Il Divo - The Spectacular Life of Guilo Andreotti

Italian cinema is going through something of a renaissance of late. With Gomorrah last year and Il Divo this year, as well as Paolo Sorrentino's previous films The Family Friend and The Consequences of Love. Italy is definately producing some of the most artistic, cinematic and engaging films of any country. What's even more unique is that, particularly with Gomorrah and Il Divo, directors and writers are beginning to address some very dark moments and facts about Italy. Where Gomorrah pulled the covers off the influence and effect the Camarra has on Neopolitan Italy. Il Divo turns its attentions to the political world of Italy, which it seems, is no less corrupt and dangerous. Exploring the life of Guilio Andreotti, elected parlimentary official seven times. Sorrentino's film looks at the allegations of Andreotti's connection with the Mafia and his possible involvment in the deaths of a number of polictical figures and journaists.

Sorrentino's style is eye catching; there isn't a single frame which is sumptuous to look at. He uses music strikingly throughout to emphasis key dramatic beats and create tone. He is in some ways like Martin Scorsese, but comparisons would undermine his unique qualities and cinematic verve. The film itself is punctuated with a few key moments of violence and Sorrentino shoots Andreotti and his political clan as if they were gangsters. He certainly doesn't paint them as holy, or saviours of Italy, not even the religious member of his clan is afforded respectable treatment. Each of his members are introduced like Reservoir Dogs gangsters, their names and nicknames appearing on screen, in original and inventive ways.

Of the films performances, praise belongs to one man alone. Toni Servillo is fantastic as Andreotti, his mannerisms our superb and he creates a fully realised methodical, purposeful and demonic man. He resembles in a bizarre way Murnau's Nosferatu, skulking in the shadows, shuffling along, his hands permanently clasped in his lap. One scene has him standing off against a beautiful white cat in a huge room. Servillo shoos the cat away a number of times before eventually being victorious. It's almost as if the man is adverse or allergic to the feline.

Il Divo won the Jury Prize at Cannes last year and is without doubt one of the best pictures to be released in 2009. Sorrentino has built himself a reputation of potentially Italy's pre-eminent director, and I for one will be seeking out any future films he makes.

The Class - Review

Based on this evidence not only do I never want to become a teacher, but I have new found respect for those people who do want to educate our youth. Laurent Cantent's Palme D'or winning drama about a year in the life of a French teacher in Paris is a wonderful look at the profession as well as the students who populate the classroom.

Based on the book by François Bégaudeau, who also wrote the screenplay and stars in the film. The Class is a masterful dissection of not only school life but the French education system. The film feels and is shot like a documentary. The most striking impression you gain from the film is the ethnic diversity on display in the classroom. Kids from Africa and Asia mingle with French students and this becomes one of the central issues explored, especially when one troubled student faces being sent back to Africa if expelled, and anothers mother turns out to be illegally living in the city.

What the film also does fantastically well, is critique not just the ethnic diversity of the the kids, but also look at the teachers, who despite having a seemingly impossible job are presented as human; frustrated, confused, compassionate, supportive of their colleagues. In fact the teachers and students are not too disimilar from one another. The kids fail to get enthusiastic about class, occasionally rebel against the autocratic system where students are considered second class citizens, especially by the French teacher, who blinkedly fails to see his patronising, arrogant approach stands to only isolate his kids, when a more compassionate understanding standpoint my reep reward. Having said that, the children are often impossible to teach, and, as one mother of a intelligent student puts it, they ultimately hold back and hinder those willing and able to learn.

The Class fails to provide any answers to the difficult issues which surround education, not just in France but no doubt everywhere, and for this it should be commended. There is no moralising, no high ground. The teachers have an impossible job which more often than not they are ill prepared and unequipped to deal with, and the children, in a lot of cases are written off; their reputations preceeding them.

Winner of the Palme D'or, The Class may well be the best film ever made about life in school for both the teachers and children, both victims of a system which seems enable to deal with the issues and problems which arise on a daily basis.

