Film Reviews by Steve

Mystical gangster/black comedy hybrid which generates Jim Jarmusch's usual surge of irony and eccentricity. Forest Whitaker stars as a mafia hitman who takes his doctrine from a 17th century Samurai, which gives him the discipline and self-respect missing from the mob and his ghetto brothers.

But this is merely a first impression. Gradually the etiquette which appears to set him apart from the moral and urban decay is revealed to be an insane obsession. The code cannot raise him above the street sickness. Whitaker does well to make the ruthless, violent assassin even halfway appealing.

There is an overload of popular culture with the cartoons watched by the idiot mob goons, plus Ghost Dog's reading list, including the Rashomon story which offers some commentary on the action. And Jarmusch references screen gangster classics, most obviously Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï (1967).

There's the urban sadness of neo-noir, augmented by a funk/hiphop soundtrack from RZA. The mafia loves rap. And there's some reflection on modern tribal subcultures. It comes towards the close of the director's period as an arthouse superstar and it's not quite his best; but still a unique, cultish genre mashup.

* Includes racist language.

Delirious period melodrama set in 18th Century Jutland. A brief internet search suggests there isn't much real history here, and is adapted from a novel closer to Catherine Cookson than Hilary Mantel. Other than the superior set design and luminous widescreen photography this might suit Sunday evening tv more than a cinema release.

There was still rural feudalism back then, but this is awfully schematic. Mads Mikkelsen is a low born soldier who applies to the King for land on the barren heathland of the Jutland Peninsular where he plans to grow potatoes. Through formidable perseverance he clears the land but faces even greater hardship from the vicious, idiotic bandits...

More infuriating resistance comes from the most feckless, decadent - and psychopathic- aristocrat in fiction, in a portrayal from Simon Bennebjerg which must have been inspired by Tod Slaughter. Well, this is melodrama! With the support of a pair of selfless women unexpectedly enamoured of the dour farmer, he ultimately prevails...

Which is ideal, as everyone gets what they deserve, which is all we really ask. There is a tiresome plot strand with a 'cursed' little girl which goes nowhere. But we get a lavish, epic production and aside from the extreme events, an impression of the incredible hardship endured by pioneers to prepare the land for their apathetic descendants!

More esoteric gloom from Béla Tarr and co-director Ágnes Hranitzky, which extended their unique visions across arthouses beyond Hungary. It's a bleak, bizarre tale sparked by the arrival in an austere town of a dismal circus whose sole attraction is a dead whale.

Tarr said this is not an allegory, though maybe he did not speak for Nobel laureate László Krasznahorkai who adapted his own novel. It's inconceivable that the rotting carcass which is starting to stink doesn't represent the manifest end-stage of the Soviet occupation.

Especially as the book was published in 1989! Critics claim the anarchy that follows is under the malign influence of the exhibit, but surely it is a prediction of what its decay allows... Still, this is a Béla Tarr film so we get the long tracking shots in b&w, the non-performances...

Plus the black comedy. Tarr said he merely reveals what he saw in his home country, which was surely bad news for Hungarian tourism; he always seems to be balancing the weight of misery! This is a dream of life which takes us to places only Béla knows.

My pick as the the best of Hirokazu Koreeda's classical Japanese dramas which have accumulated global popularity in the new millennium. This one delivers a measure of gravitas with its themes of loss and time and the reflections on old age and mortality.

He is often compared to Yasujiro Ozu because of the similarities in technique... Which makes this his own personal update of Tokyo Story (1953). Three generations of a middle class family gather each year to acknowledge the premature death of the elder son of a retired doctor and his wife.

And by day two, the barely discernible resentments climax into a muted spasm of passive aggression... and then they get out the dirty washing. But this is mostly understated and implied, in the Japanese way. It's an ensemble actors film with Kirin Kiki the standout as the stoical, conciliatory matriarch.

Though she later reveals a slight edge. We get the expected tasteful piano score and long edits from a static camera. This may not be on the level of the postwar Japanese masters but it's still wistful and absorbing, especially considering there is little plot and a great deal of gnomic conversation.

