New out on DVD/Blu-ray for Tuesday July 23.
Trance
Simon (James McAvoy), a fine art auctioneer, teams up with a criminal gang to steal a Goya painting worth millions of dollars, but after suffering a blow to the head during the heist he awakens to discover he has no memory of where he hid the painting. When physical threats and torture fail to produce answers, the gang's leader Frank (Vincent Cassel) hires hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) to delve into the darkest recesses of Simon's psyche. As Elizabeth begins to unravel Simon's broken subconscious, the lines between truth, suggestion, and deceit begin to blur.
Despite its intriguing premise and occasional moments of superb visual flourishes from ultra-talented director Danny Boyle, Trance fell a bit flat for me. It contains an overly convoluted plot that doesn't really gel together by the end of the picture, and often times you may find yourself somewhat confused as to what the heck is actually going on. It does feature some interesting dreamlike sequences that may remind you in some ways of a David Cronenberg film, but I'm generally more concerned with plot in a film and these moments just make it all the more muddled.
The performances are quite good in Trance and I would say that this is one of Rosario Dawson's best roles yet. She is fearless in this film and it may be her most raw and exposed effort of her career thus far. I just wish that I would have cared more about the inevitable outcome of the story. The plot really is a bit of a mess.
Trance isn't a bad film by any means, in fact it's very well shot with some intriguing elements to it, but overall I felt it was one of Boyle's lesser efforts considering his tremendous track record of quality films.
If you enjoy strange, mind-trip films then you might want to check out Trance, but I'm definitely not raving about this one.
Welcome to the Punch
Former criminal Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) is forced to return to London from his Icelandic hideaway when his son is involved in a heist gone wrong. This gives detective Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) one last chance to catch the man he has always been after. As they face off, they start to uncover a deeper conspiracy they both need to solve in order to survive.
This British crime thriller doesn't really bring anything new to the table. It contains a generic, recycled plot that we've seen in umpteen action films over the years and it just left me cold. It's your standard issue fare, full of double crosses, corrupt cops and a revenge angle. My reaction to this film is more or less... meh!
The performances are fine from the talented cast, which in addition to Mark Strong and James McAvoy (him again), also includes Andrea Riseborough, Peter Mullan, Johnny Harris and David Morrissey (the Governor on The Walking Dead).
There's not a whole lot more to say about this latest entry in the already overworked British gangster genre. It's a thinly drawn, by-the-numbers story that lacks any semblance of energy to live up to its title. Welcome to the Punch is nothing special at all.
New World
The head of the Goldmoon crime syndicate is dead, leaving his top two lieutenants to pick up the pieces. Seizing the opportunity, the police launch an operation called "New World," with the perfect weapon. The boss' right hand man, Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae, The Thieves), has been a deep-cover operative for 8 years, closely watched by handler Police chief Kang (Choi Min-sik, Oldboy). With a baby on the way, and living in mortal fear of being exposed as a mole, Ja-sung is torn between his duty and honour as a cop, and the fiercely loyal gang members who will follow him to hell and back.
This Korean crime drama is the latest in a long line of exceptional films that they have been producing over the past decade. The film industry in Korea must be flourishing because there have been a string of great movies lately and New World is no exception. This operatic crime tale of deception, loyalty and revenge thrusts us into the world of a corporate crime syndicate, and even though it does take a little while to get going and forces you to pay close attention to what's happening, it offers a thoroughly engaging story and interesting characters whose fate you become quite invested in.
New World is a taut, methodically paced, violent film that may remind you of Martin Scorsese's The Departed. I think fans of international cinema will definitely want to check this one out. In my opinion, it's easily the best of the bunch as far as this week's releases are concerned.
Also out this week is the action thriller Vehicle 19 starring Paul Walker, the vampire horror Kiss of the Damned, the Jesse Eisenberg comedy Why Stop Now, the acclaimed kidnapping thriller from the Philippines called Graceland, and the Korean drama Pieta.
Blast From the Past
British filmmaker Danny Boyle has established himself as one of the pre-eminent directors of the past 20 years, and even though I wasn't a huge fan of his latest effort, Trance, I thought I would shine a spotlight on a few other gems that he has made over the years, in case you would like some alternative viewing suggestions. Here are five Danny Boyle films that I highly recommend you seek out.
Shallow Grave (1994) - This macabre and twisted, darkly comic thriller marked Boyle's directorial debut. It stars relative unknowns at the time, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox as three friends who discover their new roommate has died and left behind a briefcase full of cash. They decide to dispose of the body and split the money and naturally things go from bad to worse from this point on as they descend into paranoia, deception and extreme violence. Just imagine if the Coen Brothers would have made Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry and thrown in a dash of Quentin Tarantino style violence and you get the idea. Shallow Grave is some twisted fun.
Trainspotting (1996) - This ultra-dark comedy about a group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh, Scotland is like a pure shot of adrenaline. It's pulse pounding, hyper-kinetic and has a raw, visceral energy that is punctuated by its propulsive soundtrack. There is some really crazy stuff that happens in this film and in many ways it reminded me of the originality and creativity of Pulp Fiction. This won't appeal to everyone because of its dark and dirty subject matter, but Trainspotting is a thrill ride like no other. It's also the film that really put star Ewan McGregor on the map as well as other cast members like Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald, Kevin McKidd and Ewen Bremner. Trainspotting rocks!
28 Days Later... (2003) - This super creepy and quite scary sci-fi horror offered up a different twist on the zombie genre. These weren't the usual slow moving undead rising from their graves to feast on your brains type of zombies, instead this film featured ferocious people infected by a virus known as the "rage." When Cillian Murphy's character wakes up from a coma in a deserted London hospital and he sets foot outside to find the streets abandoned and he's all alone, you get a very unsettling feeling and things only get worse from there. This excellent horror also features Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson and Christopher Eccleston among its cast. 28 Days Later... truly gave the zombie sub-genre the shot in the arm it needed by making it a more thought provoking, politically charged thriller about surviving a plague rather than just the usual fare of people battling the undead. This is a really good film.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - This wonderful drama really cleaned up at the Academy Awards that year, winning a total of eight, including Best Picture. I thought that Boyle did a tremendous job of transporting the viewer into the slums of Mumbai and he infused the film with so much visceral energy that I was constantly engaged. This is an excellent drama that is at times heartwarming, and also heartbreaking. Slumdog Millionaire is fabulous entertainment from beginning to end. Check this one out if you haven't already.
127 Hours (2010) - The incredibly harrowing true story of rock climber Aron Ralston, who became trapped in a Utah canyon for over five days when his arm got pinned under a rock. James Franco gives arguably the performance of his career as Ralston. This is an amazing tale of survival and finding the inspiration and willpower to live by any means necessary. 127 Hours is a beautifully shot film and it also gives us the terrifying sense of claustrophobia that he must have felt in such an awful predicament. This movie is full of nail-biting suspense even though we know what the outcome will be. It truly does take you on an emotional roller coaster ride. If you can stomach the site of a man cutting his own arm off very graphically then you should definitely seek out 127 Hours. Great film!
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This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.