The Killer Inside Me

Michael Winterbottom churns out films at such a rate it’s hardly surprising that the quality control can take a battering at times. However, for his adaptation of Jim Thompsons’s novel, The Killer Inside Me, things go totally off the scale as Winterbottom gives us his poorest film for some time, and possibly ever. The gist of the story is that Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) is a Deputy Sheriff of a small Texan town who starts to have recurrences of his old “sickness”; that of being a serial killer. This is a slow moving film however, which just doesn’t grip and has lost the plot long before it's implausible ending. Whilst most of the violence is off screen or just spoken of, there’s two scenes that have caused uproar. Both of them concern vicious and prolonged attacks on women, with the first being particularly unpleasant to watch. You may argue that these scenes are necessary to show just how disturbed Affleck’s character is, but this goes way over the top and feels exploitive. It’s a shame really as Winterbottom’s film does capture a nice noir mood, but that won’t be the talking point as you leave the cinema. A brutal mistake by Winterbottom, you could say.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This would have a low rating anyway, but the aforementioned stomach churning violence shown against women pushes this much lower. Rating: 2/10.

She's Out Of My League

The best way to describe She’s Out Of My League would be something like Annie Hall meets There’s Something About Mary. Relationship paranoia meets sweetness and smut. The good news is that though there isn’t anything too original here, it scores well in all areas. The paranoia in this case is caused when average airport employee Kirk (Jay Baruchel) does a good turn for stunning passenger Molly (Alice Eve) leading to Molly asking him out and them eventually becoming a couple. Kirk, and his friends and family, find it hard to believe such a woman would ever be interested in a guy such as himself. This leads to many standard comic scenes (some work, some don’t), including the now obligatory watch through your fingers set ups when the couple meet the respective parents (Eve’s are played by her real life parents, quiz fans). After usually being on the sidelines Baruchel eases into the leading role man with ease and the supporting players all offer good support (especially Jason Siegel/Jon Heder lookalike T J Miller). On the downside some of the screenplay, when delivered by the laid back Baruchel, is so dry it’s hard to know whether to laugh or not and Eve can’t do much with Molly, who at times feels more of a plot device than a main character. Overall, though some vulgarity may put some off, director Jim Field Smith gets the sweet tone right, there’s a few laugh out loud moments and a rockin’ soundtrack to boot.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A nice effort this and whether it’s through the romance or the comedy you’ll be smiling come the end. Rating: 7/10

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans

Though there are a number of similarities, this Bad Lieutenant film bares little resemblance to Abel Ferrara’s 1992 production. Not that that would appease Ferrara though, who has been fairly scathing about this new take by Werner Herzog. Herzog’s himself has responded by saying “I’ve never seen a film by him. I have no idea who he is”. A statement by Herzog so dry you could almost towel yourself off with it after a shower. Speaking of water, Bad Lieutenant is set during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the chaos of that storm is a neat metaphor for the chaos that is Terrence McDonagh’s (Nicolas Cage) life. Herzog loves ambiguity, and whilst there’s no doubt McDonagh is a Bad Lieutenant, just how bad is he really? You’re left to decide yourself, but in a film where McDonagh steals, threatens, blackmails, gambles and takes drugs, the fact you still feel sympathy for him shows what a great job Herzog and Cage have done. Of course, this definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste, but Herzog does his best to underscore McDonough’s worst excesses as best he can. For example, McDonagh is only a drug addict in the first place due to an early act of heroism. A classic Herzog paradox if ever there was one. Despite a decent support cast, this is Cage’s vehicle all the way and easily one of his best performances ever. He totally inhabits McDonagh, even to the point it’s painful for us just to watch him walk. Of course, being a Herzog film there are a few completely bonkers moments (the iguana-cam moment seems to have already gone down in film folk law) and anyway, this is Herzog and Cage together, how could it not be mad? Most impressively of all, despite the at times grim subject matter, this film has a good sprinkling of humour (mostly black you’ll be unsurprised to hear). Herzog can be a difficult film maker to get your head round at times, but this is the cherry on the cake of his recent strong outings. Plus of course, you don’t get Harvey Keitel dangly bits in this one.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This is high quality film making which should improve with future viewings. Cage is fantastic, Herzog seems to be having a ball and the denouement is both smart and moving. Oh yeah, did I mention the iguanas? Rating: 8/10

