Breach

Ryan Phillippe and Chris Cooper in Breach

You wait ages for an intelligent, slow-burning thriller and then three come a long at once. Well if not at once at least fairly close together. First Robert De Niro gave us his take on the early history of the CIA in The Good Shepherd and then David Fincher turned his hand at a film adaptation on Robert Graysmith's books on a real life serial killer in Zodiac. Now comes the turn of Billy Ray, in his second film as director, with Breach, a film also based on true events - this time the greatest security breach in US history.

Breach is comparable to those films in a number of ways: it unravels slowly, is impeccably directed and most of all superbly acted. Chris Cooper, gets a rare but thoroughly deserved starring role as Robert Hanssen, the agen tresponsible for the security breach. Cooper won a supporting Oscar for Adaptation., and in any other year probably would have won another for American Beauty, although 1999 was such an amazing year for films that he couldn't even filnd his way onto the shortlist. In Breach Cooper pulls of a tricky role with aplomb. Hanssen, is a conflict of personalities: menacing, aloof and unsettling but also sympathetic and thoughtful. That is surely not an easy feat to pull off. It's probably a little early to be talking of Oscar nominations but it would certainly make the ballot if it took place today.

Cooper is joined by Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney. Phillippe is not someone I've cared for in theb past, being responsble for such crimes as Cruel Intentions (which my friend Dave bizarrly likes and wants me to review, but I refuse to watch it again and I'm fairly sure he only liked it for Sarah Michelle Gellar), and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Despite a shakey start in the film industry Phillippe has grown in stature and is actually someone I enjoy on sreen. His performance in the Oscar winning Crash was impressive and he gives his best effort yet in Breach, as the computer specialist entrusted with the task of bringing Hanssen down.

Like Zodiac, I left the theatre wanting to know more about the case and that's credit to the writers Adam Mazer, William Rotko and Billy Ray, who have fashioned a taut and absorbing thriller. Linney is as good as ever in an undemanding role, although she's the sort of actress who lends a gravitas to even the simplest of parts, and Dennis Haysbert and Gary Cole pop up in smaller roles. However this film belongs to Cooper, who utterly convinces as the disgraced agent, and who may well be in demand during the awards season.

B+

1408

John Cusack in 1408

I lamented yesterday about the lack of decent roles for John Cusack since his sterling turn in Grosse Point Blank. That was a little unfair as he did some fine work that same year in the underrated Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and then followed that with another couple of good roles in '99, in Being John Malkovich and Pushing Tin. What I should have said was John Cusack hasn't been in anything good this century. And although that sounds worse than my previous comment, it's a lot more accurate.

Cusack has always been at his best when playing characters that deliver each line with a hint of sarcasm and a healthy dose of cynicism. I think you could certainly (at least loosely) put his characters in 3 of the 4 films mentioned above in that category - only Midnight deviating from that description. That's not to say Cusack can only play one type of role - it's just that no-one else plays that role better than he does. Trouble is he's not played it in a while and that might account for why I've not been drawn to much of what he's been attached to over the last 7 years, and not been impressed by those films that I have seen.


1408 is an adaptation of a Stephen King short story and sees Cusack playMichael Enslin, an author who writes about the paranormal. His latest project sees him researching haunted hotel rooms, yet he's not found one yet that has yielded anything resembling a paranormal experience. All that changes when he receives a mysterious postcard instructing him not to stay in room 1408, in the Dolphin Hotel in New York. A bit of research by Enslin reveals that many a suspicious death has occured in the room and it is permanently unavaliable to would be guests. Enslin's editor (Tony Shaloub, in a pointless role for someone of his ability) finds a legal loophole that means the hotel must let Enslin stay in any room of his choosing. And so, despite the objections of the hotel manger (Samuel L. Jackson, in the latest in a series of pointless role for someone of his ability,) Enslin is granted his wish to spend the night there.

It never makes a lot of sense and the writers seem to think that details like the digits of the room number (1408) and the street address (2245) both equalling 13 is pretty clever. However it does have some semi-scary moments and is nicely directed by newcomer Mikael Håfström. This is not a return to he wise-cracking, glib roles that I spoke of earlier and the sooner we see Cusack in a part like that the better. Nevertheless Cusack is on top form here in a film in which he practically appears in every frame of every scene. He totally carries the movie on his shoulders and thanks to some nicely used special effects and first rate production design, 1408 is a very passable way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy day.

C+

A Bout de Souffle

Just finished watching this tonight and I'm not sure I can muster enough enthusiasm to write a proper review. It seemed like another supposed classic that isn't half as fun to watch as critics would lead you to believe. Apparently Godard made some choices here that were revolutionary in cinema and for that he deserves credit. But only yesterday was I monaning about jump cuts so if he was responsible for bringing them to the masses then I'm not sure I want to thank him. The jump cuts in A Bout de Souffle seemed to me as if they were employed because he couldn't work out how to film a scene properly. Specifically, we had jump cuts during a car crash, a shooting and a fight - all of which jumped past the critical point in the scene. I found a lot of the film unconvincing, particularly any scene involving the inspector. I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy it, as it wasn't by any means a difficult sit. I'm just not overwhelmed.

