Reviews

Struggling filmmaker Stanley Kubrick ("Fear and Desire" & "Flying Padre") follows the failure of his feature debut with this promotional film for the Seafarers International Union in order to recoup some of the losses and raise funds for his sophomore feature.

The film, supervised by the staff of union magazine "The Seafarers Log", the promotes the work of the Seafarers International Union Atlantic and Gulf District with shots of the hiring hall, the canteen, the bar, the print shop and a union meeting at their New York head quarters.

Secretary-Treasurer of the SIU Atlantic and Gulf District Paul Hall emerges from the ranks with a powerful speech extolling the virtues of the union which are all meticulously illustrated to the dulcet tones of news reader Don Hollenbeck who also bookends the membership-drive.

The future filmmaking legend may be only in it for the money but he nonetheless allows a few flourishes in his colour debut, such as the extended, sideways-dolly shot of the canteen, and the film provides a curious insight into a union in its heyday.

"Call it a dream fulfilled."

Professional photographer turned budding filmmaker Stanley Kubrick ("Day of the Fight") follows up his self-financed directorial debut with a rather uninspired documentary commission from RKO which the filmmaker himself would later describe as silly.

The film supposedly documents two ordinary days in the life of Catholic priest Father Fred Stadtmuller as he pilots his plane between his 11 mission churches spread out over a 4,000 square mile area of Harding county in north-eastern New Mexico but the whole thing feels staged .

Father Stadtmuller makes a surprisingly insipid presence behind the controls of the Spirit of St. Jospeh as we follow him from the solemn funeral of a ranch hand to evening devotions to pastoral duties to canary breeding to an emergency flight all to the dulcet tones of news reader Bob Hite.

The future filmmaking legend seems constricted by the news reel format and although he manages to build some convention defying atmosphere there is little of the visual or structural flourish that marked out his previous "day in the life of..." documentary as being from an emerging talent.

"There's no brass band here, no cheering crowds, no newspapermen clamouring for a headline..."

"Look" magazine photographer and chess-player Stanley Kubrick teamed up with old school chum Alexander Singer to launch their filmmaking careers and that of their star with this short but sweet self-financed boxing documentary, based on the future legendary director's 1949 photo feature "Prizefighter", which after the original buyer went belly-up was sold to RKO for a cool $100 profit.

We follow the fan (short for fanatic as no-nonsense narrator Douglas Edwards informs us) to the places where matched pairs of men get up on a canvas covered platform and commit legal assault and lawful battery in an attempt to capture the primitive vicarious visceral thrill of seeing one animal overcome another with the science of hammering each other unconscious with upholstered fists.

Irish-American middleweight Walter Cartier is selected at random, with a little help from boxing historian Nat Fleischer, from the 6,000 professional prize fighters who more often than not fail to scrape a living in America to give us insight into the people the fan seldom sees and never considers behind the facts and figures and columns of cold statistics in the record books.

Walter Cartier makes an amiable enough presence at the centre of the action to be able to go on to a TV acting career as we see his daily routine transform him into arena man, with able support coming from his twin brother and manager Vincent Cartier and opponent Bobby James as well as a brief appearance from Nat Fleischer and the dulcet tones of news reader Douglas Edwards.

The filmmakers make a fine pairing as Kubrick ducks and dives with his hand-held camera getting up close and personal with Cartier both before and during the fight while Singer rises above it all with his camera on a tripod to catch an overview of the action which together with the debut score of another childhood friend Gerald Fried all comes together to make a strong first impression.

"No one ever told Walter to be a fighter..."

TV editor and chess player Yılmaz Atadeniz reforms his old gang to put his disparate skills to good use paying homage to the American serials of his youth with the now forgotten first entry in a long running series of once popular films loosely based on the Italian photo novel creations of Max Bunker and Magnus.

King of rogues Kilink is resurrected to complete his plans for world domination but as Kilink is in Istanbul so can be Superhero, the son of Kilink's victim given powers by the wizard Shazam, however let us not forget that Kilink really exists, while Superhero is an imaginary hero, in the ludicrous set-up to this brutish boys-own adventure.

