MARKED MOVIES

You Talkin’ To Me? – featuring: Terry Malloy’s Pigeon Coop

Posted in Uncategorized with tags 2013 on June 6, 2013 by Mark Walker

Ever wondered how to respond to a question by a particular film character? Well, here’s your chance to find out what others have said. Inspired by a feature from Total Film magazine, I’ve decided to adapt some film quotes, that pose as questions to my fellow bloggers. This is my way of shedding some light on some great blogs out there and have a little fun at the same time. There are a different range of questions which will give the blogger the chance to either be offensive, defensive, serious, funny, surreal etc. It may prove difficult to come up with a answer but the whole point is to be as creative as possible.

In the crosshairs in this instalment is Chris Thomson, who runs the excellent
TERRY MALLOY’S PIGEON COOP.

Okay, let’s get started. The film quotes will be in bold with Chris’ answers underneath.

You talkin’ to me?

Well you started the conversation, but I guess I am now, yes.

You’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

Do you feel lucky? I don’t know, do you? As for me, well I recently won a children’s cricket set in a raffle. That’s about as lucky as I get.

Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Well she told me her name was Sarah but she did carry a pitchfork. Did a mean rumba too.

My… my wi-, my wife, Bunny? Do you see a wedding ring on my finger? Does this place look like I’m fucking married? The toilet seat’s up, man!

Women love it when you leave the toilet seat up. Just ask all my ex-wives.

Big Kahuna Burger. That’s that Hawaiian burger joint. I hear they got some tasty burgers. I ain’t never had one myself. How are they?

You ain’t never had one? So you have had one? Don’t come round here with your double negatives.

Do you see me holding up liquor stores with a born to lose tattoo on my chest?

Never rob a liquor store bare chested. Never.

You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it’s me, I’m a little fucked up maybe, but I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?

Funny like the way I sent this question to my girlfriend once who has never seen Goodfellas and genuinely thought I was pissed off with her and I had to explain the whole thing to her. She’s still not seen Goodfellas.

Why don’t you try stickin’ your head up your ass? See if it fits.

I’m fairly sure that biology dictates that it wouldn’t. I’d at least have to spend some serious time with Zachary Quinto first.

Alright, alright. Mickey’s a mouse, Donald’s a duck, Pluto’s a dog. What’s Goofy?

Another breed of dog? A sex offender? Oh god, what is he?!

Are you telling me you built a time machine? Out of a Delorian?

Yep and I’ll use it for the only good thing a time machine would be good for. Dinosaurs.

It’s quite a thing to live in fear isn’t it?

Could be worse, you could live in Hull.

If you could fight any celebrity, who would you pick?

Justin Bieber. I’d love to stove his smug little face in. Over and over again. Until the end of time.

•••
Many thanks to Chris for his involvement and if you’ve not checked out his site please do so here. You’ll find an abundance of quality reviews, as well as his very informative feature What Is?… Thanks again Chris, and if anyone else would like a crack at these questions then let me know in the comments section and you could be in the crosshairs next.

Mark

22 Comments »

Mama * * *

Posted in Horror with tags 2013 on June 3, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Andy Muschietti.
Screenplay: Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Neil Cross.
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, Daniel Kash, Javier Botet, Jane Moffat, Morgan McGarry, David Fox, Hannah Cheeseman.

After producing the disappointing “Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark” in 2011, Guillermo del Toro lends his name – and financial services – to another American horror production, which is actually an elaboration of the 2008, three minute short, “Mamá” by the same Argentine director Andrés Muschietti. For the most part, del Toro has wisely chosen a director to invest in, but like so many before him, he fails to deliver the ultimate punch that’s so important in this particular genre.

A father (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), seemingly in a state of desperation abducts his two young daughters and flees with them to a remote cabin in the woods. His intention is to kill them but before he does, a dark entity interjects and kills him instead. For years afterwards, the father’s twin brother (Coster-Waldau again) searches for his nieces and eventually finds them. They have went feral and claim to have been looked after by something they refer to as “Mama”. However, when they head back to civilisation, “Mama” has no intentions of leaving them alone.

Let me just start by saying that “Mama” is a very frustrating movie. When I say frustrating, I don’t mean bad, as this film can’t quite be labeled as such. It has many things to recommend it; the deliberate pace; the teasing build up; freaky children; the spectre only hinted at or briefly glimpsed. Director Andrés Muschietti (or Andy as he’s credited) certainly knows how to build tension and raise the goosebumps. He does it so commandingly and assembles two impressive lead actors that are at the forefront of everyone’s minds at present; the ubiquitous, two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastian and rising “Games Of Thrones” star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – not to mention two excellent child actors in Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse, but (forgive me if I’m mistaken here) is the role of executive producer not to produce, or oversee, the financial side of a film, allowing a director to fully express their vision and help with the distribution of the product? If that’s the case, then Guillermo del Toro can certainly be seen to have done his side of the bargain on the latter half, as this has reached quite an impressive audience, but on the the former he has to come under scrutiny. When this film is forced into delivering the visuals, they seem cheap and really not up to the standard that a more sophisticated audience are accustomed to. The finale is delivered in such a way that it strips the whole film of the good work that went before – Namely, revealing the ghost too much and too soon. When will filmmakers – particularly those in the horror genre – learn, that less is more? It’s not necessary for us to witness the antagonist in full view and allow our minds to be force fed, when it worked so much better when we were kept in the dark. In fairness, it’s a poorly written denouement that still falls at the feet of director Muschietti, who co-writes with Neil Cross and sister Barbara Muschietti. They construct a brilliant horror concept with an effective, mother/daughter emotional core, but are simply unable to bring it to any satisfying conclusion. That’s exactly where the frustration lies; this film had so much going for it, that it leaves you in disbelief that it’s all squandered in contrivances and poor CGI, which ultimately leaves you with the overriding feeling that not all short film’s have the ability or mileage for a feature length endeavour.

For the most part, this is a very effective and engaging modern horror but like so many from recent times, it fails to deliver when it really matters. Here’s some advice from your “Dada“… expect less and you’ll receive more.

Mark Walker

33 Comments »

You Talkin’ To Me? – featuring: Keith & The Movies

Posted in Uncategorized on June 2, 2013 by Mark Walker

Ever wondered how to respond to a question by a particular film character? Well, here’s your chance. Inspired by a feature from Total Film magazine, I’ve decided to adapt some film quotes, that pose as questions to my fellow bloggers. This is my way of shedding some light on some great blogs out there and have a little fun at the same time. There are a different range of questions which will give the blogger the chance to either be offensive, defensive, serious, funny, surreal etc. It may prove difficult to come up with a answer but the whole point is to be as creative as possible.

In the crosshairs, in this first instalment is Keith, who runs the marvellous site
KEITH & MOVIES

Okay, let’s get started. The film quotes will be in bold with Keith’s answers underneath.

Are you talkin’ to me?

Well of course I am punk! You asked for this interview!

You’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

What are you, a 12-year old? Quite copying me and get on with it!

Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Yes, during my wedding reception.

My… my wi-, my wife, Bunny? Do you see a wedding ring on my finger? Does this place look like I’m fucking married? The toilet seat’s up, man!

Well now that you mention it, the bathroom conditions and the unidentifiable carpet stains do clarify a few things.

Big Kahuna Burger. That’s that Hawaiian burger joint. I hear they got some tasty burgers. I ain’t never had one myself. How are they?

Well it is the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast! I do love the taste of a good burger.

