Recently Watched

Seems I’ve done a lot of moviewatching recently...

The Killing: Imagine my excitement when I discovered a recording of Stanley Kubrick’s second freature film in my friends’ DVD collection. And my disappointment when I realized it was that run-of-the-mill 1950’s gagster flick I’d already seen years ago (5/10).

Lethal Weapon 4, Ransom: Two professionally crafted bits of Hollywood action entertainment, and no more to say (6.5, 7/10).

Apollo 13: The problem of this film is that you already know how it’s going to end, but the old something new happens every minute formula does the trick. Basically like the two above, plus space, minus the violence (7/10).

The Wild Bunch: Watching men shoot at each other is a better way to kill two hours than watching the ballet, for example, but I don’t really see the screenplay’s point. Also, not nearly as violent as promised by film critics (4.5/10).

Sunset Boulevard: Another classic I’d never seen. A somewhat unusual story. I get the point about the Gloria Swanson character being a former silent movie star, but I still think her acting is way over the top. Judging from the bonus material, I guess I would have preferred the original beginning; didn’t know they already did test screenings in the 1950’s Great camera work, but still (5.5/10).

The Bank Job, The Italian Job: There is this theory I have that you can hardly make a bad film about a robbery. Ocean’s Twelve remains the only anomaly (7, 7/10).

Indiana Jones and that Skull Thingy: I don’t expect a masterpiece when I rent out an Indiana Jones film, but this is clearly the weakest of the series (5/10).

From London to Brighton: Uninspired bottom-of-society flick which demonstrates that making a film look very indie does not a great work of art make, especially when you don’t have much of a screenplay. The basic message is that prostitution isn't all fun (3.5/10).

In Bruges: Probably the only film I’ve ever seen that’s set in, you know, Bruges – a city which, at least on the basis of this bit of evidence appears to be seriously underused as a film location: it looks rather lovely. The setup’s pretty simple: Hitmen one and two go to Bruges after a job because their boss tells them to; then boss tells hitman one to kill hitman two, but hitman one doesn’t feel like it. Although somewhat remindful of the early films of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie, this movie seems to make a conscious effort not to be as fast and in-your-face as those – and benefits from it. The main female character could have used a bit more depth, but apart from that, there’s nothing to criticize. This is a recommendation (8/10).