Distributor: Madman EntertainmentRelease Date: 06/08/2014 Languages: English Director: John Slattery Runtime: 88.0 mins Format: DVD, Region 4 (PAL) Catalogue: MMA9008 Buy Direct from Madman Movie: 4/5 Gods pocket is a 2013 film directed by John Slattery, it is perhaps best well known for being the last film by the great Philip Seymour Hoffman. It is an adaptation of an American novel of the same name. A little dark comedy set in 1980's America in a town called, well God's Pocket. Essentially it focuses on situations that go from bad to worse, very similar to something you would expect from a Cohen brothers film. The movie focuses on Hoffman's character Mickey Scarpato as a small time criminal with his business partner played by John Turturro. It's apparent their day consists of them going around stealing trucks, it's an almost comical mafia organisation. Mickey's son who lives at home still with his father is a complete sociopath, pushing his weight around at his work place. One day it becomes too much and a co worker who gets insulted accidentally kills his son. The other workers at the construction site do their best to cover it up, claiming his death was accidental. That is what the film revolves around, the death of his son. It seems simple but the extremely odd and interesting mix of characters in Gods Pocket draw you in. We also have a famous reporter coming into town played by he always great Richard Jenkins, he intends on doing a story about his one death. He gives a great role as an seductive sleaze who finds himself attracted to Mickey's wife. The performances really make this film shine; Hoffman's emotional decline in this film is haunting to watch. He tries to piece his family together and prevent it from falling apart, all while his wife despises him. Seeing his decline as an alcoholic unable to get anything is downright incredible. John Turturro also plays it well and slightly humorous, running a criminal operation in the back of his flower shop. John Turturro's directing style is very impressive as he recreates a dark work with twisted characters, shown though the camera lens. The 80's is recreated accurately and convinces us we have gone through a time machine, accurately displaying the time period the book was written. If this is his debut film, I can't wait to see what's next for this director. Check out God's pocket if your in the mood to see an extremely good drama with dark comedic undertones and a standout performance from Hoffman. Video: 4/5 Madman have only released this film on DVD for Australians, it is presented in it's original aspect ratio of 2:35.1. It is a solid transfer, on a HD TV upscaled from 480p it looks very impressive. The black levels are rich and a nice degree of contrast. The colours come off strong, darker scenes do look a bit washed out, however day scenes are strong and vibrant. There is no digital grain or noise and everything runs smoothly, for a DVD it's as good as you would expect. A fine level of detail can be found in environment and characters faces. Check the gallery below to see the screenshots. Audio: Once again a strong 5.1 Dolby digital sound mix, it really rocks when blasted. From the films dialogue that comes off clear to the sound effects that keep us engaged. A very good mix overall with a great balance of audio, as you never have to adjust the volume at any time. Extras: 2/5 Unfortunately we only get a bunch of 'madman propaganda' which is a nice selection of trailers. We are actually the first country in the world to get this on home video, so I would not hesitate to get is ASAP. Trivia: Fans of the amazing tv series true detective will be pleasantly surprised as the main Villain from the series has a minor role. Screenshot Gallery
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Follow Us:
AuthorsJohn Mathews Archives
January 2015
Categories
All
Archives |