Touch of Evil

Year: 1958
Running time: 95 minutes

Certificate: 12

Language: English

Screenplay: Orson Welles

Director: Orson Welles

Starring: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver

Setting the scene in that masterful opening sequence.

A tale of corruption, murder and intimidation told in a queasy and disturbing, especially for 1958, way, Touch of Evil is unpleasant yet mesmerising. Opening with an infamous three-minute tracking shot, we're served, right from the start, with further proof, as if any were needed, of the astonishing filmmaking chops of Orson Welles. Re-writing the script after being given the directing job at the insistence of lead actor Charlton Heston, Welles turns a standard piece of pulp fiction into what is frequently regarded as the last great film noir.

It's worth noting that the version I watched was the re-edited version based on notes made by Welles after the film was cut by the studio on its initial release.

The said opening is set on the border of the USA and Mexico. On the Mexican side of the border a bomb is planted in the boot of a car, and we follow the car on its way through the border town, where people drop in and out of shot, and the car passes over to the US side. After a short time the car explodes, killing the occupants. You can already see the rather messy tangle that creates, jurisdiction-wise.

One of the people seen in this opening is Mike Vargas (Heston), a Mexican narcotics officer trying to enjoy his honeymoon with his American wife Susie (Janet Leigh). Hank Quinlan (Welles) is the police captain tasked with investigating the murder. I think having a heroic protagonist be a Mexican was probably 1958's version of being progressive (and based on the regressive trajectory the US has been on these past 4 years of madness, is probably 2021's version as well), but it would quite rightly be controversial to cast someone like Heston as a Mexican these days. I don't think it is worth taking issue with though, with it being 1958, and in spite of this Heston is effective enough in the role. It is Hank Quinlan that really steals the show here though; bloated, unpleasant, and corrupt so long he no longer seems to even know the difference between right and wrong, only that he judges his actions to be the means that justify the end in accordance with his own badly skewed sense of morality. Welles is equal parts magnetic and repugnant.

The plot; she thickens.

Vargas notices Quinlan planting evidence regarding the investigation in order to frame his Mexican suspect, so starts to investigate the corrupt captain. Also causing trouble for Vargas is the Grandi family, a crime syndicate in Mexico City he has been building a case against. That trouble involves harassing and menacing Susie. In the battle of wills between Vargas and Quinlan, the corrupt captain accuses Vargas of covering for the suspect, and in an attempt to direct attention away from his corruption, arranges for Susie to be drugged, abducted and terrorised.

Not only does the story go to some pretty dark places, but the mastery of black and white cinematography, using shadows and jarring camera angles, makes the discomfort all the more pervasive than it might have been in lesser hands. Welles has complete command of every facet and he has me hooked from the opening show-stopper to the oppressively-filmed climactic chase.

Score: 9/10

Unsurprisingly, this is pretty much considered top tier filmmaking in most reviews - see these examples from Angie at Empire and The Twizard.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Year: 2011
Running time: 122 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: Bridget O'Conner, Peter Straughan
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Ciarán Hinds, Kathy Burke, Stephen Graham, Katrina Vasilieva

To catch a spy.

Alec Guinness cast a long shadow over the making of this film. The 1979 TV miniseries was long thought to be the definitive adaptation of John le Carré's classic novel, and Guinness' performance in the lead role was also long-considered to be definitive. Turns out you really can have two definitive performances of the same character. Oldman is nothing short of astonishing in this, which takes nothing away from the original masterful performance by Guinness.

Control (John Hurt) is convinced MI:6 has a mole, and is convinced it's one of a small number of people in the higher echelons: Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), or 'Tinker', Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), or 'Tailor', Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), or 'Soldier' or Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), or 'Poor Man'. There is also 'Beggarman' George Smiley (Gary Oldman), but as Smiley is our protagonist and Control's most trusted lieutenant, we can right him off as a possible suspect from the off.

Control assigns Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) to a mission in Budapest to try to identify the mole. Unfortunately this mission goes wrong and Control is ousted from MI:6, and Smiley along with him. When a story told by a rogue agent Ricky Tarr (Tom Hardy) indicates the existence of a mole after all, Smiley is convinced to come back out of retirement to sift out the mole.

The unusual suspects.

