Netflix And Chill: The Northman (2022)

There are some key words and phrases that I try to avoid in my movie reviews. I don't ever say "we stan *insert whatever performer/director/selling point here*". It's ridiculous, and reduces an opinion to something that seems to be revelling in how much it can lack objectivity. I also try to avoid referring to any films as "just vibes", but I'm not as staunchly against that descriptor. Sometimes films are that way, they can be sumptuous mood pieces, washing over you and being appreciated for the fact that they're . . . just vibes.

The Northman is a muddy and bloody Viking tale. It has the usual gorgeousness you'd expect from director Robert Eggers, who also co-wrote the film with Sjón (based on a classic tale by Saxo Grammaticus), and there's a cast that includes Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Bjork, among others (keep your eyes peeled for both Kate Dickie and Ralph Ineson in small roles, making this a bit of a The Witch mini-reunion). The Northman is all of that, but it's also . . . vibes.

A King is killed. That happens near the start of The Northman. Many years pass. A young child grows up to be a strong man (Amleth, played by Skarsgård), and that man wants revenge. His mother (Kidman) has become the wife of his father's murderer (Fjölnir, played by Bang), which may make things tricky as Amleth plans to slaughter anyone who gets in his way. He's helped in his resolve by Olga (Taylor-Joy).

While the dialogue is fine throughout, and delivered with a wonderful emphasis on the accents that feel as if they are natural in the onscreen world, The Northman is a film all about the visuals. The story is very simple, and the cast are all more than up to the tasks given to them, which allows Eggers plenty of time to indulge himself throughout the 137-minute runtime. This may well be his most beautiful film, and that is really saying something. The main narrative allows for a stark, almost monochromatic, visual style throughout, and there are set-pieces that play out like animated tableaux.

If you don't think Skarsgård can do this kind of role in his sleep then I would argue that you've never seen him in any of his other acting roles. He's superb, and absolutely brilliant in a role that makes excellent use of his presence, talent, and physicality. Kidman and Bang aren't quite as good, but that's mainly due to how the screenplay leaves them slightly underserved. Taylor-Joy is as good as always, however, and Dafoe does enough in a couple of scenes to steal the spotlight momentarily away from our leads. Eggers is the real star though, carrying viewers through the tale with a combination of his refined eye and the ability to pace everything perfectly.

It may be a mid-tier film when ranked alongside others from Eggers, but a mid-tier Eggers film is head and shoulders above many others. I look forward to rewatching this, being fully immersed in the world once again, and I am kicking myself for not having managed to see this when it was on the big screen, when I could have also had my entire body shaken by the score by Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough. 

8/10

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Nosferatu (2024)

I'm not going to start this review of Nosferatu with any plot summary for Nosferatu. If you're a horror movie fan then you should already be aware of it. And if you don't think that you're aware of it then, rest assured, if you're at all familiar with the classic tale of Dracula then you're aware of it. The names are changed, but the essence of the tale (a vampire heading overseas to deliver death and destruction as he also seeks out a woman he loves) remains the same.

There have been at least two previous Nosferatu movies (a 1922 film directed by F. W. Murnau and a 1979 film from Werner Herzog being the two main features referenced by fans), but this version comes courtesy of Robert Eggers. That means some stunning visuals, of course, and maybe one or two ingredients added to the recipe that haven't been used before. Maybe.

Cast-wise, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult play the ill-fated Ellen and Thomas Hutter, newlyweds who find their marital bliss interrupted when Thomas is asked by his workplace to head overseas for the benefit of a treasured new client, Count Orlok (an unrecognisable Bill Skarsgård). While Thomas is away, Ellen resides in the home of Anna and Friedrich Harding, played by Emma Corrin and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Ralph Ineson is a local doctor, Willem Dafoe is a Professor with some unorthodox ideas (aka the Van Helsing of this escapade), and Simon McBurney is Knock, this film's version of Renfield. Most of these people do very good work. Hoult fits his part well, as do both Ineson and Dafoe. Taylor-Johnson is also very good with the role given to him. Corrin isn't quite as comfortable here, but that may be tied to the fact that she has a number of scenes with Depp, who is sadly the weakest performer onscreen. Although Skarsgård does more than enough to make up for the dullness of the woman his character is supposed to covet, it's hard to watch this and not think of how greatly it would have been improved by any number of other actresses in that main role.

It's worth mentioning the efforts of everyone involved in bringing such a sumptuous version of this tale to life, but I have to single out the music by Robin Carolan, the editing by Louise Ford, and the beautiful cinematography by Jarin Blaschke. They, and many others, have worked hard to present something that is both very much a Nosferatu film and also a Robert Eggers film.

What else does Eggers bring to the mix though? What are those extra ingredients that he has added? Actually . . . nothing. And that's where the film falls down slightly. This is 132 minutes of very familiar moments (even the scenes showing Orlok travelling by sea to his new lair just made me remember how much I recently enjoyed The Last Voyage Of The Demeter). While it may be worth watching for the visuals alone, Eggers is enraptured by the source material(s) in ways that leave him hamstrung. This is often incredibly cinematic, but it's also, in a number of ways, the safest and tamest film we've had from someone who has previously managed to both entertain and challenge viewers with all three of his previous features.

Not a bad film, but it sits behind the versions from Murnau and Herzog, and it ultimately feels a bit redundant. I'll certainly rewatch it a number of times though, and I wish all redundant movies were this much of a treat for the senses.

7/10

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Although I wasn't sure of what to really expect with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, I was comforted by the fact that a number of key players were returning. Tim Burton was in the director's chair, and the central cast was anchored by the essential trio of Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara. It's a shame that they weren't given something a bit better to work with after such a long wait.

The story may seem complicated, but it's all ultimately just an excuse for various scenes that feel disconnected from one another. Lydia Deetz (Ryder) is now a TV/internet personality, hosting a show in which she investigates hauntings. She is also in a relationship with her manager, Rory (Justin Theroux). Things have to be put on hold, however, when her mother (Delia, played by O'Hara) gives her news about the death of her father. The ladies then travel to pass the message along to Lydia's daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), before heading back to the family home. Things get even messier as a funeral provides the setting for a marriage proposal, Astrid grows close to a young man named Jeremy (Arthur Conti), and Beetlejuice (Keaton) becomes the target of a vengeful ex (Delores, played by Monica Bellucci). 

It's hard to put a finger on what feels so wrong in this sequel. It just feels a bit overstuffed and disjointed, and there's an unfocused randomness to the different plot strands. The original also had some of that going on, but that somehow felt fun and anarchic, whereas this feels more slapdash and tiresome.

