4 The Week

1. Some Think Old


Pale Rider (1985)


Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty and Carrie Snodgress

Set in late 19th century California Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this strong piece of genre as the archetypal lonesome stranger, who is a pretty handy guy to have around when a fist or gun fight breaks out. Masquerading as the “Preacher”, a source of religious allegory which sees Clint become a saviour and beacon of hope for a group of luckless gold digging settlers as they fend off the thuggish attention of a businessman laying claim to their homes. Say what you will about Eastwood but his work always has a deeper sense of meaning and beneath the pastiche is a story of cultural change during the birth of industrialised America, where machines gobble up the ways of the common man and erode the beauty of the surrounding nature. Pale Rider is a terrifically balanced and paced film which is a must for Eastwood fans.

8/10

2. Some Think New The


Rum Diary (2011)


Director: Bruce Robinson
Writers: Bruce Robinson (screenplay), Hunter S. Thompson (novel)
Stars: Johnny Depp, Richard Jenkins and Aaron Eckhart


 The Rum Diary is a film about the sobriety of the Amerian dream and its varying challenges. For some the challenge is alcohol and substance abuse, but for others intoxicants are less tangible characteristics or emotions such a love, greed and denial. Journo Paul Kemp (Depp) arrives in the lush spoils of 1960s Puerto Rico in a drunken haze, a tone that carries the film through its first hour – A first hour that is seen mainly via Kemp's comedic adventure into the belly of the beautiful island and the bosom of new friends including an edgy boss (Jenkins), drunken colleagues and seedy businessmen (Eckhart).

 Director Bruce Robinson’s tonal change of pace in the last hour almost feels like a sobering realisation, where the consequences of everyones actions come to light, and things are taken a little more seriously. However this doesn't detract from the sharpness of the witty dialogue, laughs and script which find an effective concoction of slapstick physicality and punchy anecdotal rambling. Depp’s on form performance is a key contribution and there are no weak links within the solid supporting cast, whilst the strong production, direction and above all humour make for an outlandishly fun watch.  

8/10
3. Some Think Foreign


O’Horten (2007)




Odd Horten is an Oslo based train driver having to come to terms with some difficult realisations, namely retirement, old age and loneliness. His risk averse nature and dour ritualistic lifestyle are about to be taken on an epiphanic journey when he gets lost on the way home from his own retirement party. Director and Writer Bent Hamer’s beautifully shot and beautifully sounding path to enlightenment is littered with peculiarity of character and circumstance as Horten’s encounters include Airport Terminal security, Red High-heeled stilettos, a senile mother, death, a child’s bedroom and best of all a free willed and spontaneous stranger (who enjoys driving his car blindfolded). A little one paced at time but this is a joyously dark comedy about life slapping you in the face when you least expect it.

7/10


4. Some Think Due


Hugo (2011)



Release: 2 December 2011 (UK)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz and Christopher Lee

Plot: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

Why Get Excited?: Legendary Director Martin Scorsese trades in Gun and Gangsters for Fantasy and 3D in this Family Adventure.