bed and board (1970)

the fourth part in francois truffaut's antoine doinel cycle, bed and board explores the married life existance of antoine and christine, his sweetheart from stolen kisses. the concept of antoine doinel being a part of a marriage is an interesting one alone, and even the way in which the marriage is announced to the viewer is as inventive and quirky as one has come to expect from the series. as the camera focuses on various areas of her body, christine is seen walking down a street, stopping off at several vendors along the way. when referred to as 'mademoiselle' (miss) by the various people she encounters she corrects them with "non. madam!'' ("no. mrs!"). this somewhat slow reveal is the perfect way to start a film of two very distinct halves.

for some reason the first half of bed and board feels much different to the second. not really in terms of tone or anything, but moreso in quality. the first half, in which we see antoine ply his wares as a flower-dyer, and go through the motions of young married life is very entertaining, yet the second half (post-antoine's affair) seems lacking somewhat.

once again 'the family' is a major theme within the antoine doinel cycle. antoine's relationship with his own parents is once again avoided, but the onus is placed on that of antoine's relationship with his own son. the scenes of a proud antoine posing for photographs with his new born son is genuinely affecting, and wonderful to boot. his proclamations of his sons future greatness contradict greatly with the yore's of antoine's own relationship with his parents. in related territory we see antoine's relationship with christine's parents is as strong as ever. he latches on to them in a similiar way to how he did with colette's parents in antoine and colette. also, an indication to the doomed nature of antoine's affair with the japanese girl is perhaps telling in the way in which he doesnt develop a relationship with her family.

a key line within the film in the form of -

"moving from the personal to the universal"

is an interesting surmisation might be that just be the key point of the film, at least within the series. for the first time in his life antoine is truly independent, alas this might not be in the manner he had originally thought it would be. there is also a really interesting manner in which the doinel films interwene through converse, mentions of events, or homages of sorts are rife, with the cellar scene being a particularly nice nod to stolen kisses. the recycling of locations from previous doinel films, in particular the brothel and hotel from antoine and colette, is a nice touch, and similiarly theres a point where the relationship banter between antoine and christine reminds of the banter between seberg and belmondo in godard's a bout de souffle. taking the film as an influencer (as opposed to the influenced), theres an apparent influence within the film on the likes of wes anderson, with the whimsical and unique bold yellow subtitles, as well as the use of props and even clothing as a prop.

while its the scattershot and fantastic nature are what is most immediately striking with bed and board, it is the emotional subcore that is most effective. the moments wherein antoine attempts to prevent christine getting into a cab is genuinely heartbreaking, and the final phone calls are affecting beyond belief. this sort of emotional attachment, or reaction at least, isnt what is expected from this period of french cinema, yet its abundant in droves. the failure of antoine doinel's marriage is genuinely heartbreaking.

hiroshima mon amour (1958)

im going to keep this very brief, as hiroshima mon amour will be the first of a new in-depth type of article that i will be producing starting in the next few weeks. needless to say, hiroshima mon amour is perfectly apt as the first of these new, more analytical approaches to film criticism. more time will be spent on these articles, with a higher wordcount and a stronger theoretical background utilised. i look forward to this new approach, and hope to produce at least one article several thousand words at length every week.

advise & consent (1962)

advise and consent is very complex in its evaluation and exploration of american politics. as such the film feels incredibly authentic, and very honest an interpretation of what happens behind the scenes of national government. for its time the film manages to not only feel very fresh and bold, but almost nostalgic at the same time. bold in the sense that it is tackling incredibly controversial subject matter for 1962, but nostalgic in the slow pace and black and white photography that is used to convey the story.

at its core the film is an exploration into the corruption of an honest man, in the shape of robert leffingwell. the honest man gradually becomes corrupt as he climbs the political chain, the scene in the commitee where he 'breaks' the witness is heartbreaking in its display of how far a man can fall. the character of brigham anderson appears to be an attempt to rectify the narratives stance, by giving a second chance for someone to speak out and be honest. his subsequent death is genuinely distressing and the emotional peak of the picture.

strangely, at least based on what we are to expect of a film, charles laughton is the star of advise and consent. his character is discussed intently by every existing character, and at great length several minutes before his first appearance in the picture. his seab cooley is a terrifying and perfectly crafted example of character acting. henry fonda, as the young politician at the center of the controversies is great in a role that is surprisingly subdued. i guess such a comment is clearly the result of a film with such a large ensemble cast.

the moment with the president sat between the portrait of abraham lincoln and the portrait of george washington speaks volumes. not only is it a reminder of just how well otto preminger can shoot a film (the use of the widescreen pallett is inspired, and serves to remind us just how visual this rather muted picture is), but it also serves as a witty nod to the rose-tinted politics of the past. each of the characters within the film seems to be standing up for what they believe to be right, be it the upholding of the rules of congress or the defense against such dubious political figures as seab cooley, yet by doing so they are contradicting everything they claim to be just.

high plains drifter (1973)

the spritual and somewhat necessary follow-up to the dollars trilogy, clint eastwood's first western as a director proves to be the most visually experimental film within his oeuvre. at times the film borders on the genre conventions of horror, with the depiction of the death of the character of 'the marshall' being incredibly grim and suggestive, in line with the likes of exploitation horror films.

visually the film is nothing short of tremendous, especially within the towns transformation into an interpretation of hell authored by our protagonist (a literal man with no name, bringing to mind obvious parallels with leone's dollars trilogy). as is to be expected with eastwood's work the film is strictly paced, and perfectly so. saying that, there are deviations from the usual expectations, with flashbacks invisibly melded within the framework of the general structure. it all serves to add up to a rich experience tho, and while its not the greatest film in eastwood's catalogue, its still a beautifully unique take on the western genre.

casablanca (1942)

as an entity casablanca is much bigger than a film. it is a major part of hollywood history, and as such is incredibly hard to judge on its own merits. despite the relevence of such points, i have attempted to look at michael curtiz's film in an objective manner, although i am not sure of the level of success that that will achieve. casablanca is a film i remember looking at at 16 years old, in the first year of my film studies. its an archetype of cinema, a benchmark in its field. having watched the film for the first time outside of education for this piece i couldnt help but feel underwhelmed by the experience, which is disappointing to say the least.

a product of the studio system, casablanca formed the basis of pretty much every irony-laden romance that followed. its repurcussions can still be felt today, minus the bold, unhappy ending in everything from pretty woman to the notebook. thats not to say that casablanca is simply a romantic drama/comedy, it obviously carries much more than that simple tag (why else would it have endeared for so long), but upon viewing it recently i couldnt actually put my finger on just what "it" was.

