What have you watched recently? 3D!
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The Mummy (1999)
Watched this last night just out of interest as it had a lot of chat around it earlier this year when Fraiser was doing the awards circuit. A lot of people claiming it was done dirty on its release and was a far better film than the audiences of 1999 would lead you to believe.
There's loads of questionable white people behaviour, and there's only one female character after the intro, but I can generally overlook that in a film from the past if its at least entertaining. This however I just found very boring, and long, and kind of repetitive. I was also expecting some great steamy romance (based on what people have said) but Fraiser and Weisz had very little chemistry, and both characters were paper thin.
I know it's just a 90s popcorn blockbuster, and for many people it holds a nostalgic place in their hearts, but it did nothing for me.
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I think it's just that given the state of blockbusters these days, anything remotely competent from the last Ideas Driven era - the 1990s - suddenly seems retroactively amazing. I wouldn't call that 1999 film boring as such myself but definitely a smidge overrated, being a simple Indiana Jones knock off from noted Nostalgist Stephen Sommers. But again, compared with what studios churn out now it positively ranks alongside Spielberg's films in comparison.
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Doctor Strange
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Blood & Gold (2023)
As is often the case, it's only when you watch the imitator that you get a better sense of what made the original brand alluring in the first place: so while I've not entirely bought into Tarantino's schtick of exploitation cinema deployed as high art, watching Blood & Gold left me feeling that he still knew how to thread the needle when making films with potentially clashing, oversized tonal energies. Inglourious Basterds was the inescapably obvious inspiration with this Netflix movie - though structurally, it was also transparently a Spaghetti Western moved wholesale into 1945 Germany. From plot beats to character tropes, to even the font used in the credits; even a casual moviegoer would recognise a Sergio Leone adjacent Western wearing other clothes.
On balance this certainly had a lot of entertainment value: it was handsomely shot and looked great; had tighter pacing and was less baggy than Peter Thorwarth's previous genre flick, Blood Red Sky; and it had some robust set-pieces with one standout hand-to-hand fight. Plus, who doesn't enjoy watching revenge brought upon a bunch of Nazis? But the whole experience was still lacking ... eh, I dunno... something. Some ineffable, vital aspect of amped-up chaos or anarchy I'd have liked when all the inspirations were this blatant. Every time the film threatened to dovetail into proper exploitation fuelled glee, it stayed its hand - ultimately limping to the finish line with a curiously anti-climactic finale. Having teased the disparate factions eventually coalescing around the titular gold, when they did it was ... fine but not quite worth the wait either.
Now. Here comes the pretension. To really leap into the waters of rampant unfounded speculation: I wonder was that missing X Factor because it was a German production? That the lingering societal & cultural desire to be soberly reflective about WW2 made the production collectively uneasy in being truly frivolous over a setting and situation notedly obscene and tragic. Orrrrr... maybe it's as simple as it being a Perfectly Mediocre Netflix Movie, without adding unnecessary social context to explain away my preconceptions and underwhelmed response. Sometimes good is good enough?
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Casablanca , junior is doing the LC this year so we watched this over the weekend, one interesting fact I had picked up was that the French cast were obviously ex pats so when they had the sing off with the Germans, they werent acting, a powerful scene. A lot of early 40's films arent watchable either due to the quality of the copies or hammy plots/dialogue if it involves the nazis but this film rises above this.
A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer
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Reality
One of those Edward Snowden type films. Not about him, but someone else in a similar position. Passable. Not much to it, but was interesting in how crazy the yanks are about this kind of thing. Apparently the dialogue was the exact dialogue used on the day of the event in question. Some of it is fairly cringe from the FBIs perspective. Id give it a 7/10
Hypnotic
Daft sci-fi thing with Ben Afleck. Entertaining though if you want a bit of mindless action with a sci-fi element. Just don’t go looking for plotholes!! 6 out of 10
The Last Deal
Subpar drug dealer movie – cross between Traffic and American Made, but not near as good as either. Some of the acting is bordering on Lifetime movie levels. 6 out of 10
Blackberry
Good movie charting the rise and fall of the Blackberry phone, and the dynamics behind t he scenes. 8 out of 10
Evil Dead Rise
Not a great horror. Wasn’t scary, and just depended on blood everywhere and plenty of vomit. Much better horrors out there. 5 out of 10
Follow Her
One of those films where the subject matter is one of the characters over-the-top use of social media. Was interesting for a while. I watched it a week ago. I was trying to think there how it actually finished up in the end, but I cannot remember. So it obviously didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. I’ll give it a 7 out of 10 cause I do remember thinking it was fairly good.
