The tagline says ‘Blood Will Run’ and in Ironclad, it runs by the bucket load.

Monday the 11th of July sees the release DVD and Blu-ray release of Ironclad which is an action fueled gory medieval drama based on true events with a whole load of added made up fiction thrown in to give it more cinematic appeal. From director Jonathan English and starring James Purefoy, Paul Giamatti and Brian Cox, this is Ironclad.

The story is set in the 13th Century and is about the bloody siege of Rochester Castle by King John (Giamatti) and his minions against a Templar knight named Marshall (Purefoy), Baron Albany (Cox) and his stubborn, battle hardened group of warrior buddies. This collective group of warriors hold out for months against the unrelenting onslaught from King John’s rebel army whose one goal is to take the Keep of Rochester that will lead King John to rule the southeast of Britain.

The film sticks to a simple idea: A few-against-many plot, decapitations and graphic gore whenever possible, enjoyable characters you root for that probably end up dying by the end and King John enjoyably ranting throughout. Together it all works nicely with the bunch of ragtag fighters fending of the attacks of King John’s army using tactics rather than strength. The gore comes constantly in the battle scenes and in impressively graphic ways with heads flying off and limbs being hacked free and bodies being split in half with huge broad swords which adds to the enjoyment. The bunch of fighters all have your generic mix of personalities with a slightly crazy one, an huge hard arse warrior type, a young inexperienced lad, a loud mouthed killing machine etc and then there’s King John played sublimely by the excellent Paul Giamatti. But is this enough to make the film succeed? Not really, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun and well worth a watch.

The problem with the film is that there are some very slow moments in between some of the battles and these moments mainly involve the utter nonsense of including a love interest for the Knight Templar Marshall with the irritating and rather pointless Lady Isabel (Kate Mara). Their romance seemed so false and wedged in to try add a bit of femininity to the story and almost ruins the momentum that was so excellently created by the battle scenes. This problem was infuriatingly equaled by the irritating over use of the dreaded shaky cam technique to try and make the battle scenes more ‘realistic’ with a documentary stylisation to add “real sense of action” to the fights. It unfortunately ruins some tense moments and just made me want to shake my head around rapidly to try and synchronize with the movement on screen to try make sense of all the excellent fight choreography that deserved a clearer presentation on screen.

Praise does have to be given to Paul Giamatti, who apparently filmed all his scenes in just 7 days, he is easily the most enjoyable aspect in the movie as he delivers some cracking lines and a truly despicable character. Brian Cox also delivers a creditable performance and stands out amongst the good guys, especially towards the end of the film in a very disturbing moment that was equally difficult to watch as it was powerful.

The DVD quality is of a good standard and I can only imagine that the Blu-ray version would show off the gore in even more clearer detail but apart from that there are no extras of any kind unless you need to add subtitles to the film. Very disappointing.

Ironclad is released on DVD and Blu-ray today.

Film ***~~ (3/5)

DVD ~~~~~ (0/5)

Streetdance 3D garnered considerable praise upon its initial release, many critics crediting the impressive choreography, infectious sense of fun and competent use of the third dimension in their favourable reviews. In a growing genre like the dance film, Streetdance certainly needed an ace up it sleeve to set it apart from the competition.

While the dance sequences are indeed impressive, they are no more so than anything featured in the Step Up series to date. The story is similarly generic, with two rival crews preparing to battle at some inconvenient occasion. Romances bloom and friendships are tested, all to a toe-tapping soundtrack that culminates in the amalgamation of styles and acceptance of differences – genre signposts rather than narrative spoilers.

So if Streetdance’s moves and direction are so been-there-done-that, exactly what was it that had critics stand up and take such notice?

I’d like to think that the answer didn’t lie in such shallow asides as the extra dimension and the fact that the movie was set on our side of the Atlantic – yet these are nevertheless two points that come up again and again in critic’s reviews. Thankfully there is more to Streetdance than British people backflipping out of the screen; Streetdance’s most important triumph is in fact its cast.

Nichola Burley – yes, the one with the accent – is a revelation as reluctant leader Carly. Last seen in survival mode with Donkey Punch, she carries the movie through its clichés and checkpoints with confidence and competence – coping with the dramatic and technical demands admirably.

