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Reviews
Hard Times (1975)
Nice little character study for bare knuckle action and depression era enthusiasts
Unlike many other Charles Bronson movies I saw as a child and have since revisited, this one was quite new to me when I first saw it over a year ago. Director Walter Hill should be well known for action movies and thrillers like Southern Comfort, 48 Hours and The Warriors and here turns in a tight and gently absorbing little period piece.
Charles Bronson turns in a quiet but dependable performance as a man down on his luck, like many in the 1930s Depression era. He convinces a gambler played by James Coburn to stake him for a bare knuckle brawl and the two form a partnership by moving to New Orleans. I've only ever seen James Coburn in action type roles, so it is interesting to see how commendably he plays a more flawed but sympathetic character who is his own worst enemy and clearly isn't a fighter himself. Strother Martin joins the group as a disgraced hop head former medical student. Jill Ireland also stars as a woman that Bronson befriends but can't quite commit to in the way she wants. The film evokes the era very well and would make a good companion piece to movies like Emperor Of The North or the Steve McQueen classic The Cincinatti Kid for a similar period feel.
The film might seem largely plot less to anyone expecting the usual kind of Rocky formula. This isn't about how a underdog rises to the top or achieves some great ambition against the odds. It's more just what happens to a group of characters over a period of time before they go their separate ways. However, the film works as an understated character study about how one man makes a living and keeps his head and honor, not falling into the corruptions or addictions that make others lose their head. It's also a nice little movie about a temporary business friendship of sorts, although not one without trouble. The bare knuckle scenes are well directed and the last two are particularly good. Fans of Southern Comfort may be tickled to see another example of Cajun music and hospitality in an earlier Walter Hill movie (and don't Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy indulge in a little bare knuckle of their own in 48 Hours? *g*). Overall this is a nice understated character piece with some drama and some good action sequences. It might just be the only film I've seen of Bronson's where he doesn't use a gun (except for picking one up in one scene). If you like Walter Hill movies, Charles Bronson movies, Depression era studies or James Coburn, then this movie is very worth checking out.
Der Rote Baron (2008)
A complete insult to fascinating subject matter!
Baron von Richtoffen is a fascinating and heroic figure in history. A German WWI fighter pilot who was unsurpassed in the sky, represents an image of chivalry and was respected even by his enemies. A film on the subject of The Red Baron should be fascinating, moving, thrilling and memorable. It should have weight to it. Instead this movie felt to me like a complete waste of time and was completely unengaging either in air or on the ground. Far earlier films like The Blue Max and Aces High had far more exciting and riveting flying sequences (filmed with real airplanes of the period with real pilots doing stunts) and did a far better job of portraying drama and details of war on the ground too. I did enjoy seeing one of my favorite Germans Hugo Stiglitz in a role as one of the other pilots though, but the film felt very uninvolving and didn't really give a proper feel to the rise of Richtoffen.
The CGI flying sequences felt really artificial and uninvolving (certainly not always the case with CGI but it was badly employed here), far inferior to the real filmed stunts in The Blue Max. The airplanes move better and faster than their real life counterparts and so realism is thrown out the window, but also any sense of real dogfights with it. As uninvolving and a misfire as I found the movie as a whole, what really made the film a complete waste of even watching was finding out that The Red Baron's final (and fatal) flight and battle isn't even shown on screen! Why even make the film if you're not going to show what should be one of it's most dramatic and important scenes? I know there is controversy over who actually shot the Baron on his final flight (Roy Brown is usually discredited but the myth remains and a soldier on the ground is usually credited nowadays), but that is no excuse. They could have shown the action in such a way as to show that both Roy Brown and the soldiers on the ground are shooting, then show the Baron simply react to a shot without seeing exactly what angle it came from. Or they could have picked one of the theories and ran with it. They certainly aren't adverse to making things up throughout the rest of the movie so why let a bit of historical uncertainty interfere with what should be the final set piece of a film about a remarkable historical figure? I'm not going to complain about adding on a fictionalized romance plot involving a nurse or the invented friendship and secret meetings with Roy Brown, because if the film worked for me then either of those could have interesting (I accept that most historical films about real events and people usually add or simplify things to some extent), but nothing for me in the film actually took flight for me in any way. It is sad and I hope that someday this knight of the skies gets a film about his exploits that is actually worthy of him (and one that doesn't just decide to skip over important parts of the story). I did appreciate the attempt to show a Jewish fighter pilot on the German side though, to give the lie to Hitler's claims. Alas too much of this film is an insult to anyone with any real interest in the subject matter.
