DVD OF THE WEEK

THE CHASER ****
Dir: Hong-jin Na
Starring: Jun-seok, Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Yeong-hie Seo

For the second time in a row my 'Pick of the Week” is a subtitled film.
That may not be your bag. If you want something with less writing watch Star Trek. I'm serious. Star Trek is simply the best action film this year and it would be great shame if only 'Trekkies” watched it. JJ Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Alias) has brilliantly reinvented the franchise – get in at the start.
Anyway, where was I… The Chaser.
The Chaser is a South Korean film, based around the true life investigation into a serial killer who kidnapped and murdered prostitutes. Central is the ex-policeman turned pimp who finds 'his girls” going missing. Police are busy with trivia (someone threw excrement at the PM!) so he has to investigate alone.
This is – as far as I'm aware – director Hong-jin Na's first outing and brilliant it is too. The cover informs us that it is currently being remade by the team who converted Infernal Affairs into Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed and you can see why: the story is littered with twists and turns while suspense slowly builds to breath-holding level, and the central pimp is a fascinating and complex character.
Being Korean there are occasional moments of comic relief that seem a little jarring to Western sensibilities but this is such a well-made film, and so superior to any serial killer flick emerging from Hollywood in the last few years that it hardly matters.
Don't wait for the remake – see this remarkable movie now.

While Pixar tackle left-field material with the splendid Wall-E and Up, Dreamworks mine a rich vein of fifties sci-fi for the quite wonderful Monsters Vs Aliens (****). After exposure to a meteorite our young heroine finds her wedding disrupted when she grows to enormous size. She is promptly grabbed by a secret army unit housing 'monsters” who are eventually called upon to foil an alien attack. But forget the plot. The characters are great, and entertainingly voiced by Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie, Steve Colbert and others; the animation is top-notch; the gags come thick and fast; and the usual moralising and messages are kept in the background where they should be. Fun for all the family!

For a burst of high-adrenalin silliness you can't really go wrong with Crank High Voltage (***). The writing/directing/filming team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor expand upon the punk craziness of the original Crank by resurrecting Jason Statham (he fell out of a plane at the end last time), giving him an artificial heart that needs regular electrical jump-starting, and setting him loose. Cue outrageous chases, wild action, gratuitous public sex and general craziness with no redeeming social features. And it's well worth watching the 'Making Of” doco to see the 'unusual” filming methods – in these days of CGI it's a blast of inspirational madness.

Like Snakes on a Plane the best thing about Lesbian Vampire Killers (**) is the title. Actually, that's a little unfair, because there are many moments of amusement, but if you are expecting something to rival Shaun of the Dead you will be sorely disappointed. Early scenes recalling An American Werewolf in London are good but there aren't enough gags and things get a bit repetitive once it gets to the killing-the-vampires bits.

Sauna (**) is a rather baffling, though admittedly atmospheric and good-looking Scandinavian period horror film. Set in the sixteenth century after a devastating war between Russia and Sweden it centres on a small group drawing new post-war boundaries between the two countries, specifically two brothers, a soldier and a map-maker. When they reach an isolated swamp strange things start happening. Sauna could almost work as well as a tense drama about the perils of solitude, but the supernatural elements add extra tension and mystery. The problem is the ending. I watched it twice and still don't know what it's all about. Perhaps someone can email and let me know.