the M's Talk

Sin City

Three stories from the corrupt underbelly of Basin City intertwine involving an aging cop trying to protect a young girl from a child rapist and killer, an psychotic ex-con revenging himself upon those who framed him for the death of a hooker and a killer in the middle of a turf war between the mob and a heavily armed red light district after the girls accidentally kill a corrupt cop. Containing all the trademark Noir elements of Frank Miller, Sin City is cinema aping comic books aping cinema. And it works brilliantly. Rodriguez was the perfect man for the job, and his brilliantly dynamic and stylized visuals combined with a frame-by-frame recreation of the original graphic novel does something no other comic book movie has done before; literally brought the source material to life. Using brilliantly crisp black and white photography splashed with vibrant primary colours and inventive CGI that actually plays a relevant part in the action (for a change) Sin City is surely the best looking movie made so far. Populated with super cool characters played by super cool actors spouting super cool hard-boiled dialogue, this film is...well, you get the idea. It may not be to everyone's taste as some of the violence is a little gruesome and it is can be accused of a case of style over substance, but what style it is. A nigh on perfect slice of popular culture.

Vertigo

An emotionally shattered ex-detective becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles the love he failed to prevent from committing suicide in one of Alfred Hitchcock's great psychological thrillers. James Stewart gives one of his most intense performances as the disturbed acrophobic, and although not really known for her thespian skills, the lovely Kim Novak is actually very convincing in her dual roles as haunted heiress and stalkee. It's one of Hitch's most visually creative films with some very clever and subtle visual tricks and uses of shadow and lighting complimented by a wonderfully other-worldly soundtrack. Mixing elements of psychology, obsession, the supernatural and an extremely clever noir-style plot this is a unique film and one of the true classics. The climax is unforgettable.

Jackie Brown

Aging flight attendant Pam Grier is caught between the police and ruthless gun runner Samuel L. Jackson and enlists the help of bail bondsman Robert Forster to scam half a million dollars in the process. Jackie Brown was met with a level of disappointment when it was released; yes it had the cool ensemble cast, excellent retro soundtrack and prolific use of the "N" word, but where were the violence, idiosyncratic characters and quirky comic dialogue we were all expecting? But the fact is, Jackie Brown is by far the most mature film Tarantino has made so far. The dialogue is more naturalistic, the characters believable and well written, and the statuesque queen of blaxploitation, Pam Grier proves that the years have in no way diminished her charisma and sex appeal. She gives a sensitive, layered performance of a woman who is full of confidence on the surface, masking an underlying fear of a wasted life; her relationship with Forster is full of warmth and sincerity rather than the contrived romantic bullshit you find in most Hollywood thrillers. Jackson is also fantastic as the cold as ice killer, and they spark off each other brilliantly. This film is easily Tarantino's most low key and mainstream, but this most definitely is not a bad thing and deserves to be revisited by anyone who felt that disappointment the first time around.

Double Indemnity

Fast talking insurance salesman Fred MacMurray falls for beautiful but ice cold oil tycoon's wife Barbara Stanwyck and together they hatch a scheme to kill off her husband for the insurance money. Using the classic technique of beginning at the end, the entire story is narrated by a blood stained MacMurray as he gives his insight into the downward spiral his life took the moment he got involved with the irresistible femme fatale. Stanwyck is perfect in this role; glamorous, but with a steely gaze that belies the emptiness of her heart. As is MacMurray playing the sap who thinks he is in control, but Edward G. Robinson still manages to steal every scene he is in as the wily investigator. Anyone looking for a feelgood movie with a happy ending should give this one a miss, but if it's an expertly written, brilliantly played and influential cornerstone of an entire genre you want, this is straight down the line...

