Twelve Monkeys (1995) (2021 Re-issue)
Featuring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt and Christopher Plummer
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Fabulous Films Ltd / Fremantle
December 2020
It’s the year 2035. Only one percent of the Earth’s population has survived following a catastrophic disaster. They live underground while the animals and insects claim the old cities. ‘Volunteers’ are picked to suit-up and risk the uninhabitable surface. One such person is ex-violent criminal Cole (Bruce Willis). After a successful excursion, he is put before scientists and chosen to be sent to the past. He thinks it is 1996 – the time that the Twelve Monkeys phenomenon first appeared – but he is really in 1990. His sometimes violent attempts to warn people of what is about to happen land him in a insane asylum. Only Dr Kathryn Railly (Madeline Stowe) listens to his ravings. She has the distinct feeling she has seen him before. Armed with only two clues, together they must solve the puzzle of the Twelve Monkeys before humanity is made completely extinct...
Receiving this Limited Edition DVD version of Twelve Monkeys for review throws me back to when I had the original video release of the film. That is an irony in itself considering the nature of the plot. My first impression back then was that the story was left open and the film consequently not properly finished. However, a satisfactory conclusion isn’t always the most important part of a movie’s structure. So, a number of years and thousands of viewed films later I find myself with a different opinion. I’m not keen on films which are tied-up in neat little packages and are obliged to explain themselves. The way I look at this now is Cause and Effect. Time will not be compromised; any attempt to change it will throw you into a time loop.
Twelve Monkeys was inspired by Chris Marker’s 1962 short film La Jetee. This film wears the cloak of a science fiction, but breaking it down to its bare bones it’s something like The Butterfly Effect mixed with Groundhog Day or Happy Death Day. Then, thrown into the stew is Environmentalists, Political Activists and Insanity. It’s certainly a good romp, but it’s not the revelation it is claimed to be by some – although I’ll admit it’s arguably more relevant than it ever has been since the initial cinematic release.
Bruce Willis and Madeline Stowe are good together as the two key characters. Both reportedly took a pay cut in order to work with Terry Gilliam, who saw this as a premise similar to his previous film, Brazil. Willis was given acting cliches to avoid by Gilliam, including the steely-eyed stare. The revelation here is the performance by newcomer Brad Pitt. Terry Gilliam was uncertain whether Pitt could play the required crazy/eccentric part, and so sent him to a voice coach. Subsequently, he discovered he need only have taken away the man’s cigarettes! Between the end of filming and the release of the film Brad Pitt’s star was in the ascendancy, having appeared in Interview With a Vampire, Legends of the Fall, and Seven.
Extra features include: a Feature Length Documentary The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys; and the Strictly Limited Edition contains a Twelve Monkeys Pandemic Mask.
Alien Abduction (2014)
Featuring: Katherine Sigismund, Corey Eid and Riley Polanski
Directed by Matty Beckerman
Signature Entertainment
August 2014
A couple, along with their elder daughter and son, and younger autistic son, embark on a camping holiday at Brown Mountain in North Carolina. After camping at their first stop point, the kids see spherical lights in the night sky. The boy captures them on a camcorder which he always has with him. The next day, they drive to the next site, but the satellite navigation takes them down an endless winding road. They are almost out of fuel when they reach a tunnel, blocked with long-abandoned cars. The father and boys go looking for help, but are accosted by not-quite-seen creatures. The father is taken, and the boys are forced to run away to warn the others. Suddenly, they are on the run in the woods from beings which can only be aliens. A lone man living in the hills could mean their salvation or their end...
This is another one of those supposed fictional/true-life events; camcorder footage found by the government, and all that… Yawn! But I have to say, like some kind of guilty pleasure, that I actually enjoyed this film. It’s no classic, but it’s certainly the best running-round-with-a-camera one I’ve seen.
Firstly, there is a strong, valid reason for everything being filmed – it’s not a coincidence that sudden occurrences are caught: the younger boy is autistic; he films practically everything. It’s something he needs to do, a sort of self-help therapy. Secondly, unlike most of these cheaply-made a lot-about-nothings, there is not only a final frame reveal, but the viewer is rewarded with a number of visual set-pieces. Depending on what you are used to seeing, they are potentially shocking moments, filmed very maturely and with a great deal of thought as to how to get the most out of what they have.
The aliens are well-realised, and wisely shown in quick cuts or in shadow/silhouette, etc. Less is definitely more here. There is very good use of lighting, too, to accentuate the fear factor. Sound is utilised too much and too cheaply in horror films these days, with slamming doors and echoing sounds in corridors, etc. – however, here it is used in conjunction with the lighting to phenomenal effect. The scene where our characters are hiding in the barn is actually a suitably anxious moment.
