which is surely reason enough to see it.

EventsRSS: News Maker LG and Framestore present ‘The Dazzling Future of 3D’

As we all know, 3D is the Next Big Thing – and seemingly has been for a while. Whilst the third dimension has been implemented into our cinema screens with such enthusiasm over the last year or so as to quickly become something approaching the norm (especially for animated features), 3D in the home is another matter. The uptake on 3D capable televisions has been slow, but LG intend to change that with their new advertising campaign, which consists of an amusing, 3D commercial to be shown in cinemas and a complimentary interactive trouble-shooting video.

The commercial is produced by London-based and Oscar winning visual effects company Framestore and directed by Richard Ayoade of The IT Crowd, Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh fame. It stars up and coming comedian and poet, Tim Key as an affable film director introducing the audience to the possibilities and accessibility of 3D in the home, aided by his hapless flatmate. The interactive video – see below – features the duo and attempts to answer any question you might have regarding 3D. Type in ‘passive 3D’, for example, and the pair explain what this means in a sardonic, humorous manner. There are also numerous visual quirks and sight gags to amuse users as well as a few Easter Eggs to discover, should you type in slightly more esoteric demands of the pair. Asking them to ‘strip’ for instance provokes an entertaining response.

As well as seeing the commercial and interactive video, the assembled bloggers and I were also treated to a show reel of Framestore’s work on Avatar, introduced by executive visual effects producer Tim Keene, which mostly consisted of shots of the hangers and robots from the human’s base. Avatar being such a massive undertaking, Framestore collaborated with other visual effects companies to create the Pandora in time for release. Our attention was drawn to a shot of an aircraft, for which Framestore created the ramp, WETA its wings and Industrial Light and Magic the sides. The presentation concluded with several minutes of James Cameron’s own 3D test footage, which involved American football, motorbikes, a Gwen Stefani concert and diving footage, the latter perhaps giving us a clue to how the Cameron-produced 3D cave-diving movie, Sanctum may look (in short, like some blokes in scuba gear in some small, underwater caves, in 3D).

There were also plenty of opportunities for the LG guys, led by Mike Woods, to explain the facts and their speculations on the future of 3D. They explained how their advert deliberately has a rough at the edges aesthetic to distance themselves from the overly slick and stylised 3D presentation we may be used to in cinemas. They were also keen to distance themselves from old-school, red and blue filtered 3D and explained how they were fighting a battle on two fronts in trying to market two different types of 3D – active and passive. The latter you will probably be familiar with from cinemas, the advantage being that the glasses used are cheap and easily replaceable, should ‘Little Jimmy’ (a presumably fictional infant to whom the presenters kept referring to) sit on them. Active 3D involves much more expensive specs that flicker frames across your eyes but offer much higher resolution picture that complements 3D gaming. Passive 3D is being aimed at more common or garden viewers, whilst the active 3D technology is marketed at more discerning tech-heads.

After the presentation, I asked the guys about the uptake of 3D, who admitted it was currently slow as early adopters test the technology. Currently, the lack of TV output available in 3D (apparently 20-30%, which struck me as high) and the cost of the televisions (£800-£1500) means that LG aren’t selling quite as many units as they would like to at the moment, but they seem to be enjoying the challenge of attracting an audience that has only just upgraded to HD. Woods was keen to stress how the shift to 3D is a much more noticeable improvement than the transition to HD. He also told me how, due to technological difficulties, 3D output is mostly in 720p rather than full, 1080p.

Personally, I’m rather ambivalent regarding 3D. I see it as like having a free toy in a packet of cereal – a nice little bonus, but hardly something that influences you whether or not to buy the cereal in the first place. Having seen football in 3D in a pub (an experience LG are seeking to bring to the home) has not changed this. Whilst set pieces such as corners look interesting in the third dimension, the angle of the camera during normal play is much lower than usual, allowing you to see the depth of the field of play rather than what is actually happening. However, it is important to remember that 3D is very much in its infancy. The fact that directors such as Werner Herzog and Martin Scorsese are experimenting with the technology instils faith that something more interesting than the latest Shrek sequel can be produced in 3D. Whether we all will one day be watching Countdown and Coronation Street in 3D in our living rooms is something only time, as they say, will tell.