There are definite highlights though. Keaton is fantastic in his role, reprising an iconic character with an ease that belies his age, and the many decades since he last played him. Ryder and O'Hara are also both wonderful together, although there's an attempt to slightly rewrite their past that the film only gets away with because of how easy it is to believe that O'Hara's character would reframe their lives together. Ortega is a good addition to the core group, there are a number of scenes outright stolen by a character named Bob, and the finale has some choreographed insanity set to a brilliantly bonkers song that I've always had a soft spot for. 

There is, as expected, some lovely production design, it's impressive for the continuity of the visual style between the two films, and it's nice to hear Danny Elfman's score running through everything. The practical effects are also very enjoyable.

That's about it though. The script, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (who have worked together for decades, and most notably, for this part of their career journey, played pivotal roles in the new Wednesday series) is a mess. Some of the dialogue works, but it's often more to do with the delivery than the words, while the messy plot keeps being tangled around too many characters and too many moments that many viewers probably won't care about, including Charles Deetz, who is initially used in a fun way that allows him to be there without re-using disgraced actor Jeffrey Jones, but then keeps popping up throughout the film in a way that feels egregiously unnecessary.

Aside from those already praised above, Theroux is a lot of fun as the poseur of the film this time around, Bellucci does well with her limited screentime, and Willem Dafoe is enjoyable as a deceased actor who played a cop so often that he basically believes that he is one nowadays. Conti is okay, and Burn Gorman is the local priest presiding over things, but they end up, much like Dafoe, being completely superfluous. The same can be said of Santiago Cabrera, who plays someone supposedly important to our leading ladies, until his scenes are finished with and he seems to be easily forgotten about. 

Did I hate this? No. It was very close though. The good aspects of it often come close to being great, but the negatives just keep dragging it down. Considering how great they are when onscreen together, Keaton, Ryder, and O'Hara deserved something a bit better. On the plus side, there has been a load of new Beetlejuice merchandise released lately that has allowed me to add some more movie-related items to my wardrobe. And I would still give everyone a chance to entertain me again if they make a third one.

4/10

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Kinds Of Kindness (2024)

It is time, once again, for director Yorgos Lanthimos to present a dark, and darkly comedic, film for fans to be equal parts entertained and repelled by, helped again by writer Efthimis Filippou. If you've ever wondered just how much Yorgos Lanthimos could fit into a film directed and co-written by Yorgos Lanthimos then this might just definitively answer that. ALL the Lanthimosity is here, and it runs through three equally bizarre tales that are presented in 164 minutes of "kindness".

Don't take this the wrong way, but there's not much point in covering the three stories presented here in great detail. I initially considered it, viewing them as separate from one another, but then I came to the conclusion that they are all basically the same story told in slightly different ways. People have their loyalty tested, and they are often in pursuit of someone they believe will fix anything that has suddenly gone wrong in their life. There's also at least one moment of wince-inducing violence.

There are four main cast members - Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Mamoudou Athie, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, and Hong Chau - used to portray various characters throughout the three tales, with three of these performers having already worked so well with Lanthimos in Poor Things. Everyone seems to put complete trust in their director, giving the kind of strangely mannered performances that run through the entire Lanthimos filmography, but it's Plemons who feels like the newcomer excelling in a way that will surely see him added to the core group of regulars.

The script is about as odd as anything else that Lanthimos and Filippou have given us, and I am aware of what I am measuring it against. Few things are fully explained, which can lead to a small amount of irritation, but also one or two brilliant surprises, and there's never a feeling of this being in anything close to the real world. It's a Lanthimos world, although this time he seems to have applied a filter to his work that mixes in some David Lynch and Rod Serling. It's a big gamble, and if you don't like the earliest scenes then you are unlikely to enjoy any of it, but it will satisfy those who may have been worried about recent successes softening the edges of the director.

For something so lengthy and strange, there's not actually that much more to say about it. It's . . . lengthy and strange. I think it's a bit over-indulgent, but I was also happy to be entertained and bewildered by every minute of it. It also made me want to revisit his past few movies, which kind of shows how well it fits in with his developing filmography, despite the anthology format making it feel like a bit of a departure from what he has done previously.

Some directors give their fans what they want and it then turns out that they wanted something a bit different. I don't think that is the case here. Lanthimos has found a fanbase receptive to his art, which has afforded him more opportunities to make more of it, and the end result is a win win. I am already growing impatient to see what he delivers next.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Affliction (1997)

If you're struggling to think of any film to watch on a very Catholic holiday, let's say you're not in the mood for something highly religious but you want something in line with the calendar, then I recommend one of the many films from Paul Schrader. They're all practically dripping with Catholic guilt, and you could argue that Affliction is up there with his very best/most intense.

Nick Nolte plays Wade Whitehouse, a small-town cop who is struggling to maintain control of his temper, his life, and how his turbulent childhood and family life keeps crashing in to his present frame of mind, an unwanted guest smashing up the insides of his heart and mind. He is trying to keep shared custody of his young daughter, Jill (Brigid Tierney), ends up becoming suspicious of a hunting accident that involves a young man named Jack (Jim True), and only finds some solace in the company of Margie (Sissy Spacek). Things are about to get worse, however, when things happen that lead to him having to spend more time with his abusive father (James Coburn).

Based on a novel by Russell Banks, Affliction is a film that feels very much like a murky neo-noir for almost half of the runtime, albeit one that has Nolte being as typically gruff and dangerous as he has been in so many other movies . . . or maybe specifically because of that. It's easy to see why Schrader was drawn to the material - the tension throughout it, the exploration of the sins of the father reverberating through the lives of the sons (the brother of Nolte's character is played by Willem Dafoe, who also narrates parts of the film) - and he is helped by a cast who are all easily up to playing the ramped-up emotions of the piece.

Nolte is excellent, and this was at a time when he was on a hell of a run (the films themselves may not all be memorable, Nolte was brilliant in all of them). He veers between helplessness and misdirected rage with great ease, and his character carries both of those extremes around with him at all times, played like a physical weight on his shoulders. Dafoe is an excellent counter-balance, showing the image of a son who has tried to distance himself from a past that he knows could still endanger and harm him. Spacek gets to be a real sunbeam, someone and something that we know Nolte should be treating well enough to keep in his life. She knows who she is getting attached to, but she thinks that she can help him move forward while he spends too much of his time looking backward. Both True and Tierney are decent in their roles, as is Holmes Osborne (playing the town selectman, Gordon LaRivere), but all of them pale into insignificance under the looming shadow of Coburn's monstrosity. While Coburn doesn't have to be nuanced or subtle (and what "villain" in any Schrader movie is nuanced or subtle), he throws himself fully into being so loathsome, and as cruel as possible, that viewers will want to see him punished, no matter his advanced age and possible diminishing physical strength.

