Daybreakers: Movie Review

I find it difficult to talk about the vampire horror genre. It has now been done so much that it has surpassed ‘done-too-much’, vaulted over ‘done-to-death’ and now rests within the realm of merely ‘done’. Vampires are here, so we’d better get used to it. And it is with this in mind that the Spierig brothers, known for their underground Australian zombie movie Undead (2003), bring Daybreakers: a vampire horror with a neo-noir twist.

In the near future, a plague causing vampiric symptoms (no reflection in mirrors, thirst for blood, bad complexion) has swept over the entire world; turning almost every soul into a blood hungry fiend. Far from falling into disarray, the world accepted its new found status, and human blood becomes the world’s drug, Vampires living almost normal lives supplemented by regular doses of the red stuff. Few humans remain, using the vampires’ weaknesses to stay out of their way. As their numbers dwindle, the Vampires begin to feel the effects of the drought, and as the blood farms hold less and less stock, the populace face the threat of starvation. Holding out for a blood substitute, Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a Vampire scientist on the brink of a breakthrough; but after a chance meeting with a group of human refugees, he starts to question the stability of his own civilisation.

The Spierig brother’s previous effort, Undead, I didn’t like at all. It was presented by the trailer and posters as a return to the comedy aesthetics of films like Peter Jackson’s wonderful splatter comedy Braindead (1992), or even Sam Raimi’s career defining Evil Dead Trilogy (1981-1993), but this simply wasn’t the case. The slapstick fell flat, the film had no Lionel or Ash character to lead the way, and the whole thing was rather a mess; a classic case of style over substance. The filmmakers tried to do too much with too little and it showed. However Daybreakers is happily rather good.

The film on occasion looks really great, the neo-noir stylings of the Vampire city is complimented by the 50’s look of the Vampires, rushing through the twilight streets in their dark clothes, clouded by steam and cigarette smoke. The Spierig brothers’ first film suffered because of its budget and lack of studio pressure to make it more streamlined; but Daybreakers gives the right balance of visuals and narrative: the story is quickly paced, despite the occasional lull in action, and solid performances from main players Ethan Hawke and Claudia Karvan give the characters more than enough depth to hold interest. Sam Neill in particular gives an enjoyably villainous performance as the antagonistic Vampire bureaucrat Charles Bromley, and Willem Dafoe has a little too much fun with the scenery chewing Lionel "Elvis" Cormac: spouting the silliest lines in the film. The movie is fine overall; the adequate performances, well-paced narrative and occasionally stand-out visual direction means Daybreakers is a good, if not great, horror thriller.

by Alastair

The problem with poor marketing.

2008 already seems like a long time ago. This time two years ago No country for old man had entered cinemas and There will be blood was waiting around the corner. These were the days when the big studios could risk making interesting and original films which were neither funny nor guaranteed to have at least two increasingly successful sequels. However, as the recession kicked in the studios realised they needed sure fire bankers; creativity went out of the window, risk was avoided and Transformers: revenge of the fallen was made. This point seems almost too obvious to discuss; the big studios are there to make money first and foremost and if the money’s not flowing that is what they will aim to do. This has also had a knock down effect though, while once There will be blood could be successfully marketed for what it was there has been an increasing need to mislead viewers by advertising less marketable features in a way which presents them as the kind of fodder that is guaranteed to bring in the money.

This seems to be a regressive tactic though. In the summer I went to see the fantastic Adventureland while it seems that many others missed the opportunity. On the slightly dull Thursday afternoon when I ventured to my nearest multiplex there were only three others in the cinema. This was reflected by the box-office figures with the film leaving the top ten within a couple of weeks of entering. The trailer portrayed the film as a standard teenage comedy, following James’ (Jesse Eisenberg) worst summer job ever at a local theme park. The only problem is that the trailer doesn’t make it look particularly funny. The film certainly has comedic elements but it is not a comedy. It is a warm-hearted interesting take on a clichéd story, just carried out with more style and believability than any other film I have seen of its type. It portrayed a wonderful sense of melancholy which was nowhere to be seen in an advertising campaign which emphasised Greg Mottola’s previous film Superbad .I wasn’t the only one who raved about it either. The film gained particularly good press with a five star review in The Independent and an 88% rating on rotten tomatoes. The advertising campaign, while alienating those who may have enjoyed the darker tone of the movie, also dissuaded those who imagined something a little more comical. Overall I’m not saying that this film could have topped the box office, what I am saying that it is a shame that it was marketed in such a way. Attempting to deceive viewers into watching the film they will probably not enjoy seems a completely fruitless act. There can be no solace in the failure of marketing men either. It’s the film and the viewers which suffer; a very good film was practically wasted because of marketing ineptitude.

