The Raid: Redemption Review

 The Raid: Redemption

Director: Gareth Evans

Stars: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno, Ray Sahetapy, Tegar Satrya & Eka 'Piranha' Rahmadia

Running Time: 141 mins

Release: 18 May 2012

In Jakarta, Indonesia there's a slum and in this slum there's a 30 storey tenement block run by a ruthless and merciless crime lord Tama (Sahetapy) and the majority of tenants are his personal army of thugs and killers making it a near nigh impenetrable fortress. 20 elite S.W.A.T. Cops enter the building to take down Tama, though as their mission begins they soon realise it will be very hard to make it out alive let alone to get Tama.

Before continuing on with the review I should mention that this films fight scenes are (mostly) in the Silat style and variations of it and they are simply outstanding one of the many reasons to watch this film.

Iko Uwais is the star and the main protagonist of the film. He plays rookie cop Rama who has a mission of his own when they get inside the tenement. He also has a wife and a unborn child who gives him hope and a reason to fight for, to get out of their alive. He's brave, courageous, intelligent, quick and one hell of a fighter. He features in most of the fight scenes, all of which are intense & high octane. But his ones are the best. The moves he performs in this film really take your breath away. I can't say much more without spoiling anything is but what he does early on with a truncheon and a knife really sets the proceedings of what's to come. He is an absolute bad ass in this film.

He's absolutely amazing and believable in the role of Rama, you really root for him through the film and we see the film mostly through his eyes. He goes through a hell of a lot in this film. It's really a commendable job for his first western released film and I cannot wait to see him in more, he's a true action star in the making.

Joe Taslim plays Rama's superior Sgt Jaka, he's the second in lead protagonist. He seems to be the only other cop in the film that seems to trust Rama's abilities from the get go.Like Rama he believes in the right thing to do; carry on with their mission and get out of their alive. He's a fantastic actor though he's only in one fight scene.

Gruno plays Lt Wahyu, a big giant brute of a man, he's ruthless and quick on the trigger and basically screws up the cop's operation which I won't spoil for you. His fight scene in the drug room is awesome and I honestly did not expect him to do what he did. He's the most complex character of the cops.

Satrya plays Bowo, a fellow cop who dislikes Rama, that's until he gets injured and Rama helps him. He's great in the role albeit it's a small one

Rahmadia who's a stuntman plays Dagu a cop who can fight just as good as Rama and he really proves himself in the drug room scene which I loved.

Sahetapy plays the sadistic, smart, ruthless crime lord Tama, he does not have much screen-time for a villain but he's great in every scene and I must say I really admire how he retains his cool through the film. He's a right evil son of a bitch too.

Donny Alamsyah plays Andi, one of Tama's chief underlings and is the brains of Tama's operation. I can't say much about him spoiling anything, but I will say he's one complex character and he features in the best fight scene in the film.

If Iko's the main protagonist, Mad Dog is the lead antagonist. He's played pitch perfectly by Yayan Ruhian. He steals every scene he's in,he's magnificent to watch. He plays him with such intensity. There's nothing human behind his eyes he's a savage wild animal. He does not like to kill his opponents with guns or melee weapons, he would rather get down and dirty and do it with his hands. He is an excellent fighter and near nigh unstoppable and relentless and incredibly quick. He does not know how to give up. Both his fight scenes are excellent and stand out scenes of the film and they are both quite long and really shows how brutal he is. I'm surprised how agile he is for a man over 40 !. I'm really pleased that Ruhian will be back in The Raid 2: Berandal

Garth Evans has already become one of my favourite directors. He's really blown me away with this film. He has shot this film expertly, creatively and inventively. There's nothing quite like it. The fight scenes are some of the best shot scenes I have ever seen. He really gets in close to the action at times making you flinch and drop your jaw in awe at the same time.

I particularly love the corridor fight scenes, the drug room fight scene and the final fight scene are amazingly shot I could not fault them at all and I cannot forget the tense scene where Rama and Bowo are hidden behind a fake wall while one of Tama's thugs thrusts his machete into the wall. I really loved the panning shot from behind the wall to in front of it it's a really tense and the last hour is pure cinematic gold. Evans really know how to build the tension and the ante. I loved every minute of it. The fight choreography is the best i've ever seen and there's practically is barely any CGI in this film.

What really helped with this was Mike Shinoda's and Joseph Trapanese (of Tron Legacy fame) electronic score it's beautiful to listen to. Every track suits the atmosphere of the particular scene. I really love the sort of techno dance track that goes with Rama vs The Machete gang. I was really surprised that Shinoda did the score of this film, well had a part of it. I know him from Fort Minor and Linkin Park and it's great that he's turned his hand to doing film scores I would really like to see him do more. I really need to get this soundtrack.

I watched the film on Blu-Ray and on the disc there's an interview with Shinoda and Trapanese about the film score which I watched after the film and it was very interesting to watch. It gave me an insight to how they did the score.

Wrapping up this review I have to say from the heart . Thus film is simply the most taut, exciting, tense, blistering, brutal,realistic,atmospheric, claustrophobic, stunning and amazing action thriller that i've ever seen. There's no substitute or compromise The Raid is one of the finest action films ever made and my personal favourite of it's kind. If you've never seen this film and your keen to see it your in for one hell of a ride and bring on The Raid 2: Berandal !

This film is an absolute nasterpiece.

Entertaining Mr Sloane Review

Entertaining Mr Sloane

Director: Douglas Hickox

Stars: Peter McEnery, Beryl Reid, Harry Andrews & Alan Webb

Running Time: 94 mins

Release: 27 July 1970

Kath (Reid) takes in a new lodger Sloane (McEnery) a handsome and amoral and immoral young man who begins to manipulate (both mentally and sexually) her and her brother Ed (Andrews). Though Kath's father Kemp 'Dada' (Webb) recognises him as the murderer of his former employer.