The movie is at its best, however, whenever Charlotte Rampling graces the screen as ballet instructor Helena. Her magisterial presence and compelling nature ascribe the film a dignity far beyond its genre aspirations. While the supporting cast sometimes fail to convince, Rampling’s consistency compensates throughout.

So much more than Britain’s Got Talent: The Movie, as the advertising campaign appeared to suggest, Streetdance 3D holds its own against the Step Up juggernaut, providing an unpretentious and perfectly marketed slice of entertainment that often hits high above its station. Ooh at the choreography, groan at the cliché’s and dance yourself to the end of the credits – all in the comfort of your own home.

The set features the movie in both two and three dimensions, while the extras on offer cover everything from the token Making of Documentary to premiere footage. The making of doc captures the enthusiasm with which the cast and crew approached the project, each commentator apparently safe in the knowledge that they are doing something different, uplifting, and – brace yourself – immersive.

‘Anatomy of a Scene’ picks apart the first appearance of the ballet dancers in great detail and to interesting effect. ‘On Set Streetdance’, meanwhile, shows the filming of the larger set pieces behind the scenes while elsewhere on the disc you can find Premiere Footage, Tour Videos and – for those BGT fans among you – a link to the Diversity sequence. Also, just in case you missed the National Movie Awards 2010, Streetdance 3D takes care of that too.

On 3^rd September Cemetery Junction is released on DVD.  Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais wrote and directed this affectionate look at growing up and out of ‘70s suburbia.  Cemetery Junction is a gently funny, if flabby, slice of nostalgia and you can read Jon’s splendid original review here.  The DVD is a genuine treat for those who loved the film with both cast and directors commentary, behind the scenes featurettes and a typically Gervaisian blooper reel.

For those approaching Cemetery Junction for the first time: the film does, in many ways, conform to the conventions of a classic coming-of-age story and the young cast of relative unknowns do justice to their lead roles.  Freddie (Christian Cook) is a bland yet pretty boy next door looking to break out of small town life by making it big in sales.  Best friends Snork (Jack Doolan) and Bruce take a more laissez faire approach to breaking out – the former chasing his tail chasing tail and the latter a pouting, brawling, village hall rock star in the making.  Bruce has James Dean angst and Mick Jagger insouciance down to a fine art and Tom Hughes’ mesmerising performance captures every slouch and swagger beautifully.  Perhaps a little too good for the material he had to work with, I have no doubt that Mr Hughes will move on to bigger and better things in the years to come.

Remi Adefarasin’s lovely cinematography is another real highlight.  The talent of The Pacific’s DP conjured a wistful tone of times gone by which prevented Cemetery Junction’s retro style crossing the line into cheap sentimentality.  It is a pity the same cannot be said for the script.

In their performances Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson eloquently tell of the heartbreak and dispassionate cruelty hidden behind the careful smiles in a loveless marriage.  As the parents of Freddie’s love interest Julie, they offer him a frightening glimpse into a stagnant future.  But fragility and nuance are not really Ricky Gervais’ strong suits and any delicacy at play here is soon stomped underfoot by the Cuban heeled crassness of the writing.  Alf Garnett one-liners and My Guy photo-story-fast romance undermine any hope Cemetery Junction has of telling a deeper, darker story.

I struggle with Ricky Gervais, his persona and his craft, because I suspect he has difficulty allowing others the room to shine.  It is entirely possible that Stephen Merchant is an equally crass and clumsy writer but somehow I think not.  I hear Ricky’s voice sneer and snigger out of the mouths of his actors when they shape his lines and I flinch.  At the Q&A for the DVD release both Stephen and Ricky spoke to us at length about their cinematic inspirations for the film and I do believe there were good intentions here.  It is such a pity they didn’t all make it onto the screen.

The boys of Cemetery Junction are doing their best to grow up and break out.  I suggest it is time Mr Gervais did the same.

Cemetery Junction is available on DVD & Blu-ray from Friday

UK fans of Twin Peaks have had a long time to wait to own the whole series on DVD. The first season was released many years ago but the second season box set never materialised in the UK. The second season was released in America though and there was also a box set released in America and other parts of Europe that contained both seasons and was described as The Definitive Gold Box Edition. This Gold Box Edition has now finally been released in the UK and it was worth the wait.