While it seems to explore anger issues, alcoholism, small-town business dealings, domestic violence, and much more, the main strand running all the way through this, to the surprise of nobody who has experienced any other Schrader movie, is guilt. Guilt for things not done in the past, guilt for things happening in the present, and guilt for any possible future created by the reverberations of those things. Not a film to pick when you want something disposable and distracting, Affliction remains worth your time when you're in the mood to observe the unravelling of a hurt person hurting people.

8/10

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Poor Things (2023)

Another film from director Yorgos Lanthimos, who has delivered one stunning feature after another for the past decade (and even his earlier work is of interest to those who appreciate his strange look at the world), Poor Things is a film I wish I had seen sooner, but I just couldn’t schedule the cinema trip. I am now even more regretful of that missed opportunity.

Emma Stone plays Bella, a young woman who has been created, in a way, by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). As she rushes through various stages of development, from learning language to eventually learning about the pleasures of sex, Bella accepts a proposal from Godwin’s assistant, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef). She feels as if she should see a bit more of the world first though, and ends up travelling for a while with the caddish (although a number of other adjectives could also be listed here) Duncan Wedderburn.

Adapted from a novel by Alasdair Gray, Poor Things has a screenplay by Tony McNamara, wonderful cinematography from Robbie Ryan, and a suitably strange and wonderful score by Jerskin Fendrix. I am mentioning these people now before I forget them entirely, because my movie reviews simply don’t have the space to list every single person who contributed to this wonderful vision. Rest assured, however, that this is the kind of film that makes you want to take note of every name, from the production designers to the wardrobe department, from the make up to the lighting. It really is a brilliant group effort to deliver a vision that will be credited mainly to the director and cast.

Moving from what seems like a standard period drama setting to a cool, unexplained, steampunk sci-fi world, Lanthimos is once again having fun with an implausible concept that he can use to scrutinize the rules and hypocrisies of society. This would make an excellent companion piece to his masterpiece, The Lobster, covering the equally important topics of love and sex.

Stone is brilliant in the lead performance here, hilariously non-conformist and constantly questioning the rules and etiquette she sees as obstacles to her enjoyment of life. Ruffalo is equally good, and has many of the best lines in the film, swearing and klutzing his way through every scene as he tries to make himself out to be a much better man than he really is. Dafoe, working under some excellent make up, is as dependable as ever, even doing a decent job with what I think was meant to be a Scottish accent, and Youssef heads up a fine selection of supporting players, including Vicki Pepperdine, Margaret Qualley, and Christopher Abbott.

Simultaneously both funnier and darker than I expected, and also cruder and smarter, this has already been quite rightly praised as one of the best movies of 2023. It has plenty packed in every scene to reward repeat viewings, and I am already keen to make time for my own rewatch.

9/10

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Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)

As today is the fourth of July, kind of a big deal for many of my friends in the USA, I decided to finally check out, and review, Born On The Fourth Of July, a biographical drama co-written and directed by Oliver Stone, based on the experiences of a Vietnam War veteran named Ron Kovic (played here by Tom Cruise).

I doubt anyone who has seen an Oliver Stone movie will be surprised to hear that this is quite a simplistic tale (and anyone interested in this should remember that it is the middle part of a trilogy, consisting of Platoon, this movie, and Heaven & Earth). It starts with a young and idealistic Kovic getting himself enthusiastic about joining the military, eager to do his bit to ensure that his country wins out over an evil enemy, but that enthusiasm starts to wane as he experiences moments of confusion and horror while in battle, eventually being injured in a way that means he may eventually lose one, or both, of his legs. Once back in the USA, Ron's life doesn't get any better. He doesn't feel like the returning hero he envisioned, and his wheelchair-bound status seems to remind people of the human price being paid for a war that actually doesn't feel justified.

This is a Vietnam War movie, at least in part, so there's a decent selection of tunes scattered throughout the soundtrack, some fast and clumsy editing (some of it to help show war on a fairly small scale) as we zip through the main points of a life being shown in cinematic shorthand, and a script that spends a lot of time going around in circles as it keeps coming back to the main point being made. For all his faults, Stone certainly tries to show his passionate support for those watching to right historic wrongs, and he tries to cram so much into the 145-minute runtime that you end up willing him to do better during the few scenes that take more time to show the pain reverberating through the lives of some of the main characters (Kovic included, but he's far from the only one affected).

While I didn't expect this to be subtle, as familiar with Stone's filmography as I am, I did expect it to be good. I remember it being given a huge push when it was first released, a lot of the marketing being based around the fact that this was Tom Cruise taking a break from being Superstar Tom Cruise to show he could be Proper Actor Tom Cruise (which he'd already done successfully with his turn in Rain Man, in my opinion). It's arguably a great decision from Stone to cast him in the main role, considering the pro-military baggage that comes with the star of Top Gun, but it's outweighed by the fact that Cruise simply isn't good enough. While he has since delivered one or two outstanding performances in non-starry roles, I would argue that he wouldn't ever be good enough for this specific role. It's just not a good fit for his particular acting range, which is limited by his sheer Cruise-ness, and there are at least a dozen people who might have done better work here. The rest of the cast includes Kyra Sedgwick, Willem Dafoe, Tom Sizemore, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Josh Evans, Frank Whaley, and a few more familiar faces, but all of them are sadly underused.

Worth watching once, if only to ensure that this particular experience isn't forgotten, an experience I believe was shared by many who returned from that war. It's a shame that it's not better though. Other people needed to film this story, but this is what we ended up with. It's very disappointing.

Anyway, this is a reminder of the importance to celebrate your American freedom on the fourth of July. Well, unless you're non-white, LGBTQ+, women, students chained down by debt, averse to the idea of their lifestyle being overruled by religious beliefs, hoping to read books deemed offensive to some, drag queens that deliver wonderful story times, citizens mindful of curtailing and controlling police powers, people still incarcerated for smoking a joint under the three strikes rule you once had, etc, you get the idea. The battleground may be very different, and it's depressing to see it on "home turf", but the need for people to protest against being duped and mistreated by their government is just as strong.

4/10

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Mubi Monday: The Walker (2007)

Although this might seem to be a bit different from other movies we've had from writer-director Paul Schrader, The Walker is ultimately very much in his wheelhouse. It might wear some smarter clothes, and there may be a greater age range in his main cast, but it certainly looks at things through that Schrader lens.