Do you see me holding up liquor stores with a born to lose tattoo on my chest?

No, but I can see you getting into fights with certain British film crews!

Other than the pink camisole, I take you very serious. That laughter? It was…ummm…a nervous laughter. Ahem…

Why don’t you try stickin’ your head up your ass? See if it fits.

I’ve done that once, a long time ago. I was young and needed the money. NEVER again!

Alright, alright. Mickey’s a mouse, Donald’s a duck, Pluto’s a dog. What’s Goofy?

I don’t know but I would pay a lot of money just to hear Gary Busey answer the question!

Are you telling me you built a time machine? Out of a Delorian?

No, it was made out of a Ford Pinto. That’s why it only took me back two stinkin’ days. Piece of crap car!

It’s quite a thing to live in fear isn’t it?

Depends on what your fearing. Much like faith, fear is only as powerful as its object. Sorry, I had to wax poetically for just a quick moment.

If you could fight any celebrity, who would you pick?

Adam Sandler. I mean have you seen his movies? Is there any true movie lover who wouldn’t want to get a few hard jabs in?
•••
Many thanks to Keith for his involvement here and if you’ve not checked out his site please do so here. You’ll find a whole host of quality reviews as well as some very entertaining and involving features like his Th Phenomenal 5 and The Valhalla, among many others. Thanks again Keith, and if anyone else would like a crack at these questions then let me know in the comments section and you could be in the crosshairs next.

Mark

47 Comments »

Detachment * * * 1/2

Posted in Drama with tags 2012 on May 29, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Tony Kaye.
Screenplay: Carl Lund.
Starring: Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston, Sami Gayle, Betty Kaye, Louis Zorich.

Having been a big fan of “American History X” in 1998, I was eager to see what else director Tony Kaye had in store. Unfortunately, he didn’t make that many films and those that he did – “Lobby Lobster” and “Black Water Transit” – didn’t quite reach a bigger audience. As a result, I was happy to come across “Detachment” which proves that Kaye hasn’t lost any of his style or starkness.

Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) is a substitute teacher brought into a struggling urban high school to teach English and work with kids who are performing at a very low grade. Being a substitute is exactly the way Henry likes it as he deliberately tries to avoid making genuine connections with people (and that includes his pupils). As time goes on, though, Mr. Barthes realises the pupils’ need for his input and which forces him to confront his own demons and isolation.

“And never have I felt so deeply at one and the same time so detached from myself and so present in the world.”

As the film opens, this is the quote from French philosopher Albert Camus that’s scribed onto a blackboard before we are introduced to the protagonist and the personal conflict he finds himself in. On the one hand, he’s a caring individual but on the other, he deliberately keeps a distance from people as he’s consumed by a guilt that doesn’t belong to him. His detachment is also reflected in the frustrated and disillusioned pupils he teaches, making this a melting pot of emotionally dysfunctional people. It’s this very mirroring in the individuals that make this quite a thought provoking character study, as well as a diatribe on the state of the American educational system and the problems therein.
Kaye shoots the film with an edgy, fly on the wall approach, utilising the shaky-cam technique and numerous close-ups that bring you closer to the characters and their inner turmoil. There’s also the assembly of a very impressive cast, all-be-it, a lot of them are wasted in thankless, underwritten roles. The likes of Bryan Cranston, Blythe Danner and William Petersen needn’t have turned up at all, but James Caan lightens the mood whenever he’s onscreen and the young unknowns get a chance to shine instead; particularly, (the director’s daughter) Betty Kaye, who develops a crush on her teacher and Sami Gayle as a young prostitute who develops a similar infatuation. The real star, though, is a brooding and commanding Brody. He’s rarely offscreen for the entirety of the film and even though it’s no surprise that he delivers his usual reliability, he’s especially good with a very powerful and charismatic performance. However, the cast and the impressive handling of the material can’t save the film from being overly depressing, or when drawing to it’s conclusion, descending into melodrama from which it never fully recovers.

Cut from the same cloth as the, Oscar nominated, Ryan Gosling movie “Half Nelson“, director Tony Kaye delivers a good insight into the difficulties of teaching and the importance of instilling a good childhood and sense of self in our youth.

Mark Walker

32 Comments »

Saving Private Ryan * * * * *

Posted in Action, History, War with tags 1998 on May 24, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Steven Spielberg.
Screenplay: Robert Rodat.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Paul Giamatti, Dennis Farina, Ted Danson, Harve Presnell, Bryan Cranston, Dale Dye, David Wohl, Ryan Hurst, Harrison Young, Nathan Fillion, Leland Orser.

When Steven Spielberg was finally handed a long overdue Oscar in 1993, he received it for tackling the harrowing genocides of World War II in “Schindler’s List“. So far, he’s only received two Best Director Awards and the other was fittingly received when he tackled the battlefields of that very same war in “Saving Private Ryan“. Two different film’s but equally as powerful as the other.

During WWII, Chief of Staff General Marshall (Harve Presnell) is informed of the death of three brothers in different conflicts and that their mother will receive the telegrams at the same time. A fourth brother, Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) is believed to be still alive, somewhere in the French countryside, and the decision is taken to locate him. Captain Miller (Tom Hanks), is given the rescue mission of leading his 2nd Ranger battalion through Nazi occupied territory to find Ryan and send him home.

Spielberg is, quite simply, one of the finest filmmakers that has ever graced the craft. He is, and will continue to be, heralded throughout generations of audiences and that’s with very good reason, as he’s instilled a sense of awe and unadulterated entertainment for over 40 years now. Despite an impressive backlog of movies that consists of such classics like “Jaws“, “Close Encounters…“, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “E.T“, the opening 25 minutes of “Saving Private Ryan” – where he thrusts us into the 1944 D-Day landings of Omaha Beach – is arguably his most impressive and certainly his most visceral work. It’s absolutely exhausting in it’s construction and sense of realism and the realisation soon sets in, that this cinematic autuer is not about to pull any punches in portraying a time in history that’s very close to his heart. The opening is so commanding that some have criticised the film for not living up this grand and devastating scale but Spielberg has many more up his sleeve. He’s just not able to deliver them too close together – otherwise, the film would be absolutely shattering and very difficult to get through. To bridge the gap between breathtaking battles scenes the film falls into a rather conventional storyline about men on a mission but it’s only purpose is to keep the film flowing and allows Spielberg the ability to make the brutality of war more personal. Two scenes in particular, are as overwhelming as the opening to the film: the hand-to-hand combat between a German soldier and Private Mellish (played by Adam Goldberg) and the deeply emotional and ironic injuries of T-4 Medic Wade (played by Giovanni Ribisi). These moments in the film are the most difficult to watch but they only really work because we are allowed the time to bond with the characters beforehand and experience the combat with them. Each of them have a particular, but very different appeal, making it harder to accept when some of them perish in savage and harrowing circumstances.
The cast also deserve the utmost praise for making the roles their own; the always reliable Hanks is solid in the central role and there are exceptional performances from the first rate support, namely, Barry Pepper and the aforementioned Goldberg and Ribisi, who are all outstanding.
Janusz Kaminski’s magnificent, and Oscar winning, cinematography is also starkly delivered; his images are both beautifully and horrifically captured and Spielberg’s decision to desaturate the colour and adopt some handheld approaches, add an authenticity that’s rarely been captured in the genre and brings another dimension to some of the finest and most realistic battle scenes ever committed to the screen.
There’s not much in the way of criticism that I can throw at this near masterpiece, other than Robert Rodat’s script; the conventional plot strays into cliché where the Germans are completely stereotypical and there is absolutely no sign of an Allied soldier anywhere. Rodat would have you believe that America fought the war singlehandedly, but despite these discrepancies, the film has so much power that these faults can be overlooked.

