As the film begins, we immediately dislike Brian. He’s (illegally) filming his day-to-day duties, as if making his own version of ‘Cops’, and fills the footage with a lot of macho posturing. Within 20 minutes however, after witnessing the type of incidents they have to attend daily, I understood why he and Mike act the way they do – it’s simply in order to keep sane. The two quickly find themselves out of their depth, when they make some gruesome discoveries and manage to piss off the wrong criminals.

End of Watch is a stunning portrayal of life in the police force, where you’re faced with horrors regularly, but are hamstrung by the limitations of your station. Whilst the incidents that occur in the film are at the absolute extreme end of the scale, the film somehow manages to stay believable. Gyllenhaal and Peña are brilliant and work off each other skilfully. I don’t know whether they were lucky enough to get hours and hours of rehearsal time, or whether Ayer simply shot a tonne of takes, but their banter is incredibly authentic.

The real star of the show is Ayer’s brilliant script. I shouldn’t be surprised, since he did of course write Training Day and direct Street Kings, two other excellent examples of the cop movie genre, but he really does excel here. However, there is one glaring flaw in the film, in that a portion of it – perhaps a quarter – is supposed to be found footage. Brian has his handicam and both officers are wearing micro cameras on their shirts, and the film frequently makes use of them. The problem is that it’s not clear when we’re watching diegetic found footage or normal non-diegetic footage. Several times I was surprised when a character suddenly looked down the lens and asked for the camera to be switched off, because I didn’t even realise the footage was supposed to be ‘real’. The fact that the rest of the film is shot in a handheld/ documentary style only makes it more confusing.

Otherwise, this is a fantastic film. Anna Kendrick is perfect as Brian’s girlfriend, Janet, David Harbour plays the always-pissed-off Van Hauser wonderfully, and America Ferrera has a complete transformation into the tough as nails Officer Orozco. The action is thrilling and you can feel the tension every time Brian and Mike approach a residence – you really get the sense that they could be met with violence at any moment. I’ve never seen a film that’s driven home the complexities of life on the thin blue line as successfully as End of Watch.

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The performances are great, which is par for the course in the PA films, and Alex and Ben are particularly likeable central characters. As usual, none of the actors are bona fide stars, so giving the film that documentary-type feel is a breeze.

That said, PA4 is easily the worst entry in the series. I am still held captive by the ongoing narrative (and I dearly hope that they one day provide us with some closure) but the main problem would have to be that this film wasn’t even remotely scary. There are jumps to be had, sure, but the sense of dread I felt in the first three films is completely missing here. There is an amusing example of product placement courtesy of Xbox Kinect that is a bit of fun, but aside from that, there’s very little inventiveness this time around. We also get some videophone call footage – one wonders if the filmmakers caught the horror anthology V/H/S earlier this year which used the same idea with better results – and, because it’s 2011, we get some scenes recorded on an iPhone. Of course, this is apparently an iPhone from the future, since it looks suspiciously like HD even when blown up to cinema screen size, but I was able to suspend disbelief nonetheless.

I rewatched Paranormal Activity 3 the other day and actually enjoyed it a lot more than I did on the first occasion. Director Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman filled that film with a multitude of shocking and cleverly constructed moments. Number 4, on the other hand, feels kind of sparse in comparison. In case anybody was wondering, the initial trailer for this film is another case of false advertising – as with PA3, most of the footage didn’t make it to the final cut.

We shouldn’t expect any different at this stage, but fans should be aware that this film asks a lot of new questions, and doesn’t go towards explaining any of the unanswered ones posited by the third film. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next film (and let’s not pretend there won’t be one) is another prequel, perhaps focussing on Katie and Kristi’s teenage years, with the film after that being a direct sequel to this one, chronologically speaking.

