Kasi Lemmons directs Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett and Debbi Morgan in this gothic melodrama where a young girl begins to suspect her father isn’t perfect.
A nice classy piece of drama effectively told from a child’s point of view. It is a fine cocktail of innocence, superstition and sex. Jackson puts in an attention grabbing turn as the hound dog good doctor. Jurnee Smollett exceeds expectations as the child performer in the protagonist’s role. Strong visuals.
Marty’s “one for them”. It starts off pretty stimulating with Scorsese employing lots of aged masters behind the scenes (Freddie Francis, Elmer Bernstein, Elaine & Saul Bass…) to reimagine the simple but effective pot boiler into an in-your-face art movie. That only engages Marty’s talent and vision for so long though. The second hour descends into lengthy improvisations from the actors. This technique does gift us one great scene… DeNiro’s epic seduction of Juliette Lewis in the school basement. Here the indulgence pays off but it is at the expense of a set piece nobody was interested in shooting on the day. And without traditional thrills you are left in the company of some very unpleasant people (scumbag lawyer, depressed shrew, jailbait, pitiful rapist) with no one to root for. It is overwrought and stagnant by the end, often a little too laughable. For a long slog your only pleasure is ticking off Hitchcock homages that are being crowbarred in for giggles. Illeana Douglas really pops in a small but difficult role.
George Romero directs Ken Foree, David Emge and Gaylen Ross in this zombie sequel where a quartet of survivors hole up in a mall populated by the walking dead.
Whereas most perfect horror aims for a nifty 90 minutes or less runtime, this is the rare multi reel epic of the genre that truly works. There’s plenty to love here; the sturdy, haunted acting from the unknown stars, the open ended-ness of it all, the potshots at consumerism and isolationism, Savini’s FX work, Savini’s comedy biker gang, the Goblins score… It plays out more as an action adventure in a horror environment than a true scare fest: the equivalent escalation of Alien into Aliens.
Peter Hyams directs Tom Sizemore, Penelope Ann Miller and James Whitmore in this monster movie where a museum receives a surprise shipment.
I like both the leads though they aren’t exactly stretched. It is all a bit too underlit and slow going to get excited about. The monster, once eventually unboxed, is particularly underwhelming.
Cary Joji Fukunaga directs Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux and Lashana Lynch in this 25th James Bond movie where the super spy comes out of retirement and discovers the world is on its head.
*** NO MAJOR SPOILERS ***
The marathon Bond. The running time is not the problem. NTTD whips along at exactly the clip you’d expect a lengthier Bond movie to. Probably has a similar rhythm as Casino Royale. And tone. Could it have slipped in another couple of action sequences? Definitely, EON know the spectacle and set-pieces aren’t going to be talking points here. Though the first hour Cuba shoot-out is a fun mid-level highlight, a glimpse at a sillier and more energetic 007 we haven’t seen in a couple of decades. The slight return of the campier stuff is what I enjoyed best – bionic eyes, mad masterplans. There’s more of that than we’ve previously seen during the Craig era but still not enough. Don’t expect many jokes outside of Q’s scenes either.
This time it’s personal. Problem is it has been “personal” for at least four movies now. Bond’s past returns to haunt with cataclysmic global consequences. Again. Remember when a detached jobbing all-business Bond got briefed on a mission, followed a few leads over the continents and gave whatever megalomaniac rotter who was threatening world peace a good hard slap? Those days are gone. I miss them. Craig leans into the emotional stuff… he’s overqualified for the predictable curveballs the myriad of screenwriters bowl at him. There are soapy twists you can see coming a mile away.
And yet other stuff that feels vaguely under explored. Madeline Swann and the new big bad’s backstory is never nailed down. What happened between them between the decent flashback opener and her introduction in Spectre is anyone’s guess? It is a James Bond adventure where he feels out of step with all the drama. A strange dour ensemble piece where he’s often left on the sidelines despairing. Watching some never fully explained grand plot continually leave him behind while he stares up into the sky wondering how his franchise has moved ahead without him in the driver’s seat… It certainly isn’t the Bond scrabbling to win against unbeatable odds right up to the last millisecond of the cataclysmic countdown or breaking the laws of physics to defeat the henchman with elan that I get excited about every release. Bond sitting in an inflatable yellow life raft without a dolly bird to cuddle up to looking distraught – unforgivable. And there’s a half a dozen of these moments.
