FILM: I’M STILL HERE

Elliot Hyams reviews the ‘documentary’ that pulled the wool over Hollywood’s eyes.

“I’m just stuck in this ridiculous self imposed prison of characterisation. I don’t want to play the character of Joaquin anymore.” This is the loaded statement that serves as our entry point into one of the strangest social experiments ever to be set to film, I’m Still Here. In 2008 Joaquin Phoenix announced that he was retiring from the world of acting to pursue a career in hip hop. At first it was seen as a joke, but it soon became apparent that this was something Phoenix was taking very seriously. He vanished from the public eye, reappearing months later to do impromptu freestyle sessions at various L.A venues, almost unrecognisable under the long hair and bushy beard he had grown. Following a rambling and incoherent appearance on The Tonight Show, it seemed that Joaquin had lost his mind, he was mocked publicly by the media, and any dream he may have had of launching his rap career disappeared after a failed show in Miami turned into a fist fight. The experiment had failed, or had it?

The brain child of Phoenix and director Casey Affleck I’m Still Here was an attempt to explore the notions of celebrity and reality in a media obsessed world. The truth is it was all an elaborate hoax much reminiscent of the late Andy Kaufman, Some of the people that appear in the film are in on the joke, such as Sean ‘P Diddy’ Coombs, but most seem to be are unaware that this ‘documentary’ is anything other than reality. For two years Phoenix lived the part of a self obsessed, drug fuelled, megalomaniac, desperate to reinvent himself and on screen we get to witness the complete downfall of a promising young actor, as he shuns his friends, gets high, fights, argues, and throws tantrums all in the pursuit of the illusive notion of “producing something that really matters.” But as much as the Joaquin character is mocked on camera for feeling this way about his music there is always a feeling that off camera, this is how the real Joaquin felt about this film.

Tragically I’m Still Here is not as clever as it wants to be, nor is it as entertaining as it needs to be. It’s not a bad film, parts of it are quite brilliant, but the fact remains that the effort that went into making it is far more impressive than the finished article itself. Joaquin’s level of method acting would put De Niro to shame. There can be no doubt that he took an amazing risk in making this film. He alienated his fan base and made the media look foolish, this is never a good idea, and it will be interesting to see if his career can survive the fallout. Clearly there is rebuilding to be done, and Joaquin’s recent clean shaven appearance on The Tonight Show proves that he knows this. Was the risk worth it? Maybe not, but I’m Still Here is unique and inventive, and as such deserves to stand out from the crowd.

Review by Elliot Hyams

FILM: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Elliot Hyams gets ready to be spooked by the follow up to Paranormal Activity

To say that Paranormal Activity did quite well for itself would be a bit like saying Elvis Presley sold a couple of records. The film telling the story of a young couple named Micah and Katie and their horrific experiences at the mercy of a demonic presence didn't just do well, it broke records. Like the other big indie/horror success story of recent times The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity was shot entirely in first person perspective on a camcorder, featured unknown actors, and was marketed as genuine footage of spooky events, it was also slow moving and full of gaping wide plot holes. However, Micah and Katie were likable well portrayed characters, whose reactions seemed entirely believable and as such the viewer felt for them in the face of impending doom. Costing a mere $15,000 to make it would go on to gross $196,681,656 globally, this level of success made it almost inevitable that there would be a sequel.

So as the hype machine began to warm up those amongst us who remembered the shambles that was Blair Witch 2 began to grow increasingly more sceptical. But the good news for fans of the original is that Paranormal Activity 2 delivers on its promise. A prequel, rather than a sequel, Micah and Katie return in this film set a few weeks before the events of the first. However this time the story centres on Katie’s sister Kristi and her family, husband Dan, stepdaughter Ali, and baby Hunter. After what they assume is a break in leaves their home vandalised the family fits security cameras around the house to monitor the situation, but as their Mexican housekeeper tries to warn them, it’s not vandals that they need to fear. As with the last film things start off innocently enough with a few loud bangs and opening and closing doors, but it’s not long before the baby is levitating and unseen assailants are dragging people around the house.