The Bridge on the River Kwai

A stubborn English Colonel locks horns with a similarly duty-bound Japanese prison camp commander over the building of a strategically important railway bridge during the second world war. David Lean's prisoner of war story is a tale of obsession, and it is the battle of wills between Alec Guiness and his Japanese counterpart that forms the core of the story. Examining the cliche of the British stiff upper lip, although Guiness' obstinate refusal to co-operate with the enemy gives his men the spirit to carry on, it is more his own personal obsession (bordering on insanity) than heroism that eggs him on. On the other side of the coin, it is William Holden's hustling commander, actually more interested in self-preservation (echoing his role in Stalag 17) who must show him the error of his ways during an unforgettable finale that brilliantly captures the madness of war. It is maybe a little longer than it needs to be, as the central section away from the bridge itself is rather less interesting, but Guiness' performance is superb, and this film is rightly considered as an all-time classic.

Cape Fear

A lawyer finds his family terrorized by a brutal woman hating sociopath who blames him for sending him to jail for 8 years. Gregory Peck was the perfect casting choice as the morally upstanding husband and father who finds he must question his principles when the law fails to protect them from such a wily and dangerous predator. But it is Mitchum on top form who steals the film and brings a real sense of underlying menace to his character; the scenes he shares with Peck crackle with tension. There's also some strong support from the ever reliable Martin Balsam and Telly Savalas (sporting a full head of hair!) and the family scenes are refreshingly syrup free. With a very memorable score and great showdown featuring a classic closing speech, this is far better than the uncharacteristically crass Martin Scorsese remake.

Defiance

Defiance is the true story of Jewish brothers Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber who hid from the Nazis in the Belarussian forest, and quickly found themselves with an entire community of fleeing refugees to protect. Edward Zwick has always been fond of telling stories about the triumph of the human spirit, although he has been guilty of over egging the sentimental side of things to get his intended point across. Defiance is no exception, but thanks to some clever writing and a strong central performance by Daniel Craig, this film manages to pull itself back from the brink of schmaltz. When Craig mounted a white steed and gave a very Braveheart speech to his new subjects, I thought "Oh great...here we go again...", but soonafter when the people begin to starve, he promptly pulls out a Luger and puts a bullet in its head, almost as if to say "there's a time and a place for pomp and bluster, but this isn't it"! He shows the conflict between animal instinct and humanity quite nicely, sometimes showing compassion and yes, speech making, but at others dealing with the issues at hand with a ruthless efficiency. Craig and some handsome photography made this film for me, and although it is guilty of emotional button pushing, sometimes those are the button you want to be pushed. Especially when it comes to seeing at least a small victory against the greatest shower of evil bastards ever to walk the Earth.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Legendary outlaws Butch and Sundance rob one too many trains and an elite force of lawmen force them to relocate to Bolivia. Yet another of Hollywood's romantic reinterpretations of history featuring outlaws who are lovable rogues who don't want to hurt anyone, George Roy Hill's classic western actually features little in the way of gunplay (although the final shoot out is well worth waiting for). The core of the film is Butch and Sundance's enduring friendship and as such it concentrates far more on warmth and humour than bullets and blood; in fact you have to wait til near the end before a single shot is fired. Often when two major stars are paired up, ego prevails and one-upmanship can ruin any potential on-screen chemistry, but once in a while two stars can strike up chemistry that is pure cinematic gold. This is the case with Newman and Redford (a partnership obviously and consciously aped by Clooney and Pitt in the Ocean's films), and its a shame they didn't make more films together. The dialogue is always witty and fun, and the characters are all very endearing; even the romance with Katharine Ross is refreshingly schmaltz-free and understated, and is all the more charming for it. The only dark cloud on the horizon are the cornball musical interludes which some may find some kitsch enjoyment in, but I personally found them dated and unnecessary. This flaw is minor compared to the hugely entertaining whole and it features one of the best endings ever filmed.

