Month: April 2015

ABOUT LAST NIGHT (2014)

About-Last-Night-2014

I recently saw a very funny interview with the increasingly popular, very talented comedian, Kevin Hart in which he talks about not wanting to make Black movies, just good movies. He brings up a great point.

Will there ever be a time when a film is taken on it’s artistic merit alone and not pigeon-holed, kicking and screaming into a nice, neat, genre-compartment for the studio execs and marketing department?

This film has all of the four leads played by actors who may be in the non-white/black casting bracket. Ok, so the four leads are not white but they speak English in the film, so it should be categorized as an American movie, as that is what it is.
It’s a gripe of mine, the whole genr-ification of EVERYTHING.

Art is art is art, ladies and gentlemen.

Here is his interview in full for those of you interested:

 

The film is entertaining, everyone in it is great and it is filled with charm and comedy. Based on David Mamet’s brilliant play from 1974 and taking its title from the adaptation of this play made in 1986 starring Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins this version has been adapted by Leslye Headland and directed by Steve Pink (High Fidelity, Hot Tub Time Machine), this is updated and relocated to New York.

Kevin Hart (Bernie), Michael Ealy (Danny), Regina Hall (Joan) and Joy Bryant (Debbie) play the foursome, each bringing their skills and talent to telling this story of 2 couples trying to walk the precarious relationship tightrope that many have to deal with in this day and age. The comedy comes from Hart and Hall who have great chemistry and clearly make each other laugh.

Christopher McDonald plays an old friend of Danny’s father and owns a bar that is in trouble, the always funny Joe Lo Truglio plays Danny and Bernie’s boss. David Greenman and Bryan Callen play Danny and Bernie’s mates.

This film is as relevant now as the source ever was and although it isn’t amazing, there is a valid place for it.

3/5

BUY THE BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE-‘Per Qualche Dollaro in Più’ (1965)

For-a-Few-Dollars-More-1967-movie-poster

“Alive or dead. It’s your choice.”

The second in Sergio Leone’s classic Man With No Name Trilogy, which gave rise to and helped popularise the spaghetti western

This is a classic for sure, Leone shows his immense talent by adding onto the world he created with A Fistful of Dollars. Eastwood plays a bounty hunter who targets homicidal bandit, Indio (played by the brilliant Gian Maria Volante) and finds that he has some competition from another bounty killer, Col Douglas Mortimer (played by the master of the look, Lee Van Cleef).

The violence is quick, shocking and effective, all mood and mise en scene creatively realized. The music by the maestro, Ennio Morricone is just as important; massively influential, it helps create the ambience of the world, all danger and tension.

Support comes in the shape of the famously erratic actor, Klaus Kinski, who commits to his role of the hunchback in a way supporting actors rarely get the chance to (or don’t dare to) nowadays, you could see he was a talent who stands out as a member of Indio’s gang and gets some classic scenes involving the lighting of a match.

There is a scene early on where Eastwood is seeking some information from an old man in bed and it’s clear he is enjoying the performance of this quirky actor, Eastwood smiling throughout the scene which is a pleasant break from the usual cool, show no emotion acting he gives in the rest of the film. It’s a funny scene made brilliant by the Old Prophet, who is played by Austrian character actor, Josef Eggers. He also appeared in A Fistful of Dollars as the undertaker, Piripero-“My mistake. Four coffins…” This was his last film before he passed away a year later. A fine swansong.

Van Cleef is made for his role; he is just as influential as Eastwood when it comes to the style of acting needed for this kind of film. It’s all in the eyes and he has killer ones. Leone paints the screen with beautiful shots that immerse you into this wild west world.

The title “The Man with No Name trilogy” is not quite accurate; he is called ‘Joe’ in A Fistful of Dollars, ‘Manco’ in this one and ‘Blondie’ in The Good The Bad and the Ugly. Manco means ‘one-armed’ in Spanish and here Eastwood does everything with his left hand bar shooting.

The musician J Saul Kane AKA Depth Charge made this tune in 1994 called Bounty Killer containing several quotes from this film:

 

Much has been said of the influences of these films, the looks, the silences, the music, the shots and cinematography, the tension and I could go on. All are a joy to behold.
For a slice of classic western, this is one to see.

4/5

BUY THE BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE