Carrie

Year: 2013

Genre: Horror. 

'You were warned never to push Carrie to the limits. Now you must face the consequences'

Hollywood seems to have an obsession in recent times with remaking some of the horror classics from the 70's and 80's. Sadly, their quality is usually entirely inferior to the original. There are exceptions of course, but in most cases, few have managed to capture the tone of what many regard to be horror's golden years, 1975 - 1985. 

Being a long standing fan of the genre however, and after what seems like an eternity of reviewing big budget Hollywood blockbusters, I thought it was about time I got my teeth back into some low budget horror and caught up on a couple of films I missed out on last year

So here were have the most recent of these remakes, 'Carrie', a modern take on the 1976 Brian de Palma film adaption of Stephen King's first novel that was released around Halloween last year. For those unfamiliar with the story, Chloë Grace Moretz plays Carrie White, a timid 17-year-old teenager who is abused by some unrealistically cruel contemporaries and an obsessively evangelical Mother played by an excellent Julianne Moore. As the story progresses, Carrie gradually discovers she has telekinetic powers, and gets pushed to the limit on the night of her school's prom by a humiliating prank. 

So has Kimberly Peirce improved on the De Palma original? Almost a shot for shot remake, she treads very carefully as not to annoy fans of the book and the core horror enthusiasts alike. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the movie is very low on actual scares, the only real unnerving scenes featuring Moore as Carries's self harming abusive Mother. Consequently, the film predominantly becomes a vehicle for teenage angst, and the dangers of cyberbullying. Is this a bad thing? I suppose we must applaud Peirce for rocketing Carrie into the 21st century (You Tube features in one scene) but she seems to have forgotten this is ultimately a Stephen King story, and when held up against the likes of 'It', 'Misery', and 'Pet Sematary', falls flat on its face when it comes to genuinely scary moments. 

Grace Moretz is also wooden to the point of being robotic in some later scenes, but I suppose you could put this down to acting experience as Sissy Spacek was some five years older than her when she played the character in 1976. 

If you've seen the original, there is no need to sit through Pierce's modern interpretation of 'Carrie'. If however, you've never heard of the character, or were born some twenty years after the release of the 76 version, you may find enjoyment in her story, albeit a not very scary one. 

An unsatisfying 2.5 stars, but probably 3.5 if you're a bit more in the age range of the target audience. 

Non Stop

Genre: Action / Suspense

Media / Year: 2014 DVD release

Passing under the radar fairly covertly upon it's cinema release earlier this year, 'Non Stop' has just had it's DVD release in the US. As it was something we had originally planned to go and see at Star City, I decided to check it out in the comfort of my own home with the added bonus of no kids talking all the way through.

Following on from the events of 9-11 and United 93, where the USA consequently put Air Marshals on both it's external and internal flights, Liam Neeson is stationed on a long haul flight from the USA to London. The story follows that there is a terrorist on the plane that will kill someone mid flight every 20 minutes unless a significant amount of money is transferred to their bank account asap. Only Neeson knows of this threat, and he has to find out who it is.

So lets start with the good. Liam Neeson plays gruff, late in their career ex-military special agents very convincingly. Look no further than 'Taken' for evidence of this. Neeson's character in this film is very much the same as the aforementioned and he doesn't fail to deliver this ruggedness to the audience. Also, as ninety nine percent of the film takes place on a plane, the inherent claustrophobic elements add to the suspense and this is maintained pretty much up until the last act when Hollywood spectacle kicks in and reality goes completely out of the window (and I mean COMPLETELY). Julianne Moore provides a decent enough supporting role but is never really tested as are the rest of the cast.

Now for the not as good. 'Taken' was a surprise landmark action movie where Liam Neeson seemingly reinvented himself and took his career down a new path. Sadly, those looking for 'Taken' on a plane will be left disappointed. It also falls a long way short of Wes Craven's sleeper success 'Red Eye' (2005) where Cillian Murphy did stuck on a plane with a maniac significantly better. As I also mentioned earlier the final act take far fetched to a whole new level and we really are expected to throw our beliefs of what could (and does happen) at 30,000 feet completely out of the window.

'Non Stop' is a worthwhile watch, and if your in the market for a Liam Neeson actioner, it does the job. It just about gets up to cruising altitude, but falls short of previous works that do the job it's trying to do significantly better. Don't expect the earth, and you won't feel let down.

2.5 stars.

X-Men Days of Future Past.

Year: 2014

Genre: Superhero / Comicbook 

Before the trailers were on for this I decided to look up exactly how many X-Men films there have been, and when the first one came out. Lets face it, it feels like they have been around for forever and day. IMDB says the first one came out in 2000, and I reckon there has been five or six in total (if you count the couple of Wolverine spin offs). So yeah, if this feels like the umpteenth X-Men film, that's because it is. 

Essentially a handing over the baton vehicle for the franchise, the film's plot borrows heavily from the first Terminator and involves Wolverine travelling back in time to prevent the manufacture of sentinels; huge twelve foot tall robots that intend to wipe out mutants and humans with mutant DNA to create a utopian society. The time travelling element allows the actors from the earlier films to appear in the same film as those from 'First Class', and you pretty much end up with every single person who has ever played a mutant all together in one film. This though, is not such a bad thing when you consider McKellen and Stewart look like a pair of pensioners ready for a retirement home.

'Days of Future Past' is easily the best of the series. As always, Hugh Jackman is goes off the alpha male scale as Wolverine, and is sufficient enough eye candy for any ladies in the audience that have been dragged along by their sci-fi fan other halves. The rest of the cast excel in their roles and provide sufficient enough reason to pursue yet another sequel. In particular, I felt Michael Fassbender single handedly trounced Ian McKellen's Magneto and then some.

There are some great set pieces, and without going into too much detail there is one particular scene with Quicksilver that is true cgi mastery. The film chugs along at a decent pace and is pleasingly coherent given that it's a time travel movie. It isn't drawn out, and the 1970's backdrop ensures at no point does it become too far fetched and rely too heavily on special effects to convey it's message.

Make no mistake, 'Days of Future Past' is all about the characters, and a great set of actors make for a great movie. Easily the best of the series (and slightly surpassing First Class, which was great in it's own right), you could do a lot worse than catch this on a rain sodden English Summer afternoon.

4.5 Stars (would have been five if Hugh Jackman hadn't used so much just for men)