BIRD BOX : Friday 21st December 2018

I saw 'BIRD BOX' from the comfort of my own living room watching the film on Netflix the day of its worldwide release on 21st December. Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Josh Malerman, the film is Directed by Susanne Bier whose most recent outing as Director was for the highly acclaimed television series 'The Night Manager'. Made for US$20M the film has a limited theatrical run from 14th December before being released on the Netflix streaming service on 21st December. Within a week, Netflix had claimed that the film had seen the biggest seven-day viewership for any of its original movies to date, with over 45 million viewers. The film has received mixed or average Reviews from Critics, although Sandra Bullock's performance as the lead character has been praised.

The film opens up with a mother, Malorie Hayes (Sandra Bullock) kneeling down and speaking quickly and anxiously to her two young children. She informs them that they are about to go on a journey down a river and its going to be dangerous, and if they don't listen to her every word they will die. She also tells them that if they get separated they will die, and if they run off or cause a distraction they will die, and if they remove their blindfolds for as much as a fleeting minute they will die.

We then go back in time five years and Malorie is an expectant mother who is visited in her home painting studio by her sister Jessica (Sarah Paulson). Before setting off to the local hospital for a routine pregnancy check-up, they see reports on television that some sort of strange phenomenon across Europe and Russia is causing mass suicides on a seemingly alarming scale. The pair dismiss the story and go to the hospital. Upon leaving the clinic the pair witness a woman in the corridor smashing her head repeatedly against a plate glass window, smashing the glass and her head and face. Malorie realises that perhaps there was more to that news story than they gave it credit for. As they attempt to race away from the hospital, they see chaos erupt in the streets all around them as more and more people suicide. Distraught by the scenes and carnage unfolding in front of them, Malorie reaches into the back seat to retrieve her ringing phone, when Jessica is unnerved by something up ahead. Jessica crashes the car which comes to halt upside down. They both clamber out. Injured, Malorie is unable to stop her sister stepping in front of an oncoming speeding truck and is killed instantly.

Malorie is swept along by a fleeing crowd of people all running away from something that no one can seemingly see, hear or understand. She is pulled to safety by a group of strangers holed up in house, but in the ensuing chaos, one of those residents walks out into the street and sits in a burning car very quickly engulfing herself in flames. That was the the wife of Douglas (John Malkovich) the owner of the house. After collecting their thoughts as much as they are able under the dire circumstances, they draw the conclusion that just by virtue of looking at the creatures can cause humans to go insane and commit suicide. They cover the windows with newspapers and blankets to hide themselves from the chaos and creatures on the outside.

Days and presumably a few weeks pass by and food supplies in the house are running short. Malorie and the other holed up residents Charlie (Lil Rel Howery), Tom (Trevante Rhodes), Lucy (Rosa Salazar) and Douglas agree to drive to a local supermarket on a supply run. They paint out the windows, and use the vehicles GPS and proximity sensors to detect obstacles in the road and to guide them to their destination. Arriving at the store, but not before encountering the creatures which they manage to successfully evade with some nifty driving skills, they find an almost fully stocked supermarket which Charlie happens to work at. In the drinks aisle Douglas is in his element having found a stash of Scotch Whisky and votes to remain there indefinitely. The others however, reject his notion. Malorie comes across a bird cage containing a pair of birds, which she decides to adopt. The birds quickly validate themselves when a man crying for help from behind the loading dock door wants to gain entry. Upon opening the door the birds yelp and flap their wings violently indicating they are an early warning system against the creatures. The man allowed entry quickly attacks the group as he is seemingly under the influence of the creatures and is out to infect other humans. Charlie sacrifices himself so that the others can make a getaway.

Some time later Lucy and Felix (Colson Baker) steal the vehicle and decide to go it alone, leaving those left in the house without any means of transportation. Soon after, another heavily pregnant survivor Olympia (Danielle Macdonald) allows a seemingly unaffected and innocent wanderer, Gary (Tom Hollander) into the house against Douglas's wishes, for which he is locked up in the garage lest he should try to injure or kill their latest resident. Seemingly speaking from first hand experience, Gary refers to infected survivors who are insane and are compelled to force unaffected humans to look at the creatures, of which he has numerous pencil drawings contained in a satchel. When both Olympia and Malorie go into labour, Gary reveals himself to be one of the insane people he described. He then proceeds to remove all the coverings from the windows and attack the others within the house. Gary murders Douglas and forces Olympia, having just given birth, and another survivor Cheryl (Jackie Weaver) to look at the creatures, resulting in their deaths by suicide. Tom is able to kill Gary with a shotgun and save Malorie and the two newborns, leaving all the other survivors in the house, dead.

