#23: HOW TO MAKE A KILLING

 

STARRING: Glenn (The Next Big Thing) Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp,  Zach Woods, Topher Grace and Ed Harris. Screenplay and directed by John Patton Ford. Based on Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman. Budget $15 million. Running time 105 minutes.

Apparently this is 'loosely based on Robert Hamer's classic 1949 Ealing Comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, which was heralded as 'loosely based' on the above mentioned Roy Horniman novel. This marks the second British comedy remake of the year, with last month's immensely enjoyable Send Help being a loose remake of The Admirable Crighton.

HTMAK sees orphan Becket Redfellow (Glenn Powell) sitting in his prison cell explaining to a priest on the eve of his execution how he murdered members of his immediate family so he could inherit a family fortune of $29 billion. This, he explains he did after being inspired to do so by his school sweetheart, Julia Steinway (Margaret Qualley) who walks back into his life as a staggering beautiful heiress and discovers him folding clothes in a upmarket men's fashion boutique. Becket loves the idea and with no hassle or difficulty at all proceeds to murder his way up the food chain so to speak, exhibiting extremely impressive chemistry and weapons knowledge to achieve his goals. At one point his uncle, Warren Redfellow (Bill Camp) kindly takes him under his wing, gives him a job, the one his son had before Becket killed him and sort of adopts him. Because this is Hollywood, Warren conveniently dies of a massive heart attack so Becket doesn't have to kill him and the audience won't dislike him as a character. Anyway, he slaughters his through his cousins until that fateful final showdown with his grandfather, Ed Harris.  

Finally once he's achieved his life ambition he's captured for a murder he didn't commit, that of Julia's husband, and gets sentenced to death. 

Over all this is a rather dull and un-engaging comedy action romp. Exhibiting no real bite, the murders are all utterly vanilla, bloodless and achieved with an ease that stretches credulity to breaking point and leaves the film completely toothless. It's all so goddam tame and dreary. The sublime 1949 original, set in Edwardian Britain, with Denis Price in the Becket role and Alec Guinness as all eight members of the D'Ascoyne family, as the Redfellows where known was a charming, witty black comedy that still delights to this day. In adapting and revamping the original film, all that John Patton Ford seems to have done is just shift the time and location to New York in the 2020s. So, thank god for Margaret Qualley at least in principle, who is a truly extraordinarily exciting actress, although she sadly overwhelms the rather bland Glenn Powell. She, or at least her character who exudes seduction and sinister intent, is the sole saving grace of the whole film. Although her character is not properly established and beyond a single caste kiss when they are both children seems to have no real connection with Becket. Hollywood seem determined to launch Glenn Powell as The Next Big Thing and keep chucking him at projects and they keep misfiring, if he doesn't find something he clicks in soon, he's going be become known as The Last Hasbeen. in this he is okay, but he's simply outclassed by both Qualley and Ed Harris who both give this film some glimmer of quality.

The direction is okay, the sound mix, for once is good, but the film looks cheap, and fails to convince this is a world of billionaires.  

Not all together totally horrendous, but I'd still dump it for just one more chance to watch the original up on the big screen. 

6/10

#22: EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT

 

STARRING: ELVIS PRESLEY. Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Budget $11 million. Running time 97 minutes.

The story behind the making of this film is worthy of a film in its own right. While making his 2022 bio pic of the King, Elvis Baz Luhrmann went looking for unseen footage from the two legendary Elvis concert films – Elvis: That's the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour when he stumbled across 68 boxes of unseen footage in the Warner Bros film archives, situated in a Kansas salt mine. The film, both 35mm and 8mm featured not only Elvis's legendary 'Gold Jacket' performance from his 1957 Hawaii show, but also outtakes and previously unseen material, although sadly it all came with absolutely no sound. He also uncovered a previously unheard 45 minute audio recording of Elvis talking about his life and an unseen clip of Presley singing 'Oh Happy Day'. Baz then spent the next two years getting the footage restored and synced to existing audio sources. So far, so Wikipidia.

