There are lots of laughs, some of them subtle and some of them silly, but it’s surprisingly sophisticated in places.
Ian “Emperor Palpatine” McDiarmid plays a butler.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
The Black Dahlia (2006)
The performances are hammy and one-dimensional. The “1940s” look is self-conscious and over-stylised, but also inconsistent. None of the characters engage. You end up not understanding what’s happening and not caring either.
Pale Rider (1985)
Western.
His charisma is undeniable, so when a mother (Carrie Snodgress) and her daughter (Sydney Penny) both fall in love with him you can see why. The complex relationships between the preacher and the various family members are expertly explored.
The tension builds in a subtle way and the ending is hugely satisfying.
Body of Lies (2008)
The CIA operative on the ground is Leonardo DiCaprio and his superior is Russell Crowe. They are attempting to track down a terrorist called al-Saleem.
Mark Strong plays the head of Jordanian Intelligence. Oscar Isaac is a CIA field operative in Iraq. And Rahavard Farahani plays a nurse who DiCaprio falls for and thus endangers.
All of these actors are superb in their roles.
It’s a complex web of connections and locations. It’s extremely violent for a “15”, with scenes of torture and close-ups of shootings. The use of drone-sourced visuals gives it an appealing tech-heavy feel.
Every Which Way but Loose (1978)
Clint Eastwood plays Philo Beddoe, a trucker and fighter who lives with an orangutan called Clyde. When he meets a country singer he falls for (Sondra Locke), he ends up taking off after her – despite the fact that he himself is being pursued by a cop and a biker gang who want to beat him up.
It’s difficult to describe what genre this is. There’s comedy, but it’s also a sort of road and adventure film. It ends up being a deeply strange hybrid.
Some of it works very well – Eastwood is reliably cool and watchable. Some of it is awkward – the farcical, annoying character of “Ma” (Ruth Gordon), who really doesn’t need to be there. And some of it is plain bizarre.
There’s a lot about masculinity and gender. Oddly, it promotes drinking and fighting and yet it makes the bikers look weak and silly.
The country soundtrack – with the distinctive main theme by Eddie Rabbitt – is enjoyable, too.
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The performances are reasonable (James Earl Jones and Joss Ackland also have roles), but there’s something missing. It’s probably unfair to compare this film to Das Boot or K-19: The Widowmaker, but I never once felt I was aboard an actual submarine. It’s oddly lifeless, with a lack of atmosphere and a certain stilted quality. This isn’t helped by Connery, whose “calm” manner is taken to extremes, resulting in merely an expressionless mask.
Motivations stay mysterious: we don’t learn why Connery wants to defect or how his staff feel about it. Nor do we discover why one of the sub’s cooks wants to sabotage the mission.
Another oddity is the use of subtitles in the early stages of the film. Once it has been established that these are Russians speaking, the subtitles cease and their dialogue reverts to English. That creates confusion later when subtitles return and it’s actually unclear which language Baldwin and Connery are meant to be speaking in. It would have been better to use the standard film trope of a non-English language simply being spoken in English – but with accents.
While there’s nothing really wrong with the film, and you could argue that it ticks all the right boxes for a Cold War thriller, ultimately it falls flat. But a more inspired director than John McTiernan could probably have made it work.
The Golden Child (1986)
The plot is thin indeed – a quest for the mystical Ajanti Dagger, which can defeat evil – but that’s not really the point. It’s a good-natured romp with a few (but not enough) laughs. As with Coming to America, the scenes featuring Eddie Murphy are dynamite. He’s incredibly watchable. All the rest is a daft contrivance that you tolerate to get to the next scene he appears in.
Life (2017)
A crew of six aboard the International Space Station intercept samples from Mars that turn out to contain a deadly organism. This life form quickly grows in size and power, endangering the crew, the mission and possibly humanity itself.
Life was criticised for being reminiscent of Alien and Gravity and it’s true that there are similarities with both of those classics. However, what it does it does extremely well: it’s suspenseful and even has a hint of the blackest humour – especially in the bitter twist of the ending.
The six characters are well drawn and Rebecca Ferguson is especially convincing as Dr. Miranda North. The only thing that pulled me out of the film was that Jake Gyllenhaal plays a character who is too “weird” and “troubled” to fit the easygoing well-balanced profile of an astronaut. He would never have passed the psychometric tests for selection.
The music, by Jon Ekstrand, is terrific and does a lot to build the mood.
Coming to America (1988)
Eddie Murphy plays an African prince who – in order to escape an arranged marriage – travels from the fictional country of Zamunda to New York City to meet his bride. He wants to find someone who likes him for who he really is and not just for his money.
Murphy is hugely appealing, as usual, but he’s operating on a higher level than everything happening around him. The “plot” is fairly lame and there aren’t enough laughs. It’s enjoyable if you can accept the usual 1980s aspirational fixation of upward mobility.
What doesn’t work is that Murphy and co-star Arsenio Hall play a range of other minor parts for no apparent reason. It’s directed by John Landis, who certainly likes an in-joke (all of his films feature the phrase “See You Next Tuesday” in some form). He even revives the characters of Mortimer and Randolph (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) from Trading Places, which also starred Eddie Murphy.
It’s entertaining fluff that’s fun to watch, but it’s probably not a film you need to see twice. Surprisingly, perhaps, a sequel was released in 2021.
Morgan (2016)
A “risk-management specialist” (Kate Mara) is sent to a scientific facility in a rural location where the L-9 artificial being has been created. This being (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) is a super-advanced augmented human but with a violent side that begins to cause problems when she turns on one of the staff. To complicate things further, those members of staff have personally invested in Morgan as their precious daughter and seem bewitched by her incredibly advanced development.
