aklcraigc Reviews

Bronson (2008)

Refn Does Kubrick.

[7/10 · 13 December 2014]

To be unkind, one could say this movie is simply a second rate 'A Clockwork Orange', but I think that would be oversimplifying matters. The plot, as such, is the usual variations on 'a rake's progress', except the rake doesn't do much apart from beating various people to a pulp and/or taking them hostage. On the positive side, Tom Hardy is fantastic in the main role, his menacing presence carries the film. Many scenes are executed with energy and humour. On the negative side, the whole visual style of the film is lifted wholesale from 'A Clockwork Orange', complete with ironic use of classical music. One might think that this in itself is not a bad thing, but this is where 'Bronson' starts to suffer by comparison. Whereas 'A Clockwork Orange' explores questions regarding freewill, the role of the state and the nature of evil - to name a few - 'Bronson' simply moves from one episode to another with no real feeling of evolution. One could argue that this is simply the nature of the story, the main character does not evolve and there is nothing to ponder on, but this renders the whole affair somewhat one-dimensional. Overall, this is a movie worth watching, just don't expect to be left with anything to ponder on once it's over.

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013)

Surprisingly Middling

[7/10 · 5 December 2014]

Despite Lars von Trier's reputation, his films are very much hit and miss, and this movie feels like it lands somewhere in between. One gets the feeling that Lars just can't let himself make a movie which tells a story (say, Melancholia) and that he feels he has to provoke to stay relevant. All that being said, the movie is far less provocative than the advertising would have you believe, there is no more nudity than your average Fassbinder movie. The story is told as a series of flashbacks which are laced with humorous digressions, and each episode is engagingly filmed, with large dollops of Tarkovsky. At a couple of points you can just hear Lars saying 'now, I'm going to mess with your head', I just wish he wouldn't make it so obvious. Stacy Martin does a good job of bringing some amount of ambiguity to a rather one dimensional character, Uma Thurman chews the scenery for a while, but I really don't understand the acting plaudits being dished out by other reviewers regarding this part. Episode 1 meanders on in the above fashion, leaving a pleasant, but short-lived aftertaste. Episode 2 goes completely off the rails plot-wise in the end in an attempt to give the story some type of conclusion. Overall, I'm left with the impression of flashes of brilliance but no overall emotional impact. That being said, I'm still glad Lars is taking risks, his movies are still events which are worth partaking in. I just hope next time he can shed the 'L'enfant terrible' yoke which shackles this movie.

Valhalla Rising (2009)

Refn Does Herzog.

[8/10 · 30 November 2014]

The cover of the DVD leads you to believe this is going to be some kind of 'Game Of Thrones' style gore-fest. Mads Mikkelsen stands against a brooding, dark background looking suitably muscular and dangerous, one imagines him disposing wave after wave of extras in imaginative ways. This is precisely what you don't get, refreshingly enough. It's hard to give any broad sense of what happens, because not a lot really happens, probably the best description I can give is that it's basically 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God', but starting in Scotland. Mads trudges across various oppressive, but beautiful, landscapes, accompanied by a brooding synthesizer soundtrack. If all this sounds negative, that's not the intention, the movie successfully projects you into its bleak landscape and Mikkelsen's presence gives the whole affair a menacing tension. Whilst the plot is not brisk, it didn't feel like it was being slow simply for slow's sake. My only criticism is that Refn does not seem to have successfully integrated his influences, all the usual suspects are in evidence (Bergman, Tarkovsky), with a huge dose of Herzog, but I assume this is of little concern to most movie viewers. Overall, if you can dispense with any preconceptions generated by the DVD art work and you enjoy some ambiguous atmosphere, then you should enjoy this movie.

The Shiver of the Vampires (1971)

Arresting Low Budget Fun.

