burn after reading (2008)

the coen brother's most recent film is more in the vein of "the ladykillers'' than it is "no country for old men", which is hardly a good thing. at times i felt like screaming at the tv, and while it was fairly inoffensive and fairly free-wheeling, one cant help but be of the attitude that the talent on screen would have been better utilised in an alternative film. brad pitt is great tho, as is richard jenkins in a supporting role. frances mcdormand is beyond annoying tho, and while i understand that this was the intention she still grates beyond belief. john malkovich once again proves that no one can do angry quite as well as him, with tilda swinton great as his wife and george clooney as affable as usual as her lover.

all in all it was ok, but ok isnt really expected or downright good enough coming off of the back of "no country for old men".

true lies (1994)

james cameron and arnold schwarzenegger's third collaboration is probably their most downright entertaining. "true lies", a remake of a french film, basically turns the conventions and expectations of the spy genre on its head, creating a film that comes off like james bond crossed with a sitcom. the film also has the unique selling point of tom arnolds finest moment, as arnie's wingman. sure the film is ridiculously over the top, but its a significantly more entertaining film than any of the pre-daniel craig bond flicks. interestingly i noticed the use of scope and depth that cameron seems to be keen on. perhaps this was an indication of the 3D-obsessed direction he would undertake in the years after.

the exorcist (1973)

watching william friedkin's seminal adaptation of william peter blatty's novel for the first time since i was a teenager, and off of the back of a screening of ''doubt'' proved a very positive experience. as a boy it was the overtly shocking moments of the film that i was attracted to, but as i have grown (and hopefully developed!) it is the thematic notions that strike the most fear. as an exploration into the themes of questioning ones faith rather bizarrely brought to mind scorsese's ''mean streets''.

i have every intention of returning to this review at some point, in the vain of a proper analysis.

gone baby, gone (2007)

i first came across ben affleck's impressive directorial outing on region 1 dvd several months before it saw release in british theatres, due to the similiarities between the madeline mccann case and the one in the film. when attempting to 'sell' the concept of a ben affleck picture to my friends (most people still associating the guy with the whole ''bennifer'' circus) i used the notion that ''gone baby, gone'' felt like a big screen spin off of the television show ''the wire'', which i feel to be the greatest television show in the history of the medium. thats not to say that ''gone baby, gone" is as good a film as ''the wire'' is a television show, but the similiarities in tone and style are definately there. michael k. williams, ''the wire's'' 'omar' manages to make an appearance too.

on second viewing, some years after my initial one, the film held up greatly. casey affleck, ben's brother, shines in the role of a local private detective, employed by the family of a missing girl. while the ending of the film almost jarres with what has gone before, its not enough to distract from what is an all round great piece of film.

pale rider (1985)

it amazes me just how much variation clint eastwood brought to the western genre. from the days of "rawhide", through the european revisionist time of the dollars trilogy (wherein he learnt his craft), the late 70's revisionist period he kickstarted with "the outlaw josey wales" and the 90's post-modern of "unforgiven", he has continually managed to update what is considered by many to be an overly familiar genre. "pale rider" fell between "the outlaw josey wales" and "unforgiven", with eastwood starring as a mysterious preacher with a mysterious past.

as is to be expected with the later work of eastwood, we are given the topics of fidelity and authoritarian abuse to deal with. the anti-corporate message underlying the plight of the gold miners is clearly a reaction to the politics and business ethics pf the 1980's.

gomorrah (2008)

originally i missed gomorrah theatrically, due to a summer in paris, alas i was looking forward highly to catching up with the film on dvd. matteo garrone's insight into one of the worlds 'silent' mafia's proved a great watch, if a little more inaccessible than originally expected (not that thats a negative thing, im just a little surprised that the film received such high crossover appeal). the film consists of several intertwining stories, each of which revolve around a different aspect of the camorra, the naples organised crime group. the story of two young upstarts is the most immediate and forthcoming, and i can understand just why their visages adorned the marketing campaign, yet for me the story of the haute couture tailor turned truck driver proved to be the most memorable segment, and the one that stuck with me greatest afterwards.

