What I Watched This Week (w/e May 26th 2008)
Whilst continuing to catch up on my reading, I managed to watch:
American Gangster - This true story of Frank Lucas, who outdid the Mafia and flooded New York with cheap, high-grade heroin and Ritchie Roberts, the detective who eventually brought him to justice, is extremely watchable, moving along at a fair pace for nearly three hours. However it felt a little bloated despite the fine performances by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott has done better and American Gangster suffers from being under the shadow of The French Connection, a film it pays homage to and references. :)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - The last time I saw Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck together on screen was in the terrible Ocean's 13, but here they put in career-best performances and respond to the intelligent and involving script by writer-director Andrew Dominik. I missed this when it was at the cinema and wish I'd seen it then, because it was beautifully shot and it beggars belief that the Academy almost completely overlooked it, as it is one of the best films of last year. :D
Ocean's Eleven - Some corporate lackey was handing these out free at Uni, which is just as well because I wouldn't have paid money for it. Better than its sequels and even the Frank Sinatra original, it's enjoyable popcorn nonsense, but there's nothing to trouble the grey matter. :)
The Nines - Three interlinked stories with the same three main actors but playing different roles, centring around Ryan Reynolds. In the first he plays an actor under house arrest, the second a TV show creator and the third a video game designer. The second story is the most interesting, but Reynolds fails to convince in any of them, although Hope Davis does. Not great, but watchable. :|
Persepolis - A semi-autobiographical tale of a girl growing up in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran sees her moving to Austria and back to her homeland before settling in Paris, failing to get a sense of belonging anywhere. This lost out to Ratatouille at the Oscars and although I preferred Pixar's film, this is charming and mature. :)
The Breed - Alfred Hitchcock made a genuinely scary horror film with The Birds by turning seemingly benign creatures into terrifying killers. Using the same premise, but with Alsatian dogs - which are already scary - Nicholas Mastandrea employs every horror cliché and turns out a derivative and boring film. :(
The Pursuit of Happyness - Similar to It's a Wonderful Life in that the main character has a desperate time throughout the film before coming good at the end, this has Will Smith and his real life son suffering for almost two hours! Not as engaging or rewarding at Capra's perennial classic, but beautifully acted and with an emotional punch at the end. :)
War - Jason Statham squints and speaks in that gruff manner that makes him so hard to understand, whilst putting on an unconvincing American accent and taking on Jet Li's deadly and charisma-free assassin. It's pretty stupid and the twist ending was telegraphed. :(
Beneath - Mining horror clichés for all it's worth, but still a watchable and suspenseful film. :|
An Affair to Remember - Cary Grant's easy charm mixes really well with a fine performance by Deborah Kerr to produce a funny and involving romantic comedy. :)
The Fountain - I like Darren Aronovsky's work, but didn't get into this at all. Hugh Jackman in three different eras: as a conquistador, a contemporary neurosurgeon and a bald yogic flyer, travelling through space in a giant orb with a tree. :|
Goya's Ghosts - With fine performances by Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård and Natalie Portman and excellent production design, this story of Spain under the Catholic church and its inquisition is brilliant for the first half but falls away after the '15 years later' title. :)
Heineken Cup Final: Toulouse vs. Munster - Two of the giants of European Rugby went head-to-head at the Millennium Stadium and produced a gripping game of Test Match intensity. The result was a fine send off for Declan Kidney who left Munster to take on the post of Irish head coach.
Challenge Cup Final: Bath vs. Worcester - A far from classic game, but Bath ended their decade long search for silverware, gave Borthwick and Barkley a fine way to end their stay at the Rec. and, with the win, gave Harlequins Heineken Cup rugby next season.
Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano - Billed as 'The Homecoming' and presented as a 'thank you' to his fans who followed him to his last few fights in the US, this took place in front of 55,000 people at the City of Manchester Stadium. Seemingly a perfect match of styles, to allow Hatton to impress and get back on the horse after his KO loss to Floyd Mayweather, it was a good performance by the Hitman though his next opponent, Paulie Malinaggi, failed to win over many fans with his hair providing the most entertainment in his clash with Lovemore N'dou. As 'thank you's go, it was a bit galling that you had to pay £14.95 to watch it - surely free on Sky Sports would have been a greater show of generosity.
F1 Monaco Grand Prix - This is always one of the great events of the F1 calendar, with fast cars driven by millionaires in a millionaires' playground - many of the drivers even live there (nothing to do with taxes, you understand!) and the twisty street circuit usually makes for entertaining racing, although the width of the cars now makes overtaking nigh on impossible, so qualifying well is crucial. This year's race was expected to suit the McLarens more than the Ferraris and it seemed that the Italian outfit might dominate with a 1-2 in qualifying but then the rain came down! The best thing that happened to Hamilton and the incident that ultimately won him the race was crashing into the wall on lap 5.
I also watched the usual: NFL Total Access, The Rugby Club, Peep Show and HIGNFY.
