The story here is essentially a remake of films one and two, so confusingly a re-imagining of a re-imagining. The cult fans among you will know that Evil Dead 1 and 2 essentially followed the same storyline of teens trapped in a cabin in the woods, but with the second being a reimagining of the original: adding more emphasis on comedic elements and the signature weapon of the Evil Dead franchise, the chainsaw attached to the amputated arm stump. This film is truer to the style of the original Evil Dead, but borrows some elements which were introduced in the second film.

Although the setting of American teens trapped in the woods seems more like horror parody in modern cinema, this concept was actually quite groundbreaking on the release of the original Evil Dead, and we are really glad that Alvarez and Raimi didn’t try to update this location for a measure of originality. Since Raimi practically invented the cliche, surely it doesn’t apply to his works?

The film is fairly short at around 90 minutes, however this really helps the pacing as at no point does the film drag or relent on the horror, instead starting slow to build initial tension and then steadily ramping up the horror and blood until the very brutal finale. What is very impressive here is the use of traditional horror elements, particularly “shock” tactics in clever and interesting ways which will make you jump and squirm in your seat.

While certainly being brutal, at no point does this film cross into “torture porn” territory like the Hostel and Saw franchises, with the violence always feeling contextually appropriate and well-balanced. Comedic elements are now mostly non-existant apart from one or two well-placed jokes and some over the top gore which will either make you laugh or shock you, depending on your sensitivities. While initially the lack of comedic elements may come as a disappointment, it was necessary to help set the tone of the film. This really is a production that sets out to try and scare a modern day audience in the same way the original did in the early 1980s and though it could never conceivably have the same impact as the original, keeping the comedic elements from the 1987 sequel would have diluted the horror.

For the cult fans out there are some running gags which will be instantly recognised. Among them is included an updated version of the Evil Dead’s most infamous and controversial scene (no spoilers), which is almost completely changed and rather tame in this revamp compared to the original.

As long-term Evil Dead fans, we absolutely loved this film to bits. Everything here works, as an appreciation of the originals and yet with enough originality and style to find its own unique place in the canon. The focus on horror was definitely a wise decision, as was the choice of protagonist which is a fantastic twist that you will not see coming. Our only real gripe is with the final demon in the film, which seems somewhat rushed and slightly limp. For a creature from hell, all it seems to do is stagger around. Where are the demonic powers?

This is the perfect way to restart the Evil Dead series, and hopefully future installments can live up to the standard that this one has presents. With a horror dream team of Raimi, Campbell and new kid Alvarez though, how can they fail?

Firstly, we must add that as fans of Burton we, at Soundsphere, are lovers not haters and, in fact, appreciate and quite enjoyed both ‘Charlie…’ and ‘Alice…’ as palatable re-imaginings, moreover the issue we’d like to raise is his recent successes, chiefly the fantastic ‘Corpse Bride’, the often audience dividing yet outstanding ‘Sweeney Todd’, his most personal piece ‘Big Fish’ and ultimately ‘Frankenweenie’ and this is where we begin our darkened gothy Halloweeny review.

To begin ‘Frankenweenie’ appears to have divided audiences once again some accusing it of being boring, looking dull in black and white and too excluding with its B-Movie references but we can’t see why, if anything that’s not only the film’s charm, it’s also its point! ‘Frankenweenie’ is a sweet heartfelt movie about life in school, science gone wrong and a boy who misses his dog…the reanimating animals from the dead part is merely a means to an end. Granted, one that goes horribly, horribly wrong.

