Category Archives: Reviews

Films, Plays, Books, Gigs and Events

CINEMA REVIEW – THE WOMAN IN BLACK

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Susan Hill’s haunting 1983 novel The Woman in Black has taken on a life of its own, spawning a classic 1990 TV movie, two BBC Radio adaptations and a West End production that has been running for over 21 years. It was only a matter of time until a film adaptation came about, with the newly rekindled Hammer taking a stab at the story.

Director James Watkins has previous with the horror genre, having directed the 2008 thriller Eden Lake and wrote the screenplays for The Descent Part II and My Little Eye, but this was a big undertaking, with the Fortune Theatre’s production being one of the longest-running shows of all time and the novel being so well-loved. Watkins and screenwriter Jane Goldman (Stardust, Kick Ass) have done a very good job with the novel here, capturing the creeping dread of the novel and the theatre show, whilst giving the film a J-Horror style makeover.

The jumps and scares are some of the best you will find in a 12A certificate film, and while The Woman in Black shares some of the styling’s of Asian cinema, it never reaches the same heights, purely because the scares become familiar to anyone who has seen these films, or recent gems like The Orphanage and The Others. But put a bunch of 14 year olds with no previous experience with the genre in a darkened theatre with this film and you will be scraping them off the ceiling, for this is the scariest film available for the teen market by a country mile.

Daniel Radcliffe has chosen a great role to begin his post-Potter career. Arthur Kipps is a 25-year-old widower who is forced to bring up his young son alone when his wife dies in childbirth. Becoming distracted from his work, Kipps is sent to Crythin Gifford to deal with the estate of the recently deceased Mrs Alice Drablow as a last chance to save his burgeoning career at the law firm he works for.

Kipps instantly notices that something is not right in Crythin Gifford. The locals are unwelcoming, that is for the exception of Sam Daily (played by the excellent Ciaran Hinds) who takes Kipps into his home and gives him rides to and from Eel Marsh House, where the Drablow’s once lived. It is at the house that Kipps sees the woman in black, and when the children start dying.

The townspeople believe that when the woman in black is seen, a child dies, and Kipps is forced to deal with his own beliefs on the supernatural, which are becoming stronger the more time he spends in the creepy house on Eels Marsh, a dusty old relic with slamming doors and whispering shadows. There are some great scares to be had, and Radcliffe feels the brunt for most of them.

I won’t go any more into the story, mainly because it is so familiar to millions, but also because there are enough changes to the original story made by Goldman and Watkins that the story still feels fresh.

Radcliffe deserves a lot of credit, too. At 22 years of age, playing a 25-year-old haunted widower and father could have been a huge risk, but he pulls it off, showing an impressive emotional range that indicates a solid career is on the cards.

As for the film itself, it doesn’t break any new ground but it brings a new generation of fans to the attention of one of the great ghost stories of the 20th century. It could have been a cynical money-making exercise, but it’s a solid, if unspectacular entry into the supernatural film genre.

The Fortune Theatre's excellent production of THE WOMAN IN BLACK, now in its 23rd year

THEATRE REVIEW: MAN by CITIZEN 598 @ CURVE THEATRE, LEICESTER. FEBRUARY 9TH, 2012

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One of the great things about Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival is that if you are in the right place at the right time, you can unearth a little gem, experience it with an appreciative audience and then it’s yours to keep and share with the people who were lucky enough to have been there. I’ve had a few experiences like this, and Citizen 598’s Man is now one of them.

Citizen 598 is Dan Edwards and Nathan Human, two writers/performers from Leicester who tell stories through theatre and film. Man is a cathartic journey for them, as they stand before an audience and discuss what it is that has shaped them as people – from conception (to the sounds of Lionel Richie), to the first pint at the The Trumpet as a shy, awkward 17-year-old, and right up until the present day, where being a 34-year-old man means being a grown up with responsibilities.

It was 60 minutes of shared experience, experiences that most men could relate to, even if they would not care to admit it. There were times when members of the audience were looking through their hands in embarrassment, other times when they were turning to their wives and girlfriends next to them with a look that screamed: “Yeah, I’ve done that…”

The delivery was excellent: a mix of Morecambe and Wise, Reeves and Mortimer and a hint of Ricky Gervais, but in a voice that was undoubtably their own, and always in a down-to-earth, friendly manner that felt like you were being sat down and told a story by two of your friends. This is extremely hard to pull off, but the guys did it with aplomb.