Air
Loved this. Charts the breakthrough of Air Jordans. Very well done. 9 out of 10
Missing
Same idea as Searching. Keeps you guessing and involved in the movie. Quite interesting 7.5 out of 10.
Influencer
Another one with over-use of social media devices. I liked this. But it did have the predictable ending that you would perceive would happen as the movie progressed – 7 out of 10
Unfriended; and Unfriended The Dark Web
Watched both of these. I thought they were interesting. Similar in context to Searching and Missing. But completely different stories. Keeps you entertained throughout. Bit daft, but switch the brain off and you will get some element of entertainment - may 6.5 out of 10.
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The Cable Guy, a bit of a flop in it’s day but I think it’s hilarious. Carey can be a bit too goofy at times. Takes an aim at the constant tv cycle culture that you could apply to social media today.
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Chocolate
I fancied rewatching this as it's been ages since I saw it last. I'd forgotten that it opens with some absolutely leaden by-the-numbers turf-dispute-between-gangs stuff that the film would be better without. Once that part of the story is out of the way, it's a lot more fun - the fights with Zen are entertaining to watch (although this time around I was more aware of the overlaid sound effects used to try and sell the idea of Zen's blows hitting harder than they actually do), and one aspect of the fight choreography I found myself particularly appreciating is Zen's use of confined spaces as a way to gain advantage. The fight against the boy with Tourette's still feels like a bad gimmick, but at least it doesn't take up too much time.
I do find it interesting that, having relatively recently re-watched The Raid, it has clearly shifted my personal bar for action-focused films like this - in that not only was I bored by the opening 15 minutes of generic turf-war guff, I honestly think the film would be better without it. It's the kind of thing where, in story terms, it could have been dealt with as 2 minutes of exposition in the present day rather than 20 minutes of prologue.
Surge
I missed this when it was originally released but caught it on iPlayer this weekend. Stylistically it's quite reminiscent of the Safdie's Good Time, but the character at its core is quite different. As much as anything else, I think Surge is about anxiety and living under the stresses of life in a megacity like London - and how someone might crack under that stress.
I do wish I'd gotten to see this at the cinema, as the use of sound is very considered and a key part of understanding Joseph's state of mind throughout the film, particularly in the third act.
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Sleepwalkers
I haven't seen this in ages and wanted to revisit it since I saw director Mick Garris in Dublin a few years ago. Happy to see that it hasn't lost any of its charm.
An early 90's creature feature written by Stephen King, it's better than it has any right to be, mainly because the script is actually a decent King original and Garris takes the whole thing quite seriously.
Madchen Amick really should have gone on to be a star after this and Twin Peaks.
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Tenet (2020)
Said I'd give this a watch as I'm looking forward to Nolan's upcoming work "Oppenheimer" due to my interest in the actual production of the bomb. The writing is off the scale terrible. The protagonist of the film is thrown into the mix basically involved with some sort of dodgy clandestine CIA operation to scam somebody in eastern europe. and then he gets caught, then he gets killed, then he gets resurrected, all the while you, me, the actual audience knows nothing about him, not even this gadge's name. Then he gets thrown into some convoluted plan dictated from somebody on high to rescue the universe, because some wan in a white coat has discovered that some bullets go backwards.
