Mirror Mirror (2012) DVD/BluRay Combo Review

DVD/BluRay review of Tarsem's interpretation of the Snow White fable in Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins


Image Courtesy Alliance Films
Legal Line © 2011 Relativity Media. All Rights Reserved. © 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved. Licensed for private home exhibition only. All other Rights Reserved.

Dir: Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Fall, The Cell)
Cast: Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Mark Povinelli, Jordan Prentice, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Martin Klebba, Ronald Lee Clark, Sean Bean
USA, 2012

Reason to see: I've been a fan of Tarsem Singh since The Cell and couldn't resist him diving into the world of fables

I was quite looking forward to Mirror Mirror as we don't get that many fables and this one not has women in the forefront with the youthful Snow White (played by Lily Collins) and The Queen (played by Julia Roberts). The film stays pretty close to the story in terms of The Queen being interesting in staying the fairest one of them all, and having Snow White herself be pretty resourceful although in ways that do stretch the branches of to some new places of the forest. With both The Queen and Snow White vying for the same Prince, Mirror Mirror leads us somewhere that feels a bit strange. The Queen wants to retain her power and resources, and Snow White seems to be falling for the first time but oddly I found that there wasn't much chemistry going on between the characters. Lively quipping and cute interactions, sure, but chemistry? Not so much. And fair warning for Sean Bean fans, even though he's pretty highly billed on the film he is actually not in it very much.

I did quite enjoy the story and lives of the dwarves played by Mark Povinelli, Jordan Prentice, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Martin Klebba and Ronald Lee Clark; who show one of the many after effects of The Queen's reign of the land which leaves them as outlaws. They bring an interesting look at the outsider looking in perspective, of which Snow White is also in a similar boat, making them unconventional friends with a similar yet different goal.

I was captivated by the films lively colours, fabulous art direction and a huge array of costumes. In true Tarsem fashion the world explodes on the screen using the power of extremes in volume and colours bringing everything to life. It feels like a storybook of beautiful imagination and is vivid and alive. I thought it was quite interesting to have The Queen live in a world so bright and full of zest, but that brings into play that a lot of the film is filled with humour. That was one thing I wasn't expecting as much, fable and humour together which give it a more kid-friendly feel on paper, although they still deal with a fair amount of harshness of deceptions, plots against peoples lives as well as the crazy zany adventures in the forest.

Overall I thought it was interesting to mix fable with comedy but I'm wasn't always pleased with the result which often lead to silly fun, but not quite with the punch I felt the story deserved. I did enjoy some of the themes in the film such as injustice with the dwarves, but the primary story of Snow White vs The Queen felt a little soft and surprizing that it was more about getting the guy than living their own lives. Although I did love the art direction and costumes, I was hoping with a little mystery with the whimsy in Mirror Mirror; but as a family friendly film I think there is a lot to enjoy.

Extras

• DVD Extras include: Looking Through the Mirror, Prince and Puppies and Theatrical Trailer
• BluRay Extras include: Deleted Scenes, I Believe I Can Dance & Mirror Mirror Storybook
• Plus: the Mirror Mirror DVD/BluRay combo also comes with Digital Copy and Limited Edition Colouring Book

Mirror Mirror is available on DVD as of June 26, 2012. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it, but I wanted to loved it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it as light fantasy or to whimsical fable fans who enjoy a dash of light comedy

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2012

My Week in Film: June 18, 2012: Cosmopolis

Image: Robert Pattinson and Kevin Durand star in COSMOPOLIS. Courtesy of eOne Films

This week I trekked out to the theatre to see our Book to Film Club selection of Cosmopolis (dir: David Cronenberg, Canada/France/Italy/Portugal/2012), and I now remember that a strong reason I picked it was to have a Canadian film included in the Book to Film Club and this was our first! Yay for that! Sadly, I didn't overly love the book by Don DeLillo as I couldn't connect to or believe in the protagonist Eric, played in the film by Robert Pattinson. He's introduced as rich, smart and with a staff so trained to respond to his every whim. Personally, I don't find that very interesting, and I didn't believe either the richness nor the intelligence of the character. Both the richness and intelligence were displayed, especially in the effects of, but I didn't believe it. I did find that it felt pretentious, which I had to look up to ensure it met the definition and "making claims to excellence or importance" and "doing things for show" both really describe the character, and the themes of the film. So left with not believing in the character, you are pretty much left with enjoying this 'near future' world, which again didn't quite read for me but baring that I was hoping with a cast that includes Juliette Binoche, Kevin Durand, Sarah Gadon, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Morton and Jay Baruchel I would at least be in for some good acting. And there was some, but only some.

