Thursday 16 August 2012
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Clubbed - A well crafted indie flick
This relatively unknown drama had me gripped from start to finish. Mel Raido puts in a fine performance as Danny, a meek factory worker living a sad, solitary existence after his life takes one knock too many. Estranged from his wife and living apart from his beloved kids. He's further humiliated by thugs who beat him in front of his children. The fine screenplay really allowed me to feel for this guy, it was poignant and touching at times, especially when he holds his kids close in the squalid flat he has to rent.
With time on his hands, his visit to a local gym affords a chance meeting with Louis (Colin Salmon) who is a head doorman and something of a philosopher. This part of the film starts to raise questions about fear and violence which I won't pretend is deep and meaningful but it is very interesting, I understand that the source material is a good read. Louis becomes a mentor to Danny who starts to work the doors with him and his crew. There is a sub plot which involves local drug gangs infiltrating the club doors in order to sell their product, I don't know if this is grounded in truth but it's interesting and serves to move the plot along to an interesting finale and final twist. People have called this a low budget movie but as the script doesn't call for monsters or space ships I can't see why the comment is relevant. The piece is competently filmed, well lit, it has a tight script and the sets serve their purpose. All in all, it's a good hour and a half and has made me want to read the source material. In the end it's about Danny and the changes he goes through as a person which ultimately lead him towards something he recognises as a man.
With time on his hands, his visit to a local gym affords a chance meeting with Louis (Colin Salmon) who is a head doorman and something of a philosopher. This part of the film starts to raise questions about fear and violence which I won't pretend is deep and meaningful but it is very interesting, I understand that the source material is a good read. Louis becomes a mentor to Danny who starts to work the doors with him and his crew. There is a sub plot which involves local drug gangs infiltrating the club doors in order to sell their product, I don't know if this is grounded in truth but it's interesting and serves to move the plot along to an interesting finale and final twist. People have called this a low budget movie but as the script doesn't call for monsters or space ships I can't see why the comment is relevant. The piece is competently filmed, well lit, it has a tight script and the sets serve their purpose. All in all, it's a good hour and a half and has made me want to read the source material. In the end it's about Danny and the changes he goes through as a person which ultimately lead him towards something he recognises as a man.
Tuesday 17 July 2012
13th Warrior
I found this troubled production to be hugely entertaining and it is one I enjoy watching time and again. The basic idea is that Ibin (Antonio Banderas) is a wealthy Arab. A well educated man whose elitist (he walks palatial halls) and scholarly (he describes himself as a poet) lifestyle comes to a steady halt due to him being exiled by the Caliph for being a little too "friendly" with a married woman.
Exiled far to the North with a small entourage including (Omar Sharif) he happens upon a camp of Vikings or "Northmen" where he witnesses the ritual burial of a king and the rather swift and violent election of a new leader! A messenger arrives at the camp and 13 warriors are called for to travel back to their homeland to a kingdom besieged by beasts. As one of the warriors must not be a Northman, Ibin is coerced to join this "magnificent 13".
I enjoyed the visual poetry as well as the musical score, I found each to be very rich and whilst there wasn't much time spent on character development I found I could engage with and care for what was on offer.
During the arduous journey (a lengthy passage of time condensed for movieland) Ibin passes the time by watching and listening to his compatriots; we see that these north men are a fairly robust but amiable bunch as they poke fun at each other and talk about their wifes and lives. As an educated fellow, skilled in language and writing, Ibin manages to communicate with his compatriots and at the end of the long journey he learns to speaka de lingo (so to speak).
Upon arrival at the homeland the 13 warriors find that they are up against a bear worshipping tribe which they can only stop by killing the Witch / Mother and the tribal Leader. Whilst achieving their goal we are given a mixture of myth, legend, action, and adventure, all wrapped up in great cinematography and music.
That said, the film undoubtedly has flaws, the unfinished plot line concerning the King's son is unforgivable for a major studio and I echo those comments calling for a directors cut.
Even with its flaws, it beats many other films hands down and is a welcome addition to the genre.
Exiled far to the North with a small entourage including (Omar Sharif) he happens upon a camp of Vikings or "Northmen" where he witnesses the ritual burial of a king and the rather swift and violent election of a new leader! A messenger arrives at the camp and 13 warriors are called for to travel back to their homeland to a kingdom besieged by beasts. As one of the warriors must not be a Northman, Ibin is coerced to join this "magnificent 13".
I enjoyed the visual poetry as well as the musical score, I found each to be very rich and whilst there wasn't much time spent on character development I found I could engage with and care for what was on offer.