I've never heard of Peter McEnery before let alone any of his work and I was really surprised by his performance in this film. I never suspected him to have a northern accent either, he delivers an incredible performance as the jack the lad wide boy Sloane who's immoral, amoral, cruel, bitter, often funny and somewhat sympathetic and incredibly charismatic and a absolute charmer. He really knows how to turn the screws and manipulate Kath and Ed and bullies Dada. He sexually toys with Kath and Ed with how he dresses and what he does and and has a way of words to get them around. He can be viscous of which is shown in a few instances of the film, they are brief but they show what he's really capable of. McEnery acted in a lot of films during the 70's his amount of work has died down a lot.

Beryl Reid an actress whom I know to be a character actress though i've never seen her in anything before, she really steals the film in this as a ageing nymphomaniac who toys and seduces with Sloane. The character has a lot of depth to her I think she's the most fleshed out of the cast and it seems that she has dual personalities and can flip just like that. She's playful, manipulative, cunning and incredibly intelligent, though at some points in the film she seems a bit dopey, you don't really know what she's like towards the end of the film. She's meant to be 42 but she in fact looks 10 years older and roughly she was when she did this film. You could tell she was having a fantastic time in the role.

Harry Andrews plays Kath's brother Ed, he's also the son of Kemp and has fallen out with him. He's a businessman and drives around in a roofless pink car with far too much suspension which makes it hilarious to watch when it's moving !. He's gay and Sloane knows how to toy with him as indicated in their first scene. I find him to be the best character in this film as he's incredibly vile, bitter and cruel but not as much as Sloane and he has a stormy relationship with his sister. The dialog between them is absolutely wonderful and a joy to hear. He undoubtedly has some of the best lines in the film. Andrews inhabits the role very well and does a stellar job at it making you believe that such a character is real. It's also how he looks too and mannerisms that helps his performance, he's a really good character actor and I am really keen to see him in The Ruling Class which has Peter O'Toole in.

Alan Webb plays Kemp also known as Dada and I really have to say watching him reminded me of Albert Steptoe from Steptoe and Son with the way he dresses, looks, acts and says reminded of me of him so much I just kept thinking to myself Albert Steptoe would of said/done that !. I would go as far to say Wilfrid Brambell would of played him perfect too. He's the most sympathetic of the characters and like Reid and Andrews he's a character actor and he's brilliant in the role.

I cannot write this review without mentioning Joe Orton's terrific tact for writing. He was a play writer who had some of his work adapted to films; well this and Loot. Known for black comedies this film in particular has a dark unexpected twist. Also his dialog is brilliantly written I had no faults with it the characters barbs at each other are sharp and memorable. I should also mention the dialog is basically about the plot there's no diversion from it at all.

As it's based on a play there's minimal locations; the graveyard and caretaker of the church house which is suitably & beautifully gothic and a brief scene at a pool and down the shops which is perfect for the film. The sets are brilliant and slightly claustrophobic which helps with the atmosphere of the film Hickox has done a outstanding job directing this film.

The music is done by George Fame who also sung the catchy theme tune which plays in some instances of the film. He also uses music for visual cues which I found rather unusual as they were quite loud. I should also mention that Behold, thou hast made me my days by Orlando Gibbons, that plays in the intro of the film is beautiful in the title sequence of which is tragic as this film was made a few years after Orton's untimely death.

If you love well acted, black comedies with brilliant dialog you could not do much better watching this film. it's simply fantastic.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird Review

 The Good, The Bad , The Weird

Director: Kim Jee-Woon

Stars: Kang-ho Song, Byung-hun Lee & Woo-sung Jung.

Running Time: 124 mins.

Release: 17 July 2008

In 1930's Manchuria a bounty hunter,the Good: Park Do-won (Jung), a leader of a gang of ruthless outlaws The Bad: Park Chang-yi (Lee) and a lone outlaw The Weird: Yoon Tae-goo (Song) who ruthlessly pursuit each other to gain possession of treasure map but the Japanese Army and Chinese Bandits are after it too. This film is incredibly fun and a absolute thrill ride throughout and easily one of the best action adventure films i've seen and it mixes elements of Indiana Jones and Spaghetti Westerns brilliantly.

I've only really heard of Kang-ho Song and he plays my favourite character in the film so i'll leave him till last.

Personally I felt The Good (Jung) character was a little flat compared to the other two characters there seemed to be not much too him, I know there's different versions of the film so there many of been more depth to him in them than in the version I saw. I will say like the others he does change somewhat throughout the film. His mission at first at the beginning of the film is to capture The Bad and claim his bounty alive or dead, he becomes entangled in the chase of the map whilst chasing his prey. He does not believe in the existence of the treasure, at first. But does dream what he could do with it and gradually gets interested in the idea

He's brave, courageous, headstrong and really intelligent,realist, quick witted and knows how to play his hand in any scenario and his favourite weapon is an old fashioned Double Barrelled Shotgun and a Marlin Model 1894 and he only uses a Smith & Wesson Model 1917 towards the end of the film. He also forms a temporary partnership with The Weird at The Ghost Market which is absolutely phenomenal and in some parts hilarious more on that later. He is really good in the role as the straight laced bounty hunter.

Byung-hun Lee plays The Bad, he has a lot of screen-time like The Weird. You may know him from I Saw The Devil and GI Joe films he's a fantastic in this and really excels in many of the action scenes. As he's The Bad he's cold. calculated, remorseless, vicious, brutal and a bad-ass and has a really dark sense of humour with no loyalty at all, he also likes a bit of stiff drink drink. It's evident that he's the bad as he's all clad in black and has a emo-ish haircut with a scar on the side of his face. His favourite firearm which uses for the most of the film is a Webley Mk IV he also uses a Lanchester Mk.1in one iconic scene and a Mauser M1908.