For those who may not know, I'm a big fan of Twilight and have been impressed with Rob in other films including Little Ashes and his supporting role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I think he's really got potential for acting but worry that due to his stardom the trajectories he can take don't match a normal learning curve, so he can be pretty much thrown to the wolves. In Cosmopolis, I felt that he is thrown to the wolves but from the structure of the film that parses out to many different conversations, often only with one other person, it's like many small battles as opposed to one big fight. The fight analogy is only in winning over the audience though, as it's how well the two people on screen work together that is going to win the audience over. I was won over by Samantha Morton the most, and it was strange because in a lot of what her character says is the most 'out there', yet I understood it and more importantly I felt that she understood it. If she wasn't in the film, I think I would have come away feeling very disappointed, but with her there I felt like I did walk away with something. I also enjoyed Kevin Durand as Eric's bodyguard/chief of security, although there wasn't much different in the various conversations in the film. The dialogue often felt like it was suppose to be very meaningful and insightful, yet I almost never felt it and on the flip side the there was so much flinging about in the limited space provided it really gave the impression of trying hard to be really interesting. But without impact on dialogue, this really felt like they were just making up for it.

I can sense the spirit of the book and the film are to engage the mind and tantalize the senses, and if people have that experience I am really happy for them. I know there are other films where I am right there with the character, nodding along in their challenges and cheering for them to take on and go for it, but I didn't feel that way about Cosmopolis. I felt pretty quickly that I wasn't the target audience because I didn't care about the characters. And if I don't care, then I'm barely there. It does feel trademark Cronenberg with the intellectual themes and speckled with visceral body craziness, so if that's what you are hoping for then Cosmopolis is one for you.

I saw Cosmopolis here in Toronto at the Varsity after it's June 8, 2012 wide release. For international release dates check here, although no US release date is noted I've 'heard' of August 2012 is when to expect if from several sources.

See also my Cosmopolis vlog review & Cosmopolis podcast review.

I'm excited to share that my vlog review of Cosmopolis has quickly become my most viewed video over at the Movie Moxie YouTube Channel. I do wish that had happened with a film I enjoyed more, but alas, that too could still happen.

Up next: Prometheus. I have actually now seen Prometheus but I need more than 24 hours to digest and relay my thoughts on it. I'll be reviewing it in vlog and podcast format this Friday June 22, 2012 as will write about it with next weeks My Week In Film post.


Image: Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in COSMOPOLIS. Photo credit Caitlin Cronenberg Courtesy of eOne Films


Me seeing Cosmopolis!

Movie Moxie Vlogs: Chernobyl Diaries, The Deep Blue Sea and June 1, 2012 Releases

This weeks Movie Moxie Vlog I review recent releases of Chernobyl Diaries and The Deep Blue Sea and look ahead to out June 1, 2012 releases. Little shaky this week with tech-wise as it's a little pixelated and I had to do some cuts, but bonus - now I know how to edit stuff out. Learning! I just happens whether you plan for it or not!

Mentioned in the Vlog:

• Reviews of films mentioned this week: Paranormal Activity, Thor, Melancholia
  
• I compare Chernobyl Diaries to The Darkest Hour (see my podcast review of The Darkest Hour here).
• I mention that Snow White and the Huntsman is one of my Most Anticipated Films of the 2012.
  
• See all the June 1, 2012 releases also in this weeks edition of Film Fan Friday, you can subscribe by email to have Toronto's film releases sent to you every week
  
• See the In the Family trailer here
• I mention discussing Dark Shadows and Tim Burton's auteur-ness, and how Wes Anderson also has a unique definitive auteur style
• I mention my Twilight Podcast Before the Dawn.
  
• See my other vlogs this week: DVD Release for May 29, 2012 and The Aggression Scale Review Vlog, Bondathon Vlog: Thunderball and Countdown to Prometheus with Alien 3.
• Please note if you prefer just listening, the Week in Film Vlog are included in the Movie Moxie Podcast. Listen to this weeks episode here.
  

Up next week: Hoping to see Snow White and the Huntsman, possible Lovely Molly plus I'll be attending the Worldwide Short Film Festival.

The Secret World of Arrietty (DVD+Blu-Ray Combo-Pack) Review

DVD+Blu-Ray Combo-Pack Review of animated film The Secret World of Arrietty adapted from the book The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The Secret World of Arrietty Blu-Ray/DVD Image © 2010 GNDHDDTW, © 2012 GNDHDDTW. All Rights Reserved.