İrfan Atasoy puts in a square-jawed central performance worthy of George Reeves and Buster Crabbe as the highly unauthorised Captain Marvel/Superman hybrid hero whilst as usual far more fun is to be had by Yıldırım Gencer who turns the gentlemen thief of the source material into the sociopathic titular villain of this piece.

Muzaffer Tema heads up a powerful supporting cast which includes turns from Hüseyin Peyda and Feridun Çölgeçen as well as the über-vampish Suzan Avcı, veritable victims Aynur Aydan and Pervin Par and a scene stealing Mine Soley who expresses herself by removing the glasses and white coat of a victim to reveal the black dress of a vamp underneath.

The filmmakers do a surprisingly good job of recreating the feel of a classic American serial, albeit some twenty years too late and infused with Turkish machismo fuelled sex and violence, which if nothing else firmly paved the way for the later excess of Turkish pop cinema's copyright defying remakes that were inevitably to follow.

"Adventure and danger are the meaning of my life."

Turkish filmmaker Hulki Saner brings the highly popular "Ömer the Tourist" film series to a clumsy conclusion by turning Sadri Alışık's beloved comic creation into a self-insert anti-Sue for this po-faced re-enactment of the first broadcast classic Star Trek episode "The Man Trap" with results as unimpressive as a PVC-clad papier-mâché-headed Gorn.

When an Enterprise red shirt is murdered while on an away mission the culprit transports a bumbling Turkish hobo from his shot gun wedding to act as a scapegoat, but Kirk and co. fail to fall for the ruse and Ömer the Tourist joins them on the hunt in the uninspired set-up for this clumsy parody of series achieving great popularity in Turkey at the time.

Sadri Alışık is on top form in his swansong performance in the role with quick fire Turkish gags and wordplay with superb support from straight man Erol Amaç as Mr. Spak but the too are all too often eclipsed by Cemil Şahbaz, Ferdi Merter, Kayhan Yıldızoğlu and the rest of the cast as they struggle to keep to the original script.

The filmmakers seem for the most part to have forgotten they are making a comedy as they plough through a sub-standard re-enactment of the original, replete with orange tinted ripped-off effects, which relegates the star to little more than an interfering nuisance as they build up to a frenetic conclusion which throws in scenes from other classic episodes.

Turkey provides some fantastic locations for the planet scenes which the makers of the original could barely dream of but in all other respects the production values fall short calling into question the whole rationale for the re-enactment which overwhelms the comedy elements and leaves the feeling that Sadri Alışık deserved better.

"You see captain; an illogical creature."

BAFTA winning British wildlife documentarian Mike Beynon ("The Really Wild Show") takes a closer look at one of nature's least documented creations, thanks to the extraordinary miniature cameras of Jonathan Watts, in this BBC television special which won Best Factual Moment on the BBC's 2002 TV Moments awards show for its unforgettable shot of a python swallowing an antelope whole.

British institution Sir David Attenborough introduces this study of the snakes' movement on land, sea and even in the air as it hunts and ambushes its prey across the world as far as Snake Island itself, where even snake lovers fear to tread, with blood-chilling re-enactments of the 5 million humans bitten annually and a curious scene showing a race between an African sprinter and a Black Mamba.

A giant African python on the prowl for its biannual meal heads up an amazingly varied cast of hunted and reviled pythons, vipers, fer-de-lance and the like engaged in all manner of exotic behaviour scintillating and sensationally explained by the unmistakable dulcet tones of the most successful naturalist on the planet, whose enthusiasm entices like a snake charmer.

The filmmakers augment the serpentine cinematography of Gavin Thurston and his team with high-speed photography, x-ray imaging and some decidedly dodgy and dated computer graphics as well as the film's raison d'être snakes-eye footage from Jonathan Watts' snake mounted mini-cams, to show why they are the most successful predators on the planet.

"It's one of the great advantages of being a cold-blooded predator."

BAFTA winning British wildlife documentarian John Downer ("Puma: Lion of the Andes" & "Africa's Wild Dogs") heads into the jungle for a closer look at one of the world's most beautiful creatures, thanks to the extraordinary photography of the late Chip Houseman, in this BBC television special which was awarded the 2000 BAFTA for Best Factual Photography.

