Honestly, if we had a nickel for every false-start Sin City 2 story we ran, we’d have…..five nickels. Anyway, with news that William Monaghan is now on board to get the script finished, we can only hope that the speculated shooting period of early 2012 will not prove to be another false dawn. Frank Miller gave more reassurance by discussing with MTV recently a bit more information about the stories that seem likely to find their way into the latest set of overlapping episodes.

A Dame to Kill For seems set to be the main story, which involves characters such as Gail, Miho and Manute (which may therefore see Michael Clarke Duncan and Rosario Dawson back on set), as well as Clive Owen’s Dwight. Further stories will also be involved, one featuring Jessica Alba’s Nancy (rescued by Bruce Willis from the mildly jaundiced Nick Stahl in That Yellow Bastard in the first film), in an effort to provide a through-line for audiences. To be honest, the world of Sin City is so stylish, so evocative, that it may not matter a great deal if anyone returns from the first film. It seems likely that the sequel will “work” regardless.

Miler says that “Just Another Saturday Night” will also be included, which might bring back Mickey Rourke’s Marv. A welcome addition to the film, though Mickey Rourke seems non-committal to say the least, having been quoted a few years ago as saying:-

“No, I’m not interested in that right now. That’s not a reality right now. It’s pissing in the wind. There’s different factions going different directions there. I don’t know. That’s three hours of make up and I’m claustrophobic, so I’m going to have to work something out”

But a few years is a long time and he may change his mind if the script is right and Robert Rodriguez does indeed return to direct. Frank Miller’s exact words to MTV were:-

“Sin City number two is primarily an adaptation of the book ‘A Dame to Kill For’. It also features the short story, ‘Just Another Saturday Night’ and two new stories. One involving Jessica Alba‘s character, Nancy Callahan, that I came up with for the movie in order to tie things together and make it be more united with the first.”

So there you go. Rodriguez won’t commit until he’s seen the script and is sure it is up to snuff, so as ever, we’ll see.

Source: IndieWire and MTV.

There are so few films that get made these days in which a director, writer, and cast genuinely stretch themselves to try and make something different. Bunraku is one of those films. And it is awesome almost beyond words.

Writer-director Guy Moshe clearly had a vision for his film, and together with a fantastic cast led by Josh Hartnett and international newcomer Gackt (though he’s already a famous Japanese musician/actor) and supported by Woody Harrelson, Kevin McKidd, Ron Perlman, and Demi Moore, he saw the realization of that vision into an utterly creative film that just doesn’t stop giving. From start to finish, it’s an explosive film that will blow your mind.

Much like Sin City has been praised for the creativity of its production and has gained cult status, Bunraku is just as worthy of such praise and status, and not only because Hartnett is a thread that connects the two films. Both are very different, yet very similar in that they succeed in creating a film that barely compares to the other films being made at the same time, so visually different are they.

Moshe and cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchía, who has since worked with Hartnett on I Come With The Rain, shot the entirety of the film in a Romanian studio, for budget reasons, creating their terrific and impressive sets in the studios and using green screens for all of the unbelievably awesome visual effects the films features. It gives the film a very contained feel, which is perfect because it allows them to very naturally create a whole new world within which this film is set. But it is one part of the world reigned over by one evil ruler, making the contained feel of the sets very part. It is a world, as Woody Harrelson’s character The Bartender says, which sees,

“A cowboy with no gun and a samurai with no sword team up to defeat a common evil.”

Hartnett plays the role of the gunless cowboy so well, in what is one of my favourite roles from him, having an air of mystery and silence about him that naturally makes him all the more interesting as a character. Gackt, too, gives an excellent performance as the samurai, and I’m looking forward to seeing whether his international debut will gain him some attention and get him cast in more films beyond Japan in years to come. And Harrelson, as he always is, is a genius as The Bartender; no one could have done it better.

It is the job of Hartnett, Gackt, and Harrelson to take down the evil lord Nicola ruling this town, as played by the immovable Ron Perlman, who brings a dominating presence to the role with ease (one need only take a look at him in Hellboy to be convinced), with Kevin McKidd playing his right-hand man, Killer No.2, and Demi Moore playing the love interest, Alexandra, caught under Nicola’s power and pregnant with his child.

Ultimately, the story boils down to a tale of good vs. evil, as many stories do. But it is the way in which it is told, and the way in which it is so uniquely shot, that make it such an incredible film. It’s a film worth watching, worth talking about, worth forcing upon your friends just so you can discuss it with them because you know how much they’ll love it and you need somebody to talk to about it. Sadly, perhaps because of its uniqueness, it didn’t get to see the light of day in UK cinemas – and very few cinemas in the States too – and so it is perhaps also a film that may have some difficulty in finding its target audience.

