Reviewer: James Ackland Film Genre - Drama Label - Bonsai Films Audio - English (Dolby Digital 5.1) Running Time - 132 mins Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1 Region Coding - 4 TV Standard - PAL Rating - R18+ Year of Release - 2014 Primary Format - Movies/TV - DVD BUY IT HERE! Boarding school never looked so harsh and ugly as it does here in THE TRIBE. I've reviewed both Scum and Salo for the site (you could say I'm the euro teenage abuse connoisseur around here) and both of those films share much with this debut film from writer/director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy. In an unnamed Ukrainian town, a board school for the deaf is simmering with petty crime and horrendous abuse. The “tribe" are like the boarding school Odessa mafia. Stealing, pimping teenage prostitutes at truck stops, beating passers by and making life tough for anyone new to the boarding school. When a new boy goes through the hazing trials and becomes part of the tribe he makes the mistake of falling in love with one of the valuable female prostitutes. The Tribe can give and the tribe can take away. This leads to one of the most unsettling climaxes i’ve ever seen. The truly compelling aspect of the film is that fact that not a single word is spoken during the entire film and while we’re accustomed to sub-titles for sign language translation … there is nothing to help you in this film. You have to pay attention to the following scenes in order to follow the story and let your brain catch up to the previous content. Sex and Violence happen without any vocalisation. It makes for hypnotic viewing. And really you have to keep your eyes on the screen to take it all in. One can't help but start the dialogue in their own head. Again, silently. It work surprisingly well! Cinematographer Valentyn Vasyanovych's steady cam floats through this decrepit landscape. Lingering for very long takes that lets the characters get from A to B in the scene. It’s really a horrid world these kids make their way through and it tells on the expressions on their faces. There are few moments of kindness and tenderness. But when they do arrive, it’s welcome. Another sensory deprivation i discovered was the lack of score or music at all. Again, a really useful way to keep you in the deaf world.
Here we are witnesses and explore how we perceive people with deafness and those afflicted with the removal of a sense we take for granted. Slaboshpytskiy and the film have won plenty of awards, so while being one of the more brutal films of the last few years, it definitely deserves your time. European dark cinema has a reputation, and The Tribe continues this reputation, one of dark and confronting issues and images. RATING 3.5/5
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Reviewer: JAMES ACKLAND
Label - Cinema Cult Audio - English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Aspect Ratio - 1.78:1 Region Coding - B (Blu-Ray) TV Standard - PAL Rating - R18+ Year of Release - 1979 `Buy here from Screenpop REVIEWER: JAMES ACKLAND Film genre: Drama/Cult Label: Cinema Cult Audio: English/Italian 2.0 Running time: 117mins Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Region: B Rating: R Buy it here at Screenpop
Author: Angelo Handabak Movie: 4/5 Everyone in this world goes through some sort of rough time or times in their life, sometimes we all wish we could be someone else and life some kind of live that hasn't seen misery, loss or hardship. I myself have been through a few of this moments in my life, and also seen others go through some kind of strife in their life and therefore I related a little bit with this film great film. So the film starts of strong, introducing the main character Erika. Young woman who is professional interior designer and who is happily expecting her first child... Erika had her whole life under control, unfortunately for her things did not go as planned... Fate had something unfortunate planned for Erika as she ended up giving birth prematurely to an ill child, and just like any mother to be in such situation, she couldn't deal with the trauma. She falls into a deep depression and refuses to deal with the present or the baby. After being unable to deal with the situation Erika tries to go through group therapy for trauma victims such as herself. There she meets a group of certain individuals. Rikard, a torture fanatic with certain mother issues. Ann-Sofi who is timid, Peter, who finds himself being a compulsive liar in order to feel accepted. Last we have a lonely middle age woman Pernilla who just wants to get laid by a married man. When their counsellor goes on a break the 5 decide to take matters into their own hands and go get a fresh start in life by going to a place where no one knows them. After 45 minutes into the film it becomes a little more interesting, the characters start dealing with theirs traumas using their unconventional self prescribed treatments. However I won't spill anymore of the movie as I do want you to watch this great film. Audio: 3.5/5 Presented in Dolby Stereo, the film doesn't require anymore then the 2.1 sound. It's not an action flick. The sound quality does it justice. Video: 4/5 The video presentation for this film was great, I think the grainy and greyish tones set the mood of the film. Did use a great sense of colour to set moments for example, when Erika gets the news of her child we see the background being grey and monotone style, while on a happy scene there is that much more lighting. Extras: 3.5/5