One of the darkest chapters in our history is viscerally captured in a raw and uncompromising piece of work from a virtuoso director, tapping into the highest of his abilities. Some may prefer the more fantastical and escapist nature of Spielberg, but for me, this is the finest film he’s made.

Mark Walker

73 Comments »

Sleepers * * * 1/2

Posted in Crime, Drama with tags 1996 on May 8, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Barry Levinson.
Screenplay: Barry Levinson.
Starring: Jason Patric, Robert DeNiro, Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, Minnie Driver, Ron Eldard, Billy Crudup, Brad Renfro, Joe Perrino, Geoffrey Wigdor, Jonathan Tucker, Bruno Kirby, Vittorio Gassman, Terry Kinney, Frank Medrano, Aida Turturro, Dash Mihok.

After the massive box-office flop of “Toys” in 1992 and the overlooked, straight to dvd, “Jimmy Hollywood“, director Barry Levinson seemed to be in need of some stronger material. As a result, he decided on a couple of adaptations; the first was Michael Crichton’s “Disclosure” followed by “Sleepers“, the controversial novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra, which served as a reminder that Levinson still had something to offer.

Growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, four close friends, Shakes (Joe Perinno), Michael (Brad Renfro), John (Geoffrey Wigdor) and Tommy (Jonathan Tucker) fill their days playing pranks and making their own entertainment. However, one of their pranks lead to a man getting seriously injured and they are sentenced to time in the Wilkenson Detention Centre in upstate New York. In the centre they are subjected to beatings and sexual abuse by the guards. Over ten years later, two of the boys take revenge on one of them (Kevin Bacon), which drags up the past and involves everyone they know.

What we have with “Sleepers” is a stellar cast, a more than capable director and a story that’s purportedly based on fact. There’s really not that far you can wrong in these instances but, unfortunately, it’s the “based on fact” angle that let’s this film down. Everything else is handled with skill, but no matter how well it’s delivered, it leaves an aroma that smells vaguely of garbage. It’s too far fetched and under closer scrutiny and investigation, the events that writer Lorenzo Carcaterra claims to be true, are unfounded. There simply isn’t any evidence of them. Now, if this film just played out as a piece of storytelling then that issue wouldn’t exist and you’d be able to sit back and enjoy what this film has to offer. And what it has to offer is plentiful. The cinematography by (Scorsese regular) Michael Ballhaus, captures the look and feel for the times that reflect, in some ways, an urban version of “Stand By Me” in the earlier part of the film and Levinson does a very professional job on his direction duties. Where his strength lies is in drawing out brilliant performances from his impressively assembled cast: Throughout an abundance of familiar names, it’s Patric (playing writer, Carcaterra) that get’s the most focus but the rest still get enough to work with; Bacon verges on the stereotypical side but still channels an effective sadistic presence; Pitt, in a lesser role (when he was still on the rise) captures the cocksure arrogance required and the always reliable and masterful Hoffman brings a lot of depth and humour with his subtle mannerisms. At the risk of sounding biased, though, it’s DeNiro that impresses most as the avuncular priest, Father Bobby. He delivers one of the most endearing and charismatic performances of his career and happens to have a moment in the film where his expression is solely focussed on, as he hears about the tragic and abusive events that took place. He doesn’t utter a word, but his pain, anguish and compassion is expressed entirely and powerfully within his eyes. The only drawback amongst the performances is that the greats of DeNiro and Hoffman don’t get a chance to share much screen time together. (In fairness, Levinson rectified this in his later movie “Wag The Dog” and subsequently they have shared the screen in the “Meet The Parents” sequels). These two fantastic actors have never really went toe-to-toe on dramatic terms, though, and this film seems like a missed opportunity on that level. As for the structure itself, it’s a film of two halves; the first concentrating on the boys’ high jinks (again, with great performances from it’s young actors – Joe Perrino and Brad Renfro being the standouts) while the latter half descends into a formulaic courtroom drama which stretches credulity and eschews any form of logic in order to further the plot. It’s during this, that the “true” nature of the story becomes seriously questionable and we’re also left with an overhanging, dubious message on justice. Despite these issues, though, there are many highlights to be found and at nearly two and half hours long, it’s never dull. Whether or not it’s true is another matter, but at the very least, Carcaterra has written an emotional and involving tale.

Flawed and uneven, with a conclusion that simply doesn’t convince, but if you’re able to sidestep these faults then there’s still a very good film at it’s core.

Mark Walker

27 Comments »

The Secret In Their Eyes * * * * 1/2

Posted in Drama, Foreign Language, Mystery, thriller with tags 2010 on May 4, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Juan José Campanella.
Screenplay: Eduardo Sacheri, Juan José Campanella.
Starring: Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil, Guillermo Francella, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, José Luis Gioia, Carla Quevedo.

The 2010 Academy Awards category for Best Foreign Language film contained some strong contenders with the likes of Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet” and Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon“; two films that could easily have laid claim to the award. However, it was this film that crept up from under their noses and took the Oscar. Whether or nor you pay any credence to the Oscars is neither here nor there as there’s no doubt that this is solid and absorbing filmmaking.

In 1999, retired criminal justice officer Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darìn) decides to write a novel about a murder case that he investigated in 1974. He decides to visit his old colleague Irene Hastings (Soledad Villamil) to talk it over. The case had repercussions for everyone involved but Benjamin didn’t realise the direct effect it had on him or his deep, suppressed feelings for Irene.

With a title like “The Secret In Their Eyes“, this film states it’s intentions and stands by them. Director Juan José Campanella lingers long on shots and wisely focuses on the eyes of his performers. For a film that’s predominately dialogue driven, the abundance of close-up’s add another dimension where the eyes speak a thousand words. It’s a great technique that conveys a myriad of hidden meanings in the relationship between the two main characters, Benjamin and Irene. However, this relationship is not entirely apparent from the off-set. It’s only when the film’s layers are revealed that this comes to the surface, as in the meantime you’re too preoccupied with it’s murder-mystery plot developments. This mystery progresses into a manhunt, while taking time to explore the judicial system and political corruption that was rife in Argentina in 1970’s. It’s during this, that Campanella takes advantage of the thriller element in the story, delivery an absolutely astounding and very skilfully handled tracking shot through a football stadium, leading to an impressively assembled chase sequence. Just how they managed to do it is beyond me and needs to be seen to be believed. There are many moments of intensity when it matters (including a nerve-racking elevator moment that’s hard to forget) but it also knows how to ground itself and that’s were the performances come in; Ricardo Darin is a charismatic presence who more than holds your interest with unshakable ideals and a strong moral compass, while Soledad Villamil delivers a strong and reserved show. It’s the chemistry between these two wonderful actors that play a big part in the film’s, effortless, tonal shifts. It’s also not without humour or tragedy which is provided by Guillermo Francella as Benjamin’s alcoholic, but loyal and reliable colleague, Pablo.
Quite simply, it’s easy to see why this film took the Oscar, it’s has a bit of everything; a sharp and involving script that pays great attention to detail; skilful direction; rich cinematography and natural, committed performances.

