The Long Good Friday (1980)Starring: Bob Hoskins; Helen Mirren; Derek Thompson; Bryan Marshall; Eddie Constantine.
Directed by: John Mackenzie.
Colour/114 Minutes/R
The top gangster in London (Hoskins) wants to go legit and become a more proper businessman. He is about to broker the big deal with the American mafia that will set him on that course on a day where his empire is suddenly being destroyed around him via bombings and hits put out on his men. The best gangster film I've ever seen, Brit or otherwise. I've never really rated Bob Hoskins that much until I finally got a chance to see this. Shit, is he great in this. A mad-dog, tough as nails guy, that beat his way to the top through the 1970s, finds himself up against an enemy he doesn't understand (the IRA) in a new era that is quickly leaving him behind. They can't be frightened and they can't be bought. Helen Mirren is also really good as Hoskins' smart and attractive moll -- apparently the part was originally written as a typical dumb gangster moll, but Mirren refused to play the character dumb, so they had to do a rewrite. Anyway, this instantly goes on my favourites list. No question. So many great moments, including choice quotes and the especially poignant final shot, where Hoskins silently comes to terms with his situation. Worth owning.
Mona Lisa (1986)Starring: Bob Hoskins; Cathy Tyson; Michael Caine; Robbie Coltrane; Clarke Peters; Kate Hardie; Zoë Nathenson; Sammi Davis.
Directed by: Neil Jordan.
Colour/104 Minutes/R
Another British gangster film with Bob Hoskins. As opposed to the earlier The Long Good Friday, here he's just a low-level soldier in the mob rather than the head guy, and he's just out of prison, looking for a job, unaware of just how much has changed since he went away. Michael Caine plays the head of the mob, and he owes Hoskin's character, so he gives him an easy job of driving around one of his high-class hookers. A tense early relationship between the two develops into something much deeper. That's all I'll give away. The film goes in some unexpected directions for sure. Some damn great performances, and good film overall, even if the ending is a bit too tidy and "happy" given the genre. Provides a good balance to The Long Good Friday. Rent this sucker at the very least.
Gangster No.1 (2000)Starring: Malcolm McDowell; David Thewlis; Paul Bettany; Saffron Burrows; Kenneth Cranham; Jamie Foreman; Eddie Marsan; Andrew Lincoln; Doug Allen; Razaaq Adoti; Cavan Clerkin.
Directed by: Paul McGuigan.
Colour/103 Minutes/R
Brit gangster film. Malcolm McDowell plays a mob boss. He gets word of his former boss getting out of prison after nearly 30 years, and as he prepares to confront him, he recalls, in flashback, his rise in the mob when his former boss first took him in. We see how McDowell's character eventually set into motion the events that put his boss in prison and McDowell on the criminal throne. A bit of style over substance, but not as guilty as Guy Ritchie is. Paul Bettany plays McDowell's younger self. At first it's sort of odd because they don't look alike at all, but I think the point was that McDowell is viewing an idealized version of himself in his flashbacks. His character is very vain and totally obsessed with being his boss, played by David Thewlis, who unlike McDowell, is handsome and stylish and high class. There is almost a subtle homoerotic tone to the obsession, but sex doesn't seem to interest him, just being "No.1". A very interesting film. Not as good as The Long Good Friday, but it's more akin to Sexy Beast anyway (although, again, not as good), what with all the times "cunt" is said in the course of the film. Worth renting if you want something a bit different in your gangster picture.
The Night Listener (2006)Starring: Robin Williams; Toni Collette; Joe Morton; Bobby Cannavale; Rory Culkin; Sandra Oh.
Directed by: Patrick Stettner.