Street Dance 3D

When a street dance crew lose their star performer and their rehearsal space, their chances of winning the Street Dance Championships look slimmer than a ballerina’s waist. However, hope is at hand when local ballet teacher Helena (Charlotte Rampling) tells newly promoted crew leader Carly (Nichola Burley) that they can rehearse in her privileged dance school in exchange for livening up her ballet class. As you do! There’s no point in trying to take this seriously really and that’s before you even take into account the stereotypes on show. The rude French teacher. The stiff upped lipped head of school. The urban kidz. The tally-ho ballet dancers. Yep, they’re all present and correct. In addition, the comparisons and similarities blurted out by Rampling between the two types of dance are pretty flimsy, but it’s the portrayal of the ballet dancers as wimps compared to the street crew which is worst of all. Training to be a ballet dancer is as tough as it gets (even a certain Mr JCVD has said he never did any tougher training than what he endured in ballet). However, despite all this cheese and silliness it somehow works. Burley provides the requisite sass as the crew leader and the dance scenes are original and fun (though you may be distracted by Burley somehow looking about 10 years younger than she did in Donkey Punch). This is actually a step up on, err, Step Up, as the scenes in-between the dances are just about bearable, though that’s not to say that some aren’t full of wooden acting. Overall, the target audience should have some fun watching this, but it’s unlikely to convert any nonbelievers. As for the 3D? Abysmal.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
There’s no leeway with this kind of genre really. If you dislike you won’t be going in the first place, but if you’re a fan you’ll enjoy it enough to have a spring in your step when you leave the cinema. Rating: 6/10

Rec 2

In 2007 Rec sneaked quietly into the cinemas. About a week later it left just as quietly, eventually to be discovered on DVD, before the inevitable American remake (Quarantine). However, if you were one of the few lucky people like myself to see Rec in the cinema then you experienced a film that was quick, smart, at times bloody, and at other times, bloody terrifying. Writer / Directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, begin REC 2 15 minutes following the conclusion of the first film. This time we have an official from the Ministry of Health and a Spanish SWAT team entering the apartment block to discover what is going on in there. The film is shot using the same hand-held camera perspective of the original. However, though this still works, Balagueró and Plaza drop the ball by cutting down on the tension in favour of a screenplay that is explanation heavy. It’s understandable that a sequel has to expand on the original, but in telling the back story we miss out on the claustrophobia that was the mainstay of the original experience. Frankly, it isn’t really all that scary. Or even all that gory (the famous neck bite from the original being a distant memory now) However, the film is saved by the fact that the screenplay is pretty smart, with a neat twist at the end. In addition, it will probably make you want to watch the first film over again (which is no bad thing). Though it may feel a bit diluted now, beware that there are even more explanations to come what with Balagueró and Plaza planning both a prequel and a further sequel.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This misses the sweaty palmed rawness of the first film, but it’s disturbing storyline and smart finish mean further instalments will be anticipated, if not eagerly. Rating: 6/10

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

It’s hardly a secret that films based on video games are usually dire affairs. However, most don’t have Mike Newell directing, Jerry Bruckheimer producing and Jake Gyllenhaal starring. OK, OK I know that doesn’t mean much to some people (and after Bruckheimer's Transformers films, that’s a fair comment), but their involvement with this means we have a film that pokes it’s head above the usual parapet of computer game dross, though it still isn’t all that memorable. Based around the game of the same name, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has Gyllenhall as the Prince in question brooding around 6th Century Persia getting to grips with a few family problems, a beautiful princess (Gemma Arterton) and some somewhat suspect dialogue. Having said that, the plot itself is actually fair game. I could be more harsh on this, but this is clearly a film aimed at a family audience (the main plot device is called “The Dagger of Time” for goodness sake) and it does the job that is required. However, it falls apart very quickly towards the end, especially during the ridiculously CGI heavy over the top final showdown. Acting wise the cast does what is required, but little else. Overall, this is standard blockbuster fare, hitting the marks for the target audience. However, it’s likely that most people would get more enjoyment from the computer game.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Loses marks for some wooden acting and over reliance on CGI, but there is still entertainment to be had. Rating: 6/10

Cop Out

What on earth has happened to Kevin Smith? It’s hard to believe that the director of Clerks would 16 years later be giving us dross like Cop Out. Clerks is still an undisputed classic, but Smith has been on a slide for a long time now and Cop Out could be the nadir. The biggest problem with the movie is that though it’s supposedly a homage to the 1980’s staple of buddy cop films, this isn’t clear from watching it. Is this really a nod to Lethal Weapon et al, or is it a parody? You could see it either way really. Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan are the cops in question in this one, who, and tell me if you’ve heard this one before, get suspended at the start of the film due to a botched sting operation! Oh, the originality. Suffice to say, they continue with a subsequent investigation and you get the usual mixture of action and quips. There are a few funny laughs to be had, but they are few and far between. To be fair to Morgan, he does put his heart into it and doesn’t come across as annoying as in the trailer. Sean William Scott also pops up with a few laughs. Willis meanwhile flies along on autopilot. Overall though, the film just reminds you as to why these kind of movies have fallen out of favour somewhat. You can still enjoy the old ones (a lot of them through rose tinted glasses of course) but this proves this genre is moribund for the moment, not helped by the awful score. If you really go in expecting nothing you may get some enjoyment, but I’d say this is only worth watching for Kevin Pollack’s two second impersonation of De Niro. Honestly, unlike Cop Out itself, it is a cracker.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Homage or not, this just isn’t funny or smart enough to refresh a cannon of films not really that popular at the moment. Rating: 3/10