The show hit its stride from the start, covering everything from beards to heroes, and the finale is one of the best pieces of comedic storytelling I’ve seen in years, mixing hilarity, pathos, social awkwardness and great dancing to perfection. Any male adult who has ever had a great friend, and had a moment in their life that captured the meaning of friendship would be crying with laughter at Man’s finale.

I walked out of the Curve theatre laughing my head off, then I thought back to my misspent youth and those embarrassing shenanigans and I realised that the Citizen 598 guys had invented a time capsule to those days and experiences that are universal to all men, regardless of age or location.

It was at the moment of realisation that the fan in me started to battle with the writer in me. I turned to my girlfriend and said: “Screw those guys! Screw those guys for being so good!”

You can still catch Citizen 598’s MAN at the following venues:

 

Thursday 22nd March

The Brindley, Runcorn

7:30pm

Tel: 0116 2423595

 

Thursday 29th March

Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham

8:00pm

Tel: 0116 2423595

 

Friday May 25th

The Guildhall, Derby

7:30pm

Tel: 0116 2423595

 

For more info on the show, visit the website here.

DVD REVIEW – DRIVE

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Nicholas Winding Refn is a rare breed. He is one of the only directors working today that can make a film that sounds like something we’ve seen a thousand times before and create something completely original and out on its own. Drive is his first foray into Hollywood filmmaking and he shook it to the core with the strangest and coolest film of 2011.

The film shares DNA with Walter Hill’s classic The Driver, a down-and-dirty 70′s actioner with great car chases and a cool central performance from Ryan O’Neal. But Drive is its own beast, and what a beautiful beast it is.

Refn is best known for the Pusher trilogy and for showcasing Tom Hardy’s exceptional talents in Bronson, and Drive is a perfect companion piece to the latter, focussing for the most part on just one man’s journey. The difference being that Hardy’s Bronson talks, Ryan Gosling’s Driver hardly says a word.

It’s Ryan Gosling’s performance that takes the film to another level. He’s slowly built a CV full of solid performances and was nominated for Best Actor as a crack-addicted teacher in the excellent Half Nelson. 2011 was Gosling’s biggest year to date, showing impressive range in George Clooney’s political thriller The Ides of March and making the ladies swoon in underrated rom-com Crazy Stupid Love. But it was Drive that captured the imagination of virtually everybody in the film world.

Gosling plays the near-mute Driver like a 21st century Steve McQueen or James Dean. The screenplay was a lean 81 pages, and most of them could be summed up with the description: ’He broods’. This is the type of performance that not many actors could pull off, not to mention the awful Scorpion jacket that he’s wearing throughout the film. Only Brad Pitt has looked cooler and sexier in such a terrible piece of attire – see Fight Club‘s leather jacket for further reference. Nobody but the coolest men on the planet could pull them off. They nail it.

Based on James Sallis’ 2005 novel, Drive follows the nameless Driver as he works as a mechanic and Hollywood stunt-driver in the day and moonlights as a getaway driver at night. He is friendless but for the Garage owner Shannon, who also gets him his moonlight work. But that changes when he meets his neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son Benicio (a great performance from Kaden Leos). They strike a connection and a romance seems on the cards, when Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) returns from jail, owing protection money to some bad people.

Standard is beaten up and his family threatened, and is then forced to rob a pawn shop to pay off his debt. The Driver offers his services in order to protect Irene and her son, but it goes terribly wrong.

It is at this point that the 70′s style lo-fi actioner becomes an ultra-violent stylised dream – or nightmare – as The Driver sets out to bring down the gangsters responsible in order to ensure Irene’s safety, and here that Refn and Gosling flex their muscles to their full capabilities. A perfect example of this is the now famous “elevator scene”. Say the words “Drive’s elevator scene” to anyone who has seen the film and witness their reaction. It is that kind of reaction that has taken the film from cult status to near legendary status in such a short period of time.

