This week Ant Timpson’s Rialto Incredibly Strange series kicks off on Friday evening with the Indonesian martial arts film The Raid 2. Like it’s predecessor, the film was written and directed by Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans. Evans began his career producing web videos teaching people the Welsh language but when the martial arts fan was offered the opportunity to head to Jakarta to work on a documentary about Indonesian culture he snapped it up. Evans then moved permanently to Indonesia and what followed was martial arts film Merantau and thenThe Raid, a film that launched him onto the international scene as an action director to watch. The Raid 2 is my first pick of the week.
This week Ant Timpson’s Rialto Incredibly Strange series kicks off on Friday evening with the Indonesian martial arts film The Raid 2. Like it’s predecessor, the film was written and directed by Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans. Evans began his career producing web videos teaching people the Welsh language but when the martial arts fan was offered the opportunity to head to Jakarta to work on a documentary about Indonesian culture he snapped it up. Evans then moved permanently to Indonesia and what followed was martial arts film Merantau and then The Raid, a film that launched him onto the international scene as an action director to watch. The Raid 2 is my first pick of the week.
The Raid 2
Directed by: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra & Tio Pakusodewo
Screening: Rialto Incredible Strange, Friday 17th October, 8.30pm
If you loved The Raid’s excessively thrilling, violent, and brilliantly choreographed fight sequences and stunts, you’ll love this sequel as well. Picking up pretty much where the original left off, our hero cop Rama (Uwais) is blackmailed by the police to go undercover to prison in order to infiltrate a criminal gang. On his release, he’s accepted into this notoriously violent gang lead by a powerful politician and must put his life on the line to try and bring down the whole organisation. The violence is brutal and over the top and with a running time of two and a half hours, this well produced and slick film is an assault on your senses. Martial arts fans will be in heaven.
Detachment (2011)
Staring: Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks & Marcia Gay Harden
Directed by: Tony Kaye
Screening: Rialto Selection, Saturday 18th October, 8.30pm
From the director of American History X comes another confronting look at life in America, this time exploring the high school educational system from the point of view of teachers and pupils in a low decile school. Adrien Brody does a great job as a substitute teacher who throws himself into his work in order to avoid his own personal problems, and is supported by an impressive cast including James Caan and Blythe Danner. The film is poetic, depressing and thought provoking, and thankfully for it’s cast and producers, there was none of the eccentric behavior that took place when Kaye was making American History X. That film has gone down in cinema legend thanks to Kaye being locked out of the edit suit by his producers who allowed actor Edward Norton to re-edit the film. He went on to cemented his wild man reputation by taking a priest, rabbi and lama to a production meeting, asking to be created on the film as Humpty Dumpty and tactlessly dressing up as Osama bin Laden after 9/11. Only in Hollywood eh.
Another Happy Day (2011)
Staring: Ellen Barkin, Ezra Miller & Ellen Burstyn
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Screening: Rialto New Wave, Wednesday 15th October, 8.30pm
This is the debut feature film from writer / director Sam Levinson, son of director Barry Levinson (Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, Wag the Dog). Levinson wrote this drama/comedy about a dysfunctional family gathering for a wedding when he was 22. He meet Ellen Barkin on the set of a film called Operation: Endgamen that he’d done a re-write on, and showed her his script for Another Happy Day. She immediately came on board, accepting the lead role of the highly strung Lynn who must face her abusive ex husband for the first time in years at their son’s wedding, as well as becoming one of the film’s producers. The film debuted at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. It’s another gloomy flick, but one filled with an ensemble cast who do their very best to make the most of the sorry characters they play.