A complex tapestry about life, love and chances rued, that’s built around the constructs of a thriller. It excels in everything it challenges and that’s exactly where it’s strengths lie.

Mark Walker

44 Comments »

CLASSIC SCENE: “I Don’t Tip”

Posted in Uncategorized with tags 1991 on May 1, 2013 by Mark Walker

Film: RESERVOIR DOGS.
Director: Quentin Tarantino.
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino.

Setting the Scene:
Eight men dressed in Black suits, sit around a table at a breakfast cafe. They are: MR. WHITE (Harvey Keitel), MR. PINK (Steve Buscemi), MR. BLONDE (Michael Madsen), MR. BLUE (Eddie Bunker), MR. ORANGE (Tim Roth), MR. BROWN (Quentin Tarantino), NICE GUY EDDIE (Chris Penn) and the big boss, JOE CABOT (Lawrence Tierney). Most are finished eating and are enjoying coffee and conversation. Joe had been flipping through a small address book that Mr. White took from him and Mr. Brown had just finished telling a long and involved story about the meaning behind Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin”…

[Everyone at the table is laughing as Joe stands up.]

JOE
Alright, I’ll take care of the check you guys can get the tip. Should be about a buck a piece.

(to Mr. White)
And you! When I come back I want my
book.

MR. WHITE
Sorry, it’s my book now.

JOE
Hey, I changed my mind. Shoot this piece of shit,
will ya?

[Mr. Blonde pretends to shoot Mr. White with his finger. Joe exits.]

NICE GUY EDDIE
Alright, everybody cough up some green for
the little lady.

[Everybody whips out a buck, and throws it on the table.
Everybody, that is, except Mr. Pink.]

NICE GUY EDDIE
C’mon, throw in a buck.

MR. PINK
Uh-uh. I don’t tip.

NICE GUY EDDIE
You don’t tip?

MR. PINK
No. I don’t believe in it.

NICE GUY EDDIE
You don’t believe in tipping?

MR. BLUE
Do you know what these chicks make? They make shit.

MR. PINK
Don’t give me that. She don’t
make enough money, she can quit.

NICE GUY EDDIE
I don’t even know a fuckin’ Jew who’d have
the balls to say that. So let’s
get this straight. You don’t ever
tip, huh?

MR. PINK
I don’t tip because society says I
have to. Alright, I mean I’ll tip if somebody really
deserves a tip. If they
really puts forth the effort, I’ll give them
something extra.
But this tipping automatically,
it’s… for the birds. As far
as I’m concerned, they’re just
doin their job.

MR. BLUE
Hey, this girl was nice.

MR. PINK
She was okay. She wasn’t
anything special.

MR. BLUE
What’s special, take ya
in the back and suck your dick?

[They all laugh.]

NICE GUY EDDIE
I’d go over twelve percent for
that.

MR. PINK
Look, I ordered coffee, right? Now we’ve
been here a long fuckin time, and
she’s only filled my cup three
times. I mean, when I order coffee, I
want it filled six times.

MR. BLONDE
Six times? Well, what if she’s too fuckin’ busy?

MR. PINK
The words “too fuckin busy” shouldn’t be
in a waitress’s vocabulary.

NICE GUY EDDIE
Excuse me, Mr. Pink, but the last fuckin’
thing you need is another cup of
coffee.

[They all laugh.]

MR. PINK
Jesus Christ! I mean, these ladies aren’t starvin to
death. They make minimum wage.
I used to work minimum wage, and when I did… I
wasn’t lucky enough to have a job
that society deemed tipworthy.

MR. BLUE
You don’t care they’re countin’ on your tips to live?

[Mr. Pink rubs his thumb and forefinger together.]

MR. PINK
Do you know what this is? It’s
the world’s smallest violin,
playing just for the waitresses.

MR. WHITE
You don’t have any idea what
you’re talking about. These
people bust their ass. This
is a hard job.

MR. PINK
So’s working at McDonald’s, but
you don’t feel the need to tip
them, do ya? Why not? They’re servin ya food, but no, society
says “Don’t tip these guys over here, but tip these guys over here”. That’s
bullshit.

MR. WHITE
Waitressing is the number one
occupation for female non-college
graduates in this country. It’s
the one job basically any woman
can get, and make a living on.
The reason is because of their tips.

MR. PINK
Fuck all that.

[They all laugh.]

MR.BROWN
Jesus Christ!

MR. PINK
Hey, I’m very sorry that the
government taxes their tips.
That’s fucked up. But that ain’t
my fault. It would appear that
waitresses are just one of the
many groups the government fucks
in the ass on a regular basis.
I mean, if you show me a piece of paper says the
government shouldn’t do that, I’ll
sign it. Put it to a vote, I’ll
vote for it. But what I won’t do
is play ball. And this non-
college bullshit you’re giving
me, I got two words for that:
“Learn to fuckin’ type.” Cause if
you’re expecting me to help out
with the rent, you’re in for a big
fuckin’ surprise.

[Mr. White flicks some food at Mr. Pink]

MR. ORANGE
He’s convinced me. Give me my
dollar back.

NICE GUY EDDIE
Hey! Leave the dollars there.

[Joe’s comes back to the table.]

JOE
Alright ramblers, let’s get
ramblin’. Wait a minute, who
didn’t throw in?

MR. ORANGE
Mr. Pink.

JOE
(to Mr. Orange)
Mr. Pink?

(to Mr. Pink)
Why not?

MR. ORANGE
He don’t tip.

JOE
(to Mr. Orange)
He don’t tip?

(to Mr. Pink)
What do you mean you don’t tip?

MR. ORANGE
He don’t believe in it.

JOE
(to Mr. Orange)
Shut up!

(to Mr. Pink)
What do you mean you don’t believe in it? C’mon you! Cough up a buck, ya cheap
bastard, I paid for your goddamn
breakfast.

MR. PINK
Alright, since you paid for the
breakfast, I’ll put in, but
normally I would never do this.

JOE
Never mind what you normally would do. Just cough in your goddamn
buck like everybody else.

(If you’d like to hear the dialogue played as you’re reading, skip to 3.56 on the video)

Mark Walker

70 Comments »

New Feature Announcement.

Posted in Uncategorized on May 1, 2013 by Mark Walker

Hello my blogging chums! Apologies to many of you for my recent absence but I will be paying more frequents visits again very soon. There have been many reasons why I’ve had to take a break: Namely, my dear wife and beautiful kids; my new 10 week old puppy; my work and the course I’m studying for; escaping to the hills and building a home there and also my – out of control – Scottish drinking habits 😉 Most importantly for you bloggers, though, I’m aware that a lot of you are pining over the temporary hiatus of my running feature Tuesday’s Trivia Tidbits. Fear not! As there has been another good reason for me taking a break.
I’ve had another little idea that I’ve struggled to get off the ground due to time constraints and now that some time has been freed up, I’ve been able to do a little work on it.

I won’t keep you in suspense for too long as the first one will go up tomorrow and it should feature at least once a month (or more frequently, depending on demand) so that Trivia Tidbits can return to it’s usual weekly slot.

More info, I hear you say?

