Director: Drew Goddard. Screenplay: Drew Goddard. Starring: Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Lewis Pullman, Chris Hemsworth, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman, Shea Whigham, Xavier Dolan, Mark O’Brien, Charles Halford, Jim O’Heir, Billy Wickman.
“Shit happens! Get the whisky”
Primarily known for his writing on television shows like Alias and Lost before his transition to film screenplays, Drew Goddard made quite the impression in 2012 with his feature directorial debut, The Cabin In The Woods. It was a creative horror that subverted expectations and recieved quite a positive fan base and put the spotlight on Goddard for one to watch. Oscar also shed some light on him with an Academy Award nomination for his screenwriting on Ridley Scott’s The Martianin 2016 but it was always behind the camera that Goddard showed the most promise. With Bad Times At The El Royale, Goddard has, once again, returned to directing and shows a keen eye for genre filmmaking. Continue reading →
Director: Roman Polanski. Screenplay: Robert Towne. Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman, Diane Ladd, Burt Young, Darrell Zwerling, Roy Jenson, Joe Mantell, Richard Bakalyan, Bruce Glover, James Hong, Noble Willingham, Rance Howard, Roman Polanski.
“Forget it Jake. It’s Chinatown”
In the 1970’s a bunch of American filmmakers and actors were given a bunch of money and told to just go away and make movies. And that they did. The consistent results led to the 70’s arguably being the best decade in cinema that America has ever produced. We were gifted such classics as Taxi Driver, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Mean Streets, The Godfathers and Dog Day Afternoon. Chinatown is another of those films that can be considered a classic among this elite list and one of a few from this era of filmmaking that time has been most kind to. Continue reading →
Director: Lee Tamahori. Screenplay: Pete Dexter. Starring: Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Jennifer Connelly, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, Treat Williams, Kyle Chandler, Andrew McCarthy, Bruce Dern, Louise Fletcher, Daniel Baldwin, Ed Lauter, Titus Welliver, Richard Sylbert, Virginia Madsen, William Petersen, Rob Lowe.
“This is L.A. This is my town. Out here you’re a trespasser. Out here I can pick you up, burn your house, fuck your wife, and kill your dog. And the only thing that’ll protect you is if I can’t find you. And I already found you”.
Released in 1996, Lee Tamahori’s Mulholland Falls has largely been overshadowed by the Oscar winning L.A. Confidential – which followed a year later. Although I often find fault with the Academy, on this occasion, I’m not going to split hairs with them and argue that Tamahori’s film is as good, because it’s not. But that’s no shame in Tamahori’s efforts as, for me, L.A. Confidential is one of the best films over the last 20 years. Mulholland Falls is a very admirable attempt that doesn’t deserve to have become a forgotten addition to L.A. themed noir. Continue reading →
Director: Tom Ford. Screenplay: Tom Ford. Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Armie Hammer, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber, Karl Glusman, Robert Aramayo, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Sheen, Jena Malone, Graham Beckel.
“Enjoy the absurdity of our world. It’s a lot less painful. Believe me, our world is a lot less painful than the real world”
Former fashion-designer Tom Ford took his first steps into film directing with A Single Man in 2009. It’s a film that didn’t initially catch my eye but when I finally caught up with it, it really impressed. In fact, I thought it a near masterpiece of style and composition. As a result, I’ve been very eager to see what Ford would do next and although his follow-up isn’t quite as good as his debut, there’s still much to recommend. Continue reading →
Director: David Lynch. Screenplay: David Lynch. Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Robert Forster, Brent Briscoe, Dan Hedaya, Patrick Fischler, Michael Cooke, Michael J. Anderson, Melissa George, Jeanne Bates, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Pellegrino, Lori Heuring, Billy Ray Cyrus, Missy Crider, Chad Everett, Monty Montgomery, Scott Coffey, Bonnie Aarons, Rebekah Del Rio.
“It’ll be just like in the movies. Pretending to be somebody else.”
