Make time for Cabin in the Woods...

It's been a while since I went to see Cabin in the Woods, so it's about time I share my thoughts on it with you.

I mentioned in an earlier post that my first experience of Cabin in the Woods was during an article on BBC's website.  The article spoke about too much information being given about the plot of a film during it's trailers.  Here's a link to the article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16972394

In the article it makes reference to viewers witnessing a force field barrier.  A bird flies into it, apparently giving away vital plot details.  I will agree only that it gives away the fact that a force field barrier features during the film.

The films opens with a sequence during which 2 men are walking through some kind of complex having a conversation about an upcoming project they're about to start work on.  It's very reminiscent of 80's america, workmen with their lunch boxes, the only thing that's missing are the hard hats.  What this sequence does is throw the cat among the pigeons from the word go.  You immediately know that something isn't right.

From there it continues along more familiar, formulaic lines.  To the point where after about 20 minutes I was sitting in fear that I was about to witness another teen slasher horror.  Then I realise that something very special is happening.  The witty Whedon dialogue, the familiar faces (for Whedon fans you'll notice faces from Doll House, Buffy and Angel), and the sublimely layered and drip fed storyline.  All of a sudden I'm in nerd/scifi/film lovers heaven.

The story is expertly brought together as well as being amazingly imaginative.  I know I've previously made reference to the gut-stabbing unicorn, but to go from innocent midterm holiday in the woods, to devil worshipping, human sacrificing, multi national corporation is something to behold.  With some sexy wolf kissing thrown in for good measure (it's just not right I tell you!)

Put in it's simplest terms.  Cabin in the Woods is a brilliant film for the casual viewer, and a tour de force for lovers of the genre.

Joss puts it very well in his own words during an interview with Total Film:

"On another level it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be alright but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction"

I loved the spectacle of The Avengers, and as a huge Marvel fan, this is by default my top film of 2012 (this is my Oscar winner).  Cabin in the Woods, this takes my Palme d'Or.

Pre Spoiler Alert!!

It has been brought to my attention that in my last post I didn't give any warning before talking about a plot detail from Super 8.  Granted it was a minor plot detail, and one that is glaringly obvious and in no way a twist.  Yet still, a plot detail none the less...without warning.

So I would like to take this opportunity to provide a pre spoiler alert.

Especially if you are a close friend of mine.  One who has an exceptionally good DVD collection that is completely without filler (seriously, not one in the whole lot that I wouldn't gladly watch).  Who also seems to take on average 5 months to see a film once it has been released, almost 12 in the case of Super 8.  It was released in August 2011 for crying out loud!

Yes Matt, this is for you.

My next blog post will go into detail about Cabin in the Woods.  I've held off for as long as possible, but it's just too good a film to not talk about.

Go and watch it now.

Just for the record (and to avoid any notion of exaggeration), it has been 291 days since the release of Super 8 on August 5th 2011.  It has then been 39 days since the release of Cabin in the Woods on 13th April 2012.  When citing Matt's tendency to procrastinate in seeing films, I used these as the examples which gave me the average of 165 days, or 5.42 months.  I rounded it down to 5.  Although in fairness I then hammed it up by saying it was almost 12 months since Super 8's release.

The youngsters steal the show...

With it's current run on Sky Movies Premier, I watched Super 8 again the other evening.

I remember leaving the cinema when I saw it first time round, with the feeling of disappointment at what I considered to be a sickly and overly sentimental ending.  I specifically remember sitting on the edge of my seat, saying "please don't let go of the locket" repeatedly.  Needless to say, Joe let go, and I was reminded that one of the producers was the same man who brought us E.T and *batteries not included, and I did indeed have my heart warmed.

Watching Super 8 again achieved 2 things:

- Dispelled the feeling of disappointment I felt following my first viewing.

- Reminded me that the child acting in Super 8 is some of the finest I have ever seen.

The last time I remember seeing children carry a story so well on the big screen was Stand By Me, and for me that film has to much of a special place in my heart to ever be bettered.  And whilst Steven Spielberg wasn't involved in Stand By Me, he has been responsible for bringing some fantastic child acting performances to our cinema screens:
- E.T
- The Goonies
- Empire of the Sun (featuring a very young Christian Bale)
- A.I Artificial Intelligence (with one Haley Joel Osment)
It's quite clear that among many of his talents, Spielberg has an eye for picking out a great child actor.