The movie also is a fantastic resource for movie nerds like ourselves, the references are abundant, to wit: the kids who resemble Frankenstein’s Monster and Igor, the neighbours’ Bride of Frankenweenie dog, as well as the Science Teacher, Mr. Rzykruski is clearly based on classic horror star and Edward Scissorhand’s creator Vincent Price. Burton, it seems, has referenced his own films quite heavily here as Mr. Rzykruski is voiced by Martin Landau, who won an academy award in 1994 for his portrayal of horror star Bela Lugosi in Burton’s brilliant ode ‘Ed Wood’, Winona Ryder voices Elsa Van Helsing (which made us grin), Martin short, Catherine O’Hara and Conchata Ferrell are all old hats with Burton movies who have been brought in as vocal talents. The next door neighbour Mr. Burgermeister heavily resembles Finis Everglot from ‘Corpse Bride’ in the same vein that Bob is the spitting image of Augustus Gloop and the Were-Rat is the same design of his same creation from ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’, even the ending sequence brings back images of Joe Dante’s ‘Gremlins’, and then there’s the Christopher Lee film footage. Essentially the movie is one big homage to golden-age horror and golden-age Burton, it seems obvious that he’s strayed away too far from his own style of late and (as proven with ‘Sweeney Todd’) when Burton rejects the effects and gimmicks and boils everything down to a character piece with real heart he can produce a masterpiece and above all it’s really, really funny!

On the con side it has to be said that the movie begins a little slow, possibly testing the patience of its younger audience as well as alienating anyone who isn’t as au fait with the catalogue of antique horror as we are, yet these points aside its style is brilliant, its animation is absolutely incredible and its humour is spot on as well as its heart. Is it as good as ‘Nightmare…’? No. Does it parallel it’s current rival ‘Paranorman’? Difficult to say as they are so different. Is it entertaining and classic 80′s Tim Burton? Most definitely! And we quite frankly wouldn’t want it any other way.

‘Dredd’ in 3D whittles down the scale dramatically and concentrates, very much like ‘The Raid’ from 2011, on two characters trapped in a block of flats. This may sound boring seeing as Judge Dredd took us all the way through Mega-City One and out into the Cursed Earth but this seems to be Dredd’s saving grace. There’s no time in this film to get bored as the action is slick, sick and plentiful; blood spurts at an alarming rate, limbs are strune about from numerous gunfire and explosions, also the physical and psychological torture is long and heavy. If this all sounds too grotesque…it is, and in lovely Real D aswell.

The crux of the matter is (although we’re loathed to keep comparing Stallone’s abomination) ‘Judge Dredd’ 1995 actually stuck closer to the original 2000 AD comics, of which we at Soundsphere are avid fans, than the reboot; yet despite the numerous subtle references, Dredd is better for the departure as the gaudy costumes and ridiculous makeup made Judge Dredd look like a pantomime. The 2000 AD comics have had a vast and loyal following since 1977 and Judge Joe Dredd was it’s most beloved character, the comics also had a very tongue in cheek cartoony style (akin to Stallone’s own visage) but also expertly balanced a lot of gore and violence in a way only a comic can. This, when translated in the mid nineties, made Judge Dredd look like a disgusting chimera of a ‘Power Ranger’ style children’s movie and a ‘RoboCop’ type adult film. It just didn’t work. Dredd 3D sacrifices all of this and boils everything down to a short, gritty, bleak vision of the 2000 AD future. Like the comic Dredd never removes his helmet (a move it’s predecessor should have enforced), his lines are few and far between and, in our minds, Karl Urban really nailed the character. Even if he does look like he’s going to cry from time to time. Urban is definitely channelling Clint Eastwood here but it works so well.

The rest of the cast are also pretty good, fellow Northerner (from ’round Huddersfield) Lena Headey is fantastic (and disturbingly sexy) as the gruesomely psychotic Ma-Ma, Wood Harris (from HBO’s The Wire) puts on a pretty creepy show, and even Olivia Thirlby gains more for Anderson’s character as the film progresses. Performance, however, is not why one would go to see ‘Dredd’ 3D, we go for the action, the style and, most notable of all things, the Slo-Mo drug effects which are spellbinding especially in 3D. Pete Travis has utilised his relatively small budget incredibly well juggling some subtle CGI effects with practical action and taking the basic concept of slow motion photography to an awesomely imaginative level, this definitely must be seen to be believed. Dredd 3D was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa and with a cast of mostly Brits and unknowns, so Travis was able to work on the style and look of the movie and avoid the Hollywood egos.

