Saturday 15 February 2014

Freeview films of the day : saturday 15th of February

True Grit (2010 105min.) [BBC2 9.00pm]
Freeview premiere

Remake of the John Wayne western from the Coen brothers, starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. When Frank Ross is murdered by a hired hand, his teenage daughter Mattie decides to take the matter in hand and find someone with "true grit" to bring the killer to justice. Mattie's search leads her to "Rooster" Cogburn, a hard-drinking, one-eyed US marshal with a fearsome reputation.

Beautifully shot by Roger Deakins the film adds a wintry tone and atmosphere that was absent from the John Wayne original.
The reworked story and script contains moments of droll humour and there's an outstanding performance by Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross.

Wisely the Coens decided not to mess with climactic shoot-out between Cogburn and the bad guys and the overall tone is one of reverence to the original which, given the mess they made of updating The Ladykillers, is probably wise.

Neatly done with some very strong acting (especially Bridges and Steinfeld) it's certainly worth watching if if you enjoy the genre or the work of the writer/directing siblings.


Scanners (1990 98min.) [Film4 11.50pm &+1]

A man with dangerous psychic powers is recruited by a sinister corporation to infiltrate and destroy an underground movement led by a fanatical renegade telepath intent on taking over the world. David Cronenberg's sci-fi thriller, starring Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Michael Ironside and Jennifer O'Neill.

A much more serious affair as Cronenberg concerns himself with two of his recurring themes : evil multi-nationals bent on world domination and the changes to the human body and psyche that advances in medical science might make possible at some point in the future.

The cast are spot-on (especially Ironside and Lack) and the director's usual fluid (and surreal) style serves the story well.

More a combination of science fiction and political thriller than an out-and-out horror film ; it has plenty to say and delivers both the story and the shock moments very effectively.

Before The Devil Knows Your Dead (2007 111min.) [C4 12.55am sunday & +1]

Crime thriller starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney. When the robbery of a New York jewellery shop goes fatally wrong, the brothers behind the heist soon realise the nightmare has only just begun.


The Arrival Of Wang (2011 82min.) [Film4 1.50am sunday &+1]

Sci-fi horror starring Francesca Cuttica and Ennio Fantastichini. A female interpreter is offered a substantial fee by Italian security forces to translate for a Chinese-speaking detainee under interrogation. She's taken to a secret location to carry out the job, but becomes suspicious when she is not even allowed to even see the mysterious "Wang".

Smart little Italian sci-fi film that plays around with your expectations during it's first half before resolving itself in a slightly more traditonal manner.

Entertaining , well directed and very well played.

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