Mubi Monday: Thelma & Louise (1991)

It's very easy to remember parts of Thelma & Louise, particularly that ending that someone somewhere in Hollywood still thought could be reworked to provide people with a sequel, but it's also easy to forget a number of big positives.

Although directed by Ridley Scott, this is a film that feels impressively in tune with the female leads, helped mainly by the performances of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, as well as the screenplay by Callie Khouri. It also has an enjoyable selection of male actors happy to provide a snapshot of the range of men that our leads deal with, and any film that has "The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan" gets a bonus point from me.

Davis is Thelma, Sarandon is Louise. The two head off on a road trip. Thelma is happy to get some time away from her uncaring and self-absorbed husband, Darryl (Christopher McDonald), and Louise wonders how her Jimmy (Michael Madsen) will cope without her around. Unfortunately, the trip takes a serious turn for the worse when Thelma becomes a victim of the abusive Harlan (Timothy Carhart). One quick decision turns both women into fugitives, soon to be pursued by a cop (Hal, played by Harvey Keitel) who senses there's something more to the story than what the evidence will tell them. Things soon become more serious, and more desperate, but Louise can at least ask Jimmy for some help. Meanwhile, Thelma makes time for some fun with a hot young hitch-hiker named J.D. (Brad Pitt)

I've always liked both Davis and Sarandon, and both have done great work throughout their entire film careers, but there's no denying that Thelma & Louise is the film that took their careers to another level. One may have continued to get more onscreen work than the other, but both women remain hugely impactful figures in the industry to this day. The fact that they both have such great chemistry here, with one another and with others they interact with, is a vital part of the film's success. I'm sure others could have made this work, but Davis and Sarandon make it all easy to believe, and be invested in. Their performances being so light and enjoyable also helps when it comes to sugar-coating the bitter pills that the film forces viewers to swallow down.

While men are very much the root of the main problems here, and many women will agree that the film reflects reality in that main thematic strand, it’s also a pleasant surprise to revisit this and remember how many of the men are shown in quite a good light. Keitel wants everything to end as quickly and safely as possible, Madsen shows, perhaps a little too late, how much he really loves Sarandon, even if that means having to watch her leave his life, and Pitt plays a real charmer who just happens to have a very bad habit that ruins any of the chemistry between himself and Davis. Carhart is suitably loathsome, and horrendous enough to make his fate feel satisfying, while McDonald is loathsome in a different way, and always does so brilliant in that kind of role that I would love to meet him in real life one day and be shocked by how nice I am sure he actually is.

No performance hits a wrong note, and there are still too few films like this to this day. Not comedic, not trying to be cool and sexy, not balanced perfectly with the good and the bad. This is just two strong women who have had enough of the crap heaped upon them by a patriarchal world, and the ending manages to be as equally uplifting and sad as anything in the rest of the film.

9/10

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Mubi Monday: Boarding Gate (2007)

I tend to, overall, enjoy the films of Olivier Assayas, but I know that he creates interesting and challenging art. If I dislike something that he makes then I may end up REALLY disliking it. Boarding Gate is one of his films that I really disliked, yet there's still enough here to have made me feel it was worthwhile. It's just a shame that he made such a major mistake in casting the central figure here. Asia Argento, probably not through any fault of her own, is generally not a very good actress. She can be fine in the right roles, but I think that being praised for years by her father, who would often place her in a variety of twisted and disturbing scenarios, has given her a false impression of her own level of talent, which is sadly very low.

Argento plays a woman named Sandra here, and Sandra has spent years helping out various people by using her sexuality to gain information, confidence, and time. Her main "employer" was a man named Miles Rennberg (Michael Madsen), but she now seems to be focused on developing relationships with Lester (Carl Ng) and Sue Wang (Kelly Lin). What unfolds is a tale of treachery, attempted shady business deals, and Sandra moving further and further into dangerous waters.