"it" is the performances; bogart and bergman are electric in their roles, with bogart especially strong, in a glamourous role that is identifiable with and relatable towards. for me it was paul henreid's victor laszlo that was the biggest draw. the characterisation is perfectly judged, which i guess is what extends to the rest of the cast. the smallest of characters feel as though they exist completely within the world of the film, without ever feeling too unbelievable or over the top.

an aspect of the film that has alluded me in the past was the adoration with which the characters, and indeed the film look towards paris with. the famous line of "we'll always have paris" aside, the deep love affair with the city itself, perhaps a thinly veiled comment on the nazi regime prior to america's involvement with the second world war, is all too apparent, with the use of la marseillaise both as the score, as a diagetic 'weapon' against the germans, and as an influence being the most obvious example.

while the studio system generally dictates a formal approach to the process of filmmaking, a 'workmanlike' approach if you will, that doesnt necessarily mean that casablanca is particularly "workmanlike" in its execution. the muted pace and tone are perfect for the material at hand, flashy camerawork and overt-editing arent needed and wouldnt suit the film at all, with the occasional sweeping camera shot as daring as it is necessary. one cant help but wonder how the film would have been approached by the likes of orson welles or someone similiar, being that his film was far superier technically, and actually produced over a year before casablanca. that doesnt take into account the simple fact that casablanca is an actors film, it revolves around those perfect central performances completely, which in turn leads onto the acutely considered characterisation.

awaydays (2009)

the closing film of the bradford international film festival, awaydays from director pat holden and based upon the book by kevin sampson proved to be largely entertaining but ultimately rather disappointing. awaydays would at first appear to be a product of the subgenre of "the football hooligan film", a subgenre which, for this viewer at least, would potentially qualify for the title of "worst subgenre of all time". the likes of lexi alexander's green street and the danny dyer starring the football factory are genuinely terrible films, the problem of which stems from the fact that neither actually tackle (pun intended) the problem at hand, in the respect that they dont actually answer for the subject at hand, and seemingly celebrate the vile nature of what is being portrayed on-screen. there is no remorse, no real consequence and very little conscience at hand, which are exactly the things that one would expect from the portrayal of such dispicable behaviour. alas awaydays is largely removed from the negatives fo what has gone before, which in itself is a point worth celebrating, although it does lack severely outside of this one particularly positive area.

the familiar story of an outsider looking to be a part of a gang made up of people he aspires to be like, awaydays features twin great turns from its two young leads, both of whom are making their feature film debuts. liam boyle, as the genuinely likeable elvis is especially strong, in a performance that has a good chance of genuine crossover appeal into mainstream cinema. nicky bell is great as the young outsider, who strikes up an almost romantic friendship with elvis en route to becoming a part of the firm. visually the film is very strong too. it reminded a lot of anton corbijn's joy division biopic control, with the pace at times reminiscent of corbijn's film too. awaydays lacks the authentic feel that control had in abundance though, and at times feels like a fred perry commercial (everyone is far too clean and fitted).

the soundtrack to awaydays, featuring the likes of magazine, kraftwerk and the obligatory joy division is the highlight of the picture, bringing to mind christopher petit's radio on in its jukebox-like nature. the sheer fact that a film with a relatively small budget features such a strong soundtrack ought to be commended.

the films failings, which ultimately bring the entire picture down lie in its largely disjointed structure. perhaps this is intentional, in fact i am of the attitude that it probably is, but the nature of the flow is so unreliable that its problem is glaringly obvious when apparent. the running time doesnt help either, with the film being at least 30 minutes too long, although the editing nazi in me would trim 50 minutes, streamlining the whole thing.

despite being largely unimpressed with the film myself, i have a feeling that awaydays will be pretty successful when it reaches cinemas in june.

1001 apologies to thee...

you may have noticed the slight backlog of pending reviews on hope lies... at the moment (and indeed the new title), alas i am here to reassure thee that all will be well come the close of business on the day of mon. apologies wherein necessary, but i have been mucho busy(o?) at the bradford international film festival. the great irony is of course, that i have watched many great, great pictures over the last week, but have been without the time to report back. a revision of the list is imminent too.

thanks for the company...

adam


PS- i have created a new feature for the blog, tis very exciting. more details forthcoming.

fury (1936)

an old favourite, and a definitive product of the hollywood system that hollywood didnt want viewers to see, fritz lang's first american film fury is as watchable as ever. the story of a man whom is wrongly arrested and subsequently believed to be unlawfully killed by the means of mob protest apparently came in reaction to the claim that over 6,000 people had been victims of lynch mobs in the 49 proceeding years to the films release. such tumulous subject matter resulted in the unoffical ''banning'' of the film by the studio, before it reached home video at the end of the 1990's.

spencer tracy leads the cast as the dead man who rises from the grave in order to bring justice upon his killers, and as such the film is very much his. as was of the time the supporting roles lean from the side of comedic sidekick to lovelorn damsel, but its the central performance that one will remember.

fury is very much a departure for the type of cinema being output at the time of its production, at least within the american studio system, and as a result was one of the films that laid the tracks for film noir to cross. obviously lang's association with german expressionism lent him a level of authority that was perhaps lacking in the other key members of the foundations of fim noir as an american movement, and this is distinct in his early american work (pre-the big heat for arguments sake). in fact, if you look at fury followed by its immediate successor you only live twice you can see the similiarites towards film noir grow greater. as lang became a more relaxed american filmmaker his style laxed back to how he was comfortable working, as opposed to working to the methods outlined by the studios. inevitability dictates that lang's artistic capability would eventually dispose of the strict guides within which he would be expected to work, its fascinating to see it in action over a 15 year period. when you take into account the commercial failure of citizen kane, and the all round failure of the night of the hunter, films which were both heavily indebted to lang's earlier work in terms of style, it makes it all the more impressive that lang was able to somehow come through with bringing his style to the fore, in light of such financial duress. alas, if it werent for the failure of the two films named above i wonder if we would have experienced what we know as 'film noir' earlier.

personal services (1987)

in celebration of the career of terry jones, full time member of monty python and part time solo film-maker, the bradford international film festival ran a thread of his work, leading up to an evening of conversation with the man himself. the wind in the willows and eric the viking featured, along side personal services.

aside from the work of terry gilliam (and cleese's outstanding and underrated clockwise), i have never really explored the work of the former pythons. comedy is a genre that doesnt really grab me generally, especially most british comedy, and a bad experience with a fish called wanda as a boy has left a bad taste so lingering that it appears to have left a subconscious warning somewhere in my psyche. anyway, as personal services was showing as part of the terry jones micro-season i decided to give it a shot, and im rather pleased i did.

very much in the vein of the archytypal british 1980's comedy, personal services tells the story christine painter, and her rise from put upon waitress to madame of successful brothel. it really does take a look at a by-gone era, a world which no longer exists in the same way. i remember as a kid seeing inuendo laden advertisements for the likes of 'french polishing' in phone boxes and on notice boards, a concept which is explored in this film, albeit in a lighthearted manner.

