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jamie T
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The Dead Pool (1988)
Busted down to traffic....
Dirty Harry is back, five years on from 'Sudden Impact' looking more craggy and tired then ever before.
'The dead pool' may be an interesting premise for a murder plot, but having Liam Neesons very hammy horror director as a major character indicates how ropey this film really is. OK, we do get some typical set pieces, and the car chase seen is pretty good. But the attack on Callahan in his car is a virtual re-write of the one in 'Sudden Impact' as is the suicide man, who wants to get on TV (echoing the roofjumper from 'Dirty Harry').
Harry signs off with (by this point, outdated- Roger Moore like corny line 'he's hanging out back there) his largest gun to date, and I'm not sure if its supposed to be a joke or not... but this film follows on from 'The Enforcer' with the rule that 'as the guns get bigger the films get lamer'.
This film isn't really worth any notable attention, unless you like to see Jim Carey slumming it early in his career (some would say his best role!). For the first time we don't get a screen appearence from Albert Popwell, which is a shame, but perhaps he knew something that Clint didn't about this poor entry into the Dirty Harry series. I'm still debating whether its worse than 'The Enforcer'. Harry shouldn't have returned for a fifth outing, and lets hope that even with this poor showing the series isn't resurrected with another actor playing Harry, as this is one role that Clint made his own.
5/10 2/5
Sudden Impact (1983)
Harry's back from the brink
The initial prospect of seeing 'Dirty Harry' part four was not an appetising one following the lacklustre 'The Enforcer'. I was plesently surprised that the film improved significantly on its predecessor, whilst adding something new to the franchise.
Firstly Harry spends the majority of the film in some quiet coastal town investigating a series of revenge murders. I was also surprised when Clint's famous 'make me day' line cropped up in this film, I was sure it was from something more famous.
Sudden Impact to me is certainly the third best Dirty Harry flick. The plot is an interesting twist for Harry to negotiate, and the 'real' bad guys are seen as three dimentional characters. The film does contain the staple set pieces seen in all the Dirty Harry films, and they don't disappoint. The scene with the mafia boss is Harry at his best/ worse depending on your politics. Harry still clashes with his superiors who refer to him as a 'dinosaur' but in this one Harry is more like a private detective and the cops don't show up at the last minute as per usual.
'Sudden Impact' is a worthy addition to the Dirty Harry cannon, and Roger Moore era Bond gags aside (The comedy dog, particularly), this film spiced up Harry when I questioned the future of the franchise at the end of part three. This is not to say that they should have gone on to part five- they shouldn't have. Ideally this would have been released in the seventies, with say Cybil Shepherd or Ellyn Burnstein in the main female role, as for me Sondra Lock doesn't quite cut it. It's nice to see Albert Popwell again too, see it, just don't go any further than this 1983 Harry adventure.
6/10 3/5
The Enforcer (1976)
AS the guns get bigger, the films get lamer
Dirty Harry part 3 sees Harry teemed up with one of his expected nightmares for a partner- a women. And who can blame him given Tyne Daley's character, Inspector Moore, despite attempting to go out on her own, basically follows Harry in every scene, particularly in what seems a 50 mile hike across San Fransisco. This culminates with a comedy crash through a sky light into a porno movie shoot, a scene that echoes Roger Moore's 007 antics of the time. She does however save Harry's life with her first 'kill' when he is ruffing up a pinky- liberal priest- who we never fid out why he's siding with the militant loons that will go on to kidnap the mayor.
Arguably the Mayor gives us the best scenes in the film, firstly his shockingly bad hair and the scene where he stands by while Harry tells his superiors to take his star as a five point supposatory. He subsequently goes and takes Harry's advise to 'jack-off' the press with a cover a story as to why Callahan isn't receiving his commondation. Ultimately though the Mayor is a stereotyped lying, self- obsessed politician, as is the man Ayrian bad guy with the 'wild' stare.
The revolutionaries in this film are particularly poor, and highlight the lack of direction in the story. Again we never really find out their reasons for kidnapping the mayor, albeit for the ransom, that they were like in 'Dirty Harry', ready to pay. These guys are way over the top and the leader is particularly bad.
Overall the series begins to lose direction with this film, arguably they should have stopped here. The character outline of Harry Callahan made in 'Magnum Force' disapeers and the filmmakers commit the ultimate sin of the Dirty Harry series- failing to make the set pieces interesting. The finale is interesting in that Clint would return a couple of years later for 'Escape from Alcatraz' but overall perhaps it would have been better to leave Harry at this point while Clint was still relatively young.
