The Inbetweeners Movie

Year of Release:  2011
Director:  Ben Palmer
Screenplay:  Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, based on the television series The Inbetweeners created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris
Starring:  Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley, Blake Harrison
Running Time:  97 minutes
Genre:  Comedy

Nerdy Will McKenzie (Bird), lovelorn Simon Cooper (Thomas), mouthy Jay Cartwright (Buckley) and dopey Neil Sutherland (Harrison) have finally finished their A-levels and are about to leave high school for an unsuspecting world.  To celebrate finishing school, and also to cheer up a recently dumped Simon, the boys decide to go on a "lad's holiday" to the Greek island of Malia to indulge in sun, sex and booze, not necessarily in that order.  However the holiday soon turns into a catalogue of humiliating disasters.

The Inbetweeners was a British television comedy show about four teenage boys growing up in suburbia, which ran for eighteen episodes between 2008 and 2010, and quickly went from a small cult series to a hit mainstream success, even now, ten years after it ended, there is rarely a week goes by without at least one episode being shown somewhere on British TV.  The film takes the tried and tested route of umpteen big screen adaptations of British TV comedies, by whisking the familiar characters away to a new location.  There is really nothing here that you wont have seen many times before, but it's an enjoyable and very funny film.  As with the series, the film concentrates on cringe humour and toilet humour, although all the gross-out elements have been dialed up for the film.  However, again as with the series, what makes the film work is that there is a heart beating under all the bodily fluids and knob gags.  As badly as the boys behave, they never entirely lose sympathy.  Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley and Blake Harrison are good as ever in their familiar roles.  The film also features Laura Haddock, Tamla Kari, Jessica Knappett and Lydia Rose Bewley as the group of girls who befriend the boys, and Emily Head as Simon's ex Carli (incidentally Emily Head's father, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Anthony Stewart Head, has a cameo as Will's father).  The female characters are sidelined, in favour of the boys antics.  Although Laura Haddock is very good as Alison  and her romance with Will is quite touching.  Familiar faces from the TV series make brief appearances,  with Greg Davies as the sardonic teacher Mr. Gilbert giving a memorable speech to the school leavers ("Try not to kill anyone.  It reflects very badly on all of us here.")
This will definitely please fans of the TV series, and if you haven't seen it, then the film is still perfectly accessible.
It's perfect funny, late night, post-pub entertainment.

         From left to right: Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley and Blake Harrison in The Inbetweeners Movie

The Most Dangerous Game

Year of Release:  1932
Directors:  Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack
Screenplay:  James Ashmore Creelman, based on the short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
Starring:  Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong
Running Time:  63 minutes
Genre:  Adventure, horror

Big game hunter and celebrated author Bob Rainsford (McCrea) is shipwrecked on a small island.  The island turns out to be owned by sinister aristocrat and fanatical hunter Count Zaroff (Banks), who is entertaining two other shipwreck survivors, Eve Trowbridge (Wray) and her brother Martin (Armstrong).  It soon turns out that Zaroff has grown bored of conventional hunting and has set up on this island in order to hunt "the most dangerous game":  human beings.  Zaroff deliberately engineers the shipwrecks so he can hunt the survivors to the death, keeping the heads of his victims in his underground trophy room. 

Based on the famous 1924 short story by Richard Connell, this is an interesting old horror-adventure tale, based on the disturbing and popular horror trope of human hunting.  This was shot at night using the jungle sets from King Kong (1932), with several of the same behind the scenes personnel, as well as actress Fay Wray, who appeared in both.  Despite only being an hour long, the film does seem to drag in places, with a lot of stilted dialogue, although it does kick into life during the hunting sequences.  Joel McCrea provides the square-jawed heroics, Leslie Banks is satisfactorily oily and sinister as the villain of the piece, Robert Armstrong provides the comedy relief as Fay Wray's drunk brother, and Fay Wray starts off with quite a strong  character, who seems to be wise to Zaroff's evil intentions right off, but by the end she doesn't really have much to do except run around screaming and being carried off by burly henchmen.  It is definitely dated in some of it's attitudes, also the fact that the hero is a big game hunter.  Some of the special effects have, inevitably aged poorly, such as the shipwreck sequence at the beginning sometimes looking as if it was filmed with a toy boat in a tank, which is probably was.  Some of the action is quite well staged though, and if you can get past the problematic elements, as well as the awkward pacing, it is quite enjoyable.  A word of warning though: There are scenes where dogs die, so animal lovers beware.

Fay Wray and Joel McCrea are The Most Dangerous Game

 

Night of the Demon

Year of Release:  1957
Director:  Jacques Tourneur
Screenplay:  Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester, based on the short story "Casting the Runes" by M. R. James
Starring:  Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis
Running Time:  82 minutes (96 minutes original cut)
Genre:  Horror

American psychologist John Holden (Andrews) arrives for a conference in England, and learns that Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham), one of the professors he was supposed to meet has died, in what appears to be a strange accident.  Holden discovers that Harrington was intending to discredit occultist Dr. Julian Karswell (MacGinnis) as a fraud.  Firmly skeptical on all things supernatural, Holden continues the professor's work, with the aid of the Harrington's niece, Joanna (Cummins).  However, soon Holden's rationality is put to the test when Karswell places a curse on him, and Holden begins to suspect that he is pursued by a powerful force.

