At the moment I can't think of an Irish movie, but I'm sure a day or two from now I'll be kicking myself....but oh well. Thought I'd do an iconic British movie. It was well-received of course in its home country, but disappointingly not in the United States. Not even with a remake that came many decades later...but I'm getting ahead of myself here.
Michael Caine stars in this crime/detective film as Jack Carter. Carter is a gangster (Caine apparently wanted this to be in a serious tone as opposed to how they are 'stupidly portrayed') who lives a free-spirited life. That is until he attends the funeral for his brother Frank. Jack is not satisfied with the answers he's getting about his brother's death, so he goes out of his way on a journey for the truth.
The movie does provide a great experience for people like me who are curious about English culture, and how their movies are made. The 1970s seemed to be a boom for Great Britain as far as the movie industry goes. Michael Caine was already a successful actor at that time in England and today he is known to be a living legend on both sides of the Atlantic. His acting is superb in this one, while at the same time you wonder while he plays a rebellious character he's also very quiet and calm. But that's his style anyway, right? The whole movie though as a whole, was a bit boring and slow-paced, but it got better towards the end.
My rating: 6 out of 10
Showing posts with label british. Show all posts
Showing posts with label british. Show all posts
Monday, March 17, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
02/26: Billy Elliot
With the Olympics in Sochi, Russia over, maybe its time to explore one of Russian's pasttimes: ballet. I was just watching an episode of The Waltons just now, and there was ballet in it. Sometimes I wonder how people get a kick out of that kind of dancing, but doing is way better than watching. I guess it can be fascinating.
Take an 11-year old boy named Billy Elliot, obviously the film's title character. A boy with a messed up home life in England, whose widowed father is having large problems with his employer and union. The last thing his pop wants to hear is his boy is taking ballet lessons instead of typical male activities. He originally wanted Billy to take boxing lessons, but sneaks away eventually to the nearby room full of girls in the ballet class. It would take a lot to convince his father that he is talented in the field, especially if he's set to audition for a special dance school.
If you would like to watch an inspirational story that deals with un-encouraging parents, this is for you. This is also for those who like to watch stories that can beat the odds against anything. With the movie seeming harmless, it is rated R for mostly the language and profanity.
My rating: 7 out of 10
Take an 11-year old boy named Billy Elliot, obviously the film's title character. A boy with a messed up home life in England, whose widowed father is having large problems with his employer and union. The last thing his pop wants to hear is his boy is taking ballet lessons instead of typical male activities. He originally wanted Billy to take boxing lessons, but sneaks away eventually to the nearby room full of girls in the ballet class. It would take a lot to convince his father that he is talented in the field, especially if he's set to audition for a special dance school.
If you would like to watch an inspirational story that deals with un-encouraging parents, this is for you. This is also for those who like to watch stories that can beat the odds against anything. With the movie seeming harmless, it is rated R for mostly the language and profanity.
My rating: 7 out of 10
Monday, February 10, 2014
02/10: Pirate Radio -or- The Boat That Rocked
It's been more than a week since Philip Seymour Hoffman died. Since then there have been several tributes by fans, his old co-workers, critics, etc. But then you also have those who questioned why a seemingly satisfied man was doing heroin and what should be done to prevent any more of those kinds of deaths. I first saw Hoffman in my all-time favorite movie, Almost Famous, when it came out and to this day I still love the way he portrayed the late Lester Bangs (who also died of a drug-related death).
Another rock and roll movie he was in came about 8 years later with the British movie The Boat That Rocked, or as released in the United States, Pirate Radio. Whatever you want to call it, it chronicled and showed us a side of young people having fun on the radio playing rock music in a sort-of legal way. Little is known today by the younger generations about Britain's strict views and laws against rock music from the 60s, despite of several big bands coming from there. America dove into the British Invasion, led by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and what happened there should have happened at home. Instead, British authorities did not want it played on the radio while on their soil. So, the rebellious disc jockeys took to the waters while the public listened in.
While all of the story is said to be true, you witness not just the British government trying to chime in, but the personal stories and drama of all the radio crew members aboard. But to me, what its all about is the love of music. Its simply people doing what they love by playing music over the airwaves, which is what I do in real life (besides this blog). Hoffman does another great performance, this time as 'The Count', arguably the most popular of them all. He even convinces the crew to rebel against the government by staying on the air, and challenging them (like Americans do). The Count was the only American on board while all the others were from the UK.
It's a crime that this is one of Hoffman's lesser-known movies, possibly due to the fact that this was mostly a British movie that was not meant to be exposed here in America. I borrowed this from my library last year, and now I want to watch it again. This time, paying more attention to Hoffman's presence and enjoying this great 60's rock soundtrack. You won't be let down by the music selection as long as you're a 60's fan.
My rating: 8 out of 10
Another rock and roll movie he was in came about 8 years later with the British movie The Boat That Rocked, or as released in the United States, Pirate Radio. Whatever you want to call it, it chronicled and showed us a side of young people having fun on the radio playing rock music in a sort-of legal way. Little is known today by the younger generations about Britain's strict views and laws against rock music from the 60s, despite of several big bands coming from there. America dove into the British Invasion, led by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and what happened there should have happened at home. Instead, British authorities did not want it played on the radio while on their soil. So, the rebellious disc jockeys took to the waters while the public listened in.
While all of the story is said to be true, you witness not just the British government trying to chime in, but the personal stories and drama of all the radio crew members aboard. But to me, what its all about is the love of music. Its simply people doing what they love by playing music over the airwaves, which is what I do in real life (besides this blog). Hoffman does another great performance, this time as 'The Count', arguably the most popular of them all. He even convinces the crew to rebel against the government by staying on the air, and challenging them (like Americans do). The Count was the only American on board while all the others were from the UK.
It's a crime that this is one of Hoffman's lesser-known movies, possibly due to the fact that this was mostly a British movie that was not meant to be exposed here in America. I borrowed this from my library last year, and now I want to watch it again. This time, paying more attention to Hoffman's presence and enjoying this great 60's rock soundtrack. You won't be let down by the music selection as long as you're a 60's fan.
My rating: 8 out of 10
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
01/21: Chariots Of Fire
I guess its not so ironic that I write a movie about an Olympic-themed movie just 16 days before the '14 Olympics event in Sochi. Chariots of Fire is a true story about 2 men who competed and represented England in the 1924 Paris Olympics.
For a film that was (and still is) considered one of the greatest films of 1981 (year I was born), I thought it would grab me. After all, this beat out such films (Raiders of the Lost Ark, On Golden Pond) for Best Picture. So I was hoping I would see what the hypes all about. As it turns out the first hour was completely boring for me. I noticed that I do get a bit bored with foreign films (this was British) but I guess every country or culture has its own cinema style. During the second hour, however, I was starting to get moved to the end. It made a lot of sense as the stories between the two men were becoming more inspirational. I will admit this was shown in a slow-pace. Maybe that's it. You see, the movie isn't really split in two parts. As mentioned above, it does tell the story about two young men and their rise to stardom: one Jew who experiences some anti-Semitism and a devout Christian. The religions without doubt play a huge part in the story. You'll also hear religious quotes throughout the movie, which give Chariots of Fire its characteristic movie. But its mostly about determination and inspiration.
Perhaps the most notable thing about the movie is its theme, which I believe has become forgotten over the years. As a child growing up in the 80s, I remember hearing the Vangelis song "Chariots of Fire -Titles" in many TV shows and commercials. Usually in slow-motion mode this is often heard. The song went to #1 in 1982 and it would be one of the last instrumental tunes to hit the top of the Pop chart. I even remember my sister trying to play some of the chords to this song on the piano at church.
My rating: 6 out of 10
For a film that was (and still is) considered one of the greatest films of 1981 (year I was born), I thought it would grab me. After all, this beat out such films (Raiders of the Lost Ark, On Golden Pond) for Best Picture. So I was hoping I would see what the hypes all about. As it turns out the first hour was completely boring for me. I noticed that I do get a bit bored with foreign films (this was British) but I guess every country or culture has its own cinema style. During the second hour, however, I was starting to get moved to the end. It made a lot of sense as the stories between the two men were becoming more inspirational. I will admit this was shown in a slow-pace. Maybe that's it. You see, the movie isn't really split in two parts. As mentioned above, it does tell the story about two young men and their rise to stardom: one Jew who experiences some anti-Semitism and a devout Christian. The religions without doubt play a huge part in the story. You'll also hear religious quotes throughout the movie, which give Chariots of Fire its characteristic movie. But its mostly about determination and inspiration.
Perhaps the most notable thing about the movie is its theme, which I believe has become forgotten over the years. As a child growing up in the 80s, I remember hearing the Vangelis song "Chariots of Fire -Titles" in many TV shows and commercials. Usually in slow-motion mode this is often heard. The song went to #1 in 1982 and it would be one of the last instrumental tunes to hit the top of the Pop chart. I even remember my sister trying to play some of the chords to this song on the piano at church.
My rating: 6 out of 10
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