Although it's sometimes an interesting study of people using one another in different ways, and Assayas also uses the main premise to show business conducted by people who are happy to see others literally fucked over, Boarding Gate just doesn't make anything interesting enough in the scenes that fall in between moments of Argento being sexy (for those who find her sexy . . . I'm not in that group, unfortunately). The low-key approach to the material keeps the characters, and the potential divide between their words and actions, in front of anything else, which would be fine if those characters were as interesting as Assayas seems to think they are.

Aside from the weak Argento in the main role, you also get disappointment from Madsen, apparent disinterest from Ng, and nobody else to watch with interest. Almost nobody. Thankfully, Lin is excellent in her role, and it's a shame that her character wasn't developed to figure much more prominently in the way that events play out. She gets more to do in the second half, but I would have preferred the movie to be about her life, what information she has and what she chooses to do with it, rather than all about Argento's character.

Look, if you like Argento (and I know many people do) then you may enjoy this film a fair bit more than I did. You might also enjoy the performance from Madsen more than I did. So you should give this a watch, especially if you're a fan of other Assayas movies. I find it to be one of his worst, and I'd warn most people to stay far away from it.

3/10

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The Hateful Eight (2015)

Although he's become, arguably, a much more divisive figure in recent years, Quentin Tarantino is a director who certainly knows how to sell his product. The hype machine for The Hateful Eight started up quite a while ago, and continues while the movie is on release (thanks to the limited 70mm screenings - which are even more limited here in the UK, unfortunately). Which makes it hard to process if you come out of the cinema having not completely loved one of his films. Thankfully, that's a rare occurence. Aside from Death Proof (which I still rate as a solid 7/10) and the second volume of Kill Bill, I've never felt disappointed by Tarantino. I have an idea of what to expect going in, and he delivers.

The Hateful Eight is his second Western, coming along after his first full feature in the genre (the superb Django Unchained). Whereas the film before it, however, was a lively mixture of violence, comedy, and discomfort, The Hateful Eight turns out to be quite a different animal. Despite still having a similar mix of ingredients, in differing amounts (which I guess you could say about every Tarantino film, of course).

Kurt Russell plays John Ruth, a man travelling with a woman named Daisy Domergue (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh). He's taking Daisy to the town of Red Rock to collect a bounty and see her hung. Unfortunately, the wagon that the pair are travelling in can barely keep ahead of a blizzard that's on their tails. Major Marquis Warren (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is stuck in the snow, and eventually receives a life from Ruth. As does Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), a little while later. And the new quartet get themselves to Minnie's Haberdashery, just in time to get much-needed shelter and warmth, where they meet some other men who are also avoiding the blizzard. But everything might not be as it seems.

Taking cues from his previous works, Agatha Christie, and The Thing, Tarantino would seem to have lined up another treat for fans. The cast certainly stay on the top of their game - alongside those mentioned, viewers will enjoy turns from Bruce Dern, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen, as well as a few others. The premise is solid. And the framing and cinematography is often gorgeous, even if the majority of the movie takes place in the one location.

The big surprise here is also the biggest disappointment. The writing isn't up to scratch. Oh, there are moments that will tickle your earbuds, and moments that I am sure the cast absolutely relished sinking their teeth into, but there are also some big mis-steps. For example, one scene shows a character who barely brings himself to talk to another character, except in anger. But that only last a few scenes, only until Tarantino NEEDS the characters to talk in order to set up a big scene. Then we have two scenes that utilise a voiceover narration because, well, I just don't know why. If the whole movie had the same kind of commentary then it would be fine, or if the scenes couldn't be expressed in a purely visual manner, but it doesn't and they could. Making the decision to clumsily chat over just a couple of random scenes quite a bewlidering one.

The other aspect of the writing to cause some frustration is the level of self-cannibalising that Tarantino indulges in. Viewers know that you can rely on ol' QT to pepper his movies with a veritable cornucopia of references to other films, which is part of the joy, but when he sprinkles in enough moments that feel as if they're referencing his own past glories then it's hard not to think that you're watching a copy of a copy, inevitably appearing as a weaker image. Even the one or two songs used on the soundtrack don't feel right. They just feel as if they've been put there by a man who knows that it's expected of him. This may seem like a minor niggle, and something not worthy of this full paragraph, but once it's noticed it then becomes hard to completely enjoy the movie without considering the shadow cast over it.

