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MEAN CREEK
Director:
Jacob Aaron Estes
Cast: Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelly, Scott Mechlowicz,
Carly Schroeder, Josh Peck
Certificate: 15
Price: £15.99
Released: 3rd October 2005
When
a group of kids plan to teach a local bully a
lesson on a wilderness boat trip, it’s safe
to expect that something’s going to go badly
wrong. Look beyond the admittedly predictable
plot, however, and this lyrical US indie from
director Jacob Aaron Estes transcends its obvious
influences (Deliverance, Stand by Me, Bully) to
explore the darker side of the traditional Teen
movie. As the kids (including youngest Culkin
brother Rory) realise their nemesis may not be
as hateful as they thought and start doubting
their plan, the dialogue crackles with realistic
energy, but it’s the moments of eerie silence
where the film’s atmosphere of poetic menace
hits home. Building to a bleakly moving climax
and backed up by impressive performances, this
portrait of shattered innocence is intelligent,
affecting and difficult to forget.
Extras: Commentary, Director’s Interview,
Storyboards, Film Notes, Trailer
Featuring Estes along with the film’s Cinematographer,
Editor and a handful of the lead actors, the talkative
commentary fills in plenty of detail about the
making of the movie. There’s even more to
be found in the rather static 30 minute interview
with Estes– but although there’s plenty
of references to material deleted from the film,
none of it’s made it onto the disc.
Rating:
* * * * Extras:
* * * *
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MURDERBALL
Directors:
Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Cast: Ben Zupan, Joe Soares, Andy Cohn, Scott
Hoggsett
Certificate: 15
Released: 4th November 2005
“It’s
basically ‘kill the man with the ball!!’”
Say goodbye to any preconceptions about life in
a wheelchair, as this compulsive documentary pitches
you straight into the world of Quad Rugby, a full-contact
cross between basketball and gladiatorial combat
played only by Quadriplegics. It’s a world
where the testosterone level goes through the
roof, as displayed by the amazingly bitter rivalry
between punky US team player Ben Zupan, and ex-US
player turned Canadian team coach Joe Soares,
and the film tracks the mini-war between the two
teams, as well as fully exploring the emotional
lives of the players. What could easily have been
patronising or over-worthy is instead thought-provoking,
foul-mouthed and howling funny, leaping from the
harrowing psychological barriers, to a hilariously
frank look at the world of wheelchair sex. Much
more than an offbeat sports movie, it’s
ultimately a life-affirming portrait of the tenacity
of the human spirit that’ll leave you boggle-eyed
in astonishment.
Rating:
* * *
*
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MYSTERIOUS SKIN
Director:
Greg Araki
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbett, Elizabeth
Shue
Certificate: 18
Released: 20th May 2005
Beautiful
males, ‘Middle American’ weirdness,
explicit sex- all the hallmarks of Greg Araki’s
style are present and correct in Mysterious Skin,
but anyone expecting a tackily superficial Doom
Generation-style ride is in for a shock. Instead,
Araki has made his finest film yet, a beautifully
played drama that looks unflinchingly at the risky
subject of child abuse. Following the links between
Gordon-Levitt’s teen hustler and Corbett’s
geeky outsider, the story heads in some horribly
disturbing directions, but balances the horror
with warmth, wit and offbeat poetry. It’s
nobody’s idea of light entertainment, but
Araki’s weirdly lyrical tale of tarnished
innocence is powerful, compulsive and hugely rewarding.
Rating:
* * * *
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PARANOIA AGENT:
VOLUME ONE
Director:
Satoshi Kon
Cast: (English Dub) Michelle Ruff, Steven Bendik,
Jaime Gallardo,
Certificate: 15
Released: 4th July 2005
Price: £19.996
From
the creator of psycho-thriller Perfect Blue, this
dazzlingly weird Japanese animated series comes
across like a disturbing remix of Magnolia. It’s
a gritty “whydunnit” thriller, featuring
a selection of characters connected together by
the attacks of a sinister, baseball bat-wielding
teenage rollerblader known as “Li’ll
Slugger”. Following a different victim each
episode, the show features hard-edged adult content
without any anime-style “tentacle sex”
clich_s, and there’s a strong hint of David
Lynch in its look at loneliness, disconnection
and urban paranoia.
Extras: Interview, Storyboard of Episode One,
Trailers
Hardly an exemplary crop- but the ability to switch
off the horrible English dubbing is a definite
advantage.
Rating:
* * * * Extras:
* * * *
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