Kerry Fox

DVD Review: Danny Boyle’s Memorable Debut in Hitchcockian ‘Shallow Grave’

BrianTT — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:23:04 -0400

CHICAGO – Danny Boyle’s “Shallow Grave,” recently released on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD, is such a striking debut and has held up significantly better than many films of its day. Not only does it fully display future Oscar winner Danny Boyle’s notable degree of style but it’s a daring film in its willingness to present unlikable characters caught in a situation that they arguably deserve.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

The film opens with a succession of scenes that make Juliet (Kerry Fox), David (future “Doctor Who” Christopher Eccleston), and Alex (the breakthrough for Ewan McGregor) out to be total jerks. They mock the people who come to share a flat with them, are overly competitive, ridicule each other, and are generally loathsome. Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge (who would also work with the director on “Trainspotting,” “A Life less Ordinary,” and “The Beach”) don’t care if you don’t like their protagonists. In fact, it might be better if you don’t.

Shallow Grave was released on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD on June 12, 2012
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

The plot of “Shallow Grave” is Hitchockian in its simplicity. Three Edinburgh flatmates need a fourth. Hugo (Keith Allen) finally gets the gig and promptly drops dead of a drug overdose. They find a ton of money that belonged to their now-dead roomie. They keep it and try to dispose of Hugo. Things unravel from there.

Shallow Grave was released on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD on June 12, 2012
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

I’ve been lucky enough to interview Danny Boyle twice and he completely lives up to expectations. He’s a fascinating guy and, therefore, a spectacular participant in the art of the audio commentary. His new one for “Grave” is one of the best of the year to date. He offers history about the making of the film (the movie cost a million pounds) while also offering character and plot insight (how the jobs of each character dictate their morality and behavior) and just straight-up awesome trivia (David’s glasses were modeled after David Cronenberg’s and the sawing scene was inspired by “GoodFellas”). The man is so well-spoken. There are a few audio commentaries every year that could be used in film classes. Boyle’s on “Shallow Grave” is one of them. His insight into how his low budget actually made for a better film is particularly notable.

The rest of the special features on “Shallow Grave” are pretty stellar as well, including a commentary by Hodge and new interviews with the stars. Once again, Criterion has taken a film that could have been a bit lost to history — “Shallow Grave” doesn’t get that much press when compared to some of its early-’90s peers — and given it treatment equivalent to a undeniable classic. In a good year to date, “Shallow Grave” is one of their best releases.

Synopsis:
This diabolical thriller was the first film from director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, and screenwriter John Hodge (the smashing team behind Trainspotting). In Shallow Grave, three self-involved Edinburgh roommates-played by Kerry Fox (An Angel at My Table), Christopher Eccleston (Elizabeth), and Ewan McGregor (Beginners), in his first starring role-take in a brooding boarder. When he dies of an overdose, leaving a suitcase full of money, the trio embark on a series of very bad decisions, with extraordinarily grim consequences for all. Macabre but with a streak of offbeat humor, this stylistically influential tale of guilt and derangement is a full-throttle bit of Hitchcockian nastiness.

Special Features:
o New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director of photography
o Two audio commentaries: one by Danny Boyle and the other by John Hodge
o New interviews with stars Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, and Ewan McGregor
o Digging Your Own Grave, a 1993 documentary by Kevin Macdonald
o Andrew Macdonald and Kevin Macdonald’s video diary
o Shallow Grave trailer and Trainspotting teaser trailer
o English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
o PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp

“Shallow Grave” stars Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, Ewan McGregor, and Keith Allen. It was written by John Hodge and directed by Danny Boyle. It was released on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD on June 12, 2012.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Film Review: Clive Owen, Carice Van Houten Star in Hollow ‘Intruders’

BrianTT — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:53:14 -0400

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Clive Owen is a fantastic actor, one of the best of his generation in films like “Children of Men” and “Trust.” His co-star in “Intruders,” Carice Van Houten, generally makes everything she does more interesting (and memorably appears in the new season of “Game of Thrones”). And yet neither of these talented thespians can do a thing to save “Intruders,” an inert, boring supernatural thriller, a flick that joins the crowded subgenre of childhood boogeyman scare-fests that fail to find the spine-tingling power of what we think may be under the bed.

