No.241 : The Stranger (TV, 2020)

The Stranger (TV) at the IMDb

Based on the novel by Harlan Coben ‘The Stranger’ is an 8 part series made by Netflix. The New Jersey setting of the novel has been transplanted to the UK with the series filmed in and around the Manchester area and using a lot of familiar actors.

Solicitor Adam seems to have the perfect life - he has a nice house, two sons and is married to her off ‘Ballykissangel’. His life is turned upside-down however when the titular stranger shows up and tells him to have a dig about his wife’s bank account. He does so and finds evidence that her pregnancy, which ended with a miscarriage two years previously, was in fact faked. He confronts her about this and shortly thereafter she goes missing.

Meanwhile a teenage rave goes wrong when a doped up youth is found naked in the woods and a decapitated alpaca is dumped in the town centre. Elsewhere Jennifer Saunders, who runs a coffee shop, gets a couple of shots of her own - to the head - and the police are at a loss to tie all these events together. Adam’s full plate is in danger of tipping over as he tries to protect his client Stephen Rea from eviction at the hands of Adam’s estranged father, Anthony Head.

All the while The Stranger is demanding blackmail money from a variety of victims about whom she knows their most intimate secrets. Are her actions purely financial or does she have moral convictions at the heart of her schemes? As the series progress the disparate strands of the story start to come together, with the exposed secrets causing untold damaged to those involved and their families.

I wasn’t too sold on this show at first as it looked like one of those ‘event’ ITV dramas that usually end up being a lot of predictable guff designed only to advance the career of some non-entity that they foolishly signed a contract with. I was however drawn in by the complex story and the compelling drama that unfolded. There were perhaps too many plot strands with a few going nowhere and serving only to distract you from the main thrust of the story. I guess a bit of misdirection is par for the course in a mystery drama, and the pace was such that I never lost interest in the next development.

The story developed logically and the detection angle was good. Siobhan Finnernan stood out as the lead detective although her accent made me think she was a refugee from Coronation Street. Richard Armitage was also good as the father struggling to understand what was going on and Rea and Paul Kaye did well in supporting roles that ran deep.

I was less impressed with ‘The Stranger’ herself who didn’t have the menace or gravitas the role demanded. I see in the book it was a bloke and this failing may have been down to the casting director looking to mix things up by casting a young woman, when the role demanded something a bit more sinister.

I liked how the story threads weaved together and the fact that everyone’s secrets impacted on those about them. The ending wasn’t a great surprise given the clues seeded throughout, but it was still a satisfying conclusion to an excellent and compelling drama.

THE Tag Line : Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun…  76%

 

No.206 : The Interview (2014)

The Interview (2104) at the IMDb

There are a few ‘The Interview’ films out there, hence the year in the title bar. This one is easily the most famous and, when it came out in 2014, it could probably have laid claim to be the most famous ‘Definitive article’ film of all time. That’s why we didn’t review it then. Now that the dust has settled I watched it again and to be fair it still held up. Not sure if it still merits the hype driven 8/10 I gave it then, but I certainly enjoyed it second time around.

The familiar pairing of James Franco and Seth Rogan play a TV host and producer respectively. Franco’s talk show is a ratings hit with stars like Eninem, Rob Lowe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt all lining up to tell their tawdry tales and humiliate themselves. Fair play to them all for having a good old laugh at themselves. Despite the show’s success however, Rogan is unfulfilled and craves the respect of his peers in the mainstream news channels.

Opportunity knocks when a tabloid reveals that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s favourite TV show, along with ’The Big Bang Theory’, is Franco’s. They offer the despot an interview on the show and after a funny trip to China for Rogan, the meeting is set up in North Korea. The CIA however want a piece of the action. Mesmerised by  Lizzy Caplan’s cleavage Franco agrees to their plan to kill Kim by way of a poisoned handshake.

Soon the lads are in Korea and, despite a setback when a guard eats the poison which is disguised as chewing gum, the two have a meeting with the big man who turns out to be that bloke off ‘Veep’. Franco is initially taken with Kim who likes drugs, girls and swearing just like him. He swears off the plot and ditches the replacement poison before learning not all is what it seems.

Will the interview go ahead and will our guys get out alive? Will they stick to the script and is Kim’s love of Katie Perry just a front?

