The Verdict

****

As a modest tribute to the recently deceased Sidney Lumet, here’s a look at one of his films. Although Lumet started out in TV, his features career is bookended by Twelve Angry Men (1957) and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007). The former is a stone cold classic and the latter is startling for both its power and the fact that it was directed by an octogenarian. The Verdict sits precisely in the middle of that prolific career - 1982 (oh yeah, that year again). Although made just into the eighties, it’s fair to say the film has a seventies sensibility. To describe the tone, the adjectives that spring to mind are “sombre” and “bleak”. A protagonist who is an ageing, washed-up, ambulance-chasing lawyer is not an obvious hero for mainstream eighties cinema. Oh, and he’s also a bona fide alcoholic. The breakfast of this champion is a beer with an egg cracked into it. No wait come back, it is entertaining. If you enjoy the psychological warfare of a cross-examination, a desk-slapping speech and “OBJECTION YER HONOUR” bellowed across a courtroom then you are likely to enjoy this.

Paul Newman is exceptional as Frank Galvin, the reprobate described above. He is given something of a last chance - a medical malpractice case. What he does initially for the big possible earner he eventually does to redeem himself. The setting is a cold and wintry Boston and the legal halls therein. Charlotte Rampling is as icy as the locations and James Mason plays defence lawyer, Ed Concannon, an adversary to be feared and described as “The Prince of Fucking Darkness”. This brings me to the screenwriter, who might be referred to as “David Fucking Mamet”. The screenplay is unsurprisingly clever, poetically un-pc and he was rightly nominated for an oscar. (FYI, he lost out to Costa-Gavras and Donald Stewart’s for their “worthy” opponent, Missing.)

As with much of Lumet’s work The Verdict is solid Hollywood product but with an edge. In comparison to his other work I believe it’s a bit underrated. Understandable, considering it sits next to the likes of Dog Day Afternoon and Network but highly recommended nonetheless. 

Source Code

****
With all its twist and turnage, I have to admit there were a couple of things about Source Code I didn't fully comprehend. Embarrassing, yes. I just hope, dear reader, that you’ll still trust me. That doesn't mean it wasn't an enjoyable watch. It was. In fact, it was superb. Ben Ripley's smart script provides spills and thrills and brain aches. At least for this dunce. OK, here comes the science bit...

Helicopter pilot Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is on a different kind of reconnaissance mission. He must glean intelligence as to the whereabouts of a bomb (and bomber) on a commuter train heading into Chicago. He is repeatedly transplanted into another person's body for the last eight minutes of their life - a man who died on said train. This is not time travel, this is an alternate reality. 

It's at turns funny and freaky. Gyllenhaal is adept at the comedy and convinces as freaked out. Duncan Jones’ follow up to instant cult classic, Moon is impressive. Especially bearing in mind it's only his second feature. It's definitely in the bigger leagues. The great thing is that it doesn't get too big. While the gravitas of the situation is large, the film microscopes in on a moment in time, with the action mostly confined to the train. It’s so much better to see something done smaller but tighter (as opposed to big and well, baggy). And tight this most definitely is. Hollywood take note.

On a few message boards, there have been some fun comparisons made with Groundhog Day. The most obvious relation for me, however, is Quantum Leap and in game acknowledgement of this, Scott Bakula cameos. Albeit very discreetly. Notable mention must also go to Vera Farmiga (probably best known for Up in the Air) who plays Stevens' savvy contact at base. 

Source Code shocks, surprises, and keeps you on your toes. And I need to see it again.

Limitless

***

Bradley Cooper is well cast as Eddie Morra who transforms himself from near-hobo status with the help of a magic pill. His metamorphosis from hopeless wannabe writer to Alpha Extraordinaire is a superlative fantasy for ahem, hopeless wannabe writers. Moving on swiftly... As I say, the casting is perfect. Cooper gives good ‘useless’ but also makes a pretty convincing Master of the Universe. (And that's in the Tom Wolfe sense. Not like y'know, He-Man.) This slobby loser runs into his ex-brother in law who gives him one of said pills. It gives him a fierce intelligence and superhuman awareness. Unsurprisingly, things improve for him on a stratospheric curve. It’s bombastic, ludicrous and extremely enjoyable.