Even as adults, we’re fascinated by things that go bump in the night. We can all remember those childhood days when a pitch-black closet or a creaky floorboard could suddenly sprout nightmarish visions of the boogeyman or some other legendary monster. The creature in “Intruders” is a faceless apparition, a man-like figure shrouded in rags with ghost like hands and the nickname “Hollowface.” You see, he needs a face. And it might as well be yours. Sounds promising, right? None of that promise is fulfilled.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Intruders” in our reviews section.

Hollowface haunts two children, a young Spanish boy named Juan (Izan Corchero) who lives alone with his mother and an American girl named Mia (Ella Purnell) whose father (Owen) and mother (Houten) get sucked into their daughter’s nightmare. The Spanish urchin is attacked first as he watches Hollowface climb the scaffolding outside his window and crawl into his apartment, first attacking his mother and then him before running off into the rainy night. Across the globe, Mia is exploring a tree when she reaches into a knot and pulls out a box with a half-written story on it – the legend of “Hollowface.” Before you know it, Mia is being haunted as well. Or is she? Is this a demonic creature or a hallucination? And how are the two hauntings related? (Ten bucks says half of you will figure out this “twist” early…I sure did.)

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Intruders” review.

“Intruders” stars Clive Owen, Carice Van Houten, Daniel Bruhl, Ella Purnell, and Kerry Fox. It was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. It opens in New York and L.A. on March 30th, 2012 and is rated R.

Intruders
Photo credit: Millennium Entertainment

DVD Review: Gorgeous ‘Bright Star’ Only Available in Standard Form

BrianTT — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:40:35 -0500

CHICAGO – One of the most beautiful films of 2009 is only available in standard definition DVD with barely a special feature and a mediocre technical transfer. There are few recent releases that aggravate me as much as that of the great “Bright Star,” a spectacular film given unbelievably shoddy treatment by its studio.

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

Not only has Apparition totally fumbled the Oscar campaign for a film that should be nominated in several categories (Actress, Director, Screenplay, Cosutume, Art Direction, and Picture) and will likely end up with none, but now they’ve taken a beautiful movie that ended up on dozens of top ten lists and denied it a Blu-ray release.

Bright Star was released on DVD on January 26th, 2010.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Video

Why? Some have pointed to the cost of Blu-ray, but you can never convince me that “The Damned United” and “Black Dynamite” - just two upcoming “small” Sony films getting HD releases - have even as wide an audience as “Bright Star”. Definitely not wider. No, this seems persona; perhaps related to the fact that it’s not a Sony film but an Apparition one being released by Sony’s DVD branch. Whatever the reason, it’s shameful that Sony is releasing junk like “Universal Soldier: Regeneration” on Blu-ray next week but “Bright Star” is stuck in “old-ray”.

Bright Star was released on DVD on January 26th, 2010.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Video

Now that I got that off my chest, you still need to see “Bright Star”. My choice for the sixth best film of 2009 is a wonderful ode to the power of love to inspire the creative process. Working from her own spectacular screenplay, Jane Campion directs one of the most emotionally powerful and simply beautiful films of the last several years. Abbie Cornish delivers one of the best performances of 2009 as Fanny Brawne, the inspiration for the legendary poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw).

Brawne and Keats were an unlikely couple as the former needed to find a man who could support her and Keats was a dead-broke poet, living his life on the couch of a wealthy friend (Paul Schneider) and trying to write. Fanny was discouraged from seeing John but their love fueled some of the best poetry in the history of the written word.

The world of “Bright Star” is so completely lived-in, with sets and costumes that don’t feel like modern actors playing dress-up. They feel genuine as Whishaw and Cornish find the beauty in the little moments of their lives. It’s the small choices made by Campion and her team that add up; the seemingly minute details that add up to create a world that feels genuine and complete. Romantic dramas don’t get much better.

Valentine’s Day always brings a cavalcade of cheesy romantic comedies. Take a different approach to the holiday and pick up this story of doomed love, as believable a tale of romance as any produced in the last few years. It’s a must-see. If it was on Blu-ray, I’d call it a must-own. Maybe someday.

“Bright Star” is presented in anamorphic widescreen with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and accompanied by an English 5.1 Dolby Digital track. Special features include a deleted scene, “Becoming Kate and Fanny,” “Setting the Scene,” and “An Inspiring Romance”.

‘Bright Star’ is released by Sony Pictures Home Video and stars Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, and Kerry Fox. It was written and directed by Jane Campion. It was released on DVD on January 26th, 2010. It is rated PG.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com