The Woodsman is one of the most disturbing films you’ll watch in 2005 – covering the most taboo of subjects – child molesting. Its not entirely pleasant to watch – Kevin Bacon plays a sex offender who is rehabilitated to society after a 12 year jail sentence…he find a job in run-down timber yard in Philadelphia and with no trace of irony is given an apartment across the road from a primary school. The story sees the inevitable and quite obvious ‘outing’ of his secret in the workplace, and the beginnings of a decent love story with the tough, tomboy character played by his real life wife Kyra Sedgwick.
The movie is a tough one – the subject matter is unpleasant and uneasy, but Kevin Bacon covers it well – the scenes of him trying not to follow the previous temptations in an uneasy and twitchy scene with a young girl in a park, and the observation of another like himself – are really well handled. Surrounding cast members who include Eve playing the timber yard secretary who cannot handle the secret she finds out, and Mos Def who plays the most unlikely and unforgiving cop. I really enjoyed this – Kevin Bacon is excellent, and the screenplay and camera work really suit the subject matter and great acting. 8/10.
is the book that Sean Penns character in ‘The Assassination of Richard Nixon’ reads in the last year before he embarks on a quest to kill the president. Its based on real-life events and charts Sam Bickes decline into a dark depression as he becomes uneasy with the world and his relationships (especially his wife played by Naomi Watts)…and finds ways to blame much of his malaise on Richard Nixon.
Its a pretty good film and will be compared with Taxi Driver (and Falling Down) and whilst its not as violent as Taxi Driver it does show the decline into paranoia in much the same way. Naomi Watts character is suitably cold towards Penn as he slips away from her. This is Sean Penn at his most detached, but also at his best – a really engaging performance. 7/10.
I have this system that logs all the activity on my website…and so sometimes I browse through to see what goes on – and theres a tab called ‘Search Engine Queries’ which tells me all about the people that have used a search engine to find me…turns out I am the number two site on Yahoo Search for people that want information about Sienna Millers Nose – huh?
Two days have passed
And all I want is to
feel better
They won’t be back
And a long weekend is coming up
I left the house
It was just to see you
For an hour
Hoping for two
I was short of breath
As I passed the doorman for a second time
And it rained all day
I don’t have a raincoat of my own
I then arrived
Ten minutes
early with no smokes
And I was broke
Without a smoke
All of the time
I thought I was crazy ‘cos you told me so
It was profound
Like the piano I was humbled by
Our tongues may have touched
But all I remember was your nose
And I suppose
Our eyes were closed
Two days have passed
And all I want is gone
For good this time
The Second Part – The Dears (2005)
This was one of the most unsettling movies I have watched in a long long time…Birth - starring (and I mean that) Nicole Kidman, is the story of a woman who is rebuilding her life after losing her first husband. As she reaches the point of remarrying (to a slightly menacing Danny Huston), she meets a young boy who claims to be her dead husband. What follows is the most amazing portrayal of a woman consumed by grief – and who really cannot let go of her first love.
The boy is a distraction really – this film is not about the boy, or the vintage star turn from Lauren Bacall as the domineering dowager of the family. Its all about Kidman, who sparkles throughout. The cinematography is slow and patient, and truly allows her to dominate the screen and the screenplay…there is one momentous scene where the camera settles on her face for a full two minutes, in a crowded concert hall – she is the only the character on the screen as we see her realise just how connected she is to this little boy. When she ends up sharing a bath with the boy, you know that she really has decided her own fate – the final scene by the sea is almost ethereal, but caps the film off with a number of unanswered questions. The camera work is matched by a superb score – percussive, classical music provides an amazing backdrop to the slow, and mostly beautiful visuals. I loved this film, and woke up this morning still thinking about the ending, and the reasoning. 10 out of 10.
So says Rhys Ifans when he finally gets face to face, one on one, mano a mano with Daniel Craig in this very strange, and complex movie…Enduring Love.
Written by Ian McKewan this is an adaptation of his best seller – telling the story of two men whos’ paths cross after a tragic and macabre accident…the instability of Rhys Ifans is a good contrast to his normal roles – and his unwanted attentions in the relationship of JoJo (Daniel Craig – Layer Cake), have some dark consequences.
Its a really good film – quite complex and very british (but not in a Lock, Stock way) – the love story between Daniel Craig and Samantha Morton is well handled, and the Rhys Ifans intervention is both brutal and sad at the same time. The opening sequence with the accident is extraordinary…really well shot, and amazingly timed, the whole film is definately worth tracking down and watching.
So says Hilary Swank as she sweats her way to being ready for a boxing matchup…and more than that she looks for acceptance into the male dominated boxing world, represented here by Clint Eastwood.
Swanks success is helped along by Morgan Freeman, who plays an aging boxer, blind in one eye after just one fight too many, he sees the potential and steers Eastwoods character into looking after her…from the beginning, you know just how successful she will be – but not where the fight game will take her.
Its a remarkable film – brilliantly made and really well acted, managing to show how sensitive the boxing world can actually be – a far cry from the Vegas style showbiz of Tyson etc, but when its in dirty gyms across the world…dreams are still being chased, and lost.
Trudging slowly over wet sand
Back to the bench where your clothes were stolen
This is the coastal town
That they forgot to close down
Armageddon – come armageddon!
Come, armageddon! come!
Everyday is like sunday
Everyday is silent and grey
Hide on the promenade
Etch a postcard :
How I dearly wish I was not here
In the seaside town
…that they forgot to bomb
Come, come, come – nuclear bomb
Everyday is like sunday
Everyday is silent and grey
Trudging back over pebbles and sand
And a strange dust lands on your hands
(and on your face…)
(on your face …)
Everyday is like sunday
Win yourself a cheap tray
Share some greased tea with me
Everyday is silent and grey
Every day is like Sunday – Morrissey/Marr
My new shoes…Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66…beautiful!
(or even not so regular visitors), may be aware that I ama big fan of Flickr, the photo sharing service…there are a couple of links to it over there on the side bar. Well, this weekend its been announced that Yahoo have bought Flickr…I’ll hold judgement until I can confirm that Yahoo don’t suck all the goodness out of the Flickr service, but theres one line in the press release/blog entry that excites me:
Pro account holders will get super mega bonuses, to be announced
soon!
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