The violence and the silence are as mesmerising and brilliant as each other, and ensure that you can’t keep your eyes off the screen. They are aided by the most beautiful retro soundtrack this side of the 80′s. Refn has an ear for music like nobody else is film. Gosling driving his 1973 Chevrolet Malibu for 96 minutes would have been cool enough, but the car chases are as good as anything you’ll see. Gone are the shaky-cam crashes of Bourne and Fast and the Furious, replaced here with simply great driving. It’s so refreshing, and takes you back to the days of Bullitt and The French Connection, where you could smell the burned rubber and winced at the crashes. Beautiful and real.

The supporting cast is all excellent, especially the bad guys, including the always-superb Ron Perlman and a rare non-comedic role from Albert Brooks, who you would never expect to see sticking a fork in a man’s eye.

That just sums up Drive: shocking, surprising, brutal, and ultimately essential.

GIG REVIEW: JOSH ROUSE AND THE LONG VACATIONS @ THE UNION CHAPEL, LONDON – SATURDAY 28TH JANUARY, 2012

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Josh Rouse is a singer-songwriter who has achieved longevity by staying true to himself and adapting his style depending on his mood and his surroundings, not the market trends and the lure of the Top 40.

The peak of his commercial success was with 2003’s 1972 and 2005’s Nashville albums, a stunning collection of songs that mixed genres and told stories. But since those albums, Rouse has veered into more interesting and challenging territory – predominately Spain.

Now living in Valencia, Rouse’s last three albums have all featured at least one track sang entirely in Spanish, and there is a laid-back, sunny Mediterranean vibe on all the albums. It is not hard to envisage Josh Rouse lying in a hammock – a guitar and a notepad to hand as he watches the world go by. It could quiet easily be indulgent, but Rouse is a great observer, every song and every lyric coming across as genuine and affectionate. At times it sounds as if The Kinks had moved to Spain in the late 60’s.

Now with his band The Long Vacations, and touring the self-titled LP, the chilled out European jazz/soul songs being performed in the chilly, candlelit Union Chapel is like being transported from a cold winters day in London to a beach in sunny Spain.

The Union Chapel is a superb venue, and the acoustics are incredible. When Josh performs alone with just an acoustic guitar and a harmonica for company on stage, it is something else. There is a raw emotion is songs like ‘My Love Has Gone’ that threatens to break every heart in the building.

But it is when he is joined by The Long Vacations – local musicians Xema Fuertes and Caio Bellveser from his new home in Spain – that the magic happens. Songs from the new album like ‘Digging in the Sand’ and ‘Lazy Days’ make you long for the beach, whereas older classics from the 1972 and Nashville era like ‘Saturday’ and ‘It’s The Nighttime’ are treated like old friends.

The audience, sat on church benches like they are watching a sermon, are responsive and captivated. Rouse isn’t the type of performer who jumps around the stage and begs for your attention. He’s more like a friend who wants to share something he’s written with you. You warm to him and his bandmates instantly and want to be a part of this cool little circle of friends.

Almost as soon as the gig began, a member of the crowd sang the opening bars of Nashville’s ridiculously catchy ‘Winter in the Hamptons’, as if to prompt the band into action. A wry smile appears on Rouse’s face, and you know that this will be the ending crowd-pleaser.

When it comes, it doesn’t disappoint. Inviting the audience to stand and dance (which they dutifully do), the song unites everybody in the Chapel. It’s a song that cannot fail to bring a smile to your face. It’s no surprise that the audience call for an encore after the band exits the stage, coming back to get everybody in the church dancing again, this time for the awesome ‘Love Vibration’ from 1972.

The three men exit the stage, walking to the back of the Chapel to chat to fans and pose for photos. Hopefully the vacation won’t be too long, and Josh and the band come back to the UK soon. It’s a sunnier place with them around.

Josh Rouse (Centre) with bandmates Xema Fuertes and Caio Bellveser

CINEMA REVIEW – WARRIOR (2011)

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Tom Hardy gives the film world good reason to be excited about his portrayal of master villain Bane in Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film The Dark Knight Rises next summer in Gavin O’Connor’s MMA-cum-family drama Warrior.

Hardy plays Tommy Conlon, a former wrestling protégée turned soldier who has returned from duty in Iraq and looking to make a return to the ring in an MMA tournament. Arriving in Pittsburgh, he approaches his father  Paddy (played by Nick Nolte) to train him. It’s been 14 years since they’ve seen each other, and we learn that Tommy’s father was an abusive alcoholic who drove his recently deceased mother away, leaving Tommy to care for her until she died. Paddy is approaching 1,000 days of being sober and looking to build bridges, but Tommy throws it back into his face: Training only. No relationship. No talking about the past. Just training.