But if you’re still reading this, there’s a very good chance that that target audience includes you, and I really do urge you to seek this movie out. Moshe is an immensely talented director, and he has made nothing short of an epic film with Bunraku. Not epic in its scale and number of extras on the screen, but epic in its sheer brilliance. It is a film that would have looked so good in the cinema on a big screen, but nonetheless looks incredible on Blu-Ray, a format I highly recommend you watch this in if at all possible to enjoy the film’s full experience. I can’t wait to see what Moshe brings us next.

Bunraku has been released on DVD/Blu-Ray today, and I cannot recommend enough how much you should go and pick this up.

****½ (4.5/5)

Special Features:

The copy that I’m reviewing didn’t actually come with any extras, and I can’t find any extras listed anywhere else, which is a great shame, because I would have loved to have seen some of the Making Of or Behind the Scenes work on this film. But alas, it appears it was not to be. Despite this lack of special features though, it is definitely still worth checking out this awesome film if you have the chance; it won’t disappoint.

Goodness me, the development of Sin City 2 has been going on forever. There was a time when its entry on IMDb showed “In Production” for a 2010 release, which I think we can all now agree is unrealistic.

At Comic-Con in July, Rodriguez said that funding was in place and that shooting would begin once the cast and script were locked down. Miller has apparently sorted out the first draft of the script and no less impressive a writer than William Monahan, Oscar-winner for The Departed has now been drafted in to work on it further.

There is plenty of Sin City material to populate another film, whether utilising further stories for previous characters (like Mickey Rourke’s Marv), or bringing in hitherto unexplored strands. Hopefully this won’t be another false dawn and we can get back to Sin City some time soon. Monahan is said to be reuniting with Scorsese for a remake of 1974′s The Gambler and has also scripted Oblivion, a hot-hot-hot sci-fi project to which Tom Cruise is now attached, but he should be able to find ample time to have a bit of a tweak with Sin City.

Thanks to THR for the heads up on his one.

Everything we’ve seen from Guy Moshe’s upcoming Bunraku has looked absolutely awesome. The first trailer was one of my favourites of the year, followed by a brilliant poster, and recently a great clip of Ron Perlman itching for a fight.

With its US Video on Demand release just around the corner on 1st September, we’ve now got another awesome clip promoting the film via Yahoo Movies, entitled Take It Outside, that sees Josh Hartnett and Gackt throw down.

“In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett), a young samurai (Gackt) and a bartender (Woody Harrelson) plot revenge against a ruthless leader (Ron Perlman) and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins. This visually stunning film is filled with uniquely choreographed action sequences of a new style that melds east with west and old school with new.”

It was clear right from the first trailer that this film was going to be different from the majority of action/fantasy films of recent years, and the clips have only been cementing that notion. In an interview with MTV a few years back, Hartnett himself likened the film’s visuals to the recent neo-noir success that he also starred in, Sin City:

“It’s a story of revenge… My character is called ‘The Drifter,’ and he comes into this world that doesn’t look like anything like you’ve ever seen before. It’s in the vein of ‘Sin City’ or something like that, where the world doesn’t look like reality at all.”

This new clip begins with Woody Harrelson, The Bartender, playing the role of mediator, as bartenders do, between the two men, telling them to take it outside. Then in seemingly one take, the camera moves in towards Harrelson and turns around, and we’re suddenly outside. But we’re not quite outside, just a sort of semi-outside that will make up the feel of Bunraku, shot predominantly with green screens. It’s a hard thing to describe, so I recommend watching the clip to fully understand and appreciate the look of the film.

Once outside, the fight between them begins, sizing each other up. And the music that accompanies them is just so good. It’s a mix of brilliant brass, pounding drums and bass, and an exceptional guitar that is just fantastic, and sets the tone for their fight perfectly. Watch out for Harrelson taking a seat at the 1:00-mark, too; it’s just a small motion, but it looks brilliant all the same.

Whilst I wish the UK would be getting a theatrical release for Bunraku, it’s looking pretty unlikely. After coming out on VoD in America on 1st September, it will then get a theatrical run there at the end of the month. And though we probably won’t be getting the same, we thankfully won’t have to wait long to see it, with its DVD/Blu-Ray release scheduled for 3rd October. Without further ado, here’s the immensely awesome new clip to get your anticipation rising for October. This is going to be awesome.

Robert Rodriguez has been in San Diego promoting his new production company, Quick Draw Productions, and two of the things he’s looking to make are the follow-up to Sin City and the two sequels that would make a Machete trilogy, THR report.

The brilliant writer, director, producer, and all-round talented filmmaker has been talking about a Sin City sequel for a while now, and with his new production company starting up, we can hopefully look forward to this much sooner rather than later.

