Spring Breakers

(Harmony Korine/2012/USA)

You know those young, gaudy, reckless American hedonist students that spend their Easter holidays in an alcohol and drug binged haze of moronic hollering and casual sex? Harmony Korine made a film about those idiots but couldn’t sustain the narrative long enough before having to weld it to some bullshit about white gangster rappers. The whole film is an exercise in glitzy surface cool in an effort to make some sub textual comment on American youth culture but it gets tired and tiring very, very quickly. Outside of Kids, which he wrote and is brilliant, I haven’t seen any other Harmony Korine films but am aware he’s lauded in various circles. If this is what he’s amounted to in the near 20 years since writing Kids I won’t be rushing to fill in the gaps.

(0/5)  

Gangster No.1

(Paul McGuigan/2000/UK)

Released the same year as Sexy Beast and with much the same subject matter, aging criminals, Gangster No.1 builds its story from narrated flashbacks rather than rooting itself firmly in the present. This allows for lots of vintage costume styling and set decorating which looks great but also seems somehow over familiar. We’re not breaking any new ground here but there’s fine performances from Paul Bettany as the young sociopathic gangster of the title who manoeuvres his way into a position of power in the London crime scene. Malcolm McDowell is also impressive as the aged gangster in the present day but the montage and flashback style story telling lacks a build up of intensity and there’s a reliance on grisly violence to shock and engage the viewer. The culmination of the story is both a little confusing and deflating. It’s pertinent to make comparison with Sexy Beast which has a subtlety that’s absent here. The menace onscreen is in the possibility of violence from Ben Kingsley’s obviously lunatic character and whilst there are moments of viciousness there’s a restraint in the script from showing too much. There’s a lot more in what we don’t see than what we do sometimes and this I think is why Sexy Beast is a more enduring film than McGuigan’s Gangster No.1.

(2.5/5)

The Raid 2

(Gareth Evans/2014/Indonesia)

It’s hard to imagine Gareth Evans coming close to the action and excitement of his first Raid movie but he does it and even goes beyond it. Picking up right where the The Raid finished we see Rama getting recruited as an undercover agent to infiltrate the Bangun crime gang. There’s a lot more story here and events tip along nicely with building tension and bursts of violence. Unlike the first movie which had a single goal driving the plot this sequel has to open out several different strands and weave them together whilst replicating the momentum and dynamic of the fighting. It does it really well, the story holds together and the fight scenes are a step above the earlier episode using a lot more visual gags and various settings and stunt set ups to elaborate on. If you enjoyed the first Raid you should have no complaint with this one either.

(3.5/5)

The Connection

(Cédric Jimenez/2014/France & Belgium)

The connection in the title being French as in the 1971 William Friedkin film about drugs smuggling through Marseilles to New York based on real events. The Connection looks at the story from the French side and details the story of Judge Pierre Michel and criminal Tany Zampa who were more or less arch rivals on the side of law and disorder respectively in 1970’s Marseilles. The film is an excellent character study of both the protagonists and has plenty of action and style but it is at the end of the day a gangster film and doesn’t push against or beyond that genre in any way. It’s a good film and a compelling story but there’s nothing spectacular about it in and of itself.

(2.5/5)

Hyena

(Gerard Johnson/2014/UK)

With an opening shot of a police raid on a club with people being beaten and arrested scored to an elegant, upbeat piece of orchestral music the immediate connotation is Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange but Hyena very quickly shrugs off any notions of stylized violence. It is more closely related to Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant relocated to modern day London. Gritty is the overused descriptor that fits here but it really is gritty. Tracing the descent into hell of Michael Logan, a bent detective operating within the drug syndicates of the capital it slowly ratchets up both the gruesomeness and tension. Logan manoeuvres himself into business with a pair of Albanian brothers who prove to be far more demanding than his previous Turkish dealer. The casual, observing camerawork in scenes of rape and killing are, to be frank, chilling, presenting the acts as they are, horrific. As internal affairs become involved and Logan finds himself caught between his equally corrupt workmates and the Albanian thugs with an added concern for a woman he’s come into contact with in one of the Albanian brothels, his sense of panic and erratic behaviour begin to spiral. In a moment that will no doubt divide opinion Gerald Johnson finishes the film with a stroke of maturity and breathlessness that’s rarely seen in these British crime dramas that have proliferated since the 90’s. The score by The The’s Matt Johnson is great too.