having never been a fan of julie walters i wasnt expecting much from her turn. memories of her over the top gurning and whatnot alongside the likes of victoria wood mean that i find it difficult to like her as an actress, but she was great as the lead character of christine. without ruining anything, the 'revelation' of the character of dolly's true identity was nothing short of hilarious, and genuinely surprising. the star of the show, as it were, has to be the character of 'wing commander morten', perhaps the most likeable pervert to ever grace the cinema screen. alec mccowen's performance is one of the most genuinely hilarious i have ever seen, his presence and mannerisms alone were enough to raise a chuckle.

western union (1941)

more acute readers may be aware of a bit of a trend at the moment, alas it is purely coincidental. fritz lang's penultimate foray into the world of the western was sold to me on the premise alone, in which former gunslinger vance shaw decides to turn himself straight by taking on the task of protecting the building the western union telegraph lines across the western side of the united states. trouble arises when our protagonists former gang members prove to be the people that he is protecting his employers from, and therein launches a moral based western from the golden age of cinema.

visually the film isnt clearly "a fritz lang picture", in fact its largely similiar to other fare of the time, but the spirit, the conscience of the piece is very much of what we would expect of him. randolph scott, a hearty leading man who lends more than just a physical presence to the role of vance shaw, bringing the spiritual augmentation that the moral issues that make up the central conceit demands. robert young as shaw's love rival, an educated young man named robert blake, adds an element to the film that while it may not be wholly necessary, is still rather effective, at least in allowing the audience to strike up a relation point with shaw and therefore strengthening the ultimate emotional bond between viewer and film.

the inheritors (2007)

a genuine delight, and the surprise of the bradford international film festival for this viewer. former photographer eugenio polgovsky has produced a film that is incredibly slight, yet somehow overwhelmingly cinematic at the same time. the film is largely silent, with only the diagetic sounds of the mexican villagers the film centers on posing as aural interuptions. the sheer fact that the film shies away from modern attraction techniques yet still manages to work incredibly well says a lot.

as a fan of bresson an affinity towards realism was always apparent in my own viewing habits, alas the plight of the "stars" of the inheritors makes the lives of the put upon protagonists of bressons work seem easy going. a fellow viewer commented that he felt as though the film reeked of "poverty porn", whereby the audience would be not only manipulated into feeling a certain specific emotion, but the audience themselves would somehow be in 'cahoots' with the producers of the film and somehow be empowered by watching certain things.

the last metro (1980)

considered by many to be the film that aptly bookmarks the end of francois truffaut's career, the last metro marks an interesting counterpoint to the whistful youth of his debut work the 400 blows. while the core themes remain the same; disillusionment in authority, rebellion against thy bearers, the scope of this later work is much bigger. while the last metro isnt technically his final film, thematically it certainly feels like it.

the twin leads of catherine deneuve and gerard depardieu are nothing short of outstanding. they hold the film together in a way that reminds of the later antoine doinel films, especially bed and board, and is reminiscent of the way in which ''the relationship'' as a concept is predominent throughout truffaut's ouevre (as is apparent in jules et jim and fahrenheit 451, extending as far as both incorporating love triangles). the third party within the relationship of deneuve and depardieu comes in the shape of deneuve's husband, a franco-jew in hiding who manages to shadow-direct the play at the center of the film from beneath the floorboards. in a similiar manner to jules et jim, neither party involved in the love triangle is particularly unlikeable, extending an emotional draw to the audience.

the supporting cast serves well, with the controversial meanderings of some of the characters being a witty commentary on the behaviour and standing of the nazi party at the central core of the film. lesbian relationships, resistance guerrilas and blackmarket dealings for the basis of a heavy attack on the contradictory nature of government.

the films visuals are one of its strongest areas, with the striking photography possibly being the best of truffaut's career, and paying due credit to the fantastic locales recreating paris within the throes of world war two. it cannot be stressed how great looking a film the last metro is, i know its a cliche, but words simply wont do.

the electric horseman (1979)

an oddity of sorts from director sydney pollack that tells the story of 'sonny' steele, five times champion ''all-round-cowboy'', whom becomes disillusioned with his status as advertising icon, and flees the bright lights in an attempt to free the mistreated horse that he calls partner.

reminiscent of eastwood's bronco billy, the electric horseman tackles similar territory, with both facing outdated ideals that have been modernised with vastly different results. while the electric horseman never reaches the heights that personal favourite bronco billy achieves, its still a hugely enjoyable film, with a touching finale that will surely tug on the heart strings of even the hardest of hearts.

robert redford was at his most interesting in the years running up to the electric horseman, with his performance being reliably affable and being a great example of just why he was so appealing at that time, with jane fonda great as the co star that is more than just a love interest. its worth bearing in mind that the electric horseman came at a time when fonda wouldnt really be associated with this sort of crowd pleaser, a contextual affirmation of the importance of the films political subtext.

as may be apparent from the previous form of my writings, im a huge fan of the concept of the post-modern western, and the electric horseman fits in nicely amongst this subgenre.

faubourg 36 (2009)

christophe barratiers follow up to the chorus is perhaps the most staggeringly beautiful film i have had the pleasure of seeing so far this year. the highly stylised paris that stands as the films backbone looked beautiful in the 70mm print that i saw the film shown on over the weekend. alas i wasnt able to stay for the entire film, so cant really comment on the whole piece, but will say that the first hour was really good, with barratier recycling much of the cast of his earlier film. i look forward to seeing the rest of the film as soon as possible.

carny (2007)

an interesting little documentary on the role of the "carny" or carnival worker within the modern world of present day america. while maintaining an overtly positive facade of the its subject the film doesnt shy away from the darker side of this line of work (child abandonment, felony implication and three-way relationships are just three of the stranger aspects tackled). i dont know if the film will ever really reach beyond the festival circuit, the structure and tone seemed more at home in the home, via television, with the style being reminiscent of the sort of thing one would expect to be produced by the likes of louis theroux. it was a great film though, with its limited fate being somewhat slightly depressing.

how the west was won (1962)

one of only two films shot in glorious cinerama, the triple-director led how the west was won is an epic look at several generations of american settlers. i watched the film in the unique 'smilebox' style, that aims to replicate the look of the film as it was originally meant to be seen on the legendary curved screen associated with cinerama projection.

the film is hugely entertaining, and while its running time is hardly lenient, its not ever an issue either. in fact, i managed to fit in two screenings of the film over two days, interesting as the films visual language is. the episodic nature of the film dictates that its a relaxed view, although some of the segments prove more entertaining than others (with a personal favourite being the jimmy stewart starring one).

a. effect (2009)

a great little short film, a. effect tells the story of a 30 year old slacker that is trying to find his way as an actor on a college drama course. the real star of the show is his best friend patrick, a young asian guy with a mean travis bickle impression in hes repatoire. a. effect is the second project from former special effects guy mike ott, although based on a. effect it doesnt feel like a film made by someone who would have a deep understanding of the special effects field. the film is very much best summed up by the tag of "american independent film" or more specifically "post-wes anderson american independent film". usually i associate such a comparison as a negative attribute, why bother attempting to imitate wes anderson, he has such a specific style that it makes very little sense, alas a. effect manages to succeed greatly. perhaps the greatest compliment that could possibly be paid towards a short film is with regards to its length. when the credits ran, and patrick outlined his next performance (mark wahlberg's turn in the departed) this viewer was left feeling the need to see that film. i literally didnt want it to end.