But let me clarify something. Although I have gone on about the negative aspects of the movie, I still had a hell of a great time with The Hateful Eight. I was on board as soon as Russell and Jackson started to speak to one another and every subsequent character introduction set another smile on my face (especially Roth, who really should be getting more great movie roles). There's an original score by Ennio Morricone for fans to enjoy. And when the script works, as it does in many instances, then you can revel in the simple pleasure of great actors delivering great lines.

Overall, this is far from his best work. But I'll take a lesser Tarantino movie over many other viewing choices, any day.

NB - due to the fact that I don't live within a reasonable distance of Leicester Square in London, the version of the movie that I watched wasn't the full 70mm version, that comes complete with a few minutes of extra footage, overture, and intermission. BUT all of you lucky Edinburgh folk, and anyone near enough to commute, DO get the chance to see the full version next month, at The Filmhouse - http://www.filmhousecinema.com/showing/the-hateful-eight-70mm-feb16/

7/10

Pick up this Tarantino boxset here, to tide you over until The Hateful Eight is released - http://www.amazon.com/Quentin-Tarantino-Ultimate-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B00U1QGJBM/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1452156857&sr=1-1&keywords=quentin+tarantino

Piranhaconda (2012)

Piranhaconda is another creature feature from director Jim Wynorski, and if there's one thing you can say about that man it's that he knows his audience. Produced by Roger Corman, this has beasties, bloodshed and busty ladies, and those are the key ingredients in making an enjoyable b-movie, according to some people. It's just a shame that the film doesn't quite do enough to be really good. I enjoyed watching it, but I won't be revisiting it any time soon.

The plot is right there in the title. There's a piranachonda or two loose in an exotic location, and a bunch of people do their best to avoid becoming a snack for the creatures. Those assorted characters include an egg-snatching Professor (Michael Madsen), a film crew (including the lovely Terri Ivens, Shandi Finnessey, and Rib Hillis), a couple (Cindy Lucas and Matthew Scott Townsend) trying to enjoy their holiday, and some opportunistic criminal types (including Rachel Hunter, Michael Swan and Noah Blake).

The special FX work on display is varied (although everything is slightly better after the opening sequence), the film has a lively theme song, there's no proper sense of geography, the acting isn't great (although the lovely Terri Ivens does just fine), and logic goes out of the window within the first few minutes. But you knew that already, because this is a film called Piranhaconda.

The cast are far from the worst bunch ever assembled to parade in front of cameras, the script by Mike MacLean, has some welcome humour running throughout, and I have already mentioned the lovely Terri Ivens.

It may be dumb fun, but it IS fun. That's why any b-movie such as this one will never be completely dismissed as long as it tries to keep people entertained. The worst crime that a film can commit is to be boring, and Piranhaconda isn't boring.

5/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Piranhaconda-DVD-Michael-Madsen/dp/B009W1NSXY/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1394401699&sr=1-1&keywords=piranhaconda

Mulholland Falls (1995)

A decent thriller written by Peter Dexter and directed by Lee Tamahori, Mulholland Falls is one of the best films I've seen recently without having heard any praise for it beforehand. It has some nice period detail, decent plotting and one or two good set-pieces, but the whole thing is made well above average by the superb ensemble cast.

Nick Nolte is the main character, a man investigating the death of a beautiful young woman (Jennifer Connelly). Unfortunately, that young woman was caught on film having sexual relations with one or two men, one of them being a very important General (John Malkovich). And the other being Nolte, which puts him in a bit of a compromised position, especially as he tries to keep his infidelity hidden from his wife (Melanie Griffith). As the investigation continues, moments of violence punctuate the proceedings while Nolte heads on a path that may not end well for him.

As I have done before, let me just sell this movie to people by reeling off the names from the cast list. Nolte, Connelly, Griffith, Malkovich, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Chazz Palminteri, Treat Williams, Bruce Dern, Daniel Baldwin, William Petersen, Rob Lowe, Louise Fletcher and Andrew McCarthy. A few of those people only appear for a moment or two, in an uncredited cameo role, but that's still a mighty fine selection of talent.

