An excellent film about espionage and courage, set during the dying days of the Cold War in the early 90s. Brad Pitt plays it cool as a new recruit until he is actually arrested for espionage. The film follows his 'recruiter', played by Robert Redford and what he goes through in order to save Brad Pitt's life.
One of Tony Scott's best films and is up there with his own Man On Fire and Deja Vu. Excellent cinematography and extremely watchable with some very good twists and turns a long the way.
The Shawshank Redemption is an inspiration journey that one man must go through in order to prove his own innocence and destroy the lives of those who put him in prison in the first place.
Tim Robbins plays a banker who is wrongly accused of murdering his wife and in turn is thrown into prison, the whole time telling everybody that he is innocent. He meets some interesting characters and is the most believable character that I have ever come across and his quest for freedom is just pure genius.
A feel good film through and through and extremely watchable.
Cinema often tackles the subject of white picket suburbia and the mundanity of the conventional lifestyle, but rarely so refreshing and inspiring as Sean Penn's miniature masterpiece, Into The Wild. Christopher Mcandless whose life has represented the quiet, reserved and politically ambiguous middle class feels he warrants a greater significance in life. Leaving his family and friends for a journey of self-discovery and realisation, he donates his fund money to Oxfam and encounters people on the fringe who will shape and redefine his perspective as he enters the wild.
The hero in our film doesn't conform to the security of a career, but instead opts to embrace the wild. Technically the film captures the essence of nature's natural beauty but also the terror of it. The cinematography draws from a wide palette of shots in conveying a beautiful, poetic, frequently dangerous but ultimately serene natural landscape which opposes the restrictions of suburbia.
If at times, the films enters the murky realm of pretension it is at no fault of any of the filmmakers, as its source material: the story of Christopher Mcandless's endeavour is essentially that of a existential, primal philosophy which at times evokes the question to its spectator, do we like our protagonist as he has abandoned his family, for a largely selfish act. Although ethical notions aside, Emile Hirsch whilst not establishing himself as a premier talent does channel the spirit and youthful charm and wonder of the character. An observation most realised with a heart-warming encounter with an elderly man who for him Christopher reignites the passion for life he has neglected for so long.
So refreshing was it to see a film, which affirms life, doesn't pander to the populist desire for high concept and truly inspires the spectator to grab life by the horns and not let go. A seductive and spellbinding masterpiece by the multi-talented Sean Penn.
Provocative and challenging, Sean Penn's 'Into The Wild', features Emile Hirsch as Christopher Mcandless,a gifted student of middle-class background who abandons surburbia for life in the wild.
"I have never drawn puppets or silhouettes but rather facades of houses and gates", said director Michelangelo Antonioni, "...one of my favourite games consisted of organising towns. Ignorant in architecture, I constructed buildings and streets crammed with little figures. I invented stories for them. These childhood happenings-I was eleven years old-were like little films". Its not hard to tell that the amiable auteur advanced his childhood pastime to a point where the screen became his canvas, and those facades & figures took shape in the form of petit bourgeois couples, bored socialites and industrial juggernauts. 'La Notte' ('The Night') is the second entry in Antonioni's series of films on emotional instability and alienation, often referred to by their dactylic sobriquet: 'The Incommunicability Trilogy'. Giovanni (Marcello Mastroianni) & Lydia's (Jeanne Moreau) marriage isn't so much on the rocks, as it is marooned at sea and slowly dying of thirst. Set over the course of twenty four hours, 'La Notte' resembles a three act play which begins as the couple visit their dying friend; Tommaso Garani in hospital, before going to a nightclub, and finally, attending a party in honour of Giovanni's success as an author. We soon learn that Lydia seems to tolerate Giovanni's casual infidelity, and in doing so, quietly considers their unfortunate friend blessed; in that Tommaso can just fade away, whereas Giovanni & Lydia's critically ill relationship is kept in intensive care, occasionally, and artificially, shocked backed to life by the defibrillators of social convention, and the need to keep up appearances. Modernity, capitalism and industrialisation wreak havoc once more: this time it's an annoying traffic jam (caused by shoppers), Giovanni in an apartment, the mere word; a sly linguistic nod to isolation whilst the line: "Every millionaire wants his intellectual" speaks volumes about Giovanni's upcoming party. An African couple in the nightclub are sexualised to the point where it borders on a racial stereotype, though this isn't Antonioni's intention; as the scene illustrates how their natural dynamic is admired, envied and loathed in equal measure, by the European couples in attendance (themes Antonioni explored in greater detail with 