Aces High (1976)
Very good portrayal of WWI fighter pilots and the tolls of war
Aces High is not quite as impressive or as action packed as The Blue Max, but it is still very much worth watching if you want a good film about WWI fighter pilots or a grim and realistic portrayal of war. Malcolm McDowell is very good as always and still looking young here as the Major in charge of a squadron of ever diminishing pilots who keep getting replaced by younger and less experienced pilots. Christopher Plummer is also as good as always as a kindly uncle type figure to the other pilots. Peter Firth plays a young man who idolizes Malcolm McDowell's character and did everything he could to be assigned to his squadron (his sister is also McDowell's girlfriend which causes some awkward feelings between them). McDowell is hard at times on Firth's character but there is a mutual bond and growing respect and warmth throughout. Simon Ward plays an important role in showing a pilot who has had his nerve completely shot and cannot face going into the cockpit again. His scenes show very much the stress that hazardous missions and the constant threat of death or injury must have had on even the bravest of pilots at times (McDowell's character is shown as able in the air and takes down German fighters throughout the film but even he needs alcohol to calm his nerves before his flights).
This British film spends much more time on the ground than The Blue Max did and only has about half the flying scenes at most. Still there are some stirring moments, although you may wish some mission or dogfight scenes went on a little longer. The action only takes place over seven days but it feels like a longer period of time and by the seventh day it feels like Peter Firth's character has been among the squadron a good time. The very last scene (apparently sometimes cut on TV) with Malcolm McDowell greeting some new recruits is very moving and you wonder how much longer his character can go on with the stress of countless deaths and danger (nevertheless he does a much better job of Simon Ward at facing his fears but everyone has their limits). There are some nice scenes throughout, like when McDowell brings a German pilot he brought down in combat over to the mess hall to show him a good time before the military take him away or the scene where Firth hangs out with the ground crew rather than the officers. The film is very English in the music, dialog and upper class antics of the pilots, but it also shows the grim realities of war very well and I am sure you will not begrudge these brave men the jolliness they keep up as long as they can. Overall, I preferred The Blue Max as a film but Aces High is also very good and is recommended for fans of Malcolm McDowell, British war movies or WWI flying scenes.
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
Better action than Extinction and starts off well but that's about it
I very much loved the first two Resident Evil movies. They had a good feel and they had very kick ass fight scenes (especially from Milla Jovovich) and editing. In the first film, Milla even wore a red dress like me (too bad she didn't burn down a cinema though - oh well!). Milla seemed born to play these kinds of kick ass action roles and was very much like the lone gunslinger archetype and I could easily imagine her in some kind of Sergio Leone western.
The third movie, Extinction was disappointing for me though. I'm not sure if it coincided with Milla's pregnancy but she was nowhere near as acrobatic or full of fight and the end battle with the mutated villain was pretty much over too quickly. That film did not have the same kind of oomph factor or feel to it, but it did grow on me a little with more viewings.
Resident Evil: Afterlife starts out well enough and has much better action scenes in keeping with the first two movies (although there is very much over-reliance on slow motion scenes). I thought I was going to really enjoy it, but by the end of the movie, the whole thing felt pretty empty, pointless and lacking any real lasting substance. People may say "What do you expect from this kind of movie?" but because I loved the first two movies as superior popcorn flicks that very much won over many more hyped and budgeted movies for me, I would have liked a movie that delivered more. At least Ali Larter is a bit more involved in the action this time, but she has no connection to the Claire Redfield I remember from the Resident Evil: Codename Veronica game and doesn't really contribute anything as a character. I have liked Ali Larter in roles before and it is a shame that this franchise wastes her just as much as Heroes did after season one. The character of Albert Wesker is iconic from the video games and there must have been much anticipation for using this villain in the movies. But instead of delivering something special, the movie just has Wesker in a little bit at the beginning and then a little bit more at the end. Such a waste of plot potential. Worse, he is pretty much just lazily portrayed as a clone of Agent Smith from the Matrix movies (too bad he did not go so far as to refer to Milla as "Mrs Anderson" though tee hee!). The end villain battle may have been a little better than the one in Extinction but it still lacked any real excitement for me. One of the highlights of the film though was when Milla and Ali take on the execution style monster from the Resident Evil 5 game in the middle of the movie. Although slow motion dulls the action a little, it still manages to convey some power and dread.
