Reviews

(Disclosure: I personally know the director, but was not in any way involved in the production of this film)

Aside from having the most excellent title* Doug Dillaman's long awaited first feature Jake is lively, thought-provoking cinema, and at the better end of the New Zealand movies I have seen. This dark-edged comedy —whose edge transitions eventually into its centre—details the story of a listless man in his 30s who suddenly finds himself 'replaced' and has to come to terms with his situation in the best way he can.

Well written and paced the film maintains a good momentum even as its narrative/tonal structure morphs beneath your feet. The production is visually engaging with a range interesting POVs and camera movement that works well and reflects the director's cinematic interests (Sorrentino anyone?) The cast almost uniformly displays decent chops with Jacob/VJ (Jason Fitch) in particular engendering more than the level of empathy demanded by the film's narrative. Comic relief character 'D'—genre trope staple 'the amusing/wise stoner' (e.g. Fran Kranz's Marty from The Cabin in the Woods —is both well penned and very well acted by Tainui Tukiwaho who evinces the perfect casually absurd tone which counterpoints what's happening around him. If there's one character that jarred a little for me it was that of the acting coach Stefan (Campbell Cooley). Stefan is played a little OTT which, although it services the comedic aspect of the film somewhat—e.g. Stefan directly addresses an acting fault which he is displaying—it is difficult to tell how intentional this is, and if so whether this distracts more than it adds.

The soundtrack on the film is pretty standout. A lot of local/indie artists (I think?) with some nice tunes and a bunch of excellent, slightly dissonant soundscapes ushering in or underscoring shots within scenes. Jake displays a polish and assurance quite impressive for a first feature and all on an insanely modest budget. Thumbs up to Doug and the Hybrid team! I hope many of you end up with a chance of seeing the film.

*Actually it is a bit weird having your name repeated SO many times in relatively quick succession but I guess that minor piece of induced paranoia is not something 99.9% of audiences will need worry about!

There are two kinds of high ratings I tend to give to films: one for very good films and the other for films that are so terrible that they are actually truly wonderful. Deadly Outbreak falls firmly into the latter category.

This is one of two films I collectively remembered as "The Serbian bus movies". The reason being that I saw this film on a bus from Leskovac to Beograd, playing on a cruddy Kambrook TV/video held together by a leather belt and hanging from the roof of the bus. The film was dubbed in English with Cyrillic subtitles and sported its alternative title of Deadly Takeover - a truly surreal experience.

The movie should have come off as a sad and laughable 'almost' action film. However, Avery manages to combine its clichéd stick-to-formula plot, plywood cast, and recycled script into something much greater than it's individual parts.

Jeff Speakman reminded me of a Bruce Boxleitner look-a-like who'd indulged in one too many sprays from his bottle of 'eau de charisma'. But how could he go wrong with such classic enduring lines as: "This party sucks. There's not enough ice-cream, and way too many clowns!" Rochelle Swanson as the intelligent, ingenious biochemist, Dr Allie Levin, manages to fool us into believing her nothing but a simple bimbo who continually fails in her attempts to aid our leading man. Well done. Ron Silver is our antagonist in this film and is, well, what can I say, Ron Silver. I'm sure he isn't really a bad man. Does he remind anyone else of Clayton from the TV series Benson? Overall a highly enjoyable experience, more comedy than action, if you are the kind of person who thrives on hearty B-Grade attempts at popular film genres.

Beautiful costumes, poetry, performances and locations makes Rostand's story come alive again. This relatively new film version (there have been untold adaptations both visual and written) about the legendary french historical figure, Cyrano, has been remade well and is a great watch if you like period pieces or romance - hold the cheese.

Gerard Depardieu and Anne Brochet do what Steve Martin and Darryl Hannah could not in the Hollywood tragedy "Roxanne" which adapts the same story. They help make this story of unrequited love both believable and touching while at the same time it is fantastical.

It does also say something about the French view of themselves and their cultural roots.

Top marks. Jacob.

Having read the few other comments i have clearly missed most of the Russian cultural significance and jokes in this film. However, as a new zealander who enjoys all kinds of film i saw this at one of our festivals and absolutely loved it.

as mentioned in the title, to a non Russian eye it moved like slapstick in slow motion. Plenty of accessible deadpan, morose humour was on show as well as some great backdrops and scenery.

i particularly enjoyed the long close-up shot/scene on the farm four wheel motorcycle thing. funny how such a pastoral setting can become so surreal.

towards the end it seemed to change gear and moved quite quickly to black comedy and on into b-grade style action - with an explosion and getaway worthy of ed wood. amongst all this is still managed to be quite gripping and had me keyed in wondering how their quest would turn out.

If you liked this film I would suggest seeing:

American Astronaut, The Beaver Trilogy

Definitely worth a look if you like something a bit different. Jacob.

This is how i felt while watching this film. I loved it. It was hilarious. But i did feel a like i was getting sneaky view into somebody's psyche and then laughing as it got twisted around to make an interesting point. A friend put it this way:

"I feel like we broke into somebody's house and are now watching their awful home videos without their knowledge".

Another one of those fact is stranger than fiction pieces of film. "Groovin' Gary", the original "Beaver Kid", is a small town guy who turns up at a nearby TV station in the hope of getting on film - and he certainly does, though not, perhaps, as he initially expected. With high hopes of fame and significance he invites Harris to come and film a truly awful talent quest that he has organised in his home town - headlined by his own drag act "Olivia Newton-Don".

Director, Trent Harris, does a brilliant job with this slowly evolving story. Some footage of an awkward kid who wants to be someone morphs, over two subsequent reinterpretations, into the story of freedom from repressed sexual identity in small town America. Harris simultaneously critiques the attitudes of small town America, the cult of celebrity, and the exploitative practices of the film and television industry.

Both Sean Penn and Grispin Glover pull out stunner performances. a young Sean Penn is the most evocative - so closely does he follow the actual 'Gary footage', but with strong nuances given to push the sense of the interaction the way Harris wants it to go.

In the end the wide-eyed naivety the original Gary is what moved me - when contrasted against these possible interpretations of his situation.

A film not to miss. I have not seen anything else like it.

Jacob.

Lushly stark. Intriguingly Simply. Evocatively deadpan. David Lynch's 1980's take on this grand-scale story is all these things and more.

This film has been among my favourites for a goodly length of time. Maybe it was a small obsession as a young lad, but I watched it over and over again till i could quote large portions of it and annoy family and friends! Nice.

In typical David Lynch style this film is both visually arresting and multi-layered, capturing the essence of a VERY lengthy novel. It's probably easier to say this, though, when the film led you to the novel and not vice-versa.

I think part of the hook for me is the mystery surrounding the story. You get a sense of something much bigger/wider going on but you can't quite grasp what it is. This led me into the book(s) where the story originated and continued. Lynch creates this mystique, i think, as much by what he leaves out as by what he includes. The economical use of dialogue heightens this feel and intensifies the contrast with the seemingly simple 'veneer' plot.

The grandiose costuming is stunning, particularly contrasted with the (often) dim lighting and grimy aesthetic. These combine to create the very real, though alien, feeling environment which Frank Herbert's incredible detail brought to life in the book.

A love of science fiction is not a prerequisite for this film, but an appreciation of movies that are not so straightforward will likely mean you will get more from it. If you enjoyed this then I would suggest the following film experiences to enrich your stock:

City of Lost Children (Jeunet & Caro) Delicatessin (Jeunet & Caro) American Astronaut, The (The Billy Nayer Show)

Cheers, Jacob.