Plenty of interesting content comes to home video this month – including a couple of great NZ International Film Festival titles that skipped general release; one of 2013’s best thrillers that barely saw the inside of cinemas; some eagerly awaited weirdness from the director of Rubber; not to mention assorted dramas, thrillers and reissues.
7 Boxes
In a Nutshell: Victor, a teen porter in a Paraguayan market, takes on an unusual job – transporting seven boxes of unknown contents across the market, directed by cellphone. As things heat up and various people come after his mysterious cargo, the eight blocks of market have never seemed so vast and dangerous.
The Buzz: 81% on Rotten Tomatoes from 1 critic, Eye for Film, who praises this “fast-moving, audience-pleaser with decent helpings of tension and black humour”.
Reason to Watch: Take a punt on this being a fun, kinetic thriller – plus 7 Boxes was a festival hit in 2012, gaining nominations for the Discovery and International Critics awards at Toronto.
Released: Jan 7th.
You’re Next
In a Nutshell: Superior home invasion horror sees a family gathering attacked by murderous masked assailants, stalking family members through their large country house until one of the guests, a surprisingly resourceful Aussie girlfriend, starts violently turning the tables.
The Buzz: 74% on Rotten Tomatoes from 136 critics. Time Out New York said “solidly satisfying with ruthless forward momentum, the film plays like a minor triumph”; the Los Angeles Times reckon it’s “offbeat enough to keep even hardened connoisseurs of body-count entertainment on their toes”; and Rolling Stone notes “Home invasion thrillers seem to come along every five minutes… Kudos then to indie director Adam Wingard for kicking in with some fresh ideas”.
Reason to Watch: You’d never think You’re Next was made for only a million bucks or that it took ages to open in U.S. theatres – it’s way too much fun, and you’ll see exactly why the film won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay in the horror awards at Fantastic Fest.
Released: Jan 8th.
Stoker
In a Nutshell: Sinister coming-of-age tale stars Mia Wasikowska as India, a young woman still mourning her father when his brother, the creepy Uncle Charlie, comes to stay and insinuates himself into inappropriate relationships with India and her unstable mother (Nicole Kidman). The English-language debut of Oldboy directo Park Chan-wook.
The Buzz: 68% on Rotten Tomatoes from 179 critics. The Toronto Star plays pick-the-influence, saying Stoker “plays like a Brian De Palma homage to Hitchcock – albeit one loaded with Park’s symbol-laden visuals”. Village Voice echoes some of those thoughts by describing the film as “a Hitchcockian stew of hothouse familial jealousy, sadism, and psychosis all tied together by one teenage girl’s homicidal coming of age” and Rolling Stone says “Park has built a hothouse of erotic tension that’s primed to explode. Some will find it too much. Screw them.”
Reason to Watch: One of 2013’s best films, Stoker barely made it into cinemas so we’re including it here. Don’t miss it a second time, this is a carefully-crafted, beautifully shot, compelling thriller.
Released: Jan 8th.
Upstream Color
In a Nutshell: Everything about the world of Upstream Color suggests it is our own – which makes it all the more concerning that people are being kidnapped, infested with a mind-controlling organic parasite, bonding strongly with other victims and trying to piece their lives together. Heady, ambitious and engrossing stuff.
The Buzz: 85% on Rotten Tomatoes from 130 critics. Time Out gush, calling it “the most visually imaginative American film since David Lynch’s Eraserhead“. “A stimulating and hypnotic piece of experimental filmmaking” reckon Variety, while Time Out New York reckon “the effort is majestically single-minded, even if the overall vibe tips dangerously toward preciousness”.
Reason to Watch: Shane Carruth’s mesmerising follow-up to Primer has been a long time coming, and he certainly hasn’t mellowed in his ambition. You’d probably be lying if you said you’d seen anything like this sci-fi romance before.
Released: Jan 9th.
Wrong
In a Nutshell: Odd chap Dolph Springer (Jack Plotnick) loses his dog and hires an eccentric pet detective (Steve Little of TV’s Eastbound And Down) to track him down – as well as taking the advice of pony-tailed guru Master Chang (William Fichtner) who advises Dolph on metaphysically reconnecting with his pet.
The Buzz: 68% on Rotten Tomatoes from 41 critics. Time Out New York said “yuck”, but Village Voice thought the “heady buzz is invigorating, and there are substantial pleasures-and laughs-to be found in all its real-life-just-gone-sour strangeness” and MSN Movies encouragingly note “those on its perpetually absurd wavelength should soon find themselves left in fits of giggles”.
Reason to Watch: From the director of Rubber – yeah, the movie about a sentient killer tyre – this promises full absurdity – nay, batshit craziness we say!
Released: Jan 9th.
Drinking Buddies
In a Nutshell: Director Joe Swanberg (also seen in You’re Next) assembles a great cast (Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, Jake Johnson and Ron Livingston) for this romantic drama about criss-crossing relationships that sees a couple of close colleagues at a brewery – both in relationships – find themselves alone for a weekend.
The Buzz: 82% on Rotten Tomatoes from 102 critics. The Los Angeles Times praise Swanberg for achieving “an occasionally heady aura of improvisational flirtatiousness mixed with a churning will-they-or-won’t-they suspense” and the New York Daily News says he” made the rare film that feels exactly the way your friends do when they don’t know you’re watching them”.
Reason to Watch: Between the talent on both sides of the camera, this slice of improvisational mumblecore mundanity is poised to be up there with Your Sister’s Sister.
Released: Jan 22nd.
Read more on ‘Drinking Buddies’
Hours
In a Nutshell: The late Paul Walker stars as an expectant father in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina is about to strike. Waiting in the evacuated hospital with his family as the hurricane hits with full force, he’s forced to fight to keep his daughter alive while cut off from the outside world and at the mercy of the elements.
The Buzz: 58% on Rotten Tomatoes from 26 critics. Variety says “An ingeniously simple setup is cunningly exploited for maximum suspense in Hours, a slow-building, consistently engrossing drama” and the New York Times observes “Hurricane Katrina has already been pretty thoroughly mined for documentaries and fictional stories, but Hours holds your interest nonetheless”.
Reason to Watch: If you’re a Paul Walker fan, this is one of his very last performances… Bummer.
Released: Jan 22nd.
REISSUES OF THE MONTH
In alphabetical order we’re looking forward to:
Pamela Anderson starring alongside Temuera Morrison in dystopic action sci-fi tale Barb Wire – hilariously skewered in a recent-ish episode of the How Did This Get Made? podcast.
An early 80s swords & sorcery cult classic from Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, John Dies at the End) in the form of The Beastmaster, starring Marc Singer and Rip Torn(!). Yep, it’s a dude who can telepathically communicate with animals…
After his breakthrough film Bloodsport, Jean-Claude Van Damme got back in the ring for Kickboxer, showing off his fighting moves, splits, shitty acting and dancing. We love it, and it’s been a long time…