Was thinking of seeing this...

...but judging by a 0% rating on rottentomatoes I don't think I'll bother.

I figured, wrongly, that it would be the better recieved of two fairly silly movies opening tomorrow, but it seem's 1408 is getting all the good reviews so I will give it a whirl. I think it's fair to say John Cusack hasn't done anything decent since Grosse Pointe Blank. Now GPB was so good that I can forgive a lot, but it is about time he found another film that feels as if it was written with him in mind, as Grosse Pointe Blank felt. Maybe 1408 is that film.

However the film that I'm looking forward to in my Friday double header is Breach - the Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney thriller that received good notices in the States. Reviews will follow.

The Bourne Ultimatum

My dad tells me these films (aside from the first) have absolutely nothing to do with the books aside from the name, which makes you wonder whether there's some money to be made publishing any old rubbish if it has a cool title, just so someone needs to pay you lots of money to use it. Indeed, I saw an interview with Paul Greengrass, in which he pretty much admitted that all they've done is taken the title and written their own script. Seems a fairly expensive way of making a movie.

Speaking of Greengrass, the British director of United 93 is the critical darling of the moment on both sides of the Atlantic with reporters calling for him to bottle whatever magic he had in making this and for him to direct all action films in future. Fairly impressive notices for a second sequel, even if both its predecessors were well received.

I have to confess however that I wont be applying for membership at the Paul Greengrass appreciation society. I absolutely detested his Bloody Sunday, which I found to be heavy handed and offensive. I also disliked his effort on the second Bourne movie, which I felt to be a pale effort compared to Doug Liman's first film. The thing with Greengrass is that he's really into this hyper editing, shakey-camera shit and I just don't like it. I have to say I wasn't as put off this time around but I suspect that's because I went in fearing the worst. In 'Supremacy' I swear to God I couldn't work out what was going on half the time because of the cross cutting and vomit-inducing camera work, particularly in the car chases.


I do admit though that I enjoyed myself this time around. One of the great things about great actors like David Strathairn getting Oscar noms, as he did for Good Night and Good Luck, is that they get to do stuff like this and he was a very welcome addition to the cast. Strathairn brings a certain gravitas to his role as deputy director of the CIA and his verbal sparring with Joan Allen works well. Damon is as dependable as ever and suits the character of Jason Bourne very well. I wont go into plot details because I don't need to. You know what to expect - it's a chase film from start to finish. Sometimes Bourne's doing the chasing, sometime he's the one being chased, but it's cat and mouse for 120 minutes and the time pretty much flies throughout.

This has been called the best summer action film by many a critic and it may well be the smartest, but damn it if I didn't enjoy Die Hard a little more. I'll not be winning any critic of the year awards for disapproving of Paul Greengrass and preferring Die Hard 4 to Bourne 3 but it is how it is. Enjoyable but not the near perfect action film it's perhaps billed as.

B-

Knocked Up

Judd Apatow is the man of the moment when it comes to smart Hollywood comedies. His 40 Year Old Virgin, starring the brilliant Steve Carrel, was a critical and box office success and he has followed this effort, which has taken well over $100 million at the US box office on a budget of just $33 million. Knocked Up gives a starring role to one of the supporting cast of Virgin, Seth Rogen. He plays Ben, a 20 something waste of space who spends his days smoking pot and watching films to identify when actresses get their kit off for his not so original website idea. Kathrine Heigl plays Alison, the attractive, out-of-his-league, successful 20-something who gets her big break at the start of the film and goes out celebrating with her sister, Leslie Mann. A few drinks later, Ben and Alison meet and you can guess what happens next from the title of the film.

I wasn't a big fan of The 40 Year Old Virgin, despite being a huge fan of Steve Carell. I found the supporting characters fairly dull and the genuinely funny moments few and far between. This time the supporting cast are genuinely entertaining. Ben's friends, all 20 something wasters could be, in lesser hands, cliched and irritating but not here. They provide some genuine laughs. The same can be said of a couple of Alison's colleagues, Alan Tudyk and Kristen Wiig, who share two very nicely played scenes with her. The laugh out loud moment of the film however comes from Craig Robinson (who appears in The Office) in a small but brilliant role as a club doorman and I've got my quote for my movie years 2007 page already in mind! It's rare that you get such brilliance out of the supporting cast - even those that have a little as one line. They can make or break a comedy and in this case they made it. Praise is also due to Rogen and Heigl, who make a convincing, if unlikely (if that makes sense) couple.

But this is Apatow's baby. He wrote, produced and directed it. It's a definitely the best comedy I've seen in a while and well worth your time. The creative minds involved in this are also teaming up again for the forthcoming Superbad, which is currently receiving great notices in the States. Seth Rogen wrote it, Apatow produced it and Greg Mottola directs. Mottola also directed some episodes of the best sitcom of all time aka Arrested Development. That alone will have both me and Matt first in line at the ticket booth.