Rollocking stop motion pirate adventure from Aardman, which is my pick as easily their best picture... that doesn't feature Wallace and Gromit. It's really very funny with a fast moving, whimsical plot and all the imaginative spoofy detail we have come to expect. Plus, of course, the extraordinary animation. 

This includes more CGI than usual to fill in the backgrounds, but it isn't obvious and the real sets and models are exceptional. It's based on one in a series of books by Gideon Defoe with recurring characters. In 1837, the (relatively) likeable crew of a pirate ship gets tangled up with Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria.

The historical characters both have their eyes on the dodo the Captain has perched on his shoulder, while he attempts to win the prestigious (among buccaneers) Pirate of the Year award. The anachronisms are all cheerfully intentional and it's an unexpected twist to make the Queen the psycho-bad guy.

The voice talent is appropriately pantomimic. Hugh Grant is the standout as the underdog skipper, and I enjoyed Jeremy Piven as an insidious rival. Maybe this doesn't play well to kids as there is no child identification character... but it's another Aardman that certainly crosses over to grownups. Now, make that sequel!

Passionate Hollywood left polemic based on the real life experiences of a reformist prison warden in Arkansas, US and the astonishing crimes he uncovered, including rows of unmarked graves. These farm penitentiaries were intended to make money and were mostly run for the benefit of the board and parasitic suppliers.

The administration of the prison was mainly left to armed trusties who were themselves serving sentences. The level of corruption is scarcely credible and this institution was eventually closed after some jailbirds sued the state! Anyone committed to the idea of making public institutions self funding should refer to this case.

The strap and worse tortures were still in use. Robert Redford is probably no one's idea of a prison warden, but at least his star power brought attention to such obscenities. The Oscar nominated original screenplay is outstanding and there are convincing support performances, including an early role for Morgan Freeman.

The new boss sets about cleaning the place up, which is gratifying to watch; if only life was really like this! The system is run for the benefit those who enforce it, rather than the stated intention... This is an incredibly powerful, righteous denunciation which might usefully serve as an allegory for any public institution run for profit.

Claiming this is the best of the short-lived Mumblecore wave isn't setting a high bar. And admittedly, that's a terrible title. But actually, this is a pretty decent indie romance. It gets called a comedy, and that may be a stretch, but there is wit, plus a quartet of authentically flawed individuals in messy, real-life situations.

And while there is nothing much new on offer, the actors make it genuinely involving. Director Joe Swanberg devised the plot and the cast improvised the dialogue and created the characterisations. Which makes this close to a miracle. Normally improv is excruciating, but this is just a very relatable lifestyle entertainment.

There are ensemble roles, though Olivia Wilde brings the star quality and carries the film as the girl-Friday at a Chicago brewery who dates a self absorbed hipster (Ron Livingston) but gets into a will they/won't they scenario with a colleague (Jake Johnson)... who lives with his steadfast, long term fiancée (Anna Kendrick).

Okay, Kendrick's schoolteacher may be an ideal, but these are otherwise interestingly imperfect characters who eventually reveal unexpected depths. There's a cool soundtrack of offbeat stoner rock and for the Mumblecore genre, it's well made, even if still lo-fi. And it feels as close to dating again as I'm now ever likely to get...

Superior cold war paranoia which begins as strategic cat & mouse between a US destroyer patrolling international waters and a Soviet sub, then escalates into something far more deadly. Debut director James B. Harris usually worked with Stanley Kubrick, but this is more like documentary-realism than those films.

There are references to real life nuclear near misses and an authentic look, despite being mostly shot in a studio tank. Apparently this is Harris' response to Kubrick spoofing Mutual Assured Destruction in Dr. Strangelove (1964). Richard Widmark stars as the authoritarian skipper driven to the edge by misguided patriotism.

The suggestion is the relentless nuclear stand-off creates a unique pressure which will inevitably lead to mistakes. And accidents will happen; the final twist is pretty brutal. Sidney Poitier supports as the journalist who asks questions on behalf of the audience; this is only three years after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

And it's a bonus to see Eric Portman in an interesting minor role as a German veteran of the U-boats, now representing Nato. This is a UK/US co-production in b&w which feels like a glimpse into the secrets of cold war brinkmanship while also racking up considerable suspense from its conventional war-at-sea scenarios. 

