A Week In Film #033: Looking further afield

Michael Clayton
Interesting enough little flick about a low-profile attorney (George Clooney) working for a grubby law firm which specialises in making problems go away for big corporate clients. Written and directed with efficiency and in a Kluteish fashion by Hollywood scriptwriter Tony Gilroy.

Proof Of Life
Taylor An Officer And A Gentleman Hackford directs from a Tony Gilroy script, with Russell Crowe as an ex-special forces type now working as a hostage recovery expert in the private sector, tasked with finding Meg Ryan’s engineer husband, who has been kidnapped by South American rebels. Silly, but with some vim.

[HEATHERS PIC]

Heathers
Classic teen angst/high school satire, with Christian Slater turning his Nicholsons up to eleven, big-eyed Winona Ryder rocking the monocle, croquet, underlined passages of Moby Dick, Big Fun, death by Drano, cowtipping and more.

Bait
Another Tony Gilroy script, here with Jamie Foxx as a high-end, wisecracking thief in some story about a heist gone wrong, etc. Reminded me of Blue Streak and The Last Boy Scout.

Extreme Measures
And yet more Tony Gilroy silliness: Hugh Grant is an overworked ER doctor in the States who happens upon a gruesome organ harvesting operation. Gene Hackman earned his pay cheque, Michael Crichton’s lawyers clearly fumbled the ball.

Body Of Lies
TWAT-themed thriller, with Leonardo di Caprio as a CIA paramilitary chasing down Islamics in order to save the free world, whilst his bosses stymie and obstruct him. Ridley Scott directs with economy (for him), Russell Crowe is restrained as his superior. Doesn’t compare too greatly with the similar Syriana (which shares Mark Strong in a supporting role), but gets the job done.

Madigan
Decent hardboiled Don Siegel policier, which at least has a stab at doing things slightly differently, splitting the story between the perspectives of old school NYC detective Richard Widmark, and his by-the-book, liberal-leaning commissioner Henry Fonda. Of its time.

EDO Decommissioners’ raffle – one day left!

Tomorrow is the day of the draw for the EDO Decommissioners‘ fundraising raffle!

The draw takes place at Kebele in Eastville at (I think) 7pm, with prizes including reconditioned bicycles, t-shirts, a veg box, plants, wine and books.

Tickets cost just £1 for a strip of 5 – that’s FIVE CHANCES TO WIN for a mere quid! (Or you can even buy a single ticket for 20p…)

If you haven’t got any but would like some, I still have a few left, just contact me before lunchtime tomorrow to let me know how many you want. I’ll accept pledges if it’s not possible to take your money before the draw, and scan your tickets so you know what numbers are yours.

Mystery Pic #020

Please place your answers in the comments below…

ETA:

PhilC earned his hat-trick on this one, correctly identifying 1969’s The Bridge At Remagen.

Mystery Pic #019

A relatively simple one, place your answers in the comments below, ta

ETA:

PhilC got the right answer, it’s Robert Aldrich’s war movie Attack.

A Week In Film #032: Solstice stylings

A Time Comes
Dull documentary-cum-corporate-video about the Greenpeace Kingsnorth climate change protesters, with talking head segments directed by Nick Broomfield.

Better Off Dead
Another Savage Steve Holland coming-of-age teen comedy with John Cusack stuck in American suburbia.

Oxford Blues
Really rather terrible retooling of A Yank At Oxford, with Vegas valet Rob Lowe stalking Princess Diana-type Amanda Pays to Oxford University, where he learns Important Lessons about Being A Team Player, and falls for fellow rowing club member Ally Sheedy. Grim.

Von Ryan’s Express
Ol’ Blue Eyes takes on Thee Nazis in steam train/POW escape hybrid.

The Bourne Supremacy
Matt Damon returns as amnesiac superagent Jason Bourne, with documentary/verité specialist Paul Greengrass taking over direction.

Some great sequences – the escape from custody at Naples airport; the fight in the Munich apartment of Treadstone operative Jarda; the extended Moscow car chase. Brian Cox is a welcome addition tot he rep company, as shady CIA boss Abbott.

The Bourne Ultimatum
More Bourneness, again directed with vim by Paul Greengrass.

Paddy Considine is not well cast as a Guardian journalist caught up in the Treadstone treadmill, but the extraordinary rendition sequences around Waterloo Station are superb, as is the Tangier rooftop foot pursuit.