As the events of the film go on he takes more and more risks. He's after The Weird as he initially stole the map that intended to steal in the first place and acts like a child when he hears someone say that The Weird is better than him and he feels he has to prove himself to his henchman especially in two scenes one's more gruesome than the other.

Kang-ho Song plays the Weird my absolute favourite character as he's the most likeable and sympathetic of the three, at first your not sure what to make of him in the first scene but shortly afterwards he warms on you and I have to say he's the most comedic of the three of which i'll get into later. He's quick, sly, brave, intelligent and sometimes a fool but absolutely loveable. He's great in Thirst but even better in this film I am really keen to see Snowpiecer which he's in.

Unlike the other two characters he seems to have a moral code as he does not hurt women or kids as you'll see in the film. For a (mostly) serious actor he does incredibly well in the comedic role as the Weird and he's created such an iconic character with his distinctive look of a flight jacket and flight cap with goggles and wielding two Walther P38's throughout the film. Of the three he reminds me most of Indiana Jones as gets himself into a lot of scrapes. He also kills two people in a incredibly funny way.

The brief partnership that Good and Weird form in Ghost Market is absolutely brilliant and a joy to watch as they work together. Whilst the Good swings above the roof tops blasting enemies with his Marlin whilst Weird fights on the ground level of the town in one absolutely brilliant scene he uses a diving helmet it's awesome.

Also special mention to Chang-sook Ryu who plays Weird's grandmother who sleeps through a shoot-out that rips through her home ! And Seung-su Ryu who plays Man-gil who plays the Weird's cousin.

I have to the stunt work in this film is absolutely brilliant it's up there with Indiana Jones films with them they are fantastic and how Jee-Woon has done a cracking job capturing it all especially all the scenes in Ghost Market, the train and the last half an hour phenomenal work, there's only a little bit of CGI used in this film and that's only to enhance the stunt work which is a-okay with me. The whole film feels like one big action set piece and I absolutely loved every minute of it.

The film looks incredibly dazzling and vibrant using only a few locales ,despite all the violence which is all in good fun and it's shot beautifully & there's some very inventive over the shoulder shots and PoV shots used from the outset it really sets the tone for the film as a whole and the stunts are brilliantly shot. The shots towards the end mimic that of a very famous spaghetti western, that's not to say there's not more but there's plenty of them that is.

For the time period that it's set in it's very authentic and there's only a small problem with some of the shoes that some of the characters wear also the weapons I love the fire-arms that are used in this film, I must say I prefer the look of older weapons than newer ones.

The score in this film is absolutely phenomenal and it's done by the virtually unknown Dalparan and Yeong-gyu Jang they have done a simply amazing soundtrack that evokes the mood of spaghetti western with the twang of guitars and the sound of horns I was really impressed and I must shortly after the film I wanted to get the soundtrack but alas it's far too expensive and not on Itunes it's a fantastic score.

This film is absolutely outstanding that's all I can say it's near nigh perfect on all fronts and if your looking for a brilliant action adventure film you could not find much better than this it has everything you could ask for I would love to see some more old school pulp films like this one.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review

 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Directors: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

Stars: Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo, Toby Jones, Jenny Agutter & Hayley Atwell

Running Time: 136 minutes.

Release: 26 March 2014

After being thawed out of suspended animation and the turbulent events of the Avengers, Steve Rodgers aka Captain America (Evans) struggles catching up with the modern world and finding his place within it with his old school ideals when an old friend is killed by The Winter Soldier (Stan) and finds that SHIELD has been subverted by it's enemies and is branded a traitor and is forced to go on the run,to get to the bottom of this dangerous deadly mystery he enlists the help of his fellow Avenger Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Johansson) and Sam Wilson aka The Falcon (Mackie).

Chris Evans has surely come a long and proven himself to be a brilliant Captain America, a lot better than I expected, the groundwork was laid out in Captain America:The First Avenger and his struggles with adjustment the world which began in The Avengers and continues on in this. In this film we really see him struggle with the modern world, as he's from the 1940's he has old school ideals and principles and does not bare his emotions he keeps it all bottled inside. There's also a humorous side to it too.

I have to say I prefer the stand-alone films as it gives the character more space to develop than in a team film. He really does give heart to Steve Rogers a man out of time slowly adjusting to the new world whilst keeping his morals and beliefs. Captain America used to be an icon of WW2 but Steve has moved on from this he just sees himself as a soldier and does not like being classed as a legend but as an equal. He brings out as much as the other characters as to what they bring out of him. I have to say he's my favourite Avenger alongside Thor.

He's very strong, smart, agile, courageous, brave, morally grounded, righteous and always sees the best in people and he's really forgiveable and good hearted . He also has a dry sense of humour.

What I really liked about this film is that there was no real big romantic sub-plot in this like there is with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) & Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Not that they were forced or anything like that but just a bit typical of superhero film, saying that though there is a scene with his 'best girl' that is really heartfelt and tugs on the heartstrings but i'll get into that later on.

I can't write this review without mentioning the brutal realistic fight scenes he partakes in throughout the film they are absolutely incredible far better than any I have ever seen in any comic book film to date ! And there's many of them i'll just say “before we get started, does anyone want to get out”.

Being quite frank and honest I was not really a big fan of Iron Man 2 nor the inclusion of The Black Widow (Johansson) for that matter I felt she was tacked on but in The Avengers she grew on me and she's even more improved in this as she get's a lot of screen-time mostly alongside Captain America. She's a fantastic character. When branded a traitor Steve can't really trust anyone aside Natasha and Sam. We've never really been given a back story to Natasha though we have received hints that it's a really dark one and a spin off film of The Black Widow has been mooted.