Twin Peaks was a series created in 1990 by David Lynch and Mark Frost and ran for 30 episodes (including the pilot). It centres on an investigation into the murder of popular high school girl Laura Palmer whose body is found in the pilot washed up on a river bank and “wrapped in plastic”. I won’t go in to too much more detail about the story as there are already a few posts about the content of the series on HeyUGuys and we’ll be posting even more soon.

On the subject of the content though I have to admit that I am totally in love with this series; it mixes beautifully the thrilling mystery of the plot with horror, romance and comedy. I’ve now seen the whole series four times and I will definitely be revisiting it in the future.

I can say with certainty that, until we see a Blu-Ray release, the only way you should watch the series is this DVD box set. Having had to suffer the dreadful UK VHS release of this series which seemed to use the cheapest videos available and give little care to the transfer, it is so refreshing to watch this set of DVDs.

The picture quality in the Gold Box Edition (not done justice in these stills) is absolutely stunning and some of the best transfers I’ve seen outside of Blu-Ray. It is on par with the excellent work done by The Criterion Collection and Masters of Cinema and like many of their releases the transfer has been approved by someone involved in the original production, here David Lynch himself. The series was shot on film and a lot of red filters were used during the making of the series giving it the warm and almost off balance colour. This is beautifully restored on these discs and it is great to see the intended look of the series properly represented.

The audio is presented in both 5.1 and the original 2.0  and is clear and of exceptional quality. Angelo Badalamenti’s score sounds beautiful but the mix never lets it overwhelm the dialogue. Probably my only criticism of this set is that it is missing the commentaries that featured on the Region 2 DVD release of the first season which is a shame as without these it is not quite as definitive as the title suggests.

The extras included on this set are very good though and I am sure will be enjoyable to any Peaks fan. Probably the most significant extra is the feature length documentary, ‘Secrets From Another Place’, which includes brand new interviews and looks at a lot of different aspects of the show. I really enjoyed the documentary and even for a Twin Peaks Geek like me there was still a lot of interesting new information.

Although the deleted scenes on these discs are a good addition to the set they don’t actually add a lot to the series but I am glad they were included as they are of some interest. Also important in completing the set is the introductions to each episode by the Log Lady which you have the option to either have on or off. Other features worth noting are the SNL sketches which are pretty funny and ‘A Slice of Lynch’ which features Lynch taking a look back at the series with Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick and JohnWentworth.

On an incredibly geeky note I have to complement the makers of the set for the menu screens. Each disc has a different menu screen and each one is like a beautiful little scene from Twin Peaks. So often DVDs have annoying or lazily put together menu screens and it really nice to see that no detail in this set was ignored.

If you like Twin Peaks and you don’t already own the Season one box set (which includes the commentaries) then this set is a must buy. If you already own it you could just buy the Season two set but having the whole series in one beautifully put together set is really fantastic. I love this series so much and will be rewatching individual episodes and the whole series again in the future and I am very pleased that finally there is a box set that does justice to this excellent show and one that will make that viewing experience even more pleasurable.

I have listed the main features of the set below and embedded the trailer for the box set at the bottom of this post.

• All 29 Episodes plus the Original Pilot: Both U.S. network and international versions of the pilot
• Remastered Picture from the original negative with newly-created 5.1 Audio, personally approved by David Lynch – also includes original 2.0 Audio
• Deleted Scenes: Lost footage saved from the cutting room floor
• Exclusive feature-length documentary, “Secrets from Another Place,” exploring the show’s origins,production and impact – featuring brand-new interviews with the cast and crew and never-before-seen footage
• “A Slice of Lynch”: David Lynch takes a strange and amusing look back with help from Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick and JohnWentworth
• “Return to Twin Peaks”: Follow a group of devoted “Peaks Freaks” and cast members to the 2006 Twin Peaks Festival
• Interactive Map: The show’s unforgettable locations and how to find them in real life
• The complete Log Lady Introductions
• Saturday Night Live: Kyle MacLachlan’s monologue and the hilarious Twin Peaks comedy sketch featuring the SNL cast
• The “Falling” Music Video with Julee Cruise
• And Many Golden Nuggets: On-air promos, TV spots, production documents, rare photos and more

