With a new kid in the house (mine), it’s proving to be very tricky for me to get out of the house (mine) and crawl my way down to the bright lights of the megaplex (theirs), so I’ve been keeping myself busy watching within the comfort of my own home…
Here are some thoughts and recommendations which may help you avoid disappointment or give you something to hunt down online….
Leaving Las Vegas, Dir. Mike Figgis, USA 1995
An alcoholic and a Las Vegas hooker form a desperate and transitory relationship in a brilliantly made movie that is touching, funny, heartbreaking, bleak and utterly gripping without ever losing its focus. Fascinating and sensitively drawn characters and career best performances from both Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue that they’ll probably never better. This is beautifully and inventively filmed with a superb soundtrack. Quite possibly my favourite film of all time.
Feels like: Slaking a longstanding thirst with a refreshing cocktail whilst realising you suddenly understand the meaning of life and are dating the most wonderful person in the world. 9.8/10
Little Red Flowers, Dir. Yuan Zhang, China 2006
Classily made story of a rebellious 3 year old as he attempts to settle into a state run kindergarten in post revolutionary China. Understated and well crafted, with some interesting imagery and solid performances, this film holds the attention but ultimately doesn’t get that step beyond to truly engage you. I got a strong message that if I rebelled against the system too much then I would end up alienating myself from society and only end up miserable(er).
Feels Like: Realising you’ve bought Ready Salted crisps when you thought you’d picked up Smoky Bacon because flavours are decadent. 6/10
Bad Lieutenant, Dir. Abel Ferrara, USA 1992
With Werner Herzog’s new version just finishing at the ultraplex it seemed an appropriate time to revisit Harvey Keitel’s mesmerising and intense performance in the original Bad Lieutenant. This is an incredibly dark and bleak film about a renegade cop who seems to have lost all hope within a fug of hard drugs and alcoholism. With little in terms of plot or action, the film is propelled by Keitel’s powerful, internalised and multi-faceted performance as his character gestures towards redemption just in time. The film looks a little dated now, but still packs a hefty emotional punch and ends extremely well.
Feels Like: Eating lightbulbs filled with sweet, sweet honey. 7/10
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Dir. Frank Oz, USA 1988
Enjoyably silly knockabout comedy with Steve Martin and Michael Caine as competing conmen driven to ludicrous extremes in the pursuit of women’s money. I hadn’t seen this movie since I was a kid, and still found it to be funny and paced well enough to keep me interested. It’s not cutting edge comedy, but great fun and fine for its intended audience. Not at the level of something like Some Like It Hot, but worth the time if you’re in the mood for that kind of thing. .
Feels Like: Spinning around fast with your eyes shut, opening them, falling over, and standing up again. Pleasingly daft for the moment but nothing that’s going to make a lasting impression. 7/10
Brain Damage, Dir. Frank Henenlotter, USA 1988
Ridiculous and deranged yarn of a singing parasite that looks like a blue turd that’s escaped from Jim Henson’s creature shop and induces addictive psychedelic visions it its host. Totally bizarre and with some fantastically ridiculous lines, this is great middle of the night entertainment for stoned students. Not quite the drug abuse parable it seems to half heartedly want to be, but a rollicking nonsense that keeps you entertained throughout. Notable especially for the longest street walking shot I’ve ever seen, some great gory brain eating through the trousers, an insane scene with the parasite singing from a bathroom sink, and worth watching for the pulsing brain spaghetti alone.
Feels Like: Coughing up gold or being offered drugs by your younger sister’s hot friend. 6/10
Tears Of The Black Tiger, Dir. Wisit Sasanatieny, Thailand 2000
Wonderfully bizarre Thai film which successfully combines elements of melodrama, musical, macho cowboy movie and bursts of lurid pulpy violence to create an utterly unique experience that is as memorable as it is enjoyable. Unique and beautiful to watch as it uses a vivid palette of aquamarines and pinks to create a fascinating visual universe that draws on all sorts of different styles and traditions but raises itself above being mere pastiche. A fascinating, cine-literate film unlike any other I have seen. I tried to get my tutors to watch this at university, with no success. Their loss. Definitely worth watching for anyone with more than a passing interest in film.
Feels Like: Having the past 50 years of American film shoved into your face at once in an incredibly violent and enthusiastic manner, but this somehow being a pleasurable experience. 8/10
Alien Nation, Dir. Graham Baker, USA 1988
Essentially a quirky buddy cop movie, the twist being that aliens have landed, are walking around and working amongst us… and some of them are planning some sort of nefarious plot. This will sound vaguely familiar to those who have recently seen District 9, as there are many parallels between the two movies in terms of set up. This is more trashy and looks quite dated, but is still great fun. The set up allows lots of opportunity for silly jokes and cultural misunderstandings as James Caan’s jaded and alien-hating cop gets to know his new alien partner, and of course the whole situation allows lots of chance for allegories of racial disharmony. Ultimately the movie now looks a little creaky and it could be tighter in terms of plot, but this is enjoyable fun nonetheless. I would’ve liked it to be a little bit darker and more complex, but you can’t have everything I suppose. It was turned into an average TV series in the 1990s and there are rumblings from the Syfy channel about ‘rebooting’ this in the style of the recent Battlestar Galactica series. Sounds like that could be a good idea to me, if they do it right!
Feels like: Going out for an uncontrolled night on the town with a bunch of nerds who know how to have a good time, then being agreeably punched in the face by a lapdancer who looks like Yoda and turns out to be your friend’s mum. 7/10
Hope that’s useful.
Summarising Regards
Biolab
Pablum from the (bio)Lablum 