The Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon is no stranger to incredible blockbuster movies, having racked up writing credits for Toy Story, Titan A.E. and Serenity - all fantastic films - so I approached The Cabin in the Woods with a certain expectation.

Without revealing too much, The Cabin in the Woods is a teenage horror flick with a difference. It follows the inevitable misadventures of five teenagers taking a weekend out to visit a spooky cabin in a picturesque but isolated spot (kids, eh! When will they learn?) All too soon the hijinks start to unravel and the fun really begins.

Joss Whedon walks a very fine line between the horror genre and the very best and most entertaining of the spoof genre. The result is a truly entertaining and clever black comedy that is witty and sharp. Whedon's fingerprints are all over it with an intelligent plot, charming characterisation and strong dialogue. This is Drew Goddard's first outing as a director but he does well, creating some really memorable moments.

But...

The ending stretches reality a little too far and harms the integrity of the movie and spoils the fun. It's slapdash and is perhaps the only point that Goddard's directorial inexperience shows. But perhaps the DVD release will have an alternate ending.

The Cabin in the Woods is a funny and entertaining horror-fantasy cross-over. As the body-count rises and the level of gore increases this is a movie that will appeal to fans of movies like Scream, Devil, and Final Destination. It may not achieve the mass appeal or success of those flicks at the box office, but it will definitely have a cult following simply for it's idiosyncrasy. And it's nice to find a movie that feels too short rather than too long.

The Cabin in the Woods is released in the UK on 1st April.

TV Review: Terra Nova "Genesis Part 1 & 2"

With the Steven Spielberg name attached along with some fairly serious acting talent, dinosaurs, time travel and rumours of a budget numbering in the millions per episode, Terra Nova seems like it might be the next big thing. It promised so much, yet series opener "Genesis" delivered so little.

The episode opens with a CGI ariel sweep across a smog-filled dystopian cityscape as the audience is introduced to the swiss-family Shannon: dad, Jim (Life on Mars actor, Jason O'Mara), mum, Elisabeth (Shelley Conn), and their three children, Josh, Maddy and Zoe. However, the happy family is quickly torn apart in an altercation with the authorities; Zoe, the youngest Shannon sibling, is 'illegal' according to a limit on the number of children per family. Two years later, Jim is in prison and the family faces permanent separation as Elisabeth has been recruited to join Terra Nova - a colony living 85 billion years in the past. Not only must she leave her husband but also her illegal youngest child. Some mild action ensues and ultimately the family is reunited in the past.

The idyllic Terra Nova colony is run by Commander Nathaniel Taylor (Stephen Lang - Conan the Barbarian (2011), Avatar) who welcomes the newcomers with a stirring speech. The family starts to settle into their new life consisting of light, space and wholesome hard work. But paradise is not as perfect as it seems, with dangers and mysteries lurking in the jungle.

Like a new-born Bambi struggling to find his feet, Terra Nova stumbles clumsily to establish the characters and the rules of the fictional world they inhabit. The imprisonment of Jim and the resulting jail-break is tagged on simply to make the family's transit to the past more dramatic, yet an exploration of how the family might feel conflicted about going back in time is almost completely ignored, with only a fleeting goodbye between the eldest son, Josh, and his girlfriend to hint that it is anything other than an easy decision. As a result, "Genesis Part 1" falls flat and seems like an uncessary afterthought that represents opportunities missed in the rush to get to 'the dinosaur bit'.

"Genesis Part 2" is somewhat more successful, hinting at possible future plot developments and introducing 'The Sixers', a band of rebels who were once part of the Terra Nova colony, that have struck out on their own. There is a suggestion too, that Commander Taylor knows more than he is revealing and that there is a wider mystery to be solved. "Part 2" also introduces some potentially intriguing characters, including the leader of The Sixers, Mira (Christine Adams - The Whole Truth, TRON: Legacy), and Skye, a young independant loner who lost her family to illness after coming to Terra Nova. To its detriment, however, the second episode continues some of the awkward storytelling of the first, as the audience is subjected to a chain of trite scenes, including the 'stroppy teen' scene and the 'feeding the Brachiosaur' scene. These meaningless, off-the-shelf storytelling modules occupy screentime that would have been better spent giving explanations for some of the characters' actions: even by the end of the second episode, it's unclear why a Jim and Elisabeth Shannon, a respected police officer and successful doctor, would break the law and have their third child. My only hope is that this, and other unanswered questions, might be explored in later episodes.