British institution Sir David Attenborough introduces us to Kanha National Park Chief Mahout Bir Singh, who in turn guides us deep into the forests of Kippling's Jungle Book, where a tigress walks a tightrope between success and failure as she faces the monsoon, packs of Indian wild dogs and an aggressive male challenger as she struggles to raise a family.

A 12 year old Royal Bengal Tiger named Lakshmi heads up a cast which includes her three young cubs, an estranged daughter and their prey engaged in all manner of secretive behaviour brilliantly and bitingly explained by the unmistakable dulcet tones of the most beautiful naturalist on the planet, whose enthusiasm continues to burn brightly.

The filmmakers augment the sumptuous cinematography of Chip Houseman, who passed away during the production, with the sweeping score of Nicholas Hooper and little else as the bare bones of Lakshmi's extraordinary story, not resolved until the closing credits. in one of the safest places for tigers in the world is more than enough for us to see the true essence and beauty of a tiger in the wild.

"Killing lessons can be fun."

Primetime Emmy nominated British wildlife documentarian John Downer ("Lifesense" & "Supernatural") takes to the skies for a closer look at one of nature's most successful raptors, thanks to the extraordinary aerial photography of Geoffrey Bell, in this BBC television special which includes memorable footage of a Golden Eagle cracking open a tortoise for its chick.

British institution Sir David Attenborough introduces this study of the adaptability of the classic Eagle blueprint of body shape and behaviour to all manner of prey in a variety of environments across the world with 15 featured species in 12 different countries from Russia to Australia, including rare footage of the critically endangered Philippine Eagle.

A golden eagle on the wing across Siberia heads up an amazingly varied cast of gregarious fish eagles, specialised snake eagles, tiny hawk eagles and the like engaged in all manner of highly ritualised behaviour swiftly and incisively explained by the unmistakable dulcet tones of the most adaptable naturalist on the planet, whose enthusiasm takes wing.

The filmmakers augment the high-flying cinematography of Michael W. Richards and his team with miniature cameras mounted on model helicopters and gliders to capture the film's raison d'être footage of power-diving, wiffeling, talon grappling and cart-wheeling, to show why this master of the skies is worthy of the simple accolade "Eagle".

"It's the living testimony to the perfection of a classic design."

RTS Television Award nominated British wildlife documentarian John Downer ("Nature" & "The Natural World") heads into the jungle for a closer look at the least known of all Africa's big cats, thanks to groundbreaking night-time photography, in this BBC television special which was awarded the 1998 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Award for Innovation.

British institution Sir David Attenborough introduces us to Philip Stander and the Ju/'hoan bushmen, who use radio collars and a microlight as well as traditional tracking techniques to monitor leopard in North Namibia, and we follow the hunts of two leopards over three years in South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia.

A battle-scarred 15 year old female and a younger and less experienced male leopard head up a cast which includes her young cub as they engage in all manner of never before seen or even suspected hunting behaviour of stealth and psychological warfare, softly and sensitively explained by the unmistakable dulcet tones of the most known naturalist on the planet, whose enthusiasm is spot on.

The filmmakers augment the director's own furtive cinematography, shot with infrared and low-light full-colour video cameras for a view that is ours alone, with evocative local music, to show the solitary and secretive lives of the most adaptable and certainly the most of Africa's big cats alive today and reveal the night-time secrets of the cat the walks on its own.

"For the first time the infrared camera has shown the true tension of a hunt at night."

One-trick Turkish TV producer Raci Şaşmaz recruits younger brother Zübeyr Şaşmaz for this curiously ill-conceived supposedly-comedic spin-off from the burgeoning "Valley of the Wolves" media franchise created by Osman Sınav, which went great guns in its native market by becoming the third highest-grossing Turkish film of 2008.

Failed leftist revolutionaries Muro (Mustafa Üstündağ) and Çeto (Şefik Onatoğlu) are released from prison only to discover that during their incarceration a corrupt former friend has married them off to a couple of Russian prostitutes in the set-up to a series of supposedly comedic escapades.

Mustafa Üstündağ is painful to watch as the barely two-dimensional caricature of an overbearing leftist revolutionary whist fellow franchise veterans Şefik Onatoğlu and Eray Türk have little more to do than quake somewhat inexplicably in his far from impressive shadow as a trio of comic-relief characters completely unworthy of their own feature.