[8/10 · 3 October 2014]

This was my first Jean Rollin movie, having come across his name on related searches on Amazon and seen his name mentioned in conjunction with Jess Franco, I thought I'd take the plunge. Firstly, this is really low budget stuff, not quite z-grade, but sub b-grade. However, even with obvious limitations Rollin seems to be able to produce one atmospheric, visually engaging shot after another, his use of color reminds me a little bit of Ken Russell. Any notion of plot goes out the window fairly quickly, we're treated to some preliminaries concerning a couple on their honeymoon, but this rapidly degenerates (evolves) into random shots of women in various states of undress wandering though smokey castles and graveyards, in one famous scene, a woman emerges from a Grandfather Clock. On the downside, Rollin seems to have a thing for over-loud, annoying and repetitive sound effects, he often uses these to ruin a perfectly good scene right at the end. Overall there is more to like than dislike here, it's no 'Vampyros Lesbos', but definitely worth seeking out if you're a fan of the whole 70s Lesbian Vampire sub-genre.

Moon (2009)

Can't Seem To Decide What It Is.

[5/10 · 6 June 2014]

A strange movie that doesn't really seem to be able to decide what it is, in general, the acting and pacing of the story are all over the place. We are introduced to 'Sam' on his moon-mine of some type, the environment is well done, the base interiors look used and the moon vehicles are rendered with models, which for me at least, is more satisfying than a stale CGI rendering. Rockwell is pretty much overacting off the bat, the whole 'astronaut as truck driver' cliché is beaten to death for the first five minutes. From then on, stuff happens, without giving anything away, Rockwell is required to play two characters, which he does with no subtlety, one being the eyebrow arching serious type, the other being an irritating doufus. Anyway the plot unfolds as some kind of 2001/Slient Running/Alien pastiche which can't decide if it's being played for laughs or drama (one can't help but snigger at Kevin Spacey doing HAL), we lurch between casual revelations and grinding cliché. After all this I found myself actually caring about what happened to the main character, which was a surprise. So overall, a mixed bag, it can't seem to decide if it's a lighthearted ScFi tribute or a serious drama.

First Name: Carmen (1983)

Pretentious, Dated Rubbish.

[1/10 · 21 March 2014]

This is the second time I've watched this film, obviously, my memory had faded sufficiently after the first time, otherwise I would not had undertaken such an arduous task. Every scene reeks of Godard's dated, disgusting intellectual pretensions, the guy hates everybody and everything. Actors annoyingly overact their way through every scene, obviously having no idea what their characters are meant to be doing, or where the 'plot' is going. The 'action' sequences contain heavy handed symbolism (the usual tripe, the malaise of the bourgeoisie etc.) which I suspect are meant to be funny, but just come off as intellectually lazy. Godard inserts himself as some kind of shamanic figure who throws out philosophic gems which would sound embarrassing coming from a teenager, he also finds time to flick his cigar ash into other people's food and seemingly attempts to molest his niece in one of the initial scenes, that crazy Godard! In the end, it's just a redundant exercise in breaking all the rules, there is no transcendence or insight here, all we have is the empty, stillborn descendant of Duchamp's toilet.

Fright (1971)

Better Then Average 70s Horror/Thriller.

[7/10 · 18 October 2013]

This movie sets up a fairly simple premise, but manages to maintain a creepy, uncomfortable atmosphere. Basically, Susan George is a baby sitter who is terrorized by a madman; as others have noted, the first half of the move bubbles along but then it tends to get a little bogged down in the second half, but hey, it's hardly high art. The actors do a good job of keeping the tension high with the exception of George Cole, whose face never seems to betray anything apart from a slightly ambiguous surprise, the sort of face you'd expect from somebody who'd just seen a streaker on the 6 o'clock news while eating dinner. Part of the fun of the movie is the hideous/awesome 70s fashions, Dennis Waterman's cardigan being the prime offender, his robust 'romancing' of George would not go down well in this day and age I suspect. In summary: worth a go if you're a fan of old Hammer films and 70s retro styling.

