Update: 24/09/10

Hey guys. Just an update as to whats going on. In the next few days I should have my next bunch of reviews up, which will not be for the films I previously stated, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Zombieland, and Four Lions.

I'm moving into my new flat tomorrow and am catching up my social life so expect them by Monday or Tuesday. Further more I just finished watching Robert Rodriguez's latest exploitation flick, Machete, so will have a feature review for that sometime next week as well.

As far as my first list goes as well, I've done the top 20, and now just sorting the following 80 from a pool of about 500, but I'm working as fast as I can.

And finally as far as film watching goes, I'm looking to regain my 100% status for the IMDB 250 this week when I watch Infernal Affairs, as well as gaining 100% on the AFI 100 Movies list too. So if everything goes to plan, it should be a succesful week.

James

New layout!

Took me a whole 5 minutes thanks to the not so attractively named pimp-my-profile.com.

Its been a long time coming but any feedback would be great! I'd really appreciate it. But not quite as much as someone telling me how to remove that unsightly banner at the top. I hate it!

Cheers,

James

Spotlight: Takeshi Kitano

Like many other oblivious people, I thought Takeshi Kitano was just a Japanese TV personality who drove around in a dodgem, squirting water at people on the final stage of cult TV show, Takeshi’s Castle. Little did I know until watching Hana-Bi, that he is perhaps the most celebrated and charismatic director/writer/actor in Japan today.

His work as a director is beautifully crafted and shot, and shows some of the most imaginative and original film making since David Lynch. On the other side of the spectrum his acting is practically flawless. Similarly to Joe Pesci, Kitano manages to create characters that are chillingly intimidating, but at the same time very funny. Whether it is an exiled Yakuza hit man, a blind Samurai, or a troubled artist, Kitano can do it all.

Brother
Director/writer/actor

One of Kitano’s only part-English Language features, Brother is the story of an exiled Yakuza hard man who moves to LA with his small time criminal brother, and slowly starts to take over the city underworld. Shot in his trademark style, with wide shots and similarly creative photography aplenty, Brother is one of Kitano’s most underrated titles.

The film can be quite testing, and the nonlinear narrative is sporadic, making it hard to follow at times. In general though, Brother is extremely entertaining. Like many other Kitano titles, the film commands the ability to make you laugh one moment, then recoil in shock the next. A compelling blend of cultural clashes and criminal life, with Kitano’s signature violence topping it off, Brother does not disappoint.

Outside of its target audience, Brother may not seem as impressive. Whilst watching with my girlfriend, she was taken aback at the logic behind the Yakuza values of honour and respect, especially the removal of fingers. If you’re a fan of art house and gangster films, especially those of the Oriental persuasion, I cannot recommend it enough.

Rating: 4/5.
Verdict: The good.

Battle Royale
Actor

Set in Japan, where discipline in schools has gone out the window, the government has passed an act which pits a class of school kids against each other on an island. The objective - fight to the death. Having seen plenty of gory and graphic film, I can still say taking into account the visceral nature of the film, as the school kids kill each other off, Battle Royale is one of the most shocking films I’ve ever seen.

Kitano only comprises a minor role in the film, as the teacher of class 4B, and the overseer of the sickening massacre, but once again he really does shine with very little screen time. It is once again his ability make the most bizarre characters seem real with his calm and charismatic appeal, despite the violent and psychotic nature of the character.

There are many underlying themes present, and the film really drives home values such as friendship, loyalty, and trust. In a nutshell, Battle Royale is one of the most critically important foreign films of the last two decades, and delivers a knockout blow of violence and morality.

Rating: 4/5.
Verdict: The good.

Hana-Bi
Director/writer/actor

Kitano plays a police officer whose wife is dying from Cancer. In an effort to spend more time with her, he quits his job, and travels around the Japanese countryside with her. On top of this, his best friend gets shot whilst on the job, and gets put in a wheelchair for life, burdening him with guilt.

It is impossible to describe the surreal and captivating experience of watching Hana-Bi, but providing you’re open to such a complex blend of genres into one film, you’re assured to find a beautiful and bittersweet gem.

Hana-Bi is a brilliant encapsulation of Kitano’s style and ability, and is a perfect blend of drama, violence, love, and black comedy. Whether it be his masterful and artistic direction, his poetic and ingenious writing, or his career defining performance, Hana-Bi showcases Kitano’s talents perfectly. An absolute must see, and a severely underrated masterpiece.

Rating: 5/5.
Verdict: The good.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the reviews, and a brief highlight of one of today’s most prolific directors. I’ll have some more reviews up next week of American Graffiti, Four Lions, and whatever my girlfriend decides to get from Blockbuster.

James

18/09/2010: Update

I know I said last time, and the time before that, that there would be no more delays, but as per usual, there has been. Holidays, work, broken internet, and screenwriting have all taken their toll, but I'm finally back on track.

So what's happening in the next few weeks?

Well I'll be posting my Takeshi Kitano reviews later on TONIGHT, be officially accepting the award Sammy V has very kindly decided to nominate me for, as well as plenty more reviews to come, and a new layout to grace the pages of my blog.

But the majorly exiting thing is the revealing of my first list, which I'm constantly fallng out with myself about, so there might be a slight delay with that (but not much... hopefully).

I shall no longer be using the pseudonym of Dean Window anymore I'm sad to say, and will be going by my real name, of James Turnbull.

I hope you enjoy everything that'll be coming over the next few weeks, and would really appreciate any criticism (positive or negative).

Cheers,

James

Reviews: Shane, MASH, and Repo Men

An eclectic bunch of films to say the least. I've picked out what I believe to be a good mix, as I didn't want you all to think I was going soft with the handful of 5 star reviews I've recently given out.

In the coming weeks, I've officially decided on my first list, which will be posted soon, with another bunch of reviews dedicated one of my favourite directors/actors of all time, the irrepressible and ever cool, Takeshi Kitano. But for now, here's some more reviews.

Shane
Upon recently watching Pale Rider, I subsequently found out it was based upon Shane, which until then, I hadn't really heard of. I enjoyed Pale Rider albeit some poor acting and a slightly uneventful middle, so I was eager to watch the film Clint Eastwood had based his unofficial remake around.

The stranger coming into town is one of the most popular stories of all time, especially in the Western genre, and Shane is one of the most successful in accomplishing this to a high standard. The main character, Shane, roles into town and moves in with a family who warm up to him very quickly, as he takes on the local gang of bandits.

My favourite aspect of the film was the actual character of Shane. Everyone loves a good character, and when acted and created well, they make a film come alive. This is coupled with the relationships he shares with the other characters, particularly the son in the family, which make the film quite beautiful to watch, being able to manipulate the tension and excitement relatively easily.

Shane isn’t just a film for Western fans, and is far more accessible than most, due to its familiar but not stale plot, as well as a likable set of characters, and some stunning photography. Shane isn’t as good as some of the Leone greats, but is a very much underrated classic.

Rating: 4/5.
Verdict: The good.

MASH
I’ve heard a lot of things about MASH, but it doesn’t seem to have as much of a following in the UK as it does in the States. Based on a book, with a TV series that followed it, MASH is definitely one of the most successful American franchises of all time.

The film itself revolves around life in a US army hospital camp in Vietnam, and the arrival of two troublesome soldiers Hawkeye and Trapper. The film has a unique structure, in that you can tell it’s directly transferred from a book, and consists of several chapters. Unlike Tarantino, the chapters aren’t explicitly stated, but as a viewer you can tell they’re there. There is also no direct objective to the story, and it is instead comprised of bite size chunks of life.

The film is a bizarre American version of a Carry On film, but not quite as funny. Maybe it was a case of the film not aging well, but I felt it was disjointed and poorly put together. MASH is a film that belongs in the era it was set in, and does not transfer well to today. Interesting characters and structure, but disappointing.

Rating: 3/5.
Verdict: The average.

Repo Men
This is what happens when you let your girlfriend’s sister take charge of picking the films. I’d been called into work for the graveyard shift when I was supposed to be stopping over, and they all went for a trip down to Blockbuster to pick out a few films. Due to my absence, they very kindly offered to watch Repo Men the next night with me. I’d have been better off going back into work for 90 minutes.

The film didn’t start off to badly. Relatively intelligent discussion, what seemed to be an interesting protagonist, and a nice bloody scene that I don’t recommend watching with your dinner. Sadly the film goes downhill from here, and it becomes predictable, boring, and poor performances take over. This is not helped by the ending, which believe me will make you wish you hadn’t watched it. There are too many clichés to count, and the story is severely flawed, with little justification for the events that take place.

The only redeemable qualities are Forrest Whitaker, who puts on the best performance of the movie as a dedicated but stoic killer, and the elaborate locations and sets. If you want to see a good post modern film, give Children of Men a watch. Repo Men just doesn’t cut it.

Rating: 2/5.
Verdict: The bad.

That’s it for now, but more to follow soon.

Dean

Review, thoughts, and reaction: Inception

In today's entertainment hungry society, it is very rare for a film to come along and instantly be considered a classic. But how do we define a classic? A wholly original, magnificently acted piece of cinema, with stellar soundtrack and beautifully crafted dialogue to boot? And just think how difficult this criteria is to achieve, taking into account how many plots, characters, and shots we've had come and go since the dawn of film. You'd be pretty certain this cinematic status is near impossible to achieve. Right?

Wrong.

Inception is the new film by Christopher Nolan, and his first completely original piece of work since his feature film debut, Following. The film is essentially a heist movie with a twist, in which Cobb (DiCaprio) and Arthur (Gordon-Levitt) steal people's deepest secrets by effectively invading their dreams. The film takes a U-turn though when Saito (Watanbe) offers Cobb a chance to regain his previous life, by planting an idea in someones head, instead of stealing once. Hence the title; Inception.

Everything about this film is almost flawless, but despite two viewings, I'm still finding it difficult to see whether this is the case, due to the initial awe the film inspires in the viewer. This could perhaps warrant a second reflection in a few weeks time, which might result in a slightly more neutral result, but hopefully not.

What's good?

Nolan's firm grasp on the art of story telling is very much apparant in Inception. Not only does the film pack a knockout punch of originality, and intricate detail, but it also operates on several levels, leaving the viewer to distinguish between the dream world and reality. This is what makes the film special, because as well as amazing you, it will stimulate your mind, causing you to think it over for hours, even days after you've seen it. Especially the ending. I guarantee it will drive you crazy.

Away from the script and story, the casting and performances are the best I've seen in ages. Similarly to the Godfather there isn't a bad performance, and although in most cases we may not feel as endeared towards less prominent characters as we are with Fredo and Sonny, it is impossible to ignore how convincing the performance are. I've already picked Leo for best actor this year, and possibly Ellen Page, who was robbed from best actress for Juno.

Despite the new found obession of 3-D cinema, especially after the success of James Cameron's 'Avatar', you'd have thought Inception would have followed suit. Wrong again. Nolan himself is not a fan of 3-D, and many think because of this the film will suffer visually. Trust me - this is not the case. Overflowing with amazing CGI and some really awe-inspiring photography, Inception is the years the most impressive film, especially on the big screen. Definitely worth taking a trip down to your nearest IMAX for.

The soundtrack is also something that Nolan and Zimmer have triumphed with, and when played through the cinema sound system, it really does give you goosebumps, from the sheer ferociousness of the gunfire, to the haunting music.

What's bad?

Not an awful lot to be honest.

The plot has come under scrutiny, and yes there are some holes here and there. It's not something you're going to fully understand straight away, which in a way can be frustrating, but is really aided by a second viewing, and a good explanation, several of which can be found online. The plot itself isn't that bad, but the minor details about dream levels and how it all work can be slightly dizzying at times.

And although the performances are great, and as an audience we do feel sympathy towards Cobb, the other characters appear quite shallow on the screen, in terms of their backstory and personality. This is a double edged sword though, and one could argue it helps the ambiguous and mysterious nature of the film.

Conclusion

Inception is a major triumph, not only for Nolan, but for film itself. Not once did I take my eyes off the screen, and very few films manage to command and capture that high level of attention. It will no doubt be remembered as a classic of our generation, as well in the history of film. It is by no means the best film ever made, but it is the closest we've had in years.

You have to see this film.

Rating: 5/5.

Verdict: The good.

Take... erm... what take are we on again?

It's funny how I always seem to be busier in holidays than I am in term time. There's definitelty something wrong there. But hopefully now everything is calming down a bit now, so I should get plenty of time for blogging and reviews.

So whats been keeping me? Well. Between the last time I posted and now, I've turned 20, completed the IMDb 250, restarted driving, been trying to catch up with all my Telford friends, been working, and sorting out various forms of finance. It's been a bit of a whirlwind.

But now everything seems to be sorted, I can start breathing some life into this seriously malnutrioned blog. In the next few days I'll get my review of the Godfather trilogy posted, as well as special on Inception, packed with my thoughts and reactions to it.

This will be the last time I leave my blog for so long. Scouts honour!

Dean