With the central theme being a fictional drug, technically this is science fiction. However, it’s very much grounded in the present day and all of its brutal realities. (It has more than a few nasty surprises.) Drug sequences are so often cringey but director Neil Burger does a fine job. The visuals are exhilarating and seem to capture Eddie's state of mind. We are guided through the action with narration from Bradley Cooper. Voice-over is so often used as a lazy storytelling device but then again what would Apocalypse Now or Goodfellas be without it? We certainly wouldn’t have believed that that fat guy was a crack green beret and no one could ever have guessed the name of Jimmy Two Times. (OK, maybe one or two might have.) While nowhere near the heady heights of those two films, narration lends itself well to the non-stop-thrill-ride nature of Limitless.

Not only is it original, it’s smarter than your average popcorn flick. While the characters are a little superficial, the good performances help you to erm, not really mind. It also has a risqué lack of preachy messaging in regards to drug use.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans

****

It was an odd thing to do: re-make/ re-imagine/ re-franchise (?) something leftfield as Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant. The whole notion still twists my melon but as soon as the action began none of that mattered.

Seeing Nicholas Cage in something so juicy reminded me just how good he is. The ‘interesting’ work on his filmography has recently been far outweighed by the, to put it kindly, ‘not so interesting’. He is brilliantly bonkers in the role of titular Lieutenant, Terence McDonagh. Due to an injury early on, he spends most of the film with a rolling gait that’s part John Wayne, part Richard III. On top of that he has Dirty Harry’s gun. (Said Magnum .44 is stuck, aesthetically-pleasingly, in the front of his pants.) He is a gambler, habitual drug user and worse than the deadly sea snakes swimming around the flooded wastes of post-Katrina New Orleans. He’s the dangerous predator you need to worry about. It’s twisted and unpleasant but, if you like the seamier side of cinema, it’s an awful lot of fun. (Mostly down to Cage’s boisterous demeanour.)

The rest of the cast is one of quality and an eclectic mix. Eva Mendes, Brad Dourif, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Jennifer Coolidge, Fairuza Balk seem to relish their chance to be involved in the project. And who can blame them? Val Kilmer lends restrained support and nice guy of hip-hop, Xzibit turns nasty to surprisingly good effect. 

Writer William Finkelstein, veteran of many a US cop show fits together a well-crafted police procedural. Albeit, with a big dollop of insanity on top. Which last (and by no means least) brings me to legendary, mad scientist of film lore, Werner Herzog. The director has made a slick film without sacrificing any of the potency of its subject matter. While admirable for their Herculean efforts, his earlier work such as Aguirre and Fitcarraldo were little more than documenting Klaus Kinski et al being put through a bunch of unimaginable shit. Style was never high on the agenda. Whereas this is a good-looking flick. And an entertaining one to boot. But let’s not get carried away, Herzog hasn’t turned into Brett Ratner. It’s a film with balls that clang. The switch in tone at certain moments is so jarring you can't help but admire Herzog's gall. This one shoots first and asks questions later.

44 Inch Chest

*** 

We don’t really know who Colin Diamond is. However, he’s played by Ray Winstone and it doesn’t take a genius to work out he’s a bit of a wrong ‘un. The same applies to the rest of the cast. Ian McShane as silky smooth psycho Meredith, basically reprises his role from Sexy Beast. Old Man Peanut is an unapologetically vile creation brought to blood-curdling life by John Hurt. Stephen Dillane and Tom Wilkinson – always great baddies - make up the rest of this un-holiest of pentangles. These are men whose scruples and loyalties are a mess of contradictions. Here they seek retribution for a friend who’s been wronged. Colin’s wife, Liz (Joanne Whalley) has found someone else, in the shape of a dishy French waiter. The boys not only want their pound of flesh, they’re all quite looking forward to it.

