revolutionary road (2009)

kate winslett and leonardo dicaprio are reunited 12 years after ''titanic'' in sam mendes' adaptation of richard yates' 1961 novel. i found it interesting to discover that the novel was written so closely to the time of the films setting (1955), as it genuinely felt like a post-modern take on the subject matter, akin highly to "mad men". alas when taking into account the authenticity that the date of the publication of the source then an even higher level of praise is pushed onto the project.

in short, i loved ''revolutionary road", which came as quite the surprise to me. i actually enjoyed it much more than the other high profile releases of the awards season (excpet for maybe ''the wrestler"). im not sure why exactly, maybe it was that the themes spoke to me in a fairly direct manner, that whole thing about the hope of fruitility and of leading an extraordianary life struck me as quite real and rather timely. the performances were very strong too, with dicaprio once again proving why he is one of the best actors of his generation and winslett in the role that she should have received the oscar nomination for.

the film is beautifully shot by roger deakins, the man whom i consider to be the best cinematographer in the world. if anyone has been snubbed at this years oscars it is deakins, but saying that he should have won last year for "the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford" too, but didnt. sam mendes direction is perfect for the source material; the nature of the raw emotion of the story doesnt require fast editing or over the top visuals. thats not to say that the film doesnt feature striking direction, it does, its just different to that of some of the other work in this vein. the soundtrack, courtesy of thomas newman compliments the tone of the film perfectly. the use of period jazz songs works well too.

transformers (2007)

michael bay's magnum opus has the honour of being the sole film i have walked out of a cinema screening of. i just found it to be a horribly slow and dull film, with poor special effects and no plot. for the sakes of my current studies i decided to give it another chance on dvd. over the course of 4 days i eventually managed to get through it. to be fair to it, its not actually that bad, its just not my type of thing. the sequel looks promising too, lets just hope they bypass the negatives this time.

the one over-ridingly awful aspect of "transformers comes in the shape of its absolutely terrible humour. its just awful, not funny and embarassingly scripted. michael bay cannot 'do' humour, i was cringing for a good chunk of ''transformers'' bloated running time. related to the humour is the bizarre decision to include a robot that is seemingly based upon a heavy stereotype of black people. it was very strange. iv christened this guy 'rap-bot'. seriously its like something from the 80's, when hollywood first tried to latch onto rap and other 'street' activity. in short its embarassing.

im glad to report that with his most recent fare, michael bay has evolved from the simple "use sun-glare to hide any problems" school of problems. seemingly this has been replaced, or at least split equally between the use of the usual sunlight and the newly implemented torchlight. its an effective technique, at least when it comes to hiding the poor viewers eyes from poorly shot landscapes.

the rock (1996)

once again my studies dictate that i must head into unchartered territory, and an unattractive challenge lies ahead. michael bay is perhaps the opposite to what i love about cinema. his "edit-so-fast-and-you-wont-have-chance-to-see-any-problems" attitude of filmmaking jars with my usual preferences, but in an attempt to understand just exactly what it is about his work that i dislike so much i have set myself a challenge; work my way through his body of work.

with that in mind i started with his sean connery and nicolas cage starring "the rock" from 1996. in all fairness it wasnt as bad as i expected it to be, but the usual bay hallmarks of slightly racist caricature's and lots of sun-glare is evident aplenty. the film leads with a semi-interesting premise, as a post modern james bond-type leads a group of marines and a scientist into alcatraz prison. therein lies the twist, how clever that they are actually breaking INTO a prison, as opposed to breaking OUT?! i hope the irony isnt too subtle for you. bafflingly enough, "the rock" is actually a part of the criterion collection.

my big problem with michael bay films are that they have a tendency to lack any kind of substance, and instead focus on trying to sell you cars and manipulate you into feeling some kind of emotion. alas bay seems more concerned with the former than the latter, so on the brief occasions where he actually managed to measure the pseudo-emotion right he throws it all away within seconds with another sun-glare enthused chevy advert.

the curious case of benjamin button (2009)

at first glance, "the curious case of benjamin button" may seem like an odd direction for the director of "fight club" "se7en" to go in, but rest assured that "the curious case of benjamin button" is very much a david fincher film.

the bittersweet story of a man who ages backwards, whom falls in love with a woman aging in the opposite direction at roughly the same time is told with a beautiful conviction that keeps a film that may usually head into "forrest gump"-territory feeling fresh and inventive. brad pitt is on top form as benjamin, providing much more than simply the award-fodder performance that the role requires. cate blanchett in a role much more forthright than expected is also outstanding. the real star of the film (and not one that usually interests me) is the special effects. the aging technique used on benjamin (in reverse) and daisy (traditionally) is awe-inspiring. i genuinely havent been so impressed with a special effect since first seeing gollum in 2002. the obvious benchmarks for the techniques are when the characters are aged to their most extreme, i.e infant and elderly, but for me the effects that stood out the most were those of the characters in their late teens and early 20's. to see cate blanchett with the body of a 17 year old girl ballet dancing truly is an incredible sight, as are the scenes of benjamin travelling throughout india. with brad pitt in the public eye for much of his twenties we are only too familiar with how he looked, and for this reason alone i think that many will not give these scenes credit enough. its a shame because they do look genuinely great, at one point i couldve sworn that brad pitt circa-"meet joe black" was actually on screen!

while a long film at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film doesnt ever seem to not work, which is a testament to fincher. the opening tale of gateau the blind clockmaker sets the audience into the required pace at hand, and the film doesnt ever get too sentimental. in fact i was reminded of the work of powell and pressburger in many ways. they too dealt with situations that could easily have come across as too emphatic or overdone, yet manage a control that keeps everything in check. this is the closest we will ever see fincher come to doing a "disney" film, and a chance that one should savour.

star trek - the motion picture (1979)

i have never been a huge fan of star trek. as a child i was way into star wars and so drew my allegiance to that side of casual science fiction at an early age. a couple of years back i saw "star trek 2 : the wrath of khan'' on late night television and absolutely loved it; i wasnt as stoic or stuffy as the later films and tv series had led me to believe, and the depth of character drew me in. the absolutely staggering (for its time) climax, in which a major character meets his fate left me eager for the next film. as a result the next night i watched "star trek 3 : the search for spock". well i say i watched, i lasted 15 minutes before the previous innaccessibility of the franchise alienated me once again. and there ends my brief fling with the star trek franchise.