Although what Baz did next was to craft all that incredible footage into this utterly unique and extraordinary hybrid movie that's simultaneously a classic Elvis Las Vegas concert film stitched together from various shows and also a genuinely unique glimpse behind the scenes as we watch Elvis and his band rehearse and practice, then added to that, listening to the man himself talk about about his life and answer questions from various press interviews. There's also an after party sequence, with Elvis in his black leather outfit as he talks to a obviously delighted Cary Grant and Sammy Davis Jnr.

It all works to create a truly wondrous experience that's actually breathtaking. There's something about watching Elvis that is truly memorising, he is the consummate performer, and his obvious knowledge of music and its structure is mesmerizing to behold, watching him with his band, sweating, practising, shaping the performance to come is a true delight, much in the same way the superlative Beatles: Let it Be was, it's always a genuine privilege to watch true musicians, or artist, to craft their art, to seem to peek behind the curtain and watch the magic being stirred. There's a scene, from the Vegas shows, a reverse shot from the stage back at the audience that is simply staggering, a sea of fans, all moving as one, all cheering, waving, and you can feel the sheer delight and excitement of each and every one of them. All those marvellous 1960s and 70s fashions, sunglasses, haircuts and screaming, it's breathtaking. Good I loved this! The vibrant colours, the cinematography, the film throbs and surges with life and energy and the running time, flew by. This was a film to enjoy on the big screen, Elvis's head, hair and sideburns huge for all to see, and then when he's performing, Oh. My. God. There's a reason he was called The King. That man was pure power transcendent. 

This was a fantastic, film that left me with goosebumps, dazed by his voice, his physicality, his sheer musical prowess and his magnificent high collared white suits. 

Go and see this at the cinema and watch the best concert you've ever seen. 

10/10

#21: THE GODFATHER

STARRING: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte and Diane Keaton. Screenplay by Mario Puzo. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Music by Nino Rota. Budget $7 million. Running time 175 minutes. Originally released in 1972.

The rise and rise of the Don Corn Holio crime family. A staggeringly sumptuous, brilliantly made, intensely gripping and powerful movie, indeed one of the greatest movies ever made. Directed to perfection by Coppola, from a layered and nuanced script by Puzo, and with a cast of some of the finest actors ever to grace the silver screen. This is a note perfect, beautiful film that never fails to thrill me to my actual core. 

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched this, although never on the big screen so what a treat to see it writ large the way Coppola intended. It's so packed with drama and incident, but never at the cost of the story, events unfold perfectly and it's tightly plotted structure is a marvel to behold. Watching the character of Michael (Al Pacino) change over the course of the story from war hero to Godfather of his father's crime syndicate is to witness the power of subtle corruption, how the events slowly change him and transforms him from near-innocent into the dead-behind-eyes crime family boss who calmly orders the murder of five men to secure his family's future on the day of his nephew's christening is chilling. Pacino sets the film alight with his presence. Watching this on a large screen gives you a chance to really explore the actors as they work, watching Brando is a treat that richly rewards. Like I said, everyone in this film is astounding.   

I was struck by some of Coppola's blocking, the way he moves the camera in scenes, as well as the editing prowess of William Reynolds and Peter Zinner, and the gorgeous cinematography of Gordon Willis. Indeed every aspect of this film was just a joy to behold. Starting with the wedding scene is a brilliant decision, and for the first 20 odd minutes we are slowly immersed into the working of the family, before we're exposed to evil that infects it.

This went on to make over $291million dollars on its initial release off a budget of just $7 million, and would win seven Golden Globes and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards winning just two for Best Actor (Marlon Brando) and Best Picture. It also spawned two sequels, Godfather II, and Godfather III.  

If you've only ever seen this on Blu Ray, or DVD, or VHS or just at home do yourself a favour and watch it on the big screen if you get a chance, you won't be disappointed. 

A triumph. 10/10

#20: GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE

STARRING: Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Pena, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry and Juno Temple. Screenplay by Matthew Robinson. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Music by Geoff Zanelli. Budget $20 million. Running time 134 minutes.

What's about, David? Well it's about 2 hrs and 14 minutes. But if it's story you're interested in then have you heard the one about a time traveller from a future post apocalyptic world who travels back to our present to recruit someone to help take down a soon to be activated super intelligent AI computer?

But that's the only similarity it has to Terminator, this is an altogether different kettle of fish. For a start it's far funnier. However, if you're someone who likes films to be described using pre-existing movies, then think of this as Terminator meets Miracle Mile via 12 Monkeys, Groundhog Day and The Matrix.

This is a bat-shit crazy, manic, breath-taking relentless mad-dash comedy action adventure that grips the moment Sam Rockwell's character known only as 'Man From the Future' stomps into a late-night diner called Norms and tells everyone he's there to save the world. He proceeds to pressgang six of the patrons into helping him and together they set off across town to the kill a nine-year old boy – the genius mastermind behind a super AI program that's going to enslave the world. Each of the six reluctant helpers are told they're expendable, although each is given a flash back which helps to flesh out this maddening world and give the film some much needed context, indeed enough for the keen eyed amongst you to just about work out what the heck is going on. I don't think you'll be disappointed, I certainly wasn't. This is at turns thrilling, gripping and bloody enjoyable. I loved the energy and the pace of this film, because those 2 hours and 14 minutes flew by. These sorts of films only work if the ending is nailed and this nails like perfectly. I don't want to go into specifics or story beats because this is a film best seen knowing as little as possible about the story. Just know it unravels perfectly and never feels leaden, plus it's lacking those annoying plot holes that often undermine these sorts of films.  

Gore Verbinski directs with kinetic energy galore, but never at expense of visual or story, his framing and pacing match the material perfectly. This has a lovely grungy feel about it, the most obvious reference being 12 Monkeys. But it's the relentless forward momentum that keeps this film firing on all cylinders. 

The cast, especially Rockwell is excellent, this is the sort of role he excels in. But then the rest of the cast do a damn fine job too. Similarly, the soundtrack by Geoff Zanelli fits in perfectly with the visuals and provides excellent audio beats. Finally, Gore Verbinski directs the whole thing with great skill and a keen eye for the visual and fills the screen with detail and action. 

Overall, this was a funny, moving and satisfying science-fiction comedy action film that manages to deliver a solid punch ending while avoiding a flabby middle (lucky bastard) and I'm looking forward to seeing again, and again!

10/10

#19: COLD STORAGE

 

STARRING: Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Sosie Bacon, Vanessa Redgrave, Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson. Screenplay by David Koepp. Directed by Jonny Campbell. Running time 99 minutes.

Staying just long enough to do its job this was a fun, if uninspiring little sci-fi romp with a game cast, gory effects and a nice chemistry, but sadly missing the oomph factor to make it something really special.

The plot sees a mutated fungus return to Earth on a piece of the old Sky Lab and start killing all it infects. Luckily Neeson and Manville are on hand to contain it and lock it away in military storage facility. However, 18 years later the facility has been sold off and is now a self storage depot and the once hi-tech deep freeze containment facility holding the fungus has started malfunctioning causing storage depot night-watch man, Travis 'Teacake' Meacham (Joe Keery) and new girl, Naomi Williams (Georgina Campbell) to go off and explore the ominous bleeping deep below in sub basement 4. Meanwhile, an old lady, Ma Rooney (Venessa Redgrave) has come to inspect her storage locker. When Travis and Naomi discover that something has breached the containment field they phone the military and both Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson) and Trini Romano (Lesley Manville) are dispatched to contain the breech and kill any infected humans. Added to the mix is Travis and Naomi's boss, Griffen (Gavin Spookes), a Hells Angel biker who brings his gang to transport some stolen TVs out of the storage facility, oh, and Naomi's ex-boyfriend Mike (Aaron Heffernan). And the stage is set for some gory deaths and silliness. 

