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028 AUGUST 2015 JB Hi-Fi
PAPER TOWNS
Paper Towns is the tale of 18-year-old Quentin Jacobsen and
how he fell for his neighbour across the street. Writer John
Green must have appreciated his work as Isaac in his former
literary adaptation The Fault in Our Stars, as Nat Wolff is back for
round two – this time in the spotlight, and rightly so. Portraying
his mischievous and mysterious childhood friend Margo is the
upcoming Suicide Squad member Cara Delevingne. The model-
turned-actress is surprisingly convincing in her first acting role
(and will hopefully impress as Enchantress next year). Margo is
obsessed with finding herself and her place amongst the paper
towns and paper streets. Following a night of vengeful escapades
with her getaway driver “Q”, she disappears, leaving little clues
behind for her friends to follow, sending Quentin and co. on the
road trip of their lives. Green's writing continues to strike a chord
with his youthful target audience, as does his penchant for casting
Ansel Elgort. There are many lessons to be learned from Paper
Towns , and while they won't be revealed here, consider this
instead: if there’s a tuba there, it’s not a party. Alesha Kolbe
INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3
With James Wan defecting to the action genre to helm Fast &
Furious 7, Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell takes the reins for
the third chapter of their post-Saw horror franchise. Where the first
film was an enjoyably creepy take on Poltergeist, the disappointing
Chapter 2 couldn't sustain the horror and only served to unnecessarily
complicate matters. Chapter 3 takes things back to the beginning
(so is really Chapter 1?) with a prequel that introduces gas mask-
wearing medium Elise Rainier, played by the fabulous Lin Shaye. As
the reluctant psychic enlisted to contact the deceased mother of high
school kid Stefanie Scott, Shaye goes for broke; moving her from
supporting player to centre stage was a stroke of genius and reason
enough to check out Insidious Chapter 3. Whannell and buddy Angus
Sampson are also back as ghostbusters Specs and Tucker, and the
former's familiarity with the material allows him to make a confident
directorial debut, expanding the series' mythology in new and
unexpected ways while retaining all the requisite jumps, sonic scares
and spooky apparitions we've come to expect. Much better than
expected and a return to form for the franchise. Scott Hocking
visit REVIEWS CINEMA
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Jake Schreier CAST: Cara Delevingne,
Nat Wolff, Halston Sage RATING: M
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Leigh Whannell CAST: Dermot Mulroney,
Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye RATING: M
RATING KEY:
Wow!
Good
Not bad
Meh Woof!
THE GALLOWS
Now retired and in fear of his once amazing and world-famous mind eroding
away, Sherlock Holmes decides to pen a memoir reflecting truth rather than
the embellished tales he’s famous for. Yet his housekeeper’s young son has
other ideas. Dripping with visual grandeur and a quiet, rich and deep quality
of pace we seldom see on a big screen, this is a must for fans of classic BBC
fare. McKellen, born to play Holmes as we all know, floats like velvet on glass
in this clever and engaging examination of aging, death, regret and old dogs
learning new tricks, whilst sharing wisdom and prose we hunger for in the
CGI world. As Holmes warms to the inquisitive young Roger (Parker), he also
begins to challenge his own flickering memory of his last ‘case’ that broke his
spirit, and indeed heart. From Japan to esoteric instruments and the ability to
converse with dead memories, we’re led on a journey with unique sadness
and intrigue. An equal metaphor for misunderstood evil versus innocence
– via his love of beekeeping (no, really) – ensures you could do far worse
than see this powerfully simple slice of filmmaking. You’ll leave the cinema
reflecting with a smile, and perhaps even a tear, that the powers that be
didn’t make enough ‘Holmes’ fixtures with McKellen up front. One can only
hope they get a wriggle on and change this fact. Chris Murray
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Bill Condon CAST: Ian McKellen, Laura
Linney, Milo Parker RATING: M
So perplexingly prolific has the movement of found footage cinema become
that it’s now listed as a genre by Wikipedia. Regardless, ‘found footage’ is not
a genre but an aesthetic that can concern any number of genres, from sci-fi
(Chronicle) to teen comedy (Project X) and perhaps most prolifically, horror,
such as Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing’s film The Gallows. Curiously enough,
while the motivation for using found footage as a stylistic choice is realism
(and also generally budgetary), by being forced into improbable scenarios as a
result of those very conventions, a more drastic degree of suspended disbelief
is often required. Films such as Chronicle made vaguely appealing attempts to
explain the relentless presence of filming cameras, but in The Gallows, Cluff
and Lofing instead approach the dilemma with absolute denial. If the directors
never question why these characters continue filming long after logic has
subsided, then why should we? The Gallows is a horror film, succeeding in
that one regard but failing in almost every other. The narrative, dialogue, acting
and cinematography (perhaps no surprises there) are agonisingly meager, but
chances are an audience might be too anxious about jump scares to notice.
Horror aficionados may brush off the fright but the weak of heart may find this
tale of supernatural revenge too much to bear. John Roebuck
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing
CAST: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos RATING: M
MR. HOLMES