Spies spying on spies, tension mounting, lives at stake - sounds super exciting. Except, this isn't most spy stories, and the plot unfolds not through dramatic action and car chases, but by quiet observation, discussions between men in smoky rooms, and watching Smiley slowly piece things together through the paranoia, fear and clandestine meetings. You do have to pay close attention or you can easily lose the thread, but you are rewarded if you can keep up.

One thing the Guinness version does have on this movie is length to allow all the characters and plot threads room to breathe, but at just over 2 hours, director Tomas Alfredson does a fine job of condensing the story while retaining the feel. Alfredson's previous debut feature Let the Right One In already showed he had an astonishing grasp of mood and style, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy does nothing to change this. The success of the whole thing rests heavily on Oldman's shoulders and he is every bit up to the task; with subtlety in every mannerism, he inhabits the character of Smiley completely.

Pay close attention, and you'll be rewarded with an engrossing story filled with tension, with a lead performance to cherish from Oldman.

Score: 8/10

Generally, there is a glut of reviews all effusive in their praise, but these from James at Reelviews and Stella at Digital Spy thought it was good, but a little too densely-plotted for a film, indicating it worked better a miniseries.

True Lies

Year: 1994
Running time: 141 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: Claude Zidi, Simon Michaël, Didier Kaminka, James Cameron
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Art Malik, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov, Charlton Heston

The movie in one picture: balancing family with world-saving with the

help of astonishing technical effects.

Here’s a bit of pub quiz trivia – True Lies was the first film ever to cost more than $100 million to make. Nowadays, there’s not a blockbuster around that doesn’t cost nearly twice that; indeed, a mere 3 years later saw Titanic, also directed by James Cameron, become the first film to cost more than $200 million. Not such a big deal now, but back then it was mind-boggling. And not a single cent was wasted – the whole thing looks sublime. I know it’s technically violence and as such should be pretty ugly, but some shots – jets flying over turquoise waters, a road bridge being detonated around a moving truck – make action cinema a bona fide art form.

Cameron's script is fairly closely based on the 1991 French film La Totale! So much so the original three writers are given screenplay credits. Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a super spy, saving the world (or on off days, just America) with his partner Gib (Tom Arnold). However, Harry has another life; married to Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), with daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku). As far as they know, Harry is a computer salesman who doesn't go on globetrotting adventures to save the world, but merely goes to sales expos with other likeminded dullards. True Lies is about what happens when those two worlds of Harry's, separate for so long, collide.

On the trail of a deal to sell some stolen nuclear weapons to a terrorist group called Crimson Jihad, led by Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik, who, to be honest, is slumming it a bit here in a role he's far too good for), Harry discovers that Helen is having an affair. Or at least he thinks he does. Truth is, Helen is a little bored of her life and responds to the advances of sleazy car salesman Simon (Bill Paxton) who (ironic coincidence klaxon!) pretends to be a spy to sleep with women.

Harry goes undercover to get to know the man trying to break up his marriage.

What the film does at this point is something that is quite a big risk for a tent-pole summer blockbuster. The first act has been chockfull of remarkable action set pieces, including toilet-set shoot-outs and horse-motorbike chases up to the tops of skyscrapers. Cameron conceives of and directs action like nobody else out there, and pushing up the comedy in the action scenes with the able help of Arnold, who fits the comedy sidekick role like a glove, makes for enjoyably thrilling set pieces. When Harry discovers what Helen is doing ("Welcome to the club!" replies a jaded Gib in reply to Harry's heartbreak), the second act becomes a 40 minute swerve away from the main plot, as Harry pulls helicopters, operatives, phone taps and all sorts of government resources to devote to getting to the bottom of Helen's 'affair'.

On the pretext of Simon's spy persona, Harry brings them both in for interrogation, scaring Simon into pissing himself and deciding to give Helen a little of the excitement she's been craving. By making her impersonate a prostitute and strip for what she thinks is a total stranger, but is in fact Harry. Unsurprisingly, True Lies came in for some stick here, and when it's set out like that, it isn't hard to see why. No doubt Harry loses much audience sympathy when he puts Helen through this ordeal just to ease his own anxious heart. Watching as a 15 year old at the time, I was entirely oblivious to the darker undercurrents of the comedy, and I wonder what that says about social attitudes towards abuse and harassment. But, at the risk of offering an unpopular opinion, I think there is a little more to it than that.

