Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nov 29 2022
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Art, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Strange Days (1995).

Ralph Fiennes has the strangest way of delivering his lines in some movies and this is no exception. It’s like he shouldn’t fully be involved in the world he resides in, like he’s a tourist. But it works perfectly in this ahead-of-its-time cyberpunk thriller from the always interesting Kathryn Bigelow.

The POV scenes are a technical tour de force and wouldn’t look out of place in a peak De Palma, but rather than merely an aesthetic treat they serve the story, which is never dull and continually engrossing.

And it’s not bad looking, either.

It bombed at the box office. Strange.

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Nov 14 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movies, Uncategorized

Gene Hackman. We think you are awesome.

Such a body of work from this legendary thesp and such a knack for either choosing the right films or being handpicked for them. Either way, directors knew what they were getting – commitment, gravitas, an actor incapable of giving a bad performance. He excelled at both unperturbed man of action and a lad who blew his top when his buried frailties and superstructure of masculinity were exposed.

He actually got even better as he got older, and in the ’90s he was pulling out a masterclass a year. Personal highlight: Gene and Denzel Washington screaming at one another on a nuclear submarine.

I hear he’s retired from acting now and works as a novelist. He is missed. And that chuckle of his.

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Nov 07 2022
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Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Halloween H20 (1998).

Everyone is in this, even a bloke who looks like the kid from Jumanji (1995), and LL Cool J is the exact same character here that he plays in Deep Bue Sea (1999) and Any Given Sunday (1999). Special mention to Janet Leigh’s mental cameo.

A rarity – a slasher in which you can believe that any character can be killed. Yes, it’s shite, but in a funny way, and it does have a wee bit of transcendence dare behind it. Amidst the garbage Halloweens, this and the first are the only ones worth watching. 

Decent poster, too.

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Nov 02 2022
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Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Technology, Uncategorized

Event Horizon (1997). Crikey, this is terrible.

A total clichéfest after an almost absorbing first 10 minutes and admittedly impressive set design, this is one of those ‘cult movies’ that quite a few renowned movie critics admire. I believe they have been bribed by the producers or blackmailed or something. It’s the worst kind of B-movie in that everything in it is lifted from everything else, even down to the bizarre appearance of an Eddie Murphy lookalike as one of the ship’s crew; I did a double take and it took about a minute to realise it wasn’t him.

Not a developed character in the picture, the script bafflingly tries to compensate with constant jargon that the characters relay to the audience in order to inform us that we are stupid and not crew members on a spaceship. And it’s all so rushed it feels like the editors took speed during the latter half of the cutting sessions. 

Only reason I’m moaning about such a shitter is that a few cinephiles whom I respect have said it’s great.

They are very wrong.

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Nov 01 2022
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Art, Hip hop, Kanye West, Music, Uncategorized

Watch the Throne (2011) – throwback to this masterpiece.

The best collaborative album, and Kanye West at his peak. Apparently, he lost his mind or something recently.

Yes:

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Oct 26 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized, United States, Vietnam

Tigerland (2000).

A movie exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era boot camp.

How did the director of Batman and Robin (1997) make this? But then again, he made Falling Down (1993) and The Lost Boys (1987). ‘Gritty’ gets overused in cinema and reviews of cinema, as if it’s a shortcut aesthetic to a decent film, but here it is decidedly gritty but for a reason and it works. It had to take the gritty approach; the opposite take on basic training is Kubrick.

Farrell is so natural and just … quality. Apparently, he auditioned for a boy band before plying his trade as an actor? I’m so glad he failed at the former. The rest of the cast: all excellent, and it’s rare to see each actor perfect for the role.

Proper drama, a gritty drama.

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Oct 23 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022).

Funny, indeed hilarious at times, sad, melancholic, and rather quite depressing, this is one grand odyssey into loneliness, boredom, and existential crisis that just isn’t spontaneous or … watchable enough to be up there with In Bruges (2008) or The Guard (2011), but it’s certainly something different. It takes so long to get going, though, and there’s only so much material you can draw from the Craggy Island setting.

Still, it’s better than most, and has the best performance by a donkey since Au Hasard Balthazar (1966).

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Oct 21 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized, United States

Joy Ride (2001).

A taut thriller from a pre-smartphone era, the internet in its relative infancy, it’s exactly this disconnection which makes the premise genuinely creepy. Think Duel (1971) but with less sympathetic leads who kind of have it coming.

There’s a real sense of menace throughout this road trip from hell, and that’s in no small part to the spooky vocal talents of Ted Levine as ‘Rusty Nail’. Every time he decides to terrorise the trio down the CB radio, I couldn’t help but think of Buffalo Bill trying on his next arm cast.

Superb movie.

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Oct 10 2022
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Uncategorized

Philip Seymour Hoffman walks away with Mission: Impossible III (2006).

Because he’s a thoroughly convincing sociopathic sleazeball who doesn’t give a hoot about his rep and the flab. He looks nuts and acts logically … which is kind of scary. 

Best scene: The Hoff being dangled upside down by our lad Cruise from a military transport plane and not being particularly bothered by it because he knows he’s too valuable to kill.

Scenes like this continue to contribute to the growing legend that is Hoffman and all discoveries that await new cinephiles.

He is still missed.

Oct 07 2022
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Soviet Union, Uncategorized, United States, USSR

The Good Shepherd (2006).

Firstly, let’s get this out of the way: Angelina Jolie should not be in movies. She has no acting ability that has ever been evidenced in anything she has featured in. I mind that Sony Pictures hack years ago when a producer referred to her as a “minimally talented spoiled brat”. Sums the situation up. For some reason she is in movies, and was cast in this to put bums on seats, though I do question the sanity of folks who’d watch it for the delights of Jolie. She’s awful.

Now that’s cleared up, some positives. Like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2001), this was gripping without ever seeming to be about anything; it’s the little details and the intricacies and the things that are easily missed. It’s less a depiction of Cold War espionage and more a portrayal of a bloke operating within a system of double entendres, maintaining the poker face at all times (Damon is a cold fish here but we can see why).

De Niro hasn’t made many films and this one is curious subject matter. Of all the topics and milieus, I’d never imagined he’d be interested in something like this. It’s very well made, a bit of the Michael Mann about it.

Bobby should make more spy flicks.

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