'L'Eclisse'). Monica Vitti is Valentina; beautiful daughter of the industrialist whose hosting Giovanni's soirée, her character radiates sexual energy in playful, sporadic bursts which complement or contradict, depending upon your point of view, her profound cynicism and quiet disillusion. Subtly alluding to Lydia's earlier restrained, but sardonic, juxtaposition of their marriage and Giovanni's work; suggesting that his next book be called 'The Living And The Dead'. Communication and medium is mentioned again at the party, when Valentina creates a game on the tiles, dismisses the loss of a jewel and plays back an incomprehensible recording of her voice. Marcello Mastroianni also puts in an excellent, multi layered performance as Giovanni; successfully counterbalancing his Marcello Rubini role in Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' (1960). Some observers cite phallic symbolism during Lydia's long walk in much the same way as Ibsen's 'The Master Builder' was, according to Freud, all towers and skyward edifices. I don't particularly agree with that interpretation, after all: sometimes a cigar, is simply a cigar. For in this context; it's more to do with industrialism, production and commerce taking the place of genuine human interest and interaction. 'La Notte' requires some patience, but all who stick with it will be rewarded with an incredibly complex, well directed film that keeps on giving.
Adam Adamant is something of a neglected series from the sixties which is probably down to it being unfairly marred as a watered down version of the Avengers and that it was an attempt to do a ITC style show on a BBC budget.
So, have the years been kind to the show? Depends on your point of view as it's a very 1960's show and as such many elements have dated, but I feel that adds to the overall charm. Its starts off a little ropey with the first couple of episodes varying in quality as they unfold, the first episode for example opens excellently with Adam's arrival in the 1960's and his disorination wonderfully directed given the everyday sight of a busy London street seem quite bizarre, but it the overall plot of the rest of the episode is rather mundane with only the female crimelord raising it above medicority. The less said about the episode "More Deadly Then the Sword" the better. However the arrival of Jack May's character Simms seems to act as the catalyst for the show as the series picks up a pace as he becomes a player in the show. There on the episodes are often quite good fun, with some Avengers-ish silliness about them and some great crazy characters. "The Village of Evil", "The Terrible Happy Embalmers", "Black Echo" and "The Doomsday Plan" are the best of the episodes. Overall the picture and sound quality is good, the exception being the final three episodes which is a shame, Black Echo is in particulary bad shape.
Overall, a good package but it takes time to find its feet.
Having established his unconventional narrative style with 'Chronicle Of A Love' (1950), 'Camille Without Camellias' (1953) and 'The Girlfriends' (1955), Italian auteur Michelangelo Antonioni began work on the first of his 'Incommunicability Trilogy' all of which starred the glamorous, and immensely talented Monica Vitti. 'L'Avventura' ('The Adventure') is, in the loosest possible sense, a story about young bourgeois couple Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti) & Anna (Lea Massari), Anna's best friend Claudia (Vitti) and a Mediterranean boating trip during which Anna mysteriously disappears. Claudia & Sandro's "search" is somewhat of a misnomer; as it merely serves as a pretext for Sandro's amorous advances towards his fiancé's friend; Claudia reciprocates his attention whilst poor Anna, both fiancé and friend, is soon forgotten. Antonioni's films on loneliness & isolation are, unsurprisingly, best seen alone; like a painting in an empty corner of an art gallery, films like 'L'Avventura' offer the viewer an experience unlike any other. They exist, seemingly without purpose, and in doing so reflect a society unable, or unwilling, to determine its own sense of direction; this was as important an issue for Italians after World War II, as it is for us today. Back then, people questioned their judgement in allowing fascism to gain a foothold and, of course, pondered over the very real post-war concern about how other Rothschild created ideologies (manifested through militarised nation-state superpowers) would soon threaten to infringe upon civil liberties once more. Modernity, capitalism and industrialisation also make their debut as an uninvited triumvirate that marauds its way through the psychical landscape whilst stamping its superficial, treacherous creed upon the soul of humanity. Anna represents something lost within us, as 'L'Avventura' chases beauty, and searches for lost values like one asleep and dreaming; trying not to wake up, but knowing all too well the reality that awaits them when they do. Critics roundly mocked this film at Cannes, perhaps unaware of their own allegiance to the empty, materialist ideologies that Antonioni saw as a threat. But just like Claudia rethinks her relationship with Sandro, it was soon reappraised and hailed as an unparalleled work of cinematic genius, now, almost half a century later; we must concede that Antonioni was right, and 'L'Avventura' was a unique, beautiful warning: unheeded, denied, lost and rediscovered. Total Cinema.
