Cinema

TOP FIVE (2014)

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What are your top five?

Chris Rock directs, writes and stars in this very smart film about relationships, celebrity, love in the spotlight, friendships and the issues surrounding fame.
It’s about time.
It’s about time that a very funny stand up comedian and talented writer makes a great film. This evokes the feel of Annie Hall, yet is totally contemporary; conversation, questions, challenges, comedy all are here beautifully composed

Usually when a comedian headlines a film we’ll get some diluted, studio nonsense that seems to muzzle the talent and force them into pre-designed moulds that they just don’t fit in. The closest thing to this, and even that is very different is, Louie, the brilliant tv series, written, starring and directed by the incredibly funny talented, good friend of Rock’s, Louis C.K.
Rock is not afraid to show a long two-handed scene where two characters challenge each other, the dialogue is fresh, clever and a welcome change to the usual films helmed by comedians.

Rock (Andre Allen) stars with Rosario Dawson (Chelsea Brown) who plays a journalist from the New York Times assigned to interview him and she, as usual, imbues the part with charm and realism. He plays a comedian who has made the transition to films and like Michael Keaton’s character in Birdman, has come off the back of a massive franchise in which he plays Hammy The Bear in a ridiculous cop/buddy 3 film run. He is about to get married to a Kim Kardashian reality star type and Brown confronts him with real questions forcing him to look closely at the trajectory of his life/career.

Peppered with guest spots from a whole heap of very talented comedians, they are used here with intelligence and wit. Cedric The Entertainer has more than a blast playing Jazzy D (“Who the man in Houston?”), Kevin Hart plays Andre Allen’s (Rock) agent, J.B. Smoove plays Allen’s best friend/minder and is real and funny, Anders Holm (Workaholics) has a nice part playing Chelsea’s boyfriend. The very funny Romany Malco has a few fun scenes with Gabrielle Union (Erica Long, Allen’s fiance). More Malco, please. Tracy Morgan, Jay Pharoah, Leslie Jones and Hassan Johnson plays Allen’s relatives and each bring the pain, comedically. There are a bunch of other surprises that I shall let you discover yourselves.

?uestlove is the music producer so you know there will be tunes and Jay Z and Kanye were co-producers of the film. The pedigree is insane.

This is how you do it, make a film that is both personal and well composed and you should have a hit on your hands. Ultimately, my thinking is that the people will gravitate towards quality, as opposed to ingesting the rubbish that is normally on offer.

Do yourself a favour and check out this clever, funny, romantic comedy. Funny is funny is funny.

4/5

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HEIST (2001)

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“Everybody needs money. That’s why they call it money”

David Mamet directs and writes this thriller with whip-smart dialogue, some of his usual repertory of actors and invokes the American crime films of the 70’s. Gene Hackman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Danny De Vito and magician extraordinaire, Ricky Jay, star and have a ball with the dialogue. Fast paced and witty, the writing is the strongest part of the film.

As usual, Mamet sets this in the world of conmen and capers and uses sleight of hand techniques to tell his story. A crew whose leader, Joe Moore played by the always excellent Gene Hackman, undertakes one last job and it isn’t as straightforward as it seems to be, mostly down to the people around him.

The film itself is an average thriller that’s strength lies in the screenplay and the acting but doesn’t manage to elevate itself to greatness. Maybe it’s in the composition, something is not quite right. On paper it should be great but the end result leaves the piece a little flat. It’s hard to know why it doesn’t work, it just doesn’t deliver the goods and remains mediocre, setting aside the dialogue, which is tight.

Sam Rockwell (Jimmy Silk) is on form for a change (sarcasm) playing Mickey Bergman’s (Danny de Vito on sleazy duties for a change ;0)) nephew, the kind of guy who is the loosest of canons, and is, again, brilliant. Rebecca Pidgeon plays Fran, Joe Moore’s wife and continues to deliver her real life husband’s (David Mamet) dialogue with the perfect timing. Bobby Blane (Delroy Lindo) and Pinky Pinkus (Ricky Jay) make up the rest of Moore’s crew. The double-cross is at play here and the fun is trying to work out what’s what.

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2.8/5