Glass Doll as usual give as an array of extras to keep fans of their film satisfied; on this disc you get: Beyond Cinema interview Lisa Langseth and Alicia Vikander David Poland interviews Lisa Langseth B-Reel Interview Lisa Langseth The CD Soundtrack by Johan Berthling & Andreas Soderstrom. The soundtrack is a very cool bonus; the score is haunting in parts and really does add to the atmosphere of the film. Being such a rare soundtrack, we are very pleased Glass Doll included it. Another superb release from Glass Doll Film, we are honestly excited to see what these guys have in store for us next. The care they take into finding such titles and then giving them the treatment they deserve, really does give our stamp of approval for you to go out there and get their releases. Overall: 4/5 Reviewer: James Ackland Film genre: Drama Label: Madman Audio: English Dolby 5.1 Running time: 123min (extras 112min) Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region: B Rating: M Buy now on BLU RAY from MADMAN!!! Reviewer - James Ackland Film Genre - Drama Label - Accent Audio - English Dolby 5.1 Running time - 90 mins Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Region Coding: 0 Pal Rating: M BUY NOW ON DVD AND BLURAY
Label - Gryphon Audio - French (Dolby Digital 5.1) Subtitles - English Running Time - 104 Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1 Region Coding - B (Blu-Ray) TV Standard - PAL Rating - R18+ Screen Format - 2.40:1 Year of Release - 2011 Q is a French film directed by Laurent Bouhnik, I'm unsure how to descibe Q as it does not have a traditional linear plot, instead its a film more or less focused on the sexuality of these younger characters in ta modern day poverty stricken France. The film may be hard to follow at first, this may require potentially multiple viewings to make sure you don't miss every little action that occurs. The film does not have one protagonist, I guess you could say the protagonist is the tempting and very sexually active Cecile . Immediately as soon as we meet her she is already tempting a young man she knows named Matt into seeing her naked. He is unsure how to react to her, but eventually we the audience learn this is how she is as a person. Matt appears to be working as a mechanic and current has a girlfriend named Alice. We notice that the film is structured to move around from character to character, very much in the way that Richard Linklater would. Intertwined between this main 'plot' is a series of conversations from woman in a blue tinged shower, we don't know who these women are or their purpose, but they appear to be constantly discussing about their sexual envcounters. Back to the main story we discover that Matt really want s to have sex with Alice, however we discover that Alice lives in a very repressed household with old fashion parents. Her character stands out as frustrated and having to be obdient to her parents, even the sight of her kissing Matt sets her mother off in rage; as her character develops we see her using methods to realse her sexual tension later on. The film is centric on these youths lives in a povery stricen France, where Cecile live with her housemates, Cecile has somewhat of a boyfrind who find himself constantly getting into trouble with gangsters. They live in an apartment and we each get to learn about who they are and their mishaps that occur along the way. It is quite comical in scenes when they are being chased over a wall and then getting away in a car. We then continue to follow them on their journey, including a eroommate that turns lesbian in front of her friends. Even Cecile on a boat trying to attract a married man by rubbing his leg, the man then tells his wife how he would like to have a fantasy with the both of them and meet up. Not to spoil but hese are just some of the elements that make Q are very intriguing and curious watch. It certainly has learnt its R rating well with very sexually explicit content, nothing is held back. We see an on screen felatio and other full nude sequences. It does add to the overall authenticity of these characters lives and their existence within this world. Q is quirky, erotic and overall one of the more interesting dramas to come out of France in the past few years. Video: 4.5/5 Accent Films presentation looks very nice, presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Shot digitally, the film has a great level of clarity with detail really popping in the image. The film also has very vibrant colours and they are rich thought. Consistent black level are also present, even in the screen grab above you can see there are no signs of digital grain, a common issue with films shot in this digital format. Audio: 4.5/5 The film is presented here in its original French (Dolby Digital 5.1) soundtrack. It provides us clear dialogue and also a vibrant score that does make use of a surround sound speaker system. Extras: 1.5/5 Unfortunately no extras, but we do ge the usual entertaining and awesome trailers for Accent upcoming releases. It has the usual "they're here!' yell before they begin. Overall:
M: 4 A: 4.5 V: 4.5 E: 1.5 Overall: 4/5
Director - Ethan Coen & Joel Coen Film Genre - Drama Label - Roadshow Audio - English (DTS-HD 5.1) Subtitles - English Running Time - 104 Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1 Region Coding - B (Blu-Ray) TV Standard - PAL Rating - MA15+ Year of Release - 2013 Author: James AcklandAt some point in our lives we've known a Llewyn Davis. In some cases we've BEEN Llewyn Davis.