Two Mules For Sister Sara
Not the best Eastwood/Siegel Western, but watchable. Shirley Maclaine is a nun who ain’t all she seems, and there’s Mexican revolutionaries and stuff

J18 + 10

This is the dawning of the age of web querulous

Perhaps I’m being unreasonably tetchy, but this just seems mighty wrong.

At 9.40am I tweeted a link to a photo on Street Boners, captioned “Using party balloons for nitrous is like getting a unicorn to talk to teens about breast cancer”.

At 9:41am I received an email notification that CancerInfoHQ was now following me on Twitter.

Piss & Vinegar #057: Bongwater

Walking home after a really crappy party, Serena (Alicia Witt) stops off at a neighbourhood church to visit the little ladies’ room in Bongwater.

From Here To Shiternity #027: Shoot ‘Em Up

Herz’s driver (Julian Richings) gets covered in baby poop in Shoot ‘Em Up.

HonkWatch #107: Shakes The Clown

Bobcat Goldthwait undertakes the normal morning ablutions in Shakes The Clown.

Framed Documents #098: The Ladykillers

Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness) checks up on the news in The Ladykillers:

£50,000 BANK VAN RAID

A Week In Film #031: Never talk politics with the in-laws after a day of drinking

Man With The Screaming Brain
Bruce Campbell writes, directs and stars, as an American businessman in Bulgaria (cheap to film there, apparently) who is killed by a treacherous Gypsy woman, before being brought back to life by loony doctor Stacy Keach, who bulks up Campbell’s broken brain with bits cut out of the ex-KGB taxi driver who is also the former boyfriend of our Romani assailant. Could have been better, but points for effort, though possibly not for services to settled/traveller relations.

The Punisher (1989)
Very silly adaptation of the dark Marvel comic about Nam vet Frank Castle who turns vigilante after his family is executed by the Mafia. Here Castle is changed to a cop, and he is played by Dolphin Lundgren. It is silly. Very violent, with some rubbish and occasionally dull action scenes, but at least it doesn’t take itself seriously.

Punisher: War Zone
Charmless reboot of the 2004 reboot of the 1989 flick. Ray Stephenson is now Frank Castle, and yet despite not being a stranger to acting, ends up with little to do other than brutally execute anyone who steps in his way, with a moody expression on his fizzog. Directed by that Lexi Alexander, with the same skill and delicacy she applied to Green Street.

Canadian Bacon
Hamfisted (LOL) Michael Moore black comedy (shamelessly stealing from Dr Strangelove) about a lameduck US President who conjures up an imaginary threat from Canada. John Candy is great though. Prefigures the superior Wag The Dog, though the premise is wittier.

One Crazy Summer
Minor 80s teen comedy with John Cusack the wannabe animator on vacation before college. Harmless fun, pleasant performances.

The Whole Nine Yards
Him from Friends as a neurotic dentist, him from Die Hard as a mob hitman who moves next door. Fun, but inconsequential. Director Jonathan Lynn definitely has a thing about women smoking cigarettes – Rosanna Arquette, Natasha Henstridge.

The Whole Ten Yards
Somewhat pointless sequel, whose principal purpose appears to be to give Kevin Pollak – the Hungarian crime boss who didn’t survive the first film – the chance to work out as his character’s own father. Howard Deutch fumbles the direction.

The Deal (2008)
William H Macy as a past-his-prime Hollywood producer who sees one last chance when his talented but naîve nephew turns up on his doorstep with Bill And Ben, a sensitive script about Benjamin D’Israeli’s relationship with WIlliam Gladstone. Naturally this one last chance involves tweaking it into Ben Disraeli: Freedom Fighter, a guns ‘n’ girls blockbuster with recently converted action star Bobby Mason (LL Cool J) in the starring role. Silly and derivative (and the whole WHM/Meg Ryan romance is a bit meh), but warm and cosy.

The Keep
Michael Mann does supernatural war movie – Jürgen Prochnow is an honourable Wehrmacht officer, Gabriel Byrne is a comedy BOO! HISS! black uniformed SS rotter, Ian McKellen is a wheelchair-bound Jewish academic, Alberta Watson is his daughter, Scott Glenn is a shiny-eyed mysterious stranger, and they’re all stuck in a magic castle in WW2 Romania with a scary Golem-type monster. Tangerine Dream supplies the music, and it’s all a bit silly.

The Bourne Identity
Robert Ludlum holiday bricks rarely entertain once adapted for the screen (The Osterman Weekend, The Holcroft Covenant), but Doug Go Liman’s reboot (after the 80s version which had Dr Kildare in the lead) makes a meaty fist of challenging yer Bond as preeminent movie spook.