This is not the first time this has annoyed me and there are countless examples. The posters for horror comedy Jennifer’s Body portrayed it as simply a vehicle for pubescent teens to stare at Megan Fox while the film itself strayed away from the misogyny apparent in the Transformers franchise. There was also controversy over recently film The road. While the film itself was a satisfyingly grim tale of human defiance the marketing campaign attempted to portray it as some sort of Roland Emmerich style end of the world disaster movie. This needs to stop. Marketing the more subversive end of Hollywood’s output to appeal to the lowest common denominator alienates everyone. While the intended audience is driven away from the film, many who do see it feel they have been conned into doing so. There is little doubt that sequels and comedies are the films which will help the studios ride through the recession; however this doesn’t mean that every film attempting to break from tried and tested formula needs to be portrayed as such. No country for old men and There will be blood proved that there was a market for well thought out blockbuster Hollywood productions and even though the studios cant take risks on such films anymore it doesn’t mean they should alienate films which attempt to do so. Portraying films as they are benefits everyone; put the creativity into the films, not into their advertising.

By Sam

The Road: Movie Review

It’s inspiring when a film comes to define a genre. When one thinks of post apocalyptic film, Mad Max Two (1981) comes to mind, embodying both the portentous uncivilised nature of a future without law, but also the fashionable violence expected with an action film. However when a film subverts convention and transcends genre, something completely unique can happen. I make no secret of the fact that I love post apocalyptic films, something about the escapism coupled with the heroics and fetishistic attitude to clothes and guns is made extraordinarily appealing by the benchmarks of the genre, and despite words to the contrary I expected from The Road something similar, if more nihilistic: but what I got was something quite different.

Set years after an unnamed ecological disaster, one that dulled the sky and killed almost all plants, animals and people, a Father (Viggo Mortensen) and Son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) travel across Middle America, heading to the south coast in the hope that it will yield some sort of rescue or hope. The scarred landscape is populated by roving gangs, driven to cannibalism and acts of horrendous violence just to stay alive; and as the human race slowly dies out, the man and boy try to stave off illness, starvation and the constant threat of abduction or murder so they can reach the sea.

To say this film is depressing would be to miss the point entirely. Certainly the bleak outlook and difficult subject matter carries with it hard moral baggage, but the film is eye-opening more than downright crushing. To a fan of post apocalyptic movies, The Road came as a shock particularly to me, as its realistic attitude to the depths that people will sink; the Darwinian survival instinct of humanity that leads us to depart from our ethical sensibilities to survive is utterly distressing. The Road is superbly acted, Viggo Mortensen adding another fantastic performance to his increasingly impressive repertoire, and the young boy is an excellent find, conveying the fear, sadness and distress that a daily life full of death and hopelessness would produce. The moments of happiness and love are few and far between, but have a power and weight far beyond that of any other post apocalyptic film. The film’s tone can be extraordinarily bleak at times, but the affecting story, wonderful direction and great performances make for an extremely powerful film, and an eye-opening reality check for fans of post apocalyptic fiction.

By Alastair

Book of Eli: Movie Review

I love the end of the world. It’s what keeps me going in this day and age, and whenever I feel down, it’s great to stick on my copy of A Boy and His Dog (1975), Escape from New York (1981) or Mad Max 2 (1981), and revel in the fact that, despite unemployment, poverty and the continued dominance of reality television, the world isn’t this bad. Book of Eli is the new film from the Hughes brothers, directors of the critically acclaimed Menace II Society (1993) and the largely misunderstood From Hell (2001), it takes place in a post apocalyptic world where plot and character development have almost died out.

Years after an unspecified war, a war that burnt and scarred the landscape of America, and left most of the population either blind or dead, Eli (Denzel Washington) travels the wasteland heading only ‘west’, to find a place to keep safe the titular book that he carries with him. After arriving in a small settlement, Eli is accosted in a bar by some thugs, and after a fight he stands the victor, only to be offered a job by the bar’s owner Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Refusing, Eli takes shelter in the settlement, and Carnegie finds out that the book he carries is the one that he has wanted for years, and a game of cat and mouse begins.