OMG/HAHAHA (2007)

when setting out on writing this review i headed the title with the year 2009, assuming that it was a new film. however upon looking at the imdb entry for the film i found that it was actually 2 years old. this is an important note, as it confirms that the film has been as successful as i expected it would have been.

the descriptive term "the facebook generation", one which has been applied to this film, is enough to put me off of any form of anything immediately, alas i figured i would give it a shot. what i was faced with was perhaps the single most self indulgent piece of cinema i have ever had the misfortune to sit through. it was a mess of a film, with the incredibly naff concepts that drive the plot proving tired and contrived, which is kind of ironic considering the nature of the film. throw in a heavy dash of patronisiation and ladies and gentlemen, we have the worst film this writer has seen all year.

citizen kane (1941)

where does one begin with orson welles' debut/magnum opus?

often voted "the greatest film of all time" by publications as far and varied as sight and sound magazine, the american film institute and cahiers du cinema, citizen kane is not only an outstandingly produced piece of cinema, but its incredibly likeable and accessible too. having seen the film countless times over the past decade or so i am constantly surprised by the sheer number of things that i manage to pick up on each fresh viewing. its a pleasure to watch, and so devoid of pretension and the associated fears that i can actually see why such presumptions are made by those who havent actually seen it. at the end of the day the genius of orson welles' film comes down to one unmistakable fact; prior to citizen kane the modern feature film didnt exist.

the chorus (2004)

christophe barratier's multi-oscar nominated 2004 effort proved to be reliable middle of the road euro-fare. the story of an inspirational teacher at a school for delinquent boys is an inspirational affair, following the sort of inspirational teacher lines that one has come to expect in the likes of dead poets society.

formidable comedy actor gérard jugnot leads the impressive enough cast as clément mathieu, the inspirational teacher in question. he straddles the line between affable bufoon and subtle listener very well, and manages to draw a surpising amount of emotion from the role and project it upon the viewer.

the biggest problem with the chorus is simply that its ''fine''. its never particularly outstanding, but its not terrible. its occupies a strange junction between the two, which is all well and good, but dictates that its not particularly memorable or even interesting as a result. im seeing barratier's follow up at the end of the week, which i hope fares much better.

stolen kisses (1968)

after the relatively out of character piece fahrenheit 451 and the film that would later go on to inspire quentin tarantino's kill bill series the bride wore black, francois truffaut returned to the antoine doinel series in 1968 with stolen kisses.

we pick up with antoine freshy discharged (dishonorably) from the army, and on the lookout for his sweetheart (although not colette from the previous antoine and colette). through a series of events antoine ends up working for a private detective agency, fall for the boss's wife and finally end up working as a tv repairman. its all very scattershot but works incredibly well on screen.

i found the use of the private detective agency of particular interest, seeing as truffaut was so keen on the hollywood cinema that was largely dominated by such figures. it was a nice tribute i thought, and didnt seem to falter as parody too much, which is one of my complaints with his shoot the pianist. the use of tv repair man as an occupation seemed to me to be a sly nod to the television industry too, courtesy of the cinema world. as a result this film seemed to fit in with the whole ethos of the new wave much stronger than the earlier films in the series. the nod to laurel and hardy is blatent too, another example of the sort of thing i would expect of the nouvelle vague.

the film is perhaps the best shot work of truffaut's career, with the lingering camerawork an obvious inspiration to the aesthetics of modern american independent cinema and the like. the scene of the letter tubes is outstanding, genuinely one of the all time great scenes.

antoine and colette (1962)

this follow up to the 400 blows is a wonderful tale of young love. antoine and colette is the second in director francois truffaut's antoine doinel series of five films. while this film is only a short it still manages to fit plenty of story into its brief running time.

we learn in the opening minutes that antoine was captured after the escape attempt that brought with it the close of the previous film in the series the 400 blows, and that in the years since antoine has somehow made it through the reform system and is now living the life he aspired to as a boy and is fending for himself.

thematically the film insnt particularly disimiliar to its predecessor, with antoine dealing with the familiar tomes of rejection and the seemingly impossible pursuit, for him at least, of attaining some kind of stability in his life (with regards to relationships at least). his plight with the young colette, a girl he meets at a concert hall is one of the strongest realisations of what it feels to be a young man in love that i have ever seen. the hope and the rejection are born out of genuinely universal themes, that we can all relate to. the comparison between that of antoine's attempts at stealing a kiss from colette and the journey that a skiier makes down a treacherous hill is a particularly wonderful moment, and the final scene of antoine sat (emotionally) alone with colette's parents captures a scenario that is all too uncomfortable, even as a viewer.

terminator 3 - rise of the machines (2003)

the third outing for the architypal ''brand-arnie'' character is basically a retread of the second film, albeit with a couple of awful comedy touches (the 'star' glasses scene? just awful), and while the seemingly endless cycle of different comedy vehicles becomes incredibly tiresome, the film as a whole isnt too bad, mainyl down to one reason - the ending. the ending of terminator 3 is gloriously downbeat, and genuinely surprising. the faults of the preceeding 90 minutes are completely overshadowed by the events of the last five minutes.

synecdoche, new york (2008)

i have been sitting on my review of synecdoche, new york for a good few days now. while im making an effort to remove any overtly foul language from my blog at the moment (a new title is en route folks) this film is the new benchmark when it comes to that most beloved of cinematic event, the mindfuck. move over inland empire there's an heir to thy throne, in the shape of charlie kaufman's directorial debut. kaufman is best known as writer of the likes of spike jonze's being john malkovich and adaptation as well as eternal sunshine of the spotless mind from michel gondry.

synecdoche, new york is a hard film to summise, but basically it tells the story of caden cotard, a theatre director whom suffers a breakdown of sorts. we follow caden throughout the course of his breakdown; during which he attempts to stage a production based on his own life (and the lives of his family and friends), within a large warehouse in new york. within the warehouse he rebuilds the settings and scenarios of the outside world, building effectively a life size model of new york within it. all this without a mention of the smoking house, the tattooed ten year old child, miniature artwork and a bizarre obsession with tootbrushes, time (and the subsequent timekeeping) and hairstyles. its all very odd, but wonderfully realised.