Woody Harrelson plays Carter, a "safe" gay man who works as an escort to some well-to-do ladies in Washington D.C.  He accompanies them to various events, making himself the walker of the title, and also enjoys often playing cards with them. He is a trusted figure, which is why Lynn Lockner (Kristin Scott Thomas) turns to him when she discovers the corpse of a murdered man. Not just any murdered man, but someone she was close to. To save her from any potential embarrassment, tricky questions that could cause problems for her husband, Larry Lockner (Willem Dafoe), Carter decides to claim that he found the body. This makes things problematic when the investigation quickly turns more serious, and Carter realises he may have got himself mixed up in something quite dangerous.

A murder mystery where viewers won't really care about the mystery element, this is a film that I hadn't previously heard of, unusual for me when it comes to the filmography of Schrader. By the time the end credits rolled, I could understand why. There's nothing here that stands out, nothing here to make this memorable in any way. And the sad thing is that a SUPERB cast is largely wasted.

Harrelson is good fun in the lead role, better in the few quieter moments that he has, as opposed to the scenes with him being relentlessly cheery to those around him, and Thomas is effectively vulnerable and quiet during the times when events threaten to overwhelm her. Having kickstarted the chain of events for Carter, her character soon disappears for a while, but her presence continues to overshadow everything. The other main women are played by Lauren Bacall, Lily Tomlin, and Mary Beth Hurt, all giving great performances, and all sorely underused. Dafoe is underused, Ned Beatty has a small role (underused), William Hope has a main scene or two (guess what . . . underused), and there's a solid turn from Geff Francis, playing a detective, that surprisingly gives him just enough screentime to make the best impact. Moritz Bleibtreu also gets a fair few scenes, but his character, and the performance, just doesn't work as well as the other people who should have been allowed to shine a bit brighter.

You should like The Walker, but only because it doesn't have much to actively dislike. There's enough here to enjoy, but it feels like a tray of samples, as opposed to a full, satisfying, meal. Schrader being a bit more restrained than usual ends up working against himself, especially when he is still keen to dissect guilt, the masks that people wear, and just how often no good deed goes unpunished. 

5/10

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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

If you have made it this long without having Spider-Man: No Way Home spoiled for you then I congratulate you. I'll also try not to spoil anything here, although that makes this review a little bit trickier. I AM going to work on the assumption that most people saw one or two of the trailers, revealing some familiar villains coming back to our screens.

The basic plot concerns Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tom Holland) having quite a miserable time of things, all because of the repercussions from his battle with Mysterio. Everyone knows who he is, and everyone has a view on his actions. Some of them believe the lie fabricated by Mysterio. Some don't. What's worse is that it's not just affecting Peter, but also the ones closest to him. His friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), are guilty by association, which leads to them being unable to get into the colleges they have applied for. Desperate for things to go back to how they were, Peter heads to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and asks him to cast a spell that will make people forget who he is. The spell goes just a bit wrong, resulting in our universe being invaded by characters who have met other incarnations of Spiderman in other universes.

Director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers may not have been the only people shepherding this Spiderman through his latest cinematic trilogy, but they have certainly been there for each instalment, helping to maintain the balance of light fun and major peril that our friendly neighbourhood Spiderman has dealt with over the past few years. This is the darkest of the new Spidey films yet, but it still allows plenty of time for humour, and it still incorporates a bright, solid, colour palette for the majority of the runtime. It helps enormously that Holland has a brightness to him that lights the screen further whenever he's not being beaten down by overwhelming odds.

Holland does his best work yet here (in these movies, I'm not talking about his entire career), moving from lighter moments to moments that are all the more heartbreaking because of his vulnerability, and it's hard to imagine what the bigwigs will plan next for the character. They clearly have to keep making the most of having Holland in the role, but this feels like a tough one to top. And yet, somewhat paradoxically, it's far from the best Spiderman movie. It's overlong, it's overstuffed, it's all just a bit overdone, and the third act has to ensure that every single character gets at least one satisfying moment. And the CGI is equally overdone, even if it is generally at a very high standard.

As well as Holland, both Zendaya and Batalon are as good as they have been in the previous movies. Cumberbatch has fun, playing a strong supporting role. And there’s pure joy in seeing the return of characters played by Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx, Thomas Haden Church, and Rhys Ifans, with each actor appearing to relish the opportunity to give their character a better resolution. Marisa Tomei remains an excellent Aunt May, doing her best to help and protect her nephew as danger crowds around them. And there are at least three other cameos/supporting turns that will have fans enthralled and delighted while the screen is loaded up with one treat upon another.

It’s clear that this has been made with the aim of really pleasing fans of the web-slinger, especially those who have enjoyed every one of his modern cinematic outings. Pretty much every big rumour you already heard about is true, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of every wonderful moment, whether big or small. It’s just a shame that it feels like a bit too much, this is a film that would have worked better split into two. It’s stimulation overload, just barely allowing the quieter, more sombre, moments time to breathe. That doesn’t mean that it’s not great, it just also feels slightly exhausting as you move towards the inevitably super-busy third act.

With great film-making tools comes great responsibility. The people putting this extravaganza together have been very careful to treat the characters with care. They just weren’t quite so careful with the pacing and the excess of visual effects.

8/10

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Nightmare Alley (2021)

When I finally got around to watching the 1947 film version of Nightmare Alley, it became a firm favourite. It's not a film easily forgotten by those who have seen it, a noir that skirts very close to horror as we watch a man on a journey that eventually takes him to . . . well, that would be telling.

I am not automatically averse to remakes, and Nightmare Alley has a story that you can see being attractive to others. It's also very much of a time and a place though, and it's already good enough that you have to wonder what others think they can do to improve upon, or just equal, it. At least you can start to feel optimistic when one of the people involved is director Guillermo del Toro. If there's one thing that Del Toro can do it's craft an onscreen love with style, beauty, and a wonderful attention to detail. He can also assemble a great cast.

Bradley Cooper is Stanton Carlisle, a shady character who ends up joining a travelling carnival. Once there, he starts to learn some of the tricks of the trade. He is especially interested in the feats of mentalism performed by Pete (David Strathairn), a fragile man cared for by Zeena (Toni Collette). Learning enough to believe he can make a name for himself, Stanton heads off with Molly (Rooney Mara) and performs for bigger and bigger crowds. This eventually leads to him crossing paths with Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), and Dr. Ritter might be able to provide information that could lead to a huge payday.

If you like the selection of names just mentioned then you may be pleased to hear that this film also features roles for Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, Holt McCallany, and Tim Blake Nelson. Don't get too excited though, a number of the cast members are either miscast or disappointingly underused. Cooper, likeable leading man that he is, doesn't feel right for the central role. Blanchett feels like the most wasted in her supporting role, and wasting Blanchett in your film should be a crime. It's the smaller roles that provide more of the treats, with highlights being Dafoe, Jenkins, and any scenes involving Strathairn and/or Collette.

