Small rant on 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Knowing the comics well I really don't think Bane is a strong enough villain to support the film and I do like Nolan but he seems to be removing what should define this film. It's ment to be a Batman film and thats what appeals to me but if you take away the loose approximations of the characters from the comics then I don't see any real similarity to the stories I love. This is why I took issue with The Dark Knight and the most recent Bond film, Quantum of Solace, you need thematic relevance to the subject matter. The Dark Knight was far more like Heat than it was a Batman film and being an unashamed fanboy that did make me like the film a tad less. With The Dark Knight Rises I will reserve judgement untill I see it but Bane is no Joker and I really see this being the crime epic that the last film was leading towards than the Batman epic I am longing for.

Nicolas Winding Refn has mastered his craft and 'Drive' is the evidence.

Nicolas Winding Refn, son of Lars von Trier's editor, Anders Refn, is the star of Drive. Not Ryan Gosling's captivating, muted portrayal of our borderline sociopathic hero, comparable to Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, nor is it the twinkling, Hollywood city scape, such as with Heat's L.A., nor is it the automotive fetishism one may assume from the title as with Vanishing Point. No, Drive is the film where the 1990's most promising new director truly flourishes.

    From the opening sequence one may be forgiven for thinking the film to be a more polished, stylised and current version of 1978's The Driver as the character's profession and rules are very similar. However, Drive is far more comparable to films of definitive moral ambitions such as Shane, which, though a clear Western, grew out of the Film Noir sensibilities of the 40's. And it is these Film Noir sensibilities that encase Refn's neon streaked colour pallet. Despite the film's modern setting and clear 80's vibe the film comes across as timeless and, while you are swept up in the tale, quite unidentifiable. This means the audience focus on the beautiful and brutal plot.

    The film consists of explosions of violence, reminiscent of Gaspar Noe's Irreversible, but it is at some of these points one can see just how in control of his own film Refn is. It is the choice of what he allows the audience to see which is so relevant. This is encapsulated in one of the film's final scenes in which, instead of being confronted with an all-out knife struggle, the audience are presented with a stunning shot of two silhouettes cast by the low hanging sun, licking the concrete in a serene and bewildering brawl.  Drive is an amalgamation of skills and lessons learnt from Refn's past films, of atmosphere, depth, patience, impact and effect. Nicolas Winding Refn was awarded the best director award at Cannes. Rightly so, as he has made the best film of the year and despite a uniformly superb supporting cast, brilliant editing and a soundtrack to die for, that praise fall firmly on him.

Cronenberg's 'Crash' course in effect

Crash (1996) envelopes its audience with a dangerous sensuality that brilliantly and disturbingly transcends the line between watching and experiencing a film. It is this involvement that you feel while watching the film that makes it so important, powerful and bewildering. The audience, like the protagonist James, becomes seduced by the forbidden pleasures that lie between beauty and destruction embodied by Elias Koteas' character Vaughan. Vaughan even directly refers the experience of a car crash to that of sex, "the car crash is a fertilising rather than a destructive event". This pursuit of masochistic expression is what drives the narrative, though Cronenberg manages to keep it from the perverse and instead it comes across as an honest reflection of the characters. Before James' initial crash he shares a hollow and unfulfilled sex life with his wife. As they both become entwined in the violent, sensual thrill of the crash, it becomes deeper and darker. This dynamic creates some of the most complex physiological profiles ever committed to celluloid. In this way it is comparable in depth and humanity to Bergman's Persona and Michael Powell's Peeping Tom. Forget any notion of this film being 'controversial', 'fetishist' or 'erotic'. It defies a label. It is instead a film that cements David Cronenberg's position as one of the finest directors working today, or indeed, ever.

A trip back to the 'Badlands'

Yesterday I saw Malick's Badlands for the first time in many years. It was interesting to revisit the first Malick film I ever saw after having seen all his other films, most recently the spectacular Days of Heaven. Badlands was the first of Malick's three landmark films, along with Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, and is still by far one of his very strongest. I feel it is just below Days of Heaven for me but arguing the better seems counter-intuitive. They are both strong works of beauty in their own rights. I feel the moment that sums up Badlands for me is when Holly's house is burning down and the destruction is juxtaposed with a beautiful, haunting German hymn-like song that creates the visual metaphor, and what I feel is the primary theme of the film, the destruction of beauty and innocence.

A little word on 'Wings of Desire'

Wings of Desire is my favourite film and the most inspirational film I have seen. It is a film that combines a lyrical poetry and stunning cinematography like no other. It also deals with issues of humanity, love and philosophy in and honest and musing way that never becomes pretentious. This film is possibly the greatest example I could present for the medium of film being an all encompassing and uniquely expansive artistic format.

Double Bill: '73 Horror special

This weekend I composed a strong double bill of classic horror as my Dad had never seen either. It consisted of 'The Wicker Man' director's cut to begin and was followed by a tasty helping of 'The Exorcist' director's cut. It was heaven if you love director's cuts of 1973's best Horror films - I can tell you that for free.

'Days of Heaven' - Images of rediculous beauty

I have just seen Malick's 'Days of Heaven' for the first time and was struck, as I knew I would be, by the startling cinematography which glows with mellow hues and an unburdened sense of beauty. I have always enjoyed Malick's films though I understand that many dislike his ponderous and enigmatic pacing and narratives. I found 'Days of Heaven' came with none of the overbearing sense of self-indulgence that 'The Thin Red Line' or 'The Tree of Life' did. Over all I found it to be a very pure film and, as I always feel of Malick's films, an honest expression of its creator.

The Firm (1989) Oldman in the best on screen prefomance I have seen.

The title says it all for this one. Never before have I been so riveted and taken in by to a film on the strength of an actors performance over all other facets of a film. Gary Oldman is truly a master thesp.

Event Horizon 2?

Why has there never been a sequel to the spectacular yet utterly laughable Even Horizon? A film that delved deeply into the the dark force that toutures and posseses the crew would have been fab. And more people with no eyes! Event Horizon is a greatly ambitious film, feeling surprisingly un-tacky. prepoterous characters and dialogue though... Still love it.

Back to Frightfest... The worst film of the festival: 'Inbred'

Now, don't get me wrong, I am totally up for an un-PC, black comedy/horror that, for instance, dictates that all northerners are inbred, cannibal racists. However, when dealing with such a broadly bad-taste topic, the persons in charge of scripting must have more intelligence and maturity than an adolescent trying to impress their friends with racist and stereotypical humor. I do not believe this film or anyone working on it to be racist  though I will say that their grasp of creating comedy out of the foul is at best minimal and incredibly immature. Dire scripting and ethical debates aside, the acting and directing all round is poor and unambitious, creating a total lack of sympathy for characters you are meant to care for when the imposing threat of being made into scratching looms. To its credit (at a push), Inbed does have plenty of creative gore. Though despite being the gore hound that admittedly I am, I found the violence to be unpleasant and puerile. This effect on me most likely stems from what I see as hateful characters and feebly handled topics. This is a filmically trite waste of time and resources, that instead of making me feel gleefully satisfied, left a nasty taste in my mouth and a bizarre sense of intellectual nausea in my mind.                    

The people's free state of Portobello - Portobello Film Festival

My volunteering at Portobello Film Festival has come to an end but it was great. At the absolute polar opposite to Frightfest, mainly showing shorts and all. But the atmosphere and personality was great. Very street. Very hip. Annoyingly, I didn't get to see all I could/should have but met loads of people with great works and opinions. Of what I did see, my favorite short was called, brilliantly, "Il Garibaldi senza barba" (The Beardless Garibaldi) which, also brilliantly, is up on youtube for everyone to see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_zPePfYzGY

The best of Film 4 Frightfest 2009 - 'The Woman'

'The Woman' by Lucky McKee was somewhat of an unknown commodity to me as I had not yet heard of the kerfuffle it caused at this year's Sundance. So it came as a total surprise when I was confronted with a film that made me question the nature of humanity and the position of male dominance in the world even today.  This film will be deemed controversial as it does confront the audience with questions that people will find uncomfortable, just as I did. Admirably, the film never pretends it has answers to questions that are far bigger that the sum of its parts. Instead it managed to burrow itself into my mind and make me question myself in a way that very few films have done in the last decade.  In this new millenium, among films of this ilk, only 'Martyrs' by Pascal Laugier has been similarly provocative.