having picked up robert wise's original attempt at a star trek film some months ago, yet never managing to actually finish the film i decided to give it another shot a few nights ago. with that in mind i can safely say that "star trek - the motion picture" is a bit of an unsuccessful venture. bearing in mind the success that is "the wrath of khan" i obviously dont think that the entire franchise is doomed, but the first one suffers from the same problem that a lot of post-star wars science fiction did - it doesnt know how to take itself. does it go for the traditional route, the one in which its series was founded, or does it go for the freewheeling attitude that star wars successfully introduced? to make matters worse, the filmmakers bizarrely seem to take kubrick's "2001 - a space odyssey" as its inspiration instead, taking the film in a far to pseudo-intellectual direction.

the usual suspects (1994)

and now, ladies and gentlemen, a confession. despite my keen interest in all things cinerama i have never, until now that is, seen bryan singer's seminal ''the usual suspects''. i have no excuses, this situation came down to nothing but a lapse in my studies, its no one else's fault, only my own. i take that responsibility.

"the usual suspects" is similiar to "se7en", in the sense that both feel like perfectly formed pieces of cinema. the way the plot falls together, the way that the performences meld and the way that the film pleases the eye is incredibly satisfying. the film has aged incredibly well, and despite the fact that i knew the story's 'twist', it still felt incredibly fresh and dramatic.

kevin spacey is incredible as 'verbal kint', the new york cripple that is revealed to be crime mastermind 'keyser soze'. with this screening following the recent 'se7en' showing, whereby his trademark role of 'john doe' is experienced in its full glory it would have been rather less than difficult for this role to have underwhelmed, alas it is a testament to the actor when i say that his performance as 'verbal kint' was as revelatory as 'john doe' with both feeling completely seperate but incredibly close. of the rest of the performances gabriel byrne, an actor whom i usually jar with, was great, as was stephen baldwin, in his first genuinely interesting performance. pete poslethwaite was horrible tho, i dont know whether or not his ridiculous accent was intended as a way of confusing the audience, but i suspect not. on the other hand, benecio del toro's mumbles were more obscure than ever, proving one of the bizarre highlights of the picture.

one of the main things i took away from this screening, was the disappointed feeling that bryan singer hasnt gone back to the type of film that made his mark. having seen "valkyrie" earlier this week (see below) and been ever so slightly disappointed by just how pedestrien it was, it genuinely feels disconcerting when watched in close proximaty to his debut work.

frost/nixon (2009)

as someone who is a bit of an obsessive with this political era in general i entered 'frost/nixon' with may doubts. ron howard is perhaps the epitome of ''safe'' filmmaking, hes hardly known for his visual flare or even his political gravitas (although the recent 'happy days'-themed obama campaign video he did with henry winkler suggests there is a heavy political awareness in the man if not his work) so with this in mind i was of the staunch opinion that he was the wrong man for this film, and that someone more obvious should have been in his position, say george clooney, aparently attached to the project post-''good night, and good luck''. alas i was wrong. howard pulled off the film with an unfamiliar strong kick. his work in the past has shown a tendency to lean towards the over-emotional, yet the extent to which it was used in "frost/nixon'' actually worked.

much has been made of the projects theatrical origins. many have said (presumably those who havent actually had the pleasure of seeing it) that the film didnt need to be a film, and that at best it would lend itself to a tv movie of sorts. i couldnt disagree more, ''frost/nixon'' is a film that needs to be seen on the big screen. the whole 'theme', for want of a better word throughout of ''the power of the close-up'' is a unique and hugely strong point that exhibits itself throughout the film, and is one of the best uses of the technique that this viewer has ever seen. the cut of the film is very cinematic too, and while the scenes of the now-older participants commenting on the importance of what was happening jars and distracts a little, ultimately its a much more cinematic and powerful experience than maybe one would have anticipated.

while the fancy shooting and cutting may impress, ultimately it comes down to the performances in such an intimate project. having never been terribly impressed with michael sheen's turns as tony blair (iv often considered him to be a poor mans david tennant) i have to admit that i was sold on his david frost. frank langella as richard nixon is a powerhouse of a performance. he owns the screen, and while compared to the actual frost interviews his performance may be slightly bombast, its still a great perfomance that lends an emotional side to nixon that i had never considered prior to this. the best actor contest at this years oscars truly is a thing of great deliberation, what with langella being nominated alongside sean penn in milk and mickey rourke in the wrestler, both of which i have enjoyed hugely. as of the moment my money is going on langella, maybe not for the right reasons (i see it as a career oscar) but still justly deserved.

se7en (1995)

david fincher's creative debut (some of us dont like to talk about alien3!) represents, for this viewer at least, one of the highlights of the cinema of the 1990's. the pacing, the style, the performances all represent what i would consider to be the ultimate in cinematic expectation. stylistically the film shows the streets and locations of the unknown city to be a hellhole lit starkly by rain (rain features in every external scene with the sole exception being the desert-set finale), with the editing matching the pitch and tone of the onscreen interaction subtly but aptly.

in terms of performances ''se7en'' hinges on the transitionary period between morgan freeman's 'william somerset' and brad pitt's 'david mills'. the concept of the transitionary nature of their relationship hints at far more than what is on screen, with the subtext being reminiscent of this relationship in a way. morgan freeman as the grizzled detective who's seen too much and had enough performs in his own unique manner before it became cliche, while pitt as the rookie of sorts follows his work in twelve monkeys with another assured performance. gwyneth paltrow underperforms as pitt's wife, an act which is only a positive thing, as its easily the performance of her career. kevin spacey, unbilled as john doe practically reinvents the psychopath in one foul swoop. the role is reminiscent of a witless hannibal lector, minus the unintentional self deprecation-providing sequels and overt performance, and unbelievably the character still manages to completely shock and disturb almost 15 years on.

brad pitt would later go on to work with fincher on ''fight club'' five years later, and again in this years "the curious case of benjamin button'', with the partnership proving incredibly fruitful. i see their relationship as akin to one of the classic director/actor pairings, along the lines of scorsese/de niro or huston/bogart, and feel that both compliment each other hugely.

valkyrie (2009)

a lot of criticism has been levelled at the use of the respective actors own accent in bryan singer's "valkyrie", yet i feel this is a fairly trivial criticism. if anything the dropping of german accents actively helps the performances, pushing the accessibility whilst dropping any form of distraction. i think a lot of people are forgetting that, at heart at least, this is a popcorn adventure film, and nothing more (despite the best intensions of the filmmakers.

