Pulpmovies Reviews

There are children’s films and there are children’s films. There are films that reflect the sentimental nostalgia of adults, and there are films that acknowledge and talk – and reflect – the challenges and concerns that children face. For a Few Marbles More (Voor een Paar Knikkers Meer) falls very firmly into this latter category.

The film centres on four children who spend their days playing marbles in the local playground. This is brought to an abrupt end when a pair of drunks decide that the playground is the ideal place to enjoy a crate of beer and force the children to leave.

The kids, as you would expect of a bunch of ten-year-olds, turn initially to their parents for help. Their parents, however, turn out to be useless. Wrapped up in their own concerns, the adults range from disinterested to absent and it is quickly apparent to the children that if they want to take back their playground they will have to do it for themselves.

They still need help, however, and, in desperation, turn to the local tough kid. We know he’s tough because he drinks coffee. Black.

Although this is a children’s film there is plenty for an adult audience to enjoy – and I have to admit that I was laughing out loud in places. Both the soundtrack and the superb cinematography combine, with a couple of very deliberate nods to Sergio Leone, to ensure we never forget that For a Few Marbles More is essentially a spaghetti western that happens to be set in Utrecht. With ten-year-olds.

And from this situation, the comedy flows very naturally from the actions and reactions of the, remarkably well drawn, characters.

It helps, of course, that the acting is so strong throughout, with some superbly naturalistic performances from the cast, all of whom manage to portray characters that are both believable and (as far as the kids go) very sympathetic.

Although there are nods towards the adults who will find themselves seeing this film, For a Few Marbles More is a film about and for children. It’s a film about growing up and discovering that there are limits to what your parents can – or will – do and about learning to take control of your environment.

It’s a great film and a must-see for any ten-year-old.

Punk legend Richard Havoc (Daniel Louis Rivas) was born in 1969 at Altamont. In fact, he was born during the ill-fated 1969 Rolling Stones concert, documented in Albert Maysles’ Gimme Shelter. At the height of his fame, in 1998, he vanished. A year later a journalist tracks Havoc and his small band of groupies to an abandoned silo deep in the Californian desert. From here, Havoc plans to put out The Call to the youth of America.

What follows is not only a very effective satire of the way in which alternative youth culture steals its rebelliousness from icons of the past, but also a film that asks what happens when a group of wannabe rebels discover that they can’t find anything to rebel against.

What we get is a bunch of asinine rants and inane machismo from a group of people so narcissistic that they are unable to comprehend just how much they are a part of the system that they constantly rail against. For all their self-bestowed coolness and their constant talk of being “loners” (together), they can’t bring themselves to stop constantly referring back to mass market energy drinks, dated sitcom catchphrases and all the other commercial ephemera that they claim to be rebelling against. In fact, you are left with a distinct impression that these characters are nor even aware of how influenced they are by the advertising around them.

These are deeply unlikeable characters, but rather than acknowledging their absurdity, the actors all deliver perfectly deadpan performances. And it’s this completely straight delivery combined with the utter ridiculousness of the attitudes being affected that generates much of the humour in this film.

Such an approach is not without its risks but writer/director Joshua Brown has managed to pull together a cast that is strong enough to make this work. All of the actors put in very solid performances and, although they are all stereotypes expressing clichés, you get a very strong sense that these are fully rounded stereotypes who really do believe in their clichés.

Special mention, though, has to go to Daniel Louis Rivas’ utterly charismatic performance that manages to walk the very fine line between parody and slapstick. It is a great testament to Rivas’ portrayal that, while I really did not like Richard Havoc at all, I was also very keen to know what was going to happen to him.

Also deserving of a mention is the soundtrack with which a variety of underground bands manage to generate a truly anarchic atmosphere and give the film a feel that sits somewhere between being a music documentary and an exploitation film.

Altamont Now is a very effective satire of the self-indulgent posturing and angsty whining of a bunch of wannabe rebels who are at a complete loss for anything to rebel against. This is an all-too familiar target and one that Brown gleefully and brilliantly skewers.

