I've been catching up on the movies of Alex Iglesia. Probably because I found out he was responsible for both Perdita Durango and The Perfect Crime. Wanted to see what else he'd made so...La CommunidadBetter informed people than myself say this is Iglesia's best film. A down on her luck real estate agent is living in an empty apartment that she's meant to show to potential customers because her own flat has no heating. One day, a million cockroaches fall on her from a crack in the cieling. This leads to a discovery that the man who lives in the flat above her is dead and peacefully rotting away, uncared for and unattended. We find out that the dead man was a recluse hated by the other people living in the complex and was also a winner of the national lottery. The woman happens to find the money hidden away in his flat and so begins a tense and comedic cat and mouse chase between the woman and the rest of the occupants in that building. There's an opening shot with a corpse and a cat that is simply fantastic and the movie does have its moments but of the Iglesia movies I've seen this is probably my least favourite. Still better than 90% of the crap out there.
The Day of the BeastThe movie follows a catholic priest and theology professor who has deciphered a code that tells him the anti-
christ will be born in Madrid. He determines to summon the devil so he can ask him when and where exactly the baby will be born. Along the way he recruits a metal head and a popular TV medium to his cause. The movie plays out like a light hearted farce for about the first half and then things start to take a turn to darker territory. The performances are terrific in this film and the characters are likable. A very enjoyable dark comedy with a high body count.
The Last CircusThe latest film from Iglesia. This is a strange film about a boy from a family of clowns. His father, a "happy" clown is imprisoned and later dies in prison as a rebel of General Franco's politics. The son goes on to become a "sad" clown and joins a circus. Here, the happy clown is the star and is a cruel bully who mistreats his employees and beats on his wife (the beautiful Carolina Bang). Our happy clown falls in love with her and it all ends badly. Part camp, part comedy, part horror and part heartbreaking tragedy, the movie is held up by 3 superb performances from the sad clown, the happy clown and the woman. The hero's father, played by Iglesia regular Santiago Seguro turns in another wonderful performance. There's heavy use of
CGI particularly for the set piece climax with the three main characters battling it out on top of a gigantic tower and the whole movie is set in Franco's Spain, starting from when he came into power and ending as his power was on the decline. This is a powerful film and worth watching.
Tinker Tailor Soldier SpySo I finally saw the film. It has one great central performance from Gary
Oldman and a terrific supporting cast which makes even the smallest walk on cameo a pleasure to watch. The story is simple enough. Set during the height of the cold war, there's a mole in British foreign intelligence and
Oldman is brought out of retirement to flush the mole out. Maybe its just in my head but it feels like
Oldman is channeling Alec Guinness' performance in the TV series. His speech, the half smile, the delicate way he holds his cigarette all reminded me of
Guiness's performance but
Oldman is a terrific actor and he makes the role his own. Its a very tight movie at just about 2 hours and has almost no exposition. you need to pay attention to the dialogue and the seemingly thrown away little pieces of information that the director let's you have. The problem with this is that apart from
Oldman's Smiley, the rest of the characters never really come alive and are just cardboard cut outs. Still, worth watching.
Homeland
Saw season 1 of Homeland over the weekend and its pretty good. An American marine sergeant held captive by a terrorist cell in Iraq for 8 years is freed in an unrelated attack on insurgents. He comes home a hero and one track follows his rehabilitation and settling into his domestic life with a wife and 2 kids. Then there's Claire Danes who plays a CIA agent with information that a POW has been turned by the terrorists and is planning something big in America. She's convinced that its the Sergeant and so begins a 12 hour cat and mouse game with various political and CIA intrigue thrown in. The acting is pretty great right from episode 1. The dude who plays the sergeant, his wife played by the
whore from Firefly, Mandy
Patinkin as a CIA consultant and Danes are particularly good as is just about every kid cast in this series. Homeland also stays away from any sort of propaganda and jingoism with all the characters dressed in various shades of grey. Overall, worth watching even if a touch predictable and succumbing to the rules of television and a possible second season.
OutrageTakeshi Kitano returns to the world of the
Yakuza after almost a decade with mixed results. The story is simple enough and almost an alternate version of
Sonatine.
Kitano plays the head of a minor
Yakuza gang who gets used by his immediate boss. He's asked to constantly pick fights with a drug running gang who's boss is brother to
Kitano's boss.
Kitano's gang is used to further his own ambition and then thrown to the wolves when it suits him. Obviously, this doesn't sit well with
Kitano and company after about an hour of set up we're left with a violent and bloody closing chapter that sees
Kitano the director, completely unrestrained in the spilling of blood.
Kitano the actor also seems to be having fun with his role and is a bit more animated than usual. The stillness I've come to associate with Beat
Takeshi is reduced here. There's also a lot of familiar faces from previous
Yakuza movies. Overall, fans of
Kitano's more violent work will probably like this but it lacks in characterisation and the labyrinthine plot of double and triple crosses and political intrigue and power struggles within the
yakuza need to be paid attention to, to follow completely. The man's well over 60 now but his energy seems to be boundless. Kitano fans will like this but everyone else should stay away.
Kill ListAct 1. A family. Husaband and wife love each other. They have a son they love as well. But. Husband has no job and they're broke. Wife is upset about this. They fight constantly but they still love each other and love their son. Then one day, husband's old friend turns up with a new girlfriend for a dinner party. Offers the husband a new well paying job. We find out then that the husband and his friend used to be soldiers, then dodgy mercenaries and now are hit men. There's also something a bit off about the friend's new girlfriend. Act 2. The husband and his friend take on the Kill List. Everyone on it is involved in a kiddie porn ring so no problems in disposing of this scum. But. Husband seems to be on the verge of a breakdown and each kill is more violent and gory than the last. Act 3. Everything goes to hell with a crazy fucking twist ending. Honestly, a tense, superbly acted little British film with an ending that left me asking "Why?!" Completely unnecessary. Shades of A Serbian Film, shock cinema, whatever you want to call it. A film worth watching but with an ending that left me quite disappointed.