There is still enjoyment to be had from this franchise – putting the pieces of the puzzle together is an enjoyable process – though they’d better start clearing some things up soon otherwise they’ll test the fans’ patience. Oh, and there’s a reason to stay to the end of the credits, also…

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The latest entry into the found footage genre is Norway’s Trollhunter. It follows a trio of film students who are investigating some mysterious bear deaths. The local hunters are sure something fishy is going on, and several of them speak of a mysterious bearded fellow in a Land Rover who always seems to be nearby when another dead bear is discovered. Our film crew follow the man for some time, and it’s clear that he’s hunting something much… bigger… than bears.

This rollercoaster ride of a film is basically Blair Witch meets Cloverfield. The major difference would be that the narrative isn’t too concerned with our young heroes. Otto Jespersen’s trollhunter Hans is clearly the focus of the film, and his performance is side-splitting. He’s a gruff, world-weary type who feels like just another downtrodden public servant, having to fill out a tonne of paperwork and never getting paid for the extensive overtime he puts in. The script is hilarious yet, like Hans, it always keeps a straight face. The three young filmmakers are convincingly played by Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Mørck and Tomas Alf Larsen, but there isn’t much character-based drama for them to sink their teeth into. This is perhaps a flaw, though the footage itself is so entertaining that it never really matters.

As far as handheld footage goes, Trollhunter’s pretty good. I did make sure I sat up towards the back of the cinema so as to ward off any potential nausea, but unlike Cloverfield, this film remembers that frantic shakycam needs to be broken up by regular, steady shots to ensure that the footage never becomes too dizzying. The film occasionally cheats with the footage, edited so as to more closely mimic a reverse/obverse scene, but nowhere near as much as The Last Exorcism, in which a mysterious second camera seemed to keep popping up.

Trollhunter is a wondrous blend of fantasy, comedy and horror, and manages to be about a creature that rarely appears in monster movies. When we get to see the giant creatures in all their glory, the special effects are perfectly handled. The beginning of the film is a little too heavily edited – the film jumps about in an attempt to get the ball rolling – but thankfully towards the end we get some great drawn out action scenes. Trollhunter is a must for horror and fantasy fans.

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Most readers will by now know the basic structure of the film is mockumentary – Baron Cohen interviews real Americans in character as Kazakhstani television reporter Borat Sagdiyev, and offends or provokes them in some way, such that they respond in what becomes an ‘insight’ into American culture. Whether those being interviewed (or mocked, as it may be) were fully informed is another issue… reports of legal action by both the drunken frat-boys and several Romanian villagers used as extras mean the viewer must consider whether this was ‘all in good fun’ after all. Hung together over a wafer-thin plot, this collection of real-life scenes is supplemented by staged sequences involving Borat and his producer, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian in a rather thankless role).

While there are certainly laughs in Borat, much of the humour lies at the bottom of the barrel – the hilarious (but rather prolonged) naked wrestling and chase scene between Borat and Azamat is the best example. It is almost impossible not to be moved to laughter at the sight of the hairy and sweaty Davitian being beaten by the similarly undressed Baron Cohen, and yet the appeal lies surely in the lower realms of comedy. Several running jokes also are amusing, including the seemingly innocuous chicken in the travel bag. There are many scenes that just don’t quite work, however, including those that must have been expected to provide much mirth. The dinner party scene, in which Borat pushes some conservative upper class Americans just to see how far he can, is uninspired and particularly disappointing. Instead of intelligently drawing them out on their assumptions and possible prejudices, they are bluntly prodded by Borat behaving in an incredibly base manner, and although it is mildly amusing, Borat misses a golden opportunity to really discover how these Americans think. There are also sequences in which the only honest response can be ‘yeah, so?’. Singing the ‘national anthem’ of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan greatest country in the world. All other countries are run by little girls etc) at a rodeo to the tune of Star-Spangled Banner is only going to provoke one response, and one wonders how anyone could be surprised.

Borat also relies far too heavily on displaying his own (many) prejudices to encourage others to admit theirs – racism, sexism and homophobia only start the list. Baron Cohen knows that behaving in this way is bound to make viewers uncomfortable, and uses this to advantage in encouraging an exploration of political correctness and social acceptability. It does become wearing though, to see yet another example of Kazakhstani anti-Semitism, when perhaps the point has been made already.

