Review of the Week: The Cabin in the Woods (Film)

Horror films are generally a no-go area with me. All the blood, the jumping out of my seat and into the lap of the person next to me, the surprises and the endless nightmares; yeah, that's not really my cup of tea. But in recent months, surrounded by friends who find going out to abandoned golf courses and play parks at midnight on a cold evening a doddle, my repertoire of films has moved from comedies to more darker material.

Which is why I was interested in the Cabin in the Woods.  Directed by Drew Goddard, who has penned hits such as Lost and Alias,  reviews have  generally been positive for the horror film. It  features a cast that includes rising star Chris Hemsworth and sci-fi Queen Sigourney Weaver, amongst others. Presumably ticking all the right boxes, I thought I would pluck up the courage, grow a pair and watch it on the big screen.

The film, following five friends who set out for a weekend vacation in the middle of a quiet and presumably deserted wood, uses a tried and tested narrative which is pretty predictable from the on-set. You know there's going to be something lurking in those woods, you know the characters are going to die etc. You don't need to be Sherlock to work this one out. So far, I'm unimpressed.

But within this narrative lies a complex and secretive sub-plot, where technicians at a secret office are monitoring the activities of the five students.

What proves quite confusing at times turns into a compelling and slightly bewildering scenario which sees the technicians using the five characters as puppets, controlling them and trying to 'set up' their deaths by tempting them into choosing their own fate. The female protagonist Dana, portrayed by the excellent Kristen Connolly, ultimately chooses the fate of the five by reading an extract from a diary about a family of zombies who rise from the dead.

So what happens next? Well, one by one, each character is presumably murdered by the family of zombies, whilst the technicians look on, hoping that eventually all four will die, leaving Dana to choose her own fate.

As usual with horror films, the killing of each character is both nasty and monotonous, leaving you squirming in your seat as various metal implements are used against each character for what seems an age. It's not pleasant, but it certainly reaffirms the horror genre.

As the film reaches a climax, with all four character presumably dead, we're left with a nail-biting scene between Dana and one of the zombies, whilst the security staff cheer at completing the task of eliminating all four of the students, which it later transpires was to prevent "The Ancient Ones", a group of gods, from uprising and destroying Earth and mankind. Bizarre right?

Well, just as the champagne bottles burst open, a moment of equilibrium puts a spanner in the works, as one of the four, Marty played by the quite amusing Fran Kranz, turns up and helps kill off the remaining zombies. Despite being 'stoned' throughout most of the plot, he works out what most of the audience had failed to understand, and together with Dana, decide to hunt down the security staff who are behind the operation.

The plot thickens, with a whole collection of gruesome characters turning up as the mystery behind the 'Gods' and the 'Security team' unravels into a seemingly endless pool of blood, sweat and more blood. Towards the end, Sigourney Weaver turns up in a brisk cameo to smooth out any misunderstanding that the characters, or indeed the audience has, before Mother Earth is destroyed by the spirits.

It sounds pretty bizarre, and to tell you the truth, the whole thing was. I came out of the cinema wondering what on earth had just happened over the last 95 minutes. The film is definitely quirky, in the respect that the storyline is so twisted and odd that it probably takes at least two sittings to understand what's going on. But it's no Inception, it did keep my interest throughout with its mixture of tension and horror, although I didn't quite jump out of my seat.

It's a film that leaves you confused, but it's one that will keep you talking. Like the recent Paranormal Activity, you're either going to love it or hate it, but to truly grasp the wicked storyline behind it, you really need to watch it!

3/5 stars

Picture Courtesy of Wikipedia

Review of the Week: Horrible Bosses

Ok, so I had my doubts, what with the dubious title leaving little to the imagination of what the plot line might be. But I was pleasantly surprised. Horrible Bosses, directed by Seth Gordon, was not horrible at all. In fact, I really, really enjoyed it!

Settling down between a friend and a mountain full of popcorn, I had originally agreed, or should I hastily admit, that I had intended to watch Bridesmaids with my female companion, so deciding on Horrible Bosses was what I call a risk. A risk worth taking though! The opening scene introduces three guys; Nick, Dale and Kurt (played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis respectively) at work, where their three bosses played by an ensemble cast featuring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. All three bosses make their lives in the workplace a living nightmare, be it for different reasons. In order to stop them from quitting and facing an antagonising ordeal going from place to place trying to find a job - perhaps the only realistic part of the film - they all agree to ‘kill’ their bosses and relieve themselves of the troublesome trio.