Along with ‘This is the End’ I’d say this is my favourite of the Rogan/Franco films. I don’t like the stoner stuff and this was a bit more measured in its humour. There were some scenes that went a bit far - the fingers getting bitten off for a start, but overall it was well paced and, whilst not believable, it was good fun and made some sort of sense.

It was no surprise that Kim was portrayed as a playboy but the guy from Veep was good value as the war-mongering psycho who liked puppies and boobs. Rogan was probably the better of the main pair with some funny scenes with the hot North Korean lady soldier. Franco seemed a bit erratic, being a complete doofus in places yet having some sharp insights in others.

The CIA angle was mostly well done although it was stretching credibility how switched on their operation was. It seemed unlikely that our Hollywood luvvies would buy into a murder plot so readily, but it worked well, with the 'will they won’t they' aspect keeping me guessing despite having seen the film only a few years back.

That’s not to say it was forgettable; there was just a lot going on, and I could see my having a different favourite scenes when I watch it again in five year’s time.

The ending was a bit pat, but it was well earned with some big laughs and decent stunts along the way.

THE Tag Line : Interview Gets the Job Done 76%

No.193 : The Outfit (1973)

The Outfit at the IMDb

No, it’s not a nice film about a pretty dress; ‘The Outfit’ is a pretty brutal gangster pic from 1973 that is seemingly a Tarantino favourite.

We open with a priest pulling something lethal from his pants. Don’t worry, it’s only a gun and I’m not sure he’s a priest. He and a cabbie gun down a man building a wall - must have disliked his pointing work. Meanwhile Robert Duvall is getting out of jail having done ‘two and a quarter’ for a firearms charge.

He’s picked up by Karen Black and learns that it was his brother who was killed in the first paragraph. Black goes to a motel with Duvall but he smells a rat and manages to avoid being whacked by ‘the outfit’ - basically the mob. Duvall and his brother had robbed a mafia bank a few years back and the deed is coming back to haunt them.

Not one to go on the defensive Duvall takes the mob on and demands $250k from them to back off. He hits a variety of card games and scams and eventually the mafia agree to pay him off. Of course the money drop is a trap but after escaping with his henchman, Joe Don Baker, Duvall decides to go up against the big boss, Robert Ryan.

Will he get the justice he doesn’t really deserve and who will get out alive?

I enjoyed this straightforward revenge picture that didn’t try to be overly complex, instead relying on some good planning and tense sequences. The near bald Duvall is great as Macklin although he is a bit of a low talker. 'Quiet menace' they’d no doubt call it, but speak up Bob! He was cunning and lethal in a fight, although I have to say ‘The Outfit’ weren’t really at the races; falling for every old disguise and misdirection trick in the book.

Black was OK as the moll, but she and all the female characters fared badly with ‘shut up’ the usual response they earned to every utterance. I liked one trouble making lady, who was a spit for Dee out of ‘Always Sunny’, who offered her charms to Baker and wasn’t impressed at his rejection. Another got a straight right to the chin and Black got a right good slapping for daring to touch Duvall’s pistol - and him just out of the joint too!

You could see this film as inspiration for a lot of features that followed, with Black running down two henchman going straight into ‘Breaking Bad’ and the showdown at the end  being seen many times since, in lesser productions.

The film zipped along with several robberies planned and executed in some detail. I thought the ending was a bit pat but at least it proved the old adage of always take a white coat with you on your murder sprees.

Duvall did well to bring some empathy to a scumbag character and you couldn't help but admire his quite determination to gain his flawed version of justice. I probably preferred ‘Charley Varrick’ which tread very similar ground, but there was plenty to like here and you can see why it is still well regarded in a crowded genre.

THE Tag Line : No Hair : Doesn’t Care    76%

No.113 : The Hill (1965)

The Hill at the IMDb

Sean Connery made this 1965, black and white drama immediately after he finished ‘Goldfinger’ presumably to show that there was more to him than Martinis and one liners. Well it worked - he can do shouting too!

Connery is one of five men who arrive in a British  North African army penal camp during World War 2. The four others are privates convicted for petty crimes whereas Connery is an officer charged with disobeying orders.