Dir: Hiromasa Yonebayashi - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, David Henrie, Carol Burnett, Moises Arias
Japan, 2012

Reason to see: It's a selection for the 2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club, based on the book The Borrowers by Mary Norton which was our January 2012 Reading Selection

I absolutely adored The Secret World of Arrietty. I know I'm not the first person to jump out of the gate for animated films, but this one truly spoke to my heart. It follows Arrietty, a young girl in a family of 'borrowers', who are tiny people who 'borrow' things from humans like sugar and such, but need to remain unseen by the human eye. Arrietty is an adventurous and brave young girl who is very much looking forward to her first borrowing.

The film is based on the children's fantasy novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton, and was our first book in the 2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club. I love started the year off with a kicks book, and this one was a wonderful way to start the year as it has a lovely sense of wonder and nesting. The film does a great job of maintaining that sense of wonder and inventiveness, but shakes up the narrative style. In the book it's more of a story-within-a-story, and in the film we get to see the world purely from tiny people's perspective of Arrietty (voiced by Bridget Mendler) and her mom Homily (voiced by Amy Poehler) and dad Pod (voiced by Will Arnett). From them we see the different perspectives of their day to day lives which include the excitement of possible adventure from Arrietty, the day-to-day gathering of Pod and keeping the home fires burning with Homily. But as time goes on, it's time for Arrietty to learn the skill of borrowing from her dad Pod, and see that not only adventure, but danger, lies ahead.

I loved how the film blended the sense of adventure with the everyday, the inventiveness of creative re-purposing the borrowers do with the human items but it also acknowledges the challenges and dangers they face. There is an amazing relatability of what they go through, and I love how Arrietty gets to opportunity to grow, learn and develop new skills in this big wide world that's above them. And I absolutely adored the animation, it gives a great sense of the scale and vastness of the world and brings to life all creatures be they big or small, happy or cranky or even a bit of both. Truly magical.

It was great to see such a wonderful adaptation that maintains the spirit of the film, but also is brave enough to take liberties as well. A bold move that pays off and enriches the viewer's experience. I was happy to see that the DVD/Blu-Ray release includes a Japanese audio with English subtitles, which was very interesting to watch as well the differences between the versions and how the sentiment can change ever so slightly with different words, but always maintains the same spirit in the film and the journeys of the characters. I truly loved The Secret World of Arrietty, it was joy to see this wonderful world come to life and to see an spirited young female character take centre stage braving adventures in the big, wide world. Easily one of my favourite films of the year by far.

DVD Extras:

• Bridgit Mendler "Summertime" Music Video (3 minutes) film tie-in video including film clips
• The Making Of "Summertime" (2 minutes) music video clips, behind the scenes on filming the music video and interview with Bridgit Mendler including the inspiration for the song, the process of making the music video and
• Audio Options: English, French or Japanese Audio
• Subtitle Options: English, English for the Hearing Impaired and French
  

Blu-Ray Extras:

• All DVD Extras (noted above) plus: Storyboard presentation of the film; Trailers - Original Japanese and Television Commercials and “Arrietty’s Song” Music Video The films theme song, performed by singer, songwriter and harpist Cécile Corbel

The Secret World of Arrietty is available on DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Combo as of May 22, 2012. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I can't wait to watch it again
I widely recommend it

See also:

• Listen to my interview with Bridget Mendler, who voiced the character of Arrietty
• Read my interview with Bridget Mendler
• Vlog review of The Secret World of Arrietty on DVD+Blu-Ray Combo-Pack
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton as our January 2012 Reading Selection
• The Secret World of Arrietty as our February 2012 Film Selection
• The 2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club, which you can join us at any time

© Shannon Ridler, 2012

The Divide (DVD Review) Uncut

DVD review of The Divide, the brilliant and harrowing post-apocalyptic thriller starring Michael Biehn, Laren German, Michael Eklund and Milo Ventimiglia; directed by Xavier Gens.

