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Targets

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IN 1966, ROGER CORMAN MADE an offer to young assistant Peter Bogdanovich that the wannabe director couldn't refuse. Corman had two days left to run on a contract with Boris Karloff, and the challenge was this: use that time to film 20 minutes of new material with the veteran actor, edit in another 20 minutes of Karloff footage from Corman's The Terror, shoot another 40 minutes with other actors, then stitch the lot together. The result was Bogdanovich's first and, arguably, greatest movie. A many-layered meditation on movies and American violence, Targets parallels the stories of Karloff?effectively playing himself, an ageing horror star about to quit in the face of real-life horrors?and Tim O'Kelly, a preppy daddy's boy turned random sniper on a blank killing spree. The kind of drive-in where the incredible climax unfolds may have disappeared but, with startling pre-echoes of Columbine and recent American sniping crises, this could have been shot yesterday.

IN 1966, ROGER CORMAN MADE an offer to young assistant Peter Bogdanovich that the wannabe director couldn’t refuse. Corman had two days left to run on a contract with Boris Karloff, and the challenge was this: use that time to film 20 minutes of new material with the veteran actor, edit in another 20 minutes of Karloff footage from Corman’s The Terror, shoot another 40 minutes with other actors, then stitch the lot together. The result was Bogdanovich’s first and, arguably, greatest movie. A many-layered meditation on movies and American violence, Targets parallels the stories of Karloff?effectively playing himself, an ageing horror star about to quit in the face of real-life horrors?and Tim O’Kelly, a preppy daddy’s boy turned random sniper on a blank killing spree. The kind of drive-in where the incredible climax unfolds may have disappeared but, with startling pre-echoes of Columbine and recent American sniping crises, this could have been shot yesterday.

Bodysong

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Innovative, much admired collage documentary about mankind's physical journey from cradle to grave, culled from 100 years of archive footage by Simon Pummell and graced with an avant-rock score by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. Bodysong is hypnotically beautiful in small doses, even if Pummell comes across in the interviews as rather too pleased with a cod-profound idea which, in any case, Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass pioneered much more convincingly 20 years ago in Koyaanisqatsi.

Innovative, much admired collage documentary about mankind’s physical journey from cradle to grave, culled from 100 years of archive footage by Simon Pummell and graced with an avant-rock score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. Bodysong is hypnotically beautiful in small doses, even if Pummell comes across in the interviews as rather too pleased with a cod-profound idea which, in any case, Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass pioneered much more convincingly 20 years ago in Koyaanisqatsi.

Party Monster

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Macaulay Culkin (contractually refusing to kiss any men?fact) blows hard but fails to convince as camp '90s New York club cyclone Michael Alig. Seth Green's equally berserk, but when Alig brags of murdering his buddy/dealer, everyone assumes he's kidding. Much gay disco muzak, and cameos from Marilyn Manson and Chloe Sevigny, but this is no Last Days Of Disco or even 54.

Macaulay Culkin (contractually refusing to kiss any men?fact) blows hard but fails to convince as camp ’90s New York club cyclone Michael Alig. Seth Green’s equally berserk, but when Alig brags of murdering his buddy/dealer, everyone assumes he’s kidding. Much gay disco muzak, and cameos from Marilyn Manson and Chloe Sevigny, but this is no Last Days Of Disco or even 54.

Spellbound

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Oscar-nominated documentary from last year which, unexpectedly, grips like a vice in its climactic stages. Swotty geek-kids competing for the National Spelling Bee contest might not strike you as gutsy drama, but the obsession, the commitment, the heartbreak and the pushy parents make for a brilliantly dynamic and ghoulishly funny interpretation of the American mindset. Word.

Oscar-nominated documentary from last year which, unexpectedly, grips like a vice in its climactic stages. Swotty geek-kids competing for the National Spelling Bee contest might not strike you as gutsy drama, but the obsession, the commitment, the heartbreak and the pushy parents make for a brilliantly dynamic and ghoulishly funny interpretation of the American mindset. Word.

Touching The Void

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Already a boys' own classic, Kevin MacDonald's award-winning doc about two foolhardy Brit mountaineers scaling the 21,000ft Andean peak of Peru's Siula Grande is almost hideously gripping. Brilliantly paced, Touching The Void re-enacts the climb?and the descent, more to the point?with actors Brendan Mackey and Nicholas Aaron. But much of the drama lies in the memories of climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, the interviews with whom are candid and vulnerable. Simpson's combination of obtuse spunk?"I bloody well was gonna do it"?and tearful openness contrasts with Yates' unwarranted but understandable guilt for having cut the rope on his partner. The terrifying white silence and merciless permanence of Siula Grande is majestically conjured by the cinematography, which really does demand to be seen on the big screen. More than anything, Touching The Void makes clear man's absurd insignificance in the face of such implacable beauty. The void is the void of nature?of a world that doesn't need us. Having said that, the triumph of Joe's will in his determination to survive is a profound testament to the human spirit. And you do come away from the film thinking: "I will never, ever, complain about anything again. Ever."

