Law Abiding Citizen Review

F. Gary Gray’s Law Abiding Citizen is an odd beast. Despite a decent setup, interesting premise and good performances, it somehow ends up being less than the sum of its parts. However, that isn’t to say it’s a failure; in fact, the film is probably a lot better than you imagine it to be, and certainly leagues beyond the average mid-budget thriller.

The setup, whilst not wholly original, is quickly laid down in order for the film to walk less well trodden paths. Gerard Butler (last seen shooting lots of stuff in Gamer) takes the joint lead as Clyde Shelton, a man whose happy family life is devastated early on by a pair of ruthless and, in one case, remorseless killers. The quirks of the justice system allow the primary suspect to slip through the prison bars and out into society again, for which Clyde holds law man Jamie Foxx responsible. Nothing has been spoiled here, because this first act is simply the groundwork for what is to come, as Clyde’s imminent revenge targets more than just the criminals themselves.

The film, to give credit where credit is due, sticks to its convictions throughout, and throws many a curve ball at the viewer, although it has to be said that the film’s third act does rather push the levels of realism, sacrificing some of it’s well orchestrated shocks in favour of more orthodox audience pleasing. Tonally the film veers sharply, but mostly successfully, between gritty thrills and black humour. To this end, uncomfortable laughs are drawn out of unpleasant acts and sudden bursts of violence, although this effect somehow manages not to jar. Somewhat less successfully, the script jumps between subtle politicising (effective) and outright preaching (not so much) which upsets the balance. Although the film’s ruminations on the politics of modern law are hardly revolutionary or even particularly deep, there is more than enough food for thought here to ensure Clyde’s vengeful quest is not simply a mindless crusade.

Kudos should go to the film for its pursuit of comedy and thrills, however, and for evoking one of the biggest jump moments I’ve experienced in the cinema for a long time. Thankfully the script is given weight by decent performances from both leads, with Jamie Foxx’s family man in particular coming across quite strongly. He also gets the funniest line. Pomme-frites indeed.

The film can’t seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be an audience pleasing popcorn treat or a serious, political thriller. It ends up being partly both, (which was perhaps the genuine intention), and with varying degrees of success. It comes across as an odd concoction of Se7en and Kill Bill, only without the consistency of the former or the bombast of the latter. However perhaps such comparisons are unfair. Law Abiding Citizen is a cut above most average thrillers, manages to get some smirks, and is the best Gerard Butler film for some time.

★★★★★

Bear With Us, We're Making A Few Changes

As you might have cottoned over the last few weeks, we've got a big relaunch in the works. It'll be live in a very short amount of time but that means new posts might only pop up a little sporadically in the mean time, as we transfer everything across and make sure it's all working smoothly by the time it goes live.

DVD Review: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season

After a hugely promising debut season, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles struggled as it delved into a second flirtation with our screens. Early episodes failed to capture the pace or excitement of season one but as the season progresses, and Summer Glau, Garret Dillahunt and Brian Austin Green, playing two Terminators, one good, one bad, and Derek Reese, respectively, came into their own, it really starts to pick up. John and mother Sarah Connor take up the usual Judgement Day, but with grounded character development, clever writing and excellent action, The Sarah Connor Chronicles should have gotten far higher ratings than it received on it's run on Fox. The third season is still up in the air, but here's hoping they bring it back as there's a lot of life in this series yet.

Show ★★★★★ Extras ★★★★★

El Guincho is back! Sort of.

Alegranza!, the debut record from Mallorcan sampler El Guincho was without doubt one of the best albums of 2008, like Animal Collective with a sun-tan, it was the anthem to my summer. Imagine my excitement when I heard (courtesy of pitchfork) that Young Turks, the label which put the LP out are releasing not one, not two, not three, but FOUR remix EPs based on Alegranza!. Thats not even the best part. The remixes focus on just two songs from the album: Kalise and Antillas - thats right, two EPs for each song. There is also talk of Diplo's 'Mad Decent' label having a hand in all of it.The first two EPs will be available on 12" vinyl and via download from November 23rd. Until then here's the original Kalise from 2007 for your nostalgic delectation:



Only 217 days until summer!

The Trouble With The Games Industry....