i thought of the film as a comment on many aspects of film and art, with particular note made on the role of the actor within the picture. there's a great scene whereby one of the actors is attempting to perfect he way his character walks. considering the genuinely epic scope that this film exhibits, to make note of such a trivial moment may seem odd, but i found the moment strangely telling of the true nature of the piece.

philip seymour hoffman continues his recent good run (following doubt) with perhaps his most interesting role to date. there is great support from the triptych of women in coden's life.

it goes without saying that synecdoche, new york will have many a different interpretation, but that eally is the joy of this kind of cinema. the discussion factor is endless, with the film already proving incredibly devisive amongst those that have seen it.

the night of the hunter (1955)

french film bible, cahiers du cinema recently named charles laughton's sole directorial effort as the second greatest film of all time, which in anyone's eyes is quite the achievement, but in the mind of someone whom regards the french magazines opinion very highly its even more of an endorsement. having not seen the night of the hunter for around five years, it was with the poll that im conducting at the moment (see the 400 blows) in mind that i revisited it.

has there ever been a more chilling villain in all of cinema than robert mitchum's 'preacher'? this is the performance that defines mitchum's career for this viewer, and it is a portrayal that affected me many years before having actually seen the film. you see, i have fond memories from my childhood, of seeing a photograph of robert mitchum, hands adorned with love/hate, leaning against a white picket fence and smiling affably into the camera. it would later transpire that this photograph was a (rather oddly chosen) promotion still from the night of the hunter, although at the time i genuinely didnt have a clue where it was from, and in a similiar vain i dont actually remember where it was that i saw the photo. it was from this brief tease that i searched out the night of the hunter on VHS. i must have been around 15.

having finally discovered the film that had lingered in my mind for so long i wasnt disappointed, although i will admit that some of the films deeper subtext did go over my head at the time. it wasnt until this most recent viewing that i was fully able to comprehend the entire scope of the picture. understanding the logistics of the silent film and german expressionism helped a great deal too, in providing further enjoyment, as i feel that laughton's film owes as much to murnau or lang as it does to the contemporary cinema of the mid-1950's. the stark blacks of the starkly star-decorated skies add a depth quite unusual for typical hollywood fare of the time, and while the general concept is dealt with in a fairly laconic manner, the horror on display is rather heavy and forebearing. the controversial nature of the representation of the 'preacher' in the film may have drawn protest too, although i sincerely doubt his actual credentials. in spite of all of this, the fact that the film is one of cinema history's all-time great failures is still beyond me, with the repurcusions felt by the films director one of the biggest crimes of the incident.

charles laughton's reluctance to work on the other side of the camera is one of the great injustice's of the cinema, the enticing question of "what if...?" has rarely been more apt.

terminator 2 : judgment day (1991)

james cameron's celebrated follow up to his 1984 creature-feature is regarded by many to be an example of a sequel bettering its original. i personally dont agree with that notion, but it is a great showcase of the evolution of character. sarah connor, potrayed by linda hamilton, is the real focus point of interest in this film as far as im concerned. the way in which the character has developed between pictures is genuinely interesting, but believable all the same. technically the film was a huge leap between the two, with the gritty future hinted at in the first film developed more fully in a brilliantly realised opening sequence. the development of arnold schwarzenegger's terminator from monster to hero works much better than one would expect, especially in the face of the the genuine terror that is robert patrick's T-1000, truly one of the great film villains of the late 20th century.

watchmen (2009)

when it comes to comic books and superheroes my knowledge and attention is fairly lacking. i have a historical love affair with captain america and a bunch of other marvel superheroes, and have a good grasp of the universe they exist in and the industry they are a part of. i am not an unreasonable man. i understand the technicalities that come with any adaptation, be it comic strip, tv show or prose novel, therefore i have never been one to bemoan the changing of aspects of a particular piece of source material to suit its newfound cinematic audience. with the unveiling of watchmen though, for the first time in my life, i found myself in the rather worrying predicament of acting a bit like a fanboy. i felt as though i had a god-given right to act as if the source material mattered enough to me so much that i had an opinion. ''this isnt like iron man, or batman" i thought, those films can exploit 50 plus years of history to their benefit, origins can be manipulated, scenarios can be changed, they do it in the comics so feel free to do it within the realms of film. with 'watchmen' though it was different, very different. the puzzle like nature of the book dictates that if a single ingredient is missing then a disaster could be afoot.

first of all changes to the ending were announced. many exclaimed blasphemy, whereas i wasnt hugely fussed. as long as they kept the message, the subtext if you will, then i will be happy. the second major negative mark against the films production was the employment of my chemical romance, pop-punk emo-supremo's to provide the films "theme-tune". not only that but it was a cover of one of my most beloved of songs, bob dylan's ''desolation row". "desolation row" provides what i feel to be one of the key inspiration points for the original ''watchmen'' book, in the shape of the line "now at midnight all the agents/and the superhuman crew/come out and round up everyone/that knows more than they do''. indeed the song is credited in the book, and the line is used to bookend one of the issues of the original comic that was collated to make up the now famous graphic novel. now my big problem doesnt lie in the fact that the song is one of my favourites, nor does it lie within the fact that my chemical romance are a terrible band (following record label ethics that surely contradict the message within 'watchmen'?), my problem lies in the very fact that zack snyder chose this band and this version of the song for his film. in his artistic opinion, this was the best he could come up with? really? the third and final negative pre-release woe came in the shape of the 30 second clips that were unleashed upon the internet just a few weeks ago. knowing full well that i would be seeing the film i didnt particularly want to check out the clips, for fear of spoiling the one aspect of the film that i didnt already know, but in the case of one scene i buckled. it was the scene involving nite owl 2 and the comedian on "crowd control" duty. in less than 30 seconds of footage i learnt 3 things. well i say i learnt 3 things, only 2 of those were new, whereas 1 was a confirmation of an earlier worry. the first piece of information was the confirmation that snyder really cant choose music. the scene in question, in which civil disruption turns into carnage at the hands of the comedian, features a riot, and is set in the 1970's. now whatever gave snyder the impression that 'im your boogie man' by k.c and the sunshine band was the soundtrack of choice for the keen rioter in the late 1970's i do not know, but it was a ridiculous decision, and indictive of his other musical choices, of which i will get to later. secondly, for all his good intentions, snyder just didnt get the look of this scene right. there was an ominous red glow involved in the original composition, and one which i always took to be a parallel with the scenes on mars. alas it wasnt replicated here. finally, thirdly, and perhaps most obviously was the apparent overuse of slow motion. in this one 30 second segment there were two uses of the damn technique. now im not exactly against the use of slow motion, but if ever there was a technique that required it be used in moderation then this is it.

so the run up to 'watchmen' wasnt particularly positive.

