You’re Next Review

The Plot:

A group of seemingly random attackers gets more than they bargained for when they terrorise a family reunion dinner party. As son Crispian’s new girlfriend Erin turns into the family’s only hope to survive.

The Good:

From the opening scene of Adam Wingard’s latest horror, it’s clear that any slasher fan will be happy for the next ninety minutes. With one of the catchiest songs ever accompanying an entertaining and genuinely funny script You’re Next doesn’t fail to keep you interested. Wingard’s hauntingly simple lingering shocks as well as superb performances from the cast makes this a treat which will have you laughing out loud right before you gasp in horror and shock. Whilst at first seeming like a quirky dysfunctional family comedy, Wingard easily builds the tension up until finally releasing it all in a fantastically disorientated dinner scene.

From then on, You’re Next becomes a fast paced thriller as the Davison family fight to survive the night with the help of Erin (Sharni Vinson – Home and Away‘s Cassie Turner) and her expert knowledge in combat. Whether it’s AJ Bowen’s great comic timing during the dialogue between Crispian and his family, or the surprisingly simple scary masks of the attackers, You’re next offers plenty to entertain you with. However the main treat comes from that of lead actress Sharni Vinson who steals the show as Aussie ass kicker Erin. If this is anything to go by, Vinson is sure to have a stellar career in films and proves herself as a worthy action hero.

The Bad:

Although for the most part, You’re Next stays fresh and entertaining, the final act seems to dampen down a bit. Without spoiling anything, what was a comedy turned thrill fest suddenly switches again, this time into a sort of sick Home Alone. A choice which borders on absurdity.

Another slight let down is the lack of character development in the brisk ninety-five minute run time. Another ten or twenty minutes of some more background story for the Davison family members might have helped the film. And whilst there is humour found from start to finish, often enough it does seem to only pop up here and there out of the blue occasionally.

The Ugly Truth:

The typical slasher genre is given many new depths whilst still hanging onto the stuff that will keep fans happy. With never a dull moment in sight, You’re Next will certainly keep you hooked. You’ll be hard pushed not to want to watch it again and again. If not for the superb action from Vinson or the brilliantly dark humour from Simon Barrett’s screenplay, or even the edge of your seat tension that Wingard brings to the screen, then definitely for the oh so catchy song.

NBC Plans Outbreak TV Series

NBC are turning Wolfgang Peterson’s 1995 film Outbreak into a new TV series. The original film starred Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman. It followed efforts by hazmat suit wearing heroes to contain an ‘outbreak’ of a deadly ebola style virus.

The american TV network has committed to produce a one hour pilot of the potential new show. Hopes are high that the medical thriller will be picked up for a longer run, especially as the executive producers of ER are involved in the new production. It’s not expected any of the original film cast will be involved in the new production.

 

Matt Damon In Talks For Bourne Return

Matt Damon is reportedly now back in talks with Universal to reprise his role as Jason Bourne in the latest sequel. Damon had long stated his reluctance to return to the franchise without director Paul Greengrass. While hat appears to remain the case, he studio is also said to be in simultaneous talks with Greengrass about returning for the next Bourne film.

Jeremy Renner had taken over lead in The Bourne Legacy in Damon’s abence, playing similarly skilled super-spy Aaron Cross. The last film made heavy reference to Jason Bourne and should Damon finally agree to return it’s likely the two storylines would be merged for their next adventure together.

The news will be welcome for Universal given their open eagerness to continue to exploit the profitable and popular franchise. Damon’s return had looked unlikely for some time, particularly given his unenthusiastic responses when questioned on his opinion of The Bourne Legacy. 

Any Day Now Alan Cumming Interview

Any Day Now is a moving drama inspired by real life events. In the 1970s, a gay couple fights a biased legal system to keep custody of the abandoned mentally handicapped teenager that comes to live under their roof.  Here’s what star Alan Cumming had to say about working on the project:

Rudy’s nature is flamboyant, even effusive, but it struck me the key to your performance is locating his solitude, even
loneliness.

I thought a lot about how to deal with the dichotomy in Rudy’s character: the brashness and confidence he shows at the beginning of the movie alongside the tenderness he shows with Marco and Paul. I realised that someone like Rudy would need an armour, a protective shield to help him get by. I wanted to
give him a swagger that would make sense of his survival, and then to use the other stuff for self-‐deprecation and humor. So I think you’re right, solitude is a big part of what I was trying to get to, because I think when we meet him in the movie it’s the first time he hasn’t been on his own, and it’s very new to him.