So, there’s plenty to enjoy here. It gives new life to this tired sub-genre. Oh, and watch past the end credits, as there is a short additional scene worth seeing.
Doctor Cyclops (1940/2017 Re-issue)
Featuring: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Charles Halton and Victor Kilian
Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack
Fabulous Films Ltd / Fremantle Media Enterprises
August 2017
The scientist colloquially known as Doctor Cyclops is on the brink of a big discovery. However, one thing is getting in the way, and his eyesight is deteriorating rapidly. He invites three renowned experts in their field to aid in his work. They make the long journey by donkeys to his remote location. As soon as one of them identifies his mistake Cyclops loses interest in the three, summarily dismissing them. Indignant at their treatment they refuse to leave. Cyclops appears to mellow, offering to show them his experiments which are powered by mined uranium ore. But he traps them in a radiation chamber and reduces them to a fraction of their normal size. He attempts to use them as controlled experiments, but they escape vowing to expose him. When you’re tiny though where is there to run to?
The back story to this movie is at least as interesting as the feature itself. Many people will not have heard the name Ernest Schoedsack, but when I remind them that he also directed the all-time classic King Kong (1933), it will instantly be elevated to somewhere near the status he deserves.
Doctor Cyclops is a 1950s B-Movie style production, except it is extremely well made and years ahead of its time in concept and execution. Bearing in mind this was 1940, not only is it in Technicolor (unlike many of the aforementioned 1950s films) but it was Oscar nominated for the excellent effects which Schoedsack made certain looked as realistic as possible. And talking of colour, it’s not only bright but vibrant to the point of creating more movement to the piece.
Cyclops was played by Albert Dekker. Much as in retrospect he seems to be the ideal candidate for the part, he was blacklisted in Hollywood for some years as a result of criticising anti-communist speaker Senator McCarthy. Dekker was found dead in 1968 in a compromising and somewhat ritualistic setting.
It’s easy to dismiss Doctor Cyclops as just another giant and small people mash-up; however, we need to remember that this came years before The Incredible Shrinking Man, Land of the Giants, The Borrowers, and all those others we have come to accept. It’s an enjoyable little piece with only two scripted moments bringing wry smiles of ridicule. To be hustled into the radiation room (with even the man looking after the donkeys invited in) they are proved to be naïve beyond belief. Even the most ‘green’ would recognise the danger of being locked in. The other situation is the raising and lowering of the drill in the grounds. The disappearance of Cyclops to periodically make a minor adjustment is merely a writing plot device for our pint-size heroes to instigate their escape and fight back.
All in all, this movie – based on a short story by Henry Kuttner – is a well-crafted pleasure. I welcome its first release on DVD.
Dreamcatcher (2003)
Featuring: Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane and Jason Lee
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Warner Home Video
March 2003
Four boys, Henry, Beaver, Jonesy and Pete, save a mentally challenged boy from being taunted and beaten by older boys. Douglas Cavell, soon known as Duddits because of his hands raised exclamation of "I duddits" instead of "done it", now sees the boys as close friends. Duddits is discovered to be more than he seems when he imparts certain abilities on them, including telepathy and uncanny seeing skills, which help them find a missing girl. Years later, and now adults, the four are enjoying their annual reunion when a sick man staggers from out of the woods. Inside him gestates a worm-like parasitic creature, which leads to an early confrontation with a large alien to become known as Mr Gray. All the natural creatures inhabiting the mountainous areas flee and are quickly superseded by the army, led by Colonel Abraham Curtis. Curtis quarantines the region and incarcerates all those who carry the rust-like infection of the aliens. An attack on a crashed spacecraft triggers its self-destruction, but the menace is far from over. Curtis plans on sterilising the entire area, but the four friends have other ideas. When Jonesy is possessed by Mr Gray his subconscious retreats to the Memory Warehouse, the only part of his mind that the invader can't penetrate. Henry realises that Duddits' extraordinary abilities means he knew this would happen from the time they were boys, and that he was always the focus of their group. But Duddits is older now and is sick with leukaemia...
In previous reviews I have revealed that I am not a fan of Stephen King on the printed page. A wealth of original ideas are often tainted by the need to describe the floral wallpaper and regency furniture, information most readers simply don't want to know. Film adaptations are another matter, however. Although there have been some derisory attempts to convert King's fertile imagination to celluloid form, a handful of films based on his books have succeeded spectacularly: The Dead Zone, Misery, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile, to name but a handful. Whilst Dreamcatcher is not as emotionally compelling as these, it is gripping all the same. You get the impression that all the stops have been pulled out to produce the best film possible from the book. Acting, special effects and scenery combine in a not often seen synergy.