We don’t exactly dwell on the tragedy… like I said it is surprisingly pacy… but equally the drama doesn’t really have room to marinate. It is there to suggest a maturing of the franchise, a graduation into adult intelligent, almost human cinema. Yet what I really want is a set pieces that never comes… the megadeath MacGuffin is actually ripe to ramp up the peril and yet the Hitchcockian moment when Bond or Swann (or another shock character whom I shan’t spoil) need to achieve something yet cannot touch never comes. Imagine the fun a Spielberg or a Cameron or a De Palma or a Nolan or a Fincher or a Mission: Impossible or a Boyle would have with that under-utilised wrinkle in the dynamics.
So it doesn’t deliver three hours worth of what I want from a Bond entry (quips, extravagant violence, stunts, sex) it still is a very polished, well made film. Maybe a little overly muted in its look, even the credit sequence is a bit… grey and beige. The returning cast aren’t really given enough to do… and if you could hack quarter of an hour out it’d be their Embankment office sequences. Does James need to say hello to Tanner? Lashana Lynch as the inheritor of the 007 mantle makes for a striking figure but is left way too often on the sidelines in the big island lair finale. Ana De Armas steals the show as a “rookie” CIA agent in an utterly gorgeous evening dress during THAT Cuba mini mission – genuinely the best 12 minutes of Bond since Quantum’s plane dogfight.
Rami Malek might want to call his agent as the key villain. But then again that’s been an ongoing problem since QoS. Perfectly cast baddies given undercooked monologues, disfigurement make-up and not a lot else to do but wait until 007 gives them that muscle memory half hearted slap.
Obviously we are now looking at another reboot of the franchise. When the neatest moments in a Bond are the legacy Easter eggs (a Safari suit here and painting of M & M there…) maybe it is time to switch the series on and off again. Please keep Fiennes, Whishaw and Harris but abandon all this secret character backstory gubbins. Let the villains go big again… and if they can be jokey yet threatening then so can the movies. Pretty please.
6
My Top 10 Bond Lists
Action Sequences
1. Arms Fair – Tomorrow Never Dies 2. Alpine Escape – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 3. Cello case toboggan – The Living Daylights 4. Rooftop Brawl – You Only Live Twice 5. Ski Pursuit to Union Flag Base Jump – The Spy Who Loved Me 6. “The first thing you should know about us is… we have people everywhere.” – Quantum of Solace 7. Scaramanga’s Lair – The Man With Golden Gun 8. Handcuffed bike chase – Tomorrow Never Dies 9. Cargo-net tussle – The Living Daylights 10. Rope knot torture – Casino Royale
Villain
1. Francisco Scaramanga – The Man With the Golden Gun 2. Xenia Onatopp – Goldeneye 3. Wint and Kidd – Diamonds Are Forever 4. Mayday – A View To a Kill 5. Red Grant – From Russia With Love 6. Oddjob – Goldfinger 7. Jaws – The Spy Who Loved Me / Moonraker 8. Mr White – Casino Royale / Quantum of Solace / Spectre 9. Franz Sanchez – Licence To Kill 10. Baron Samedi – Live and Let Die
Girl
1. Vesper Lynd – Eva Green – Casino Royale 2. Tracy Bond – Diana Rigg – On Her Majesty’s Secret Servive 3. Wai Lin – Michelle Yeoh – Tomorrow Never Dies 4. Tatiana Romanova – Daniela Bianchi – From Russia With Love 5. Pussy Galore – Honor Blackman – Goldfinger 6. Tilly Masterson – Tania Mallet – Goldfinger 7. Paris Carver – Teri Hatcher – Tomorrow Never Dies 8. Solitaire – Jane Seymour – Live and Let Die 9. Anya Amasova, Agent XXX – Barbara Bach – The Spy Who Loved Me 10. Miranda Frost – Rosamund Pike – Die Another Day
Theme Song
1. You Know My Name – Chris Cornell 2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Main Theme) – John Barry 3. Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon 4. We Have All The Time in the World – Louis Armstrong 5. The Man With the Golden Gun – Lulu 6. Another Day to Die – Jack White & Alicia Keys 7. James Bond Theme – John Barry 8. The Living Daylights – A-ha 9. A View To a Kill – Duran Duran 10. Live and Let Die – Wings
Cold Blooded Zingers