Wendy and Lucy - Review

For some time now Michelle Williams has slowly been growing a reputation as one of the most versatile and talented actresses working today. She may not command huge fees, or receive massive box office receipts; she certainly is not Renee Zellweger or Julia Roberts, and probably never will be. Even more to her credit. Instead she has managed to remain low key and pick interesting, unique and original films to demonstrate her range of acting. With Wendy and Lucy she has almost become an anti-star. Her character Wendy is nothing special, she doesn't flaunt sex appeal or even play up her femininity. For the entire film she looks like just another person you might see on the street. From her films with Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, I'm Not There) to recent Incendiary alongside Ewan McGregor, Williams is always incredible to watch, nuanced and understated. Her next film might give her some greater exposure starring in Shutter Island, but I can't imagine her taking on the mantel of a typical Hollywood leading lady.

Credit is also due to Kelly Reichardt, the director who is gaining plaudits as one of America's great independent filmmakers. Having only seen Wendy and Lucy I cannot comment but based on the brilliance of this film I'm not surprised.

The central premise is as simple as they come. Wendy is travelling to Alaska looking for work with dog Lucy when her Honda breaks down and she subsequently loses Lucy. The rest of the film is Wendy stuck in a small town with ever dwindling finances desperately trying to locate her missing dog, whilst trying to find a way to fix her car. That's all there is to it. And the film is a joy for it. Minimalist in story and also in style, Reichardt allows Williams to shine of screen, and gently sucks us into this lonely young woman's plight. When the finale comes, only the cold hearted will not be emotionally distraught by the events. What makes the film so wonderful is that it doesn't try to extract emotion from you, instead presenting a lifelike group of characters, all of whom have their own life's and problems.

When I watched Wendy and Lucy there were only 4 people in the screening, including myself and it's a real shame to think more people won't see this little gem of film, which has a stunning central performance and a subtle masterly direction. It might be low on incident but it is certainly high on heart. Definitely one of the best films I have seen this year, and a great relief from overblown melodramatic films which clutter up our cinemas and box office.

Cool Hand Luke - 1967

I confess last night was the first time I have seen Cool Hand Luke, the classic Paul Newman prison drama. I had expected it to be one of the classic American films of the 60's, and yet it left me rather dissapointed. There have been better prison dramas. There have been better Paul Newman films.

The main reason for watching this film is Paul Newman, the actor is effortless is his charm, charisma and sex appeal. But the real star is George Kennedy as Dragline, a character who begins strong and unlikely leader of these prisoners but gets sucked in by Luke's individual outlook on life and gradually falls for the hero worship, Luke himself is trying to avoid. Kennedy deservedly won an Oscar for his portrayal.

And yet the film itself, for me was decidedly underwhleming. As I've said Newman as been better and although this film was clearly a vehicle for him, and any female fan will be pleased that he spends a far portion of the film topless, the film fails mainly because it fits into that 60's thematic category of rebels who refuse to confirm with the system and try to break out, in this film literally in some cases, only to be finally punished for their individuality and desire for freedom. To put it simply there have been better films which have explored this theme with greater clarity and more commitment. It struck me as disapointing as Newman in many ways seems to embody to free spirit, like Brando before him, and there are moments when Newman is hypnotic but overall the film lacks the zip and thrill of most 60's cinema.

The film is directed by Stuart Rosenberg and it is actually his film directorial debut, having worked on a number of TV shows. Where other films of the era such as Easy Rider and Bonnie & Clyde have a momentum to them, Cool Hand Luke seems slow and never really breaks free until Luke actually breaks free.

Cool Hand Luke is entertaining is not magnificent work from 60s cinema which seems to have earnt its iconic reputation off the back of a few keys highlights the aura of one of cinemas most watchable and talented actors.

The Queen - 2006

It's taken long enough. I've heard all the kudos, the awards, the great acting. So on friday night I decided to finally watch The Queen, and I was pleasantly surprised. From screenwriter Peter Morgan, who has impressed with his writing for Frost/Nixon, The Last King of Scotland and Longford, doesn't let down his great and growing reputation as a writer of superb character driven British films.

Helen Mirren is superb and looks fantastically close to the Queen, giving her a humanity and vulnerability the British public rarely if ever see for themselves. Michael Sheen captures Tony Blair's mannerisms to a tee and together Mirren and Sheen carry this film.

