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The Seven Samurai
Fight Club
Traffic
Memento
Amores Perros
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
Goodfellas
Twelve Monkeys
Full Metal Jacket
Oldboy
Battle Royale
Requiem for a Dream
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Reservoir Dogs
Ichi the Killer
Wonderland
Desperado
Some of my favourite actors:
Gary Oldman
Tim Roth
Bruce Campbell (long live Ash!)
Billy Bob Thornton
Guy Pearce
Martin Sheen
James Gandolfini
Robert DeNiro
William H Macy (brilliant yet underated)
Benicio Del Toro
Don Cheadle
Harvey Keitel
John C Reilly
Sonny Chiba
Robert DeNiro
Samuel L Jackson
Benicio Del Toro
Some of my favourite TV shows:
The Sopranos
Monkey!
The Shield
Spaced
Twin Peaks
Monkey Dust
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Carnivale
Reviews
Chik loh dak gung (2002)
Male fantasy kung-fu. Great fun!
A word of warning: don't see this expecting intellectually challenging cinema. Naked Weapon is any man's wet dream- gorgeous female assassins go to exotic locations and take out high profile baddies (with mandatory sexy dancing before the kill).
The action might seem a bit tame for hardcore kung-fu fans (lots of wires and floaty camera moves disguise lack of fighting talent on the actors' parts), but for those of who just want to see some mindless violence, it does the job nicely. Unfortunately the plot has no direction (one set piece after another), and the dialogue is laughably bad. Thankfully, the cheesy lines are so bad they are actually quite entertaining, and blend in nicely with the whole B-movie feel of the film.
Far better than I expected- slick and escapist scenarios, high production values, and the action is great fun. I must however warn potential viewers that Daniel Wu is unspeakably bad as the earnest CIA guy on the tail of the killers- all he has to do is fill the audience in on the plot every now and again and get his ass kicked once. How hard can that be? Anyway, he messes that up nicely.
To conclude, Naked Weapon is the perfect film if you've been out drinking, come home at about 2.00 in the morning, and want to see a film where brain power is not expected from the audience. Two thumbs up!
Bound (1996)
Clever, tense, heart-stopping caper thriller
Having seen the Matrix Trilogy, I was very interested to see Bound, the film that the Wachowskis made in order to receive funding for said trilogy. And there are quite a few similarities with the Matrix here: roving birds-eye view camera angles, uncompromising violence, an obsession with ringing phones, and of course the awesome and yet criminally-underused Joe Pantoliano.
For me, the sheer genius of this film is that about 90% of it takes place in one apartment. This adds a sense of claustrophobia and almost nausea to the already supremely tense second half- reminiscent of David Fincher's Panic Room. For any directors looking to make a film on a low budget, this is the way to go: few locations, few actors, clever use of camera work to make up for lack of overblown action sequences.
The film also has a nice balance of sex & violence while still managing to engage fully in the characters. By the end of the film, I didn't know who I sympathised with most: Violet, the Gangster's moll who just wants out; Cesar, her mafia boyfriend who is not really a bad guy at all, just caught up in a dangerous situation he didn't create but must get out of; or Corky, the tough ex- con who is trying to get her life back together and escape with the woman she loves.
The violence is also brilliantly executed. A torture scene involving finger- chopping beats Denzel Washington's similar efforts in Man on Fire any day, and is a rival for that wave of nausea and tension so perfectly exemplified in the ear-chopping scene of Reservoir Dogs. The key is that the directors show you enough to know what's going on, but leave the really gory details to your imagination (infinitely more powerful than anything that can be shown on screen).
I suppose the only real criticism I have of Bound is that the first half drags a little, and is relatively empty content-wise. All it does is establish the relationship between the three characters, which is easy to understand and can be explained in ten minutes of film: Violet digs Corky, Corky digs Violet, Violet doesn't dig Cesar, Cesar digs Violet, Corky has no feelings either way about Cesar, and Cesar thinks Corky's a flaming dyke. Simple. Not sure it needed half an hour of obvious flirting and a dodgy softcore lesbian sex scene to tell the story.
