London Boulevard (2010)

sunset bldv, carlito's way, layer cake, get carter, the bodyguard si performance sunt cele mai referentiale titluri care se intilnesc in debutul scenaristului american William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven, Body of Lies, The Departed), bazat pe prea englezescul roman al irlandezului ! Ken Bruen.
distributie anglicana: Colin Farrell (din nou softie as only Colin can be :( mai bun In Bruges- aici era mai bun un Clive Owen-Michael Caine-sc), Keira Knightley (weakest link, too young, too aloof ?), David Thewlis (f. bun), Anna Friel (prea putzin pe ecran), Ben Chaplin (sleazy), Ray Winstone (face cu ochiul lui Richard Burton in Villain si lui Robbie Kray), Stephen Graham (cel mai recent Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire), Eddie Marsan (cel mai recent inspectorul Lestrade in Sherlock Homes).

soundrack de sixties cu muzica originala compusa de Sergio Pizzorno de la trupa Kasabian, cu Yarbirds The Yardbirds ‘Heart Full Of Soul’

"The Letter" by the Boxtops (Alex Chilton).
si Rolling Stones si chiar Bob Dylan (Subterranian Home Blues)
imagine profi de veteranul Chris Menges (are 70 de ani si Oscar pentru The Killing Fields si The Mission) si un thanx lui Ridley Scott pe generic (Monahan stie de ce)
shi nu, London Calling nu e in film !
englezilor nu le-a placut deloc filmul , nici cronica din empire nu zice de ce, poate ca nu suporta sa vina strainii sa le dea lectii la ei acasa, ferea, ca urmatorul proiect regizoral al lui Monahan (care a adaptat pt America si mini seria Edge of Darkness) e Becket (nu, nu Samuel)!!!!
flawed but nonetheless interesting
3 1/2 din 5, 7 din 10 !

Sugar (2024)

Sugar is described as "a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles".

Apple tv+ new noir series SUGAR by Mark Protosevich (The Cell) divided people because of its gimmick.  It's L.A. Noir with a Twist. And it's a show for cinephiles with a cinephile dick and lots of classic noir films quoted directly on the screen (Kiss Me Deadly, Double Indemnity, Night of the Hunter, The Big Heat, Sweet Smell of Success, Sunset Blvd. and many many more -see the whole list here.).  

Colin Farrell is great as John Sugar, a private eye roaming LA in his superb blue 1966 convertible Chevrolet Stingray Corvette, but there's more than meets the eye (sic) in this 8 parts neo-noir series (short episodes, 30 mins.) as opposed to Ripley or Fallout or The Sympathiser's 1 hour + durations-named here the series I enjoyed this year so far, plus The Gentlemen). And I was waiting for each epsidode, so I watched this every week, for a period of two months, having heard from before starting it that it had a twist, quoted by The Guardian as terrible. Well, it's quite the opposite, great and new and brave.

Well, I for one, enjoyed it very much. Maybe because I so much like Colin Farrell and his (sad) smile, and his gaze. Farrell is great whatever he's in, either being Alexander, The Way Back, In Bruges or its L.A. version,  Seven Psychopats, even a lesser London Boulevard.. arthouse: Lanthimos' The Lobster but better in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Ondine, Triage, The Beguiled, up to the grand summit- The Banshees of Inisherin,   

in True Detective season 2 -or unrecognizable (great too!)  in the new Batman (waiting to see his turn as The Penguin in his own series), even aa a cameo (in Gilliam's Parnassus).

And Amy Ryan  (which I recentley rediscovered in Gone Baby Gone), as an old rocker (Patti Smith, Blondie, Joan Jett style- who would believe her as that? ), was great, mature, warm.

Plus the dog is fabulous (and the cat).

And mr. James Cromwell, as an old Hollywood tycoon.

Series directed by Brazilian Fernando Meirelles (which went from his Cidade de Deus to great American TV)-5 eps. & Adam Arkin (Alan Arkin's son, an expert streaming series director- Succession, The Offer) -3 eps.

Great soundtrack too, with cool songs, some known, some obscure. Whole list here. Very nice use of Iggy's The Passenger.

“I believe movies are a conspiracy. They you set up from the time you are a little kid. They set you up to believe in everything, from ideals, and strength, and good guys.”

(Minnie in Minnie & Moskowitz by John Cassavettes-1971)* 

* I mean Gena Rowlands in the film Sugar goes to see in a cinema on ep. 2

The Lost Son (1999)

Tagline:Innocence isn't lost. It's taken

The Lost Son e un fel de Man on Fire cu sex masculin (baietei-puppy love/sleeping beauty), ma refer la filmul cu Scott Glenn de Elie Chouraqui din 1987.
altfel dialogul e oribil si dubbed sau nesincronizat ok, ceea ce da impresia de amatorism...si copia nu era tocmai faimoasa...are valente de B movie dar pretentii de art-house, un euro-pudding care ar fi putut fi cool si impressive regizat de Roman Polanski sau Mike Hodges !
Si cu un actor (cine se plinge de accentul lui Christophe Lambert sa se mai plinga !) gen Liam Neeson in Taken sau Unknown sau, nah, Lee Marvin in Point Blank, sau Alain Delon in anii '70, sau Charlie motherfuckin' Bronson, duh !
Daniel Auteuil in primul sau rol de limba engleza (n-am vazut ceva mai froggic de la Depardieu as Columb-Variety scrie diplomat: Auteuil, whose English is not always the clearest, is fine at portraying a cool, lonely pro but is hardly the most ideal actor for a role that demands audience involvement from an early stage.), nu face fata (azi dupa 36 Quai des Orfèvres si Le deuxième souffle ar fi mai cool cu aerul lui de pacino _carlito- francez), desi are un aer de Lino Ventura + Bruno Cremer !

El e secondat de o multime de actori buni, dar trebuia un regizor mai ferm, v. exemplul cu Man on Fire 1987, subiectul e downbeat si socant, mai ales pentru acum 12 ani ! Menges are niste stingacii inpardonabile (clisee, relantiuri care dau rezolutia in minus, cheap tricks my dear sir !). Credeam ca e mai aproape Mona Lisa si Get Carter dar e mai mult Raw Deal (ala cu Ahnuld!)!
Chris Menges, regizorul, e operatorul, DOP-ul oscarizat la filmele lui Roland Joffe The Killing Fields si The Mission, cel mai recent DOP la London Boulevard dar regizor deja rutinat la vreo 5 filme, din care cel mai faimos e primul, A World Apart (1988).

Nasstasja Kinski are un rol episodic, desi e creditata a doua, Ciaran Hinds, Katrin Cartlidge, Marianne Denicourt, Bruce Greenwood, Billie Whitelaw, Cyril Shaps, Jamie Harris sunt si mai episodici !
soundtrack: muzica extem de sobra pentru Goran Bregovic !
2 1/2 cu indulgenta pentru ce putea sa fie, 5 din 10 !