The whole thing is just an elaborate set-up in order for Nolan to execute some real time shot action set-pieces. And fair play to him, he does it to great effect, a lot of the best ones without CGI. But the writing of the story and the characters is absolutely f**king terrible. So the frequent, elaborate set pieces are totally worthless to the audience, when the protagonist human story element to the story is about as relatable to the audience as the problems of an insect. Everybody in this thing is a untrustworthy character. And the main "villain" is about as sinister as the easter bunny, precisely because everybody else in this thing is portrayed as some dodge-ball, drunk, oligarchs moll, liar or some anonymous protagonist who you don't give a single $hite about. The whole enterprise is a total waste of time. A mash up of James Bond vs The Matrix. Boring/10
"You have disgraced yourselves again" - W. B. Yeats
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
My immediate first impression was basically a sense of surprise: that it was decidedly ... odd? Unique? Brave, maybe, in its approach?
That something ostensibly designed for kids would lean heavily into the tragic duality and sadness permeating through the life of Bruce Wayne - rather than front-loading some superficial, thrilling adventures involving Batman alone. Now. There was still plenty of that across the approximate 76 minutes, with the action set-pieces gripping and elaborately staged - often serving a narrative purpose as well. In terms of the overall focus however? It has to be said: at the film's core this was Bruce's story and about the choices he made as a young man - and continued to live with, even as the potential for happiness returned. The emotionality from this focus on Bruce's persisting trauma gave everything far more heft than I'd have ever thought likely with something of this ilk.
It also asked questions about the supposed "adult", live-action adaptations that have defaulted to one, angst-infused speed across the myriad of attempts since Schumacher's toy commercials imploded so badly. That subtle line between sadness and misery, where Synder, Nolan and Reeves all decided the latter was more "cinematic". Even when this approach was openly mocked by Will Arnett's Lego Batman(!), it wasn't enough to shift the needle; if anything, Matt Reeves' Batman was the most fúcking insufferable of the lot (great looking movie, but cheer up Bruce, FFS).
And Kevin Conroy's performance reminded why his work remained as celebrated as it was: the whole trope of a "growling" Batman has become the stuff of melodrama or parody, but Conroy showed the rest how it's done by giving his two personas difference through subtly, not volume. The voice of Batman a shade deeper, more pointed in its delivery, while Conroy's Bruce Wayne would speak with affected levity, masking sorrow, and cracked the moment he thought nobody was watching. Some of his line deliveries were a bit off here, but damn this was Conroy setting the bar - one supposedly more famous actors have yet to hit, it could be argued.
For sure the dialogue here had that feel of its complexity scalped, all so its younger audience wouldn't be lost, but what remained was surprisingly nuanced all the same. Meanwhile a little blood here and there, plus some more crunching physicality in the violence also gave things more impact and severity than the original TV show often possessed (especially those later seasons, when Robin & Bat-Girl turned up).
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The Covenant
Enjoyable decently well written put together fare. Have to dock a few marks as some of the action scenes had an unrealistic ramboness to them which didn't match the style and quality of what was happening on screen between them. I.e Taliban shooting down from above on a ridge emptying automatic weapons on the heros with no effect while said heros do a quick spray of bullets over shoulder on the run and take out all the Taliban etc etc.
CREED 3
Formulaic , by the numbers but just good old fist pumping fun. Very Cool kind of Psychedelic effect in one fight scene at one point which was a nice touch.
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The Covenant was really good alright. Way way better than I thought. It is not based on a true story.
Not quite as good as a similar movie - Argo. But close.
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Calibre. Two friends from Edinburgh go on a hunting trip to the Highlands and things go bad. Very effective and tense thriller with some elements of “you’re not from around here, are you”.
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In what has been a bit of a trend for my in recent months, I stuck on The Black Phone having read good things about it and was left underwhelmed. It's fine, don't get me wrong, but for me at least very much a Watch Once And Forget kind of film - and even if you didn't realise it was based on a Joe Hill short story you'd know there was a Stephen King connection because at times it feels perilously close to mediocre Stephen King fanfiction (which, given the quality of some of King's lesser output, is quite the feat).
The storytelling is a bit stilted at times and there are a couple of characters who are blatant 45-year-old men wearing child suits, but in its defence it does at least not have any full-on pants-on-head stupid moments. (There is a specific plot element involving the sister that comes quite close, though).
I am 0% interested in a sequel, particularly since that's entirely driven by "it made a bunch of money relative to its budget" rather than "there is another interesting story we want to tell in this setting ".