the film tells the story of colonel claus von stauffenberg, a key player in a plot to assassinate adolf hitler. obviously hisory dictates that he wasnt successful in his endevear, yet the suspense of the film still flows.

this is tom cruise's film, something that will be blazingly obvious to anyone who has seen the films marketing campaign or indeed any tom cruise film this decade. i once wrote an essay on how cruise is perhaps unique in the sense that he is the only actor who could be considered an auteur, in the respect that he makes the majority of the creative decisions on a film project, akin to how a director would usually. thats not to say that the rest of the performances in''valkyrie'' are invisible. kenneth branagh, terrence stamp and thomas kretschmann (the actor originally set to play von stauffenberg, prior to cruise's involvement) are all great, although bill nighy annoys (as usual).

stylistically the film isnt the usual thing that one would expect from bryan singer, its far too pedestrian. alas it does what it intends to do, and for a couple of hours at least, is an entertaining saturday night film.

monty python's life of brian (1979)

the second of the monty python film's is generally considered to be the best of the series, although this was actually the first time iv seen the film in its entirety. personally i think the film suffers a little from the focus on the narrative, it didnt feel as scattershot as "the holy grail", which for this type of comedy i think is key. the opening scene after the beautifully animated credits is genuinely a thing of wonder though, absolutely ridiculous and hilarious. the sight of the woman (man!?) carrying a rubber donkey over her shoulders is one of the sights i will never forget.

the hopeandbullshitlist (at 21/01/2009)

no real changes this week, ''the wrestler'' charts high, but that was to be expected. this week, theatrically we have "valkyrie", frost/nixon" and "rachel getting married", and i have tickets to previews of "the curious case of benjamin button" and "faintheart" too, so a busy week for sure!


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

(* indicates a theatrical release from 2009)

la ricotta (1963)

pier paolo pasolini's short film may last only 35 minutes, but it fits into it as many ideas, social comments and stylistic devices as any of his other films.

orson welles plays a director attempting to make a version of the story of 'the passion', and the resulting chaos that ensues provides the bulk of the film. style wise the film marks a rapid departure from the work immediately prior to this film, with the combination of the neo-realism mise-en-scene contrasting wildly with the technicolor of the scenes from welles' film intercut. the combination of the two styles is representative of the two different era's of pasolini's work collidin, likewise the scene with the talking dog and the one with the speeded up running are hugely different to the subtle nature of his earlier work and indicative of the work he would later go onto do in films such as "salo".

the religious nature of the film is but a small indication of the huge nature of the importance of religion as a theme in pasolini's work. in my opinion the fact that the film was banned upon initial release says more about the contradictory nature of the governing bodies at the time than the intention of pasolini. i honestly believe that pasolini's announcement/disclaimer of intent at the begining of the film is sincere, and that the offence caused, presumably in the scenes of the players acting around whilst waiting to film their scenes, was more of a comment than an act of genuine disdain. the comments would be more aptly applied to politics rather religion, with the character of stacci being an obvious analogy for christ.

tideland (2005)

terry gilliam's most recent film, the financially underwhelming (now theres a surprise...) "tideland" proved to be an enriching experience. the overtly joyful story set amongst incredibly bleak surroundings draws obvious comparisons with guellermo del toro's "pan's labyrinth" and "the devils backbone".

jodelle ferland stars as the young girl jeliza-rose, in a performance that is best described as outstanding, especially when you consider the nature of the story and the fact that shes playing several roles (the dolls etc), and the fact that for the most part she is the sole actor on screen. brendan fletcher plays dickens, a heavily mentally handicapped boy in a role that saw my thoughts turn those i had upon initially seeing rinko kikuchi playing a deaf in babel; i presumed that it must be a genuinely disabled person playing the role. alas i was wrong, which only serves to show how impressive the performance was. there are cameo appearances from jeff bridges and jennifer tilly as jeliza-rose's ill-fated parents.

while the film took its time to get going, once it did i was obsessed with what was going on, which surprised me a great deal. the film is about being a child, as explained by gilliam's introduction to the work, and more importantly, it feels like you are watching the film as a child. gilliam clearly has a lot of passion for "tideland", and that projects clearly on to the project.

the adventures of baron munchausen (1989)

terry gilliam's long considered flop is a much more interesting and therefore successful film than one would have presumed. the films is an obvious follow up to time bandits, both visually, narratively and content wise. ''the adventures of baron munchausen" is much more ambitious though, which is presumably why its supposed failings are amplified. the film takes place, like "time bandits", in many different locations, and while that may not seem out of the ordinary when the locations include the moon (taken straight out of melies) and the inside of a fish that looks like an island, then obviously that matters. the sheer scale of the film is rather breathtaking. in a new transfer on dvd the film looks barely a year old, it hasnt aged at all. the fact that the film is 20 years old is beyond my comprehension! while the film is a fantasy comedy at heart there are traces of science fiction and serious drama throughout. the whole subplot regarded death catching up with the baron, while ultimately rather pointless adds a serious weight to proceedings. and while its not a genre per se, the film at times reminds of a cartoon, with the exagerated nuances that one would expect with such things showing through (the feet whilst running etc)

john neville leads a solid cast, featuring appearences from gilliam mainstays jonathan pryce, jack purvis and valentina cortese alongside early roles for sarah polley and uma thurman. gilliam's monty python partner eric idle also features as do robin williams and, most bizarrely, oliver reed.

the special effects are of note, with the combination of all manners of technique, from stop frame animation and computer generated imagery to real mechanical props all making an appearance. theres even an early version of ''bullet-time''! amazing cinematography compliments the special effects, with some genuinely beautiful scenario's on display.

with a film like "the adventures of baron munchausen" in his oeuvre its difficult to understand why gilliam didnt get the oppurtunity to work on some of the bigger fantasy franchises of late. gilliam's style would have been perfect for the harry potter films, alas im under the impression that he turned the producers down. gilliam's influence can be seen in the work of guillermo del toro though, through the use of clockwork, mechanical props alongside old-fashioned, man in costume-type solutions when creating larger than life characters, see the grim reaper design in "the adventures of baron munchausen" as an example.

in all, while its not my favourite of gilliam's films its still an incredibly beautiful looking film that has a heart to match. this all bodes rather well for the recent announcement that gilliam is back working on his don quixote project, i expect the two projects will have much in common.