The camp is run by a team of sadistic guards who glory in running their charges into the ground. Their favourite torture device is the titular hill which, although quite small, breaks all who are set up and down it. Connery as a seemingly cowardly officer gets singled out for special treatment and this doesn’t sit well with his cellmates who are roped in too. These include Sandy out of ‘The Wild Geese’ Roy Kinnear and a spirited black chap who gets all kinds of racial abuse that seems outrageous by today’s standards.

The men are passed fit by an ineffectual medical officer and put in the grim hands of the evil Sgt Stevens. He reports to the blinkered RSM Wilson who in turn reports to the oblivious commandant. The brutal drills soon cause the men to faint and despite Connery’s knowledge of the regulations they get no respite. Only slightly fey officer Ian Bannen offers some support but the bullying climate keeps him in check.

After one brutal drill on the hill one of the cellmates collapse and dies. Can the men find justice or will the metaphorical hill of threats and lies be too much for them to surmount?

Two hours of sweaty men shouting at each other may not be everyone’s cup of tea but this is an excellent film with a lot to say about discipline, the law and class. The injustices are plain to see but these are guilty men and there’s a war on. Where should our sympathies lie? Director Sidney Lumet answers this from the off with the guards onto a hiding as soon as Sean shows up with his book of rules. His character was well drawn with the truth of his imprisonment slowly drawn out of him.

When the man dies a near mutiny ensues but this is swiftly quelled with some selective punishment and the lure of some cheese. Sean isn’t so easily bought and gets a strong kicking for his troubles. Can he convince the weak medical officer and the simpering Bannen to stand up for what is just? To convince them we get a near half hour scene of the men yelling at each other as battle lines are drawn and alliances are forged and quickly recanted when the tide turns.

The cast is uniformly (!) excellent and the drama is well realised against a massive set with dozens of extras. It would work well as a theatre production and the director wisely chooses to use a lot of close ups and jerky camera movements to give an unsettling sense of isolation and disconnection.

There are some uncomfortable scenes especially when the black actor, Ossie Davis, has to endure abuse and spend much of the film in his oversized pants, but I’m sure what was portrayed was mild compared to the real life environment.

Overall this was a fast paced two hours with the focus on character and dialogue. Top notch acting and directing saved it from being a cheap melodrama and it’s certainly one that’ll live long in the memory.

THE Tag Line : Climb this Hill!   76%

No.74 : The Reckoning (2002)

The Reckoning at the IMDb

Off to the Middle Ages now on the Definite Article Blog with this tale of actors, murder, child abuse and some illicit sex - well they didn’t have the internet back then.

We open as Paul Bettany gives himself an  impromptu haircut with a sharp rock. We jump back and forth to hairier time, when he was a priest giving a sermon. He catches the eye of a buxom wench and we assume he’s been defrocked after being caught in the act with the temptress. He chucks his priestly robes in the river but keeps his crucifix in case it might come in handy later.

He wanders the woods until he happens upon a travelling troupe of actors. He witnesses one murder another but quickly accepts it was a mercy killing and asks to join up - clearly he wasn’t put off by their grievance procedure.

The actors include such luvvies as Brian Cox, Willem Dafoe and the always lovely Gina Mckee. They take on the errant priest to fill the minor roles in their production despite some sensing he has more to hide than he lets on. They are soon on the road and arrive at the fakest looking hilltop castle this side of ‘The Holy Grail’. The town is empty as the villagers are all at the trail of a local woman accused of murdering a young lad. She is found guilty but we know she’s innocent as she’s so darn pretty.

The actors stage their production of ‘Adam and Eve’ to lukewarm reviews and after being refused a burial for their dead colleague by the local vicar our once priestly friend agrees to do a comeback gig to plant the stiff. There are however rumblings in the town and it can’t all be down to the stew. The villagers think the condemned woman is innocent and Dafoe thinks recreating the murder may be a money spinning idea to get the troupe’s cart fixed. They bribe Simon Pegg’s overacting jailer to get access to the woman for plot tips and start to piece together the mystery. A exhumation confirms their worst fears and we have to wonder if the woman will be saved and if those responsible will meet justice.

