Reviews

Having taken some time to re-watch and ruminate over Windy City Heat (I've seen it four times and counting), explaining the enduring appeal of it is still tricky. First of all, it's funny. It's blindingly funny. It's tip a cow then kick a duck up the arse funny. It's also fantastically original in it's conception and treads heavily where few might dare to tread at all. The mark in this; possibly the most elaborate prank ever, is the fabulous Perry Caravello. Arrogant, sexist, homophobic and gullible. He is hilariously short tempered yet naive and lovable. Our catalysts and instigators are Don and Mole who according to the film have been messing with Perry for over a decade now. The setup is to have Perry, an aspiring actor and comedian in Hollywood, audition for a part in a film and win it. They go on to shoot the actual film over the course of a week, only it's all part of the setup and every scene is just another opportunity to provoke Perry's wrath while the cameras are rolling. There is physical comedy, humiliation, and provocation. It's great. When watching the film you will recognise names and faces. The in-jokes are endless. Perry gets none of the references. I do get twinges of pity for Perry as he falls for joke upon joke. Half the jokes are just to sell or justify a previous joke or fabrication. Some of the setups seem so contrived that it's hard to believe anyone would fall for it, but Perry sees no problems. It's humour is maybe a little cruel and sadistic in spirit, which in turn provokes thought on edgy comedy as an elaborate web of ethical dilemmas. Fortunately, any uncomfortable doubts about what you're watching are put to bed when you understand the relationship of Perry with Don and Mole. Perry is working, making some money and gaining the fame his so craves. Though it's clear someone like Perry can be (and has been!) taken advantage of in a town like Hollywood, I'd go as far to say Perry is protected by Don and Mole and there's obviously some affection there. The underlying fascination of WCH has percolated to the depths of my subconscious and left me quite frankly, obsessed. If there were ever a film cult I was part of than this is it. It is continued now with the excellent ongoing podcast (The Big Three podcast) and the unfolding drama and windups over facebook and other online forums. WCH triumphs where a film like I'm still here totally failed. There is no holier than thou Hollywood smugness. It is well planned and improvised and thick with gags from the most base to the marvellously subtle. It runs hand in hand with An idiot abroad as the most hilarious and startlingly real tragi-comedy out there. Comedy on film is often about levity and escapism but on the other end of that spectrum lies WCH, something that's real and engaging, provocative and most importantly, deeply and lastingly funny.

Shot in '91/'92 Fishing with John is a fishing program not at all about fishing. Resembling any cheap 90's cable TV fishing program it mostly consists of horrible looking video, music that ranges from dodgy Casio beats to some lo-fi jazz noodlings and a Hollywood style voice-over dramatic enough to make fishing exciting. All these elements together are totally disarming at a passing glance, but give yourself 5 minutes and you begin to feel a surrealistic undercurrent. This is John and his friends getting stoned, talking a bit and failing to catch fish.

It's hard to imagine under what circumstances this show came to be. Was it produced in the spirit of a parody from the start and if so who was in on the joke? Were they really all high? What was the audience and where was this to be shown? I get the sense that without this Criterion release of Fishing with John we'd be very lucky to maybe catch the show at an obscure cult video festival or tucked away in a very late night cable TV slot.

I listened to the full commentary with director and host John Lurie to try get a handle on it all. Apparently, in the early nineties John had developed a habit of shooting his fishing trips with his film industry friends on hi8. He'd been threatening to do a show for a while, his take on what he saw as the bizarrely relaxing cable TV fishing show. Somehow he came to meet a Japanese investor eager to invest in almost anything and thus came forward the money for Fishing with John. I can only imagine the face of the producers upon receiving the show they had paid for. It's a surreal stoner's odyssey. We travel around the world with John and his guests Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits, Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe and Dennis Hopper. The commentary reveals an episode that never got made with Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. That would have been golden. But the thing is Fishing with John is golden. It's so unusual, in some ways very arty and sometimes utterly dumb. One minute it's philosophical musings, the next it's staged scenes of drama. It has that elusive x factor, the allure of the too bizarre to be true found only in rare one off gems like 'King of Kong' or 'I Like Killing Flies'.

