Author: mfordfeeney

The Transporter (2002)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

If you hate these type of movies I’ll never convince you to watch one, but I highly recommend it for its humor, irreverence & fun action…

Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Transporter:

Co-written & co-produced by Luc Besson, The Transporter has been perfectly constructed to appeal to the largest audience imaginable. It’s really something else. Think about it:

In addition to your usual action movie fans, has cars for the car movie people, building off of the success of the previous year’s The Fast and the Furious
Statham famous for work in British crime films, so you pull in that crowd
Martial arts fans
Set and mostly filmed in France for European filmgoers
The female lead (Shu Qi) is Chinese
Although it’s hugely violent, there’s almost no bloodshed, and few deaths, so you can maintain the PG-13 rating
Statham is set up to be sex symbol to women, but they also include a scene of him kissing (actually getting air underwater from) a male co-star to appeal to gay men, as well. He actually appears shirtless and covered in motor oil…
The whole thing is filled with hip-hop music.

It’s impressive; the movie is engineered so acutely to draw in all crowds that it’s amazing that it wasn’t actually created by a focus group.

Of course, I’m as susceptible to this as the next person, and really like this movie. Partly it’s because of some of the reasons from above:

I like action movies if done well (though I have no time for car movies without Steve McQueen)
I like British crime movies, and Statham has been in my favorite – Snatch
The martial arts are very impressive. Choreographed by Jet Li collaborator Corey Yuen, the film is a mix of intense, funny, and downright absurd fights. The humor that Jackie Chan invokes with his gravity defying and creative work must certainly be the model here, but there is also a ridiculous quality to some of the scenarios that is clearly intentional and done with a great amount of fun and irreverence. The movie refuses to take itself too seriously, which is the saving grace.

The other thing that makes The Transporter work so well is the quiet effectiveness of the actors. I realize that quiet isn’t the first word you reach for when describing this picture, but the dialogue and methodical, precise way that Statham’s character, Frank Martin, navigates this increasing insanity is a really nice counterbalance to the non-stop action. It helps that Statham is just a really likable and charismatic actor. Shu Qi’s character Lai is also a deceptively enjoyable watch – she really grows on you and hints at some depth that sadly doesn’t totally come to the surface.

The best relationship in the film, however, and the main reason I really enjoy The Transporter, has to be that of Frank Martin and the local police inspector, Tarconi (François Berléand). Tarconi has this beautifully French subtlety, suggesting he understands far more than he lets on. The two characters have this nice chemistry and a relationship clearly meant to invoke the most beautiful of all friendships, that of Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine and Claude Rains’s Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

The Representation Test Score: D (1 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

[schema type=”movie” name=”The Transporter” description=”This film is about a man whose job is to deliver packages without asking any questions. Complications arise when he breaks those rules.” director_1=”Corey Yuen” director_2=”Louis Leterrier” actor_1=”Jason Statham” actor_2=”Shu Qi” actor_3=”François Berléand” ]

Main Cast	Jason Statham Frank Martin, Qi Shu (as Shu Qi) Lai, Matt Schulze Wall Street, François Berléand Inspector Tarconi
Rating	PG-13
Release Date	Fri 11 Oct 2002 UTC
Director	Corey Yuen (as Cory Yuen)
Genres	Action, Crime, Thriller
Plot	This film is about a man whose job is to deliver packages without asking any questions. Complications arise when he breaks those rules.
Poster
Runtime	92
Tagline	Rules are made to be broken
Writers	Luc Besson (written by) &, Robert Mark Kamen (written by)
Year	2002

July 11, 2014

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Blackest of black comedies is 50 years old & still so very good. Brilliant writing, gorgeous photography, good character actor performances.

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb:

It can be a challenge to review absolutely masterful films like this one, so I often do a bit of research on the interwebs, looking for some colorful background. I remembered that Dr. Strangelove was sort of loosely based on a novel, so I started there, and its an interesting story.

Red Alert (released in England as Two Minutes to Doom) was written in 1958 by British author Peter George. The novel was optioned by Stanley Kubrick, who worked with George and Terry Southern to turn it into a satirical black comedy. The only hitch was that there was another film scheduled for release in 1964 that was also about an accidental nuclear war; Fail-Safe, based on a bestseller by Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler. In order to make sure that Strangelove was the first to theaters, Kubrick & George accused the writers of Fail-Safe of plagiarism, bringing a lawsuit that tied up production on the rival film. The case was settled out of court, and Fail-Safe would go on to be a great movie – but not as successful.

Of course, while the source material may have invited comparison, the similarities ended there, as Dr. Strangelove is unquestionably played for laughs. Interestingly, although I howl every time I see it, I’ve found upon screening it for newcomers to the film that not everyone appreciates the black comedy, finding it dark and depressing. I guess there is a gallows humor aspect that I am drawn to, but I can understand why some people find the film uncomfortable. The sad truth is that while the film is very funny, the reality of Mutually Assured Destruction and the ease with which we all could go up in smoke is very unsettling. The film works not because it’s so far-fetched, but because it isn’t. At all.

The movie is an absolute masterpiece. Maestro Director of Photography Gilbert Taylor made two pictures in 1964 – the other was A Hard Day’s Night – pretty good year. Production Designer Ken Adam, who created the amazing sets for Bond films like Dr. No & Goldfinger, had one of his finest hours with the War Room design. The pacing of the film and the changes in scene locations really sustain the tension, unusual for a comedy. The actors are given room to breathe and time to establish their characters. I’ve avoided saying much about the acting – it’s very good, with George C. Scott & Sterling Hayden particularly fine. I’m a bit conflicted about Peter Sellers. It’s an amazing performance, certainly, but I reflexively hate actors taking on multiple roles in a film. It’s gimmicky and unnecessary, no matter the actor. And while Captain Mandrake & President Muffley are played very effectively straight, the Strangelove performance is just a bit too over the top for me. The affectations are fun, but the reliance on physical gags is wearisome and threatens to devolve the film into farce, just as the original “pie-fight” ending surely would have.

Probably the greatest black comedy ever made, and one of the funniest films of all time, Dr. Strangelove is still meaningful long after the end of the Cold War, because while the circumstances change, it skewers an organizational way of thinking that sadly may always be with us.