in bruges (2008)

i picked this up as a case of light entertainment post-changeling, and while i didnt expect much, it really impressed. it also contains possibly the finest joke heard in a fim this year, in the shape of -

"what is belgium famous for?" chocolate and child murderers, and they only made the chocolate to attract the children."

or something along those lines.

changeling (2008)

my recent season of eastwood films comes to an end with the theatrical release of ''changeling''.

one could be excused for going into ''changeling'' expecting the angelina jolie-fest advertised within the pre-film press, alas i was surprised to find that the film was more of an ensemble piece than anything. and an incredibly well made one at that. my love of the work of clint eastwood's work is no secret, there is something incredibly appealing about his unique, almost "workmanlike-with-a-hint-of-auteur" style, and it lends itself especially well to tough topics such as child abuse (mystic river), euthanasia (million dollar baby) and now the subject of child murder and the loss of said child. eastwood thrives off of the kind of topics that dont need nor warrent over the top camera work or glossy special effects, a habit which hints at a huge amount of respect on the behalf of the filmmaker.

the cast is incredibly strong an ensemble, with special notices going to michael kelly as the detective that actually attempts to detect, john malkovich as the pastor that serves to reek justice against the corrupt los angeles police force and jason butler harner as child killer gordon northcott. its butler harner in particular that stands out, in what is perhaps the finest turn as a serial killer-type seen all year.

while the ending of the film is considered bleak by many, it actually carries a fairly high degree of hope.

blow up (1966)

my first experience with antonioni proved a great one (inspiring the decision to pick up his "the passenger" and "red desert" off of the back of this successful viewing!). a filmmaker that i had never been greatly attracted to, antonioni has always alluded me in the past, with blow up long being criminally ignored as i was under the impression that it was simply a product of "the swinging sixties", a period of time i find to be incredibly embaressing (witness the finale of 'carry on camping' for my reasons as to this conclusion).

david hemmings plays a hip young photographer, who MAY have accidently photographed a murder in a park. as to whether or not this is true its never literally revealed, although im inclined to agree with the metaphor carried at the end of the film (that 'you can see what you want to see, even if it doesnt exist' being the message).

for a film prided on its score, and considering the cultural impact of music at the time of the films production, blow up is a very quiet film. entire chunks of the film carry no sound whatsoever, before crashing into the following scene with oral hell, in what are chaotic and loud scenes. the pacing of the film is beautiful. its a bit of a cliche, but blow up is one of those films that you simply dont want to end. i found the world encapsulated totally believable, in a fantastical sense, and felt like i could watch david hemmings break down emotionally all day long! now if that isnt a compliment...

coogan's bluff (1968)

early-era eastwood that satisfies greatly. i would say more, but frankly im a little bit worn out when it comes to discussing eastwood at the moment!

the hopeandbullshitlist (at 25/11/2008)

1. sunrise (f.w murnau)
2. bottle rocket (wes anderson)
3. the outlaw josey wales (clint eastwood)
4. unforgiven (clint eastwood)
5. f for fake (orson welles)
6. the brothers bloom (rian johnson)
7. days of heaven (terence malick)
8. wall-e (andrew stanton)
9. blindness (fernando meirelles)
10. killer's kiss (stanley kubrick)
11. dirty harry (don siegal)
12. mad detective (johnnie to & wai ka fa)
13. the idiot (akira kurosawa)
14. iron man (jon favreau)
15. play misty for me (clint eastwood)
16. bigger than life (nicholas ray)
17.bronco billy (clint eastwood)
18. the gauntlet (clint eastwood)
19. breezy (clint eastwood)
20. magnum force (ted post)
21. casino royale (martin campbell)
22. body of lies (ridley scott)
23. indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull (steven spielberg)
24. space cowboys (clint eastwood)
25. quantum of solace (marc forster)
26. wanted (timur bekmambetov)
27. the magnificent ambersons (orson welles)
28. the enforcer (james fargo)
29. joe kidd (john sturges)
30. goldeneye (martin campbell)
31. night watch (timur bekmambetov)
32. zack and miri make a porno (kevin smith)
33. goldfinger (guy hamilton)
34. you only live twice (lewis gilbert)
35. mad max - beyond thunderdome (george miller & george ogilvie)
36. die another day (lee tamahori)
37. W. (oliver stone)

the enforcer (1976)

eastwood's third outing as dirty harry see's our eponymous hero dealing with such arduous challenges as discrimination and progression. for here we see harry partnered with a female inspector whilst having to deal with a gang of socialist terrorists. kinda. its fairly confusing as to what exactly the terrorists represent, but its some sort of veiled attack on socialism by the producers i think. oh and one of them is a priest of sorts. its all a bit odd really, but harry as a character is so entertaining that all of these problems are disguised adequetly.