According to John, Tom Waits got so seasick and irate that they didn't talk for two years after the making of the show, Matt Dillon clammed up every time the camera rolled, Willem Dafoe was hilarious, Jim Jarmusch was easy going and Dennis Hopper was high on sugar and couldn't fish at all. I could watch this show all day if there were only more episodes that existed. Never mind 'Speed Racer', Fishing with John is the real ultimate stoner DVD.

This doc outlines the current situation regarding the use of steroids as performance enhancers, bodybuilding drugs and in conventional medicine. The film does a pretty good job of outlining the facts and the pseudo-science behind some claims as well as letting us hear peoples views on steroids, where they are actually being used and to what effect.

Where this film becomes unique and interesting is in the story of our narrator and filmmaker Mike Bell. Mike is one of 3 brothers who all grew up watching pro wrestling and 80's action movies. Into their teens they became football players, then wrestlers and eventually competitive power lifters. Today, his 2 brothers use steroids to enhance their performance whereas Mike is totally anti steroids.

The agenda of the film is clearly setup as a predictable anti steroids expo but as the debate opens up the film progresses into something different and much more interesting. At times evidence is in defence of steroids and though I wouldn't go as far as to say it is a pro steroids film, it's certainly open-ended. The film itself is presented and produced really quite well. We even touch on some wider issues of genetic modification in livestock, which somehow comes out in defence of steroids as they are quite simply not to blame for these monstrous beef hulks.

Without conclusion, the film gives us a well-rounded outline of the debate as well as introducing us to some tragic and not so tragic characters along the way.

This film succeeds in entertaining and provoking debate and is really well paced. The mix of factual investigation and personal stories and interviews strikes a balance rare in documentary and quite satisfying to watch. Worth a look.

From Brit director Shane Meadows, probably one of the most exciting directors working right now. His two previous films Dead Man's Shoes and This is England have showcased his progression from solid director to where he is now, knocking on the door to world class. He hasn't yet had the script or the budget to send him into the mainstream and only time will tell whether he chooses to go in that direction or not. He might instead continue to put out his own auteured projects which are fast attracting a cult all of their own. Somers Town arrived via Film Movement, a cool little label that only puts out one film per month. Quite quickly the reason Somers Town has arrived with so little fanfare becomes clear. It's the opposite of epic, a tiny but totally charming little film with the budget of a picnic, but that doesn't detract in any way. It's the story of teenagers Tomo and Marek and their unlikely friendship in London. Both away from home, their friendship grows as does their infatuation with a local French waitress. The plot wanders and cul-de-sacs all over the map, revealing more about the perspectives of the kids themselves. The film has a fierce stench of nostalgia to it and captures the naivety and awkwardness of the teen years. It's not of a pace or film language accepted by the popcorn crowd, but for those with an open mind it's a pretty simple pleasure.

During the second world war Dieter Dengler was a young boy living in Germany. He was inspired then to one day fly like the pilots he could see from his bedroom window. As an adult he left home and followed his dream, training in the U.S. air force. Soon after in 1966, Dieter was shot down over Laos flying his first ever mission. He was tortured and starved extensively by his captors as were other U.S. prisoners at the same camp. Miraculously, Dieter not only survived the starvation but he eventually escaped barefoot and was later rescued.

This is Dieters story and Little Dieter needs to fly is the documentary. Here we see Dieter in conversation, in interview, at home and at play, but he is also taken back into the Laotian jungle to relive and reenact his capture. This really helps to illustrate not only his own war stories but also Herzog's own story about Dieter, as Dieter is deeply disturbed by the experience. These stories are told within the context of Dieters whole life and you really get to know him by the end. I think due to his improvising and adventurous nature each Herzog film is very much unique. The pacing, the edit and his relationship with his subject is always changing. By the films conclusion I must admit I was all choked up, it's an extraordinary story and a really fine film that will be watched for years to come.