I was torn though by deciding how good a film I thought it was. Like all great films it made me laugh and at times almost cry, but this seemed less to do with the performances or the characters and more to do with the fact that the backdrop of Diana's death around which the story is framed is still so close and vivid a memory that the emotions were always going to be stirred.

This is no doubt a big reason for the films critical and commercial success. The film however was worth the wait if only for two great performances and a very well written script. But I still an unsure as to whether this film is a genuinely great piece of cinema or another of those films which are merely vehicles for great acting. The direction is fine, but not exceptional, so to most of the other elements. The real stars are Mirren and Sheen but ultimately this is Morgan's film, and like the successful playwright he is, the film feels a little talky, like most of his other features which have been written recently.

Mirren is superb, Sheen brilliant and Morgan has captured to period brilliantly, but as the Diana's death is still so vivid in the memory it's difficult to know if the emotional stirrings I felt were purely a result of the reality, or because of great writing and directing. Of the bigger question may be whether this even matters.

She Never Smiles - A Short Story

For two weeks after, I’d had the same dream over and over.
I read once that having the same dream over and over makes the dream seem worse. But I may have just dreamt it.
I call it a dream, but in reality, it was more like a nightmare. I always awoke at the same point.
The doctor didn’t seem interested when I told him. When do they? He only looked at me when I left the room. I guess he wanted to make sure I’d left. Another hypochondriac busying up his already hectic day.
The more I dreamt about the event, the less slept. In a few more weeks I’d be a clinical insomniac. And I loved sleep. Or at least I used to.
I’ve been thinking about that last sentence. The word event doesn’t seem right. It insufficiently describes the.... what word is suitable. Are words suitable to describe such a thing? At this stage in a story most readers are wondering what happened. Why it’s being written about. That’s the key with writing something down, or filming it, or singing about it, or painting it. It has to be significant enough.
Maybe you’re wondering if someone died. Maybe you’re hoping someone did die. If you, that says more about you than it does me.
I work in sales. Cold calling, but not normal people at home. That’s where I draw the line. We all have a line and that’s where mine is. I’m ok with calling businesses, its part of their job to take cold calls. They might not like it, but that’s part of life.
After each call I’d fantasise about what the voice on the end of the phone looked like. What they smelt like. Whether they were attractive or not. I usually judge by their voice. However, when a voice sounds attractive it usually means they’re not. That’s the rule.
She was the exception that proved the rule. She was the one. At least that’s what I convinced myself.
I have a problem. It’s a confidence thing. Most people have a confidence problem. Most people don’t deal with them the way I do. I ogle people in the office. Picturing them in compromising positions. Convincing myself they liked me.
She didn’t like me.
It was about a month before the event. I’m still not happy with that word, but cannot think of a better way to describe it. I wish I could. I made a decision which led me to where I am now.
Maybe if the doctor had helped. Maybe if I’d recognised my condition earlier. But these questions are irrelevant now. The answer illusive; redundant.
She wasn’t typically beautiful. But she did pay me attention. Clearly too much.
I need to make it clear, this is not a confession. For a confession you need to be repentant.
I’d taken to leaving work early. Finding excuses to leave. My boss thought I might be dying. Cancer she worried. I played along. Not my finest hour, but small fry compared to what would happen.
I didn’t know she find me there. I needed time, I thought I had it. But she’d been sent home early from work.
My dream begins with that look on her face. I might never forget. It haunts me even more that the last look I saw.
She had such beautiful eyes; Hypnotic. I remember the first time we met. The first time I saw those eyes. Every time I thought of her, those eyes, piercing to my soul. I felt like she saw me for who I really was. Am.
I didn’t hear her come in the door. I don’t know why. I didn’t even hear the door close. What I heard. What changed everything was the phone call.
“I’ve got the results” Is what she said. Then she cried. For 15 minutes I stood at the top of the stairs watching her cry. Those uncontrollable tears falling down her flushed cheeks. The phone resting liking a dead pet in her hand. There must have been someone on the other end the whole time trying to console her.
I wanted to console her. I wanted to be the guy who was there for her. I could have put my arms around her. I could whisper in her ear that I’d be there for her until the very end.
I’d have told her I loved her long dark shiny hair. Hair like the models in shampoo adverts. I never believed women really had hair so good. She did. But not for much longer.
“I’ll still love you when you hair falls out. I’ll still love you when you can’t control the sickness. I’ll love you more because that’s what you deserve. And that’s what you’ll need.” This is what I would like to have said. This is what I want to whisper in her ear. Instead I just watched.
I always just watch.
The nightmares haven’t gone. There still there. Time is the greatest healer they say. Not in my case. Everyday is the same as the next day; the day after. The day my conscience reminded me what I’d done.
I tried telling myself it was an accident. That I didn’t mean it. But I did, I know that now. Through all the sickness and drinking and smoking and pain. I knew I meant it. That’s what haunts me.
She deserved so much more. She deserved the best. I wanted to give it to her but she didn’t want it. Then it happened.
I’ve had the same dream for two years now. Those eyes, the blood. Maybe I did her a favour. Saved her the misery, the pain, the humiliation. The degradation. These are the things I tell myself to get me through each day.
Those tears, her body slumped at the bottom of the stairs. She would have had more of that. She might have had the strength but how can anyone know. No one will now. But at least if it had killed her. If little by little it had eaten her insides. Destroyed that which made her beautiful. That which gave her the sparkle in her eyes. Then I would be justified.
I couldn’t have seen her like that. Maybe it was for the best.
These are thoughts that race through my head as I try to sleep. Insomnia creeping ever slowly over me, like a disease infecting my mind. I lay awake, the moon glistening in my eyes.
I close my eyes and she stare at me. I want her smile but she never will. I can try and make her, but it will never happen. The memory, the image, it’s always the same.
She never smiles, not anymore.
The End.

