by Oscar O’Sullivan

Monday – North by Northwest

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller is good clean fun with a thin but obvious layer of underlying innuendo that gives the central romance some much-needed bite that the airy-fairy political plotline inevitably lacks. The vague Cold War reveals of what’s really going on don’t matter as much as the hapless hero’s baffled reactions to everything that unfolds – even if he never quite catches all the way up, his quick wits and a hefty dose of luck keep him one step ahead of the law and the mysterious baddies who have him mixed up with a fictitious spy. Having the audience learn the truth of the game long before the protagonist does take some of the fun out of the mystery, but there’s more than enough fun to go around anyway. Nothing looks quite like Technicolour and Hitchcock always made the most of the format. Despite the light touch of the tone, the setpieces are as tactile and gripping as any serious spy adventure – even if you haven’t seen the film you’ve surely seen the iconic crop-duster chase, or perhaps the final chase down the face(s) of Mount Rushmore, a perfect example of cheating scale by cutting between wide and close-up frames. Classic Hollywood flash with just enough hints of substance to stick in the mind. 8/10.

Tuesday – Red Sun

History is funny – to think that Cowboys and Samurai really co-existed, despite how vastly different those time periods feel, the incongruity makes this perfectly feasible film feel like a farcically fictitious fable (I couldn’t resist). What the unlikely clash of cultures allows for is a compellingly mis-matched team-up adventure – an unscrupulous bandit forced to deal with an unbendingly disciplined warrior as they hunt down the same man for conflicting reasons. Charles Bronson charms as the outlaw, ruthless and serve-serving but always with a wink and a smile, willing to cross most any line in his pursuit of the ill-gotten gold his old partner screwed him out of. We may even come to suspect that he has a good heart underneath it all, or at least hope – he’s simply too likeable to hold accountable. Toshiru Mifune plays the more traditionally heroic role, a samurai with seven days to restore his honour by recovering a ceremonial sword and taking the life of the man who robbed it – the very same crooked partner that swindled Bronson. This is where the central conflict springs from – Mifune needs to get his mission over and done with as fast as he can, while Bronson wants to take his time and make sure he gets the gold before getting his revenge. They bicker constantly, come to blows and even engage in a bit of attempted murder, but of course the trials and tribulations of the road bring them together. This is a solidly made cowboy action flick elevated by a unique story and a one-of-a-kind cast, a hidden gem that’s been picking up steam after the recent death of French actor Alain Delon, who swaggers through this as the psychotic baddie that brings the unlikely duo together. 8/10.

Thursday – Hellboy

Just because a film is fun doesn’t mean it’s great – while I do engage in a lot of “this shit slaps” vulgar auteurism for action and sci-fi ephemera, I can normally identify a surprisingly strong script or effective underlying emotion behind the flashy exterior – in short, I can justify my praise within a more traditional storytelling framework. Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy left me disappointed on that front – a sloppy and disjointed story that has more characters than it knows what to do with, resorting to smashing them all together like action figures for a burst of cheap and cheerful fun that betrays some potentially interesting ideas and possibilities. Even with a two-hour runtime it feels cramped, a battle of apocalyptic scale made to feel inconsequential. The visuals alone do make it a worthwhile excursion – deliberate cgi artistry and tangible practical work combine with impeccably pulpy production design and masterful camerawork to create that oh-so-rare feeling of a comic book come to life – but style alone does not a classic make. 6/10.

Friday – A History of Violence and Erin Brockovich

A minor miracle of pacing, coming in just over an hour-and-a-half and feeling half that length, A History of Violence couches some truly dark ideas in a gentle, welcoming exterior. The opening act drips with the warmth and love of the idealised suburban family, the folksy comfort of small-town life that will soon be disrupted by alien violence. The film deconstructs the classic story of the “violent man” drawn back into his old ways, largely thanks to the exceptional performance of Viggo Mortensen – even when he’s forced to kill in self-defence and his past comes calling he remains a calm, sensitive presence, a man who is so much more than what he does. There’s no moment where a mask slips and the old him breaks out, no sense that he’s “unleashing the beast” as the bodies pile up – violence is forced upon him and all he wants is to keep his family from it. The film posits that there are no violent people – the violence is an aberration, frightening and indiscriminate, whether it be a murder made in self-defence or the savage beating of a bully. Violence is a choice, one that can and should be left in the past – but it’s also a choice that can be forgiven. The world of the film is cruel but not hopeless, gory but not exploitative, tragic but not sappy – like Viggo, it holds the contradictions within itself and goes beyond the limits that others would impose. 9/10.

