Cradle Will Fall Review

Short, sharp, and snappy; Cradle Will Fall is a horror film that many will no doubt enjoy. Directors Lars Jacobson and Amardeep Kaleka pack a lot into the film’s 69 minute runtime, there are strong performances from both Colleen Porch and young star Ridge Canipe, and the film provides for a very entertaining overall viewing experience.

With a mother suffering from postnatal depression, we watch on as her mental state deteriorates and she struggles to handle the pressure of looking after four children. Her husband forced to work heavily to cover the bills, the mother feels that she has no one to turn to, ultimately snapping as it all becomes too much for her.

The build up is well presented on screen, the breakdown itself extremely well covered, and directors Lars Jacobson and Amardeep Kaleka have here made sure that they’ve put together a really rather unnerving horror film. Cradle Will Fall is a really powerful film, one that hits hard and sticks in your mind for long after you’ve finished watching it.

If you’re sick of predictable horror then Cradle Will Fall may just be a film for you to check out; there’s a great sense of realism here, and with Lars Jacobson and Amardeep Kaleka both making their feature length directorial debuts, this is most definitely an impressive effort from the inexperienced directorial duo. Many films will surely follow for these two directors and it’ll also be interesting to track the progress of Ridge Canipe’s career as he really does seem to be a hugely talented young actor.

For fans of the horror genre, Cradle Will Fall is a film that very much deserves to be added to your rental queue as watching this film at least once is most definitely highly recommended.

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Geisha Assassin Review

Go Ohara has history in films as a stuntman, this was his first crack at directing a feature film however and it rather shows. Geisha Assassin has a Mortal Kombat meets Kill Bill feel about it; the frantic action of the fighting has the feel of a video game, and there’s a definite Kill Bill style about the way that the film is set up. There’s little plot here, with the main emphasis on the samurai fighting.

Kotono (Minami Tsukui) witnessed the death of her father as a child, and several years later she has now set out to avenge his death. Hyo-e (Shigeru Kanai) is the man that killed her Father and the one that she really wants to get to, in order to do that however she must first get through a number of others that have set out to pit their skills against her.

With its jumpy camerawork, Geisha Assassin made me feel rather nauseous for the opening third of the film, and whilst I ultimately became somewhat used to the camera style it was definitely something that affected my overall enjoyment of the film. The one on one fighting scenes I felt were generally carried out rather well, at times when there were multiple people fighting main character Kotono however, the on-screen action just seemed to feel a little too much like Power Rangers (a programme that I never did enjoy, even as a child). With fight after fight of impressive action a gripping storyline is not necessarily a requirement, with Geisha Assassin the fighting action is a little too hit and miss for my liking though, and when the fighting falls flat there’s no great plot line to come to the film’s rescue.

Geisha Assassin is definitely not a terrible film, and included here are a number of impressive fight scenes that are well worth watching; with the good there is also a fair amount of bad to take though, and overall Geisha Assassin just didn’t really do it for me. The camerawork takes some getting used to and sticking with the film in the introduction was therefore quite a battle, and even after getting used to the camerawork I did still find several times that the film in places had quite a dizzying effect on me. Go Ohara can perhaps come back in the future with a more impressive offering as there are a few positive signs here, there’s still quite a bit to work on though and Geisha Assassin is a martial arts film where there is I feel much room for improvement.

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Salvage Review

It’s not often enough that a horror film comes along and really impresses me, but when I watched Lawrence Gough’s Salvage I was completely blown away by just how sublimely brilliant this film truly is. Salvage is a British horror film with an absolutely fantastic atmosphere, and right from the word go you know that you’re in for a treat with this one.

There’s trouble in the air as Jodie is taken by her Father to spend Christmas with her mother, Beth, in Liverpool. Already not wanting to spend Christmas with her Mother, things just seem to go from bad to worse for Jodie as she discovers her Mother sleeping with someone in the bedroom. Jodie is quick to head over to her friend’s house, and there is soon some strange activity in the street as the army shows up and asks that people remain locked inside their houses until further notice. As the phone line gets cut off, Beth begins to get increasingly more worried as there are strange goings on in the street and she can’t even get through to her daughter to check that all is okay with her. Things aren’t right at all, and although she’s been advised to remain in the house, Beth feels that it’s her duty as a mother to try and get across the street to see Jodie and make sure that her daughter is protected. People are changing and deaths are occurring; Jodie doesn’t just want to sit and do nothing and it’s time to take action as she leaves the house in hope of finding her daughter.