Selim Erdoğan at least looks like he's having fun, although he's alone in this, as the sleazy protagonist, whilst Russian imports Nataliya Bondarenko and Daria Litinova look suitably bored as the supposed love interests and Evrim Alasya just wastes her time by even trying to put in a finely nuanced and multifaceted performance.

The strengths of the franchise, which has always used current concerns torn from the daily headlines, are completely abandoned in favour of outdated cardboard caricatures of old-school leftist revolutionaries spouting crass cock-and-ball jokes that would have been rejected by their box-office rival Recep İvedik in a paper-thin conspiracy plot.

The over-eager and ever-manipulative film-makers seem to have rushed into this spin-off too far in pursuit of wringing a few more lira out of the mega-popular media franchise without ever actually stopping to think if these comic-relief caricatures are actually capable of carrying a feature on their own and have of course once again inexplicably succeeded.

"Damn my love for humans "

Groundbreaking Turkish theatre and television comedy performer Yılmaz Erdoğan ("Bir Demet Tiyatro") teamed up with up-and-coming cinematographer-director Ömer Faruk Sorak ("Asansor") for this self-penned comedy drama drawn from his own childhood memories which was a massive box-office success and was followed by a sequel two years later.

Eccentric electrician "Crazy" Emin (Yılmaz Erdoğan) assists village mayor Nazmi (Altan Erkekli) in setting up a television transmitter, unceremoniously dumped on them by a visiting TRT delegation from Anakara, despite the objections of his own wife (Demet Akbağ) and local cinema impresario Latif (Cezmi Baskın) who decry it as the work of the devil.

Writer-director Yılmaz Erdoğan puts in a strong, but far from domineering, central performance alongside his "Bir Demet Tiyatro" co-stars Demet Akbağ and Altan Erkekli, who both won Golden Orange awards for their performances, as the curious triumvirate at the emotional heart of a story which sends them through the full gamut of emotions.

Comedian Cem Yılmaz ("Everything's Gonna Be Great") heads-up a highly eclectic supporting ensemble also largely drawn from the cast of "Bir Demet Tiyatro", which includes the distinguished Cezmi Baskın, a young Şafak Sezer, and a who's who of guest players including Köksal Engür, Erkan Can, Betül Arım, Zerrin Sümer, Meral Çetinkaya and Yasemin Alkaya.

The debutant directorial duo manage, with the assistance of a truly world class ensemble and a Golden Orange award-winning soundtrack from Kardeş Türküler, a magnificent balancing act between the comedic and tragic elements of the sepia-tinged story of bygone Hakkâri right-up to the seemingly pre-requisite heart-wrenching dénouement.

"lf he's so worried, this vizontele must be a good thing."

Turkish filmmaker and novelist Tayfun Pirselimoğlu ("Pus" & "Rıza") completes his trilogy of human dramas with this drawn-out tale which premiered in competition at the 63rd Locarno International Film Festival and went on to compete at the 46th Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival and the 16th Festival on Wheels.

Hamdi (Ayberk Pekcan), an introverted wig-maker who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, becomes obsessed with Meryem (Nazan Kesal), a middle-aged woman who comes to sell her hair, and stalks her through the streets of Istanbul, learning about her unhappy marriage to unfaithful undertaker Musa (Riza Akin) and providing a curiously comforting presence.

A distinctively funny-looking Ayberk Pekcan ("Ali'nin Sekiz Günü" & "Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu") gurns and groans his way through the curious lead role generating an even curiouser chemistry with television actress Nazan Kesal despite the minimalistic dialogue whilst the dead-pan delivery of seasoned veteran Riza Akin provides one of the films few memorable moments.

The emerging director continues his crusade to tell authentically human stories but takes it a stage to far in this the final chapter of his trilogy as story-telling conventions such as character development and plot line are discarded to create a overly drawn-out and stupefyingly under-written slice of staring which goes nowhere and takes forever to get there.

Turkish film critic, festival organiser and one-time producer Ahmet Boyacıoğlu ("Tales of Kars") makes his directorial debut with this heart-felt tribute to his legendary local bar and its elitist denizens, which was screened at the 47th Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival and the 59th Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival.

