Trailer Trash: My Cousin Rachel

In a segment I have not done for some time, I am looking at a newly released trailer and wondering what can we expect.

My Cousin Rachel is based on the classic novel by Daphne Du Maurier, whose work - The Birds, Rebecca - has been subjected to cinematic adaptations by the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock previously. This second cinematic adaptation (previously made in 1952 starring Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland) is directed by Roger Michell and stars Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin (Me Before You).

The trailer begins with word that 'she is here' meaning Rachel has landed in Plymouth to visit her cousin Philip. The novel is about an estate that Philip is heir to, but Rachel feels she has a right to as being married to the owner of the estate Ambrose, whilst being eloped in Italy.

Ambrose has passed away and Rachel has come to gain what is hers, Philip is the heir and she bends to his whim, but a connection grows between the two; a kinship that is not as illicit as the title nor trailer makes out as they are not blood relatives and merely related by law.

The film is shot from Philip's point of view and sees Claflin struggling with his emotions towards a woman who only has her own interests at heart.

Whilst Weisz has been able to play this sort of spinster evil woman before her role is one painted by the eyes of Claflin who seemingly goes through the ringer from independent man to fool in love.  Weisz is reunited with the director of Enduring Love and Michell has always been able to generate good chemistry between leads (Notting Hill), ensemble (the under-rated Morning Glory) and odd partnerships (Venus/The Mother). Whilst it has his familiar tropes of love unrequited with a certain streak of National Trust promotional material the trailer shows a tip of the hat to the Gothic tradition of British film-making from the 1950s/60s.

My Cousin Rachel is out on 9th June this summer from Fox Searchlight

El Pastor (The Shepherd)

Winner of Best Film and Director at the 2016 Raindance Festival, Jonathan Cenzual Burley's El Pastor (The Shepherd) starring Miguel Martin is released by Matchbox Films on Friday 2nd June.

Martin plays the titular Anselmo, a middle-aged shepherd, who lives a poor but happy life in a small, run down house in the middle of Spanish plains, but his community is slowly growing. For company, he only has his loyal dog Pillo and his abundance of sheep. This life suits him with no television, and the books from his library to read, yet a construction company wants to buy his land for a new complex.

Anselmo refuses the approaches from the company as is his prerogative, in contrast are neighbours Julian (Alfonso Mendiguchia) and Paco (Maribel Iglesias); two men who both want to sell for opposing reasons and attempt to convince the shepherd to do likewise.

The film tells this morality tale of greed and honour, with stunning consequences set against a magical landscape frozen in time.  The opening scene showing Anselmo going about his daily routine is beautifully shot and realised evoking early Terence Malick coupled with an elegant soundtrack that is both melancholic and inspiring by Tim Walters.

Burley has crafted not only a complex narrative of psychological cul-de-sacs questioning the moral shifts in the three main protagonists; each character is given an arc that is effectively rendered by the plot and the convincing performances. Anselmo goes from lonely man to fighting underdog, Paco goes from short fuse to coward and it is Julian who grows or changes the most within the story as his reasons for selling his land come to the forefront.

Harking back to B-movie Westerns with the lone farmer attempting to save his homestead, however, this film has no hero riding off into the sunset; it could be considered Burley has crafted a critique of the socio-political ramifications facing Spanish homeowners who face an uncertain future in regards to the poisonous financial climate.

El Pastor would be a pleasing pairing with The Olive Tree in a double bill, both are set in modern day Spain but dream of a simpler time in that countries past explaining how money and greed has ruined the industrious past making the present day a darker place.

This is a brilliantly constructed production with superb acting performances across the board that ratchets up the tension prudently to keep your attention gripped.

THE SHEPHERD (El Pastor) is in cinemas 2 June.

Beach Fossils 'Somersault'

The long awaited return of Brooklyn's own Beach Fossils, culminates with the release of Somersault. An album that is their first material since 2013's Clash The Truth and showcases a band that is growing in maturity and refined songwriting together.

The album is a combination of different recordings across New York City and Los Angeles, meaning the tracklisting is a reading of a band both growing but being influenced by their surroundings during the making of the album

Starting with the up tempo stomp of 'This Year', the next song is second single 'Tangerine' (feat. Rachel Goswell) a sumptuous bit of summer that is great to hear as the days get longer and hotter in June. They remind this listener of Foster The People without the grandiose nature of the production, Somersault is more stripped back and open a record.

Throughout the album there is a sense of feel good and summer, but also this overwhelming burden of growing up and how the influences of youth can impact these musicians; a reflection of hopefully being together appears in 'Down the Line' and the pay off is the symphonic splendour of 'Be Nothing'.

Beach Fossils are a band new to my ears, yet this is an album which is at times brilliant and splendid in equal measure. They appear to be a band who are trying to break out by achieving songs that are both universal and yet very personal to themselves at the same time, without negating their electronic and smaller beginnings. This is a great background album for a barbecue on the patio or rooftop as the shimmering compositions will accompany a warm laidback evening.

Somersault is released on June 2nd by Bayonet Records.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review disc.

Pega Monstro 'Casa de Cima'

Released on June 2nd by Upset the Rhythm, Pega Monstro return with their 3rd album 'Casa de Cima'. The band are a sister two piece from Lisbon, Portugal; Julia Reis (drums) and Maria Reis (guitar) who sing together throughout the album.

They album shares a name with the villa where the majority of the album was recorded, and reflects perhaps the confidence the two sisters are gaining in their musicianship to work secluded and create an album of such vibrancy and effervescence.

Two piece bands have been very much a part of the music landscape for most of the 21st century starting with the White Stripes to the Ting Tings to Royal Blood and Japandroids; yet whilst we have had married then divorced duos can you recall a sisterly union literally breaking out.

Pega Monstro - Sisters in Arms (Julia and Maria Reis)

The sisters have a real grasp on fusing rock and punk together suiting the Portugese lyrics and harmonies that come washing from the stereo. From the mystical water urn that adorns the album cover to the mystery of the lyrics, this is an album full of strong enigmatic quality resonating throughout the record. Listen to their new single: 'Partir a Loica' and be amazed

https://soundcloud.com/upset-the-rhythm/pega-monstro-partir-a-loica-1

Full of boisterous intent and riffs that grab your attention refusing to let go until the conclusion, the album is one that this reviewer will not forget for a long time.

Casa de Cima translates as Upper House, and perhaps Pega Monstro is ready to breakout into the upper echelons of European music with rock music that is both universal and satisfying.


Casa de Cima is released from Upset the Rhythm on 2nd June.
My thanks to One Beat PR

Sweet Baboo 'Wild Imagination'

Sweet Baboo, is Stephen Black, the second album following 2015's The Boombox Ballads. That album passed this reviewer by, however, the second album 'Wild Imagination' is one that will stay with me for sometime.

Baboo (or Black), how should we refer to him. His twitter handle is Sweet Babs, a nod and a wink to national treasure to Barbara Windsor, yet Baboo is a multi-instrumentalist who has summoned up a mixture of American and British sunshine music to make a statement with his sophomore effort.

He calls this album one that represents the joys of travelling and returning home, the lead single 'Wild Imagination' has an end of the pier feel with its harpsichord bursting from the outset (not too dissimilar from Metronomy's 'The English Riviera' and whilst you may laugh at such oldy-worldy instruments the music is heartfelt and romantic in spades.

Some standout tracks are 'Pink Rainbows' and 'Clear the Blue Skies' which show the influence of people from Pet Shop Boys to the Beach Boys and ELO, whilst 'Hold On' with its hooky bass tips a funky hat to Prince's earlier work.

Much like his fellow Welshmen, the Super Furry Animals there is that mixture of psych-pop and experimentia whilst still being injected with a classic song writing streak such as 'Badminton' with it's catchy lyrics and reminisces of youth 'I hope I am lucky, and some of this misfortune carries on'. 

The last two songs are somewhat tongue-in-cheek with its tracklisting from #9 'Humberside' embracing Richard Hawley to the sign off 'Californ-i-a' which, well we would all like to move there.

Throughout the album there is a real energy that comes out of the speakers, it makes you smile and makes you glad that such a thing as happy music still exists. 

An album full of influence but all the richer for it, rather than one that shows a lack of ambition. For Sweet Baboo the clear blue skies are the limit.

Wild Imagination is released from Moshi Moshi on 2nd June

My thanks to One Beat PR for the listening link

Live By Night

Released to much critical derision the fourth film directed by Ben Affleck, Live By Night is adapted for the screen by the leading actor from a novel by Dennis Lehane, tells a fictional story of booze running during prohibition era America which starts in Boston (Affleck's home town) and ends in Tampa, Florida following Joe Coughlin who works for an Irish firm but after falling for the boss' girl he ends up in prison before turning to the Italian mafia which leads him to the South.

Following the lambasting aimed at Ben Affleck for taking on the role of Batman in the much reviled Dawn of Justice directed by Zach Snyder, there has been a slow step of backlash at Affleck who had become a darling after winning an Oscar for Argo.

Affleck does not do many favours with this adaptation, which could have done with perhaps a co-writer to help shape the script better and not have it become the Affleck show has he ticks off ladies man, charmer, good in a fight, good with a gun; he ends up as the gentleman who has to raise his son and will not kill someone who needs to be killed for his job because he all of a sudden grows a moral fibre.  Either Affleck had to give his character a little bit of nastiness or conflict instead of being able to leave the gang at film's end or he should have asked another actor to play the leading role.

It is a shame because the film is a victory as a production itself with gorgeous photography by Robert Richardson, vintage costumes and note perfect set design. This is married with some fine supporting work by Chris Messina as Dago and Elle Fanning who instills some real layers in her born again Christian envangelist Loretta Figgis becoming the performer her innocent self wanted to be.

Based on Dennis Lehane's novel

Running at close to two hours there is a sharper more efficient film somewhere here if Affleck had not been given the world to act, write, produce and direct, much like Orson Welles, Affleck has been given the world's biggest train set to play with but has failed to build up a significant head of steam on this occasion.

You cannot fault his ambition when movie making sometimes falls prey to remakes, rehashes and retreads in this age of instant gratification. Affleck aimed to make a film about failed ambition and belonging, following the box office failure of the film he finds himself ironically producing his own failure, which is a shame.

Live By Night is released on DVD and Blu-Ray from Warner Bros. on Monday 22nd May

Spaceship

Released on Friday 19th May from Trinity Media, this is writer/director Alex Taylor debut feature length feature , and it is a work of independent spirit coupled with an unflagging desire to make a film of a unique voice and identity that is rarely seen in British cinema.

Taylor speaks of how he has made a film about teenagers by teenagers, encountering young people and giving them the platform to make a movie based on their own stories with them forming the narrative flow and thrust without pandering or patronising their role in society.

Using improvisation, Taylor follows his young cast and this enables him to tell a film that is in their own language engaging in several social groups from goths to punks to those who hang out in the YMCA.

Lucidia is a teenage cyber-goth, who fakes her own alien abduction, forcing her father Gabriel to search for her in a kaleidoscopic world of parallel universes, black holes and unicorns.

Enthused with the power of youth, bristling with colour and energy, Spaceship is unlike anything you have ever seen before nor probably see again. Touching on how teenagers search for a sense of belonging in an ever-changing, frustrating world this touches on the boundaries of fact and fiction, control and chaos, normality and hallucinatory.

Featuring a strong ensemble cast, wonderful sound design and a soundtrack featuring Appaloosa, Best Coast and East India Youth, Spaceship could well be one of the most unsung films of 2017

Spaceship is released on 19th May from Trinity Media
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