Smiles of a Summer Night - Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman's glorious drama about the disparities of love as viewed by the younger and elder generations of the story. It reminded me in many ways of Renoir's La Regle Du Jeu, both films had a whimsical humour to them, and both films demonstrated a flippant but passionate belief and love of love. The story focuses on a lawyer Egerman who hears of a play starring Desiree, an old flame, whom he considers his only friend. Married himself to a 19year old virgin, the story revolves around Desiree two previous lovers including Egerman and their respective wives. When they are invited to Desiree's house for a dinner party, emotions fly and lovers collide as Desiree plots to secure the man she loves whilst matching up all the remaining parties.

The film was the influence for Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, which I haven't seen but it's unlikely to be as effortlessly charming and fun to watch as this film. Having rewatched La Regle Du Jeu a few weeks ago, I found myself equally enamoured by the varying views of love, from both men and women young and old. The europeans, in this case Swedish and French have such a passionate you cynical view of love it made me wonder if British filmmakers could ever be so romantic without be meoldramatic or sentimental. Bergman is a director I know little of, something i'm beginning to recitfy and having now seen Seventh Seal, Persona, Wild Strawberries and Smiles of a Summer Night it is clear that not only is he a genius and legend of cinema, but also a man who knew and understood more about love than most people could ever make claim to.

Smiles of a Summer Night is a perfect companion piece to Renoir's classic, and if not quite a raucously funny, or midly absurd, Summer Night is a joy to watch, and makes you think long and hard about your own thoughts and views on the most powerful emotion we know.

Barry Lyndon at the BFI

The Stanley Kubrick season is well under way at the BFI and having been fortunate enough to see the hilarious classic Dr Strangelove already, on Saturday I was one of the lucky ones to see a new print of Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. Which may well be the best photographed film ever made.

Barry Lyndon is a beautifully captured drama about the life of Redmond Barry, an Irishman of low order who dreams of something more. The film breaks into two halves, the first detailing his eventful life leading him to fight during the Napoleonic era for both Britain and the Prussian's before becoming a gambler's associate. The second part explores how Redmond Barry loses his success, through his marriage to the wealthy noble Lady Lyndon. Ryan O'Neal in probably the only film of his I've seen, was aparently the Tom Cruise of his day when he made this film, and if thats true its a bold, courageous performance as a character who is widely unlikeable but hugely entertaining. As to is Marisa Berenson, who was also in Caberet, as Lady Lyndon. Her performance is beautiful, elegant and regal despite having barely any lines.