Sshhh! There, there! Okay, then…

Basically, it’s my version of Classic Scene’s from cinema. I notice that other bloggers do these types of posts but my intention is to provide it a little differently and do it in true transcript form with the added bonus of an accompanying video clip, wherever possible. As an avid reader of screenplays, I always find that the words from a scene can really stick in your head and jump off the page and that’s as good a reason as any to share some of my favourites with you. For anyone that shares this enthusiasm with me, then my new Classic Scene’s feature should appeal to you too. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂

39 Comments »

Gangster Squad * * *

Posted in Action, Crime, Drama, thriller with tags 2013 on May 1, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Ruben Fleischer.
Screenplay: Will Beall.
Starring: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Jack McGee, Jon Polito, Josh Pence, Mireille Enos, Sullivan Stapleton, John Aylward, James Carpinello, Don Harvey, Ambyr Childers, Frank Grillo, James Landry Hébert.

Although I’ve yet to see director Ruben Fleischer’s previous comedy film “30 Minutes Or Less“, I did manage to catch his debut “Zombieland” which injected a lot of humour and style in the zombie sub-genre. For his third film, he assembles one of the year’s most impressive casts and decides to drop the comedy and focus on a real-life crime story. His stylish approach is, once again, on show but unfortunately, his film suffers from a dreadfully threadbare script that fails to utilise his very talented ensemble or elaborate on a story with massive potential.

Los Angeles, 1949. Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is determined to take hold of the city and muscle out any competition. Police Chief William Parker (Nick Nolte) has other ideas, though. He forms a squad of no-nonsense cops to fight back and puts World War II veteran John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) in charge of the operation. O’Mara assembles his crew and tackles Cohen’s organisation with the same brute force that the criminal acquired it with.

From the off-set, Fleischer doesn’t waste time in getting down to business. The brutality of Mickey Cohen is captured within the first few minutes by a scenery-chewing Sean Penn, on menacing form. Following suit, we are then introduced to Brolin’s strong arm of the law, charged with bringing this notorious gangster to justice. Straight away, Dion Beebe’s gorgeous cinematography and production designer Mather Ahmad manage to capture the glitz and grime of late 1940’s L.A. and it looks like we could be treated to something akin to Curtis Hanson’s sublime “L.A. Confidential“. Unfortunately, the look and feel is where the comparison ends. This isn’t anywhere near as tightly constructed as James Ellroy’s labyrinthine thriller and that’s the most frustrating part; it could have been. The elements are in place but the all-important script seems to have it’s concrete shoes on. The writing is repetitious and lazily strung together and for a film that’s seemingly focused on it’s characters, it ultimately fails to deliver anything that resembles a three-dimensional role for any of the impressive cast on show. Brolin, Gosling and Penn get most of the screen time but this is a role that’s completely beneath the abilities of Gosling as he takes a back seat to the other two and the talented likes of Ribisi, Mackie and especially Peña needn’t have turned up at all. It all but completely abandons the good work it sets out to do and resorts to stylistic action scenes that are drawn out and devour the latter half of the movie – eventually leading to nothing more than a shoot-em-up and an obligatory toe-to-toe thrown in for ~~good~~ bad measure. Quite simply, the whole thing comes across as a poor case of cut-and-paste and squanders what little powerful scenes and performances it does possess.

It’s a real shame that this ended up so superficial when it had so much potential. Instead of being a passable piece of pulp with too much reliance on it’s star wattage, it could have been a solid addition to the gangster genre. I’m sure Fleischer believed in the material at one point but my Tommy-Gun’s not convinced.

Mark Walker

35 Comments »

In The Mouth Of Madness * * * 1/2

Posted in Fantasy, Horror, Mystery with tags 1994 on April 25, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: John Carpenter.
Screenplay: Michael De Luca.
Starring: Sam Neill, Jürgen Prochnow, Charlton Heston, David Warner, John Glover, Julie Carmen, Bernie Casey, Peter Jason, Frances Bay, Hayden Christensen.

After “The Thing” in 1982 and “Prince Of Darkness” in 1987, director John Carpenter completed his self-titled ‘Apocalypse trilogy’ in 1994 with “In The Mouth Of Madness“. Unfortunately, by this point, Carpenter couldn’t get any strong studio backing for his projects and as a result his excellent concepts never really took off as well as they could have. This film is another example of the financial problems that he was facing.

When renowned horror writer Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow) makes a sudden disappearance, strange things begin to happen. His ability to describe evil, literally, starts to come to life and effect everyone in society. To investigate his mysterious disappearance, Insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) is sent to a little East Coast town called Hobb’s End. However, this little town is actually a figment of Cane’s imagination and Trent soon finds himself questioning his own sanity as he is drawn further and further into the dark recesses of Cane’s twisted mind.

As always with Carpenter, the concept and premise is one of sheer brilliance and it possesses more than few references to real life horror writers Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft but unlike his previous efforts there is something amiss here. Maybe it’s because Carpenter doesn’t actually write the script himself or even compose the soundtrack with the idiosyncratic and atmospheric style that fans of his will be accustomed to. Despite the excellent premise, I found that the films major issue was a lack of drive. It didn’t catch me the way it did when I first seen it. Also, it suffers from a failure to bring a depth to any character other than Sam Neill’s investigator. Sutter Cane is a very intriguing antagonist with a lot of potential but he features very little and when he does appear, the films budget is tested in order to realise it’s horror. All in all, this struck me as an attempt from Carpenter to appeal to a wider audience and as a result sacrificed the very style that made him a unique filmmaker to begin with. That’s not to say that this is a poor film. It’s not. It’s very cleverly constructed and for the most part, very well delivered. Carpenter is a master at his build up and construction of atmosphere, meanwhile, cleverly unravelling the mystery. However, the film takes a little too long to get going and just when it’s hitting it crescendo, it feels rushed and over a bit too soon.

For the most part, Carpenter does well to blur the lines between fantasy and reality but ultimately it doesn’t quite come together as obscurity and pretentiousness creep in. It’s a great attempt, but Carpenter has delivered better.

(This review was part of a collaboration with Eric who runs The IPC. To view the post in full and give Eric some support, go here)

Mark Walker

42 Comments »

Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead * * * *

Posted in Crime, Drama with tags 1995 on April 22, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Gary Fleder.
Screenplay: Scott Rosenberg.
Starring: Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken, Treat Williams, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Steve Buscemi, Gabrielle Anwar, Fairuza Balk, Jack Warden, Bill Cobbs, Michael Nicolosi, Marshall Bell, Glenn Plummer, Josh Charles, Sarah Trigger, Don Stark, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, Don Cheadle.

Post Quentin Tarantino and “Reservoir Dogs” there was an influx of stylish and fast-talking crime movies. It became the fad during the 90’s and beyond. “True Romance“, “Pulp Fiction” and “The Usual Suspects” were another few. Some fell by the way side while others genuinely succeeded and “Things To Do In Denver…” is one of those films that creates a positive, lasting memory. Crime escapades and colourful characters are what this film has in abundance.

In order to fund his small business, Jimmy the Saint (Andy Garcia) is in debt to lone sharks. However, his debt is bought over by an old venomous cohort from the past (Christopher Walken) who drags Jimmy back into a life of crime and orders him to scare off the new boyfriend of the ex-fiancée of the boss’s simple-minded son and heir. Jimmy assembles a tight-knit crew to keep the job simple but things don’t go to plan, leaving him and his friends with contracts on their heads.