Fur (subtitled An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus) is a rather strange film. At its heart it's not the breathy but brilliant Nicole Kidman (although she is its driving force), but the understated yet marvelous Robert Downey Jr, who proves he can do more than just talk fast about nonsense (which, lets face it, is what he often does). Indeed, Downey Jr.'s lines are said with such a subtle flourish, you start to wish you could get a recording of him reading out the weather or news headlines, if only just to hear those clear but smooth words rolled out once more. Nicole Kidman on the other hand, is to be admired more for her bravery than her performance here. Not many A list Hollywood actresses would accept the role of photographer Diane Arbus, even if it didn't carry the crafty "imaginary portrait of" tag. It is this little added theme (or rather reworking of her life) that gives the narrative it's main source of fuel: Nicole befriends a furry man. Not just any furry man, but a furry Robert Downey Jr. (he has a condition which causes fur to grow all over every part of his body) who entices her into his room by saying things like "I've lost my rabbit" and "Please disrobe". She first discovers this mysterious neighbor when clumps of his hair start to clog up the pipes in her apartment below his. She decides to visit him, and before long she's bathing with him and longing to take his picture, deciding she'd give her husband's profession a go for herself.
While watching this surreal tale unfold, you have to admire how Erin Cressida Wilson's screenplay has taken the centuries old story of Beauty and the Beast and twisted it to make a film that's paradoxically beautifully ugly. Although not at her best (and that's still very good by her high standards) Nicole Kidman isn't afraid to bare all emotionally and bodily. Her performance is still captivating without being as rich as some of her previous and later works. However, once the initial furry set up has been established, the movie doesn't endeavor to do much more with its brave story. There's some muttering about desire and more than what's needed on the nudism side of things, but nothing very substantial is served up. All the more annoying is that in real life Kidman's character, Diane Arbus, took her own life at 48, which is not shown or even mentioned.
It's hard to shake off the feeling that this mesmerising but puzzling film is a biopic masquerading as a fantasy tale, or maybe its the other way round. Whichever it may be, this is a good attempt to do something with the biopic genre, but unfortunately it doesn't grow on you like the fur on Downey Jr.'s skin.
1964 was a time when society struggled, as it does today, to hoist the banner of human decency above the morally emaciated political structure; held hostage by parasitic ideologues and imperial warmongers. Four years away from the backlash in Paris, four years away from breaking point, it was, in many ways, similar to the prevailing mood of today: tyranny had the upper hand and people, to a certain degree, felt powerless to stop it. Monica Vitti plays Giuliana; a fragile and sensitive young woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown; married to an absent industrialist and raising their child in the coastal east Italian town of Ravenna. Giuliana's escapist daydreams; told as stories to her son, tend to go on a little longer than necessary. And though they work to convey subjective time and her late-in-the-day longing for another life; a harsher juxtaposition with the industrial power plant would've alluded to Giuliana's internal struggle to reconcile reality with dreams, despair with hope and malaise with optimism. Canted shots of Giuliana walking through the industrial estate or of people's faces obscured by toxic smoke & fog, indicate that director Michelangelo Antonioni is using industrialism to represent an intrusive occupation of sorts; the physical manifestation of Giuliana's anxiety & alienation. Monica Vitti is truly remarkable in this picture: both powerful and vulnerable in the way that she initially recoils from the accepted promiscuity of the time, reluctantly participating but finding greater comfort & solace in choosing the colour scheme for an as yet non-existent shop. Her performance, though occasionally melodramatic, is an example of how good she really was and why 'The Red Desert' earns its place alongside what's usually perceived to be Antonioni's 'Incommunicability Trilogy' (i.e. 'L'Avventura', 'La Notte' and 'L'Eclisse'). 'Il Deserto Rosso' is different only because its in colour, other than that, I rate it as being an equal to those films with Monica Vitti's best onscreen performance, tied alongside 'L'Eclisse'. An underrated masterpiece.