This is Kubrick's film though. Shot with a Carl Zeiss lens manufactured for NASA and adapted the film, it obtains 0.7 fstop and creates a naturalistic effect using natural lighting and candles. Although the film used some source lighting, it's minimal and the film's dreamlike historical effect is captivating. Kubrick also employs a zoom throughout to flatten the images and create a painterly effect. It's the closest cinema or the moving image has come to showing living painting.

There's a strong case that this might be Kubrick's finest cinematic achievement. Other films may have greater reputations or cult following, and from the point of view of genre, The Shining, or Dr Strangelove are going to always be highly regarded, but for a cinephile, with a passion for truly visual stories told with a masterful hand, Barry Lyndon is not only the greatest period film ever shot, but also one of the greatest film ever created. Like a fine wine it gets better with age and shold be sought out and watched on the biggest screen available.

Watchmen - The IMAX Review

It's been in production hell for about 20 years. Some of the best directors of our age, Terry Gilliam, Paul Greengrass, Darren Aronofsky have all had opportunities to direct. Arnold Schwarzeneggar was once in the running to play Dr Manhattan, John Cusack, Jude Law, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves were all once attached or rumoured to be so. And yet when the film was finally released the biggest cast name was Billy Crudup (Almost Famous, Big Fish).

It's been called the greatest comic book ever written, was listed in Time magazine 100 best books of the 20th century and been described as "unfilmable" by creator Alan Moore and yet Zack Snyder, the director behind Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 has successfully brought it to the big screen in an epic 160min adaptation. The big question on everyones lips, well anyone who's read the book, is can the sprawling, talky, philosophical genius of Watchmen really be distilled into a film. Unfortunately for the most Snyder part fails. The film is not the dissapointment many might label, nor is it the success some reviewers have called it. I think The Guardian got it right. Its a failed masterpiece which falls somewhere in between, but probably closer to a failure than a masterpiece.

What does Watchmen get right? Many things. The visual effects to begin with are a magnificent achievement. With the exception of Bubastis there isn't a single frame where the visual effects where not wonderous. Snyder should be commended along with the digital team and set designers for creating the universe of Watchmen so completely. Dr Manhattan, the giant blue naked god, is believable and convincing, and not once does his appearance jar the story, except is always on show blue dick. So too with Mars and Dr Manhattan's glass structure. It always feels real and natural.

The most brilliant aspect of the film however is how effectively the film uses mis-en-scene. The introduction of Nite Owl I and II, Hollis Mason and Dan Dreiberg is so effectively delivered that you get almost all of Hollis Mason's backstory in a single shot. The set design has painstakingly been created using the graphic source and Snyder and the crew have certainly demonstrated the level of love and affection for the characters and world.

The film also manages to cram in most of the central storyline, and some potentially dangerous scenes, cinematically at least, are handled with bravado and visual ingenuity. Standout scenes include the backstory of Dr Manhattan, a particularly violent back alley fight scene and anything involving Rorshach. But more on him later.

Its a shame then that so much of the script and film falls down. Snyder employs a slow motion technique in all the fight seqeucnes, similar to one he used to great effect in 300. Here however it undermines the brutality and chaos of the fights, the opening sequence and a prison break being the most notable casaulties. In fact the entire first act fails to light up the story. It feels bity and lacking in cohesion, screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse seem unsure of how to jimmy the dense back story and plot into the film and thus decide to use the opening act as a way to layer those elements which would have otherwise dragged the pacing down later in the picture. But that's not to say the script fails. This is probably the best film version of Watchmen we could have hoped for. There is way too much backstory and the screenwriters have put it in the most accessible and least damaging part of the narrative. Unfortunately the downside is that we lose some of the dramatic weight of those scenes.