With a limited budget available to him, Lawrence Gough has managed to put to film one of the best British horrors I have seen in a long time, with an 81 minute offering that is absolutely packed full of quality. As both director and co-writer of the story, Lawrence Gough is obviously a man with a lot of great ideas, and is clearly very clued up when it comes to horror. Salvage has a similar feel about it to that of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, and although it’s unlikely to bring in as much money as Boyle’s 2002 horror, Salvage is most definitely a film that Lawrence Gough can be very proud of.

Those that watch Lawrence Gough’s Salvage are sure to be impressed with this exciting British horror film, and although the film is a little rough around the edges due to its limited budget, look past this and what you have is an absolutely fantastic film. Neve McIntosh impresses massively as Beth, and the other actors present here also put in some quality performance when called upon. We spend a lot of time with key protagonist Beth and it was therefore important that Lawrence Gough chose someone for the part that could really pull it off; in Neve McIntosh he can certainly be seen to have chosen wisely, and never does the fine Scottish actress disappoint.

Lawrence Gough has another film coming up in 2011, The Drought, and given the quality of Salvage it will definitely be interesting to see what Gough can come up with next. Gough is once again working with Colin O’Donnell for The Drought, and having co-written the story for Salvage with him, one would certainly hope that their partnership can once again provide great quality as they work alongside each other on the action/adventure film.

British directors very rarely release horror films of the quality of Salvage, and for those that love their horror this is most definitely a must see film. Salvage impresses massively in all areas, and when the film is brought to DVD on March 22nd it really is one that you should quickly seek to add to your collection.

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Afterschool Review

Although still only in his twenties, American director Antonio Campos has already been able to impress a lot of people with his work, with several short films under his belt as well as this full length feature Afterschool. Campos won the Cinefondation award at the Cannes Film Festival with his 2005 short film But It Now, and despite his young age is really making a mark on the world of cinema. Afterschool is Campos’ first full length film and yet you wouldn’t know it to watch it; Antonio Campos is an obviously talented director with a clear vision for what he wants to achieve with his work.

Robert is an awkward young student at a prep school in America; Robert finds it difficult to interact with others and spends much of his time watching violent and pornographic videos on the internet. Whilst filming around the school for an afterschool filmmaking class, Robert accidently catches on tape the drug induced deaths of two fellow students. Having witnessed their deaths, Robert is chosen to put together a memorial video for the girls and interviews a number of people about them, including fellow students, their parents, and the headmaster.

Antonio Campos captures Robert’s awkward nature perfectly with Afterschool, with actor Ezra Miller really able to play the part of Robert well. Robert is an incredibly creepy character, and through his camerawork here Antonio Campos really brings the key protagonist to life. The quality of acting from Ezra Miller is top class, and this combined with the supreme direction of Antonio Campos really does provide for a hugely impressive film.

Campos has plenty to be proud of with Afterschool, and given the quality of this film he is without doubt a director to watch out for in the future. Antonio Campos is unashamed of his influences, is clearly clued up when it comes to filmmaking, and belies his relative inexperience here with a very impressively put together drama. Antonio Campos may not be a name that you’ve come across in the past, looking to the future though and there’s surely plenty more to come from this highly skilled New York filmmaker.

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Sinking of Japan Review

For those that enjoyed The Day After Tomorrow, Shinji Higuchi’s Sinking of Japan is another film that should certainly appeal. With hugely impressive special effects and excellent character development, Sinking of Japan is a disaster film that is most definitely well worth watching, and the acting quality here is always of an exceptional standard.

As major earthquakes begin to hit Japan it doesn’t take the geological experts long to realise that the country is in serious danger, and the authorities are alerted as it’s calculated that there’s less than a year to go before that Japan will be fully submerged under the sea. The government keeps the situation quiet at first, as large areas of the country begin to get wiped out the time arrives for them to act fast however and they begin to make plans to send as many people overseas as possible. Although the countries future is at threat, all hope is not yet lost as there is a way of solving the problem and stopping Japan from becoming any further damaged by nature; the procedure to stop Japan from sinking is high risk, it is however possible that Japan can be saved.

