The Film Reporter

A T.V series I’ve loved over the years is Dexter, and after the sneak preview of Season 8 as well as the released posters, it looks like its going to be a climactic season you shouldn’t miss out on.

Dexter Season 8 premiers June 30th.

Anyone who knows anything about films has heard of the original The Evil Dead (1981) directed by Sam Raimi. The idea was thought about by him and his friends in college who decided that filming a movie about five college students who unknowingly release demons would be a great idea to film and in a unique way, but they need funding. So they got it, all $375K (which if you didn’t know, is desperately low). 

Re-makes are in fashion and it was decided that a re-make of the horror classic would be attractive to audiences. The re-make was one of he most hyped for horror’s I’ve ever seen and considering I’m not a fan of Horror, I thought what the hell, let’s go. The Cabin in the Woods (2011) showed me you can do a lot with Horror.

The main argument that seems to blockade the genre of Horror is the fact that the story is most often very weak as well as the characters who seem to fall in the same holes as every other film. The main fall is that as an audience we don’t really care if they die or not, and I hate to say it but thats the case with Evil Dead (2013).

Throughout the exhausting 90 minutes the characters seem to be, well, stupid. 5 characters go to a cabin they unleash the evil demon and it starts turning them, but I guess I was hoping for more, maybe more focus on where this book came from, or who these characters really are rather than giving the audience a flimsy background. 

The Evil Dead (1981) is a classic because it created conventions that Horror would follow for the next 30-plus years but in an interesting and generally frightening way, but people seem to be lazy, there seems to be a great opportunity in the Horror genre but people never take it to the next level. The films rely on the same conventions we’ve seen since we can recollect and Evil Dead (2013) does the same, people die in a stupid way that holds suspense for a minute or so.

So in a nutshell people, Evil Dead is your same old same old Horror, the only thing different is the film is way more gory than any other horror I have seen or anyone for that matter. 

So for my final word on Evil Dead, ‘can people start creating characters we give a shit about so that when they die its that more frightening and rewarding for an audience’!

Evil Dead (2013) 6/10

Dexter Season 8 is on the horizon. 

Excited much?

Notorious B.I.G and Tupac’ murder has been two of the most mysterious murders of the past two decades. Whilst both rappers where at the height of their game, making music that would live forever they were shot down. Tupac in September of 96 in Las Vegas, and Biggie in California just 6 months later in March 97 whilst he was promoting his new album. 

Trusted and acclaimed director Nick Broomfield directs the documentary Biggie and Tupac (2002). The aim of the film; to investigate their murders and try and close in on who killed who and why. As Broomfield always does, he leaves the film open ended, allowing the audience to decide for themselves. One thing is for sure, it makes you think long and hard about who was responsible. 

Broomfield manages to get interviews with Shook Knight; a man with a dangerous reputation of violence who went to prison on two occasions for breaking parole because of which eventually bankrupt Death Row Records. Biggie’s mother who gives accounts of her relationship with him and her problems in his afterlife about the investigation, and also the police officer who was betrayed in the LAPD after declaring that the investigation be reopened as many things had not been followed up that should have been.

If you’re a fan of Hip-Hop this is without a doubt a film for you to watch, this is another solid documentary by Broomfield that gives a great hour and half watch.

Prequel to The Shining gets a name and a writer

The first details have emerged online regarding Warner Bros’ forthcoming prequel to The Shining, with the film now operating under the official title The Overlook Hotel…

Who’s excited? 

On the Waterfront (1954)

Sergio Leone in todays books is regarded as one of the best directors in film history. Indeed Once Upon a Time in America (1984) was Leone’s last film, and it left quite a mark. The final cut for the film lasting at 229 minutes long, it was cut down to a 2 hour version in most territories in the 80’s because the producers believed it was just too long for audiences.

It’s common knowledge that Sergio Leone wanted to make this film almost his whole career, originally reading the story in a book called The Hoods. Stuart Kaminski (writer of the script) recalls a story whilst writing the film, Stuart gave Sergio a draft and whilst reading Sergio pointed out that he needed 10 more words in a scene from a certain character, when asked why, Serigio simply said because ‘she is going to walk from here to there and during which time she is going to be finishing her sentence to ‘Noodles”. Leone already knew what the set was going to look like, he knew how far she was going to walk and he knew where the camera was going to be before a set had even been built.

Sergio also co-ordinated with the legendary composer and close friend Ennio Morricone about the score to the film that far in advance that around two thirds of the score had been recorded before filming had finished, it’s recalled by many cast and crew that the score would play around the set whilst they were filming. Therefore it’s no surprise that Sergio’s passion and determination created this masterpiece. 

I sometimes find it hard to explain the film with my words to the extent that the film deserves. The story is a non-linear one, we have 3 time periods, one in the 1968 present, the time period when the gang were boys, and a time period of the gang in their prime. The story is moved forward by Noodles receiving a party invitation from a a politician, he is concerned that people know where he lives in his later years and are threatening him. Whilst he visits his old friend Fat Moe, we go back into his past and see how he came to be in that position. We follow ‘Noodles’ played by Robert De Niro who along with his pals, do illegal errands for gangs in the prohibition only for Noodles to end up in jail for a long duration, on coming out, he finds the gang has moved up in the world and have grown in wealth and power.

It is was a running joke that when the film premiered in Cannes, many other filmmakers threw their films in the ocean because of how utterly magnificent Once Upon a Time in America was. 

The one remaining question that is always brought up with this film is the final shot, Noodles in the beginning of the film lies in a Chinese Theatre smoking opium, whilst in the final shot, after all that has been displayed to the audience, smiles in a zoom close up for it to be freeze-framed whilst the credits roll up. What does it exactly mean, was it all a nightmare? It’s a completely frustrating puzzle that has been laid out after the best part of 4 hours of ups and downs.

Today marks the 54th Birthday of Luc Besson, best known for his masterpiece, Leon (1994).