I'm not sure what Spike Jonze ever did to cast any doubt in my mind. Was it that the Sabotage video was so overplayed? That Adaptation was "Soooooo Po-Mo bro"? Was it that he worked with uber-cool Beastie Boys, Weezer and Daft Punk before most of us even knew who they were? Perhaps his association with the interminable Bjork? Or the f#cking Praise You video which played constantly for two years invariably accompanied by someone insisting "You know, they're all actors". His collection of films on the "Work of Director..." series was just too bloody good for me to believe he could do anything next other than drop the ball. Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich. The truth is, the only thing Spike ever did to annoy me was to consistently surprise me. I don't like surprises, but I can hardly hate him for being prevalent and influential can I? I've found value in everything he's done and though I understand his work will not be for everyone, it's certainly for me. And that brings us to his latest film Where the wild things are. The source material for which somehow passed by whilst I was busy not reading a whole array of other books. What's clear is it was something very close to the filmmakers heart. With Where the wild things are Jonze has captured the naivety and wonder of childhood in a way that the industry thought we'd grown out of. It reminds me of Roald Dahl books and films from my childhood like Labrynth and Flight of the Navigator. Even more so of Miyazaki's fabulous My Neighbour Totoro. There could be some sort of analysis made on what it all means and what this or that represents, the truth is it is all somehow grotesque and familiar and I'm sure quite subjective. Just let your guard down and give this one your time, it's a joy. Sure, recognising the voice of Tony Soprano is distracting but the cast overall is strong and dynamic. Catherine Keener has somehow ascended into the sub-zero realm of Kim Deal, all humans may have become obsolete next to those two, being cool as f#ck has never been exemplified quite so well. Let's be honest, Pixar and Dreamworks has gone stale, it's time more of us got back to black. Put simply, WTWTA doesn't feel CG and we need that now more than ever. When a triumphant ditty like this somehow falls on deaf ears it makes you think when a certain wild thing exclaims "We forgot how to have fun!" Thankfully not all of us did.

After the torture of One Hour Photo I wasn't sure if I could ever watch Robin Williams anymore, it was somehow too sad, too tragic and ultimately unrewarding. However, I came across the trailer and on the strength of that I gave World's greatest dad a chance. I must say, I'm glad I did. At a time where people are calling The Hangover "Movie of the year" this film is a twisted gourd tossed in the fruit salad at some shitty Hollywood party. The writing is acerbic and uncomfortably truthful at times yet balanced with enough genuine humour and dark turns to make for a totally impressive film. Writer Bobcat Goldthwaite hasn't really been on my radar at all since I was 10 and confused by his screeching on Police Academy. He's well on there now with this, the best comedy I've seen well, so far this year anyway.

Patton Oswalt is one of the best stand up comedians around, I'm a big fan. Curious? Check out the live album Werewolves and Lollipops or browse m4m on Craigslist's 'Casual encounters' section. So, being that this dark comic has made me look like a walking asthma attack on several occasions, I was really looking forward to his big screen transition in Big Fan (2009). I watch... and I wait... and I'm totally confused.

It's certainly not a bad movie but one thing it isn't is a comedy. A little research shows it's from Robert D Siegel, writer of The Wrestler, a film which I loved but here he's gone for the quick one-two knockout and not quite landed. Big Fan is a story of faded dreams and missed opportunities much like The Wrestler but it's just somehow less interesting. The good news is Patton is really quite a decent actor and this film although not a triumph is enough of a square peg to be of interest to all but the most dedicated Bride Wars fan.

In 1948 Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner of Long Beach, California became an ordained preacher for the pentecostal church. He was four years old. A gifted preacher, Marjoe reached some fame and notoriety in the American South and earned his parents an estimated $3,000,000 before the novelty had worn off in his teen years. It was around this time that Marjoe became part of the Hippie movement and took stock of what had happened to him, his childhood and the money he never saw. At twenty and struggling to get by, Marjoe fell back on his greatest talent and again began to preach. He wasn't a true believer, but they believed in him. They flocked to see his Jagger swaggering sermons and paid well for the privilege.

This documentary joins Marjoe in 1971 when he is 23 years old. A crisis of conscience has led him to not only give up preaching for good, but also to show us the preaching racket as it really is. We follow Marjoe for one final tour with a documentary crew under the guise of promoting the church. The film introduces the real Marjoe through a series of interviews interspersed with footage of the sermons he holds. The contrast between the two sides of his character is quite startling and to have this captured on film is quite special, some might say it's a small ironically occurring miracle. The content here was so powerful that at the time it wasn't distributed in many of the southern states. That didn't stop it taking the 1972 Best Documentary Oscar and although it did fade into obscurity for a while, in 2002 the original negative print was found and recaptured for digital release.

Marjoe is a charismatic lead, talking us through his life story and giving us a window into this world. He has an implicit understanding of preaching techniques and the lucrative business behind the scenes. What is shown here feels like full disclosure, we see Marjoe briefing the crew on how to act when in church or that they should cut their hair to fit in. We see his home life and relationships, his real life outside the church and his on stage persona. I read that he was looking to become an actor (and did, sort of) and to leave this life behind him and game some publicity this film was made. Utterly unique and as relevant as ever. Even today it embarrasses the born again crowd better than Jesus Camp and that's saying something. Of course when it comes to the religious right nothing has changed, it's only gotten bigger.

Michael Sheen shines as prickly northern football manager Brian Clough in this "based on a true story" type affair adapted for the screen by writer Peter Morgan (Last king of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and helmed by promising new British director Tom Hooper. The performances here are strong. Honestly, I'd written off Michael Sheen as merely a Tony Blair impersonator, but with Frost/Nixon and now this he's really demonstrated a range and a unique ability for impersonation that makes him practically peerless. The Damned United isn't really a sports film at all. It is a much more personal story of greed, ambition, success, failure and friendship to which football just happens to be the backdrop. The film has only a few frames of game footage and skips over important matches instead showing us only the final score. I think this lies at the centre of the films strengths whilst also contributing to it's underwhelming distribution and reception. You see, despite the fact a large mainstream audience would have enjoyed this film if they were to ever watch it, it's hard for people to see it as anything other than a sports flick about someone they've never heard of (at least outside of the UK). No matter how many times I offer this one up as a recommendation, I get very few bites. It's this kind of lazy pigeon-holing by the viewing public that leads to so much focus grouped, target marketed remakes of remakes. Quality films like this should really be the bread and butter of cinema. Nothing too art house or experimental yet nothing insulting to your average intellect, just well written and well told stories. A look at some future projects reveals that writer Peter Morgan was rumoured to have penned the next James Bond film (to be directed by Sam effin Mendes!) though his name now has disappeared from the IMDb credits. He's also writing a new screen adaptation of John Le Carres' Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Director Tom Hooper has recently been announced to direct a new adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden and Michael Sheen has had a part in the next really big 3D film, Tron:Legacy. Shine on you crazy diamond.

This new print looks so fresh and sharp that it feels like it was shot this year. What struck me most about this film is really how well it has stood the test of time. It was in fact even better than I ever remember it being. It is better than I had any right to expect. Somehow, I think they managed to get every element just right. The cinematography is epic with huge panaromas of the outback "wastelands" of Oz. Some of the shots are so wide you can actually see the curvature of the earth. The characters and costumes are timeless, gritty and disturbing and though it's pretty over the top it manages to avoid feeling camp and stays menacing. I think the gay biker vigilantes in bondage gear have only become more terrifying as I've gotten older and will continue to do so. The road chase action sequences are just the best. All done for real and it pays off, you really appreciate the speed and danger of it all. The orchestral score is also a triumph. There's not much dialogue to worry about and what there is doesn't detract. Some of it is even really funny. And the cars, oh the cars are glorious. The root of this films success though is Max, the quintessential nihilist wandering the wastelands and the fact that Max is so long gone he wants nothing from anyone, he won't let anyone near him. At least Travis Bickle had a plan, an aim. There's a beautiful girl, Max ignores her until she is pierced with a crossbow and lies bleeding on some barbed wire. Max doesn't flinch. The "Paradise" that they are heading for, Max knows it doesn't exist. He meets people who try and befriend him, he deletes them from his facebook. Max has really had enough. The only flicker of humanity shows in Max's relationship with the so credited "feral kid", whom is revealed as narrator right at the last moment. The credits rolled and I had to sit and take a moment. I had to watch it again the next day and enjoyed it even more. I just love everything about Mad Max 2. This film is more than just a kitsch cult item, it's a bonafide classic of the genre.

I've had really high hopes for 3D since Avatar impressed me last year but have only ever been disappointed since. All this retro fitting, remakes and flickering action sequences has really started to bug me. So, when a few months back I heard Herzog was working on a 3D documentary film, I couldn't help but grin. Finally, I thought, a 3D film that isn't going to be a bloated blockbuster. This films subject The Chauvet Cave in southern France was only discovered in 1994. It contains perhaps the most extraordinary array of cave paintings dated from between 23,000 to 30,000 years ago as well as extraordinary calcite formations, stalagmites/stalactites and ancient bones of creatures long migrated from the continent. The cave was apparently sealed by a landslide many millennia ago which has preserved everything perfectly. It's really something special to see and the sense of great privilege is conveyed by Werner early on in his very proud introduction. He is the only filmmaker to ever have been allowed access to the cave and throughout I couldn't help picturing everyone at the BBC and Discovery Channel shrugging jealously. The picture starts with some really beautiful shots of the French vinyards and mountains near the cave. It's presentation is what we've come to expect and it's instantly engaging. Long roving shots from a remote flying camera, hand-held POV's up mountain paths. The problems only start when we get inside the cave. Werner explains that the equipment that they could take in has to be very limited and they use non-professional camera gear. This isn't necessarily the problem though, we can take it with a pinch of salt. The real problem is in the 3D. First of all there is little light in the cave and so the gain is pushed into the camera signal and there's a lot of digital noise, especially in the dark areas, of which there are a lot. Now, noise/grain is always forgivable, until it starts dancing around in 3D, then it gives you a terrible headache. A lot of the shots are lit solely by a moving torch light and the constant re-focusing of your eyes only strains them further. However. the cave is quite amazing and we get to see it in detail. Later in the film some much better lit 3d shots are shown that really should have been used throughout. Footage of the cave is interspersed with interviews with various characters. The decision to use a rather generic voice over in place of subtitles for these interviews was certainly a small misstep and dilutes it a touch, but the film is not without it's moments. There are a couple of hilarious exchanges where Werner has typically cut someone off too early or left them hanging when they have finished. I do get the sense that he has become self aware and when chuckles are raised as Werner describes a cave painting as "Proto-cinema" I detected at least a hint of self parody, which I don't mind at all. The film winds up with the most spectacularly detailed shots of all, they do linger on a bit too long and I think the back half of the film would benefit from a cut of about 10 minutes. Having said all this, despite the technical distractions, the film is a semi-triumph in the way Encounters at the end of the world was. Some really great personal touches and a fascinating subject, but for god's sake see it in glorious 2D. 7/10

American brew is a pleasant and thorough enough celebration of beer culture and history in North America. From European immigrants bringing brewers over with early settlers, through the prohibition and up to the sophisticated micro brewing industries of today, it's enlightening, fun and goes well with a warm flagon of your local mash. Clearly released to coincide with the ongoing renaissance of beer in North America, this one will satisfy anyone who's interested. Not likely to turn your Chardonnay sipping mother-in-law into a growler guzzling curmudgeon, but just about as interesting as it can get for us, the converted masses. Sit back, feet up and get educated on the cold stuff. The extras are good too.

Every analysis has already been made on this movie so there's not much left to say, read the other reviews. I would just like to add that it is the single most disappointing movie going experience of my life so far. This movie is a victim of it's own hype and frankly, it's own mediocrity. Not the worst comic book movie ever but as a movie it's nothing special. I can't blame them for trying and some elements of this film were successful, overall though it just missed the mark by a wide margin. I can't help thinking it will still be viewed as a success, look at it's grossing, that will keep Hollywood afloat for a couple of years!