FilmFour is channel 315 on SkyDigital, with a one-hour delay version as channel 316.
For those using FTA receivers - tune to 10.730 V 22000 5/6,
Video PID=2311, Audio PID=2312, PCR PID=2308,
and Film4+1 is Video PID=2329, Audio PID=2330, PCR PID=2309.
For those not watching on satellite, you will find FilmFour on
NTL/Telewest/Virgin (cable) channel 444, and/or FreeView (DTT) channel 32.
Film4+1 is on cable as channel 445, but it is not available on FreeView.
This is not a sponsored link, it is something I believe in. Please take a moment to consider some who aren't as well off as you today... |
Here are the non-English titles presented in the localised (non-Latin) alphabet.
I welcome corrections, and also the Unicode sequences to use for the Chinese and Korean films.
The older comments have been moved to a separate document where they can be referred to at any time, without cluttering up this review document (which is already pushing 350K!).
There are some comic moments, like a romp around Budgens, however this film is more concerned with playing it straight (as opposed to "Shaun Of The Dead" which fell face down into the 'ZomCom' category).
The cast do well with the material (the young girl should have had a bigger part), and it was certainly a surprise to the the flappy-eared ex-Doctor (Christopher Ecclestone) turn up along the way.
An enjoyable film.
So why only 7? This would have scored 7½, maybe 7¾ if it wasn't for the peculiar, pointless, and essentially idiotic "What if..." closure. You'll see what I mean. PS: It follows the brief end credits, so don't leave as soon as the names roll up the screen...
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Now reading this, the story may seem too bizarre to bother to watch. But trust me, it actually works surprisingly well.
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I can tell you two things about Korea from this film. The language is somewhat yucky-sounding, akin to all the "umms" and "errs" from another Asian language rolled into one new language, with the held syllables, it is also fairly distinctive. Secondly, the Korean alphabet (called "Hangul" script), was devised around 1443, and it is the only true alphabet native to the Far East. Remember that Chinese (traditional, simplified, mandarin, etc) as well as Japanese (Hiragana, Katakana, and the ideogramatic Kanji) are not alphabets. They are descriptions. Ideas. Concepts. We, English speakers, would write 's', 'u', 'n', to name that glowing thing in the sky. French people would write "soleil". Italians would write "sole", which when spoken isn't all that different to the French word. In Chinese? It'd be some sort of squiggle that means "that glowing thing in the sky". For all I know, it could be a circle with a dot in it (actually, I believe in Japanese and Chinese, the pictogram for 'sun' it is an upright rectangle with a horizontal line across the middle, like this: 日 ).
You may well wonder why I am talking about language instead of the film. This is because FilmFour is offering a much greater way for you to broaden your horizons than by simply watching a spooky film from another country. This film was made by people of an entirely different culture than that to which FilmFour broadcasts. Simply observing little things here and there, it can be very interesting, bordering on enlightening
So to the film. Two girls - late teens? - arrive home from a time being institutionalised. Not only do they have to deal with that shift in their reality, but they also have to deal with the step-mother. Now, the step-mother is an interesting character. She plays at being nice and homely, but there's just... sort of like a dark aura around her. If I was in that house, I'd be damn sure I knew where she was at every moment.
I cannot continue much more into the story without letting slip a few fundamental things, but trust me, when these things are revealed and the movie undergoes a massive paradigm shift in the wake of the revelations, it is an unsettling experience. This is especially heightened by the fact that it appears as if the rule of the dialogue is "less is more"; so some of the character interaction is a look, a gesture, an emotion. It takes good actors to pull of this sort of thing convincingly (that's probably why so many of our 'Western' movies have characters that never shut up!), and the players here do an outstanding job. This is aided by some inventive camera angles. My favourite unusual angle of the entire movie is right at the beginning when the girls are on the jetty and the camera is looking directly down on them (picture above right). It seems so simple, so obvious, but I bet many directors wouldn't have thought of that.
I'll warn you though, this film may not seem to make a lot of sense once it has finished. A second (and possibly a third) viewing is recommended.
The inspiration of this movie is from a well-known (in Korea!) folk tale called "Janghwa Heungryeonjeon". The Korean language title, "Janghwa, Hongryeon" means Rose Flower and Red Lotus. The two girls in the movie are called Su-mi (Rose) and Su-yeon (Lotus).