Overall, if you hate these movies then I don't think this one will change your mind at all (and will probably just further confirm any criticisms you have - particularly about originality or resemblance to the actual games). If you've been pretty happy with all the movies so far, then you will probably also be content enough with this one. As someone who loved the first two movies and felt a little disappointed with the third, this one also lacked something for me. It started out with some potential and anticipation for the movie to come, became average zombie fare for much of the movie and ended up feeling empty and uninspired. Certainly for me it was nothing special and nothing that I think anyone particularly needs to go out of their way to see (although if you enjoyed it very much then I am happy for you). I am left wishing these movies would try to have better plots and try to be a bit more original but it is probably way too late for that now. At least it was good to see Milla being a bit more kick ass than in the previous entry though and I just wish she would get better material to utilize her action career while it is still there.
Bob le flambeur (1956)
Leisurely but quietly absorbing little crime piece!
Bob le Flambeur is an interesting little crime film by a director that would prove very influential to New Wave cinema. The title character is a middle aged gambler who has served some prison time in the past for a failed bank robbery but is on friendly terms with the cop who arrested him (who also had his life saved by Bob on the day they met). The film is pretty plot less for the first forty minutes before there is any real talk of a casino heist, but in some ways those first forty minutes were my favorite part of the film. Not that the rest is bad, but I liked the leisurely pace of getting to see Bob roam around Paris and meet various characters he knows as well as taking a young girl under his wing. Bob's young friend Paolo looks up to him and even gets teased by being called Bob by some other characters in one scene. Both men befriend a pretty young blonde called Anne, who reminded me a little of myself when I first escaped to Paris (except in the one scene later on where she does something completely stupid that I would never do). I also did not know anyone and needed to find a place to stay. Isabelle Correy was surprisingly reportedly only fifteen when the film was made and director Jean-Pierre Melville's meeting with her is very similar to how Bob encounters her in the film - finding out that she has no place to stay and offering her help and a place to sleep. Much of the film's atmosphere and style seems more New Wave to me for most of the film but in the last half hour or so, things get far more film noir. The film is very influenced by American gangster movies and Bob spends much of the movie dressed in a trench coat. The fact that not much happens for much of the film and what does happen does not seem very consequential may put some people off but I very much had my attention taken by the whole film and enjoyed it's style and character interactions. In it's own way, I found it very interesting and it is a film I could see myself far more likely to return to than the likes of the fourth Indiana Jones movie or Predators. Filmed in clear, crisp black and white. I liked the relationship between Bob and Paolo and the film has a certain world weariness and cynicism without being depressing (I would say that a few bittersweet things aside - it is very idyllic and romantic in it's way, despite the feeling that none of the characters will ever really go anywhere). A very nice little film for lovers of French cinema and noir influences. If you liked this, I might recommend Stanley Kubrick's The Killers (which has much more action) or the similar character piece of Paul Thomas Anderson's Sydney (aka Hard Eight) and of course more great works from Jean-Pierre Melville. Just do not go into the film expecting lots of action or for the heist to be a big part of the film. If you're in the mood, then this can be a good little film when it unfolds at it's own pace.