The film began really well, I mean really well. The fight scenes were fabulous, the look of the world that the characters inhabited looked great and Eli’s quiet spoken hero reminded me of the Clint Eastwood ‘man-with-no-name’ characters in Segio Leone’s Dollar’s trilogy. Once Eli arrives at Carnegie’s bar however, things start to go downhill extraordinarily quickly. Gary Oldman is a wonderful actor, and I’m sure I would have enjoyed his performance more if he hadn’t spent the entire film mumbling, the Mila Kunis character is just awful, and the supporting cast try their best, but the religious overtones of the film drown what was initially an interesting plot and kill whatever tension and mystery there was about Eli. The themes of the preservation of knowledge and literature are all fine and good, but the attitude with which the Hughes brothers approach religious morality is extraordinarily naïve. Actors are wasted, not only the aforementioned Gary Oldman but Michael Gambon appears too, for the briefest five minutes or so; and even Malcolm McDowall turns up at the end. So many great actors, such a well trodden and fun premise, why did they have waste the film focussed on the ranting loon and his annoying girlfriend? The first half of the film is passable, but the steep decline after makes you wonder just where all the energy of the pitch-perfect opening sequence went.

Alastair

Review: Spoon- Transference

John Peel once said of the Fall that they are ‘always different, always the same’ and the same can be said of Spoon. Despite on the face of it being a fairly standard alternative rock act, over the past seventeen years Spoon have consistently showed off their excellent craftsmanship and production abilities. Their failure to diversify into different styles has never been an issue; each album has built on the previous, tweaking little bits here and there but never with any wholesale change. Britt Daniel always keeps the ship upright and while contemporaries have diverged Spoon have been a constant. Perhaps the biggest shock given this then is that Spoon have not tired, the release of Transference still holds excitement even if I know what’s coming. The joy is the intrigue rather than the surprise. Spoon are the proof that sustaining a long career neither relies on constant mediocrity or pointless change and although never finding mainstream success they seem to consistently provide comfort and surprise in equal measure for their loyal fan base.

While 2005’s Gimme Fiction was the album of exuberant joy (at least in terms of Spoon), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was a return to sublime understatement. Gimme Fiction provided thrills and spills on the first listen while Ga Ga was the slow burner; a more introspective but ultimately more rewarding endeavour. Transference is closer to the latter than the former while still the result of the subtle evolution which Spoon have become known for. It probably doesn’t quite hit the heights of the previous album though every time I’ve listened so far I find something new and intriguing. I’ve played the whole thing through about ten times and have found increased enjoyment each time it is plays, who knows? It could be better than Ga Ga.

Although opener Before destruction is fairly standard in terms of the band, Is love forever? is where production trickery really comes to the forefront. The vocals seem more pronounced and the vibrato vocal is captivating, sitting somewhere in-between melody and rhythm it has an understated charm. Every Spoon album seems to have one track which deviates from the rest, the one track which most other bands could base a whole career around. On Ga Ga it was the ethereal The ghost of you lingers, Transference’s equivalent is The mystery zone, creating groove through repetition, with bass high in the mix, the result is some kind of subdued funk. If you didn’t know Spoon better you could almost dance to this. Who makes your money is similar but more restrained however the album then makes somewhat of a turn.

The next few songs are a return to a more familiar style; the album picks up pace and when Britt Daniel growls ‘I’m not standing here’ it seems a metaphor for the album. Anticipation is built through repetitive guitar riffs and the music progresses in terms of feel and tempo. It’s an easy trap to confuse earnestness with passion and one which Spoon sometime play with. However, they seem to consistently reach the limit and pull back; the best example of this is on ‘I saw the light’, whilst being somewhat of a slow burner it refuses to explode and is all the better for it. So often subtlety is used as a byword for blandness however in Spoon’s case subtle is what they do best.

When Transference enters its third act it becomes somewhat more accessible; they’ve earned their right to let loose a little and they carry it out in style. The final tracks on the album seem to rely less on production and the composition shows a more natural ear for melody. Trouble comes running and Got nuffin are highly infectious preventing the album from becoming overly introspective. Final track nobody gets me but you provides a perfect epilogue to the album seeming like an amalgamation of all the styles and interests of the previous ten tracks.