So what did we think? We absolutely loved it! It’s brash, loud, overwhelming in it’s MTV style, but for a dumb action movie it’s surprisingly smart and very, very cool. Walks all over Sly’s mega fail; could Urban be the new action hero? Let’s hope so.

John Bennett, played with capable comic timing by Mark Wahlberg, and his girlfriend Lori, portrayed by the beautiful Mila Kunis, have been together for four years. She accepts and understands, just like the rest of the world, that Ted is real and a part of John’s life but, in a natural need to take the relationship to the next level, she asks that Ted move out. Here the movie descends into a mixture of side splitting comedy moments, one including Sam J Jones who played Flash Gordon in the here often referenced 1980 movie, and dud flat jokes which perhaps simply don’t work on a UK audience.

The movie is definitely for 80′s kids, with its numerous references to old movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. etc) and other cultural phenomena like Cabbage Patch Dolls and Teddy Ruxpin and being 80′s kids ourselves we found it genuinely hilarious. Granted this is definitely more for Family Guy/ American Dad (we’ll ignore the God awful Cleveland Show) fans and like these shows manages to meander in a limbo between lowest denominator slap-stick humour and cerebrally quick witted high brow jokes, but it’s still a movie for everyone.

A solid 4 out of 5 for us, as we do appreciate good comedy satire as much as a gritty drama, turn your brain off and enjoy the ride.

James Murphy is as fine a star of his own documentary as he is a frontman – renowned for his energetic shows and constant all white suits, he comments during the film “I’m making an attempt to dress better in my retirement” while chasing around after his much too adorable French Bulldog on the streets of Williamsburg and his apartment to discussing life after LCD Soundsystem with author and critic Chuck Klosterman.

The documentary provides a glimpse into the final weeks of LCD Soundsystem, giving a personal portrayal of Murphy as he approaches the final moments of one of the most celebrated dance/rock bands of the last decade.

The film moves from the final performance at Madison Square Garden to cuts of Murphy sitting at home the day after, spending minutes shaving his neck while wearing his tuxedo, walking his dog and pacing the backstage area before the show. If it were anything else, this would all sound…almost mundane, but the atmosphere, emotions and the tragic yet austere way in which Murphy finally breaks down over the site of the band’s equipment in a lock-up – it all points to a certain kind of clarity and complexity which few artists can ever uncover in themselves or their work, it’s an end at the height of LCD Soundsystem’s fame, but it’s one that Murphy seems to need.

The live scenes are of course brilliant – all the hits, naturally, put in an appearance while Murphy, Whang and Win Butler of Arcade Fire go crazy on-stage, then it cuts back to Chuck Klosterman, “When you start a band, do you imagine how it will end?” and the scenes start to show a mature Murphy, the cameras catching each pause that Murphy makes before answering, assuring himself and us that he is happy to have ended it all on his own terms.

These snippets give an invaluable insight into the reason for the end, while providing a narrative for the film’s story – for the point of the party, but it’s when the film cuts back to those dizzying on-stage moments that you truly come to realise what this means for the fans and for Murphy, it’s the intense live shows, thrilling on-stage collaborations and the chanting of the crowd through such songs as the telling ‘I’m Losing My Edge’ that each and every fan will mourn the loss of for a very long time.

For more information visit the official ‘Shut Up And Play The Hits’ website.

The tone here is cold, the atmosphere is stoic, the mindset is pensive, the tale is broad, yet the reaction is “awesome”. Every performance is stellar, Michael Caine is heartbreaking as Alfred, Christian Bale (mostly sans his trademark gruff voice) is the best he has been the entire series, as is the always watchable Gary Oldman, especially here is Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s hard driven policeman who, for someone as young as he is, steals almost every scene he is in.