Called "Janghwa, Hongryeon" in Korean. In Korean with subtitles.
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Those who know of Jean-Pierre Junet's work will quickly spot the surrealistic bits in this movie (such as a painfully beautiful Paris free from all the doggie poop), but this bright vision is a far cry from the imaginary world of "The City Of Lost Children" (which I hope FilmFour will show sometime). What has remained is the inventive use of the camera. But, like numerous Scorsese sequences, you aren't really aware of what the camera is doing until something in your head clicks and you think "did it just...?". Yes, it probably did!
This film is blessed with loads of tiny touches that make up the sensitive and highly quirky personality of Amélie. And, through the film, it is all of those subtle little things that really make this movie.
The worst news I've heard, in a long time, is that the Hollywood machinery are intending to remake this film. They just about got away with it with "Nikita" becoming "The Assassin", mostly thanks to Bridget Fonda's powerful performance. But so many films were simply lost in translation. I specifically point to "My Father The Hero" ("Mon Père, Ce Héros") because the same person (Gerard Depardieu) was the lead in both. Mon Père was watchable and carried that French sense of the quirky, while My Father tried hard but was still definitely second-rate. And this is all I can hope for if there is an American remake of Amélie.
Let's face it, can you seriously imagine Working Title (of all of those seriously British movies - "Notting Hill", "4 Weddings", "Bridget Jones") being able to turn out a film like this? Can you seriously imagine Dreamworks or Amblin or Touchstone turning out an Amélie? Do we need to see a remake starring a few reality TV 'starlets'? I can't put my finger on it, but there is definitely something uniquely French about this movie, that I don't think it would have been the same had it been made anywhere else on the planet. It was just a perfect match between a young actress that was just so Amélie, and a director who could pull it off.
I absolutely loathe pop music that ruins a classic song by adding a heavy drum sequence, and possibly a fake Rasta in the chorus. For something you might see today (on ClassicFM TV, #359), compare "Now We Are Free" by Lisa Gerrard (the so-called "Maximus Mix") with the beautiful version performed by Triniti. That, above all else, explains what is wrong with upping the tempo and tossing in unwanted percussion.
I view remakes as much the same thing. Amélie just misses out on a 10/10 due to a number of small technical issues (that, ironically, Jean-Pierre himself goes to trouble to point out and moan about in the director's commentary on the DVD). In all other senses, Amélie is perfection itself. Why remake it? If the target audience (no doubt the uniquely stupid American audiences that most second-rate remakes seem aimed for, the sort that thought "Animal House" was a serious depiction of campus life) is too lazy, stupid, or ADHD-afflicated to put up with the subtitles... well, their loss.
Just to point out - I live in France, yes, but my French is not (yet) good enough to fully enjoy this movie. I still have to rely on the subtitles, so I'm not speaking with a superior "I know what it's all about" sort of position.
Called "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain" in the French release. In French with subtitles.
As usual, the visual gags, the parodies, and the cultural references come thick and fast. And if you can't hack the idea of Myers in multiple roles, not to mention "Mini Me", or if you are too young to get all those references, well then there is always the lovely Heather Graham (who is so better all round than Liz Hurley) to look at.
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This action-laden visual treat hits the ground running. After a training session and some deep mumbling about honour, the ten candidates line up and pick a partner. Whom they must now kill. This is supposedly to teach them that, as assassins, they cannot choose who to kill or how to feel about it. But, here we see the beginnings of a fragmentation in the group that is left. Some cling to the Master's every wish (remember, this is Japan - they have big respect for honour), others are starting to question why. What is going on? What is the purpose of all this violence?
This is especially hard in the following bloodshed in which they must stand by and watch as the Master dictates that they are not to become involved in 'trifles' that are not their big mission. We can see this more and more through the eyes of Azumi who seems to suffer internally for everything she sees, and doubly so if it is a killing of her own.
In a way, this makes the violence that would otherwise seem shocking in its gratuity all the worse, for it now carries emotional baggage.
There is a continuation of this review below, but it has been hidden as a 'spoiler' as it goes deeper into the plot.
If I had to level any criticisms at this movie, they would mostly be with something that seems almost de-facto in ninja/samurai movies, namely:
Called あずみ (a-zu-mi) in Japanese. In Japanese with subtitles.