Transference may not be the best work of Britt Daniel and co. but that can hardly be a criticism. Showing an ability to grow and evolve without altering the core values of your music is no mean feat for a band celebrating their seventh album. Neither is creating eleven understated gems and there is not a single duff track on this album. As a result the initial inaccessibility of the album is rewarded with further listens, its flow is one of its greater benefits and the use of repetition really allows it get under your skin. We’re only two weeks into 2010 however I’d be surprised if this isn’t there or there abouts in the end of year best of lists.

Postapocalyptia: A triumphant return for the Post Apocalyptic film?

Is it a horrendously sad and dangerous time when a civilisation becomes infatuated with its own destruction? The 2000’s saw a resurgence of movies focusing on end of the world scenarios, particularly those involving undead cannibals, and video games like Fallout 3 have brought about a fresh interest in the genre; but mainstream cinema has not seen the like of The Road and Book of Eli since at least the early 1980’s.

The very idea of post apocalyptic fiction is that it takes place after an event that laid waste to the world. However much of the focus in fiction in a world where our televisions and computer screens show us up to the second updates of news items from around the world, has been on the event. The images captured on 9/11 and other tragedies like it have haunted the minds of the world, and as a mirror on society film has attempted to capture that feeling of being amongst disaster and experiencing terror first hand. Now we come to a point in our cultural journey where we start to contemplate the consequences of our actions, the turn of the tide after disaster. Very few films recently have dealt with the fallout of a disaster, the notable exceptions being Neil Marhsall’s ode to the genre Doomsday, 2009’s Zombieland and Terminator Salvation. It does seem that such a genre has the odd entry every so often, but not until now has interest been sparked by the genre as a whole, rather than just the particular film that incorporates it.

In 1981 Mad Max Two hit the world stage, the very same year as John Carpenter’s Escape from New York was released. Both starred up and coming tough guy actors, Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell respectively, both took place in a world ruined by disaster and both became benchmarks of what would be considered the post apocalyptic film. They depicted gangs, unhindered by law or rules, hunting and preying on the weak, boasting big cars, big guns and big egos. The looks of these people who populated the post apocalyptic world has become somewhat iconic: the ragged, makeshift dress that formed the uniform of the survivors is something that has become a staple of films of this type, perhaps drawing inspiration from Walter Hill’s dystopian gang film The Warriors, war paint, goggles, gas masks and dirt became the fashion of the future.

It is to this, aesthetically at least, that Book of Eli and The Road return. Promising tales of epic quests and grand journeys through post apocalyptic wastelands, the look and feel established in such films as Mad Max Two, and smaller cult films like A Boy and His Dog (a great influence of the Fallout video game series and forerunner of films like Mad Max Two), Hardware and Le Dernier Combat, looks to make a comeback.

The genre is an infinitely interesting one, providing backdrops for allegorical stories of war, loss and environmental disaster, as well as for the exciting possibilities that a world returned to primal, medieval or even American Western sensibilities opens up. Despite the hiccups, post apocalyptic film remains a proud genre; and with the dawn of art-house dramas like The Road, and prophetic action films like Book of Eli, a whole new generation of people will be introduced to the end of the world.

By Alastair

Kid A could have achieved so much.

In the past month or so I have read perhaps a dozen or so lists that describe the best albums of the decade. Frequently at the top or there about is Radiohead’s Kid A, released all the way back in 2000. I don’t want to add another glowing review of the album (although I’m sure some of my enthusiasm will rub off) as that would be unnecessary. What I do not want to question is; given its critical success as well as being a product of one of the world’s most commercially successful acts, why did it not have a bigger crossover appeal than it did and affect mainstream culture in an enduring way. At the end of the decade, despite Radiohead being consistently popular the dent into popular culture seems minimal. I’m not seeking to deny Radiohead’s mega star status however it seems this album in particular only saturated the heights of indie-fandom, remaining the favourite of virtually every Radiohead fanatic I know whilst OK computer was the one which basked in the limelight. At this point I should add this article is not meant to be an indictment of a mainstream culture, I’m sure I could write several different articles to serve that purpose, this is simply to outline something I find to be an anomaly and try to understand the reasons why. Neither is this a justification of acts who I thought deserved to have gained widespread success. Radiohead were and are a mainstream act who achieved widespread success and to me it still feels that while OK computer has had enjoyed an enduring popular legacy, the superior Kid A has had little impact in terms of effecting popular culture.