it was with "the enforcer" that i noticed that the dirty harry films are kind of like an alternative bond franchise. it has a similiar structure to each episode, much in the same manner that the bond films work.

wall-e (2008)

having seen wall-e upon its original release i knew exactly what to expect, but still anticipated a second viewing greatly. wall-e is such an endearing character that much has already been written about it, so to delve into that aspect is fairly unnecessary, alas i will simply add that a more empathetic and charming computer generated character has not been seen by myself. gollum included.

the wordless introduction to the film (i would hesitate to call it silent, as it isnt), cues the film perfectly. while not as revolutionary as thought upon first viewing it is still incredibly daring.

blindness (2008)

fernando meirelles follow up 'city of god' (2002) and 'the constant gardener' (2005) is a miraculous piece of cinema. from what must go down as one of the most terrifying opening scenes in modern cinema, through to the joyful climax i was thoroughly gripped.

i wanted to let the film lie for a while before posting my review, as based on what others have said about the film i was under the impression that the film lacked any real soul, or point, and unfortunately i can confirm that this is almost the case. the film itself was incedibly powerful an experience, yet post-thought i have to be honest and admit that the lack of substance has really caught up with my opinion. it is a great film tho, one definately worth seeking out, and worthy of a place on my top 20 of the year.

bronco billy (1980)

when i set out on the current task of working through the back catalogue of clint eastwood i knew that the job would involve some dubious pictures, largely in the shape of an orangutan named clyde. i have to admit that i lumped bronco billy in with the wave of eighties eastwood films that were basically poor comedy-action hybrids, but i couldnt have been more wrong. bronco billy is ridicuously enjoyable. sure the film has its problems, the storyline involving sandra locke's stranded millionaress heir is a bit ditracting, but the general concept is really strong.

body of lies (2008)

a surprisingly enjoyable post 9/11 thriller directed by the increasingly dull ridley scott. leonardo dicaprio is always great, and was here, with russell crowe on good, if not outstanding form as dicaprio's modern day wingman. boston doubling for manchester is slightly dubious, and the politics are rather suspect, especially when you consider that this is a film made by a british filmmaker, but all in all it was an entertaining two hours or so.

joe kidd (1972)

fairly average mid-career eastwood, ably directed by john sturges. while the film is plenty entertaining, its hardly revolutionary cinema.

zack and miri make a porno (2008)

i had two hours to kill this afternoon so decided to take in a screening. first things first - as a teenager i loved kevin smiths films. mallrats was a late night tv classic for me and my friends. there will always be a special place in my heart for that film, along with clerks and chasing amy. dogma was great too, and while, as a film its pretty dire, jay and silent bob struck the right chord at the time. i was one of the few people that actively enjoyed jersey girl, even to the point that i was disapointed when smith returned to the view askewniverse with clerks 2, although after seeing the film i was grateful he did. and while over the years i think i have maybe grown out of enjoying his films in the same way as i did as a 17 year old, i have always had time for them, and always, at the very least, enjoyed them.

unfortunately that ends with zack and miri.

not being a fan of seth rogen was always going to prove a problem. i cant help but think just how much funnier this film would have been had someone like jason lee played the role of zack, alas that is beside the point, the film suffers from something much more severe than a simple case of mis-casting. smith's dialogue simply isnt funny to me anymore. emphasis on cursewords in lieu of genuine wit is one thing, but the long held problem that smith cant write dialogue for women has never been more obvious than in zack and miri. take into account the bizarre treatment of banks' character at certain points and you have a film thats perspective is borderline misogynistic at certain points, reminiscent of the more particular over zealous internet geek-sites that smith himself ripped apart in jay and silent bob strikes back. by the way he writes it sounds like he doesnt have a clue about women.

if there were a prize for bad titles, then ''zack and miri'' would take it. handsdown the worst title iv heard this year.