Rope

Two upper class intellectuals plan the "perfect" murder of an old school friend for the sheer thrill of it and hold a dinner party for his friends and family with the corpse hidden within the room. Rope is most famous for its "one shot" conceit as the story takes place entirely within the same room, Hitchcock concealing (albeit somewhat clumsily) the cuts between reels. I feel however that is the least interesting aspect of the film, as the ideas expressed within, the sharp dialogue and Hitch's usual ability to crank up the tension are the real reason why it works. Hitchcock plays with the audience, placing us in the room with characters, they and their conversations even being demoted to off-screen from time to time as he constantly reminds us of the foul deed that could be discovered at any moment. When recreating the murder, he uses nothing as crude as flashbacks; he entices the audience to relive it through vicarious imagination. The story is told entirely through the verbal sparring of the party guests, Jimmy Stewart being the perfect casting choice as their old schoolmaster who begins to suspect something is afoot, his image as Capra's morally upstanding man of the people is given a different spin within this macabre situation. Here, he is the cynical misanthropist shown the logical conclusion of his contempt for "inferior" humanity and the concluding speech when faced with his grim discovery is electrifying. Hitchcock made a few anti-Nazi propaganda pieces for the war effort, and this contempt for intellectual arrogance and self-superiority and its inferred fascistic overtones echoes the sentiment of those films. This strong moral message and taut story telling make for a gripping thriller that although a little stagy, still packs a thought provoking punch.

The Wrestler

To start off here I'm not a fan of wrestling. I outgrew by the time I was 13 years old so I wasn't dying to watch a movie about the sport but since it had one of my favorite actors in it. (Mickey Rourke) I knew I had to check it out. After having watched it, I can easily say that 'The Wrestler' is one of the finest films I have ever seen! It gave me an inside perspective on the wrestling world, one that made me realize that what we call fake could be the only real thing in these wrestler's lives. The beauty of 'The Wrestler' is that it'll appeal to not only the niche audience of wrestling fans but also the general movie goers with no interest in wrestling.

The Wrestler makes for a fantastic and fascinating character study. The fictional character of Randy 'The Ram' has achieved the pinnacle of fame and success as a wrestler in the 1980s but loses it all and fades into the oblivion. Now, he lives all alone in a trailer park, is poor both materialistically and in terms of relationships. Then Randy despite his fading health, decides to make a big comeback after 20 long years and resurrect his career. The conundrum this character faces of deciding which place he truly belongs ? the wrestling world where the fans cheer and shout when he jumps from the top of the ring or the actual world where he lives in the wilderness and is just a middle aged man going through financial and emotional crisis, makes for the rest of the plot.

The Wrestler shows you the de-glamorized and behind the rings footage of what actually happens in the wrestling world - of how fights are choreographed and the hazards these athletes take. Essentially, the plot can be divided into three parts ? Randy's comeback, the stripper played by Marisa Tomei whom Randy visits as a customer but develops feelings for, and his daughter with whom he tries to mend his broken relationship. The turmoil that the protagonist goes through in these three areas of his life truly shakes you. All along you feel and are moved by the entire range of emotions of this character, be it his frustrations, regret, anger, anguish or cynicism. The screenplay is filled with so many deeply moving moments that bring out the tears in your eyes.

Mickey Rourke, who plays Andy is pretty much at home playing the tough wrestler and does a great job at that. But what surprises is you is his perfection and brilliance in the scenes where he shows or expresses his emotions. The scene where he confesses his regret to his daughter makes you dig inside your pocket for that handkerchief! It is a phenomenal performance by Mickey Rourke and it would be criminal on the part of the Academy to deny him an Oscar for the 'Best Performance in a leading role.' Other highly noteworthy performances are of Marisa Tomei who plays the stripper and Randy's daughter played by Rachel Wood, who is with her raw emotions in the scene where her father fails to turn up for the dinner he promised they'd take together, deeply impacts you.

Darren Afronosky has got it all right 'The Wrestler'. It is grounded, true to life tale and one of the best, if not the best movies of 2008. And yes I reiterate that there's no one more deserving than Mickey Rourke for the best actor Oscar this year. Its a knock out performance