He’s announced that his new company will be partnering with AMD Austin, a hardware company he’s long been working with, whose technology he says,

“force him to stretch creatively to meet the new possibilities.”

It’s almost always good news to hear directors trying to stretch themselves, especially with as talented a director as Rodriguez, and this is definitely good news when it includes his vision for Sin City 2. Rodriguez says that he and Frank Miller will be co-directing the sequel as they did the first film, and that Miller is finishing up the screenplay now,

“which has reverted back to the trio-of-storylines approach of the first movie—“A Dame to Kill For” plus two new stories Miller has devised. Many of the characters from the first film would reappear, and Rodriguez says he doesn’t see scheduling as a problem since in the last one the green screen allowed him to shoot actors in the same scene as much as eight months apart. No one has yet been cast, though the writer-director claims they could shoot it soon and quickly, as early as the fall.”

Though it’s still pretty early days yet, I’m remaining optimistic because Rodriguez sounds optimistic. With his own production company granting him more control of what he wants to make, it could well mean that he and Miller will be able to start filming as and when he sees fit after Miller finishes the script.

Rodriguez also says that the sequel will be in 3D. And whilst that might cause a bit of a sigh for many, the director thinks that the technology will only serve to make the film that much better, saying that it will,

“really enhance the CG-noir landscapes the content uses (the actors are filmed against green screen).”

I think the man is talented enough a filmmaker for people who aren’t that fond of 3D films to grant him more than a bit of trust to bring us an awesome sequel, and if shooting really does begin as early as autumn, then we might well be able to look forward to a second Sin City before long.

Coming next from the writer-director-producer is the fourth Spy Kids film, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, which stars frequent collaborators Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, and Danny Trejo. And with the new film introducing a new set of kids, if the fourth succeeds, Rodriguez admits that more films in the series could be on the way.

Trejo and Alba most recently worked with Rodriguez on last year’s Machete, and Rodriguez also has sequels in development for that too. The first of two planned sequels has already been written, and hopefully it won’t be long for them to go into production either. Obviously, with Rodriguez helming all of these projects, they can’t really all be done at the same time. But he’s known for firing on all cylinders, non-stop, so expect big things to come from him and Quick Draw Productions over the next few years.

Although most would say that director Robert Rodriguez tends to be at his best when catering for an adult audience (taking Sin City and Desperado in preference to Shark Boy & Lava Girl or Spy Kids), his Spy Kids series has shown surprising longevity, churning good, honest, fun entertainment and turning a healthy profit against modest operating budgets.

Spy Kids 4 is his latest offering, with Jessica Alba and Jeremy Piven joining the usual returning cast members and the ubiquitous Danny Trejo. In this latest publicity still, we see Alba in a somewhat peculiar fingerless gloves/black leotard combo and Piven looking for all the world like something out of Dick Tracy or Bugsy Malone. Since the storyline involves a villain bent on stopping time, no doubt Piven’s conspicuous time-piece and anachronistic wardrobe are all very much required.

You can catch our earlier article with a different still of Alba and a plot synopsis right here. We’ll find out at the end of August whether Rodriguez is bringing us more of the same or something a little fresher.

Source: IGN.

Robert Rodriguez regular and ex-Folsom prison inmate Danny Trejo (whose lived-in face looks as leathery as his character’s trademark waistcoat) plays the man with the big blades in Tex Mex revenge flick Machete, the director’s return to the big screen following his failed commercial attempt at recreating the Grindhouse experience for a modern audience, and below-par kids effort, Shorts.

We’re in familiar Rodriguez territory here in this tale of an ex-Federale known as Machete who launches a violent campaign of retribution against his former bosses when they brutally murder his wife and leave him for dead. Hired by some unsavoury types to assassinate a senator, he soon realises he’s been set up again and is a cipher involved in the underhanded campaign of a corrupt senator to rid the US of illegal immigrants from the southern border.

An injured Machete escapes the clutches of his enemies (in the film’s most ridiculously over-the-top scene) and enlists the help of a taco street vendor-cum-revolutionary (Michelle Rodriquez) and a sympathetic border patrol agent (Jessica Alba) to help unearth the conspiracy and bring those who have wronged him to justice, or alternatively, attempt to carve them up into human kebabs-sized slices instead.

Rodriguez is actually credited as co-director (he shares the position with long-time assistant editor Ethan Maniquis) although there’s very little evidence here to suggest another filmmaker’s fingerprints on the finished film. This is a shame as the film itself could have done with a fresh approach. Where the likes of Desperado and Dusk Till Dawn were put together with a real sense of fun and inventiveness, Machete feels like Rodriguez is just going through the motions.

