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French cinema like everything goes dromthe sublime to the ridiculous. La haine to les idiotes.

I'll chuck Pretty Village Pretty Flame and Lovers in the Arctic Circle for a couple of foreign type recommendations.


I think Ong Bak has been mentioned before but it's to date the only martial arts film the missus enjoyed.

Lott is a silly sausage generally. I was never in love with him in his yoof, writing for music mags and that - but then he did one of those "what was I thinking??? I'm not socially-minded at all !! " volte-faces and has been even more tittish


But the main reason the article was so bad was that he covered all his bases - anyone could have written that and substitued their own mix of classics, newish films and personal favourites and elicited the exact same response - which is pretty much my definition of "why bother" writing an article in the first place


*

I got to catch the entralling "United 93" the other evening. Based to the hi-jackings of 9/11 it is a sensational, captivating movie, handling it's subject matter with amazing guile and maintaining a growing level of tension throughout. Psychologically intelligent. Recommended.
Actually one movie that i found the most affecting was called the 25th Hour, early 70s one with Anthony Quinn (not the recent crapo action flick of the same name). One of the most exhausting movies ive ever seen. Saw it years ago, caught the beginning just as was planning to head off to bed but was captivated and 3 and half hrs later it finished. Long story short but it deals with a Romanian peasant during WWII, the town mayor takes a shine to his wife and then denounces him as a Jew when the Nazis roll through. He then ends up in a concentration camp for a while, escapes with the help of the Jewish underground, who then refuse to help him any further when they find out he isnt jewish, captured again, concentration camp again etc etc. Several years later he is picked out of a work detail by Nazi propagandist as having the perfect Aryan profile, thus graces the cover of Jack Boot Monthly, camp gets liberated by the Americans he then imprisoned in US POW camp due to being unwilling nazi pin up boy. Needless to say the wife and family are subjected to various horrors back in Romania which i wont go into. Anyway it continues in this vein. One of Quinns finest roles, his stoic reslience in the face of an unfolding series of horrors all of which outside of his control is nothing short of brilliant.
  • 3 weeks later...

A brace last night.


First up W. (I guess pronounced dubya) a bit lightweight for an Oliver stone biopic (forgetting please te awful Doors) but entertaining, and quite weird feeling oodles of sympathy for George Bush. Recommended in an 'if it's on telly' fashion.


Secondly, as I'm sure many dont read the horror thread, 'Let the Right One In'

if you never look at the horror shelves make one exception. It's more of a coming of age love story, pretty in pink meets the lost boys via miss smillas feeling for snow. Truly excellent cinema, best fairy tale since Pans Labyrinth.

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