Demons of the Mind (1972)

Bottom Rung Hammer.

[3/10 · 18 October 2013]

With this film, Hammer attempt to break out of the Monster theme which had been so successful for them, the results are mixed. It all starts well enough with some kind of romance flashback but basically it's all downhill from there. The premise seems to be that a taste for strangling the locals runs in the family, in an effort to put a stop to this, the father figure has imprisoned his son and daughter and hired a psychologist to come and sort them all out. What happens from there on in is a little hard to say, characters randomly appear and disappear, the plot goes nowhere. In the end this meandering is put to bed by that old Hammer standard of the torch bearing band of angry locals. The movie has all the trappings of a good Hammer film, a little gore, some nudity, odd facial hair, but it just never comes together. In the end it commits the ultimate sin for a horror movie, it's just a little bit boring.

Ragtime (1981)

A Bit Of a Mess.

[5/10 · 11 October 2013]

Ragtime is a movie that has obvious aspirations to the epic, but never quite makes it. Multiple plot lines go nowhere, only to be neatly resurrected at some random time in the future, just to remind us that everything is 'linked'. Characters go off on random tangents for no apparent reason, things just happen, you get the idea. The central subplot is actually reasonably compelling, but even then it suffers from being slightly haphazard, with all but the very central characters basically behaving in a completely random manner. All this being said, Ragtime is not a bad movie per se, it's sumptuously shot and the acting is mostly pretty good, once the main subplot gets moving, it's pretty engaging.

Ragtime is based on the book of the same name, I didn't know this when I was watching the movie, but it's pretty obvious that the script has suffered from attempting to compress the book, even then, the movie still weighs in at a hefty two and a half hours, one can't help feeling that they should have just concentrated on developing the main story properly, instead of trying to throw in the kitchen sink.

In conclusion: Well done, a little bit of a mess, probably worth a go if you're looking for a period drama.

Casino Royale (2006)

One Of The Best Bonds.

[8/10 · 4 October 2013]

Having watched all the James Bond series a few times, I can confidently assert this is one of the better entries in the series. The series needed a change from the rather bland Brosnan era, and we get it in Daniel Craig, he brings a new edge to the enterprise which has really been lacking since Connery, he's not handsome, as such, but you get the feeling he's more than capable of dealing with whatever comes his way, he brings a more layered performance of Bond as opposed to paper thin characterizations we are used to. The action scenes will leave you gasping the first time you see them, such is the intensity, there's obviously a little bit borrowed from the Borne movies here. There seems to be some angst amongst the other reviewers concerning the 'complexity' of the plot and the lack of Bond style kitsch, I would suggest they try reading the book, if that proves too taxing, I guess there are plenty of films like 'Man With The Golden Gun' and 'Die Another Day' to keep such people satisfied. At the time, I thought this movie may signal a rebirth for the Bond franchise, but this has not proved to be true with the plot less 'Quantum of Solace' and the near-miss 'Skyfall'. If only they could all be this good.

The Ninth Gate (1999)

Entertaining Slice of Satan.

[7/10 · 28 September 2013]

I saw this movie when it first came out, the only thing I could really remember was that the ending was a little daft, re-watching it, I can see why. The movie entertainingly drops you into a world of antique books and satanism, our hero (Johnny Depp) gets entangled deeper and deeper into what seems like an 'Eyes Wide Shut' lite plot. I can't really tell if Depp is awesome or terrible, he plays the same type of character in every movie, he's watchable, but he comes off as a bit of a lightweight in the acting stakes when you see him in the scenes with Frank Langella, it's almost as if he's trying to hide the fact that he can't act by lighting cigarettes and overdoing the quirks. Langella is convincing as the baddie, even his voice on the phone is menacing. Polanski's wife makes an appearance as 'the girl', she randomly appears at various points to help Johnny, it's pretty obvious who she is meant to be. Polanski keeps the action moving, you don't even notice the long running time, actually, I don't think I've ever seen a bad Polanski movie. So overall, a good movie, just don't expect a resolution at the end.