Consider Ellen Ripley, or Sarah Conner. Towering icons of female strength in action movies. This is James Cameron. I think Cameron knows full well what he's dealing with here, and I don't think it's fair to label a writer misogynistic because he writes a character who does some questionable things. True Lies is a screwball comedy, a farce set within a James Bond movie. Limits of behaviour (both in terms of what Harry puts Helen through and the misuse of resources) are different to a real world scenario, and if the comedy lens through which it is presented makes you uncomfortable, I think that's the point. Action films in general, and James Bond movies in particular, in terms of the way they treat and objectify women, should make you uncomfortable.

One of the sexiest scenes ever? A grossly misogynistic tonal error? Or both?

Much of the characterisation, seemingly so shallow on the surface, has hints of deeper feelings and redemptive qualities. Gib, such a misogynist on the surface, pulls Harry up short at one point, pointing out that of course Helen was going to feel unsatisfied in a marriage where she spends much of her time alone. Salim shows signs of being more than a depthless terrorist caricature during his speech that makes it clear Cameron is well aware that America's foreign policy has a large part to play in the creation of terrorist groups. The relief on Harry's face when, under interrogation, Helen declares that yes, she still loves her husband, "...have always loved him. I will always love him", while not excusing his actions, do explain them; Harry is a manchild used to getting everything he wants suddenly having to confront the real possibility of losing, through his own neglect, that which is most precious to him. Misusing government resources is probably quite low on the list of things he'd be willing to do to prevent that.

But it is most obvious with Helen. Cameron makes True Lies as much about her journey from bored, meek housewife to a pillar of strength remembering to make decisions for herself as it is about Arnie saving the world. Curtis deserves equal billing. Manipulated by Simon, frightened by an interrogation under harsh lights by distorted voices, she lays out exactly why she did what she did, how it is she's feeling this way and rather than sidelining these feelings, she brings Harry, Gib and, by extension the audience, around to her point of view. Yes, there is sexism in True Lies, but there are enough moments to make it clear that Cameron is on Helen's side, and makes sure that after this transformation, she is the equal of her male counterparts, commanding more respect than them.

Apparently, the bridge is out.

I almost feel disappointed when the main plot kicks the door in and Harry and Helen get taken prisoner, but this is James Cameron, so I don’t feel like that for long. The final act of the movie is relentless in its technical brilliance - the shot of Helen being lifted to safety from the sunroof of a limo by Harry, who is dangling from a helicopter, just as it flies off a destroyed bridge is the movie's money shot. That whole sequence is astonishing even by today’s standards and is proof that Cameron is the master of action direction and photography, who in my opinion, not even John Woo can top.

Genuinely funny comedy peppers the film throughout, delivered with superb timing, even by the Austrian Oak himself. Not counting his recent career renaissance where in lower key roles he is (whisper it) actually quite a good actor, the big man was never better than when he was being directed by Cameron. Nobody is terrible (in fact, both Arnold and Paxton are both great in smaller roles), but this is definitely the Schwarzenegger and Curtis show, and the two of them shine.

A great deal of fun, unless I'm missing the point and Cameron really is a woman-hating bastard.

Score: 8/10

There are a fair few reviews out there that judge True Lies more harshly, particularly the middle section, and it's hard to argue - this review from Steven at Grantland finds it very much a product of its time, falling short under modern day sensibilities. Contrasting that is a review from Caryn at the New York Times. Both perspectives have value and I'll leave it to you to decide where you sit.

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny

Year: 2006
Running time: 93 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Liam Lynch
Director: Liam Lynch

Starring: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, JR Reed, Troy Gentile, Dave Grohl

JB sets fire to the mic. With awesomeness, presumably.

Jack Black is a funny man with an obsessive love of rock n’ roll, channelled to great effect in the riotous School of Rock. You get the feeling, however, that with Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny Black really savours being let off the PG leash. Tenacious D is a comedy rock band fronted by Black and his brother-in-rock Kyle Gass, who is one of those rare people who are hilarious even when doing nothing. Previously, The D had already released a successful album and now has its own movie in the form of this origin story. Pick of Destiny is stuffed to bursting with swearing and knob gags, which is fine for say, half an hour, but eventually it begins to grate something awful. While there are some genuine laughs (the young JB's (Troy Gentile) foul-mouthed rocking-out in front of his outraged parents near the start and the crotch push-ups gag are the two that, ahem, ‘stick out’ the most), the formula soon becomes tired, much like the album released previously.

