This week

over at GeeksUnleashed.Me content included, but was not limited to, 

• Alan Moore's reasoning for attending NICE 2012, "an accident" apparently
• A obituary for the latest death of Professor Charles Francis Xavier
• News of the British Comics Awards, The Young People's Comic Award 2012
• Image Comics' Exclusives at NYCC 2012
• A review of The Walking Dead #102 - SPOILER ALERT
• News that Amazing Spider-Man is to end at #700
• An advanced review of Near Death volume 2
• Our 'Comic of the Week' - The New Deadwardians #7
• Aspen's Exclusives at Las Vegas Comic Expo 2012
• Grant Morrison's Multiversity
• A review of Pulp Detective
• And a look at the iPhone 5, plus UK deals

So...

...my output is about to dramatically dip. However, this is due to relocation. I’ve been invited to contribute as a staff writer to geeksunleashed.me. So far I’ve written three advanced reviews, namely for The Creep #1, Conan The Barbarian #8 and Tomorrow Jones #1, as well as a review of Tempest by Bob Dylan and a possible S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series - all in my first week. It’s incredible exciting; I’m hoping for a long and fruitful relationship. This week I shall pick the Comic of the Week, which I can reveal as Mind MGMT #5. See you there. 

I Love You, Man

- dir. John Hamburg

Removing Apatow from the equation and replacing him with Hamburg (dir. Along Came Polly, writing credits Meet the Parents and subsequent follow-ups), results in a lesser film that isn’t, however, without its charms. Paul Rudd seeks friend to be Best Man. Those that surround Rudd give genuinely good performances, which result in a number of funny scenes, particularly those that include Andy Samberg, Jason Segel and Thomas Lennon. Lou Ferrigno gives a great, and wonderfully camp, turn. The male bonding is particularly credible. Surprisingly, the usual likeable Rudd is the weak link, with poorly delivered lines – in jokes too far?   

Rating **

Trust

- dir. David Schwimmer

I doubt many have seen the hateful Run, Fatboy, Run and not been disgusted. However, when Schwimmer was in the directorial chair and the film starred the odious Simon Pegg, tis to be expected. Trust, however, is a dark and incredible take on girl-meets-boy-online-goes-sour. The scenes between said girl and boy, Llana Liberato and Chris Henry Coffey respectively, are truly horrifying and although the film loses momentum and returns to a well-trodden path, it’s mightily impressive in its attention to detail. One has to feel somewhat sorry for Clive Owen; has ever had the opportunity to play someone mentally stable?

Rating ***

Frightfest 2012 - The Victim

- dir. Michael Biehn

Written and directed by, as well as starring the aforementioned (whose previous films include The Terminator, Aliens and more recently Planet Terror, on the set of which he read Rebel Without a Crew and became inspired) and his wife Jennifer Blanc, The Victim falls short of the Grindhouse style it attempts to emulate. The film is rumoured to have been completed in two weeks for a $1000 - nevertheless this drivel is inexcusable. I hasten to mention the plot, as it is so scant to say anything would result in a major spoiler. To be clear, avoid at all costs.

1/10

Frightfest 2012 - Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings

- dir. Declan O’Brien

Straying far from the path of the original, director O’Brien returns, having directed the third, with events which predate it, with his three ‘original’ characters – One Eye, Three Fingers and Saw Tooth – who escape the sanitorium in a Saw-esque fashion and subsequently brutalise a gaggle of college kids on route to a ski cabin, 30 years hence, lost having taken a WRONG TURN (ah-ha), as I did, selecting this for an eve of entertainment. Whilst having the staples of horror, T&A and simplicity, WT4BB lacks bloodshed, violence and ingenuity, with a particularly comical weapon of choice, lessening any effect significantly.

Rating 2/10

Frightfest 2012 - Nightbreed

- dir. Clive Barker

What little depth the original novella Cabal may have had must have been lost in translation, given this follows the stellar Hellraiser. Perhaps the film would have been better serviced if Barker and Cronenberg, who stars, had switched roles. As it is, Boone believes himself responsible for a number of murders, a view reinforced by his PSYCHOtherapist, the actual perp, and takes refuge in Midian, ‘where all sins are forgiven’. A tale of possible innocence and (in)humanity becomes confused, with underdeveloped characters, awash with special effects. You lucky Frightfest-ers have an additional 50 minutes to endure in The Cabal Cut.  