Everything is in place, with the look and feel of the movie perfectly capturing a bygone era, but it's also not spectacular in any way, with the exception of the cast. The script sadly leaves a couple of the main characters just lingering in the background of many scenes, while Tamahori deals with the material in a clean, unshowy manner, relying on the story and the characters to hold the interest of viewers. Well, although I know that many others will feel differently, that worked for me.

Not one to easily recommend to people, I will still take the plunge and . . . . . . . . . . recommend it to people. It oozes quality from start to finish, and I hope that more people like it as much as I do if/when they give it some time.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mulholland-Falls-DVD-Nick-Nolte/dp/B00004W4H6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385375171&sr=8-1&keywords=mulholland+falls

Kill Me Again (1989)

The directorial debut of John Dahl, Kill Me Again is an enjoyable neo-noir that suffers in comparison to the future films that Dahl would deliver (most notably, The Last Seduction, but also the great Red Rock West).

Things start off with Fay (Joanne Whalley, billed here when she was Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) and Vince (Michael Madsen) making away with a suitcase full of stolen money. It turns out to be a lot more than Vince thought it would be, leading him to start worrying and considering where they can go to lie low. Fay doesn't want to lie low, so she gets Vince out of the picture and heads off on her own. Well, on her own with the suitcase full of money. Knowing that Vince will be in hot pursuit, Fay contacts a private eye (Val Kilmer) and asks him to help fake her death. She doesn't tell him the truth, of course, but she tells him enough to get him interested, with the bit about paying him $10,000 - an amount that he owes to people who are happy to hurt his fingers - probably the most interesting part. Things go according to plan . . . . . . . up to a point. Then, almost inevitably, things start to go awry.

Both Kilmers do well in their roles, with Val Kilmer playing the standard detective part well and Joanne Whalley being suitably sexy and manipulative. Michael Madsen remains a credible threat throughout the film, and there's a small role for Jon Gries (an actor I always enjoy watching, especially in '80s fare). Unfortunately, nobody else really stands out, good or bad, and the main characters aren't developed well enough to make the whole movie great. It's quite good, with the main problems being the pacing and a loose feeling to the whole thing, but it's not great.

Dahl, who also co-wrote the screenplay with David W. Warfield, shows his potential here, but also can't hide the fact that this is his first directorial feature. He has a good sense of style, and the script has a decent "skeleton" to it, but there just isn't enough good stuff fleshing out the movie beyond the main plot points.

It's okay, worth giving some time to if there is nothing better available, but it should have been more exciting, a bit sexier and a bit less . . . . . . . slapdash.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kill-Again-DVD-Val-Kilmer/dp/B00005AY11/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384960161&sr=8-1&keywords=kill+me+again

Scary Movie 4 (2006)

It may not be quite as good as the preceding instalment, but Scary Movie 4 is a surprisingly good comedy, thanks mainly to the material being enjoyably childish as opposed to the irritating crudeness of the first two movies in the series.

This time around the series pokes fun at the Saw franchise, War Of The Worlds, The Grudge and The Village, among other targets. Anna Faris and Regina Hall both return as Cindy and Brenda, respectively, and Simon Rex, Charlie Sheen, Anthony Anderson and Kevin Hart briefly reprise their roles from the third movie, but this isn't overly concerned with maintaining any perfect continuity. It's just another opportunity to take characters that audiences seem to like and drop them into some outrageous situations.

The main new addition to the cast is Craig Bierko, playing Tom, the everyman hero based on the character played by Tom Cruise in War Of The Worlds (and, in some latter scenes, simply based on Tom Cruise in real life). When an alien invasion upsets everyone's day, Tom tries to protect his son and daughter while also assuring Cindy that they will find each other after they have both done what they have to do. Cindy, you see, is also busy trying to figure out why she keeps seeing the ghost of a small, Japanese boy and what exactly he may be trying to tell her.