Kou Shibasaki and Mayuko Fukuda both play their parts brilliantly in Sinking of Japan, and it’s their developing relationship that is at the very centre of the film. Their characters have been extremely well developed here, and their incredibly high quality of acting really does make this film special. Not only is the film visually impressive, but cerebrally engaging also, and the film easily manages to maintain your interest for the entirety of its 135 minute runtime. The only thing that doesn’t seem to work particularly well is the choice of song in what should be an extremely poignant scene; the scene should be highly emotive and could have been excellent, the accompanying track however just doesn’t work. Were it pure instrumental then the effect would perhaps have been greater, for two full minutes the track plays though and just really breaks the film up; this I feel would be my only cause for complaint about the film, and this I feel is an area in which the film could have been improved.

For fans of disaster films I really would recommend watching Sinking of Japan, and for those that follow extreme weather this is a film that would surely appeal. Shinji Higuchi truly has done a cracking job with this film, and all credit must also go to Sakyo Komatsu, the writer of the novel Japan Sinks on which the film is based, and the screenplay writer Masato Kato also. All involved with Sinking of Japan combine together to make the film special, and this is no doubt a film to add to your rental list at the very least.

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Fine, Totally Fine Review

First time director Yosuke Fujita has done a very good job with Fine, Totally Fine, picking a strong cast of actors and putting together a rather impressive comedy. There’s something really very likeable about the film, with Yosiyosi Arakawa’s performance as Teruo particularly impressive.

Teruo is the son of a bookshop owner, whilst he works in his father’s shop he has dreams of creating the world’s scariest haunted house however, and is forever testing out scary pranks on his friends and family to see how they’ll react. When Akari (Yoshino Kimura) gets a job working at the bookshop, Teruo starts developing feelings for her but his good friend Hisanobu (Yoshinori Okada) also finds himself attracted to her and friction therefore develops between the two of them as they both look to win her love and affection.

Fine, Totally Fine has some great moments of comedy, and with some excellent central characters Yosuke Fujita manages to establish himself strongly as both a writer and director with this film. Yosiyosi Arakawa plays his awkward character to perfection here, and Yoshino Kimura as the incredibly clumsy Akari also works extremely well. Yoshinori Okada’s performance as Hisonobu is overshadowed a little by the excellence of both Yoshino Kimura and Yosiyosi Arakawa , he still plays his part well though, managing to put across a great sense of life in his character.

Whilst Fine, Totally Fine could be described as a romantic comedy, to label the film as such would almost certainly give people the wrong idea; Fine, Totally Fine is not your typical romantic comedy, and if you don’t generally enjoy romantic comedy films then that doesn’t necessarily means that you won’t like this one. With some great acting and fine quirky comedy, Fine, Totally Fine is a film that most people will probably enjoy; place your genre issues aside and watch Fine, Totally Fine with an open mind and a great deal of enjoyment is bound to be had.

There’s a very natural feel about Fine, Totally Fine, an excellent achievement for Yosuke Fujita with his writing and directorial debut. There’s not a single character introduced here that feels forced, just a great flow about the film and the way in which the plot line unfolds. Fine, Totally Fine is an absolutely brilliant debut effort from Yosuke Fujita, and having already gone on to write and direct the teleplay Saba since finishing this film; I’m sure that Yosuke Fujita is a Japanese director that we will be hearing plenty more from in the future.

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Lala Pipo DVD Review

Written by Tetsuya Nakashima (Kamikaze Girls, Memories of Matsuko), Lala Pipo is the directorial debut from Masayuki Miyano, based on a collection of short stories by Okuda Hideo. Six characters are focused on here with their stories all interwoven, all in some way related to the sex industry.

