In Bruges (2008)

Martin McDonagh returns after the incredible success of his oscar-winning short Six Shooter (2004). If you haven't already, check it out as soon as possible via rental, download or the occasional showing on Film Four. Born in Camberwell, McDonagh seems the likely choice to continue where Guy Ritchie sadly left us. Not just the guns and gags but also the adept multi-stranded narrative structure used so proficiently in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) yet used so carelessly in Revolver (2005) and RocknRolla (2008) (let's not mention the one with his wife).

When their last job goes horribly wrong hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to Bruges for an unscheduled extended break. Why Bruges? Well, because London boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) said so, that’s why. The idyllic setting is a childhood memory of his and he’s hoping some of its charm will wear off on the young corruptible Ray. Bruges does look stunning and distinctly surreal in a Lynchian kind-of-way. Eigil Bryld’s cinematography and the Coen's regular composer Carter Burwell meld perfectly to fulfill Harry’s description of a fairy-tale city.

McDonagh’s grasp on efficient story telling is faultless, an essential trait for feature length but arguably more so for short films. Ken’s pocketful of coins, the overweight American and a school uniform are integral plot points, there is no space for MacGuffins here. Significantly all of these are played out visually and for this reason, the exposition is effortless.

This could be the beginning of a canon for McDonagh, as the sole writer this film continues very much in the same tone as Six-Shooter. The same brand of humour is intact too and it is seriously funny. Whether McDonagh targets dwarves or Dutch prostitutes, all are dealt with equally and delivered to perfection by both cast (albeit mostly Farrell) and editor (Jon Gregory). It is a very welcome non-PC breath of fresh air.

A must see film of the year.

Babylon A.D. (2008)

Pitch Black (2000) was awesome, it came out of nowhere, a top action film that was extraordinarily original and the inspiration for a whole new wave of video games (Gears of War (2006) anybody). It held its own against top action flicks of the same year including Gladiator (2000) and X-Men (2000). If it had been backed up with a more substantial advertising budget or tweaked it's content for a more marketable certificate rating it would have easily reached higher in the box office ratings (67th for that year).

Most significantly it introduced a new kind of action hero. Sure he was buffed to the max as per usual and had a voice deeper than the guy who dubs Bruce Willis in Spanish but it was the shrouded mystery that carried his success both on and off screen. Since then he has been in a car movie franchise (incidentally the new one comes out next year), A Man Apart (2003) and a bunch of sequels to the aforementioned Pitch Black. By now of course the mystery has dissipated. As a general rule, with every new role come more lines of dialogue. It's not an ideal correlation for Mr. Diesel as his acting abilities are slowly becoming more and more tested. His latest performance is no exception.

Following hot on the heels of so-bad-it's-good Transporter (2002), Mercenary must deliver organism carrying Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) to Manhattan, all the way from Russia. Impossible you say? Never! Not with film editor Benjamin Weill on the case. We zip and cut our way over nation wide landscapes using cars, helicopters and skidoos to name but a few. Of course it's not the editors fault, he just meshes it all together. Who's to blame then? Well not director Mathieu Kassovitz either. He's been working on this project for 5 years and has already disowned it after 5 minutes. His Hollywood career is certainly over (can we have more hate now please?) but after this experience would he want to return?

It is a (90 minute) mess of a film but if you walk in there understanding this then you may just walk out enjoying it. I did.

Babettes Gæstebud (Babette's Feast) (1987)

Recommended to me by a food critic following the release of Ratatouille (2007), he argued that the reason it was a success was because of the appetising appearance of the food involved. If it doesn’t look good, then the whole basis of the film collapses.

Babette’s Feast falls into that same category. It’s one of those gems that you’ve possibly never heard of but fall in love with instantly. Kind of like stumbling across Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Hud (1963) or Vernon, Florida (1982) late at night on TCM.

Featuring a multi-stranded narrative, the basic crux involves Babette (Stéphane Audran), a poor French refugee, arriving in a stranded Danish hamlet in the 19th century. She is employed and paid with food and board for her services as a maid/house keeper/cook to sisters Martina (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer). Continuing to play the lottery ever since leaving France she wins and pleas with her employers to let her organise the upcoming feast, “a real French dinner” she exalts. The feast is in celebration of what would have been their father’s 100th birthday were he still alive. As the town’s pastor, we learn that he was the only force powerful enough to unite the people and who has been sorely missed ever since. Can her feast restore that community spirit?

It’s a beautifully told story featuring very sparse use of narration, dialogue in general and most significant, soundtrack. All this directs further attention to the visual details, most rewarded by the appearance of the food. When the goods/ingredients arrive all the way from France Philippa exclaims “surely that’s not wine”, Babette replies quite matter-of-factly “Clos de Vougeot 1845, from Chez Philippe, Rue Motorgueil”. Her face is priceless and so will yours be with the next shot, a live giant turtle just waiting to be cooked (you know, for the soup!).