For the most part, there’s an unwelcome sense of déjà vu here, and the director’s usual trademarks (the slow-mo fades, the mixture of guns and religious iconography, pounding Mexican rock score) all seem a little tired and worn out this time around. Even the added socio-political subplot and fun Paul Verhoven-esque satirical commercials sprinkled throughout aren’t enough to inject new life into an overly-familiar narrative, which isn’t helped by a slack and uneven pace.

Even the majority of the colourful list of supporting actors fail to make much of an impression. Jeff Fahey is a welcome addition and (rather surprisingly) fellow villain Steven Seagal (wearing what looks to be a bad Pocahontas-type wig and a brown, loose-fitted brown khaki military jacket/maturity gown) gives the most relaxed and fun performance of his career to date, although when you have an overweight, DTV superstar providing a more memorable turn than that of Robert DeNiro (given very little to do here as the gun-tooting senator) you know that something is amiss. Lindsay Lohan looks suitably scuzzy in her role of Fahey’s slutty daughter, but it does make you wonder if she even avoided the make-up trailer all together and just found her own way to the set after a heavy night on the tiles.

Trejo (who has been a regular and welcomed fixture in Rodriguez’s films since 1995’s Desperado) asserts himself quite well in his first lead performance, but he isn’t given much to do and he’s playing a character, the likes of which we’ve seen different variations of in the director’s work numerous times before.

For all its failings, the film does occasionally come alive, and a superbly-staged church shoot-out sequence with Cheech Marin as a gun-tooting padre (set to a rendition of Ave Maria on the soundtrack), plus a effectively nasty slice and dice pre-credit sequence hint at what could have been. The opening truly looks like it has been unearthed in some kind of vault for unseen 70’s exploitation features (further enhanced by the faked distressed film look). This fun visual device soon disappears (much like it did in Grindhouse), and it also seems to take with it the entertaining and sleazy quality which the film could have greatly benefited from.

Although hardened fans may feel that the director has delivered exactly what they were looking for, if you’re expecting a film which pays homage to the genre it’s originated from, yet at the same time, still retains a unique vision (which Death Proof almost managed to do), this is not it. Rodriguez has the resources at his disposal to basically make whatever he wants and Sin City proved that he can still deliver the goods on both a visual and visceral level. Machete feels like a step backwards for a filmmaker who is capable of so much more.

For a film which famously started life as a fake, Gridhouse-esque trailer, maybe it should have stayed in that fun format (with audiences having to use their imaginations to fill in the gaps) instead of striving for feature-length legitimacy.

In a livechat Facebook interview that took place over the weekend, Robert Rodriguez told fans that Sin City 2 would be filmed after production has wrapped on Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World.

He was quoted as saying:

“Frank Miller and I are working on it [...] It’s slated to be the next one, but if the script is not ready, then we’ll have to move to the next one.”

Also, despite the fact Bruce Willis’ character Hartigan died in the first Sin City film, Rodriguez hopes they can find a way to bring him back in the sequel.

“I wanna bring him back for Sin City because he’s so bad-ass.”

Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World is currently shooting in Austin, Texas, so don’t expect work to commence on Sin City 2 for at least another year. However, that said, this gives Sin City fans hope that the long-delayed sequel may still see the light of day.

The IMDb250. A list of the top 250 films as ranked by the users of the biggest internet movie site on the web. It is based upon the ratings provided by the users of the Internet Movie Database, which number into the millions. As such, it’s a perfect representation of the opinions of the movie masses, and arguably the most comprehensive ranking system on the Internet.

It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case we is myself and Gary) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list. We’ve frozen the list as of January 1st of this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, we are watching them all in one year, 125 each.

This is our 27th update, my next five films watched for the project. You can find last week’s update here.

The Wrestler (2008) – 8.2 No. 126

Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler began as a docu-style film exploring the tragic world of the independent wrestling scene, and some of the washed up stars that end up there. What it became was Mickey Rourke’s triumphant return to the Hollywood spotlight, and a genuine Oscar contender.

Rourke is Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson, a former headlining professional wrestling star whose day is far past. Once huge in the eighties, Randy is making pennies on the independent wrestling scene. He is behind on his rent, has lost contact with his estranged daughter, and in the lead-up to a big anniversary match with his former nemesis, suffers a heart attack following a particularly brutal match.

Robinson attempts to live a life away from the ring for the sake of his health. Trying to build relationships with both stripper ‘Cassidy’ and daughter Stephanie. When his new jobs, and his attempts at building human relationships fail, he risks it all to get back in the ring.

It is easy to see why The Wrestler was in contention at the Academy Awards. Rourke cuts a tragic figure as ‘The Ram’, almost the perfect mirror of his own fallen star. He brings an air of authenticity to the part, and the documentary style cinematography makes the story seem so real. It works because it IS real. Whilst the story of Robinson is fictional, anyone who has seen the brilliant Beyond the Mat documentary knows that everything put up on screen here is a mirror of real life events.