Faruk (Taner Birsel), the worn-out proprietor of Ankara's Siyah Beyaz bar and art gallery for some 24 years, decided to throw in the towel much to the chagrin of regulars Ahmet, an aged communist painter, Muzaffer, a retired lawyer, Ayten, a lonely businesswoman and the disenchanted and recently divorced Doctor in the simple set-up to this multiple character study.

Veteran character actor Tuncel Kurtiz is superb as the fiery 70-year-old revolutionary at the head of a stunning cast, including a po-faced Şevval Sam, a shabby Taner Birsel, a surprisingly slick Nejat İşler and a seemingly slightly miscast Erkan Can as well as Derya Alabora as his long-lost love interest, which only Turkey's most respected cinephile could have drawn together.

The debut director, who can be seen in the background of the bar scenes taking copious notes, is intimately familiar with the people and place of his film and crafts their character arcs with love and humour which manages to break through the sterility of the story-telling to create an authentic portrayal of Ankara's cultural elite.

"We couldn't change the world, but it couldn't change us either."

Debutante Turkish feature director Belma Baş ("Poyraz") follows the success of her Palme d'Or nominated short with this thematic sequel covering much the same ground, which was selected for the 47th Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival and the 35th Toronto International Film Festival, where it premiered.

Zefir (Şeyma Uzunlar) is a head strong young girl spending the summer burying road kill and staring wistfully into the distance with her grandparents on the yayla in Turkey's Eastern Black Sea mountain region while yearning for the return of her mother (Vahide Gördüm) in the slow-building set up to this incisive yet somewhat underwritten coming-of-age scenario.

The young Şeyma Uzunlar ("Poyraz") reprises her role for the director with a powerfully nuanced performance which is superbly supported by Vahide Gördüm ("Cars of the Revolution" & "Istanbul Tales") at the head of a supporting cast which includes Sevinç and O. Rüştü Baş as well as a voice-only cameo form comedian and film-backer Cem Yılmaz.

The freshman director follows in a recent trend of Turkish filmmakers with an apparent longing for the idyllic Turkish countryside which translates into long-languid shots of perfectly framed scenery (on this occasion all-too-often shrouded in fog) and close-ups of snails (or other suitably slow moving flora and fauna) which build atmosphere around minimalistic story lines.

Here this is done well and the viewer is quickly drawn into to this unrealistically idealised vision of rural life which proves a curiously disconcerting backdrop to the teenage angst of a young girl abandoned by her mother but with nothing new to add to this well-worn mix the overblown short begins to drag and ultimately one can only hope for more from the director in the future.

"Let's consider this a good omen, shall we?"

Turkish film director Serdar Akar teamed-up with fellow débutante Önder Çakar for this shocking companion piece to "A Madonna in Laleli" by film school classmate Kudret Sabancı, which picked up multiple awards at film festivals in Antalya and Ankara, including the coveted Golden Orange for Second Best Film.

Captain İdris (Erkan Can) heads up the motley crew of a dredger out of Istanbul who while on a drunken shore leave one night in the city's red light district assault a gang of mobsters and kidnap a foreign prostitute to take back with them to their ship in the simple backdrop for this tense character-driven drama.

Golden Orange and Orhan Arıburnu Award-winning actor Erkan Can ("Bana Old and Wise'ı Çal") puts in a star making turn as the worn-out captain with superb support coming from the sleazy Haldun Boysan, the naive Yıldıray Şahinler, the untrustworthy Naci Taşdöğen and the strong yet vulnerable Ella Manea.

The Golden Orange and Orhan Arıburnu Award-winning freshman director, straight out of film school, breaks away from the standard idioms of Turkish cinema to show the squalid lives of these men in a somewhat stylised but highly original way which marks him out as a filmmaker to watch out for in the future.

"Anyway, where were we?"

Turkish television and documentary director Yüksel Aksu ("Büyük Yalan" & "Bir Dilim Aşk") calls upon his misspent youth as apprentice to an ice cream salesman to good use for this quirky comedy which won awards at film festivals in Ankara, Istanbul and Queens and took an unappreciated trip to the Academy Awards selection committee.

Independent ice-cream salesman Ali (Turan Özdemir) tours the villages of Muğla Province on Turkey's Aegean coast on his new motorbike touting his wares from a trailer, but when the bike and trailer go missing he blames the big multinationals and goes out to seek revenge unaware that it has in fact been taken by a local gang of mischievous boys.