Rating 3/10     

Frightfest 2012

@Film4FrightFest

Horror films are perhaps my guiltiest pleasure. For years I’ve frequented Frightfest (and before that Fanomenon at Leeds International Film Festival) and seen the likes of The Human Centipede (First Sequence), The House of the Devil, Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape and Detention. Paul McEvoy, Ian Rattray, Alan Jones and Greg Day run an excellent show. However, this year circumstance has conspired against me. Therefore I’ll sort out a number of films on the bill and indulge - albeit over a longer time period and without massive queues for the karzee. I’ll even turn off my bloody phone.  

The Guard

- Directed by John Michael McDonagh

Having enjoyed Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, I was initially sceptical upon settling down to watch John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard. This scepticism quickly dissipated as the pairing of Brendan Gleeson’s unorthodox Garda and the straight-edged professionalism of Don Cheadle’s FBI agent was bordering genius in this thoroughly entertaining (and oft-hilarious) drug smuggling crime caper with Spaghetti Western influenced payoff. With its dark humour and central performances, particularly those by the aforementioned and the three Henchmen (led by Liam Cunningham) The Guard surpasses In Bruges. And here comes the Calvary, reuniting McDonagh and Gleeson, and adding Chris O’Dowd and Aidan Gillen.

Rating ***

The Amazing Spider-Man

- Marc Webb

None of the expected heart, given Webb’s directorial debut, (500) Days of Summer, save for scenes involving Charlie Sheen, and to a lesser extent, Sally Field.  With poor CGI - if anything a step backwards from 10 years past - and a tone not dissimilar from the Twilight franchise (this was a studio’s vision, rather than a creative one), The Amazing Spider-Man feels needless and second-hand, given the re-treading of old ground, covered better by Raimi. A significant departure was required, similar to Nolan’s Batman from Burton’s. Neither Garfield nor Rhys Ifans seemed a good fit for their respective roles.

Rating **

The Dark Knight Rises

- Christopher Nolan

To paraphrase Bane, it is hope that hurts us most. However, despite high expectations and its length, I thoroughly enjoyed the third instalment of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, whilst acknowledging that it doesn’t exceed the high watermark of The Dark Knight. The anti-capitalist sentiment was of particular note, given that it was dichotomic – comment, mainly by Selina Kyle, is permitted but action will only result in anarchy. Somewhat more problematic, however, was the multiple false endings. Credit to all involved, except Caine, whose dramatics should have curtailed. Perhaps Joseph Gordon-Levitt said it best - “I’m still a believer in the Batman”.

Rating ***

Rampage

- Uwe Boll

Disappointingly, Uwe Boll has made another film and it has all the creativity of ‘paint by numbers’. After the career high of Darfur, which is entirely legitimate, Rampage is undoubtedly little more than a tax haven for the wealthy, a side-project for a limited mind financed by a trustfund. Predictable, lacking in insight (I wonder if he or anyone involved had seen Falling Down), Boll has plumbed the depths of dull - the second half of the film is similar to watching someone play a computer game from the 90s. However, if you've not seen Raging Boll; check it http://goo.gl/FcJFS

Rating * (bust)

The Thing (2011)

- Matthijs van Heijningen Jr

An oddity, as The Thing is neither a prequel nor a remake.  ‘The Thing’ itself is an analogy for this films’ shortcomings – it assumes the originals’ form via replication and refuses to reveal its true self. However atmospheric and tense the sequences may be (there are undoubtedly recreations with CGI replacing the delightful animatronics of the 1982 version), the lack of ingenuity impedes genuine praise. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives a solid impression of Kurt Russell but supporting cast, including Eric Christian Olsen (plus shirt, minus hacky sack), are underdeveloped. However, van Heijningen Jr manages to fulfil The Thing’s limited potential.

Rating ** (twist)

Prometheus

Ridley Scott

Prometheus proffers questions (rather than the anticipated answers) as well as an unclear and/or unabsorbing plot, ultimately not worth dwelling on - responsibility for which must lie with Lindelof, whose comeuppance must be forthcoming. It may have a central performance by Fassbender (on a par with Henriksen’s criminally underrated Bishop from Aliens, 1986) more akin to a Replicant, but for all Prometheus’ grandeur (and one particularly visceral scene), it’s incredibly vapid. Character motivation is discarded in favour of abstract questions, the answers for which are unlikely to come from the septuagenarian Scott. A severe disappointment, as well as a bore.

Rating ** (bust)