It's clear watching the Watchmen that making this into a marketable and entertaining film was never an easy task and i'm reluctant to pick apart all the little problems with the script, mainly because for everything the film gets wrong there are some things it gets right, but one scene in particular garnered responses such a guffaws, mild laughter and in some cases utter bewilderment in the screening I was in. A love scene between Dreiberg and Laurie which should be the emotional high for them in the story, especially the impotent Dreiberg but actually ends up being the worst love scene i've ever watched on screen. Lacking in passion, emotion or sexuality, and played out to the legendary Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, the scene if off tone, out of context and yanks the audience out of the film, forcing them to try and get back into it. If this is the last sex scene Snyder ever directs cinema as an art form will be a better place for it.

Whilst on the subject of the soundtrack, its another one of those elements which genuinely seemed baffling throughout. A opening montage of images which cleverly repositions the audience in this new alternate 1980's, with nods to historical times and people as well as throwing in the crucial moments of the Minutemen and other backstory elements from the book. Played out to Bob Dylan's the Times They Are A Changin' is very much a success and an effective way to begin the story, but after this very few uses of music feel natural, or like they exist in this story. Simon and Garfunkel, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix all pop up and it has a jarring effect on these cherished and iconic moments in the story. For me Watchmen is a film which deserved some clever music use, mainly to locate the back story moments historically, but the main action deserved a beautifully evocative score by a master of the craft. And the few moments when a score is used the film elevates into the arena of masterpiece, but these few moments only stand to remind us of what could have been.

The acting is also an area which left me wondering what could have been. For the most part the acting is good. Billy Crudup who has a near impossible task as the unemotional philosophical Dr Manhattan and yet he is always engaging, as is Patrick Wilson as Dan Dreiberg, a lonely, self deprecating character who feels impotent and obsolete both in life and love. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Edward Blake is fantastic, revelling in the Comedian's sadistic fascistic distorted view of the world. The star of the film will know doubt be Jackie Earle Haley as Rorshach, every scene is a stand out and once the mask comes off he loses none of the menace and fear he instils with it on. Haley's performance is up there with the most recent stand out psychotic roles such as Anton Chirgugh and The Joker. Although Rorshach is less psychotic, his brand of absolute morality and no compromise one of his most redeeming features. The problems with the acting falls on two roles, firstly Malin Akerman as Laurie who is possibly the weakest role. Her performance is not bad but she doesn't convince and her character is sketched very blandly. I never get a sense of the reason she became a masked vigilante and also we never really see or understand why she is attracted to Dr Manhattan. Ironically she is one of the few characters to be given a resolution by the end of the film. The big problem though is Adrian Veidt, the smartest man on the planet. Played by Matthew Goode, the actor lacks the chops and presence to carry the role of the Ozymandias, a man inspired to unite the world by Alexander the Great. In the book, Adrian Veidt, his alter ego is utterly believable but here Goode's performance just lacks the presence, whereas which for example Crudup as Manhattan and Haley as Rorshach convince with authority. But there is also a sense of miscasting. Goode looks too youthful and slender, he never looks or feels of age. Add to this that the script plays him as the villain from his very first scene, he ends up coming across as a costumed Bond villain even equipped with his own secret lair. Although Alan Moore may have intended some slight reference to this idea, at no point in the book does he actually take on the mantel of villain. He is almost the anti villain. For fans and non fans alike this undermines the integrity of the character and distorts the theme of the book.

The big dissapointment though is that Watchmen never feels like anything more than a faithful if not excellent adaptation. It never manages to take on the weight and dramatic subtext that elevates the book above most other graphic novels. None of the characters feel like they achieve the resolution the book supplies, especially Dreiberg and Veidt, whose endings are either excised or mishandled.

Ultimately I enjoyed Watchmen and being a fanboy am also enjoying the heated debates the film has brought up. I sometimes wonder if that's more fun than actually watching the film. The book is so fervently cherished and fans tend to defend the material with terminal intensity, I'm no exception so I think that although there was a mild dissapointment that Watchmen the film never scaled the heights of the book, I think that Zack Snyder, David Hayter and Alex Tse as well as the cast, crew and everyone involved in bringing Watchmen to the screen deserve great credit for doing such a faithful job, but also for the little touches which were there for the fans. The film was good enough and fulfilled enough of what I was expecting for me to not be gutted. Plus on the IMAX the film looked stunning.