At first Steve has trust issues with Natasha as her background is far from clear and she's supposedly done a lot of bad things in the past and as the film goes on he begins to trust her more. She's very intellectual, strong, agile, quick and knows fully well to handle any firearm and ready to join the heat of battle. She has a sense of humour and likes to make light jokes of Steve's time away from the world,

Anthony Mackie plays Sam Wilson who's also known as The Falcon, his story in this film and how he got his wings is much more realistic in this as he is given a flight suit by Stark Industries, he is a solider and a expert in hand to hand combat and knows how to handle firearms and becomes one of Steve's friends and the groundwork for that has been laid out in this. I've not seen Mackie in much only Gangster Squad, Hurt Locker and Half Nelson. He's a great addition to the cast as Sam Wilson a man somewhat like Steve as he shares in the same ideals as Steve and is a soldier and he see's Steve as an equal not a legendary hero. I would like to see him again possibly in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America 3.

Samuel L Jackson returns as the tough as old boots bad ass Nick Fury. I have to say with all the films featuring Nick Fury he has the most screen-time in this than in any other. Jackson is perfect in the role. Nick Fury is Steve's aide and superior and he in return see's him as one of the best soldiers. He has some fantastic scenes in this especially in the car chase scene involving a mini-gun it's terrific and not completely what I was expecting and cemented his status as a bad-ass. Also at the end there's a nod to his role from Pulp Fiction as Jules a film I need to see. I have to add the story he tells his grandfather and trust is absolutely brilliant I loved that scene.

Robert Redford plays a new original character Alexander Pierce a high end SHIELD officer who's old school like Steve and used to work alongside Nick Fury. I know of Redford but I have not seen him in all that much to be honest but I know he's one of the classic actors who made two of the best conspiracy theory thrillers of the 70's and he's right in his home turf in this and it's brilliant. He's absolutely brilliant actor and brings such conviction to Pierce a man who's seen it all.

Sebastian Stan plays The Winter Soldier the almost mute, tragic assassin who's been used by those who have subverted SHIELD for their means. He barely says a line in this film only a handful of lines in fact, in this as he's just the muscle of the antagonist in this film. I know quite a bit about The Winter Soldier as I have read some of the comic books in the past and when I heard about him and his backstory I was instantly interested in the character and was pleased as punch that he's in this film. They have nailed the character just right in this film. He looks and acts a total bad ass. They got the costume just right. He's a great match for Cap.

The reason that he's a tragic character as his masters cryogenically freeze him between hits and if he's been out of cryo for too long he starts remembering who he is and they can't have that so they wipe his memory clean again robbing him of his humanity he also has a cybernetic arm as he lost one of his arms before he was found.

His fight scenes are absolutely fantastic again with Captain America's some of the best scenes I have ever seen. As a character he is remorseless, cold, ruthless, vicious and near nigh unstoppable

Frank Grillo plays Brock Rumlow an operative who's in the same unit as Steve. Now this is a minor spoiler his character later becomes Crossbones one of Captain America's enemies and in this he starts off as an ally then later a nemesis who's mission to hunt and kill Captain American and Black Widow, he's a brilliant hand to hand combatant and a rather large build man. I've never seen him in a film or anything before but he's great in this and I would really love to see him become Crossbones.

Cobie Smulders reprises her role as SHIELD agent Maria Hill she has a more prominent albeit small role in this film as one of the few agents that Steve trusts. She has one absolutely fantastic scene in the film towards the end I was not expecting it well her to appear when she did. Also I may add she's far more enjoyable and likeable than the Agent Coulson played by Clark Gregg I find him rather annoying and a overrated character personally. She's great in her role and I was rather surprised that she mostly did TV work.

Emily VanCamp plays Agent 13 aka Sharon Carter a former SHIELD operative(her second name is not mentioned in the film). She is Steve's sort-of love interest. Nothing really happens between in this but I suspect something will down the line. She is the niece of Peggy Carter, Steve's love interest from The First Avenger and speaking of Peggy.

Hayley Atwell reprises her role as Peggy Carter, Steve's “best girl” his love interest from The First Avenger whom he never got back to have a dance let alone a real relationship with her due to him being frozen in ice after thwarting the Red Skull's plan. There one scene together is so tragic and poignant and it really does pull on the heart strings as they found each other far too late. Though you can clearly see they both dearly care for each other.

I admit I was starting to cry as it's the only relationship within the Marvel Universe that I actually give a damn about as it feels so authentic and real and very tragic, it's a pity they never did a little dance scene as he would of fulfilled his promise to her.

Thankfully we are getting more of Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter in a Agent Carter series as she's a fantastic character and Hayley Atwell played her well. In some ways I think that they should have had Hayley playing Sharon as I prefer Hayley to Emily and the family link would have been clearer.

On another link to the past the nazi scientist Dr. Armin Zola (Toby Jones) has partially cheated death, his one and only scene is particularly chilling and pivotal and Toby Jones does a great German accent the actor is a great chameleon.

Jenny Agutter has a small role in this film as Councilwoman Hawley I forgot that she would be in this film then I remembered she was in The Avengers. She's in one fantastic scene that absolutely blew me away which I don't want to spoil. Also Stan Lee has a great cameo role as a security guard.

Henry Jackman did the score to this film and I must say it's really good but not entirely rememberable it sounds similar to Zimmer's work on The Dark Knight, not like that's a bad thing or anything but I felt he could of done something different to fit the old school spy thriller theme of the film. I later found out he's done the score for X-men First Class and hails from Hillingdon where I come from !.

