30 Countries Parts 2 - 4 (Girlfriend Experience/Tears For Sale/Alice In The Cities)

The Girlfriend Experience by Steven Soderbergh (2009)

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Part 2 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of American origin as per its listing on imdb.

The thing that really bugs me about the general response to this film is that it is entirely ludicrous. Just because Sasha Grey happily makes pornography why should you expect to see her fucking people in a low budget, almost mumblecore in its aims, Steven Soderbergh movie? Sure you can blame the marketing and distribution team for raising expectations that could never be met but me theory is that if you want pornography head to the pornography section of the video store not the new releases.

That complaint aside I found this a relatively enjoyable experience. Sasha Grey is a better actor than you might expect from a non-actor even though she doesn't have to do much, but she's certainly better than a lot of the people roped in to other low budget American features. Soderbergh's direction is the most interesting aspect of the entire piece, the way he uses the camera is nearly always a masterclass and this experiment is no different. The juxtaposition of the prostitute and the capitalists who pay her isn't exactly subtle but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Tears For Sale by Uros Stojanovic (2008)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Part 3 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of Serbian origin as per its listing on imdb.

Tears For Sale, also known as Charleston & Vendetta, is a magical realist tale of love and death. The loose plot centres on two sisters who are sent to find a new man for their village after they accidentally killed the old one.

Using beautiful visuals, absurd situations, humour, symbolism & dozens of metaphors and surrealism the director Uros Stojanovic seems to be channelling the visual flair and storytelling methods of Jeunet & Caro and Terry Gilliam (as mentioned by almost everyone who has seen this movie I'm sure) amongst others to discuss the absurdity of war and almost certainly whole other aspects of Serbian history that you'd probably have to be Serbian to fully comprehend.

But you don't have to be Serbian to appreciate fine movie making, which this film most certainly is.
This is my first discovery of the 30 Country Challenge, thanks to Berken for encouraging this exploration, without you I might not have searched my library database for Serbian cinema.

Alice in the Cities by Wim Wenders (1974)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Part 4 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of West German origin as per its listing on imdb.

A slow moving road trip movie from the early career of Wim Wenders. A German struggling to write an article about America, lost in the overpowering nature of its size, neon lights and wall to wall noise of TV and radio is left caring for a young girl. Their trip takes them from New York to Amsterdam to Wuppertal via multiple methods of transport and in true road movie fashion they learn about themselves and each other as they go.

I found the similarities to early Jarmusch and Godard to be very interesting, and the early appearance of themes and styles that Wenders would go on to use throughout his career make it a worthwhile watch for film scholars much in the same way that Permanent Vacation works for Jarmusch.
Already having an appreciation for the director made this an easier viewing experience than it might be for somebody coming at this type of cinema for the first time. It can be hypnotic in its melancholy if you choose to let it and the documentary/verite approach towards cinematography gives the trip an extra sense of reality almost like a travelogue which helps to suspend disbelief of the subject matter.

Movie Review: Haywire (2012) Dir. Steven Soderbergh

Attention Hollywood! 

This is how you direct action sequences.

Haywire by Steven Soderbergh

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Blurb: Freelance covert operative Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) is hired out by her handler (Ewan McGregor) to various global entities to perform jobs which governments can't authorize and heads of state would rather not know about. After a mission to rescue a hostage in Barcelona, Mallory is quickly dispatched on another mission to Dublin. When the operation goes awry and Mallory finds she has been double crossed, she needs to use all of her skills, tricks and abilities to escape an international manhunt, make it back to the United States, protect her family, and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her.

Thoughts: Joe Wright, are you paying attention? For future reference and to avoid a repeat of your awful cliche ridden performance with Hanna, please invite Mr Soderbergh to educate you.

This was a strange movie, a mash up of The Limey and Oceans Twelve featuring a non-actor in the lead role as an action heroine. And surprisingly it mostly works.

In lesser hands this would have been a weak movie devoid of interest but as always Soderbergh has more ability to tell an entertaining story in a cinematic way in his little finger than most directors in their whole body.

There's an issue with regards to the actual plot and the sequencing of events, part of the fault has to lay (and it pains me to say it) with screenwriter Lem Dobbs writing his first movie since The Limey and the other is the artistic way Soderbergh chose to shoot and cut it together. There are long slow passages (ordinarily fine) combined with some strange use of a jazz score which fail to sustain your interest when you add a lead character with all the personality of David Beckham.