Sentimental Italian romance written into the real life exile of the poet, Pablo Neruda. The Nobel laureate was exiled from Chile by General Pinochet, who later had him killed. But this is a fantasy. He never lived on a beautiful island off the Bay of Naples nor assist in the courtship between a lovelorn Italian postman and a curvaceous local beauty.

And the exile happened in the 1970s. As well as relocated to Italy, the historic events are moved back to the '50s with the nation at the lowest point in its postwar economic decline. The politics is muted but there remains a faint echo of the contemporary appeal of Communism and how it was ruthlessly extinguished, including by the Mafia.

For a film in the Italian language this was a huge success in English speaking countries, maybe for its warmth and gentle humour. There's a once in a lifetime role for Massimo Troisi as the self-effacing postman and Philippe Noiret is a felicitous match as the wise poet. Maria Grazia Cucinotta has little to do other than look sexy and very Italian....

The problem is there's no third act and it runs out of story well before the fadeout. But it revived interest in love poetry, and Neruda. And with the gorgeous photography, the astonishing touristic locations, the period atmosphere and sincere performances- with a twist of melodrama- it brought a little old fashioned romance back into the multiplex.

Richard Linklater says he was trying for a more authentic alternative to the '80s High School comedies of John Hughes. But to anyone from the UK this seems more mythic than real. And maybe to some Americans! This is a very Texan take on the genre, but most of all it displays the signature of the writer-director of Slacker (1990).

So there's no plot and is mostly dialogue spoken by a wide variety of talking heads. It's described as a coming of age picture, but the events occur over less than 24 hours; it's a snapshot of a day in the life. There are the usual High School subcultures; the jocks, the metalheads, the stoners, though it's 1976 so there are no goths...

Whatever their tribe, they all drive from mall to to pool-hall looking for beer and pot and girls/boys, listening to rock FM and talking about sex and Aerosmith. While it's a struggle to empathise, the script is quotable and funny and the paper-thin characters are engaging. But there isn't the complexity of Linklater's Before trilogy.

The obvious conclusion is that this US everytown is such a banal hell that life can't be done sober. This is an exercise in futility where the reward is a slightly disappointing keg party, which will be remembered as a good time. It's fun to watch the ensemble cast of future stars and listen to the mid-70s hits, but the aftertaste is bitter.

Mythic journey down the Amazon- or the 'serpent'- loosely written into the experiences of two real life explorers. In 1909 a German ethnologist is in search of an exotic plant and a cure for his own sickness. Then in 1940 a US botanist surveys the same locations for rubber to support the war effort, while claiming to also seek this elusive wildflower.

The young indigenous shaman/philosopher who assists the earlier academic, travels with the second one as well, but as an old man. These westerners are played by professional actors (Jan Bijvoet, Brionne Davis) and the ethnic characters by local amateurs (Nilbio Torres, Antonio Bolívar) with the dialogue in various regional dialects.

We see the changes in the environment and the mystic loner over many years under the duress of western exploration. For such a slow, languorous film this is a wholehearted polemic aimed at colonialism and the exploitation and eradication of tribal cultures. The approach is occasionally hallucinatory, but this isn't really a head movie.

The indigenous actors are imposing, but don't convey a range of emotions. And while the widescreen b&w photography is stylish, the director isn't skilled at visual storytelling.  This is an unusual experience, maybe unique (except it draws on Heart of Darkness!) and the ethnography is astonishing. But sometimes the narrative drifts downstream...

If this is remembered at all, it is for the troubled production. It was made twice, first on location and again on the Zoetrope soundstage. For a while there was a rumour Francis Coppola directed the second version, though Wim Wenders says not. It was bombed by the critics and soon forgotten. But perhaps this was before its time...