Adapting the same source material as the original movie, a novel by William Lindsay Gresham, the screenplay by Del Toro and Kim Morgan seems to lose sight of what made the story so mesmerising and powerful. You still have a good story here, and it's supported by a smattering of very good performances, but the power is diluted by a) too many moments dwelling on the pretty visuals, and b) an ending that I feel lacks the full bittersweet resonance of the 1947 adaptation.

As good as a director as he can be, and as fired up about his chance to helm this remake, Del Toro feels as miscast in his role as Cooper. He aims for some style and grace that actively pulls the material away from that "down 'n' dirty" feel that the material has running through it. These characters are allowed to create wings and fly close to the sun, but it would be more appropriate to see them simply being allowed to bathe in warm water in between constant trips back to the sewer.

Undeniably enjoyable in places, and a visual treat throughout, it's a real shame that there's such a disconnect between the content and the form. It's a divide that I couldn't easily overlook, despite the many positives (such as the cinematography by Dan Laustsen or the wonderfully old-fashioned music from Nathan Johnson). I know a lot of people enjoyed it a lot more than I did. See it for yourself and let me know if you agree or disagree with me.

6/10

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Mubi Monday: The Card Counter (2021)

We have seen all of this before, for the most part. Writer-director Paul Schrader doesn’t mind that. He wants viewers to remember what they have seen before. Because this is a film that takes you through a lot of familiar places on the way to a slightly unexpected destination.

Oscar Isaac plays someone who goes by the name of William Tell. He served a lengthy sentence in prison, for something that will be revealed later on. Prison is where he learned to count cards, he became a master of blackjack. He’s also a pretty dab hand at poker. That makes him of interest to La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), a woman who gets great poker players bankrolled to play at the tables with higher stakes. William isn’t really interested in playing poker for a lot of money though, but finds his opinion subject to change when he meets young Cirk (Tye Sheridan). Cirk knows something about William’s past, and wants the two of them to pay a visit to another important figure from their past, Gordo (Willem Dafoe). Cirk doesn’t really know the cards that are being dealt, however, while William knows exactly how things will play out.

Very typical of Schrader’s work, The Card Counter is a solid character piece that ultimately just doesn’t do quite enough in the first two thirds of the runtime to make it all worthwhile once you know where things are going in the third act. The four main cast members, and it is worth noting that Dafoe is onscreen for only a minute or two of screentime, all work well, separately and together, and the leisurely pacing allows them to hold your attention and deliver some stellar work.

You could argue that the performances are better than the material, which wouldn’t be entirely unfair, but both ultimately work to elevate one another. Isaac gives one of his best performances, a dead soul with one huge talent (but he’s far from lifeless), and I definitely would not want to see him across from me during a poker game, whether he has been helped by props onscreen or has learned the card skills. Sheridan is excellent alongside him, a young man with a desire for revenge that he doesn’t realise could take him down a dead end road. Then you have Haddish, also giving one of the best performances of her career so far. Her character is the perfect mix of cynicism and optimism, and she shows how obviously she is drawn to Isaac’s character. Dafoe is right for his role, even if it’s a shame to see him so underused, and he does well.

Perhaps Schrader wanted to challenge viewers by delivering something so full of things we’ve seen so often before, or perhaps he wanted to use the familiarity to help pull the rug out during the third act. Whatever his reasoning, it doesn’t quite work as well as he hopes. That’s because he doesn’t add anything else to the mix, in terms of style or truly memorable dialogue. He still gets enough right to make this a worthy film though, helped immensely by the cast.

Maybe not a full house, this remains a gripping and intriguing tale of past sins, prison life, and poker tactics. 

7/10

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Aquaman (2018)

Look, let me be clear, I don't have a dog in this fight. I have never been massively into comic books, with the exception of a couple of fun omnibuses that I had as a child (and the Knightfall storyline for Batman, which remains one of the best things ever), so I am not a person who has to stay in either the Marvel or DC camp. Having said that, it's almost impossible to argue with the fact that Marvel have set the gold standard in cinematic superhero adventures. I had heard good things about Aquaman though, so I was optimistic.

Hmmmmmm, yeah, that didn't last long.

Jason Momoa once again plays Arthur Curry, the half-Atlantean superhero who just wants to live his life peacefully, when he's not crashing into submarines that have been overrun by pirates and beating up lots of baddies. Unfortunately, plans are afoot underwater to wage war against those on land who have been polluting and changing the seas over the years. Those plans are being hatched by King Arm (Patrick Wilson). If only someone could turn up that has the potential to overthrow him and become the rightful heir to the throne. Mera (Amber Heard) knows that Arthur is that someone, even if he doesn't think it himself.

Although it has a runtime of over two hours, the best thing I can say about Aquaman is that it fairly flies by. The pacing is perfect, with the set-pieces nicely spaced out in between moments that showcase some fun exchanges between Momoa and Heard. Director James Wan, working from a script by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall, has a knack for making the potentially ridiculous into something enjoyable and entertaining, and he does it here once again.

Momoa is great in the lead role, Heard does well alongside him, and Wilson is suitably cold and dangerous in his villainous turn. Alongside those main players, you get some decent moments for Willem Dafoe (an advisor to Wilson but his loyalties may still like with Momoa), Nicole Kidman (being enjoyably badass in her few scenes), Temuera Morrison (the human father of Arthur), Dolph Lundgren (being Dolph), and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an extra villain, Manta, seeking revenge.

I can see why some people really enjoyed this, and why some were saying it was the best DC film yet. The fun parts are more . . . fun than most of their live-action output has been so far. The world-building is impressively epic, a lot of lovely details are scattered throughout every scene, and the action beats aren't all dark and gritty. But all of that comes at a price. For every gorgeous moment (and few are more aesthetically pleasing than a scene in which Momoa and Heard fight back some dangerous fishmen as they dive into the depths of a dangerous underwater trench) there are many that aren't. Either due to the screen being too busy or just some bad cinematic choices, far too many scenes are just messy. People can't always use the right eyeline when it comes to looking at whatever is supposed to be in front of them, some of the design work is unintentionally laughable, and so much is made snazzy and complicated when it could so easily have been kept clean and simple.

While this is far from the best of the recent DC movies, at this point I am tempted to pick Suicide Squad as my own favourite, and to hell with the adverse reactions (although Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice got more right than wrong), it's also not the worst. That honour stays with Man Of Steel for a little while yet (although, for the sake of perspective, I rate both that movie and this one the same, with all of the others just edging a point ahead).

