Recently in Reviews; Film Category

A nice unexpected bit of entertainment on Sunday night - a showing of the 1920s classic Battleship Potemkin in Trafalgar Square, with a new soundtrack provided by the Pet Shop Boys.

I say unexpected because Sean spotted the advert at 715pm and thirty mins later we were by the famous fountains waiting for the show to start just forty five mins later.

Reviews of the music mostly have been mixed - but I enjoyed it - everone continues to reassert the greatness of the film itself.

It's a hugely powerful story line (it's interesting to see just how much actors in silent films act with their face - an art lost in the 'talkies') with some beautiful shots and some great fast cutting to generate the necessary pace.

If you get a chance to see it - without or without the PSB soundtarck - DO IT!

A word of warning - don't waste two hours of your life on this terrible film. It may well star 24's Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert,) but her proven acting abilities are wasted in this film.

Considering the fact that the poster features her on it and no one else, it's rather odd therefore that Cuthbert's flirty and cutsey persona (the films only redeeming feature,) enjoys suprisingly little screen time. Instead a series of other characters - almost all totally unlikeable - dominate. This is a film which is morally moribund and for a self-styled high-school comedy it's rather lacking in the joke department too. American Pie this most definately ain't.

Bottom of the class - and then some. But don't worry Elisha - we still love you! Just pick something funnier/more dramatic/interesting next time!

It’s Summer, so it’s time for Will Smith to embark on his annual (successful) attempt save the world. 2004’s entry into the Super-Willie cannon is I,Robot a film which initially really put me off, but the more trailers I saw the more I was up for it.

The plot of the film is simple: 2035 with Will Smith as a cop who hates robots. Unfortunately robots are everywhere acting as labour and life savers to the human population. No one thinks they’re bad, as they’ve been programmed not to harm humans. No one that is apart from the Fresh Prince of course - Will Smith in another grumpy/man with attitutude turn viz Enemy of the State, Bad Boys et al.

Well surprise surprise it turns out that the robots are out of control and soon the robots will be in control unless Will can save the day. Which he does. Sorry if that spoils it for you, but that’s probably not a truly groundbreaking revelation now is it?

The film cracks along at breakneck pace and has some great action set pieces – notably a tunnel car chase and the shoot out at the end. Unfortunately with robots in almost every frame the film is CGI laden, and it’s still hard not to spot the join however hard you try to dispend your belief and however much the technology continues to improve.

It’s also not the most original film in the world – derivative in parts to the extent that it frequently reminds you of famous scenes from other, and arguably better films. The dried out Lake Michigan? Planet of the Apes. Robots crawling over a building? The spiders in Minority Report or the sentinels in The Matrix. Will and co surveying the world beneath them from Greenwood’s office? The last shot of The Empire Strikes Back. Will proving that he has a electronic arm? Empire again, with a hint of Jedi and Blade Runner thrown in for good measure.

If that sounds overly negative, then it’s not intended to be. This isn’t a ground-breaking film but it’s a harmless way to spend two hours and a chilling warning that the creation of new technology can bring with it inherent dangers as well as inherent rewards.

Before I forget, I must recommend this film which Dina and I saw when I was in New Jersey. I thought it was fab. A real un-Hollywood thriller despite the presence of Hollywood A-lister Matt Damon, and one of my favourite character actors, Brian Cox.

Sean and I saw The Bourne Identity on PPV in a motel in Memphis when we were over for Mark and Molly's wedding, and I think we quite enjoyed it. The sequel, for once, (Empire Strikes Back not withstanding,) is better. Much better.

I wont' give the game away but the story is mostly intelligent and intelligible but above all what makes the film work is its grittiness and intensity. Shot without the use of Steadicams and made to look like it's been filmed by DV cameras, the film has the wobbly camera work we saw with This Life or 24. As a result, you don't have the gloss you normally get with a TV show, you feel instead like you are there in the room with the characters.

No more is this the case than in some of the fight scenes. They're frantic, urgent and in your face. So much so that it's almost too in your face. It's not stylised like a glamorous Bond or Matrix style fight, but bloody and dirty. As a result they're over quite quickly but you get a whiff of authenticity which is rare and indeed quite scary. The same is true of the car chase at the end - which owes much to the Gene Hackman chase in The French Connection - but again that famous 70s scene pales into comparison with the directness and intensity of the scene in this film.

Mark Kermode wrote in the New Statesman that the Bond films could learn a lot from this style if they want to reinvigorate the franchise (although I'm not sure they need to as each film just keeps on making more money,) and I'd endorse that. The Bourne Supremacy (silly title which has nothing to do with the film,) is gritty and real - a throwback to some of the 60s and 70s espionage films like The Odessa File or The Ipcress File... and that's no bad thing at all.

Seen lots of films lately, but not had time to post any review – so here’s some quick and dirty summaries vaguely in the popular chick lit style….

Phone Booth
Arsehole PR man (Farrell) answers ringing phone in call box. Big mistake. Man on end of phone (Keifer Sutherland) big psycho threatens to shoot PR man if he hangs up. To prove it he shoots a passer by, and all hell breaks loose. Er, that’s pretty much it. Enjoyable 85 minutes, tension well kept and Farrell again, despite being tosser, shows he can act and hold the screen. Feels like a TV movie due to length and Sutherlands sinister voice over as the bad guy on the phone comes across as cheap – would be more menacing if he actually sounded like he was on the phone. Worth watching though – a simple idea well executed.

Master and Commander
Saw this on the plane. No desire to see it at the cinema. Can’t stand Crowe though the guy – like Farrell – can act too. Film looks good – hard to see the CGI here, and the first hour is good, fades away thereafter. Battle scenes excellent, cast good and Crowe aside not famous – but lots of ‘ooooh that’s what’s his name from ooooh you know that programme’ type moments. Gets a little boring after the first hour though and has one of those ambiguous endings that I hate. Did the damned Frenchies set a trap after all? Will we have to wait till the sequel to see Lucky Jack crush the cheese eating surrender monkeys?

Demolition Man
Futuristic action thriller which looks great and has its tongue very firmly in cheek. Lots of nice ideas and gadgets, Wesley Snipes makes a great baddie and Sylvester Stallone makes a good Sylvester Stallone. Sandra Bullock too makes a very good Sandra Bullock, but the Sly-Bullock tongues sandwich at the end makes one feel quite ill.

The Odessa File
The kind of film they don’t make any more. A thriller that’s heavy on plot and character development, and low in histrionics. Lots of silences whilst our hero searches furtively through desk drawers to find incriminating evidence. It takes him so long it gets pretty damned tense. These days he’s find it straight away whilst accompanied by a throbbing techno soundtrack. Not as good as the book, but good enough.

Lost in Translation
Most untypical Hollywood film I’ve seen in ages. Looks like an indie film, directed by an auteur, with two great leads. The emptiness of their lives and the sadness which hangs over hotel living comes across beautifully, and not a happy ending in sight. Fab! Please let it beat Lord of the Rings at the Oscars… Please…