It's a bit of a quiet week for big news releases, but I've managed to squeeze a few films in. They are all weirdly similiar! Arcadian is set in the near future, and we see a decimated, scorched Earth where only a handful of humans have managed to survive a major event.
We don't really get much background on exactly what happened, as we join in the smouldering aftermath. Nicolas Cage plays the resourceful Paul, who has to stay alert and secure the house each night as the sun sets to keep himself and his twin teenage sons, Thomas and Joseph, safe from the monsters that are determined to break in.
The design of the creatures is quirky and impressively unusual, but the film itself suffers a bit from a wafer-thin story, and Nicolas Cage spends about a third of it unconscious! He miraculously comes round just in time to make a final stand against the gnashing, violent monsters, however. It's pretty daft stuff, but worth a watch if you have a spare 90 minutes. I preferred the recent Dream Scenario though, which featured Cage as a nerdy college lecturer who everyone starts dreaming about. He certainly picks eclectic roles!
It must be the week for home invaders, as The Watchers features a secret Irish wood, which swallows up anyone who enters it, and Dakota Fanning unfortunately drives through en route to deliver an exotic bird to a zoo. Like you do. She ends up part of a group of four who have to put on a 'show' for the mysterious creatures that stalk the vast woodland every night. She ends up confronting her personal demons, and trying to plot a way out after her car vanishes more quickly than the invisible BMW in Die Another Day. Fanning is excellent, but the film is lightweight horror hokum, although it contains its share of enjoyable moments.
To complete our underwhelming trilogy of thrillers, The Exorcism has a brilliant opening ten minutes, but Russell Crowe just can't breathe enough life into this tale of a remake of the classic 70s movie The Exorcist going the same way as Michael Parkinson's Ghostwatch did in the 90s. It never really gets out of second gear, and its tight running time feels at least double the length it is! Watch the rather good The Pope's Exorcist from last year instead (weirdly, also starring Crowe in a similar role!).
And a Netflix treat arrived last week in the form of One Brit Wonder, from the makers of the Bros documentary After The Screaming Stops. We follow James Blunt on tour and learn more about his wicked sense of humour, time in the army, and frankly pretty shocking levels of trolling and abuse he's had to deal with. Even if you're not a fan of that 'hit' (he's actually had eight Top 40 singles and two number one albums), I'm confident you'll enjoy this.
Next week, The Bikeriders, Something In The Water and A Quiet Place : Day One.
Alex B Cann weekly film column
