For It Is Man's Number: benicio del toro

Showing posts with label benicio del toro. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 September 2025

One Battle After Another (2025)

At the start of One Battle After Another, the main character, Pat (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), is shown helping to free immigrants from a detention centre. He is part of a revolutionary group, The French 75, but it's soon revealed that he became part of the cause because of his love for Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor). The group make a powerful enemy in Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), but the Colonel also becomes immediately infatuated with Perfidia. Things go wrong, years pass by, and Pat is now going by the name of Bob, and is now raising his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti) as a single father. He's often busy drinking or smoking weed, and he's paranoid about the past catching up with him. Being paranoid doesn't mean he's wrong though. The past soon starts catching up with him, and Lockjaw uses all of the military resources at his disposal to target Willa.

Before I get into some of the substance of the film, I'll mention all of the main cast members. DiCaprio gives another performance that taps into his talent for comedy, although it's different from the comedy he's done in other movies from the past decade. He's a burnt-out loser, but he at least had one or two shining moments in his past. Infiniti is so great in her first film role that I wouldn't hesitate to call this a star-making turn. And as for Penn, he gives what could well be his best turn in a very long time, somehow making his character buffoon-ish, but also constantly dangerous and threatening. Taylor makes a hell of an impression in her role, as powerful and majestic as she needs to be, and there's also time for brilliant work from Regina Hall and Benicio del Toro, the latter a calm and smart operator nicely juxtaposed alongside the frantic shambling of DiCaprio.

The tenth narrative feature film from writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson, and his second developed (loosely?) from source material written by Thomas Pynchon, One Battle After Another shows a film-maker absolutely confident in his abilities to juggle tone, explore some interesting themes in complex ways, and deliver moments of cinematic joy. This is a long film, the runtime is 161 minutes, but anyone who finds it pressing the right buttons for them won't be bothered. In fact, I was happy to spend as much time as possible revelling in this mix of madness and mayhem.

Despite taking a hell of a long time to finally get to the screen, Anderson had wanted to make this for years, this is a film that feels very much of the here and now. It shows the huge divide between the strong and the vulnerable, shows the ripple effect emanating out from acts of political violence, and also takes time to show that those with the real power and money will ultimately do their utmost to seek ideals of racial purity that would be laughable if it wasn't so deadly. While Anderson appears to plant his own flag very much in territory that would try to fend off the likes of Lockjaw and co., he has both a protagonist and an antagonist who end up as extremists due to dishonest motivations. But whatever the reasons, when you make major decisions based on either love or hate then you have to deal with the repercussions of those decisions for the rest of your life. It's not enough to be an occasional tourist in the kind of lives that we're shown. Commitment is necessary, for better or worse.

Taking time to let us know all of the main players, and the stakes, Anderson then has fun with a premise that keeps the characters constantly on the move. Accompanied by another great Johnny Greenwood score, there's an ongoing pursuit of our addled hero, gorgeous Michael Bauman cinematography and camera moves that you'd expect (although it never feels as if it is calling attention to itself), and at least one cracking car chase sequence in the third act. I've seen many rush to praise Anderson for his ability to handle action though, and I would warn potential viewers not to expect too much. But when you do get some unadulterated adrenalin-pumping moments then, oh boy, it IS good stuff indeed.

The more I think about One Battle After Another, the more I am impressed that the end result feels so completely satisfying. This is a film that features both pratfalls and a sequence showing Americans being executed by military personnel, it has horrible racists shown to be as absurd as they are deadly, and it paints a bleak picture of modern American scenarios we can see unfolding on the news daily while somehow also pointing out the characters and tactics that should give us some optimism.

