Thursday 27 December 2012
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (US, 2007)
A reasonably good thriller in which a familial inside job goes tragically and horribly awry.
Tuesday 25 December 2012
They Drive by Night (US, 1940)
Truck drivin' brothers from their inauspicious beginnings to eventual success in a major player. Occupational hazards aside, one must field potentially fatal attention from the boss' calumniating wife.
The first film about long haul drivers? There's witty lines aplenty, Bogey is of course great; it's a good film, but noir it is not.
The first film about long haul drivers? There's witty lines aplenty, Bogey is of course great; it's a good film, but noir it is not.
Quicksand (US, 1950)
Decent noir-ish "one thing leads to another" thriller in which a young Mickey Rooney gets way in over his head, starting with an initial
borrowing of $20 cash.
The ending is non-fatalistically upbeat, departing in tone from the rest of the film and noir generally, not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. Peter Lorre is magnificent, posesssing perhaps the singularly most memorable "face" of the era.
Viewed legally at archive.org, don't let the unrepresentative IMDB rating put you off.
The ending is non-fatalistically upbeat, departing in tone from the rest of the film and noir generally, not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. Peter Lorre is magnificent, posesssing perhaps the singularly most memorable "face" of the era.
Viewed legally at archive.org, don't let the unrepresentative IMDB rating put you off.
What Richard Did (IE, 2012)
I've written elsewhere about the Irish Film Syndrome.
Lenny Abrahamson is about the only (well known at least) Irish film director who bucks this trend, making arguably the best Irish film of all time,
Adam & Paul, and also the very strong Garage.
What Richard Did then moves away from the rural and urban underclasses to depict the rugby-playing gate-housed boarding-schooled silver spoons of recession-proof Dublin 4, and how casual, incidental, accidental violent death can also visit the uppermost echelons of society.
It's difficult to unremember the Annabel nightclub incident - which the film is clearly based on - and match it with the ending of this movie, which diverges significantly from actual events. It's not as good a film as the aforementioned masterpieces, but still a quality picture, retaining the director's trademark sensitivity, naturalism and realism.
What Richard Did then moves away from the rural and urban underclasses to depict the rugby-playing gate-housed boarding-schooled silver spoons of recession-proof Dublin 4, and how casual, incidental, accidental violent death can also visit the uppermost echelons of society.
It's difficult to unremember the Annabel nightclub incident - which the film is clearly based on - and match it with the ending of this movie, which diverges significantly from actual events. It's not as good a film as the aforementioned masterpieces, but still a quality picture, retaining the director's trademark sensitivity, naturalism and realism.
The Hunt (DK, 2012)
A teacher in a small Danish village is wrongly accused of abusing a child; the repercussions are predictable, and even when cleared, he might still be pursued by ill-bearers.
It's a serious, thoughtful and reasonably good film, the gloomily dramatic ending perhaps unnecessary.
It's a serious, thoughtful and reasonably good film, the gloomily dramatic ending perhaps unnecessary.
Wednesday 12 December 2012
Sightseers (UK, 2012)
The initially unexpected violence is theatrical, but a little on the gratuitous/casual side.
Entertaining, unusual and original enough, it is also well photographed.
Better regarded as a pisstake than taken seriously.
Entertaining, unusual and original enough, it is also well photographed.
Better regarded as a pisstake than taken seriously.
Scarlet Street (US, 1945)
Never been a fan of the overrated Fritz Lang, even his American noir-era output. This however is a pleasant surprise; a decent noir, once again legally viewable online at www.archive.org.
L'Enfer (FR, 1994)
A hostelry keeper in rural France groundlessly begins to suspect his curvaceous, doting younger wife of infidelity, and ends up losing the proverbial completely.
Scripted initially by Clouzot in 1964, it retains a structural feel, bringing to mind Polanski's Repulsion. It ends ambiguously.
Regarded as one of late Chabrol's better pieces, it's kinda hard to know what to make of it.
Scripted initially by Clouzot in 1964, it retains a structural feel, bringing to mind Polanski's Repulsion. It ends ambiguously.
Regarded as one of late Chabrol's better pieces, it's kinda hard to know what to make of it.
Kiss of Death (US, 1947)
Upper-crust noir-ish piece in which a convict agrees to play ball with the cops and testify against his erstwhile partners in crime.
It's nicely, clearly filmed and care-aboutable enough to watch in one sitting.
A straightforward crime yarn, it's got me wondering: did the earlier noirs have can't-make-head-nor-tail-of it "plots", the mid/later period relatively conventional, easy-to-follow ones?
It's nicely, clearly filmed and care-aboutable enough to watch in one sitting.
A straightforward crime yarn, it's got me wondering: did the earlier noirs have can't-make-head-nor-tail-of it "plots", the mid/later period relatively conventional, easy-to-follow ones?
Argo (US, 2012)
Post-revolution Iran. American diplomats with a price on their head (literally) must go underground. A fake film crew arrives undercover to spring them out, but the odds are heavily stacked against them.
It's a good thriller; several of the incidents seem highly, highly unlikely, and thus all the more remarkable when one is reminded that the film is largely based on fact.
It's a good thriller; several of the incidents seem highly, highly unlikely, and thus all the more remarkable when one is reminded that the film is largely based on fact.
Saturday 1 December 2012
The File on Thelma Jordan (US, 1950)
Noir-ish crime/romance/courtroom drama, not as taut as more 'noir noirs' but worth a look. Again, it's available in the film noir section of archive.org.
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