Long time commercials veteran, Malcolm Venville directs with unflashy precision and elicits killer performances from the experienced cast. The film is penned by Louis Mellis and David Scinto, they of Sexy Beast fame. The script is something of a rare steak – it’s rich in flavour, juicy, tender, and a bit bloody. The dialogue doesn’t disappoint. It’s scary, funny and, at times, really beautiful. It is a simple tale told on a small scale (and at a refreshingly slender 95 minutes). I accept it is not the most thrilling of stories. The action - mostly set in one location - is limited, to the point where one could easily see it transposed to the stage. But it’s unfair to criticise for these reasons alone. Twelve Angry Man was set entirely in one room as was Rope and these have always been highly regarded. Nevertheless, if the action is contained thus you really need to pull all the stops out and unfortunately it lacks that necessary chutzpah. Saying that, 44 Inch Chest is a thoughtful film and poses some interesting moral questions: such as one’s ability to choose, after having already decided on a certain path.

Awaydays

**

Awaydays is an adaptation of Kevin Sampson’s noted novel. While the book provided a fascinating look at football hooliganism in 1979, the film offers no such insight. It’s not exactly incoherent, just mind-numbingly simplified. There is little to distinguish each titular awayday from another. The interesting thing about Tranmere Rovers’ crew of hoolies (“The Pack”) is that not only did they have a fearsome reputation but they had loads of style. Their wedge haircuts and Adidas were a striking contrast to the other thugs on the terraces and their lack of interest in anything sartorial. It does get this point across but the scraps all blend into one another. At least you have to hand it to Kevin Sampson, who also wrote the screenplay, for not supplying Basil Exposition voice-over. But the script is poor, leaving much unclear and ambiguous.

What can really raise the game of a low budget feature are good performances. Unfortunately, Awaydays doesn’t have any. The leads, Nicky Bell (Carty) and Liam Boyle (Elvis) have little charisma and/or presence. The closest thing is Stephen Graham’s older hoolie, who certainly looks the part in his sheepskin coat and ‘tache but it’s a minor role.

And this is a personal taste thing, but the dreary late seventies brit pop / indie film soundtrack makes it a contender for one of the worst ever.

Knight and Day

***

Tom Cruise doesn’t really do Average Joes. I never bought him as blue collar in War of the Worlds. He gives so much more value for money when playing alpha (e.g. hotshot lawyer, fighter pilot, special agent). Knight and Day sees him playing the latter to rather good comic effect. His wild-eyed, rogue agent Roy Miller is thrown into a whole load of chaos with a cherry on top, namely Cameron Diaz (June Havens).

The stunts are so outrageous they are somewhat knowingly mocked. The logic being: yes we know this is ridiculous but it looks cool, huh? I do wish action directors would lay off the CGI, though. Even the simplest of stunts that was done for real / in camera were far more exciting than all the special-effects-icised ones (you know what I mean) combined. And hey, who needs special effects when you’ve got Cruise. When it comes to action he’s already extremely effective. Whatever you think of the guy, you cannot deny his dexterity.

I can understand why it was a disappointment at the box office. It just seems a bit “vanilla” for a big summer [2010] film and one that stars Tom Cruise. You expect more from such a “tentpole” movie. Perhaps it’s because the formula does seem a bit tired: a screaming hysteric (her) being dragged into, and then saved from, a number of dangerous situations by a cool professional (him). It brings to mind Bird on a Wire whose routine felt a bit hackneyed back in 1990. Couldn’t we have the woman dragging a pathetic man around for just once?

Diaz doesn’t bring anything that interesting to the barbecue, just some mild kookiness. While not a total disaster (as some have suggested), the chemistry between the two of them is not the greatest. The worldwide weirdness surrounding Cruise doesn’t help when a romance is at the centre of a film. However, it’s good fun and has a lot more life and character than any of the recent soulless output from Michael Bay or James Cameron.