The Pink Panther

Saw this on Sunday in a toss up between this, The Inside Man which doesn't really appeal or V for Vendetta, which I want to see with a few mates.

It's not good.

It's not bad, either.

Hmm, where to start... It's got a few good comedy moments in it, but overall not as funny as I expected. For a script co-written by Steve Martin, I expected more. You can see where it is trying to draw from the source material, such as Clouseau's "securing the area" sketches, but they just feel laboured. There are some upbeat moments. The continual abuse of various cyclists are they are accidentally injured by Clouseau, the president's palace part and the hotel bathroom to name a few, but most of the visual gags are sign posted well in advance, which means when they arrive, the humour is lost.

It's not even got the advantage of trying to guess who the villain is, since the deduction Clouseau comes to is based on two clues that are not mentioned until the final "unveiling". Martin's accent, although giving a couple of the better laughs in the film, began to grate towards the end, and not even the combined efforts of Steve Martin and Jean Reno can lift the more mundane parts of it. Having said that, Reno and Martin do have several good scenes together and the final humiliation of the chief inspector is funny.

Beyonce Knowles is in it, which always scores bonus points with me, but she displays even less acting ability than she did in Goldmember, and in this film is doing an 'Aniston', ie being paid to look pretty and not say much.

Yahoo Critics are giving it a C
Yahoo users are giving it a B-.

Personally, I think they're being generous. If I was pressured into making a comparison, I'd say it's a bit like the second Austin Powers movie, except without the tongue-in-cheek, self parodying nature. In fact, that's pretty apt. Think of Austin Powers, without Mike Myers' insane sense of humour and you're on the right track.

Saxon Film Score: C

I should point out, I'm not a huge fan of Peter Seller's versions, so that gives you an idea of how bad this is in places.

OQ:

Pretemps: He was shot in the head.
Clouseau : Was it fatal?
Pretemps: Yes.
Clouseau : How fatal?
Pretemps: Completely.

V For Vendetta

Short review:

Wow.

Slightly longer review:

OK, well first off I wanted to go and see this early on Sunday, and there was an 11.10 showing. Which I booked and paid for online (I'm hooked on the Vue cinema, online booking, pre-paid collection to avoid queues and digital projectors on nine screens. Lovely.). I remember thinking "Well, I have to get up at 10am on a Sunday. No great hardship there." and immediately afterwards my flatmate comes through and asks "When do the clocks go forward?"

B*gger.

So up I get at the equivalent of 8am on a Sunday. I found out some useful things, like Vue don't bother keeping the ticket check point at the doors manned that early on a Sunday. And people at the BBFC can't spell Vendetta. The classification certificate shown has the second "T" clearly a different shade and slightly out of position, like it's been added afterwards.

So, the film. Out-bloody-standing. Now, given I knew nothing, and I mean nothing about this film beforehand, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Usually, after a movie, I start nit-picking, but with this, I enjoyed it too much. It's actually tempting me to go and see it again, and I only ever do that with Star Trek films, and that one time I saw Galaxy Quest three times in the same day.

It's a beautiful film. Evey in the rain, the Old Bailey, V's hideaway. And it's nice to know that even in a fascist, totalitarian future, the media still think that "Britain" and "England" are interchangeable.

It's not an easy film to watch, particularly if you start thinking about it. The government shown make the Nazis look like pussycats, not because what they do is any more or less evil (it's about par), but simply because the Nazis at least tried to hide a lot of what they did, because they knew the populace wouldn't accept it. The UK government in V for Vendetta simply don't care. They know the population is under their thumb, and they can squeeze whenever they want.

I think my favourite character is the chief inspector, the only man in the government with a conscience, particularly because of his question to his colleague, asking him what if everything he knew was based on a lie. Although Stephen Fry is excellent in it also.

I really don't want to say any more in case I spoil it for you. It's really worth seeing.

Score:
A+++
+
++

OQ:

"No, all you have are bullets..."

"Would you want to know?..."

The Matador

I'll tell you a short story before I get to the film. I was on Vue's site looking at times for this and for Lucky Number Slevin. They both had the same show times, so I went to book Lucky Number Slevin, put in my card details and get the confirmation "Congratulations, here are your booking details for 'The Matador' on Sunday.... ", which just shows you should always check what you're doing when booking a film online.

If you're like me, you'll probably have several questions about this film before you go to see it, so I'll try to answer them here without spoiling it for you. Now, I didn't know much about this film before I went to see it, and the only thing it reminded me of was a series of films that Jackie definitely wouldn't want me mentioning here...

Is it any good? Yes.

Is Pierce Brosnan like James Bond in it? Hell no!

Is it funny? Yes, it bloody well is.

Is it violent? Not really. I mean yes because it's about a hitman, but no because you never really see anything.

Am I going to tell you what happens? No, go see it for yourself.

Is it a movie, or a film? I classify 'talkies' as I believe they're now called into two categories. Movies are fun, entertaining, and just for amusement. Films are to make you think. This is definitely a movie.

Score: B- Purely because I think it's a great film, but I'm not sure I'd buy it on DVD. But I'm definitely glad I saw it.

However, I also saw a trailer for Superman Returns (the trailer is called the Super Tease, apparently). Now I've seen this before on the internet, but seeing it on the big screen with the spine shaking bass. Oooh... All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Also saw the first decent trailer for V for Vendetta.

OQ: Kaboom!

Lucky Number Slevin

I can't recommend this film enough. I haven't been that impressed with a film since Pulp Fiction (or as already mentioned, The Usual Suspects). I left the cinema smiling, and I can't tell you anything about it without spoiling it for you. This has the Saxon Good Film Guarantee¹.

If, like my friend Mark, you're into action movies with comedy and enjoy non-linear story telling similar to Pulp Fiction, you'll love this.
If, like my friend Mark's wife, you have deductive powers that make Columbo look like a bumbling hack, you'll know what the ending is fifteen minutes into the film.

I certainly didn't see the ending coming, but then, I was ill at the time.

A+. Bloody fantastic, and just what the doctor ordered. (He did. He said get some bed rest, plenty of fluids, no heavy lifting and go see Lucky Number Slevin.)

¹Not a guarantee. Kevin Saxon was nursing a cold during this movie. Some or all of the plot may have been a Night Nurse induced hallucination. Film score may be over exaggerated due to high fever. User enjoyment of this film may vary. Kevin Saxon is not responsible for cinema goers guessing the ending mid way through and spoiling it for themselves. Do not see with your wife if she has deductive powers better than Columbo and has a tendency to tell you her suspicions. Your statutory rights are not affected.