Who can resist a good underdog story? Erin Brockovich feels almost too perfect to be true – unemployed single mother defies the odds to orchestrate a historic legal coup and get justice for sick families poisoned by a callous megacorp. The sheer tenacity of the title character is a joy to watch, defying the expectations of others while refusing to change who she is to make anyone else more comfortable. Her achievements speak for themselves, even when obstacles are thrown up and the odds seem impossible we believe that she’ll see it through – we believe it just as she has to believe it in order to carry on as her personal life is impacted. Julia Roberts is magnetic from the very first moment, selling the character’s take-no-shit abrasiveness without ever becoming even the slightest bit unlikeable. While the story of the legal battle is compelling, it’s also something we’ve unfortunately seen a thousand times before – how many films have to be made about corporations getting away with murder before we run out of real examples? What’s really memorable here is the dynamic duo that Julia forms with legal boss Albert Finney, who learns a lot more from her than she from him as they boost each other to ever greater heights. Perhaps a little too predictable, but can you blame a film based on a true story for lacking any shocking surprise? 8/10.

Saturday – Confess, Fletch

We really are starved for genuine comedies in the modern film landscape. Confess, Fletch is a blandly made detective pastiche that nevertheless charms it’s way into your good graces simply because there aren’t enough films like it being made on this level. Yes, I’m sure there are a dozen similar comedies being released on streaming every week, and perhaps some of them are as good as or even better than what was releasing in cinemas a dozen years ago. Nobody knows because nobody is paying attention – every once in a while something like this manages to break through by having a strong cast or interesting premise, but the vast majority are forgotten even before they release. This makes up for it’s lack of visual identity with a wonderfully witty script and an irreverent tone that never feels cynical or snarky. A non-threatening romp with an anything-goes spirit and a refreshing modernity (how often do modern films directly reference Covid?) that makes me feel that I’ve watched something made for the love of the game, not to tick a box on a streamers release schedule. 7/10.

Sunday – Click, The Batman and American Gigolo

Every time I watch Click I find my position on it seems more and more indefensible – and yet, here I remain. You’ll either get it or you won’t. 10/10.

Most overhyped comic book film? Or am I the one that’s in the wrong? I do feel kind of crazy when people whose tastes otherwise align with mine rate The Batman so highly. On paper it should be right up my alley – a superhero film that isn’t ashamed to lean into the beautiful absurdity of the genre. The visuals are inarguably brilliant, better looking even than my beloved Nolan films, a film perfectly designed to be diced up and shared online as contextless clips and gorgeous still frames. If that sounds like a backhanded compliment, well done – you’ve passed my test and can handle what’s coming next. Matt Reeves and Greig Fraser spent so much time cooking the visuals that they fucked up the recipe for the story – it’s too sprawling but ultimately simple, a copy of a copy that pulls almost exclusively from the same reference pools as previous adaptations, not to mention how heavily it relies on the audience already knowing the basics of the character and setting in order to start where it wants to start. I still love the visuals, the performances, some of the story beats, but the film as a whole leaves me a little cold – perhaps the long wait for the sequel is a blessing in disguise. Do a few more drafts this time, won’t you Matthew? 7/10.

Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo is a strangely spare and stark film – I had to sleep on it before I could even come to a rating, let alone organise my thoughts into a review. The story of high-class LA escort Julian, played by the always compelling Richard Gere, is slow to unfold and uncomfortable to dig into. Much of the film follows him listlessly through the opulent world he inhabits – swanky hotels, country clubs, sun-drenched boulevards and the like, where a well-dressed man with good posture and a certain swagger can feel at home. But he’s not home – he’s a guest, at the mercy of the women he pleasures and the shadowy organisers behind his entire trade. When he’s framed for the murder of a wealthy woman, he confronts the harsh reality of how tenuous his life of luxury really is, as his fair-weather friends quietly hang him out to dry. They protect their own comfort by sacrificing him, because no matter how popular and successful he is, he’s replaceable. Only one person would truly miss him, and therein lies the rub – can he figure out where his loyalties should really lie before his cocoon of safety fully disintegrates? The film is a slow burn and the full magnitude of the picture can’t be felt until it finally ends – it all hits Julian the same time as it hits the audience and, in true Schrader style, ends in that final instant of revelation. 9/10.