Borat and Azamat are convincingly played by Baron Cohen and Davitian, and they are certainly a charming pair. Perhaps with a stronger plotline than the incredibly flimsy one on show here, an interesting movie about the experience of a foreign national on a road trip in the US may have developed. As it stands though, Borat is a disappointing mess of wasted promise.

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Played with charm and perfect timing by co-writer Shane Jacobson, Kenny is the personification of optimism, a modern Atlas who bears the burdens of his chosen career with a smile and a wry wit that is an inspiration to those who think their work can be tough. For what could be more difficult than trying to protect your portaloos from a drunken mob determined to set them on fire? Or attempting to remain cooperative and graceful when festival patrons continually want to have a crack at you, and all you’re trying to do is provide them with a clean and safe environment to perform their necessary ablutions?

The magic of Kenny is in his drier-than-dry approach as he discusses his work in the most straightforward and brutal manner that turns several moments into comic highlights. Kenny’s frankness may offend some people – it would be advisable for those easily bothered by discussions of defaecation to save themselves the trouble – but for anyone with a sense of humour about such matters there is gold in the turns of phrase. The script zings with unexpected moments of hilarity, in which Kenny will use a particular colloquialism or idiom that perfectly matches its need, and yet is probably being voiced for the first time ever on screen.

Kenny is brilliantly portrayed, however there are times early in the film when his story seems somewhat aimless; the introduction of several key characters in the middle stages does partially correct this anomaly. The Jacobson family are able to reveal far more of their titular hero through his responses to several challenges to his formerly stable and settled existence: his father’s illness, an eye-opening and career-changing conference, and a possible new romantic interest. Kenny is a very funny and well written caricature until these moments give him the depth of character he deserves.

Although there are sections that don’t quite work, the overall success of Kenny lies in the polished script and brilliant performance of its leading man, who makes Kenny such an heroic figure he must surely win over the hardest of viewers. His determination to do the best for himself and his family makes him an inspiration, and his self-acceptance and self-deprecatory wit allow him to become the audience’s mate, which is a powerful combination in a film so heavily reliant on one character. There is absolutely the sense that one wants this man to achieve his dreams.

For anyone desiring a relaxing and amusing slice of Australian life without the darkness, perversion and murder so commonplace in our recent offerings, the story of a “glorified turd-burglar” may be just the ticket.

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A Mighty Wind starts off with a bang. The first few scenes are absolutely hilarious, and I remember thinking that this was definitely the best of the series of mockumentaries. But this soon tapered off, and I remember that this happens in every one of these films. The jokes are further and further apart, and by the end of the film the plot has well and truly taken precedence over the comedy.

This is a problem with comedies, and why so many fail. You can keep up the jokes all the way through a feature, but audiences often get tired of laughing (Monty Python And The Holy Grail is a good example). More often the laughs die down as the plot gets a little serious.

A Mighty Wind is entertaining nonetheless. All the actors here are in fine form, and Guest himself is truly a master of disguise – you only need to compare his characters from the mockumentaries with The Princess Bride’s Count Rugen. Unfortunately Parker Posey has quite a small role in this film, but there are so many roles that it’s understandable that this would happen.

We are presented with pretty much the same technique as the previous films – it looks like a documentary except every now and again cameras appear in places they shouldn’t. The actors seem to be ad-libbing in the same manner as the previous films, and it’s truly wonderful to see such an incredible bunch of talented actors in the one place.

Special mention should be made of Eugene Levy, who for the first time (that I can think of) plays a different character to his standard one that appears in Best In Show, American Pie and others. He is truly incredible in this film and definitely a highlight.

A Mighty Wind is pretty much of the same standard as Best In Show and Waiting For Guffman. If you enjoyed them then you’re bound to enjoy this.

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