The Coen brothers were on top form in 2008: travelling from one end of the cinematic spectrum with 'No Country For Old Men' to the other; with 'Burn After Reading': an offbeat, screwball comedy about a sacked CIA spy (the ever excellent John Malkovich), his unfaithful wife (steely Tilda Swinton) a smirking philander (George Clooney doing his Carey Grant schtick) and a pair of dim witted fitness instructors (Francis McDormand & Brad Pitt). Hilarious and intentionally convoluted, the story sees Pitt and McDormand stumble across a disc containing Malkovich's spy time memoirs, wrongly presuming its top secret information; this hapless, but likeable, duo make a bungled attempt to blackmail the cuckolded, stressed out former spy. Meanwhile, George Clooney is in bed with Malkovich's seemingly frigid, condescending wife (Tilda Swinton doing her 'evil sexy' thing from 'The Beach' and 'Narnia' again). Poor old John Malkovich; I was rooting for him the whole time, but alas, things soon turn nasty; and the throwaway hi-jinks of the first half become violent, and deadly at that. Consistently entertaining, but capped off with one of the funniest epilogues I've seen in years, for I guarantee you'll be in stitches by the time J.K. Simmons's CIA superior tries to make sense of it all. Incendiary humour.
Although in general my view of the program is high, there are some areas that the show lacks on.
I thought it would be best to start with these so it ends with all the good stuff. Will and Grace is meant to be a new age sit-com breaking down barriers and acting as a lead within a new frontier of acceptance. Though saying this, the program itself seems to lack passionate homosexual affections.
The series follows Will and Grace, Will a homosexual lawyer and Grace a Jewish designer. The shows main source of comedy is exposing the stereotypes and abusing them as much as they can (which works wonders). The series follows Grace"s love affairs whilst Will stands at the side always alone, if he goes on a date it most definitely will end badly. This continues for almost 7 seasons, but in season 7 he gets his first long term relationship within the show. Still lacking any heat from the audiences prospective. Grace is Grace she has her affairs, they break, she finds a new one and it's all good.
The side characters of Karen and Jack are loved by all that watch the show, Karen the high class snob/bitch and Jack the slut/camp queen. These characters not only mock everyone else but also themselves.
That is the beauty of the show, as a group of friends they don't hold back in mocking each other or themselves much like many do in real life.
The show is filled with clever one liners, references to other shows and of course humiliating situations.
Great fun, lots of laughs!
When I heard they were doing a fourth Indy movie, my first reaction was: isn't Ford too old for this? And when I read Sean Connery wouldn't be in it, I almost completely lost interest. Now, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is available on Blu-ray. To tell you the truth, no it isn't as good as the first three, but it isn't as bad as some would like you to believe. The Blu-ray treatment of this movie provides us with excellent picture and audio quality and makes Indy almost jump from the screen into your living room. Karen Allen as Marion doesn't quite cut it and Shia Labeouf is trying too hard to be Marlon Brando, but Harrison Ford is still the one and only Indiana Jones and right from the start you even forget you're looking at a guy who has reached the age of retirement. At certain moments Lucas and Spielberg have gone a little over the top (Tarzan scene, nuclear blast, the ending), but overall they stayed true to the spirit of the Indy series. Ultimately, the movie is a great way for the young to discover the world of Indiana Jones and it certainly is a nice piece of nostalgia for those of us who were around when the original three movies came out.