For a medieval murder mystery this was pretty good stuff. It’s no ’In the name of the Rose’ but it had plenty going for it, not least a top notch cast. OK Dafoe’s accent is all over the shop and I’ve no idea why we had to keep seeing him do stretches in his pants but he’s always a strong and likable presence. Brian Cox does his usual blustery outrage shtick and for one performance he dresses up as Darth Maul - maybe he’s hoping for a gig in the new trilogy. I was sorry not to see more of Gina, but Bettany was excellent at what he does best - the oddball religious character. He should try and broaden his range - he was really convincing as a Pro tennis player in ‘Wimbledon’, then again…

The detection angle was well done with the gristly exhumation a real stomach turner. It was clear from the off that Ewen Bremner’s sneering monk would be involved as would the man seen peeping out his windows a lot . The finale where the actors utilised their skills to convince the thick townsfolk of the real villain was well done and although low budget they did capture the grime and smells of ye olde world shit hole.

The main twist was that we had a priest trying uncover child abuse rather than be involved in it, but the resolution was great and well earned. One thing I would have changed was the non-descript title - maybe ‘Luvvies Vs Nonces’ was already taken?

THE Tag Line : Luvvie to See You   76%

No.7 : The X-Files (1998)

The X-Files at the IMDb

Before we start, a quick word for all our pedant followers. Yes it’s a definite article and yes it’s two words. People may say oh that really called ‘The X-Files Movie’ or ‘X-Files : Fight the Future’, but they’re wrong, don’t listen to them. The dash doesn’t makes it less of a word either - you get an X-Box and G-force they’re still definitive items!

Anyway let’s have a look at the big screen spin off for the popular TV show. Such films are usually a bit crappy and a cash in , obviously ’Holiday On The Buses’ excepted, but this is a pretty fair offering and was certainly a lot better than I remembered it.

The film opens with some icy cave men running through the snow in what is now Texas. They find a cave but as you’d probably guess an alien is living there and they all get in a big fight. The cave men show some mettle and one survives after killing the alien in a stabbing frenzy. We fast forward to present day Texas when the cave is found by a group of kids when one falls in. The alien has been lying dormant and its tarry bloody infects a boy and his firemen rescuers.

We then meet up with Mulder and Scully on a routine FBI job. The X-Files has been disbanded and we the viewer are soon wondering if we’ve been sold a fast one. The agents are looking for a bomb in a government building and getting no where fast. Mulder playing his usually reliable hunches has a look in a building nearby and after failing to get a soda succeeds in finding the bomb. Luckily the bomb has a helpful countdown timer and the bomb disposal dude is on the scene with five minutes to spare. Unfortunately his union mandated five minute break has just started and he has to sit and watch as the clock counts down and the building explodes.

The Feds want a scapegoat for the blast and for the deaths of a boy and three fireman - remember them from the last paragraph? After thorough grilling Mulder hits a bar but is interrupted by Martin Landau of ‘ Space 1999’ who has parked his Eagle to tell him the blast was a deliberate ploy to conceal evidence. With this nugget of info Mulder is on the case and after rousing Scully for a quick autopsy they soon start to unravel the conspiracy which eventually leads to a showdown in Antarctica and some solid revelations for once.

I really enjoyed my first look at ‘The X-Files’ since 1998 and was surprised how much was explained. I used to enjoy the TV show but went off it as it seemed to spin out the storylines to an intolerable degree. Here you get the whole set up and resolution inside two hours saving you at least 70 over the TV box set.

The film does exist in the same continuity as the TV show and fits in between seasons. The ‘Colonisation’ storyline is brought to the fore and we learn a lot of things that had previously only been alluded to. We get a lot of scenes with the bad guys conspiring in a ‘Pentabulate’ style meeting room as well as The Cigarette Smoking Man clocking up the air miles as he tries to stay ahead of the tenacious ‘tecs.

My main gripe would be that a lot is crammed in, maybe too much. Great characters like Skinner and The Lone Gunmen merit only brief cameos and some of the exposition is practically read out for you lest you fail to keep up. The denouement in Antarctica is well played although there are a few MCGuffins thrown in to let Mulder find Scully in a spaceship as big as the ones in ‘V’ with just as many ready meal humans to choose from.

If you think of this as a ‘Greatest Hits’ from the TV show you won’t be disappointed and you even get a couple of ‘shits’ for your trouble too - ooh dangerous. The production values and effects are pretty good and I was glad that a few cats were let out of their long term bags - the fate of Mulder’s sister for one.

As a standalone film I think this succeeds and it also goes a long way to keep the fans happy too.

THE Definitive Tag Line - X Hits the Spot 76%