I came away from this first viewing thinking that I really REALLY liked it, but didn't think it was quite the masterpiece some were already calling it. I'm already not so sure about that, and I can see myself considering this another slice of cinematic perfection from PTA whenever I get around to a rewatch, which I could happily indulge in right now.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Sunday, 24 November 2024

Netflix And Chill: Reptile (2023)

Not only is Reptile co-written by director Grant Singer, but star Benicio Del Toro apparently had a helping hand in the screenplay, alongside Benjamin Brewer. That makes it even more curious, considering how Del Toro is the best thing in it DESPITE the weak screenplay. A messy mix of neo-noir tropes and moments that seem to be struggling to give the movie more substance, Reptile is enormously unsatisfying. And it's made all the worse by how badly it wastes a great cast.

Del Toro plays a cop named Tom Nichols. He's been entangled in some bad stuff in the past, but he seems to be trying his best to be good at his job. That is essential when he is called to the scene of Summer Elswick's murder. Summer's body was discovered by Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), making him a prime suspect, but others soon start to arouse suspicion. It doesn't help that Grady and his mother (Frances Fisher) have upset people with their business practices. One of those upset people is a young man named Eli (Michael Pitt), who blames the Gradys for the suicide of his father. Maybe there's more to the case than what seems obvious though. Maybe Tom needs to start looking at everyone around him with equal suspicion.

Although he has a wealth of experience helming music videos, this appears to be the feature debut from Singer. That makes complete sense when you consider how much (misplaced) faith he has in the strength of such clumsy and half-baked material. There are some good moments here, some strong individual images, but there are just as many moments that don't work, whether it's the plotting of the central mystery that doesn't feel worth really caring about or the moments that have a discordant piece of music increasing in volume in a way that's supposed to unnerve viewers and lead to some nerve-tingling climax, but then fails to present anything to justify that audio choice. With both Brewer and Del Toro similarly inexperienced in the role of feature writer, Reptile is left as a collection of decent images that can barely cling on to the decomposing skeleton of the script that should have given it a strong centre.

Del Toro is much better in front of the camera though, and he's the best thing about this. His performance is easily on a par with some of his best work, and equally thoughtful and morally discombobulated, at times. Alicia Silverstone is excellent in the role of his wife, although she also suffers from one or two moments that seem to just peter out just as they could get more interesting. Timberlake is fine, working comfortably with a persona that he tends to portray well in movies, Fisher is riveting, despite having disappointingly little screentime, and Pitt adds another quirky turn to his repertoire. The fact that the film also has room for great work from Eric Bogosian, Domenick Lombardozzi, and Ato Essandoh (playing the partner to Del Toro's character) is both a plus and a minus, because everyone here deserves to be delivering that great work in a stronger film.

I'm guessing that this is a story that Del Toro was passionate about, considering he also attached himself as an executive producer, and I can see how the whole thing could have been handled much better, but the end result feels like a wasted opportunity. The cast cannot be faulted though, nor can the cinematography from Mike Gioulakis (with shot choices and framing complemented by some fine editing from Kevin Hickman). Technically, all is well. It's just the writing and direction that work against it, but those are the two areas that need to be locked down for this kind of material.

4/10

Wednesday, 1 November 2023

Prime Time: The Usual Suspects (1995)

An astonishingly accomplished second film from director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie, who had previously worked together on their debut, Public Access, The Usual Suspects holds up as well today as it did when it was first released. Almost.

The story concerns five criminals who end up brought together by the police during an investigation. They are Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), and Verbal (Kevin Spacey), and all five end up working together on a job that seems quite simple and profitable. Things soon become more complicated, however, when they are all informed that they have unwittingly crossed paths with a major criminal figure known as Keyser Söze. They now owe Söze, and he has a big job planned for them. This is all told to the viewer through flashbacks, with us hearing the tale as Verbal tells it to a tenacious cop named Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri). What starts off as the investigation of a heist gone wrong soon turns into a determined quest to uncover the real identity of Keyser Söze.

There's still a LOT here to enjoy, if you're a film fan or a noir fan, but rewatching The Usual Suspects is a way to savour many little details (mainly the nuances in the great performances from the ensemble cast) and pick apart a number of threads that don't seem to make sense. McQuarrie's script puts the emphasis on cool ahead of believability, but that's not a terrible thing when the dialogue is as crackling with energy as this is.