Fast forward five years, and Tom and Malorie are living together with the children in a seemingly relatively safe haven. Malorie calls the now five year olds only Boy (Julian Edwards) and Girl (Vivien Lyra Blair). One day they receive a return radio transmission from a survivor stating that they are well and safe at a community two days downriver and that they are welcome to join them. Tom wants to go to the community despite the dangers of the river, but Malorie fears it could be a trap.

Following the transmission, Malorie flees with the two children when a group of infected survivors locate them and attempt to kill them. Tom manages to kill all the infected, but in doing so glimpses the creatures which results in him turning his gun on himself. Blindfolded, Malorie takes the children, also blindfolded, and the two birds wrapped in a shoe box to a rowboat next to a river.

Their journey is dangerous as described by the voice at the other end of the radio transmission. After some two days having survived raging rapids, an insane infected man, and even capsizing their boat in the rapids, they are washed ashore but by now separated. The creatures tease the children and Malorie to remove their blindfolds by mimicking the voices of loved ones but are unsuccessful as the three are reunited by the sounds of each others voices, and make it through dense woodland to the community guided by the sounds of tweeting birds, just as the voice had instructed.

Upon arriving Malorie and the two children are quickly taken in, and removing her blindfold very gingerly, sees that the compound is an old school for the blind, and most members of that community are blind, rendering them immune to the creatures. She kneels down and gives the children names, Olympia for the girl and Tom for the boy, and releases the birds from their box to join the many others flying above in an enclosed atrium, that have kept them free from harm for these past five years.

This film evoked memories of M. Night Shyamalan's 2008 post apocalyptic horror thriller 'The Happening' and more recently John Krasinski's 2018 post apocalyptic horror thriller 'A Quiet Place'. This film is below par compared with the latter, and would rate just about the same as the former elevated only by the performance of Sandra Bullock who once again turns it on as the everyday woman determined to overcome adversity and look fear in the face and say FU! The film falls somewhat short on suspense, scares and any real horror elements and lingers too long in the past, not long enough in the present and not at all in the intervening five years. As for the fate outside of Malorie's small little world, we are left but to wonder, and why certain individuals are left to roam free as 'carriers' of the creatures curse but not victims of suicide, also remains unclear. If post apocalyptic thrillers are your thing, and if during these extended school Summer holidays you are looking for two hours to sit and watch such an offering from the comfort of your own lounge, you could do worse than tune into 'Bird Box', but equally there's more compelling viewing out there too.  

'Bird Box' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a potential five.

 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE DISASTER ARTIST : Wednesday 6th December 2017.

'THE DISASTER ARTIST' which I saw this week, is based on the now cult classic for all the wrong reasons, 'The Room' which was released in 2003 and Written, Produced, Directed and starred Tommy Wiseau at a cost out of his own pocket of US$6M. At the time of its limited release it was panned by Critics for its bizarre and unconventional storytelling and various technical and narrative flaws, was described as 'the Citizen Kane of bad movies' and others have touted it as one of the worst films ever made. Upon its release in one single theatre, the film took US$1,800 at the Box Office over the two week period of its screening. Originally labelled as an independent romantic drama film, the movie found cult status subsequently and continues to be shown in limited screenings at select theatres to this day and as a result, the film has more than recovered its budget outlay. Wiseau retrospectively characterised the film as a black comedy, even though audiences have generally viewed it as a poorly-made drama, a viewpoint supported by some of the film's cast. In 2013 Greg Sestero, the films other principal Actor published a memoir titled 'The Disaster Artist : My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Film Ever Made' about the making of 'The Room' which has inspired this film. The film was shown at TIFF back in September and took out the top prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and has garnered generally positive Reviews with James Franco in particular being praised for both his Direction and starring roles.

And so James Franco Directs, Co-Produces and stars in this biographical comedy drama offering that features him as Tommy Wiseau, with his brother Dave Franco cast as Greg Sestero. Charting the meeting and early friendship between Wiseau and Sestero which occurred via acting classes in San Francisco back in 1998, and over the following months the two strike up a close, and at times somewhat bizarre friendship. Sharing a dream to make it big in Hollywood, Wiseau persuades Sestero to move with him to Los Angeles where Wiseau owns an apartment centrally located for tinsel town and where they'll be able to rub shoulders with the movers and shakers of the movie industry.

However, fairly quickly their combined hopes and dreams come crashing down around their ears after rejection follows rejection, despite Sestero being signed up quickly by one of the top casting agents of the time. One early evening feeling dejected and at a particularly low ebb, Sestero mentions to Wiseau that they should just make their own film. Wiseau takes Sestero's suggestion literally, and over the next three years spends his time writing his own screenplay, called 'The Room', which he presents to his friend in a diner upon completion to be the first person to read it through.