So, not the life changing experience the book was, but still a well crafted, faithful and entertaining filmic intepretation of one of the greatest graphic novels ever written. Violent, entertaining, funny, shocking and not in the least bit compromising. Who watches the Watchmen, on this evidence hopefuly a lot of people, and most should enjoy it.

The International - Review

In a year when everyone is feeling the pinch of recession, the time couldn't be better for a film about corrupt banking. And with The International we have such a film. Whether it's any good is open for debate, and whether it truly addresses the role global banking has played in our current predicament is also highly dubious, but Tom Tykwer's slick, tense thriller is certainly one thing; entertaining.

Clive Owen and Naomi Watts star as an Interpol agent and a lawyer attempting to bring one of the worlds leading banks to its knees over allegations that it is brokering deals for major arms. It's an interesting concept and one I can imagine wasn't easy to shape and structure into an entertaining 2 hour film, however screenwriter Eric Singer has more or less pulled off.

Opening in Germany as an employee of the IBBC bank is about to turn whistleblower the film twists and turns as Salinger (Owen) and Eleanor (Watts) try to bring the truth to light, against assassination attempts, cover ups and political pressures from up on high.

The big talking point in The International for anyone who's seen it is simple. The Guggenheim gun fight. In the post Bourne world with the bar having been raised, actions scenes need to really excel the prove themselves in this new action movie world Paul Greengrass has given us. And when even Quantum of Solace failed miserably, despite throwing all the action it could think of at the screen. Thank god then for Tom Tykwer and his marvellously orchestrated gun fight in the Guggenheim. It's the only real action scene in the movie, but its the films high point, and stands up alongside most great action sequences of the past few years.

Its a shame then that from this point on the film loses its way and the tension fizzles out. After a good, if a little expository 1st act, and solid suspense filled 2nd act, the 3rd really falls away as the film realises that there is no satisfactory ending which has been promised for so long.

Before watching the film I read a number of reviews, most positive but with some clear misgivings, one of which was the decision to have Watt's Eleanor leave the investigation at the end of the 2nd act. Too many people read into this that it was because it became clear she was not a love interest, and yet this idea seems obtuse. At no point is the idea that Eleanor could be a lov interest. In fact The International should be commended for not indulging in such mindless and pointless subplots. By the end of the 2nd act it is painfully clear that for them to continue would be a futile exercise for which there could only be one outcome. That the characters are wise enough to step away and understand the threat adds some much needed integrity, and the scene is one of the films strongest.

Having given the film all the commendations I have its important to illustrate that this film is not to be taken seriously. This isn't All the Presidents Men, its James Bond but with a villains who are accountants instead of megalomaniacs. Certain scenes even feel like there from a Bond film, One location in particular felt like a discarded villains lair. The truth is simple, The International is the film Quantum of Solace should have been, instead of flat, uninspired, frenetic action piece after action piece, it should have been a fun romp dealing with 21st villains and contemporary issues (like the role of global banking is proliferating warfare). Having said that the villains, and I don't even feel I can call them villains, are just not convincing enough. Accountants just are scary, and despite a strong performance from Armin Mueller-Stahl and Brian O'Byrne as the assassin the rest of the bad guys are decidedly unconvincing.

Despite some major problems with the plausibility of the story, The International shows that Tom Tykwer is a great visualist with some panache for creating a great action sequence and that when Daniel Craig hangs up the Tuxedo Clive Owen should be top of the list to take over. A enjoyable is slightly ridiculous thriller.

3 stars

Gran Torino - Review

It's been less than 6 months since Clint Eastwood last released a film, and for a director approaching 80 he makes all other filmmakers look lazy. What's even worse is that Eastwood hasn't made a bad film in years. Since 2003's Mystic River Eastwood has consistently produced and directed superbly crafted entertaining films. He may well be the greatest living American director working today.

