The growing up process is, of course, universally familiar and we’re no stranger to watching characters age on screen. Whether it’s child actors transitioning to adulthood across many years on television or film franchises, or fictional characters lives developing through various actors, it is a progression that we are very used to. In a project that was filmed across a twelve year period, forward-thinking director Richard Linklater presents a coming-of-age story with unique scope. ‘Boyhood’ stars Ellar Coltrane as Mason Jr who starts the film a six-year-old boy riding around care-free on his bike, and ends an eighteen-year-old ready to start college. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette play Mason’s parents and his older sister is portrayed by Lorelai Linklater, who is the daughter of the director. The film steadily follows Mason and his family’s growth, through their ups and downs, and revolutionises the art of storytelling in doing so.
Category: DVD & Digital
Reviews of the latest UK DVD & Digital releases.
DVD review: A Most Wanted Man
Earlier this year, the film world was hugely saddened by the tragic death of the award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. His passing resulted in the heightened sense of anticipation around Anton Corbijn’s spy thriller ‘A Most Wanted Man’, the film to feature his last leading role. Adapted from the book by acclaimed espionage novelist John le Carré, the story centres around intelligence operative Günther Bachmann (Hoffman) and his efforts to track Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a suspected Russian terrorist captured on Hamburg CCTV. The intricate plotting combined with Corbijn’s creative style makes for solid if unspectacular viewing, boosted by an awe-inspiring swan song from one of our most highly regarded performers.
DVD review: Lucy
In a summer full of blockbusters with brains, acclaimed director Luc Besson gives us ‘Lucy’, a sci-fi film that explores the maximum potential of the human psyche. Scarlett Johansson stars in the titular role, continuing her recent streak of forward-thinking performances. Set around the grubby Taiwanese underworld, Lucy finds herself in trouble with a local drug lord, and her bloodstream is subjected to a deadly amount of a synthetic substance which lets humans use more than the usual ten percent of their brain capacity. This leads her to track down scientist Professor Samuel Norman, played by Morgan Freeman, who has years of research dedicated to the topic. Will his wealth of knowledge be enough to save Lucy, or will the symptoms prove to be fatal?
DVD review: The Rover
Since his first feature Animal Kingdom was met with such critical acclaim five years ago, the Australian writer-director David Michôd’s follow up film has been hotly anticipated. He has kept mostly the same team around him and has again cast the experienced Guy Pearce in a central role, but will this equal another great picture? Titled ‘The Rover’, this western is set a decade into the aftermath of a global crisis in a post-apocalyptic outback. Pearce stars as Eric, a man of few words, filled with rage over the losses he has suffered. When his car is stolen by a gang of small-time crooks, he sets out to retrieve it and will stop at nothing until he gets back what is his. In his mission, he encounters an American simpleton called Rey (Robert Pattinson), who happens to be the younger brother of one of the criminals Eric is chasing. Together they pursue in this slow-burn thriller which is so full of style, it leaves little room for substance.
DVD review: The Guvnors
Putting aside the straight-to-DVD bargain bucket releases, we are occasionally reminded that the British crime genre can still throw out the odd cracker, and luckily with ‘The Guvnors’, written and directed by Gabe Turner, this is one of those times. When a gang of London council estate hoodies, led by Adam Shenko (Harley Sylvester), try to stamp their authority, or mark their turf if you will, they are fobbed off by remarks that they would never earn the same respect as ‘the Guvnors’; a legendary local football-hooligan squad. Threatened and irritated by the comparison, an open challenge is made to the cockney geezers, who appear to have put their violent pasts behind them, to find out who has the running of the town. Up steps former footsoldier Mitch (Doug Allen) to face off against the young team and settle the score for good.
DVD review: The Guest
After making a name from himself in the horror film genre, film director Adam Wingard is treading into uncharted territory with psychological thriller ‘The Guest’. While the filmmaker breaks free from the creepy, the starring actor Dan Stevens breaks free from the Crawley as he leaves behind his Downton reputation to become a slick-haired dangerous man of mystery. When soldier David Collins (Stevens) turns up at the door of the grieving Peterson family, struggling after the death of their son Caleb, he isn’t initially met with a warm welcome by all. Agreeing to stay for a couple of days, he extends a helping hand, sorting out their problems one-by-one. But why? While mother, father and son warm to David’s charms, Anna (Maika Monroe), the teenager daughter of the clan, has her suspicions over the true identity of their new houseguest and his seemingly selfless actions, but by the time she discovers his motives, will it be too late?