During the arduous journey (a lengthy passage of time condensed for movieland) Ibin passes the time by watching and listening to his compatriots; we see that these north men are a fairly robust but amiable bunch as they poke fun at each other and talk about their wifes and lives. As an educated fellow, skilled in language and writing, Ibin manages to communicate with his compatriots and at the end of the long journey he learns to speaka de lingo (so to speak).
Upon arrival at the homeland the 13 warriors find that they are up against a bear worshipping tribe which they can only stop by killing the Witch / Mother and the tribal Leader. Whilst achieving their goal we are given a mixture of myth, legend, action, and adventure, all wrapped up in great cinematography and music.
That said, the film undoubtedly has flaws, the unfinished plot line concerning the King's son is unforgivable for a major studio and I echo those comments calling for a directors cut.
Even with its flaws, it beats many other films hands down and is a welcome addition to the genre.
Doomsday - perfect!
This thing has it all. Can't think of a genre I like which isn't included. Neil Marshall knows his stuff and can pull off a decent action flick. This is one for all us action fanatics and it makes no apology for crashing head first into the mayhem. The basic premise is that an incurable plague decimates Scotland and a giant wall is erected to contain the victims in and leave them to die.
Years later the plague appears beyond the wall and there still isn't a cure. The authorities have suppressed evidence of survivors in the "hot zone" and dispatch a special forces team led by Rhona Mitra to find out how the survivors haven't perished.
What follows is a roller-coaster of action and adventure as the intrepid team look for a cure and make their way through the wasted cities encountering flesh eating tribes and medieval warlords.
This movie is what happens when Escape from New York and 28 days later have a party with King Arthur and Mad Max; almost the perfect movie.
Years later the plague appears beyond the wall and there still isn't a cure. The authorities have suppressed evidence of survivors in the "hot zone" and dispatch a special forces team led by Rhona Mitra to find out how the survivors haven't perished.
What follows is a roller-coaster of action and adventure as the intrepid team look for a cure and make their way through the wasted cities encountering flesh eating tribes and medieval warlords.
This movie is what happens when Escape from New York and 28 days later have a party with King Arthur and Mad Max; almost the perfect movie.
Haywire - Gina Carano, lady in a dress lioness in a fight!
The hunted spy genre is a well worn path and given his body of work I hoped Soderberg would pull it off with nobs on. The film works fine in many respects but to my mind the overall pacing is a little lack lustre. Gina's physical prowess is undoubtable and her action scenes are a visual treat. She really is a lady in a dress and a lioness in a fight.
Her acting range is better than other stars who have made the transition towards the big screen; indeed, alongside Channing (less charisma than a block of wood) Tatum her performance is oscar worthy. Apart from Michael Fassbender, none of the 'A' listers bring an ounce of star quality to the proceedings and it's entirely left up to Gina Carano to carry the movie along. Ewan McGregor seems hideously miscast in this movie and I'd rather have seen more of a relationship develop between Mallory and the Michael Angarano character. It's an action romp trying to be an espionage tale and you never feel that Gina (as Mallory) is in any real danger. Oh...and unlike Segal she doesn't run like a girl.
Having said all that, it is a decent action movie and miles better than many of its contemporaries. I hope Gina is offered more.
Her acting range is better than other stars who have made the transition towards the big screen; indeed, alongside Channing (less charisma than a block of wood) Tatum her performance is oscar worthy. Apart from Michael Fassbender, none of the 'A' listers bring an ounce of star quality to the proceedings and it's entirely left up to Gina Carano to carry the movie along. Ewan McGregor seems hideously miscast in this movie and I'd rather have seen more of a relationship develop between Mallory and the Michael Angarano character. It's an action romp trying to be an espionage tale and you never feel that Gina (as Mallory) is in any real danger. Oh...and unlike Segal she doesn't run like a girl.
Sean Bean is Extremely Dangerous
Comparisons to the Fugitive are obvious so I won't go into that here.
This gritty UK production benefits from an excellent tortured
performance from Sean Bean. *Minor Spoiler*. We know he's an undercover
officer early on because NCIS (National Criminal
Intelligence Service) have a meeting to disown him. What we don't know
is did he murder his family? This basic question provides the viewer
with a bumpy ride. Is he a tortured soul or a deranged maniac? What
helps in the confusion is that the supporting players steadfastly
believe that he did kill his family and the viewer is left unsure until
the last act.
This is an unnerving bedfellow because we don't know if we want to route for Neil Byrne or not.