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Three Days of The Condor (1975)
I'd seen this a few years ago and rewatched it yesterday. I loved all the espionage stuff and the cat and mouse game between Robert Redford and Max von Sydow. Less successful was the storyline involving Fay Dunaway. She's a great actor and I like her inclusion in the movie, but I don't like how she becomes part of the story. It's a bit of clunky plotting.
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Infinity Pool
Latest effort from Cronenberg the younger, it doesn't hit as well as Possessor but still worth a watch. A struggling writer goes to a resort in a fictional, very poor country with his wife to find inspiration. After meeting a weird couple, an incident occurs where he falls foul of the law and in this country, all crimes are punishable by death.
Or, you can pay to have yourself cloned and the cloned version is executed in your place.
Yep, you read that right.
So begins a downright trippy journey in what can only be described as Gaspar Noe visuals melded with David Cronenberg body horror elements and an intriguing story.
Junior is certainly showing some flair in his works and while still behind his dad's best by a good stretch, there is alot of promise there.
Not as shockingly violent as Possessor, there are still some pretty brutal scenes and some nice little twists throughout.
6.5/10
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A couple of pick-ups from a recent trip to HMV Belfast:
Predator in 4K. I haven't watched this in decades and decided to upgrade my unwatched Blu Ray (that's another story) copy and what a treat it was! Fun from start to finish, over the top and cheesy, but for whatever reason it just works. It looks amazin and it sounds even better. I know I bang on a bit about instrumental electronic music as scores but this is just incredible - I've since looked for copies of the CD soundtrack and they sell for obscene amounts on ebay/amazon etc. It's on the Varese Sarabande label; those of you who are familiar with soundtracks will likely know it. It's not my usual genre and it's not exactly Best Picture material but I'm going to give it one of the highest scores I've ever given here for any movie and any genre 9/10 for the sheer fun of it all.
Pour Elle on DVD. Remade as The Next Three Days with Russell Crowe which I have seen and from memory quite enjoyed, this is the French language original and more familiar territory genre wise for me. I remember not being able to get this with subtitles when it came out first on DVD so I've waited a long time to watch it. Whilst my French is pretty good and I could watch most films or TV shows without aid, I do occasionally need the back up of subtitles for the more colloquial and slang language scenes. Anyway, despite being from 2008 it hold up perfectly. A very solid French thriller. 7.5/10
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A History of Violence - 2005
I had watched this in the cinema on release and I remember being disappointed - I'll admit that the younger me wanted to watch something like John Wick, and I found the family drama side boring.
On re-watch, a (slightly) more mature me found the family scenes the most compelling, and there's a beautiful subtlety to the acting that passed the younger me by. Mortensen is very impressive in the role and really does a great job of showing the different man that lives beneath the surface. Maria Bello is fantastic as the wife and you really feel for her as everything she thought she knew about her husband is effectively wiped away, and her life is shattered. Ed Harris excellent as always in a very Ed Harris role.
The final scene is very striking, however, the final act is probably the weakest of the film in my opinion. I'm surprised William Hurt got an Oscar nod for his part in it, and in all honesty I would have preferred if that time was spent more with Ed Harris's character, and the fallout with the family.
However that's only a relatively small criticism of a film I found excellent, and I'm glad I returned to it.
Rounders (1998)
This is a film that kick-started the career of the guys who would go on to create Billions/Super Pumped, which will probably tell you early doors whether this is a film for you or not.
It stars Matt Damon and Ed Norton as two poker players under pressure to win big to pay back their debts. The dialogue and the poker exposition are both the best and the worst part of the film - when it works it sucks you in and really engages you with what is happening on screen, but at times it can be a word soup which confuses a relatively straightforward position on the table.
Damon and Norton are both fine in roles that aren't really a challenge to them - watchable enough but far from essential.
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Norton does an excellent turn as a sleazeball in Rounders, always remember it.
Malkovich’s performance is ridiculous and way OTT.
Its not a classic (agreed), but I do have a soft spot for Rounders. I watch it about once every 2 years, mainly for Norton.