time bandits (1981)

terry gilliam's miniature epic is one of the few films that have genuine crossover value for both adults and children alike. the story of a young boy, kevin, who somehow ends up on an adventure throughout time and space with a band of dwarves works on many levels. primarily the story is great; the characters have heart and are genuinely appealing and the constant flow of cameo appearances keeps the pace of the film flowing rapidly (sean connery, john cleese and michael palin all make appearances). visually the film is stunning, utilising the bizarre mind of its creator for all its worth, resulting in some truly bizarre visages. despite the fairly basic premise the film has a strong undercurrant of deeper context. the use of bureaucracy and technology to suggest a negative impace on imagination is key. time bandits is thought of as the first part in gilliam's "trilogy of imagination", which also includes "brazil" and "the adventures of baron munchausen". each film features a protagonist of a particular age, with kevin representing youth, "brazil'' lead sam representing adulthood and the baron of "the adventures of baron munchausen" being old age, and the way in which they express their imagination. control of ones imagination by external forces, be it government, god or parents is explored heavily through each of the films.

lars and the real girl (2008)

craig gillespie's quirky love story sees ryan gosling playing a very different role to that of his previous turn in 2007's "half nelson". lars is a man with relationship/intimacy/social issues, who, with the help of the titular 'real' girl finds a way of dealing with his problems.

i found "lars and the real girl" to be incredibly moving, much moreso than expected. gosling is an absolute revelation as the shy and withdrawn lars, not that his capability as an actor was ever in question, i feel that he is perhaps the finest young actor of his generation.

strangers on a train (1951)

another hitchcock "wrongly accused/man on the run" thriller features a pair of impressive performances at the heart of it, yet fails to impress on almost every other level. the finale set upon a fairground carousel is thrilling though, and some of the subtler concepts are of interest (the rather blatant use of "doubles" throughout is an interesting enough notion).

twelve monkeys (1998)

terry gilliam's first foray into science fiction since 1985's "brazil" marked the biggest success of his career (thus far at least). bruce willis is wonderfully overshadowed by a young brad pitt, in his pre-fight club days showing off the depths of his potential. indeed his turn as mental patient turned animal activist jeffrey goines proved that he wasnt just a pretty face, in a turn that is both full of humour and terror in equal measures. thats not to say that bruce willis isnt great either, his performance as jailbird turned human saviour james cole is the performance of his career, and probably the best thing to come out of any of the resurrected careers of pulp fiction.

the world of the future portrayed in "twelve monkeys" is that of a dystopian one, wherein a virus has ravaged the human race. its up to james cole to go back in time to prevent the terrorist attack that caused the decline in civilization. "twelve monkeys" is one of the films from the late nineties that deals with the subject of terrorism in the way in which it existed prior to the events of 9/11 and as such is an interesting take on the subject.

the film deals with the familiar gilliam themes of memory, time and perceived madness. in this case the most obvious comparison would be "brazil", but i think that the nature of the issues are far less ambiguous in "twelve monkeys" than that film.

for me, "twelve monkeys" sits alongside "brazil" as gilliam's finest film. its strange considering that "twelve monkeys" may actually be his most commercial feature, but i just think it works so well.

the wrestler (2009)

i honestly believe that darren aronofsky is one of the most interesting people working in cinema today. i was one of the few that wholeheartedly adored (and still adore) "the fountain", seeing it at its very first screening when it was released a few years ago. to this day i still defend it online, an act i have become accustomed with from the very first evening after seeing it. i just dont understand what the big problem with that film is, i dont understand why people hate it so vehemently. anyway, regardless of my feeling on that film im pleased to see that aronofsky is back in the loving arms of the film press at large.

my one worry over "the wrestler" was that aronofsky may dilute his style too much, that he may have been worried about over stylising his film after the complaints of his previous effort. alas i had little to worry about, there are plenty of indications that this is a film by a bona-fide auteur, working at the (current) height of his craft. the fractured narrative in the telling of randy's (mickey rourke) near-fatal wrestling match shows traits of aronofsky's past, with the most telling sign being the abrupt ending. i cant explain how pleased i was to see that the ending of the film wasnt a cop out, with the usual hollywood ending tact on. it wouldnt have made sense for randy to be happy anywhere other than on the top turnbuckle of a wrestling ring, and im glad to see that that is where we leave him. randy is a fuck up, he cant do anything right outside of the ring yet inside of it he is transformed into a king.

mickey rourke is the obvious standout of the picture, as shown from the huge reception that he has received for the role. he is wonderful as randy "the ram", but as to whether the role will kickstart his career or not, im not too sure it will. perhaps rourke is too much like the character, and is always destined to mess things up regardless of the chances he is given. based on previous for it would suggest the latter, but im hoping not. marisa tomei is great in support, as the stripper with a heart. what with this and "before the devil knows youre dead" she too is on a bit of a career resurgence.

"the wrestler" is the one hundredth film on the hopeandbullshitlist. i cant think of a better film to take that honor.

my bloody valentine 3D (2009)

this was showing in my local cinema in new fangled 3D, the type that james cameron is using for avatar. it was for this reason and this reason alone that i decided to check it out on my day off.

the film was terrible, just genuinely awful. the opening credits were amazing tho, in which the backstory of a disaster in a mine shaft was recapped using newspaper headlines. oddly enough, the standout had to be the lionsgate logo. i know that may sound a tad ridiculous, but the clockwork nature of the logo made me realise just how cool 3D could work in the hands of proper a filmmaker who can handle visuals well, someone like guilermo del toro. the trailer for coraline was ten times as impressive as anything in my bloody valentine, which was just beyond predictable and ludicrous (at one point a woman hits the "killer", who wears a helmet, on the head with a frying pan). worth seeing if you can get to it in 3D, but as an actual film its little beyond the usual rubbish you would expect on a late night horror channel.

oh, and the overuse of torches as a 3D device was beyond tired after the first five minutes. you know its a bad sign when the director seems to think that a police officer needs a torch in a fully lit house.

the reader (2009)

empire magazine referred to "the reader" as "the epitome of middle-brow ‘quality’ drama", which sums up stephen daldry's film perfectly. while it wasnt particular bad, it wasnt anything great either. the lack of kate winslett surprised me greatly, and the higher than expected amount of ralph fiennes was appreciated, yet the film seemed to lack a powerful enough hook to really make it stick in the mind. the final years of hannah (winslett) and michael's (fiennes) friendship was incredibly touching, the sight of michael beginning his cycle of recordings especially, but beyond that the film was just average.

jamaica inn (1939)

while the opening scenes of the film impressed and charles laughton's performance was the usual combination of bombast and emotional believability, the rest of this early example of hitchcock's british period failed to work for this viewer. the storming of a capsized ship could have come straight from a silent film, so well constructed was the section in a visual sense, but soon after i found myself in a uniue situation thus far associated with hitchcock; i was struck down with boredom. the "twist" is seen coming from a mile away, with its revelation coming so early on that i actually thought the third act was in full swing. disappointing to say the least, the premise really hooked me, yet the execution failed terribly.

the hopeandbullshitlist (at14/01/2009)

lots of new films to go into the list today, with plenty of filler to fit in at the bottom (courtesy of the nightmare on elm street series).


