bank on it…
July 16, 2008
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.
WOW-E
July 8, 2008
wall-e exists
WALL-E ***** Pixar’s Wall-E is a great film. We all know that CGI animation can achieve photo-realism, but this is the first Pixar film that at times, felt real to me. It’s fascinating that some of the most memorable screen characters I’ve been introduced to this summer exist only as 1s and 0s in some computer, and speak only in blips, bleeps and snippets (“E-va”). These filmmaker’s realize that characters and stories are what make movies, and they have scored another home run with Wall-E.
hello? it's for shoe
Get Smart *** Would you believe that the Get Smart re-imagining is actually slightly better than crap? In fact, there are several legitimately humorous moments in the thing, particularly in the first half, before all of the big-time action hits. Carell and Hathaway fit together nicely as 86 and 99, but the speediness of their romantic relationship seemed forced near the end. The rest of the cast is well chosen from Alan Arkin’s Chief to Terence Stamp’s Siegfried (who isn’t given nearly enough lines). As a huge fan of the original Adams/Feldon duo, I would have preferred more comedy and fewer explosions, but this one is worth the matinee ticket price.
greetings from the…
July 7, 2008
Welcome to mr. robi’s neighborhood.
more to follow…