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Andie McDowell, radiant as always looking like she's just stepped over from Four Weddings And A Funeral, Madeleine Stowe (the love interest in Stakeout), Draw Barrymore (you only need me to list her films if you were visiting another planet), and Mary Stuart Masterson (who was perfect in Fried Green Tomatoes (mom's favourite film) and sublimely kooky in Benny & Joon (one of my favourites - how about it FilmFour?)).
With such a strong cast and an interesting storyline, what could go wrong?
Well, a lot evidently. I think somebody at the studio bottled it and decided this would be better a failed flop then a movie that worked, for the assembled talent are given the most generic B-movie Western clichés imaginable, along with some flimsy feminist statements so us men can swagger around and remark that these four are no match for Clint Eastwood.
Perhaps one day the Western genre will be given the feminine touch in all sincerity (look what Ripley did for space sci-fi; and no, we don't count The Quick And The Dead) and females in a Western will be something other than a gimmick. Perhaps...
Batoru Rowaiaru [is listed as "Battle Royale"]
バトル ロワイアル [is listed as "Battle Royale"]
Batoru rowaiaru II Chinkonka [is listed as "Battle Royale II - Requiem"]
バトル ロワイアル 2 ちこか [is listed as "Battle Royale II - Requiem"]
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If you can imagine "Lord Of The Flies" written by somebody who must have been on his eighth caffeine hit since ten minutes ago, who probably got rat-assed and stayed up all night, and grew up addicted to Wolfenstein and "Takeshi's Castle", you might have an inkling of what this film is like. If you can stomach the gore, you might appreciate this film for widening your horizons considerably. It has some lovely touches designed to unsettle you even more - like a running score of who's just bought it and how many kids are to go. The suicides are plentiful and graphic, the murders moreso. This film is just completely raw, and in it's own sick way, completely amazing.
 One of the strengths of this film is that, like most good "totalitarian" sci-fi stories (such as "A Handmaiden's Tale"), the goings on are far enough away from reality to be unthinkable today, but close enough to perhaps be real tomorrow... |
Called "Batoru Rowaiaru" in Japanese. In Japanese with subtitles.
LATER: You might have thought I was a bit of a sicko pervert for suggesting that such brutal violence could be willingly administered to children; two people emailed me to complain about that opinion.
Well, I wish to present you with the text of a news article copied verbatim from ITV Teletext news headlines (article on p311) at 22:44 UK time on the 22nd of October 2006:
Britons 'fear teenagers' A storm in a teacup, or the tiny beginnings of the prophecy of Battle Royale? |  |
The original film was packed full of brutal violence. This film sees a more stylised approach, the fast shutter speeds capturing every drop of water and somehow disconnecting us from reality. There are many "Saving Private Ryan" moments, but somehow it seems a little too slick.
The previous teacher (played par excellence by Beat Takeshi) was great. With his dismissive mannerisms and sarcastic comments, you felt he was a lonely old adult simply in it to mentor the kids into his own personal revenge, both against the children and against his own disaster of a home life. He had a personality.
The teacher this time, Riki Takeuchi (played by...Riki Takeuchi!), is simply unhinged. Acting so over the top that he almost becomes a comic relief part.
This story is also loaded down with politics and Zen-like comments. Everybody that dies (after the first lot are wiped out wholesale) has a meaningful statement to make. And whatever action was going on just stops long enough for us to take pause to consider the meaning of these statements. In a way it feels as if half of it is some sort of apology for the brutality of the first film.
As for plot... well, there is a plot but it has so many holes I think they've already been at it with their AK-47s.
This film might have stood up much better if it didn't base itself upon Battle Royale, and simply ripped off ideas instead. This isn't to say it is a bad film, there is plenty of energy and gunplay to help you through the night. However if you were expecting more of the same, don't.
According to IMDb, the filming was begun by Kinji Fukasaku, who sadly died during production. Filming was taken over by his son, Kenta Fukasaku and - well - one wonders if this movie was simply destined to be sucky, or if the son just didn't have the balls to live up to the original vision. Whatever, there's too much political content, too many 'meaningful' final sentences, and not enough connection with the characters. It has been reduced to an action war movie with kids.
Perhaps the most memorable thing about this film is the amazingly bad punk song playing with the end credits!
There is apparently a different version ("Battle Royale 2 - Revenge") which runs for a bit longer and includes extended scenes which flesh out some of the interactions between the characters. Perhaps this would be a more logical film?