Recognising that the story is totally incoherent, Sestero acknowledges that the script is great to massage Wiseau's ego. Wiseau offers his friend the lead role of Mark, and also makes him a Co-Producer of the film. The pair then go in search of a production company and find one in North Hollywood. Wiseau is insistent that he wants to buy outright all the camera equipment despite the normal arrangement being to rent because of the cost prohibitive nature of outright equipment purchase. He further insists on shooting with two cameras - 35mm and HD digital simultaneously, which just doubles the cost of production unnecessarily, but Wiseau is adamant that he is a filmmaker with a vision destined for greatness, and this is the way its gonna be.

The production company introduces Wiseau and Sestero to Rafael Smadja (Paul Scheer) and Sandy Schklair (Seth Rogen) as Cinematographer and script supervisor respectively, with the latter doubling up as Wiseau's surrogate Director. Production on the planned forty day shoot starts out reasonably well all things considered, but as time progresses Wiseau grows increasingly short tempered, angry, self centred and more demanding of his cast and crew putting his own failings aside and blaming everyone for his shortcomings but himself. He forgets his lines, turns up late almost every day, won't provide the basic needs like air conditioning and water on a stinking hot day while filming inside and verbally abuses his cast and crew with increasing regularity.

Needless to say the crew grow more and more resentful of Wiseau, culminating in an on set showdown in which Smadja reaches the end of his tether and is briefly fired. Wiseau also reveals that he knows that everybody hates him having seen the extensive behind-the-scenes footage being constantly filmed during production, and how nobody, including Sestero, shares his vision for the film. Having gone way over schedule, on the last day of shooting back in San Francisco where it all began, Sestero and Wiseau fight questioning his age, background and source of income which has been a constant source of doubt since they first met, and to which Wiseau has been especially aloof. They part company and don't see each other for approaching a year - until the world Premier of 'The Room' in fact.

At the Premier of 'The Room' to which Sestero has been invited by Wiseau and reluctantly attends, the pair are pleasantly surprised to see the entire cast and crew turn out for the event, and a packed theatre. Wiseau makes an introduction and announces his film. As the film begins to unfold, the audience increasingly erupt into bouts of laughter over just how wrong the film is on almost every level. Wiseau initially leaves the theatre half way through the screening, but is halted from leaving by Sestero who comforts him saying that whilst it may not have been the reaction he was wishing for, the audience are having a great time nonetheless. As the end credits roll, Wiseau returns to a standing ovation.

You don't need to have seen 'The Room' to appreciate what this film is all about. James Franco nails it as Tommy Wiseau in what may yet prove to be a career defining role. Rather than paint a picture that lauds up the source movie with ridicule and rejection, he here delivers a character and a story of unwavering passion and unrelenting dedication to his craft that makes you feel an empathy towards Wiseau, despite his failings. Also worthy of note is the faithful recreation of scenes from 'The Room' duplicated with exacting detail on 'The Disaster Artist' - many of which are shown side by side in the closing credits sequence - all kudos here to the production team, and the cast too for their near seamless performances in re-creating those from the original film.  Also starring Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Alison Brie, Jackie Weaver, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Zoey Deutch with celebrity cameo's from the likes of Bryan Cranston, Zach Braff, J.J. Abrams, Danny McBride, Judd Apatow, Kevin Smith, Keegan-Michael Key, Lizzy Caplan, Kristen Bell amongst others, here Franco has united an ensemble cast the likes of which have not been seen in a single film for a very long time. We never do discover just how old Wiseau really is, or what his origins are, or indeed where he got his funds from to support his lifestyle and the production of the film, but this is part of the mystique surrounding the filmmaker and his project 'The Room' - a film so bad, it's good! This is a good film about the making of a bad film that is certainly worth the price of your movie ticket.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GOLDSTONE : Tuesday 12th July 2016.

'GOLDSTONE' which I saw this week opened the Sydney Film Festival on 8th June and had its World Premier then, before going on general release in Australia last week. Directed and Written by Ivan Sen who also acted as Cinematographer, Editor and wrote the music score, this is the standalone sequel to his highly acclaimed and multi-award winning and nominated 2013 film 'Mystery Road' which also opened that years Sydney Film Festival. Here, Sen has written a taught, atmospheric and relevant story with the backdrop of a barren sun scorched dusty outback land that stretches for mile upon mile of vast nothingness that is further heightened by widescreen shots taken from afar, or from a birds eye view looking down.