As the lively and spirited Tom Waits song “Jockey Full of Bourbon” is played overhead we are introduced to our suave, confident, wheeler/dealer protagonist ‘Jimmy the Saint‘ and given an almost instant idea of this films stylish intentions. Like Jimmy, this film moves fast and talks fast. However, this isn’t strictly down to him. Where this film succeeds is not just in one particular character or it’s particularly cool demeanour. Where it succeeds, is in it’s plethora of interesting and delicately written supporting roles and a whole hot of quality actors to embody them. A lot of them get limited screen time but it’s still a testament to the writing qualities of Scott Rosenberg who manages to give them enough of a backstory to make them stand out and the actors bring the right amount of presence required for us to invest in them. The real standouts from Jimmy’s crew are: Christopher Lloyd’s leper – nicknamed ‘Pieces’ on account of his fingers and toes falling off from a circulatory disease and a completely on-edge Treat Williams as ‘Critical Bill’ – a psychopath, who can’t seem to stop harming people. He even uses funeral parlour corpses as punchbags to relieve his tension. There is also excellent support in Christopher Walken’s crippled mob leader ‘The Man With The Plan’, who’s so ruthless, he even threatens to have his henchmen pull out his “dead dick” for Jimmy to suck on. He’s a lamentable nasty but one that Walken excels at, and all the more, because he acts only from the neck up. On the sidelines – but no less memorable – is Steve Buscemi’s clinical hitman ‘Mr. Shhh’, who’s brought in to despatch of Jimmy and his crew. Buscemi gets the least amount of dialogue and screen time but anyone familiar his role in “The Big Lebowski” will know that this is never a problem for him to still make a lasting impression.
At times, there is an elusive nature to the sharply written dialogue and the characters’ use of a distinctive vocabulary but it only helps to convey a strong bond and understanding between them. On closer inspection, their patois is explained and the camaraderie and altercations throughout the film are driven by paying as much as attention as it does, to such a vernacular approach.

Fast talking dialogue with fast and colourful characters in the fast and dangerous Denver underbelly. This film has the goods to satisfy fans of the crime genre and manages just the right amount of cool that Quentin Tarantino made his name on. An overlooked and thoroughly entertaining addition to the genus.

Mark Walker

46 Comments »

2013 Lammy Awards

Posted in Uncategorized with tags 2013 on April 18, 2013 by Mark Walker

As most, or all of you will know, the 2013 Lammy Awards have entered their final stage. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support and interaction on Marked Movies and to those that were kind enough to vote for me in the submission stage. As a result, I’ve now made it to the nomination stage in my first full year of blogging and I can’t tell you all how happy and honoured I am to be considered amongst so many great sites. This would never have happened if it wasn’t for the warmth and encouragement from so many of you out there and for that I’m entirely grateful.

When the nominations were announced on the Lambcast and my beloved feature Tuesday’s Trivia Tidbits didn’t make the cut in Best Running Feature, I went through the 5 stages of grief…

Denial…

Anger…

Bargaining…

Depression…

Acceptance…

I came to accept, when I realised that I had been included in the nominations for Best Reviewer (one which I didn’t expect at all) and for Best New Lamb. These are two very strong and reputable categories to be involved in and here’s hoping I can go that one step further when the winners are announced in May after the close of ballot on April 30th.

Not only would I like to thank everyone for their support but I’d also like to wish my fellow nominees the very best of luck. It’s an honour to be included amongst you all.

Mark

47 Comments »

Sightseers * * * *

Posted in Comedy, Drama with tags 2012 on April 17, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Ben Wheatley.
Screenplay: Steve Oram, Alice Lowe.
Starring: Steve Oram, Alice Lowe, Eileen Davies, Richard Glover, Monica Dolan, Jonathan Aris, Richard Lumsden, Tony Way, Rachel Austin, Gareth Jones.

After the dark crime thriller “Kill List” in 2011, writer/director Ben Wheatley has decided on a slightly lighter approach for his follow-up. Just ‘slightly’ mind you, as the premise of this tale is equally as dark and deranged. However, it does contain a lot of humour and will most likely remain one of the blackest comedies all year. It’s also confirmation that Wheatley is definitely a talent to watch.

After accidentally killing her mother’s beloved dog with a knitting needle Tina (Alice Lowe), makes a decision to leave her domineering mother and go on a caravan holiday with her new boyfriend Chris (Steve Oram). What Tina doesn’t know is that Chris has a penchant for killing people who upset him. Tina soon becomes influenced by him and as they tour the English countryside, they leaves bodies in their wake at the camp sites, museums and tourist destinations that they visit.

After a brief introduction to our travelling odd-couple, Wheatley gets down to his turgid roadtrip where all manner of darkness ensues. Despite the, blacker-than-black, nature of the story he infuses it with a deadpan humour that counterbalances the events, disturbed behaviour and thought processes of the characters. After casually and callously despatching of unsuspecting, innocent victims our couple share their thoughts and warped sense of justification; at one point over dinner Tina suggests that “by reducing their life span you’re reducing their omissions“, to which Chris responds “so what you mean is… murder is green? I never thought of it like that“. Tina is also a character who likes to have intercourse while sticking her face in a bowl of pot-pourri and wearing hand-knitted, crotchless lingerie. These are just a couple of examples of their deluded outlook and off-the-wall behaviour. Believe me, there are plenty more on their travels. What aids the film immeasurably is the two superb central performances from Steve Oram and Alice Lowe who also happen to have written the screenplay. While playing out their own characters, it shows that they fully understand the material and what’s required to make them three dimensional. Meanwhile, Wheatley handles the extreme shifts in tone with absolute ease. There are some genuinely, hilarious moments that are coupled with a very twisted nature. For a film to have you laughing at it’s darkness, is a testament to all involved here. Black comedies don’t come much darker than this.

Having proved beforehand with “Kill List” that he could craft a sense of realism imbued with absolute horror. This time, Ben Wheatley shows excellent skill in balancing humour with an altogether different kind of horror and lunacy. It has been compared to the likes of “Natural Born Killers” and Mike Leigh’s “Nuts In May” but I’d refer to this thoroughly rewarding little treat, as “Badlands” in the Midlands.

Mark Walker

54 Comments »

TUESDAY’S TRIVIA TIDBITS

Posted in Uncategorized with tags 2013 on April 16, 2013 by Mark Walker

Welcome back to Tuesday’s Trivia Tidbits. For those of you out of the loop, this is a little compilation of 10 movie related facts that I will be posting weekly and info that I always find interesting. So without further ado, this weeks are…

1: Director Martin Scorsese’s first choice for the role of Sam Bowden in “Cape Fear” was Harrison Ford. He had Robert DeNiro call Ford to try convincing him to take the part. Robert Redford was also considered before Nick Nolte eventually took the role.

2: In “Cinderella Man“, professional boxers played Jimmy Braddock’s (Russell Crowe’s) opponents. They were told to land their blows as close to Crowe’s body as possible. Unfortunately, they sometimes couldn’t pull back in time and ended up injuring the actor.

3: The scene in “The 40 Year Old Virgin” where Andy (Steve Carell) has his chest hair removed required five cameras set up for the shot. Carell’s chest hair was actually ripped out in the scene. The actor had told director Judd Apatow just before shooting the scene: “It has to be real. It won’t be as funny if it’s mocked up or if it’s special effect. You have to see that this is really happening.” The scene had to be done in one shot.

4: So disappointed was he by the poor reception of “The Night Of The Hunter” on its initial release both critically and commercially, Charles Laughton vowed never to direct a film again, and he never did. The film he was planning to direct next was going to be a screen adaptation of “The Naked And The Dead.”

5: In Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine“, the scenes in the ‘past’ when Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) are falling in love were shot first, in three weeks. After this Gosling and Williams spent a month together in a rented house to age themselves in preparation for the ‘present’ scenes. They spent a lot of their time grocery shopping, cooking dinner and learning to pick fights with each other.

