The Fifth Element

Year: 1997
Running time: 126 minutes
Certificate: PG
Language: English
Screenplay: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry, Brion James, Tommy Lister, Lee Evans, Tricky, Charlie Creed-Miles

Leeloo struggles to come to grips with Luc Besson's
imagination.

In a recent interview, Milla Jovovich, now arguably better known for the Resident Evil movie franchise, was asked what line she gets quoted back to her most often. The answer was one word: "Multipass". Such is the depth of love for this flawed yet fun epic sci-fi mess. The Fifth Element is a fairly unique film, in that it is a big budget Hollywood action movie but, thanks to director and writer Luc Besson retaining full creative control, it has a distinctly European flavour to it. The result is, frankly, weird. Set in the future where all life is periodically under threat from a flaming planet of evil known as Mr Shadow, only ex-military cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) can save us all with the help of the four elements Earth, Fire, Wind and Water (yes, apparently the ancient Greeks were right all along – anyone with the simplest grasp of modern chemistry will wince at the whole concept) and a mysterious fifth element – a supreme being. Despite sporting a bizarre blonde haircut, Willis is as charismatic a leading man as you’d expect. Two members of an ancient order of monks dedicated to thwarting evil, Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm) and David (Charlie Creed-Miles) convince President Lindberg (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister) of the seriousness of the threat, but it all goes horribly wrong when the alien ship containing the titular element is destroyed. Behind this dastardly act is millionaire and all-round bad egg Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman), who is working for Mr Shadow. The fact that it has taken this long to outline the opening and general plot illustrates just what a sprawling mess this is. Somehow, it only adds to the charm. ‘Serious’ actors Ian Holm and Gary Oldman are clearly having a blast and simply going with the ridiculousness. Stealing the film outright, however, is the magnificent Milla Jovovich, as the perfect supreme being Leeloo. Re-created from a piece of DNA recovered from the crashed ship, she soon escapes from her 'unbreakable' cage and goes on the run.

The plot is fluff and nonsense, simply providing an excuse to go from set piece to set piece, while showing off the wonderfully designed visuals. For example, the moment when Leeloo escapes out onto a building ledge and we and her get a first look of the sprawling city, with buildings that stretch beyond the clouds and layer upon layer of flying traffic it is breath-taking, even now, 15 years later. With nowhere to go, Leeloo takes a dive off the ledge, landing in Korben's taxi-cab. Action follows, and the Universe is eventually saved. Despite the expense and beautiful imagery, sometimes the sets appear cheap and cardboard-like – see the supposedly luxurious cruise liner floating above tourist planet Flotsam Paradise, for the most obvious example.

Korben Dallas, busy saving the Universe.

So, Bruce Willis (or Korben Dallas if you prefer) does his thing and saves the day– that part is all pretty standard. It is not quite that simple, though. Added into the mix, for example, are techno-opera performed by a blue alien diva carrying magic stones in her stomach and Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod, a batshit crazy squeaky-voiced over-sexed DJ. Tucker is easily the most criticised thing in this film and for some he ruins the whole movie, while for others he’s only mildly annoying. No-one ever tells you they loved him. For me, the whole thing was already so insane, Tucker’s character made little difference - his obvious frustration at the one-word answers he gets from Dallas is actually quite amusing.

There is something about The Fifth Element that causes me to like it a lot more than perhaps I should. Despite Chris Tucker, the poor dialogue, overly complicated plot (Besson came up with the story as a teenager, and you can surely tell) and mad character and costume design, or even because of these things, it sets itself apart from its peers. Whatever the reason, I count myself a fan.

Score: 7/10

I'm certainly not alone in my slightly perplexed admiration of The Fifth Element - see these reviews by Bryant at Deep Focus and Roger Ebert.

The Breakfast Club

Year: 1985
Running time: 97 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: John Hughes
Director: John Hughes
Starring: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Paul Gleason, John Kapelos

Stereotypes unite.

The Breakfast Club is my favourite movie of the late, great John Hughes, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen Candles notwithstanding. This probably has something to do with the age I was when I first saw it. Having had some experience of being unpopular among my teenage peers, the story of five mismatched kids - 'Rebel' John Bender (Judd Nelson), 'Jock' Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), 'Nerd' Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), 'Princess' Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald) and 'Basket Case' Alison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) - sharing a Saturday with each other and bonding over their differences seemed tailor-made for me. John Hughes got me, in a way that no other person did. Of course, it transpires that I was not alone in this, and most of a generation felt the same.