That's not to criticise MMA fighting champion and American Gladiator Gina Carano too much, she was very good when not required to speak and the way she (and her stunt company) incorporated her MMA fighting skills in to the closer to real life situations in the movie was fantastic - no need to suspend disbelief in an action movie for once! - and as mentioned before, it was shot fantastically by Soderbergh.

The whole movie is a visual treat infact, with several sequences serving as pure pleasure causing me to exclaim wildly as they reached a crescendo - Soderbergh was clearly having a lot of fun with this one and gives a masterclass in how to put a scene together both in front of the camera and in the edit.

OK, so this review has basically functioned as a shameless fan boy praise session for Steven Soderbergh,  I can't deny it. Here's my disclaimer, if you don't like his more personal work then you probably won't like this movie. If however you thought Oceans Twelve was the best of the trilogy I think you'll get what he was doing here and have a great time.

I'd also draw comparison in style and approach towards the genre, even the tone and mood at times, with the recent Jim Jarmusch "thriller" The Limits of Control. Two great directors doing really interesting things in American cinema with tired old genre staples.

I've completely ignored the fact that Bill Paxton was at his least annoying in this movie, Michael Angarano was his usual very good self, Antonio Banderas looked like Saddam Hussein,

plus Michael Fassbender can fight like a pro and stars in one of the best fight sequences I remember seeing, against a girl no less!

 How did you feel about Haywire? Or Soderbergh's direction? What was your favourite Ocean's movie? Ever been seduced by a cougar? Leave it all in the blahs below.

Additional Reading:
The Hunter by Richard Stark
Queenpin by Megan Abbott
Fatale by Jean-Patrick Manchette

Additional Viewing:
The Limits of Control
Kaboom
Le Cercle Rouge

Top 10: Movie Directors Part 3 (The Final Countdown)

Cue Europe...Gob Bluth is about to prove that I love these directors more than anybody and perform some magic for us.

This is it, the final countdown of the Blahblahblahgay Top 10 Favourite Directors. We've assessed the 10 most likely to succeed in Part 1 and we've looked at the fallen 20 in Part 2 but this is the real deal now, the list that ties it all together and makes you realise how crazy I am. By the end of this post you'll be asking yourself how I chose X over Fincher or Y over Tarantino and just where the hell is Z if he doesn't even get a mention in a list of 40 directors? I've been ready for this from the day I realised what I'd done so hit me with your best shot, I wanna see your flabbers gasted in the comments and I especially want you to criticise these directors for not being as good as your choice. The fun is in the contrariness afterall.

Number 10 is Gregg Araki, the director of eight features; one of which I haven't been able to find (Splendor) and one of which was too dumb for words (Smiley Face), all of them shot on an almost micro budget and always innovative, bizarre and fascinating viewing. For me Gregg Araki encapsulates the kind of cinema America could make if it wasn't so fascinated with explosions and Jennifer Aniston's hair.
Essential: Mysterious Skin, Nowhere, Kaboom
Don't Miss This: Totally Fucked Up, The Doom Generation, The Living End
For Completists Only: Smiley Face

9th place for the first Asian director on my list, Wong Kar-Wai, director of the beautiful In The Mood For Love and it's slightly more surreal sequel 2046, spontaneous creator of the brilliant Chungking Express and one of the only men to make a Jude Law film watchable with his American debut My Blueberry Nights. Of his nine movies to date I've only missed his epic historical drama Ashes of Time and he even features in my noir-a-thon with his 1988 debut As Tears Go By. Possessor of a singular visual style for his films he owes a lot to the brilliant Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
Essential: In The Mood For Love, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels
Don't Miss This: As Tears Go By, 2046, Days of Being Wild
For Completists Only: My Blueberry Nights

At number 8 sits my final choice, a late replacement for Vincent Gallo when I realised he didn't deserve a place for only two films yet when it came to placing Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn within the ten I felt he deserved a higher ranking. As a young film maker in Denmark growing up in a culture of Dogme95 it must have taken a strong willed and arrogant man to thumb his nose at von Trier et al and in this case a man with the talent to back it up. The Pusher Trilogy alone was enough to get him noticed but his output since then has been even better, and that's not even considering his early English language film Fear X.
Essential: Pusher, Drive, Bronson
Don't Miss This: Fear X, Pusher II, Valhalla Rising
For Completists Only: Pusher III