There are also a few wider problems that go beyond plot and characterisation. Unfortunately, Jurassic Park is so ingrained into pop-culture that it dominates the sub-genre. As a result, it's difficult to watch Terra Nova without expecting Jeff Goldblum to coming running out of the tree line with a flare in his hand. In addition, while Stephen Lang is an accomplished actor, in the same way that the ghost of Jurassic Park is ever-present, so the spectre of his character in Avatar hangs over Lang's performance. The character is, in many respects, very different - Taylor is less brutal and more developed than Avatar's Colonel Quaritch - but it is hard not to see the latter in Terra Nova. Similarly unsettling is the casting of Jason O'Mara as Jim Shannon. His face is now so closely associated with the failed US version of Life on Mars, that it's Sam Tyler on the screen instead of Jim Shannon. Only time will tell if Terra Nova is able to step beyond the shadow of it's bigger Jurassic brother, and if Lang and O'Mara are able to shake off their past performances to make their roles distinctive.

In one final disappointment, while the creatures of Terra Nova are brought to life using superb computer imagery this quality of CGI is strangely lacking in other areas; one particular scene used some of the worst green-screen effects of recent years and at times the experience was like watching a computer game rather than a big-budget TV show. Indeed, some of the CGI has more in common with Stargate SG:1 episodes from the late nineties, than with the bang-up-to-date effects used for the dinosaurs.

So all in all, a rather disappointing first outing for Terra Nova. However, none of its problems are insurmountible and it shows signs that it can improve. The concern is that if Bambi doesn't find his feet quick enough, he will face the axe. TV execs are reknowned for their lack of patience, which is particularly worrying if rumours about the amount of money being plowed into Terra Nova's production are accurate.

Terra Nova is currently being aired in the UK on Sky1 and Sky1HD on Mondays at 8pm

One Pill. Anything's Possible.

I imagine that most people have a DVD collection similar to mine. It's a right mixture; literally next to each other on the shelf, you will find a critically acclaimed movie, like Million Dollar Baby, beside something fun and frivolous, like Minority Report. One thing is certain, though; whether it's an Oscar winner or a summer blockbuster, every DVD has earned its place on my shelf. Limitless is no different.

Hidden somewhere between stock characters that have been dusted off, given a new set of clothes and a change of name and sent on their merry way, and a camera technique that is all too reminiscent of 2002 David Fincher pic, Panic Room, you will find an entertaining and endearing heart and a premise that is intellectually intriguing. Russian gangsters, the smarmy ex-brother-in-law drug dealer (who steps right out of the 80's complete with sharp suit and minimalist bachelor pad) and the girlfriend may be unconvincing on screen but Bradley Cooper, as the lead, Eddie Morra, is charasmatic and engaging (and easy on the eye!) while Robert De Niro puts in a highly satisfying performance as the enigmatic villain. And while the digitally tinkered-with zooming camera work may be sickeningly familiar, it also serves as a stomach-churning reminder of how unbalanced and unhinged Eddie Morra's life is becoming. However, the most enchanting element of the movie, is the premise itself. The idea that taking a simple pill will allow you to unlock your full potential; that a pill can fix your life, is enchanting and I dare say there isn't a writer alive who wouldn't long for Eddie Morra's miracle drug to help them finish (or even start!) their magnum opus. But, no matter how bewitching the concept might be, there is a moral message to this movie too, and it is delivered gently with a pleasantly light touch; so light that it might be easy to miss.

Morra's use of the drug, NZT, is all too reasonable in the film. Eddie starts using on the basis that it's a one-time thing that can't possibly make his life any worse. It makes him feel good, makes him successful, so he understandably wants more. But then the side-effects start, but too late he finds that he's no longer taking it because he wants to, but because he needs to. It's a fascinating take on drug use in everyday life, whether that's medicinal drugs (I recently went on holiday and left my prescription drugs at home. By the end of the week I was feeling very unwell!) or whether it's tobacco, alcohol, cannabis or something stronger. It teaches us that it's all too easy - a series of small steps - to start down a road that leads to dependency and it can sometimes get you mixed up in things you would normally not get mixed up in.

