Category Archives: Uncategorized

Apr 27 2024
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Presumed Innocent (1990).

Ford’s haircut, what might feasibly be deemed a Caesar, is the feature attraction but he pulls it off. 

You can tell from two mins into this brutal courtroom gig that it was shot by Gordon Willis, his unmistakable visuals a pallet of shadows and claustrophobia; when cinematography had character.

No faffing on your phone during the Caesar Attraction for you must pay attention. And it’s got that genuinely shocking ending that defines the era of the glossy star-powered thriller. 

Wildly entertaining, impeccably acted, Raul Julia rocks up and somehow becomes the most interesting character. What an inscrutable face, what a voice. 

The last great Alan J. Pakula movie.

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Apr 15 2024
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

The Other Guys (2010).

It’s risky with some of its jokes but they are actually funny (most comedies are joke-free affairs) and stem from the growing characterisation and chemistry of the two leads, and the bizarre credibility of the bit-part players, some of whom appear to have wandered off from the set of Lethal Weapon (1987). 

Michael Keaton, eh. He can do no wrong in his Indian summer (I don’t wish to hear of this Batgirl … thing). 

For a comedy/satire, it’s well choreographed in its action scenes, even more so than the majority of buddy cop movies out there.

And the late Ray Stevenson pulls off an Aussie accent. X. 

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Apr 14 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Enemy of the State (1998).

Kim Newman in a review decades ago drew parallels between Harry Caul from The Conversation (1974) and this thriller’s deuteragonist (Brill), and the observation inadvertently lifts Enemy of the State (1998) above the generic. That and it’s ahead-of-its-time commentary on domestic surveillance. 

Another Gene Hackman powerhouse. And the normally irritating and minimally talented Will Smith is at least serviceable in this, a star vehicle from his pomp years. 

It’s got style and is never dull. And it’s funny. 

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Apr 11 2024
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Uncategorized

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).

This movie is the definition of barking mad. It shouldn’t exist as it’s so nonsensical and daft but somehow it is here with us, a remnant from a bygone era. It’s hilarious in moments and would not be made today. There would be picket lines outside Cineworld.

Nothing else to add.

Apr 09 2024
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Movie, Movies, Technology, Television, Uncategorized

Ripley (2024). Excellent.

The cinematic travails of Tom Ripley have given us the quite barking The American Friend (1977), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), and the little-seen Ripley’s Game (2002) – a multifarious holy trilogy of sorts linked by the amoral antihero. I have not seen Purple Noon (1960), nor the Barry Pepper number. And what the fuck happened to that actor? He was on the cusp but now operating in the AWOL stakes.

And this TV first, it’s exceptional, a throwback continental thriller with vistas galore. Ripley epitomises the self-effacing weasel; you need to watch out for these creeps for they lurk in the shadows.

It’s a 5/5 from me and I couldn’t find a flaw in it.

And Patricia Highsmith used to smuggle snails through airport customs ….

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Apr 01 2024
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

The Outfit (2022).

So unusual for a crime thriller, we have a protagonist as nonthreatening as it comes operating on the sidelines of the mob. Nonthreatening until you really see how clever and kind of sinister he is, he reminded me of Tom Hardy in The Drop (2014).

Exquisitely crafted, intense, this is a good old-fashioned crime drama which goes beyond the situation piece it could have been as it never leaves the one location for its duration. A movie with no faffing around. And there are some brutal scenes.

A rare gem.

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Mar 25 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

L’Emploi du temps (2001).

It was difficult to compare this movie to another, such was the singularity of it. But the works of Éric Rohmer come to mind with their mood, pacing, and thematic concerns.

It’s a joy to watch and never dull despite the monotony of the subject matter, all held together by a quite exceptional leading performance and the unpredictability of events. You do wonder, knowing it’s based loosely on a true story, if this bloke is going to end up going crackers.

Exquisite cinema.

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Mar 22 2024
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Art, Cinema, Movie, Uncategorized

 “No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.” – Roger Ebert.

Indeed.

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Mar 18 2024
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Art, Cinema, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Edge of Darkness (2010).

It’s okay.

Mel is good in everything, a top actor and a sublime filmmaker. Our British Bulldog extraordinaire Ray Winstone also rocks up as an enigmatic spy/assassin with existential predilections, and he gives the type of performance that makes you wish the movie would segue into it all being about him.

However, Danny Huston features, and he is terrible as always. He saunters like C-3PO and has the diction of a constipated android. He almost ruins the movie, as he does most movies he features in.

Bloke needs to be banned from cinema.

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Mar 13 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Dune 2 (2024) isn’t any good.

I found this such a painful experience and I’ll be brief about why.

It was overstuffed with inconsequential ritual, gormless staring from every character in it, needless detail, and shots and pacing so ponderous I kept kicking the chair in front of me (it was empty).

The Fremen were so boring it felt like a really honking Ryanair flight when you’re stuck on the tarmac for 45 mins. It went on and on with these goons and I was sick to death of them. What else? It’s wholly unmemorable in its dialogue. Not a single line staying with you, the chat consists of characters telling the audience what is happening.

The pros:

The spectacle is great, the effects sublime. The Harkonnen are at least interesting, their strange society and brutal ways. But they barely feature. Apparently, folk chatting in a desert is more deserved of our attention.

That’s about it. 

I won’t be watching again.

Shite.

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