6/10

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Mubi Monday: The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)

I think most people are already aware of my heathen ways but, for those who aren't, I am a committed atheist. And I'm starting this review with that reminder because I think people often confuse my lack of belief, and my ability to use anything and everything in joke form, with a disrespect in the beliefs of others. That's not the case, not at all. Everyone has the right to peacefully believe in whatever god they want to connect to, be it the Catholic god, Shiva, Buddha, the wonder of the cosmos, or whatever else you seek. I become disrespectful when those beliefs are used to harm others, used as weaponised rod rather than a firm support structure. If you talk to people who are earnestly following a belief system that they hope to do right by then you'll often find ways to engage and agree on things from differing viewpoints.

There's a wonderful scene, a favourite of mine, in the film Millions (perhaps the most underseen Danny Boyle film in his filmography) in which a character explains to a young boy a different version of the events of "the sermon on the mount". The young boy then seems unhappy that the explanation makes the feeding of the crowd seem like less of a miracle. The other character explains that the explanation doesn't make it less miraculous, it just shows how the miracle can come about in a very different way. I love that idea, and can believe in it. Which means I can agree with anyone who believes in that event, despite viewing it from a different perspective.

The Last Temptation Of Christ is not a film that wants to make Christ any less important as a figure, despite the fact that it has many scenes that show him battling with very human thoughts and conflict. It's a film that wants to make Christ equally important BECAUSE it is hypothesised that he did his good deeds while also having doubts and the potential to make mistakes. It arguably makes a more powerful argument for the inherent goodness and bravery of anyone who went through what Christ is said to have endured.

Directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader, from the book by Nikos Kazantzakis, there's no question that the talent behind the camera here is both formidable and also well-suited to something looking to further explore Catholicism, temptation, and guilt. You could argue that both Scorsese and Schrader had been finding ways to tell this tale for the past decade, culminating in this, their most overt and explicit study of these themes. The fact that this doesn't quite match their previous collaborations, struggling to hold up under the sheer weight of the powerful tale they want to tell, doesn't mean this is any less worthy of your time. It's a hefty investment, over two and a half hours, but one you won't regret (if you're at all interested in the subject material and the artistry with which it can be tackled).

Willem Dafoe gives a performance that sits up there with his very best, possibly knowing that anything less when playing Jesus Christ would be a missed opportunity. Barbara Hershey is also very good, playing Mary Magdalene. Harvey Keitel feels a bit out of place, as Judas, but the fact that his belief and devotion is so strong makes the narrative even more interesting for those who think they know this tale back to front.

It's funny that I always remembered this film because of the controversy from when it was released. Yet I also put it off for too long because I assumed it would be a dull affair, too dry and preachy. It's neither controversial (although I can see why it upset some) nor is it dull. In fact, I'd say that it's impressively high up there in the general rankings of Scorsese movies, hindered only by a weak soundtrack (from Peter Gabriel) and some of the casting (as well as Keitel feeling out of place, David Bowie brings you out of the film in his small amount of screentime playing Pontius Pilate). Believe it.

8/10

You can get the film here.
Americans can get it here.

Netflix And Chill: The Great Wall (2016)

The first English language film from director Zhang Yimou, who has given us some absolutely gorgeous films in the past few decades, The Great Wall is a film that I think I can best sum up as being, well, one I never worked up the enthusiasm to watch. I didn't want to see it in the cinema, I didn't pick up the shiny disc until I saw it in a sale selection one day, and I didn't watch it until now. And, here's the thing, my lack of enthusiasm seems to have been warranted.

The story sees a couple of European Mercenaries (played by Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal) encountering a monster while they rest en route to the Great Wall. Once at their destination, they are looking to somehow get their hands on a load of gunpowder stored there, they are taken prisoner. While trussed up and helpless, they witness the wall being attacked by a horde of monsters. Managing to get free and join in with the vigorous defence of the wall, the two men are then made to feel more welcome. They learn the story of the monsters, they help to figure out a plan to potentially defeat them, and they may find themselves being rewarded with much more than just gunpowder. If they can resist the urge to steal and flee.

There are enough separate elements that work here to make The Great Wall an enjoyable enough piece of entertainment. The acting is generally okay (although it's a rather weak turn from Damon, who seems as puzzled as most viewers as to why he should be the lead), the special effects do what is needed, the story is a fun creature feature that makes good use of one of the most famous structures on the planet, and there are sequences that contain such colour and grace that remind you Zhang Yimou is sitting behind the camera.

Sadly, it's never as good as it could be. Compared to other monster movies, or action movies, or even the past highlights from Yimou, this is just okay. And just being okay can be okay, but it's disappointing when it comes from a director with this eye, and this much talent.

The screenplay, by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, and Tony Gilroy, never does enough to underline the points it is making about culture and order, about the nobility of the sacrifices being made by The Nameless Order, those tasked with protecting the wall from the attacks of the monsters. You get some decent exchanges between the main characters, but they're like gasps of breath in between crashing waves of muddy water. None of the characters feel as developed as they could be, and every relationship dynamic feels unearned and simply there to tick off the checklist that the film is working through.

Damon, as already mentioned, seems a bit out of place here, in more ways than one, and it's not one of his better performances. Pascal fares better, helped by the fact that his character is set up in a way that doesn't require him to go through any major transformation. Jing Tian and Andy Lau are both very good in their roles, even if they are working with material that feels slightly beneath them (not in terms of the standard content, I mean in terms of the way their characters are sketched/treated). Willem Dafoe is the other name worth mentioning, although he also suffers at the hands of the script.

It's always hard when foreign directors transition from working in their own language to working on an English language production, and it's good to see the sequences here that Yimou uses to indulge in his usual mix of bright colours and grace, but this isn't anywhere near the disaster it could have been. It's a mediocre movie with a couple of standout set-pieces that make it worth your time. Or you could just pick one of the better, subtitled, movies that Yimou has directed in the past. Hero, House Of Flying Daggers, and Curse Of The Golden Flower are all good choices to start with.

6/10

You can buy the disc here.
Americans can buy the disc here.

Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

There's nothing inherently wrong with this all-star version of Murder On The Orient Express, the classic whodunnit from Agatha Christie that has an ending already known to most people even if they haven't read the book yet (a large group that includes myself). It's rather fun, polished, and certainly throws enough stars into the mix to help things along.

Kenneth Branagh directs, and he also lets himself take on the lead role of Poirot, the greatest detective in the world (who isn't named Sherlock Holmes, I guess). Poirot ends up on the titular train, there's a murder, and he tries to figure out who did it. Everyone has a motive, it seems, and Poirot wants to discover the culprit before the train moves on to the next station. Because the train has also been derailed by a small avalanche, ensuring that the characters are unable to flee while the detective gets his little grey cells working on the case.

