Out on 8 February and 15 February
Matt Damon gets lost in space. Tom Hiddleston invites you to a scary sleepover. Colin Farrell picks the wrong hotel. Yes, heres the new DVD and Blu-Ray releases coming out in the next two weeks. Click on for our reviews of The Martian, Crimson Peak, The Lobster, Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Pan and Bill. For the best movie reviews, subscribe to Total Film.
THE MARTIAN
Ridley Scott has made so many films, in so many different genres, that its easy to assume theres no through-line in his career beyond that famously fastidious attention to design. One of the delights of The Martian is the way it reveals the design behind the design. As stranded astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) begins his arduous quest to survive, he grows food and sources water from the inhospitable surface of mars. It is world-building in the most literal sense, and practically autobiographical for a director who has made world-building his career-long mission. Sure, on paper, the story of The Martian is pretty thin: astronaut gets stranded; figures out how to survive while NASA tries to reach him. Indeed, had the title not already been taken by a cult 1960s sci-fi flick, this might have been called Robinson Crusoe On Mars. Yet Andy Weirs novel made a virtue of nerd-level detail in explaining the hows and whys of Watneys survival. If The Martian is a lesson in how to science the shit out of it as Watneys instant-classic quote puts it then Scott is also teaching us how to cinema the shit out of it. After all, what else is making a movie but problem-solving on a massive scale? Key to the films success, against all Hollywood logic, is that it doesnt dumb down. Heres a sci-fi film that delights in the science, placing the audience as willing pupils of Watneys casually exhilarating lessons. Unlike Interstellar and comparisons are unavoidable given the presence of a marooned Damon, let alone Jessica Chastain taking a key supporting role the mysteries of the universe are never treated as awe-inspiring impossibilities. Here, the film walks us through every obstacle and solution, and its a matter of tenacity, patience, trial and error and (literally) getting your hands dirty. While we doubt Scott has ever grown potatoes out of poo, otherwise it feels exactly how youd imagine a film set to be. Crucially, Sir Ridley is having fun enough to bag him Best Musical Or Comedy at the Golden Globes. Prometheus might have been billed as the return to classic sci-fi territory but its darkness jarred slightly, given that the director had long since abandoned the pessimism of Alien and Blade Runner in favour of more hopeful narratives. The Martian recaptures the vital jeu desprit of Thelma & Louise, of Matchstick Mens con men, even of Russell Crowes attempts to conquer the French property market in A Good Year and then adds spaceships. Its an irresistible combination and deservedly Ridleys biggest hit since Gladiator his highest-grosser of all time, in fact. The Martian buzzes with bonhomie, not least for its music; like Guardians Of The Galaxy, heres a film that savours the vintage appeal of 70s pop, including a mighty montage set to the late, great David Bowies Starman. A film about a guy stuck on his own might seem a paradoxical crowd-pleaser, yet as much as the premise favours Watneys individual ingenuity, its also a joyous ode to teamwork. Noticeably, the crew of the Hermes are equals, thrilled to be travelling in space; a utopian riposte to the unions-vs-suits bitchiness aboard the Nostromo. Even if Scott is the guvnor, he still needs help as anybody who has grappled with the wayward narratives of much of his CV will testify. Fortunately, here he has an exceptional blueprint to pursue his crowd-pleasing instincts in screenwriter drew Goddards fast, funny adaptation. And an enviable supporting cast provides pleasures beyond Damons one-man show, even if this marks the latters finest work since Jason Bourne went swimming. The film is propelled by Damons cheeky charm, a conspiratorial guide via extensive video log address a conceit that would quickly pall as expository overdrive were it not for the stars twinkling, Globe-winning delivery. This is a rare old-school star vehicle and suits Damon to a T, locating a sweet spot between jock(ularity) and geek, as if your cool older brother were put in charge of the Christmas science lectures. (It helps that it plays like Damons greatest hits: you could call it Saving Will Hunting.) Ironically, with Damon at his disposal Scott doesnt really need to wow visually; for all the fascinating detail in the production design, this is the director in low-key, actor-led mode. Faced with the challenge of how to make the sequences away from mars as interesting as Damons, Ridley does the math: one A-lister equals an army of character actors. The strength in depth is simply ridiculous, with Chastain (as the commander of the Hermes) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (leading the efforts on earth) marshalling some of the most reliable players out there. Both are typically strong but the real pleasures lie further down the cast list, be it a warm, gruff Sean Bean or a typically sparky Michael Pena (confirming after Ant-Man that hes the go-to guy for blockbuster comic relief). the stand-out, though, is Community regular Donald Glover, high on being slingshotted into the orbit of this amazing cast, who comes closest to stealing the show from Damon. Extras disappoint: the two Blu featurettes (on adaptation and casting) feel like the intro to a larger Making Of thats gone AWOL, while five of the six in-world shorts (the gang doing mission prep etc.) are already online. Nice big production gallery, but this is one Blu-ray they havent bonus-featured the shit out of. EXTRAS: Featurettes (BD) > In-world pieces > Gag reel > Production gallery (BD) Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pea, Kate Mara DVD, BD, 3D BD, Digital HD release: 8 February 2016 Simon Kinnear
CRIMSON PEAK