Singer directs with an assured hand, but he has such great source material to work with. The script is matched by the cast, and everything is lifted up by the editing and score from John Ottman. As much as I have enjoyed many films from Singer, he helps himself a lot by often combining the best cast with a good script (and we've subsequently seen the messy result when one of those elements isn't as strong as it could be).

Spacey is excellent as the figure at the centre of the spiderwebbing plot, a man forced into telling a tale to authorities that he hopes to use to avoid major jail time. Keaton lends weight to the central motley crew, the most serious figure forced to work alongside a group of skilled crooks who are more likely to land themselves in hot water than a big payday, and Pollak, Baldwin, and Del Toro are all excellent, with the latter having particular fun as he delivers his lines as unintelligibly as possible. Palminteri is enjoyably stern and tenacious, the cop probing even further as he feels himself getting increasingly closer to the full truth of the situation, and there are fun turns from Dan Hedaya, Peter Greene, Giancarlo Esposito, and Pete Postlethwaite, as well as one or two others (Suzy Amis is one of the few female characters, but she's given very little to work with).

Very rewatchable, and a lot of fun from start to finish, this remains a pretty great film. It just loses some power when you know what's coming, and when you can some time mulling over some of the more improbable plotting. Still highly recommended though, and certainly one that you need to watch if you've somehow not yet got around to it.

8/10

Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Prime Time: Sicario 2: Soldado (2019)

It may sound like a cliché to say it, but I really enjoyed Sicario because of the way it showed a very different kind of war, and the cold-blooded and tech-assisted approach to dealing with an enemy who wasn’t cloaked in an easily-identifiable uniform. Working around the rules and diplomacy, pushing everything right to the breaking point, those being depicted weren’t necessarily shown as heroes, but they believed they were working towards a greater good.

As good as that film was, nobody was crying out for a sequel. But here we are. A number of characters return, the main goals are similar, but permission has been granted to go even further than before. There has been another terrorist attacking on US soil, and the President wants to hammer the enemy into the ground.

Written by Taylor Sheridan (who also wrote the first movie), there’s even more shown here to reveal the dangerous game being played by the protagonists, and how disposable they are if things get too uncomfortable for those in power who give approval for their tactics. Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) is told he can let his main asset “off the leash”, which isn’t good news for anyone viewed as a target by Alejandro (aka the main asset, played by Benicio Del Toro). The plan is to pit Mexican drug warlords against one another, and the way to do that is with a few killings and the kidnapping of someone’s daughter (Isabel, played by Isabela Merced). Nobody wants to hurt the young girl, which is why the kidnap will then lead to her “rescue”, getting the Americans some brownie points while the gang war escalates. In theory.

Director Stefano Sollima is at the helm this time around, replacing Dennis Villeneuve, and his filmography will quickly show why he would seem to be a good fit for this material. Thankfully, the end result here also proves him to be a great choice, because this is a film that I feel easily sits alongside the first one, further developing some of the character arcs in a way that is hugely entertaining, yet also feeling organic and true to the nature of everyone involved. Sheridan’s script does that, Sollima’s direction does that, another excellent score from Hildur Guðnadóttir does that, and everyone else behind the camera works together to present a vision of organised violence, murky political machinations, and a palpable sense of intense heat (in more ways than one).