B

The Movie I'm Most Looking Forward To...

The genius that is Tom Wilkinson. Court room thriller (when was the last decent one of these?). "Best Performance of Clooney's Career". What more can you want?

I don't want to go in with too high expectations but if I was a betting man, and I am, I'd bet that this lands high in my year end awards.

L'Appartement

Gilles Mimouni has directed one film in his life. This one. It was release in the UK 10 years ago. It won the BAFTA award for foreign language film. He's not done anything since. That's a pretty depressing state of affairs when Brett Ratner has helmed 8 films in that time, 3 of which had the words Rush and Hour in the title. If Gilles Mimouni does every get round to making another film I'll be ordering my tickets in advance since his one and only effort is absolutely terrific.

L'Appartement's Vincent Cassel

L'Appartement sees Vincent Cassel play Max, a business man engaged to his partner's sister and on the verge of marriage. However as with many engaged men in films, Max is having doubts and the very first shot in the film sees him unable to choose an appropriate ring for his fiance. Soon after he bids farewell to her at the airport as he's supposed to board a flight to Tokyo, only for him to turn around once she's left, and hole up in his friend's place to begin a quest to find a long lost love, Lisa, who he believes he caught a glimpse of the day before.

Through a series of flashbacks we learn that Lisa, played by an unbelievably attractive Monica Bellucci, was the love of his life before disappearing suddenly without explanation. As Max struggles against fate in his quest to find her he tracks her down to what he believes is her apartment only to find out it's another Lisa who lives there. And from their things get very complicated for everyone involved and I'll not go into any more details as it's a delight to watch the intricacies of the plot build one by one.

Gratuitous Monica Bellucci Picture

L'appartement won a Cesar award for best first feature. It won the BAFTA for foreign language film. It's worth of both of those and certainly worth your while checking it out. It was remade in 2004 as Wicker Park starring Josh Hartett but if you've seen that don't let it put you off; this will certainly be bumping a film off my 1997 list. Wonderful.

A

Is this the worst film ever made?

Open Water 2: Adrift

Whilst waiting for the (very brief) West Ham highlights on Match of the Day I was flicking through Sky Movies trying to find something to keep me occupied during the dross of Birmingham - Derby and came across a film called "Adrift". It had already started so I hit the information button and was helpfully informed that this film was about 6 firends who jump in to the ocean off of a large yacht and can't get back on board because no one thought to lower the stairs.

What a brilliant premise I hear you cry, tell me more. Well after watching 6 dreadful actors tread water for about 5 minutes I was completely engrossed. I started thinking of all the dreadful films I've ever seen and whether this was worse than all of them. I think it may well have been. These idiots don't do anything productive to try and get back on the boat and instead bicker and kill each other. Literally.

Example number one. One of our intrepid crew manages to get his ringing mobile phone (don't ask) and is actually on a call with someone. Do you think he calmly explains the situation or do you think everyone starts screaming into the phone, wrestling with the handset and then dunk it in the water several times whilst they are squabbling, completely destroying it?

Example number two. They have an extremely sharp knife with them that punctures metal (don't ask). After exhausting 1 other rescue attempt one of our intrepid crew decides to try and hack his way through the side of the boat to the stair compartment. Do you think they carefully plan how best to go about this or do you think they squabble over it, wrestle with the very sharp knife and accidently stab one of them in the chest, causing him to haemorrhage blood and die moments later?

4 of the 6 eventually get picked off one by one. Not by a bloodthirsty shark. Not by a crazed Billy Zane. But by their own ineptitude. That does not a very good movie make. By the end of the film we're left with just 2 and they suddenly come up with a very simple way of getting back on board that had escaped all of them up til that point. These idiots all deserved to die and it is most unfortunate that that didn't happen.

I've completely spoilt the whole thing but it's not as if you were going to watch it anyway and if you are then you'll be wathcing it for the dreadful dialogue and abysmal acting, and not the cleverly plotted storyline.

This is almost certainly the worst film I've ever seen and for that reason is highly recommended.

F

Greetings

You've only gone and stumbled across the greatest, most amazing, all singing, all dancing film website on the internet. Actually you've probably just followed the link I sent you cause you felt sorry for us but in any case thanks for coming.

The new site is like the old one. Except different.

I've completely broken my promise of adding to the blog regularly but that's because I've been working on the new site. I basically had to teach myself dreamweaver which is better than the old frontpage software I was using. And then I had it all done and it looked perfect but then I checked it out on Matt's computer using Internet Exploder Explorer (I use Firefox) and it looked like garbage. So I had to redo the whole thing page by page just to cater to our many thousands of fans who will no doubt be using Microsoft's inferior product.

Hopefully that's all fixed now though. I'll therefore be updating the blog as often as possible. All Matt's excellent reviews are now indexed so you can find out what he's recommended and try and avoid it (I jest of course).

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Thanks.


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