Question: How do you show alien parasitic creatures gestating inside human or animal hosts without seeming to emulate the science fiction classic Alien? Answer: you make the connection obvious by having the military nickname them "The Ripleys". Much as this description may make you think otherwise, appearance and motives are not even close to the Alien movies, and even Mr Gray turns out to be a shape-changing creature which uses the standard alien look, albeit on a much larger scale, for its own nefarious motives. The scene with the worm parasite in the toilet is both hilarious and chilling, and was said to have been used as a location in the book by King because he felt it was the only room left in a house which people don't want to see beyond in a movie.
The Dreamcatcher of the title is mainly a metaphor for the prophetic bonding of the four friends. As a child Duddits creates an image in the air of a Red Indian dreamcatcher (which is said to have had the ability to prevent bad dreams from taking form, or allowing evil spirits through) in the air. The four friends later create the real thing; four circles with another in the centre representing Duddits. It hangs in the cabin where they meet yearly. Donnie Wahlberg, as one of seven headlining names in the film, will no doubt receive plaudits for his portrayal of the adult Duddits, when clearly Andrew Robb as the young version is so much better. He is a little aloof, somewhat strange and yet very friendly, and all of this comes across extremely well.
The mass exodus of animals from the forest looks Jumanji-like, when this kind of CGI was in its infancy, but as we witness the movements from a distance the shortfalls are not so evident. There is so much to appreciate here. The spiral architecture of the Memory Warehouse, packed-out from floor to high ceiling with dusty boxes, and labelled with subject information, is impressive, as is the way we see Jonesy inside the room protected from Mr Gray, even though he is possessed by the creature.
The picture and sound quality on this widescreen version is superb. Extras include five alternate or extended scenes, an interview with writer Stephen King (in which he comes across friendly and enthusiastic), a behind the scenes feature, a visual effects feature, a film trailer and DVD ROM stuff. Coupled with the film running time of 134 minutes, all on one disc, this makes for an impressive and cost effective package.
Emerald City - Season One (2017)
Featuring: Adria Arjona, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ana Ularu, Mido Hamada, Gerran Howell, Jordan Lough
Directed by Tarsem Singh
Fabulous Films Ltd / Fremantle Media Enterprises
November 2020
Dorothy is a young woman who is finally reunited with her mother, only to find her dead. A huge twister is tearing-up Kansas City, and she finds herself caught up in it and transported to a strange land ruled by magic. She reluctantly teams-up with a warrior she names Lucas, who has lost his memory, and a German Shepherd police dog who was brought from Kansas in the storm. In order to return home, and for Lucas to regain his memory they travel to the City of Oz for council with the all-wise Wizard. However, when they are tortured on the way by a powerful witch, Dorothy manages to trick the witch into shooting herself, and from that moment on, she is a target. Not only does the Wizard want her, but so too do the sister witches. But there is unrest in Emerald City. A past disaster is prophesied to return, and a neighbouring kingdom has declared war on Oz. The wizard has outcast magic in favour of science, but he may need the help of magic to save his city from The Beast Forever. Furthermore, Dorothy could prove critical in his salvation. But can he be trusted...
Let me say from the outset that V For Vendetta is a genuine classic. Like synergy, all the planets are in alignment for this one. This is a movie that can never be experienced again for the first time. As obvious as this sounds, I mean it can never have as profound an effect on the viewer on subsequent revisits. That doesn’t mean you won’t want to re-run the movie. Believe me, you will! This is a film which has everything. There is mystery, action, intrigue, love, politics, deception and truth. This is essentially about people, belief and being true to ourselves. It teaches us that we are the future – not governments, societies, establishments and symbols of power. More definitively, the film has ‘heart’. It’s ultimately a feelgood concept, too; the age-old fight against oppression, but told in an exciting and refreshing way.
Emerald City first aired in 2017, but it’s conception was three years earlier. The pilot script was written by Matthew Arnold, and promptly commissioned for a ten-episode season. Although Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) was brought on as the showrunner, he quickly fell-out with the studio, causing the series to be cancelled. David Schulner was employed to replace Friedman, with Tarsem Singh directing all ten episodes. The series was cancelled after the first season. But was that decision justified? It is intriguing, and you don’t feel as if you’ve wasted your life watching it. However, it fails to reel you in and grip to the point that you can’t wait to see the next installment. It’s partly down to the concept. It’s the correct decision to abandon the admittedly brilliant but very fluffy 1939 film version in favour of something closer to L. Frank Baum’s harder-edged children’s Oz books. If anything, this isn’t gritty enough. There are a few shocks. But you don’t sympathise enough with the lead characters.
