The Guns of Navarone (1961)

An early war-classic, this was based on Alistair MacLeans novel by the same name, a novel most acclaimed by critics. So does the film do it justice?

Quite frankly, yes. There are some flaws, but all in all this is a classic by it's own right.

First and foremost the casting is brilliant. Though Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn are good, it is David Niven that gives the most riveting performance. His insolence cemented in his first two lines, leaving the viewer in no doubt as to what kind of a soldier he is.

Straight to the high-point: The stand-off between a furious and baiting Niven and the desperate Peck taken in by his earlier actions, is an astonishingly acted scene, beautifully directed. The quick shock, followed by the late reaction and utterly crestfallen look on Niven's face as his well-argued bluff gets called is a detail to behold and a turning point of his entire character. Marvelous and surely one of the best scenes of the decade!

This film is at its best when it plays to its strengths, and in particular its cast. The lines are well written and the characters all have their little quirks and twists, exemplified nicely through Stanley Baker's speech about his tiredness over the war, and particularly his own stature as the "Butcher of Barcelona". And to the director's credit it's not just a speech, but has consequences throughout the movie (take a lesson, Spielberg).

Director Thompson does the novel credit by panning out the plot very nicely, never overstating. The traitor-angle (which can easily be dealt with in a clumsy manner) start out as tiny traces only the most observant viewer will catch on to, slowly building up until it can be ignored no longer. Another plus to the director for portraying the Nazis less like caricatures than most early war-films, particularly through Walter Gotell.

Unfortunately the film has two weaknesses. There is too much slow suspense, and it's not very evenly distributed throughout the movie. The sinking boat followed by the climbing is almost half an hour where the director is looking for one single effect from the film and affect from his audience. Sounds tedious? It is after a while and with a running time of 150 minutes, it really could have needed the shave.

Furthermore, Dimitri Tiomkin's score is woeful. The theme is patriotic and light-hearted. That could have worked decently during the credits, but unfortunately we're treated to variations over this theme throughout the movie, whether there's suspense, action or drama. It helps neither and destroys the mood of the two last in particular.

The set pieces are of course astronomical for its time and I imagine it must have been a nightmare for the actors to endure the necessary treatment to get it looking good. And that it does!

A must see for all intents and purposes if you like the any of the spy- or wargenre.

8/10

The Other Guys (2010)

Did you ever notice that in many cop-movies, and series, there is "another" team. They're often sub-par at their job, they make very bad jokes and they are always petty enough to grin foolishly when the good cops get yelled at by their captain. Perhaps you thought it would be interesting to make a full feature about that pair? Well, someone did. And boy howdy, were they ever wrong.

If this film proves anything at all, it is that the other guys really are douches. And 107 minutes of two protagonists without redeeming features, really is a concept very few would be foolish enough to make. Ferrell is at his most annoying, taking elements from his brilliant turn in "Stranger than Fiction" making you hate him just a little bit more. Wahlberg on the other hand is so awful it begs belief he has ever been able to do quality comedy (like Ted). He is quite simply a jerk, obnoxious and irrational without it ever being amusing.

When reading the script to BASEketball, Trey Parker reportedly sighed "We're gonna need a lot of jokes to pull this off". As is the case here. Only the jokes are not funny. At all. The best joke by far compares a Toyota Prius to a vagina, and quite frankly Penn&Teller's Bullshit had better jokes on that area. And they're skeptics and magicians.

Furthermore, you know you're in trouble when Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson has the best line of the movie. He dies early on anyway, taking a Samuel L. Jackson with him in his most dire performance to date. I hope he got very well paid.

Other than that, there are some decent set-pieces, a few explosions and a very predictable Mexican stand-off as well as some unnecessary cameos from actors that should know better (Michael Keaton) and some who really deserve this tripe (Eva Mendes, Rosie Perez).

In one of the scenes Ferrell tells Wahlberg: "I'm tired of you getting angry and yelling all the time. It's exhausting". Yes it is, Ferrell. Like this whole experience.

2/10

Con Air (1997)

"Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer"... If ever there was a phrase to scare Mensa (or even the remotely smart) that is it.

There will be no script, no depth in characters and no originality. There will be gas bombs (and later CGI) in abundance though.

Yupp! That applies here as well. Fortunately for Con Air, it's not without it's perks either.

The opening scene has Nic Cage imprisoned for defending himself in a manner done so exceptionally much better by David Lynch in Wild at Heart. Then there is some tedious (thankfully short) legal malpractice and some overly sentimental build-up with letters between father and daughter before Simon West decides it's time to get to the part we're all waiting for.

And here we see where they actually went right. The casting is eminent! Malkovich is fantastic when evil just for the sake of being evil, Colm Meaney brings a little life to a nothing of a part whereas Ving Rhames brings a huge presence and M.C. Gainey a wild and most entertaining cameo meant to bring a grin to your face as he seems utterly unable to grasp the enormity of any situation the cons are under. A late introduction of Steve Buscemi proves the most brilliant move of all as his quiet demeanor and hideous crimes bring stark contrast. Along with Malkovich he also has the few good lines written here. Oh? I forgot Cusack and Cage in the leads? Not really. They're not particularly well cast. Though none of them are bad, they just barely make good on their pay-check's. Cage needs to get a bit of credit for his building of torso though, as well as his brawls. I do so enjoy a brawl without spin-kicks and climbing on walls. I'll take the massive punches to kidneys and jaws anytime.

Then there's the action. There's plenty. And though some of it is just plain stupid, a lot of it is fun. Particularly the break-out scene and the claustrophobic fight in a 4 feet tall compartment between two big guys stand out. And Bruckheimer practically invented the intervals of action-sequences so you are very rarely bored.

But it does lack all that a Bruckheimer-flick is supposed to lack. Most of the lines are horrible, the interaction of a more serene and dramatic kind is beyond redemption and the surprises are nowhere to be found.

So if you're looking for a few smirks and a lot of action, this will do. Otherwise. Look for something without Bruckheimer's name on it. As for as he goes, this is actually one of his very best.

6/10