“I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars and you. What else do you need to know?“

Public Enemies is Michael Mann’s first venture into true-life territory since 1999′s The Insider. He has long been a master of slick fictionalised crime – his CV is a roll call of criminal capers and cops. The first twenty minutes of Public Enemies is this familiar Mann ““ the man who made Heat, Collateral and Miami Vice is here you think. The screen, the very room filled with slick staccato sights and sounds. It is cool; it looks period but feels contemporary, fast paced; a jail break, a bank heist, bang, bang, rapid-fire images, bang, bang. A car crests a hill with the robbers on the running boards clutching hostages to them, pretty girls, big guns, devil-may-care men; Gangsters. It explodes out of the screen burning with the same white-hot intensity that Mann believes fuelled John Dillinger in the final, fantastical, thirteen months of his life.

Oh. It’s all a little bit style-over-content. The suits are sharp, the cars are fast but you had hoped for a little more, and then”¦the humanity. The heart of Public Enemies is so straightforward and unabashed that it rather creeps up on you. The score helps; Elliot Goldenthal, who had previously scored Heat for Mann, wrings your emotions with subtle efficiency but, in the main, the credit must go to Depp.

Johnny Depp is so much a part of popular consciousness that it’s easy to forget how extraordinarily good he is. He doesn’t so much play John Dillinger as inhabit him, body and soul. He moves differently ““ this is not Captain Jack loping and swooning, this man is coiled tight and ready to spring at you even in repose, even as his eyes tell another tale. There is knowing and calculation in this haunted man, awareness of time spinning counter-clockwise and running out, away from him. When hatcheck girl Billie Frechette asks him what he wants his reply is simple:

“I want everything”¦right now!”

Marion Cotillard’s Billie and her naked trust in Dillinger bring out the man beneath the layers of legend. John Dillinger may be the Robin Hood of American folklore today but he was also a young man who died without reaching his 32nd birthday. He loved movies, and the final moments of a bespectacled Depp sitting in The Biograph cinema with images of Clark Gable as a Dillinger-esque gangster dancing across the lenses will undoubtedly secure him a statuette at next years Oscars. He plays a life squeezed into a baker’s dozen months with such conviction that you are captivated by his spiral.

Depp is ably matched by co-star Christian Bale whose role in Public Enemies is rather more significant than Johnny-biased trailers may have you believe. His portrayal of G-man Melvin Purvis is all stoic determination but the parallels between his journey and Dillinger’s punctuate as his conscience and values are sacrificed in the pursuit of Public Enemy Number One. He too has ghosts, but his ghosts are of what is yet to be. When Frechette is brutalised in an interrogation and he swoops into the room to save her he may as easily be Dillinger himself as an agent of Hoover. To read what became of Purvis in the closing credits is poignant because Bale so eloquently communicates the price the man paid. Cotillard’s Billie is equally multi-faceted, she believes that Dillinger will always come for her because he needs her to believe him, but she knows each time they say goodbye may be the last.

Cinematographer Dante Spinotti has collaborated with Michael Mann on five other films, but it is his work on LA Confidential that I was most reminded of here. The combination of Mann’s utter insistence on authenticity and physical locations, and the aesthetic powers of Spinotti create a sense of place and time that feels immediate, even as it is undeniably “˜then’. Public Enemies works, beyond the style and attention to detail, because it is intimate ““ these lives were important not because they are the stuff of legend but because they were lived. Once upon a time banks fell, businesses crumbled and a man stood up to say I’m not going to take this any more.

As the gang fall away one by one, ruined by the reckless glee of Baby Face Nelson (a magnificently manic Stephen Graham) and the dogged pursuit of Melvin Purvis, you fall in step with Dillinger. On his long walk towards the end you are at his side and you hope what must be will not be. When it comes it is a sucker punch that winds you and lingers.

“Die how you lived, all of a sudden.“

Manhattan Melodrama

Public Enemies is out on DVD in the UK today