Working from a script by Michael Green, Murder On The Orient Express is a film both helped and hampered by how familiar and comfortable it all feels. It's easy to enjoy but not so easy to get properly drawn into. The snowy setting, the familiar faces, the family-friendly nature of most of the main scenes, this is something that feels more like a lavish BBC production scheduled for the Christmas holidays than a cinematic experience.

My other main complaint about the film is how the resolution comes about. It all makes sense, from what I can tell, but it would have been better to see a few more links being placed in the chain by Poirot as he started to formulate his main theory. This may be a case of elements from the book that were harder to put on film, or it may be a case of Poirot simply being a character who holds all of his cards close to his chest until he is ready to set them down. My limited knowledge of the character is gathering dust in a small recess of my memory banks, sadly. Either way, and I know it would have been difficult to balance the reveals with the attempt to keep the mystery intact until the end, one or two more pieces of information would have been appreciated as viewers watched Poirot put everything together.

I'm not going to pick apart every performance by the cast. I'll just say that all of them have fun at various points. Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leslie Odom Jr, Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad, Penelope Cruz, Olivia Colman, Derek Jacobi, and Tom Bateman are the main players, but they all have to work under the long shadow of Branagh, clearly having a ball as Poirot.

If you're unfamiliar with the resolution to the story then be sure to see this before you have it spoiled for you. Also give it a watch if you like most of the main players (and why wouldn't you?). But it's surprisingly disposable and forgettable, especially considering the talent involved. I'll still end up watching the next adventure, however, teased at the end, and I'd even be tempted to watch some less famous mysteries featuring Branagh's take on the main character.

6/10

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The Florida Project (2017)

The latest film from Sean Baker, directing once again from a script co-written with Chris Bergoch, The Florida Project is another chance to spend time with some American citizens that aren't often represented in the movies, and certainly don't get to be the lead characters.

The slight premise allows viewers to see what life is like for Halley (Bria Vinaite) and her daughter, Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), as they spend their days in a Florida motel. Halley doesn't have much money, which really irks her when she wants to maintain a decent stock of cigarettes and drugs, and Moonee is often left to her own devices, getting up to all kinds of mischief without the fear of parental disapproval. And you also get Willem Dafoe as Bobby, the motel manager trying to run a business and look after some of his more troublesome guests (of which Halley is one).

There is a lot here that I can praise, not least of which is the fact that Baker consistently does a great job of representing the unrepresented. There are also very good performances from all involved. Vinaite and Prince work well together, with both impressively natural in their acting styles, Dafoe gives the kind of great, quieter, performance that I can't recall having seen from him in some time (although I may be forgetting some obvious recent examples), and there are also decent turns from Mela Murder, Valeria Cotto, Aiden Malik, and Edward Pagan, as well as anyone else who manages to grab a few moments of screentime.

The film also often looks gorgeous, really emphasising the juxtaposition of these lives being wasted under beautiful blue skies and a stones throw away from Walt Disney World. Viewers are shown squalid lives in an environment that most have only seen during a happy holiday season.

My main problem with The Florida Project ends up being the main characters themselves. Dafoe is superb, and arguably one of the nicest people you could have in a film like this. Unfortunately, Vinaite and Prince are portraying two of the most irritating people I have had to endure in a movie for some time. It's my own personal annoyance, and something that others may be able to overlook. There's no doubt that the people shown in this film are in a bad situation, but there's also no doubt that they seem to have given up on themselves and have decided to use their bad situation to excuse behaviour and attitudes that negatively impact on others around them. And it's that aspect of their personalities that rubs me the wrong way.

Many will disagree with me. They will say that the point of the film is to shine a spotlight on these people that we would usually avoid or ignore. I get that, which is why I appreciate the film more than I otherwise would. But I also get that people can be dealt a bad hand and drag themselves out of bed every day to face the world and reject the labels and stereotypes given to them by the rest of society. Those people won't always succeed, they may even never catch the break that they are working so hard for, but their story would, for me, make for a much better movie than this.

The Florida Project is better than Tangerine, and Baker and Bergoch also deserve a lot of praise for giving you such irritating characters and making you care even slightly by the time the surprisingly emotional final moments play out, but it's not a film I'll be rushing to revisit, or add to my own collection. I admired it, I appreciated it, but I'd never choose to watch it again.

6/10

You can buy it here.
Americans can buy it here.

xXx: State Of The Union (2005)

If you ever struggle with your place in the world, stressing out as you consider the fact that your IQ may be working against you, because ignorance is bliss, then you should immediately get your hands on xXx: State Of The Union. It WILL help lower that IQ. It's that dumb.

Lee Tamahori, a man who should stop giving us poor action movies and return to making films like the most excellent Once Were Warriors, is the director, working from a script by Simon Kinberg (who has a slightly better track record, but also gave us Fantastic Four), and it quickly becomes clear that it's a hodge podge of ridiculous action and bad decisions, accompanied by a number of obvious soundtrack choices.

Ice Cube is the new xXx, an ex-military rough guy who gets broken out from jail by Samuel L. Jackson (reprising his role of Agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons) and Michael Roof (reprising the much lesser role of Agent Toby Lee Shavers). This all happens because the xXx facility has been raided, people have been killed, and there's suspicion of a conspiracy that may reach as high as the Secretary Of Defence (Willem Dafoe) and the President Of The United States (Peter Strauss). Can Ice Cube snarl and punch-kick-throw enough people out of the way to complete his new mission?

Let me clarify something before we move forward, I can absolutely switch my brain off to enjoy a movie. Anyone who has met me for more than five minutes already knows that it takes me more effort to sometimes switch my brain ON. But the film still has to meet me halfway. This does not do that. It's even more ridiculous than the first film, which would be okay if a) they nailed the tone and b) could make the most of their budget. They manage neither.

Cube can do tough and mean, but he doesn't ever feel convincing in the full action hero role. Sorry, he just doesn't work here for me. Jackson can do his thing in his sleep, and he's okay, and Roof clearly couldn't believe his luck when he found that his minor tech guy role from the first movie had been beefed up for this instalment. Dafoe is fun, Strauss is bland, Scott Speedman is an agent who may end up helping or hindering Cube, and Xzibit pops up long enough to join in with some vehicular carnage. The main female characters are played by Nona Gaye and Sunny Mabrey, with the latter given a bit more to do than the former.