Given the sheer number of zombie films that have been released in recent years, it’s always nice to see someone do something a bit different with the genre and this is certainly the case for The Sky Has Fallen.

The film centres on Lance (Carey MacLaren) and Rachel (Laurel Kemper), two people who find each other in the wilderness following the inevitable zombie generating plague. This plague, however, is a bit different to most in that there is a force that is behind it that is both raising and organising the zombies. This force, which we encounter as semi-substantial black shrouded figures, is unambiguously malevolent and also allows for a storyline that refuses to follow the ’survivors trying to survive’ plot that is all too common.

Lance believes he has seen the leader of these figures and is in the forest with the intent of hunting him down. Rachel, like many others, has fled to the forest to escape the chaos in the cities. They meet, violently, and initially things go less than smoothly.

Lance has reasons for not wanting anyone to tag along with him but Rachel, recognising that she is safer with an armed accomplice than without, refuses to leave. Not surprisingly, the two are terse with each other, to say the least, but as the film progresses so does their relationship and an uneasy alliance begins to form between the two of them.

This developing relationship, as well as the slowly revealed backstory which hints at the nature of the disaster, forms the core of the film and gives the plot an almost leisurely feel. Not only is this approach surprisingly effective at drawing you in but it also makes the sudden bursts of violence that punctuate the film all the more shocking. And, when it happens, the violence is noisy, rapid and very effective indeed.

Visually, this film is very striking and much attention has been paid both to the look of the zombies and the beings in the background as well as to the editing which implies a lot more than it shows. What really pulls this film together, however, is the sound design. James Sizemore’s score is incredibly atmospheric and really does work beautifully with the visual feel of the film to suck you in totally. So much so that I really was on the edge of my seat by the time the film ended.

The Sky Has Fallen is a thoughtful and downbeat take on the zombie genre and one with a satisfyingly fatalistic conclusion. Although the film could have probably done with an extra twenty minutes to develop the characters and themes a little more thoroughly, the style and originality on show make this a film well worth checking out.

Set in a brothel and centring on one of the establishments inmates, Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan is a film unafraid to keep its exploitation elements at the forefront of the plot. But with its lavish sets and sumptuous cinematography, director Yuen Chor manages to make the film much more than a simple sleaze-fest and deliver a rather good revenge flick packed with overt, and very effective, eroticism.

The film starts with Ainu (Lily Ho), one of many teenagers kidnapped and sold to the brothel in question. Because of her stunning looks and feisty personality, she is an immediate draw for the brothel’s very wealthy – and very well connected – clients. She also attracts the lustful attention of the brothel’s owner, Madam Chun (Betty Pei Ti).

Initially Ainu resists but, following a failed escape attempt, her spirit finally appears to be broken and she begins to settle in to the life of the brothel. In doing so, she starts to take advantage of Madam Chun’s patronage which includes learning her martial arts skills.

The relationship between Ainu and Madam Chun is the core of this film and it is very well handled. Both Lily Ho and Betty Pei Ti put in sterling performances and really do bring their characters to life as the plot begins to twist.

Unfortunately, the strength of the two leads’ performances also highlights one of the weaknesses of the film, which is that the rest of the cast are a little one-dimensional. The script focuses so heavily on the central relationship that, although the supporting actors do put in perfectly competent performances, they aren’t given a great deal to work with. The result is that these characters often feel motivated by no more than a need to progress the plot.

This is a Shaw Brothers film and, even though the action sequences are not the main focus of the film, they are central and consistently spectacular. As with the rest of the film, the focus is very much on the two women and the way in which their fighting style reflects their relationship. And given that neither of the women is a martial artist, they both put in very creditable performances here indeed.

There is much to like about this film and it does work on many levels – as a martial arts action film, as an exploitation film with something to say about exploitation and as tragedy about love and vengeance. Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan also has a depth that is often missing from films of this genre, but it really could have done with an extra half hour to more fully develop both the plot and some of the supporting characters.