This is an adaptation of the story "Casting the Runes" by acclaimed British academic and ghost story writer M. R. James.  James and director Jacques Tourneur would seem to be a good fit.  Tourneur built a reputation with films like Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943), in which the supernatural was hinted at rather than shown, with deep shadows and skewed camera angles, and James would build his ghost stories carefully and deliberately with daily life gradually being dominated by a supernatural force.  However, in this film, the monster, a "Fire Demon", is shown in all it's rubbery glory right at the beginning and right at the end, apparently against Tourneur's wishes.  The demon's appearances do feel shoehorned into the film, and it would certainly be more effective without it's appearance at the beginning, which takes away a lot of the film's suspense as to whether any of the apparently supernatural occurances were genuine or not, although the demon has become something of an iconic image.  However, even with that it is a strong and suspenseful film, with some striking visual style.  The performances are solid for the most part, despite the unfortunate decision to use white actor Peter Elliott to play Professor Kumar.  Niall MacGinnis adds an element of camp humour to the sinister Professor Karswell.  The film was shortened and retitled Curse of the Demon for it's US release, and some of the dialogue is sampled for the Kate Bush song "Hounds of Love", and it is also referenced in the opening song for Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).

       Night of the Demon

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

Year of Release:  2019
Director:  Kevin Smith
Screenplay:  Kevin Smith
Starring:  Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Harley Quinn Smith
Running Time:  105 minutes
Genre:  Comedy

New Jersey dope dealers Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) are tricked into signing away the rights to their names, meaning that they can no longer call themselves "Jay and Silent Bob".  They discover that the reason is because Hollywood is rebooting the 20 year old Bluntman and Chronic movie, based on the comic book, inspired by Jay and Silent Bob.  The two decide to hit the road to Hollywood once again to sabotage the making of the film during a comic-book convention. 

In 2001, Kevin Smith released Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which was intended to be a fond farewell to Smith's fictional "View Askewniverse" (named after his View Askew production company), and played like a virtual love-letter to his own films.  This is an unabashed remake of that film, and is almost exactly the same film, which the movie itself acknowledges.  It pokes fun at the concept of reboots and remakes, and the nostalgia that drives them, while at the same time playing into that nostalgia, complete with the strange feeling of being reminded of something that once loved, and the melancholy that those days are gone.  How you respond to the film, will really depend on how you feel about Kevin Smith.  If you are a Smith fan, have seen his movies, read his books, listen to his podcasts, follow him on Twitter and Facebook, then you will probably enjoy this film, but if you are not already a  fan than it probably won't win you over.  It's chock full of cameos, pop-culture references and in-jokes, some of which are real deep-cuts.  Kevin Smith writes, directs and stars not only as his regular character of Silent Bob, but also as himself, helming the Bluntman and Chronic reboot, meaning that there are a lot of jokes about Smith himself, and at one point Silent Bob impersonates Kevin Smith, so Kevin Smith plays a character playing Kevin Smith.  The film also stars his daughter Harley Quinn Smith, who is good in it.  The film is very uneven, the introduction of more serious elements in the otherwise goofy antics doesn't really work, and it is certainly too long and self-indulgent, but it is funny, and it's a light, enjoyable ride, there is also added warmth and heart to it.  As with Smith's last View Askewniverse film Clerks 2 (2006), the message seems to be that as good as the past was, there comes a time to move on, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.  This is not Smith's best, and definitely not the one to start with if you are new to his work, but I am a Smith fan, and I enjoyed it, and it gave me plenty of laughs.

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot 

Quills

Year of Release:  2000
Director:  Philip Kaufman
Screenplay:  Doug Wright, based on the play Quills by Doug Wright
Starring:  Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine
Running Time:  119 minutes
Genre:  Period drama

Several years after the French Revolution, the notorious Marquis de Sade (Rush) is locked up in the Charenton asylum, run by the kindly Abbé de Coulmier (Phoenix), who encourages the Marquis' writing, because he believes it to be therapeutic.  However, unbeknownst to the Abbé, the Marquis is smuggling his manuscripts to a publisher, with the help of laundry maid Madeline (Winslet).  The Marquis' violently pornographic books cause a sensation throughout France, much to the displeasure of the Emperor Napoleon (Ron Cook), who orders all copies of the Marquis' works to be burned, and assigns the uncompromising Dr. Royer-Collard (Caine) to take over at Charenton and silence the Marquis by any means necessary.

