Nobody Knows Anything

One cinema visit this week, marked with a *. Running a bit late too, but I’ve been playing Diablo II under OS X, so I’ve been busy. Oh yes, contains strong language too.

The Bourne Identity (2002)

The Bond franchise has been forced into two reboots recently. The first happened with the departure of Timothy Dalton in 1989. For the record, I thought Dalton was excellent as Bond and Licence to Kill (1989) was exactly the kind of Bond film I wanted to see. The result was Pierce Brosnan cast in Goldeneye in 1995, where Martin Campbell as director set the tempo for the rest of the Brosnan era films and directors, which climaxed with the “jumping the shark” invisible car in Die Another Day (2002). And then this film was released, having made it to the screen after four separate reshoots and a ton of production troubles, none of which are apparent on screen. Where Bond had become fantasy, Bourne offered reality.

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

The second reboot happened with Casino Royale (2006) and the introduction of Daniel Craig, which turns out to have been so fucking smart it isn’t even funny. For the first time in decades, a Bond movie appeared with both scenes and dialogue taken from the original book, in preference to taking a title and remaking You Only Live Twice (1967) again, or whatever wacky shit the fabled Bond screenwriters came up with. The test, obviously, will be Daniel Craig’s 2nd Bond movie. Meanwhile, Bourne continued on his merry way, the second film being something of a Manhunter (1986) reunion for Joan Allen and Brian Cox, who never met on screen 18 years ago. Paul Greengrass turned out to be the perfect choice to take up the baton from Doug Liman.

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Anne Heche had her chance and she blew it. Or did Hollywood prejudice shut her out? She was the next big thing in the mid 1990s. You couldn’t go to the cinema without Anne Heche turning up in a role and being great and making you think why can’t this woman get the big Julia Roberts style roles and salaries? You know, a woman who can act. She was definitely being groomed for it. This movie, which concerns itself with a FBI agent going undercover in the Mafia, showcases exemplary work from her as the agent’s wife in a small role which both acts as a balance to the Al Pacino/Johnny Depp double act and serves as a reminder of what was at stake for Joe Pistone, the real life guy who did what Johnny Depp only plays. And then she met Ellen DeGeneres, and it was bye bye film stardom for her. What a rotten shame, but that’s modern Hollywood for you, run by liberals who turn out to be dyed in the wool conservatives when it comes to modern sexuality and a woman’s right to choose.

Scarface (1983)

Pacino’s turn in Donnie Brasco was so great, I wanted to see more of the master at work, and there are few better examples than this. Mark Cousins, who’s put himself about a bit in media circles and has even written a book called The Story of Film (you can look it up and everything), took over as presenter of the sadly missed Moviedrome on BBC2 from Alex Cox, where Alex would deliver an ultra dry five minute intro and then they’d play a cult movie, like El Topo (1970) or Trancers (1985)… or Scarface. So when Scarface turns up on the Moviedrome schedule, and Mark Cousins has to do his intro, instead of waxing lyrical about an unappreciated work of genius that’s entered not just popular culture but hiphop culture with a vengeance and a reach any other movie made in the 1980s has been utterly unable to reach [except perhaps for Wild Style (1983)], Mark Cousins said he just didn’t like it. I don’t think you can trust a film critic who doesn’t like Scarface. For Mark and I, it’s just never been the same.

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) *

So as if the makers of Bond 22 (2008) didn’t have enough on their plate, they have to contend with this, which is, if anything, more brilliant than the first two films put together. In particular, the chase over the rooftops and through the alleyways of Tangiers may be more accomplished, more terrifying and more disorienting than my favourite nightmarish chase scene: Leatherface pursuing Marilyn Burns in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