Called "Batoru rowaiaru II Chinkonka" in Japanese. In Japanese with subtitles.
Brady Bunch, The [is listed as "The Brady Bunch"]
Why is it "almost offensive" to inherit three hundred million, an amount that is hard to imagine? Because there it a condition. Brewster has to spend $30,000,000 (loads more zeros) within thirty days - without so much as a dollar left by the end of it. The idea is to have Brewster go to such excess that when he comes to inherit the cash, he doesn't want to know. Rather like a donut bar offering free donuts to employees - it sounds awesome for about a week, then you don't want to look at another donut!
However there is really nothing compared to the dross level of this movie. We have seen Pryor and Candy do some great comedy roles, this could have been a heck of a pairing.
But it was not to be. There are four subplots in this movie. They are:
It's a great ride for special effects, stuff being blown up, more stuff being blown up... The basic premise is that the two guys are USAF pilots. Travolta dumps nukes from a Stealth bomber (which then crashes, just so we can get a big bang). Travolta always beats his little brother (Slater) at everything. But this time, Slater isn't gonna let him get away with hijacking nukes. No, that's too much.
You might think, as somebody who likes a good action flick, that I'l score this a near-eight, so why a mere five?
Well, that's simple. This film is practically a masterclass in how not to make an action movie.
1. Mathis is a cute tag-along, but apart from blowing her hair out of her face and muttering "this is a really bad idea", she doesn't get to do much. I bet, had this film been on rougher terrain, her uniform, her shoes... they'd all start to fall apart while the guy wouldn't have so much as a torn seam.
2. Not only it is near impossible to believe that Slater and Travolta are brothers, there is an even bigger problem. Travolta is totally not believable as a crazed terrorist. You want me to buy it, cast Dennis Hopper. He could pull it off.
3. Everybody talks. Now talking is necessary in a film. It is only those bizarre Korean thrillers or art-housey types that have barely a word of dialogue. But in action flicks there is always the problem that bad guy pins down the good guy and puts a gun to his head. "Say", says the good guy, "why are you doing this anyway?". And so the bad guy takes great delight in explaining his master plan, leaving loads of time for the good guy to figure out his escape, be rescued, whatever. This was even parodied in the film "Last Action Hero". So what happens here? Talking. Talking. Lots of talking. The film couldn't speak its plot more if it had a narrator. And we need this spoken commentary to permit us to understand what the heck is going on. After all, why bother to act out the plot when you can have Mathis being cute and Travolta/Slater squaring off against each other while stuff blows up around them? Not that there is much of a plot to speak of, to be honest.
4. The bomb has a giant digital read-out that counts down how long it has to go until it explodes. Now I have never designed a bomb, but if I was to, I really doubt I'd put a great big count-down clock on it, complete with second-by-second beeps. The bomb is just too much. Actually it isn't really a bomb, it's a nifty way of making tension. Set it for 30 minutes. Want to up the ante? Reset it for half that. Or maybe just a couple of minutes. Through the course of the movie the bomb is set and reset numerous times.
5. As if this isn't enough, there's a little remote control. Press this one little button, the bomb disarms. Seriously? That is so ridiculous.
6. So at one point Slater is hanging out of a helicopter with a rifle pointed right at Travolta. Does he blow him away? Of course not. It is much more macho to glare at him. And for him to glare back. And thus the chance is missed, but it's okay, more macho nonsense will turn up later on.
7... Actually I think I'll stop here before my brain explodes, unless there's a TV remote control that can disarm it while one of the most ridiculously cast people gets into a fist fight...
As a mindless and fun action movie, this is great. As for plot and originality, it just misses in so many ways.
In English and subtitled Japanese.
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The only thing keeping this movie from being a favourite (scoring 8 or more) is that the end revelation was easy to guess, perhaps from the very first scenes. But don't let this put you off watching. For a low-budget film, this offers a lot of imaginative ideas. Light on effects (did they even have effects in those days? ☺), it has to concentrate on making itself look good - the black and white photography is full of stark contrast, it would not have worked so well in colour. It also has to perform a function that seems largely to exist in Japanese horror films these days - the idea of a constant unnerving suspense.
Of course, if your idea of a great horror flick is a nubile chick enduring some variety of slayage, hackage, or chainsawage every six minutes then you'll probably not enjoy this. Which is a shame, because - as films such as "The Others" show, it is possible to make quite an effective horror film without the array of corpses.