This film sees Aaron Pedersen reprising his role as Indigenous Detective Jay Swan from 'Mystery Road', who drives half-drunk and semi-conscious into the Australian outback mining town of Goldstone (shot in the very remote, sparsely populated western Queensland) where he is promptly picked up by the only cop in this one horse town, Josh Waters (Alex Russell). Asking for a breath test Swan blows positive and is promptly handcuffed, thrown in the back of the Police car and given a 'room' and 'bed' for the night at the local Police Station to sober up and cool down. Whilst sleeping, Josh rifles through Swan's kit bag and comes across a Police issue Glock pistol and Swan's Police ID. The next day, Swan's 4WD is delivered by tow truck to the Police Station, and off he goes to find accommodation in a local caravan park (aka 'The Diggers Rest Motel'). Later, while sleeping, he is rudely awaken by two biker types outside his caravan peppering the side of his temporary home with bullets. Swan escapes unhurt, but it is not long before Josh is on the case asking questions and doing some digging of his own. Swan reveals what he is doing in Goldstone - sent on the search for a young missing Asian girl under authority from the Federal Police. Josh quickly dismisses the notion that anyone is missing, and that he should return post haste from whence he came.

With his accommodation shot up Josh moves Swan out to a remote cabin on the outskirts of town. Swan meanwhile goes about his investigations visiting the local Aboriginal community and meeting up with the local elder Jimmy (David Gulpilil) before coming across the fenced off boundary of the Furnace Creek Gold Mine with dire warnings to keep out. Siddling up to a rocky outcrop within the boundary area at dusk he spies an incoming light plane and witnesses Asian women getting on and off the aircraft. Returning to his parked car he is set upon by armed Security Guards, who promptly cart him off for an audience with local mine manager Johnny (David Wenham) who questions him and cautions him that it would be in his own best interests if he gets out of town, asks no more questions and doesn't look back.

By now the local Mayor, Maureen (Jacki Weaver) is asking questions and seeking a private meeting with Swan. Maureen has been married five times before we learn and came to Goldstone to escape the world and live her life as she wanted. She now oversees the community as a smiling assassin - turning a blind eye to the goings on below the surface while feathering her own nest off the back of the prospects the gold mine presents her on a personal level. She bakes Swan a welcoming apple pie, but tells him in no uncertain terms to stop his meddling in business that doesn't concern him.

None of this puts Swan off the scent and his quest for the missing girl. Seeing a link between the Asian girls flown in and his missing person investigation, as well as his meeting with Johnny and more recently with Maureen, he questions Josh as to whether he is on the take? Josh flatly denies this, but really who would know, but the question does make Josh look inwardly, and so he visits 'The Ranch' - the local bar & knocking shop where Asian girls are sold. He questions the four girls who were recently flown in. They remain silent, but Josh suspects there is more to this, and returns on  number of occasions under the guise as a 'customer' to question one girl, May (Michelle Lim Davidson) in particular who takes Josh into her confidence over successive visits.

In the meantime Jimmy is the lynchpin in the signing over of more Aboriginal land rights to Furnace Creek Mining Group to exploit the resources within the Goldstone catchment. The FCMG management are in attendance and talking up the benefits to the local gathered community by way of education, training, jobs, security and wealth but Jimmy can see right through this and leaves ashamed, just as the final papers are to be executed. Johnny and Maureen catch wind of this and meet in secret to discuss what can be done - Maureen threatens to dispense with Jimmy so that the next in line gains authority to sign the deed, but Johnny wants none of this. Maureen tasks local Land & Environment Officer Tommy (Tom E. Lewis) to attend to this.

When a local hermit contacts Swan unexpectedly by mobile phone and arranges a discreet meeting way out of town, a passport is handed over belonging to the missing girl that Swan is searching for. Protecting his anonymity initially, Swan tracks the loner down who leads him to where he found the passport. This sets off the final chain of events that culminates in a shoot out at the Furnace Creek mining village with Swan and Jay joining forces, donning bullet proof vests, and righting the wrongs perpetrated by Johnny and Maureen ultimately, with a few henchmen casualties along the way. Not everyone however, gets their comeuppance as Johnny flies off into the sunset having made a quick getaway with a stash of cash; Maureen has shredded all documentary evidence of her untoward nefarious activities and skipped town; but the ring of prostitution is broken; the missing girl is found although it didn't end well for her; and at the local Aboriginal community justice is served.

This modern day outback Aussie Western is well crafted and packs a punch. Addressing issues such as Aboriginal environmental land rights, corporate greed, corruption, politics, human trafficking, the sex trade and indigenous culture, underpinned with strong performances from the principle cast and the back drop of the vast emptiness of the barren, hostile yet beautiful Queensland outback this is worthy of your attention and commands the price of your ticket. Ivan Sen is proving on the quiet that he is a multi-tasking force to be reckoned with, and a talent to look out for.




-Steve, at Odeon Online-