Local lad made good Turan Özdemir puts in a near hysterically distressed and dishevelled central performance at the head of a cast of non-professionals which includes memorable turns from a long-suffering Gulnihal Demir, youngster İsmetcan Suda and a host of local characters including Nejat Altinsoy, Recep Yener, Metin Yildiz and Arap Fevzi.

The Ankara International Film Festival Most Promising Director awards winning filmmaker has crafted a wonderful piece of whimsical entertainment from his youthful misadventures which, with the assistance of acting coach Mehmet Ali Alabora, is brought to life by a non-professional cast in a mode true to the director's routes as a documentarian.

"A bit of insanity solves everything!"

Popular Turkish arabesque singer-songwriter turned actor-director Mahsun Kırmızıgül ("The White Angel") followed this sceptically received freshman melodrama with this equally sceptically received sophomore melodrama which topped the Turkish box office and took an unappreciated trip to the Academy Awards selection committee.

Davut (Altan Erkekli) and Ramo (Mahsun Kırmızıgül) head two wings of an extended Kurdish family forced from their village by the conflict in Turkey's south-eastern region with one resettling in Istanbul and the other attempting to illegally enter Norway as the driving force of this epic melodrama of interwoven story lines.

Mahsun Kırmızıgül remains true to his arabesque roots with a demagogic central performance whilst more stoic support comes from veteran character actor Altan Erkekli ("O... Çocuklari" & "Waiting for Heaven"), stunning starlet Demet Evgar ("Shattered Soul" & "Banyo") and Yeşilçam award-winning up-and-comer Cemal Toktaş ("Black Dogs Barking").

The emerging director still suffers from the excess of sentimentality that lead his debut film to box-office success and critical drubbing but here he has a wealth of story lines worthy of his didactic style as his cardboard characters espouse messages of tolerance to a sweeping musical score that even the most cynical can't help but be moved by.

"You rarely ever see the sun here."

Turkish TV and film director Hakan Algül ("Döngel Kârhanesi" & "Avrupa Yakası") re-teams with comedian Ata Demirer ("The Ottoman Republic" & "Avrupa Yakası") under the auspices of comedy impresarios Yılmaz Erdoğan and Necati Akpınar for this plodding comedy thriller which is one of the highest grossing Turkish films of 2010.

Village boy Hüseyin (Ata Demirer) leaves behind his doting grandparents and burgeoning romance with a local beauty to head off to Istanbul in search of his estranged father, who he tracks down with assistance of an old family friend and a popular night club singer (Demet Akbag) before being plunged into a clichéd comedy crime caper.

Golden Orange-winning film and theatre actress Demet Akbag ("Tersine Dünya" & "Vizontele") slums it in this re-teaming with "Vizontele Tuuba" bit-player Ata Demirer which sees the two constantly at odds as the miss-matched comedy duo at the head of a cast which includes a superb double act from Tanju Tuncel and Salih Kalyon as well as the beautiful Özge Borak.

Kicking-off with a painfully clichéd plot point the subsequent film has little driving force and flounders painfully as the writer-star is forced to run out various observational comedy routines from a staid stand-up act to inject comedy into an otherwise moribund storyline which has degenerated long before the stars are blundering around pretending to be blind in order to escape the mob.

"God! You've blown my mind at this hour of morning, bum fluff! "

Turkish TV writer Gani Müjde ("Kahpe Bizans") re-teams with Faith Solmaz and fellow scribe Emre Bülbül for this curious little political satire which quickly loses its way in misjudged rom-com clichés that do much to detract from the admittedly rather mixed message at the heart of the film and indeed the country itself.

The film kicks off with the apparent death in childhood of the country's revered republican founder and national hero Kemel Atatürk before jumping forward to the year 2007 where we find that the sick man of Europe in the hands of a buffoonish Sultan who is a mere puppet in the hands of the devilish Western powers until love gives he the strength to say stand up.

Turkish comedian Ata Demirer plays the modern day Sultan with world-weary relish but fails to generate chemistry with 2005 Golden Orange award winner Vildan Atasever ("2 Girls") whilst eccentric Hulk Hogan look-alike Sümer Tilmaç heads a largely overlooked supporting cast of Ruhsar Öcal, Ali Düsenkalkar and Müjde's wife Belma Canciger on top form.