DVD review: The Inbetweeners 2
It’s usually a risk for popular television programmes to make the jump to the big screen but in 2011, The Inbetweeners made it look easy. Would a sequel have the same outcome or should they have quit while they were ahead? Three years later, but set only a matter of months after the predecessor, the boys are back for another outing. University life hasn’t been all that it was cracked up to be for Will (Simon Bird) and Simon (Joe Thomas), meanwhile Neil (Blake Harrison) is missing the friendly camaraderie, or the ‘epic bantz’ as he would put it. To escape what has become a mundane existence, the three decide to take a trip down under to visit their friend Jay (James Buckley), who is knee-deep in clunge as one of Sydney’s premier DJs…or so he says. With more immature gags than you could shake a knob at, this British comedy brings us more of the same.
As well as the humour, the key to the success of The Inbetweeners is how relatable the four central characters are, despite the cringeworthy situations they regularly find themselves in. Out of school, you would think it’d be a challenge to maintain this but by tapping into the travelling culture, and the snobbery around it, it is an intelligent step forward. Many of us lucky to be in our early-to-mid-twenties will be all too familiar with the pretentious, ‘spiritual’ types who take a gap year to find themselves, only to return and tell us about the amazing vibes that we wouldn’t really understand.
The writers clearly know their target audience and get this satire spot on, down to the last dreadlock. Will’s clashes with backpacker Ben provide highlights as they vie for the attention of Will’s old school friend Lucy. In terms of plot development, a lot is left to be desired as the story moves from one embarrassing set piece to the next, before spending a little longer in the outback than the scene deserved. While there are probably less big laughs than the first film, there are still a lot of chuckles, particularly down to the gormless idiot Neil who enjoys most of the best one-liners.
It’s the norm in teen-comedies for the actors to be older than the characters, and though this is no different, they have kept up a youthfulness to get away with it. All four are around a decade older than their alter-egos, yet the evident friendship off screen helps this come across on screen as they wind each other up with typical antics such as name-calling, nudging and announcing your pal as a paedophile at a children’s water park ride. Not all typical then, but undoubtedly the connection between the famous foursome is as close as ever, and actually offers up a few nearly touching moments as they share their tales of woe.
So what’s next for The Inbetweeners? Will we see them complete their transition to adulthood with marriages and kids like the American Pie lot, churning out countless unnecessary instalments and spin-offs? I sincerely hope not. If this is to be their last hurrah, they will bow out on a deserved high point. The latest effort is unlikely to bring an abundance of new fans aboard, but for us existing ones, it’s a must-see.
See the trailer:
DVD review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Three years ago, the long-running apes franchise underwent a series of tests, receiving a prequel injection to bring it into the modern day. The sequel to the prequel, set a decade later, is ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’. A simian flu virus born from scientific experimentation has spread across the globe, causing widespread destruction and the collapse of human civilisation. With earth’s resources running out, time is limited and man’s desperation threatens to lead to war with an army of apes who have formed an organised ‘ape not kill ape’ democracy since they were liberated by their leader Caesar, the key survivor from the original. Directed by Matt Reeves, this blockbuster is packed with action and stunning special effects but also has bags of intelligence, making it not only a hugely entertaining but thought-provoking follow up.
The conflict simmers quietly for a while as we are welcomed into Caesar’s carefully constructed environment in the opening section of the film. We are introduced to his friends and his growing family, and simply marvel at the highly impressive CGI work on display as the apes learn the lingo and ride around on horses. It’s a while before we are confronted with a human face, which is unimportant due to the fact that the apes arguably have more character, each of the new characters stamping their own identities in the story and proving to be much more interesting than the humans.
The expected man vs. ape dynamic is implemented, triggered by fear of what harm the other race could do to their chances of survival, but this dynamic cleverly twists to become less straightforward when morals come into play. Very soon it’s man vs. ape, man vs. man, ape vs. ape and it’s difficult not to have ounce of sympathy for each and every one of them at one point or another, no matter how skewed their views become.
Andy Serkis is known for bringing big screen computer-generated creatures to life, highly thought of for his work as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth epics, and with Caesar, he puts in another astounding performance. Nods to his past are touching without being overcooked, and Serkis deserves heaps of credit for the portrayal. Likewise is Toby Kebbell, the man behind Caesar’s tortured adversary Koba; an ape with nothing but hatred for humans who lashes out when Caesar offers them a helping hand. The apes really do outshine the male counterparts, and while Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman aren’t bad in their roles, they ultimately fill the places necessary to carry the plot forward.
With good and bad on both sides, ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ refuses to offer up the easy choice between man and ape. Instead, we are asked to identify with both through the exploration of families, friendships, loyalties and perhaps most importantly fear. It’s a complex battle which is set to kick off in the next instalment. In terms of entertainment value alone, the apes reign supreme in this visually impressive picture. At the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we had tracked a lovable chimp’s development to intelligent ape. Now he is a fully fledged hero. All hail Caesar.
See the trailer:
DVD review: 22 Jump Street
Cinema Perspective 