Sunday, June 24, 2007

Tell No One



A man's wife is murdered. 8 years later she sends him an email.
That's the hook of Tell No One. It's a pretty effective hook and the process of uncovering the chain of events leading up to this improbable event is an enjoyable ride. That said I couldn't help but feel it's one of those films that operates by making you feel clever for watching it whilst actually being in the business of complicatring what could be quite a straight forward story. The way the convoluted plot revelations are structured seems to be entirely in service of the exhilarating central chase sequence, which is no bad thing because it's a great sequence but it all leads to a bit of a Scooby Doo ending i.e. the guy/girl behind it all reveals everything in the last scene and we find out there was really no way we could have known. Worth a watch even if you end up feeling a bit cheated.

Notes: Continues the proud French cinematic tradition of ordinary chainsmoking late middle aged frenchmen having supermodel wives, see 36 Quai des Orfèvres for a particularly stunning example of this tradition.

IMDB

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Monday, June 18, 2007

Little Miss Sunshine



If you like kooky Americana then you'll probably like this. Disfunctional family goes ona road trip together and guess what, they all learn something about themselves blah blah blah. Not very funny for a film that's billed by its box as a hilarious comedy. but you know, it's alright.

IMDB

Warrior King



Tony Jaa lacks the charisma for the small town boy role. Someone needs to give him a something like Fist of Fury that doesn't require a nice guy. But generally the plot is adequate scaffolding for some strong fight scenes. One in particular, choreographed in a single 10 minute tracking shot, is one of the finest pieces of cinema I've ever seen. For this section alone you should watch this film.

IMDB

The Prestige



Nice twisty how dunnit. The audience is deliberately kept confused about the order of events as a kind of patter to distract from the directors main trick. Whilst this kind of behaviour would normally irritate the hell out of me it seems totally apt for a film about the process of magic tricks. The final revelation re. Hugh Jackman's methodology is perhaps one twist too many though.

IMDB

Monday, June 11, 2007

Best In Show



Yes, the humour is gentle and yes the plot meanders but this is still top notch observational character comedy, anyone who's seen the taxisdermy documentary Stuff The World will be struck by the similarity in the depictions of strange obsessive worlds.

In my book it's the equal of Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind.

IMDB