Granted, with the hindsight of adulthood, the message is rather obvious and without much subtlety, but that's exactly the point; adults really don't get teenagers, and these five, so wrapped up in their own petty (for the most part) problems and suffering a range of abuses at the hands of oblivious parents clearly mystify Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason), the teacher tasked with monitoring the kids throughout their Saturday detention. As the day goes on, each of them begin to open up, and they each realise the others aren't the stereotypes they suspected. Together they tear round the school avoiding Vernon, argue, get high and pour their respective hearts out.

It’s clear that the cast have an easy chemistry with each other, and each of them acquit themselves rather well, with Estevez impressing in a scene where he relates the incident that got him detention; under pressure from an over-bearing father, a violent act meant to humiliate a friend of Brian's, his character is completely bewildered as to why he did it and is at a loss as to how to even begin to apologise. Anthony Michael Hall probably impresses the least, his Brian pouring his heart out in manner which seems slightly over the top and feels a little fake.

Vernon struggles to control his temper.

Inevitably the point comes where the five of them consider what might come Monday morning; whether they will acknowledge their shared experience or carry on just as they did before. You get the uncomfortable feeling that the three who are more invested in protecting their image in the eyes of others (John, Andrew and Claire) will change little, despite the two new couples leaving the school together, while Brian and Alison might have been glad to make some new friends. I guess the best they can probably hope for is to become friends with each other.

Lots of fun, this will always be a nostalgia trip for me, and might help my cynical adult self remember how it felt to be a teenager.

Score: 7/10

The Breakfast Club is pretty much universally loved, as seen in these reviews by Stevee at Cinematic Paradox and Matt at Cinemablend.

Pan's Labyrinth

Year: 2006
Running time: 119 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: Spanish
Screenplay: Guillermo del Toro
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi López, Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdú, Álex Angulo

The fawn instructs Ofelia in her task.

Guillermo del Toro is a hugely talented director, who makes astonishing films just as long as he’s not working for Hollywood. For example, Blade 2, Mimic and Hellboy are all pretty atrocious films, but when del Toro is making films in his own native Spanish, it is almost like he's a different director; he can be fantastic, and Pan’s Labyrinth is definitive proof.

Essentially a fairytale, but this does not exactly make for family friendly viewing, as this fantastical story is interspersed with ugly scenes from the tale-end of the Spanish civil war. A young girl named Ofelia (played by Ivana Baquero who, unbelievably, was merely 11 years old at the time of making) comes with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to a village on the edge of the fighting where the fascist captain Vidal (Sergi López), the unborn child’s father, is rooting out rebels in the forests.

Ofelia confronts the terrifying Pale Man.

Taking an intense dislike to her new life and in particular the nasty piece of work she’s now supposed to call father, Ofelia escapes into a fantasy world where she is the long lost princess of a fantastical race and must pass three tests in order to return to her people and leave behind the real world. The two worlds exist alongside each other; the 'real' world is a dangerous place, where everyone is on edge, and hidden rebels live in fear posing as servants and doctors in Vidal's household. Ofelia's fantasy world is every bit as disturbing and dangerous as the real one, beset as she is by giant toads and the Pale Man (Doug Jones, who also plays Pan, the helpful but frightening fawn the film is named for), a monster who sits surrounded by food to tempt the unwary and keeps his eyes in the palms of his hands.

The imagination at work here is wonderful; Ophelia's world is at once beautiful and grotesque, and never fails to astound. The masterstroke is never actually telling the viewer whether it’s real or not – you are left to make your own choice about whether it’s all in the mind or something tangible. This is especially effective at the climax, where one reality sees a violent end for all involved, while in the other Ofelia lives a charmed life as a returned long-lost, much-loved princess.

Score: 9/10

I'll have to agree to disagree with the Critical Movie Critics, who thought it was just okay. More in agreement, on the other hand, is this in-depth review by A. O. Scott at The New York Times, which makes for an excellent read.