The Dark Knight Rises takes the best pieces of the last two parts and melds them perfectly; cleverly harking back to ‘Batman Begins’ and seamlessly knitting in elements from ‘The Dark Knight’ to create a meaningful trilogy from a well-loved series that, frankly, wasn’t intended to be a trilogy and this is down to Jonathan Nolan and David S Goyer’s masterful writing.

So, if ‘…Begins’ was the most character driven and commercially action packed, ‘…Dark Knight’ was tense and the biggest spectacle then ‘…Rises’ is the most emotional journey and the most satisfying conclusion to the series. It’s long, in places difficult to watch, narratively confusing but if you stick with, when all these elements come together, it you’ll most definitely not be disappointed.

For more information visit the official ‘Dark Knight Rises’ website.

To kick off the dialogue is dreadful, it aims to create a naturally realistic representation of a group of young adults travelling the world and up for a bit of adventure and struggles greatly with this, the “bromance” between the lead brother characters is only believable to a degree and the stereotyped females (one busty blonde and one cautious brunette) makes one groan whilst yawning. Yet we didn’t enter this movie with the expectation of snappy Aaron Sorkin or Cohen Brothers-style dialogue. The trailer told us that much.

Now, where ‘Chernobyl Diaries’ succeeds is the aforementioned “less is more” approach. The build up is good, not too drawn out and doesn’t throw the audience straight into the madness so, in this regard, the pacing is just right. The “radioactive soviet zombies”, as we have suitably named them, are never completely seen and, just as ‘The Haunting’ did in 1963, banging, scraping and… shadows moving create the suspense and keep us on the edge of our seats.

The “jumpy” moments are actually pretty effective too. What we were most impressed with was the cinematography and set design, Diaries was shot on location in Serbia and Hungary and made up to represent the local town of Pripyat in Chernobyl and the location does look fantastic, the atmosphere is suitably creepy, drenched in fog and abandoned dilapidated buildings. It loans itself more to ‘Silent Hill’ than ‘Paranormal Activity’, the previous credit of writer Oren Peli.

While some moments are unoriginal and the dialogue is laboured, Diaries really nails atmosphere and suspense and, ultimately, never fully explains the situation, this may frustrate some viewers but, in our view, the moment a trick is explained is the moment it loses its effect. So, Chernobyl Diaries did, in our minds, exactly what it said on the tin, moments of mild gore and shock and a slight tongue-in-cheek attitude to the horror. We expected it to be worse but that certainly doesn’t put it atop the horror greats; a one-watch movie with a forgettable cast which, despite its inclination shouldn’t require a sequel. Hopefully Peli will have learned this from Paranormal Activity, but as a fourth instalment of that franchise is in production set for the foreseeable future, we may not be too lucky.

For more information visit the official Chernobyl Diaries website.

Thank you to Cineworld for allowing us to cover the film, and their continued support.

‘…Dragon Tattoo’ is brilliant and Fincher is probably the best choice as director, his in-depth intricacy with past films such as ‘Se7en’ and ‘Zodiac’ show that he can delve into the details needed as a suitable homage to the novel without losing pace. One shouldn’t really compare the two European and US films, as Fincher himself stated that they were coming at it from a different angle; certain scenes and sub-plots which were left out of the Swedish version are found here and vice-versa, this along with the specific cold atmosphere that Fincher injects leave the two practically incomparable.

Now, the directing style here is rather restrained for Fincher, which appears to be a recent trait of his, since his hyperbolic pretentious state of ‘Panic Room’ and the sombre fairytale feel of ‘Benjamin Button’. ‘…Dragon Tattoo’, like ‘The Social Network’, allows for the screenplay and actors to take control of the screen rather than littering it with effects, and where Fincher really excels is in the mood of the piece, which is spot on with the tone of the book, the icy bleakness sets in from the first few frames and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ ghostly detached score carries a hopeless encroaching feel throughout descending into a frenetic climax. Debatably the rape and torture scenes seem somewhat played down from what one may expect, although we believe this is for the best. This is a very cerebral film and not a part of the ‘Saw’ saga, a lot of the violence is implied rather than made as spectacle, which, we feel was the right decision to make and therefore the film manages to strike a perfect balance between disturbing and entertaining (a difficult task to achieve).

