Author: Chris

Terrorism movies

OK, so best (and worst) terrorism movies? If ‘Blown Away’ anchors one end of the spectrum, are there good movie treatments? Is it possible to make a good movie on this subject in the current period? I’d certainly put in a plug for ‘Battle of Algiers’ as the simply the best, and probably unrepeatable, because it is impossible to make an intelligent movie on the subject in America today.

But what do people think of ‘The Siege’ which came under sustained attack for its use of stereotypes, but which (I must admit) I found pretty compelling. Fine performances by Denzel Washington, Tony Shalhoub, Annette Bening and even (before his “slide from greatness”) Bruce Willis. And at least some sense of the sources/causes of terrorism and the dangers of Patriot Act-type reaction.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ opened in France this week (it is pretty rare for an American film to open abroad before it does in the US; I don’t what that says about the marketing strategy). I saw a dubbed version rather than a subtitled one, so it is possible that the dialogue sparkled in ways that my French was not able to appreciate. With that caveat, I found the movie disappointing though definitely watchable.

First the good. Robert Downey Jr. And Val Kilmer were a pleasure to watch, and Kilmer really seems to be happier not trying to carry the movie on his own. His Gay Perry has a nice deadpan quality, and he avoids playing up the arch homosexual. What with this and ‘Spartan’ Kilmer may finally have lived down his role in ‘The Saint,’ probably the worst film of the post-Watergate era. Downey is always fun to watch, and here he has a charm that he just about pulls off without looking too goofy. There are lots of nice touches to the movie, involving urination, severed fingers, dogs, coffins and corpses falling into, or onto, dumpsters. They just depart enough from convention to offer a little jerk of surprise and pleasure.
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