Could have been better, could have been worse!
Michael Mann's 'Heat' (1995) is one of my favourite films; an unrivalled urban masterpiece about obsessive professionalism starring Al Pacino & Robert De Niro, together onscreen for the first time (they were both in 'The Godfather Part II', but as you'll recall, their characters occupied different timelines) and though their one and only scene was a subtle, memorable encounter; Mann, like all good storytellers, left us wanting more. 'Righteous Kill' marks a long overdue reunion and finds an unlikely, but competent, director in Jon Avnet ('Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café'). Old school cops Turk (De Niro) and Rooster (Pacino) set about on an investigation to uncover the poetry killer, who many suspect to be a cop; our heroes are ably supported by rival detectives John Leguizamo (great as usual) & Donnie Whalberg (who also played a policeman on Avent's short lived TV drama 'Boomtown') whilst Turk's girlfriend, CSI and nymphomaniac; Carla Gugino, holds her own alongside the heavyweight cast. Brian Dennehy & Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson also make credible cameos as Russell 'Inside Man' Gewirtz's serviceable screenplay rolls along to its somewhat unremarkable, but well acted, conclusion. Spliced with the occasional laugh out loud one-liner, like De Niro mumbling: "She's got my sperm count so low, I have to sit down to take a piss" delivered with his trademark look: baffled & grimacing, 'Righteous Kill' makes for an entertaining, well-paced procedural, with our leads on top form; neither tries to upstage the other and though you'll probably guess the twist quite early on, its still great to see this legendary duo exchanging quips whilst playing out the whole 'buddy cop' routine. Not in the same league as 'Heat' but 'Righteous Kill' is, in many ways, a lot more fun and leaves you wondering why De Niro & Pacino don't work together more often. For as Al might say: "Good shot partner, HOO-HAH!".
A great series, so different from the usual detective yarns. It was these differences that made it stand out from the oh-so-plentiful cop fare. The main difference was that it seemed that is was Branagh's troubled detective that was the focus of these stories, not the crimes he was solving. His lonely personal life and his difficult relationship with his daughter, and his aging parents in many series would be the obstacle to be pushed aside at the important points in his work (ie the crime to be solved), but here they take centre stage. Branagh's performance was poignant, and the grey landscapes through which he moved were beautifully filmed. On the downside, other characters and performances were much less memorable (probably only by comparison with Branagh, so an inevitably unfavourable comparison since his character Wallander does give the series its name and takes centre stage at all times). Another thing some may not enjoy, it all felt rather grim. Not one if you like high-octane adventure, but thoughtful and engrossing.
A troubled Swedish cop struggles with his personal life and some nasty crimes in a sombre landscape.
When it comes to the Coen brothers, I tend to like the films most people don't (e.g. 'Intolerable Cruelty') and hate the ones most critic's love (e.g. 'Fargo', 'The Big Lebowski'). But for once we're all in agreement; as their adaptation of Cormack McCarthy's novel is stripped down, brass tacks filmmaking at its best; its John Sayles, Penkinpah, Dahl and Tarantino all rolled into one. This tense, vicious, ultraviolet thriller about a lone psychopath (excellent Javier Bardem) on the rampage, is probably the sibling's most accomplished work to date, with an impressive transitional performance by erstwhile soap star Josh Bolin, strong support by the underrated Kelly Macdonald and a typically laconic, if somewhat over familiar, turn by Tommy Lee Jones. 'No Country For Old Men' is a kinetic meditation on the nature of violence; as Bardem's cold blooded killer occasionally decides a victim's fate on the toss of a coin; alluding to a string of characters from Batman's Harvey 'Two Face' Dent to George Cockcroft's 'The Dice Man' and Robert Forster's Jake Nyman in Paul Chart's 'American Perfekt' (1997). Javier Bardem also stated in an interview that his character was, in some ways, the manifestation of U.S. imperialism; in his ruthlessness and wanton brutality, for its Bardem who steals the show: turning in another bravura performance, albeit one that doesn't fully employ the imposing Spaniard's Burton-esque vocal power and eloquence. A film of immeasurable intensity with a taut narrative structure and raw power that resonates with the kind of fury we haven't seen in cinema since 'Bloody Sam' sent Warren Oates on a deadly mission to find Alfredo Garcia's bonce. Graphic violence aplenty, but with just enough scope to address the wider implications of its character's motives and actions. An instant classic
I really enjoyed this!