Winter Light (1963)

Stark Chamber Piece

[9/10 · 27 September 2013]

It's hard to write about this movie, stripped back to its plot, it's really rather simple, but as with all the best art, one gets the feeling there is something massive straining through the gaps in the narrative, though it's difficult to express exactly what that is. In essence, we once again have Bergman vs. God, but I don't think that it has ever been expressed as elegantly as in this movie, even the simplest things take on a strange intensity, the most obvious example being Märta's letter to Tomas which she reads unflinchingly to the camera, another example being Tomas's meeting with Jonas. All in all, probably the best of Bergman's 'Faith Trilogy', if not one of Bergman's best overall.

Django Unchained (2012)

Exuberant Pastiche

[6/10 · 27 September 2013]

You get pretty much what you expect here, characters strut around dispatching the baddies, the music pumps, the movie nerd references fly and the blood splatters. This is pretty much 'Inglorious Bastards' with slaves standing in for Jews and Southern Americans standing in for the Nazis. All that being said, it's plenty of fun, DiCaprio and Waltz are good, but Samuel L. Jackson steals the show as the evil butler who becomes the thorn in the hero's side, but you know it's inevitable that he'll get his due (and he does). Jamie Foxx looks good, but kind of gets lost in all the muscular scenery chewing being dished up by the other actors, the relationship between him and his wife doesn't really come off. Tarantino never really integrates his influences into something of his own, when he runs out of classic movies to quote, he tends to lapse into cliché, but it doesn't really seem to matter anymore.

The Element of Crime (1984)

Starts with a bang, ends with a whimper.

[7/10 · 27 September 2013]

One detects the influence of many directors on the young Von Trier, many have already been mentioned (Tarkovsky, Hitchcock, Bergman, etc), but Tarkovsky looms the largest. The opening scene is a direct quote of 'Andrei Rublev', from there on in we are treated to ever increasing levels of Tarkovsky-esq rain, dripping faucets, people standing in water, until it becomes almost comical.

The story is ostensibly your generic 'washed up cop pursuing a murder' mixed in with some hypnosis and color filters. The main character is apparently following a crime detection method outlined in a book (entitled 'Element of Crime', of course). This involves somehow 'becoming' the killer by recreating his steps, rather predictably, the line becomes blurred between cop and killer and then nothing seems to happen.

The movie starts with good energy and atmosphere, but then fails to capitalize on the setup, scenes just seem to serve the purpose of allowing Lars to insert yet more Tarkovsky/noir references until it all starts to feel a little pointless. The movie then ambiguously grinds to a halt with no obvious conclusion (at least not one which was clear to me). One can't fault Von Trier's imagination, scenes often startle with their originality and composition, but it just starts to feel played out by the middle of the movie, the story is simply not strong enough to support the visuals. As a first movie, it's pretty damn good, but it just doesn't quite come off. Zentropa is a much better movie.

Damnation (1988)

Ultimately Empty.

[4/10 · 20 September 2013]

This is my second Bela Tarr movie, and I think I'm getting the idea here. The plot, what of it there is, concerns a local barfly who has become obsessed with a singer in a band which plays some of the bars he frequents, he drags the singer and her husband into some poorly defined subterfuge involving the picking up of a 'package' for some bar owner. Something goes not quite right with the scheme and the main character ends up reporting one or more of the other characters to the local police, the end. The whole thing is set in an unremittingly bleak Hungarian town where it's either raining or night (or both), once again Tarr seems to set up an interesting premise, then takes it nowhere. Every single shot is a long tracking shot, I mean, every single God dammed shot, in the end, the repetitious and unimaginative nature of the shots becomes wearing. No character development is attempted, the main character bores various other random characters to death with sub Nietzschean rants which should appeal to angst ridden teens. The movie picks up a little in the latter half with a local dance, as other reviewers have noted, little effort is made to synchronize the actions of the 'band' with the music, the locals drink and party looking like extras from a Bruegel painting. In the end, the movie simply has no emotional resonance, one is in no doubt that this is an attempt at art, but it's firmly in the 'toilet in the Tate Modern' category. All technique, no heart.

