Category Archives: 4 stars

Films that scored 4 out of 5.

Mean Streets (1973)

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2007 #126
Martin Scorsese | 107 mins | DVD | 18 / R

Mean StreetsSemi-autobiographical New York gangster movie, guaranteed a place in history as the first collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro — what a place to end my little season!

As with Goodfellas, it’s someone else who’s the main character; and, as with Goodfellas, De Niro’s supporting character is a disturbing presence even when off screen. The similarities don’t end there, but I’m not going to go into them in detail. Suffice to say, Mean Streets feels a bit like a less epic, oddly less focused, grittier, and perhaps more realistic, prototype for Goodfellas. But even then it’s only that in some ways — the two are notably different enough to make each worthwhile.

4 out of 5

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

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2007 #125
Woody Allen | 95 mins | DVD | 15 / R

Bullets Over BroadwayThe final Woody Allen film of this little ‘season’ is that rare thing: one that doesn’t star him!

This is its biggest flaw, as John Cusack spends the entire film doing a blatant and middling impression of the writer/director. But he nonetheless does OK, and when the rest of the cast are note-perfect, the script pacy and funny, the photography gorgeous, and the long takes never more appropriate, it’s hard not to be impressed. Special mention for the final scene, a four-way shouted conversation between two high windows and the street — it’s beautifully written and executed.

Another underrated Allen film, and probably the most down-right entertaining of his I’ve seen so far.

4 out of 5

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

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2007 #124
Woody Allen | 103 mins | DVD | PG / PG

Manhattan Murder MysteryWoody Allen mixes a bit of the thriller into his usual relationship-based comedy/drama style, with effective results. The combination produces an engaging thriller with the usual character-focused drama woven around it, and a decent dash of comedy too. The first half hour or so is a tad slow, but the pace picks up as the story rattles into the second half.

Murder Mystery has been criticised as lightweight — the comedy stops the thriller being too serious, the thriller stops the drama being the focus, and they both prevent the comedy from overpowering — but Allen has dealt with these elements in isolation elsewhere, so it’s refreshing to see him do more than merely repeat himself.

This is an underrated gem in Allen’s relatively vast body of work.

4 out of 5

Taxi Driver (1976)

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2007 #122
Martin Scorsese | 109 mins | DVD | 18 / R

Taxi DriverMuch praised, discussed and quoted, Taxi Driver needs little introduction. The weight of expectation also makes it hard to judge when first viewed.

Personally, I didn’t buy Travis’ slide into psychosis, which is unfortunate as it’s the core of the film and why it’s meant to be so great. In fact, I found Robert Pupkin’s broadly similar, self delusion-based character arc in The King of Comedy more believable. The ending was also dubious, although one theory does make it work better, so it perhaps depends on what you choose to believe.

Further viewings may help the film work better for me — as my rating shows, I still liked the film as a whole, but I wasn’t as impressed as I’d been led to believe I would be.

4 out of 5

Hellboy: Director’s Cut (2004)

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2007 #120
Guillermo del Toro | 127 mins | DVD | 12 / PG-13

Hellboy Director's CutA surprise hit on release, this live action adaptation of the cult comic book is an exciting and entertaining, though flawed, mix of pulp fantasy, gothic style and action.

Surprisingly, it spends more time focused on the characters than the plot; while this is nice, and those scenes are expertly played, they do seem to throw the pacing off kilter somewhat. And, in an amusing reversal of the usual action movie cliche, while the character bits are great the action scenes are a tad underwritten! The score is also pretty lacklustre: it sounds like a typical, appropriate SF/F action score, but one where the cues have all been incorrectly placed.

But these flaws are easily overlooked when the characters are such fun, the dramatic moments suitably poignant, and the action passable enough. Hopefully the forthcoming sequel can see to the faults and be even better.

4 out of 5

I haven’t seen the theatrical cut of Hellboy, hence why this is numbered.

Manhattan (1979)

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2007 #119
Woody Allen | 92 mins | DVD | 15 / R

ManhattanDrama (though it does include some very funny bits) focusing on the interrelationships of a handful of 40-something New Yorkers.

Allen fails to convince as a bit of a womaniser, even if he is notably less neurotic than usual; however, once the viewer gets over that little fantasy of his, I believe there’s a lot to be had here. It’s a much more traditional film than Annie Hall — events occur in chronological order, with no unusual comedic breaks, or monologues to camera — and, as a drama, it’s all the better for this.

The black & white photography is gorgeous throughout, helping the city to shine far brighter than any of the characters — for me, the best bit of the entire film is the opening three-and-a-half minutes, in which the beautiful images, Allen’s narration and Gershwin’s music combine in a tribute to what must be the most genuinely loved of all cities.

(A 5-star rating system only allows minimal delineation, so for the sake of clarity I’d like to point out that I personally preferred this to Annie Hall, though it falls just off attaining a full five.)

4 out of 5

Wild at Heart (1990)

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2007 #116
David Lynch | 120 mins | DVD | 18 / R

Wild at HeartMy experience of David Lynch’s work has so far been limited to Dune, the first short season of Twin Peaks, and Mulholland Drive. Admittedly, a list including the latter two isn’t that bad, but it fails to encompass any of the acclaimed films that made his name.

Wild at Heart doesn’t come much closer: a quick look at IMDb reveals that it only beats Dune and the Twin Peaks movie in user ratings. I think I can see why: it’s filled with mannered performances that can seem cheaper than those in daytime soaps (I presume this is deliberate, but some people just won’t get, or like, it); characters and plot threads that meander off and seem pointless, while others don’t come to anything; plus it lacks the opaqueness that many seem to hold as the key worthy feature of Lynch’s work.

In spite of its many faults I quite liked a lot of it, so my rating falls on the generous side. I still have no idea why there were so many Wizard of Oz references though.

4 out of 5

Annie Hall (1977)

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2007 #115
Woody Allen | 90 mins | DVD | 15 / PG

Annie HallWidely considered to be Woody Allen’s breakthrough movie and winner of four of the ‘Big Five’ Oscars. One might call it a romantic comedy, but it’s very much an indie comedy-drama (for one thing, it utilises the ever-popular tactic of not taking place in chronological order), rather than the mainstream cliché-fest that first springs to mind whenever “rom-com” is mentioned.

Annie Hall is either the basis for or just exemplifies all the clichés of Allen films (essentially, neurotic Jew who struggles with life), but that doesn’t make it bad. It’s very funny in places, suitably realistic in others, and has a nice line in comedic philosophy too.

4 out of 5

On the Town (1949)

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2007 #113
Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly | 94 mins | VHS | U

On the TownGene Kelly and Frank Sinatra lead the cast in this musical comedy about three sailors who have 24 hours of shore leave in New York. The plot is sometimes predictable, but at least it’s not as standardised as many. Equally, none of the songs are truly memorable but most are fun while they last.

The humour may be quite gentle (though be prepared for some sexed-up female characters!), but as a whole it’s never less than entertaining (with the exception of a third act dance almost as incongruous as Oklahoma!’s change of cast). Several of those who watched it with me were surprised to find they actually enjoyed a musical.

4 out of 5

The Naked City (1948)

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2007 #112
Jules Dassin | 92 mins | DVD | PG

The Naked CityPolice procedural film noir, shot entirely on location in New York (unusual at the time).

The story is quite straightforward — girl is murdered, police investigate — but it exists mainly as a structure on which to hang perspectives of the city, its criminals and its law enforcement (though in an infinitely less pretentious way than that sounds). The odd, character-less voice-over narration is more puzzling than any mystery in the plot.

The acting is sometimes stilted and some of the direction is actually a little flat, but there are enough enjoyable elements to cover for it — particularly the chance to see so much footage of a real city at this time.

4 out of 5