The best thing to happen to the Scary Movie series is David Zucker taking over the directorial duties (well, that was the best thing to happen until the dire Scary Movie V) and this shows, once again, just how much fun he can wring out of potentially groan-inducing stuff. The script, by Craig Mazin, Pat Proft and Jim Abrahams, isn't exactly the sharpest or smartest, but Zucker puts together a fun cast and does well with budget. This isn't a movie that looks cheap, although it's worth noting that it doesn't make the mistake of looking too polished either.

The cast is a huge plus point, as it was in Scary Movie 3, with those involved including, but not limited to, Bill Pullman, Leslie Nielsen (reprising his role as the inept POTUS), Molly Shannon, Carmen Electra, Phil McGraw AKA Dr. Phil, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Madsen, Chris Elliott (almost, but not quite, as annoying as he was in Scary Movie 2) and Cloris Leachman. Plus those already mentioned above.

If you've seen, and enjoyed, the other movies then there's no reason for you not to be pleased by this one. It's just a shame that the next film, released seven years later, was such a massive drop in quality. Viewers should stop at this one. In fact, I implore you to do so. For your own mental wellbeing.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scary-Movie-Collection-DVD/dp/B001ECPV6Q/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1377373211&sr=8-11&keywords=scary+movie

Species (1995)

Species is a delirious b-movie given an (at the time, anyway) a-list cast. There are many ways in which the whole thing could be written off as complete nonsense unworthy of your time, and I'm sure that many people feel that way, but there are also many ways in which it just keeps piling on the fun until viewers give in and go along with the whole ridiculousness of it all.

The plot is all about contact with alien intelligence. Yep, scientists searching for extraterrestrial life have hit paydirt but this isn't so much a flowing dialogue as it is a fractured exchange of ideas. Earth has been sending up a message for a long time now and aliens finally respond with a formula that leads to a great new energy source. The second message from somewhere out in the universe contains information about alien DNA and how to splice it with human DNA. So the science folk give it a go. They end up with a young girl (Sil, played by Michelle Williams). Sadly, when Sil starts displaying some worrying behaviour in her sleep it's decided that the project must end. Which means destroying Sil with cyanide. Sil doesn't like that plan and escapes, just in time for her body to change as she metamorphasises into her adult form (Natasha Henstridge). She needs to be found and stopped so a team is assembled consisting of an anthropologist (Alfred Molina), an empath (Forrest Whitaker), a molecular biologist (Marg Helgenberger) and a mercenary (Michael Madsen). They are given their instructions by the team leader Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) and the hunt is on. Meanwhile, the rapidly-maturing Sil starts to get broody.

Roger Donaldson directs from a script by Dennis Feldman that throws a few smart lines in with a number of laughable clunkers (the context of the moment that has Forrest Whitaker saying "something . . . . bad . . . happened here" remains one of my favourite unintentional laughs ever). Yet it seems clear throughout that all involved knew how preposterous the core idea was - a gorgeous alien is on the prowl for a mate while a group of folks try to get to her in time - and had a lot of fun with it.

The whole movie is lifted immensely by the presence of the gorgeous Natasha Henstridge in the lead role, as averse to clothing as she is beautiful. The rest of the cast all get to have at least one or two great moments - whether they are supporting actors being seduced by Henstridge, Whitakler and Molina enjoying a number of Long Island Iced Teas, Kingsley trying to stay cool and calm under increasing pressure, Helgenberger flirting with Madsen or Madsen just being a cool hardass.

But the big bonus that the movie has is the presence of the great H. R. Giger in the design department. Yes, the visionary who gave us the main creations in the Alien universe here lends his considerable talents to a project that sees him creating something equally arresting, even if the surrounding movie isn't quite the horror classic that the Ridley Scott film was. Not every film making use of such talent needs to be a classic and Species doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is - a gloriously demented, sexy, sci-fi horror with some great (and not so great) effects here and there, some enjoyable nastiness and a great main character.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Species-Special-Edition-DVD/dp/B0002ADWYY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1347484116&sr=8-3