1. “No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!” – Goldfinger 2. “I think he’s attempting re-entry, sir.” – Moonraker 3. “The Job’s Done and the bitch is dead.” – Casino Royale 4. “You’ve always been a cunning linguist.” – Tomorrow Never Dies 5. “You’ve Had Your Six!” – Dr No 6. “Keeping the British end up, sir.” – The Spy Who Loved Me 7. “Shocking, Truly Shocking” – Goldfinger 8. “Well, at least he died happy.” – The Man With the Golden Gun 9. “Well, that depends on your definition of safe sex.” – Goldeneye 10. “I just showed someone your watch. And it blew his mind.” – No Time To Die
Gadgets
1. Jet pack – Thunderball 2. Submersible Lotus Esprit – The Spy Who Loved Me 3. Multipurpose Brief Case – From Russia With Love 4. The Golden Gun – The Man With the Golden Gun 5. Pen Grenade – Goldeneye 6. Poisoned Knife Shoes – From Russia With Love 7. The Aston Martin DB5 – Goldfinger 8. Anya’s Cigarette – The Spy Who Loved Me 9. Laser Watch – GoldenEye (Never Say Never Again) 10. Bagpipe Flamethrower – The World Is Not Enough
Akira Kurosawa directs Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai and Yôko Tsukasa in this samurai classic that was remade into A Fistful of Dollars.
Rain. Wind. Dust. Kurosawa’ shots are constantly moving in every direction. Then again so is Mifune’s twitchy, over confident physical performance. The villains are colourful – like a Mad Max gang. The action teased protractedly then satisfyingly violent in bursts. Masaru Sato’s score is surprisingly jazzy. The whole thing is a perfect blend of claustrophobia and the epic. My favourite moment is when one capable hired sword gets an inkling of the violence to come and just decides to escape over the back wall. The two men of action wave at each other, acknowledging and accepting each other priorities and motivations in a silent but perfectly pitched time-out. A classic of Japanese cinema.
Alan Taylor directs Alessandro Nivola, Michael Gandolfini and Ray Liotta in this crime drama that acts as a prequel to the acclaimed TV series The Sopranos.
Is it top shelf gangster cinema? No… it certainly can’t hold a candle to Goodfellas or A Bronx Tale or even Sleepers. The nostalgia is there but it is pretty formless. Is it a lovely piece of above average fan service for those of us who want to scrape the spaghetti sauce clean off the plate with the last chunk of bread? Yes. Every character gets their little glow-up recast moment… echoes to the future we remember… Easter eggs to the beats that made the show iconic. Vera Farmiga as Livia is an uncanny hoot. Michael Gandolfini filling his father’s massive shoes as a teen Tony looks the part and does a decent stab at an angry but sensitive smart kid who has seen too much already to be a citizen. Whoever John Magaro is, his Silvio deserves a chef’s kiss… exceeding mannered impersonation and reaching pitch perfect tribute. So the gang has been rebuilt… they are background dressing to other characters’ arcs here. Characters only hinted at or half mentioned in the original 86 episode run.
Nivola carries the movie, the true lead as the charismatic but doomed Dickie Moltisanti. Ray Liotta slots in neatly in a dual role that reaffirms his unimpeachable legacy in this sub-genre. Michela de Rossi gets all the best scenes as the Italian immigrant beauty who goes from voiceless trophy to reckless goomah. These are the players who demand focus, the ones the story naturally follows. Are they given enough room to breathe? Make their mark? Just about. But its a hodge lodge of wonderful individual scenes where the acting is fine, the technique worthy of a big budget HBO pilot and brimming with nicely subtle character beats. Nivola downing a bottle of vodka in an alleyway before another mafiaso returns home is left in the midground, uncommented upon. A beep baseball game feels like a moment of fantasy worthy of Chase’s wilder experiments, those dreamscape interludes that made the original show a classic of its form. Either we should be spending more time with young Tony though … or less? Why do all these future leads gobble up the attention. It feels like we are skipping over hopscotch squares, back and forth but never getting anywhere. Immaculately chalked out on the pavement but clearly not a cinematic journey in its own right.