Hiroshi is the first character focused on here; an overweight writer that very much enjoys masturbation. Hiroshi has conversations with his penis (played by a green puppet) and sometimes listens through the ceiling to the couple upstairs having sex. Hiroshi’s character is quite an interesting one, with Hiroshi the film is merely warming up though and we soon move on to the next character, Tomoko. Tomoko is a shop assistant before she’s introduced to the sex industry by Kenji (another character focused on in the film), and her life is then changed forever as she slowly finds herself becoming more and more heavily involved within the industry. Tomoko is arguably the best character that the film has to offer, and Yuri Nakamura’s performance as Tomoko and Hiroki Narimiya’s as Kenji really do stand out from the pack here. Yoshie, Koichi, and Sayuri are the other three people focused on within the film; Yoshie has her moments, Koichi has a rather bland sexual superhero storyline, and Sayuri creates amateur porn videos to fund her way through life as she looks to embark on a career as an anime voiceover artist.

The film begins brilliantly and offers so much in its opening, after a bright start the quality level seems to drop a little here however and some of the transitions between storylines feel slightly awkward. Some of these six characters storylines just seem to work better than others, and although there are a few amusing moments here, Lala Pipo is certainly not consistently enjoyable from start to finish. First time director Masayuki Miyano is obviously enthusiastic about his work and this is something that comes through here, with so many storylines going on it’s hard not to have your favourites however, and when a particularly strong part of the film comes to an end and a less interesting character is introduced this is always a little disappointing.

The quality of acting here is at all times excellent, particularly from Yuri Nakamura and Hiroki Narimiya as previously outlined; despite some great performances and some very funny moments though, Lala Pipo is not a great film from start to finish, and there is definitely room for improvement here. Some of the characters could have done with a little extra work to bring them out and grab you a little more, Tomoko I personally found to be brilliant though, and although not necessarily a particularly likeable character, Kenji was another that I really did enjoy watching on screen, probably in large part down to the supreme acting talent of Hiroki Narimiya.

Having read some extremely positive things about Okuda Hideo’s book of short stories I now feel inclined to give his work a read to see how the book and the film compare, something tells me though that Lala Pipo doesn’t translate anywhere near as well on film as it does in the written word.

DVD Extras:

Extras include a making of featurette ‘Loveable People of Lala Pipo’, interviews with the cast and crew on the subject ‘What is Sex?’, and a trailer for the film as well as 16 others in the Third Window Films collection. The interviews bring up some pretty interesting (and in some places amusing) answers, the half hour long making of feature is quite enjoyable to watch, and taking a look at the trailers you may just spot another film from Third Window that captures your interest. All in all there’s a pretty solid selection of extras here, and this rounds things off nicely, providing you with a little more to keep you occupied once you’ve finished watching the film itself.

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Southern Softies DVD Review

With its BBFC rating of U, Graham Fellows’ Southern Softies provides strong evidence that you don’t have to be crude to make people laugh. Following on from his 2006 mockumentary It’s Nice Up North, Graham Fellows once again sets to work as his comic creation John Shuttleworth as he looks into the idea that southern people are soft. In order to test out the theory that the further south you go the softer people become, John Shutteleworth heads off to the most southerly point of the British Isles; the Channel Islands.

So does John Shuttleworth discover that southern people are soft? Not exactly, that’s not really the point though, Southern Softies is simply a comic journey through the Channel Islands taken by John Shuttleworth (Graham Fellows) as he meets up with various people for interview, catches flights from one Channel Island to another, and ultimately runs out of film on a boat journey attempting to find a Barclays bank (but failing as all he manages to find is the Barclay brothers’ castle on the island of Brecqhou).

John’s agent Ken Worthington is quick to abandon John as he goes off in hope of finding single women, and for much of the film we therefore not only follow John Shuttleworth as he seeks to answer the question as to whether or not southern people are soft, but also John’s quest to find Ken. Every so often we’re shown footage that Ken has taken on his own journey around the Channel Islands, and this contrasts well with John’s own footage from around the Islands.

Graham Fellows’ John Shuttleworth character provides a lot of laughs throughout Southern Softies, and this is most definitely a mockumentary that provides for a very satisfying viewing experience. Whether John’s interviewing people, performing his music, or travelling from place to place; always Southern Softies delivers in the comedy department, and a lot of fun is crammed into the film’s 78 minute run time.

DVD extras include a trailer for the film, videos of John Shuttleworth’s music, and a number of deleted scenes. The deleted scenes are definitely worth watching as they include a few amusing moments not captured in the film, and if you’re up for a bit more of John’s music then the songs should also please.