JB (Black) leaves the home of his overly religious parents on a mission to form, to use a disagreeable modern parlance, the most awesome rock band ever. His quest leads him to KG (Gass) and the two form Tenacious D. JB learns the secret of all great rock guitarists; that they all used the supernatural pick of destiny, made from a piece of Satan's tooth which instills incredible guitar skills in all who use it. The two of them set out to steal said pick and much like a romantic comedy, split up briefly before getting back together for the ending. Of course most romantic comedies don't end in a rock-off with Satan (Dave Grohl), Karate Kid style.

Where was Ralph Macchio when you needed him?

Tenacious D has never quite realised its potential, with the possible exceptions of singles Tribute and Fuck Her Gently, and this is no different. Even the endlessly energetic and manically likable Black struggles with the sloppy material, which is a shame, because this had such a great deal of opportunity for comedy rock gold. Jack Black completists will be sure to get it, but for a more casual fan, there are two superior music-based roles in both the aforementioned School of Rock, and a show-stealing supporting role in High Fidelity.

Score: 4/10

It appears as though Mark at Dubo's Den is even less impressed than I am, but it seems to hit the spot for Alex at First Showing.

The Terminator

Year: 1984 (Terminator), 1991 (T2), 2003 (Terminator 3), 2009 (Salvation)
Running time: 107 minutes (Terminator), 137 minutes (T2), 109 minutes (Terminator 3), 115 minutes (Salvation)
Certificate: 15 (Terminator), (T2), 12 (Terminator 3), (Salvation)
Language: English
Screenplay: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator), James Cameron, William Wisher Jr. (T2), John Brancato, Michael Ferris (Terminator 3), (Salvation)
Director: James Cameron (Terminator), (T2), Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3), McG (Salvation)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Earl Boen, Dick Miller, Bill Paxton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard


"Absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead."

It’s a tough decision choosing a favourite between James Cameron’s early high water marks. I still switch between Aliens and Terminator & T2 depending on mood. It’s possible the Terminator films win out as unlike Aliens, which is a sequel set in an already somewhat established universe, they were conceived and developed by Cameron from the early stages of their inception. In a future war between killer machines and a remnant of the human race, John Connor is the human who is key to mankind's eventual victory. In an attempt to put an end to Connor, Skynet (the name of the sentient neural net-based artificial intelligence system running the machines) sends a terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back through time to kill Connor's mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) before she can give birth to him. The human resistance succeeds in sending a protector for Sarah in Kyle Reece (Michael Biehn).

The plot of The Terminator is complex yet simple; all of the time-travelling brain-bending shenanigans are stripped down to a simple race between the machine and the human. The cast are convincing enough, with surprisingly the big man himself coming out on top – possibly something to do with playing a character that’s completely unemotional, therefore not being required to emote. Having said that, Biehn has the best line, Reece's monologue ending with “...will not stop, ever, until you are dead” trumping “I’ll be back” and sending a genuine shiver down your spine, as both the viewer and Connor are confronted with the magnitude of her situation and the true nature of her hunter. Unfortunately Cameron favourite Bill Paxton takes an early bath in this one, and every film is poorer for losing Bill Paxton.

Cameron has a much lower budget to work with than he would become used to, but makes every cent count ensuring the film looks great, although it is getting on a bit now so the effects aren’t quite as dazzling. Having said that, seeing Arnie cutting himself up to perform maintenance on his arm and eye was an astonishing thing to see and even now has a certain charm. The same cannot be said for Connor's dreadful 80s hair.


Sarah Connor: on a mission to terminate Miles Dyson.

Every beat is masterfully filmed, from the murder of Sarah's friends and the tense nightclub shootout filled with great uses of slow motion, to the iconic slaughter set in a police station, with the big man blowing cops apart left, right and centre while cutting an image that burned itself indelibly into cinema history. Although with Cameron, remarkably-filmed action is pretty much a given. Considering that this climaxes with a truck chase and the killing machine chasing our heroine through a hydraulic press despite already being blown apart, it’s truly saying something that next to the sequel the first film feels a little low key.

