John's Talk

American Teen

Sexy Beast

I've seen this at least six times, and I can say without any hesitation whatsoever that it's at or very near the top of my list of 'coolest movies ever made'. To begin with, one of the main characters is a guy named Gal, which gives you an indication that anything is about to go. And it does. Ray Winstone plays Gary 'Gal' Dove, a retired British gangster now living the good life in sunny Spain, and the opening scene where he's poolside baking in the sun as The Stranglers' song Peaches blasts from the soundtrack gives a good indication of the fun that's in store. His voice-over, in full Cockney accent, will bring a dumb smile to your face that will remain plastered there for the rest of the movie, if you're anything like me. Shortly thereafter, Gal comes heart-stoppingly close to being obliterated by a falling boulder the size of a small planet, which lands splashingly at the bottom of the pool. A foreshadowing of things to come? I won't spill the beans here. You'll just have to see for yourself. Not long after that life-threatening event, the sweet life of Gal and his wife Deedee (Amanda Redman) is interrupted by a visit from Gal's old associate Don Logan (Ben Kingsley, in mad dog mode (should've gotten the Oscar, but the Academy blew it by giving it to Jim Broadbent for Iris)). Kingsley should've sent Don Logan to piss on their bathroom carpets. But, never mind. Logan is on a mission from head gangster Teddy Bass (a never more terrifying Ian McShane) to recruit Gal for a bank job back in England, and he's not the kind of guy who takes no for an answer. But that's exactly the answer Gal tries to give him, leading to some hilarious interplay between the two men, with Gal in serious fear for his life, but refusing to give an inch, and Logan using every threat he has at his disposal, spoken and unspoken, to try to convince him otherwise. [Example - Gal: I'm going to have to turn this opportunity down.
Don: No, you're going to have to turn this opportunity YES!] You can probably guess that Gal does end up doing the job, but in the meantime Don Logan has mysteriously disappeared, much to the consternation of Teddy Bass, who suspects Gal of some unnamed foul play. The scenes between Winstone and McShane are nail-bitingly tense, as Bass tries to use the sheer force of his personality to break down Gal's defences, while Gal tries to project innocence and calm, while sweating bullets and trying to keep from cracking under the pressure. McShane has one of the best lines in the movie in a conversation with Harry (James Fox), the inside man on the bank job. [Teddy: What are you staring at? Harry: The back of your head. Teddy: Well, don't. Stare at the back of your own fucking head.] McShane's dry delivery kills me every single time. And another classic, when Bass is asked by his right-hand man if he thinks the bank job is 'do-able', he replies, "Where there's a will - and there is a fucking will - there's a way - and there is a fucking way." Kudos to first-time screenwriters Louis Mellis and David Scinto, who never set a foot wrong. Just check out Don Logan's extended monologue in the scene where he's being thrown off the plane for refusing to put out his cigarette, during which he accuses one of the stewards of inappropriately touching his 'front bottom'. Absolutely brilliant, and brilliantly delivered by Kingsley, with a feigned innocence that has to be seen to be believed. We know what Logan is like, and to see him play the sexual victim of an airline steward that he could no doubt eat for lunch on a bad day is just too delicious to be described. I almost neglected to mention the demonic machine-gun toting rabbit-like creature that keeps appearing in Gal's dreams. I know what you're thinking, that it's shades of Donnie Darko, but Beast was released in 2000 and Darko in 2001, so no more needs to be said about that. I think the movie could've done without that particular invention, but it does add a certain amount of fun to the proceedings, and when the writing is this good, we can forgive an indulgence or two. Last but not least, a huge amount of credit has to go to director Jonathan Glazer, who achieved brilliance here, in his feature film debut, and followed it up with the intriguing Birth in 2004. He may never come close to topping Sexy Beast, but I for one will be watching closely to see if he has the balls to try.

Home Movie

Fascinating documentary depicitng lives of peope who have a 'special' and unusual way of creating their immediate home. Be at the man living on a boat in the everglades, the cat family or the kooky inventor who plans to be reborn in a humanoid robot he built.

An entertaining, yet enlighting view of how people are able to construct their lives according to their own beliefs and imaginations.

Baby Bible Bashers

A great documentary dealing with children who are 'disciples' of God. I am putting it that way because the movie examines carefully in which ways parents drive and force their children into fundamentalistic labour in the name of the Lord. A seven year old, who gets spanked if he disobeys and preaches in front of abortion clinic, an African-American child that is filling the churches by the thousands while his dad filss his pocket with money and a young, tiny girl who decided to sleep in her father's bed until she gets married and whose father is choreographing her preachings.

A shocking movie that is even more hard to digest due to the fact that you can't help but feel sorry for the children and furious at their parents.

This documentarty is highly recommended both in terms of contents as well as visual aesthetic and the necessary journalistic distance.