Image Courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment

Dir: Xavier Gens (Frontier(s), Hitman)
Cast: Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Eklund, Lauren German, Rosanna Arquette, Ashton Holmes, Courtney B. Vance, Iván González
Canada/USA/Germany, 2012

Reason to see: Exceptional cast, plus it's post apocalyptic

The Divide is a post apocalyptic thriller that delves deeply and darkly in the demise of the human spirit as it follows a group of people thrown together in the bowels of an apartment building sealed in against the unknown catastrophe that looms outside. I often have a hard time with post-apocalyptic films being a sunny side of the street kind of person, and in general can avoid them as they upset me but my first viewing of the film was during the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see likely the highest profiled film at this years festival which has many guests in attendance including Michael Biehn (Bereavement, The Terminator, Aliens) & Michael Eklund ('Intelligence', Hunt to Kill, Tactical Force), Milo Ventimiglia, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn and director Xavier Gens (Frontier(s), Hitman). The film mad a huge impact and it played to a completely sold out house. The energy in the room was electric and it's such a unique experience to see a film that is so focused on the power people can have over each other when you are literally surrounded by so many people. Who would step up and take charge? Would anyone challenge them, and if so - how much and how hard? When, or does, the human spirit crumble and is it inevitable that people will succumb to live in and live on the horror of the situation.

I actually found the film quite a challenge to watch but what makes it work so very well are the performances by an astounding group of actors that went pretty method here shooting in chronological order and even going through similar limitations to their characters. I was particularly impressed by the connection and chemistry between the characters played by Michael Eklund & Milo Ventimiglia who had an electric bond on the screen, plus Lauren German who plays a very subtle character who carefully and subtly tries to stay out of the power struggles that are inevitable. I also was very impressed with Michael Biehn who walks a fine, gray line with the power of the inadvertent caretaker to the group. It certainly wasn't an easy watch, but it was a hell of a powerful film and will stay with me for a very long time.

After re-watching The Divide on DVD I continued to be impressed with the films power to draw the viewer in, the exceptional performances and the fabulous score. It's a harrowing viewing experience that goes well past any comfort zones, but it does so with brilliance and abandon, and for that I greatly it. After listening to the commentary really reinforces just how trusting and giving the actors were to each other, it's extraordinary. I feel like it's watching the evolution and result of a masterpiece acting workshop.

DVD Extras:

• Feature Commentary with director Xavier Gens and actors Michael Biehn, Michael Eklund and Milo Ventimiglia. Very entertaining and interesting commentary, they discuss shooting chronologically including how they didn't really know each other starting off and were on diets, notations to what wasn't in the original cut, changes in their characters from the original script put then with improv how the characters and film evolved and the amazing amount of creative freedom there was for the actors, character histories, insights and decisions, which scenes were their audition scenes including if people auditioned as different characters. It's interesting to hear actors ask Xavier Gens about decisions in the film and he also explains several of the effects shots on how, why and when they did them; there are some friendly scene stealing discussions as well as kudos on acting choices and even disagreements on character which was really interesting. Also discussion on what shots get reactions from crowds, themes of the film, involvement and working with writer Eron Sheean. They discuss how beautiful the film is and especially giving the limited locations, the changes between the acts, scenes that were taken out and/or put back into the film and the process that went along with it, film influences, nods & tributes. The audio in the film is pretty low, so it's definitely one you want to listen to after watching, but with 4 voices in the audio commentary there is already a lot of listen to so it's a good call.
• Trailer
  

The Divide is available on DVD as of April 17, 2012. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

See also:

• Interviews with actors Michael Biehn and Michael Eklund (written) or listen to interviews with Michael Biehn and Michael Eklund on The Movie Moxie Podcast
• My Vlog from first viewing of The Divide during the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011
• Videos from Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 screening including introduction and Q&A with director Xavier Gens and actors Michael Biehn, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia and Michael Eklund
• Pictures from the Q&A after the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 screening of The Divide with director Xavier Gens and actors Michael Biehn, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia and Michael Eklund

Shannon's Overall View:
It's a brilliant film
It's a challenging watch, and hard to 'enjoy', but I do get a lot out of it every time I see it
I'd recommend it post apocalyptic fans and fans of strong acting

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2011-12
Originally reviewed during the Toronto After Dark Film Festival Wednesday October 26, 2011

Moon Point

Dir: Sean Cisterna - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Nick McKinlay, Paula Brancati, Kyle Mac, Kristen Gutoskie
Canada, 2012

Reason to see: Canadian comedies are always films I want to see

Moon Point is a quirky Canadian comedy, and for folks that don’t watch a lot of or any Canadian film it might be hard to explain, but a clear way to say it is that it has beautiful blend of comedy and quirkiness Canadian films do so well with spunk, a cast of great characters and a lot of fun.

