The 90′s was a bit of a golden age for crime films. Thanks to the Tarantino-mania that gripped film industries around the world, hardly a week would go by without a new gritty film about scary, desperate criminals fleeing from even scarier, more desperate criminals hitting the cinemas. Australia was no different. In fact, Bill Bennett’s Kiss or Kill even picked up Best Film at the 1997 AFI Awards – which is interesting because, these days, the film doesn’t stand out as one of the better Australian films of the decade, even within its genre. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s obvious what a low budget this was made on – but it’s interesting because it shows how a real talent can start with almost nothing and still create a very watchable piece of entertainment. It’s the excellent pacing that makes it work – some nice humour as well.

Brian de Palma has obviously poured his heart and soul into his film of James Ellroy’s famous novel, The Black Dahlia. Unfortunately, beyond the superficial style and artistry, it fails in almost every other respect. Read the rest of this entry »

Stark thriller about a taciturn man whose humanity and moral strength shines when he’s really tested. This is a tense and slow-simmering tale with an explosive finale. Nicholson is great, in a more understated performance than his more celebrated roles.

There is no more tiresome Hollywood tendency than its predilection for basing big budget films on old TV shows. One would think the American film industry was creatively bankrupt from the slew of these remakes that have hit cinema with increasing regularity since the 90′s, but the truth is that it is more indicative of cycnical populism; of producers having found an easy answer ot the question of “What do the peeps want?”. Well, I guess that’s what they get paid for. At least you get seasoned pros like Michael Mann appointed to realise these projects. But, really, doesn’t Michael Mann have something better to do than rehash this old ground like this? Maybe so, but even when he might be working on the wrong project, he still does a damn fine job.

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Ben Affleck’s directorial debut was promoted as something of a turgid drama, or so it seemed to me at the time of its release. Well, it was promoted as a very highly lauded drama, I had applied the “turgid” label myself in the mistaken inference that it would be the kind of film critics love but which leave me cold. In actual fact, Gone Baby Gone is an utterly riveting suspense thriller that manages to transcend its own genre to become a human drama of the highest order.

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Okay, I get it, the joke is on all those silly action films with their ludicrously choreographed shoot-out scenes and ridiculously butch leading men. But, even accounting for the fact that Shoot ‘Em Up is aggressively sending itself up, you’re left with one inescapable conclusion – it’s still pretty shit. Read the rest of this entry »