Movieboy_20

Not many contemporary filmmakers have an aesthetic as unique as Sophia Coppola's. She has this delightful, dare I say natural ability to embellish her scenes with flavor, even if the subject matter is dull. Indeed, if a film is virtually about nothing, she can still use her adroitness to compose gorgeous visuals and intriguing characters which instigate momentum with the mere beauty of their artistry. This approach is hardly for everyone, but for the right niche, her craft is simply delicious.

'Somewhere' tells the minimalistic story of a jaded movie star (Stephen Dorff) whose life has been consumed by apathy. Wasting his days away in the infamous Château Marmont, he falls asleep during pole dances, perpetually drives his Ferrari around, and indulges in the company of many women – Occasionally falling asleep between their legs.

He has it all, and that's precisely his problem; he has nothing to work for. Everything is set out on a platter for him. Things like the fulfillment of accomplishment or the ecstasy of sex have been spoiled, faded into the sombre norm. The way he aimlessly meanders about his life, sheerly dissolute as he is bathed in fittingly dim yellow and gray pictorial devices, makes for some truly graceful, hypnotic cinema.

Coppola, assisted by fantastic performance from Dorff, lets this fascinating character build the scenery and action around him; letting us indulge in his jubilance when his daughter arrives, yet also the anguish as he helplessly rants to his ex-wife in a drunken, helpless slew. The direction makes it all feel so intimate; genuine. Johnny Marco feels like a real person, a bloke you could run into at the pub. You feel sympathy for him being thrust into this artificial hell. He isn't a mere entertainment symbol – He's a person, a passionate and angelic thespian who has been devoured by the machine.

Coppola wanted to create a definitive allegory which delves head-first into the materialistic aspects of showbiz which have diluted the actual art. The film is an at times bleak, vibrant, heart-warming and majestic eye opener, for both the players of Hollywood and us.

Mere minutes after the conclusion of 'REC', a crack SWAT team is sent into the dreaded apartment complex to control the deadly contagion within. As a fight for their lives ensues, they come to the realization that they have been sent on a suicide mission, unknownst to the true, biblical proportions of what they are to do.

Even more so than its predecessor - which is hard to believe, I know - REC 2 is a high octane, balls-to-the-wall, thrill ride of a film. Seriously, after the few minutes of banter between the protagonists, you won't be able to take a breather for the next eighty minutes. Better yet, this ferocious filmmaking somehow - and I mean somehow - manages to work in harmony with expertly crafted, atmospherically-elicited scares. It may be a sheerly lucky mesh that these components work so well together, but I don't give a rats, because it makes for some damn fine cinema.

There are countless scenes which will have you squirming in your seat as you dread the inevitable terror that looms within the shadows, ready to jump into frame. Mind you, you will find no 'cheap jump scares' in this film; rather, every jolt is built up superb tension, suspense and atmospheric potency. It is a film made by people who know how to penetrate our instincts of fear and perturbation.

The performances have a dazzling sense of realism to them, as you go on the same journey of fear, enmity and ultimately existential ambivalence as these ordinary men are faced with such unadulterated, unimaginable, thought-to-be impossible evil. You can almost smell the foul scent of flesh as they saunter into the next ghastly, gore-stricken room.

The hand-held camera premise is handled masterfully. It isn't used to a point of excess where the action is incomprehensible, yet it isn't too placid as it still manages to maintain a rousingly frenetic feel.

Overall, this is pedal-to-the-metal stuff with a dash of sophistication to ice the cake. I loved it - and I don't see how many horror fans won't. As the DVD case suggests, it's to REC as what Dawn of the Dead was to Night of the Living Dead.