Already a boys’ own classic, Kevin MacDonald’s award-winning doc about two foolhardy Brit mountaineers scaling the 21,000ft Andean peak of Peru’s Siula Grande is almost hideously gripping. Brilliantly paced, Touching The Void re-enacts the climb?and the descent, more to the point?with actors Brendan Mackey and Nicholas Aaron. But much of the drama lies in the memories of climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, the interviews with whom are candid and vulnerable. Simpson’s combination of obtuse spunk?”I bloody well was gonna do it”?and tearful openness contrasts with Yates’ unwarranted but understandable guilt for having cut the rope on his partner.

The terrifying white silence and merciless permanence of Siula Grande is majestically conjured by the cinematography, which really does demand to be seen on the big screen. More than anything, Touching The Void makes clear man’s absurd insignificance in the face of such implacable beauty. The void is the void of nature?of a world that doesn’t need us.

Having said that, the triumph of Joe’s will in his determination to survive is a profound testament to the human spirit. And you do come away from the film thinking: “I will never, ever, complain about anything again. Ever.”

Laurel Canyon

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Coolly stoned record producer Frances McDormand struggles to be a responsible role model for her uptight son Christian Bale and his sexually frustrated wife Kate Beckinsale, while shagging cheeky Britpop 'star' Alessandro Nivola. Though the music's great (Mercury Rev, T. Rex, Roxy), Lisa Cholodenko's languorous movie is more about the gaps in relationships than the rock'n'roll world.

Coolly stoned record producer Frances McDormand struggles to be a responsible role model for her uptight son Christian Bale and his sexually frustrated wife Kate Beckinsale, while shagging cheeky Britpop ‘star’ Alessandro Nivola. Though the music’s great (Mercury Rev, T. Rex, Roxy), Lisa Cholodenko’s languorous movie is more about the gaps in relationships than the rock’n’roll world.

Animal Factory

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Mercifully free from saccharine Shawshank/Green Mile prison movie proselytising, Steve Buscemi's stark follow-up to the amiable Trees Lounge instead simply tosses luckless dope-dealing suburbanite Edward Furlong in among a brood of psychopathic sexual predators, including Willem Dafoe and Mickey Rourke, and then watches him squirm. Bleak stuff, with a final, disposable redemption.

Mercifully free from saccharine Shawshank/Green Mile prison movie proselytising, Steve Buscemi’s stark follow-up to the amiable Trees Lounge instead simply tosses luckless dope-dealing suburbanite Edward Furlong in among a brood of psychopathic sexual predators, including Willem Dafoe and Mickey Rourke, and then watches him squirm. Bleak stuff, with a final, disposable redemption.

Where The Sidewalk Ends

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Reuniting Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney from his glossily perverse Laura, and adding uncharacteristic grit to compositional elegance, the great Otto Preminger delivered this noir about a violently ambiguous cop two decades before Dirty Harry appeared. Andrews is the splintering anti-hero, a brutal Manhattan detective coming apart while trying to cover up his killing of a suspect. Two more of Preminger's most neglected crime movies?superbly seedy small-town murder Fallen Angel and psychodrama Whirlpool?are also making (overdue) DVD debuts.

Reuniting Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney from his glossily perverse Laura, and adding uncharacteristic grit to compositional elegance, the great Otto Preminger delivered this noir about a violently ambiguous cop two decades before Dirty Harry appeared. Andrews is the splintering anti-hero, a brutal Manhattan detective coming apart while trying to cover up his killing of a suspect. Two more of Preminger’s most neglected crime movies?superbly seedy small-town murder Fallen Angel and psychodrama Whirlpool?are also making (overdue) DVD debuts.

Adua And Company

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Four former prostitutes set themselves up in the restaurant business in Italian director Antonio Petrangeli's vintage 1961 prize-winner, which stars Simone Signoret and Marcello Mastroianni. The tone wavers between bittersweet comedy and stark social commentary, with sumptuous monochrome shots of handsome Roman vistas, plus two ravishingly beautiful stars looking furrowed and soulful as middle age looms. With its downbeat note of gritty realism, Adua And Company is classy and compelling Euro-drama.

