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Nightmare Angel (1987)
A really interesting adaptation of Ballard!
Saw this recently as it was included on Arrow's excellent 4k Blu Ray of Cronenberg's Crash.
This adaptation of JG Ballard, using elements of both Crash and The Atrocity Exhibition, is told in short form black and white. At only 33 minutes long, it packs an impressive level of punch. It lacks the all out sex/nudity of Cronenberg's film but there's an excellent coldness to the actor's performances and a disjointed editing style that captures Ballard's original just as well, arguably a little better.
There are several scenes which seem eerily similar to the Cronenberg version but others reminded me more of some of David Lynch's work, particularly the washed out black and white shots of a vast and bleak industrial landscape and the unsettling music and sound effects work.
A very interesting short and great work to Arrow for bringing it to a wider audience!
The Truman Show (1998)
A masterpiece of tragic drama dressed as comedy
Jim Carrey is just wonderful in this film. While he's always brilliant being off the wall in a bevy of 90s classics, he's even better here when given such an intimate character study and such masterful writing to work with. Still wonderfully funny but bringing tragedy, soul and nuance to Truman that's utterly compelling to watch. His ever charismatic but very human performance beautifully disguises the underlying themes of psychological damage and torture that run through the film. Even when awful characters are manipulating him, the jaunty music of the fake TV show is usually playing, keeping the narrative feeling light when underneath it is anything but.
The more you watch the film, the more you realise its horrific undertones and how brilliantly ahead of its time it was in predicting reality television and the vapid nature of consumerism surrounding it.
A testament to the talents of Peter Weir, The Truman Show holds up as a shining example of intelligent tragic comedy.
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
"Who are you and how did you get in?...I'll call security...and congratulate them!"
The third entry in Brosnan's tenure as 007 is action packed with plenty to enjoy but somehow lacks the sheer excitement and scale of the previous two films.
Robert Carlyle and Sophie Marceau have fun as the main villains and Judi Dench is ever solid as M but Denise Richards really wasn't a great bit of casting. She feels constantly out of place in the James Bond world, and thoroughly one dimensionally written as a follow on from the excellent Michelle Yeoh in TND. All the writers can think to do with her is make her the literal butt of the most juvenile jokes and the obvious age gap with Brosnan just does not work. They have absolutely zero chemistry whereas Brosnan and Marceau do.
Great to see Robbie Coltrane back one more time (he has the best line in the film!) and nice M16 world building with the return of Tanner from Goldeneye and Robinson from Tomorrow Never Dies. They lend a wonderfully British spirit to proceedings and act as glue for the world of 90s Bond. Just a shame not to have Joe Don Baker back as Wade!
Not at all terrible but not amazing either!
Die Another Day (2002)
Not a strong entry, but god bless Pierce Brosnan!
Die Another Day is an extremely mixed bag. It shows signs of promise with Bond's early capture and interrogation, a chance to see Brosnan do something a bit different. However bad the film gets you can't fault his relentless optimism for the character, he's always been a fan of Bond and playing him has always been a dream job. Despite terrible writing and plot devices here, he's never unconvincing which is very important given how far Die Another Day pushes suspension of disbelief in favour of cheap CGI and dodgy plot contrivances.
Following Denise Richards in TWINE, Halle Berry is equally miscast here. There solely because she was popular at the time and not because she fitted the franchise. Rosamund Pike is far better and more appropriate to a Bond film and at least seems to have fun chewing the scenery.
There are just too many stupid scenes, highly reminiscent of the cringiest moments in the Roger Moore films and the central plot lacks the class or scale that a Bond film should have. Given the smash success of The Bourne Identity the year this released, the producers should have immediately started work on a stripped back, more realistic film. As it happened that's exactly what they did but it took 4 years and in the process they lost Pierce Brosnan.
Connery is the original. Lazenby the splendid one-off, Moore is the comedian, Dalton the most realistic and Craig the grumpy blunt force trauma.
I was never quite sure what Brosnan was exactly until recently. Die Another Day may be bad, and his worst film, but he will always hold a special place for me as a wonderful 90s Bond who never once moaned about the role and always revelled in bringing Bond's adventures to the screen. For a few years he really was the coolest guy in the world and for me, the producers did him dirty at the end.
Pierce Brosnan is the fan's Bond.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Prime Brosnan era Bond!
While it may not quite reach the lofty heights of Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies is a superb entry that makes me consistently smile and feel that pang of excitement that only a Bond film can deliver. Having firmly established his credentials in the previous outing, Brosnan is free here to fully inhabit the character and let loose and out of his four films it's the one where he feels most natural!