(3.5/5)

Yakuza Apocalypse

(Takashi Miike/2015/Japan)

You don’t press play on a Takashi Miike film and expect a run of the mill cinematic experience. The man is known for his derangement of genres and narrative and in Yakuza Apocalypse he seems to pack almost every style and conceit he’s ever previously employed into the one sitting. Without trying to elaborate on every twist and turn, because we’d be here all day, the basic premise is this: Kageyama works for local gangster Kamiura, who happens to be a vampire. A rival cartel, consisting of a coffin carrying witchfinder general, an geeky assassin and a kappa water demon, rolls into town challenging Kamiura’s reign. They kick his ass but before he dies he bites Kageyama, turning him into a vampire, who then vows to destroy the cartel with the remnants of the yakuza gang. The cartel summon "the modern monster" who is a man in an oversized mouldy frog suit, he needs help up and down stairs but has unbelievable martial arts skills. The rest of the movie is taken up with the battle between Kageyama’s crew and the cartel and the frog. Have you processed all that? Because that is the bare bones of what goes on. At the start of the movie Kageyama says “My life was like tepid water. Then I met the boss.” Well Takashi Miike boils the bejaysus out of that water over the course of two hours and there is absolutely no point in trying to make sense of it. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride because it is at times frustrating, at times hilarious and all the time fun. It ends in mid skirmish, suggesting there could be a sequel but for me the scenes towards the end take on the feel of a video game. The monster levels up and the final cut is as if someone pressed pause to make a cup of tea during an epic battle on a games console. This is a marmite flick, even Miike fans will rankle at it I suspect but if you can let the attention deficit style wash over you there’s lots to enjoy.

(3.5/5)

Pusher

(Nicolas Winding Refn/1996/Denmark)

The first of Winding Refn's trilogy based in and around Copenhagen looking at characters embroiled in the drug scene. Frank, played brilliantly by Kim Bodnia, is a hapless low level heroin dealer who over reaches and gets himself into debt and all sorts of trouble. The spiral of events, shown over the course of a week, as the universe conspires against him increasingly ratchets up the tension. Refn uses fast paced editing, rough dialogue and music to cinematicly face off with the viewer, it’s a brash film, challenging you like one of the characters might if confronted. He also used hand held cameras throughout which give the film a documentary feeling and the lighting is consistently naturalistic and unadulterated giving realism to the entire thing. It is a dark, at times funny but unglorified look at gangsters in a European city. As time and options run out for Frank it keeps you glued no matter how unsympathetic you are to the character himself.

(3.5/5)

Legend

(Brian Helgeland/2015/France)

A depiction of the Kray Twins, Ronnie and Reggie, tracing their story from small to big time London gangsters, this film doesn’t really add anything to a well known tale or tease out the characters to any extent. There are a couple of reasons for this but the main one is the fact it’s all related via voiceover from Reggie’s girlfriend and eventual wife, Rose, played by Emily Browning. Placing the viewer in the mind of Rose only allows a straight recounting of events and her voiceover does not delve into motivations or reasons for the quirks and psychotic kinks of the brothers in question. As a result it’s not a very insightful film but the centrepiece and one thing that keeps you engaged is Tom Hardy’s dual performance as both Ronnie and Reggie. It is amazing how he deploys the quiet, suave yet latently aggressive charm of Reggie and plays off the more overt, unstable and wilfully violent Ronnie. He even manages to physically transform himself for each twin, Reggie being leaner and more clean cut than the buff and boorish Ronnie. Browning is also excellent as the misfortunate Rose. Legend is worth watching for Hardy and Browning's acting alone.

