Late Spring

Year of Release:  1949
Director:  Yasujiro Ozu
Screenplay:  Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu, based on the novel Father and Daughter by Kazuo Hirotsu 
Starring:  Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura
Running Time:  108 minutes
Genre:  Drama

Twenty seven year old Noriko (Hara) lives happily with her widowed father, Professor Shukichi Somaya (Ryu).  Until, that is, a meddling aunt (Sugimura) convinces the Professor that it is high time that Noriko got married.  However, Noriko does not want to get married, particularly as it would mean leaving her father alone.

This is one of the great works of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, and, like many of his films, it deals with themes of tradition versus modernity, family life and conflict between the generations, as well as the philosophy of mono no aware (the pathos of things), an awareness of the impermanence of all things.  Nowhere is it better exemplified than in the film's powerful closing scene.  The film also comments on occupied Japan (the film was made at a time when Japan was occupied by the Americans following World War II), contrasting images of Coca-Cola advertising with traditional Japanese pursuits such as a noh play and a rock garden.  It's not a plot driven film, and it moves at a slow, meditative pace.  There is also the theme of duty to others versus the individual needs, Noriko wants to stay and look after her father, her father, while he values Noriko's kindness and companionship, knows that she must set out and lead an independent life, even though it means him being alone.  It demands a lot of patience from the viewer, being largely filmed, like many Ozu films, by static cameras, with beautifully composed shots and characters often seen at a remove from the audience, framed in corridors and doorways.  If you have the patience to go along with the film's gentle rhythms than you will be richly rewarded.

             

Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu in Late Spring

Hot Fuzz

Year of Release:  2007
Director:  Edgar Wright
Screenplay:  Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
Starring:  Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton
Running Time:  121 minutes
Genre:  Comedy, action

Police Constable Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is one of the best officers in London's Metropolitan Police.  Fed up with Angel constantly outshining the rest of the force, his superiors transfer him to the sleepy, rural village of Sandford.  Angel reluctantly resigns himself to a life of turfing underage drinkers out of the local pub, collaring shoplifters, mediating disputes over garden hedges and occasionally finding lost swans.  However, it soon turns out that Sandford suffers from a disproportionately high number of fatal accidents.  Angel soon suspects that there is something deeply sinister going on in the village, but the only one of Sandford's lazy and incompetent police force who believes him is eager, childish Danny Butterman (Frost), whose idea of policing seems to largely come from American action movies, and who also happens to be the son of the head of the Sandford Police, Inspector Frank Butterman (Broadbent).

This film forms the second of Wright, Pegg and Frost's "Cornetto Trilogy" (the others being Shaun of the Dead (2004) and The World's End (2013)).  It can best be envisioned as being like a big Hollywood action movie plunked down in the middle of a quiet, Miss Marple style English village.  The film constantly references action movies, frequently spoofing the cliche's of the genre.  It's consistently funny, and the jokes keep running thick and fast throughout.  The sometimes graphic violence and over the top action are played as almost slapstick comedy, and Wright is a great visual director, and he choreographs the carnage very well.  Pegg and Frost perform very well together and their bond provides the emotional core of the film.  However the film feels about ten minutes too long and lacks the resonance of Shaun of the Dead and The World's End.  Also female characters barely get a look-in.  The eagle-eyed may spot cameos from Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson (as a man dressed as Santa Claus) and Cate Blanchett (as a forensic investigator, with her face alomst completely concealed by a mask).

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost bring the noise in Hot Fuzz 

Shaun of the Dead

Year of Release:  2004
Director:  Edgar Wright
Screenplay:  Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
Starring:  Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Dylan Moran, Lucy Davis, Penelope Wilton, Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz, Jessica Stevenson
Running Time:  99 minutes
Genre:  Comedy, horror

29 year old Shaun (Pegg) is an electronics salesman with little to no ambition or direction in life.  his free time is torn between the two great loves of his life: his girlfriend Liz (Ashfield) who is increasingly frustrated by what she perceives as his laziness and lack of ambition, and his best friend Ed (Frost) an even bigger loser than Shaun, who prefers to spend all his time in the local pub or playing video games.  Finally losing patience with Shaun, Liz dumps him.  Heartbroken, he determines to win her back.  However, the course of true love never did run smooth, and Shaun's romantic quest is hampered, not only by the fact that Liz's friends, obnoxious David (Moran) and his dippy aspiring-actress girlfriend Diane (Davis), obviously hate him, but also by the fact that London is overrun with flesh-eating zombies.