The seemingly indecisive director has an intriguing "What If…" scenario as a backdrop, which he thoroughly fails to explore as much of the film is given over to a completely unconvincing romance before this too is forgotten in favour of a patriotic fervour which is in turn thrown away for a disappointing dénouement that wipes the few laughs had along the way.

"You can't join EU with this barbaric behaviour!"

Critically acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan ("Distant" & "Climates") cemented his previous success with this slow-burning neo-noir which won him the Best Director Award at the 61st Cannes Film Festival and was Turkey's unsuccessful submission for the 81st Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film Oscar amongst a slew of Yeşilçam Awards and international film accolades.

When family man Eyüp (Yavuz Bingöl) goes to prison for a hit-and-run committed by his wannabe politician boss Servet (Ercan Kesal), his wife Hacer (Hatice Aslan) and wayward son İsmail (Ahmet Rıfat Şungar) find their lives beginning to fall apart, and the process is only expedited by Eyüp's release some nine months later.

Popular Turkish folk singer Yavuz Bingöl presents a wonderfully hunched and dishevelled presence at the head of a family that features the haggard beauty of Hatice Aslan and the angst ridden brow of Ahmet Rıfat Şungar who both won Yeşilçam Awards as well as the occasional unwelcome interference of sweaty co-writer Ercan Kesal.

The Yeşilçam Award-winning cinematography of Gökhan Tiryaki ("Alone" & "Climates") transforms Istanbul into a suitably dark and brooding backdrop for the bare-bone story-line of Nuri Bilge Ceylan et al, but the dark beauty of the cinematography isn't quite enough to hold attention and the film begins to drag long before the leaden denouement.

"Do we have anyone else?"

Popular Turkish arabesque singer-songwriter and sometime T.V. actor Mahsun Kırmızıgül ("Aşka Sürgün" & "Zalım") made his directorial debut with this sceptically received melodrama which picked up the Remi Award for Best Foreign Film at the 41st WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.

Ali (Mahsun Kırmızıgül) and Reşat (Sarp Apak) bring their ailing father Ahmet (Arif Erkin) for treatment to Istanbul where they encounter the titular Melek (Yıldız Kenter) and the other wacky residents of an old people's home for a east-west culture clash which highlights the emptiness of Western values.

The ethereal and somewhat overly theatrical Yıldız Kenter heads up an all-star cast of veteran Turkish character actors which includes a powerful performance from Arif Erkin, a suppressed comic turn from Nejat Uygur and the ever present Erol Günaydın, while Mahsun Kırmızıgül and Sarp Apak remain in the background.

The debut director was not warmly welcomed by the Turkish film critics who viewed his star-laden debut vehicle as little more than a commercial enterprise but despite the unintentionally hilarious excess of sentimentality also present in his musical output he has managed to craft an acceptable first film with the promise of greater things to come.

"And did you know that there are angels in every raindrop that falls from the sky?"

Turkish actor and TV scriptwriter Sermiyan Midyat ("Polis" & "Pardon") re-teams with veteran comedy producer Sinan Çetin ("Pardon" & "Propaganda") for this fun little culture clash comedy which has had mixed critical reception and only moderate box-office success.

Recently graduated İbrahim (Sermiyan Midyat) returns to his family home in the officially unrecognised Kurdish village of Tinne in east Turkey with his American fiancée Jessica and her family in tow for the prerequisite cross-cultural confusion with political undertones.

Sermiyan Midyat makes for an amiable if somewhat hammy romantic comedy lead but struggles to generate any apparent chemistry with stilted sometime stunt woman and US TV bit-player Katie Gill ("Date Night" & "The Cellar") as his supposed love interest.

80s comedy superstar Steve Guttenberg ("Police Academy" & "Short Circuit") continues his non-come back at the head of a bizarre supporting cast which includes the ever radiant Mariel Hemingway and a brilliant comedy turn from veteran Turkish actor Meray Ülgen.

The debut director under the influence of a truly talented producer quickly seems to abandon the romantic comedy elements in favour of a more political satire which misses more targets than it scores but nonetheless provides enough light hearted laughs to be worth a viewing.