Was working in period–the recent past, the late 1970s– liberating for you?

Yes, definitely, because it makes the experience less contemporary and therefore you are allowed to fly a little bit. A period piece, even a recent one like this, gives you a bit of freedom to invent and imagine, and I love that. So often ‘contemporary, in acting terms, means the volume is turned down, literally and figuratively, and I’ve never understood why.The movie tackles a great deal, the political, cultural, the legal ramifications; but it seems, at heart, what makes it compelling is that it focuses on outsiders, people who are by circumstance or personal choices disenfranchised in some way.I think all great drama involves a sense of the outsider, people who are different in some way but there but for the grace of God go us. In Any Day Now we have three outsiders all trying to be allowed to love each other, something that nobody should be prevented from doing. And they’re on a new and magical journey together that the audience gets to come on too. The movie has a lot to say about gay rights, adoption, how we view disability. Mostly it is about family and the basic desire we all have to care and love others.

What was your emotional interaction with Isaac Leyva, who plays Marco; did you feel protective towards him because of his inexperience, or did you want to give him his own space for his own personality to emerge?

Isaac didn’t need any space for his personality to emerge. His personality enters the room before him. He is an absolutely amazing and beautiful boy and we got along like a house on fire as soon as we met. I did feel protective towards him, but only in the way I’d feel protective towards someone who had never done a film before or been in that sort of situation. Working with Isaac was the best thing about this whole experience for me. Everything he felt was so completely pure and immediate and he really reminded me of what acting is supposed to be about. I adore him, and will always be grateful to him.

Within the framework of the legal struggle to gain custody of the child, the movie is, at heart, a love story of contrasting types– your liberated cabaret performer staged against Garret Dillahunt’s closeted professional. How were you and Garret able to achieve such an observational, tender rapport?

Sometimes things just happen. Garret and I had never met before and indeed we only met a day or two before our first scene together, when we were both getting wig fittings. But I immediately felt comfortable with him and I think we just looked each other in the eyes and thought, ‘I trust you. This is huge, emotionally and spiritually, what we’re about to go through together, but I trust you’. And I never felt out of synch with him for a second. It really was just about us both each other from the start.

Music is central to Rudy. The movie’s very emotional ending is amplified by your great version of the classic Bob Dylan protest song, “I Shall Be Released.” Is that a piece you suggested to Travis Fine, the director?

I didn’t know the song at all. And for a long time the film didn’t end that way. Often with films the songs change around a lot because it is so difficult and expensive to get the rights and permission. So it was quite late on that ‘I Shall Be Released’ came into the mix, and to let me hear it Travis sent me the YouTube clip of Bette Midler singing it in a bath house in New York in the ‘70s, with Barry Manilow accompanying her. I thought, ‘Could you have made this any more daunting?’ It is the most incredible and harrowing rendition of it. When it came for me to record it, it was quite late in the shoot and I had a sense of Rudy’s grief and I tried to put that into his performance. I think the very last moment when he looks at Paul and sings ‘I swear my love. We shall be released’ is such a beautiful moment and it is so great how the song works so well for our story, and of course our title.

What do you think accounts for the almost visceral reaction people have had to the film so far?

I think it is the fact that people see three characters who obviously love each other and who are good for each other being prevented from being together because of hatred and bigotry and prejudice, and sadly although much has changed and much has improved, those emotions still exist in our world today. The audience knows that Rudy and Paul and Marco should be together, but they also know they live in a world that stops that from happening and so they feel complicit, and that’s why I think it really gets to them.

One Direction This Is Us World Premiere Live Stream

On Tuesday 20 August, the global music phenomenon One Direction will grace the red carpet for the world premiere of One Direction: This is Us in Leicester Square, London. Weaved with stunning live concert footage, this inspiring feature film tells the remarkable story of Niall, Zayne, Liam, Harry and Louis‘ meteoric rise to fame, from their humble hometown beginnings and competing on the X-Factor, to conquering the world and performing at London’s famed O2 Arena. Hear it from the boys themselves and see through their own eyes what it’s really like to be One Direction.