Awakenings

Hard to digest, yet very warm and full of melancholic beauty at times. Robert De Niro's performance alone make this movie worthwhile. As does the solid acting by Robin Wlliiams and the hand-picked rest of the cast. The movie is very tragic and the ending is not much of a happy end (dont want to spoil it), but that makes it even more likeable. It respects his characters and is, after all, based on a true story (Actually, it is based on a non-fiction book by Oliver Sacks, M.D. which is a good read btw.) So, I do recommend this movie, especially if you are a fan of Williams and/or De Niro.
H.

Boy A

Michael Clayton

As a fan of Clooney generally, and Tony Gilroy's skillfull manipulation of the Bourne reboot, I was eager to see this film and it is a feast for drama fans. The cast is excellent; Clooney's self-destructive, world weary protagonist is a nice mirror of his Three Kings role earlier in his career; Swinton is, as always, excellent and highly watchable; and Wilkinson lends his likeable theatrics to another of his larger-than-life characters. Gilroy's direction is good also, the tight underplayed dialogue full of meaningful glances and cutaways, although the films pacing is a little meandering and the flashback format is ultimately unnecessary. It's a shame then, that the film feels so hollow throughout and even the titular character's victory doesn't seem to satisfy him all that much in the same way that it doesn't satisfy the audience. There's never any doubt in your mind that Clooney will come out on top from the outset, but the road travelled to that victiory should be more gripping and the revelation that corporations are greedy thug-like entities that will stop at nothing to get their way is not news in today's climate. On the whole, the film is very enjoyable but should be so much more, justifying all those Oscar nominations, and feels a little like it was made ten years too late, losing any of it's shock value.

Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (Ladies of the Park)

A haunting French film noire, which could easily be responsible for coining the phrase femme fatale. Maria Cesares is brilliant portrating the plotting spider who weaves the web around the men she loves and the women she despises to lure them into a fatal liason. The dialogue is very lyrical and the emotions (particulary the ending) ooze with vivid tearjerks, this movie from France after all. This movie is also remarkably raunchy for 46 showing some decent amount of underwear and skin, which makes this movie both a classic and a dare. If you have any affinity with film noir or French cinema at all this movie is highly recommended and it might serve as a good introduction to French Cinema for you if you have not been confronted with it yet.

Go fetch it and tell me what you think of it !

Henrik

Dear Wendy

What an extraordinary imaginative and well directed movie that was. The story is about a gang of boys, led by the somewhat off-beatish boy Dick who form a gang called the "Dandies", a secret society obsessed with classic marksmanship and honor codes. The movie adressess many issues on a very subtle and beautifully mellow level. The question of gun possession, how modern weaponry and warfare went over the top, especially in the context of youth politics. The movie has the quirkyness and love for its characters like a Wes Anderson movie, but also sports the brooding Post-America atmosphere of Lars von Trier and David Lynch movies. The cast is brilliant, from Pullman to Jamie Bell, so is the 60ies OST. I strongly recommend this movie to my friends here at Flixster, you will be surprised and raising your eyebrows at times but cannot help to be immersed, forced to rethink often and of course entertained by this work of art.

H.

Dogville

A very interesting movie mirroring the ambivalence of human morale. It is hard to position yourself as the movie ends and that is a very good "illustration" of the peciularness we are facing when it comes to deciding what is good and what is evil.

A good cast, the mixture of experienced actors and newcomers as well as the different national backgrounds make this an interesting ensemble piece to watch.

The Dark Knight

Nolan cements his reputation as one of mainstream Hollywood's most prolific film-makers with this outstanding tribute to the Batman mythos. Uncompromising in terms of Nolan's epic vision and the dark tone he affords the movie, TDK is a serious-minded, child unfriendly meditation on the themes of escalation and security versus personal freedom that, despite it's certificate, pulls no punches and is genuinely unsettling throughout. Like any of the great Batman comics, the Dark Knight is portrayed as more of an anti-hero who, although dedicated to combatting crime, is unable prevent his presence attracting the very criminals he strives to rid Gotham of. Ledger's Joker is the perfect nemesis for this contemporary re-telling of Batman, for the first time highlighting the fact that Gotham's shadowy protector is just as psychotic as himself, albeit a more benevolent, restrained version. Although Ledger is provided with the character, dialogue and actions to steal every scene he's in, his performance isn't as complacent as that of Jack Nicholson and he creates a villain that is in turns hilarious and hideous, armed with a horrifyingly compelling Tyler Durden-esque plan designed to break Gotham. Eckhart deserves kudos for playing a memorable villain also, successfully underplaying him while The Joker goes for the bombast. His Harvey Dent is a likable rogue - charming and arrogant - that masks the brooding angry thug that will manifest itself as Two-Face in the last act of the film. TDK does exactly what a sequel should do - takes the good parts from the original film and expands upon them to elevate the franchise to the heights of greatness that few other comic book films will be able to match. Sure it's got things wrong with it but what summer blockbuster hasn't? Any flaws are minor compared to the overall product.

You Can Count On Me

Mein Schulfreund (My School Chum)