"Maybe you will ask, if nothing exists, why do you exist?"

Popular Turkish comedy writer and performer Şahan Gökbakar ("Dıkkat Şahan Çıkabılır") reunites with his younger brother Togan Gökbakar ("Gen") for the third film in their Turkish box office blockbuster comedy series "Recep İvedik" featuring a somewhat toned down version of his titular comedy character than in previous outings.

Fat, aggressive, unibrowed slob Recep İvedik (Şahan Gökbakar) has plunged into inconsolable grief following the death of his beloved grandmother at the end of the last film when in walks spunky college girl and distant relative Zeynep (Zeynep Çamci) to guide him through the required skits of his emotional journey to recovery.

Şahan Gökbakar returns with a slightly more controlled and less foul-mouthed incarnation of the inspired burlesque exaggeration of the so-called 'maganda' at large in the city while superb support comes from the cute but occasionally grating Zeynep Çamci, who had a minor role in the previous film, as the naive young kid who can tame this wild bear.

The film-makers have tried to create more of an emotional underpinning for the comedy creation's character arch this time out but it still just boils down to a series of short burlesque comedy routines tied together by the loosest of story-lines that will only appeal to those with an intimate understanding of the society they are attempting to skew.

"This is just a shell, inside it's still the old Recep"

Turkish comedian Cem Yılmaz ("Hokkabaz" & "Organize İsler") and co-director Ali Taner Baltaci ("Hokkabaz" & "Tek Kisilik Dev Kadro") re-unite for this big-budget sequel to big-budget-blockbuster "G.O.R.A." which became another record-breaking Turkish box office hit.

Turkish carpet salesman and intergalactic saviour Arif (Cem Yılmaz) is re-abducted by the evil Commander Logar (Cem Yılmaz) and taken to 1,000,000 B.C. where he teams up with Dimi (Özkan Uğur) to rescue Mimi (Nil Karaibrahimgil) and the Arog in an uninspired comedy set-up.

Cem Yılmaz recreates his rather insipid performance as the stereotypical Turkish every-man Arif but this time with little relief from superior alter-ego Commander Logar while solid support comes once again from the likes of Özkan Ugur, Özge Özberk and pop diva Nil Karaibrahimgil.

The film-makers' have put together a more polished production with a convincingly realised caveman movie pastiche that acts as a magnificent backdrop for a slightly superior series of parodies and gags that are let down by a trite football showdown finale.

"l'd rather disappear in desserts, rather than mess up with the history"

Turkish T.V. director Sadullah Şentürk ("Kurtlar Vadisi") goes solo to wring a few more lira out of the burgeoning media franchise created by Osman Sınav with this cheap and cheerless action thriller, which succeeded in its aims of getting maximum return from minimum outlay by becoming the fifth highest grossing Turkish film of 2009 despite highly critical reviews.

When former intelligence agent İskender Büyük (Musa Uzunlar) finds himself in court charged with plotting a coup he calls upon attorney Ayşe (Ayfer Dönmez) to help him escape and track down the second man in the deep state organisation Gladio, who have been responsible for everything from the PKK terror campaign of Abdullah Öcalan to the assassination of President Turgut Özal.

Musa Uzunlar ("Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu") chews his way through the courtroom scenery, in a style which at times threatens to tear down the entire production around him, as the overblown all-action anti-hero, whilst a winsome Ayfer Dönmez looks on seemingly bewildered as his inexperienced court-appointed attorney turned spunky side-kick.

Tuğrul Çetiner provides a menacing presence as the controller Bülent Fuat Aras, replete with shaved head and stereotypical Gastapo-style lip, at the head of a supporting cast which includes nice turns from Mustafa Develi as Abdullah Öcalan, Sezai Aydın and Işıl Ertuna as Turgut and Semra Özal and the understated Sinan Pekinton as the judge.

The ever manipulative director once again plays to the strengths of the franchise by using current events, in this case the ongoing Ergenekon investigation, to draw audiences in to a crass little auctioneer crafted in the style of Bush-era Fox TV series "24" replete with all the prerequisite mock-heroics, and chest-thumping nationalism, only done cheaper.

"Well, I believed the state. You shouldn't"