T2: Judgement Day pushed the boundaries of filming action beyond any previously imagined limits. Even by today’s standards, it is utterly breathless, and as mental as Connor has become. After failing in the Sarah Connor assassination attempt, Skynet tries again, sending a new and improved T-1000 terminator (Robert Patrick) to take out a teenage John Connor (Edward Furlong). It has a lighter tone, evidenced by Arnie’s comedic arrival, but the dramatic beats are still hard hitting; Sarah’s molestation at the hands of a perverted orderly and the vision of a playground full of children exposed to a nuclear blast among the most stay-with-you disturbing. It is packed full of fabulously choreographed insanity – pick almost any scene – Sarah coming face to face with a terminator again takes your breath away, the ridiculous truck chase with a motorcycle-riding Arnie reloading his shotgun one handed, the attempted assassination of Miles Dyson (Joe Morton), the fact that the T-1000 is liquid frickin’ metal, the helicopter chase, the explosion at Cyberdyne Systems seemingly big enough to blow up the world, it just keeps coming. As before, the cast are fine, but the standout here is Linda Hamilton; militant, hard as nails, and batshit insane. She is a one-woman force of nature, with the potential to be as iconic as Ripley ever was. The terminator being tamed by the young John Connor worked okay mostly, but the ending goes too far – “I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do” and the thumbs up are cringe-
worthy, but considering the sheer tour de force that has preceded it, you find yourself easily forgiving Cameron.

The most impressive new feature of the T-X: doing stunts
in those heels.

Like all great and successful movie franchises, they always make too many. Terminator 3 is unnecessary, underwhelming and a bit of a shame. The ‘sending a killer and a protector back through time’ is a plot device stretched too thin, and the action, while fine taken on its own merits (the truck chase (hey, a theme!) being a stand out), is limp beside the phenomenal T2. John Connor is in his 20s (Nick Stahl) and has to stop judgement day being triggered by another new terminator. Kristanna Loken as the T-X, able to control other machines is nowhere near as effective as Schwarzenegger's original killer or Patrick's T-1000, and you'll always watch it wondering why you’re not watching one of the first two. Still, it does score points for the surprisingly downbeat ending – I’m pretty sure this was the first time a big summer action tent-pole blockbuster ended with the nuclear annihilation of the world - a bold and brave move. It’s just a shame the movie that comes before is a bit, well, dull.

John Connor doesn't have much to smile about.

And years later, like a once-heavyweight champion coming back for one more shot at the title, the series is back with Terminator Salvation. Written by the same guys who penned Terminator 3 and directed by the man who made the Charlie's Angels films (so you know straight away you're in for a treat). The nightmarish visions that formed some of the most memorable parts of the first two films become the setting for the fourth. Mankind is on the brink, barely held together by an ineffective resistance. Christian Bale (stay out of his eye-line) is now John Connor, a soldier of the resistance, using his mother’s recordings to help fight back any way he can. Sam Worthington is Marcus Wright, a man without a memory, at least not after the point he remembers being executed, struggling to make sense of anything. A young Kyle Reece (Anton Yelchin) is struggling to survive, listening in awe to Connor’s radio broadcasts. Following that set up the plot is very predictable - the three of them go through some action beats before the mystery of Marcus is revealed (can you guess? Yawn.) and they come together to rescue a now captured Reece and give those evil machines what for.

It’s not quite as bad as all that – some of the set pieces are remarkable (the in-cockpit helicopter crash, the gas station blown up by the massive building-sized terminator), and the new machines are a nice touch, but it just doesn’t come close to the first two, and I doubt it’s anything like Cameron would have come up with had he decided to make more. He didn’t, and to be honest, they shouldn’t have either.

Score:

The Terminator: 9/10

Terminator 2: Judgement Day: 9/10

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: 5/10

Terminator Salvation: 5/10

As you might expect, the first two films are treasured in most reviews, such as this review of The Terminator written by Bill and this one of T2, by John. Parts three and four get a rather more mixed reaction - Bill at Movie Gurus in my opinion rather over-rates the third film and Peter at The Guardian is perhaps a little harsh on Salvation.

There Will Be Blood

Year: 2007
Running time: 158 minutes
Certificate: 15
Language: English
Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier, Kevin J. O'Connor

Plainview makes his case.