Adria Arjona is kind of okay as Dorothy, but doesn’t have enough charisma to carry the show as the lead protagonist. Again, Vincent D’Onofrio is fine as The Wizard, although he’s not compelling enough to be the ambiguous hero/villain of the piece. The strong roles are Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Lucas the swordsman, who portrays confident or lost with equal aplomb; Gerran Howell as Jack the part-human part-clockwork boy, who you believe and feel for in every relevant scene; and Rebeka Rea as the little girl witch Sylvie. A wonderful performance considering her age. There are radically different versions of The Scarecrow, who is Lucas (partly because of his loss of memory, and a greater connection near the end of the season), The Tinman who is Jack (he has metal parts and occasionally requires oiling), and The Lion, played by Mido Hamada, a less than cowardly soul. Quite the opposite, in fact. The whole has a kind of Gulliver’s Travels-like feel to it, rather than The Game of Thrones look it promises. However, I did enjoy the Victorian Cyberpunk aspect to parts of the show – particularly the repairs made to Jack, and the multiple masks of the queen he befriends.
It’s not fantastic but it is well worth checking out. Fans of The Wizard of Oz will be intrigued as to how the concept has been updated for the new age. We also get to see a brief backstory for The Wizard. It would be interesting to know what was planned for Season Two. We do know that it involves more prominently The Beast Forever. The epilogue scene for this season is slightly corny; perhaps it was tagged onto the end when the show was cancelled. Extras include: Deleted Scenes, and Oz Reimagined: The Making of Emerald City.
Extraction (2012)
Featuring: Sasha Roiz, Jenny Mollen and Dominic Bogart
Directed by Nir Paniry
Signature Entertainment
September 2013
An engineering scientist called Thomas Jacobs invents a device which records and places you into your own memories. The purpose is to help people with psychological problems, and to separate real from false memories. He is approached by a backer representing the Justice Department, which wishes to invest. In return for making him and his family very wealthy, he is persuaded to adapt his device to place someone mentally into the memories of another person. The test subject is a dangerous criminal convicted of brutally killing his girlfriend. Thomas agrees to demonstrate the machine himself, and spends time watching the man’s memories from within. However, when the time comes to leave, Tom finds he is trapped inside the man’s head. For four years, he is obliged to repeatedly witness past events from the point of view of the convict. But then a slight malfunction in the system allows the convict to notice his presence. The desperate man is convinced he is innocent of the charge of murder, and so forces Tom to uncover the truth or stay imprisoned within his head forever...
This is another one of those films which surprises you with its originality and inventiveness. This is no big budget blockbuster, and works all the better for it. It is well crafted and tightly edited so that it hits the ground running and is constantly evolving and picking up pace. The plot is intriguing, but the background gives it just as much substance. I like the fact that, within the scene of a given memory there are points of detail which have been forgotten. These are filled-in by the programme, and Tom has to carefully trigger the clarity of these details. Whilst initially taking for granted what he is told about the situation, Tom becomes guardedly sympathetic to the convict’s plight as more information is uncovered and doubt overcomes him.
In retrospect, the storyline of Extraction allows for many of the memory scenes to be repeated with only minor alterations, without ever seeming like the movie is scrimping and saving on its costs. This consequence may have also reduced the filming schedule. Nevertheless, it’s well worth a look for those who enjoy technological science fiction or murder mystery thrillers, as it straddles both genres.
His Dark Materials Season 2 (2014)
Featuring: Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Anne-Marie Duff, Clarke Peters and James Cosmo
Directed by Jamie Childs
BBC Video
December 2020
Lyra Silvertongue is a girl who leaves her home in the Oxford of her world in search of her father, Azrael, who is studying the properties of something called Dust. As Season 2 begins, she discovers an abandoned city which exists separate to everything else. Here she meets Will Parry, a boy from our world, and learns that their destinies are inextricably linked. There are more immediate matters to attend to, however. Will is the new bearer of the Subtle Knife, which can cut through realities. Lyra agrees to help Will find his father but, unbeknown to her, Lyra is the subject of a prophecy to bring harmony and unite all worlds. But this places her in great danger, least not from her devious and scheming mother, who has connections with the Magisterium, an evil religious order. Then they discover that Dust is the same as Dark Matter in our world, and it has a conscience. In fact, a great many consciences. But who or what is the Authority...?
