xavierpop's posterous http://xavierpop.posterous.com Most recent posts at xavierpop's posterous posterous.com Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:35:21 -0700 Louis does Toronto After Dark Festival - Review of War of the Dead http://xavierpop.posterous.com/louis-does-toronto-after-dark-festival-review-21681 http://xavierpop.posterous.com/louis-does-toronto-after-dark-festival-review-21681

It's the middle of the Second World War and a group of American and Finnish soldiers are sent to attack a German bunker.  In doing so they stumble upon one of the most horrible and closely guarded secrets of the Nazi regime.   The unit's mission having now changed, the small band of men try to both survive the onslaught and destroy the bunker from whi ch they sprang as they now face an enemy more terrible and terrifying - the undead.

This is a dark film.  Literally and figuratively. The movie takes place over a single night with the final shot being the first light of the next morning. The lighting is such that you can (mostly) see what is unfolding onscreen. Except for the bunkers, I was never sure if what I saw was soundstage or built set.  I found the sets to be accurate, almost to the point of distraction as the director seemed to want to show every type and style of period setpiece he could come up with.

The acting is competent with veteran British actors Andrew Teirnan (Survivors) and Mark Winggett (The Bill) working alongside Finnish actor Samuel Vauramo  and strongman Jouko Ahola.  If their performances fail to deliver, I find fault with the writer and director first as I didn't find myself caring about any of them.

Save Magdalena Górska's brief and confusing foray into the film's narrative, there isn't much that one can find sympathetic about the plight they find themselves in.  The problem is twofold - the first one being the characters themselves are relatively humorless.  Soldiers tend to joke, even when the situation is hopeless.  This movie desperately needed some comic relief in it somewhere.  The second problem is that the Nazi-Zombies were neither Nazis or Zombies but captured Russian soldiers who were experimented on.

The opening shot is of a solider of unknown origin, in a frock, getting shot and turning into undead.  The rest of the movie they are in uniform, side cap and all attacking our heroes.  Most have been given special powers of speed, strength and endurance, but seem unable to speak.  Still they manage coordinated attacks, leaping from the ground to the top of a building in a single leap, breaking doors and windows yet somehow unable to keep up with a car moving at a walking pace.

"Dead Snow" this is not. It isn't "Outpost" either. It really isn't comparable to any of sub-genre of Nazi-Zombie films even though that is the impression the trailer gives.  The narrative is a bit hard to follow as the main characters tend to wander aimlessly for a bit. After dying one by one, the final few then decide to call in an airstrike from the middle of the bunker full of super undead.  Even as a horror fan I found this quite hard to accept as a legitimate way to handle the problems the plot gave itself.   Much of it felt forced, out of place and fake.  Even though, the gore is well done it is not enough to save this film from itself.

I'd wait for it to come out on cable.

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Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:26:30 -0700 Mel's Review of the Debt http://xavierpop.posterous.com/mels-review-of-the-debt http://xavierpop.posterous.com/mels-review-of-the-debt

I had to give myself a day before writing the review for The Debt. I couldn’t think straight right afterwards. I had a hard time assimilating what I had just experienced.

The Debt wasn’t just a movie, it was an experience. I spent the entire movie tense and breathless. John Madden should be given major props for creating a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire two hours. It’s definitely not a movie where everything is wrapped up in a little bow by the end.

Although Madden has mainly directed television programs, he has a strong track record with the movies he has directed (Shakespeare in Love, Proof). He is definitely a master at story telling and creating characters that you care about.

I’m quite impressed and surprised that there were three screenplay writers (Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Peter Straughan), as I would normally think that the end product would be all over the place. The dialogue had such beautiful flow. I haven’t seen the original version of The Debt (Ha-Hov) from 2007, but I think it’s safe to assume that they did the original justice.

The story, taking place mainly in 1966, focuses around three Mossad agents who have been given the task of finding and capturing a Nazi war criminal in order to have him tried for horrible atrocities committed during World War II. The story jumps around a bit timing-wise, which at the very beginning was a little confusing â€" they jumped from 1997 back to 1966 and back again â€" however, things become clear as soon as they go back to 1966 where the main story takes place.

The three main characters, played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, and Marton Csokas, did a stellar job portraying the young Mossad agents. I particularly enjoyed Chastain’s performance of young Rachel Singer. Her “It” girl hype she is garnering is totally deserved. She stole every scene in The Help, and definitely held her own against Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life.

Sam Worthington is also a huge star on the rise at the moment. He brings such depth to his characters, more so than most actors out there right now. The Debt is my personal favourite of all of Sam’s films (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation, Clash of the Titans), and his portrayal of young David Peretz was riveting. I believe that we’ll be seeing him in many more excellent roles in the future..

The last of the three agents is young Stephan Gold, played by Marton Csokas. Csokas did an excellent job playing the older more experienced agent. I must admit though, I had to look him up, because I know I’ve seen him before, but couldn’t recall where. He’s been in “bit part” land - standing out just enough to get noticed, but not enough for people to remember where. I’m thrilled to see him step into a lead role, as it really showcased his acting chops.

Out of the three older versions of the three agents, Helen Mirren (The Queen, Red) is really the only one worth mentioning. She really was the focal point of the 1997 storyline. To me, Mirren is a close second to Meryl Streep. She gave the older Rachel such nuance and depth, and she was only a supporting actor.

The other two agents, played by Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins, The Full Monty) and Ciarán Hinds (Road to Perdition, There Will be Blood), were in the film so little that I barely noticed them. I like both actors, but didn’t get much from them in this one. All I got out of them was what my main complaint about this movie was - the accents. They were terrible.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the good doctor, or should I say, herr Doktor Bernhardt. The doctor was very aptly played by Jesper Christensen (2006 Casino Royale, The Interpreter), who showed both sides to this evil man. The doctor was to be tried for the torture of countless people, yet he was also a fertility doctor, showing great compassion for his patients and helping to bring new life into this world. This role must have been so difficult to play. The character definitely had a dual personality.

I’m going to give this movie a very big compliment, if The Help hadn’t already come out, this would be my favourite movie of this year. You can’t get a better cast, or a more intense storyline. I definitely give the film 4 stars out of 5.

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