Scene-ic Tour by Screen Space

Fellow readers,

Today Screen Space releases its very own vlog special, exclusive to Genre Romba. See our takes of famous, iconic films - can you guess what we are re-enacting? Nothing too serious, just a fun, short film covering many genres, just for giggles. Hope you enjoy!

Goal! The Dream Begins: Daft But Enjoyable

Goal! The Dream Begins (2005)
There is finally a decent movie about football (soccer), a sport which doesn't seem to grab the interest of movie producers. With FIFA sanction and real life footage from premiership games featuring superstars such as Beckham and Zidane, there is a sense of realism injected into the movie. Aside from the real game results and settings, Goal follows the fictional character of Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) and his rise from rags to riches. Having spent his life as an illegal immigrant in LA, Munez lands himself a months trial at Newcastle United. This commences the highlight of the movie, that is the trials and obstacles that Munez goes through to earn his rightful place in the squad.

The stuff you read in magazines about a footballers luxurious life is all there, the parties, the alcohol, the women, the clubbing, and even video games. All these are introduced to Munez by fellow teammate and contrasting character Galvin Harris, whose party life takes a toll on his game. This is however as far as the character depth goes for both characters. Despite this, the cast has done well with what they've got, with Alessandro Nivola providing the audience with a humerus and slightly touching performance. The film is by no means a successful hit, but at the end of the day leaves the audience feeling good. Check out the trailer below.

Imbd rating: 6.8/10

Ahilan K

Rubber: Tired Of The Expected?

Rubber, an English language French film written and directed by Quentin Dupieux, is fantastic. It is also bizarre and nonsensical. It is both a comedic mockery of B grade horror and thriller films and a love letter to them. Set in an unnamed American desert, Rubber follows the terrifying antics of an insane, sentient and psychic car tyre. No, really. 

At first glance that certainly seems to be the be all and the end all of the film and it’s story, but there’s a surprising amount of depth as a simultaneous storyline plays out with an audience within the film commenting on its various oddities and shortcomings. This story line is actually the first one introduced, immediately preceded by a brilliant and bizarre speech on “no-reason”; the greatest of all film-tropes.

“No-reason” is really the ultimate pretext to the film; why does the tyre kill almost everything it comes across? No-reason. Why does the tyre wake up at the beginning of the film and why was it sleeping? No-reason. Why do I love this film? No-reas... wait, no, there are reasons actually. For one the cinematography is both technically really well executed and also interesting, easier said than done for a movie set in a desert mostly filming a non-descript rubber tyre. Secondly the performances are consistently solid and the writing and dialogue are tight, self-referential and frequently break both the fourth wall established within the film as well as the literal one between the real audience and the reality outside of the film. Beyond that the score is also excellent. Indeed, everything about the film seems to entirely outstrip the measly budget of 500,000 US dollars that produced the film, an extremely impressive feat.

Rubber has a tremendous sense of joy and reverence for its source material, a sense which transferred over into my own experience of the film. One of the best gags of the film is even included in the credits of the film, wherein they credit “Robert” as the tyre. I found myself smiling the whole way through the film, and any film that can achieve that is well worth my wholehearted recommendation. So, if you’re tired of the expected, give this film a look.

Tim

Confessions: Sickly Sweet Satisfying Revenge

Confessions is one of those films where you wish you were watching a horror instead. This film is brutal in its revenge, and while the revenge is so, so sweet, no one leaves the room with a happy face. In fact, a friend of mine when he went to watch this film, was so sickened he had to leave the theatre. That's not to say that Confessions is a bad film. This film needs a head of steel, which would most likely be left melted or rusted once it's finished with you.

Self explanatory as the title, the film is set in different points of view: the teacher Yuko Moriguchi, and three other of her students. Starting off, Yuko resigns from her work, but just before she does, gives a confession to her class that two of her students had killed her daughter. In one of the many paybacks she gives, the first makes you quite sick to the stomach. But the psychological discord between the students that reverberates later in the film, makes for a sweet unravelling of the broken characters for better and worse.