Every so often a quality drama comes along which is not only extremely well-made in every respect, but which unites the adult and child demographic. This is very much a family viewing experience, with neither age group being spoken down to. This story is based on Philip Pullman’s fantasy/intrigue trilogy spanning alternate worlds. It seems that each series follows the plot of each book in turn. So, the first series was Northern Lights, this second series is The Subtle Knife, and series 3 will be The Amber Spyglass. There is also The Book of Dust (a prequel) to consider. Pullman’s story is very well realised here. The characters with demons (a sort of witch’s familiar animal; they are the same essence) have their companions speak and move realistically – unlike those hugely annoying talking animals in TV advertisements. Everyone has their own agenda, which is as it would be, and this adds a suspense and almost thriller aspect to the whole. It is also represented in a manner which keeps you coming back for more. This is not as easy as it sounds in a modern, inpatient society wherein everyone is so fickle.
The series stars Dafne Keen (Logan), Ruth Wilson (Luthor), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Ariyon Bakare (Good Omens), Simone Kirby (Jimmy’s Hall), and James McAvoy. I have to say that the acting is uniformly very good, and the animal demons have just as much character – which must be very difficult to achieve. I found my favourite character to be the aeronaut Lee Scoresby, played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is a single-minded adventurer, and through his clothing and actions adds a Steampunk and Western aspect. All of the demons are remarkably well-matched to their human counterparts. Scoresby has a large female hare.
This BBC Studios Season Two Boxset is very nicely put together, being in a solid slipcase the insert of which opens out horizontally to reveal a lovely picture representing the major characters, and three separately mounted discs incorporating three episodes each on discs one and two and episode seven and the extras on disc three. The set also includes four double-sided art cards. There is a very enjoyable and informative behind-the-scenes documentary covering the first series. Of particular interest in this are the excellent animal puppets and their operators who created realistic movements and a point of contact for the actors to work to, before the CGI was added. The Subtle Knife is listed right underneath on the special features, so I expected another in-depth documentary. However, this lasted only a matter of minutes. There is an interview with Lyra’s Dafne Keen, and a feature on The Powerful Mrs Coulter.
If you somehow missed the series, or want to revisit these colourful characters, there’s no better way than to add this to your collection and wait with baited breath for series three.
The Hobbit Trilogy 4K (2012-2014)
Featuring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and James Nesbitt
Directed by Peter Jackson
Warner Bros. Home
November 2020
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases the outstanding New Line Cinema and Metro Goldwyn-Mayer movies The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – in a Trilogy Boxset. They are mastered in stunning 4K Ultra HD resolution with High Dynamic Range, which showcases a wider colour spectrum (brighter, deeper and more lifelike) for a much improved viewing experience. The remastering was overseen by original director Peter Jackson...
Peter Jackson, of course, famously adapted J. R. R. Tolkien’s timeless The Lord of the Rings trilogy of books into the films The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. So ground-breaking and successful were they that the studios wanted Jackson to move directly on to The Hobbit – a prequel of sorts. However, he had worked tirelessly for five years on three films back-to-back and was desperate to do something else. It was reported that the studio executives threatened to give The Hobbit film to someone else, but he was determined to have a break. It was well that they waited for him, because Jackson essentially made three long but very fine movies based on only a single book – and a relatively short book, come to that. One of the writers for the film was Guillermo del Toro, a director I have a great deal of respect for (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, etc.). In the films, Bilbo Baggins is politely goaded by the wizard Gandalf into accompanying a band of warrior dwarves in an epic journey to take back their home in Erebor from the fearsome dragon, Smaug. They are obliged to tackle Orcs, Goblins, Mountain Giants, and a host of other hazards. The cast includes Ian McKellan, Martin Freeman, James Nesbitt, Sylvester McCoy, Kate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, and many, many more.
I mention the word ‘stunning’ in the first paragraph, and I don’t use it lightly. Many 4K releases fail to impress, as they are simply up-scaled or poorly mastered offerings. Some truly stand out. V For Vendetta, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and the John Carpenter films Escape From New York and The Fog are good examples of how they should be. Even Carpenter’s The Thing was released as a Blu-ray but with 4K remastering of the original negatives, and it’s so good that I spent much of the viewing time appreciating scenery I had not seen in detail before. I would certainly place The Hobbit Trilogy in this top class group of releases. There appears to be more depth to the experience, and the colours are vibrant without being cartoonish. Everything seems more real and gritty; which is certainly what is required in a fantasy – albeit a Dark Fantasy from a classic book. I possess the original DVD releases of these films, and noticed no difference at the time because you come to accept the new technology as standard. But the difference between the DVD and 4K viewing pleasure is tantamount to the distance between The Shire and Erebor.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is also available in the same format: both have the Theatrical Version and the Extended version of each film (6 discs in each set). These contain only the films, no extras. Both trilogies are also out in Steelbook format. It should be pointed out that in the Summer of 2021 a 4K UHD “Middle Earth” Ultimate Collectors’ Edition featuring the Theatrical and Extended Versions of all six films, with new Bonus Content and Blu-ray versions of the films also included, is released. You might feel this is a bit of a con, but some people only want to see the films, and are not interested in the special features. Therefore, if you are a Peter Jackson or Middle Earth keen enthusiast I would suggest waiting and saving your pennies for the Summer Ultimate set. My opinion is that these should have emerged at the same time. But as for this trilogy set, it’s practically faultless.