The Blue Max (1966)
Thrilling WWI flying action and interesting flawed characters
How much you like this film will probably depend on how much WWI flying sequences and dogfights appeal to you, but I enjoyed it very much (although probably not as much as my friend Bridget von Hammersmark did since it's about her fellow Germans after all). The flying sequences are thrilling and I liked George Peppard very much in a role that is at times heroic and sympathetic and at other times shows ruthlessness, callousness or underhandedness. I liked the rivalry between Bruno Stachel (Peppard) and Willi von Klugermann (Jeremy Kemp) and also the theme of class and bourgeois politics that runs throughout the film. I liked scenes where Stachel has different viewpoints to the higher ups in the German military, because of his humbler beginnings and his more direct experience of life in the trenches. I also find it interesting in the aspect of how a supposed hero gets treated by his "superiors" when he is in danger of becoming a liability and embarrassment (I was reminded of some of the plots regarding Jack Bauer in 24 here). Ursual Andress reminded me a little of Bridget von Hammersmark here, but alas I found her character and chemistry with Peppard fairly dull, although at least she does contribute something to the story in the end (but mostly she's just an additional prize for the two pilots to compete over). Some more standard war movies probably wouldn't interest me very much, but this is one of the ones that had an extra element of excitement, ambiguity and character/human interest for me. I very much love the flying sequences and some good characterization and themes keep things on the ground moving too.
The Mechanic (1972)
Brilliant Action Thriller With Surprising Character Scenes
The Mechanic is a classic action thriller from Michael Winner on top form, starring Charles Bronson and a young and sexy Jan-Michael Vincent also bringing their best game. Although primarily a thriller about an aging hit-man and the young protégé he takes under his wing, there are also some interesting character scenes and insights into the life of a solitary, private assassin for the mob.
I was very impressed with the cold, eerie scene where both Bronson and Vincent are watching a girl friend of Vincent's, who has slit her wrists and they both just watch her without trying to help. So quietly absorbing and disquieting. I also like very much the scene with Jill Ireland as a lover that Charles Bronson has some history and strained relationship with, only for it to be revealed as a deliberate illusion that he pays her for - so incapable of any real human relationship that the hit-man has to pay a prostitute to fake missing him when he's not around! Such scenes certainly stand out as unusual and not the standard talking bits between action in such films (and certainly far beyond what most filmmakers and writers would strive for in action movies today).
However, the plot is mainly about Charles Bronson taking on assignments (including Jan-Michael Vincent's father early on) and then agreeing to let Vincent in on his lifestyle after the young man keeps sniffing around and shows a lot of interest. The opening assignment features several minutes without dialog as we see Bronson plan how he's going to set up the kill and then carrying it out and is a memorable opening. Later, the movie includes a thrilling battle in a mansion which turns into a motorcycle cross country taste. Another memorable action scene is a car chase on a narrow winding road which might remind you of a similar location in the Quantum Of Solace opening (except here you can follow what's actually happening much easier). The relationship between Bronson and Vincent is intriguing and leads up to the memorable ending with a nice twist to the proceedings. In a way you get a solid hit-man action movie and an episode of Tales Of The Unexpected wrapped into one. This is a very fun and solid action thriller and is very recommended if, like me, you appreciate the craftsmanship that movies had in the 1960s and 1970s and seem to have lost along the way. If you enjoy a good vintage action thriller and love Charles Bronson then this movie will deliver for you, I'm sure!
Dirty Weekend (1993)
The Perfect Antidote To Bridget Jones!
This Michael Winner directed movie, adapted from a novel by Helen Zahavi, is not your typical Death Wish style vigilante movie. Despite the scenic surrounding of Brighton, it's not quite your typical domestic British drama/comedy either but falls somewhere between those genres. For me it's like a hilarious antidote to the usual type of British film we get nowadays. It's almost like the main character in a British film like Happy Go Lucky (a very good Mike Leigh movie) or a similar film like Amelie was watching too many action movies and started carrying a gun around to solve her problems for the second half of the movie.
Unlike the typical vigilante plot, where the character is avenging an attack or rape on themselves or a loved one, this film merely has a succession of thoughts and events lead the main character Bella (played by Lia Williams) to simply wake up one morning and decide that she's had enough of being a mousy victim. No deaths of loved ones and after her first victim, no particular group of villains to seek out one by one. The start of the movie could almost be a domestic drama or comedy and could easily be about how a young woman finds love or makes peace with herself by moving to Brighton and making a new start, after another failed relationship with a self loving man. Soon though, it starts to take a horror or thriller twist when Bella discovers a peeping tom watching her intently from the building facing her back room. The situation begins to escalate, with threatening and sleazy phone calls and the pervert (played by Rufus Sewell) even sitting beside Bella on a park bench, threatening to break her hand in broad daylight. Bella's troubles with the peeping tom make up about the first half of the film and include her visiting a Iranian clairvoyant called Nimrod (played by Ian Richardson!) and becoming more confident to the point where she works out a very Rorschach style solution to her problem.
