SNOWPIERCER is so good! It is a repeat watch Blu Ray with abundant action and I can’t get enough of it. SNOWPIERCER sadly only had a VERY limited release, as you will see below, but this one is coming out on BLU RAY and DVD on November 26th from Roadshow Films and is a MUST see, if you like action movies and you don’t win one, then BUY IT!! You can even buy it HERE. Now re-visit my review and find out how to win a copy below.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM JULY

SNOWPIERCER is hands down the best action film of 2014, it will also easily make my top films of the year and is one of the most underrated and under-marketed films ever. I have no shame in saying it – the film is a freaking masterpiece of dystopian action. It has an epic epic epic cast, mostly all English or American actors you all know and is directed by Korean director, Joon-ho Bong. It is out today, Thur July 24th, on one of the most limited screenings in the country, this is a horrendous injustice, TRANSFORMERS should have been on limited release and this should have released on every screen in the country. It is being released by Roadshow Films, is rated MA15+ and runs for 126mins. I can only find this film screening at DENDY NEWTOWN and CINEMA NOVA in VIC.

 

 

REVIEW BY JASON KING

Set in the not too distant future an attempt to reverse global warming goes horribly wrong and commences a world wide ice age. Nearly the entire planet has frozen over and the only survivors live on a giant train that never stops and perpetually travels the rails around the globe. If the train stops the people will freeze. The train has been going for just over 18yrs and life on the train is a nasty social commentary on the class system, just as in this world we live in there is a huge divide between the upper and the lower class. The lower class live in squalor at the rear end of the train and survive on a protein, jelly like food substance (you don’t want to know), while the people at the front live a life of wealth, drugs, sushi and comfort. But the people are fed up with their, (near) lack of existence. Rebellion has come to the people of Snowpiercer.

 

 

OK – first things first, what is wrong with the film, there is so little of this I want to get it out of the way. The film lost half a pop because 1)  This train is flying – I mean it is going horrendously fast, yet most of the scenes are still, you do not see the movements of the train in the shots. This could possibly be explained by the future and some sort of internal balancer etc. 2) Again the train is moving so incredibly fast and is literally plowing through snow and ice, the entire train defies what we know of physics. 3) The plot is preposterous but to be honest that was why I loved it so much, it was different and new and took us somewhere original.

That’s it – after this I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS FILM.

It is one of the most original and thought provoking science fiction action films I can think of. It never relents and has a cast to die for. On top of this the entire universe they have created for the film is so visually epic it is astounding. Think of an entire universe set in a David Fincher Alien 3 world designed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (City of Lost Children) inspired by Guillermo del Toro and sprinkled with Terry Gilliam influence, picture it, ok – that is what Snowpiercer feels like. Then add the uniqueness of a Korean director, that of the sublime Joon-ho Bong. Bong has five films listed on Rotten Tomatoes, four of them are over 89%. He is best known for the totally amazing film THE HOST. This is his second highest rated film at 94% from 137 reviews – those figures are epic. This is Bong’s first English spoken film and I applaud everything he has done, his social commentary on society and class is quite thought provoking, while totally over the top, it is not far from the truth and it is told bleakly and without much promise for the human race, kind of what I have been thinking for a while now :). 

 

 

Now, the cast. Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Luke Pasqualino (I heart thee), Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer and Ed Harris. That is all I need to say but I will add they are all epic. John Hurt returns to a very “1984” styled film. Evans is impressive, Pasqualino I cannot judge properly because I go all fuzzy but I will say it took me half of his screen time to even recognise him. Belle is superb as always, as is Spencer and Harris but, of course, hands down Tilda Swinton steals every scene in the film with her portrayal of Mason. She is acting perfection and she loves making herself look ugly, she is very similar to her character in ZERO THEOREM but her teeth in this are nearly a character unto themselves. She is a messed up leader oozing evil and selfishness and you will love her for it.

 

 

The art direction and cinematography should win awards for this film. Just shut up and give them Oscars NOW. Kyung-Pyo Hong’s cinematography is sublime, everything is filmed in tight spaces and the level of detail in these spaces with huge hand to hand combat scenes and frantic claustrophobic scenes are so well lit and framed it makes this dystopian gritty dirty film a work of art, the visuals are some of the best I have seen. This is perfectly complimented by the art direction from Stefan Novacik, he was art director on THE ILLUSIONIST and also on TV show MISSING.

Now one thing that could be negative for viewers of this film. It is brutal and violent and at times gory. For me it made the film even better, but put it this way, don’t take your grandma to this, or your mum, unless she likes epic action science fiction with a dash of brutal gore and twisted characters.

 

 

To me this film borders on perfection but I just can’t give it a perfect five pops as it isn’t without some minor flaws, I loved the film so much.

As I said earlier it is crime this film is not on mass release – this is one film that demands the biggest screen and the loudest sound system – I bow to it.

 

JK POP SCORE:

KERNEL ANDREW POP SCORE:

 

With special thanks to ROADSHOW FILMS to win one of the 2X BLU RAYS of SNOWPIERCER you need to either like and share this post on Facebook or retweet/ favourite it on Twitter, you then need to leave a comment below stating the answer to the following question:

What is the best Tilda Swinton movie of all time? My fave would probably be WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN although I love her more quirky rolls in this, GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, MOONRISE KINGDOM etc 

If you do not have Facebook and Twitter then get with the times old timer haha – You can still enter, leave your entry below and email me at jking@saltypopcorn.com.au telling me you don’t have social media (you still need to enter on the website).

Prizes will no longer be awarded to first in first served. It will now be a game of skill and selected purely on the thoughts of the judges, said judges being the Salty Kernels.

The prizes will be sent after in the next couple of weeks. Good luck! Oh, and minor housekeeping – huge apologies for overseas readers, this competition is only available to Australian residents.