Soldier (1998) – Kim’s Take

Soldier (1998)

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Cast: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Connie Nielsen, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee, Gary Busey

A soldier trained from birth is deemed obsolete and dumped on a waste planet where he is reluctantly taken in by a community of defenseless, stranded wayfarers. – IMDB

Popping up in the mid 90’s is this Paul W.S. Anderson film which without a doubt stars a higher calibre actor especially in the decade that its directed in with Kurt Russell in the lead. Soldier happens to also be one of those films that not a whole lot of people have heard about and doesn’t talk about that much.

With that said, being not so familiar with Kurt Russell films to begin with this one highlights a lot of the preconceptions I had of his acting skills.  There’s always a certain amount of praise for an actor who can emote with their expressions instead of their words. This is essentially the centre of this film, as the story revolves around this soldier bred to be ruthless and goal-oriented regardless and yet, when a newer and better version comes along, he is tossed aside and learns to fend for himself while having to learn about this social world outside that he has never been exposed to. I love a good fish out of water story and learning how to mesh back into civilization because despite the content here, it injects a little bit of humor at times to lighten things up.

Paul W. S. Anderson is no doubt a visual director as he brings in his style to make this dystopian world incredibly appealing to watch unfold in front of us. As we see the characteristics of the land and the characters that join into the story in journey of Kurt Russell’s character finding his worth in society. He gets judged for who he is or perhaps was, but soon literally he is a man of action and one of few words. There is no doubt that how the land is shown after he treads the barren desolated area filled with sand storms and other perils and even the group that he joins in, there is a lot of great ways of how the shots give a lot of life and perspective of this world.

There’s a lot to like about Soldier. The story isn’t anything too complicated but these types of stories work well in the realm of the projects that Paul W. S. Anderson chooses. It helps to elevate the way he shoots the movie and constructs his scene. Kurt Russell also is a major focal point here because his character gets a lot of room to develop and he does a great job while using as few words as possible. There are some great supporting characters, most notably by Connie Nielsen and Sean Pertwee who play a couple who have conflicting views of this soldier joining their community and quickly have a change of mind as his rather harsh upbringing does educate the community with more defensive ways. There are some great moments in Soldier and for that, it deserves your viewing.

You can check out our podcast episode HERE.

Event Horizon (1997) – Kim’s Take

Event Horizon (1997)

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson

Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Richard T. Jones, Jack Noseworthy, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee

A rescue crew investigates a spaceship that disappeared into a black hole and has now returned…with someone or something new on-board. – IMDB

Paul W.S. Anderson’s change in film genres is definitely making his filmography nice and colorful. As he hops into the sci-fi psychological thriller genre with might I say, a rather impressive cast, seeing both some of the successes before and after Event Horizon, there is a certain calibre here that many forget to appreciate. Sam Neill had taken a dangerous adventure with dinosaurs in a Jurassic Park 2 years before and Laurence Fishburne will soon go with Keanu Reeves into the Matrix 2 years later and well, Jason Isaacs is due for a visit to Diagon Alley and Hogwarts 4 years later and of course, Sean Pertwee takes us for even more wild rides to the most recent version of Alfred in TV series Gotham. Suffice to say, these achievements for this cast is mostly just the tip of the iceberg.

Anderson is quite the craftsman when it comes to structure and with Event Horizon, he is able to use his skillful cinematography to structure these shots to make it all come together. Event Horizon, the spacecraft itself is full of fantastically atmospheric setting where it has so much suspense in its details. Some of which is revealed through lighting and lack thereof as we follow the crew to explore the corners of this deserted ship. Blood-splattered windows and the quietly structured areas, its really a play on how fantastic the sound and silence all play into putting this film together.

The story itself is also very impressive. It carries the sci-fi plot into quite the mystery, making everyone question what happened as we watch the crew fall in distress and be mesmerized by some mysterious evil. A haunted ship is quite scary here especially in some of the places the characters need to venture in like the narrow vents and the odd elongated structure of Event Horizon. Both the ship feel  alive just as much as the characters all have their balance and roles to make this story a memorable experience that provides so many thrills. Both horror and thriller and psychological experiences are hard to get right but I’d have to say that Event Horizon ticks those boxes so very well.

Event Horizon is one of those films that sends chills down my back every time I watch it. Knowing what happens doesn’t make the experience any less thrilling than the first viewing. Paul W. S. Anderson may have some questionable titles in his filmography but never forget that Event Horizon is one of those shining moments that show just how skilled he is as a director.

Listen to our podcast discussion HERE.

Shopping (1994) – Kim’s Take

Shopping (1994)

Director (and writer): Paul W. S. Anderson

Cast: Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Sean Pertwee, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Bean

You’ve run out of options, no school, no job. Steal a car, smash a shop with a heavy car and reap the proceeds! This movie is about underground England. The causes, the benefits, and the result of a life of ‘crash and carry.’ – IMDB

Paul W. S. Anderson’s directorial debut started with some big names set in a rather ambitious setting of underground England. Its a social thriller which sees a not so famous Jude Law as a recently released from jail youth called Billy who goes back with a rebellious group of others who crash their cars into stores and steal whatever they want before leaving with their loot. There’s some hinted romance which is never explicit and the focus is mostly on the thrill of their acts as well as the impending dangers in their own world, and of course, the cops who are suspicious of Billy’s involvement.

