The Innkeepers:
What's it about?
Ti West's follow-up to the chilling, yet restrained, 1980s-set horror The House of the Devil, about a couple of Generation Y slacker-cum-ghost-hunters (Claire and Luke) who are working during the closing weekend of The Yankee Pedlar Inn, a New England hotel with a dark history.
Who would I recognise in it?
Sara Paxton, Kelly McGillis
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Up front, if you didn't dig the gradual pace and slow-build tension of The House of the Devil, then you'll no doubt find no entertainment here. However, if - like me - you lapped up that flick, then you'll be in familiar and unsettling territory here. West has a real talent for subtle pacing and characterisation - you genuinely like Claire and Luke, who exist in a lazier hotelier's version of Clerks when they're not busy trying to find evidence of supernatural goings on. However, with the arrival of McGillis' actress-turned-healer, and a distanced widower, things begin to take a chilling turn. Each corridor, each picture frame reflection, each silent pause, holds an increasing sense of menace - you don't know whether to trust West or not after a knowing scare at the top of the flick - and this is the charm of the film. It's a classic ghost story that trades on familiar elements to inspire a sense of deja vu in the viewer. Sly hints crop up to continue the subtle guess-work - musical allusions to Ghostbusters, visual winks to The Shining - precisely where we'll end up is deftly hidden, and being that West has a fondness for horror from the genre's heyday, counting on a cosy wrap-up is sorely misguided. Cast with subtle shades and a glacial sense of propulsion, Saw franchise fanboys need not apply, but those keen on tense chills will be well served. Great.
Click "READ MORE" below for the belated return of Johnny English...
Johnny English Reborn:
What's it about?
Belated sequel to the iffy James Bond spoof that also starred Rowan Atkinson. The eponymous British Spy must get to the bottom of a conspiracy involving mind control drugs and a Vole (or is that a Mole?) inside MI7.
Who would I recognise in it?
Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Tim McInnerny, Daniel Kaluuya
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The original movie (which was released in the wake of Bond's return in Goldeneye) was a bit rubbish, from what I remember. We rented it from the video shop (remember those?) and gave it a roll, but we were decidedly unimpressed by it. Fast forward more than a decade, and after the successful re-birth of Bond in the brilliant Casino Royale and then the unsteady Quantum of Solace, Johnny English too is reborn. The buffoonery, sight gags, slapstick and general daftness comes thick-and-fast, so there's little time to get bored. Innumerable references to the Bond universe are bandied about (gadgets, cars, chases, girls, mountain-top-retreats et al) and all are spoofed with a breezy sense of fun. There's nothing substantial here, but there's nothing leaden either - having expected to be let down again after the original movie, I was pleasantly surprised to chuckle heartily, and often, throughout the flick. The plot is straight forward, if not especially memorable, but it's all to service the gags - and that's really the entire point - and fortunately it's a worthwhile endeavour with Atkinson game to fling as many silly faces, exaggerated movements, and deadpan reactions as is necessary. A fun distraction, rather than a lingering memory, maybe - but you have a good time while it's on. Only alright at times, but generally good.
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