A bit of a change...

Right, just a quick update to say that I've moved the majority of my reviews over to  http://mallsurfer.wordpress.com/, and will be putting all of my new writings up on there.

I've not yet decided whether I'll still use this Blogspot site, but chances are that I'll put my stuff up on both sites for the time being. I've just found that the new site is easier to manage, better to look at, and is a bit more organised. The only downer is that on the new site the funky new banner that I've made has to be minimised. Big boo to that.

Anyways, feel free to let me know your thoughts on any of this :)

The Possession

The Possession is the the latest in a long line of exorcism films to hit the big screen. It is also the latest film to have Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead series, Darkman, Spider-man series) atttached in a producer capacity. The focal point of the story is an antique box that isn't quite what it seems. The story opens up with an elderly lady having a bit of a 'moment' with said box; a moment that leaves her worse for wear. From there on in the film focuses on a former family unit, consisting of a father, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan of Watchmen, The Losers, and Texas Killing Fields), his ex-wife, Stephanie (Kyra Sedgwick of Phenomenon, Man on a Ledge, and Gamer), and their two daughters, Emily (Natasha Calis) and Hannah (Madison Davenport). Clyde and Stephanie share custody of their daughters whilst maintaining a civil, yet tense, relationship. Stephanie has moved on to a new man in her life, whilst Clyde is engrossed in his career. Clyde has just moved in to a new house, and one weekend he ends up at a yard sale. It's at said yard sale that his youngest daughter, Emily, takes a fancy to a certain antique box. Seemingly locked, once back home, Emily manages to open the box and awaken it's secrets. From here on in, things take a turn for the weird.

Clyde is awoken one night by the screams of his eldest daughter, Hannah, as she finds herself sharing the bathroom with several moth type creatures. It slowly dawns on them that the moths seem to be emanating from Emily's bedroom. As they enter Emily's room, they are greeted by the sight of the entire room being covered by the flying beasties, with Emily sat on her bed. Clyde quickly rescues her from the infested room, but this is just the start of the strange events; slowly but surely, Emily develops an unhealthy obsession with the antique box. It soon becomes apparent that there is something sinister about said box, and Clyde starts to delve into it's mysteries as it begins to take over his daughter. To make matters worse, his ex wife, Stephanie, begins to suspect him of beating Emily, only further adding to the tension between the formerly married couple.

If looks could kill...

What makes this film different from the other exorcism films out there is the fact that it is essentially a Hebrew horror film, with the box, that so much of the film focuses on, being of a Jewish background. Every exorcism film has to have some form of faith or religion in it - that's how the whole concept of an exorcism works. With this film, the leads of the film find themselves having to research into the Jewish faith, having to seek out Rabbis, and having to make themselves familiar with beliefs that they are otherwise unaware of. The box in question is known as a Dybbuk Box, a box that it is believed contains the spirit of a dybbuk - an evil spirit from Jewish folklore. Clyde manages to get the assistance of the Jewish community in the form of a young man called Tzadok (played by the charismatic musician, Matisyahu). As the film heads towards it's finale, Tzadok takes centre stage.

Lost in the moment

Whilst the Jewish spin on things is a fresh approach to the genre, the film ultimately falls down in many ways. The first act of the The Possession promises much; the characters are established and fleshed out, the subtle scares nod towards the ominous events that are to come, and the pacing of the film, whilst slow at times, sets the mood well. The main problem with the film is that it takes a little too long to get to the meat of the action. I'm all for subtlety and a slow build, but the build here is a little too laboured for my liking. Add to this an at times laughable finale, and the film falls flat on it's face. When Tzadok is carrying out the exorcism, whilst no doubt authentic, it comes off as comical. One would almost be forgiven for thinking that he was free style rapping in the spirit of Rabbit from Eminem's 8 Mile. As well as this, there's the small matter of the demon in question. The effects throughout the film are generally very good, but, when the demon does finally makes an appearance, it resembles a poor man's Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. I also found myself having several issues with the cut of the film, mainly with it seemingly skipping to another scene mid scare. The score would build up to a booming, unnerving point, somebody would start to scream... then the scene ends mid scream and flips to other events, leaving you feeling a little short changed.

Not to say the film is all bad, though. As mentioned, the slow build of the first act is well done. There are also some excellent performances on show, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Natasha Calis, in particular, shining in their roles. It's just a shame that a film that showed so much promise, that took a unique, fresh look at a genre that has been done to death, failed to deliver. Genre fans will enjoy it, but general moviegoers will find plenty of flaws with The Possession. From my perspective, I'd give the film a 2 out of 5 - it's worth a watch if you're a fan of similar films, just don't get your hopes up too much.