Superb action sequences, including one of the best pre-titles ever, and great support from Jonathan Pryce fully hamming up his turn as media mogul Elliott Carver. A cool and dangerous henchman and the wonderful Michelle Yeoh giving us a fully formed Bond girl who more than holds her own alongside the boys!
Slick, stylish and most of all just tremendous fun. You can't ask for much more in a Bond film!
Butcher's Crossing (2022)
A powerful film, less about character and more about theme!
This isn't so much a film with a driven story or narrative, but more a brooding introspection on American manifest destiny and greed. I'll always remember the first time I saw Dances With Wolves, in particular the scene where they encounter the buffalo killed only for their hides. Butcher's Crossing essentially takes that scene and runs with it.
While Cage plays a singular character, he's more an embodiment of a particular point in American history; brutal and bloody but ultimately fleeting and pointless. It's a powerful performance from him, not over the top or off the wall as he often can be, but quiet, introspective and with a malice and rage burning below the surface.
It could be said that the central characters lacked a defining narrative but that's not hugely important here. I think this film was much more about mood and capturing the futility of exploiting a commodity until there is nothing left, not because it must be done but simply because it can be done.
Some stunning cinematography and an important theme make Butcher's Crossing well worth a watch and it most certainly deserves more than the 5.7 out of 10 it's currently getting on IMDB!
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
"Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place"
Peter Weir creates a masterful feeling of oppression and claustrophobia here, from the hostile terrain and animals to the pervasive sense of extreme heat coming off everything. The beautiful flute heavy score accentuates the stunning landscapes while instilling a sense of ever pervading dread.
Perhaps the film's greatest quality is the lack of resolution to the central mystery, something which enraged critics of the time but imparts the finished film with a far greater scope. So much is left to the imagination that you can infer your own theories as to what happened. Lots of references to Poe and dreams within dreams give this a similar feeling to some of David Lynch's work, Miranda being an almost proto-Laura Palmer, albeit in the Victorian era.
Beguiling, beautiful and wonderfully mysterious, Picnic at Hanging Rock is an excellent and very unique thriller!
Manhunter (1986)
One of Mann's very best!
Michael Mann creates a truly chilling vibe with William Petersen's long monologues to his tape recorder perfectly undercut by a brooding synth theme, very similar to what we'd see a few years later with Twin Peaks' Agent Cooper.
It's a beautifully shot film, from the dazzling sunshine hues of Florida beaches to the gritty nighttime scenes of empty homes, everything is sharp and elegantly assembled. Mann's use of the camera mimics the stalking movements of the killer brilliantly, creating a wonderfully uncomfortable vibe throughout.
Brian Cox gives a chilling yet understated performance as Hannibal Lecter, making him far more terrifying than the franchise monster Anthony Hopkins would bring later. It's such a shame Cox didn't get to play the character in Silence of the Lambs; he would have been terrific uncaged!
The original and best take on Thomas Harris' novel, Manhunter remains memorable amongst a deluge of 80s splatter for its realistic yet disturbing style. Excellent!
The Neverending Story (1984)
"They look like big, good, strong hands, don't they?"
The Neverending Story may seem like a simple 1980s fantasy film but its powerful underlying themes of growing up and the loss of childlike innocence run deeply within the narrative.
The sequence with Artax in the swamp of despair has traumatised many a child over the years but the real kicker of the film is the Rock Biter's speech about his hands. Fantasia may seem to be saved in the end, but this is an illusion. A memory of a world that can no longer be that exists now only in nostalgic remembrance, the perfect metaphor for the loss of Bastian's mother in the real world.
Like Watership Down before it, this is dark children's fantasy with real depth, superbly brought to life by Wolfgang Peterson.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)
Good tension but an unnuanced message
Personally, I found this one a rather polarising affair. On the plus side there were some rather good moments of tension and an excellent electronic score that felt reminiscent of Tangerine Dream's work on William Friedkin's Sorcerer. Given both film's explosive narratives I'm thinking this was intentional.
Whereas Sorcerer sets up its characters first and then pushes them into a claustrophobic story, this film begins that way but gradually intercuts between the present timeline and flashbacks to the characters to accentuate and often prolong the tension in the main plot. This works well the first time but becomes a bit repetitive as a narrative device.