Then the film starts to become more like a random series of encounters with different and eccentric characters. The scene where Bella picks up a very overweight businessman in a hotel bar and goes back to his room, certainly isn't something that we'd have seen in the average vigilante movie (neither is the scene where Bella parades in her underwear pretending to fire her gun and get shot - like kids playing cowboy and Indians - although that part did remind me of a scene in The Harder They Come). This is also where the movie begins to get even more over the top and it's black comedy comes to the fore. Bella's encounters include David McCallum as a very sleazy and disturbed dentist (Little Shop Of Horrors homage?) and a group of yuppie thugs and would be rapists (in a scene that reminded me of A Clockwork Orange) whose number include Christopher Ryan (Mike from The Young Ones) and Sean (son of Jon) Pertwee, as well as a serial killer (previously mentioned in the film in passing).
It's a curious movie in some ways, stuck between genres and not quite what you'd expect from either. It reminded me a little of the Hammer House Of Horror TV series in tone or maybe some of the old Amicus movies. If you're expecting the typical vigilante movie then you may be disappointed that there's not enough conventional action or a group of baddies to be tracked down and eliminated (and the vigilante part of the movie only begins to come in about half way through the movie). I think it works best as a hilarious counterpoint or send up of the typical Mike Leigh, Bridget Jones or Four Weddings And A Funeral type of British movie. I had seen trailers for this film when it first came out but only recently decided to track it down. I hadn't realized it had been banned for two years in the UK. The DVD region 2 DVD release is cut (with the hammer murder being reduced to just one or two blows for instance). I loved this movie and thought it was a riot (and in some ways the fact that it wasn't quite the usual Death Wish clone was a pleasant and interesting surprise). I suspect some will just see it as a train wreck movie and will either hate it or find it "so bad it's good" for those reasons. Now I want a sequel where Bella takes her killing spree to Nazi occupied Paris, hee hee!
Roadgames (1981)
Absorbing Australian Thriller! Stacy Keach On Top Form!
Roadgames is a wonderful Australian thriller, directed by Richard Franklin (who also made Psycho II - my personal favorite Psycho movie), written by Everett De Roche (whose credits include Long Weekend and Razorback) and starring Stacy Keach (Fat City and the Mike Hammer TV series) and Jamie Lee Curtis. I first saw this movie on TV in the 1980s and then again a few years later, which was when I really became impressed with it's cult movie qualities and I recently saw it again on DVD.
Stacy Keach is wonderful as a man who drives a truck (but doesn't consider himself "a truck driver") and passes his time on his long haul road trips with various games. He talks both to himself and his "dingo", passing the time with attributing his own names, identities and even dialog to the other motorists on the road (he also likes to quote poetry). Like other fans of the film, I think this is part of what makes the movie so likable and I loved his little nicknames for people like "Sneezy Rider". Early on, Stacy Keach notices a driver in a green van offer a lift to a hitchhiker and observes the same man intently watching the garbage bags being picked up the following morning while Stacy's dingo seems very interested in what's inside one of them. Later Stacy sees the same driver digging a hole in the desert, presumably for the picnic box he has beside him, stops when he sees that he is being watched. Stacy has heard talk on the radio and from a fellow road traveler about the Jack The Ripper style killer who is responsible for bits of bodies popping up in different locations. As the film goes on, Stacy becomes more and more absorbed with the idea that the green van driver is probably the killer, but has to decide whether and how to follow this train of thought. Along the way, Stacy picks up a young female hitchhiker (Jamie Lee Curtis) that he dubs "Hitch" (for hitchhiker, but Stacy himself is shown to own a Hitchcock book and the film itself is often cited as being Hitchcock influenced). Hitch disappears while investigating the green van, adding to Stacy Keach's troubles as he becomes unsure if Hitch is in mortal danger or if she was a willing accomplice of the killer all along.