As a sequel the film plays on the expectations of those who have seen the first one, often the greatest moments of tension occur when nothing is happening but the viewer feels that at any moment it could. Unlike the in your face gore of this month’s other big horror release Saw 3D, Paranormal Activity 2 is subtle and builds slowly towards an explosive climax. The acting, as with the last film, is great, but an hour and a half of watching security camera and camcorder footage makes you long for the days of Italian cinematography. Also there is one plot hole so wide that you feel like phoning up the makers of the film and demanding that they explain it to you immediately. Ultimately Paranormal Activity 2 is more of the same and if you didn’t enjoy its predecessor then there is little chance you will enjoy this one. But it’s a film worth seeing once, if for no other reason than so you can make up your own mind without the coercion of hype.

Review by Elliot Hyams

FILM: SAW 3D

Elliot Hyams gets ready to play the game in the seventh instalment of the Saw series.

The announcement that a seventh Saw film was going to be made came as no great surprise to anyone. Despite the inescapable feeling that this series has gone well beyond the point of flogging a dead horse, the Saw films continue to turn a reasonable profit. Saw VI ended with the Jigsaw killer’s successor, Detective Hoffman, escaping from a trap set for him by his dead predecessor’s wife and presumably intent on gaining some form of overly conceptualised revenge, and so the scene was set for Saw VII. Only this isn’t Saw VII, it’s Saw 3D. Traditionally in long running series the transition to 3D is a last ditch attempt to refresh something which has grown formulaic and stale. However, in modern times 3D is a gimmick that can be applied to just about anything and with Halloween being upon us it would seem that the success of Saw: 3D is almost guaranteed.

Like every Saw before it some unfortunate soul has to play Jigsaw’s game, this time it’s the turn of Bobby Dagen, played by Sean Patrick Flannery. Bobby is a survivor of one of Jigsaw’s games and has since become the author of a successful self help book. Clearly this was never going to sit well with the husky voiced killer. Whilst Bobby works his way through each elaborate trap, Costas Mandylor’s Hoffman continues his hunt for Jill Tuck, along the way we are treated to a series of extravagant scenes of torture and mutilation that are the calling card of the Saw films. Bodies are torn apart, sawn in half, smashed, burnt, impaled and eviscerated all in glorious 3D. But more than this long time followers of the series are rewarded with the return of a previous victim of Jigsaw in the form of Cary Elwes’s Doctor Gordon, who was last seen hacking off his foot in Saw I.

Seeing Ewles brought back memories of watching that first film, it was new and exciting. Yes there was gore but the true genius of it came through its construction and the intensity of watching two men forced to go to extremes to survive. Seven films later and Saw is little more than torture porn with a plot. What narrative there is takes a back seat to the real aim of the film, to get to the next gory jigsaw killer set piece, and whilst watching a woman get cut in half and explode out of the screen may seem like fun the truth is it isn’t, because we’ve seen it all before. What made Saw a great film was that Adam and Dr. Gordon were well rounded characters, it would seem that characters in Saw 3D are little more than fodder. Ultimately Saw 3D does what it says on the tin, if you want to enjoy a gory movie where guts fly out of the screen then watch Saw 3D, if you want to watch a well constructed piece of psychological horror then watch The Shining. The choice, as Jigsaw would say, is yours.

Review by Elliot Hyams

GAMING: FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS (X BOX 360)

Duncan Stevens offers his take on the latest part of the Fallout Saga

I open the curtains for the first time in a week and pause, remembering the feeling when I first left that office in Goodsprings to set out on my epic journey across the wastes. I’ve done so much since then, changed in so many ways. I can now shoot the face off a Deathclaw from a thousand feet away, pick any lock, hack my way into every computer in the Mojave wasteland, and my repair skills are unparalleled by any man, ghoul, or super-mutant. Yet despite the hundreds of miles I have travelled and the countless side quests I have undertaken, I still suck at shooting laser guns. That’s a definite goal for me to complete on my next play-through of this spectacular game, and there will be a second play-through of Fallout: New Vegas, just not yet. First I need to eat, my thumbs are bleeding, and I haven’t checked in a while but I think my girlfriend may have left me.