Brolin and Del Toro are once again excellent in their main roles, with both being determined and single-minded about achieving their desired results. Brolin’s character is more tied to the chain of command, and he nicely balanced his grit with the minimal amount of diplomacy required. Del Toro’s character, on the other hand, is free to act more off his gut instinct, showing that he’s more than just a guided missile in human form, at least until those in charge decide that he shouldn’t. Matthew Modine and Catherine Keener are both people higher up in the chain of command, and both appear in a few scenes to set up the main mission and then balk as the parameters start to move further away from the initial vision. Then there is Merced, billed here as Isabela Moner. Although I have only seen her in a handful of main roles, Merced is an actress I will always have time for. Her performance here is as excellent as anything else she has done, and she would already be a huge star in an ideal world. Keep an eye out for her name in any future movie releases, she is surely destined to soon have numerous projects more deserving of her talent than the dire Transformers film that she ended up in. I should also mention Elijah Rodriguez, who does a decent enough job playing a slightly under-written character who proves to be pivotal to the plot.

If you like violent thrillers then you should like this. If you liked the first movie then you should like this. Like Brolin and Del Toro? Then you should like this. I might like it more than most people, but I hope that at least a few others agree with me.

8/10

Sunday, 14 May 2023

Netflix And Chill: Traffic (2000)

Based on a TV series that I sadly never saw (yet), Traffic is another excellent ensemble film from Steven Soderbergh that allows him to play to his strengths aka his ability to marry the right cast to an intelligent script and present everything in a way that is both grounded and also cine-literate and full of memorable moments.

In case you couldn't guess from the title, Traffic is all about the drug trade, showing how it affects a number of key figures in both America and Mexico. Danger and death are never too far from people on the front line (played by the likes of Benicio Del Toro, Don Cheadle, and Luis Guzmán), getting a proper handle on the situation may prove too difficult for someone making moves politically (Michael Douglas), and those high up the "food chain" (such as characters played by Thomas Milian and Steven Bauer) might prove impossible to bring back down to within reaching distance of the not-so-long arms of the law.

Everyone I have just mentioned does a great job here, but the highlights are undoubtedly, for me, Del Toro, Douglas, and Catherine Zeta-Jones (playing the wife of a businessman arrested for drug dealing). Cheadle and Guzmán work brilliantly together, and they have a number of scenes with the brilliant Miguel Ferrer, who surprises nobody by turning up onscreen to spend some time being . . . brilliant. Erika Christensen has the job of showing how drugs can easily take hold of the kids, helped along by her unfortunate association with a young sleazebag played by Topher Grace. Some characters may figure more prominently than others, but everyone plays their part in showing the risks and rewards, and the outward ripple effect, of the drug supply chain.

Soderbergh has a savvy script by Stephen Gaghan to work with, and he treats it well. It may seem like an obvious gimmick to give the differing story strands a basic kind of colour coding, but it certainly helps to keep viewers orientated as we jump from one scenario to another, looking out for important developments and points of interconnection (not necessarily in the standard narratives or character moments, but more often in the methodology and the shaping of spiderwebbing plans).

Despite all of the positives on display here, Traffic could have easily failed if it had at any point started to feel like some piece of scaremongering or propaganda. Thanks to Gaghan and Soderbergh, it never does. There's one hard truth at the heart of this, and it's not one that everyone will appreciate. The war on drugs was never won, and probably never will be. A profitable drug economy is like a viral video of some majorly embarrassing incident. No matter how much people hope it will disappear, it's only going to spread and worm into the global consciousness of anyone who gets wind of it.

One or two scenes in the third act notwithstanding, bits of melodrama that feel unnecessary and a bit overdone, this is a strong contender for Soderbergh's finest film, and those brief moments aren't enough to stop it from being something I consider pretty perfect. I'd even say that it's a film vying for a very high position in the respective filmographies of every main cast member. Smart, thrilling, equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, Traffic is a film that everyone should watch at least once. And I'm sure many will make time for repeat viewings.

10/10

Sunday, 27 November 2022

Netflix And Chill: The Pledge (2001)

There's an interesting history for the source material of The Pledge, written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and I would very much like to check out It Happened In Broad Daylight, a previous film working with Dürrenmatt's story, but I am not here to present an overview of that journey. I'm just going to review the film I saw, but I wanted to make people aware of other ways to discover this story.