This, perhaps, is the biggest flaw. Having seen Beyond the Mat, The Wrestler comes across very much as a dramatized version of the events within the doc, cut together with the same character in each segment. There is a bit too much happening to the same guy, making it seem just a little too extreme. A fantastic film nonetheless, and a brave one to make and try to sell. A brilliant performance by Rourke, great direction from Aranofsky, and an all around very good film.

Snatch (2000) – 8.1 No. 138

After the well received and surprisingly successful Lock, Stock… Guy Ritchie followed-up with another mockneycrime caper. Witha bigger budget, and some American acting support, Ritchie hoped to build on the success of Lock, Stock… on both sides of the pond.

Boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) manages to cross infamous gang boss Brick Top when his fighter, Gorgeous George, comes a cropper on a shopping trip to the local Pikeycampsite. With the imminent threat of pain looming over him, he must somehow convince Gipsy Mickey (Brad Pitt) to not only fight for him, but throw the match in the process.

Meanwhile, Frankie Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) has a diamond to sell following a successful heist in Antwerp, but his boss convinces London based Boris the Blade to steal the diamond before it can reach proposed buyer Doug the Head. Boris employs jewellers Sol and Vinnie to get the stone, not knowing that American Avi has entered the country, and enlisted the services of Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) to try and locate his missing stone.

There is a lot going on in Snatch, making it a difficult film to summarise. This is one of its strengths however, as the rapid nature of the twisting storyline keeps the pace flowing, and in turn holds the interest of the viewer. There is action, humour and some clever plot twists on show, making Snatch a very watchable film.

However, the two-dimensional characters and complete lack of emotional complexity make it a very shallow watch, and whilst the first time round this wasn’t really a big problem, on second watch it is left woefully obvious. There is added glamour thanks to the presence of Brad Pitt, but the reappearance of a large section of the Lock, Stock… cast leave Snatch feeling like a lazy sub-sequel, and for me, to call it one of the best 250 movies ever made is almost a joke too far.

The Great Escape (1963) – 8.3 No. 101

The Great Escape has become almost a yuletide joke. Along with The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music, it is commonly thought of as ‘that film they show at Christmas’. As a result, it is easy to forget how good a movie it really is in parts.

The location, time and characters have been condensed, but The Great Escape is the story of WWII POWs who havebeen secured in a ‘super prison’, a compound built and guarded especially because of the sheer volume of recorded escape attempts of its inhabitants. The group is very organised, with a forger (Donald Pleasance), a scrounger (James Garner), the tunnel king (Charles Bronson) and big X himself (Richard Attenborough) amongst others.

We follow the life of the prisoners, including newcomer Hilts (Steve McQueen) as they live a seemingly peaceful existence in the camp, whilst secretly working on three tunnels, in preparation for a mass escape attempt. The plan is to try and pull as many German soldiers as possible into searching for escapees, whilst the Allied Forces attempt to turn the tide with the Normandy beach landings.

The Great Escape has snappy dialogue, classy acting performances, and in the end some genuinely thrilling action. An important story is told about the contribution, and sacrifice, of POW’s towards D-Day, and the events that lead to Allied victory in Europe. The storyline is a serious one, and whilst there is much humour, it is always tactful and tastefully done. What could have come across as a boy’s own adventure tale (there are no female characters) actually works as an at times genuinely touching drama, of men making the best of a bad situation.

Entertaining, compelling, and perfectly constructed, The Great Escape never fails to surprise me, as with each watch i find myself just as entertained as the last. Probably one of the most well put together war films ever made, i’m glad it has found itself on the IMDb5250 list.

Sin City (2005) – 8.3 No. 93

Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name, Sin City is a film noir that follows several of the town’s hard-boiled inhabitants. Directed by Miller himself alongside Robert Rodriguez, it had an at the time unique look, and unusual structure.

Over the hill cop Hartigan(Bruce Willis) saves a young girl from a serial child killer. Despite his success, he finds himself framed and incarcerated, as the child killer was the son of powerful Senator Rourke. Marv (Mickey Rourke) also finds he has been framed, this time for the death of a prostitute he awakes to find murdered in his bed. In an attempt to clear his name, Marv follows the trail to the Roarkfamily farm. After teaming up with the dead prostitute’s sister, Marv kills the real murderer Kevin, and his accomplice Senator Roark. He is then sentenced to death for these acts.

Dwight (CliveOwen) defends his girlfriend from her abusiveex Jackie Boy, pursuing him through Old Town. Whilst there, he becomes mixed up withthe town’s prostitute sorority when they kill Jackie Boy, only to discover he is a Sin City Detective. Dwight helps them escape mercenaries out to uncover their mistake. We rejoin Hartigan in prison. The young girl he saved has now grown up, and is a target for a mysterious yellow man. Can Hartigan save her once again?