This is one of the best thrillers I could recommend, as it effortlessly chills the viewer to the bone, without the need for horror elements (although there are some present, but are quite light in delivery). From the tone to the lighting, this slow paced film keeps you eagerly glued to your seat. There isn't one boring moment. There is always a situation where you would ask: Who killed Yuko's daughter? Why did they kill her? What is going to happen next?

Well, one thing I can definitely tell you: It ends with a bang!

James R

Filth: Punchlines That Hurt

Filth, a comedy based on the book of the same name written by the eminent Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh, is the weirdest Christmas film you will ever see. Far from revolving around a lovable and identifiable protagonist, the film revolves around Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy); a racist, misogynistic, cocaine snorting and deeply disturbed police detective who viciously manipulates his colleagues in pursuit of the Chief-Inspector position. As the films narrative plays out Robertson becomes no-less likeable, but gradually more sympathetic, pathetic even, as more and more of his dark personal history is revealed, alongside his mental health issues.

The film certainly isn’t cheerful, nor kind to its characters. Almost every character is viewed through the lens of Robertson himself, and are as disgusting and vile as Robertson himself as a result. This lack of pleasant or relatable characters makes the humor of the film very dark and quite unsettling, directly juxtaposed with the typically upbeat Christmas carols that form much of the films score. There’s not much more to say about the film without spoiling the plot beyond that it has one of the most brutal and simultaneously darkly comic endings to any film I’ve seen. Somewhat hard to stomach, but quite enjoyable for that.

If you’re in the mood for a dark comedy, this is isn’t the best, but it does hold its own and the ending is fantastic. So give it a go.

Tim

Where The Wild Things Are: House Of The Worst Film

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) is arguably the worst movie ever made in the history of filmmaking. An on-screen adaptation of the 1963 picture book by Maurice Sendak, the film’s screenwriters made an attempt to create a fantastical masterpiece, only to have produced a horrific memorandum of the famous children’s book. It is classified as fantasy drama – more like horror. I am ashamed to admit that I paid a good $20 on a ticket to watch the film at the local cinema, as I’m sure many other parents are too once their children started asking questions as to why the young boy ripped off an animal’s arms in a dirt fight (I am not making this up, a 4-something year old boy behind me asked his mother in tears). Personally, I would have preferred spending my time seated outside the cinema at McDonald’s eating chicken nuggets.

How the film’s advocacy of violence and imaginative escape to fantasy worlds of unrealistic horror still managed to score the film an IMBd rating of above 2 is beyond me. The thematic concerns of the movie are ironically disassociated with the concerns of children, who are primarily the main audience the film wishes to attract. The absent discipline the main character, Max, receives sends the wrong message – that inappropriate behaviour will go unpunished, such as biting your mother’s shoulder as if imitating a wolf. I seriously cannot praise the film in any respect. It was that bad.

IMBd rating: 6.8/10

My rating: 1/10

1 mark was given to the film, because the budget was $100 million dollars – a LOT of money.

If you dare, watch the trailer. If you cannot take more than 5 seconds, I won’t say “I told you so”:

Sarah R

Divergent: The Convergence Of Rebels

The hype that arose from the recent release Divergent (2014), a sci-fi action "coming of age" film, was disappointingly misplaced. Based on the first book of the trilogy by Veronica Roth, the futuristic film documents the interactions between the five factions that define society: Abnegation (selfless); Amity (peaceful); Candour (honest); Dauntless (brave); and Erudite (intelligent). The female protagonist – Beatrice – is identified as a Divergent: independent thinkers considered threats to the existing post-war social order.