It's far from perfection, but Limitless is a movie that has a lot going for it. Ultimately, it manages to entertain and provoke me in equal measure. That's why it will find a home in my DVD collection and why I'll also be reading the book, The Dark Fields by Alan Glyn, on which the film is based.

Limitless is released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray on 1st August

Dreamscape

When I was about 14 or 15 years old, I had an idea (which I called 'Dreamscape') about a story that blurred the lines between reality and dreams. Regretfully, I never put in the time and effort to develop the idea into anything more than that one line concept. If I had developed it, and by some miracle a Hollywood studio had decided to turn into a movie, I fancy that my one simple concept would have become Inception.

It took four attempts before I finally got to see the movie. The first time, I discovered I had an intolerance to milk by eating some ice-cream and then throwing it back up in the cinema! Naturally that meant I didn't even get to see the trailers, never mind the film. The second time I set out to see it, hubby remembered that Man U were playing so, of course, we had to turn back. The third time, we got stuck in football traffic and would have missed about 20 minutes at the start of the film. So it was fourth time lucky and the movie was well worth the wait.

Although I'm sure there are people that were confused by Inception, the plot is satisfyingly complex without being utterly confounding. I found the dream sharing idea fascinating and I loved the way that each of the layers of the dream communicated with the next so that sound and sensation trickled down through the dream world.

I also found the characters truly endearing. They all had a function. None of them were there for the sake of padding the cast or making a lofty point, and each one was unique within the story. Ellen Page was the stand-out performance for me. She's a pretty girl and a talented actress. She handled her role in Juno with such a lightness of touch, I was curious to find out what she could do with a big-budget sci-fi action thriller, especially playing across from much older actors (leading lad, Leo is more than a decade older.) Her character was strong, ballsy and intelligent - everything a female lead should be - and it is a testament to her skills that she didn't just do a good job; there was great on-screen chemistry between her character, Ariadne, and Leo's character, Cobb. Even DiCaprio, who has only really played two characters in his entire career, was enjoyable to watch and Tom Hardy plays a marvelous scoundrel.

However, the greatest flourish of this movie was in the visual, which brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'world-building'. The world in which Inception functions is both beautiful and mind-bending. It's a world where gravity and concrete are flexible and mirrors become reality.

If I have any gripes with this movie, and I hasten to add that this is just being picky, it's the fourth layer of the dream. The limbo layer. It's a concept that doesn't quite hold up for me. I can accept it. It doesn't spoil the flow of the film. But I know that if I let me brain go and really think about it, I could find a dozen problems with it. I'm also annoyed that Cobb's dead wife, played by Marion Cotillard, was named 'Mal' rather than 'Mol'. I had assumed that 'Mol' was short for Molly, which made sense. Mal, however, is a stupid name.

Nevertheless, this is, quite possibly, the best film I've seen in a decade. It is as visually ground-breaking and conceptually revolutionary as The Matrix was and, to Chris Nolan's credit, it is much more accessible: Friends who don't normally make a fuss over the sci-fi genre loved this movie and it's appeal is proven by the fact it was a trending topic on Twitter for months. This is definitely one to add to the blu-ray collection. It will be stunning in hi-def!

28 Mathematicians Later

I've seen Shaun of the Dead. I've enjoyed Shaun of the Dead. I especially liked the moment when Sky News anchor Jeremy Thompson is seen giving advice on how to deal with the Zombie plague. Little did I realise that surreal experience would come true... sort of.

This afternoon, Sky News reported that a group of Canadian egg-heads has created a mathematical model for surviving a Zombie attack. Yes, you read that right, someone has actually seriously considered the possibility of there being an outbreak of 'Zombieism'! The study was published in a book titled "Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress" and concludes that eradication is the only strategy that will ensure the survival of civilisation.

It seems that Sky News got this from Wired, where the story can be viewed in full, here. Whatever the source, it seems that even mathematicians let their imaginations get the better of them sometimes. Personally, I'm going to blame a combination of beer and '28 Days Later' while chuckling at the background footage for the report. I assume it was a group of hapless Sky News employees that were roped in to take a star turn in front of the camera.