This film is a fine example of Australian made cult thrillers and horrors and stands very well alongside other classics like Mad Max (except without a Nuremberg dodger in the title role), Long Weekend and Razorback. It also stands well alongside other road movie horrors like Duel and personally I much prefer it to The Hitcher. It has wonderful performances, some nice humor and a quietly absorbing storyline. It's not a film to look for gore or big action scenes in, but it is a great thriller and road movie with a great script. Stacy Keach later played a truck driver after a killer in the 1992 TV movie Revenge On The Highway. Much better than the rubbish that Goebbels churned out! More films like this please!
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Le film atrocious!
What a poor excuse for a film! I'm not even sure which feels the more belated and pointless sequel in execution between this and Basic Instinct 2 (and I'm not even sure if this manages to be even slightly better than Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen after sitting through it). It is le film atrocious! What starts out as a average if uninvolving adventure story feels like a complete waste of time by the end of it, with people just going through the motions and the music trying to fool you that it's all more exciting than it actually is - didn't work! For a start, there are no Nazis! How are you supposed to see them being killed in joyous ways if they are not there? At least in Temple Of Doom, you could pretend that the Thugees were a ancient Nazi cult but the idea of Nazi commies would be just stupid! Of course not every film needs Nazis to be good. Take Rocky III for example. However, believe me that this film is certainly no Rocky III and does not come up to the standard of the three other Indiana Jones films which at least managed to be enjoyable and have some spark of life to them.
The idea of aliens could have been interesting and the room with the skeletons made me expect something like Quatermass & The Pit. But the whole finale is a disappointment that does nothing with the idea and does not even give the title hero anything interesting to do (not much different to the rest of the film then - where Shia LeBoeuf seems to get most of the fighting). Everything about the film feels uninspired. Just how bad is it? Well, let's put it this way, mon amies. I have a male friend who only watched National Treasure because Bridget von Hammersmark/Diane Kruger was in it and thought she was the only good thing about it. But my same friend admitted that even if Bridget/Diane was in this Indiana Jones movie that it would still not even be as good as National Treasure (and I think he has a point)! An Indiana Jones movie not as good as National Treasure! Can you remember the days when to suggest such a thing would have had you kicking and screaming on the way to a shock treatment appointment? It is sad to see a once enjoyable adventure franchise fare so poorly but the makers of this turkey only have themselves to blame. I could watch the other Indiana Jones movies again, but if offered this viewing this one again, I think I will ask if there is a prison sentence instead. This film very much lays an egg!
Serial Mom (1994)
Beautiful And Moving Portrait Of Bravery
Serial Mom is beautifully filmed by that natural heir to the French New Wave, John Waters. It tells the moving and inspiring story of a suburban Baltimore housewife called Beverly (played by Kathleen Turner). The film stands up very well almost as an analogy for what it is like to be a brave woman in the French resistance. Like women looking to liberate their homeland, Beverly bravely decides to stand up and take matters into her own hands against what she would no doubt see as her own equivalent of rampant Nazism around her. Be the Nazis in this case schoolteachers or people who steal parking spaces, forget to floss, refuse to rewind video store tapes or insist on wearing white after labor day (a sin I'm sure Hilter himself was probably guilty of!), Beverly is always ready to put on her brave face and become a proud one woman resistance movement with a variety of lethal weapons at her disposal (she even gets help from the brilliant girl rock band L7 for a particularly fiery version of justice). This is a brave and inspiring part of this fine film, but the story gets more harrowing for it's third act, when Beverly gets captured by fascist authorities and put on trial. I don't want to spoil the end of the film for those who have not seen it, but this is far from the end of Beverly's courage and ingenuity in the face of her enemies and the way she defends herself in the courtroom is a inspiration to us all. This is a very beautiful and well crafted drama and I hope that one day John Waters will return to the same kind of story and set it in Nazi occupied France this time. C'est magnifique! Everyone should see this stirring and beautiful movie about how to stand up for what you believe.