The screenwriters pursued an unusual avenue for dystopian drama, however such innovation was undermined by the generic screenplay and script. As the film progressed, the predictability of the plot increased, as did the believability of the whole scenario. The film was saved by the two leads, played by Shailene Woodley and Theo James, who were the most believable aspect of the film. Despite the diminishing interest in the plot development, the romantic tension between Woodley and James made for acute curiosity into their future experiences as a couple.

IMBd rating: 6.9/10

My rating: 7.5/10

Click here to watch to trailer:

Sarah R

American Beauty: One Hell Of A Beautiful Film

American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball (of True Blood fame) is quite indescribable. Every time I watch this masterpiece I take something different away from it; it is one of those rare films that gets better with every viewing, and I would consider it essential viewing for anyone. Lester Burnham (brilliantly played by Kevin Spacey) is the central character from whom all other characters are connected. When he is interviewed to keep his job he suddenly realizes that his life is not the one he wanted and begins noticing with ever greater perception that his wife and only daughter don't look up to him. As Lester's life is devolving into a serious mid-life crisis his family become more and more estranged while he becomes increasingly infatuated with his daughter's friend.

The film continues to spiral into ever more personal thoughts, feelings and moments as we are brought into the life and household of Ricky Fits, a troubled child next door who is obsessed with filming anything he finds beautiful, in particular Jane; Lester's daughter. Saying any more would spoil much of the film, but what are quite unsettling and perhaps even threatening ideas and scenes are handled with both grace and humor.


Throughout the film symbols and recurring motifs occur frequently, most notably in the use of red and in the roses and rose petals that frequent the film. This saturation of one particular shade of red, from the door to the Burnham household to the Pontiac Thunderbird Lester had always dreamed of buying, adds a somewhat surreal quality to the film which, on top of the bizarre fantasy and dream sequences, creates a particular and unique flavor to the film.

Even with a full plot synopsis and a panel of film experts you couldn't understand exactly what the film is about without watching it, not only does everyone see it differently, but everyone's views of the film change with subsequent viewings, and there is no consensus on the main themes of the film. Some will say that the desire to be desired is the core theme, while others will claim it is a satire of suburban desires while still others might claim it is conformity that lies thematically at the core of the film. They are all right, and all of them are wrong. To me the film is a love letter to everything, while being a mockery of all it shows. It is about learning to live and accepting death, coming to terms with one's self and denying truths to yourself. It is about everything and nothing, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Truly impossible to describe, but essential viewing. So give it a look. And then look closer.

Tim

Paprika: It's Like Inception, But On Acid

Paprika. Well, uhh. Hold on, I need a moment to describe this film...

This is a film about what happens when your dreams are unleashed. If you've seen Inception, you can see quite a few parallels, (because this film was kind of an inspiration for Inception, any-who...) and from the first few minutes of Paprika, you are instantly transported to a surreal reality where the absurd is blended in with a simple touch of spice (and by spice I mean beautiful animation). Why not take a look at the opening credits yourself? The exotic and electronic soundtrack really helps to bring out this dreamy vision of a film:

It's that time to butcher a film with an abridged summary again: Paprika focuses on a detective and a group of psychologists trying to solve the mystery of people around them increasingly appearing deranged as their minds are affected by a stolen DC Mini (a device that taps into people's dreams to help diagnose and mend their problems). With the help of the created DC Mini avatar Paprika, they try to track down the culprit who is blending reality with dreams before it's too late.

It's hard to pinpoint the exact feeling of this film that straddles between beautiful and strange.

Paprika is presented in a stunning visual barrage of culture-induced fantastical imagination of the beloved and belated Satoshi Kon. From doll and frog parades, to our greatly clichéd film scenes, this film has a lot to say within its full bag of crazy. It's the animation, the soundtrack and it's untapped setting and story that makes this film a must-see. The only criticism I would have would be it's climax, although great, feels desensitised under all the strange that happens in that ten minute window. It's safe to say that it shouldn't phase the average viewer one bit. The first five minutes should hook the hardest critic and cynic with ease. 

Paprika is one of a kind. 

James R