Mahler (1974)

One of the best of Russell's films.

[8/10 · 17 September 2013]

Continuing with his theme of artistic 'biography', Ken Russell brings us 'Mahler'. There is no real plot per se, the movie consists of a series of vignettes very loosely based on various phases of Mahler's life, each one is brought to life in Russell's florid and romantic style, with the Lake District once again serving as Russell's scenic background. The highlight of the movie is probably the 'conversion' sequence, which has to be seen to be believed. Wagner's descendants must have been thrilled with the portrayal of Cosima Wagner as a whip cracking Nazi. A must see for Russell fans, probably best avoided by musical historians and sticklers for accuracy.

Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)

The whole is not quite greater than the sum of its parts

[7/10 · 17 September 2013]

The movie starts well enough, establishing a stark, gloomy atmosphere. We see the local postman Janos doing various things, in the process introducing us to some of the other characters in the story. Basically the story from here, in a nutshell, is that a sideshow consisting of a stuffed whale and a character known as 'the prince' (who we never see directly) arrives in the town square. The townsfolk start to gather in the square, becoming progressively more agitated as the film progresses, finally they go on some type of rampage, sacking the local hospital (it is implied that this is somehow at the behest of 'the prince'). It seems then the army moves in to round up the locals, and for some reason not fully explained, Janos is deposited in the local asylum. There are various small subplots which go nowhere (some type of local power play with Janos' relatives and some kind of musical analogy for the plot seems to be floated).

This is more than enough for your average art film to hang its hat on, the problem more comes in the quality of ideas over the length of the movie. One can detect the influences of various directors, the most obvious being Tarkovsky and the long takes; at the start of the movie these long takes are full of movement and interest; however, as we progress, the motif becomes overused and dull. In the end, it seems the long takes of people walking take on an almost comic effect, with the director dragging it on just long enough to make you squirm before introducing a new element.

One never really develops any empathy with any of the characters, most are only hastily drawn eastern European clichés, the main character starts to chew the scenery a little at the end, the actor seems somewhat unsure how Janos' mental state is meant to progress. Overall, it's as if the director spends a lot of time creating an interesting setting, then isn't quite sure what to do with it over the duration of the film. Werckmeister Harmonies is by no means a bad film, it just doesn't scale to the heights it so obviously aspires to.

Dracula (1979)

More Good Than Bad.

[7/10 · 9 September 2013]

This movie contains a weird mix of elements that somehow never quite come together. On the good side, it's a visually attractive film, the Gothic/Victorian settings are very well done, though, the inside of Dracula's castle is way over the top for no apparent reason. The John Williams soundtrack adds nicely to the generally gloomy feel. As mentioned by other reviewers, Frank Langella's Dracula is generally well done.

On the not so good side, as the movie progresses, it's pretty clear that the director isn't sure what type of movie he's making, this culminates in a rather silly chase scene near the end of the movie which verges on comic. The director will often begin a nice atmospheric sequence, only to ruin the effect with shrieking mice/bats/horses/minor characters. The characters sans Dracula don't really do much, the relationship between Harker and Mina goes nowhere, Olivier distractedly chews the scenery, as a consequence, the Van Helsing character is never really developed.

Watching the extras, it becomes apparent that the people involved in making the movie were not detail oriented, Count Dracula speaks Hungarian, though he's supposed to speaking Romanian, the writer doesn't seem to be sure if the movie is set in London or Yorkshire. Anyway, despite all this unevenness, the movie is still very much worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.