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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
A lot of people say the 1970's was the best decade for American based Cinema, mainly down to mitigating factors such as works done around this time were the actual best they ever put out, the first two Godfather films, the likes of Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, Dog Day Afternoon et al. But this one, this one is literally the best. A lot of the themes this film touches on are extremely relevant to this current cultural zeitgeist we all now find ourselves in. The total authoritarian belief that the bureaucratic control system 'du jour' knows best, but in reality, knows absolutely nothing, only the semblance of its own handed down doctrine from some bureaucrat gone before. Which doesn't benefit the majority in any way at all.
There is no way this film would be allowed to be made today, not from some major American based studio anyways. And that is the reason, if anybody hasn't seen it, you should watch this fantastic work immediately. Funny, realistic and absolutely heartbreaking. Even if you have seen it and haven't done so in a while, do as I did, and enjoy the brilliance. Total 10/10
Infinity Pool (2023)
Total soulless nonsense. This thing is labelled as some sort of forward pushing sci-fi shock show but all it is is a badly made B-movie with no soul, no resonance, no connection to any of the characters and an actual constant ludicrousness all the way through it, mainly down to the constant comic book drone Tim Hecker soundtrack that is literally thrown into the mix in every scene. It wants to be shocking but after an hour of this $hite you literally feel you are stuck in a lift up to your hotel room after a bad night out in some tourist kip resort surrounded by total ****. 2/10
"You have disgraced yourselves again" - W. B. Yeats
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Malignant
This started out like your standard James Wan haunted house movie. I’ve no problem with that as he does this sort of thing very well.
But about half way through there are a couple of bonkers moments that completely send the film in a different direction.
There’s about five different genres of horror film in one here and it’s directed quite gleefully by Wan.
Very good fun if you’re prepared to go along with the madness.
Woman is the Future of Man / Tale of Cinema
Two early films from South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo. I’ve seen a lot of his recent stuff (though it’s hard to track down outside of festival screenings) so it was nice of Arrow to release these on Blu ray.
Of the two I preferred Tale of Cinema. Like most of his films, it’s about young creative people meeting up, getting drunk, stumbling around in their lives.
There is a clever narrative framework used as well here that throws a different light on the first half of the film.
Charming stuff.
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The Game (1997)
Fincher really indulged in some proper Hitchcock-inflected styling with this early-doors thriller: a story of constant melodramatic about-turns ... but ones that came with such regularity and constant escalation, that by the time the finale rolled I had nearly given up on this thing. The uptick into actual preposterous levels of contrivance and convenience bordered on lunacy. This was a script almost entirely saved by the talent of the man bringing it to life: even this early in his career, Fincher's slick, laser-focused direction gave everything that deeply neo-noir feel; a discordant soundtrack constantly kept me on edge, mirroring the lead character's encroaching paranoia; while Fincher's customary misanthropic sincerity of tone was embedded within the foundational conspiracy. All of that polish and skill just about kept things on the right side of credibility. I say "just about", 'cos that script still tried its level best to let everything spiral into hyperventilating nonsense. And then, and then, and then...
Mind you: that's not to wilfully ignore the fact Fincher has quite gleefully directed the shít out of pulpy, throwaway material since these early days - Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl stand bold & proud as proof of that - but there was something deeply ... well... kinda stupid about this film. An overblown, over-cranked morality tale that felt more akin to those ludicrous "lessons" taught to the Bluth children in (the now 20 years old) Arrested Development. The scripts of Fincher's later cinematic adaptations had a degree of nous that balanced potentially warring ingredients in the inherent seedy melodrama of the story, and the humanity of the emotionally broken human-beings within it all.
Instead with this film Fincher was directing something that untethered itself from reality the further it went on - and given two of the writers behind this worked on Terminator: Salvation and Catwoman (yes, the Halle Berry one), perhaps that doesn't come as too much of a surprise.
Yet if that sounds like a constant stream of negativity? Inane as the last act might have become... I enjoyed every minute of it.
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It's certainly a story that could have done with being a little stupid alright. Especially the ending which is where I think I eventually noped out. How the organisation could have known what Douglas would have done in that moment is just far, far, too implausible.
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I went from "ha, that's cute" as the first twists came, to just "wait. what? How can they have set that up?". If it weren't for Fincher I'd quite probably bailed because only his swagger kept it together.