DVD
American Gangster - This true story of Frank Lucas, who outdid the Mafia and flooded New York with cheap, high-grade heroin and Ritchie Roberts, the detective who eventually brought him to justice, is extremely watchable, moving along at a fair pace for nearly three hours. However it felt a little bloated despite the fine performances by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott has done better and American Gangster suffers from being under the shadow of The French Connection, a film it pays homage to and references. :)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - The last time I saw Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck together on screen was in the terrible Ocean's 13, but here they put in career-best performances and respond to the intelligent and involving script by writer-director Andrew Dominik. I missed this when it was at the cinema and wish I'd seen it then, because it was beautifully shot and it beggars belief that the Academy almost completely overlooked it, as it is one of the best films of last year. :D
Ocean's Eleven - Some corporate lackey was handing these out free at Uni, which is just as well because I wouldn't have paid money for it. Better than its sequels and even the Frank Sinatra original, it's enjoyable popcorn nonsense, but there's nothing to trouble the grey matter. :)
The Nines - Three interlinked stories with the same three main actors but playing different roles, centring around Ryan Reynolds. In the first he plays an actor under house arrest, the second a TV show creator and the third a video game designer. The second story is the most interesting, but Reynolds fails to convince in any of them, although Hope Davis does. Not great, but watchable. :|
Cinema
Persepolis - A semi-autobiographical tale of a girl growing up in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran sees her moving to Austria and back to her homeland before settling in Paris, failing to get a sense of belonging anywhere. This lost out to Ratatouille at the Oscars and although I preferred Pixar's film, this is charming and mature. :)
Television
The Breed - Alfred Hitchcock made a genuinely scary horror film with The Birds by turning seemingly benign creatures into terrifying killers. Using the same premise, but with Alsatian dogs - which are already scary - Nicholas Mastandrea employs every horror cliché and turns out a derivative and boring film. :(
The Pursuit of Happyness - Similar to It's a Wonderful Life in that the main character has a desperate time throughout the film before coming good at the end, this has Will Smith and his real life son suffering for almost two hours! Not as engaging or rewarding at Capra's perennial classic, but beautifully acted and with an emotional punch at the end. :)
War - Jason Statham squints and speaks in that gruff manner that makes him so hard to understand, whilst putting on an unconvincing American accent and taking on Jet Li's deadly and charisma-free assassin. It's pretty stupid and the twist ending was telegraphed. :(
Beneath - Mining horror clichés for all it's worth, but still a watchable and suspenseful film. :|
An Affair to Remember - Cary Grant's easy charm mixes really well with a fine performance by Deborah Kerr to produce a funny and involving romantic comedy. :)
The Fountain - I like Darren Aronovsky's work, but didn't get into this at all. Hugh Jackman in three different eras: as a conquistador, a contemporary neurosurgeon and a bald yogic flyer, travelling through space in a giant orb with a tree. :|
Goya's Ghosts - With fine performances by Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård and Natalie Portman and excellent production design, this story of Spain under the Catholic church and its inquisition is brilliant for the first half but falls away after the '15 years later' title. :)
Heineken Cup Final: Toulouse vs. Munster - Two of the giants of European Rugby went head-to-head at the Millennium Stadium and produced a gripping game of Test Match intensity. The result was a fine send off for Declan Kidney who left Munster to take on the post of Irish head coach.
Challenge Cup Final: Bath vs. Worcester - A far from classic game, but Bath ended their decade long search for silverware, gave Borthwick and Barkley a fine way to end their stay at the Rec. and, with the win, gave Harlequins Heineken Cup rugby next season.
Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano - Billed as 'The Homecoming' and presented as a 'thank you' to his fans who followed him to his last few fights in the US, this took place in front of 55,000 people at the City of Manchester Stadium. Seemingly a perfect match of styles, to allow Hatton to impress and get back on the horse after his KO loss to Floyd Mayweather, it was a good performance by the Hitman though his next opponent, Paulie Malinaggi, failed to win over many fans with his hair providing the most entertainment in his clash with Lovemore N'dou. As 'thank you's go, it was a bit galling that you had to pay £14.95 to watch it - surely free on Sky Sports would have been a greater show of generosity.
F1 Monaco Grand Prix - This is always one of the great events of the F1 calendar, with fast cars driven by millionaires in a millionaires' playground - many of the drivers even live there (nothing to do with taxes, you understand!) and the twisty street circuit usually makes for entertaining racing, although the width of the cars now makes overtaking nigh on impossible, so qualifying well is crucial. This year's race was expected to suit the McLarens more than the Ferraris and it seemed that the Italian outfit might dominate with a 1-2 in qualifying but then the rain came down! The best thing that happened to Hamilton and the incident that ultimately won him the race was crashing into the wall on lap 5.
I also watched the usual: NFL Total Access, The Rugby Club, Peep Show and HIGNFY.
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