This film may be very historically inaccurate, but it is a hugely entertaining, extremely dark tale, with deliciously sharp dialogue, laced with bitter humour.  It deals with creation, mental illness, censorship, hypocrisy, and control.  Despite his monstrous acts, which are discussed if not depicted, the Marquis de Sade, archly played by Geoffrey Rush, is portrayed as an anti-hero, a crusader for free speech.  Many people find his incendiary works liberating, particularly Royer-Collard's abused young wife, Simone (Amelia Warner), while for others they trigger horribly violent acts.  The cast all give good performances, and the film has a wonderfully gothic, gloomy atmosphere.

 Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis de Sade in Quills

This Is Spinal Tap

Year of Release:  1984
Director:  Rob Reiner
Screenplay:  Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner
Starring:  Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, June Chadwick, Tony Hendra, Bruno Kirby
Running Time:  82 minutes
Genre:  Comedy

Filmmaker Marty Di Bergi (Reiner) makes a documentary (or, if you will, "Rockumentary") following English heavy metal band Spinal Tap on their 1982 concert tour of the United States to promote their latest album "Smell the Glove".  Comprising childhood friends David St. Hubbins (Mckean) and Nigel Tufnell (Guest) on vocals and guitar, bassist Derek Smalls (Shearer), keyboardist Viv Savage (David Kaff) and Mick Shrimpton (R. J. Parnell) the latest in a long line of ill-fated drummers, alongside manager Ian Faith (Hendra), the band find their tour beset by disasters on stage, cancelled tours, complaints about their album cover art and internal strife, which is intensified when David's New Age devotee girlfriend Jeanine (Chadwick) joins them.

This Is Spinal Tap must be one of the funniest films ever made, full of memorable lines ("This one goes up to eleven!"; "It's a very thin line between stupid and clever") and hilarious set pieces.  It works because it really looks and sounds like a documentary, with the mumbled, criss-crossing dialogue and handheld camera.  It's not the first "mockumentary" but it is one of the best examples.  although the band is fictional, the music is very well done, and they do sound like a genuine band of the time, in fact outside the actors have played as Spinal Tap and released some albums, and since the film's release, several rock stars have claimed that it really is not far from reality.  The film is cleverly made and well cast with several fun cameos, it's also consistently hilarious and definitely repays  repeated vieweings.

Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean in This Is Spinal Tap

 

Dracula: Prince of Darkness

Year of Release:  1966
Director:  Terence Fisher
Screenplay:  Jimmy Sangster (as John Sansom), story by Anthony Hinds (as John Elder), based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker
Starring:  Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer
Running Time:  90 minutes
Genre:  Horror

It has been ten years since the evil vampire Count Dracula (Lee) last terrorized the good people of the Carpathian Mountains, however the toothy terror has not been forgotten, and when four English tourists decide to spend the night at the palatial Castle Dracula, they soon find themselves pitched against the newly resurrected Count, and his human servant Klove (Philip Latham).  Only gruff, boozy monk Father Sandor (Keir) knows how to stop the vampire for good.

This was the third film in Hammer Films successful series of Dracula movies, following Dracula (1958) and The Brides of Dracula (1960), and the second to star Christopher Lee in what would become, at least for awhile, his signature role (despite the title, Count Dracula does not appear at all in The Brides of Dracula).  For those who have forgotten or who missed it, Dracula: Prince of Darkness opens with a short prologue, replaying the finale of Dracula, before moving forward ten years with an arresting scene where Father Sandor brusquely stops the local worthies from staking the body of a young woman as if she were a vampire.  This is a good slice of what would become known as "Hammer Horror", and the hallmarks are all present and correct: Lavish (for the time and budget) production values, full-blooded (no pun intended) performances, vivid colour, and plenty of blood and heaving bosoms (again, considering the time).  The film suffers from it's slow patches, and the quartet that make up Dracula's prey are fairly bland (with the exception of Hammer stalwart Barbara Shelley who gives a great performance moving from nervous buttoned down Victorian lady to savagely seductive vampire).  Aside from the prologue, Christopher Lee does not appear as Count Dracula until quite late into a fairly short film and when he does, he is completely silent, with the exception of the odd hiss.  According to Lee, Dracula did have dialogue in the script, but it was so bad, that he just refused to say it.  However according to writer Jimmy Sangster, Dracula was never intended to have any dialogue, because Sangster didn't believe vampires would be particularly chatty.  Whatever the real reason, Lee still makes the most of his scenes, turning in an energetic physical performance, and Andrew Keir is good as tough, shotgun wielding monk Father Sandor.  Francis Matthews and Suzan Farmer are effective if kind of bland as Dracula's targets.  The film is very creaky by modern standards, and it all looks quite tame now, with the exception of Barbara Shelley, the female characters have very little to do, except swoon, and it's all very white.  It has some good set pieces, Dracula's resurrection scene with it's semi-religious overtones, is very effective, and surprisingly gruesome, and the watery climax is imaginative.

Christopher Lee and Suzan Farmer in Dracula: Prince of Darkness