West is West
Dir: Andy de Emmony
2010
****
I disliked East is East so I had very little interest in seeing the sequel. I really didn't see the point in it at all and judging by the amount of people who did see it (and their cutting reviews) I don't seem to be the only one. East is East was so over-hyped, 'It's the next Full Monty' people said, as if that was ever a good thing! The Full Monty was shit and over-hyped as well (so actually it was quite a good description). Anyway, I watched this film when it was on TV and I couldn't have been more surprised. Gone were the tired cliched stereotypes, the stupid Dog and the whole 'Aren't we all so different but also, aren't we all the same' nonsense. This film focused on the reality of growing in a different culture but also being of that culture and the difficulties involved. The story is of young and old, the Father and the youngest son. It was brilliantly handled and unlike the first film the humour and seriousness of the issue are balanced perfectly. It's everything the first film should have been, highly recommended!

East is East
Dir: Damien O'Donnell
1999
**
I know films have got to make money but I felt the integrity of this story was damaged by the fact that they compromised the story to try to be a little more 'The Full Monty'. British film really was feeble in the mid to late 90's because it tried so hard to please the wrong audiences. What should have been a revealing comedy of culture clash turned out to be just that little bit better then an amateur dramatics society take on a Carry On film but with badly timed serious bits thrown in to wake you up now and again. It's not without charm and I like all the actors involved but it was overrated then and has been long since forgotten for good reason.

A Bronx Tale
Dir: Chazz Palminteri
1993
****
There are quite a few films that tell the same kind of story but for what it's worth, I think this has to be one of the better ones. It shows the other side of Gangsters, maybe a more realistic side rather than all of the violence and bloodshed. It doesn't shy away from it when it has to but it balances it out perfectly. It's biographical of its writer and star, Chazz Palminteri who is excellent as Sonny (are they all called Sonny?). It's a shame what happened to the two boys who played Calogero, life imitating art imitating life. Anyway, a classic, highly recommended.

The Change-Up

Dir: David Dobkin

2011

*

The 1980's called, it wants its film back. Actually, its changed its mind, you can keep it. How long can the body-swap story-line work for? Anyway, although this kind of comedy isn't my thing it does have its place and serves a purpose. Well, sometimes anyway. I'm no prude but the swearing was overused. I love swearing, I do it all the fucking time but when it's overdone it looses its purpose and becomes annoying and redundant and certainly not funny. The film is part 'gross-out' (a term I dislike) and part 'Shock tactic', although the two generally go hand in hand these days leaving little room for decent writing. Okay, so you could argue that I'm taking it all a little bit too seriously but I'd have to ask why every actress had to get naked at least once? They were either portraying the nagging wife or a sex doll. Doesn't anyone find that a tiny bit wrong? As a man, I also feel a little tired of being stereotyped by Hollywood as it seems we are either sex pests or autistic businessmen. But the swearing makes it funny right? Or was it the baby smashing its head against the wall, was that the funny bit? The story is far too exaggerated too but then in the end all is back to normal and there are no repercussions whatsoever! Wow, did David Dobkin really write this or did he copy it off a 12 year old boy? Or is he just a unimaginative man that has somehow hit the big time and made it big in Hollywood because Hollywood has become a big dumbed-down money making cesspit of bad ideas?

Only God Forgives
Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn
2013
****
Only God Forgives seems to have suffered at the audiences lack of imagination rather than the Kubrickian style delusion of grandeur from director Nicolas Winding Refn that it has been accused of being. Its similarities to Kubrick's work are understandable but ever since 1996's Pusher, Refn has proved his worth and his vision is his own. Drive seems to have done the director less favours than it first seemed and could possibly be the film he is going to be forever compared against, even though I don't think it's his most creative film. Only God Forgives is a visually stunning film with heaps of subtle metaphors and intriguing social caricatures. The narrative is deconstructed perfectly, leaving the audience to decide who is who to them and who or what the film is about. It's all about interpretation. If Quentin Tarantino had made it everyone would be raving about how clever it was. I loved it.

What Richard Did
Dir: Lenny Abrahamson
2012
****
What Richard Did is a lesson in subtle film making. The events are made even more terrifying by the fact that they are very normal and seem quite unexceptional. Richard is a very real character, we all know one and maybe some of us are like him. There is nothing extraordinary about him which makes for quite a chilling revelation and turn of events. Although it's not the intended genre, this is pure horror. The film raised many questions about youth, parenting and society in general. I love Lenny Abrahamson's films, they're about reality and the wonderful, strange and terrifying sides of normality.

Sus
Dir: Robert Heath
2010
****
Robert Heath's Sus is a brilliantly adapted version of Barrie Keeffe's (The Long Good Friday) 1979 stage play. In the late 70's the police were allowed to detain anyone they saw fit without evidence, young Black men were typically the target. This was called Sus. This situation sees a young Black man detained and questioned about the murder of his own Wife who he didn't know was dead on the night Margret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister. It's very powerful and very much of its time. The dialogue is nothing short of brilliant the performances between Ralph Brown and Clint Dyer are intense and some of the best I've seen. The whole production is brilliantly written and wonderfully released. It's the best of film and the best of theatre combined. Criminally overlooked.