Jack Nicholson plays Jerry Black, a police detective due to retire. Plans for a happy send-off are disrupted by the discovery of a child's corpse in the local area, and Jerry becomes determined to end his career by solving this case. Someone must be brought to justice. An evil individual must be stopped. Perhaps that can happen when Toby Jay Wadenah (Benicio del Toro) is brought in for questioning, or perhaps this case will haunt Jerry for a long time, warping his mind as he obsesses over every detail and remains determined to find a killer he believes is still at large.

The third feature film directed by the po-faced agitator known as Sean Penn (a man who probably smiled when that bloody U2 album was automatically downloaded to his iTunes account, and still listens to it weekly), The Pledge is a superb film for a number of reasons, including Penn's confident direction throughout. The writing gives you everything you need without feeling patronising, but also allows for a lot of quieter moments without testing your patience. The screenplay was co-written by Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromolowski (a husband and wife writing duo), and they do a great job at making the most of the source material.

Another big plus, arguably the biggest, is the performance from Jack Nicholson. Nicholson is a much-celebrated actor, and has delivered a number of truly iconic performances, but it's hard to argue against the fact that his roles throughout the past few decades most often felt like he was playing some version of himself. Like a number of other actors I could mention, Nicholson became all too easy to view as a parody at times, but he does work here that reminds you of just how great he can be with material that doesn't ask him to rely on his usual tricks and manic twinkle in the eyes. He's surrounded by an excellent selection of people supporting him, no matter the size of their roles, including the aforementioned Del Toro. Others stepping up to the mark include Aaron Eckhart, Robin Wright, Helen Mirren, and Tom Noonan.

Full of dread and despair throughout, this certainly isn't a film to watch when you're not prepared for something that will put you through the emotional wringer. There is a middle section that provides just enough temporary respite, but that only makes it slightly easier to battle all the way through to an ending that may or may not provide some kind of resolution for the central characters. Or, in other words, be prepared to walk under dark grey clouds, even if you get some time when you're not being rained on.

You may not want to revisit this, I myself have only just given it a second viewing for this review, but you'll be glad that you watched it. And that's my pledge to you.*

*not legally binding.

9/10

Monday, 9 April 2018

The Last Jedi (2017)

It's the same old story when it comes to beloved film franchise instalments. Fans complain if something feels too beholden to everything that has come before it and then you also get an outcry if they think something has made too many changes to the characters or material they have grown with over a number of years.

I can just imagine writer/director Rian Johnson rubbing his hands together in glee as he clicked everything into place for this film, undoubtedly under the watchful eyes of many people with a vested interest in what is probably the most profitable moneymakers in cinema history, in terms of combined box office and merchandising. This is a film that manages to emulate the feeling of devastation and insurmountable odds that featured in The Empire Strikes Back while also still managing to do enough to stand out as something surprisingly unique.

A lot of that comes from the visual design, with a number of set-pieces making the most of the colour red, either alone or as it contrasts with the environment (in much the same way that gunfights and swordfights can be elevated when blood is spattering on to crisp, white snow). More of that unique feeling comes from the ways in which the main characters are shown to have been transformed by their experiences, be they recent or years in the past. Luke is very different from when we last saw him (something that Mark Hamill famously, initially, disagreed with Johnson on). Leia is even more of a military leader than ever before. Kylo Ren continues to try to find a way forward that will give him both notoriety and some personal satisfaction, Rey may or may not be destined to be a Jedi, and heroic pilot Poe Dameron may have to accept the fact that his rash actions are costing too many lives for him to keep careening forward without enough consideration of the risks and reward.

I guess I should mention the plot, although I feel like I already have. Sort of. The Last Jedi is a character piece, it's a war film, it's a sci-fi epic showing entertaining fights that also manages to show people starting to fully realise the consequences of their actions, be they small or huge. That's what it's all about, and the various twists and turns of the plot are largely redundant "filler", in some ways, if you consider how the whole thing begins and ends (wait and see).