How wonderful to see so many great British and Irish actors in one film, Neeson, Manville and Vanessa Redgrave, and what a shame they're not given more to do. The film takes its time to get up to speed with a pre-credit sequence showing the capture of the fungus by Neeson and Manville, which is rather reminicent of the vastly superior, but far less funny 1971 film, The Andromeda Strain. The present day cast in the guise of Keery and Campbell have good chemistry and there's a nice edge of humour. And the idea of a military storage facility breaking down was used far more effectively in the superb The Return of the Living Dead.

This isn't a bad film, it was entertaining, funny and gross out gory at times but that's about it, it's a tad too laid back for its own good and lacks a really satisfying big boss battle. That said, at 99 minutes it's brisk and altogether fluffy and not at all terrible.

7/10

#18: WUTHERING HEIGHTS

 

STARRING: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Martin Clunes, Alison Oliver and Ewan Mitchell. Written and directed by Emerald Fennell. Budget $86 million. Running time an endurance testing 136 minutes long.

Simultaneously this managed to be both a 2/10 and a 9/10, go figure? It was a film that was both infuriatingly ridiculous and powerfully moving, emotional and hysterical at the same time! It was like the maddest gothic comedy you've ever seen and then the most overwrought melodramatic romantic drama imaginable. It was a true assualt on the senses and it leaves you drained, shaken and entertained. The cast, every last one of them, gives nothing but 110%, with particularly fantastic performances from both Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, although I'm going to say this right now, Margot Robbie as Catherine is way too old for the role. Their accents are perfect, their passion for each other so real you can smell it and their rawness aches with power. 

But by god this is a strange film. To say it was batshit crazy is an understatment. It plays like a fucking fever dream, it is truly insane, its sheer lust positively oozes from the screen, this is a film obsessed by passion, lust and love and all things moist and squiggy. Everything about this film is in excess, the look of it, the acting, the fashions, the cinematography, and the staggering visual style of it, which feels it's like the bastard love child of Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro by the way of David Lynch, this is gothic ratcheted up to a million. Everything about this is so far removed from the usual adaptations of Bronte as to make it altogether unique and utterly unrepeatable. Following Saltburn with this, Emerald Fennell  delivers a version of the obsessed young lovers that will either leave you ripping the seats out in rage, or weeping tears of joy at its sheer intensity. Special mention has to be given to Martin Clunes who is a fucking revelation in his role as Cathy's monstrous and abusive, alcoholic father, Mr. Earnshaw, who gifts Heathcliff to his daughter as a 'pet'.

Then there's two other actors of sublime ability who deserve special mention too! The first, Alsion Oliver,who plays Mr. Linton's sister, Isabella Linton, who deserves her own film, she's so sexually repressed she's utterly unhinged. At one point in the movie she innocently gifts to Cathy, as a Christmas present, the world's most erotic pop-up book, filled with page after page of engorged phallic-like mushrooms and flowers that open like velvety vaginas, she's almost insane with obvious lusty obsessions. And her reward is to be bedded by Heathcliff himself and debased in the most outrageous way imaginable, but only after he's warned her he's going to ruin her both physically and mentally in a mad attempt to win Cathy back. He explains how he'll use her and demean her and she positively leaps at the chance! And then there's Hong Chau as Nelly Dean, Cathy's paid companion who becomes the architect of all that is going to happen in the film, she is responsible for all the misery, death and emotional destruction that is to follow and Hong Chau plays it to perfection.  

Watching this reminded me of a recurring bad dream I used to have a few years back, which felt so real it would always leave me feeling unnerved and deeply uncomfortable when I awoke, not unlike this film. I don't know why, but this film had the same feeling, of some great unseen pressure this feels like a dream, like the sort you get after you've recovered from a general anaesthetic, not quite a nightmare, but most certainly not a 'good dream', this claws and scratches at your psyche, and pokes at you, it whispers then shouts, it's unsettling and uncomfortable and I still don't know if I loved it or hated it, but one thing I do know is I've never seen anything like it before and I was gripped to the bloody, bitter, diabolical end. 