I love the humour in this film, it was quite cutting and for me it might be more cutting than I normally take but there was a real humanity to it. It follows Darryl (Nick McKinlay) who decides to go on a journey to see his grade school sweetheart who is starring in an upcoming horror movie in Moon Point, and for the travel there he decides to take his friend Femur in his electric wheelchair. That is one heck of a travel to try and rekindle grade 5 loves! I love journey films, they always hold a special place in my heart and this one really had that beautiful blend of not only the quirkiness and Canadian-ness but also a nice blend of comedy, realness and humanity; and there was also an interesting theme in the film about being a jerk. Because, the main character is not the nicest guy and even though he gets kind of piled on for that and he pushes back on it; but it always felt real, and very timely and I really enjoyed that for some reason which feels completely bizarre to say. I don’t see that many comedies but this one really got me. There was a real sweetness in terms of layered nostalgia with this depiction of how people were when you used to know them, and how life was ‘then’ and will it be like that if you see them ‘now’, what would it be like, and then also even the question of why you would think back to your past when you are living your life today. That was interesting question theme in the film too, about if you are living in the moment or not, and even when you think about it the past is created so quickly so even though we are always in the ‘now’, it will eventually come ‘then’. I liked that aspect of the film, the kind of back and forth nature of it.

The cast is really good in Moon Point, I thought Nick McKinlay was great as Darryl, who really is kind of a jerk but somehow you do feel instinctively that like you should support him as the underdog, but also question if you should support him, although either way you are really with him throughout his journey. We also have his friend Femur played by Kyle Mac who is amazing, I haven’t seen him in anything else before but he was in a series called 'Valemont' with Kristen Hager and Eric Balfour that was on On Demand, which now I have to see because he was so good I can’t wait to see him in more; truly fantastic. We also had Paula Brancati as Kristen, she’s a character I really like to see –a strong woman who treated everyone the same, but was open and called people out and wasn’t a jerk and still held her own. An awesome independently spirited, strong-minded but also kind and fun-spirited; I sometimes find that you don’t always get that blend of fun and real with quirky and cutting but not mean but Paula Brancati found that perfect blend of real, funny and kind all in one. And that is also what I really felt and liked about Moon Point, is that it was funny and often cutting, but it wasn’t mean.

It really was funny too, there were certainly moments where I missed the next thing because I was laughing so hard. When you get these characters from all different perspectives and the sometimes comfortable or uncomfortable combination of things, it really levelled off with that unlikely but just likely enough go with them, and for that I really enjoyed it. Moon Point is a great journey film, great Canadian comedy, great quirkiness and it’s a great movie with a Valentine’s flavour to it. I would definitely recommend checking out Moon Point.

Moon Point opened in limited release on February 3, 2012 here in Toronto at the AMC Yonge & Dundas, and has been held over for an additional week.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I widely recommend it





Also check out my review of Moon Point on Episode 60 of the Movie Moxie Podcast.


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Haywire

Dir: Steven Soderbergh (Solaris, Oceans 11, The Girlfriend Experience)
Cast: Gina Carano, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton
USA/Ireland, 2012

Seen: January 25, 2012 at the Rainbow

Reason to see: Female protagonist action films are always on my to see list

Haywire stars Mixed Martial Artist Gina Carano, and is directed by Steven Soderbergh which I miraculously kind of forgot about before going in because all I really needed was an MMA star in a film to pull me to see it. But Soderbergh directed Oceans 11, 12, 13, the Solaris remake and The Girlfriend Experience, and it’s no doubt he is a very stylish director which you could really feel that in the film. The pacing and the storytelling style were very different than I was expecting; a lot of action films go for a very high-paced style but Haywire feels much more like a drama, with action. It feels like an American espionage drama with action and a female protagonist as opposed to an action film. Although the action is fantastic and Gina Cararo is amazing and certainly will be a draw to the film, the most important part of the film which is her character journey and the story which has some welcome mystery elements to it.

I do wonder if some people will think the pacing is too slow, and I found myself spending time while watching literally interpreting and experiencing the film from the perspective of the fact that it wasn’t what I was expected. But, once I settled into realizing what they were going with and just relaxed into it, I really enjoyed it and I particularly enjoyed that it has a slow burn with a lot of visual storytelling. We get to watch Mallory (Gina Cararo), as she herself is watching, interpreting and reacting to what is going on around her in a very visual manner. I was very impressed by this, the completely visual storytelling that was accompanied by a groovy soundtrack were a huge highlight of the film and something sets it apart from many current-day action films proving that you don’t have to shock & scare us with stuff to entertain us, you can also appeal to our logical minds as we try to piece together the puzzles, be they ones of action or espionage. It was very impressive.