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

(* indicates a theatrical release from 2009)


wow, as you can see im almost at 100 films, which is pretty good going considering the relatively short life span of this project. im personally rather surprised to see just how much i enjoyed milk, prevailent from its high placing. please remeber, the placements are largely based upon immediate reaction, so a new film charting high isnt going to be a particularly surprising affair. im seeing several films theatrically this weekend, starting tomorrow with "the reader", followed early friday morning with "my bloody valentine 3D", a film which im seeing solely for the reason that its being shown near me using the 3D technique that james cameron is using for avatar. if it wasnt for that reason alone i wouldnt be going. to empty my mind of such (presumably) terrible filmmaking i will be seeing a film later that day of which i have high hopes; "the wrestler". my anticipation for this project is at a ridiculous level, having followed aronofsky's work closely since the production of "requim for a dream". im one of the few people that adore "the fountain" and will be introducing my girlfriend to "pi" following the screening of "the wrestler". i have high hopes.

lancelot du lac (1974)

lancelot du lac (translated to mean "lancelot of the lake'') represents new territory for robert bresson. the film is borderline fantastically, or at least it bases itself in the realm of fantasy, as a vivid retelling of the legend of king arthur. what is especially interesting about this concept is that it is a distictively french take on a distictly british tale.

the film opens, rather unusually for bresson, with an action scene. its decidely bresson in the choice of angles used to portray the flow of the action, as well as in the pace of the editing. its a rather odd way to open the picture, as it is soon followed by an opening scroll explaining the story up to this point. this opening scroll contains the first of many witty asides presumably aimed at the british origins of the story at hand, with the overuse of the word ''heroic'' et al. post-scroll we cut to a new scenario, one of which is perhaps most familiar with bresson's previous work. a peasent family are disturbed by a lost knight of the realm, in a scene which echoes ''au hasard balthazar''.

bresson's usual use (some would say overuse) of religious iconography is especially prevailant in "lancelot du lac". presumably the premise of the film (the war occurs as it is said to be "gods will") is intended to be a comment on the notion that all wars are a product of religion. alongside this the film deals with ancient superstitions throughout, and much in the same way that paranoia rises in his other films ("a man escaped" and "pickpocket" especially), the woe caused by the superstitions rises. in terms of the different types of faith explored in the film, there are parallels between those of guinevere and lancelot's love for each other and that of jeanne in "pickpocket". the same could be said of balthazar in "au hasard balthazar also.

the scenes of conflict, be they in the sense of practice, the tournament or indeed genuine battle, carry the heavy characteristics with which you would usually expect of bresson. tight panning close ups, fastened to a particular item (joust stick, boot spur) are prevailent throughout, with the emphasis on feet throughout the entire tournament especially noticeable. in fact, throughout this entire sequence we never see above the protagonists waist. its a similiar technique to that of the way in which the pickpocketing sequence from the eponymous film were shot. we, as the viewer are left contemplating the result of the scenario for far longer than we would usually expect to be. as a result this adds an extra layer of tension to the situation. as well as this, bresson uses basic techniques such as laying an upcoming scenes soundtrack over the preceeding ones visuals to great dramatic effect. the scene early on in the picture, wherein lancelot and guinevere are first discovered together by the other knights, uses this technique wonderfully.

pickpocket (1959)

robert bresson's unconventional love story treads over familiar bresson territory in getting to its revelatory climax. while i say revelatory, the climax to the film is outlined in its opening declaration, at least hinting at the conclusion we are going to arrive at. this opening is incredibly bold, which is something i found to be against type for a bresson picture. reassuringly we are soon back in the usual bresson areas of subtle, slow paced but assured filmmaking. the film follows michel, a small time hoodlum seemingly unwilling to conform to the expected ideals of society. instead he chooses to steal, in a manner he deems to be more worthy than common theft.

like his previous "a man escaped" the narrative (and in turn narration) follows the lead character completely. we never see anything beyond his standpoint, nor are we privy to anything around him that he isnt (see his final arrest for a great example). the irony that michel is at his happiest when behind bars, at least internally upon realisation of jeanne's love for him, obviously stands against the entire plot of "a man escaped". the fact that this is yet another film that revolves around jail from bresson serves only to fuel the reasoning behind his obsession. there are obvious metaphorical connotations of jail (freedom perhaps being the most obvious, and hardly a metaphor), but i must admit to being very curious as to why these institutions are so prevailant throughout his work.

the "crimes" commited throughout the film are exhibited in a very unique manner, and one that is highly reminiscent of bresson's other work. at times they appear in a kind of 'real-time-slow motion', showing the high level of detail in each "job", abeit in a poetic and almost beautiful moment. the scene in the train station wherein many a con are carried out is almost comparable to the way in which a dance may be shot and cut. the fluidity is magnificent. similiarly the way in which the first and final 'jobs' are shot in real-time from a restricted point of view heighten the tension to a high level.

the relationship between michel and the head police officer is a rather fascinating one. their relationship is one of the key thematic points throughout the picture, and certain connotations being turned upside down convey to the audience a confusing yet comfortable notion. for example as i have already mentioned 'michel', the lowly criminal and stereotypical bad guy is the protagonist of the film, thanks to the dawn of the anti-hero, yet traditionally the hero in this type of story would be that of the police officer. instead he is seen to be a dated and negative concept. when michel waxes lyrical with the chief of police about a highly controversial subject; the concept of the super-man, the audience is structurally led to believe that michel is right, with the policeman's view being that of an irrelevent and corrupt institution. with fascism rife throughout europe at the time, and especially as it was a major part of the nazi-manifesto, the very idea of a protagonist ably supporting the legitimacy ofsomething like the super-man notion is revolutionary in itself, even moreso when his message is projected upon the viewer (and successfully to boot). likewise the exploration of stealing as a legitimate enterprise, although ultimately villified is at times teased with (see the scene wherein michel deposits his legitimate wage into his pocket, in an identical manner to the way in which he places the money he has stolen in there).