A recent poll by BBC Culture surveyed the opinion of film critics, academics, and curators from 36 countries across every continent which consisted of 177 of the worlds foremost movie experts. They were tasked to compile an international list of the top 100 films released since the year 2000 and come up with the best film of this century so far. It’s no easy task but when all was said and done, the film that topped the list was David Lynch’s hallucinatory and meditative film-noir, Mulholland Drive. It came as a surprise to some but for those familiar with the film itself, it was a fitting accolade. Continue reading →
Director: David Lynch. Screenplay: David Lynch. Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Dean Stockwell, George Dickerson, Hope Lange, Brad Dourif, Jack Nance, Priscilla Pointer, Frances Bay, J. Michael Hunter, Fred Pickler, Ken Stovitz, Jack Harvey.
“I’ll send you a love letter straight from my heart, fucker”
The debacle of adapting Frank Herbert’s Dune in 1984, is now pretty much common knowledge among film enthusiasts. To put it plainly, it didn’t do well at the box office and was even tagged with the appellation ‘the Heaven’s Gate of science fiction films‘. So upset was David Lynch with studio interference and losing final cut of the film that he vowed never to work with a big budget again. He regrouped, however, and two years later he delivered one of his own original scripts in the form of Blue Velvet. Not only did it put him back on the map but it’s still widely regarded as one of the best films from the 1980’s. Continue reading →
Director: David Lynch. Screenplay: David Lynch, Barry Gifford. Starring: Patricia Arquette, Bill Pullman, Balthazar Getty, Robert Loggia, Robert Blake, Gary Busey, Richard Pryor, Jack Nance, Michael Massee, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Jack Kehler, Michael Shamus Wiles, Lucy Butler, Mink Stole, Greg Travis, Scott Coffey, Giovanni Ribisi, Henry Rollins, Marilyn Manson.
“l like to remember things my own way”
Whenever you approach a David Lynch film, you really have to be prepared for a surrealistic, mind-boggling challenge. His films rarely come as an easy pass to answers or entertainment and can even frustrate to the point of absolute bewilderment. Lost Highway is no different and ranks alongside Inland Empire as, probably, Lynch’s most difficult film to date. Continue reading →
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson. Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Owen Wilson, Reece Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short, Eric Roberts, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Serena Scott Thomas, Maya Rudolph, Hong Chau, Jordan Christian Hearn, Jeannie Berlin, Christopher Allen Nelson, Keith Jardine, Martin Dew, Jefferson Mays, Martin Donovan.
“Back when, she could go weeks without anything more complicated than a pout. Now she was laying some heavy combination of face ingredients on him that he couldn’t read at all”
Do you know that feeling of anticipation you get whenever a respected director is releasing a new film? It’s the same feeling that often surrounds Quentin Tarantino’s releases. Well, I also get that feeling when I hear of a new Paul Thomas Anderson project and I’m pretty certain many others do too. That being said, Anderson’s last two introspective films There Will Be Blood and The Master took him much further away from his earlier vibrant works of Boogie Nights and Magnolia and left a number of his fans finding them too onerous. Many may not agree but if he was ever to bridge that gap then Inherent Vice is that bridge.
Director: Jim Mickle. Screenplay: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle. Starring: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Nick Damici, Wyatt Russell, Bill Sage, Brogan Hall, Kristin Griffith, Ken Holmes.
“Well, boys, it’s Howdy Doody Time”
Jim Mickle is not a director who’s name you might instantly recognise but he’s one that’s been chipping away at career for himself. Along with writing partner Nick Damici, they’ve delivered some relatively successful, low-budget horror films over the last few years with Mulberry St, Stake Land and a remake of the Spanish film We Are What We Are. With Cold In July, they’ve delved into a different genre altogether but, again, the results are quite impressive.
Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller. Screenplay: Frank Miller. Starring: Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Jessica Alba, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Lloyd, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Jamie King, Juno Temple, Stacy Keach, Marton Csokas, Jamie Chung, Lady Gaga, Bruce Willis.
“No one’s ever really guessed what hell is. It’s watching the ones you love…in pain”
After a nine year gap, director Robert Rodriguez finally returns to the dark graphic novel’s of Frank Miller’s Sin City and it’s pugnacious inhabitants. Fans of the original (myself included) had been waiting with bated breath for more of the same but sadly this doesn’t deliver as well as it could and feels somewhat flat in comparison.
Director: Jeremy Saulnier. Screenplay: Jeremy Saulnier. Starring: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack, Eve Plumb, Brent Werzner, David W. Thompson, Stacy Rock, Bonnie Johnson, Sidné Anderson.