Following their success with the cult sitcom Spaced (1999-2001), writer-director Edgar Wright reteamed with writer-actor Simon Pegg and actor Nick Frost, with this lively, dark and hilarious blend of comedy and horror.  The film opens as an almost conventional romantic comedy, with only slight hints initially of what is to come, and the characters are so wrapped up in their own lives, they don't notice the disturbing signs around them until it is too late.  Comedy and horror are two deceptively difficult genres to make work - it's hard to make people laugh, and even harder to scare them.  Combining the two successfully is like catching lighting in a bottle.  However this manages it.  The comedy is genuinely funny, and the horror elements are genuinely disturbing; the zombies are threatening, and when characters die, there is real weight to it.  The film shows off Wright's hyper-kinetic style of film-making, full of pop-culture references.  Fans of British comedy will no doubt recognize cameos from Martin Freeman, Reese Shearsmith, Tamsin Greig, Julia Deakin and Matt Lucas among others.  It is a hugely entertaining film that will appeal to hardcore horror fans, but also to general audiences.  It forms part of the so-called "Cornetto Trilogy" along with Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013).

     Dylan Moran, Kate Ashfield, Simon Pegg and Lucy Davis prepare to battle the undead hordes in Shaun of the Dead

EveryDaze Comics

I make a daily diary comic!  You can read it here: www.everydazecomic.blogspot.com

Comics Round-Up # 7

SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL  # 9

Written by: Cecil Castelluci
Illustrated by:  Marley Zarcone
Inked by:  Ande Parks
Coloured by:  Kelly Fitzpatrick
Lettered by:  Saida Temofonte
Cover by:  Becky Cloonan
Published by;  Young Animal

In the City, Part Two:  Band on the Run.  16 year old runaway Meghan Boyer, possessed by extraterrestrial entity Loma Shade, is alone in Gotham City, where she decides to take in a show by her favourite band The Sonic Booms, who she came across in a 1960s TV show.  However, when she sees that they are no longer the young, hip band from over fifty years ago, she is forced to confront for the first time human ideas of ageing.

Another fun issue from one of the brightest and most vibrant comics on the stands.  Always inventive, the chaos that Shade, albeit inadvertently, causes is fun to watch, but is shown to have consequence.  This issue in particular deals with ageing and the appeal of nostalgia.

BANE CONQUEST # 2

Written by:  Chuck Dixon
Art by:  Graham Nolan
Coloured by:  Gregory Wright
Lettered by:  Carlos M. Mangual
Cover by:  Graham Nolan and Gregory Wright
Published by: DC

The Sword part two.  Bane has been captured, imprisoned and tortured by a new villain, Damocles.  Bane's only hope lies in fellow prisoner Bruce Wayne.

The character of Bane was created by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moenech and Graham Nolan, and first appeared in 1993 as a Batman villain, and is possibly most recognizable for the iconic image of breaking Batman's back, and was memorably and mumblingly played by Tom Hardy in the movie The Dark Knight Rises (2012).  In Bane Conquest, he is more of an antihero, the leader of a team who maintain order in Gotham City, a place which he seems to regard as his own personal property.  In this issue he forms and uneasy alliance with Bruce Wayne, and curiously seems to be perfectly aware that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and Wayne also seems to know that he knows.  Anyway, this is a fun issue excitingly told with vibrant artwork.

   

PREDATOR: HUNTERS # 2

Written by:  Chris Warner

Art by:  Francisco Ruiz Velasco

Lettered by:  Michael Heisler

Cover by:  Doug Wheatley

Published by:  Dark Horse

For centuries, advanced alien Predators as their personal hunting ground, but now a task force has been formed to fight back, and the Predators are about to become the prey.

There have been many comics spun off from the film Predator (1987), many of which use the plot of a small group being picked off one by one by a mysterious force.  It turns out to be a Predator!  The hero has to stop them before anyone else dies...  This story rings the changes by having a group actively hunting Predators.  The focus in this issue is mainly bringing the band together and detailing their mission, the focus is on exposition and backstory rather than action, but if you are invested after having read the first issue, you won't want to miss it, but it might not be the best to start off with.  The artwork is fantastic:  beautifully detailed and moody.

SAGA # 43

Written by:  Brian K. Vaughan

Art by:  Fiona Staples

Lettered by:  Fonografiks

Cover by:  Fiona Staples

Published by:  Image

In a bizarre galaxy, Alana and Marko, soldiers from opposing sides on an interplanetary war fall in love and have a child named Hazel.  Now all three are targets from both sides and are forced on the run in a hostile universe.

Saga is one of the most acclaimed comics being published, although it has not recently had anything like the amount of attention that it had five years ago.  However, it is as good as it has ever been, and this is the perfect jumping on point for new readers, as it begins a new story arch (also this issue only costs 25 cents, as part of a promotion to mark 25 years of Image Comics).  It manages to be funny, ridiculous, disturbing, endlessly imaginative and genuinely emotional, with some great characters and fantastic artwork.  If you've never read Saga, jump on now.

HAWKEYE # 7

Written by:  Kelly Thompson

Art by:  Leonardo Romero

Colours by:  Jordie Bellaire

Lettered by:  VC's Joe Sabino

Cover by:  Julian Totino Tedesco

Published by:  Marvel

Private Investigator Kate Bishop, a.k.a Hawkeye, is attacked at home, and left with a package, apparently her attackers were sent by her arch-enemy Madame Masque, and inside the package is a pendent that belonged to Kate's mother.  Kate sets off to confront Madame Masque, perfectly aware that she is walking straight into a trap.