considering the nature of the story, ''gamorrah'' is a staggering achievement. the way in which, alongside the source material book, ''gamorrah'' single handedly managed to bring to light a previously little known crime bracket is interesting to, as prior to this films exposure i had never actually heard of the camorra. the title itself is an interesting commodity, with it being a biblical take on the name of the camorra. comparisons between naples and gomorrah may be a little brash, but understable all the same.

doubt (2009)

ever the fan of philip seymour hoffman, its great to see him back in the sort of role that he would have produced prior to his breakthrough success in capote, and exactly the sort of role i have been eager to see him in for what seems like quite a while. the uneasy nature of our relationship as a viewer with the character of 'father flynn' is left in a similiar position to that of the way in which we relate to hoffman's 'scotty j.' in paul thomas anderson's ''boogie nights''. part of us pities the man, yet part of us cant help but be disturbed by him (well maybe thats going a bit too far for poor 'scotty j.'). regardless of this, hoffman is electric in the role.

enough of the philip seymour hoffman love-in, there is no mistaking that ''doubt'' is very much meryl streep's film. empire magazine recently declaired that her entrance as 'sister aloysius beauvier' was the most iconic since that of darth vader's, and while i may not agree with that point entirely, its still pretty great and sums up the mood of the picture from the out. as a former catholic schoolboy myself, albeit in the later days of the sort of school on display in ''doubt'', i can wholeheartedly relate to the sense of fear, ambiguity and sheer menace that 'sister beauvier' projects. similiarly i can relate to the way in which 'father flynn' comes across as a comfortable figure, and the naivety and frailty in which amy adams' 'sister james' signifies.

the film is beautifully shot by roger deakins, the british cinematographer behind the dark hues of andrew dominik's ''the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford'' and ''no country for old men''. the film looks as good as one would expect from deakins, and is especially surprising considering the restrictions imposed by the fairly limited number of locations. despite this deakins manages to craft a film as cinematic as anything else i have seen all year.

the films core theme, of one dealing with their own faith leaves us with a rather ambiguous ending. the core story is largely tied up, with the eleventh hour revelation from 'sister beauvier' all but confirming 'father flynns' guilt, but the larger question is to what her tears concern. is it because she has reached a crisis of faith herself? despite what she projects on the outside, did she secretly doubt her own concerns internally? as a fan of ambiguity in cinema i was pleased with such a conclusion, and while i hold my own beliefs as to what the tears signify, im sure that there will be many that beg to differ.

superbad (2007)

a guilty pleasure, this comedy from the judd apatow stable is perhaps the most significant film from that group of performers. unlike the majority of their films, 'superbad' is genuinely funny in parts, thanks mainly to the affable core cast of michael cera, jonah hill and christopher mintz-plasse, and while the film wont change the world, as a piece of popcorn entertainment it satisfies heavily.

letters from iwo jima (2006)

"letters from iwo jima" marks a distinct departure from the type of work one would expect from clint eastwood. for a start, the films dialogue is pretty much all in japanese, a bold undertaking for an american filmmaker. im going to use ''letters from iwo jima'' as a point with which to examine the myth that east wood is racist. people get mixed up with the character of dirty harrys right wing stance and him. eastwood cleared a lot of paths for the preconceptions of black people in his films (see the drug dealer in ''dirty harry'' and the morgan freeman character in ''unforgiven'', one that shatters the legacy of one of americas only true artforms - the western). funnily enough it was spike lee, hollywoods resident loudmouth race card playing has-been that accused eastwood of maintaining such a stance, based solely on the untrue premise that there are no black soldiers in ''flags of our fathers" (the companion piece to "letters from iwo jima"). frankly this claim is riduculous, especially when you consider the place of "letters from iwo jima" in this equation. personally i find lee's recent picture "miracle at saint anna" to be a much more thinly veiled racist attack upon american and white culture. seriously, were living in 2009, there is a black president in the white house and still spike lee manages to have a chip on his shoulder. maybe the guy should concentrate on making a decent film instead of constantly being pseudo-offended by the white man.