Kill Bill

Year: 2003 (Vol. 1), 2004 (Vol. 2)
Running time: 111 minutes (Vol. 1), 136 minutes (Vol. 2)
Certificate: 18
Language: English
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Julie Dreyfus, Chiaki Kuriyama, Sonny Chiba, Chia Hui Liu, Michael Parks, Perla Haney-Jardine

Two down, 86 to go.

Supposedly originally conceived of by Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman on a napkin during breaks in filming Pulp Fiction, the story of The Bride and her quest for vengeance was originally a 90-minute movie in Tarantino’s head. Over the years, it began to develop into something much more. There are people who bemoan the loss of that short, fast-paced movie, but I couldn’t be more pleased at the decision to increase the size and depth of the story. Kill Bill is truly impressive, the two volumes being very different in character and style while still remaining a complete whole. Criticised for over-indulgence, it almost feels like the film Tarantino made for himself. Another criticism it received (from, unsurprisingly The Daily Mail who ranted and raged that “...it not only glorifies violence against women, it makes a quasi-religion out of it.”) was regarding the violent content, which is a bit like criticising PG Tips for making tea.

There is not a great deal to the story, basically being a revenge movie, following The Bride (real name Beatrix Kiddo) (Thurman), who, after finding she is pregnant, quits her career as an assassin and runs away to live a regular life. Her boss and her baby's father, Bill (David Carradine) does not take kindly to this and tracks Kiddo down and calls in her ex-colleagues, the other members of the Deadly Viper Assassin Squad to slaughter the regular family Kiddo intended to marry into and leaving the pregnant Bride for dead. Five years later, she awakes from a coma, childless, and proceeds to wreak bloody vengeance.

The making of O-Ren Ishii.

Volume 1 is Tarantino’s homage to the countless hyper-violent Eastern movies he clearly grew up on, such as Shogun Assassin (which is even name-checked in Volume 2) and Lady Snowblood. There are so many great ideas sprawling all over the film that the first time round you’re bound to miss some, which makes repeat viewings very rewarding. One of the most memorable parts is the back-story of Lucy Liu’s O-Ren Ishii, told entirely in anime. Instead of being a jarring distraction as you might expect, artistically it works brilliantly, really helping the character to stick in the memory. Another scene that jumps out is where The Bride entreats retired sword-smith Hattori Hanzo (a cameo from the legendary movie martial artist Sonny Chiba) to make her a sword, and we pause for a long but absorbing discussion about perfectly made swords. Despite these terrific moments, the film seems like a long lead up to the climactic show down in The House of Blue Leaves where The Bride takes on O-Ren’s Crazy 88 before dispatching the woman herself. This takes up pretty much the final third of the first film and is simply staggering - the best example I have yet seen of movie violence as high art. Witness the fountains of spurting blood, the running along banisters, or the moment where the lights go out and the fight continues in silhouette. These are just three moments out of a myriad of virtuoso shots. For sheer bravado it trumps anything in Volume 2.

A huge amount of kudos goes to Uma Thurman in these films – in her portrayal of The Bride she has created an icon every bit as recognisable and everlasting as Holly Golightly, Ellen Ripley or Marla Singer. It is not hard to see why Tarantino considered her his muse.

The Bride, at a wedding rehearsal she won't soon forget.

While Volume 2 still has large parts of it that recall the Eastern martial arts movies paid homage in Volume 1 (a mid-film flashback in which Kiddo trains with Bill's mentor Pai Mei (Chia Hui Liu) mainly), it feels much more like a Western, with a slower pace and a score prominent with Ennio Morricone’s music (he was originally going to write an original score for Tarantino, but scheduling problems meant he was unable). Tarantino continues to reference everything he's ever watched, including Volume 1 in the opening when The Bride demolishes the fourth wall and talks to the camera about the movie advertisements for the first film, which is, frankly, a little bit genius. There’s nothing to rival The House of Blue Leaves for sheer balls-out action set pieces, but it definitely has its memorable moments, the most disturbing of which is when The Bride is buried alive by Bill's brother Budd (Michael Madsen). While it loses something at home, in the cinema this whole sequence was incredibly unnerving. The claustrophobic fight with (the also extraordinary) Daryl Hannah’s Elle Driver is another moment that sticks with you – you can almost feel the bruises as each woman takes her turn to be kicked, thrown and smashed against things. Mostly, however, it’s the rather gross ending to the fight that sticks with you – an ‘eewww’ moment if ever there was one.