There are so many moments here to either relish or roll your eyes at, depending on your mood. The jailbreak sequence, for starters, features one of my pet peeves - a vehicle that makes no sound at all until it appears in frame. There are some nice cars on display, lots of stuntmen fall down to make Ice Cube look good, a tank on tank battle quickly becomes far too ridiculous, but ends well, and the finale features a car jumping on to some train tracks, shredding the rubber from the tyres, and still catching up to a . . . bullet train. Admittedly, I was laughing out loud at that point. It was a big mess, but I had already gone along with it all and I knew the end must be near.

Despite the twists and turns that the script takes, the biggest thing working against this movie is that it doesn't have the identity of the first film. As dumb as xXx was, it had the central gimmick (extreme sports legend sent in as a secret agent). This film is just an action movie that seems determined to be the dumbest film of 2005. Tamahori and Kinberg can do much better, as can most of the cast members. I suspect even Roof can do better. And I know that viewers can.

3/10.

Buy two movies here. 
Or Americans can get just the sequel here.

John Wick (2014)

Oh boy. John Wick is jaw-droppingly good. There's no point in holding back here. This is the most fun I've had with an action movie since The Raid 2: Berandal or The Guest. Which makes 2014 a bit of a banner year for action movie fans.

Keanu Reeves plays the titular character, a skilled killer who is now retired. When one character remarks that he is made to sound like the boogeyman, another immediately corrects him. John Wick is who you would send to kill the boogeyman. So why is anyone bothered about him if he's retired? Well, a daft lad (played by Alfie Allen) decided to break into his home, beat him up a bit, kill his dog, and steal his car. And it's the death of the dog that spurs Wick back into action. The daft lad may have a powerful criminal for a father (played by Michael Nyqvist) but that won't help him. Perhaps nothing will.

I'd like to read the screenplay for John Wick, written by Derek Kolstad, because I can only imagine that there are a few pages of character set-up before eighty pages that just contain the words "Wick shoots everyone in the face" - possibly scrawled in red ink. Because that's what makes this movie so fantastic. It's not a sanitised film trying to get a more lenient rating that will allow younger viewers to check it out in cinemas. This is a violent, bloody, brilliant piece of choreography.

Chad Stahelski, and David Leitch (who co-directed and co-produced with Stahelski), can bring the pain. They obviously worked closely with the stunt team to showcase physical routines that blend cinematic magic with details and moves that feel very real. Throw a lively soundtrack on top of the frenetic action and you have an easy crowd-pleaser for action junkies.

Reeves is better than ever here, adding to his not-inconsiderable roster of classic action movie heroes with another performance that requires him to be at his very best, both physically and in terms of attitude. The fact that none of the supporting players feel completely overshadowed is testament to the efficient script and the great casting. Allen is amusing as the hot-headed youngster acting brave until in very real danger, Nyqvist is great as the man who fears and respects Wick, while also doing everything he can to protect his foolish son. Willem Dafoe may be out to help our main character, may be out to harm him. Either way, he's excellent. And Adrienne Palicki is enjoyable as a dangerous female looking to score big when a price is put on Wick's head. Lance Reddick, Ian McShane and John Leguizamo round things out nicely, all making the best of their limited screentime.

It's genuinely hard to imagine any action fan disliking this movie. Okay, animal lovers will be upset by the motivation for the main killing spree, but it's that seemingly minor plot point that also makes this such a pure, enjoyable experience. Wick is a good man capable of very bad things, and you never once feel that he's going too far when the extent of just what he's had taken away from him becomes clear.

One to see/buy as soon as possible. I know that I'm already dying to rewatch it as soon as I've finished writing this review.

9/10

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Streets Of Fire (1984)

A rock and roll fable, apparently, from director Walter Hill, Streets Of Fire may seem like a bit of an anomaly when compared to the many other movies from the director, but it doesn't take long to see just how many familiar elements are in place here.

Diane Lane plays a rock star, Ellen Aim, who is kidnapped one evening by an unruly biker gang led by Willem Dafoe. The biker gang have been revving into town whenever they like, causing trouble and not coming up against anyone who can teach them to behave a bit better. Kidnapping Ellen, however, leads to a young woman named Reva (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) writing to her brother, Tom Cody (Michael Pare). Tom used to go out with Ellen, and he's the kind of guy who can stand up to the bikers and sort out the mess that's been created.

Bookended by a couple of bombastic rock tunes (think Meatloaf meets Bonnie Tyler style), Streets Of Fire isn't a full-on musical, but it has a few moments that pause the action for the sake of a song or two, and is all the better for it. In between the songs we get a number of fights, plenty of corny dialogue, and a few scenes that allow Bill Paxton to make you laugh with the best hairdo that he's ever had.

^^^^^^^^^ Seriously? Who styled his hair?? ^^^^^^^^^

The lone hero going against the baddies, and possibly helping to clean up the town. The motorbike engines tearing up the screen in a way that almost allows you to smell the exhaust fumes. The neon-lit streets that serve as the backdrops for the main action. In many ways, this often feels like a natural successor to The Warriors. There are youngsters trying to overcome some big odds, and most of the scenes could be broken down into comic book panels (but don't remind Hill of that, unless you want some ridiculous tinkering a la the director's cut of the aforementioned 1979 classic), and both movies are about gangs and territory, in a number of ways.

Cast-wise, Pare isn't the best leading man, but he grows into the role as required, and Lane is as gorgeous and cool as the character needs to be. Dafoe gives the kind of performance that you'd expect, making for an enjoyably fierce villain. Rick Moranis and Amy Madigan are two people who end up helping out our hero in very different ways, with the former portraying a businessman with little backbone and the latter a tough woman who values loyalty above potential cash. Paxton makes quite an impression, Rick Rossovich and Richard Lawson are a couple of fairly ineffective police officers, and Van Valkenburgh does well enough with her small role, even if her character does little more than kickstart the main plot.

Dafoe in full-on mad villain mode.

However, this is Hill's movie all the way. As well as directing, he also co-wrote the script with Larry Gross, and each sequence is planned out in line with his uncompromising vision. It's a fantastic achievement. Some may call it an exercise in style over substance, but I would argue that the style helps to create the substance. The motorbikes, the rockers, the love story at the heart of it all, the dialogue that eschews reality for the sake of sounding cool, the gruff (anti?) hero - all of these things are ripped straight from numerous rock ballads, and that's what this is. It's one big rock ballad turned into a movie. As it's described, and as I mentioned at the very start of this review, it IS a rock and roll fable. And it's a bloody fantastic one.

9/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Streets-Fire-Blu-ray-Diane-Lane/dp/B00F0R0FY4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405077781&sr=8-1&keywords=streets+of+fire