If the preparation of the dinner doesn’t make you laugh then the feast itself will at least make your mouth water. Have I tickled your tastebuds? If so, I implore you not watch this on an empty stomach, you may fall victim to Windigo.

The Duchess (2008)

What can you say? Director Saul Dibb ain't no Ang Lee and this ain't no Sense & Sensibility (1995). Unlike the latter however, this isn't based on fiction, rather a best-selling biography by Amanda Foreman. It certainly explains its flatness, whilst not quite justifying it.

Newly wedded Duke (Ralph Fiennes) and Duchess (Keira Knightley) of Devonshire struggle to bear a male heir. He fools around (developing the now infamous love triangle) and in the end so does she. We are led to believe that whilst his infidelity is solely to increase the chances of a son, hers is in the name of love. Throw in the beloved dogs and you've got the whole family.

Performances are fine, surprisingly not too shouty. Still, "I want an Oscar" can be heard in most scenes throughout. She would get my vote if it quenched her thirst for period dramas. At least, however, we can be thankful it's not a film about Jimmy's mother. Think about that for a second.

As commented by Xan Brooks in Jason Solomon's Guardian weekly podcast (06:38) this is yet another fine period piece to be slotted in up in the ranks of Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993). Everybody expected him to pull off a miracle piece, to do something new for the genre. Instead he offered a very solid piece of filmmaking featuring extravagant sets and beautiful costume designs. Of course I'm ad-libbing, I would say that Scorsese's film is much better but this still falls under the same category of solid filmmaking. It's paint by numbers, but the paint is very certainly metallic.

King Kong (1933)

The first in the ongoing Prince Charles' double bill features and number 196 in IMDB's top 250, King Kong is a cornerstone in film history. Smashing boundaries (no pun intended) and pushing envelopes in several areas, most notably being one of the first films about the film making process itself.

Of course we all know the story by now. Whether you've seen this (the original version), the laughable 1974 version or even the 87 minutes longer 2005 version, you should have a good idea of what to expect. "It was beauty that killed the beast" proclaims movie mogul Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong). Erm, well yes that, the consumerist nature of an obsessive filmmaker and of course those three nasty little biplanes.

A wonderful example of early cinema misogyny where patriarchal social structures are rife. A film focused upon prizes and possessions, juxtapositions between all the male characters in the film (including the gorilla itself) make this a delight to watch. Here the term is applied in the more genteel and commonly used sense of the word, rather than the true sense which could easily be applied to a film made seven decades later called You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008).

Fay Wray's iconic "scream queen" scene hasn't dated at all. "Look up, look up" director Denham shouts, "Cover your eyes and scream as loud as you can". It adeptly highlights the reality of the filmmaking process and heightens expectations of what is to come.

The next double bill is on the 22 September; Jurassic Park (1993) and Jaws (1975)

The Strangers (2008)

I've heard nothing but bad things about The Strangers but I was very very pleasantly surprised. For a horror film it did exactly what it was supposed to do, and with the recent surge of torture porn films preoccupied with showing the horror instead of, well, inspiring it, this is a breath of fresh air.

Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and presumedly soon to be ex-boyfriend James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) return as scheduled to his parents isolated holiday home after his post-wedding-party-proposal goes horribly wrong. Things get considerably worse when they find themselves at the mercy of three mask wearing assailants. For the next twelve hours they (and quite possibly you) will scream, hollow or at least jump as these sadists quite literally do our protagonist's heads in, both mentally and inevitably physically.

It's a taut thriller that once again, following the J.J. Abrams school methodology of "ask now, don't answer later", gets away with it in brilliant fashion. This recent resurgence began with Lost (2004), climaxed with the audacious Cloverfield (2008) and ends up once again here, steadicam intact. Of course this has been the main issue for many critics but once again, to reiterate, if you can't answer the questions then it is far better to leave them unanswered then to blag it.

Post Zodiac (2007) Hurdy Gurdy Man style music plays diegetically in the background at crucial points in the film adding an extra pinch of scary spice. Sure our protagonists make some bad choices but they arn't half as bad as the dodgy exposition or contrived revelations usually attributed to this genre.

At 85 minutes it is still a little too long, certainly a few shots could've been tighter, maybe even a scene cut could've have helped but it is still well worth a viewing.

The Strangers is on general release now.

Bes Vakit (Times and Winds) (2006)

Reha Erdem's fourth feature invites us once again to a slice of life in Turkey, his homeland.

Playing a distinguished part in the 50th annual London Film Festival (the 52nd begins in little over a month) it may be true it has taken a while to get general release here in the UK, but it's been well worth the wait. It’s one of those films where you wonder how film critics actually manage to sum them up after only one viewing. Jason Solomons for one said only this week how he would like to see it again. For me personally, it wasn’t a choice, I had to.

As its title suggests, the passing of time is a central theme. Focusing mainly but not solely upon the maturing period of three prepubescent protagonists, the narrative is incredibly intricate. A prominent plot line illustrates a child’s shifting sentiments from yearning a father’s affection to scheming his eternal demise. Split into five sections (based on the Iman's calls to prayer) these three characters interact with themselves and their surroundings effortlessly.