Whether you like the movie or not, Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City is certainly a slick picture with a distinctive style. Based on Frank Miller’s cult graphic novel, the comic book visuals of the film were at the time unique. The whole thing was shot with the action in front of green screen, with backgrounds edited in later in post-production.

The movie was also shot with high definition cameras, making it an entirely digital movie. Willis’ hardboiled Hartiganis a real throwback to pulp detective stories, and his thread in the film is done the way that the videogame adaptation of Max Payne should have been done. The film-noirstyle narration by Willis seems like an easy thing to do, but listen to Clive Owen’s attempt in his thread, and you can hear the difference in quality.

Willis role as Hartigan does two things. It gently pokes fun at Willis’ action movie persona, and as the cop with the bum ticker in the twilight of his career, it’s his way of holding his hands up and accepting that age has caught him up. Willis now (mostly) takes on roles as the grizzled veteran, the old-school policeman in his retirement year. Sin City can also be credited for the beginning of Micky Rourke’s triumphant return to Hollywood, 3 years in advance of The Wrestler. His role as Marv is as perfect a portrayal of the graphic novel’s character as you could hope for, with extensive prosthetics used to achieve the perfect look.

A beautiful looking movie, with some unique ideas. Definitely worth a watch, but upon repeated viewing you may well find yourself yearning for something more, something a bit deeper.

Brief Encounter (1945) – 8.0 No. 204

Brief Encounter is the romantic tale of a housewife who falls for a handsome stranger, based on Noel Coward’s 1936 play Still Life, from a screenplay written by Coward himself.

Housewife Laura (Celia Johnson) leads an unexciting, suburban existence with husband Fred, and feels completely unappreciated. One afternoon, after a day in town, she meets dashing Doctor Alec (Trevor Howard), and the spark is immediately obvious. They run into each other again in town on another occasion, and arrange to to meet again.

After spending several days together, the initially innocent relationship inevitably becomes something more. As Laura’s feelings deepen, so do her lies to her husband, as she tries to keep her actions secret, and her feelings under control. With both parties married with children, it is a potentially explosive affair, and after several near misses, the guilt becomes too much. They finally say farewell to each other forever, both devastated by what might have been, but only too aware of what they stand to lose.

The developing relationship between the two protagonists is well written, perfectly paced, and is totally convincing. You can see how the affair started off innocently, but the whole situation has an air of inevitability about it from the beginning. The story attempts to paint both people in a sympathetic light, but it is difficult. Their actions are pretty unforgivable, and whilst you can understand how the situation could arise, and their dissatisfaction with their current relationships, the layers of deceit start to strip away your understanding.

The two lead performances are perfectly well measured, with a very natural air. The recurring theme of the train station, and the rush to make the last train keeps the tension level up, and the near misses they experience with those that know them are just coincidence enough, without resorting to extremes. That is what makes the story work, the gentle, true feel of the blossoming relationship. What Brief Encounter doesn’t succeed at is winning the characters your sympathy, which makes it hard to connect with the film.

Very well made, and brilliantly written, Brief Encounter is a successful portrait of an all too common extra-marital affair. Because of the time in which it was made, it avoids being too graphic, and its only real failing is its inability to connect you to the two protagonists, as both are guilty of reprehensible behaviour. If we were given more backstory, and a better insight into their respective relationships before the fateful day they met, it may have been easier to feel sympathetic. As it is, a very good film, with very few flaws.

Come back next Monday for update 28. You can follow our progress at www.twitter.com/baz_mann and www.twitter.com/gary_phillips_

Bazmann

After years of being nothing more than a dangling carrot, it seems that Sin City 2 is finally moving forward.  While there isn’t a ton of information about it, Mania.com reports that Producer Stephen L’Heureux confirmed that production is to start in the latter half of 2010.  The difference between the first film and the sequel however, is the sequel will be based on original material written by Frank Miller.

It’s been 4 years since Sin City was released and in that time talk of a sequel has been heard over and over but it’s been nothing more than tentative speculation.  It seems like now there is more than a shred of hope that part 2 will actually happen.  Good news for the fans who have waited patiently.  Let’s just hope that by the time it makes it to theaters it won’t be too late.

For fans of Frank Miller, another one of his graphic novels is being developed as well.  Hard Boiled is on deck to be adapted for film as well.  This one may be a ways off however due to Sin City 2.  It’ll be a while before this one makes it to the screen.

You can check out the full story at Mania.com.  /Film also posted a piece that talks about it as well as the logistics of getting Miller and Robert Rodriguez back together to direct.

