True Lies (1994)

Director: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Charlton Heston
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action, Comedy
Awards: None

In True Lies, Schwarzenegger plays a secret agent on the trail of a terrorist organisation, yet his work is getting in the way of his family life as his wife (Lee Curtis) becomes more and more irritated with his constant absence. Thus the strain of keeping his family together and defending the world from Crimson Jihad increases and intertwines...

True Lies is possibly of of the least cheesy Schwarzenegger films from the 90s as he plays a character rather than just himself - yet he still juts through a bit as always. Whilst the action scenes are very good and the pace one well, the comedy aspect sometimes grates - perhaps because of how the film has aged but it just doesn't seem to be that funny anymore.

A lot of True Lies seems to have influenced The Incredibles as they are very similar in theme and sometimes even in plot points, with a man having to cover his secret identity and live a normal life. Therefore True Lies is undoubtedly a very influential film and should be remembered.

Overall, True Lies is an enjoyable film but I was expecting a bit more from a post Terminator 2 James Cameron. There isn't much to make it stand out yet that doesn't make it any less adequate.

****Good

London Road (2015)

Director: Rufus Norris
Starring: Olivia Colman, Paul Thornley, Kate Fleetwood, Clare Burt, Janet Henfrey, Jenny Galloway, Gillian Bevan, Michael Shaeffer, James Doherty, Nick Holder, Anita Dobson, Mark Sheals, Ha Fowler, Linzi Hateley, Alecky Blythe, Tom Hardy
Certificate: 15
Genre: Musical
Awards: None

London Road is a musical based on the real accounts of the people who lived on the road during the Ipswich murders. It focuses more on how it affected the residents at the time and afterwards rather than the actual murders using the dialogue from recorded interviews to create songs about the events and feelings.

All the cast work really well in creating a believable neighbourhood with people you would find on a typical street. Olivia Coleman could arguably be called the lead but the cast are more of a chorus, which can cause characters to lack individuality but each is given a few unique opinions and lines to make them slightly different.

The irritating thing about London Road is the way that it has been marketed, both by its own posters and other parties, as being a Tom Hardy film due to his popularity. His part is more of a cameo than anything else and the fact that he is being so focused upon draws away from the other great performances and the uniqueness of the film.

The musical parts of the film are absolutely stunning. The songs aren't particularly memorable or catchy but they are based more on realism and show a group consensus of fear, suspicion and anger at the events that happened.

I would definitely recommend watching London Road as there is nothing like it to my knowledge and it does some really interesting things in order to make you think about people and the circumstances some are in.

*****Brilliant

Strange Days (1995)

Director: Kathryn Bigalow
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore
Certificate: 18
Genre: Sci Fi, Action, Crime
Awards: None

In the far off future of 1999, Los Angeles has become a dystopia where crime runs wild in the streets. Ex-cop Lenny Nero (Fiennes) now sells memories that others can experience on the black market, but never a memory of somebody's death - known as a blackjack. When he is sent the blackjack of the murder of one of his friends, Lenny teams up with his friend Mace (Bassett) and former colleague Max (Sizemore) in order to try and Lewis), who he believes to be somehow mixed up in it.
find the killer and protect his ex-girlfriend, Faith (

Strange Days creates an absolutely enthralling world that just takes you in. The use of playback memories being sold as entertainment is a wonderful premise and the film uses it to its full potential with great examples throughout that play out almost like a first person video game.

Both Fiennes and Bassett bring great performances to help boost the interesting story, with Fiennes' charismatic sleaziness still making him likeable despite his very obvious flaws. The plot plays as a mystery thriller that keeps the viewer guessing throughout whilst also drawing on themes of police corruption and racial tension that drop the story into a colder reality.

Strange Days was a very pleasant surprise that had a great premise and focused on it rather than simply let it be a gimmick in the sidelines. This is indeed a lesser seen gem.

*****Brilliant

Red Beard (1965)

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring:Yûzô Kayama, Toshirô Mifune, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan, Miyuki Kuwano, Terumi Niki
Certificate: 15
Genre: Drama
Awards: None

Red Beard was the last film of sixteen to be made in the director-actor partnership of Akira Kuroswa and Toshirô Mifune, joining the ranks of Seven Samurai, Drunken Angel and The Bad Sleep Well. The film follows Dr Yasumoto (Kayama) who is sent to work in the clinic of Red Beard (Mifune) in 19th century Japan. Yasumoto dislikes Red Beard and refuses to work yet is slowly taught humility and honour as he sees the suffering of the patients.

The first half of the film shows how Yasumoto slowly learns humility whilst interacting with a number of patients that have their own stories of woe. The second half gives Yasumoto a patient in the twelve year old Otoyo (Niki) which give some absolutely heart warming scenes. The film has strong performances throughout showing the turmoil of the poor during a time of feudal discomfort.