Most of the main players from The Force Awakens return, and they're all still very good in their roles. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega remain two sides of a coin depicting unlikely heroes, with the former wondering if she can ever learn to use the force and the latter doing whatever he can physically to give allies time and space. Oscar Isaac continues to be a hugely likable presence as Dameron, which is more essential this time as his character makes a couple of dubious judgment calls. Hamill is very good, darker than we've ever seen him before, Fisher gets a fitting final turn as Leia, and both Adam Driver and Domnhall Gleeson are as entertaining in their evil roles as they were the first time around. Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern are two of the main newcomers, both do well but it's Dern who is given the better character.

You also get to see BB-8 again, Kelly Marie Tan (another newcomer) is pretty great as Rose Tico, someone else willing to keep doing their part for the war even as the odds become more and more overwhelming, there's a small amount of screentime for Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), Andy Serkis portrays the mysterious Snoke, there's a near-overdose of cuteness in the shape of little creatures called porgs, a near-overdose of CGI in a completely superfluous chase sequence reminiscent of the overstuffed prequel trilogy, plenty of cameo appearances (both obvious and really not so obvious - hard to see faces under those trooper helmets), and another fantastic score from John Williams.

Some will hate it, some will love it. I love it, and I hope that eventually even those who were so up in arms about the decisions made will recognise that Johnson did what needed to be done in order to keep the franchise from fading out before this new story arc was completed.

8/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

Noir November: The Way Of The Gun (2000)

Written by Christopher McQuarrie, who also decided to make it his directorial debut, The Way Of The Gun is a non-stop assortment of fantastic moments. It is, in fact, a minor modern classic, all too often overlooked in favour of movies that are deemed to have a better pedigree. Considering this film has James Caan in one of his best roles, and a nice turn from Geoffrey Lewis, with two great lead performances from Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro, I urge everyone to reconsider their opinion of it.

Phillippe and Del Toro play Mr. Parker and Mr. Longbaugh, respectively. They're not good men, as is made clear in perhaps one of the greatest opening scenes in the past 20 years. Drifting along, making money from selling various body fluids (another great scene shows them at a sperm bank), the two men overhear a conversation that starts them thinking about a big score. It turns out that a rich man (Scott Wilson) is about to be given a child by a surrogate mother (Juliette Lewis). Until she delivers the baby, the mother is very valuable indeed. She's being guarded at all times (by Taye Diggs and Nicky Katt), but that won't stop them from pulling off an impressive heist. Or so they hope. Can they manage it, and can they then negotiate themselves a fine payday without too much further trouble?

Full of great humour, resonant dialogue, and a number of great twists and turns, The Way Of The Gun showcases just what a great talent McQuarrie is. He can create cool characters and situations, and he loves to work some grittiness into the material, but he also allows for a layer of warmth that adds to the appeal of almost everyone onscreen. These are movie characters, but they're still allowed to be human.

Despite strong competition, I consider the two central performances here to be career-best turns from both Phillippe and Del Toro. Both work brilliantly in their roles, whether separately or alongside one another, and part of the brilliance of the screenplay is the way in which McQuarrie places them out of their depth without ever making them stupid. Watch their tactics, and listen to every line of dialogue, and you'll soon realise how smart they are. Diggs and Katt are also not stupid. They just happen to find themselves outwitted by an audacious move. Mind you, it takes time to figure out if they're better or worse than the characters played by Phillipe and Del Toro. Lewis is pretty good, although she's required to be the most vulnerable of all the characters onscreen, obviously. Baby bump or no, she has moments in which she gets to show how determined she can be when it comes to protecting her child. But I'd have to say that the scene-stealer of the movie is the mighty James Caan, putting in a performance here that hints at what may have become of Frank, the character he played in Thief. I'd put this up there as one of his best turns, perhaps even second only to his work in the aforementioned film. His scenes with Del Toro give the movie a beating heart, while his scenes with Geoffrey (yes, father of Juliette) Lewis highlight the cynicism and weariness that inevitably take over anyone who continues to work in a world constantly being invaded by the young. Dylan Kussman is the other main player, and does just fine as the doctor hoping to keep his pregnant patient from harm.

