Film Review : Mesrine - Public Enemy No 1

I've previously extolled the many virtues of the film which formed the first part of this series. Everything that was present and correct in the first film is similarly so on the follow-up. Nevertheless, it is still a very different movie.

Picking up from where Killer Instinct left off (and making no allowances for those who haven't seen it) it soons become clear that the break in the story made necessary by having to tell it over two movies marks the apogee of Mesrine's career. This movie follow's Mesrine through his last decade to his inevitable demise (and no spoiler there as his ultimate fate was laid out clearly in the opening scene of the first movie - and the aftermath of which is visited here in the opening scene again).

After spending some years in prison Mesrine springs another headline grabbing escape with a new partner. The difference is that now he is a little too taken with his own self-image and the headlines he generates. This comes across humourously in his frequent corrections to the way his name is pronounced, to his tantrums when other crimes or atrocities keep him from centre stage.

His self-delusion leads him to believe he is fighting for the overthrow of the system, and this leads him to other routes and opportunities to create his mayhem.

Of course, whilst this is going on the police are running short of patience and the seeming inability of France to hold him in any of their jails, leads them to forget the finer points of policing in their efforts to stop him.

I'd like to be able to watch the two films back to back. It's a story that would be worth seeing in total but, equally, the two halves to tell a different tale of this fascinating French criminal.

Film Review : The Hurt Locker

In a world where films are accompanied by loads of publicity from getting the greenlight all the way through to its' initial showing, the first I had heard of this particular was when I saw the exemplary review in Empire magazine. Of course, this meant that I turned up at the cinema this morning with a sense of expectation that I might not otherwise have had.

It would be fair to say that the expectation was well and truly met. This is an excellent movie that works just as much on the basis of what it's not, as much as for what it is.

Focusing on an elite Army Bomb squad in Iraq the film focuses on the job that they have to do, the risks that they face each day out on the streets and, ultimately, the effect this has on the soldiers themselves.

It would be wrong to reveal too much of what happens - in some ways, the story is no more and no less than the team getting through about a month of the war in Iraq when that will mean the end of their post.

It's a powerful drama that has you overcome with tension as you get a real sense of the danger that exists in every street, and where lives are at risk all the way. Don't be fooled by the star names appearing in the film - this story isn't about them and they make brief appearances. The focus is very much on the Bomb Techs and the absence of any obvious "star" means that you have no sense of who may or may not get through the month.

The film's effectiveness is magnified because it focuses exclusively on the team, and makes no attempt to questions the rights and wrong of the war that they find themselves a part of. Although set within a current conflagration, the circumstances that the team find themselves in and their varied reactions to it would apply equally in any modern war.

If you're looking for a night's light entertainment then this movie isn't for you. However, if you prefer a meaty drama which tells you something uncomfortable of the world we live in then this film could be for you. I'd certainly recommend it highly.

Film Review : Funny People

I've generally thoroughly enjoyed the films which have been associated with the multi-talented Judd Apatow, although Year One and Step Brothers were notable exceptions to this. The films where has previously taken on the roles of writer, producer and director (The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up) have managed to be both intelligent and amusing which is a combination often missing in the same film.

On that basis, expectations are high for Funny People where Apatow takes on the full weight of responsibility for the movie. Starring Adam Sandler, the inevitable Seth Rogan alongside Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Bana and Leslie Mann this is actually a serious film set in the world of stand-up comedy. As such, there are jokes but they are mostly there to expand on characterisation and form more of a backdrop to the tale to be told rather than being the point of the exercise.

Sandler plays comedian George Simmons who has a succesful career as a stand-up comic and actor who discovers that he is suffering from a rare form of leukemia. Whilst undertaking experimental therapy he begins to appreciate the emptiness in his lifestyle and the opportunities missed in life.

Alongside this Messrs Rogan, Hill and Schwatrzman are all on the bottom rung of the ladder desperate to find means to reach the second and subsequent rungs. Simmons takes on Ira Wright (Seth Rogan) firstly as a joke writer and then as his assistant.

The root of the film is the interplay between the experienced and cynical Simmons, and the naive but well-meaning Wright, particularly as the woman spurned enters the fray on the end of a struggling marriage to a man she's convinced is cheating on her (played by Eric Bana as a zen-loving but typically macho Australian)

During all this, Simmons discovers that the unorthodox treatment appears to have been succesful and he has the opportunity to address the inadequacies and the wrong decisions he's made in his life.

Sandler has already demonstrated his ability to play a serious role with some style and he is generally excellent here, and does demonstrate clearly the dichotomy between the melancholy of his circumstance whilst needing to be "on" whenever he meets his public.

So does it compare favourably with the other films mentioned? I'm afraid not. It's a bit overlong and you do struggle to empathise with any of the characters. As noted, the humour is mostly in character and although there are laughs to be had, it mostly demonstrates those involved hiding their personal inadequacies behind a joke.

The ending is a little downbeat as well, and there is only limited resolution for the main characters. As such, it tends to work more as a commentary on the selfishness of the lifestyle of those involved rather than a tale of an individual being given a second chance at life.

Much more of a serious film than his other movies, it's probably best to approach it with this knowledge - for a Friday night, post-office view I was maybe looking for something lighter in tone.