There is something special about Daniel Day-Lewis. When he inhabits a role, he appears to genuinely live it, be it Bill the Butcher in Scorsese's Gangs of New York (which he is by far the best thing in), Last of the Mohicans' Hawkeye or any of his other all-too-rare roles. He has an uncanny knack of making many of the characters he plays iconic. His Daniel Plainview, the 'hero' of Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood has, for me, gone to the top of that short list.

Plainview is greed personified, his entire reason for being the acquisition of wealth; amoral and utterly without conscience. Especially in the first mostly dialogue-free 30 minutes, as he goes from scrabbling for small nuggets of silver to burgeoning oil baron, he is mesmerising, and you can't help but admire his willful perseverance, despite coming to loathe every other thing about him. There Will Be Blood could be seen as the story of the birth of American corporate greed, with Plainview pursuing the business of oil with a single-minded intensity that is uncomfortable to watch. When a partner dies in a horrifying accident early on, leaving behind an orphaned baby, Plainview takes on the care of the child HW (Dillon Freasier) not because of any moral reasons or any sense of duty or respect to his lost partner, but because he can see a potential way to use the boy to his advantage.

Knowing he's outmatched, Eli over-compensates.

Coming to California looking for cheap, oil-rich land following a tip off from Paul Sunday (Paul Dano), Plainview locks horns with Paul's preacher brother Eli (also Dano), opposing him on behalf of his small community. It isn't long before it becomes clear that corruption also runs deep in Eli, and he simply wants to be the community's alpha male, and seeing the charismatic Plainview gaining influence over his flock, does all he can to frustrate him, regardless of what it might cost others. His faith seems to clearly be an act, and such conniving fakery makes him as unpleasant as Plainview, and you can't decide who disgusts you more. Dano does his best, but it is clear he's not in the same league as Day-Lewis. Luckily this actually works to the film's advantage, as Eli wilts in the face of Plainview's intensity and it's clear he'll never get the best of the man. As examples of the early roots of corrupt capitalism and corrupt religiosity it is extremely effective, and exposes much of the human greed both things are built upon.

Plainview's oil burns away into the night.

Despite having no-one to really root for, the conflict between the two men is absorbing and the visuals are captivating. There is a scene in which an accident causes an explosion and a fire which is both upsetting and beautiful to behold. The young boy HW is caught in the explosion and loses his hearing. Terrified and desperate for reassurance, he clings to Plainview as if his life depended on it (which he surely thinks it does), but the monster of a man cannot leave him behind fast enough to get to his precious oil, burning away into the night. It's heartbreaking to watch. And yet, as Plainview stands silhouetted, watching the fire burn, the red glow and smoke gives the impression of curving round the lens into a suggestion of a baleful eye, completely unnatural and an unforgettable image, possible only in the medium of cinema.

When a man turns up claiming to be Plainview's half brother Henry (Kevin J. O'Connor), it seems there is a small chance for the man to show a little decency, but upon discovery of fraud his despicable and unforgiving side returns to the fore more powerful than ever.

The ending is about as grim as these characters deserve. Desperate for cash, Eli attempts to make a deal with the now obscenely rich Plainview, only to meet a ghastly death at the hands of the dreadful man. Considering himself beyond the reach of the law (much like today's corporate giants and oil magnates), he doesn't even try to hide the fact of the murder from his butler. The final image of him, sat next to Eli's body, the words "I'm finished" falling from his mouth illustrates better than any other shot the sheer loneliness of a self-serving existence such as his. It's doubtful the inhuman creature even realises his life is missing anything.

With a sickening but captivating turn from Day-Lewis at its heart, this is beautiful but disturbing, cinema distilled into its purest form.

Score: 9/10

Helen at Empire feels as I do, but Bill would say we over-rate it just slightly.

Trust the Man

Year: 2005

Running time: 103 minutes

Certificate: 15

Language: English

Screenplay: Bart Freundlich

Director: Bart Freundlich

Starring: David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Dave.

Tom and Rebecca, talking about something.

Here we have a premise that is not terribly original: two successful couples living in New York are not particularly satisfied with their lives, there is some drama, cheating and such, they split up and then realise that actually they did love each other after all.

It's not quite as bad as that makes it sound, the reasons being David Duchovny and Julianne Moore. They have decent onscreen chemistry, and they are both good enough to make you care, at least a little, for the characters.