having seen the film this afternoon im actually confused as to how i felt about it. there were some great moments, and the film has a lot going for it, but i cant help but be ultimately disappointed by it.

as a literal translation of the comic strip-based action of the book then it worked fine. i was particularly impressed with jeffrey dean morgan as the comedian, and didnt find any of the performances especially lacking. the sidelining of 'moloch the mystic' and 'hollis mason', the first nite-owl was particularly annoying, being that they represent an area of the graphic novel that i found to be particularly of interest; the roots of the demistification of the superhero if you will. the pacing, obviously a victim through circumstance more than anything, really didnt work. the film didnt feel epic, as much has been made of it on various reviews, it felt slow, and lacking any kind of real heart. the all important subtext, without the contextual background provided within the book, didnt really exist. sure there was a mythology in place, plenty of opportunity for those who would like to seek out more to seek something out, but the subtext and message that were inherent throughout the source material is all but missing. a point that really got to me was the fact that the key point within the book that spells out the comedian and ozymandias' fate isnt in the film. there's a scene in the book whereby the comedian gives the young ozmandias. its a fleeting moment, but the nature of the assault mirrors the image of the opening section of the film perfectly; the roles are reversed and there was something rather poetic about the whole encounter. quite why the comedian fights back is again, beyond my comprehension. he has already accepted his fate by the time his killer strikes. for him to fight back (in the film) reaks of the filmmakers attempt at shoehorning action in. the fact that we lose the wonderful little bit of mirroring with the earlier (in the time frame of the narrative) event just adds salt to the wound.

the music, both score and found was awful, with particular woe being aimed at the use of leonard cohen's 'hallelujah' throughout the most embaressing sex scene i have seen in quite some time. seriously its just incredibly lazy filmmaking when you rely on such well known songs to project a feeling upon the audience. add in the use of 'the sound of silence' during the funeral march and you have something that i would expect from a student film.

one last negative - richard nixon? what on earth went wrong there?

as i mentioned above, the film translates the literal image of the book onto the screen in a very faithful manner. at times it genuinely does feel like the book has come to life, yet at others it feels like a shoddy rip off of the product it claims to be. the overuse of slow motion does wear at first, but after a while it blends into the edit and isnt especially noticeable. it would be nice to see snyder lay off on the slo-mo a bit tho, the final fight in particular would have benefitted from a bit of speed and realism, especially considering the nature of the participants attire. and while its the negatives that stand out the most, the overall experience was fine, just not necessarily alan moore's 'watchmen'; it wasnt great, but it wasnt awful either. it was just "ok", which is probably the most disappointing thing of all.

the 400 blows (1959)

i took in a repeat viewing of truffaut's masterpiece this afternoon in aid of the poll being conducted over at empireonline, in which a group of fifty must choose the ten films that they deem to be the greatest of all time, before the results are colated and put into a hopefully definitive "best ever" type list. as a rule, im making an effort to rewatch each of the 20 or so films that have made my shortlist, before deciding upon my final ten.

"the 400 blows" was one of the films that shaped the way in which i look at and appreciate the "art" of cinema. while topically it wasnt literally relevant to the 16 year old boy that was watching it, visually it felt incredibly fresh, especially compared to the hollywood and mainstream cinema that i had only been exposed to at the point in which i saw "the 400 blows" for the first time. alongside jean-luc godard's "a bout de souffle" my interest in film was formed. i was sold on the notion that film as art was a viable concept.

having spent time in paris since last seeing the film i can suddenly appreciate just why the film and the city are so closely associated. obviously the very fact that the film is set in the city dictates that a close association comes fitted as standard, but there is a deeper connection. the opening credits, still an all time favourite, captures the love/hate relationship that the city has with the concept of the tourist, or the outsider. while attractions like the eiffel tower may not have been intended as the "attraction" that i have just deemed it, that is exactly what it is, and i feel that, based upon personal experiences, the opening credits of the film are almost claiming back the tower to the city. throughout the remainder of the film areas regularly associated with tourists (the champs elysees, the basilica, etc) are shown in a light expected more of bresson than the 'nouvelle vague'.

despite having seen the film inumerable times ''the 400 blows" remains as watchable as ever. the charm of the character of antoine doinel remains as affable as ever, with jean-pierre léaud playing the character that would become his most popular for the first time.

the final shot of the film still manages to be staggering in its execution. one of my oldest memories of the film is just how haunting i found this final shot to be, and can confirm that this is still the case. a beautiful shot that leaves the viewer with more questions than ones it answers throughout rest of the running time of the film. this is cinema, this is film, this is art.

the station agent (2003)

tom mccarthy, a sometime actor probably best known for his role in season 5 of the wire burst onto the independent film scene in 2003 with this gem of a film. "the station agent" concerns a man named 'fin', who inherits an old train depot station after the death of his boss, and his subsequent relationship with the locals of the small town that the property resides in. the core character trio of fin, joe the local hotdog vendor and olivia, a local artist rules the core of the film, and with it comes some pretty heavy topics. each of the characters has a severe characteristic flaw, be it olivia's trauma as a result of her sons death, joe's inability to remove his fathers influence, or the chip on his shoulder that fin carries due to his dwarfism. the resulting 85 minutes brings us a combination of dark rooted hope and a study in the irony of specific relationships. the films "feelgood" nature, a term i despise yet attach to this project is genuinely lovely, despite the nature of which it flows.

the visitor (2008)

tom mccarthy's follow up to ''the station agent'' proved to be a sleeper hit last summer, with a reinvigoration of interest after richard jenkins' oscar nomination. more importantly the film won the best director award at the independent spirit awards, a more telling sign of quality in my opinion.

"the visitor" tells the story of walter vale, a widowed college assistant who has all but given up on his work and life. when visiting new york for a work assignment he finds that a pair of illegal immigrants are living in his apartment. rather than removing the couple, he decides to let them stay, and over the course of the next 30 minutes or so we see their relationship bloom. vale learns how to be passionate again, through the course of learning to play the traditional drum instrument that tarek plays for a living. through a chance encounter the film takes a decidedly grim turn, and the focus is turned on topic of the american governments post 9/11 foreign policy.

richard jenkins is fantastic as walter vale, just fantastic. im not hugely aware of his work, i remember him from ''six feet under'', and have seen him in the recent "burn after reading'', but he is simply a revelation in this post. his character is reminiscent of that of finbar in mccarthy's previous "the station agent", in the respect that we dont feel like we want to like the character, or that the character doesnt actually want us to like them either. throughout the picture the character is unveiled though, and we learn to feel empathy towards him, and are willing him onto develop.

the themes of the film are pretty hard hitting, in the sense that injustice and political wrong-doing is on the screen for all to see. the film doesnt cop out and offer unrealistic answers, it simply shows us the cause and the realism that is the fact that very little can be done by the average person with regards to the situation we are witness to. visually the film is outstanding. the stunted pace of the film i complimented by languid, sparse arrangements that tie into the tone perfectly. mccarthy's style works as a counterpoint of sorts to wes anderson, with a similiar low key style but understated theatrics.