24 Hour Party People (2001) [Tony Wilson 1950-2007] FACDVD424

I wasn’t even aware that there was a Factory story until the mid 1980s. I’d heard of Ian Curtis’ suicide, and slowly started to get into New Order, who made the famous left turn in pop when they put out Blue Monday (FAC 73). By the time of The Perfect Kiss (FAC 123), the first New Order record I bought, the importance of Tony Wilson’s accidential achievement had become apparent, independent record labels had sprung up everywhere and music was undergoing enormous, significant and long-lasting change. Nowadays, it’s a bit trendy for CUNTS to disparage indie music and dismiss it with as much enthusiasm as those same CUNTS embrace Duran Duran and similar underachievers. The Factory story has a suicidal beginning, a middle section full of hope where everything looks possible, and then a squalid end mired in murder and drugs. Most of the middle section was mired in drugs as well. Anyone watch this film and think it’s a bit riotous and out of control? Safe to say, the reality of the Factory story was way more extreme, as, by all accounts, was the making of this film, which included a closing night in an exact recreation of the Haçienda (FAC 51) that the Haçienda itself never had. RIP Tony Wilson, it’s always the visionaries who die too soon.

COMING SOON: RUSS MEYER (but not next week)

After last week’s unrelenting barrage of political satire, sleazy metaphors and full frontal nudity, I needed a break from the sturm und drang and spent the week watching a few lighter movies. No cinema visits this week.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

For the record, this was the unrated version. One of the most amusing commentary track experiences I’ve had recently is listening to the creatives involved in this movie moaning about not having enough money to make the film the way they wanted to. The budget for this movie was $110 million. In what way is that not enough money to make a no-think action comedy with half a dozen action sequences? This is why they call Hollywood La-La Land because the rules of reality no longer apply.

Enter the Dragon (1973)

Meanwhile, 32 years earlier, for under a million dollars you had this. Apart from seeing campy clips in other circumstances, this was probably my first experience of a genuine Hong Kong action flick from the 1970s. Except of course it isn’t quite that, because it was made by an American crew with American money. But they did have access to those astonishing audio whooshes and simulated limb and bone cracks that Hong Kong cinema audio mavens had been dreaming up for decades. And they had Bruce Lee, who, I’ll be damned, is every bit as astonishing as he’s always been hyped up as. The guy was a real action hero, and he puts the Van Dammes and Seagals of this world to shame. And to die so young by accident… Sigh.

Addams Family Values (1993)

The rare example of a sequel being so much better than the original that the original still hasn’t been released on DVD in the UK. But if Paramount hadn’t released this sequel, an angry mob would have tracked them down and burnt them at the stake. And as much as they tried to share out the mayhem amongst the cast, the standout is Christina Ricci, who delivers one of the most brilliant comedic performances of the 1990s as the deadpan, death-obsessed Wednesday Addams. It takes a special kind of film to pull out the best from Ms Ricci, The Opposite of Sex (1998) being another example, so I am very much looking forward to Black Snake Moan (2006).

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Although I pride myself on holding positions on certain movies at direct contradiction to received wisdom or majority opinion, there are some films where I fall in line with everyone else. And this is one of them. It is the best one of the six. Lucky Irvin Kershner. He didn’t have to spend any time introducing characters or working on the plot, he just had to go shot by shot making sure each one had a cool piece of character emotion or humour, and glue it all together later. I also think that the 1997 Special Edition is better than the original. Of course, it’s now the 2004 Special Edition since there was a little more fiddling before the box set came out. That they were able to go back to the original elements and recomposite all the individual pieces of the special effects shots so they worked more perfectly in the digital realm than they ever could through the optical printer, just shows how damned good the work was in the first place. There are very few digital additions to Episode V; it doesn’t need them. One more thing, watch the closing credits of this film and you will see an astounding number of crew people who have defined Hollywood special effects and movie making for the last 27 years.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Has its time come yet? Are people ready to admit liking it after all? This is what you would have got if you made Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940) with a $40 million budget in 1940. I guess it’s one of those things where you either go with the look of the thing or you don’t. Along with a well-thumbed visual appeal, it also has a terrific, aggressive soundtrack that will, as they say, really give your subwoofer a workout.