Comedy, Film, Foreign Language Films, France, WorldCinema
The latest Asterix film went on release today. I’d previously mentioned it over on my personal blog as they had released a couple of rather amusing trailers.
You can now see the opening footage.
While AlloCine.fr has high quality versions available the Youtube one is watchable
In French before you ask 
Never Forgive! Never Forget – 4 words that sum up this movie perfectly. However I must stick in the obligatory rant:
ITS A MUSICAL people – that’s right, a musical – all singing (thankfully little dancing) – but still a bloody musical (and I do mean bloody).
Set in Victorian London, this is a tale of wrongs to be righted, and ultimately the revenge of man wrongfully imprisoned. Benjamin Barker, had it all – a beautiful wife and precious child, all torn away from him by the wanton lust of Judge Turpin. To say anymore would be to spoil what is a simple storyline, greatly enhanced by the players on the stage (so to speak).
Alan Rickman is fantastic as the pious and somewhat callous judge, yearning for an outlet to his “wanton urges”, while Timothy Spall is equally as odious as Beadle Bamford (Judge Turpin’s side kick. Helena Bonham Carter has boobs – ok she has more then that – her portrayal as Mrs. Lovett is fantastic – leaning from adoration and love of Todd to the cold-heartedness of a business woman out to make a profit.
But for me it is Johnny Depp that shines in this picture. First of all he is, again, fully immersed in the character of Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd. At times I sided with the character in his quest for vengeance, but then through it all, Todd is nothing more then a cold hearted murderer, plying his craft and honing his skill until his bloody vengeance can be wrought up Judge Turpin. And it is also his first on screen singing – not that is anything fantastic, but for me its the basic passion and emotion he is able to get across while lost in his own private world full of shiny knives and red, smiling throats.
Yes, some of the killings can be viewed as quite gruesome, but lets face it, when a barber is flitting around your throat with an open razor, it would only takes one moment of doubt, to make you very uncomfortable.
Overall a great film, not fantastic – but for what it is, a musical set in Burton’s gothic vision of Victorian London, it works, and works well.
DVD, Film, Genre, Oscars, Reviews, Western
Westerns used to be a popular genre.
For some odd reason they fell out of popularity, so now you only get to see one from time to time. If you are going to see one make it this one.
3:10 to Yuma is definitely one of the finest films released in the last year.
Don’t let the cast be the only reason for seeing this film. Yes, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale are magnificent, but it’s the story itself that makes it so gripping.
The basic plotline is that Crowe’s character, Ben Wade, is an evil gangster. He’s been holding up the railroad payroll and getting away with it. They catch him and then have to escort him to prison.
Enter Bale’s character, Dan Evans, a poor farmer who is a veteran of the American Civil War. He agrees to help escort Wade to the train (thence the title).
Along the way the characters develop. There’s plenty of action and you really don’t know what’s going to happen next.
Unfortunately the film wasn’t nominated under any of the main categories for this year’s Oscars, but it has been nominated for a few awards related to sound, including audio editing and best score.
If you get a chance to beg, borrow or steal a copy of the DVD – go for it!
You won’t regret it!
As you may have noticed we’ve gained a new contributor – Peter Kelly.
Peter has graciously agreed to post reviews of films he’s seen on tv, dvd and in the cinema, so hopefully you’ll enjoy his contributions.
Thanks Peter!
1956 and this little gem hit the cinema screens – and for my good fortune, it also was shown on TV.
And this is (in my opinion) one of the finest early movies, that feature the remorseless killer, and in this case the killer is a little girl. For its time, it was a shocking concept, that a seemingly innocent, All-American girl could commit acts of wanton cruelty and malice.
Watching this on a dreary Sunday afternoon, turned into watching one of the most gripping movies I have seen in a long time.
Based on a play by Maxwell Anderson, the adaptation introduces that seemingly perfect life of the All-American family, the Penmark – but it appears only the mother (played by Nancy Kelly) suspects all is not well with her precious child Rhonda (aptly and chillingly played by Patty McCormack). And soon those fears are realized as various people meet an untimely demise at the hands of little Rhonda – from the equally creepy caretaker to boy in her class.
Rhonda is one of the truly remorseless killers to be featured in movies, but unlike say a character like Jason or Freddie Krueger, this child is not a product of abuse, abandonment, etc. It is implied that she is just a “bad seed”, a born sociopath.
This film was so shocking when it was first released, that the Hayes Code insisted that the end of the movie be re-shot (which I am not going to spoil).
Nominated for 4 Oscars and 2 Golden Globes (including a win for Eileen Heckart for Best Supporting Actress), this is a fantastic film, that when I first saw it actually left me shocked at its content, given it was filmed in the 50′s. However compared to movies now, it would probably appear dated, but it still holds up well with a great storyline and fine acting from all involved.
Updated: available from play.com or amazon.co.uk – region 1 only
The movie studios seem to enjoy issuing multiple editions of films. Sometimes there are significant differences between editions, whereas other times you’re left wondering why you forked out the extra cash.
In the case of the Director’s Cut of King Arthur it’s a mixed bag.
On the one hand you do get plenty of extra footage, but on the other hand the selection of extras is very weak. All they give you is an alternate ending (with director’s commentary) and a “making of” documentary. Considering it’s a “director’s cut” you’d think they’d have provided full commentary on the main film. Unfortunately they don’t.
Having said that the extra footage is excellent. A lot of the battle scenes have been extended significantly and some of the secondary characters play a more important role in this particular cut.
It’s just a pity that they skimped on some of the other details…
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