i was really affected by "the visitor", much moreso than i expected to be. its a wonderful piece of cinema that shows that the talented man at the helm is developing greatly as a cinematic force.

mouchette (1967)

robert bresson's final black and white feature, "mouchette" tells the story of the eponymous 12 year old girl of the title, and in particular, her rape and suicide. ninety minutes of joy it may not sound, but "mouchette" is a surprisingly uplifting film.

there are many parallels between "mouchette'' with bresson's earlier film "au hasard balthazar". the plight of the young girl is very similiar to that of balthazar the donkey, with both being the centrepoints of each's respective story. obviously both are heavily put upon by their surroundings. the protagonist doesnt speak until 35 mins into the film. the lack of dialogue suggests more about mouchette's relationship with the world around her than any explanation could. again this is similiar to the silent balthazar, although the fact that mouchette's silence is through choice as opposed to by nature says a lot. the accompanying sound is sparse and diagetic for the most part. this is most effective at the end of the film, wherein the by now familiar sound of mouchette's shoes and the splash of impact upon the pond tell the whole end of the film. its worth pointing out that the incidental music is amazing, something which isnt unusual for a bresson film at all, but the little dialogue and heavily visual look combine to create the hallmarks of a robert bresson film.

one of my favourite examples of the subtlety within bresson's work is during the scene at the fairground. at one point the barmaid from the village pub, embroiled in the midst of a three way love affair, can be seen riding a fairground ride with one of her suitors. within this short scene that contains no dialogue and is actually confined to the limited scenario of a fairground ride the actual truth towards her feelings are revealed by the simple movement of her arm. its a beautiful scenario, and telling of bresson's style completely. add into this the preceeding scene involving mouchette's naive flirtation on the bumper cars and you have a great telling of bresson's spectrum, with the joy and the immediately following heartache.

there is a comparison to be made between the juvenile delinquency on display in ''mouchette'', with that of the actions of antoine doinel in "the 400 blows". the stylistic overtones and political allegory of truffaut's work is much more apparent, but perhaps that is telling of what seperates the work of bresson with that of the french new wave. interestingly, jean-luc godard cut the trailer for "mouchette". the piece he created was perhaps an insight to what might have been, had bresson embraced the movement.

finally, its worth pointing out that "mouchette" contains what is possibly the most distressing scene that bresson ever shot. the pre-title sequence involving the poaching of a bird is genuinely disturbing.

alone across the pacific (1963)

"alone across the pacific" is my first kon ichikawa, and was a highly positive experience. "alone across the pacific" tells the story of a young man that betrays his father's wishes and embarks on a journey taking him from his home of osaka to the shores of san francisco. the subtext tells of a young man that wants to break free from the shackles that society have deemed upon him, with the story of the journey being as metaphorical as it is practical, and one that most can relate to in some way. contextually the film message may strike deeper tho, with the plot being a slightly veiled look at the way in which japan as a nation was controlled to a large extent by the americans in the wake of the second world war. the scene in the passport office as well as the american sailers obsession with protocol would suggest this is the case.

rather uniquely, the film's structure follows the emotional plight of our unnamed protagonist. that is to say, that rather than as would usually be expected in this sort of film, wherein a person takes a journey of some kind, the joy doesnt come at the end, it comes at specific points along the journey. when our protagonist finally makes it to san francisco his happiness is hampered by the reality of what is effectively "the end".

the dreamers (2003)

bernardo bertolucci's love letter to the cinema of the "nouvelle vague" is a film i have avoided for quite some time. i was under the impression that it was rather embarassing in its adoration, and while i wasnt proven right, i dont feel as tho i was entirely wrong.

first things first; im a huge fan of the period of cinema that bertolucci is aspiring towards with "the dreamers". alas i feel as though he has pandered his view somewhat, and although the film is incredibly enjoyable, it falls short of being addressed as a serious piece of cinema. the main fault lies in the script. the wording seems aspirational as opposed to authentic, and the characters lack genuine characteristics, and are at once incredibly shallow. performance wise eva green steals the show. her engenue provokes michael pitt's rather tepid performance to no end, while louis garrel seemes nothing if not peripheral, and wasted.

while it wasnt entirely successful i did really enjoy it. the geek in me really enjoyed the numerous film references, and i feel like it is definately a worthwhile experience, even if it did feel very much like a student film as opposed to the films it was a celebration of.

the new look list. march 2009.

its been a whole month since i last put the list together, there's been a couple of major changes. im looking at making a number of changes to the list over the next few weeks, more info to be posted soon.

1. pierrot le fou (jean-luc godard)
2. the passenger (michelangelo antonioni)
3. au hasard balthazar (robert bresson)
4. se7en (david fincher)
5. sunrise (f.w murnau)
6. i've loved you so long (Philippe Claudel)
7. a man escaped (robert bresson)
8. the wrestler (darren aronofsky) *
9. hunger (steve mcqueen)
10. doubt (john patrick shanley) *

11. the outlaw josey wales (clint eastwood)
12. pickpocket (robert bresson)
13. milk (gus van sant) *
14. bottle rocket (wes anderson)
15. gran torino (clint eastwood *
16. revolutionary road (sam mendes) *
17. twelve monkeys (terry gilliam)
18. red desert (michelangelo antonioni)
19. mon oncle antoine (claude jutra)
20. bronco billy (clint eastwood)

21. l'argent (robert bresson)
22. gomorrah (matteo garrone)
23. rome, open city (rossellini)
24. shadow of a doubt (alfred hitchcock)
25. unforgiven (clint eastwood)
26. traffic (steven soderbergh)
27. che - part one (steven soderbergh) *
28. f for fake (orson welles)
29. the brothers bloom (rian johnson)
30. changeling (clint eastwood)

31. lancelot du lac (robert bresson)
32. oss 117 ; cairo nest of spies (michel hazanavicius)
33. the element of crime (lars von trier)
34. the shining (stanley kubrick)
35. rear window (alfred hitchcock)
36. the dark knight (christopher nolan)
37. wall-e (andrew stanton)
38. the silence of the lambs (jonathan demme)
39. five easy pieces (bob rafelson)
40. slumdog millionaire (danny boyle) *

41. frost/nixon (ron howard) *
42. man on wire (james marsh)
43. blow up (michelangelo antonioni)
44. the limey (steven soderbergh)
45. che - part two (steven soderbergh) *
46. spellbound (alfred hitchcock)
47. europa (lars von trier)
48. the shop on main street (ján kadár and elmar klos)
49. before the devil knows youre dead (sidney lumet)
50. the adventures of baron munchausen (terry gilliam)