the use of editing as a tool within which to invisibly move time forward is utilised greatly in "pickpocket". so much so that months and years pass by, with only the use of the basic narrative structure and key events passing by for explanation (see the birth of jeanne's baby).

its an interesting coincidence that "pickpocket" was released in the same year as jean-luc godard's "a bout de souffle", if not for more than the simple fact that both lead characters are named 'michel'. both films deal with the architypical anti-hero, yet while godard's film encouraged possibly the most important film movement of the 20th century, bresson's film maintained the still and restricted style expected of his work, although that is not a comment inspired by negativity. in fact i would like to point out just how surprised i have been by how much i have enjoyed bresson's work so much, especially considering just how much i love the work of the 'nouvelle vague'. the fact that bresson's incredibly unique style survived throughout the upheaval of french cinema is a testament to just how unique and important his style was.

milk (2009)

i was lucky enough to go to a preview screening of milk tonight. to be honest it was the one film of the oscar season that i was least looking forward to seeing; im a big fan of penn but from the publicity material milk looked to be the sort of film i would have usually expected to see the likes of tom hanks in, it just screamed "give me an oscar"! add to this the fact that im hardly a fan of gus van sant and i entered the film with trepidation.

alas i was wrong. milk proved to be a beautiful and stirring piece of cinema. it satisfied in just about every way, be it in the emotions of the characters or the thrills one wouldnt usually associate with this sort of story. sean penn puts in a great performance, which is fairly important considering hes in practically every scene. josh brolin leads a strong support cast, with great turns from emille hirsh, diega luna (nice to see him post-y tu mama tambien) and especially james franco (who proves to be a complete and utter revelation.

for me the oscar race has heated up. i didnt really consider milk to be much of a contender, but after tonight i find it difficult to believe that there has been a better performance this year than that of sean penn as harvey milk.

spellbound (1945)

ingrid bergman and gregory peck star in alfred hitchock's 1954 tale of love and psychoanalsis. in a departure from his usual area of expertise, hitchcock uses the cinematically unusual occupation of psychiatry as a launchpad for an "on the run" style romantic adventure film that predates the likes of "north by northwest", but follows in the footsteps of his earlier "saboteur".

the dream sequence that falls halfway into the film, detailing the code that will unravel in the latter half of the picture is based upon a concept by artist salvador dali. familiar with the dali work in question, i found the sequence to be an absolute joy and display some of hitchcocks finest visual work.

alongside the famous sequence, hitchcock's flair is displayed through a couple of other key scenes; namely the shot from the point of view of behind a glass of milk, and the shot of the gun from the point of view of the man commiting suicide. i particularly liked the scene were peck meets bergman for the first time, in which their faces fill the screen. it is in this scene wherein bergman's character changes tone, literally instantly. gone is the stoic doctor from the earlier scenes, and in comes the familiar site of a 1940's love interest falling head over heals for her beau. its a monumentally huge scene, and a great example of the classic hollywood cinema of the time.

frenzy (1972)

this is the most modern hitchcock film that i have watched of late, with it actually being his penultimate picture. the relaxation of censorship laws between the 1960's and 1970's is displayed incredibly well in the difference between "frenzy" and hitchcock's own "psycho", a film which saw release some 12 years earlier in 1960. both films are examinations of sexual-based slayings, yet the later film is much more provocative in its visual language. theres the famous old misconception that in the infamous "psycho" shower scene there are brief glimpses of a breast and an entrance wound, which is rather funny consider the nature of the graphic murder sequences in "frenzy" (in which there are several breasts on show).

hitchcock's return to his homeland is marked by a momentous opening shot, soundtracked by an equally huge score. london is very much a character in "fenzy", much in the same way that san francisco is in "vertigo". the camera work is beautiful, especially significant considering the challenges of filmmaking in such high profile locations as covent garden. the most impressive moment comes at the point were the character of 'babs' goes into the bedsit with the killer. the pullaway shot, leaving the dank house and ending on the street outside is very impressive, especially with traffic and people flowing between the camera and source.

to be perfectly honest i found "frenzy" to be too much hard work, it actually took me several none-starts to get through the whole thing. and while its ambition is great it lacks the heart and downright style of hitchcock's earlier work.

the trouble with harry (1955)

hitchcock's semi-parable tells the story of a group of individuals faced dealing with the body of a dead man (the eponymous harry). in a manner not disimiliar to that of the average slapstick comedy, the film unfolds to open up a mystery out of something initially seemed rather blase. as a situation based comedy/melodrama the film is very successful, if not slightly underwhelming compared to similiar period hitchcock.

performance wise, as the film is centred so closely around its key roles its no surprise to learn that each are fairly strong, if not standout. edmund gwenn as the fraudulant retired captain shines with charm, after initially coming across as a tad over the top. john forsythe as the thoughtful young artist is a worthy hitchcock leading man, with shirley maclaine being somewhat adorable as his love interest.

the film is full to the brim with hitchcock's usual wit to the end (the final frame of the film declaring harry's fate with the usual panache), and while its far from the greatest film of his ouvre, it definately makes for a strong black comedy.

slumdog millionaire (2009)

danny boyle is a filmmaker i have never really been able to let myself get to excited about. dont get me wrong, i think hes made some genuine modern classics, with "trainspotting" an obvious gem (and a milestone in british cinema), "28 days later" the reinvigoration that its particular genre definately needed, and my personal favourite, his most recent film "sunshine". the quality of his work isnt the reason that he fails to excite me, its the lack of a distinctive style to his work that maintains that i cant follow him closely enough to be a fan. for example, i know what to expect with a filmmaker like martin scorsese, who has prevailing themes and an incredibly personal look throughout all of his work, meaning that films as diverse as "the last temptation of cgrist" and "raging bull" are both obviously the work of the same artiste, whereas with boyle i dont.