The release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has been cited by some as the entry of video games into the mainstream, but reading newspaper articles on the CODMW2 release I was struck by the unknowledgable and derisory tone used. (The only exception being Charlie Brooker in the Guardian, an ex video-games journalist). Video games, despite acceptance that they are fast becoming the largest and most profitable entertainment medium, are still treated with contempt, and this brings us to a point that has always perplexed me.

Because video games are interactive they are seen as somehow childish and derisory. Because we interact with an entertainment medium we are just playing at life. But TV and Films are no more real than games and offer no interactivity, they are inherently a passive experience. With many games ingenuity and thoughtfulness are required for completion. Even the most on-rails first person shooter requires more thought than a similarly mindless film (compare playing or watching releases from the DOOM franchise). It has been shown that children who play video games from a young age posses superior hand-eye coordination and problem solving skills.
It has also been argued that video games promote inactivity and obesity, however, they do so only as much as persistent TV viewing. Two points can be made to counter this. Firstly with games entering the mainstream there will be more moderated and casual use (games as part of a healthy lifestyle!) and secondly, as games become more interactive (and motion sensors become more advanced and affordable) many will involve a level of physical exertion that is already seen in Wii titles.

The problem then isn't video games themselves but a mainstream television and newspaper media that is run and controlled by a generation which wasn't brought up with them(and we can hardly blame them for being wary of what they don't know). Rock and roll music was only accepted within mainstream media once there were executives in place who had grown up with it. Similarly, video games will lose their black-sheep status in the mainstream media when a new generation of gaming-savvy executives takes charge. Until then us gamers will have to grin and bear the daily-mail treatment of the largest growing, and seemingly only recession-proof, entertainment medium.

Square Enix prep Final Fantasy XIII for March 2010

A promotional video emerged on the official Final Fantasy XIII website yesterday to give American and European fans what they’ve been craving for months: a release date. Make a mark in your diaries: 9th March 2010 is the official release date for Square Enix’s latest role-playing epic.

Whilst the release date is naturally the biggest draw, the video also features a small group of producers and game designers offering tantalising bits of information regarding character and aspects of design. Woven between their comments are flashes of gorgeous in game footage including some brief battle scenes that have never been shown before. Interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, a Leona Lewis song 'My Hands' has been selected as the game's main theme.

The hype campaign is growing for Final Fantasy XIII and everything so far points towards another success for the long running series. Given that Final Fantasy XIII is simply the beginning of what Square Enix plans will be a whole host of games set in this new universe, fans certainly have a lot to look forward to.

DVD Competition: Chris Rock: Kill The Messenger

HBO Home Entertainment presents the hottest stand-up comedy DVD of Christmas 2009 with the release of the eagerly anticipated CHRIS ROCK: KILL THE MESSENGER on 16 November. This essential live comedy DVD will be topping everyone’s wish lists. To celebrate the release, we are giving away 5 copies on DVD.

CHRIS ROCK: KILL THE MESSENGER features the international superstar in a triumphant, all-new stand-up comedy event that cuts together footage from three different performances, at the Carling Apollo Hammersmith in London, South Africa’s Carnival City Casino and New York’s legendary Apollo Theatre. Chris said of the comedy event “I wanted to do the type of stand-up special that I’ve never seen before”.

If you were unlucky enough not to secure a ticket to his sold-out UK live shows last year now is your chance to catch the comedic genius of ‘The funniest man in America’ and one of the ‘top 100 most influential people in the world’ according to Time magazine. If you were one of the lucky ones to catch him live, you’ll want to relive that moment time and again on DVD.

Never afraid to say the unthinkable, Rock is brave and challenging but classy and laugh-out-loud hilarious. This innovative and fast paced show covers topical issues from Race; can a white person ever use the ‘N’ Word? Why a black First Lady is more ground-breaking than a black President and the rules of the interracial posse. On Sex and Relationships; Chris states that it’s hard being a man, as no-one cares, he also answers the question of what women want, throwing in an uproariously scathing attack on Desperate Housewives and examines the many differences between men and women.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question:

In the Madagascar series, Chris Rock plays which animal?

A.Giraffe B.Zebra C.Unicorn

Email your answer to competitions@fanthefiremagazine.com. Deadline 03/12/09.

