Last Hurrah for Chivalry: John Woo+Swords=awesome

Last Hurrah for Chivalry” has all the elements of a John Woo film: copious use of slow motion, expertly choreographed action sequences, extreme blood-letting, and a strong theme of friendship. The only difference is, the heroes wield swords instead of guns. But everything else is in place and this movie is all the better for it: “Last Hurray for Chivalry” is a John Woo movie for people who like John Woo movies. And with the swordplay and ancient Chinese setting, well, if you’ve ever wondered what a John Woo-directed Shaw Brothers movie would have been like this is probably about as close as you’re going to get. The story is a deceptively simple tale of revenge. A man is disgraced and left for dead on his wedding night and he slowly but surely assembles the means to claim vengeance. His closest allies in the upcoming battle also end up being his closest friends. This is a movie about men who are devoted to each other, to the point where they would willingly lay down their lives for one another. There are plenty of sword-fights and martial arts battles strewn throughout the entire movie and they are often long, complicated affairs with jaw-dropping choreography. All in all, if you love John Woo movies, chances are you’ll love “Last Hurrah for Chivalry”. While it may not reach the emotional or visceral heights of “The Killer” or “Bullet in the Head”, this is jut as exciting and action-packed as the first two “A Better Tomorrows”. Highly recommended for fans of the director and anyone else looking for an old school epic with plenty of swordplay.

Extreme Prejudice: Or so many bullets, so little time

Walter Hill has to be one of the most criminally underappreciated directors in America. Although he is sometimes labeled as a Peckinpah rip-off, at his best he is capable of making exhilarating genre cinema, movies that almost guarantee their status as cult favorites. “Extreme Prejudice” is Hill’s attempt at creating a modern Western and he succeeds admirably. Starring Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, and Rip Torn, this film has enough testosterone for about five other movies. Set in Texas, “Extreme Prejudice” has Nick Nolte trying to thwart Powers Boothe’s drug-trafficking business while contending with Michael Ironside and his team of mercenaries. All of these plot-lines converge for a bloodbath of a finale that must be seen to be believed. Nearly every cut Hill makes begins with a flash of machine gun fire and ends with bodies flying through the air, riddled with bullets. This is one of the few American movies I’ve seen that rivals a John Woo film in sheer violence. Nick Nolte gives a fittingly dry performance as a no-nonsense, distant and emotionally cold Texas Ranger. If you’re looking for a hero with charisma, look elsewhere. Powers Boothe is quite good as the main villain of the piece, capable of drawing both sympathy and hatred from the audience. Michael Ironside and his band of mercenaries are all colorful, fun characters to watch – and I never get tired of seeing intelligent and methodical criminals plan a bank heist. Of course, invariably something goes wrong and the whole job is botched…somehow this formula never gets old! And that’s basically what “Extreme Prejudice” is – an old formula, the American Western, revamped for a modern setting and filled to the brim with violence to accommodate. For fans of director Walter Hill, it’s a must see. “Extreme Prejudice” is no-frills entertainment, deadly serious and full of bloody action.