We now call this fan fiction. Maybe it's overreach to claim it was influential because no-one saw it, but today this is an established formula. It imagines what might have inspired Dashiell Hammett to write his classic novel, The Maltese Falcon (1930). The ex-Pinkerton detective is lured back onto the mean streets to find a runaway.

Reviewers complained the plot is a mess, but it doesn't matter. We just need to spot the connections. Sure, some pre-knowledge of either the novel or John Huston's screen version (1941) is essential, but this is amply rewarded. There's a stunning period production in the neo-noir style with chewy hardboiled dialogue- and a voice over.

Frederic Forrest is inspired casting as Hammett. There are glorious cameos, including Elisha Cook Jr. from the Huston film. And Sylvia Sidney! John Barry's jazz score isn't classic noir, but brings the atmosphere. For fans of the writer/genre this is a sugary treat and reappraisal is long overdue. Such a shame the original is destroyed.

Slow cinema from the Irish Republic which delivers a massive surge of heartfelt emotion without ever spilling over into sentimentality. Still, be prepared to suppress a few sobs. Most of the dialogue is in Gaelic and so it qualified for the Best International Picture award at the Oscars. Which it really should have won.

This is a slender, understated drama about a painfully shy nine year old girl who is neglected by her own parents, but gently, quietly prospers under the care of some distant relatives over a summer on their farm, while her mother has another baby. And we learn the the foster couple has a tragic secret of their own.

The intimate interiors are shot in that postwar Japanese style often used for domestic subjects, with the static camera set at about the child's height and long patient edits with the frame in the old Academy ratio. The outdoor photography is unobtrusive yet still lovely. But this is primarily about the performances.

These are so genuine the cast hardly seems to be acting at all; particularly the glow of mutual love that emerges between the lonely, skinny kid, played by Catherine Clinch, and Carrie Crowley as her summer-long surrogate mother. If the last scene doesn't draw a single tear, then perform a self-check. You may be AI.

Hal Hartley's feature debut is proper independent cinema, self financed rather than rolled out by the subsidiary of a major. It feels like a superior graduate picture. It's a comedy without laughs, but the script is witty and the performances are likeable. The dayglo cinematography is ideal for this kind of hyper-irony.

This inevitably gets labelled 'quirky'; it's an 'offbeat' Long Island romance between a paroled murderer and a teenage kook who is waiting for the bomb to fall, and mainly satirises small town life. It conveys the new ironic tone in '80s US cinema borrowed from Lynch and Jim Jarmusch before it got tiresome in the '90s.

So the understated performances are about ironic detachment. The two leads are also on debut, with Robert John Burke as a saturnine mechanic who returns to his hometown after a long spell inside and picks up with a schoolgirl/model, played by Adrienne Shelly. In 1989 she was an instant pinup for cool indie kids...

While everyone else went for Melanie Griffith. Any response will depend on how much whimsy can be tolerated. But this is decent quality stuff and surprisingly entertaining because very little is happening. Nice to see those '80s haircuts and clothes again. Maybe the budget prohibited the usual jukebox soundtrack.

*RIP Ms. Shelly

This account of the Dutch resistance to the German invasion of May, 1940 is a big deal in the Netherlands where it usually appears near the top of public polls. It doesn't tell us anything new; there is a familiar run through scenes of brutal Gestapo interrogation and the incredible bravery of the homeland fighters. But it is their national story.

It is presented as a war thriller, but really it's more interesting for the history; this is reportage. Like the rest of Europe, the Dutch are complacent and unprepared for war. Surrender takes only four days, the country is slow to respond to the new reality. There is widespread collaboration and the Nazi response to infraction is grotesque.

So who can you trust? The events- based on a memoir- are told via the diverse experiences of six college students, mainly Rutger Hauer as a debonaire dandy who fights the Nazis in a dinner jacket, like a Dutch Roger Moore, and then joins the RAF. He gives the film some welcome charisma. And it's competently directed by Paul Verhoeven.

There are moments of graphic violence and female nudity, though not excessive by present standards. The Dutch sense of humour doesn't translate well and making the heroes such wealthy jocks seems an odd choice. But it's still compelling because the formula is so durable. And at least we are certain to get a happy ending.