Modern Warfare 2 Highlights A Booming Industry

As major film production studios scrimp and save searching for new ways to fund projects in the wake of worldwide recession, the video games industry continues to buck the trend, instead basking in an ongoing pattern of growth. The past couple of years have naturally been up and down, but the gaming sector as a whole is still growing. Financial wariness means people are staying in more than they used to, and gaming is booming as a result.

All of this was exemplified yesterday with the global release of Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to Activision’s 2007 original, undoubtedly one of the most anticipated video game releases of all time. Pre-order numbers were through the roof in the run up to release and opening week sales figures of around 3m are already being forecast. The game even had a grand film premiere style opening in London’s Leicester Square, drawing celebrities and journalists alike.

Concerns about the game’s morality raised by several figures including MP Keith Vaz – who called for a complete ban – have done nothing but raise the furore surrounding the title. Modern Warfare 2 looks set to be the biggest selling video game in history and will likely generate more revenue in its first week of sales than many big film releases can muster over their entire release slot, and with Christmas looming ever closer on the horizon, sales of the game will only skyrocket further as 2009 draws to a close.

Shelve It

In case you missed them, check out all our back issues on Issuu's new shelf feature. We've come a long way in not many months...

Film Review: 2012

Plastered everywhere from the sides of buses, to building-sized advertising hoardings and imaginatively integrated underground walkways, there’s no escaping the release of Roland Emmerich’s next epic, 2012.

A man so apparently obsessed with post-apocolyptic Earth, on 2012 Emmerich has cut out the middle man and jumps straight to the point. There’s no rampaging monster, no alien invasion, just a world that come a date mysterious predicted by the Mayan calendar will no longer be the same again, ravaged by its own forces.

In amongst the madness, of course, Emmerich draws your attention to one family, and a disjointed one at that. Two separated parents, the mother’s boyfriend, and two kids catch wind of rumours about a possible rescue mission so try to make the epic journey across the planet in an attempt to find the one possible means of salvation.

If this were Emmerich of 20 years ago perhaps he would have injected a passion into 2012 that would have really brought it alive, but as it is, so say his latest film is formulaic would be a gross understatement . After making his name with such great films as Godzilla and Independence Day, Emmerich has been drifting steadily downhill ever since, but with 2012 he’s hit a real low point.

The film feels like a spoof on several occasions and possesses everything you’d expected from a Wayans disaster movie. The story is grossly clichéd, the sheer number of car jumps over gaping ravines is ridiculous and on several occasions you’ll be thrown into laughter at the sheer stupidity of the narrative and attempts to convey tension and emotion. 2012 has the classic moments of heroism, a speech of how we need to remember what it means to be human, a scientist who predicts it all before it happens, a government, that even after knowing what is coming, fail to plan a scheme for anyone beyond a handful of leading figures to have a chance at survival and a man outrunning molten fireballs. Played out in a serious manner, Emmerich far from pulls it off.

You could argue 2012 was always going to possess such qualities but for a man with a such a reputation, even on a big studio release, he has the power to drive the project in a new direction. On this occasion, Emmerich he didn’t bother. 2012 is devout of any imagination or flair; for Emmerich especially, it feels like a paycheck, which when there’s a $200m+ budget on the table, is a gigantic kick in the teeth for the legions of talented young film makers who would give their right arm for the chance to helm a project like this.

For a film so reliant on CGI, 2012 needed nothing less than game-changing special effects, but the final result is sloppy. The great masses of land sliding into the sea look nice enough on the poster but in full motion don’t have the depth of realism to protect an already suffering film by the fairly early time they come into play, never mind the multiple aeroplane rides that feel like an aging video game.

Sometimes films can be awful but still a great deal of fun along the way; this isn’t one of them. 90 minutes would have been long enough to endure but 2012 weighs in at 158, over two and a half hours of mind-numbingly boring action ‘adventure’. The plot rambles and could have been easily cut down to a digestible size. The film takes turns that don’t make sense, then doubles back on itself only to trip up and cause unnecessary holes it fails to patch up.

Despite the great length of the film, and the endless opportunities such throws up, 2012 offers nothing in terms of a message, or real meaning to the epic trail the family struggle through. 2012 feels devoid of passion, without a soul, and without a purpose.