The scope of the story alone sets the Fallout series apart from most other games on the market. For most people a worldwide nuclear conflict would signify the end of the world and all life. But developers Blizzard have used this seemingly final scenario to create a world where not only have people survived in underground vaults and set up their own societies, but have left those vaults many years later and begun warring with each other. This history has a very physical presence in the game. Often whilst travelling to a specific destination you will come across a building not yet marked on your map, venture inside to see if there is any loot worth scavenging and the story of its previous inhabits unravels itself via ancient computer terminals and forgotten relics.

Graphically, New Vegas is impressive although falls just short of being perfect. The general environment is exquisitely rendered and compared to its bleak predecessor Fallout 3, New Vegas feels much more alive with the occasional tree and cactus planted here and there. On the downside, the music in the game can get irritating fairly quickly, but a simple solution is to not bother with the radio stations. New Vegas has an incredibly deep ambient soundtrack which builds tension whilst you explore disused vaults and robot factories, an effect which isn’t quite emulated when listening to Dean Martin’s Ain’t that a Kick in the Head for the billionth time. Also NPC’s still talk to you with all the enthusiasm and facial movement of William Hague giving a lecture on paint drying, which can be extremely laborious when you’re forced to trudge through pages of dialogue as part of the main quests. But these are just minor gripes, if you’re after a game which will sink its tentacles into you and demand your attention like a spoilt toddler until you have explored every last inch of it, then buy Fallout: New Vegas. If not, well, I hear having a social life has its perks too.

Review by Duncan Stevens

TELEVISION: THE WALKING DEAD

Elliot Hyams reviews the first episode of AMC’s new zombie mini series

Halloween is once again upon us which means a few guaranteed things will happen. Homeowners are about to be bombarded by undeserving children who think that slapping a bit of fake blood on their face entitles them to demand free confectionary, sales of cobweb in a can are going to experience a sudden surge as unimaginative party throwers try to show that they are game for a spot of easily cleaned fun, and a whole slew of spooky films and television shows are about to be unleashed on the viewing public. Taking up the charge on the TV front is AMC’s new zombie drama The Walking Dead. Based on the long running graphic novel series of the same name, it follows the adventures of Deputy Rick Grimes, a Kentucky sheriff who wakes up from a coma to find the world overrun by reanimated corpses.

Directed by Frank Darabont and adapted for screen by the writer of the original graphic novel Robert Kirkman this mini-series has an awful lot going for it on paper. AMC has proved itself as a challenger to HBO’s title with recent successes like Mad Men and Breaking Bad and with long time James Cameron collaborator Gale Ann Hurd on board as well what could possibly go wrong? One potential problem could come in the form of the narrative, all zombie films no matter how inventive follow a basic formula, zombies attack, survivors hold up somewhere, survivors try and come up with a plan for escape. Often this formula becomes tiresome over the span of ninety minutes, so stretching it over a whole series seems like an even worse idea than a teen camping trip in a slasher movie. But the success of the graphic novel came not from its adherence to the formula but its defiance of it. Now into its eightieth issue the zombies in the Walking Dead form the backdrop for a story that is routed in people attempting to live their lives under extraordinary circumstances.

The first episode of the six part mini-series debuted on Halloween eve and it would appear that all the hype was totally deserved. Teachers star Andrew Lincoln is sympathetic and likable as Rick, a man confused and alone, desperately hoping his missing family has survived the outbreak. The effects and gore are as believable as one might expect from a show with this kind of budget. The pacing is tense, and the finale of the first episode leaves the viewer desperate for more. As with any adaptation a lot has been condensed here, and it will be interesting to see how much of the graphic novel series turns up on screen. But even if you haven’t read the series, and you aren’t a zombie aficionado you can still enjoy the walking Dead, it’s a well constructed drama rather than a conventional horror, a study of humanity, which just happens to have a lot of hungry dead people walking around in it.

Review by Elliot Hyams