51.the curious case of benjamin button (david fincher) *
52. the usual suspects (bryan singer)
53. lars and the real girl (craig gillespie)
54. out of sight (steven soderbergh)
55. days of heaven (terence malick)
56. la ricotta (pier paolo pasolini)
57. blindness (fernando meirelles)
58. killer's kiss (stanley kubrick)
59.letters from iwo jima (clint eastwood)
60. jcvd (mabrouk el mechri) *


61. dirty harry (don siegal)
62. mad detective (johnnie to & wai ka fa)
63. the idiot (akira kurosawa)
64. in bruges (martin mcdonough)
65. gone baby, gone
66. time bandits (terry gilliam)
67. tideland (terry gilliam)
68. play misty for me (clint eastwood)
69. bigger than life (nicholas ray)
70. hellboy - the golden army (guillermo del toro)

71. bolt 3D (disney) *
72. pale rider (clint eastwood)
73. the pianist (roman polanski)
74. withnail & i (bruce robinson)
75. the terminator (james cameron)
76. the wizard of oz (victor fleming)
77. capturing the friedmans (andrew jarecki)
78. monty python's life of brian (terry jones)
79. firefox (clint eastwood)
80. hancock (peter berg)

81. iron man (jon favreau)
82. saboteur (alfred hitchcock)
83. the gauntlet (clint eastwood)
84. breezy (clint eastwood)
85. the day the earth stood still (robert wise)
86. rope (alfred hitchcock)
87. total recall (paul verhoeven)
88. wanted (timur bekmambetov)
89. the international (tom twyker) *
90. mallrats (kevin smith)

91. die hard (john mctiernan)
92. magnum force (ted post)
93. casino royale (martin campbell)
94. valkyrie (bryan singer)
95. the reader (steven daldry) *
96. space cowboys (clint eastwood)
97. the young victoria (jean-marc vallée) *
98. body of lies (ridley scott)
99. solaris (steven soderbergh)
100. hancock (peter berg)

101. the trouble with harry (alfred hitchcock)
102. indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull (steven spielberg)
103. the hunt for red october (john mctiernan)
104. the puffy chair (duplass brothers)
105. "the birds" (alfred hitchcock)
106. i am legend (francis lawrence)
107. the rock (michael bay)
108. quantum of solace (marc forster)
109. superbad (greg motola)
110. frenzy (alfred hitchcock)

111. transformers (michael bay)
112. the magnificent ambersons (orson welles)
113. speed (jan de bont)
114. australia (baz luhrmann)
115. star trek - the motion picture (robert wise)
116. coogans bluff (don siegal)
117. the enforcer (james fargo)
118. joe kidd (john sturges)
119. spider-man 3 (sam raimi)
120. dear wendy (thomas vinterberg)

121. goldeneye (martin campbell)
122. night watch (timur bekmambetov)
123. judge dredd (danny cannon)
124. armageddon (michael bay)
125. strangers on a train (alfred hitchcock)
126. jamaica inn (alfred hitchcock)
127. robocop 3 (fred dekker)
128. robocop 2 (irvin kershner)
129. my bloody valentine (patrick lussier) *
130. a nightmare on elm street 4 (renny harlin)

131. a nightmare on elm street (wes craven)
132. zack and miri make a porno (kevin smith)
133. goldfinger (guy hamilton)
134. a nightmare on elm street 2 (jack sholder)
135. you only live twice (lewis gilbert)
136. mad max - beyond thunderdome (george miller & george ogilvie)
137. die another day (lee tamahori)
138. a nightmare on elm street 3 (chuck russell)
139. a nightmare on elm street 5 (stephen hopkins)
140. a nightmare on elm street 6 (rachel talalay)

141. W. (oliver stone)

cinema total = 16

hunger (2008)

steve mcqueen meant a lot to me as a young art student. his work was much more accessible to the eyes of someone who held godard in as high a regard as an artiste like klimt, and especially stood out when compared to the late nineties round of british enfant terribles, a group with whom i just couldnt relate. it was with great pleasure that i left "hunger", an oxymoron if ever there was one, and perhaps not the right word.

as mentioned elsewhere, the way in which mcqueen brings european sentimentalities to a british film production is inspired, with the complete picture bringing together a largely unique final piece, especially for a film that was a borderline commercially successful product. visually the film reminds of bruno dumont, with his stark yet epic visuals that draw upon bringing the beautiful out of the less than average.

german actor michael fassbender is the closest thing the film has to a "star", asbobby sands, and charts the hunger strikes that lend themselves to the films title. fassbender is outstanding, going to the lengths of suffering for one's role that would impress even de niro. while the after thought of the film is all but concerned with the plight of bobby sands its easy to forget that sands doesnt appear until the films second act. much of the lead into the film revolves between that of a young inmate arriving at the maze prison, and the story of one of the prison guards. the story of the prison guard has an especially interesting body, showing that the film isnt completely one sided and unfairly sympathetic towards the other side.

the success of the film has been a great indication as to the quality of films that audiences are seeking out in britain at the moment, its taken me by surprise actually, but is no doubt a great thing.

man on wire (2008)

and now for a film that the academy did get right... and a british film too.

james marsh's "man on wire", the tale of philippe petit, a young french man and his attempt to cross the two towers of the world trade center by rope, is the best reviewed film of all time. quite an impressive feat, but then so is the film itself. the fact that no actual video footage of petit crossing the towers actually exists doesnt prevent the film from being a towering achievement (pun intended), as instead we follow his plight and plan to scale and cross. the film is told in the manner of the heist film, with each detail and problem explained and tackled in the appropriate manner. the forty year old opinion of those involved is shown too, with each displaying a huge amount of emotion and reverence to the event.

analogy towards the events of september the eleventh are left to be made by the viewer, but the detailed shots of the buildings themselves are enough to provoke thought and exploration into those later events. the manner in which petit describes the towers as things of unimaginable beauty comes across as a striking anchor point for how the towers are now remembered.

the international (2009)

an action film with a topical beating heart, "the international", from director tom twyker of "run lola, run" fame stars clive owen in full-on james bond mode as a british policeman involved in an international case involving illicit bank dealings. naomi watts stars as his new york-based associate, with able support from a cast selected from around the world, the most impressive of all being 'brian f. o'byrne' as the impressively titled 'the consultant'.

"the international" opens with a great scenario, involving one of owen's colleagues, poison and a car wing mirror. from then on we are led through a gripping journey across the globe as we follow owen's 'louis salinger's' attempt to indict a high profile bank. there's an over the top, yet scarily real shoot out at the guggenheim, which is one of the most impressively realised action scenes iv seen in some time, managing to outdo not only its closest comparrison in the shape of the bond flicks, but also the bourne films too.

while it wont change the world, "the international" proved to be an impressive piece of mid-afternoon entertainment.