Birth of cinema

Birth of a Nation (1915)

Directed by D. W. Griffith this film based on the novel “The Clansman” stars Lillian Gish and Henry B. Walthall. Two families are divided by the US civil war and the reconstruction of the South.

To get the obvious out of the way this film is massively racist and throws a lot of history out of the window in an attempt to promote it's racist revisions. A lot of the first hour of the film is superfluous to the plot and could probably have been cut as the film is a real slog to get through. Technically there are a lot of innovations in the film and a lot of the action sequences are really impressive for the period but this does little to mitigate the content.

1/5

As old Jack Burton always says...

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Directed by John Carpenter this film stars Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. A truck driver and his friend attempt to get the friend's kidnapped fiancée back from gangs and mystic enemies.

This film is certainly a mixed bag, it has a cult following but was largely panned during it's release. Some of the dialogue is pretty bad, the special effects do not age well and while the plot is crazy neither it nor the characters add much depth. There is some mileage to the idea that the blundering protagonist represents American foreign policy but I think this might be reading a little too much into this film.

2/5

Punchy

Breathless (2009)

Written and directed by Yang Ik-June this film stars the director and Kim Kkot-bi. A thug that works for a loan shark in Korea makes friends with a teenage school girl.

Violence begets violence is the pretty simple message of this film as children with violent upbringings become violent adults. While the message behind the film is not exactly original this is a fairly well made film that does a good job of constructing a variety of characters to show how violence has affected them. Some of the camera work is a little on the annoying side at times but otherwise this is a well made film.

4/5

Abandoned Minds

Detachment (2011)

Directed by Tony Kaye this film features a large cast including Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Lui, James Caan and Marcia Gay Harden. A substitute teacher arrives at a failing school while dealing with his dying grandfather and a teenage prostitute.

A lot of the ground in this film is already well trodden but the film does a good job of presenting the issues facing teachers in struggling areas. While the script does show case the setting well it could have done with a bit more plot to fill out the film. One thing I did dislike about the film is some of the camera work has a tendency towards annoying wobbly cam and strange edits for no particular reason.

3/5

we're all fucked

Margin Call (2011)

Written and directed by J. C. Chandor this film stars Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto and Demi Moore. In a 36 hour period a major financial institution reacts to the revelation of catastrophic financial predictions.

Although a fictional story this film is definitely inspired by events during the recent financial crisis. What the film does well is give the various moral views on the banking industry a voice without heavy handedly moralising to the viewer. It would have been easy for the film to disappear under the weight of jargon but it manages to retain some without baffling the viewer and keeps the pressure on the characters through out the film.

4/5

Place it on Lucky Dan

The Sting (1973)

Directed by George Roy Hill this film stars Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw. Following the death of a friend two con men plan revenge on the mobster responsible in the form of a big con.

There is a lot to like about this film and it really captures the feel of the period, mostly though it's use of music. The plot manages to keep a good balance of showing us just enough to keep us from getting confused but always keeps the audience guessing in the final third which is a tough balance to make. Mostly this film is just a really fun heist film but it does lack a little thematic depth that would elevate this to a great film.

4/5

Prime confuser

Primer (2004)

Written and Directed by Shane Carruth this film stars it's director and David Sullivan. Two friends working on engineering projects in their garage come up with an invention that is much more than they had bargained for.

Made on a micro budget this film is probably a more realistic take on time travel than you will see in any number of high budget films. The confusing nature of the film will likely be a love it or hate it element for viewers but it does a great job of reflecting the realities of time travel. You will no doubt be left confused but the film does a really good job of posing the questions the invention of time travel would open up.

5/5