Where the film falls apart for me is in its central message. The characters show little to no concern for their actions, with only one thinking to contemplate what their plan will do to normal people that they will impact. Had there been a more balanced set of consequences for the characters they might have come across less arrogant and wilfully vengeful in their actions.
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972)
Still mesmerizing over 50 years later!
From its breathtakingly beautiful opening shots, Herzog perfectly captures the feeling isolation, hunger, despair and eventual madness of the stifling jungle setting. Kinski inhabits his devilish character so completely that in moments you forget you're watching a film. His facial expressions are as much a part of the performance as his words, you can see him contemplating and scheming in every moment.
There's a sublime scene where he silently watches the pipe player on the boat so intently and with such derision that you're almost sure he's going to murder him right then and there.
The balance of a synthesised score meeting a period film really works here and Popol Vuh's soundtrack is something truly special, elevating certain sections of the film into something near magical, so brilliant is the juxtaposition of image and sound.
Outstanding!
Dillinger (1973)
A solid debut from John Milius!
A worthy addition to the late sixties and early seventies crime genre, Dillinger drips with the same aggressively stylised blood and violence found in counterparts such as Bonnie and Clyde and the Wild Bunch.
Warren Oates puts in a solid turn as John Dillinger, certainly playing up the anti-hero persona so beloved of 70s film makers but still coming across as a nasty piece of work. Ben Johnson belies his age with a characterful and energetic performance as Melvin Purvis, the FBI man tasked with bringing down Dillinger. There are good supporting parts from Harry Dean Stanton and a young Richard Dreyfuss as Baby Face Nelson, plus a fun cameo from Cloris Leachman.
It's certainly not an historically accurate portrayal of events and the script is somewhat lacking in places but as a 70s gangster film, it's chock full of frenetic gun fights, car chases and bloody seventies violence.
The Black Hole (1979)
A bewitching curiosity lurking beneath a Star Wars inspired surface!
There's a distinct coming together here of the old Disney system of making films meeting the new Star wars inspired wave of Sci-Fi. Sometimes the two vibes gel really well and at others they can feel somewhat opposed.
The story actually explores much darker themes than most Disney films but never quite feels like it's able to be truly bold or shocking, obvious given Disney's hope that this would capture children's imaginations and parent's wallets! The production design and special effects are superb though, not really comparable to Star Wars but unique in their execution and style.
I can't not mention John Barry's bewitching score which really does glue everything together, perfectly highlighting the visual style of the film and capturing the ghostly quality of Space from the very first bar of music.
Not quite a masterpiece but well worth a watch for any Science Fiction fan!
2010 (1984)
Massively overlooked!
It's never going to be an easy task as a director if you get asked to sequel somebody else's film. If that somebody is Stanley Kubrick, it would leave most sprinting for the hills!
Not so Peter Hyams who delivers a smart and interesting follow up to 2001: A Space Odyssey, that never tries to one up Kubrick, telling a straight forward science fiction story with elegance.
The production design is superb and there's a great cast lead by Roy Scheider but also featuring the likes of John Lithgow, Helen Mirren and Bob Balaban.
This is a worthy sequel and fits perfectly with other films of its era like Alien, Outland and The Black Hole.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Jurassic Turkey!
Having recently watched and thoroughly enjoyed Jurassic Park again I thought it was time to give the sequel a go, not having seen it since a trip to the cinema in 1997. Wow this this movie has not aged well. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it stinks!
Where the first film, despite the obviously fantastical nature of the story, managed a slick progression of exposition, The Lost World feels sluggish and slow. Worse still, it feels devoid of the magic and joy expected in a blockbuster Spielberg film. The dinosaurs, particularly the raptors, are totally wasted and non sensical in this to the point of feeling like parodies of their predecessors.
All the hallmarks are there for a big franchise sequel to make big money but there's none of the polish. One clunky set piece follows another with no tension or pace guiding proceedings.
It just feels like a film that Spielberg didn't really show up for. The boat is quite literally on auto pilot, and the outcome is sadly a deeply flawed and unsatisfactory sequel on repeat viewing.
They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
Great fun!
I got major John Carpenter vibes in lots of scenes so was stoked to see that director Juel Taylor cites They Live as a huge influence. This film definitely shares the Sci-Fi buddy element, this time a trio, with a script that is consistently funny and intelligently written. I'm sure it will offend some people but is presented in such a way as to be obviously satirical, but in the best possible way.
The lead trio of John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx have a superb comedic chemistry and there's even a bit of fun support from Kiefer Sutherland!