“The keys are in the car… the keys are in the car… the keys are in the car“
Many didn’t pay attention when Jeremy Saulnier made his directorial debut in 2007 with the little seen comedy/horror film “Monster Party“. I know I didn’t. Now, though, it’s going to be hard to forget him as his sophomore effort “Blue Ruin” hits our screens (and our jugulars) with an impressively handled and assembled dark thriller that brings reminders of the arrival of the Coen brothers and all the taut and twisted glee of “Blood Simple“.
“There is no greater solitude than a samurai’s, unless it is that of a tiger in the jungle…perhaps…”
When a film is revered as a classic of world cinema by viewers and critics alike, it’s only so long before you have to check it out for yourself. In the case of Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Le Samouraï”, I did just that, and I didn’t regret it for a minute. It’s entirely understandable why this policier features on many people’s lists of favourites.
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen. Screenplay: Ethan & Joel Coen. Starring: Frances McDormand, John Getz, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, Samm Art-Williams, Deborah Neumann.
(The following post is not so much a review, as it is a commentary on the creative work(s) of the Coen brothers. It’s my contribution to the Blogathon called “Debuts” created by Mark Fletcher of Three Rows Back and Chris Thomson of Terry Malloy’s Pigeon Coup, whereby a number of bloggers have chosen a particular director to highlight and the significance that their first feature has had. You can access the rest of the Blogathon posts here).
Having cut his teeth as Assistant Editor on director Sam Raimi’s cult classic, “The Evil Dead” in 1981, Joel Coen went on to become a fully fledged director himself with his debut “Blood Simple” in 1984. On the advice of Raimi, Joel and his brother Ethan (whom, it has always been said, actually shared directorial duties) went door-to-door showing potential investors a two minute ‘trailer’ of the film they planned to make, which resulted in them raising $750,000 and just enough to begin production of their movie. It was at this point that two of cinema’s most consistent and original talents had arrived.
In West Texas, saloon owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) suspects that his wife Abby (Frances McDormand) is cheating on him with Ray (John Getz), one of his bartenders. Marty then hires Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), a private detective, to investigate. Once Marty gains proof of the adulterous affair, he pays Visser to kill them. However, Visser is a very unscrupulous type and has plans of his own.
When you comb through the filmography of the Coen’s, three renowned and highly respected crime writers will inevitably surface. They are: James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. However, it’s their debut “Blood Simple” that fully harks back to the hard boiled noir’s of the 1940’s, namely, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity” – both of which are written by Cain and the latter, in fact, co-scripted by Chandler when it made it the screen. Hammett was also a contemporary of these writers and wrote the novel “Red Harvest“, which actually coined the term “blood simple”. It is described as “the addled, fearful mindset people are in after a prolonged immersion in violent situations”. This very description sums the movie up perfectly. It’s a homage to these great writer’s and the genre they excelled in. Also, like their stories, once the character’s and their motivations are established, there is no going back. Although this was their debut, labyrinthine plots and double-crosses would become a staple of the Coens’ work that followed. Give or take the odd zany comedy, their filmography largely consists of these writers; “Miller’s Crossing” was heavily influenced by Hammett’s “The Glass Key” while “The Big Lebowski” loosely took it’s structure from the work of Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain would resurface in the “The Man Who Wasn’t There“. Even the Oscar winning “Fargo and “No Country For Old Men” could be seen as riffs on “Blood Simple“, itself. The thing that’s most apparent about this debut from the Coen’s, though, is that their stylistic approach is plain to see. It cast the mould from which we have witnessed their serpentine abilities in storytelling and hugely inventive directorial flourishes.
Much has been said about the cinematography on the Coens’ output. This has largely been due to the work of their regular collaborator Roger Deakins. However, it was Barry Sonnenfeld who worked on the first three Coen’s movies and you’d be hard pushed to notice much of a difference between them. This simply comes down to them translating exactly the vision that the brothers had. That’s not to take away from the work of Deakins or, in this case, Sonnenfeld as their cinematography has always been sublime but ultimately it comes down to the Coens’ inventively keen eye for a shot. They are known for being sticklers for detail, knowing exactly what they want and exactly how it should look and working from a shoestring budget doesn’t prevent them from realising their Hitchcockian melee of passion, bloodshed and suspense. If anything, their limited budget shows how artistic and creative they really are and they’re not without (or what would become) their trademark moments of irony.
