American Gangster – I love this film, its very clever in so many ways. While your somewhat rooting for Frank/Denzil who is super smart, modest and a entrepreneur with the nerve to take on everybody at there game. Your reminded that he is a drug dealer and making a living selling junk to people in his own community. Even the police didn’t believe a black man could be capable of getting to such a position and because of that they would focus there efforts on the Italians and other drug barons.
Strictly Sexually – This movie has pretty much come out of nowhere and has been downloaded tons of times according to different sources. Its very difficult to find on DVD due to its limited shelf life in the states. Anyway the plot centres on 2 woman and 2 men who have a one night stand. The woman so fed up with how complex relationships can be, decide to paying for a couple male escorts for the night (so no feelings involved sex). They meet our 2 guys at the bar and it all goes well but the next day when the woman try to pay the guys for the night, the guys are not best pleased. What follows is a complex relationship of trust and distrust. Its all shot pretty simply but the storyline and characters tend to keep you interested. Worth seeking out.
Legion – This is a new one which I fear will get missed in the push for the big blockbusters like Avatar. Its the end of the world, angels have been sent by god himself to take vengeance out the human race however in a cafe someway out side of LA works a woman with her unborn child. That child will save the world and one of the angels decides to go against god to give the human race a chance of survival. Its quite a simple plot but its visually stunning, interesting in a thrilling way and never stopping.
Ca$h – Sean Bean in this one is creepy as hell. Its all starts with a bank robbery that goes slightly wrong when they (including sean bean) have to ditch the money off a bridge. The money falls on the bonnet of a passing car, when the guy opens the case and sees the money he decides finders keepers. Unfortunately the bank robbers brother also played by sean bean tracks the guy down and demands the money back. The guy and his wife have spent a good lot of it already but return as much as possible to the brother whos now basically moved in with them. However there short about 20,000 dollars which is about 1 or 2% of the whole lot. Rather that count his loses like his locked up brothers begs him, he demands every pence be returned no matter what. As you can imagine what happens next. Another undiscovered hit with punchy dialogue and social compliance at the heart of the film. Its odd having Sean Bean play both brothers but what kills me is how anal someone can be over the money. You will be screaming at the display while watching this one.
Dogging: A love story – English movie with a bold title but not so bold plot. Dogging a love story is really a combination of different peoples lives and scenarios around dogging. Its tied together loosely but does generally work. I actually think if they kept it away from dogging it might have turned out to be a better film but yes it would have lost its shock. So what is the plot? Well a journalist is researching the dogging scene which his flat mate is a part of. Somehow he get mixed up with a lady who is also new and not sure about the whole thing. The lady is amazingly cute and when they first met in a cold car park love is in the air. After that its a swings and round abouts till they finally meet and say what they should have said the first day they met. Yep its a love story with a load of weird twists and stereotyping of people who go dogging. Although I’m quite down on this film, I got to say it is worth watching. The ladies are the type you would love to live next door to and the guys except our romeo character are either total nerds or cocks.
Up in the air – This film could only be made in the 2000’s, there so much in it about everyday life in the 00’s. Theres so many little humorous touches like when the couple have hotel sex and then get there laptops out to work out when they can next get together. The loyalty card stuff is classic stuff and generally air travel stuff for people who travel a lot is great. George Clooney is fantastic in this film and the people around him are certainly pulled into the halo effect. The plot is quite interesting and fits the it could work in the 2000’s theme. George spends most of his time on planes and airports going to companies to help them professionally sack people. This requires flying all over the states and communicating with base for where to go next. Most people hate this but george loves it and loves the road warrior lifestyle. However this is all under threat with a recently joined graduate who decides to make a push for the company to use voip technologies instead. George is then given the chance to get the graduate up to speed by his boss before they move over to voip. In the time the grad and george spend flying places, many things happen and they both get a lesson about the human condition. Its all very warming at the end, but its ok because theres lots of prickly issues through out the film. Don’t miss this one.
Creation – The story of Charles Darwin as he struggles to find a balance between the theories on evolution which he’s discovering and the religious relationship with his wife. To be fair it does drag on a little in places but generally its well worth watching, specially for the parts involving his child where he’s forced to explain to her what a impact his studies could have on the world. Yes its a period drama but with so much more purpose.
Angel-A – This is a weird one, its shot in black and white and is totally french. Its takes place in Paris and is somewhere between drama, comedy, romance and fantasy. André is owes too many people too much money, to top that he’s american and his passport has been stolen so he’s in for a really rough time. So rough, that he decides to jump off a bridge and end it all. However on the exact same bridge is a leggy blonde super model. She jumps and he saves her. So thankful, she agrees to be his side kick and help solve his problems. As you can imagine there is a lot which happens afterwards but I won’t spoil it for you.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt – Yes I know its a remake but if you’ve not seen the original film noir version, then this one might be a lot more accessible. The film starts off as a standard court room drama centered around a murder and before you know it things have twisted and changed right before your eyes. I don’t want to spoil this one either because its really worth watching. Specially now you got a really good line up of stars on board for this excellent remake.
Case 39 – I’m not usually into horror because I find them boring but this was much more leaning towards the thriller section. Theres not much to it, over worked social worker checks out a case where the parents try and kill there child by putting her in the oven. Child is saved and queue the start of a very difficult relationship with the social worker. Thats all I’m going to say… Worth watching on a sunday night with the lights down, it will take you by surprise.