Inarguably, the two best things about ‘…Dragon Tattoo’ are the two lead actors Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. At first one could be caught thinking “Bond as Blomkvist? No way”, but Craig manages to create a very believable and faithful Mikael where he ditches his action movie handle, gains a few pounds and lets his acting talents do the work rather than flexing his muscles through the film (fans of his shouldn’t worry though as he does manage to spend a good portion of the movie naked). Most impressive, though, is Rooney Mara who is absolutely outstanding as Lisbeth Salander; (her take on the character differs somewhat to Noomi Rapace’s) she brings a greater vulnerability and introversion to the role whilst still kicking major ass when she needs to. The chosen ways of dissecting Salander’s personality and various talents are explored with intricacy and grace and never once fall into cheesy schmaltz and are, in fact, a very authentic display of the novels character. One can not forget Stellan Skarsgård’s brilliantly creepy Martin Vanger, Christopher Plummer’s charismatic Henrik Vanger and the enigmatic Steven Berkoff as Dirch Frode all vying amongst each other to steal the scenes.

As an adaptation the film is incredibly close to the source material; the feel, the characters and the major plotlines are all there even if some are in mixed order. It may not be as grim as depicted in the novel but that doesn’t make it any less effective or satisfying. We believe that even the most diehard Millennium trilogy fan will be satisfied with Fincher’s adaptation. As a standalone film it is fantastic; quick-paced, brilliant direction, visceral, haunting, involving and still disturbing in the torture scenes. The characters are pretty relatable (given the harsh circumstances of the story), and their on-screen chemistry is great. Fincher makes sense out of the enormous complexity of a large and disbanded family in a very non-stereotypical “who-dunnit” way, couple all of that with some very clever editing and it doesn’t feel like you’re in the cinema for over two-and-a-half hours. ’The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ does a great justice to a great storyline with beloved characters and is one of David Fincher’s finest films. This is a must see for everyone, even the squeamish amongst us.

For more information visit the official The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo website.

When one sticks too rigidly to a formula, the downfall is inevitable and if one changes the idea to fit the medium of film then the backlash can come down hard. So, if the best CGI movie to-date is (generally classed) 2010′s ‘Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time’ or the 2006 adaptation of ‘Silent Hill’ and the nadir of game movies (and possibly film-making in general) being the 1995 Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle, ‘Street Fighter’, then one would be pleased to hear that 2011′s ‘Tekken: Blood Vengeance’ would fall right atop the former as, actually, one of the most pleasing and enjoyable game-movie watches, especially in 3D.

Now, we believe the success of Tekken is due to its computer generated presentation, that in-itself provides an immediate suspension of disbelief. If Tekken had been made in live-action, we would undoubtedly be telling a completely different story (see Paul Anderson’s ‘Mortal Kombat’ from 1995). our second reason is that the CG animators are the same ones who worked on the intros for the video games and this fact changes everything; essentially it looks like the computer game from start to finish; characters move like they are supposed to move and when the action kicks off it is mind-blowing, it’s like you’re never taken out of the video game experience. This, we have discovered, is the key to creating a good game-to-movie-adaptation – keeping it unreal.

‘Tekken: Blood Vengeance’ is not entirely without flaws though. The movie meanders around two vacuous and emotionally flaccid characters (Ling Xiaoyu and Alisa Bosconovitch) scrambling over each other for the heart of the mysterious Kyoto high-schooler, Shin Kamiya, never once expanding on their personalities and then expecting the audience to believe that they can fight as hard as those we have played. The two female leads, who, for reasons unknown, the makers have decided to centre the story around, are mopey and immature (though, we guess this is intentional as they are supposed to be in school) although, before it sky-rockets into a full blown fantasy piece, they do learn about life and hope. This unfortunately brings us to the next and worst part; the script, the fundamental and most crucial part of any story, be it visual, written, audible or non, script should always be paramount, thus, Dai Satos’ screenplay is dread-ful. Par example: “Kidnapped?!” Exclaims Ling, “Ransom note?!” interjects Alisa. This really does wallow in melodrama, yet having said that, we realise that we’re attacking this from a Westernised view and if anime has taught us anything it is that movies like these are from, and are for a different culture and, honestly, one doesn’t go to see a movie called ‘Tekken: Blood Vengeance’ for the dialogue (although it beats Xavier Gens’ ‘Hitman’ movie hands down). This is the ultimate point of Tekken, regardless of its poorly executed and tenuous detective style storyline, all the viewer wants is fight scenes and we get them a lot, and in 3D!