5/10. Worth seeing if you liked the other two, but don't expect too much. It is again nice to hear reference to Harry's last partner by name and not just a faceless 'dead partner' as is often linked with Dirty Harry's image.
Magnum Force (1973)
Even the bad guys are good
Dirty Harry part two- better than the original? Almost, but not quite. Magnum force is a worthy successor to Dirty Harry and we get to see the other side of the coin of Harry's personality. He now has a black partner and a Chinese girlfriend. Which would arguably diminish Callahan's bigotted approach as seen in the first film. But this doesn't quite ring true, as this film shows Harry is on the side of the law, even if the system is messed up. Perhaps this more mellow Callahan came about after rejoining the department, which isn't explained (he through his badge at the end of 'Dirty Harry'. It's also nice to hear him refer to his ex- partner.
Storywise the film is stronger than its predecessor but it can never quite make it out of the shadows of the first venture, as the opening titles highlight. Despite this I would recommend this as a good one to watch as a double bill with 'Dirty Harry', it gives us more of an insight into what makes SFPDs finest tick and the bad guys are very good, not random psychos/ revolutionaries etc....
6/10 overall, but beware the slide begins after this one with parts 3,4 & 5...you have been warned
Dirty Harry (1971)
Every dirty job....
'Dirty Harry' was for a long time one of my favourite films and after not seeing it for a while I thought a little re-evaluation was called for. Clint Eastwood's performance and the film in general is unsurprisingly the best in the series of five 'Dirty Harry' pics made. However, it could be argued that the film is a series of set pieces where we see 'Dirty' Harry Callahan in action.
The 'Scorpio' killer is your standard movie psycho, we never really find out why he's killing people. This whining weesel is a great bad guy, and the wild goose chase/ fight with Harry is great as is his retribution in the stadium, when Harry surprises us by not clipping the bad guy.
On top of the chase to get the bad guy the film features loads of great dialogue and the bank robbery sequence is particularly memorable. Despite being a 'shoot first, ask questions later' cop I can't help but compare Callahan (in this installment, at least) as a tortured soul doing bad things in the name of the law, much in the way that James Ellroy's 'LA confidential' portrays. We don't get a great insight into Harry, that is to come in part 2 'The Enforcer', but as a stand alone movie Harry Callahan has to rate as one of the best screen cops of all time.
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
Magic!
Despite being one of Woody's lesser works this film still succeeds to entertain. The sight of Woody on a flying bicycle is worth watching the film alone, as is the wonderful scenery. Despite not having an outstanding script, though good by anyone else's standards, Woody's take on Bergman & Shakespeare's tale is a success that makes the summer seem like a magical time of escapism and hope. Woody succeeds in the modern take on the Shakespearian theme of confusion & love and manages to make a warm and pleasant film
Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)
The red menace
Three colours red is by far the best film of Kieslowski's trilogy.Although it took me a couple of viewings to fully appreciate the brilliance of this film it is wonderful to watch the move towards Valentines destiny swathed in wonderful red light and backgrounds and supported wonderfully throughout by Jean-Louis Trintignant.The scenes with Irene Jacob and Trintignant are wonderful as we see the tension between them eventually evaporate and become replaced by a mutual admiration.If you havent seen this film then I wont give the ending of the story away,but on careful viewing it is amazing to see how Kieslowski moves the story along to its wonderful conclusion.Definetly one of the best films of the 1990s,and one of my favourite's,it is a nice touch when we see the other characters from the other two films at the end of the film.A brilliant film for those who believe in destiny,and self sacrifice.
Election (1999)
First past the post
Upon seeing 'Election' with a friend of mine,who was dubious about how good it was going to be because of the presence of Matthew Broderick I found myself disappointed that he has appeared in such fluff as 'Godzilla'.Brodericks performance as a teacher was top notch and he was surrounded by a very believable cast that looked like real people,not some beautifal people farmed in from TV (I'm thinking 'She's all that','Varsity blues' etc).
I read a review saying that Reese Witherspoon deserves a Oscar nomination for her performance in this role and I would have to agree,not only is she repulsive,but we can see(along with the other characters)another side to the character.I would be surprised however if she did gain the nomination after all the academy don't possess much common sense when the have dished out 'boat loads' (sorry for the bad pun) of awards to 'Titanic' and give Helen Hunt a best actress award in the past.