The Coen brothers have went on to become two of the most respected filmmakers in the business, and rightfully so. With many classics – cult and mainstream – under their belts already, there’s really no end to what they’re capable of. That being said, it’s always a pleasure to return to their roots and see where it all began.
Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller. Screenplay: Frank Miller. Starring: Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Benicio Del Toro, Elijah Wood, Nick Stahl, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Jamie King, Carla Gugino, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Powers Boothe, Michael Clarke Duncan, Nicky Katt, Marley Shelton, Tommy Flanagan, Frank Miller, Rutger Hauer, Josh Hartnett, Michael Madsen.
“This is blood for blood and by the gallons. These are the old days man, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They’re back! There’s no choices left. And I’m ready for war”
Director Robert Rodriguez is a real mixed bag for me. Most of the time, I either find his films childish or over the top. This, however, is far from childish but so wildly over the top, it’s hard not to like it. It’s based on the adult comic-book by Frank Miller (who serves as a co-director) and is by far Rodriguez’s finest film to date.
Basin City is the film noir community that plays host to three hardboiled comic-book tales. “The Hard Goodbye” has Marv (Mickey Rourke) an brutish ex-convict who avenges the murder of prostitute Goldie (Jamie King) that he had fallen in love with; “The Big Fat Kill” where private detective Dwight (Clive Owen) finds himself helping hookers fight mercenaries from the red light district and “That Yellow Bastard” sees disgraced cop Hartigan (Bruce Willis) protect dancer Nancy (Jessica Alba) from a psychotic sadist and sex offender (Nick Stahl).
This film may be, unashamedly, computer enhanced but it doesn’t diminish it’s highly visual approach. It’s shot in true noir style with wonderful touches of vibrant colour throughout it’s monochrome palette. It also has the downbeat voiceover that most film’s of the genre indulge in. It’s quite simply, a stunning piece of work. Comic-book adaptations have taken to our screens on a regular basis but Rodriguez has probably been the most faithful to his source material. This is as close as I’ve seen in a page to screen transfer. Rodriguez has retained the look and feel of this fantasy world, practically word-for-word, and I can only assume that having it’s creator Frank Miller on board is a major merit. Like a lot of comics it’s most certainly a boys-own adventure; All the guys look tough and talk tough and most of the gals dress in dog collars and S&M gear. It could be deemed insulting or exploitative towards women but it’s written purely as fantasy and works an absolute treat. I’m a big fan of film-noir but you’d be hard pushed to find it done in such an audacious way. Into the bargain, Quentin Tarantino ‘guest directs’ a scene and we are also given a huge cast of familiar faces. All of which, are superb. The real standout though is a comeback performance by Mickey Rourke. He’s as brutal and relentless as they come – “… they should’ve shot me in the head and enough times to make sure” – and he’s unlike most comic characters you’ll find yourself rooting for. I’ve always been a fan of Rourke’s and this is one of my favourite performances from him. It’s great to have him back. Ultimately, it’s the look and feel of the film that possesses the real power though. It’s very hard not too be drawn into this visceral and uncompromising neo-noir.
Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For is in the works and if Rodriguez and Miller can recreate their true visual spectacle and technical achievements, then we could be in for another treat.
Mark Walker
Trivia: Robert Rodriguez scored Kill Bill: Vol. 2 in 2004 for $1. Quentin Tarantino said he would repay him by directing a segment of this movie for $1. Tarantino, a vocal proponent of film-over-digital, has said that he was curious to get hands-on experience with the HD cameras which Rodriguez lauds. When asked about his experience, Tarantino merely replied, “Mission Accomplished.”
Director: Ridley Scott. Screenplay: Hampton Fancher, David Webb Peoples. Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, Brion James, M. Emmett Walsh, James Hong, Morgan Paull.
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain…”
After Ridley Scott released Alien in 1979 it stood, for many, as one of science fiction’s best films. A mere three years after it, though, he delivered Blade Runner – another foray into sci-fi that was wrought with production problems; a less than happy crew and abundant studio interference. The end result, however, would lead you to believe that everything went smoothly as it soon became a cult favourite and still regarded as not only Scott’s best film but the definitive of science fiction movies. Continue reading →
MARKED MOVIES 