GM FORECASTS RADICAL CHANGE - The Founder

18 DVD Monday 29 January 2007 thefounder
DVD
w w w . c d - w o w . c o m / t h e f o u n d e r
alladega Nights:
he Ballad of Ricky Bobby (12A)
By Dan Nicholls
Director: Adam McKay
Writer: Will Ferrell & Adam
McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Sacha
Baron Cohen, Michael Clarke
Duncan, Leslie Bibb.
NASCAR stock car racing
driver Ricky Bobby (Will
Ferrell) is a national hero because
of his “win at all costs”
approach. He and his loyal
racing partner, childhood
friend Cal Naughton Jr.
(John C. Reilly), are a fearless
duo - named “Shake”
and “Bake” by their fans
for their ability to finish so
many races in the #1 and #2
positions. When flamboyant
French Formula One
driver Jean Girard (Sacha
Baron Cohen) challenges
“Shake” and “Bake” for the
supremacy of NASCAR,
Ricky Bobby must face
his own demons and fight
Girard for the right to
be known as racing’s top
driver.
Will Ferrell. Love him or hate
him he has a huge fan base and
appeals to millions.
He skyrocketed to fame, becoming
the next famous member of ‘The
Frat Pack’, and all whilst being the
weirdest guy working in Hollywood.
Talladega Nights is certainly
weird and spontaneous but it’s not
as over the top as his earlier films,
something that to me at least isn’t a
good thing.
Fe r rell’s brand of comedy
i s unique. I’m
used to finding easily quotable lines
like ‘I’m in a glass box of emotion!’.
After creating Anchorman Ferrell
had a huge task ahead of him to top
Competition
it, and Talladega Nights certainly
does not. But what it does do is provide
a whacky and entertaining film
that people who find Ferrell’s movies
over the top may prefer.
The jokes are thick and fast, but unfortunately
only work in context and
t h e story is shallow but holds
enough to get through
the whole film without
wanting to give up on it.
The characters are brilliant,
with Sasha Baron Cohen’s’
French gay formula 1
driver providing one of
the more entertaining villains
of the past few years.
No where near the level
of tear inducing laughs as
Anchorman, but still hilarious
in parts, I’d recommend
this one as a Saturday night
movie to watch along with
a room full of friends and
a few drinks.
3/5
Extras:
The DVD has a large number
of extras but to be honest
not many are that great.
‘Ricky & Cal’s Commercials’
is fantastic and the
gag reel gets you laughing
along, but the rest are
simply lacklustre pad out
the package extensively type
extras.
2.5/5
Congratulations to Melissa Tellier, the winner of our last competition. The answer was Independence
Day.
Something a little harder for you this week (and from now on) - We give you a film quote, you
tell us which film it is from and which actor/character said it. Prizes this week are as follows:
- 1 x pair of tickets for Vue Cinemas, Staines.
- 1 x ‘Just Friends’ T-shirt
- 1 x ‘Just Friends’ beanie
- 1 x ‘Racing Stripes’ Zebra soft toy
- 1 x ‘Prime’ bag
- 1 x ‘Prime’ T-shirt
This fortnight’s quote:
‘I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one.’
Good luck! As always, answers to competitions@thefounder.co.uk (competition closes 7th
February 2007).
By Josh Yard
Severance
Director: Christopher Smith
Starring; Danny Dyer, Laura
Harris, Tim Mcinnerny
British horror-comedy has, thankfully,
become a continually increasing
genre in the world of film and
has churned out a fair amount of
classics. How many times have you
heard the term ‘Better than Shaun
of the Dead’? Hopefully from this
day forth, people will review the
next big-scale horror-comedy by
using the phrase ‘Better than Severance’.
Now I am a big critic of the horror
genre and especially critical of socalled
horror-comedies, (the word
‘Slither’ creeps into my mind), and
so I was at first a little hesitant as to
whether I would enjoy the film. It
didn’t help that above the title read
the words, ‘Starring Danny Dyer’.
The film is set in the backside of beyond
in Eastern Europe where seven
workers of multi-national weapons
company, Palisade Defences,
are driving through the dirt-roads.
The team believe that they are being
led to a luxury lodge where a
weekend of team-building exercises
and alcohol-fuelled antics will take
place. The group are snapped back
into reality when a conveniently
placed tree blocks their road path
and the bus driver dumps the team
and scarpers. Thus follows the inevitable
path of shocks, blood and
screaming.
The film is not one to explore too
far into the depths of horror, comedy
or horror/comedy. What it
does do however is combine both
elements into one excitable, frightening
and thoroughly enjoyable
package. The scares are frightening
and unexpected, the comedy is funny
and original and there are more
than a few times throughout the
movie where you will be surprised
at what it can throw at you. Beautifully
shot through the forests of the
remote Hungarian wilderness, once
the action of the films revs up it becomes
a strange mixture of Rambo
versus Deliverance, and once the action
starts, there is no stopping. The
film doesn’t disappoint the bloodthirsty
audience by putting the cast
through a usual and disturbingly
exciting number of brutal events.
The film is essentially what would
be described in dramatic terms as
an ensemble piece of theatre, as it
relies heavily on seven strong performances
from seven actors ranging
from Andy Nyman’s naïve and
clueless Gordon to Danny Dyer’s
delightfully awful part-chav hybrid
of himself. It is also a god-sent welcome
to the screen for Tim McInnerny
who I do not think I have
seen since he graced the screen with
his presence in Blackadder, a role
not too different from the one he
plays in this feature.
Now let me get this clear, this film
will not win any Oscars and will not
be considered a classic. However,
I am giving the film such a high
score for its ability to scare and provide
laughter in equal side-hurting
amounts. Buy this film if you want
to own an exciting and excitable
piece of British horror. Rent it if
you want an hour and a half of pure
adrenaline in DVD form.
The new addition to British comedies;
mixing comedy and horror
perfectly and seamlessly, it is a worthy
addition to any gore-hunters
DVD collection and provides everything
else for those with a phobia of
blood.
4/5