We’ll keep you updated with information as we get it.

This week, Bruce Willis stars in the sci-fi action movie Surrogates, directed by Jonathan Mostow. At one time this would have made it a marquee release, with a huge promotional push, but there’s been very little hype about it. Is Willis’ star fading?

To put it in perspective, if Will Smith was the star of this same movie, the posters would be on every street corner in every city. It almost seems as though the studio don’t think Willis is bankable enough to warrant a big marketing budget. But Bruce Willis IS a superstar, and i’ll see you on the other side to give you 6 reasons why.

Although he was internationally recognised for Moonlighting, the gulf between tv and movies was much greater in the 80′s than it is now. Making the jump between the two was hard for any actor. But after just a couple of tries, including the awful Blind Date, Willis struck gold in…

Pulp Fiction 1994
The story about Pulp Fiction is always how it resurrected John Travolta’s career, but people forget that it was equally important to Willis too. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, his follow-up to the brilliant Reservoir Dogs, Fiction became a cultural phenomenon. It’s distinctive mix of non-linear story-telling and pop culture dialogue made this story of small-time criminals one of the most copied films of the nineties, much like Die Hard was in the eighties. Willis role, as Butch, the boxer who defies Marsellus Wallace’ order to take a dive, was a smaller role than Travolta’s and Samuel L Jackson’s, but it was enough to elevate his career. Unusually, the scene that is the focal point of Butch’s story, the boxing match, isn’t actually shown. We just find out the details in the taxi that Butch escapes the arena in. The scene where Butch picks up increasingly deadly weapons, looking for the right tool to save Wallace from a fate worse than death, is iconic. Fiction is one of four films that Willis and Jackson have both featured in, the other’s being Loaded Weapon, Die Hard With A Vengeance, and Unbreakable. Willis struck up a friendship with Quentin Tarantino, and would later cameo in his section of the experimental Four Rooms. Everyone involved with Pulp Fiction came out of it far better off than they’d gone into it. Pulp Fiction won the Palm D’or, was Tarantino’s highest grossing film until a couple of weeks ago, and is in the top ten of IMDB’s 250 greatest films list. With one film, Willis had raised his profile and increased his bankability.

The Sixth Sense 1999
M Night Shyamalan had only made a handful of films, with limited success. But he hit the jackpot when The Sixth Sense was bought for two million dollars, and he was also allowed to direct it. Bruce Willis also hit the jackpot when he was cast as the adult lead. And Haley Joel Osment had maybe the best of it, by putting in one of the greatest performances by a child actor, and gaining an academy award nomination as a result. The supernatural tale of a small boy with a big secret was a critical and commercial success. It was a sleeper hit, the big twist at the end resulting in word of mouth spreading like wildfire. Sense is very much an intelligent horror movie, cerebral rather than visceral. It is slow paced, but that suits the subject perfectly,and is part of what makes the film so great. It really is a shining example for filmmakers of how to build tension and suspense. Willis puts in his most mature performance as the child psychiatrist trying to help Osment’s Cole. Willis plays it low key, and it’s only with the big reveal at the end that you realise just how good he is. It’s very difficult to play a role when you know something the audience doesn’t. To keep the right balance, with just enough foreshadowing, is a great skill.Sin City 2005
Whether you like the movie or not, Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City is certainly a slick picture with a distinctive style. Based on Frank Miller’s cult graphic novel, the comic book visuals of the film were at the time unique. The whole thing was shot with the action in front of green screen, with backgrounds edited in later in post-production. The movie was also shot with high definition cameras, making it an entirely digital movie. Willis’ hardboiled Hartigan is a real throwback to pulp detective stories, and his thread in the film is done the way that the videogame adaptation of Max Payne should have been done. The film-noir style narration by Willis seems like an easy thing to do, but listen to Clive Owen’s attempt in his thread, and you can hear the difference in quality. Willis role as Hartigan does two things. It gently pokes fun at Willis’ action movie persona, and as the cop with the bum ticker in the twilight of his career, it’s his way of holding his hands up and accepting that age has caught him up. Willis now (mostly) takes on roles as the grizzled veteran, the old-school policeman in his retirement year. Sin City can also be credited for the beginning of Micky Rourke’s triumphant return to Hollywood. His role as Marv is as perfect a portrayal of the graphic novel’s character as you could hope for, with extensive prosthetics used to achieve the perfect look. Sin City was a surprise success, grossing nearly seventy-five million dollars (nearly double it’s production cost).