It was fantastic to see Gina Cararo was so good in this role as an action star, so much so that it actually pushes buttons and boundaries of things that we don’t normally see; for example if she is fighting a guy in the film – they are really going all out at each other. She’s not treated differently and she’s certainly not treated lightly, she’ll get thrown around just as much as anyone else who is in an action film. It’s literally a new primer when there dynamics of the fight aren’t re-adjusted to balance for any strengths or weaknesses of either fighter; they are treated as equals. Although theoretically I cheered and the balance, it took a while to adjust to seeing that. They did also call out on some action film tropes to be a more clear counter-reaction to what we often see gender wise, that didn’t work in the film quite a smoothly as the action balance did, but considering it’s such a new shift I think its’ entirely fair to expect some growing pains. To be honest, I’m happy to take those growing pains if the counter is seeing an amazing, capable, and believable action star. And that is exactly what we got: Gina Cararo is amazing, capable, believable and very dynamic action star and I look forward to seeing her in more films in the future. The story was good too, and I was impressed I could keep up considering espionage can be a bit of challenge for me but I suspect seeing it in open captioning help (see more on the experience of open captioning here).

Overall, the action, score and tone were all amazing plus I enjoyed the story as well. But Gina really was the pull to the film, and she pulled me right in and kept me for the entire time.

I would definitely recommend it to action, espionage and mystery film fans and especial to fans of female protagonist films.

It was very exciting that January 20, 2012, had not only one but two action films with female protagonists that opened here in Toronto. I decided not to choose between them therefore I saw both Haywire & Underworld Awakening.

See also: Haywire DVD review

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I can't wait to watch it again
I'd highly recommend it to fans of action films & female protagonist films

Also see my review of Haywire on Episode 59 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Underworld Awakening

Dir: Måns Mårlind & Björn Stein (Shelter - podcast review)
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, Charles Dance
USA, 2012

Seen: January 25, 2012 at the Rainbow

Reason to see: Selene, the vampire death-dealer protagonist, is one of my all-time favourite film characters and it's on My Most Anticipated Films for 2012

Underworld Awakening technically follows Underworld: Evolution chronologically in the series but if you aren’t overly familiar or haven’t revisited the series recently they do help with a little memory jogger, which is the lead into the current world where humans were not only made aware of the vampire and lycans existence, but also defeated them in a ‘cleansing’ leaving the remaining numbers very small. I found that a bit of a challenge to buy into, that the humans would prevail, but that’s the world they create so you kind of have to go there to experience the film. In this near future world we travel with death dealer vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) who awakens after the said ‘cleansing’.

A brief personal history of how I weight in on the Underworld series is that I absolutely adored the highly stylish full-tilt vampires vs lycans (werewolves) action film that was the original Underworld, but was completely dismayed by some random gender crap in the sequel Underworld: Evolution that made me hate the film, which is a statement I don’t make very often. And then I flipped back to enjoying the series with the prequel Underworld: Rise of the Lycans which features Michael Sheen and was the only film in the series without Kate Beckinsale. So, personally I’ve had a bit of a rocky relationship with the series but I can’t help but the gorgeous stylings, amazing action and cool vampire & werewolves throughout.

In terms of the action and art direction of how the film it looks and feels, I loved it. It’s a little dingier than the original film so you have to take that into account as it aligns with this whole living on the fringes with low resources which doesn’t really read ‘vampire’ to me, but it is something new. I really enjoyed seeing a lot of the actors in the film including Theo James (‘Bedlam’), Charles Dance (Aliens 3) and Kris Holden-Reid (‘Lost Girl’) who I really think they could have had more in the film. Plus, to make sure it doesn’t go without saying, Kate Beckinsale was fantastic to see, I love her as Selene a fierce and beautiful death dealer who kicked a whole lot of butt in the film and makes no qualms about the fact that she is completely in charge.

I was pretty surprized to see that it was only 88 minutes with around 10 of those being credits, but I still felt like I got 1-films worth of enjoyment for the film. The story and world may not have been perfectly what I was looking forward but they stayed true to what they created and I respect that. In terms of the series I’d still say the first one is my favourite, and then Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, then Underworld Awakening and finally Underworld: Evolution. It was one of my most anticipated films of the year so I was excited and looking for a bit more than what we got here, but I certainly was entertained and engaged while watching.

In terms of the story, I took me for a bit of a surprized that I don’t think the themes will appeal to everyone; but it also feels like it’s one of many periods within this world and therefore we’ll have more to enjoy to come. However, for supernatural action fans this is a total fun ride with lots of action, and interesting story and continuing the journey through the cool world they have created so for that I do think it’s a success.

Underworld Awakening opened in Toronto on January 20, 2012, and it was excited to see not just one but two action films with female protagonists released on that date with both Haywire & Underworld Awakening. I saw ‘em both. Good times.