Watching Shopping in the 21st century is quite the unique experience especially since we’re looking at this young cast who has each charted their different career paths. Looking at this filmography, Shopping was Jude Law’s first theatrical feature film whereas he has only done some TV and TV movies before this and bagging the main character role. Even then, its easy to see how Jude Law does have quite the talent as he takes Billy’s role and makes us believe in the destructive and extreme nature who constantly is looking for the next adrenaline rush. On the other hand, he is paired up with his partner in crime, Jo by Sadie Frost. I’ve never seen Sadie Frost before this role and have to wonder whether I’ve actually seen her in another other film, however, Jo is quite over the top as well however in this mish  mash of characters, her character is the one who turns out to be more grounded. It did take a little while to get accustomed to her character but she also is the one that we are meant to connect with the most as it does feel like a lot of the story is through her eyes and her perspective, even if we start off with Billy.  Its probably because Jo has much more development in her character arc than any of the other ones.

On the other hand, Tommy is the bad guy in their underground scene. Played by Sean Pertwee, its hard to disregard this character as it was also quite extreme in the small moments he had. However, its hard to fault Tommy and his ways especially when he was only trying to make a business out of their illegal ways. It is never a good idea to mess with someone’s livelihood no matter how much of an adrenaline rush it can be. Of course, it is what leads to the finale. Plus, somewhere before that, a cameo with Sean Bean where his role doesn’t end in demise. Talking about Sean Pertwee and the other threat to Billy and Jo (and their crew) which are the cops is where the movie falls short of what it could be despite its great premise and setting. The threats are never focused enough. It had a cool cinematography and fantastic setting and atmosphere for its different film locations and backdrops but yet, its heavy focus on just the over the top extremities for adrenaline rush made particularly the main character of Billy fall short of what it could be.

Shopping never quite reaches the viewing experience it could be. There was a great premise and lots of nice contrast and atmospheres and even scenes. However, its all disjointed and never seems to give enough to cheer for anyone or feel that it was ever going to end in a way that it wasn’t self-inflicted in some way whichever bad ending it was going to be. However, as much as Shopping fell short, it is still a cool debut for Paul W.S. Anderson. He shows his capability of creating cool shots and his eye for filmmaking and world-building. For that, its worth giving this one a go, plus, it shows off the talented Sean Pertwee and a young Jude Law as well.

Elwood’s Take – Shopping

Released to middling reviews from the critics and much ire from the BBFC who didn’t really appreciate the idea of a film whose central premise is built around ram raiding department stores for kicks in a pre-apocalyptic vision of Britain. Paul W.S Anderson’s debut film much like Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket really is a departure from films he would make in its wake but at the same time it’s still an intresting film as Anderson draws inspirations from the likes of Mad Max, Blade Runner and Batman’s Gotham City to create a unique vision of a divided Britain.

Compared to Greg Arkai’s own Pre-apocalyptic trilogy: Totally Fucked Up, The Doom Generation and Nowhere there is no art student / shoegaze style flourishes here despite them both being so firmly rooted in the 90’s with Anderson instead painting a distinctively British vision of the near future with society broken up into the privileged and poor while order is maintained by a militant police force.

Opening to Billy (Jude Law) being released from prison and soon returning to his old ways when he reunites with best friend Jo (Sadie Frost) with the pair soon embarking on a spot of joyriding. As Anderson gives us the first of his action set pieces which despite working with a considerably smaller budget than the films which followed still looks impressive. Certainly the action scenes while sporadic are the moments which stick with the viewer, especially when faced with characters who are often as engaging as much as they enraging to the viewer.

Such antisocial behaviour as seen during this opening is however the lifeblood of Billy’s world were everything is all about the rush with little regards for the consequences of his actions which has unsurprisingly has left him living in a caravan with his parents throwing him out of the family home and clearly wanting nothing to do with him as they view him as a lost cause. Billy though is frequently seen as caring little about anything bar his immediate future while his reputation amongst his fellow street punks only serves to fuel his ego as he viewed as what could almost be considered a folk hero, especially with many seeing his exploits as striking back at the upper class especially the film builds to the climatic hit on the shopping mall Retailand were the privileged upper classes are shown dressed in white while a string quartet soundtrack their shopping activities. Their styling a stark contrast to the leather and punk rock astestic of the Billy and his crew.

The other plot thread running through the film is the relationship between Billy and Jo who can be either be seen as friends or in a relationship depending on your own perspective. The actual status of their relationship only being more muddled when we watch Billy flirting with other women, while even their closest friends don’t seem to know the score. Outside of this though Jo really marks the embodiment of the female rebel so frequently seen throughout 90’s cinema especially as she maintains an air of cool throughout while proving herself more than capable of holding her own in the testosterone driven world she inhabits were she often can be seen playing the peacemaker especially with Billy showing so little regard to the fallout of his actions.

What’s lacking from the film though is any kind of discernible threat as while Billy certainly clashes with Tommy (Sean Pertwee) the leader of a rival ram raid crew whose attempts to create a business out of their own criminal activities are being hindered by Billy’s blatent disregard for any kind of code of honour leading to the pair engaging in a constant bout of tit for tat attacks on each other. The only other discernible threat is in the head of police Conway (Jonathan Pryce) who while seemingly being setup from the start to be the constant threat to Billy only to instead make sporadic appearances throughout the film until the finale.

Perhaps if the film had been better received would have been seen as the film which ushered in the new era of British cinema which instead fell to Danny Boyle’s debut Shallow Grave. While this film certainly might not be without its issues and far from the action packed thriller the trailer hints it is still an interesting debut from a director still trying to find his style something which would become more apparent with the films which followed.