A very entertaining issue combining action, jokes and mystery.  It's all very well designed with imaginative page and pane layouts, particularly in the action scenes.  The central mystery, unfolding through extensive use of flashbacks, is tantalisingly constructed, although the conclusion of the issue isn't particularly surprising.

ADVENTURE TIME # 65

Written by:  Mariko Tamaki

Illustrated by:  Ian McGinty

Coloured by:  Maarta Laiho

Lettered by:  Nate Fiorentino

Cover by:  Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb

Published by:  Kaboom!

It's the last round of the Best Princess Ever Competition in the magical, post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo.  The finalists are: Flame Princess, Breakfast Princess, Hot Dog Princess and Lumpy Space Princess, but one of them is not what she seems...

This is a fun one-off story, that should appeal to fans of the TV show Adventure Time (2010 - onwards) as well as newcomers.  It's funny and light and the artwork perfectly matches the style of the TV series.       

PICK OF THE WEEK

SAGA # 43

   

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Year of Release:  1991
Director:  James Cameron
Screenplay:  James Cameron and William Wisher
Starring:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Running Time:  137 minutes
Genre:  Science-fiction, action,

In the year 2029, a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles is a battlefield in an ongoing war between a small group of human resistance fighters and the machines controlled by the vast computer system known as Skynet.  In a last ditch attempt to destroy the resistance, Skynet sends a liquid metal, shapeshifting T-1000 Terminator (Patrick) back in time to the 1990s  to kill the ten year old John Connor (Furlong), who would grow up lead the resistance.  The resistance, however, is able to send a reprogrammed older model T-800 Terminator (Schwarzenegger) back in time to act as the young Connor's protector.  John, the T-800 and John's mother Sarah (Hamilton) - the target of a failed assassination attempt ten years earlier - are forced into a desperate struggle to survive, and possibly save the future.

Whereas The Terminator (1984) was a modestly budgeted science-fiction chase movie, everything here is bigger including the action, the budget, the length and Schwarzenegger himself who, alongside director James Cameron, really broke through to the action "A" list with The Terminator.  Terminator 2 was groundbreaking in it's day for it's visual effects, particularly it's use of CGI which was really still in it's infancy in 1991, it was also the most expensive movie ever made up to that time (although Cameron himself has broken that record several times since).  It broke box-office records and remains one of the most iconic films of the 1990s.  Although, of course, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better, but this really does improve upon the original, building on and expanding the world and the themes of the first.  The tone of the film is surprisingly downbeat and bleak, with the characters not being particularly likable most of the time, although when your chased by an unkillable, shapeshifting robot that exists solely to kill you, and you know for a fact that the world is about to be annihilated in a couple of years, you could probably be forgiven for having a case of the grumpys.  The performances are good, with Schwarzenegger delivering one of his most memorable appearances.  Schwarzenegger is an actor of limited range, but he knows what those limitations are and he plays to his strengths, and what he does well, he does better than anyone.  Linda Hamilton gives an intense performance as the traumatised Sarah Connor, a world away from the cute, fluffy waitress from the beginning  of the first film, she's almost a human Terminator here.  Edward Furlong made his acting debut as the ten year old John Connor and turns in a fine performance.  The action is spectacular, and the special effects, surprisingly, have aged very well and still hold up today.  Full of memorable moments, this is one of the best movies of the 1990s.

He'll be back:  Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: Judgement Day

  
 

Lights Out

Year of Release:  2016
Director:  David F. Sandberg
Screenplay:  Eric Heisserer, based on the short film Lights Out by David F. Sandberg
Starring:  Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Maria Bello, Billy Burke
Running Time:  81 minutes
Genre:  Supernatural horror

Rebecca (Palmer) worries about her young half-brother Martin (Bateman), who lives alone with her estranged mother Sophie (Bello), who suffers from mental illness.   Rebecca soon finds out that martin and Sophie are both haunted by a powerful supernatural entity known as Diana (Alicia Vela-Bailey) who only manifests in the dark, a being that Rebecca remembers from her own childhood, and that now seems to be coming after her.

Most good horror films tap into a primal fear, in this case fear of the dark, one of the most universal fears there are.  Starting out as an award winning three minute short film, this isn't a particularly good movie, it relies too much on the same scares, the characters aren't particularly well sketched out, there are few surprises and the entity and the rules by which it operates are shown too early on, which diminishes her effectiveness later on.  Having said this however, there are times when it does work, and some of the scares provide a real jolt, and as a whole there is enough entertainment to pass the time, particularly when they try and find ingenious ways to provide light.  The entity herself, a shadowy, spindly, clawed figure rising out of the darkness, is striking.

Gabriel Bateman and Teresa Palmer in Lights Out