Change Your Image
LittleScarletBlue
Reviews
Fairy Tales: Billy Goat (2008)
If only the others in the series had been as good...and as dark
Well they definitely saved the best to last in terms of the 'Fairy Tales' series...Jeremy Dyson's re-imagined Billy Goats Gruff was head and shoulders above the other three fairy tales programmes as to almost be from a completely different series.
The first three fairy tales were on the whole inadequate 'Hello' or 'Heat' treatments - light and fluffy, superficial, one dimensional concoctions. 'Billy Goat', in contrast, put one in mind of the weirder Ladybird Book illustrations by way of Edward Gory.
It was strange, dark, funny, imaginative & cleverly questioned our perceptions of the central protagonists - the troll Grettongrat and the boy band Billy Goat. Whereas the troll in the traditional fairy tale seemed to be unquestioningly condemned as the 'villian', in Jeremy Dyson's version the troll was very much the outsider who faced prejudice & ignorance from the boy band and the wider community. Grettongrat became, by the end, almost a noble figure with commendable values.
Its narrative achieved what all good fairy tales have traditionally done - illuminating human nature at its essence - universal and unchanging, thereby questioning what really is ugly and grotesque. In this case, it is greed & ruthless ambition that are the true monsters in 'Billy Goat'. Villainy can come in the form of values that people hold & the prejudices they grasp to...
Bernard Hill was a memorable, even sympathetic troll & all the cast gave committed, convincing performances. Nice to see some of Jeremy's 'reportary company' regulars in there too - Funland's Sarah Smart & Roy Barraclough plus Ted Robbins (Creme Brulee's Tony Cluedo)
Billy Goat was an excellent adaptation - unsettling, weird and darkly amusing with some lovely little touches (the stinging nettles punishment)and gratifying attention to detail - like the 'Almost Orville' poster in Grettongart's office.
It was superb and the saving grace of the 'Fairy Tales'series.
The Cottage (2008)
Horrific fun! Reece Shearsmith shines in excellent black comedy
'The Cottage' is an intriguing, genre mixing film, full of twists and turns - an exhilarating 90 minutes. Its gory and funny but one that anchors the splatter comedy to deftly drawn characters enduring a heightened reality one hell of a night.
The nightmarish black comic horror is skillfully delivered, with the gorefest conventions given a darkly comic twist. The film's tongue-in-cheek exuberance humorously balances the grisly nature of the horrific injuries that are inflicted on screen.
What makes 'The Cottage' so distinctive is the unusual approach it takes for a film where a gore infested climax is the pay off. At the heart of the film, and what makes the film stand out for me, is the emotional investment in the two main characters. You really do end up caring what happens to its key protagonists, the brothers David and Peter.
There is an emotional depth about them that made me wish even more time could have been spent with the pair, their arguments and interplay, exploring their relationship and its bickering background.
The relationship between the brothers, brilliantly played by Andy Serkis and Reece Shearsmith, is a highlight of the film. Their fraught fraternal relationship has a believability about it which grabs you from the moment they appear on screen & the scenes between them crackle with tension, humour and emotion.
Serkis's character is one used to being in control, but his tough, hard streetwise nature is under pressure almost immediately as the kidnapping plan begins to unravel, giving way to repressed anger and growing frustration.
Although Andy Serkis's David is forced out of his comfort zone as the plot unfolds, Reece Shearsmith's Peter is out of his depth from the start, reluctantly brought into a world he knows nothing about and ill equipped to deal with it at any level. His timidity is accompanied by a moralising disapproval of his brother.
Into this mix are thrown two more characters, the kidnapped Tracey and her black sheep stepbrother Andrew (nicely played by Jennifer Ellison and Steven O'Donnell) They are the natural comic grotesques of the movie, hindering and exasperating by extreme measures, a contrasting comic counterpoint to the carefully delineated characters of David and Peter. Much of the comedy comes from the dynamics of their enforced relationship and how they react to the ever worsening situation they find themselves thrust into.
Both the quarrelsome brothers are superbly played, but Reece Shearsmith is truly outstanding. His performance is beautifully nuanced with great comic timing and skillful characterisation. Peter is by turns wimpish, pernickety, argumentative, pathetic, vulnerable. He's hilariously yet tragically out his depth. Shearsmith's performance really holds the film together - it's brilliantly subtle and multi-layered. He brings so much to the role, not only comedically but emotionally too. He gives the film its heart, its pathos.
The bloody battlefield climax at the farmhouse sees the gory finale delivered with aplomb - the comedy and horror unfold with beautiful pace and precision.
Even here, amid the bloodletting, there is a moment of the unexpected and unusual which makes 'The Cottage' stand out. Its a low key, almost poetic scene which seals a growing understanding between the brothers. The badly injured pair contemplate their demise as they look up at a star filled night sky. Its a moment of humanity amid the carnage, sad and touching because its a hoped for reconciliation that will never happen.
'The Cottage' is a very entertaining blending of comedy and horror with a depth not usually associated with the genre and its directed with real confidence and verve.
There is a sense of sadness in the midst of the horrific fun of 'The Cottage' which lingers in the memory afterwards because its central characters matter and you care what happens to them - a rarity for the horror genre which marks the film out.
Its original approach, well evoked atmosphere, at times comically and bloody surreal , the blackly ironic pitch and top notch performances by the two leads, especially a brilliant Reece Shearsmith, make 'The Cottage' a comedy horror whose genre blending works a memorable treat!
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
A brilliant, mesmerising & thought-provoking film!
I saw 'Goodnight & Good Luck' last night - a superb film. Intelligent, relevant & thought provoking! Kudos to George Clooney - who wrote the screenplay, directed it & played an important supporting role in the film.
The black and white cinematography was amazing! The film is about the famous American CBS journalist Edward R Murrow & his fight against notorious red-baiting witch hunter Senator Joseph McCarthy (who made Matthew Hopkins seem like uncommitted amateur ) his smear tactics & unconstitutional methods.
It grips you from the start & is absolutely mesmerising. The whole cast is brilliant! David Strathairn gives a stunning, totally faultless performance as Murrow, & there are outstanding performances by Robert Downey Jr, Frank Langella, Jeff Daniels, Ray Wise & Clooney himself! Special mention to jazz singer Dianne Reeves who sings some classic 1950s standards throughout the film. The soundtrack really helps centre the film in the early 1950s era & creates the late night New York atmosphere brilliantly.
Highly recommended!!!! Its such a pity this film didn't win anything at last week's BAFTAS. Hope the Academy Awards give it some sort of recognition.
George Clooney has shown he's a film maker of integrity & he's made an exceptional film. He's an actor who could have coasted along his looks, but he didn't take the easy route of action films & romantic comedies. I think he'll prove to be a long-term player in the film industry.
Who'd have thought this after the awfulness that was 'Batman & Robin'...
What a guy!