Some scenes work especially well such as when Neil is watching children in a school playground and is approached by a Policeman; Sean delivers his dialogue as though he's in a dream recounting a floating memory, but what memory? A loving family man who will never see his own child again or some deranged fantasy of killing an innocent?
The chase scenes and action set pieces were very well put together. I found that the street fight and the fight in the cab office were choreographed to deliver the strong sense of animal energy rather than flamboyant 'clean' martial artistry or comic book violence.
The supporting characters lend emotion and intrigue to move the plot along. The dry black humour from Nitin Chandra Ganatra as the cab office owner is very funny and in just the right measure, Juliet Hubrey displayed a powerful sexy persona with a tenuous grip on the head of the crime family, Alex Norton is excellent as usual as the no nonsense cop (a role he took with him to Taggart). On a downside the NCIS head of section isn't fleshed out very well and his character forms part of an unbelievable plot device later on.
Although the ending provides a satisfactory conclusion to the story I feel that the tension built up on the journey beforehand deserved something more spectacular.
This is an unnerving bedfellow because we don't know if we want to route for Neil Byrne or not.
Some scenes work especially well such as when Neil is watching children in a school playground and is approached by a Policeman; Sean delivers his dialogue as though he's in a dream recounting a floating memory, but what memory? A loving family man who will never see his own child again or some deranged fantasy of killing an innocent?
The chase scenes and action set pieces were very well put together. I found that the street fight and the fight in the cab office were choreographed to deliver the strong sense of animal energy rather than flamboyant 'clean' martial artistry or comic book violence.
The supporting characters lend emotion and intrigue to move the plot along. The dry black humour from Nitin Chandra Ganatra as the cab office owner is very funny and in just the right measure, Juliet Hubrey displayed a powerful sexy persona with a tenuous grip on the head of the crime family, Alex Norton is excellent as usual as the no nonsense cop (a role he took with him to Taggart). On a downside the NCIS head of section isn't fleshed out very well and his character forms part of an unbelievable plot device later on.
Although the ending provides a satisfactory conclusion to the story I feel that the tension built up on the journey beforehand deserved something more spectacular.
Monday 16 July 2012
Ronin.
It doesn't get any better than this......
Masterful direction by a strong hand combined with intelligent scripting, a first class cast and surely the best film crew in the business have given us this tour de force espionage thriller with stylistically and technically brilliant action set pieces.
The story revolves around Sam (De Niro) who goes undercover with a specialist heist team in order to get to the organiser Seamus, a renegade Irish bad guy. The team are freelancers, the Ronin of the title, at least, most of them are, Spence (Sean Bean acting his socks off) is an incompetent, lying wannabe and is quickly unmasked by Sam. The contempt Sam has for Spence is obvious in the handful of clipped exchanges they share before Spence is embarrassingly unmasked. Deidre (Natasha McElhone) is equally out of her depth as the heist co-ordinator, allowing Sam to take centre stage during the heist preparation and the outstanding chase and action sequences that follow. When the team are double-crossed, it becomes something of a buddy movie, with Sam and Vincent (the dependable Jean Reno) using each others contacts to follow the case to Seamus. There's a minor plot device about Russian buyers but this only serves to bring all the players together for the climax. There's style aplenty in every frame and more substance in a hushed conversation than most films muster in a full running time.
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Masterful direction by a strong hand combined with intelligent scripting, a first class cast and surely the best film crew in the business have given us this tour de force espionage thriller with stylistically and technically brilliant action set pieces.
The story revolves around Sam (De Niro) who goes undercover with a specialist heist team in order to get to the organiser Seamus, a renegade Irish bad guy. The team are freelancers, the Ronin of the title, at least, most of them are, Spence (Sean Bean acting his socks off) is an incompetent, lying wannabe and is quickly unmasked by Sam. The contempt Sam has for Spence is obvious in the handful of clipped exchanges they share before Spence is embarrassingly unmasked. Deidre (Natasha McElhone) is equally out of her depth as the heist co-ordinator, allowing Sam to take centre stage during the heist preparation and the outstanding chase and action sequences that follow. When the team are double-crossed, it becomes something of a buddy movie, with Sam and Vincent (the dependable Jean Reno) using each others contacts to follow the case to Seamus. There's a minor plot device about Russian buyers but this only serves to bring all the players together for the climax. There's style aplenty in every frame and more substance in a hushed conversation than most films muster in a full running time.
As for what is in the case....it doesn't matter. It never mattered.
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