Crashing on couches, sponging money from friends and family to the point it becomes and expected and unwanted. It's not easy to be inside Llewyn Davis and it shows. Llewyns meandering life works like a river with short passages of hardship that lead to the wider spaces. But like all rivers what comes around he bend is harder to anticipate. Caught in between the Cohen’s master works No country for old men, Oh brother where art thou and The Big Lebowski. This films feels more akin to Burn after reading. A period film set in the time before Bob Dylan changed the American music scene, one can really get a sense that the times really were a changin’… Oscar Isaacs plays the title character Davis. Isaacs is depressingly good as the folk singing who after loosing his song writing partner goes through the motions of being a solo artist. Suffice to say at this point in time in musical history his style has yet to take off. Isaacs brings a real frustration to the screen, and while the audience could be sympathetic to his plight the Cohens craft a way that sympathy is not the automatic response. You'll swing between feeling sorry for him and the satisfaction of his hardships. In short, Davis is quiet unlikable. But you want him to find his way. To find his place if he can. Ignored by his management and constantly outstaying his welcome with friends Davis is only a bagful of belongings away from the next couch. Llewyn's desperation to the New York slumming leads to a quick road trip to Chicago. Copping a ride with tough guy/poet Garrett Hedlund (Tron) and almost Jabba the Huttesqe John Goodman (Roseanne). The road trip helps flesh out some of the workings going on emotionally inside Llewyn Davis and only adds to the odyssey like theme, common in Cohen features. One of my favourite parts of any Cohen brothers picture are the small characters that populate the word and give it the quirkiness we have come to expect. From the secretary of Llewyn's record label to Llewyn's nephew who has all of one line, that being only one word. All these characters make the film a much more enjoyable place to be. Otherwise following Davis around would be a complete downer. There is also a cute kitty. Cats are cute! While familiar faces appear in Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, who has some lovely snappy dialogue and a small cameo from F. Murray Abraham. The film really is Isaacs, every scene is about his head space, the choices he has to make and how he views his world. Video: The film looks stunning in Blu ray! There is a cigarette in almost every scene and in 1080p i almost could smell the bars and cars of early 1960s New York. The colour pallet is chosen and fits the period fantastically… hey, it’s the Cohen Brothers… duh! It’s in 1.85:1 ratio. Audio: Again, lovely! Music is beautiful. Actors playing instruments themselves leaves nothing to the imagination of session players trying to play along. It’s an analogue soundtrack recorded and presented digitally! Sounds awesome! Surround yourself in DTS-HD 5.1. Extras: Only one bonus feature on this blu-ray is the looking inside: Inside Llewyn Davis. It's a from pre to post production featurette that chronicles the filming and musical work that went into the production. Rating: Overall: 3.75 M: 3 V: 5 A: 5 E: 2 Genre Crime Thriller Rating: R18+ (High impact sexualised themes and violence) Run Time: 104 mins Visual Format: 1.78:1 Audio Format Dolby: 5.1 Language English BUY DIRECT FROM ACCENT FILMS Author: James Ackland James Franco (Freaks and Geeks, Spiderman) adapts Cormac McCarthy’s 1973 novel and spins a tale of a young man on the very fringe of society. An outcast, rejected by the towns folk for being a known trouble maker, Lester Ballard hides out in the woods and has a knack for getting into trouble of the worst kind. Lester’s days are spent stealing and foraging for food and finding shelter while annoying the new occupants of his fathers land and that’s only the beginning. His inability to honestly communicate with local law enforcement and his resentment towards them keeps him on the back foot. At one point the local sheriff asks “and what things you done that we ain’t found out yet?” Well… Things get a whole lot worse after lester comes across a derelict car in the woods, the last resting place of a young couple. Ballard played by Scott Haze (Post) heavy breathes his way through the performance and you can tell he's giving it everything he has. The amount of force he excerpts in this film is stunning and he holds your attention and also manages to force you listen to him with his thick country accent through a rather large pair of cosmetically decaying teeth. company, romance. He makes the ultimate choice and even though his choices are monstrous, you feel his loneliness and need for companionship. Lester’s bruised and childlike character is almost given no choice. And its obvious the scars of trauma from his youth are still fresh.There is an awkward dark humour behind the story and Haze’s portrailal. But it's bleak. It’s Very bleak. Entering Ed Gein/ Norman Bates territory. The mountainous landscape of Tennessee is perfect for the dark and twisted setting of Ballard’s reality. Caves and ice cold creeks are never good for a comfortable life. The mountainous landscape of Tennessee is perfect for the dark and twisted setting of Ballard’s reality. Caves and ice cold creeks are never good for a comfortable life. Franco as director is very forthright with his options and his choices, much like Ballard, they can be very confronting and grim. Opening the film with a non disclosed voice over and taking quotes from McCarthy’s novel. Franco is faithful to the 3 act structure of McCarthy’s novel. Child of God also has a beautifully unobtrusive musical score from Aaron Embry. While it does not match the graphic nature of the story. It does capture the simple mind of Lester and the local. If you like the woods, if you like stories of outcasts in woods, if you even like cuddly toys in the woods… check out Child of god. Video: A lovely looking picture, even on DVD. I hope to catch the Blu ray eventually. But for now it’s got a great quality and is presented in 1.85:1 ratio.
Audio: The mountainous audio surroundings are great and the sound crew have captured the various elements of them well. Here on DVD it’s presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Extras: Lots of good trailers for upcoming Accent films. Rating: Overall: 3.5 M: 4 V: 3.5 A: 3.5 E: 1 |
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