Four former prostitutes set themselves up in the restaurant business in Italian director Antonio Petrangeli’s vintage 1961 prize-winner, which stars Simone Signoret and Marcello Mastroianni. The tone wavers between bittersweet comedy and stark social commentary, with sumptuous monochrome shots of handsome Roman vistas, plus two ravishingly beautiful stars looking furrowed and soulful as middle age looms. With its downbeat note of gritty realism, Adua And Company is classy and compelling Euro-drama.

Cypher

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Futuristic tale of corporate industrial espionage from Cube director Vincenzo Natali, with Jeremy Northam convincing as a nerdy salesman drawn into a world of brainwashing and betrayal who ends up questioning his own identity while falling for mysterious temptress Lucy Liu. It's Phil Dick meets Alias, but enjoyably undemanding.

Futuristic tale of corporate industrial espionage from Cube director Vincenzo Natali, with Jeremy Northam convincing as a nerdy salesman drawn into a world of brainwashing and betrayal who ends up questioning his own identity while falling for mysterious temptress Lucy Liu. It’s Phil Dick meets Alias, but enjoyably undemanding.

Dune

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Twenty years and one truly awful TV remake later, David Lynch's adaptation of Frank Herbert's unfilmable sci-fi epic looks miraculously good. Kyle MacLachlan makes an impressive debut as the young desert messiah, the supporting cast are great (except Sting), and the amazing visuals more than outweigh the unwieldy script.

Twenty years and one truly awful TV remake later, David Lynch’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s unfilmable sci-fi epic looks miraculously good. Kyle MacLachlan makes an impressive debut as the young desert messiah, the supporting cast are great (except Sting), and the amazing visuals more than outweigh the unwieldy script.

Psych-Out

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Susan Strasberg is a deaf Carole Caplin d...

Susan Strasberg is a deaf Carole Caplin d

S.W.A.T.

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Predictably brash big-screen version of unremarkable '70s TV show, with Samuel L Jackson knocking a rogue SWAT team into shape and making unlikely heroes of them. There's more gunfire than dialogue, so Jackson isn't asked to do more than shout a lot, while Colin Farrell squints manfully and kills everyone in sight.

Predictably brash big-screen version of unremarkable ’70s TV show, with Samuel L Jackson knocking a rogue SWAT team into shape and making unlikely heroes of them. There’s more gunfire than dialogue, so Jackson isn’t asked to do more than shout a lot, while Colin Farrell squints manfully and kills everyone in sight.

Young Adam

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Novelist Alexander Trocchi's uneasy blend of Beat existentialism and pseudo porn continue to gnaw in this stylish adaptation of his 1954 whodunnit. Ewan McGregor is suitably dour as the sinister drifter while director David Mackenzie proves himself a master of sustained gloom. But it's the sex scenes, progressing from erotic to self-conscious to simply absurd, that continually corrode.

Novelist Alexander Trocchi’s uneasy blend of Beat existentialism and pseudo porn continue to gnaw in this stylish adaptation of his 1954 whodunnit. Ewan McGregor is suitably dour as the sinister drifter while director David Mackenzie proves himself a master of sustained gloom. But it’s the sex scenes, progressing from erotic to self-conscious to simply absurd, that continually corrode.

La Gloire De Mon Père

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Following the success of Jean De Florette and Manon Des Sources, interest was sufficiently stirred in author Marcel Pagnol to fuel two features based on his childhood memoirs in a sun-drenched Provence. Picture-postcard landscapes figure prominently in Yves Robert's polished recreation of the summer of 1900, although the human drama goes no deeper than minor family arguments and slender rites-of-passage rituals. This was hugely successful, but adds up to little more than an oppressively tasteful tourist-board panorama.

Following the success of Jean De Florette and Manon Des Sources, interest was sufficiently stirred in author Marcel Pagnol to fuel two features based on his childhood memoirs in a sun-drenched Provence. Picture-postcard landscapes figure prominently in Yves Robert’s polished recreation of the summer of 1900, although the human drama goes no deeper than minor family arguments and slender rites-of-passage rituals. This was hugely successful, but adds up to little more than an oppressively tasteful tourist-board panorama.

As The Crowe Flies

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Peter weir's spectacularly mounted conflation of a couple of Patrick O'Brien's hugely popular seafaring yarns, handsomely set during the Napoleonic Wars, is a rare contemporary example of classic movie storytelling, in which subtle characterisation and well-balanced narrative are as important as gung-ho action sequences and the usual sensory bombardment of the multiplex blockbuster. Russell Crowe, never better, is "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, commander of HMS Surprise, charged with the destruction of the formidable French warship the Acheron (a barely-seen but grimly vindictive phantom). Paul Bettany as the ship's surgeon is a wry foil to Crowe's noble intransigence, vocally contesting Jack's growing obsession with the Acheron, to which the Surprise gives long and arduous chase?through fearsome storms, freezing seas and becalmed torpor. As the man said, bloody brilliant.