2001: A Space Odyssey

2001 is a film that does not concern anything so trite as human relationships. 2001 is a film of a scale so epic as to never have been conceived before. Up until 1968, sci-fi was all about flying saucers, death rays and theramins. Kubrick set about making a film themed around the history of the human species, from the dawn of man through to space exploration and beyond. The first thing that strikes you about this film is its sheer visual spectacle; Kubrick's juxtaposition of classical music with the elegance of space travel shows technology not as clunky and ugly, but a thing of beauty. His use of colour is breathtaking, from the cold blues of outer space, to the vivid reds of the ship's systems and the stunning pure whites and primary colours of the still brilliant looking retro future styling of the space station's interiors. He takes pains to show the logistics of space travel, mixing the mundane with the surreal images of an existence without the influence of gravity. But it is the stargate sequence that is the truly jaw dropping part of this film, and it is still one of the most visually stunning scenes ever committed to celluloid. The main criticism levelled at this film is its infamous obtuseness, Kubrick deliberately leaving the implications of the themes he is exploring for the viewer to conclude for themselves. I would seriously suggest to anyone having trouble coming to grips with it to read the book, as it does explain all. Kubrick was an artist, and this is his masterpiece; only he could even have attempted to sum up the entire history of humanity in a single cut. Amazing.

Youngblood

Youngblood is a by-the-numbers sports story, of the "underdog youth makes good" variety. Within this framework, the actual sports change from film to film, and sometimes the stories are about a team rather than one individual, but the basic curve of excitement never changes. The newcomer needs to excel because sports are his ticket out of a life of drudgery. The budding star has talent, but is missing some key ingredient which holds him back. After a few initial successes, he is thwarted by an evil entity. Sometimes the obstacle is a player on another team, other times an injury, sometimes the problem lies within himself. In the course of the film the youngster overcomes the problem, defeats the nemesis, gets the girl, and wins the big game in time for the credits to roll over the applause.

In this case, Youngblood is a young American hockey player who sees the sport he loves as his only way out of a lifetime of farming or mill work. His older brother had the same dream, but an injury permanently took him out of the sport, and now the younger brother has been given a chance. He must overcome two obstacles: a thug on the other championship contender, and his own dislike of fighting. To make his challenge even tougher, he meets a girl (Cynthia Gibb) right after joining his first professional team, and she turns out to be the coach's only daughter, which doesn't please the coach.

Well, we all know the formula, so the rest of the film is predictable, but I really enjoyed this film. I basically like this formula to begin with, and it helps when the film is about a sport you kinda enjoy and/or know something about. In the end, however, it is not the familiar story, but the unique execution that makes this kind of picture succeed or fail. In this case, the characters are all likeable, the hockey action is believable, and the film even managed a couple of serious themes. Best of all, the film is liberally sprinkled with humor. An easy watch.

The Jacket

An Iraq war veteran sent home with serious head trauma is convicted of a murder he does not remember committing. While enduring an experimental "treatment" at the hands of a sadistic doctor, he suddenly finds himself somewhere and somewhen else. This off beat sci-fi fantasy has a lot of elements of familiar wish-fulfillment and time travel stories. His romance with emotional burn out Keira Knightley reminded me a little of Eternal Sunshine, the meddling with time aspect is very like The Butterfly Effect and the whole time travel/mental hospital scenario is very Twelve Monkeys. The thing that makes this film is the combination of great performances and the way that although it feels a little generic, it continually hops between those genres without feeling disjointed which keeps the story intriguing right til the end. Adrien Brody is excellent as the long suffering patient, as is an almost unrecognizable Daniel Craig as his Cuckoo's Nest style confidante. There are some nice visual flourishes and the direction is nice and tight, the film far from outstaying its welcome. I quite enjoyed the darker aspect of The Butterfly Effect, and this film does something similar with a far more inventive and mature approach. I liked it a lot.

My Bloody Valentine 3-D

****Some Spoilers Here*************

This remake of the 80s slasher film stars Jensen Ackles as Tom Hanniger, survivor of a Valentine's Day massacre by masked killer Harry Warden. Returning home to the scene of the terrible incident exactly ten years later, Tom?now owner of the town's primary source of revenue, the local mine?intends to put his past behind him by selling the business and leaving town forever. Unfortunately, his plans do not run smoothly: the local mining community is not happy with his decision to sell the mine; Tom's love for old flame Sarah (Jaime King)?now the sheriff's wife? is rekindled; and worst of all, it looks like Harry Warden has returned, pick-axe in hand, to continue his gruesome work.

