Dead Dan

Sometimes in life, there are things that are difficult to comprehend and events that are almost beyond words. Today's film is one of those occurences. This is Swiss Army Man.

Hank (Paul Dano) is at the end of his tether. He is marooned on an island with no food, nowhere to go, and no sign of rescue. The camera pans down a rope to his face, a noose fastened around his neck, and he surveys the hopelessness of his situation. Then just before he kicks the stool out from beneath him, he notices a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) on the beach which is passing wind powerfully enough to propel it through the water. Cue an ingenious plan to use the corpse as a jet ski and as Hank hurtles forward on the corpse, the narrative follows suite. We follow Hank and the corpse (later named Manny) as they discover new things about Manny's exceptional body and then bound, roll, drag, and fart through the forest trying to find civilisation; the results are spellbinding.

It is hard to know where to start with Swiss Army Man; there is something special and unique about it whilst also being hugely referential with massive pop-culture influences. It seamlessly blends together crude comedy and heartfelt moments that are exceedingly touching. Dano, known for his strength as a troubled individual (Little Miss Sunshine), really shines here. This is, after all, his journey and we instantly captivated by his story. He is the worm and Radcliffe's Manny, with his limitlessly skilled body, is the hook. Together, they drag you into their tale of friendship, fellowship, of life and death. Radcliffe's performance too cannot be understated. This is one of the finest physical comedic performances in years. The strength of the two leads may even force you to shed a tear of sadness, and they are guaranteed to bring on fits of laughter.

Swiss Army Man is gloriously grotesque but disgustingly delightful. Chuckles turn to belly laughs, belly laughs turn to tears. For a film about a farting corpse that wants to understand pooping and masturbation, Swiss Army Man is surprisingly philosophical and thought provoking. Veiled beneath the crude humour is a deep analysis of societal norms and the nature of life and living and, strangely enough, it is almost impossible to imagine a better vehicle for the topic at hand. Directors Dan Kwan, and Daniel Scheinert take films like Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life and, along with their superb script, drags them through the digestion track of cinema and excrete something magical and special. With a powerful and moving acapella soundtrack, often originating as diegetic singing, the film overwhelms the senses in the best way possible. It is hard to imagine anything like Swiss Army Man  existing again and it's difficult to recall anything like it existing before. 

There is something special here. It is stupid but intellectual, crude but beautiful. Whilst some have found the ending a bit jarring, the journey more than justifies it. You have to see it to believe it.

From Book to Stage to Screen 2: The Horror

The second input into our 'From a book to a stage show to the screen day' originally comes from a book by Susan Hill and then went to the West End and is one of the longest running productions there. It now comes to screen in Hammer's return to the top of horror. How will one of the most famous and terrifying stage shows of all time compare on the screen? Let's take a break from the Oscars; let's look at The Woman In Black.

Lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), is being sent to investigate all the papers of the recently deceased Alice Drablow in her home, Eel Marsh House. The house is on a small island and separated from the mainland by a causeway which gets flooded when the tide comes in. The marshes surrounded the causeway are deadly and so it is only safe to travel it at low tide. Kipps' arrival in the village is unwelcome and the locals are less than warm towards him, but he soon befriends Sam Daily (Ciarán Hinds), who offers him food and a bed while he carries out his work. However, it seems there is a less friendly welcome for Kipps at the house and it seems he is not alone on the deserted island. The locals become even more wary of Kipps and it appears there's a dark curse over the village in the form of a vengeful ghost. Kipps takes matters into his own hands in the hope he can return to his son happily.

Kipps thought taking out a ghost would be child's play.

As his first big performance on screen since the end of Harry Potter, many people were questioning whether he was going to stand up to the challenge and not be Harry. I'm pleased to announce that he is not Harry Potter any more. That being said, he is still a very British character who is unfortunate circumstances and fighting a force that has powers beyond his comprehension. So you will be forgiven if you find it too Harry Potter-ish. Also a great performance from Ciarán Hinds as the upbeat but secretive Daily who helps Kipps out. Though the best turns come from Liz White as Jennet Humfrye (a.k.a. the woman in black), who is genuinely chilling throughout the movie, and all the villagers who show their fear, frustration, and anger in every line, every word, and every action. Nothing to criticise really in the form of acting, however nothing outstanding.

Daily finally discovered 'The Scary Door'

Like a lot of horrors, it is made or ruined in the handling of the technical elements. The building of suspense, the catharsis, the jump scares, and the way these are created. Fortunately, Woman in Black nails almost all of these on the head. The tension created in the long, dark pauses when we see a shadow or hear a noise and adventure with Kipps to find out what it was. The dramatic irony was used to a brilliant standard and the feel of classic horror throbbed throughout the movie. However, it also fell at a couple of hurdles. The fear of the unknown, to my mind, is the most prominent fear. That's what makes audio scares so effective: you don't know what's causing the sound. this movie relied to heavily on visual scares and obvious scares every now and then and at those points, the whole building of suspension was wasted.

The film is really chilling and will more than likely make you jump or have trouble sleeping. While there is much to improve on, as far as modern horrors go, it is an outstanding achievement. A definite recommendation for horror fans. Fans of the book or stage show will leave wanting to re-visit those previous areas of media. Just don't expect the same story. It is the definition of adaptation of a text.

Best Bit? I feel in a horror, the best bit is the scariest. The bit that made me jump most involved a single hand print on a window. Go see it to see what I mean.

Updates, News etc.

I hate Justin Bieber. I'm sure he's a nice person.. That produces awful music, sells his soul and ruins Twitter. I hear you shout, "But Phil! This is a movie blog!" And correct you are! Which is why Justin is here. He has just signed a deal to turn his life story, the sixteen years of it, into a film. Now I know plenty of 12 year olds and so on will see this as he is Justin Bieber but surely it's an insult to the biopic film genre?

Anyway, moving on from my extreme anger at this. Woman In Black. One of the most stunning West End plays around. If you haven't seen it, see it. Again, not a film I know but it will be. And Harry Potter is set to star as Arthur Kipps. Good choice? Well we can't judge yet.. But I have my opinions.. Lets hope Daniel Radcliffe proves me wrong.

Finally, Batman 3 update. Just over a month ago, the legendary Christopher Nolan announced that the script was finished and that shooting would start in April 2011. Sounds good right? Though we still know nothing about plot, villains or cast but it looks more and more likely that the brilliant Joseph Gordon-Levitt may be playing the Riddler. I'm totally in favour of this idea as he is an incredible actor. Chris Nolan has also claimed that the Penguin and Mr Freeze would not be in it.

Well that's it. Stick around for reviews on Inception, Shrek 4, 12 Angry Men, District 9 and more.