its interesting to compare the way in which the japanese are portrayed on screeen in "letters from iwo jima" to the way in which the japanese are portrayed in michael bay's work. they are no longer the one sided pastiches that they appear to be in "armageddon" and are instead fully fledged human beings! its refreshing to see an american filmmaker take such a stance. maybe spike lee should aim his hate in the general direction of michael bay... for once we get to see the different side of the story. we see how afraid and doubtful of their cause the men that would generally be categorised as "evil" really were, and we get to see the nobility of the men too. the scene in which a large number of the soldiers commit suicide is incredibly moving, but at the same time incredibly tense. having not seen "flags of our fathers" recently enough to compare fairly i cant say definitively, but im sure that i didnt feel as moved during that film as i did here.

stylistically the film marks a bit of a departure from the usual war effort. we get to see the action from the point of view of the attacked, which while as a notion is hardly unique, the manner within which it is cut is. we never see the faces of the attacking fighter pilots, or the ensuing soldiers (except for pivotal moments), and as such we never have an opportunity to engage with them as characters, pushing our emotional attachment towards the japanese. the initial bombing campaign on the island is shot from the level of the soldiers themselves. we see bombs hit at head height, we see men fall around us, men whom we had only moments earlier engaged with as viewers, and we feel baron nishi's pain wholeheartedly as he tends to his dying horse. there is a wonderful moment, that lasts literally just that, of a japanese flag flying atop a mound. this draws obvious parallels with the famous image of the american flag atop iwo jima, and reminds the viewer of what is still to come. its a magnificent subtle moment, and a testament to the subtlety of eastwood's work.

five easy pieces (1970)

produced five years before nicholson's turn in antonioni's "the passenger" (our current number 2 on the list), bob rafelson's "five easy pieces'' sees jack on similiar form. while "one flew over the cuckoos nest" is the nicholson film of point that exhibits his talent for playing angry, and kubrick's "the shining" pushes his angle of sheer madness, "five easy pieces" straddles the two perfectly.

nicholson is just amazing in the role of robert, a young man who has thus far drifted through life. a talented musician who has withdrawn from his calling in life, either through ignorance or mental illness. unusually a definitive reason is never actually given, which leads me onto my next point; ''five easy pieces" is an example of subtly intelligent filmmaking. the viewer is given much more credit than usual, for instance, we dont have the reasoning behind the attraction to jack's character of robert to that of his brothers girlfriend, as we can read between the lines. the director has enough faith in his audience to let them come to their own conclusions. this sort of filmmaking was rife in american cinema of the 1970's, alas lowest common denomination rules the studios these days.

JCVD (2009)

i mentioned in my previous post on bolt 3D that disney's "the aristocats" was the first film i saw at the cinema. well, funnily enough jcvd marks a landmark of sorts in my viewing history too. the first film i ever went to see alone, without the aid of parentage was "street fighter", the film based on the video game, and starring jcvd himself; jean claude van damme. at the time it was the greatest film in the world, i remember the monday morning at school after the saturday viewing, the playing fields of st georges seemed alive....


hindsight of course, is a great thing. the fact that "street fighter" could be seen as a high point in his career surely suggests the dire quality of the sort of film van damme made afterwards. but jcvd, adored in france and beloved of the art house circuit aims to change that, and it suceeds incredibly well. im not sure if it will give van damme's career the kick start it needs (i have a feeling it wont), but as a piece of film its genuinely great fun, with heart to boot. a lot has been made of the fact that this film exhibits to the world the fact that jean claude van damme can act, which i think is a moot point, but less has been made of the humour. obviously the fact that the film exists suggests an amount of good nature on its stars behalf, but im talking about the more subtle attempts in the project, the humour that is actually on the screen. ''jcvd'' is very, very funny. the "roundhouse-kick" conversation is a highlight, as is the banter between the store clerks that meet van damme at the start of the picture, and its the sort of huour that isnt crass or cheap or easy or lazy, it has heart. all of which leads to the way in which we as the viewer sympathise with van damme. he doesnt plea for our empathy, in fact at times he actually seems to discourage it. he knows hes done wrong and that seems to be the station hes happiest in, emphasised by a downbeat ending that is happier than any we could have actually imagined without going too overboard.

the basic premise of the film plays out like a post-post-modern take on sidney lumet's "dog day afternoon", with our anti-hero caught up in a bank robbery for which he has been mistaken for the purpetrator. through the course of this situation it is revealed how van damme came into being into there, which is a metaphor for his entire career, easily laid out over the course of 90 minutes. a great monologue to the camera, beautiful sypia-based photography and a great supporting cast add up to create a very entertaining and interesting film.

as a sidenote, i would just like to quickly point out the hideous nature of the dvd artwork, which seemingly goes against everything that the film is criticising. there arent even any explosions in the film! oh well...

bolt 3D (2009)

the first of disney's output that has genuinely been affected by the appointment of john lassiter as head of animation proves a great success. i genuinely believe this to be the best disney film in many a year, in fact i claimed it to be the best since 1970's "the aristocats" (my first theatrical experience fact fans), upon first leaving the screening. the effect is helped greatly by the use of 3D. gone are the traditional 3D gimmicks of spikes coming out of the screen every five minutes, or shards of glass floating in front of the viewers eyes, and in comes a subtle technique adding a layer of depth previously unseen in such a film. it also helps to take the gloss off of the sterile nature of some computer generated animation. the use of 3D really does put that seen in last months ''my bloody valentine 3D'' to shame, and shows how imagination is once again rife at disney.

armageddon (1998)

the final part of my look into the world of michael bays work sees the world in peril as its faces up against a rather large meteor. all of the usual bay-isms are in place; shoddy slow motion that doubles the films actual running time (usually involving people running towards or away from helicopters), slight racism towards anyone that isnt white (''the russian" is a new low), male and middle class and a hefty dose of unfunny comedy. in its defense though, "armageddon" does feature a great turn from steve buscemi, and iv always had a soft spot for ben affleck.

whilst watching the film i found myself comparing it to clint eastwood's "space cowboys", a film which deals with a similiar film albeit with much more class, dignity and credibility. "armageddon" is great popcorn trash, but little more else. considering the task at hand none of the cast seemed to hold down any kind of thought for it, no one questioned the task or even their own fate. i know thats hardly the point of a michael bay film, but a little bit of realism really wouldnt hurt.

the hopeandbullshitlist (at 03/02/2009)

just noticed i havent updated the list for almost two weeks! i blame the snow/credit crunch/idiots striking.


