Eden Lake

I don't normally choose to watch British films anymore. Not only do I find the locations dull and too familiar, I also find that British acting, on the whole, is pretty laughable. The cockney efforts found all too often in Gangster films are embarrassing, rom coms are full of Hugh Grant-esque stutters and cheesy nods to the Royal Family, and we just can't do horror well.

It was only by sheer luck then, that I came across Eden Lake, a film I mistakenly believed was set in North America, for some bizarre reason. Playing one of its leads was Michael Fassbender, whose work I had already sampled in Fish Tank, a grim tale wherein he has sex with an underage girl. He wasn't anything other than good, so I could see no harm in going further.

The film itself involves a quite couple who try and spend a romantic couple of days together in a nearby abandoned - and closed off - piece of beach. Upon arrival and during the previous day, they encounter a group of troubled and mischievous youths who have nothing better to do. As the film moves on, this couple soon find themselves being preyed upon by the teenagers whose only motivations seems to be to harm this couple, who accidentally kill their dog in the early chapter.

What ensues is a chaotic game of cat and mouse, as Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve (Fassbender) find themselves at the mercy of a now vengeful gang, lead by a brutal and bloodthirsty Brett (Michael O'Connell, of Skins fame). For the remainder of the 85-minute film, the once-innocent couple are robbed, hounded and tortured as they try to escape for their lives.

The film essentially relies on, at the very most, three incredible performances, and manages to send shivers down the spines of those who watch it. I've seen my fair share of horror films and torture scenes in my time, but somehow Eden Lake manages to pluck emotion from almost every scene, as the audience wills on the plucky couple who are being terrorised by a group of teens who know nothing better and will seemingly stop at nothing.

Perhaps what is even more terrifying is the film's ending, the part of horror films where it is assumed the protagonist is guaranteed to find safety. Not here, and what takes place in the final moments is perhaps more harrowing than the hour and twenty minutes which precede them.

A suspense-driven 'horror' which extrapolates as much heart-racing emotion and panic from its willing audience as the victims themselves. A must-see, and a surprisingly credible British flick.

9/10

It's been a while...

It's been almost three months since my last blog entry, and a fair bit has happened in that time, so where better to start than the beginning, eh?

My first thoughts were to do a round-up of the various TV programmes I have watched in that time, what with the US network season coming to an end in May, and only a few cable shows beginning shortly afterwards.

With The Office coming to the end of its seventh season, we saw Steve Carell abdicate the throne as Michael Scott. Whilst the show has faced a stormy front over the past three seasons, it is no doubt that it is being laid out to die, the next season surely being the last of its overly long run. Fans of the show will look to seasons 2 through 5 as being excellently written, so it's a shame that the network felt the need to flog a once well-executed show until it was on its last hind leg.

Another show whose glory days are behind it, is CSI: Las Vegas. The show that started it all, way back in 2000. With Gil Grissom at the helm, the show was once the most watched television programme in the world, however with the departure of its key characters, a feeling of general fatigue, and, quite frankly, a rather lacking set of remaining characters, the show feels like a shell of its former self. With Catherine reportedly leaving the show very soon, I give the show another season before a widely-rumoured film closes out what was once a superb and much-admired masterpiece in weekly entertainment.

One show which has had a positive effect of me of late has been Parks and Recreation, a comedy which I reviewed season 1 of several months ago, and vented my general lack of enjoyment of. It felt like a stale rip-off of The Office, and at times still echoes those sentiments but thanks to the excellent Ron Swanson and an embarrassing crush on Rashida Jones, I managed to work my way through seasons 2 and 3 of the show within the space of about two weeks.

Speaking of cable shows, Weeds season 7 started three weeks ago, and with a change of location, as well as perhaps being the last season of what has quite frankly been a brilliant show, it looks set to end on a high! (Pun intended).

Another cable show making its return is Curb Your Enthusiasm, which should be airing right about now in the US. Again, the show makes a move to New York and which Ricky Gervais in a starring role, the new season should be just as good as the rest.

Now, to return to the very purpose of this blog entry, namely film reviews.



There has only been one film from the last few months to really capture my attention and make me recommend it to others afterwards. That film is Love and Other Drugs. Taking the title at face value, it sounds like a very dull romantic comedy. Thankfully, looks deceive, and herein lies a very well realised and deceptive hybrid of a film. One which manages to handle the delicate matter of suffering from Parkinson's, as well as handling the fraught nature of one night standards, having casual flings, the raw heartache of losing relationships to launching careers, and the very real matter of facing a life obstructed by life-long afflictions.

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) and Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada), the film details the shallow and manipulative nature of pharmaceutical representatives, who must wear their careers on their sleeve and do what they can to get their products noticed, regardless of ethics.

When Jamie (Gyllenhaal) suddenly finds a more intriguing interest in Maggie (Hathaway), he does whatever he can in order to spend time with her, only to find that she is essentially as calculated, shallow and single-minded as him. Once they realise that sex is the only thing either of them want, it is soon revealed that Maggie suffers from Parkinson's, the very affliction which has left her living a sheltered life, rejecting all forms of social interaction and relationships.

Whilst on paper, the film sounds like a damp squib, two wonderful performances from the leads present an insight (somewhat fluffed up by the Hollywood framework, admittedly) into just what mental and physical ailments can do to a relationship that seems so perfect. The film contains its flaws, without a doubt, but the film really excels in that the on-screen partnership is so damn watchable that you'll keep your eyes glued to the screen just to see what they do throughout. There are cliches, sure. Songs are played at just the wrong moments, to reinforce the notion that is it indeed some form of rom-com. The dialogue is, in places, utterly sickening, but look past these superficial imperfections and you'll find a film which takes a serious matter, dresses it up with a sexually appealing couple and has the audience wanting more.

8/10