With Gran Torino, rumoured to be his last acting performance, Eastwood gives a superb performance as Walt Kowalski, an aging, racist Korean War vet whose neighbourhood has become populated by the Asian community. The film opens with the funeral of his wife, and it soon becomes clear that with her death Walt is a lonely unhappy old man. His children only speak to him when they need him, his grandchildren are awaiting his death. His new neighbours are Asian immigrants. His only companion is his loyal dog.

This is truly Eastwood's film. The role was one only Eastwood can play and it's credit to him that even in his late 70's he's still as tough and hard as nails as he's always been. Thankfully though Eastwood is also aware of his age and Nick Schenk screenplay plays up the restraints of being an old man living by himself.

The film's biggest weakness is the supporting cast. No one in the film except Eastwood shine, and although you couldn't expect some very young actors to ever match one of Holloywood's last great legends, the performances do undermine parts of the film. Thankfully though the film throws enough humour that, in the screening I was in, no more than ten minutes past without a raucous if slightly inappropriate laugh erupted.

The film offers Eastwood possibly his last great role, and if he doesn't step in front of the lens again this performance will certainly stand up against his early more famous roles and reprisals as Harry Callahan or The Man with No Name. The film may not equal the brilliance of Unforgiven, or even Million Dollar Baby, but it certainly demonstrates that Eastwood has a mercurial hand when directing and can also give a stunning performance which if not as iconic as previous roles is certainly as engaging.

Eastwood keeps churning out great, entertaining cinema, and this stands up alongside his recent resurgance reinforcing my believe that he is potentially America's current greatest filmmaker. A story which only Eastwood could star in it offers fans the indulgance they might crave, and sees the actor playing not only to his strengths but also shows Eastwood is an actor unafraid of his age.

4 Stars

Oscars, Baftas, Globes... and there all Gold. Awards season retrospective

It's March 2009 already. How time flies. The awards season is over and the one film on everyone's mind, lips and voting ballots is Slumdog Millionaire. Danny Boyle, Simon Beafouy and British film in general received great plaudits and a fantastic amount of recognition over the past three or four months.

But Slumdog wasn't the only British film to receive recognition. Albeit in other forms. Kate Winslet demonstrated that to win an Oscar you do have play Nazi (as she claimed in Extras), and although I haven't seen The Reader, and have in fact heard very little good about it. Kate Winslet certainly seems to have been the most watchable and enjoyable element of the film. But then when isn't she.

Man on Wire picked up best documentary, and although its about a Frenchmen, it's still classed as a British film. So well done to James Marsh for the best heist film of last year and a deserving winner for best documentary beating off. The excellent The Duchess picked up best costume, but then when doesn't a period piece beat off the competition.

The British film industry might be suffering but as The Guardian mentioned recently, in this history of the Oscar's we've fared better than most in the Awards haul.

As for the Golden Globes Winslet won again but for Revolutionary Road, she was actually winner of best supporting actress for The Reader as this year. Colin Farrell picked up for In Bruges, Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky. We even got in on the TV awards with Tom Wilkinson picking up supporting role for John Adams.

The Baftas proved also that Slumdog Millionaire isn't just a hit across the pond, but also universally adored here. Picking up a stash on statues. I think the only dissapointment for me this year was that Steve McQueen's superb Hunger only managed to win The Carl Forman Award. How he failed to be nominated for best director is beyond me. Hunger was clearly the best British film of 2008 and should not have been overlooked, even if the subject matter and content where not for the faint of heart.

And yet, despite all the awards, the British film industry still suffers and is in danger of being reduced even further in the recession. Film Four looks set merge with BBC Worldwide and is in danger of losing funding which could render future film, like Slumdog Millionaire, a thing of the past. Not only will this impact of the number and quality of British films being made, but could also see a dip in the quality of British film crew, despite Britain still being a great place to make films, we have some of the best facilities in the world, our film crews need to be constantly employed and if Film Four is shut down, or even faces further funding cuts, the number of homegrown productions will also reduce.

Just look at the number of great films Film Four has produced over the years and you begin to realise what's at stake.

So it's great that British films have been so successful this year, let's just hope its not the last, and that Film Four and other production companies working within the UK can survive the economic downturn and continue to produce ground breaking, boundry pushing, award winning films.