Hilarious and excellently paced, this is a slick debut from Taylor and I'm really looking forward to seeing more.
Sorcerer (1977)
An outstanding slice of 1970s film!
Rewatching William Friedkin's Sorcerer recently was a great experience. It's still a fantastically suspenseful film, that after a slightly meandering start settles down and finds a great rhythm. The characters are particularly unlikeable to begin with which helps push the viewer into wanting to see something bad happen but after a while you still find yourself rooting for them right up to the dark ,and classically 70s, ambiguous ending.
There's a wonderful score from Tangerine Dream and driven lead acting work from everyman Roy Scheider.
The scene on the rope bridge in the storm is superbly shot, and genuinely one of the best bits of tense, action cinema ever captured. It truly shows up the ludicrously overblown CGI of modern film and perfectly highlights the genuinely maverick spirit of 1970s film makers.
The Fabelmans (2022)
The master is back with his best in years!
There's a certain magic to The Fabelmans that makes it instantly feel like a classic Spielberg film. This is obviously helped no end by the fact he is essentially making a film about himself and his family growing up but it none the less stands head and shoulders above anything in his output of the last 25 years.
Gabriel LaBelle gives a nuanced and often very funny performance in the lead and in certain scenes he really does look uncannily like a young Spielberg. The scene where he shows his mother the film is fantastically acted by both Labelle and Michelle Williams and really shows that he will be a talent to watch in the future.
The scenes of Sammy's early forays into filmmaking are also a joy to watch, capturing the magic of cinema and the carefree nature of being young. Paul Dano is superb as the father and there's a wonderful cameo from David Lynch playing John Ford to top things off!
A powerful and triumphant return to form for Spielberg!
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Shifting turkeys!
Even after almost 40 years, watching the original 'trilogy' of Indiana Jones films is still a joyous experience. The sheer craft of every part of the production is awe inspiring and everything great escapist cinema is supposed to be. The whole genre of the action serial that Indiana Jones' character so brilliantly rejuvenated is celebrated in every frame.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a mess, and this was particularly sad because the original triumvirate of Spielberg, Lucas and Ford were all there. Save for a couple of scenes it did little more then affirm that things should have ended with Last Crusade.
Where do you go from there?
Well, we now have our answer with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. To put it simply, if you've ever wondered if it would be possible to make a worse Indiana Jones film than Crystal Skull, then you need wonder no more. It is possible, they have made it and it's in cinemas now.
The opening prologue with a de-aged Harrison Ford does its best to mimic the classic films and at least has a good pacing. The second act of the film drags like an anchor and the last act just loses it completely in awful CGI and plot. The villains are utterly wasted and carry no menace at all, and worst of all, the main character that we are paying to see is boring, grumpy and written like he's a footnote in his own franchise.
Then we come to the sticky issue of Mutt Williams. I hated the character but this does not mean I agree with his unceremonious removal from the franchise by the writers.
Writing Mutt out completely must have seemed to the writers like a wonderful idea that they thought fans would love but erasing a bad character isn't nearly as clever as rehabilitating one and making people appreciate them more. Shia LaBeouf is a very different actor now to the one he was 15 years ago, and I think he should have got a shot. Hell, even if they had recast him it would have been better than what we got.
It's also staggering to me that Ke Huy Quan wasn't involved, especially after his Oscars win. What an amazing story we could have had with Indiana Jones and a grown up Short Round searching for an MIA Mutt in Vietnam, and encountering some ancient relic along the way. But alas, that is not to be!
So to sum up, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade truly are wonderful films.
Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny is not a wonderful film. It's damned awful.
And Crystal Skull, an overlooked and unfairly maligned masterpiece? Hell no, it's still an absolute turkey. It's just no longer the biggest!
1883 (2021)
Outstanding television!
It's pretty much unheard of for a prequel series to surpass the main show but for me that is absolutely the case here. I really enjoy Yellowstone but I think the self-contained nature of 1883's single season really brings out something truly special.
We get a perfect backstory for the Dutton family but in a way where 1883 can function completely adrift of the Yellowstone narrative for new viewers. It could just as well be a story about any group of pioneers on the Oregon trail and I think this was very intentional.
There's so much right here. Brilliant dialogue, stunning landscape photography and real, practical effects and horse work. It really is like watching a 10-hour Western movie. The production value is outstanding, everything feels authentic and lived in. At times funny and action packed, and others sombre and gut wrenching, this is some of the best television in years.
On a Wing and a Prayer (2023)
Hilariously awful!