The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud (2020)
Featuring: Scott Adkins, John Hannah, Lashana Lynch, Elliot James Langridge, Tommy Flanagan
Directed by Martin Owen
Distributor: 101 Films
January 2021
Teenager Sarah is a dedicated gamer; obsessed, her dad might call her. She suddenly finds herself inexplicably transported into a platform adventure, becoming a male crewmember on a spaceship commanded by the talented but self-important Captain Max Cloud. She discovers she cannot direct the character’s actions, so it proves timely when a gaming associate arrives at her empty house looking for her. After his initial shock has abated, he learns that he can communicate with Sarah through the console’s headset. Obliged to play the game of life or death to its conclusion, Sarah and her companions find that their ship has crashed and there is a gaping hole in its side. Furthermore they are continuously attacked by humanoid fighters sent by the evil manipulator, Revengor who, it seems has a history with Cloud...
The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud – to give it its full name – is a science fiction comedy. However, unlike the excellent Galaxy Quest, this film has a problem with its balance. It’s a nice idea to have a modern movie made about a retro 1980s/1990s computer game, and it’s equally bold to set it in that time period. Surely such a notion is doomed to failure? I believe the format may have worked a little better if the flick was set in contemporary times but still revolved around a retro game. There would have remained a clash of culture, even though the game is futuristic. Another problem is that most of the characters are dull, and made more forgettable by the misappropriated humour which misses its mark so many times that it leaves behind a residue of bad puns and pantomime set pieces.
Isabelle Allen is pretty good as Sarah, but wasted by spending half of the film as a disembodied voice. Scott Adkins plays Max Cloud as reckless and annoying. I realise that is how it’s written by director and co-writer Martin Owen, but he proves to be far too irritating and tiresome for the title character. Even the happenstance friend Cowboy (Franz Drameh) is a little slapstick in places. The injection of the lone gunman Brock Donnelly (Tommy Flanagan) only works to a certain extent to inadvertently bring Cloud down from his high horse. By far the best character is the main villain Revengor. John Hannah (perhaps best known for Four Weddings and a Funeral, and McCallum) plays the role like a dramatic thespian, and in doing so adds some much-needed quirkiness. It’s fitting that his sidekick, the warrior witch-like Shee (Lashana Lynch) is nastier than he is.
I wouldn’t like to suggest no one will like the movie. Perhaps I just require more substance, and don’t suffer fools gladly – whether they be fictional or real. It is certainly true that you will need to leave your IQ at the door. Just accept it for what it is, and it will pass an evening with a bowl of popcorn. 101 Films has released this on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital formats. There are no extra features, almost unheard of in this day and age.
Monkey: The Complete Series (1979)
Featuring: Masaaki Sakai, Masako Natsume, Shiro Kishibe, Toshiyuki Nishida, Tonpei Hidari
Directed by Toshi Aoki, Jun Fukuda, Kazuo Ikehiro, Yusuke Watanabe, Daisuke Yamazaki
Fabulous Films Ltd / Fremantle Media Enterprises
October 2020
“In the worlds before Monkey, primal chaos reigned. Heaven sought order. But the phoenix can fly only when its feathers are grown. The four worlds formed again and yet again, as endless eons wheeled and passed. Time and the pure essences of heaven, the moisture of the earth, the powers of the sun and the moon worked upon a certain rock, old as creation. And it became magically fertile. That first egg was named ‘thought’. Tathagata Buddha, the Father Buddha said, ‘With our thoughts we make the world.’ Elemental forces caused the egg to hatch. From it then came a stone monkey. The nature of Monkey was irrepressible…”
Confused? I’m not surprised. The pilot episode crams so much back story into the proceedings that it’s enough to turn anyone off before the series even begins. Try this synopsis instead: For his arrogance and troublesome nature, Monkey is given a lower position in heaven in order to teach him responsibility. However, when he eats the protected peaches of strength and immortality, and attempts to take over a position of power – even disrespecting the Buddha – he is expelled from heaven and trapped under a mountain for 500 years. The Buddha has written new scriptures and tasked a young priest, renamed Tripitaka, to journey to India to recover them. But the quest will be a dangerous one, so the priest is accompanied by the released Monkey who is controlled via a mentally-controlled headband which gives monkey pain when he becomes wayward. Also, along on the journey are two other expulsions from heaven, Pigsy (a humanoid pig monster creature of gluttony and lust) and Sandy (a humanoid sea monster and ex-cannibal).