I can honestly say i've never heard of the Russo Brothers but looking them I see they have directed a lot of TV series of big hitting US series and the Film You Me and Dupree and Colinwood, I must say for directing a full blown old school superhero thriller hybrid film they have done outstanding job they really have a great eye to capture all the action in this film, I felt there was no shot out of place within the film. They really have an eye for action set pieces of which they did plenty I am really happy they have signed up to direct Captain America 3.

The film gels an old school paranoia thriller with a comic book movie and the result is unprecedented it's one of the best comic book films i've seen, it's up there with The Dark Knight in quality for me and in my humble opinion the best Disney owned Marvel film to date and one of the sequels that ups the ante of the original film along with Thor: The Dark World. This film gelled Cap's past, present and future perfectly and it was incredibly thematic ; loyalty, friendship, trust, paranoia, past, morality and doing what is right.

If your a comic book fan or an old school thriller fan or both for that matter you'll really enjoy this film, it's got a great twist plot, fantastic script, rich character development for every big player in he film, amazing set pieces, stunning costume design, well gelled special effects that don't ruin the film and a great if not all that memorable soundtrack. I highly recommend this film and i'll be sure to get this on Blu-Ray hopefully a steelbook !.

Carlito's Way Review

 Carlito's Way

Director: Brian De Palma

Stars: Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo, Ingrid Rogers, Luis Guzman, James Rebhorn, Jorge Porcel,Frank Minucci, Joseph Siravo,Viggo Mortensen & Adrian Pasdar

Running Time: 144 mins

Release: 7 January 1994

In 1975 New York Local legend Puerto Rican criminal Carlito (Pacino) who's just come out of prison and pledges himself to reform and stay away from crime and go to the Bahama's and build a new life from for himself with his girlfriend Gail (Miller). But old friends and habits die hard.

His long term friend Dave Kleinfeld (Penn) a lawyer got him out of prison he managed to change Carlito's sentence from 30 years to 5, but he's dangerous, unpredictable and a liability and tempts Carlito back into his old ways and he has a big problem. Carlito gets a share of his associate Saso's (Porcel) club after coming out of jail. But there's trouble in the form of Bennie Blanco ( Leguizamo) from the Bronx an up and coming criminal.

Al Pacino gives an absolutely barnstorming raw performance as Carlito. You absolutely believe in his ageing ex-con that he wants to go straight and stay out of trouble and of course that does not stay exactly that way in some situations in the film, He also has a moral code that he's gained from being on the street and inside prison. Though with this he has not not got his eye completely on the ball.

Early on in the film we see Carlito who's just come out of prison goes to a drug deal exchange not to partake but to be showed off by his cousin. You know the deal is going to go south and the way Carlito plans it out to attempt to save his cousin is brilliant. He's very loyal to his girlfriend Gail which really did surprise me. He cares for her greatly i'll write more on it later.

His friends and associates laugh at his plans to get away to the Bahama's to own a share of a rental car place. They think he can't change and he'll fall into old habits as that's what he's always done. We believe in him and Gail believes in him and that's all that matters and Pacino does a great job with it.

He's charismatic, intelligent, got swagger and a fiery temperament and a certain way of words. His court scene, when he disrespects Blanco and saying others would spoil it for you but it's an absolute gem. He really stands out in the film and I have to say his performance in this is even better than Dog Day Afternoon.

I've never seen Sean Penn in a film before but I do know of him and I have to say he's fantastic in this and got completely lost in the character of Dave Kleinfeld, Carlito's friend and lawyer who's a coke addled, unpredictable loose cannon. I really have to say he reminds me of Robert De Niro's Johnny in Mean Streets when you see both films you'll get what I mean. He's a lawyer but as the events wear on the film he sort of becomes a gangster and the lines blur.

He's loyal to Carlito as he is loyal to him but he has a knack of getting him into trouble and that trouble comes in the form of Tony Taglialucci (Minucci) a big time mobster whom was a client of his that's gotten locked up, he stole money one million dollars from him and now he needs to do arrange a boat to pick him up for the arranged escape and if not he's six feet under. That scene and all his other scenes are brilliant. He's a really despicable and sleazy character & Penn really brings him to life. .He's also rather childish especially in his house party scene.

Penelope Ann Miller plays Carlito's long term girlfriend and love interest Gail, she's fiercely loyal to Carlito despite their many ups and downs. I am surprised that she's so loyal to him after he's been locked away for five years though that's one thing that's really beautiful in this film. She's a freelance dancer. It's no secret that Miller and Pacino had an affair whilst filming this film which in someway made their relationship more realistic. She also has a great seduction scene. Being honest i've never seen Miller in anything before let alone heard of her but she's really good in her role here.

Now if one actor was not in this enough, in my opinion it's John Leguizamo as Bennie Blanco he's a fantastic character but he does not have that much screen-time, but those fleeting minutes are golden, he steals the scenes he's in. He's cocky, arrogant and smug and does not realise he's a little fish in a big pond, but he has a one hell of a ferocious bite.

Rodgers plays club hostess Steph, who's Kleinfeld's sort of squeeze. She's not in it much but she's great in her scenes and she has a really stand out voice when you hear it you'll know what I mean. Louis Guzman who has a face that everyone remembers but not his name, he has a rather big part in this film which was a pleasant surprise, he plays Pachanga, Carlito's right hand man who's also back-up and is the one of many that try to lead Carlito back into his old ways. He's fantastic in this I have to say, i'll look out for him in more films.

James Rebhorn plays the lawman Norwalk who wants to put Carlito back behind bars behind any means it's a small role but a pivotal one. Jorge Porcel plays Saso, Carlito's associate and club owner who does not want any trouble, his character speaks little english and more in his natural tongue which I really liked and felt authentic. Frank Minucci plays the sinister mobster Tony Taglialucci who gave me chill in his scene he's very menacing and great in his few scenes. Joseph Sivaro plays his equally nasty son Vinnie and Adrian Pasdar plays his younger son Frankie, don't call him Frank he doesn't like it, It's great to see him in another film as he has not done that many of them, Near Dark being the best one.

