bank on it…

wall o' saffron

The Bank Job **** is the first Jason Statham picture that I can recommend without adding the words “guilty” and “pleasure.” Director Roger Donaldson has made a taut, suspenseful, heist film based on the true story of the “walkie-talkie robbery.” Statham plays the leader of the crooks joined by the lovely Saffron Burrows (who needs to make more films) and a host of great British character actors.

Click here to hear the actual “walkie-talkie robbery ” in progress recorded by ham radio operator Robert Rowlands in 1971.

mr. death all dressed in black

The Seventh Seal **** Ingmar Bergman’s tale about a knight returning from the Crusades who challenges “Death” to a chess match in an attempt to prolong his fate. The film is almost pure allegory at times, and Bergman’s impressive black and white photography adds to the surreal quality of the tale.

marvin at the height of 60's cool

Point Blank ***1/2 Remember the film Payback, with Mel Gibson? Turns out it’s a remake of sorts; or at least a re-imagining of the novel The Hunter by Richard Stark which had previously been made into the Lee Marvin vehicle Point Blank. If you saw Payback, this is the same story, albeit a few changes in character and monetary amounts. The film is stylistically shot (the footsteps sequence is quite effective) and worth a rent.