SPOILER: There is a thread where Dickie kills impulsively, almost Shakespearean-ly, everyone he loves and therefore rejects Tony so as not to repeat the same horrendous tragedy a third time. It just needs an extra scene or two in the second act to gain traction… and instead we are meeting young Carmella or baby Artie Bucco. We require the black mirror to be unwaveringly held between Tony the boss and his idol from the Sixties. The man who killed his beloved cousin and ordered the hit on the beautiful Adriana reflected in the past. That sociopathic weakness and inevitability happens here in this movie without absorption. Dickie Moltisanti’s bursts of murderous personal rage have no time for entire seasons of denial and percolation and guilt and loss. How can this two hour movie ever hope to compete with 70 hours of near perfection when it wants its call sheet to be just as busy?
Destin Daniel Cretton directs Simu Liu, Tony Leung and Awkwafina in this martial arts themed superhero movie where a young buck must save the world from his mega-powered but misguided tyrant father.
My First Kung-Fu Movie TM. As with all Marvel, the first half is far better than the second. Awkwafina is growing on me.
Joe Carnahan directs Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo and Alexis Louder in this action thriller where a hitman and a target purposefully get themselves arrested in a police station and a tough cop has to do everything to stop them and everyone else from killing each other.
Eddie in 48 Hrs! Bruce Willis in Die Hard! Damon and Affleck in Good Will Hunting! Isn’t it exciting when a new star emerges straight out the gates? Where is their career going to go after that blistering breakout central performance? Like Harrison Ford or Anne Hathaway, are they continually keep going to go on to bigger better things after catching the eye? Or like Jason Schwartzman or Michael Beihn are they going to recede into the background a little too far after their big introduction to the general public? Some pretty boys take decades to live up to and mature into their reputations (see Cruise, Pitt). I know this yet I can’t ever see Chalamet cross over into my “liked” column… And it does seem Marvel have suddenly run out of charismatic breakout Chrises who can do comedy and action with aplomb! Very few Denzels or Amy Adams out there now, names who whatever they turn their hand to becomes a must-see… irrespective of eventual quality. So where will Alexis Louder land after this hard as nails, cool as hell debut? A stepping stone following Cynthia Erivo or Taraji P Henson onto more prestigious things? Or like co-star Frank Grillo a mainstay of genre work, always welcome, adding value, but shamefully never a household name? She makes such an impression… holds her own among the macho stars… that you wanna know what she is doing next? Grillo is on usual fine form and this might be the best thing Butler has been in for years… since Rock’N’Rolla which already feels a lifetime ago. It is a fine hotel movie… exactly what you want to appear on the TV schedule of Spanish or Moroccan TV that night when you’ve exhausted yourself doing touristy things and want to order room service in your pants. The action is gory and smokey, the influences hip and vintage. Carnahan does this aggressive, smart alec, claustrophobic nasty really well. Making the verbal sparring as strong as the blam-blam. He rips off Rio Bravo, he rips off Assault on Precinct 13 and he rips off his own Smokin’ Aces. None of those movies were that precious or original to begin with. I’d rewatch this again in a heartbeat even though it merely just does what it does with minimal bells and whistles.
Sergio Martino directs Edwige Fenech, Anita Strindberg and Luigi Pistilli in this giallo where a warring couple keep having to hide the bodies a mysterious killer keeps leaving for them.
There’s a murder mystery but this is more kinky sex romp than slasher. Unforgivably racist and often equally sexist, I’m surprised this has retained any kind of reputation. Although Edwige Fenech arrives after half an hour of bad taste boredom, then beds everyone and looks stunningly glamorous while doing anything. She saves the movie.
Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary 