adzrussell Reviews

ID (2004)

A very cool short

[8/10 · 23 October 2005]

I recently watched this short and, although I don't speak German so I couldn't really follow the story (although i think it is quite hard to follow anyway) I was really impressed with the visuals.

The story seems to focus on a menacing looking character following a young woman around, under the watchful eye of another strange looking guy. They end up in a deserted cinema and it all gets a bit weird from there.

Its shot in black and white and the DP Alex Fuchs has got some really cool shots. It reminds me a lot of Darren Aronofsky's work in the way that we see lots of close-ups with minute details, and lots of recurring images such as the mobile telephone. It also reminds me of David Lynch; it has that weird nightmarish quality. There's also loads of cool camera tricks, and the editing is really slick.

All in all a pretty cool film and i advise anyone to check it out.

Swingers (1996)

I wanted to call all of my friends after I first saw this film!

[8/10 · 21 May 2005]

I chanced upon Swigers one evening after reading an article on writer/star Jon Favreau, and trying to figure out which character he played in Friends (it's Pete Becker by the way); don't you love it when you uncover a gem. From the opening credits, set to Dean Martin crooning "You're Nobody Until Somebody Loves You", I knew that this film was the very personification of cool, spawning one of the coolest characters in any film...ever, that being Trent Walker played by Vince Vaughn, with a swinging soundtrack and a real sense of fun which you don't often get in mainstream Hollywood; and this film is effortless in a way which Tarantino could only dream about.

The story centres around Favreau's loser-in-love Mikey, trying to make a living as an actor in L.A after leaving his long-term girlfriend behind in New York. His best buddy, Trent, tries incessantly to get Mikey back 'into the game' so to speak; cue a trawl around L.A's hippest night-spots, some hilarious insight into dating rituals (when is it cool to call? 2 days?), and a trip to Las Vegas in which Trent tries to 'pull a Fredo' (bedding cocktail waitresses two at a time). The central duo are ably supported by a cast of lovable rogues, all intent on getting laid.

Doug Liman directs in a laid-back manner, befitting of the film, and Favreau's script (based on Vaughn and himself) is full of witty insights and in-jokes, as well as enough movie references to keep everyone happy.

Although the characters are almost impossibly cool, they never appear obnoxious due to the over-riding sense that they are just a bunch of lovable losers trying to con their way into the beds of L.A's female population; sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, and there is a certain sweetness added by Favreau's predicament. The pay-off is cool, Favreau finally 'getting digits' and we are left with a role-reversal between the two main protagonists as Trent makes a fool of himself with a woman in the closing scene.

Altogether a classy, breezy, often hilarious film, a certain cult classic, and a fine addition to the date movie genre.

Manhattan (1979)

Woody's masterpiece; simple as that.

[8/10 · 19 May 2005]

I often debate with myself which of Woody Allen's films is his best and the debate invariably comes down to a choice between this, and Annie Hall, with Manhattan coming out on top. Although Annie Hall is a funnier film, and perhaps a lighter and more accessible film (although Manhattan is by no means dark), and perhaps even a more celebrated film, for me Manhattan in the quintessential Allen movie. All the elements are present; Allen's neurotic New Yorker, all intellectual angst; the romanticised Big Apple, swaying to the sounds of George Gershwin, never having looked better than in Gordon Willis' black and white photography; the humorous deconstruction of adult relationships. The film centres around Allen's relationship with the seventeen year old Tracy, which, thanks to a sweet performance by Mariel Hemingway, doesn't come across as inappropriate as it sounds. Keaton is excellent as always as the yin to Allen's yang, and there is good support from Michael Murphy and Meryl Streep.

I can understand why Woody Allen is an acquired taste, but what I would say to those who question the man's genius is this; "you've gotta learn to have a little faith in people".