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David Cronenberg poses some interesting questions on the nature of evil in his latest thriller. Eastern Promises is a brooding, atmospheric snapshot of a murky London underworld. Apart from focusing on a crime subculture hitherto untreated by films, it presents a mesmerising study of what happens when the world we know brushes up against what lies beneath. Read the rest of this entry »
Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven has been making a living on lurid, box-office-friendly Hollywood thrillers for some time now. Characterised by a sort of polished sleaziness mixed with frank violence, these films have never been particular favourites of the critics, but nevertheless, their pure entertainment value has led to many of them going down as cult favourites (RoboCop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers, Showgirls). In Holland, Verhoeven is more highly regarded - his breakthrough 1973 film Turkish Delight was voted Dutch Film of the Century in 1999. Perhaps it’s fitting then that, in his return to his homeland, he should abandon robots, strippers and aliens for the more serious subject matter of the Dutch World War II Resistance.
You know when Ridley Scott is at the helm, the film is going to be an exquisitely professional piece of work. But given his tendency to create films on such an epic scale, it appears critics’ expectations have been adjusted accordingly. Body of Lies has been widely criticized as being “just another spy film” despite its technically immaculate execution and big-name leading men. But what’s wrong with just making a genre film with the highest production values?
The period around the late 60’s and early 70’s was something of a golden age for crime films. There was something about the sterile light and the grainy film largely in use, along with a prevailing tendency to present stark stories with hard-edged anti-heroes - even the Westerns of the period adopted the flavour. And among crime films of the period, none stands out more than John Boorman’s seminal masterpiece, Point Blank. Read the rest of this entry »
John Boorman’s classic thriller is a gripping study of fear and desperation. In its depiction of four adventurous office workers from Atlanta who decide to raft down a soon-to-be-dammed river, only to find themselves fighting for their lives against the depredations of psychotic locals, Deliverance contains scenes that remain as terrifying and shocking today as they were in 1972. Read the rest of this entry »
An unsung classic in my book - this is just a uniquely styled film with great writing, direction and acting. It’s almost stream-of-consciousness as we follow the exploits of an ill-defined black-ops government agent and his pursuit of the President of the USA’s kidnapped daughter. Read the rest of this entry »
Just how much should a mystery film tie up all the loose ends for us? The traditional view is that a mystery with no resolution is not much of a film at all. But surely there can be more to a film than that. (WARNING: This post contains plot spoilers). Read the rest of this entry »