By the end of the second episode the format is in place, the journey has begun, and Monkey has even fought and outwitted a thief demon. A water dragon makes the mistake of eating Tripitaka’s horse, and so is obliged to take the shape of a white horse and carry the priest for the entirety of the journey. It even talks to the others when it feels like doing so. All this sounds completely crazy, doesn’t it? But it’s great fun and in turns both ridiculous and extremely amusing. For anyone old enough to remember, the 1970s incorporated Kung-Fu mania in the form of Bruce Lee, the hugely popular series Kung-Fu (starring David Carradine), and even Kung Fu disco and pop songs! Monkey emerged in 1979, around the same time as the excellent The Water Margin. If the latter was the more serious and adult of the two, the former was aimed at a family audience and particularly kids - which is curious considering the backgrounds of Pigsy and Sandy. The whole thing is so quirky, the trio of guides/protectors bounce off of each other and are almost constantly in conflict with each other, even though they fight as a unit.
Fabulous Films have released a Blu-ray set of the complete series for the first time anywhere worldwide. There is also a complete DVD set (which is what I am reviewing). Monkey, a Japanese drama based on a Chinese tale from the 16th Century about a Buddhist priest from the 7th Century, was reworked for a British audience by scriptwriter David Weir, who had previously adapted The Water Margin. Monkey was screened on BBC2 in 1979 to much acclaim. They showed 39 of 52 episodes. David Collins who voiced the title character sadly passed away earlier this year. He has appeared in Doctor Who, Sapphire and Steel, and Gerry Anderson’s UFO. Peter Woodthorpe who voiced Pigsy has also passed on. They have certainly left behind a legacy here. You may be interested to know that Miriam Margoyles voiced many of the female characters on the show, and Andrew Sachs voiced Tripitaka’s horse who is really a Water Dragon. The ‘lost’ 13 episodes were dubbed by Fabulous Films in 2004 using the original cast, and were narrated by Bert Kwouk (Cato in The Pink Panther films).
Although Restored, these episodes do not appear to have been remastered from the original negatives. In other words, they really should look brighter and crisper. But don’t let this spoil your enjoyment of a fondly remembered series. I didn’t notice any existing damage to the picture or sound, and it’s eminently viewable. It really is great to have some of these old shows returned to us from an age when we believed that if you missed it you’d missed it forever. Extras include a Documentary about the dubbing of the lost 13 episodes, and PDF Scans of original dubbing scripts.
Skinwalkers (2014)
Featuring: Jon Gries, Kyle Davis, Michael Black, Erin Cahill, Steve Barg and Taylor Bateman
Directed by Devin McGinn, Steve Berg
Signature Entertainment
February 2014
A group of scientists and paranormal researchers arrive at the Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, to investigate a series of reported phenomena surrounding UFO sightings and cattle mutilations. This was the site where a young boy called Cody Miller went missing in 2010. His father saw him disappear in a bright flash of light, but other people in the region are divided over whether he was responsible. The father is as determined as ever to recover his boy, but the new arrivals at his ranch seem significantly more interested in the shocking and, frankly, frightening events which begin almost the moment they arrive. What appears to be the boy runs through the kitchen and vanishes again, large bright lights and smaller orbs are seen, dead bats crash into the roof, and a very large and ferocious animal attacks them. Then the group discovers that the organisation which funded this research was also at the ranch in the late sixties. A video tape is discovered, which reveals that a missing girl was found, but that she was something else when she returned. All bar one of the group are desperate to leave, but will whatever is there allow them to leave...?
I wanted to get this review out of the way first from the current batch, as I was fully expecting another Paranormal Activity-type movie where someone runs around with a camera for ninety minutes, doing nothing very interesting, and then the film ends suddenly, making you rue that hour and a half you’ll never get back. Although this one does end suddenly, there’s a very valid reason for it. As well as POV hand-held camerawork, there is also a certain amount of traditional filming. I must say that this is the sort of movie where you expect very little and so are pleasantly surprised when you get so much more. I’m not a fan of films which tie-up everything in a neat little package, as if you might not understand what has been rammed down your throat from the start, but in this case it would have been nice to get even a little hint of what this was all about, in terms of the reason why the events were taking place and what significance the ranch has in the visitations.