Training with Pai Mei.

The ending is another part of Kill Bill that has come under fire, for being action-light and dialogue-heavy. This is bizarre to me as by now we’ve had almost more than we can stand of action and fight choreography, but more than this, it’s Tarantino, who is as well known for his dialogue as he is for his violence. The Bride tracks Bill down, ready to confront him and instead finds herself face to face with her daughter B.B. (Perla Haney-Jardine) for the first time. This emotional sucker-punch is more than enough to conceivably put The Bride out of action, and it’s here that respect for Thurman goes up another notch. The whole cast has done a great job of making characters cool when they could so easily have been ludicrous, but here Thurman lends her character genuine gravitas. There is a moment when she sees her daughter for the first time and Bill simultaneously. The two of them (B.B. quite unknowingly) have turned Kiddo's quest for vengeance into a game. To spare her daughter the ugliness of murder, she manages to control herself sufficiently to play along with her game, and the moment is gut-wrenching. Similarly, the shots of mother and daughter lying together on the bed are beautifully poignant.

The late David Carradine also hits the mark, playing Bill with just the right balance of endearing warmth and bubbling-under psychosis to make you like him but stay wary of him. His obvious charm did make me a little concerned that The Bride wouldn’t be able to finish her mission to kill Bill, but the final fight, understated as it was, is just what was required, with Bill going out with dignity instead of a geyser of violence and blood, and The Bride grieving for the man she once loved, yet still strong enough to do what she must. Volume 2 is slightly better, but they should most definitely be viewed as a single four-hour movie.

Absolutely epic.

Score:
Kill Bill Volume 1: 9/10
Kill Bill Volume 2: 9/10

Despite the Mail's meltdown, there is a lot of love out there for Kill Bill, like this review by Matt and, notably, Mr. Ebert hisself (Volume 1 & Volume 2).

Grosse Pointe Blank

Year: 1997
Running time: 107 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: Tom Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack
Director: George Armitage
Starring: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, Dan Ackroyd, Joan Cusack, Hank Azaria, K. Todd Freeman, Jeremy Piven, Mitch Ryan, Michael Cudlitz

Well read and deadly: the man has it all.

This story of a hit-man returning to his hometown for a high school reunion starring the ever great John Cusack is an absolute gem. Steeped in nostalgic 80s sensibility (which isn’t half as bad as it sounds), Martin Q. Blank (Cusack) is a hit-man who wants to retire, returning to his hometown to pull off one last job. His visit coincides with the ten year anniversary of his graduation. Cusack does a fine job capturing that strange nostalgic yet freaked out feeling that accompanies coming face to face with old school friends after a decade. When he meets up with old friend Paul Spericki (Jeremy Piven), the two of them seem to pick up almost like they saw each other yesterday, until Paul's sudden outburst: "Ten years!"

Blank begins to reconnect with his roots to the sound of The Clash, David Bowie & Queen, Violent Femmes and a bunch of others in a great soundtrack that actually manages to make the 80s sound like a good decade for music. Some moments are quite sombre, for example when he visits each of his parents – a mentally disabled mother in a home who doesn’t recognise her son, and a father buried in the ground at a quiet gravesite. Other parts are played for laughs, such as finding a convenience store has been built on the site of his childhood home and reacquainting himself with his high school sweetheart Debi (Minnie Driver), whom he left heartbroken on the night of the school prom. Dan Ackroyd is on scene stealing form as Mr. Grocer, a rival assassin who first wants to induct Blank into his union for hit-men and then just tries to kill him, but the show remains Cusack’s from beginning to end.

The hit-man and her.

The soul searching sparked by the wave of memories and nostalgia (and a surprisingly emotionally affecting scene involving a staring contest with a baby) causes Blank to re-evaluate his life and he decides to get back together with Debi, provided he can survive the rival assassins and corrupt government agents long enough to convince her to take him back.

Full of great music and dialogue, deliciously black comedy and terrific acting, as well as a healthy dollop of romance and the effortlessly cool Cusack, this is superb fun from start to finish.

Score: 8/10

Rob is in broad agreement, as is Caroline at Empire.