(2.5/5)

The Family

(Luc Besson/2013/France)

Robert De Niro, a mafia boss, goes states witness against another boss getting himself, wife Michelle Pfieffer and their kids relocated to rural France under witness protection in the process. This is the set up for hilarious escapades to follow but The Family has a weak script that’s only carried somewhat by the lead performances and Bessons ability to sustain cinematic energy. The characters are hard to be sympathetic towards though and as adept as Besson is at unfurling a narrative arc, the comedy on offer here falls a bit flat. Sub plots go down cul de sacs, there’s continual shifting from cartoonish parody to quite grisly violence and there’s a ham fisted appropriation of De Niro’s past career in gangster films for a cheap laugh. The Family amounts to a good director and cast working with a poor script to produce an average comedy film.

(2/5)

Goodfellas

(Martin Scorsese/1990/USA)

I know people who don’t rate this flick for various reasons; taste is a strange thing at times and each to their own but personally I consider it near perfect. It’s one of those films that can be enjoyed again and again and again and it’s immensely quotable too. It is a culmination of Scorsese’s earlier style and a move towards a more commercial and traditional narrative structure and it hits all the marks. Liotta, De Niro and Pesci are on fire. The perfect mix of a great script, great actors and a great director, Scorsese’s edgy auteur leanings mesh with Hollywood big budget pomp in a glorious rock 'n' roll tale of gangsters without ever shying away from the grim realities of that life. The scene where Tommy’s mother, played by Scorsese’s own mum, makes a meal for him, Henry and Jimmy is played with such naturalness and lightheartedness, all while we are aware of the horror in the trunk of their car, is a master stroke. You can see that kind of natural chatting resurface as a more considered device in Tarantino’s movies. Also the voice over technique, while not original, is done so well its influence is evident down the line in films like The Shawshank Redemption, Trainspotting, Memento and Fight Club. In the context of Scorsese’s career it was a point where everything came together and is probably his best film albeit not my favourite of his (that would have to be Mean Streets).

(4.5/5)

The Yellow Sea

(Na Hong-jin/2010/Korea)

At almost two and a half hours this is a long haul but it works as it is broken into four parts that become increasingly fast paced and violent. Showing a man at low ebb, with gambling debts and an estranged wife and daughter living with his mother, who agrees to do a hit to clear his debt, the first part is slow, real and bleak. It’s hard to sympathize with Gu-nam, the taxi driving main character, as it's pretty obvious the fissures in his life are of his own making. 

His trip to Korea shows the reality for many today in that area of the world but once he’s in Korea the social commentary begins to become secondary to the growing action and bloodletting and the plot begins to burst at the seams in places. It all descends into a “WTF?” ending with some brilliant observational points along the way. A lot of reviews complain of confusion with the story but it’s all there if you dig into it.

(3/5)

Drug War

(Johnnie To/2012/China)

There are no preliminaries here; it’s straight into a drug mule bust and the midst of a police operation against trafficking. A whole host of characters begin to appear who you get used to on the hoof rather than see develop in the usual sense. Early on there are lots of tense scenes and then the action begins to escalate and escalate, culminating in an absolute blood fest shoot ‘em up. It’s no frills action too, no fancy footwork, which brings home the grueling reality of it all – no one wins. Have to say I loved this, it doesn’t tax the brain, just get swept up in the wave of it and leave the moralizing and analysis until afterwards on the walk home.

(4/5)

Lawless

(John Hillcoat/2012/USA)

Given how good Nick Cave’s screenplay for Proposition was the sight of his name on the screenwriting credit for Lawless raised expectations. Unfortunately the film falls quite a bit short of those expectations, in the main due to an inability to decide what to show and what not. In attempting to tell too much it ends up losing focus and impairing an otherwise well made film. The setting is 1930’s prohibition time Virginia and the Bondurant brothers have established themselves as bootleggers. A special deputy is brought in to deal with them and other bootlegging gangs, his particular method being to request a cut in return for a blind eye. The Bondurants refuse, there are reprisals, they expand operations with the help of a big city gang and a couple of love interests develop before it all culminates in a slightly ludicrous showdown. But it all seems to stutter along rather than glide with any degree of continuity. Montages exacerbate a sense of boxes being ticked. Outside of these flaws are some decent performances from Chastain, Hardy and Pearce along with a great ambience of that time and setting. It should work better than it does but what it lacks is air for the story to breathe. There’s no need for a lot of the sub plotting and overall it’s a disappointing venture.

(2/5)