Film 4 Frightfest

I have have had the privilege of working at Frightfest this year and loved it. Over the five days I saw nine films in the biggest screen in Lester square. Here's the list:

Thursday: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Final Destination 5 in 3D
Friday: The Glass Man and Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
Saturday: Fright Night in 3D and The Woman
Sunday: Saint
Monday: Inbred and A Lonely Place To Die

Now for the best, worst and most surprising. And of course a round up of the left overs.

Robocop. One of the most intelligent I have ever seen.

I was re-watching Robocop again the other day and it made me want to express my feelings for this film. Not only is it an insanely entertaining action film, typical for Verhoeven, but also and again typical, Verhoeven's film is a deeply satirical product of the Regan era which delves into political corruption and the dangers of privatized industries where law and order are concerned. Who'd have thought it, one of the most wry and intelligent films I have ever seen also has a melting man being exploded by a car. Win win.  

Vincent Gallo

I have recently been watching films by or with Vincent Gallo, or both. I first saw Essential Killing which i thought was great: very directed and lean. Gallo's animalistic, muted performance fitted the somewhat minimalist nature of the narrative.

I then saw the Coppola film Tetro. It was no doubt a good film but didn't strike me in the same way Rumble Fish did, which is still my favorite Coppola film. It told a good story and developed a compelling family dynamic. Furthermore it is a beautifully shot film with deep contrasts in the black and white images.

Then I got round to seeing the film I was most anticipating of the lot: Buffalo '66. I was truly blown away. Rarely have I seen a film so well crafted and thought out. I understand this may well come from Gallo's self-asserted role as a true auteur and his decisive vision of the film but for me the result is one of the most rewarding American independent films I have ever seen.

I have still to see The Brown Bunny which I am somewhat hesitant about and his more recent film as director Promises Written in Water which I unfortunately cant get hold of for love nor money. But I will. Somehow.    

The Tree of Life: Malick's magic or self-referential pretension taken to new extremes?

Last night I went to see Terrence Malick's Palm D'Or winning fifth film, The Tree of Life. I must first say two things. Firstly, this is a film with many flaws and incongruous ideas. However, it is also, undeniably, a film of such scope and affecting fragility that I was constantly fascinated and do truly believe it to be a wonderful film. The reasons, on reflection, I feel so strongly about this film are in its crafting of a sensory and emotional experience that I feel could not be replicated in any other art medium.

    A film of such complexity, scope and critical praise will surely face its fair share of a backlash but with this one I will stand firmly with its massive acclaim. Though I feel it has flaws, many of which may well sprout from Malick's personal, perhaps obsessive, vision over his project, I still cannot help but feel that the film is honest. I also believe that Malick did not compromise his sizable and optimistic musings on the fabric of life, creation, nature, grace and quite possibly dozens of other themes.    

This will surly be a film I continue to reflect on and will upload a more expansive reflection on the film. possibly once I have see it for a second time. If anyone has seen it let me know your feelings on it or if you've read a contradicting or complimenting post or article on this film. 

First Post: Most under-rated Film from a certain director or star

To keep in theme with my first background my number one under-rated gem would have to be:


1. Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983)

2. Valhalla Rising (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2009)

3. The Machinist (Brad Anderson, 2004)

4. Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg, 2007)

5. JCVD (Mabrouk El Mechri, 2008)

If you do see this, are there any more? what do you think of these if you've seen them?