Total Recall (2012)

So, another year, another remake. This time it's Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall that's getting the remake/re-imaging/reinvention (delete as applicable) treatment. Verhoeven's film itself was based on a Phillip K. Dick short story, which has now in turn joined the list of recent Hollywood remakes. These remakes, such as The Karate Kid, Halloween, Fright Night, Conan The Barbarian, Piranha 3D, and Footloose, have all achieved varying levels of success over the last few years. That trend doesn't look like stopping any time soon, with new versions of Hellraiser, Dirty Dancing, Logan's Run, Carrie, and The Bodyguard on the horizon. For every Karate Kid there is a Batman Begins. Studios are looking to lace their pockets by playing on people's affections for the films of yesteryear, the films that they grew up with. Each of these films already has an initial, established fan base. Even if these remakes turn out to be horrendous, people's curiosity in the subject will inevitably lead to some people paying out their cash to see what this new offering has to give. So, does the 2012 incarnation of Total Recall have enough to offer so that it makes it both appealing to the original film's audience yet fresh enough to bring in a new audience? That is, indeed, the big money question.

The latest version of Total Recall is helmed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, and Die Hard 4.0), and features Colin Farrell in the role of Quaid - previously made famous by a certain Governor Schwarzenegger - with supporting roles for Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale amongst others. The premise of the film is that Quaid, a quiet, married everyman that works in a factory, has reoccurring dreams of a strange woman (Biel) and being hunted down by the powers that be. He can't get these dreams out of his head, and, as a result, keeps tossing around the idea of going to what is known as Rekall. Rekall is a place where people go and have memories implanted into their brain, mainly to take themselves away from the mundanity of every day life. They can imagine that they are a professional athlete, a film star, a secret agent; whatever their heart desires. Quaid succumbs to his urges and visits Rekall. The only rule with Rekall is that you can't ask for a memory to be implanted that already exists, for example, you cannot ask for the memory of a mistress to be put in to your head if you already have a mistress. Quaid decides that he wants his Rekall experience to be that of a secret agent. All is running to plan until the Rekall system hits a snag - it recognises that Quaid is already a secret agent. From here on in, modern day enforcement officers break into the Rekall centre, with Quaid freezing in fear on the spot. Out of the blue, something in Quaid takes control and he ends up taking down these agents, leaving him with the question of what's just happened and who he really is.

Amongst all of this, there's an uprising going on. The world as we know it has been split in to two nations; one that was formerly Great Britain, one that is simply known as The Colony. The former Britain is looked upon as the more affluent part of the world, with The Colony and it's inhabitants looked down upon. Those that live in The Colony are trying to gain equality and to be given a fair chance, yet a power mad politician, Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), is looking to wipe out The Colony and to essentially privatise it. Quaid goes on a roller coaster ride in order to discover who he is, what is real, and what is just a memory. Kate Beckinsale plays his wife, whilst Jessica Biel plays the woman he sees in his dreams. Both of these tug at his emotions, trying to persuade Quaid of who he really is. Is he the everyman with a mundane life or is he really an agent of the rebellion, living a life of secrecy unbeknownst to himself.

"This isn't Bruges!"

Wiseman's version of Total Recall is a more grittier, realistic offering when compared to Verhoeven's. Whilst it works on some levels, it falls short on others. A remake is always going to generate comparisons to it's predecessor - this is where some problems come up. The original was a big favourite largely due it's tongue being firmly in it's cheek and it's ability not to take itself too seriously. This charm is lost in Wiseman's film. He decides to play it straight. The cast rise to the challenge, with Farrell a convincing lead - just don't be expecting a direct replicate of Arnie's Quaid here. The film is good for what it is, there's the action scenes you'd expect, there's familiar plot points, there's a strong lead, and there's lots of CGI. The film follows the same pattern as the original, yet changes in it's finale, plus leaves out some characters from the original, choosing to merge their characteristics into other characters. The quips and one liners that were such a staple of Verhoeven's original are left firmly alone with this film. Wiseman's film sets you up for what you'd expect, then differs at the last minute. It's tries to be a little too clever for it's own good at times, not having the charm of the original to pull off what it's attempting.

Just casually taking in the view - good light work, sir

Total Recall (2012) is by no means a bad film. The action flows at a good pace, with the film borrowing at times from the likes of Blade Runner, Tron: Legacy, the Bourne films, Stars Wars: Episode II (mainly for the scenes set in Coruscant), and, of course, the original Total Recall. Whilst by no means being a Batman Begins, this film is certainly not at the level of the recent incarnation of The Karate Kid. It's action packed, it's gritty, it does it's best to keep things as realistic as possible, yet it fails to realise that it comes across as a parody that takes itself a bit too serious for it's own good. I'd recommend Total Recall for a casual watch, giving it a steady 3 out of 5 rating, just don't go into it expecting the humour and tone of the original film.