in spite of this i had slowly been garnering excitement with regards to "slumdog millionaire". the press have praised the film en masse, and the general consensus claiming it worthy of this years best picture oscar, so obviously my interest was there. im happy to report that i enjoyed the film immensely. it flowed perfectly throughout its two hour run time, the film looked incredible, with mumbai making for one of the most interesting location "characters" in recent memory, and the cast all put in amazing performances, with special note being made of the younger children (made all the more impressive after learning that only two of the performances are by actual professionals). the one thing that impressed beyond all else was the joyful nature of the film, which is especially striking when the dark tone of the material is taken into account; rape, prostitution, murder, infant coercion and more are explored, yet still the end result is that of overwhelming joy.

i have decided to edit this entry in the knowledge that "slumdog millionaire" last night won the golden globe for best picture, best directo, best score and best adapted screenplay. i was watching the ceremony live, and cant think of a more apt winner. everyone seemed so overwhelmingly happy about winning, and excited just to be there. i cant help but think that the scenes referred to in india, where everybody involved in the film was apparently gathered watching, would have been similiar to the scenes at the end of the film. a deserved winner.

saboteur (1942)

perhaps the best example of a film which embodies the two aspects of hitchcock's career (the british work and the american films), "saboteur" came suitably enough in the early years of his work. on paper the film seems like an early prototype for "north by northwest", with the famous landmark-based action atop the statue of liberty laying down the blueprints for the mount rushmore sequence in "north by northwest".

the film is very dark, unusually so for the time. as a result the film is beautifully shot, with the tone of the film lending richly to the character. the actual characterisation is fairly complex too, with the incidental character of the friendly truck driver reminding of the later work of a character-rich filmmaker like martin scorsese.

the film comes complete with the expected kick in the teeth, complete with bitter irony at the end of the film. as the only person that can clear him falls to his death, our hero barry kane (robert cummings) sees his one chance of clearance fall with it. this carries one definitive trait of hitchcock; an unexpected, non-hollywood climax.

total recall (1990)

paul verhoeven's arnold schwarzenegger led mars based adventure has long been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, although it is actually a rather conceptually challenging piece, and one that raises many an interesting idea. ignoring the fact that schwarzenneggar simply can not act in some of the more dramatic scenes, the film is a great deal of fun, with special effects that somehow still manage to impress.

withnail & i (1987)

bruce robinson's finest moment "withnail & i" still stands up, over 20 years after its initial release. richard e grant gives a career best performance as the thespian libertine, made all the more impressive when one realises that grant himself is actually tee-total, with paul mcgann enchanting as the eponymous "i".

a man escaped (1956)

my third bresson, and in the shape of his most lauded work; his masterpiece if you will. "a man escaped; or: the wind bloweth where it listeth" to give it its full title tells the story of fontaine, a fighter for the resistance in frnace during the second world war. arrested and sentenced to death, fontaine hatches a plan to escape. his plan is meticulously detailed, from using spoons as a carving tool, to converting shirts into rope.

the film is told completely from the point of view of the protagonist, even going as far to not translate what the german soldiers are saying to him (presumably to immerse us in his experience further, considering it is unlikely that he would have spoken the language himself). every piece of on screen action is seen from his perspective, lending great dramatic weight. as such the narration is incredibly detailed, with our protagonist pointing out ach and every detail. the narration is synched really well with the on screen action, with it at times seeming as though we are listening in on fontaine's trail of thought. francois leterrier, as the eponymous man of the title is incredible in the role,lending a subtlety to a very complex character.

as with bresson's previous work "a man escaped" carries a heavy religious subtext, although not as overtly positive as the one exued within "au hasard balthazar". through his uncertainties with religion we are shown a side of fontaine that is unique to this alone. the normally arogant or cocksure man seems silenced in a way.

the sound of the film is largely dependant on that of the sound of the environment. at times mozart's "mass in c minor" accompanies integral parts of the story, and is especially strong at the end of the film. the triumph of the music adds layers to the achievement of fontaine. having followed his plan in painstaking detail, we, as the viewer can relate to the music in a triumphant manner too, having followed the plan in intimate quarters.

a nightmare on elm street - part 6 : freddy's dead - the final nightmare (1991)

not only is this entry into the franchise so dire that its put me off of watching the rest of the elm street movies, but its actually put me off of watching the other two franchises i intended on taking on next, the "friday the 13th" series and "scream" trilogy.

what offends me the most is the lack of credit it gives its own backstory. i mean, how many times does the fucking character have to die before hes finally boody dead? its just sloppy, lazy and downright immoral filmmaking (immoral in the respect that its purely for financial gain, not in the cartoon violence on show). there is a point where rosanne barr and tom arnold inexplicebly show up too, surely a sign that things have gone too far.

so there we have it, im officially abandoning the project. its just too damn depressing, especially when you consider all of the great cinema out there.

a nightmare on elm street - part 5 : the dream child (1989)

the fifth film in the "elm street" series was released at the time when freddy krueger was a genuine pop culture icon, as shown by the inclusion of two absolutely freddy-starring music videos; one of which stars a group of overweight rappers (clad in stripes) faced with the enticing premise of spending the night in freddy's house (one of them is his nephew who stands to inherit the house - christ, i cant believe im explaining this in so much detail...). anyway the point of this explanation has more to do with the fact that it shows just how popular character freddy was at the time, and how this had a hugely negative effect on the film series. to take a horror character and actively promote him as a comedic or likeable character damages the credibility hugely. the second of the videos is another rap song (rap tie ins were de-rigeur towards the late eighties, when vanilla ice made it acceptable for middle class white kids to actively enjoy the genre).

to be fair to it, the fifth film does open with the first genuinely subversive moment in the entire series. and perhaps that is what the problem with the series is, theyre just so blatent and predictable and lazy.

a nightmare on elm street - part 4 : the dream master (1988)

perhaps a more apt subtitle would be "freddy becomes an obvious metaphor for aids", in what is basically a retread of the first film (girl discovers freddy, attempts to stop him killing her friends). one thing i will say, is that at least the camerawork is improving, with uber-hack renny harlin behind the camera. i also like the way that 80's fad aplenty, karate is shoehorned in, in as offensive and patronising a manner as i would expect. what i find most inexplicable about these films, is that despite the evidence proving otherwise, the authorities do nothing to at least attempt to control what is happening on and around elm street, despite the years and years of trouble.