Yet whilst the narrative is incredibly strong it is in other areas that this film excels. The (supposedly untrained) child actors leave our very own prodigal son Mr. Turgoose behind, making this, along with equally talented cinematographer Florent Henry, a stunning example of why modern Turkish cinema is fast becoming a prominent force in Eurasian cinema.

Times and Winds is currently showing at the Curzon Mayfair and Renoir Cinema.

Step Brothers (2008)

And so the American onslaught of failed men continues, this time though, double trouble. Where to start? I guess I shouldn't have been expecting too much, I haven't seen much publicity or anything. This one has crawled out of the Hollywood production grinder like a dog with two legs.

Nancy Huff (Mary Steenburgen) and Dr. Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins) get hitched and only decide to introduce their 40 year old sons Dale (John C. Reilly) and Brennen (Will Ferrell) to each other after the fact. I'm a huge fan of Reilly, he's done some cracking stuff in the past, what a shame it is then that there seems to be much more of an attraction to comedy duo projects like this than ensemble bit parts like those of Bogey Nights (1997) and other P.T. Anderson masterpiece Magnolia (1999). Could it be the money, I wonder?

Seriously though, step it up, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), and with Cirque du Freak in the post, what happened to characters like Phil Last, Sgt. Storm and Buck Bretherton. Ok that last one was a joke.

Step Brothers is another in the long line of Old School (2003) killers but once again it doesn't come anywhere close unfortunately. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) was way off too but at least that was in the same genre...comedy. Whether it's dull dialogue or visual gags using Star Wars masks (not to mention the abundance of corporate sponsored Sunday t-shirts on display) it all pretty much falls flat. I did laugh at the bunk bed bit but that's about it. Maybe because there's actually a build up, instead of just saying swear words in crescendo based sentences.

On a more positive note seeing Clara Clayton back on the big screen since getting hitched to Doc. Brown saved it from being a total waste of time.

O.C. and Stiggs (1985)

Part of the Bob Altman box set I bought a couple of weeks ago, I'm pretty sure this far-out flick would never have surfaced on my radar if it weren't. Failing students O.C. and Stiggs relay the occurences of their summer holidays through flashback whilst talking to a fictional president of a fictional African nation on the neighbour's telephone. This is part of the ongoing revenge against middle-class surburbanites the Schwab's.

It's a mad flick, one that is not a total waste of time, just don't expect too much. It's an incredible film for that reason. After the critical and somewhat commercial success of MASH (1970), McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973) et al. this just seems totally out of place in his canon. Derived from the characters first introduced in the American humour magazine National Lampoon it is entirely based upon the October '82 issue entitled "The Utterly Monstrous, Mind-Roasting Summer of O. C. and Stiggs".

Nevertheless similarities do exist, mostly the use of fast dialogue ("Is it the sound of your voice or have we met before Mrs. Déjà Vu") and of course the unmistakable Altmanesque cinematography. That's about it though unfortunately, after that it's all down hill, the obligation to uphold mid 80s teen American cinema values proves too strong. Most notably the central character's attempts to save the day for those less fortunate displaying the all too common obsession with capitalism, something the film is very much aware of. That, and an obsession with lobsters.

If you're interested in ticking those boxes and have a spare couple of hours then check it out. A very interesting film for all the wrong reasons. If you're not interested in watching it then at least check out the introduction below, the strangest and most distinct introduction to an MGM production ever.

Death Defying Acts (2007)

It's only 90 minutes long but half way through I'm already asking when it is going to end. Never a good sign. It's not bad though by any standards, all the performances are ok (even though the accents are a bit weird), it's just that it doesn't seem to go anywhere.

Only at the end of the film (the last 7 minutes to be precise, lots of snogging) is it clear that we're actually watching a love story. Before this revelation it could've been anything...well maybe not a comedy. Misdirection, it seems, is as central to the aesthetics of the film as the narrative. Alas, everyone knows the king pin of misdirection in recent times is The Prestige (2006), and Gillian Armstrong's effort falls a long way short of being worthy of a comparison.

Fancy seeing some death defying acts, I'd suggest you check out Man on Wire (2007).

Shoot on Sight (2007)

Following on from the events of 7/7 and filling in the blanks leading up to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, Jag Mundhra’s slant on Britain’s post 7/7 world leaves the tracks pretty much there and goes on to become what can only be compared to an over-extended episode of Eastenders, or Coronation Street for that matter given the location.

Brian Cox and lead protagonist Naseeruddin Shah are the only elements keeping this film afloat although even their portrayals are tested at times.

The problems are not limited to production values or the small incestuous family based plotlines rampant throughout (the main bad guy is the protagonist’s grandson) but the thought that this project could have got green lit due to its tenuous claims to be based on or inspired by true events is deplorable. Surely the only depiction those events should inspire are documentaries or at least dramatizations with realism intact.