Matt Damon is an excellent against-type casting choice, and he develops an excellent rapport with the flaky German wanderer he latches onto, played by Franke Potente.

The fight-in-a-room (or park, or field) sequences – notably the Swiss ones, and one in the Paris apartment – are for the most part exemplary, though Liman has more trouble with the car chase. In terms of action and tension it is very effective.

Casting is a little more mixed: Brian Cox is superb as a creepy CIA chieftain, but Julia Stiles? How did she end up in a frontline role in the Company? And you can’t help but chuckle at Adebisi from Oz hamming it up, or the shitkicker from The Shield being all whitecollar and shit. But mostly it’s a breezy, exciting ride.

A few queries though: do all Italian trawlers have as well packed a medical kit as here? And how did Bourne make it from France into Switzerland – Switzerland, FFS, Switzerland!! – without papers?

Piss & Vinegar #056: Smokin’ Aces

Agent Carruthers (Ray Liotta) offers Agent Messner (Ryan Reynolds) an approved FBI Field Urination Receptacle in Smokin’ Aces.

Framed Documents #097: Sorcerer

In Sorcerer, a job well done is rewarded with a fake passport.

Framed Documents #096: Sorcerer

GOOD LUCK

SERRANO

Quality cartography in Sorcerer.

Framed Documents #095: Sorcerer

Just to confuse matters, both trucks in Sorcerer (‘Sorcerer’ and ‘Lazaro’) are marked ‘Peligro’ (‘Danger’).

Framed Documents #094: Sorcerer

Serrano (Bruno Cremer) checking the clearance aboard the eponymous truck in Sorcerer.

Framed Documents #093: Sorcerer

In Friedkin’s Sorcerer there are two trucks – one called ‘Sorcerer’, the other ‘Lazaro’. Guess which one makes it to the end…

Framed Documents #092: Sorcerer

Madame B. Manzon
66, Avenue Foch
Paris
Francia

Serrano’s letter home ‘in case of emergencies’ in Sorcerer.

Framed Documents #091: Sorcerer

Marking out the number of miles to transport the unstable explosives in Sorcerer.

Mystery Pic #018

Quite a few wins recently, see how you do with this one – place your answers in the comments below, please

ETA:

Scunnert has got it right – it’s Smokin’ Aces, with Alicia Keys getting scoped.

From Here To Shiternity #026: Shooting Fish

Yankee conman Dan Futterman squeezes out his hidden key in lame British comedy Shooting Fish.

Piss & Vinegar #055: Snakes On A Plane

Suggestion: Don’t drain the python when there are Snakes On A Plane.

Mystery Pic #017

Guess the film, place your answer in the comments

Clue: This movie did not win an Oscar.

ETA:

John Serpico got the right answer – it’s The People That Time Forgot.

Framed Documents #090: Sorcerer

False papers in Sorcerer.

Mystery Pic #016

Just getting back into the blogging chair, so have a guess-the-film-from-the-picture post… Answers, as ever, in the comments, please, people!

ETA:

Phil Chamberlain got the right answer – tis Coogan’s Bluff.

G20 Police Witnesses IDed: Metropolitan Police officer ‘T3’

Just because the media circus has for the most part rolled out to the next town in Sensationland does not mean we have forgotten that many police officers were witness to the deadly assault on Ian Tomlinson on Wednesday 1st April 2009.

Today we turn our attention to the officer labelled throughout this series as ‘T3′.

Some points to note:

• Definitely male
• Rather ruddy face
• 9 o’clock shadow/stubble
• No numbers on epaulettes
• No balaclava
• Helmet chinstrap drawn tight
• Black gloves
• Right-handed baton grip
• Hi-viz jacket opened at top, level with breast badge

Again, if you recognise this officer – one of at least eighteen who saw the deadly assault on Ian Tomlinson, then please speak out.

If you took or have seen a photograph of this police officer elsewhere, please check to see if a shoulder number – or any other means of identification – is visible in that picture.

Ian Tomlinson, RIP. Dead, but not forgotten.

Those Euro elections, commentary from the streets of St. Paul’s (in full)

Man, to silent companion:

…Fuck the BNP! Fuck ‘em! I just wanna stomp on them!

A Week In Film #030: B movies, D-Days & K holes

The Verdict (1946)
Don Siegel’s first full directing credit, IIRC. A dark hearted and dark humoured affair, this – Sidney Greenstreet is a Scotland Yard detective eased out by an ambitious younger rival, who proves that a man he sent to the gallows was in fact an innocent. Assisted by amiable lush and friend Peter Lorre, Greenstreet vows to exact his revenge…

Meet The Parents
Ben Stiller tries to impress Robert De Niro, the uptight father of the girlfriend he wants to marry, but mostly he fucks up. Things pan out pretty much as you would expect.