Right, so three people who try to kill their bosses. Who hasn’t contemplated that before, right? Obviously, in the land of Hollywood, these are not your usual bosses. Dave Harkin (Spacey) plays the role of the big-ego, money-loaded boss who manipulates Nick (Bateman) to such an extent that, ok, murder might be considered acceptable. Although Bateman adds little to the role, Spacey creates a rather chilling persona to his character, a menace who help creates the films highest tension stealer when he murders Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell), which puts a spanner in the films narrative to say the least.
Farrell also creates a unique persona, a drug and sex fuelled manager who apart from the money involved, has no intentions to succeed, much to Kurt’s (Sudeikis) anger. Farrel’s performance could be stronger., despite it being claimed the role of Bobby was formed on Farrell’s own requests, particularly the appearance. Although on further inspection, I would argue the character’s ‘Rock’n’Roll’ habits might be more similar to the real-life conquests of Farrell’s turbulent personal life.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was with the third boss, the sex-obsessed dentist, Dr Julia Harris, played by a shockingly good Jennifer Aniston. Not only is it one of the more amusing performances from Jennifer Aniston’s patchy repertoire, but all the sexual chemistry and aggression played out on screen as the sex-pest doctor creates one almighty laugh-out-loud scene, instigated by both actors equally. But like Farrell, she seems to be using her personal life, or should that be lack of one, to truly instigate a very different yet likeable character, who myself, and possibly many other men, would love to have as their boss!

The narrative counteracts tension with humour, and with the three main men offering an alternative to the ‘three musketeers’ typecast in recent films like The Hangover - where a few similarities can be made - ultimately the film provides a unique Black comedy. One actor to commend is Charlie Day. With his squeaky voice and lacklustre persona, his performance is putting him on course with Zach Galifianakis as the next best thing in American comedy. Although arguably, the supporting cast - that also includes Donald Sutherland and Jamie Foxx - initiated the biggest response in terms of humour from the audience.

Altogether, this quirky film may play on some stereotypical elements of recent American comedy, but what entails is a film full of surprises, amusement and bags of humour which unsurprisingly, has proved a box office hit and a must see film.

4/5 Stars.

Slow down there! Why the government needs to retract on the planned speed increase

As someone who passed their driving test last year, I was intrigued at news that the government would be holding a consultation into raising the motorway speed limit from 70 to 80mph. At a time where fuel costs are sky high, insurance premiums just as bad and conditions of roads deteriorating across the country, questions are aplenty about the benefits of raising the limit.

Former Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond’s repeated emphasis on the current restriction being “out-of-date” since “huge advances in safety and motoring technology”, made me question the governments motives behind the rise. Are we talking about cars, roads or the people behind the wheel here? Because, no matter how much carbon-fibre or glossy paintwork are added, you cannot paint over the fact that a car is only safe in the hands of the person who is driving it. Once I had passed my test, I felt confident and reassured that my awareness of the road was justifiable, despite a friend losing her life in a car accident a few months before.

It seems to me that the rise is only being implicated to speed up journey times. If the speed is increased, journeys may well be quicker - but with it entices the boy racers and Top Gear wannabees - leading to an increased amount of traffic and carnage. And more chaos and crashes mean higher insurance premiums. The Department of Transport summed it up clearly when they revealed that 49% of drivers flout the current limit anyway, so imagine what would happen at 80mph. Somewhat reassuring, to say the least.

However, the real concern here is the young drivers - ok, so a few questions might have to be reviewed on the theory test, but if learner drivers have not had the opportunity to drive at such acceleration, how will they be able to handle the pressure and fright of driving at faster speeds. Saving a few minutes of your supermarket trip can hardly be worth it when compared to the increased chances you have of losing years off your own life. The government needs to seriously rethink the advantages of increasing the speed limit, and if they do decide to, then a re-think on teaching the rules of the road, particularly for young drivers, needs to be addressed.

(Opinion piece written in 2011 - dedicated to Erin Shee)

Picture Courtesy of Wikipedia

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RIP Whitney Houston

I awoke to the sad news that last night, one of the world's greatest music legends, had sadly died of unknown causes in Beverly Hills.

Whitney Houston was a pop icon, who at her peak, was one of the most listened to female singers on the planet. With hits such as 'I will always love you' and 'I wanna dance with somebody' (my personal favourite), her catchy tunes and gospel-style vocals defined the music of the 1980's and 90's.

Behind the scenes, it was a tale of tragedy and heartbreak. Her marriage to Bobbi Brown saw her hooked on drugs and badly beaten, although no one will really understand and know what really happened.

With flocks of celebrities and fans dedicating tweets, messages and thoughts on her death, all that can be said is that she will be greatly missed. Just like Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and so many other talented artists that we have lost over the years, the rumours of trouble never fully prepare us for their ultimate death.

May Whitney, and all the others, Rest in Peace. My thoughts go to her family and friends at this truly heartbreaking time.

In memory of Whitney Houston - Aged 48 - 11/02/2012
Images courtesy of Wikipedia