6: On October 17, 2006, Wesley Snipes was indicted on eight counts of tax fraud. He was ultimately found guilty and sentenced in April, 2008, to three years imprisonment. It was determined that he had not filed federal income tax returns from 1999 to 2007 and owed the IRS approximately $20,000,000 in back taxes. On the day he was sentenced, he paid $5,000,000 to the IRS.

7: Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, and John Leguizamo auditioned for the role of Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo & Juliet“, before Luhrman decided to make Mercutio black and cast Harold Perrineau, Jr instead. Benicio Del Toro was also considered for the part of Tybalt before Leguizamo took that role.

8: On the first day of shooting his film debut in “Mrs Brown“, Gerard Butler had to run naked into a freezing sea and, as a result, developed hypothermia. Later during the filming, he saved a young boy from drowning in the River Tay, Scotland and received a Certificate Of Bravery from The Royal Humane Society.

9: During the filming of “The Birds“, Tippi Hedren’s daughter Melanie Griffith was given a present by Alfred Hitchcock: a doll that looked exactly and eerily like Hedren. The creepiness was compounded by the ornate wooden box it came in, which a young Griffith took to be a coffin.

10: The scene at the beginning of “Apocalypse Now” with Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) alone in his hotel room was completely unscripted. Sheen told the shooting crew to just let the cameras roll and he was actually drunk in the scene and punched the mirror which was real glass. Sheen also began sobbing and tried to attack Francis Ford Coppola. The crew was so disturbed by his actions that they wanted to stop shooting, but Coppola wanted to keep the cameras going.

Unfortunately, there will be no Trivia Tidbits next Tuesday or for the short, foreseeable future as it’s at this time that I will be stepping back from this feature and regrouping. Having just missed out on a 2013 Lammy nomination for this, I have decided that fresh material is required. If you must know my true feelings, then the picture of Martin Sheen (above) should suffice in conveying my dismay and despair. 😉

Don’t threat, though, the feature will return in time, when I have researched more and can come back with more material for you all to enjoy. Until next time, the curtains of Tuesday’s Trivia Tidbits have now drawn but in the meantime you can still check out earlier editions that you may have missed.

Just click here.

69 Comments »

Welcome To The Punch * * 1/2

Posted in Action with tags 2013 on April 12, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Eran Creevy.
Screenplay: Eran Creevy.
Starring: James McAvoy, Mark Strong, Peter Mullan, Johnny Harris, David Morrissey, Andrea Riseborough, Daniel Mays, Jason Flemyng, Daniel Kaluuya, Elyes Gabel, Ruth Sheen, Steve Oram.

This film marks the start of a trilogy of UK ventures from actor James McAvoy in 2013. It was released practically back to back with Danny Boyle’s “Trance” and an adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel “Filth” will complete McAvoy’s year. Let’s just say that he hasn’t got off to the best of starts with this one.

During the pursuit of master criminal
Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong), doggedly determined policeman Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) is shot in the leg which allows Sternwood to escape. Now disgraced within his precinct, Lewinsky believes he will never get the chance bring Sternwood to justice. That is, until Sterenwood is forced out of hiding to return to London from his Icelandic hideaway and hunt down the man responsible for shooting his son. Lewinsky is given the perfect opportunity to rescue his reputation but he also uncovers a deeper conspiracy involved.

I’ve said it countless times before but I’m afraid I’m going to have to say it again; I’m not a massive fan of the action genre. I find it all a bit hollow and the story and logic always suffer for the sake of set-pieces and excitement. This has that very same problem. The reason I went into this was for the actors and the curiosity of how a British made movie, in this genre, could compete in terms with the U.S. At least, on both these accounts, I wasn’t disappointed. McAvoy, once again, proves his leading man credentials with fine support by Mark Strong and British character actors like Peter Mullan, David Morrissey and Johnny Harris. The film’s, near futuristic, look and gritty feel is also perfectly fitting and for a change, a British action movie handles itself just as well as any other. However, it’s ultimately no different from the mind-numbing, generic dross that this genre so often delivers and the plot, as expected, has holes aplenty. In fact, they are so wide, they are actually quite offensive. Despite it trying to play clever and keep it’s cards close to it’s chest, it’s all rather predictable and leaves you with the feeling that you’ve just wasted your time. Eran Creevy does well, in the directing stakes and conducts his action set-pieces with impressive ease but his script has more creeks and holes than his protagonist’s dodgy knee. If it wasn’t for the committed actors and the neon-infused cinematography by Ed Wild, this would be a complete write-off.

With a better script and more respect for the audience this could have been a lot better. Sadly, it has neither of these and carries so much self-indulgence it would be more aptly titled… Welcome to the Paunch.

Mark Walker

27 Comments »

TUESDAY’S TRIVIA TIDBITS

Posted in Uncategorized with tags 2013 on April 9, 2013 by Mark Walker

1: In “Saturday Night Fever“, in Tony’s (John Travolta) bedroom there’s a poster for “Rocky“, a film directed by John G. Avildsen. The sequel to this film, “Staying Alive“, was written and directed by the star of “Rocky“, Sylvester Stallone. In fact, Avildsen was the original director of this film but was fired by producer Robert Stigwood shortly before principal photography began due to “creative differences”. John Badham was approached to fill in at the last minute. Tony also has a poster for “Serpico” on his wall. Avildsen was originally considered to direct that film as well, but left the project due to “creative differences.”

2: The three main characters in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” are named after dogs. Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) was named after screenwriter Willard Huyck’s dog, Willie (Kate Capshaw) is named after Steven Spielberg’s dog and Indiana (Harrison Ford) is named after George Lucas’s dog.

3: Kiefer Sutherland is named after Warren Kiefer, pen name of Lorenzo Sabatini. Sabatini directed “Il castello dei morti vivi“, in which his father Donald Sutherland made his theatrical film debut.

4: Anjelica Huston was offered the leading role of Annie Wilkes in “Misery” and was interested, but was unable to accept it due to her commitment to “The Grifters“. Bette Midler also turned the role down before it went to Kathy Bates.

5: In the closing credits of “Jackie Brown“, Quentin Tarantino gives special thanks to “Bert D’Angelo’s Daughter”. In the late 70’s, Paul Sorvino starred in a TV detective show, “Bert D’Angelo/Superstar“. Thus “Bert D’Angelo’s Daughter” is Paul’s daughter and Tarantino’s girlfriend (at the time) Mira Sorvino. Sorvino can actually be seen (out of focus) in a brief court room scene.

6: The original director of “Malcolm X” was going to be Norman Jewison but he had to withdraw from the project due to outside pressure demanding that the subject be made by a black film-maker. At one point Oliver Stone also expressed interest in directing it as a follow-up to “JFK“; Stone’s first choice was Denzel Washington, who went on to star in the title role when Spike Lee came on board as director.

7: The part of John Keating (Robin Williams’ role) in “Dead Poet’s Society“, was once intended for Dustin Hoffman. The film was also going to be Hoffman’s directorial debut before Hoffman withdrew from the film. Liam Neeson had then originally landed the role to be directed by Jeff Kanew, but lost it to Robin Williams when director Peter Weir came on board. Bill Murray was also considered at one point.

8: The name of the high school in “Carrie” is Bates High, a reference to Norman Bates from “Psycho“. In addition, the four note violin theme from “Psycho” is used over and over in the film.