After an introductory montage of news reports that set up a basic back-story for the killer, My Bloody Valentine starts proper with its gory prologue?the wholesale slaughter of a group of teens partying in the Hanniger mine. A tense and extremely bloody scene which showcases the newly developed 3D process to impressive effect, it's a promising start to what turns out to be solid entry in the horror remake cycle that is going on right now.

The film then moves to the present day, and wastes no time in drenching the screen in even more of the red stuff as a masked maniac?dressed in attire identical to the now-presumed-dead Warden? attacks a couple at a sleazy motel, planting his pick in the guy's head and starts chasing the buck naked babe for longer than is really necessary ( not that I'm complaining), pausing only to pin a dwarf to the ceiling with his pick. Loaded with gratuitous full frontal nudity (hooray for 3D tits and ass!!), this showstopper of a scene is my fave part of the whole film as well as others who were in theater with me.

The film does develop a love story triangle like the original and it adds some extra depth to the film along with the murder mystery aspect of the original which is something I always enjoyed. Is it Harry Warden or a copycat killer?

Also for me it was good to see Tom Atkins in the film. One of my favorites from Escape From New York, The Fog and the classic Night Of The Creeps. Its good to see him in a film on the big screen again.

To sum up this is just a fun old school slasher film in 3D. If you take it as such you will have a great time. Kick back and enjoy.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Domineering Philip Seymour Hoffman talks his weak willed younger brother into helping him rob their parents jewelry store to solve both their financial difficulties, but when the heist goes wrong, their lives start to unravel. Sidney Lumet has been making quality thrillers for 50 years, but in his latest effort, he takes a few cues from his younger pretenders. The plot themes have a lot in common with Fargo and A Simple Plan and the execution is reminiscent of Jackie Brown and its familiar disjointed timeline. In fact there is little here that hasn't been done before so don't expect much in the way of originality or surprises. But the quality cast all put in solid performances and Lumet certainly still knows how to pace a story and crank up the suspense. No gimmickry, no pointless frills; just an extremely well crafted and intelligent thriller.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Domineering Philip Seymour Hoffman talks his weak willed younger brother into helping him rob their parents jewelry store to solve both their financial difficulties, but when the heist goes wrong, their lives start to unravel. Sidney Lumet has been making quality thrillers for 50 years, but in his latest effort, he takes a few cues from his younger pretenders. The plot themes have a lot in common with Fargo and A Simple Plan and the execution is reminiscent of Jackie Brown and its familiar disjointed timeline. In fact there is little here that hasn't been done before so don't expect much in the way of originality or surprises. But the quality cast all put in solid performances and Lumet certainly still knows how to pace a story and crank up the suspense. No gimmickry, no pointless frills; just an extremely well crafted and intelligent thriller.

The Notorious Bettie Page

Araburu tamashii-tachi (Agitator) (The Outlaw Souls)

Takashi Miike's Agitator is a story set in the world of the Japanese Yakuza. A larger gang engineers the death of two of its smaller rivals leaders in an attempt to absorb them into their family, not counting on the fierce loyalty of one of their factions and their need for retribution. This film is ultimately about the difference between the needs of big business and the individual set in the brutal world of crime. Kunihiko is not shown as a hero exactly, just a man with an honest single-mindedness who cannot forget the loyalty to his "brothers" forged on the street for the sake of business interests; something that the slippery, money obsessed pseudo-bureaucrats at the top of the ladder cannot understand. It's a tough, uncompromising gangster story filled with graphic violence and has some interesting subtexts, as Kunihiko is shown almost as a samurai Ronin who has no purpose in life other than to avenge his master. Scenes involving a woman who I can only assume is Kunihiko's girlfriend pop up randomly and seem out of place mainly because she is never even mentioned when she is off screen, but otherwise its a cleverly plotted and visceral gangster film that I'd recommend to all fans of Takeshi Kitano and Martin Scorsese, or crime drama in general.