Like Blade Runner, the film raises moral questions about the value of human life when it’s not entirely human. Unlike that innovative classic, it has a rather unpleasant aesthetic – a deliberate cold, nasty quality. It’s also extremely violent – which is kind of the point – but the later sections make for horrible viewing. Expertly made as it may be, I found it difficult to take much away from the film.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
They could have had more fun with the title: how about Bourne to Run, I Wasn’t Bourne Yesterday or Bourne to Be Wild?
Ricki and the Flash (2015)
It’s a study of class prejudice that expertly highlights social differences without offering simplistic solutions to the problem.
Streep is at her best, seeming to really relish the role. The band sections (during which she actually sings) are stirring and full of energy.
Rick Springfield plays her bandmate and boyfriend Greg.
Director Jonathan Demme directed Talking Heads in Stop Making Sense, so clearly knows how to film musicians. That skill pays off here as the performance sequences are watchable and dynamic.
Unforgiven (1992)
Clint Eastwood plays William Munny, who was once a dangerous outlaw but who has now cleaned up and settled down to lead a quieter life. His wife has died but he's looking after his young children and working on his small farm. When he decides to take on one last job he finds himself back in trouble, and before long he’s drinking and killing again.
In some ways this is a film designed to appeal to old people, with ageing actors and ageing tropes. Eastwood plays alongside Morgan Freeman (his partner), Gene Hackman (a slightly crazy sheriff) and Richard Harris ("English Bob"). It cleverly examines the myth of the cowboy while also showing the grim reality of the truth behind it, i.e., bullets actually hurt and there’s no glory in taking a man’s life. There’s a certain irony in Clint Eastwood presenting that message after making so many cowboy films, but you hope he was aware of that.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Matt Damon continues to pace around and cross the road a lot, escaping from vicious killers and generally evading capture again and again. Julia Stiles appears for the third time as the CIA’s Nicky Parsons and Joan Allen returns as CIA deputy director Pamela Landy. The baddies working within the agency are played by David Strathairn and Albert Finney. There’s even a journalist (Paddy Considine) who works for The Guardian.
It’s fast cut, with director Paul Greengrass using the same jerky-camera “documentary” style he employed in United 93 and The Bourne Supremacy. The action sequences are brilliantly done, and you end up glued to the screen as you try to fathom how Bourne can possibly stay alive through these increasingly desperate situations.
As with The Bourne Supremacy, the title makes no sense.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
It’s ridiculously exciting – probably even more so than The Bourne Identity. Director Paul Greengrass really understands how to make this kind of film work. The action sequences are superbly filmed and the pacing is spot on. The car chase in Moscow is especially thrilling. Also better in this film is the CIA boss (Joan Allen), who has a commanding presence.
Matt Damon plays it just right: charismatic but understated. It makes the James Bond films (even the Daniel Craigs) look a little old hat.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Matt Damon plays a man found shot, floating in the sea, just about alive but suffering severe amnesia. He tries to discover who he is and track down the agents (including Clive Owen) trying to kill him. In the process he uncovers a complex CIA conspiracy centred on a mysterious black-ops programme called Treadstone.
There are elements of James Bond (international locations, fast and thrilling chase sequences), The Fugitive (smart guy outwits authorities chasing him) and Memento (attempts to piece together a forgotten life), but it still feels fresh. The action never lets up and Damon’s subtle, low-key performance is easy to like. His Mini-driving German girlfriend Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) is also appealing.
A string of sequels would follow.
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
It’s a classic, obviously, but it’s not entirely successful. Dean’s presence is undeniable. But the scenes with his conservative parents – who of course don’t understand him or his generation – seem overwrought. There’s an oddly ponderous and stilted quality to the film in places, but then there are exciting scenes such as the daredevil leap-out-of-the-car-before-the-cliff-edge competition (which ends badly). Natalie Wood's character is also poorly developed and her problems aren’t really explored.
The melodrama of macho fighting (of which there’s plenty) has a certain racy thrill, but the film seems genuinely muddled about what it’s trying to say and who it’s saying it to. If it was made for teenagers, you wonder whether that audience felt cheated by the ending and its affirmation of family values.
Still Alice (2014)
The film focuses on her struggle with the disease, and also on the relationships with her insensitive, career-focused husband (Alec Baldwin) and three grown-up children. There’s particular emphasis on her daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart), who initially seems the most estranged but who then gives up the most to care for her mother.
Moore is fantastic, as always. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing this role with more empathy. I could believe her totally. Stewart is also nuanced and sensitive, and the scenes with the pair together are by far the most affecting.
If there’s a failing it’s that the family’s life of privilege is never really in question. The crisis of the disease would be an altogether different outcome for someone who wasn’t successful, wealthy or beautiful, but – this being a film – those options are not even considered.
Shine (1996)
A child prodigy, he struggles with an abusive, controlling father and mental illness problems that are presumably not unrelated to his difficult family life.
We see him as a boy (played by Alex Rafalowicz), a teenager (Noah Taylor) and as an older man (Geoffrey Rush). Each of these three actors tackles a complicated role brilliantly.
John Gielgud is funny and charismatic as his London tutor, guiding him through the seemingly impossible feat that is playing Rachmaninoff’s third concerto.
For a film about mental illness, it’s surprisingly uplifting and joyous – especially after he meets Gillian, played by Lynn Redgrave. If there’s a criticism it’s that this later part of his life is rushed through. A shame that the focus is on the unhappier times, although you can understand why his formative experiences would be prioritised. Plus, this is a pitfall of biopics in general: how do you cram a life into two hours without ignoring substantial amounts of it?
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