There are many moments here that feel cinematically cool, but they rarely feel as if they're shoehorned in there JUST to be cool. Even those, fairly unnecessary, opening scenes serve to set up the characters and the world that they inhabit. And how can you hate anyone who comes up with the colourful phrase: "Shut that cunts mouth or I'll come over there and fuckstart her head!"? It's profane, yet equally hilarious for the way it immediately makes jaws drop.

Is everyone going to love this movie? No. But I firmly believe that they should. McQuarrie is a talented writer-director (I also highly recommend Jack Reacher if you've not yet seen it) and I look forward to what he's yet to show us. It may not equal this debut, but he's failed to disappoint me yet.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Way-Gun-Blu-ray-Benicio-Toro/dp/B002NPY7EU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1416514616&sr=8-2&keywords=the+way+of+the+gun

Saturday, 23 August 2014

Sin City (2005)

Cool, stylish, almost perfectly cast, and with many frames that look ripped straight from the pages of Frank Miller's original work, it's hard not to consider Sin City as one of the best comic-book movies of all time.

Director Robert Rodriguez, helped by Quentin Tarantino, also wrote the screenplay, and sets out from the very beginning to immerse viewers in a stark, black and white world of anti-heroes and villains. There are splashes of colour here and there, depicting bloodshed, strong feelings, or even just a nice pair of eyes. One other bonus, this was one of the last few films made to star Bruce Willis before he decided to sleepwalk into every paycheck.

There are little extra bits interspersed throughout, but the move iss mainly made up of three tales. In one, Bruce Willis plays an old cop who wants to get his man (Nick Stahl) at any cost. His perp is a sicko, but he's a sicko with a rich, influential father (Powers Boothe). In the second tale we get to meet Marv (Mickey Rourke), a big, brute of a man moves to action when he's set up for a murder he didn't commit. The murder of a woman that he felt great affection for. Clive Owen clashes with Benicio Del Toro in the third tale, leading to a situation that could cause a lot of trouble for the deadly working girls of Sin City. And then it's back to that dogged cop, many years later but no less determined.

As well as those mentioned, Sin City also features Josh Hartnett, Jaime King, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rutger Hauer, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Jessica Alba, Carla Gugino, Alexis Bledel, Michael Madsen, Devon Aoki, and many more. It's certainly a star-studded cast but, more than that, everyone feels perfect for the role given to them.

Featuring his usual cool soundtrack accompanying the visuals, this manages to feel both like a great Frank Miller film and also a great Rodriguez joint. It's almost a perfect marriage of material and director.

Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up quite as well on repeat viewings. It's still very enjoyable, and consistently gorgeous to look at (seriously, freeze frame it at almost any moment and you get a gorgeous comic panel), but the pacing could have been tightened up slightly to bring the movie in under two hours, with the Owen/Del Toro section of the movie dragging things down badly.

For those who like their movies steeped in traditional aspects of cinema, this is a love or hate film. Shot almost entirely on green screen, with only a few real sets utilised, it's a unique experience, but one that absolutely works, in my opinion, due to the nature of the material.

If you want nuance and realism then feel free to reach for a thousand other movies before this one. But if you want something cool, visually stunning, and with moments of painful ultra-violence, then this might just be the ticket.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Sin-City-Blu-ray-Powers-Boothe/dp/B00FAHYNYC/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1408780621&sr=1-1&keywords=sin+city

And UK folks, don't forget to check out a double-bill at the cinema this weekend, while a lot of venues are showing this and Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Such tickets can be found at sites like this one - http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Cameo_Picturehouse/News/item/Sin_City_Sin_City_A_Dame_To_Kill_For/