It's great to see Viggo Mortensen in a film before his breakthrough role as Aragon in Lord of The Rings, he plays Carlito's Puerto Rican friend and criminal Lalin , he was only in one pivotal small scene but I have to say he did the accent especially well for a then a bit-part actor he's come a long since his role in Witness back in 85 and this role showed they're was great things to come.

I've not seen many Brian De Palma films but I have to say he's done a magnificent job on this it's shot beautifully and authentically looks like it was set in 1975 but almost made 20 years later, the many sets especially the clubs, the clothes, the hair styles, the cars, the music and the dialog it's brilliant it surpassed my expectations. I know Palma has a visual flair and it really shows in this film. Especially the Train chase scene that's all i'm saying.

There's both an original score and a soundtrack to this film and most people would hear the soundtrack over the score, myself included. The score is done by Patrick Doyle a composer i've never really heard of, he does a fantastic job with the theme which I love and is the most iconic from the score.

The soundtrack is simply awesome as it matches the time period it's set in with great disco, smooth and latin music in it's a great mix of songs it's just a pity it's rather pricey, the most famous track being Billy Preston's You are So Beautiful which plays during the seduction scene and the credits.

I have to say this film feels noir like in my opinion with Carlito's narration and in some parts Carlito reminds me of a noir film protagonist. This is is an absolutely fantastic crime film with perfect performances, stellar script, great production values and a brilliant soundtrack it could not be better.

Dr Strangelove Review

 

Dr Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Stars: Peter Sellers, George C.Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull, James Earl Jones & Tracy Reed.

Running Time: 95 mins

Release: 29 January 1964

At the height of the cold war, the paranoid & insane US Army General Jack Ripper (Hayden) believes that the Russians are poisoning the american populace through the water supply so he launches a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union through a back door mechanism without the knowledge or permission from his superiors. Only Ripper knows the code to shut down the attack and he's cut off all communications to protect his attack. Ripper's executive officer RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Sellers) who is being held prisoner by Ripper believes he knows the recall code to stop the attack, all he would have to do is contact the outside. He's the stiff British upper lip in the face of the absurdity and madness.

Meanwhile at the Pentagon, in the war room to be precise President Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) and the joint Chief of Staff, General Buck Turgidson (Scott) with other chief staff and the nuclear scientist and advisor who was a former Nazi scientist Dr Strangelove (Sellers) discuss measures to stop the attack or mitigate the attack into a full out nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Muffley brings in Soviet Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky (Bull) into the war room and Soviet Premier Dimitri Kisov on the hot line to inform him what's going on much to Turgidson's chagrin.

The Americans in the war room are shocked to learn the Soviets have an unannounced Doomsday Device which will detonate if any of their key targets are hit.

Meanwhile in the sky Major T.J “King” Kong (Pickens) on the of B-52 Bomber pilots has an agenda all of his own to deploy the bomb wherever he can over enemy soil if he fails to make the target.

As Peter Sellers, the comic legend plays three roles I will go into each of those individually.

I'll start off with Mandrake. Mandrake is a man and believes doing what is right; stopping Ripper's insane attack. I was really impressed how he kept his cool in the face of Ripper's insanity. He just goes along with it and is the epitome of the phrase 'Keep calm and carry on' which he does so wholeheartedly. Being honest I felt he was the only character that feels the real gravity of the situation at hand, the whole world is at stake whilst the Americans in the war room worry over the Nuclear Arms Race/War with the Russians. He is absolutely magnificent in all his scenes He's hilarious with how he handles people and the situation and he has a great accent.

As President Muffley he plays it absolutely straight and with absolute conviction as Muffley. He's really gloomy and neurotic. He's under a lot of stress in what to do with Ripper's attack.and to get ahead in the arms race and constantly worries how he'll look in the history books. Unlike most of the body that are in the war room, he does not share the same paranoia as his colleges as he calls in the Russians to know what they are doing much to their chagrin also his phone conversation with Dimitri which is one sided is perfect cinematic gold.

Saving the best to last Dr Strangelove. Sellers is absolutely insane as the good doctor and I loved every minute of his screen-time. Dr Strangelove is a former Nazi scientist who is now a senior head in Nuclear science in the US Government. He is trying to suppress his “darker' side I.e stop referring the President as Mein Fuhrer and stopping himself from doing the salute which is really funny to watch. As the events of the film transpires his darker side comes to the front as the possible outcomes narrow down his Nazi ideologies and behaviour come into play which surprisingly many of the people in the war room agree with !, also he has the greatest final line in a film i've ever heard “Mein Fuhrer !, I can walk !”. His facial expressions and delivery is faultless and that accent.

I was incredibly impressed with Sterling Hayden's performance as General Jack Ripper, he's utterly insane but is also believable. The idea that he has that the Soviet Union is poisoning the American water supply to make the public communist is absolutely preposterous and on that whim he goes to launch the attack !. He plays the part very well and with such conviction that he's got lost in the character. He has an amazing voice and he's such a great character.

Equally George C.Scott gives a brilliant performance as General Buck Turgidson. Like Ripper he's very paranoid but his finger is not on the trigger. He has some great lines in the film. To say anymore of his character would spoil it for you.

Keenan Wynn's plays Col. “Bat” Guano whom Mandrake meets in the film. He constantly accuses Mandrake of being a “prevert”.He has some absolutely fantastic lines in the film. The Coca Cola Machine comes to mind.