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Fincher is definitely the keystone that keeps the film entertaining and I've seen the film about three times now. But I think, at this point, it's kinda become a guilty pleasure.
Definitely under a "lesser" director, I think I'd hate it probably.
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Children of Men
First rewatch since catching it in cinema when first released.
It's bloody good.
Sets up a very convincing post apocalyptic society just with clever set design , tv pieces and radio play in the backround in cafes , cars etc without having to do a mad max style voice over or intro explanation thing.
Great achievement for what looks like a lowish budget and no CGI.
The plot is straightforward and simple but the pacing in this film is spot on. Once we are set up and immersed it takes off into a chase movie and doesn't let the foot off the gas.
I'll give it an 8 or 9, good black mirror style concept done justice , solid entertainment and convincing immersive world building.
Bravo!
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Amores Perros (2000)
This is the first film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, and the first in the "Trilogy of Death", with 21 Grams and Babel. It has a three-part structure, the first part deals with a teenager who gets involved in dog-fighting, the second part is about a model struggling to deal with the aftermath of a car crash, and the third part is about a hitman trying to reconcile with an estranged daughter. The "common incident" that ties the stories together is a brutal car crash.
The violence of the film is incredibly powerful, whilst we don't see the dogfights, they are shocking and disturbing. Likewise, the beatings and attacks characters suffer are very visceral and real to the viewer.
The cast is excellent; even characters with limited screen time make a huge impact.
Overall a very engaging and striking film
Personal Shopper (2016)
A film by Oliver Assayas (most famous for Irma Vep). Kirstin Stewart is the Personal Shopper of a famous actor and is trying to deal with the trauma of her brother's sudden death. She is obsessed with the idea of him sending her a message from the afterlife, and these are the two pursuits we follow her with throughout the story.
Stewart is very impressive, vulnerable and sympathetic, and clearly keeping people at a distance, to her own detriment.
However, there is a plot choice made in the latter part of the film that could have been done better and didn't really work for me. It's a pity as it would have turned a very good film into an excellent one.
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A double bill by Steven Soderbergh...
Sex, lies and Videotape (1989)
A remarkable debut, that is far more about talking about sex and intimacy than showing the actual act itself. It's a tightly knitted story where is really the four main characters we see, and each of the actors is excellent in their role. James Spader gets a lot of attention for playing the outsider with the view on sex that really drives the whole plotline, but I really felt that Andie McDowell is the heart and soul of this film.
It's her reaction to the other characters that define them best, and her character's arc is the most compelling in the film. Rarely have I left a film as impressed with an actor's performance.
Traffic (2000)
Arguably his most famous work, and about as different to the above as I could possibly imagine. As a director, with the exception of Spielberg, I don't know anyone who has covered so many genres. I would caveat that by saying I don't think Soderbergh excels at this practice, however, this film probably showcases his strengths more than any other.
We follow a number of characters through this, Michael Douglas as he deals with his daughter's drug addiction and the consequences this brings, Benicio Del Torro as a Mexican police officer on the frontline of the war on drugs, Catherine Zeta-Jones as the wife of a cartel boss and Don Cheadle as a DEA Agent.
Each of the interlocking stories is told in a different way, with even visual cues to mark certain plotlines. We see all aspects of the drug trade, from the political noise around it, the practical impact on the end users, and the efforts (and futility) of the police enforcement around it.
The film manages to do this without becoming a preachy exercise or changing the characters into 2d dimensional metaphors. Soderberg really brings his entire skillset to bear on this to great results.
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Pedantic parsnip here but is it post apocalyptic? 🤔 I always saw it more like the last gasp of society before it went truly to the dogs; Britain clinging to its sense of structure and civility as things looked ready to completely fell apart, as the last generation started ageing and the UK nosedived with the rest of the world. I've banged the drum before about this idea of the "pre apocalyptic" genre - this IMO would be a good contender?
A truly fantastic, haunting film that yeah, I haven't seen since release so must have a look. Especially for that one take in the last act - a proper "one take" as well IIRC. Clive Owen though: for a brief moment seemed to be a real solid star, then just faded away into slight DTV irrelevance?
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