Die Hard 1988
Still recognised today as one of the greatest action movies of all time, Die Hard was huge. Inspiring legions of imitators, it enabled Hollywood Executives to limit movie pitches to one sentence. ‘It’s Die Hard, on a boat’, ‘It’s Die Hard, on a plane’. The concept, based on the novel ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, is simplicity itself. Terrorists take over a building, John Maclaine on the upper floors is the only man who can stop them. Taking the terrorists out one at a time, Maclaine takes a pounding, but still manages to keep his sense of humour about him. Far from being a super-cop, Maclaine is slightly out of shape, with relationship problems. Die Hard gave us new ideas that now seem like old hat. A hero who gets hurt. Very hurt. A relationship built between hero and villain.(The banter between Maclaine and Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber is one of the best things about the film). Incidentally, the part of Hans Gruber was Rickman’s first feature film. His brilliant performance led on to a fantastic career, littered with roles as juicy villains. Whilst there are stunts in Die Hard, they aren’t ridiculously over the top, something that would stay a tradition in the franchise until the ill-advised Live Free, Die Hard. Die Hard has spawned three sequels, and John Maclaine is one of the most iconic screen action heroes of all time. Willis, best known for comedy, was a revelation as the action hero with the wry smile and boyish charm. Along with Lethal Weapon, released one year earlier, Die Hard set the bar high, and changed the face of action movies forever.

From the end of the eighties through the beginning of the nineties, Willis was trapped in a cycle of Die Hard wannabes and obscure comedy-dramas. With the occasional Die Hard film thrown in, he managed to keep his profile up, but he was in danger of disappearing into mediocrity. It was only his on-screen charisma and ability to take on any role that kept his career afloat. Bruce Willis had lost his relevance. Then along came…

Willis was thought of as one of the great action heroes of the eighties, and had stood out from the likes of Arnie by displaying an ability to act very well. But questions remained over whether he could carry a serious film with a good dramatic performance. Terry Gilliam would change that, and change the course of Bruce Willis’ career, when he cast Willis in…

Twelve Monkeys 1995
Twelve Monkeys is brilliant, intense, and batshit crazy. The tale of a future decimated by a virus, and a man sent back in time to find out why, Twelve Monkeys is inspired by a short film named La Jetee. Gilliam injected it with his trademark quirkiness, and it turned out to be a work of genius, criminally underrated and overlooked. Willis is excellent as Cole, a man stumbling through time, not knowing what is reality and what is psychotic fantasy. He displays a full range of acting emotions, and it was an eye opening career performance. Brad Pitt, another actor with question marks over his acting ability at the time, went one better with an Academy Award nomination. Love it or hate it, it’s undeniable that the complex story and ambiguous ending are a subject of great debate amongst movie-goers. The final scene is especially contentious, and for the record Gilliam has stated that the scene wasn’t necessary at all. You get the sense that he prefers his audience to form their own conclusions to his movies. Twelve Monkeys did not do so well at the box office however, and the majority of the movie-going public was still not aware of the revelationary turn by Willis.

The people that mattered, however, did notice. Hollywood producers. Willis started to get offered roles of the quality and diversity he deserved. And then came the serious, dramatic role that Willis had been waiting for, the one that would show the world the kind of performance he was capable of…

When Shyamalan came calling to Willis for his follow up to the Sixth Sense, he wouldn’t have had to ask twice. But with a script equal in quality, Willis had an easy decision when he accepted the role in…

Unbreakable 2000
Nowhere near as big a success critically or financially, Unbreakable is nevertheless arguably the better film. It is certainly the directors favourite. It is a very intelligent film again, and the plot is far more realistic. Willis this time plays David Dunn, the only survivor of a train crash. Dunn is an ordinary man who slowly discovers he has an extra-ordinary secret. Dealing as it does with comic book mythology, but still keeping the dramatic tone of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable should have appealed to all fans of Willis. It was released little more than a year after Sense, so should have been perfectly poised to capitalise on the previous film’s success. Quite why it didn’t achieve a fraction of the success is a mystery, though it’s certainly possible many people wrote Shyamalan off as a one trick pony when they heard there was another twist ending. The twist is a great one, but probably not as integral to the plot; Unbreakable would probably have been just as good a movie without it. The movie poses some interesting questions about congenital defects, and the nature of human physiology. Are some people really just born stronger than others? Sadly, though, it will always be thought of as The Sixth Sense’s lesser brother.

After these two great performances, Willis was high in demand. But his insistence on taking on projects he is interested in over big movies with high salary offers meant that again he appeared in a lot of movies that were either not well received critically, or failed at the box office. Probably his biggest recent part was in the dynamic…

The role of Hartigan matched up perfectly with the action man persona Willis has portrayed most of his career, the everyman who takes a licking and (just) keeps on ticking. It’ll be interesting to see if Surrogates follows the same pattern. Certainly based on the trailer, it looks like there’ll be plenty of blood sweat and tears once again for our man Bruce.

Surrogates is released in theatres this Friday 25th September.

Bazmann