Peter weir’s spectacularly mounted conflation of a couple of Patrick O’Brien’s hugely popular seafaring yarns, handsomely set during the Napoleonic Wars, is a rare contemporary example of classic movie storytelling, in which subtle characterisation and well-balanced narrative are as important as gung-ho action sequences and the usual sensory bombardment of the multiplex blockbuster. Russell Crowe, never better, is “Lucky” Jack Aubrey, commander of HMS Surprise, charged with the destruction of the formidable French warship the Acheron (a barely-seen but grimly vindictive phantom). Paul Bettany as the ship’s surgeon is a wry foil to Crowe’s noble intransigence, vocally contesting Jack’s growing obsession with the Acheron, to which the Surprise gives long and arduous chase?through fearsome storms, freezing seas and becalmed torpor. As the man said, bloody brilliant.

Choppers’ Paradise

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October, 2003. Quentin Tarantino's first movie in six years is received with howls of excitement by Tarantinophiles the world over?and the quiet, confused cluck of disappointment from certain observers, for whom its blood-spattered excess is a negligible addition to the director's previously unassai...

October, 2003. Quentin Tarantino’s first movie in six years is received with howls of excitement by Tarantinophiles the world over?and the quiet, confused cluck of disappointment from certain observers, for whom its blood-spattered excess is a negligible addition to the director’s previously unassailable filmography. The fourth film by Quentin Tarantino may have loads of action, but where’s the glorious, endlessly replayable dialogue that’s the backbone of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction? Where’s the narrative complexity on show in his accomplished third outing, Jackie Brown?

Now that Vol One has made it to DVD (a no-frills release?expect a special edition after Vol Two), how does Kill Bill stack up against its director’s slim-but-hugely-influential back catalogue? The answer is, of course, at the top of the list?or very close to it.

Sure, Kill Bill is a style-over-content ode to QT’s grindhouse-based adolescence?an amalgam of all the low-rent B-movie action classics he saw while growing up in LA?but it’s also a brilliantly imagined, beautifully realised testament to his maturing ability as a multi-faceted director.

From the truly shocking pre-credits opening sequence to the final killer line of dialogue, Quentin’s first instalment of the bride-with-no-name’s bloody quest for revenge grabs the audience by the collar and rips them through a variety of genres (urban combat, Sam Fuller-style hospital nightmare, hardcore anim

The Boost

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When we rave about the force of nature that is James Woods, we tend to neglect this cautionary 1988 Harold Becker tale of how cocaine destroys the careers and marriage of a silver-tongued salesman and his wife (Sean Young, with whom, notoriously, Woods had a history). We shouldn't: it absolutely rocks, with Woods in his element as a cocky crack-up waiting to happen. And then, explosively, happening. Electric.

When we rave about the force of nature that is James Woods, we tend to neglect this cautionary 1988 Harold Becker tale of how cocaine destroys the careers and marriage of a silver-tongued salesman and his wife (Sean Young, with whom, notoriously, Woods had a history). We shouldn’t: it absolutely rocks, with Woods in his element as a cocky crack-up waiting to happen. And then, explosively, happening. Electric.

Sweet Dreams

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Straightforward biopic of country chanteuse Patsy Cline, with a chain-smoking Jessica Lange in the lead and Ed Harris as her drunken husband. Excellent performances from both, with good period detail and great music (Lange miming along to original Cline recordings)... but otherwise very dull indeed (domestic bickering followed by a plane crash).

Straightforward biopic of country chanteuse Patsy Cline, with a chain-smoking Jessica Lange in the lead and Ed Harris as her drunken husband. Excellent performances from both, with good period detail and great music (Lange miming along to original Cline recordings)… but otherwise very dull indeed (domestic bickering followed by a plane crash).

The Decline Of The American Empire

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Eight Quebecois intellectuals, four boys and four girls, discuss sex, history, the state of the world, sex, each other and sex as they prepare for a weekend together in the country. Gabby, but engrossing in a My Dinner With Andr...

Eight Quebecois intellectuals, four boys and four girls, discuss sex, history, the state of the world, sex, each other and sex as they prepare for a weekend together in the country. Gabby, but engrossing in a My Dinner With Andr

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