Slim Pickens has a ball of a time playing Major Kong the mad-cap pilot who's hellbent on dropping the bomb on the Soviet Union. He has a great southern accent and is in one of the most iconic shots of the film. He is one of the most absurd characters in this film.

Peter Bull who is a british actor play Soviet Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky, he does the accent very well and has some fantastic lines too. I am not going to spoil it for you what he does in the film but you can most likely guess.

James Earl Jones is in this film in a small role as Lt Lothar Zogg a fellow pilot on the B-52. You'll most likely recognise his voice from a iconic classic sci-fi character. I was surprised he was in this the only thing I have heard of him in was in Star Wars.

Tracy Reed plays Turgidson's mistresses Miss Scott who also happens to be his secretary. She has a very small role in the film and in all that time she's in a bikini. She's great and works really well in her one scene and the phone scene where Turgidson phones her in secret in the war room is brilliant. She's a very beautiful woman and was only 22 when she did this film but she's acted with Peter Sellers a few times during the 1960's she was in A Shot in The Dark which came out in the same year and Casino Royale in 1967 which is a spoof of Bond. Also she's seen in the playboy magazine that one of the pilots are looking through on the B-52.

Laurie Johnson did the soundtrack to this film and he's done a stellar job. I particularly love the opening theme which plays on the Blu-Ray Menu and is the main theme it's so classical and beautiful I could listen to it time and time again, he recorded soundtracks to some of the most iconic TV series of the time including The Avengers. Also the ending song is very ironic.

This film tackles really dark subject matter that being The Cold War and Nuclear Holocaust but in a darkly humorous way. Sex is also a theme in this film if you listen closely enough. It's a fantastic satire and captures the feeling of The Cold War at that time, If you don't know about the Cold War you should not watch this film. The comedy in this is of a particular taste. The characters are fantastic and well thought out and encapsulate the people they represent in a satirical way without being over the top. This film has some absolutely fantastic dialog and dry jokes of which many are quotable. I'm very impressed with this film in every single way the acting, script, shot and soundtrack.

I saw this film on Blu-Ray and it looks stunning for a 50 year old film and a fun little note Stanley Kubrick never left the UK for any of his films and this was filmed in Shepperton Studios and at Heathrow Airport !.

Overall I highly recommend this film and I personally think for when students study The Cold War they should watch this by default.

Blood Diamond Review

 

Blood Diamond

Director: Edward Zwick

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Kagiso Kuypers, Benu Mabhena, Basil Wallace, David Harewood Arnold Vosloo, Marius Weyers &Michael Sheen

Running Time: 143 Mins

Release: 26 January 2007

Set in 1999 in Sierra Leone, during the civil war, the Mende fisherman Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) village is attacked by rebels (the R.U.F Revolutionary United Front), Solomon gets his family away and he is kidnapped and made a slave to work in the diamond mines, he comes across a big pink diamond and he attempts to hide it, the brutal sadistic commander of the camp Captain Poison (Harewood) see's him hide it and just when he's about to get the diamond off him, a firefight breaks out as the army have attacked the camp. Solomon is arrested and put in a cell with many other prisoners and the injured Captain Poison comes through laid out on a stretcher and see's Solomon and asks about the diamond of which Solomon denies any knowledge of knowing him nor the diamond.

In another cell Danny Archer (DiCaprio) a former soldier & mercenary who's become a diamond smuggler from Rhodesia overhears this and is interested in Solomon and the diamond as it could settle the score between him and his former employer Colonel Coetzee (Vosloo).Archer arranges the release of Solomon , once outside he receives a roll of money from one of Archer's associates. Later Archer is released and he catches up with Solomon and offers to help him find his family in return for the diamond. Shortly thereafter they meet an American humanitarian journalist Maddy Bowen (Connelly) who will help Solomon find his family. Archer needs her help too to reach the location of the diamond. Though she soon realises that Archer is just using Solomon to get the diamond and refuses to help unless he becomes a whistleblower on the illegal diamond trade that funds the bloody civil war and it's links to a major diamond trade company run by Rudolf Van De Kapp (Weyers) and Rupert Simmons (Sheen) to end the illegal trade and conflict once and for all.

I have to say the acting in this is absolutely phenomenal, all the actors do an absolutely outstanding job making their characters feel like real people and are full of frisson.

I only know Djimon Hounsou from Gladiator and I have not seen that in years and he only had a supporting role in that. In this his role is much more bigger and prominent I was absolutely blown away by his outstanding performance as Solomon Vandy. He goes through a hell of a lot in this film to reunite with his family and will do anything to reunite with them and it's absolutely heart-wrenching, incredibly powerful and moving. He expresses so much not just with his voice but his voice, but with his body language and eyes you can tell he's literally gone through hell. He seems to me to be a peaceful man who does not want to be violent but when he does he goes to the extreme especially in one scene which I don't want to spoil for you. I am surprised he did not win an oscar.

Of the three leads he is is the most sympathetic as he's willing to intervene more than the others especially in one scene he brings an injured young boy that he does not even know aboard the bus to save him, He really wants to make a difference no matter how big or small.

It's revealed later in the film that he's son (Kuypers)has been kidnapped by the R.U.F and is made into a child soldier and this becomes the drive for him to find his son and rescue him to bring him back and these scenes are incredibly powerful especially one towards the end. His performance feels incredibly raw and real. The friendship between him and Archer which slowly builds and grow is fantastic to watch as they don't get along at first then as they go to know each other they become friends but they do have rough patches which i'll go into later.

DiCaprio delivers a outstanding and scene stealing performance as Danny Archer and I have to say he has the most character development of the three leads which i'll go into later on. I have known DiCaprio to be a very well regarded actor, though i've never seen him in anything before until I saw this and I was really impressed. Granted i've never heard the Rhodesian accent before but after watching this I know it's near the same as the South African accent.