Released in October 2000, Kid A immediately topped the British charts outselling all the other top ten albums combined. This was back in the heady days of 2000 as well when albums, although available, weren’t so easily obtained on the internet. Furthermore, it proved an equal success on the other side of the Atlantic, debuting at No. 1 selling 210,000 in its first week. Perhaps surprisingly, critical acclaim was somewhat mixed and Kid A gained much of its status through revision. Take for example Drowned in Sounds 2009 article ‘Radiohead's Kid A - the DiS re-appraisal’ where they accepted ‘the shameful knowledge DiS awarded Kid A a scathing 4/10, way-back-when’. There were rave reviews at the time; however it seems facile to concentrate too much on critical reception when this piece is meant to be about its failure to cross into mainstream culture; a place where popularity has never relied on opinion leaders

Perhaps I should justify why I feel this way. Looking back, there appeared to be some genuinely exciting mainstream British music in the early 90’s (I would have been a toddler then so perhaps this is based on nostalgia). However, Britpop threw the nation back into an era of sterility and increasingly dull ideas. I can’t deny that millions of people didn’t enjoy the sing-a- long choruses that Oasis consistently provided and I can’t claim I didn’t for some time either. Revisiting those songs though I find nothing but laddishness and stupidity. Am I being a snob? Yes, of course I am. Me criticising Oasis is a totally retrospective action. However, I never heard Kid A when it was first released, I only really started to appreciate it when I was probably around 16 (I’m 21 now). My argument is completely decontextualised, I have no idea what it may have been like to sing along to Wonderwall at Knebworth or to feel the fervent excitement of being on the verge of something new when Kid A was released. These things were based on experience and I’m not going to attempt to pretend I have that. My argument is based on me looking back at the last twenty or so years of music from a purely musical context and assessing what I feel to be the peaks and troughs.


Despite being named album the decade by the Times and Pitchfork, looking back at the successes of 2009 I see little direct influence by an album which is justly seen to be seminal. The biggest selling acts were people such as Lady Gaga, The Black eyed peas and Cheryl Cole. Ok, ill stop. I accept that there will always be some kind of disjuncture between alternative and popular culture; I don’t expect that much of Radiohead. For instance though, take La Roux, sometime who could be considered to have gained success in both the mainstream and alternative press. I see little evolutionary effect from Kid A; and this is the point where I need to do a bit of arse-licking, Kid A was the one album with mainstream success which was introspective, thoughtful, and engaging. A forward thinking departure from both their previous works as well as their mainstream contemporaries. Given this, why has the noughties been the decade of the retro throwback rather than the one of progression it could have been. It could have been the decade when innovation and progression seeped into popular culture however it was one where no innovator despite Radiohead seemed to challenge the higher echelons of the charts. I’m not saying the last decade hasn’t been one of innovation however the internet has dispersed this into increasing niches and sub-genres.

Perhaps not the greatest indicator, but one which reflects popular taste would be Channel 4’s 100 greatest albums shown back in 2006. At the time of watching I remember being vitriolic that The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead only made number 20 but as I look back now I almost howl as OK computer sits at no.1, the bends at 22 and Kid A is nowhere in sight. I’m not annoyed at the fact someone could choose to disagree with me, actually I’m not annoyed at all, Channel 4’s 100 greatest albums is hardly a cultural leader, I just find it odd. To me Kid A seemed the perfect mix of creativity and commerce, one where the ideas existed coincidentally. Kid A showed a self conscious desire to move away from their previous ‘rock’ albums and drift away from the limelight. However, this failed, Kid A was an unbridled success but one with little popular culture impact in mainstream musical terms.

So there you go, looking back I’m disappointed that Kid A didn’t have the impact it perhaps could have despite commercial and critical success. To use a cliché though, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and without me being fully able to understand the thoughts of feelings of those who perhaps enjoyed every minute of the X factor, perhaps it’s not so surprising that Kid A hasn’t made the step over into a pop culture classic. Essentially though, I’m spoilt. OK computer has had the impact I hoped that Kid A could have had; I’m going have to accept that despite my love for Kid A it has a more popular older brother in OK computer. Radiohead are one of the biggest bands on the planet however their masterpiece still seems to be the reserve of their diehard fans. It’s a traditional tale, but one which still disappoints me.

By Sam Manning