Kurosawa makes every moment captivating with brilliant cinematography and settings for the flashbacks whilst the present is shown in such mundanity that the social realism becomes even darker and bleak. Whilst perhaps not as impressive as his action films, Red Beard succeeds in showing the nightmare of the lower classes in the 19th century and delivers slight hope in the characters that do what they can to lessen the despair.

****Good

Hanzo The Razor: Sword Of Justice (1972)

Director: Kenji Misumi
Starring: Shintarô Katsu Yukiji Asaoka, Mari Atsumi 
Certificate: 18
Genre: Action
Awards: None

The Hanzo The Razor series was a Samurai trilogy that seems to have been influenced by anti-hero cop films such as Dirty Harry, with Hanzo (Katsu), an officer in feudal Japan who doesn't play by the rules and does anything to solve the case. In the first film, Hanzo finds that a criminal has escaped from prison and investigates through a trail of police corruption and duplicity.

Whilst the film seems to be rather tongue in cheek, the use of rape by the protagonist leaves a rather sour taste in the mouth, as female suspects are forced upon by Hanzo in a form of interrogation that the film does not condemn but even portrays as erotism.

The overall plot is rather flimsy with no major villain to really make an impact. Once the main Plot line is completed. The film also carries on for a while, seemingly not sure what to do with it's major character and creates a subplot trying to bring the debate of Euthanasia into the fray. Yet as Hanzo doesn't seem like a character that is overall a 'good guy' (I wouldn't even class him as an anti-hero), it is hard to take any moral lessons from him that seriously.

Overall, Sword Of Justice works as a mediocre action film that uses shock and a very slanted morality to entertain. Yet, it hasn't really persuaded me to pursue its two sequels.

**Pretty Bad

Lucy (2014)

Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi, Amr Waked
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action, Sci Fi
Awards: None

Luc Besson's latest is a rampant, heart-pumping tale of a woman (Johansson) who unlocks the full capacity of her brain. This is due to a drug that was hidden in Lucy's intestines accidentally leaking. With the drug dealers on her tail, Lucy tries to get to grips with her new power which turns her superhuman.

For a director who is famous for his action with films such as Leon, Taken and Nikita, Lucy does not disappoint as guns blaze, knives twirl and bodies pound into the walls. As Lucy becomes more and more powerful things start to go over the top, yet it just gets more entertaining rather than boring. The ending sequence even draws parallels to films such as The Tree Of Life as the drug takes full effect.

I would say that Lucy is typical of Besson with its blend of action with an engaging story focused on an individual, yet this takes it further as time and the origins of man come into play. Its bold, fast paced and well worth watching.

****Good

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014)

Director: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Powers Booth, Josh Brolin, Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta
Certificate: 18
Genre: Action, Crime, Noir
Awards: None

It has been almost a decade since the original Sin City stunned its way to our screens and people have been asking for more ever since. Sin City was a great film in turns of visuals and the stories complemented the noir mood that was established.

A Dame To Kill For tells three new stories (one from Miller's comics and two originals) with different characters to its predecessor (except Dwight Mcarthy who only feels different due to being played by Brolin rather than Clive Owen) and it seems the best way to review the film is to review each story in turn.

The story the film is named after stars Dwight a few years before the events of Sin City. Dwight is a private investigator who comes across Ava Lorde (Green), an ex he is not too friendly with, who asks for his help. This, of course, leads to a great deal of bloody violence with some recognisable characters such as Manute (Haysbert taking over from the late Michael Clarke Duncan) and Marv (Rourke). The story overall is quite predictable, yet that doesn't stop it from being entertaining. Visually, it is great. Eyes are ripped out and faces are torn open while both Brolin and Green give everything they've got for their characters. However, Owen is still missed as the performances are so different that they feel like different characters.

The second story seems to stick out a bit, having nothing to do with any story from either film. Johnny (Gordon-Levitt) is a cocky gambler who comes to Sin City in order to win everywhere he can. During his parade, he comes across Senator Rourke (Booth) and makes himself a very powerful enemy. Although the story is interesting enough, the promise it shows is never fulfilled and it seems much more could have been done with it.

The final story follows Nancy (Alba) who has fallen into a drunken nightmare since the death of Hartigan (Willis) in the original. Now looking for revenge on Rourke, she too gains the help of Marv and the two take him on in his mansion.

Compare A Dame To Kill For with its predecessor and you are likely to be disappointed, yet it is not a bad film. The visual style is still the real star of the show and it could be argued that it has improved. And there is still calling for more as I for one would like to see more stories.

****Good