And so, demons soar about the sky, cyborg girls shoot bombs from their garters, giant unholy beasts (including boxing-glove-donned-trees [Mokujin, to the unfamiliar]) breathe fire over the land and all the classic special moves we know and love from the computer games make it in, in some form or another, and to this end the movie is at its most satisfying; in fact the final 30 minutes are an unrelenting and awe-inspiring action spectacular that climaxes in an emotional crescendo that isn’t too badly realised. It’s just such a pity about the hour-long character and plot-driven pre-amble that is mostly unnecessary for the movie although essential to the Tekken 6 game (of which this is a prequel to).

In conclusion, we thoroughly enjoyed ‘Tekken: Blood Vengeance’, it’s a total no-brainer but, during some periods in life, one seriously needs a no-brainer and one that involves a lot of hyperbolic violence and this movie is exactly that.

For more information visit the official ‘Tekken: Blood Vengeance’ website.

A documentary, primarily, about the last record shop in Teesside and its owner Tom Butchart, the day-to-day encounters with the various ‘colourful’ characters of the area and the shop’s history. Yet the film is about so much more; it engenders questions and opinions on recession in the North, hobbies which border on addiction, camaraderie, loneliness, boys being boys and, above all, it is about music!

The music takes centre stage in this documentary, with a soundtrack by artists Saint Saviour and Status Quo, and every individual featured has their own opinions expressed; in fact, we are lucky to follow most customers and see their homes, their lives and hear about their past. One such individual, Shane, possibly the world’s biggest Status Quo, fan begins the film as nothing more than a fanatical curiosity, yet, as we progress and he lets us into his life and troubled past and we begin to understand, though just the tip or the iceberg, how and why he needs his music and ‘Sound It Out’ so badly.

The same is also shown with rappers Fankie and John-Boy, two self-proclaimed delinquents who now channel their energies into music instead of drinking. The ‘locals’ of ‘Sound It Out’ provide the backbone of this documentary, inspiring humor and empathy alike whilst never being made a show of (à la ‘The X Factor’). Finlay stays decidedly neutral, showing the people as they are, and even noted in a Q&A after how she did not want to cut the footage down to make people appear stupid. Her intention is they are simply ‘people’ for better or worse.

At one point, the importance of ‘Sound It Out’ as more than just a store is drilled home; “He is our dealer” proclaims one customer while long shots of empty, industrial Teesside streets and closed down businesses glaze past in a montage, they express their fears of the shops encroaching demise.

Various interviews reveal the boredom of many and their social pace is almost set by the stability of ‘Sound It Out’. Or at least for the men; “99% blokes and one percent female,” says Tom about the clientele, and this is exactly another layer in the documentary. We see quickly how men (or rather boys) collect, horde and fixate on music, how they don’t wish to grow up and, most importantly, maintain a brotherhood with others regardless of their background or social status. It reminds us of our own foibles and obsessions, without which we would be less human – and I believe this is the life blood of ‘Sound It Out’.

It is an incredibly personal film displaying the personal interests of many and their personal connection with the shop; there is so much more interwoven throughout than I can express and has to be viewed and supported by as many people as possible. Like the stickers we all received after the viewing, the word of the documentary and the store itself needs to be spread; source it, watch it and bring everyone you know, you can’t help but love ‘Sound It Out’.

You can find out more about the ‘Sound It Out’ project on its website.