Colour/91 Minutes/R
A homosexual late night radio talkshow host, Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), just fresh from a broken relationship, starts up a phone friendship with a young boy named Pete (Rory Culkin) who has AIDS, and his caretaker, Donna (Toni Collette). Pete has apparently written a great book about his story and Noone wants to use his story in his show, but he also wants the friendship to work, just so he'll have something meaningful to hold on to. However, questions arise about Pete's identity. Is he really who he says he is? Does he even exist? Willaims finds himself thrust into a mystery that puts his own life in danger as he tries to track Pete down. This is a pseudo Hitchcock sort of film, with lots of twists and turns. I can't say I was really kept guessing about Pete, or that many of the twists surprised me all that much, but Williams and Collette really do a great job in their roles. I totally bought both of their characters. The movie itself just wasn't able to totally live up to said performances, for me when it was all said and done. Worth a rental on a lazy day.
Jason X (2001)Starring: Lexa Doig; Lisa Ryder; Chuck Campbell; Jonathan Potts; Peter Mensah; Melyssa Ade; Melody Johnson; Philip Williams; Derwin Jordan; Dov Tiefenbach; Kane Hodder; David Cronenberg; Boyd Banks; Kristi Angus.
Directed by: James Isaac.
Colour/91 Minutes/R
Finally, a Friday The 13th sequel that gets what the long-running series has become. "Jason in Space", boys and girls. Somehow the franchise would go on to survive this. Jason is unfrozen 400 years into the future where he decides he's still keen with the killing and such. And hey, here's a space station full of horny teens and space marines. They seem to skip parts 6-9 because Jason is not in zombie mode. We get a bit of the usual Jason comes back and wipes out some young flesh. Then some hot, female android, without nipples, kills him. Nanobots rebuild him as a cyborg. Who in their right mind keeps those damn things around? It never works out for the best. He goes on with the killing thing again. This movie is pretty much in on the joke. Yes, the whole idea is silly, so they have some fun with it. The VR Camp Crystal lake: that was a great idea. The tough-as-nails space marine's great one line he has. Funny stuff for fans of the series. Okay action, skin, mildly good special effects, no brains or character development to worry about. David Cronenberg bit part! Not the best Jason flick, but much more fun than it had any right to be. I'm just glad they have yet to make Friday the 13th 11: Jason in The Hood. Oh wait, that was Part 8, wasn't it? Fuck. Fun rental.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)Starring: Tommy Lee Jones; Barry Pepper; Julio Cedillo; Dwight Yoakam; January Jones; Melissa Leo; Levon Helm; Mel Rodriguez; Cecilia Suárez; Ignacio Guadalupe; Vanessa Bauche; Irineo Alvarez.
Directed by: Tommy Lee Jones.
Colour/121 Minutes/R
Tommy Lee Jones plays an old style cowboy/ranch hand named Pete Perkins -- a very reserved loner that doesn't relate much with the modern world -- who sets out to live up to his promise to pretty much his one and only friend: an illegal Mexican immigrant named Melquiades Estrada. That promise was to bury him in his home town back in Mexico. The only problem is that Estrada was killed in an accident by a young, trigger-happy Border Patrolman called Mike Norton. The local Sheriff (Dwight Yoakam) doesn't think too much about causing a big scene, thus he has no intrest in arresting Norton. He calls the case closed and has Estrada buried. Perkins takes the law into his own hands and kidnaps Norton, has him dig up Estrada, and rides off with him and the body on hoseback, setting out to Mexico in order to fulfill his promise to his friend. The film was directed by Tommy Lee Jones and it starts off almost like it's going to be a Clint Eastwood-type drama, but it evolves from that and goes off into more of a brutal Sam Peckinpah sort of direction, as it gets more morbid. Perkins calmly puts Norton through hell on a daily basis, while spending his nights talking to the rotting corpse of his dead friend (well, when he's not trying to keep the ants off of him) with equal calm. The final act takes a more introspective turn. None of the characters are one-dimensional, and the movie touches on man's inhumanity to man, touching also on racism, marital relations gone sour, and fathers and sons. There were some weak bits about Norton's wife that seemed tacked-on, but all in all this is a really effective low-key story, highlighted by quirky character moments and morbid sights that are also somewhat funny. Take the scene where Perkins sets the corpse of Estrada on fire in order to get rid of a few ants. It was dark, funny, and sweet all at the same time. Worthy Rental.
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