herbiehancock

No 351 – Zulu Director – Cy Endfield Holy Fucking Moly : When watching a film which stars Michael Caine , there is one credit you don't expect to see: I thought Michael Caine had been in films since the dawn of celluloid. I wasn ’t expecting an ‘And Introducing’ credit. Bonkers. But…. Actually, that credit isn ’t the most bonkers Michael Caine element. The other point is that his character is quite effeminate and well spoken. Only the faintest trace of “ MY NAME IS MICHAEL CAINE ” here, for most of it he says things like “oh well done dear man” and other decidedly un -tough phrases. This is going to take some getting used to. The other thing that concerned me is after the big bombastic opening, which felt like a Western (thanks to John Barry's marvellous score), that the film would end up feeling quite a bit racist. For the majority of the film, my fears seem to be justified. The Zulu army have no real characterisation. they are neither portrayed as goodi...

No 380 – Children of Men Director – Alfonso Cuaron Recently I’ ve been watching a lot of silly shallow films. Explosions and pithy banter. It is time to break away from that, but to ask an important question. How can this film be so many places below a piece of tosh like Transformers? Really people? I’m a bit disappointed. I had actually forgotten what a harrowing yet beautiful film this is and how masterfully it tackles its mission. To not only convey the future, but to show a future where there is no hope, nothing to live for. The last generation of a dying species . Let me, for the last time, return to Transformers for an important comparison. In Children of Men we have a science fiction story which requires a lot of exposition. However here we get to witness it through snatches of conversation, snippets of news. Pictures and scenarios. We don’t have a scene where Morpheus spells out what the Matrix is. We don’t have a scene where Optimus Prime pulls out hologr...