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The Death of Mr Lazarescu |
Six of the best
...a round-up of the year’s best films
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Ken Loach turned his docu-fiction style of filmmaking to Ireland and the result is a poignant and memorable story of brothers whose lives were intrinsically linked with the fight for freedom from British rule.
It was a worthy winner of the Palme D’Or in Cannes and sheds light in an easy to understand way on the ideological issues fight within the Republican movement.
The Death of Mr Lazarescu
A strange tale that stands out: filmed at such a slow pace it feels like real time, yet always captivating, the story about the last hours of an aged but not old Romanian man was a surprise. Mr Lazarescu is broken down, troubled by a variety of ailments – including a society which simply doesn’t care about the mortality of lonely pensioners. You follow Lazarescu as he is taken from his grotty tenement into a hospital where most of the staff appear happy to do the bare minimum. It was beautifully made and at times frightening – to have the human condition, what John Steinbeck called ‘the tragedy and miracle of human consciousness’, rammed down your throat made for an uneasy experience.
Munich
A timely piece of theatre: Steven Spielberg’s look at the fall out from the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage atrocity was a masterful study of the use of violence to further political aims. It was a brilliant riposte from Hollywood against the current ‘war on terror’, and also, as you would expect from a Spielberg film, a well told story with super performances, including Daniel ‘Bond’ Craig popping up as a vicious South African killer.
Capote
This portrait of the writer attributed with inventing a literary genre has not only a fascinating person at the centre of the story. It also enjoys a knock-out performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role.
Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the story of the murder of a family of four in the tiny mid-west town of Holcomb, was grandfather of the factual novel. Seymour uncovers Capote’s battle within himself, and shows how his genius was the source of great pain. Capote was a fascinating character and worthy of bio-pic of this stature.
Secuestro Express
A tough and timely look at crime in Venezuela – horrible in parts and engrossing throughout, this story of 24 hours in the life of a gang of desperate petty crooks who kidnap rich young things in Caracas was perhaps the best crime film of the year. Shocking when you think the story is based on events that happen every day of the week in Chavez’s capital.
The Prestige
Ten out of ten for originality – this wonderful story about two feuding Victorian magicians was weird and wonderful.
With flashbacks, split chronology and sidelines to keep you mystified, director Christopher Nolan of Memento and Batman Begins fame has shown he has a flair for original story telling.
Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale created chemistry while Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson offered strong support.
...and six to forget
gobble gobble ...the prize turkeys were:
The Wicker Man – this remake is as dire as the original was brilliant. Set off the coast of America instead of Scotland, its spookiness has been simply lost in translation.
Poseidon – another remake, and nothing more than a muscle flexing load of tosh. Set on board the capsized ocean liner, all that happens is some people try to escape while the water levels rise. And that’s it.
Adrift – spoilt rich people go sailing, they jump in the sea leaving just a baby on board, and then realise none of them can climb back on deck. It’s really that silly. Supposedly a horror film, in fact like watching Big Brother at sea, the characters are so unlovable even their own mothers want them to be the next piece of shark bait.
Trans-America – the story of the relationship between a transexual and her estranged son, it seems to think being slightly moody, slightly indie and ‘controversial’ makes it worthy. It doesn’t – this badly thought out nonsense with holes galore in a leaky plot should have sunk without a trace.
Mission Impossible III – Tom Cruise wins in the end after jumping through a few burning hoops etc, etc. Yawn, yawn, yawn. Thankfully he has been dumped by the studio who were behind this franchise.
You, Me and Dupree – a film full of schmucks, Owen Wilson is the best man who crashes on his newly wedded pal’s sofa for a very long time, basically being disgusting (farting, burping, making a mess). There’s one poor joke that attempts to sustain this dross for over an hour and a half. |
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