There was a lot about this film that reminded me of "Spider Baby" (click here for Zone Horror review), in that it is a creepy film that you need to invest some time and effort in - only "Spider Baby" goes for fine comedy while this is a more serious affair.
It will be time and effort that won't be rewarded by the final payoff (you'll have guessed the end long before it happens), but which will be amply rewarded by simply watching the film...
The version of "Carnival Of Souls" shown by FilmFour runs in at 82 minutes - the 'revival' edit that has become a bit of a cult classic. The original release version of this film runs in at 91 minutes. It makes you wonder what nine minutes (which is quite a lot of time, a tenth of the entire film) was omitted, and why.
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I don't think I really need to go into much more detail, for the ending of this film is a part of movie history. If you're one of the few who doesn't know the climax, and goodness is it ever a climax, then make some time for this movie.
Cat Returns, The [is listed as "The Cat Returns"]
This is strictly for younger kids [of any age! :-)] who will enjoy the action and excitement. Those kids who are older and more mature may start to wonder about the various moral messages that will come from this movie; as some stuff is more than a touch on the dubious side.
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Which brings us to Clueless. Possibly one of the best Valley Girls committed to celluloid, played with delightful wide-eyed enthusiasm by Alicia Silverstone, in a movie by Amy Heckerling, who is also responsible for Fast Times At Ridgemont High (actually, that was her first film, made some 13 years earlier).
Alicia plays Cher, her friend is Dionne. They're all named after famous people, and their life exists simply to be devastatingly pretty, extremely popular, and always a step ahead of fashion (Cher could have invented the expression "so yesterday").
When, one day, farm-girl Tai (Brittany Murphy) appears on the scene, Cher simply has to work her magic and give the girl a make-over. Only, she doesn't realise that people aren't exactly puppies.
What really works with this film is that it is never mean. A few bitchy comments, and plenty of satire lurking around the incredible vernacular (those who didn't grow up with a heavy dose of SoCal programming might benefit from subtitles?). It is fun, fluffy, and kawaï.
Another thing that really works is the voice-over. We get to her Cher's thoughts. In fact, we almost get a narration to her thinking process, never mind just the thoughts. But this, in a way is great. She's going along, yack yack yack, suddenly "ooh, I wonder if they have that in my size?". Cher has stopped dead. Camera backs up a little to see her gawking at a dress. Okay, it works better on-screen, but trust me, you'll giggle when you see it.
Cher is astonishingly self-absorbed. She matters. Not much else does. There is a scene where she is robbed at gunpoint. Worried about being robbed? No. Worried about the gun? Of course not. She is worried about having to lie on the icky ground in her designer outfit. Yet through this, there's a soft sarcasm as she comes up with lines like "Why learn to park when every place you go has a valet?" (said to her driving instructor!).
Her father, a caring worried father (which puts this film way above the level of most teen films) is a scary litigator. Following in his footsteps, Cher attempts to negotiate bad grades.
This brings us to what I think may be the second best line in the movie, which I must quote as it gives you an idea of why I wrote an entire paragraph about something else first: Searching for good grades in high school is like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.
(the best line I will leave for you to discover)
Pop culture references come thick and fast. The dialogue itself modernises and reinvents the very essence of Valley Girl, and because this film was made in 1995, we don't have those oh-so-dated '80s fashion accessories (such as roller skates and a Walkman). Or 90% of the hairstyles from the '80s. Let's not even talk about the shoulder pads...
This spawned a television series, but forget that. The real deal is here. A well deserved 9/10 and just as an aside, the 100th review!
Watching this, you can't help to think how the mighty have fallen. Yes, Katie was cute in Dawson's Creek but... but...
Core, The [is listed as "The Core"]
Additional commentary:
Around the middle, after the introduction of a weird samurai master who dresses like a woman (wearing white - which is the traditional colour of death in Japan (as opposed to our 'black')), the movie seems to veer onto an alternative course - mostly following Azumi trying to leave the bloodshed behind, but it will always find her - as in Azumi looking to leave and go to the home of the travelling player, only to be accosted by some rebels.
The various story arcs come back together for a spectacular fight in a little village. This fight involves many many people, effects, all sorts of things - and some pretty eye-popping footage. Picked up on-line are two useful little pieces of trivia that may enhance your appreciation of the film upon your next viewing: