Jameson Cult Film Club: The Birds

Jameson Cult Film Club - The Birds

This was a night of firsts for me. Not only was it the first time going to a Jameson Cult Film Club night (or any type of organised film showing night) it was also the first time seeing Hitchcock’s, “The Birds” – shocking I know, however this meant I went with no preconceptions about what to expect.

The location for showing was St Paul’s Church, set in a wet St Paul’s Square in the heart of Birmingham. This was the first time the Jameson Cult Film Club had been to Birmingham, adding to the night of firsts. We approached the church to find an eerie green glow through the stained glass windows, which set the scene perfectly. The rain obviously hadn’t deterred people away because when we made our way in through the big church doors most of the pews, which would be our seats for the duration of the showing, were already full. Candles were lit, the church organ present at the front was being played and fake birds were perched in the rafters and projected on the ceiling which all helped with creating the atmosphere.

Armed with the free cocktail tokens, my date for the night, Samantha Lyster formally of The Times, and I made our way to the bar upstairs. It was here that I started to spot the actors walking around, dressed and narrating in character to those in the film. I of course could not relate however upon reflection they were pretty spot on with the characterisation. The Jameson cocktails on offer were lovely, not a whiskey drinker myself I was pleasantly surprised how it could be made into something fruity, light and easy on the palette.

We spotted in the far corner a photo opportunity to pretend to have been attacked by birds in front of a specially created backdrop by local graffiti artist ‘Victor TX’. Whilst in the queue to be snapped a member of staff added the finishing touches to our face by applying a long streak of blood from our eyes to look as if we had been pecked. We stepped in front of the backdrop, posed in a dramatic style, as if the birds were just above and Christine Tellier, the photographer, snapped us. This was very fun to participate in and a nice touch.

We grabbed a hotdog and popcorn (a little pricy) and made our way to the pews to find seats. Here an actor helped us into our seats as if the birds were attacking and every now and again a woman screaming, “The birds are coming” would run down the aisle. Little touches that added to the overall mood in the dramatic setting. The film itself I found to be actually rather funny as oppose to scary, but this is for me made it charming to watch and at these moments the whole congregation laughed together. Samantha however was ducking and diving all over the place through out the film whenever the birds were relentless in their attacks. The sound of the birds and their wings was certainly chilling.

All in all I would say the night a success. I enjoyed the complete production Jameson put on as well as the film itself. I would thoroughly recommend others to attend one of their Cult Film Club nights if the opportunity arises.

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Jameson Cult Film Club Screening – The Usual Suspects

Jameson Cult Film Club Screening - The Usual Suspects

Not too long ago GeekTown were invited to yet another infamous screening from the Jameson Cult Film Club in one of their more extraordinary choices of venues. We arrived at 6pm at Westminster pier where we were ferried onto a Thames Clippers which sped us on a beautifully scenic trip down river and through the sunset to a cordoned off dock opposite the 02 – which for what is effectively a giant expensive tent was a spectacular sight. An excited crowd unloaded into Trinity Buoy Wharf to find a green-lit replica of the corpse-littered crime scene at San Pedro Harbour from one of the slickest cult thrillers in movie history; The Usual Suspects.

A few of the crowd strayed (distracted by the salty, piping hot offerings of an all American, silver dining car outside) before descending into the basement bar for complimentary Jameson cocktails. On the way we stumbled across a complete criminal line-up of the film’s cast mimicking the infamous movie poster and were even given the opportunity to pose with the suspects. Needless to say, after a few whiskeys and a run-in with the cops the audience were buzzing with anticipation as they took their seats around the corner from the bar in a cavernous warehouse building.

A careful tableaux of detective Dave Kujan’s note-littered desk had been erected front and centre, an admirable touch but unfortunately due to a stupefyingly long delay by the time this painstakingly rehearsed scene finally came to life the audience were distinctly non-plussed. Even with the help of a fresh from the line-up Keaton and the Verbal’s shuffling doppelganger the reenactments dragged and I personally was a little put out by the filching of my favourite dialogue from the film about Kaiser Soze’s infamous rise to power, partly because my guest was a Usual Suspects virgin as well as the fact that out of context this scene lost a lot of it’s gravity and only added to our collective impatience. Saying that, the event overall was well-executed and the movie as timelessly engrossing as ever. Kudos are owed to the Jameson Cult Film Club for a magnificent effort despite some poor organization.

For more information on tickets and events check out the Jameson Cult Film Club website!

Review: Screwed

Noel Clarke - up to no good.

Sam Norwood (James D’Arcy) is an ex-army squaddie who’s finding the job market rather limited, so ends up reluctantly taking a job as a prison officer at the fictional HMP Romwell. It seems prison life isn’t much fun, which ever side of the bars your on, as Sam discovers a network of corruption between the prisoners and guards, coupled with a Gov that has no interest other than making himself look good, makes for a pretty miserable life for everyone, but especially a prison guard trying to keep his nose clean.

The story is based on the memoir of ex-prison officer Ronnie Thompson, and I’m hoping that’s fairly loosely based, or there is something very wrong with our prison system. Noel Clarke (Kidulthood, Adulthood, Doctor Who) turns in a suitably menacing performance as top lag Truman, whilst James D’Arcy portrayal of Sam as the wheels fly off his life one by one is perfectly fine.

Overall it’s a perfectly fine little Brit movie, which twists and turns as Sam tries to figure out who in his life he can trust. Things do get a bit bogged down in the middle, but it’s well worth picking up for a Saturday night’s movie watching.

7/10 – Good, gritty little Brit flick.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3 DVD Review

George Lucas and the team at Lucasfilm are back to fill the gap between Episodes II & III with Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3, coming to DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc on 17 October 2011 from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Warner Home Video.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3, is very much a season of 2 halves. The series opens on the homeworld of the clone army – Kamino, where we follow the rather less than stellar performing ‘Domino Squad’ being pushed through their clone training paces. It’s an enjoyable starting point which delves further into the inner-workings of the clone army training regimen, and leads to an action packed 2nd episode with General Grievous and Ventress launching a full on assault on the cloning facility.

Episode 3 (‘Supply Lines’), sees things take a slight turn for the worse as Jar Jar Binks shows up… This starts a run of episodes focusing on the politics of the Republic, with various characters dealing with trade missions and other political matters which, whilst adding texture to the background of The Clone Wars, feel a little out-of-place in a Star Wars animated show.

Things start to pick up again with the R2-D2, C-3PO centred episode ‘Evil Plans’, where a simple shopping trip of the droid companions leads to the escape of Ziro The Hutt, and the introduction of fan favourite Jedi Master ‘Quinlan Vos’ (making his first appearance in animated form) to help Obi-Wan track Ziro down.

The Clone Wars, Season 3

There are a few other significant story arcs this season. We see the planet of ‘Mortis’ for the first time, and it’s inhabitants ‘The Ones’ – Father, Daughter and Son. These 3 seem to have an enormous connection to The Force, although George is playing his cards close to his chest on exactly what their connection is.

Episode 18 – ‘The Citadel’ starts a 3 part story arc where Obi-Wan and Anakin are sent to rescue Jedi Master Even Piell from an impenetrable prison, along with a young Captain Tarkin. The 2 episode arc (starting with Episode 21 – ‘Padawan Lost’) sees Ahsoka kidnapped by Trandoshan slavers for their big hunt, which leads to the first Clone Wars for a certain favourite walking carpet…

The standout arc for me though goes to Katie Lucas (daughter of George), who turns in a great 3 parter (starting at episode 12 – Nightsisters). After Count Dooku is ordered by Darth Sidious to kill his apprentice Ventress, she escapes Dooku’s assassination attempt and returns to her Nightsister clan to plot revenge. This involves turning Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother ‘Savage Opress’ into a terrifying warrior to act as Dooku’s new apprentice, only to have him turn on his new master on Ventress’s command. It also leads to a reveal that someone we thought long dead may not be as deceased as being sliced in half would usually imply…

Overall Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3, has some great stories in it, and even though the season is a little uneven, it’s well worth delving into for any Star Wars fan. The DVD extras also include some great detailed interviews with cast and crew about various key episodes in the run.

Star Wars™: The Clone Wars™ The Complete Season Three is out on Blu-Ray and DVD on 17 October 2011

 8/10 – A bit uneven, but well worth it for any Star Wars fan!

1st Official Trailer for Joss Whedon’s ‘The Avengers’!

You all know we here at GeekTown are massive whedonites, so this is a movie we’ve been looking forward to since it was first announced. Joss Whedon directing Robert Downey Jr (Iron-Man),  Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), in the culmination of Marvel’s recent cinema outings… The Avengers (due May 4, 2012).

For something billed as a teaser trailer, it’s actually quite long, and also features some great Whedonesque dialogue from  Downey Jr.

Really rather excited!

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First Trailer for Kiefer Sutherland’s Touch

It’s a little late to the new season party, but that hasn’t stopped Touch, the new show from Heroes creator Tim Kring, starring Kiefer Sutherland, being one of the most eagerly anticipated shows this year.

Touch stars Kiefer as Martin Bohm, a former journalist who is a single parent raising his mute,  autistic son Jake (David Mazouz). Jake has 2 main obsessions – numbers and climbing. Specifically, climbing a local telecoms tower, each time being recorded by a surveillance camera at 3:18 precisely. 3:18 is also the time Jake has been obsessively reseting the clocks their the house to. Is Jake trying to communicate?

After Jake is seen climbing the tower a 3rd time, social services decide to intervene, threatening to remove him from his father before he harms himself, or anyone else. With the aid of a sympathetic social worker, Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Doctor Who, Undercovers), Martin manages to hold onto his son. Still desperate to find the boy some help, Martin seeks out Professor Arthur DeWitt (Danny Glover), who explains that there are some children in the world who see things very differently to the rest of us. To them, life is just an equation. An equation that can lead them to have an extraordinary insight into possible future events.

Touch will air on Fox in the US mid-season (Spring 2012), so there’s no UK air date for it yet. I’m pretty sure it won’t stay that way for long though, and give this is Kiefer’s first TV role since 24 there should be a heck of a lot of interest… If i were a gambling man,  money would be on it appearing on Sky 1 in the new year. ;)

Keep track of Touch and all other UK premiere dates for US and cult shows on our UK air dates page.