Michael Vaughn’s directorial debut Layer Cake is a very slick, well shot film, filled with twists, turns and flashbacks showing key scenes as the movie jumps forward. Film uses similar music to Scorsese, including Gimme Shelter, and features the now-obligatory face stamping scene, this time set to an evocative Ordinary World by Duran Duran. Daniel Craig is excellent as usual, playing a posh drug dealer who’s had it too good for too long. Suffice to say the plot is a little confusing and lost me at times.
August 24, 2008
Film Review of Layer Cake (2004)
Film Review of Thief (1981)
Fans of Mann’s later work should check this one immediately. When I saw it I kicked myself for not having seen it before. Realistic heist scenes and authentic dialogue convinces, like Heat does, that Mann’s protagonists have lived the criminal life. If you like crime movies in general, go out and buy this one now. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Aliens and Predators - Where Next For the Movie Franchises?
After almost thirty years of Alien action and over twenty years since the Predator first burst onto our screens, these two giants of genre cinema seem to have settled into their own series together, which in turn seems to have created its own genre of double-header movies. Taking its cue from Freddy Vs Jason (a shallow, woeful excuse of a film), the first AVP was released in 2004 to much fanfare and critical disdain. Its sequel, Alien Vs Predator: Requiem followed in 2007, an the credibility of the series seemed to have been dealt another blow thanks to a laughable script and substandard execution. Still, credibility aside, the films have been hugely successful and an inevitable third entry is being worked on already. Will it be continuing case of diminishing returns or will this third AVP have anything in the way of originality or impact? Here we’ll take a look at all of the Alien movies, both Predator movies and the AVP series thus far. Then there’ a look at what may be on the way for the third.