Killer Elite (2011) Dir: Gary McKendry

Based on a true story - five words that can provoke tremors of dread - this is a strange beast, not quite sure if it wants to be a taut actioner or a politically charged thriller.
In the end, it delivers neither.

The plot.
Jason Statham is Danny, an elite military operative trained in the black art of assassination. He works alongside Hunter (De Niro), a grizzled old sort who has seen more than his fair share of action. When an assassination attempt turns sour, Danny swears to put the life behind him, to get out of the game, and manages to do so for one whole year.
The lure to pull him back in?
Hunter is taken hostage by an Omani Sheikh, who will only release him if Danny assassinates those responsible for the Sheik's son’s deaths.
The catch?
The killers were British military, specifically the SAS.....

A reasonably neat set-up, this starts off promisingly, with plenty of pacey action scenes and gritty fight sequences but, before too long, the interest starts to wane. See, curiously, even though this is based on a true story, at no point was I convinced by anything that was happening on screen. The plot seemed contrived, artificial, plain ridiculous on occasion, so quite how many liberties were taken is anybody's guess.
The cast perform adequately enough, particularly Jason 'The Stath' Statham who is always watchable. I must confess to something of a man-crush, if truth be told. My God, he looks delightful bare-chested save for a pistol holster.
Enjoyment wise, a telling fact is that, though the run time is only 100 minutes total, this felt more like a two hour plus movie.
Never a good sign.
Stylistic confusion, humdrum plotting, and a scattershot approach to pacing means this is probably one best skipped on the big screen, kids.

2 out of 5

The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) Dir: Ben Palmer

Big screen outing for the smash hit comedy from the UK's Channel 4.

The plot:
Will, Jay, Simon and Neil are finished with school. With a rousingly hate-filled farewell message from Greg Davies' Mr. Gilbert, the foursome contemplate joining the depressing, responsibility laden world of adulthood but, with Simon lovesick for Carli, the gang decide to head off to Crete for one last hurrah: sex, booze, flange, gash, klunge and flaps all available on tap.
Inevitably, all does not go quite to plan.
Arriving at their hotel, the building is more reminiscent of a dilapidated prison than a luxury apartment complex.
Heading into town, they are tricked into going into an awful nightclub and, worse news for Simon, it seems Carli is in town.
Will the four of them find the 'love' they so desperately crave?
Will Jay be able to stop spouting bullshit long enough to even talk to a woman.
And will Neil be able to resist shitting in that bidet?

Sitcom transitions are fraught with pitfalls: the thirty minute format overstretched by the runtime; the characters being removed from their usual surroundings; the need to appeal to a wider audience.
Though not perfect, The Inbetweeners movie does a pretty decent job of avoiding these problems, save for the runtime, which does flag, particularly in the middle third.
With a guaranteed following that has seen the movie take the number one spot in the UK from the excellent Planet of the Apes reboot, this is one that will divide audiences, for sure, into those that know and love the series and those that don't.
If you've never seen the TV show, this would be a really bad place to start.
With plenty of gross-out humour, more cock and balls being shaken around, quite literally, on screen than is commonplace, and plenty of hideous language, I for one rather enjoyed this.

4 out of 5

The Devils (1971) Dir: Ken Russell

Ken Russell's censor baiting tale of fornicating nuns and demonic possession is a challenging affair.

The plot:
It's 17th century France, and a powerful Cardinal seeks to take ultimate control of his dominion. All have fallen before his sword save for one enclave, governed over by a decidedly dubious Priest, who refuses to bow to orders. Demanding a proclamation before he will yield authority, a ruse is plotted to topple his authority: accuse the priest of demonic possession, and all who follow him.

Ken Russell is a filmmaker who, intentionally or otherwise, courts controversy. Whether it's challenging relationship and gender boundaries in Women in Love or baffling audiences with his interpretation of Lair of the White Worm, his is a style that is most definitely unique.
The term auteur seems to have been coined for him alone.
With images designed to shock, especially when the nuns cast off their chaste and innocent shackles and set about masturbating and fornicating with some gusto, this is a movie with one clear intent: to challenge the viewer at every turn.
And it's a tough watch.
I'm not one easily offended and, truthfully, at no point was I shocked by this, but I was fatigued by the experience. As the movie progresses, so Russell cranks up the intensity to levels that Oliver Stone circa Natural Born Killers could only ever dream of.
An important movie, and one that has only recently been reinstated to it's original form and, to the best of my knowledge, one that remains banned in the UK in it's uncut state.
A film that every movie lover should see, though I suspect only a select few will find much to enjoy.

4 out of 5

Heartless (2009) Dir: Philip Ridley

Oddball British movie that fuses fantasy, horror, pathos and humour, with mixed results.

The plot:
Jim Sturgess plays Jamie Morgan, a man in his early twenties who is blighted by a large, heart shaped birthmark that covers the left side of his face. Lacking confidence, he sees all around chaos and disorder, and a society falling apart.
Whilst walking to the shops, Jamie encounters what seem to be hooded demons attacking someone on the ground, and flees. Soon after, he is sent cryptic messages that lead him to Papa B, the apparent conductor of the chaos all around.
Jamie is given a choice by Papa B: I'll get rid of the birthmark, but you have to repay me with a small favour.
He agrees, but soon realises that the debt he has burdened himself with is far greater than the deal he thought he was making.....
Mixing fantasy and horror is nothing particularly new, but it is handled deftly, with some effective 'monster' design and a strangely surreal atmosphere infused throughout that is by turns gritty and, at times, almost fairytale in nature.
There's pathos aplenty, too, with the main character's physical disfigurement acting as centrepoint to his sense of alienation and, whilst the thought of pathos usually sends me screaming to the the remote control to TURN IT FUCKING OFF, here it is effective and adds an interesting dimension to proceedings.
The problem really lies with the comedy elements, which are just baffling, and rob the movie of any atmosphere or momentum that was building and causes genuine difficulty with regards 'buying into' the internal logic of the movie.
Still, with a solid cast - Sturgess is excellent in the lead role, in particular - this almost makes it work, and it's always nice to see British movie makers veering away from the tired 'it's grim up North' or 'cheeky-chappy gangster' formulae.
Not without merit, but not a film I'd rush to see again.

3 out of 5