Month: March 2015

THE INBETWEENERS 2 (2014)

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“Is this proper travelling?”

“Yes”

How does a series turn into a film and then another film and keep the funny alive? The 2nd film in a journey that saw 3 highly successful tv series from the BBC, sees our titular heroes journey to Australia and chaos ensues.

Bants.

Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas return as Will, Jay, Neil and Simon, three years after the first film; Will and Simon now at University, Neil working in a bank and Jay is in Australia, claiming he has the place locked down so, bored, the three decide to surprise him with a visit.

Sure, this film is puerile and trades in scatalogica and bodily fluids which are usually cheap ways to get a laugh, but where writers/directors Damon Beesley and Iain Morris come out on top is the brilliant chemistry the four boys have combined with the very funny script. The comic timing is key and the boys deliver in spades.

Emily Berrington is on tease duties as a beautiful, entitled, public school girl who Will bumps into and ends up following around Oz. Freddie Stroma plays the trustafarian with aplomb, making him the perfect antagonist for Will.

There was a moment where the four are in the outback and I had a flash of Mick from Wolf Creek turning up and thought how much I’d be up for the four getting trapped by him and being scared shitless before getting the better of the serial killing bastard. I would definitely watch that.
“The Inbetweeners go to Wolf Creek”. C’mon, surely they can make that happen. That would be a mash-up I’d see.

I laughed out loud a lot during this film, a lot more than the spate of American comedy films of late. This is a film for the fans, but you could easily watch it without having seen any of the previous series or film and you are more than likely have a lot of fun.

Whether you’re a convert or new recruit you’ll enjoy this if you’re up for a laugh.

3.8/5

BUY THE BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

WHIPLASH (2014)

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What does it take to be the best? 20,000 hours? A single-minded focus? Total commitment? Obsession, a special kind of madness out of which genius is born. The pursuit of excellence becomes a compulsion for Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller). This type of dedication is bound to pay off, especially coupled with an unwavering tenacity.

Damien Chazelle directs this film about a student and his intense teacher. Andrew Neiman (Teller) is a talented drummer at a prestigious music college who has aspirations of being truly great and catches the eye of Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), the school’s top teacher who pushes Andrew to reach his highest potential.

Chazelle had tried to get funding for the film a few years back but wasn’t able to secure any so he made a short film out of his screenplay which won the Short Film Jury Award at Sundance in 2013 and subsequently managed to find the funding to make the feature.

The music is fantastic, hearing the tunes being played by the orchestra is a joy and the use of it, arranged and compiled by Justin Hurwitz is inspired.

Can we talk about the acting for a minute?

J.K. Simmonds (who richly deserved the Oscar win) has always been a sturdy, interesting actor that I have watched with joy since 1997, when HBO’s Oz was first released. His performance as Vern Schillinger, the leader of the Aryan brotherhood was incredible and since then he has had my vote. It’s great that he’s getting the recognition he so richly deserves; this is a career-defining role. As Terence Fletcher he pushes his performance to the limit playing a bully with a selfless goal. Miles Teller is given a great gift playing opposite him. Teller is talented young actor who commits 100% to this role, blood, sweat and tears. It’s also great to see Paul Reiser turn up as Andrew’s father and Melissa Benoist is perfect as Nicole.

The story-telling aspect was unexpected, and it unfolded in a slightly unconventional way and this, added to the acting, the music and editing, made it a very enjoyable film. This film won three Oscars this year, Best Supporting Actor (Simmonds), Best Sound Mixing (Craig Mann) and Best Editing (Tom Cross). Well deserved.

If you’re a jazz or music fan, check it out and if you’re a fan of interesting story-telling, check it out.

3.8/5

PRE-ORDER THE DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE