Reviews
U2: Rattle and Hum (1988)
Review of Rattle And Hum
For the U2 fan, a self-indulgent movie, for the rest, a chance to see what it's like to be the biggest band in the world. From the grainy opening credits sequence containing shots of dockland Dublin, to the vertigo-inducing first splash of colour with the aerial shot of the huge Sun Devil stadium, black-and-white/colour mixing has only ever been used to better effect once in the movies (stand up, Mr. Spielberg). Of course, this was U2 pre-irony, so it's back to monochrome for Bono's rant against the IRA and their famous eulogy to Martin Luther King to close the film, as if the director knew that this was the closing chapter on the 'preacher' band before they went for the visual overload of their 1990s music.
Whether you like U2 or not, Rattle & Hum is a superbly crafted documovie, so much so that the music is often fighting with the direction for the attention of the viewer.
The Exorcist (1973)
A terrifying and thought provoking film that masters horror.
This film was made in the year I was born, yet this was the first time I've been able to see it due to a video ban by the good old British censors. And what a treat to see this for the first time on the big screen...25 years old and yet the most thought provoking, terrifying and magical horror (though to pigeonhole it does it an injustice) movie I've ever seen. Magnificent performances, superb direction and ahead of its time effects make this the release of the year in UK cinemas. Hollywood take note...you may make ironic slasher movies like Scream, or rehash old ones (Psycho, H20), but this is how they should be made.