Meanwhile, Tommy’s estranged brother Brendan is a happily married man with two beautiful kids, working as a Physics teacher in a local school. He’s adored by his family and has a great relationship with his pupils, who affectionately call him ‘Mr C.’ These scenes could have left a sickly taste in the mouth if Brendan was not played by the excellent Joel Edgerton, an Australian actor on the rise who has played a silent and terrifying hit-man in Shooting Aces and recently impressed in Aussie crime epic Animal Kingdom.

Life is sweet for Brendan except financially. He’s behind on his mortgage, and he and his wife have exhausted all options with the bank. They’re working five jobs between them, and the axe is going to fall on them in three weeks unless they can find the money and fast. A proud man, Brendan tells his wife that he’s not going to lose the house or declare bankruptcy. His plan: to start fighting again, like he and his brother used to.

It doesn’t go well at the beginning. He wins a cage tournament held in the car park of a stripper bar, but is suspended from his school after news of the fight reaches the Dean. It doesn’t help that he’s also sporting a black eye when he returns to class. Brendan now has no other option than to return to fighting full-time, much to the horror of his wife. Brendan tries to reassure her by telling her that he will be fighting guys who don’t know how to fight, guys who have watched too much UFC. She reluctantly agrees.

As the two brothers start training, Dad tries desperately to atone for his sins and try to bring the family back together. But forgiveness isn’t going to be easy to achieve, especially from Tommy, who belittles his father at every opportunity. “I think I preferred you when you were a drunk. At least then you had your balls.” Ouch.

MMA is a sport on the rise, not an established one with a rich legacy like boxing. It’s a fringe sport that is growing at a rapid rate, and Warrior will certainly aid the growing fan-base. The fight scenes are excellent, the camera getting in close to the action meaning that every punch, kick and broken bone is heard and felt by the audience. Director Gavin O’Connor had prior experience with the sport, making 2002’s fight-doc ‘The Smashing Machine’ for HBO. It’s seriously exciting stuff, and will make  a lot of new fans from casual sport observers who have given the film a chance and enjoyed it.

Hardy and Edgerton: Two great, committed performances

Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton worked with real fighters and endured 10 weeks of intense fight training to sculpt their bodies into ridiculous shape. Hardy in particular is a monster, 14 stone of bulk with a hunched presence that makes his upcoming performance as Bane a terrifying prospect.

Both men suffered injuries and broken bones, with filming put back after Edgerton damaged knee ligaments, taking suffering for your art to new, painful levels.

In other performances, Frank Grillo gives a great support performance as Brendan’s trainer and old friend, and Jennifer Morrison is very good as his wife Tess.

But special mention has to go to Nick Nolte, who could be looking at an Oscar nomination. When he’s on form, he’s still a superb actor, and he’s as good as here as he’s been in years, all weathered features and eyes filled with regret. You want to forgive him his sins long before his two boys ever will.

Like Rocky and last years The Fighter, Warrior works towards a big fight climax. In Atlantic City, New Jersey, a $5 million purse awaits the winner of ‘Sparta’, an MMA tournament that features the best 14 middleweight fighters in the world, including the terrifying Russian giant Koba, played by real-life wrestler and two-time Olympic gold medallist Kurt Angle. Tommy and Brendan find themselves competing in the tournament – Tommy because he sparked the #1 contender in the gym and became a YouTube sensation, Brendan because the fighter he was training with pulled out injured, and his trainer pulled some strings with the right people – each with valid and personal reasons to win the $5 million purse. They’re both rank outsiders, and on a collision course with each other.

The climax of the film is as uplifting as any sports film before, and the work that has been put into the script leading up to the tournament means that you don’t know who to root for. Luckily, there is no Rocky II slow motion double knockdown moment. The plausible outcome is enough to make any hardened fight fan reach for the tissues.

After The Dark Knight Rises opens and takes the world by storm, people will take a look back through Tom Hardy’s CV and discover Warrior. The film doesn’t look like it will set the box office alight, but in the next few years, guys will be watching Warrior with their friends on DVD and word-of-mouth will give it a cult following it richly deserves.