Archer is a man who's seen it all and has lost most of his humanity and is completely selfish, greedy, sleazy, cynical and unlikeable. As the the film goes on and his relationships with Bowen and Solomon develops he regains some of his humanity through the way we learn more about him and how he became who he is and how this reflects on his actions. Within him there's a moral and loyalty conflict between who he once was and who he has become and this is seen mostly through his friendship with Solomon. As he was a soldier he knows how to handle a gun and has no problem with putting people down and he can be ruthless. In two scenes in particular I felt rather scared and threatened by him,these two scenes just goes to show the conflict within himself.

His character development feels very natural as does the growing sympathy for him as he slowly redeems himself, well for me anyway .His last scene is absolutely beautiful. I would not call him a hero,but an anti-hero. It's an amazing performance. I'm very keen to see more of his films.

His unlikely friendship with Solomon is particularly brilliant as they slowly respect each other and gain some common ground & understanding. It's one of the most natural friendship development i've ever seen on film and does not feel forced at all.

I've only seen Jennifer Connolly in Jim Henson's Labyrinth and that was many years ago when I was a child and this is the first serious film i've seen her in. She plays Maddy Bowen a humanitarian war journalist who covers the wars from the civilian point of view, as a journalist she is trying to end the war instead of just victimising the civilians for charity ads which no one cares for. She see's Solomon as a story but cares for him at the same time trying her best to reunite him with his family.

Her relationship with Archer is different it turns from resentment, mutual respect to platonic love. She uses him to gain evidence for her journalism and as she learns of his tragic background and his outlook on the world she sympathises and begins to develop feelings for him whilst getting information from him. I've heard that some people think that the relationship between her and Archer is heavy handed but I think it's a very subtle subplot and does not take away from the film in anyway. I think she's perfect in the role as a war journalist who's trying to make a real difference.

Kuypers is absolutely fantastic in his small but pivotal role as Solomon's son. We see snippets of his life as a child soldier from his initiation it's incredibly grim, horrid and sickening watching him get de-humanized. It's very raw indeed. He's fantastic going from bright eyed young kid to a dead behind the eyes cold blooded soldier who's just following orders. His scenes with his father are incredibly moving I am really surprised that he's not been in something since this. He's incredible in one scene towards the end i'll just say it involves an air strike.

I was surprised to find that Arnold Vosloo was in this, i've only known him to appear in the Mummy films and the Darkman sequels. Being honest this is the only time I have really seen him act and I must say he's absolutely fantastic in the role as Colonel Coetzee he's rather villainous as he wants the war to continue as he funds it and it's doing very well, also he's also quite philosophical too and he's great in the role. He's also South African which I did not know. Like Archer he shares some of the same traits that he did early on in the film, it just goes to show how it's effected him too.

I was also very surprised that David Harewood was in this too, I did not recognise him till he took off his sunglasses !. Once he did I recognised him immediately he's been in Homeland and a lot of BBC Dramas as he's an english actor. He's incredible and near unrecognisable in the character he played I never imagined that he could play such a role like this. He's a real nasty piece of work and viciously sadistic as Captain Poison. He's unrelenting and a true mad man who manipulates kids into becoming soldiers. It's like he's cam from hell and even he himself admits. It's like a demon has taken human form.

Also Basil Wallace is fantastic in his role as Benjamin Kapanay a teacher who's become a protector of former child soldiers trying to bring them back to normality, it's a very touching role as it shows that there are some good people aside the main three leads who are trying to do good and help and Benjamin is a clear example of that.

Also special mention to Benu Mabhena who plays Solomon's wife she's not in that much of the film but she's great especially in the camp scene it's really heartfelt and the kids that played child soldiers they have a lot of courage for the roles they did.

Marius Weyers and Michael Sheen were really good, I was surprised Sheen was not in it that much as his name features on the back credits, then again he's a well known actor.

Edward Zwick has done a masterful job directing this, it's absolutely outstanding, sometimes you forget your watching a film. He has not cut any corners nor does he let us flinch away from the realistic, raw, sheer brutal violence in the film, sometimes I held my hand in front of my mouth in shock especially in one scene near the beginning where one poor captive get's his hand lopped off !. The film shows there was atrocities on both sides.

Like in some of Zwick's films there's action set pieces and there's a few of those in here too all of which are incredible and had a lot of extras, you don't see that much on this scale these days, the big battle in the city, jeep chase scene and the air strike at the mine spring to mind. I was on the edge of my seat watching those, I was really wrapped up in them.

I cannot write this without mentioning how they captured the absolutely beautiful landscape of Sierra Leone despite the constant, eruptive bursts of violence it's a utopia (like one character says) it has awe inspiring mountainous ranges, lush jungles and hills full of vibrant colour and it looks absolutely stunning on Blu-Ray.

James Newton Howard has scored this film and I know that he's done many soundtracks to some films I have seen but never really paid attention to them as I was younger and don't look at films like I do now. He's done a tremendous job and the score sounds very natural and suit the atmosphere of the film and the music really emphasizes on the tension and emotions in the scenes and the piece that plays in the final scene is truly beautiful.

I have only one complaint with the soundtrack, right at the end at the start of the credits it plays Shine on 'em by Nas and it was written by Nas and James Newton Howard himself, I have no problem with any genre of music but I feel it ruined the feeling that I had at the end of the film, the lyrics were very good but I don't feel it suited the tone of the film.

The film is incredibly thematic; power, civil war, corruption, politics,hope, redemption and morality. I loved every single moment of it. It's incredibly well acted, filmed with stark realism and moments of pure beauty, a well fitted soundtrack and a very human story at the heart. If you love a film with a great story with real world issues and rich themes this is it.