It's pretty standard fare, although there are a few quite funny scenes, a case in point being Rebecca Pollack (Moore), on her 'last carb day for a while', shoving as much cake down her throat as possible and choking. Grasping for a drink, the only thing to hand is a bottle of wine. It showcases Julianne Moore's under-used gift for physical comedy, something also seen in Evolution which, like Trust the Man also stars Duchovny and is decidedly average.

It may be set in New York, but this is no Annie Hall. It's not terrible, but it's forgettable.

Score: 5/10

Rachel.

Rebecca and Elaine, also talking about something.

I thought this film was OK, and agree with everything Dave has said. There was one thing about it that I thought ruined it a bit. At one point during the film Rebecca Pollack describes a relationship like the two of them are holding a stick. Sometimes you're really close and sometimes you're so far away from each other that one can barely see the other, but you never drop the stick! She's upset because her husband Tom Pollack (David Duchovny) has cheated on her, and so dropped the metaphorical stick. Pretty cheesy, but forgivable - it's a romantic comedy after all. However, the film reached a whole new level of cheesedom when in the final scene Rebecca used an actual stick to rescue Tom from the crowd, pulling him up on stage for a smooch. Tom had picked up the stick, and the film lost a point for me right then and there.

Score:6/10

Manohla at The New York Times is even less impressed than we were, and makes good points, while Stella at the BBC appeared to enjoy it a little more.

Total Recall

Year: 1990
Running time: 113 minutes
Certificate: 18
Language: English
Screenplay: Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Gary Goldman
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside

Dave.

Mars:  Red, apparently.

Paul Verhoeven has made some truly awful films, such as Basic Instinct and Showgirls. He has however, also made some phenomenal ones, for example Robocop and Starship Troopers. Total Recall assuredly falls into the latter camp. Based on the short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by oft-filmed science fiction author Phillip K. Dick, we follow construction worker Douglas Quaid (Arnie) who decides to get an implanted memory of an adventure on Mars. The procedure uncovers a hidden identity buried in Quaid's subconscious ('Hauser'). Things get rather messy, plot-wise from then on, with Quaid taking on a mission to save the downtrodden mutants of Mars from radiation poisoning and evil corporate greed. Possibly.

At the time, Schwarzenegger was an unpopular choice for the cerebral sci-fi adaptation, and several changes were made to the original novel - for one, Quaid was originally an office drone not a construction worker, although, considering the big man's ridiculous physique, the reason for that change is obvious. On the surface, the fears of the anti-Arnie brigade appear fully justified, as at first glance this extreme-violence action romp lacks the intelligence of the average Dick adaptation (although other Dick themes, such as paranoia and the exploration of human identity are certainly present), and is filmed in a style that befits both Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger. Upon a closer look however, hidden depths can be found, and by the end we can't decide if it was all real or just a memory implant. The more I watch it, the more convinced I become that the whole thing happened in his head and was by design. The fact that it ends in a white light fade out suggests that it is all in his head, but it is never confirmed.

The film is full of little touches that stay with you, scenes such as Quaid pulling a huge red tracker out through his nose, the psychotic cab robot who commits hari-kari after not being paid, or the outstanding prosthetics. More memorable though is the big man's dry wit (a talent that is criminally ignored due to his distinct lack of acting skills) when delivering certain lines, particularly "Look who's talking" after being told by a disfigured mutant that he has a lot of nerve showing his face and "Consider that a divorce" after shooting his wife in the head.

With more depth than you may at first suspect, this is classic sci-fi done in Verhoeven's uniquely extreme style.

Score: 8/10

Rachel.

Quaid was reluctant to discuss marriage counselling.

A brilliant Saturday night film, this is classic Arnie at his best. As Dave has already mentioned, it has some great lines - my favourites being "See you at the party, Richter" and "Screw you!" as he drills into the double-crossing Benny (Mel Johnson Jr.). However, in my opinion, the film is most memorable for its distinctive special effects; explosive suffocation, Kuoto the mutant rebel leader and a prostitute with three breasts! I still think this kind of effects work, without the overuse of CGI (as is often the case in more recent films) adds a unique and, in some cases, more believable look.

Definitely worth a watch, although it's possible my high score is more a result of rose-tinted nostalgia than quality. And by the way Dave, I definitely think it was all real!

Score: 8/10

Vince at Qwipster agrees, but Janet at the New York Times would probably say I over-rate it a little.