It had gripping bits and carnage bits and some Star Wars inspired bits.
It's generally good fun, especially when the Americans role up, which is quite funny, becasue we love to hate them even when they do such a good job.
Brilliant! The Family Stone is actually a Christmas movie. At times very funny, other times extremely touching. Diane Keaton is especially brilliant, Luke Wilson is hilarious and all-in-all the film has a great ensemble cast. You can watch it every year, especially at Christmas.Your family will never appear disfunctional again!!!
Brazil, 1997: Life's no fiesta in Rio De Janeiro's poverty stricken favelas, and it's not exactly a barrel of laughs for city cops either, especially if you're part of the hardcore 'BOPE' ('Special Police Operation Battalion'). Veteran Capitão Nascimento (Wagner Moura) is about to become a father, hence decides to turn in his semi-automatic and military issue beret for a life of domestic bliss, but before he can hang up his gun-belt for good, Nascimento has to choose a successor and ensure all security checks are in place for an upcoming Papal visit. Clichéd trainee recruits Mathias (conscientious, idealistic) and Neto (edgy, instinctive) are natural heirs to the 'Elite Squad' throne, though both are quickly made to face facts with regards to the complexities of policing a sprawling, crime-ridden city where corruption is commonplace and violence a way of life. Director José Padilha, best known for his docudrama 'Bus 174', has crafted an intense but morally dubious picture, and though its lurid realism ought to be commended, 'Elite Squad' is best seen as propagandistic entertainment and not some intellectual treatise on statecraft, law & order, if anything, Padilha's feature film debut suggests he's the Joe 'Narc' Carnahan of Brazilian cinema: employing slick camera moves, shutter speed changes, gritty violence and constructing short, well choreographed, handheld shootouts. Narrated by Nascimento, you'll soon detect an undercurrent of self-aggrandising delusion; in that this unit clearly prides itself as the first line of defence against all manner of criminality, though it's not so much an incorruptible force of justice, as it is a glorified death squad in the tradition of 'Scuderie LeCoq' or 'Mão Branca'. "A strategy only has logic, when the mission has purpose" says Nascimento, and to Padilha's credit, we're placed in situations where life & death decisions are made in the blink of eye, but usually resolved in a hail of gunfire or a plastic bag over the head. It's a sad, complex situation over there; in that the predominately black slum dwellers have been impoverished by the white controlled state in a sinister, clandestine apartheid (as depicted in 'City Of God'), and yet many of these young Brazilians, descendants of the eight million or so Africans kidnapped by European colonists and sold into slavery, have embraced crime as a means to arm themselves against the state and rival gangs; the inevitable blowback being a drugs /gun crime epidemic. And you have to question what kind of state the powers that be are running, when a people are so embittered with their lot, that they'd rather spend all they have on high calibre weaponry; and turn their rolling shanty towns into fortified citadels, than contemplate any kind of engagement with Brasilia. Brazil, just like North America, England, France and other imperial nations, wanted slaves forever; but when it became apparent that those days were over: they swept them, and the legacy of their own crime, under the carpet (i.e. into the ghettos) thus ex-slaves, a constant reminder of the state's sin, wandered into an inchoate war, formed an independent, socio-economic sub-culture of sorts, but never quite capitalised upon their hard earned freedom. Everything seems to have an air of transparency in developing countries, a noticeable fragility in stark contrast to the often harsh conditions endured by it's people: and corruption is as brazen as anything else, unlike in our hemisphere; where corruption occurs on a far greater scale, but is usually done behind closed doors to sell the illusion of fair play. 