watchout BY ADAM VOLK
Release dates based on amazon.co.uk
Super 8 | DVD & Blu-ray | 112 mins Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler Release Date: December 12 If you were a child of the 80s, chances are you grew up watching films like The Goonies and E.T. – stories of plucky kids taking on otherworldly forces despite neighbourhood bullies and nagging parents. Director J.J. Abrams seeks to tap into this nerdflavoured nostalgia with Super 8, a film which is such an homage to early Spielberg films that Spielberg himself just thought “f**k it!” and decided to produce the thing. The film follows a group of teenagers living in small town Ohio during the late 1970s. When not
dealing with the usual litany of prepubescent problems, the group of friends is out creating their own low budget creature features with their trusty 8mm camera. But when a military train derails on the outskirts of their sleepy town, it unleashes a mysterious force that runs amok and before long the kids finds themselves in the midst of their very own monster movie. While the script stumbles a few times, overall the film is highly watchable, with Super 8 hitting all the right notes as both a coming of age drama and an 80s-inspired sci-fi spectacle.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | DVD & Blu-ray
| 127 mins
Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy Release Date: January 30
When most of us think of British spies, the first thing that probably comes to mind is either James Bond or Austin Powers. Yet the novels - and subsequent film adaptations - of writer and former secret agent John le Carré, offer a real-world glimpse into the seedy underbelly of British intelligence, a realm where bespectacled Oxford-educated plutocrats plan covert assassinations and trade informants like Whist cards over high tea and crumpets. Such is the world of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Based on the classic le Carré
Boardwalk Empire: Season 1 | DVD & Blu-ray
novel of the same name, the film is set in early 1970s London and follows the exploits of former spy master George Smiley (played by Gary Oldman) who is pulled out of early retirement in order to track down a Soviet mole within the upper echelon of the British Secret Service. Smartly told and slickly shot by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a taught Cold War thriller that proves that the only thing more frightening than British dental hygiene is the shadowy and unforgiving reach of MI6.
| 12 episodes
Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald Release Date: January 9
Forget Tony Soprano. In the world of 1920s Atlantic City, mobster-turned-politician-turned-bootlegger Nucky Thompson reigns supreme. Played to perfection by Steve Buscemi, Nucky also happens to be the central protagonist of Boardwalk Empire, the HBO crime drama created by Terence Winter and nudged into existence with a little help from Martin Scorsese. Set during the height of American prohibition, the series chronicles the rise of a new class of elite criminals who carved out small fortunes
with a blend of homicide and hooch. The show, however, follows a wide cast of characters, from showgirls to crooked cops, to militant government agents, to widowed house wives and even the exploits of a young Al Capone. Smartly told, with solid performances and razorblade sharp dialogue, Boardwalk Empire breathes new life into the world of old school American gangsters. Brutal, bold and beautifully told, the end result is a television crime drama that offers up a satisfyingly distilled shot of betrayal, bullets and booze.
Drive | DVD & Blu-ray
| 100 mins Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston Release Date: January 30 In a world of Fast and Furious car crashes and mindless Michael Bay-style explosions, Drive proves that even in Hollywood, sometimes less really is more. The film follows a badass known only as The Driver (played by Ryan Gosling), who works as a criminal wheelman by night and a movie stunt driver by day. But when The Driver falls in love with his beautiful next door neighbour (played by Carey Mulligan) he finds his isolated world turned upside down. Easily one of the best films of 2011, Drive blends explosive violence with some of the sharpest hardboiled
126 RAGMAG | JANUARY 2012
dialogue this side of Humphrey Bogart. Under the impeccable direction of Nicolas Winding Refn, the film also looks gorgeous with both the action sequences and the subtle character moments told with both finesse and style. Drive also includes one of the best original soundtracks of the year from composer Cliff Martinez and a bevy of European indie electronic artists. The end result is a film that has the look of a Michael Mann action-thriller and the soul of European art house cinema.