to be fair to it, the last thirty minutes or so, in where one girl is transformed into a cockroach, much in the same manner as cronenbergs "the fly", and where the first genuinely disturbing death of freddy takes place are the highlight of thseries so far.

rope (1948)

a surprisingly early hitchcock work (i genuinely thought it was made in the late fifties, even after the viewing), "rope" is a murder based thriller with a difference. rather than building to the moment of action or at least dragging some drama or statement out of the literal act, the killing in this film takes place in an instant just as the credits have finished rolling. in fact, the way in which all human activity seemingly begins on cue as the final name (alfred hitchcock obviusly...) on the credits rolls by, suggests a great deal. the theatrical notion of the performance begining is apparent, with a clockwork-like moment taking place.

when initially seeing the film literally opening with the murder i instantly presumed that this must have been a reaction of sorts to his critics. ''perhaps the hitchcock method seemed tired or out of date?" i thought, figuring that the drastically different structure was his way of hitting back at those who theoretically spoke out. this was the obvious conclussion that i came to, having most recently viewed "the birds", "shadow of a doubt" and "rear window", all three coming before "rope" i thought. i was shocked to discover that only "shadow of a doubt" came before, and so the reaction that i presumed was an invention of my own thought. needless to say, "rope" is an interesting counterweight to his other work, its almost like a hitchcock film in reverse. instead of the usual build of suspense though we are left with another, one of impending doom for the characters involved. we know the problem, now we await the consequence.

with its (at the time) revolutionary editing, used in a manner to project the concept that the narrative takes place in one continuous shot it could be said that "rope" is hitchcock's most experimental work. again the slow paced nature of "rope" compares interestingly to some of the key scenes in his later work (the bird attacks of "the birds", the shower scene in "psycho").

one of the most unusual aspects of "rope" is that the traditional protagonist of the piece doesnt show up until almost half an hour into the film. hitchcock would later reverse this technique by killing off his "star" name just 30 minutes into "psycho".

"rope" is incredibly self-referential a film. the scenes in which the characters discuss ingrid bergman and company are a sly aside, showing hitchcock's canny wit. the mention of freud could be seen as hitchcock addressing one of the subtle underlying themes from "shadow of a doubt", or, more likely, its critics.

at times the film is highly reminiscent of its theatrical origins, yet at others it is incredibly cinematic. for example the scene whereby james stewart's 'rupert cadell' gives the breakdown of how he would have commited the crime. the camera leads the story, implicating each of the relevent items involved in the act. this reminds heavily of the camerawork later seen in "rear window", and is incredibly visual filmmaking. the lighting at the end of the film, as the friends' plan falls apart is incredibly effective too, in spite of the basic nature. the neon signs used to "colour" the breakdown of philip morgan show literally his being tipped over the edge of sanity. later on in the same scene, the same lights offer a comforting glow, as the film winds down.

a nightmare on elm street - part 3 : dream warriors (1987)

woe is me, im quickly tiring of the task at hand.

the third in the "nightmare on elm street series" comes equiped with a bigger budget, more gruesome death sequences and an arquette (patricia). alas it lacks one thing above all else - dignity. while the effects are much better the soul of the original film seems lost. what really annoys me is that the subtitle; dream warriors, suggests that this entry into the series could have been what james cameron's ''aliens'' was to the original "alien", in the sense that i expected more. i wanted to see a group of "dream warriors" step into freddy's world and cause all manner of excitement, alas i was left with a more depressing "breakfast club"-band of ragtag misfits. theres also lots of patronising hugging and screeching idiots, its like a john hughes directed episode of scooby doo.

l'argent (1983)

adapted from a leo tolstoy story, roberty bresson's final film tells the story of yvon, a young man who, through a series of random events revolving around a forged 500 franc note, sees his life fall apart. this is a tale of greed; of money and consequence.

as this is only my second bresson i decided to take in one of his later works. what is most immediate, and perhaps most surprising about the later film, is just how similiar in style it is to "au hazard balthazar". bresson's unique style remained the same over the course of fifty years, without ever proving stale or under-developed. one of the most prevailing visual motives is the use of lines in his work, be it in the buildings and the streets, or the inner locations of each respective scene. contrasting lines are used to signify a shift in location, time and circumstance, proving a very strong technique when it comes to expressing such shifts. bresson's work has incredibly assured pacing, for example in the scene in which the prisoners are dining and yvon attacks; the movement of the assault is shown in a very literal and theatrical manner, the emphasis on movement through editing and camera placement is wonderful. the similiarity in style to bresson's earlier work here again is astounding.

bresson's incredibly traditional method of storytelling is shown particularly well in the scene set in the church mass. when attempting to show the reason as to why the mass is so popular, rather than using an obvious cinematic convention, bresson instead chooses to simply show the reason (mass is an easy opportunity in which to trade) using his familiar brand of literal visuals. its a hypocritical method of filmmaking in a way, as its very simple in one way, but complex in another. theres no explanation verbally, something which may jar when compared to modern cinematic technique. this concept is introduced using very basic (in style at least) classic film techniques. its very literal.

the nature of the cut makes the film feel like a much longer, much more epic story. theres very little narrative "baggage", with every scene serving to move the story forward. characterisation rarely stems beyond that of which is necessary, hence the streamlined running time of eighty minutes.

the use of sound in "au hasard balthazar" was incredibly prevailant. again in l'argent, the diagetic sound is impressive, the post-trial sound of shuffling feet overwhelming the previously overbearing traffic being particularly memorable. this compares well to the sounds of schubert in "au hasard balthazar". the verwhelming sounds throughout the first half of "l'argent is that of the sound of the parisian roads and the cars that are using them. the sound of the roads are left behind when the scene is moved to the prison, only to be reintroduced the moment that yvon opens the door to return to the outside world. the sound of the road is replaced with complete silence in the prison, with only the sound of the heavy prison doors locking breaking the calm.

the encounter with the woman towards the end of the film could be seen as yvon's encountering of faith, which is the one thing above all else that he is lacking, having had it removed from his personality throughout the course of the film. there are definite parallels between the woman and balthasar the donkey, both seemingly existing to serve those around her. yvon's slaughter of the woman's family could be seen as his reaction to the concept of faith, showing that he has finally gone beyond all areas of return. he is scarred beyond respite and his final arrest is the conclussion of the fate that yvon set himself earlier on in the film, in the scene where, describing to his cellmate prior to lucien's removal from the prison yvon has accepted that he and lucien will encounter each other again.