'Elite Squad' is very similar to João Moreira Salles & Kátia Lund's excellent documentary 'News From A Personal War' which is included as a special feature on the 'City Of God' DVD, and in some ways; you're better off watching that, as its essentially the same thing only better lit, and doesn't rely on sensationalism to get the message across, for 'Elite Squad', to its detriment, regularly slips into OTT, gung-ho theatrics and at times almost resembles a Latin American version of 'The Shield' or your average Hollywood action movie. One of the reasons why 'News From A Personal War' worked so well, was because it identified extreme poverty as the common hell from which both cop and criminal fight to escape, it also depicted the widening gap between rich & poor in Rio and defined the paradigm of violence / detached plutocratic greed which keeps these forces at each other's throats. Some critics suggest Padilha's trying to create a documentary feel with the use of voiceover, though I found it was more in keeping with Scorcese's use of narration in 'Casino', especially since he'll use freeze frame at a point of action, it tends to go on a little longer than required, unlike in 'City Of God' where it was used sparingly to introduce each story, though you can't help but smile at 'Dirty Harry' style one-liners like: "when I see a movement against violence, I have the urge to give them a beating" or Capitão's classic: "You belong with the whores, the pimps and the abortion clinics". Morality is also up for debate, and though these characters often find themselves in contrived predicaments, neither cop nor criminal occupies a clear moral high ground, (though the film's incessant attempts at trying to tell us how to think, tend to backfire) police brutality clashes with a petit bourgeois middle class who're accused of facilitating the drugs trade with their use of cannabis, and yet our narrator is haunted by the death of a suspect he turned state's evidence only to release him back into the city a marked man. 'ES' never quite sells us on the idea that a unit has to resemble a cult to be effective; for 'Elite Squad', like cops the world over, aren't above carrying out massacres or crimes, as anyone whose seen Hector Babenco's excellent, fact based Brazilian prison drama 'Carandiru' will know; Padilha also neglects to mention that anytime Central America's cousin up north decides to orchestrate a coup, its usually in-house paramilitaries like 'Elite Squad' who're put on the payroll, and told to do their dirty work (see 'The War On Democracy' for details). Justice never prevails through incessant bureaucracy or ideological paradigms, for as Jonathan Swift wrote in his 'Critical Essay upon the Faculties of the Mind' (1707): "Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through." And that's the real problem, 'Elite Squad' may strafe some drug barons here and there, but they'll never get close to an industry that operates within, and rots the core of the very system they serve. 'Elite Squad' lacks narrative fluidity and isn't as good as 'City Of God' nor as informative as 'News From A Personal War', nonetheless, it's an enthralling, well-acted movie, and if nothing else; you'll learn how to say "motherf***er" in Portuguese. With films like 'Man Of The Year', 'Ó Paí, Ó' and 'Linha de Passeis', Brazil is fast becoming one to watch in the world of international cinema, though 'Elite Squad' falls short of its contemporaries and instead makes for entertaining, if brutal, propaganda.
Gripping tough thriller, similar in direction to 'We Own The Night', itself a riff off 'The Departed'. Ed Norton is on fine form as usual; this time he's a cynical NY detective bought in to investigate the murder of four cops and is soon drawn into an interdepartmental conspiracy with his brother-in-law and fellow police officer Colin Farrell (who makes for an excellent villian) at its centre. 'Pride & Glory' occasionally falls back on cop conventions & clichés but if you liked 'Narc', you'll love this.
Kristin Scott Thomas in French. An intriguing, excellently acted, if sometimes self conscious and self-important picture, which has a point to make about a certain life or death issue; adopting a stance that's bound to provoke some debate. Kristin Scott Thomas gives one of the best performances of her career, and though it's not the kind of film you'd ever watch again and there is one major plot-hole, 'I've Loved You So Long' definitely deserves to be seen, if only for Kirsten's brilliant, haunting portrayal of a lonely & tortured woman.
Ha Ha, this film is class! I haven't seen it for about a year! I won't ruin the story for you, but it's definitely worth a watch!
It's a mad film and not to be taken too seriously, but if you like a good laugh, this is the one to watch...
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