Overall one of the best films of the year,I just hope that it's two stars will continue in a simular vain and stray away from the likes of 'Godzilla'&'Inspector gadget' in the future-i'm talking to you Mister M!
The Living Daylights (1987)
No 3 in the top 5 Bond'f of all time
For me personally this is in the top five of the best Bond's and has possibly the best and one of the most believable Bond girls played by Maryam d'Abo.Timothy Dalton is cruelly slagged off as Bond but in 'The living daylights' we have a believable plot,a fairly serious Bond (He is a spy after all) who keeps a women he obviously feels a lot for in the dark about his mission for her Majestys secret service.
The only bit I found bizarre was when he gets in the car with the two female CIA agents who 'want to have a party' it seems as though he doesnt know who they are and is clearly relieved when they happen to mates of Felix Leiter.
It's a shame he didnt go on to do more Bond films,especially when you think that Roger Moore did 7!.
Best bits?-the fight when the are hanging out of the plane,and the typical blonde ayrian henchmen who kills people with his walkman headphones!-very eighties!
Worse bit,a-ha's theme tune,just slightly better than Lulu's effort for 'The man with the golden gun'
Rear Window (1954)
Rear end window
Although many rave about this as being one of Hitchcock's best I,after two viewings was still indifferent.
Certainly it is flawlessly directed,beautifully,but I found the film to be a little on the slow side.Certainly no 'North by Northwest' or 'Vertigo',although James Stewart is great as usual,and the scene when he can see Grace Kelly getting attacked is really great.I found it a bit on the seedy side with the camera lingering on the newly married couples room,and the constant shots of the ballet dancers in her undies.Maybe Hitchcock himself was a closet voyeur?.
Maybe Hitchcock's own high standards sometimes make me think badly of films that I would have liked more by another director,but in this case,to me it is only a average thriller,that without fantastic direction & James Stewart would be forgotten.
Smultronstället (1957)
Bergman is the man
I,like many others became aware of Bergman through the films of Woody Allen.And on seeing this film I could see not only scenes that have influenced him,but also the style of his direction.I found the scenes when the professor goes back to see his past,i would say reminiscent,but this was obviously from years before,of 'Annie Hall' & 'Crimes & Misdemeanors',among others.
I saw 'Wild strawberries' as part of a season of Bergman films at my local cinema and it surprised me how great the film was.I had previously seen 'Smiles of a summer night',and I knew that this was going to be a far bleaker film.The opening dream sequence is as alarming & frightening as anything I have seen.And I find the scenes between the proffesor and his daughter in law to be very moving.The film was also comical,when we see the twins in the flash backs to his past.
I became interested in film only a few years ago and through Woody Allen,I have found that there is great talent beyond Hollywood,not only talent but 'Wild Strawberries','The virgin spring' & 'Smiles of a summer night' would be classed as some of the best films I have seen,and seeing them at the cinema is certainly a welcome relief from the usual fluff that is released in the summer.
September (1987)
September is in the Autumn (Sonata!)
Out of all Woody's film's I still find this the most difficult to watch,and after seeing Bergmans's 'Autumn sonata' I noticed some striking similarities.For example,this may only be coincidence but the way that Mia Farrow's character looks (Her glasses,her hair) bears a striking resemblence to the daughter in 'Autumn sonata' played by Liv ullmann.In both films we have a dominant mother who the daughter hates for something that she had done in the past.
I think when you know that Woody took two attempts to film this there was definitely something wrong somewhere.
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Woody in black
Woody's 26th film is a distinct shift in tone from 'Everyone says I love you',and even though at first glance I saw the names of Robin Williams,Demi Moore & Billy Crystal with a tad of cynicism they really perform well alongside the rest of the star studded cast.
One of the things I particularly like about Woody is his choice of actors (In what other film would you see TV stars such as Julia Louise Dreyfus & Julie Kavner alongside Hollywood 'heavyweights' such Moore & Williams?)
Put into context this has to be one of the bleakest films Woody has made (Up there with 'Interiors').It also succeeds on a comic level especially in the scene with Woody & Kirsty Alley as he tries to justifie his reasons for sleeping with one of her patients.
Even actors such as Alley can shine when they are given such a good script to work with,Woody certainly deserved the Academy Award nomination (Although we know he doesn't care!).
8/10 or 4/5 if you prefer.