there were a few positives; craig robinson had some great lines, they even raised a chuckle, and jeff anderson is always great value, if not slightly jarring when out of the comfort zone of randall. justin long's voice was a sound to behold and it was great to see brandon routh back actually doing something. overall though i just couldnt help but feel like smith didnt have anything to say, yet was still managing to say it badly.

breezy (1973)

"breezy" was the first clint eastwood film not to star clint eastwood himself, its appropriate that its the first none-clint starring film that iv viewed on this run. having not previously seen the film, i was pleasantly surprised by the slow, assured nature of the drama, which is reminiscent of martin scorsese's "alice doesn't live here anymore" (1974) in style, and hal ashby's wonderful "harold and maude" (1971) in subject. "breezy" would make an interesting double bill alongside ashby's film, as both deal with "may to december"-style relationships, albeit with a spin on the couples (with "breezy" featuring an older gentleman with a younger girl, and "harold and maude" looking at an elderly woman and young man). while "harold and maude" looks at the relationships with comedy the focus, "breezy" takes a psychological and dramatic stance, and while its clear that both films deal with similar material, its fairly apparent just how different the two films are.

william holden plays the aging male lead, known as "black cloud" to the young, stereotypical "flower child" breezy, a girl who is seemingly so optimistic that nothing gets to her. the only holden performance seen by myself to date is in sam peckinpah's "the wild bunch" (1969), obviously a fairly different role!

it will become more apparent how and where exactly "breezy" fits into eastwood's oeuvre as my season goes along. it will be especially interesting to see how it sits alongside his other none-starring films.

bottle rocket (1996)

wes anderson's debut feature is being released as part of the prestigious criterion collection at the end of this month, joining the rest of his body of work (with the exception of 'the darjeeling limited'). my copy arrived early, and while i havent had a look at the extras yet i did watch the film tonight. having seen the film countless times it was hardly a new experience, but i had consciously made an effort to not watch 'bottle rocket' since first first hearing about the criterion release over a year ago, so there was a freshness to the film that i hadnt felt in a long time.

im not sure for definite, but i think that 'bottle rocket' may now be my favourite wes anderson film. as character is one of anderson's key strong point (as mentioned by martin scorsese in a text introduction to the film) its hardly a revelation for me to express how strongly i feel the characters are in the film, yet i feel compelled to. an indication of just how strongly the characters of dignan (owen wilson, who also co-wrote the flick), anthony (luke wilson), bob (robert musgrave) and inez (lumi cavazos) effected me my immediately thoughts after the film turned to a thought not often deliberated by myself; why doesnt wes anderson make a sequel to 'bottle rocket'?

dont get me wrong, im not a huge fan of sequel's, generally viewing them as soulless cash-in's, but i feel like 'bottle rocket' could genuinely benefit from a real-time based sequel. while i balk at the mere thought of a sequel to "rushmore" (1997) and cant think of anything more unnecessary than a 'the royal tenenbaums' follow-up, i genuinely would like to know what befated dignan post-prison, and how the relationship between anthony and inez panned out (in my heart of hearts i know that theyve settled down and have a bunch of kids running around, attempting 'adventures' of sorts. perhaps even "uncle" dignan would figure, a second generation bad influence... o'how one can dream).

stylistically the film is surprisingly well-developed in terms of anderson's look, especially considering it was his debut picture and so technically he couldnt have actually developed a style per-se. regardless of pedant, the film looks wonderful and really displays anderson's unique outlook on film.

magnum force (1973)

the follow up to dirty harry doesnt reach the heights of its predecessors but it does raise some interesting notions. for a start we receive an insight into harry's personal politics, revealing much of his character. for example, the presumed rebel without a cause of the first film, with his instinctful, shoot from the hip attitude is revealed to be more of a rebel within reason, when confronted with some genuinely provocative workmates. a respect for order from the chaotic maverick is found, and while it may be considered contradictory a trait by some, i would argue that it adds a level of depth to the character that was previously missing.

of course there are a couple of qualms with the project. for a start the age old rule of sequel's going for the "bigger is better" attitude of including more villains applies here, and while david soul is surprisingly creepy, hes no match for andrew robinson as the previous films scorpio, nor are the assortment of other bad guys. also, the previous film ended with harry effectively quitting the force, by throwing his badge into the watering hole that signified scorpio's demise, yet no mention of this is made by harry (or indeed anyone else) throughout magnum force.