So, you can see I’m rather torn on this one. The plot, although apparently partly based on a true story, doesn’t really go anywhere. The characters are a little stereotypical, to the extent of being bland, all except for the boy’s father, who acts exactly the way you would expect him to, given the situation. The saving grace here is that shocking events come relatively thick and fast, and crank up the viewer interest (if not the tension) with increasingly bizarre happenings.
For all its faults, I found myself enjoying Skinwalkers, proved by the fact that the 86 minutes running time seemed to fly by. I just can’t find myself forgiving the non-conclusive and sudden ending. The Blair Witch Project has a lot to answer for.
V For Vendetta (2006)
Featuring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry and John Hurt
Directed by James McTeigue
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
November 2020
Against a backdrop of a future totalitarian Britain, a young woman called Evey has her whole interpretation of society changed when she is rescued from thugs by a charismatic vigilante wearing a stylish Guy Fawkes mask. Known only as “V” the figure is viewed by the establishment as a terrorist, but V is a freedom fighter skilled in the art of combat and deception, who detonates London landmarks and takes over the government-controlled airwaves. As Evey learns more about herself she also discovers there are multi-facets to her new companion...
Let me say from the outset that V For Vendetta is a genuine classic. Like synergy, all the planets are in alignment for this one. This is a movie that can never be experienced again for the first time. As obvious as this sounds, I mean it can never have as profound an effect on the viewer on subsequent revisits. That doesn’t mean you won’t want to re-run the movie. Believe me, you will! This is a film which has everything. There is mystery, action, intrigue, love, politics, deception and truth. This is essentially about people, belief and being true to ourselves. It teaches us that we are the future – not governments, societies, establishments and symbols of power. More definitively, the film has ‘heart’. It’s ultimately a feelgood concept, too; the age-old fight against oppression, but told in an exciting and refreshing way.
There hasn’t been too many stories – either documentary or dramatic in content – depicting Guy Fawkes. The film opens with a scene depicting his capture and public hanging at the time of the infamous Gunpowder Plot to blow-up the Houses of Parliament. Although the film proper is set in a fictitious future Britain, our anti-hero utilises a costume and very striking mask to portray the essence of Fawkes, representing a fight against corruption. It is not giving too much away to reveal that the face behind the mask is never unveiled, though there are clues as to what he may have looked like many years before. This is very clever, as we all accept that the unknown is far more frightening or intriguing. Once something or somebody is seen and understood, it loses much of its power. V himself is articulate and literate, quoting not only the ‘Remember, Remember the 5th of November’ rhyme, but relevant Shakespeare and the odd bit of French (for some reason).
There is a veritable plethora of notable British actors on show here. Aside from the peerless John Hurt, there is Natalie Portman, Tim Pigott-Smith, Stephen Fry, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, and many others spotted in cameo roles. It is good to see Roger Allam (Endeavour’s Inspector Thursday) and Ben Miles from the excellent sitcom Coupling, too. V For Vendetta is based on the outstanding graphic novel written by Alan Moore, illustrated by David Lloyd and published by Vertigo/DC Comics. The film was written and produced by the Wachowskis, who made The Matrix trilogy, and directed by James McTeigue.
This set contains a 4K Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range version of the film for the first time. Being that a new scan has been produced using the original film negatives, the picture looks fantastic – crystal clear and sharp, with a wider colour spectrum allowing deeper shades to be clearer. For those who have the appropriate speaker systems, the disc features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the soundtrack without that equipment, but you will need a 4K TV and a 4K player – essential, I think, for the seasoned film buff. New special features on this disc include V For Vendetta Unmasked (a Behind-the-Scenes making-of featurette), James McTeigue & Lana Wachowski in Conversation, and Natalie Portman’s Audition.
There is also an HD Blu-ray included in this set, the previously released extras of which are made available again here. They include: Freedom! Forever! – Making V For Vendetta featurette; Designing the Near Future featurette; Remember, Remember – Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot; England Prevails – V For Vendetta and the New Wave in Comics; Cat Power (good surname!) Montage – the song played against images from the film; and an Easter Egg Hidden Bonus of a Saturday Night Live Short. Additionally, there is a Digital Download copy of the movie.
An excellent film, brilliantly presented, and in three formats… How could you go wrong? Take my word for it: Add this to your collection. You won’t be sorry.