Meet The Fockers
Sequel to the above in which OMG his name is Gaylord Focker LULZ! Hollywood liberals Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand play Florida liberals, and everyone is happy by picture’s end.

Recount
HBO TVM about the Florida voting scandal of the 2000 Presidential elections which led to the administration of Bush The Lesser; well liberal. Familiar faces include: Kevin Spacey, Denis Leary, Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt and Laura Dern being very funny as Katherine Harris.

Men At Work
Emilio Estevez writes and directs himself and his brother Charlie Sheen as a pair of under-achieving garbagemen who get caught up in a toxic dumping/murder plot. It’s not great but it’s watchable. John Getz (the hapless boyfriend from Blood Simple) makes for a fun bad guy, and Keith David is superb as a Nam vet still suffering flashbacks.

Outpost
A motley crew of mercenaries escort a mysterious businessman to an old, abandoned bunker complex in the middle of an Eastern European civil war.

Again, supernatural war horror (cf Below, The Bunker, Deathwatch, The Keep), again, some good bits diluted by generally being sub-par in various departments (script needs tightening; better direction of the actors; more thoughtful lighting; more rhythmical editing; and much better visual effects, if you really insis on having them in the first place; etc).

Bit odd seeing Michael ‘Tyres from Spaced‘ Smiley in there as an Irish dog of war…

The Bridge At Remagen
A frankly rather unexciting war film, with Robert Vaughn as a German officer charged with blowing up a bridge over the Rhine in the dying weeks of WW2, as an American unit led by George Segal is given the order to preserve the bridge at all costs. Ben Gazzara as a lootin’, shootin’, but never high-falutin’ GI is one of the few pieces of interest here.

The Punisher (2004)
Thomas Jane (from Stander) as Marvel Comics vigilante Frank Castle, taking on a mob run by John Travolta. The bits with the hired assassins were quite good, and the massacre of Castle’s family early on, but it’s just a little too draggy. I’m going to watch the 1989 version and then the 2008 reboot War Journal to compare.

Shaun Of The Dead
Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, bit parts and cameos for Jessica Stevenson, Peter Serafinowicz and Julia Deakin – it’s a veritable Spaced reunion! And the funniest zombie film ever.

“Get fucked four-eyes!”, Pegg teaming up with Kate Ashfield and Bill Nighy from Guest House Paradiso, ‘Hog Lumps’, “it’s on random”, children’s slides, “‘Allo, Fulci’s…”, death-by-jukebox – loads of good stuff. Oooh, and Noel the gum-chewing teen worker at Foree Electric.

Local elections 09 – Bristol City Council gets LibDem overlords, no new Green

The minority LibDem leadership in Bristol City Council has been converted into a LibDem majority after yesterday’s local elections. The Green’s targeting of Ashley ward wasn’t enough to unseat sitting LibDem Dr Jolly Jon Rogers, despite Shirley Not’s CoconutGate race shenanigans threatening to complicate matters.

I’ve been busy on other matters lately, so here’s some handy links to other Bristol bloggers on the elections:

• Bristol Blogger – ‘Vote 2009‘ & ‘Election 2009‘ posts (tag & title properly, dammit!)
• Green Bristol Blog – Chris Hutt endorses Jon Rogers
• James Barlow – unsuccessful Tory candidate displays his virtute & industria with MS Paint on an election map
• Trym Tales – Al Shaw’s poll predictions from Thursday

As a postscript, he’s the sum of all the politicking I’ve been subjected to in the trenches of St Paul’s…

Election campaign results from the BunKRS

Leaflets-through-the-door count (alphabetical):

• BNP (Euro) 1
• Green (BCC) 1
• Labour (Euro) 2
• No2EU (Euro) 1
• UKIP (Euro) 1

Leaflets-seen-in-windows etc count (alphabetical):

• All parties (BCC) 0
• All parties (Euro) 0

Canvassers for BCC elections:

• 0

Conversations about BCC elections with local neighbours:

• 0

Conversations about BCC elections with others in Bristol:

• 1

This is all down my ends of Ashley ward. Seeing as we were supposed to be some kind of battleground, I was surprised there was no doorstep business from Greens or LibDems, and only one leaflet from either! The nearest to any kind of canvassing was a Green who buzzed my flat asking to be let in to the block on a Sunday to deliver leaflets, but they didn’t knock on the door to talk or anything.