See also: Underworld Awakening DVD Review

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll buy it
I'd recommend it to fans of the series & vampire/action film fans

See also a spoiler-filled awesome discussion of the film over at Before the Dawn and a spoiler-ree review on Episode 59 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

The Viral Factor

Writer/Dir: Dante Lam (Fire of Conscience, Beast Cops)
Cast: Jay Chou, Nicholas Tse
Hong Kong, 2012

Seen: January 28, 2012

Reason to see: Hong Kong action films are always a yes!

This film is from Dante Lam and when I original heard the name it sounded familiar, and it turns out that it’s the same director as Beast Cops which was a film I had on my second 100 Film in 100 Days Challenge, but sadly one I didn’t get to because I just didn’t have much access to. Now, I feel like I’m rekindling the connect by getting to see The Viral Factor! The film is am action crime-centric thriller with an espionage-ish feel spanning multiple countries, that is what makes it feel technically like an espionage film, although I don’t think there was much actual spying going on.

The Viral Factor stars Jay Chou (The Green Hornet) and Nicholas Tse as two men on the separate sides of the law, but both fighting for the just cause of doing the best they can for their families. I went to see it during a morning screening, and I think just about everyone in front of me was also going to see it which was great to see because it wasn’t opening weekend so for the time the crowd was pretty good! The acting was pretty solid, although I do suspect one of the baddie characters has their part voiced-over for the English lines, although I was surprized that some of it was actually in English – something I didn’t expect for in a Hong Kong action thriller. The story was also different than I was expecting, as the plot had an international political theme even though at heart it was really an action film that had the bonus of character-driven drama providing quite an engaging combination.

I really enjoyed the action in the film, particularly the action sequences in confined spaces that read extremely well. I find sometimes when there is a running theme or specialty in an action film where the go back to and re-emphasize a particularly look or feel it can get tired, but not here as it was fresh, fast and furious especially in those close quarters. I really appreciated that you could really see what was going on in the action sequences too, it was cutting and clear. It was pretty brutal though and the story was brutal too, including a very emotion theme that totally hit me out of left field and even made me cry. Who knew there would be some sweet emotional moments? The audience didn’t seem to expect that either and I heard some rumblings during the emotional scenes in the film. From that I found it really presented an interesting viewpoint of how different circumstances can affect people differently, and how that can change the path or course of someone’s life, which was an interesting layer to add to what could have been a straight-up action thriller.

I thought it was good, I enjoyed it and I was really happy to get a chance to see it – it was only released in Hong Kong itself this year and we’ve already had the opportunity to see it here in Toronto which is fantastic. If you are looking for an action film with a strong character driven elements as well, definitely check out The Viral Factor.

The Viral Factor opened on January 20, 2012 in Toronto at the AMC Yonge & Dundas.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I'd recommend it to action and crime film fans

Also see my review of The Viral Factor on Episode 60 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Contraband

Dir: Baltasar Kormákur (White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Lukas Haas, Diego Luna, J.K. Simmons
USA/UK/France, 2012

Seen: January 18, 2012 at Scotiabank

Reason to see: The cast plus I loved Baltasar Kormákur's White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn

I wonder how many people , like me, were drawn to Contraband because it’s from Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur of White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn? Could it just be me? Perhaps, perhaps not. But that was just one of the many draws to the heist drama with the ‘one last job’ vibe, along with an interesting premise and a fabulous cast. Every time Iooked at the credits list it was just name after name of actors I love to see. From That was one draw to it but the fact that it's an action film following a guy gone straight but looks like he'll do one more run was a definite draw for me as well as the fabulous cast including Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld), Callum Landry Jones (The Last Exorcism, X-Men First Class), Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma), Giovanni Ribisi (The Mod Squad) and JK Simmons (Spider-Man). Honestly, with this set of actors, you couldn’t keep me away from the film; even just the combination of Ben Foster & Giovanna Ribisi is enough for me to be over the moon happy to see a film.

In Contraband, we follow the couple Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg), whom used to be involved in the smuggling business but has gone straight and now along with wife Kate Farraday (Kate Beckinsale) live a pretty normal life, until they are drawn back into the underground world and needed to come up with a ton on money very quickly. I have to say that Contraband was a bit smarter than I was expecting, I thought it would be a throw-down action film but in all honestly it is more the style of 70's action films but not in a brutal sense. It reminded me of The Conversation, in the fact that it had subtle details and a slower pace but Contraband isn't just about the details although they do play an important part. Contraband does have a lot of action in it, but the focus of it really is the story, the characters & their journey as well as the details of the heist. In terms of a heist film, it doesn't actually squish itself into the heist formula and that was certainly unexpected as that's become such a trend; but I appreciated that the heist details are put together in a more subtle, dramatic wa.