Once the con is on though, Bound becomes a heart-stopping, white knuckle ride of a caper film, made infinitely more tense by the realisation of what will happen to our heroes if the sh*t hits the fan.
For fans of the original Matrix's stylish yet gritty urban feel, and the well- managed tension of Neo's escape from the matrix, this film is for you.
Layer Cake (2004)
Flawed, but ultimately enjoyable
Layer Cake centres on Daniel Craig's character, XXXX (un-named throughout the film), a well-dressed, good looking, charismatic businessman, whose business just happens to be the buying and selling of large quantities of cocaine. In XXXX, we witness a new breed of criminal; he is a long way off Goodfellas' Mafioso family man Henry Hill, and he shares neither Tony Montana's lust for power, nor his psychotic tendencies. XXXX strongly dislikes guns and violence, and is not a typical brash and boastful gangster, instead showing respect courtesy and mainly keeping himself to himself. Craig shines in the role, at times a confident, smooth criminal; at others he is a scared young man in a world that might just be too tough for him.
The plot is quite standard 'gangster's last job' stuff: XXXX wants to retire with a small fortune as soon as possible, but first he has two jobs. First, 'The Duke' (Jamie Foreman) has gotten hold of a shipment of ecstasy, and Jimmy Price, XXXX's boss (Kenneth Cranham), needs a middle man to handle the purchase. Secondly, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon), a major crime boss and old friend of Jimmy Price, wants XXXX to find his missing daughter. Both jobs seem simple enough. But, as usual, things aren't what they seem, and pretty soon the knives are out and the bullets are flying.
The cast does a great job; Daniel Craig proves that he is a worthy leading man, and Michael Gambon oozes menace from every orifice. Sienna Miller (soon to appear in a remake of Alfie alongside Jude Law) is both foxy and funny. Colm Meaney (The Commitments) deserves praise as well for his chilling portrayal as Gene, XXXX's muscle and his friend. Also, fans of Lock, Stock
will recognise Jason Flemyng and Dexter Fletcher in small cameos.
One of the key elements of Layer Cake so great visually is the characterisation of London. Vaughn has ditched traditional shots of Big Ben and Tower Bridge for sumptuous sweeps of the 'Gherkin' and great locations in the Docklands. It is the first London-set crime film in a while that reminds you of just how beautiful London is as a thriving European metropolis, not some scummy underworld. It is also worth noting that the production designer is Kave Quinn, who designed Trainspotting and Shallow Grave.
The first half hour of the film is played out Guy Ritchie-style, with slick editing and stylish transitions between scenes. Craig's voice-over is reminiscent of Jason Statham's from Snatch, introducing us to our hero's world and the people who inhabit it.
Vaughn has clearly learned from Mr Madonna: within the first five minutes we have been drawn into our hero's world due to great visuals and a stylish soundtrack.
So, a slick plot, great visuals, some outstanding performances, and a healthy dose of brutality and black humour to boot. The question is, 'Why didn't I come out of this film with a huge, moronic grin on my face?' Well, unfortunately the answer lies largely in the direction. First-timer Vaughn is, to put it mildly, a bit confused. At times, Layer Cake hurtles along in a slick, stylish manner, with a cool urban soundtrack to aid it. But the film sometimes suddenly veers into an attempt at a thought-provoking character study of XXXX, complete with dramatic sweeping shots and an orchestral score by Lisa Gerrard (co-composer of Gladiator), which is as subtle as a giraffe in dark glasses at a polar bear party. These to styles, although fine individually, jar horribly when put together, and make uncomfortable viewing. This problem at times also undermines Daniel Craig's performance, and it is only Michael Gambon's facts of life speech that just about saves a complicated and confusing ending.
As it is though, the muddled direction cannot completely discount a strong cast, entertaining plot, and exciting visuals. Bear in mind that Matthew Vaughn is a first-time director, and Layer Cake becomes a calling card for a great talent in the future.