And by god, the visual style of this film was so rich, so intense so vital, Catherine's room, her husband Mr. Linton (played by Toast of London's Clem Fandango - Shazad Latif, the only nice character in this whole film) tells her is painted the same pink as her face and on closer inspection reveals it even has light blue veins beneath the surface, like her face, and features the same moles that grace her face. There are monsterous things that dwell in this house which all coagulate into creating something almost David Cronneberg-esque. Likewise Cathy'e many costumes that seem to grip her and restrict her positively pulsate with sexuality. This is a film raw in tooth and claw.

I assumed I would hate this but I was wrong. It's a film you'll want to see with friends so you can talk about it. It's a film that will linger long after you've seen it and it's a film with a true uniqueness and raw spirit I've not seen in a very long time. And it's a film you'll either love or hate, there is no middle ground and for that reason alone I urge you to see it. 

9/10

POST SCRIPT!
It's the day after I saw this and I'm still getting flashback, like a PTSD suffering Nam Special Forces Green Beret after a particularly grizzly Vietcong village massacre. 

#17: CRIME 101

 

STARRING: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Halle Berry, Nick Nolte, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Written and directed by Bart Layton. Based on the book, Crime 101 by Don Winslow. Music by Blanck Mass. Budget $90 million. Running time 140 minutes.

Feeling like a 1970s crime film, this gripping, tense crime thriller is a real shot in the arm, with a cast all clearly revelling in their roles  and working well with the director to deliver a superb crime movie that's both satisfying and powerful although it does slightly fumble the landing. 

Written and directed by British BAFTA winning documentarian Bart Layton, who directed both The Imposter and Transylvania University Book Heist, gives Crime 101 a documentary feel and comes a cross like a mashup of The Getaway, Heat and The Driver, and that's not a bad thing!. 

The plot set in Los Angeles, and more importantly along U.S. Route 101 sees profession thief, Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) plotting his next major car hijacking with skill, precision and a lack of violence and DNA evidence, he's building a reputation for this and Detective, Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) is hot on his trail. The film follows these two as well as 53 year-old insurance broker, Sharon Combs (Halle Berry), who's struggling at work and Ormon (Barry Keoghan), a young new turk on the scene of car hijackings, who just so happens to be rather psychotic. When Mike gets cold feet on a job he's been planning, his fence, Money (Nick Nolte) gives the job to Ormon and orders him to follow Mike and rob him once he's done his next big job. Meanwhile Mike, when he's not trying to date Maya (Monica Barbaro), a young woman he met following a minor car accident, is starting to question his own life choices, especially when he's very nearly killed in a heist, and Sharon is learning about the glass ceiling at her job, which also sees her question some of her life choices. The power dynamic between the four leads ebbs and flows as their fortunes rise and fall leading to a powerful collision in the final act that's pretty bloody exciting. 

It's great to see Chris Hemsworth acting again and not just being the laughing muscle he was in Thor, likewise watching Ruffalo and Hemsworth acting together is a real treat too. Both characters are excellent in their respective jobs but bad at the romance side of their lives, with Lou leaving his wife, and Hemsworth finding the isolation of his solitary life a major drawback when trying to date someone he actually likes. 

Despite being a long film, this certainly didn't drag, the action, although not plentiful is nevertheless vigorous and intense, and the friction between both Ormon and Mike provides real grist for the mill. Likewise Halle Berry performance gives the film a whole other level and helps to build a solid, bloody well-made crime thriller, which uses the 1970s crime thriller vibe to create an altogether different kind of 21st Century crime noir. The film builds to a showdown, which isn't hard to guess, but the ending stretches credulity a tad and somewhat mars the ending.

Well worth it! You'll come for the muscle and muscle cars and stay for the dynamic.

9/10