If you have yet to see Super 8, get on it.  The same can be said for any of the other films I have mentioned above.  If you haven't seen Stand By Me, every moment you spend from now not watching it, is time wasted.  Thinking about it, it's time I watched it again myself.

Sometimes you just feel like a bit of a snack...

We all like a snack every now and then.  I particularly like an onion bhaji.  My local Indian takeaway, Everest Tandoori, do a lovely onion bhaji (among other things) that is roughly the size of an average burger patty.

Retuning home from work a few evenings ago, I was excited to see what treat my lovely wife had in store for me.  All day she had been sending me messages, saying she had bought me the greatest gift.  It went without saying that the gift was a food item (the way to this man's heart, is indeed through his stomach), and when I arrived home she opened the oven and the familiar aroma of onion bhaji came wafting out to greet me.

As my wife pulled the oven tray out though, I could see that this was no ordinary bhaji.  It was a monster!  Larger than my fist:

To try and put it into context a little better, I also took a photo of the bhaji next to a tin of baked beans:

Now I'm not a huge frequenter of curry houses, I like Indian food, but the majority of that I eat is takeaway.  But this is the biggest onion bhaji I have seen (in the flesh so to speak).  And larger than an apple, it was almost a meal in itself.  Definitely something to brush your teeth after eating though!

I'm a fan of larger than average foodstuffs, and I'm an even bigger fan of people who make things as large as humanly possible.  So needless to say, I've had a rummage round the internet to find the World's biggest onion bhaji.

The current record is held here in the UK, by a team who created their behemoth at Bradford College's International Food Academy (IFA).  Their gigantic creation weighed in at 95kg, and measured almost a metre around the middle.  Even the engineering department had to get in on the action, to help design bespoke cooking equipment!

Please aspiring record breaker out there, attempt to go one bigger.  And let me come and help eating it!!

Old fashioned values...

I often enjoy revisiting the good old action films of the 80s and 90s.  The wise cracking good guy, the (usually English) bad guy, with pet/sidekick/shady boss person at the other end of a video link in tow.  The good guy always wins, gets the girl, then the credits roll.

Why do I enjoy the trip down cinematic memory lane?  Because it's good fun.  Simple.  Mindless.

I'm not always in the mood for a Requiem for a Dream, The Piano, or Momento style trip to the outer reaches of my psyche.  Sometimes after a hard day at work, I want to relax, crack open a beer, but most importantly, not have to think to hard.

With the above in mind, Lockout is a return to good old fashioned 'action film making' values.

Elevated from B movie status, in my opinion, with the inclusion of Guy Pearce, it offers, thrills, spills, wise cracks, and is strictly uncomplicated.  Add to that, a seemingly genuine chemistry shared by Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace, especially in the closing scenes (see my post 'High School Drama Productions' http://brightsidegerman.blogspot.com/2012/04/high-school-drama-productions.html for why this scores points with me) and you have good value for money from your trip to the cinema.

The only fly in the ointment is a decidedly dodgy motorbike chase at the beginning.  With it's heavy use of CGI and wild camera work, it feels like an amusement ride at Universal Studios.  It could quite easily have been left out, at no detriment to the film.

Parallels to Snake Plissken, and John Carpenter's Escape from New York and L.A films have been drawn in a great many reviews.  It's understandable why.  Guy Pearce's wrongly accused and disgraced CIA agent Snow is forced into a seemingly suicidal rescue attempt of the President's daughter (sounds familiar).  Only this time it's in space, and instead of the deadly threat of Plutoxin 7 as an incentive to play ball, Snow has a space station cum prison facility full of psychotic, escaped convicts for motivation.

The antagonists come in the form of brothers Alex and Hydell.  The latter played by Joseph Gilgun, who is a particular favourite of mine from shows such as This Is England, and Misfits.  Apart from a hideously out of place scottish accent from Gilgun, his character has menace still without taking himself too seriously.  The main of the two brothers, Alex, then ends up seeming a damp squib by comparison.

It's not a hot tip for the Oscars, and it won't be breaking any records at the box office.  But long live films like Lockout.  Making regular trips to the cinema enjoyable since 1983.