1. pierrot le fou (jean-luc godard)
2. the passenger (michelangelo antonioni)
3. au hasard balthazar (robert bresson)
4. se7en (david fincher)
5. the element of crime (lars von trier)
6. sunrise (f.w murnau)
7. the wrestler (darren aronofsky) *
8. a man escaped (robert bresson)
9. revolutionary road (sam mendes) *
10. the curious case of benjamin button (david fincher) *
11. traffic (steven soderbergh)
12. che - part one (steven soderbergh) *
13. pickpocket (robert bresson)
14. milk (gus van sant) *
15. bottle rocket (wes anderson)
16. twelve monkeys (terry gilliam)
17. the outlaw josey wales (clint eastwood)
18. red desert (michelangelo antonioni)
19. mon oncle antoine (claude jutra)
20. rome, open city (rossellini)
21. che - part two (steven soderbergh) *
22. shadow of a doubt (alfred hitchcock)
23. unforgiven (clint eastwood)
24. f for fake (orson welles)
25. the brothers bloom (rian johnson) *
26. changeling (clint eastwood)
27. l'argent (robert bresson)
28. lancelot du lac (robert bresson)
29. rear window (alfred hitchcock)
30. the dark knight (christopher nolan)
31. wall-e (andrew stanton)
32. the silence of the lambs (jonathan demme)
33. slumdog millionaire (danny boyle) *
34. frost/nixon (ron howard) *
35. the limey (steven soderbergh)
36. blow up (michelangelo antonioni)
37. spellbound (alfred hitchcock)
38. europa (lars von trier)
39. the shop on main street (ján kadár and elmar klos)
40. hellboy - the golden army (guillermo del toro)
41. the adventures of baron munchausen (terry gilliam)
42. the usual suspects (bryan singer)
43. lars and the real girl (craig gillespie)
44. out of sight (steven soderbergh)
45. days of heaven (terence malick)
46. la ricotta (pier paolo pasolini)
47. blindness (fernando meirelles)
48. killer's kiss (stanley kubrick)
49. dirty harry (don siegal)
50. mad detective (johnnie to & wai ka fa)
51. the idiot (akira kurosawa)
52. in bruges (martin mcdonough)
53. time bandits (terry gilliam)
54. tideland (terry gilliam)
55. play misty for me (clint eastwood)
56. bigger than life (nicholas ray)
57. bronco billy (clint eastwood)
58. withnail & i (bruce robinson)
59. the terminator (james cameron)
60. the wizard of oz (victor fleming)
61. monty python's life of brian (terry jones)
62. hancock (peter berg)
63. the day the earth stood still (robert wise)
64. iron man (jon favreau)
65. saboteur (alfred hitchcock)
66. the gauntlet (clint eastwood)
67. breezy (clint eastwood)
68. before the devil knows youre dead (sidney lumet)
69. rope (alfred hitchcock)
70. total recall (paul verhoeven)
71. mallrats (kevin smith)
72. die hard (john mctiernan)
73. magnum force (ted post)
74. casino royale (martin campbell)
75. valkyrie (bryan singer)
76. frenzy (alfred hitchcock)
77. body of lies (ridley scott)
78. solaris (steven soderbergh)
79. the trouble with harry (alfred hitchcock)
80. indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull (steven spielberg)
81. the puffy chair (duplass brothers)
82. "the birds" (alfred hitchcock)
83. i am legend (francis lawrence)
84. space cowboys (clint eastwood)
85. the rock (michael bay)
86. quantum of solace (marc forster)
87. wanted (timur bekmambetov)
88. the reader *
89. transformers (michael bay)
90. the magnificent ambersons (orson welles)
91. speed (jan de bont)
92. australia (baz luhrmann)
93. star trek - the motion picture (robert wise)
94. coogans bluff (don siegal)
95. the enforcer (james fargo)
96. joe kidd (john sturges)
97. spider-man 3 (sam raimi)
98. dear wendy (thomas vinterberg)
99. goldeneye (martin campbell)
100. night watch (timur bekmambetov)
101. judge dredd (danny cannon)
102. strangers on a train (alfred hitchcock)
103. jamaica inn (alfred hitchcock)
104. robocop 3 (fred dekker)
105. robocop 2 (irvin kershner)
106. my bloody valentine (patrick lussier) *
107. a nightmare on elm street 4 (renny harlin)
108. a nightmare on elm street (wes craven)
109. zack and miri make a porno (kevin smith)
110. goldfinger (guy hamilton)
111. a nightmare on elm street 2 (jack sholder)
112. you only live twice (lewis gilbert)
113. mad max - beyond thunderdome (george miller & george ogilvie)
114. die another day (lee tamahori)
115. a nightmare on elm street 3 (chuck russell)
116. a nightmare on elm street 5 (stephen hopkins)
117. a nightmare on elm street 6 (rachel talalay)
118. W. (oliver stone)

rome, open city (1946)

my first foray into ''proper'' neo-realism (outside of education at least) comes in the shape of roberto rossellini's "rome, open city". the film is a true example of guerilla cinema, with rosselini shooting on location in the genuine aftermath of nazi occupied rome using scraps of found camera film. the film predates such fare as pontecorvo's "the battle of algiers", a film that looks at similiar fare with a similiar attitude.

"rome, open city" has a real charm. the flow of the narrative impresses this point, the way in which an incident is introduced and then revealed later works well (ie the girl moaning about her home, ten minutes before we see just why she hates it so much), and carries a humour that i didnt expect to find. the character of the elderly grandfather, a man paralyzed in some unknown incident projects this humour solidly.

the film struck me as a fairly basic parable on the battle between good versus evil. there is a fairly strong analogy between the tortured "hero" of the film and the suffering of jesus, enforced heavily by the presence of the priest.

unfortunately my copy of "rome, open city" was marred by poor subtitles. its hardly the most complicated film, but this still distracted rather heavily. regardless of this niggle, the film was an incredible portrait of an area that i had previously little familiarity with.