Dead Man's Shoes

I feel ashamed to admit that this is the first Shane Meadows film i've seen. I remember Twenty-Four Seven getting rave reviews a few years ago and Shane Meadows being talked up as the saviour of young, British cinema and if Dead Man's Shoes is anything to go by, I can see why.
In tackling an essentially well-worn, popular genre - revenge, by way of a slasher film - Meadows has produced something different, as edgy and electric and grimy as Mike Leigh's Naked or the original Get Carter. But there is no room for cool death sequences or witty one-liners. This is about real people doing horrible things to one another.
At the heart of it is a star-making performance from Paddy Considine, every bit as gifted and electrifying as a young Robert De Niro, delivering every line, no matter how innocuous, with tangible menace and realism. His intentions are explicit from the get-go, before we see any of the major characters - "God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and allow them into heaven. I can't live with that". And once we meet the antagonists, while they are entertaining, even sympathetic to a point, we know they are scum.
One by one, he sets about confusing them, playing with their heads and eventually killing them. The reasons are unclear at first, but we know it has something to do with his slightly mentally handicapped brother Anthony(astonishing, heart-breaking performance from newcomer Toby Kebbell), drugs and their manipulation of him while Richard (Considine) was in the army.
What makes this film so unsettling is the realism of the whole endeavour. It all takes place in a sub-standard area of the midlands (think the English version of La Haine's slums) and the main characters are all drug-dealing nobodies, likely unnoticed by the law in a fairly run-down part of the country. These are working-class characters all the way. The language and interaction between them is completely believable which makes the circumstances they find themselves in all the more harrowing - it could easily happen this way to anyone.
At first, it seems Richard's plans could be along the lines of the Count of Monte Cristo as he sets about toying with them, humiliating them and causing distrust among the individual characters, especially Herbie (the main dealer) and Sonny (the head honcho, who owns and runs a shitty club), played by Gary Stretch, a formidable actor best recognised as Cleitus in Alexander (Colin Farrell runs him through with a spear after a fantastic argument).
But once the first of them dies, it is apparent their days are numbered and those numbers don't stretch to double figures. One of the stand-out scenes comes when the six men who are marked for death are driving around in a 2CV - a ridiculously small car - looking for Richard and drive past him. Sonny gets out and walks over to him, offering his hand. When it is refused, Sonny - whose house was broken into and makeup painted all over his face the night before - says to Richard, "They've got this crazy idea -" and before he can recount anything, Richard butts in, without a hint of care and says "Yeah, it was me."
The whole film fizzles with exchanges like this, Richard being a character without fear. He uses his military experience to be invisible and prey on these doped-up junkies. Indeed, there is a prolonged, deeply uncomfortable sequence where he spikes their tea with a huge amount of acid and then swoops in as they go through a heavy trip.
When the reveal of what actually happened to Anthony years before comes, it throws new light onto everything that came before. Traditionally, this would be a "twist" before the final act, but it doesn't feel like it here, merely the final piece of a fractured narrative that has run throughout the flm (we see glimpses of the past as the story unfolds). It does present the question of Richard's mental state - obviously he has murderous rage in him, but perhaps he is even more damaged than we at first believe.
This is answered, to some degree, by a staggering final scene, unlike the ending to any other slasher film you have seen. In fact, this is a slasher film only by name, bearing the essential plot outline of such a film, without any of the genre's hallmarks. Much more, it is a human drama, taking place amongst a group of characters who are in the final days of their lives.
Its an incredibly rich film, with characters well-drawn from minimal exposition - the scene where Richard and Anthony sit back-to-back, talking about a football match years before is a masterclass in character development, minimalistic dialogue and performance - crammed with disturbing concepts and no easy conclusions. The acting is excellent all-round, as is the editing and score and it is guaranteed to leave you chilled for some time afterward.
Definitely one of the very best modern "horror" entries (think Halloween by way of Ken Loach) and one of the best British films of the decade, if not ever. Paddy Considine is here to stay and that is truly something to rejoice about.

Holy Fuck it's been over a month?!!!! Oh well here's a review

Okay so I haven't been updating my blog like I thought I would due to a lack of time(kidney stones, work, Bioshock, masturbating) but now I'm ready to dig in and go back to updating for anybody that cares. And the first thing I have up is a new review of a movie that I may only enjoy and that's the Michael Cimino's Year of the Dragon

I saw this many years ago and I think I was hoping it would involve Mickey Rourke blasting up New York’s Chinatown with a wisecracking partner who was an expert with nunchucks. So when it wasn’t quite that sort of film I was bummed(Showdown in Little Tokyo is that kind of film though.) I felt it was time to give this one another look with a slightly more mature pair of eyes and I’m glad I did. What a great flick.Rourke is a force of nature in this film as a cop put in charge of maintaining order as violence escalates among Chinatown‘s criminal underworld. His actions and dialogue damn near make Michael Douglas in BLACK RAIN look civil by comparison. It’s a crazed performance that practically gives you an ulcer just by watching him.To counterbalance Rourke’s manic vibe, he’s given a nemesis in John Lone who’s as cool as they come. One of the true underrated cinematic gangsters. His final showdown with Rourke is a terrific sequence between 2 men who have been bullshitting each other for so long and now finally get to have it out.This is the first film Michael Cimino did after contributing to a studio’s demise(Which sucks because I really love Heaven's Gate.) You’d think that an experience like that would make him gun shy for his follow-up. Not so at all. He does not flinch when it comes to putting the audience right in the line of fire here. YEAR OF THE DRAGON is full of moments that jolt the hell out of you. I know he’s essentially a permanent resident of director jail but it might be time to get the guy a fucking parole hearing.

And that shootout at the club is one of my favorite action scenes ever.