Kill List (2011) + Official Trailer

With Ben Wheatley's recent achievement Sightseers garnering critical acclaim, I thought I'd seek out and review his previous effort Kill List. The story revolves around a hit man Jay (Neil Maskell) and his family as he is tempted to take on a new assignment with a promise of a large reward. Things are not as simple as they seem. Jay is still trying to recover from a botched job and it takes some convincing from his old buddy to take up the job offer. With little or no money and his feeling of inadequacy and uselessness at home as the main provider, Jay takes up the offer. As the plot unravels the assignments are not as simple as they seem.

What this film does (very cleverly) is to incorporate an intense drama into a criminal thriller. The first half an hour plays out like a normal (but very intense) domestic story about a frustrated man and his family. There's a air of simmering tension as a dinner party fast turns into a slanging match whilst the guest are still present resulting in a violent outburst.

As the tension builds and builds, you feel that things are never going to go smoothly. Jay's tendency to snap at any given moment makes his character like a lit firework waiting to explode. On the assignments, it's clear from the outset that these kills are not the usual jobs they take on. When they try to uncover the reasons for the killings they unearth a nightmare they were not ready for nor expecting.

Without giving too much away, there is a sharp turn in narrative and style. In the last third all hell breaks loose and the film becomes almost horror like in terms of atmosphere and aesthetics. There are hints and clues as ever more weirder events occur and even if you can see what is about to happen, it is still brutal.

The violence won't be for everyone as skulls are smashed and many savage and unrestrained shootings emerge throughout the journey of the two hit men. The style of the film is shot very naturalistic, with low level lighting, simple editing and the action captured through one camera so many of the composition is immediate and grants the film a grittiness and realism. In a way it some times feels like a ambitious TV movie. This isn't a criticism, it tricks you into thinking it's small scale film but with it's ideas and vision it is much more.

A brilliant low budget Brit flick which showcases Ben Wheatley as a emerging talent to watch out for. The film successfully pulls off three genres with an ever present feeling of terror throughout. A film that pulls the wool over your eyes with it's contrasting styles in terms of narrative and tone. Thoroughly recommended.

Acting: 4/5

Technical Merit: 3.5/5

Narrative: 4/5

Entertainment: 4/5

15.5/20

Films I'm Looking Forward to in 2013

After another year of excellent films, here is my list of films to look out for in the new year. As per usual this is in no particular order....

1. Cloud Atlas.
A film based on a book that many deemed unfilmable, a sprawling novel that traverses through time, characters and location. The book is being translated by the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer (director of Run Lola Run). and this will be an adventurous and ambitious film with recurring actors taking on different characters (many of the actors have 3 to 4 parts in each of the films separate yet connecting chapters). If they can pull it off, this will be a dazzling and intelligent piece to come along in a while. Read the book and you'll understand why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByehYal_cCs

2. Iron Man 3.
As the main focal point and lead character in the Avengers, it will be intriguing to see what Shane Black will do to bring new life to Tony Stark. Shane Black was the go to guy in the 80s for scripts for action flicks (he wrote Lethal Weapon you know!) and has a knack for writing great dialogue and characters. As before Tony Stark will be played by the ever charismatic Robert Downey Jr. Let's hope that this one won't be like the last, which was a real stinker of a film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EjG-1U3wq

3. V/H/S.
A compendium of shorts where a series of guys are given a mission to locate a a mysterious VHS cassette tape which contain a collection of captured freaky and creepy footage. Will this breed new life to the found footage genre, who knows, but it does look very very scary in places. With a different directors for the different segments there will be something of a variation to each narrative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m3ExdKJe_U

4. Man of Steel.
Having recently been given the Superman Box Set for Xmas, this has whetted my appetite to see the Man from Krypton. Zach Snyder has the helm with Henry Cavill pulling on the classic blue and red tights, are we to believe a man can fly again... let's hope so. As a child, Superman to me, was the all American hero and Christopher Reeve will always be Clark Kent/Superman but this is a reboot with David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan writing the story, maybe this will be a darker and more realistic version Superman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DaPBBOHfsA

5. Evil Dead.
Remakes tend to suck, right? Well having watched the trailer over and over again, I am hoping this will be one of the exceptions where the remake brings something new yet still respecting the original. With the film just being awarded an NC-17 certificate in the US, this is looking promising to be full of gore and shocks. With Raimi giving his blessing on this re-imaging (and on producing detail) it can't be all that bad, can it?
Let's hope for more of Dawn style remake than an Elm Street one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHDJm1D2ELw

6. Star Trek Into the Darkness.
With all the characters established from the reboot, this should allow for more room for action. That's not saying the previous one isn't action packed but it did have a duty to introduce the characters to a new audience. So all the return crew are back fighting against Benedict Cumberbatch dastardly villain. As a non-Star Trek fan, I found the last effort to be thoroughly enjoyable and exceed all my expectations. And now with J.J. Abrams now officially confirmed to direct Star Wars VII: Revenge of the Lens Flairs (I'm kidding 'bout the title....) this is a chance to scrutinise his ability to explore and expand on one of boldest sci fi  franchises and to see whether he can the same on THE biggest sci fi following.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeLp2qr2iCg

7. Hitchcock.
A movie about one of the greatest film makers ever will always be an interesting subject matter. Many know of his treatment towards his female stars but this film focuses on his life and relationship with his wife. Set during the production of Psycho, this will be a treat for film fans alike to be able to watch the development of a great classic and the man behind it. Hitchcock will be played by Anthony Hopkins with his wife Alma Reville played by Helen Mirren.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7vYhtfNM9U

8. Before Midnight.
The continuing story of a couple of lovers destined to be with one another. We first saw them in Before Sunrise, and then we reconnected with their lives in Before Sunset and now we catch up with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Deply) another nine years on in Greece. It's funny how easy it is to watch the Before films as they come around every nine years to remind us of how beautiful a love can blossom and how the audience is left wondering what has happened to our two friends. Once again directed by Linklater, will this be as successful as the previous 2 films? The same crew are back and whose to say that this won't be the closing chapter we were all looking for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUGwK4v1sOM

9. Pacific Rim.
Here's a big budget effort from the director whose given us Pan's Labyrinth and the 2 Hellboy movies. This film see Earth coming under attack from giant monsters intent on destroying our biggest cities. The nation of the world intend to combat these creatures by building enormous robots to combat threat. With little or no major stars this takes classic Japanese monster movies and hurtles it to a new audiences. Let's hope this doesn't turn out to be another Godzilla (the US version).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vKz7WnU83E

10. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
We finally get the follow up to Sin City, the marvellous comic book feature which had buckets of style and felt more like a comic than a film. The new film will feature return of many of the characters and will be based on Frank Miller's graphic novels "A Dame to Kill For" and "Just another Saturday Night" plus 2 new stories written esp for the big screen. With many of the cast and crew returning this shouldn't fail.