I really enjoyed the film and was quite taken with the characters. Mark Wahlberg was good in the lead as family man and smuggler, and Kate Beckinsale was fantastic in her portrayal of a woman who has lived the hard life but now is on the straight and narrow; you can really feel that roughness of knowing the life of a smuggler, but there wasn't a meanness there. I was also really excited to see Callum Landry Jones here with a solid performance that adds on to impressive list of performances over the past few in The Last Exorcism and X-Men First Class; he’s done a great job in a variety of different roles which is always a good sign from a young actor.

I enjoyed Contraband from many perspectives, and although I don't like using the primer of 'of a January release it was good', but in all honestly for a January release it was good. Overall, it’s a solid choice for film entertainment with a good story and good acting, it does have some brutality and some good action although not bombarded with action it's more about the characters/story which I found to be a welcome surprized. However, if you are familiar with Baltasar Kormákur work that shouldn't come as a surprize as story and character are great joys of his films.

Contraband came out in wide release on Friday January 13, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it to heist, crime drama & drama fans

Also check out my review of Contraband on Episode 58 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

The Devil Inside

Dir: William Brent Bell (Stay Alive)
Cast: Fernanda Andrade, Isabella Rossi, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama, Suzan Crowley
USA, 2012

Seen: January 10, 2012 at the Rainbow

Reason to see: If it's supernatural, I'll see it .

Ah, the first new film seen of the year! We started off this January with only 2 choices for new releases and I chose The Devil Inside over Players (2012) as I have strong pull to supernatural films.The Devil Inside is a supernatural drama that uses the format of creating a documentary to explore personal history including the protagonist Isabella Rossi (Fernanda Andrade) own past as well as her mother Maria’s (Suzan Crowley) who was exorcised years ago.

I know this subject matter can freak people out and it did certainly get the crowd going, so I think in terms of content it’s something people are either interested in, or not. It does have some great scares in it and interesting ideas that build a little on the genre for which January seems to be a popular time for supernatural films as in recent years we’ve had The Rite as well as The Unborn. There were several things that I liked about the film, including that it focused on a female protagonist who was delving into her own family history, I liked the exploration of the journey and the different places and locations of the film. I also liked that it veered off the path a bit in terms of beliefs, as usually exorcism films depict characters that fall quickly into one of two sides: believers and non-believers, with the occasional renewed-believer though scary encounters. The Devil Inside played it more grey and middle ground with people being more open, more risky and more horrifically adventurous than I’ve seen in the past. And it gets another point for providing some pretty good scares.

The biggest challenge of the film is the ‘making a documentary’ format, and while watching I kept wondering if we were suppose to really believe that this is actually happening, and are these real lives & encounters we are seeing? This buying into the documentary format can be done successful, as seen by the recent Norwegian film Trollhunter; but with The Devil Inside I wasn’t buying. I always felt like I was watching actors and that what I was seeing was a story told through film. So in that sense I wish they hadn’t gone with the format because the ideas were interesting but I kept playing the compare game in my head with the similar in concept 2010 film The Last Exorcism which pulls off the idea in a much stronger way. If you go into this film and are just seeing this as a first introduction to the idea, I think they will enjoy it; however if you compare the two films I think viewers will be disappointed. So, it does beg the question of whether or not it’s even fair to compare but in terms of an audience I think most people who like myself are interested in supernatural films are likely to have see both; at which point it’s fair to recognize that is fair to compare. Supernatural films tend to be a genre people either like or don’t, and even further into the genre the mere subject of exorcism isn’t something people are often likely to go outside their comfort zone.

In terms of the viewing experience, I saw it in a pretty small theatre that was quite full and the audience was very vocal yelping at the scares or even shouting out theories or ‘don’t go up there’ comments to the screen. Normally that could grate me, but in this context it was great to ease the tension and laugh or eek alongside folk.

For supernatural film fans, I think there is enough to get something from The Devil Inside, although I think that general horror fans may find it not quite enough to get them going. I did like the characters, the ideas and the scares but I think it could have gone a little deeper on some of the concepts and story lines.

The Devil Inside was released in wide release on January 6, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

See also my review of The Devil Inside on Episode 57 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it, but wanted to like it a lot more
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it to supernatural film fans

© Shannon Ridler, 2012