An utterly terrible and ridiculously stupid film that makes a mockery of the remarkable true events.
I find it positively extraordinary that the film makers had such an amazing true story to adapt, and yet felt the need to add so many nonsenical subplots and so much added peril. Like being on a plane with a dead pilot isn't pretty much as bad as it gets!
About as accurate as this film gets is that there was a guy called Doug who landed a plane, everything else is just unecessary. It's a shame as Dennis Quaid seemed like a good bit of casting but he can't breathe life into this mess.
Avoid unless you fancy a laugh and treat yourself to a listen of the real ATC conversations of the real Doug landing the real plane. They are on Youtube and a far better use of time than watching this trash!
Fall (2022)
Falling Down
Half stars here for the fact that certain scenes in this were genuinely vertigo inducing and tense, and the general idea of the film is good given the amount of similarly themed climbing videos online.
The CGI is a bit lacking in places but the sense of height and sway on the tower is captured really well. Sadly any sense of lasting tension is derailed by a woeful final act.
It might have gained a few more stars if we'd actually seen how the main character got down from the tower but this was quickly rushed over for a cheesy ending. This robs the story of a decent conclusion and completely flattens the final act.
Could have been so much better!
1923 (2022)
Taylor Sheridan or Mills and Boon?
Sadly, 1923 is a bit of a hot mess. The Montana segments, both with the Duttons and at the Religious school are both excellent, but the African arc is turgid, far too long and straight out of a bad Mills and Boon story. The character of Alex is awful, has a terrible accent and generally spoils most scenes she is in. Sklenar isn't much better, mumbling through his dialogue when he is actually required to say something rather than just take his shirt off.
There's just so much of this romance too. No sooner has one scene ended, than we get another basically the same and this goes on for half the season. It might be bearable if the dialogue was decent. By the season finale we've descended into parody with a ludicrous Titanic like setup and a duel to the death on a ship's deck. It's like watching a completely seperate series. Terrible.
Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are superb of course, great to see them back together on screen, but they get precious little within the narrative. The two characters set up to be the most annoying, Jack and his young wife, are two of the best and most interesting characters but they get suffocated out of the story by Spencer and Alex's dull romance.
Personally I think it was a great shame to kill off James Badge Dale's character so early. As our only link to 1883 he was someone I was really interested in seeing more of in the story.
Timothy Dalton and Jerome Flynn show good promise as the antagonists but have so far been set up very one dimensionally. Having already witnessed Dalton being a voyeuristic sadist in an episode, I'm not really sure we needed it again in the next just to drive home the fact he is amoral and totally evil. Teonna's arc also suffers here with her segements feeling too isolated in the main story, where they should be leading it.
There's a lot of promise here, but unlike the slick and elegant execution of 1883's through line this has slowed down consistently, and it was obvious from the moment that a second season was announced that this season would be a meandering setup for what's to come. Ok so far, but a long way to go before it gets close to rivalling 1883. Less travelling romance and a lot more of the range war would be a great start!
Richard Jewell (2019)
Take a bow, Paul Walter Hauser!
I went into this film not even knowing it had been made. The central performance from Paul Walter Hauser is nothing short of phenomenal. There are so many great scenes, and he absolutely inhabits the character. I had only seen him in Cobra Kai before this, which gave little indication of the range he would demonstrate here.
You find yourself feeling both intensely sorry for him but also utterly infuriated at how he can deal with the situation the way he does. Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde provide great support and Kathy Bates almost steals the show as Richard's mother.
I suspect as others have mentioned that the media weren't very pleased at their portrayal in this and that perhaps explains how a film with a director of Eastwood's calibre, and with such brilliant performances, vanished with little trace.
Deep Water (2022)
Not Lyne's strongest film, but plenty to enjoy!
After 20 years, it was a nice surprise to see Adrian Lyne back in the director's chair. The chemistry between De Armas and Affleck was excellent, and despite a two-hour runtime, the pace felt just right.
While I may not be the biggest fan of Ben Affleck, and he seems to have gotten a particularly bad rap for this film, I thought he was really good, conveying the character's seesawing emotions very well given much of the runtime shows him alone with no dialogue. Ok, maybe it wasn't Argo acting levels, but it certainly wasn't Jersey Girl bad either!
As other reviewers have stated, pitching this film as an 'erotic thriller' was more than a trifle misleading. This is a slow burning character study of a twisted marriage. He is most definitely a psychopath for killing her lovers, but she is also a psychopath for getting off on and ultimately enabling his actions.