The Negotiator

Year: 1998
Running time: 140 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: James DeMonaco, Kevin Fox
Director: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin, J.T. Walsh, Paul Giamatti, Regina Taylor

A tension-filled stand-off.

The Negotiator is one of those alright films that is only ever worth watching once or twice, if that. It’s not likely to ever be anyone’s favourite. It sounds great on paper – Sam Jackson is the best police negotiator in the force Danny Roman, able to diffuse some of the tensest hostage situations. He is on a roll of high profile success. When he uncovers some internal corruption and his friend gets murdered he somehow finds himself framed and heading for prison. Reduced to desperate measures, he takes hostages himself and barricades himself halfway up the police internal affairs office block. Trying to prove his innocence, he insists on a negotiator completely impartial and with a reputation at least as good as his own: enter Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey).

What you would hope for is a plot involving double-crosses, tension-filled scenes and plenty of action. Well, in a sense, that’s what you do get. It’s just that, well, it’s not as good as it should be. It doesn’t quite set the screen alight – Jackson and Spacey both excel and work well together, but they struggle with some of the dialogue that isn’t as clever as it thinks it is and twists that aren’t as surprising as they’re supposed to be. There are so many clichés presented as though they are earth-shattering it is impossible to take it as seriously as it wants you to. The dialogue, while mostly passable, occasionally degenerates into sweary ridiculousness (for example, one heated exchange simply goes "Fuck you!" "Fuck you!"), which smacks of a screenplay running out of ideas.

Er, another tension-filled stand-off.

It looks good, making good use of plenty of shadows and finds ways to make the office in which most of it is set interesting throughout the overlong running time. A fine supporting cast (including the late, great J.T. Walsh in one of his final roles) do well in clichéd and underwritten parts, and help to lift the material a little.

It’s not too bad, but it just doesn’t live up to the potential of the central story idea - it isn't the L.A. Confidential it thinks it is.

Score: 6/10

It would seem others might think me a little harsh on The Negotiator, as evidenced by these reviews by Reid at CritiQal and Gareth.

Jerry Maguire

Year: 1996
Running time: 139 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: Cameron Crowe
Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Lipnicki, Kelly Preston, Regina King, Jerry O'Connell, Jay Mohr

Cuba broke the news that this wasn't Risky Business 2
gently.

Like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise is often under-rated as an actor due to the megastar movie stud reputation. Not like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise also has a reputation for idiocy (sofa jumping, scientology) that can often overshadow his abilities as an actor. Like Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July and (in particular) Magnolia, Cruise’s turn in Cameron Crowe’s romantic comedy as a sports agent who has a crisis of conscience and loses almost everything as a result is strong evidence that he is in fact (like Brad Pitt) one of the finest actors of his generation.

When Jerry Maguire (Cruise) attempts to promote a new philosophy at the agency where he works which involves less money and more focus on the well being of the sports stars they represent, he soon finds himself fired by the smug, uncaring Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr). Maguire's humiliation for attempting to reverse the tide of corporate greed surrounding him is played out excruciatingly, and he manages to retain only one of his clients, Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr. in a performance that was deservedly Oscar winning, and, with the possible exception of Boyz N the Hood, is still his best, As Good As It Gets notwithstanding). It should seem a hollow victory, but Crowe's deft handling turns it into a scene that makes you want to punch the air in triumph.

Renée Zellweger is as delightful as ever in the role of love interest Dorothy Boyd, the single mother who follows Maguire and the only one genuinely touched by his change of heart. Jonathan Lipnicki is always hard to love, but he does well here as Zellweger’s son, Ray – he almost doesn’t make me want to throw him in front of a train.

Elastic band battles: very serious business.

What follows are two simultaneous plot strands. Maguire struggles to come to terms with what he’s lost and focus on his single remaining client, while falling for Dorothy. It’s done with flair, invention and the sharp witty dialogue typical of Crowe. The two happy endings of Tidwell's big game and Jerry and Dorothy finally pairing up are both very predictable of course, but Crowe and his cast make sure they are satisfying – the famous “You had me at hello” is sure to soften even the hardest of hearts.

Not bad for a rom-com. Not bad at all.

Score: 7/10

A bit of a mix in other reviews - one in general agreement from master critic Roger Ebert and one that is unimpressed from Duane at The Hollywood Reporter.