9: Kate Winslet holds a unique position in Academy Awards history: Only twice have two actresses been nominated for playing the same character in the same film. The first two were Gloria Stuart and Winslet in “Titanic“. The second two were Judi Dench and Winslet in “Iris“.

10: Director Francis Ford Coppola explains on the DVD commentary of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” that Mina (Winona Ryder) and Jonathan Harker’s (Keanu Reeves) wedding was a reshoot done at a Los Angeles Greek Orthodox church. They filmed the entire ceremony with a genuine Orthodox minister and realized afterwards that Ryder and Reeves really were (unintentionally) married.

So there you have it. 10 esoteric Tidbits to masticate on. Some you may know. Some you may not. If you have any thoughts, stick your donations in the comment box.
See you next Tuesday…

(For earlier editions of Trivia Tidbits click here.)

50 Comments »

Casino

Posted in Crime, Drama with tags 1995 on April 8, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Martin Scorsese.
Screenplay: Nicholas Pileggi.
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Frank Vincent, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L. Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Melissa Prophet, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Vinny Vella, Frankie Avalon.

“Listen to me very carefully. There are three ways of doing things around here: the right way, the wrong way, and the way that I do it. You understand?”

Five years after delivering one the mob genre’s finest films in “GoodFellas“, director Martin Scorsese reunited with screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi and several of the same actors – mainly Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci – to focus on another true-life crime story. This time he takes it away from the mean streets of New York and focuses on the deserts of Las Vegas. The results may be highly similar but they’re just as impressive. Continue reading →

41 Comments »

Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee * * *

Posted in Comedy, Documentary, Drama with tags 2009 on April 6, 2013 by Mark Walker

Director: Shane Meadows.
Screenplay: Shane Meadows.
Starring: Paddy Considine, Dean Palinczuk, Olivia Colman, Shane Meadows, Richard Graham, Seamus O’Neill, Alex Hunter, Matt Helders, Nick O’Malley, Jamie Cook, Nigel Reeks.

Director Shane Meadows is no stranger to low-budget filmmaking. In fact, most of his films to date have been made with relativity tight constraints. This time around, he goes that one step further and makes an all-out, fly on the wall mockumentary, which also happens to be his third collaboration with actor Paddy Considine.

Documentary maker Shane Meadows (playing himself) follow the life of music manager Le Donk (Paddy Considine), who reckons he’s unearthed a new talent in rapper Scor-Zay-Zee (Dean Palinczuk). As a slot with band The Arctic Monkeys opens up, the would-be manager and his protege hit the road to try and make a name for themselves.

If the brilliant “A Room For Romeo Brass” and “Dead Man’s Shoes” were anything to go by, you’d be forgiven for getting very excited about the prospect of Meadows and Considine working together again. I know I certainly was. Unfortunately, this film isn’t quite up to their previous high standards. In fairness, they’ve adopted a different approach but for a film with a running time of just over an hour you’d expect it to move briskly and get down to telling it’s story. In the early stages it does this, with some hilarious observational humour and “kitchen sink” drama that’s reminiscent of Ricky Gervais’ “The Office” but the delivery soon becomes a bit stale. The idea is good, the performances are good but for a film to enter into this mould it needs to provide more laughs than it does. I’m sure it probably will appeal to many people but for me, as a big fan of Meadows, I had set my sites too high. It loses it momentum and relies too heavily on the presence of Considine and his perfect balance of ambition and desperation. He’s most definitely the highlight here. However, there’s only so much one man can carry. The humour and awkward situations are well captured but it essentially there isn’t much of a story and becomes not much more than a showcase for real-life rap artist and freestyler Scor-Zay-Zee, who’s not that appealing to begin with.

An interesting, if unsuccessful, project from Meadows. He’s not made many bad movies and I wouldn’t say this is bad either. It’s just not as eventful as it could have been.

Mark Walker

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TUESDAY’S TRIVIA TIDBITS

Posted in Uncategorized with tags 2013 on March 29, 2013 by Mark Walker

1: In a TV interview, Charlie Sheen credited Keith David with saving his life on the set of “Platoon“. While shooting in an open-doored Huey gunship, the helicopter banked too hard and Sheen was thrown towards – and would have gone through – the open door. David grabbed him and pulled him back in.

2: At one point Steven Spielberg considered directing “Awakenings” before passing it on to Penny Marshall. The time he spent on the project did yield one useful outcome for him: Steven Zaillian’s script took several short chapters, each about different patients, and put them together into a linear whole. This brought Zaillian to Spielberg’s attention, and he offered Zaillian the similar task of adapting “Schindler’s List“, which ended up winning Oscars for both of them.

3: Leonardo DiCaprio was originally offered the role of Dirk Diggler in “Boogie Nights“. He liked the screenplay but turned it down because he had already signed on to do “Titanic“. However, it was DiCaprio who suggested Mark Wahlberg for the role.

4: Martin Scorsese stated before the release of “Casino” that he created the “head in a vice” scene as a sacrifice, certain the MPAA would insist it be cut. He hoped this would draw fire away from other violent scenes that would seem less so by comparison. When the MPAA made no objection to the vice scene, he left it in, albeit slightly edited.

5: In “Aliens“, Lance Henriksen caught a dose of food poisoning from the milk and yogurt combination that he had to spew up when his chest was pierced by the alien queen’s tail. Having this lactose combination sitting around under hot studio lights created a bacterial breeding ground. Curiously, the crew of the first “Alien” film opted not to use milk for Ash’s “death” scene (where he also spews the milky substance out of his mouth) as they thought a fluid made of milk would go sour under the hot lights.

6: When trying out for the parts of Bill and Ted in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure“, each actor was paired up with another. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter were paired up, Reeves trying out for the part of Bill while Winter tried out for the part of Ted. They were cast opposite what they auditioned for.

7: During the climatic motorcycle chase in “The Great Escape“, director John Sturges allowed Steve McQueen to ride (in disguise) as one of the pursuing German soldiers, so that in the final sequence, through the magic of editing, he’s actually chasing himself.

8: In “Glengarry Glen Ross“, Alec Baldwin, was initially hired to play Blake (a role which wasn’t in the original play) but with the agreement that if Al Pacino was unable to play Roma, Baldwin would play him. Early in preproduction it looked as if Pacino was going to be unavailable, so Baldwin began working on Roma, only for Pacino to join the project and Baldwin went back to Blake.

9: “Dances of Wolves” ran so far over budget that Kevin Costner was forced to invest his own money. This caused rumors that the film would be another out-of-control, disappointing western like “Heaven’s Gate“. In fact, some studio people were referring to it as “Kevin’s Gate”. It went on to win the first Best Picture Oscar for a western since “Cimarron“, over 50 years before it.

10: When the film “Gangs of New York” was first conceived in 1978, it was originally planned for Dan Aykroyd to be cast as Amsterdam Vallon and John Belushi as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting. The project fell apart after Belushi died. A cast reshuffle had Mel Gibson as Amsterdam Vallon and Robert DeNiro or Willem Dafoe as The Butcher. Eventually, Leonardo DiCaprio was cast as Amsterdam Vallon and Daniel Day-Lewis was cast as The Butcher.

So there you have it. 10 esoteric Tidbits to masticate on. Some you may know. Some you may not. If you have any thoughts, stick your donations in the comment box.
See you next Tuesday…

(For earlier editions of Trivia Tidbits click here.)

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