Mia Wasikowskas Edith Cushing reaches a hand out to the screen, either in temptation or yearning. Later, a banker feels a mans hands to test his worthiness for a loan; Edith takes Tom Sharpes (Tom Hiddleston) hand in a waltz; Sharpe is goaded to get his hands dirty by a woman who gets her own mucky mitts down his pants; and, finally, the mystery of Ediths out-stretched hand is resolved. Guillermo del Toros gorgeous gothic romance isnt a scary experience, but the attention lavished on charged motifs typifies his loving attention to loaded detail. Crimson Peak didnt quite score with audiences or critics, who perhaps expected more gotchas or overt shocks. Revisited, its real identity is revealed: an exquisitely executed exercise in multi-layered symbol-heavy melodrama. For del Toro, its an act of reconnection with the spirit of his Spanish-language films, a sensibility distinct from both horror trends and his last American foray, bot-rocking monster-basher Pacific Rim. The charred ghost whose life force pours from her echoes The Devils Backbones leaky ghost kid. And as New York writer Edith marries Tom and moves to his extravagantly mouldering British pile, we recall Pans Labyrinths heroines rites of passage among monsters. As Edith chafes with Toms possessive sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), del Toro electrifies the mood with his and production designer Thomas E. Sanders own passion for the haunted house. Crimson Peak starts sumptuously: a shaving sequence steams with style. Then it moves to the Sharpes beautifully rank Allerdale Hall and gets really plush, every art-spooked corridor a dare, every staircase a seduction. Dont even mention the basement. As thresholds, keys and cellars seethe with suggestion, cinemas great haunts gain a new companion: Hill house, The Overlook, Allerdale Hall. A cast could get lost in a place like this, but del Toros leads match his ardour. Merely seated, Hiddleston conveys the curdled vanity of a man awaiting his portrait. Wasikowska splices Alices innocence with Stokers hidden steel. Squeezing rivers of fetid malice from the word Mother alone, Chastain even manages not to be upstaged by the maroon dress that gushes from Lucille like pooling blood. And bleed these characters do. Unlike more ethereal ghost stories, Crimson Peak gives its ghosts tangibility and ensures the wounds of the living hurt, like Vidals Joker-esque mouth injury in Pans. if this sounds like del Toro is looking backwards, the payoff is a re-assertion of his original voice and a ghost story like few others: one that gives the living, the dead and cinematic style their full-blooded due. Copious Blu featurettes explore Allerdales every nook (Hiddleston conducts a tour of hidden places); theres also candid footage of del Toro directing, plus the man and his cast interviewing each other. Just dont watch until youve seen the main feature EXTRAS: Deleted scenes > Featurettes (BD) Director: Guillermo del Toro Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam DVD, BD, VOD release: 15 February 2016 Kevin Harley
THE LOBSTER
Even by director Yorgos Lanthimos absurdist standards (Dogtooth, Alps), The Lobster is pretty weird. In a sort-of future where its a crime to be single, lonely heart Colin Farrell checks into a dating hotel. The rules are simple: find a mate within 45 days or be transformed into an animal. Extra time is earned by hunting down rogue singles in the woods which is where Farrell flees, trying to keep his forbidden romance with Rachel Weisz a secret before La Seydoux hunts them down and cuts their bits off. Self-consciously bonkers, gorgeously shot (in long, slow-mo takes) and oddly moving, its incomparable stuff. EXTRAS: TBC Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Starring: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman, John C Reilly, La Seydoux, Ben Whishaw DVD, BD, Digital HD release: 8 February 2016 Paul Bradshaw
ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDERSTERN ARE DEAD
Tom Stoppards first stage hit became, 25 years later, his first (and only) film as director. In this existential farce R and G (Tim Roth and Gary Oldman), two minor walk-on characters in Hamlet, take focus. They debate endlessly over who they are, what theyre doing and why; every so often the action of the play hurtles past, sweeping them along with it. But what intrigued and delighted on stage becomes strangely dull on screen, and even Roth, Oldman and Richard Dreyfuss cant save it. EXTRAS: Interviews Director: Tom Stoppard Starring: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss DVD release: 8 February 2016 Philip Kemp
PAN
With a title almost inviting a bad review, Joe Wrights abysmal re-shuffling of J.M. Barries universe is full of missteps thatll either bore children or annoy adults. Garrett Hedlund as a nice Hook? Bad idea. Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily? Even worse. Hugh Jackmans Blackbeard leading a chorus of slave kids singing Nirvanas Smells like Teen Spirit? Horrendous. On the plus side, newcomer Levi Miller is a real diamond in the rough as Peter, but this tale of how a Blitz-era orphan got to Neverland never really captures the magic of the original Barrie creation. This is, frankly, about as enjoyable as having a crocodile snap off your hand. EXTRAS: Commentary (BD) > Featurettes Director: Joe Wright Starring: Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Rooney Mara, Levi Miller DVD, BD, Digital HD release: 8 February 2016 James Mottram
BILL
There are worse ways to mark the quarter-centenary of Shakespeares death than watching this tongue-in-cheek recreation of his early years, a goofy spoof that gives the Horrible Histories team an excuse to adopt facial hair, play multiple roles and poke gentle fun at Elizabethan period pieces. Mathew Baynton is the Bard himself, here a struggling wannabe whose budding abilities become wrapped up in a Spanish plot to off Good Queen Bess (Helen McCrory). Her participation inevitably recalls Blackadder in a romp that might also bring Monty Python to mind were its comedy less buoyantly juvenile and more subversive. Fifteen mins of featurettes. EXTRAS: Featurettes Director: Richard Bracewell Starring: Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick DVD release: 15 February 2016 Neil Smith