7th place is as high as I could allow my folly to place the youngest member of the ten, mumblecore director Aaron Katz. To label Katz as simply a mumblecore director is an insult, for me there's mumblecore and then there's mumblecore directed by Aaron Katz. His work stands out as much better than his contemporaries in the movement and has seen a huge growth in quality between Dance Party, USA in 2006 and Cold Weather in 2010, of all the ten on this list his is the work I am most envious of and the man I most want to emulate with my forthcoming work.
Essential: Cold Weather, Dance Party USA, Quiet City

This was a tough call, 6th place for quirky filmmaker extraordinaire Wes Anderson seems incredibly low for somebody who has yet to make a bad movie. I think having not seen Moonrise Kingdom yet may have something to do with it but also the fact that his films are a little lighter in their content than some others ahead of him. I am not a huge fan of Rushmore if I'm honest even though I did enjoy it and Life Aquatic just didn't sit right with me despite numerous attempts to enjoy it. I thought the way he transposed his cinematic style to stop motion animation with Fantastic Mr Fox was a particularly brilliant moment in his career however.
Essential: The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox
Don't Miss This: Rushmore, Bottle Rocket
For Completists Only: The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

The Top 5 opens with Kevin Smith. Possibly the most improbable of all the final ten when you consider his affection for rubber poop monsters and dick & fart jokes and the fact that my growth as a person meant the outspoken QT was kicked off of the list but there's no denying the fact that Kevin Smith has got talent. I've said it previously but if Red State had any other directors name on it there would have been talk of Oscar nominations, it was a bold and brilliant movie and a complete change of pace for him. In addition to that I find him highly entertaining both as a person and as a storyteller. I don't care what anyone says Mallrats is a great movie.
Essential: Clerks, Red State, Mallrats
Don't Miss This: Chasing Amy, Dogma, Cop Out
For Completists Only: Zack & Miri Make A Porno

4th place for the only directing team on the list; The Coen Brothers have yet to make a bad movie. I might not enjoy the farcical nature of some of their cannon but that doesn't make them bad, if it wasn't for the less enjoyable Hudsucker Proxy there might not have been The Big Lebowski for example. Together they have created a body of work over the past 28 years that is second to none in terms of quality and watchability; their affection for film noir certainly goes a long way in my book too.
Essential: A Serious Man, The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men
Don't Miss This: Fargo, Miller's Crossing, Blood Simple
For Completists Only: The Ladykillers

3rd place may seem a little high for Kim Ki-Duk considering he has The Coen Brothers hot on his tail and I'm yet to see some of his more recent output but the movies I have seen have been of a quality almost unmatched in contemporary cinema. His attention to detail in his mise-en-scene and a rejection of dialogue has left an indelible mark on my brain, when I think of beautiful and mesmerising cinema I immediately think of Kim Ki-Duk.
Essential: Bad Guy, 3-Iron, Spring Summer Autumn Winter and Spring
Don't Miss This: The Isle, Samaritan Girl, The Bow
For Completists Only: Crocodile

It was a very close call between the last 2 on this list but despite his many plus points Steven Soderbergh didn't really stand a chance against my top pick. His range of projects alone is astounding, his ability to ressurrect himself twice in his early career equally so. Practicing the one for Hollywood and one for me approach has seen him squeeze Full Frontal in between intelligent box office fodder Ocean's Eleven and Solaris and indulge his artistic side with the much maligned Ocean's Twelve, he is responsible for quite a few of my all time favourite movies. Not to mention George Clooney's career.
Essential: The Limey, Solaris,  Traffic
Don't Miss This: Contagion, Sex Lies & Videotape, Out Of Sight
For Completists Only: Schizopolis, Underneath, Gray's Anatomy

There can only be 1 director perched in his ivory tower overseeing those lesser mortals out there making movies. Mike Leigh has been that man for quite some time, always creating something brilliant with film from his first movie Bleak Moments in 1971 right through to Another Year forty years later. His approach is unique and his achievements extraordinary. He specialises in the slice-of-life drama but his lighter moments are also something more than others can achieve thanks to the effort he goes to insert reality in to everything he does. He has made eleven TV movies and eleven cinematic features and except for Topsy-Turvy because of the Gilbert & Sullivan content I have enjoyed every moment of the time I've spent with him.
Essential: Secrets & Lies, Bleak Moments, Abigail's Party, Naked
Don't Miss This: High Hopes, Nuts In May, Life Is Sweet
For Completists Only: Career Girls, Topsy Turvy

As I said at the head of the post, go for it, don't hold back in your comments. I want to hear your opinions. I have an idea of some of the names you've missed seeing on the list but as far as I can figure it was deliberate on my part, nobody has been completely overlooked, I just didn't think that highly of them or I am yet to see even one of their films.

The Limey (1999)

Let's take this blog back to the 90's. The decade of mushroom cuts, Who Let The Dogs Out and Jar Jar Binks.

And 1999 to be particular. That year of Millenium Bug madness. I'm pretty certain there was a lot of money being made by some people back then and what for? The general fear on the streets back then was quite ridiculous, especially in retrospect. The thought of the world ending because really fat ibm laptops couldn't understand what moving from 99 to 00 meant was laughable to me even then. Seeing those old laptops in movies like Hackers is strangely fascinating, in a way even more enjoyable than when you see those early suitcase sized mobile phones from the late 80's and early 90's. I can't put my finger on it but it's something similar to voyeurism, or driving extra slow past a car crash torn between hoping you'll see a body and that everyone is ok.

1999 was an incredible year for movies as it turns out, here are just a few: Fight Club, The Matrix, American Beauty, Boondock Saints, Sixth Sense, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich, Blair Witch Project and Baby Geniuses.

The same year Steven Soderbergh released The Limey, starring Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda and Leslie Ann Warren and featuring a kickass supporting cast of Luis Guzman, Nicky Katt, Melissa George, Joe Dallesandro and Amelia Heinle who sadly has gone on to star in such fabulous TV fare as The Young and the Restless.

Soderbergh is a hugely talented film maker and has been responsible for some of the biggest movies in recent years, most obviously the Oceans movies but at the point he shot The Limey he had been on a bit of a dry spell. His breakout film Sex, Lies & Videotape was a full 10 years before and it was only the George Clooney starring Out of Sight that had dragged his career out of the gutter in 1998. He has since gone on to make a blockbuster followed by a low budget personal movie almost like clockwork and The Limey is one of those. I LOVE IT.



A triptych of interesting artwork, British, German and American movie posters I think. The British image is the one I'm used to and one I'm most partial to. For some reason it took me months of taking the DVD out of it's case to realise that the black section in the middle was the silhouette of a gun. On top of this it has the tagline "Tell Them I'm Coming" thrown in which is from a piece of Terrence Stamp's dialogue. The American poster has a real sense of late 90's to it. Many movie posters of the period used the multiple panel style to the same effect but it also reflects the disjointed narrative structure of the film. The German one? Well it all screams a bit of National Socialism with that flag behind him doesn't it?



Once more I shall Synopsisise for you. Wilson (Terrence Stamp) is in L.A. investigating the death of his daughter (Melissa George) and enlists the help of Ed (Luis Guzman) and Elaine (Leslie Ann Warren.) His investigations lead him to her ex boyfriend, Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda) and Wilson wants revenge.

I guess you could easily label this a revenge thriller but it's so much more than that. The script from Lem Dobbs is incredible, the imaginative use of structure and repetition to tell the story and the near perfect dialogue elevate this above a mere revenge thriller. There are moments of sheer joy when you can't believe what Wilson has just done or what he has just said and the excellent dialogue isn't reserved just for Terrence Stamp, everyone has amazing moments in a non stop stream of quality writing. There are some great moments of culture clash humour revolving around Wilson having never been to America and the Americans not having a clue what Wilson is saying, coupled with characters holding prejudices towards the others country, this serves as an entertaining piece of background to the main noir plot.

Soderbergh's direction is almost an extra character at times, adding multiple layers of meaning to scenes with his use of filters, music, silence, repetitions with different delivery of the lines and the jumpcuts along the timeline allowing for interesting juxtapositions. This is a fabulous piece of film making in a genre that usually matches the brutal subject matter with a less than subtle touch from the director. The film equivalent of a literary crime novel. Instead of James Patterson or Kathy Reichs you get Georges Simenon or Cormac McCarthy and The Limey is most definitely not a Michael Bay film.

Script and direction aside the best part of this movie is Terrence Stamp. His performance is something else completely. By accentuating his London accent and slightly overacting at times he has deliberately created one of the most memorable gangsters in film history. He is extremely likable and at times even sympathetic. Whilst you may not have a clue what he's saying half of the time if you're not used to the dialect and slang you will understand his emotions.

Enjoyable on multiple levels, filled with back humour, touched by some violence, thrills, spills, a car chase, gun fights, a final showdown on a beach at night which bears remarkable similarities to a Mickey Spillane, excellent direction, a little arty, cool dialogue, a near perfect film really.