Despite the horror show around them, on a whole, the acting talent do a fairly decent job. It’s great to see Chiwetel Ejiofor get a role in a big studio release, and about time the talented actor got the opportunities in Hollywood to match his reputation on the indie scene.

The big names in the cast can in no way save the film from falling into the ridiculous, and their characters offer absolutely nothing in terms of depth or conviction, but Woody Harrelson’s wacky underground radio reporter is a pleasure to watch when he gets a few moments on screen and John Cusack is fairly inoffensive with his performance. As US Preseident, however, Danny Glover is atrocious, as bad a showing as you’ll find in the last decade.

Certainly I haven’t seen all of the terrible films that have every been produced in film’s history, so I can’t claim with real conviction that this is pushing the full all time list, but in my fairly extensive film watching life, it’s certainly in my top 5 worst ever, and no doubt will be a massive hit at the Razzies next year.

The MPAA might be declaring record profits for the industry but the forthcoming closures of a lot of the major studio’s boutique labels is proof that Hollywood is on its knees. While films like Transformers 2 make extraordinary amounts at the box office, the percentage that makes it back to the studios is relatively slim, and on the whole goes to paying off the huge loans taken out to fund such bloated blockbusters.

With a budget of $200m+, 2012 is colossal wastes of time, money and film fans’ time. Piracy might be having an impact on the current state of the market, sure, and studios certainly need to get their head around how to make the most of the digital market, but they need to first look at their own stable and put money behind projects that deserve their commitment, projects that boast artistic endeavour and projects that will bring their reputation back to the glory days of the past, not that of the cash grabbing, soulless execs. that are running the show from their tall offices in Hollywood. Fight the temptation, don’t bother with 2012 and perhaps they’ll learn what film fans really want to pay their money to see.

★★★★★

Music Video: 'I Can Talk' by Two Door Cinema Club

We must have listened to this track about 50 times over the last week so it's about we gave their video some coverage. Though we'll warn you now, after the first play, you might be hooked for some time.



You can listen to more Two Door Cinema Club here.

DVD Review: Blood: The Last Vampire

The live-action remake of the cult 2000 anime of the same name, Blood: The Last Vampire follows half-human-half-vampire Saya as she hunts down other vampires on the search for the highest ranking Onigen. Something of a classic horror-thriller meets the visual exploration of Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Blood: The Last Vampire suffers from a stuttering narrative at times that comes around for the cliched ending but offers more than enough fun along the way and will please fans of the original, even if it doesn't best it.

Film ★★★★★ Extras ★★★★★

DVD Review: Peep Show: Series 6

Ironically when Peep Show found public fame over the last couple of seasons it dipped in quality compared with the brilliant debut episodes. Now back for a sixth time, writers and stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb are truly back on form for arguably the best season yet. About two flatmates who struggle through life and strive to ruin any hope of happiness that appear on the horizon, Peep Show: Series 6 is packed with laughs, witty writing and already confirmed for a 7th season next year, is up there with anything British comedy has had to offer in the last 10 years.

Show ★★★★★ Extras ★★★★★

The End (Of The Wait For The New Strokes Album) Has No End

If, like me you were wondering what the hell these boys have been playing at, fret no more as the first installment of 'Strokes-watch' is here.

First up, big Julian-dog has supplemented his recent album release with a Christmas song:

Those astute Saturday Night Live fans amongst you will recognise this as a cover of the infamous "I Wish it Was Christmas Today" originally performed on the show by Jimmy Fallon and co. way back when:

Julian's version is certainly catchy, and I do applaud the thought, "I now checked that off the list of things to do!" (nme.com), but is it as loveable as the original? I'm not so sure.

With regard to the phantom 4th Strokes album, Julian recently told The Sun "There is a disagreement as to whether the songs are ready. Some of the band think they are and others don't. I'm somewhere in the middle". This doesn't appear to bode too well for the follow up to 2006's 'First Impressions of Earth', especially when backed-up with the statement "It's weird with the band, a band is actually a great way to ruin a friendship" (The Sun). If it were up to me I'd just have Julian write the whole album like he did with the first two as they were clearly superior to their latest offering. However I'm not a Stroke, as much as I want to be.

Last but not least, the younger Albert Hammond has appeared on Gossip Girl. Bald:

Broken Chain

Gary Galego made a bike out of wood.