All in all, Southern Softies is a film that really is worth investing in, and if you’d like to support this fine northern comic then Southern Softies will be available to purchase on DVD from March 1st 2010.

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Kamikaze Girls Review

Although visually beautiful, Tetsuya Nakashima’s Kamikaze Girls often feels like a bit of an empty shell. The cinematography is stunning and there’s no doubt that the film is absolutely incredible to look at, aside from this though there is little that really makes the film special.

Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) is an incredibly isolated seventeen year old that is very much her own woman; she has no friends to speak of and tends to make little effort to get on with others. Momoko is incredibly interested in fashion and likes to purchase her clothes from her favourite boutique, Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. Momoko’s father used to have his own market stall where he sold fake Versace, although her father has now moved on from that business venture however a lot of his old stock still remains in the house, and when Momoko is one day in need of money to buy some new clothes she decides to place an advert on the internet. It’s not long before someone responds to the advert and is after a fake Versace jacket, and as she lives just down the road she decides to come and pay Momoko a visit. Ichiko (Anna Tsuchiya) is the person that responds to the advert, a girl the same age as Momoko but with very different interests; Ichiko is a keen biker, despite their differences though it’s not long before Momoko and Ichiko begin to forge a very strong friendship.

As the film develops a deeper bond grows between Momoko and Ichiko, and the once isolated Momoko learns the value of friendship as she comes to care very much about Ichiko. The film looks into the friendship that these two teenagers form, focusing on their stories as they both look to follow their dreams.

The opening scene of Kamikaze Girls sets up the finale for the film, and we then follow Momoko and Ichiko’s friendship as we work our way back to the end. It leaves us wondering what we’re leading up to, but as it turns out the journey is ultimately more interesting than the destination. There’s no incredible plot line, and the ending isn’t really worth of such focus as it’s given in being used in the opening sequence of the film; what the film has to offer visually is what’s most striking about Kamikaze Girls, the plot meanwhile is always secondary to this.

Kyoko Fukada and Anna Tsuchiya both play their parts well, it’s the visual gloss that’s key here though, and the fact that both of these actresses play their parts so well just serves to make the viewing experience more pleasant. Realism isn’t a key concentration for Tetsuya Nakashima here, he has chosen his cast well though and the cinematography at all times ensures for an absolute display of visual beauty.

If you watch films hoping for a well written script and top quality plot line then Kamikaze Girls may leave you feeling a little disappointed, if what you’re craving is a high gloss display of stunning visuals though then Kamikaze Girls can definitely deliver. Funny in places and with an incredibly high quality cast, Kamikaze Girls is a film that is certainly worth watching once, whether or not you’ll want to see the film more than that though is uncertain. Kamikaze Girls is far from being a bad film, it’s just far from being an exceptional film also.

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The Machine Girl Review

Watching The Machine Girl I found the film bring out two separate sides of me; part of me was impressed with the gore, the other part of me however wanted more.

Growing up as a teenager I probably would have watched this film concentrating solely on the over the top gore that Noboru Iguchi offers here, now in my 20s though I can’t help wanting to see more of a storyline. Gore is all well and good, but padding out the gore with a plodding and often severely lacking plot? It’s just a little disappointing.

Gore hounds across the world will no doubt lap The Machine Girl up and admire it for its many grim and gory moments, and the film will surely have its fair share of high school admirers who will pass the film around amongst their peers; get past the gore though and what are you really left with? An award winning plot line was obviously not the aim here, all too often however the film leaves you waiting for the next offering of gore without supplying anything in between. In its opening the film offers so much as it’s not just gory but actually quite funny also, filling you with hope for what’s to come; as the film progresses though it loses that comedy effect as the supply dries up and Noboru Iguchi seems to fall short of ideas to keep the film interesting.

Noboru Iguchi knew what he was aiming for with this film and successfully wrote and directed something that is completely over the top gory, whilst that may have been his aim though it still doesn’t make the poor plot progression any less tedious to watch, and aside from gore this is a film that has really very little to offer.

If you love your gore then give The Machine Girl a watch, if you’re looking for more though then it’s best just to look elsewhere.

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