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Fletch - (1985)
There are a few unseen films in life which just turn you off, and you don't really understand why if you sit down and try to reason the matter.
Fletch has always been around me - at video shops, on sale and in sequels (well,
a sequel.) I wasn't interested. I wasn't completely anti-Chevy Chase - I'd loved him in
Three Amigos and
Vacation - but I couldn't stomach
Fletch for some reason, Chase or no Chase. No matter your views on him personally, he had a knack as a comedian though. Well, I finally decided to check
Fletch out, and I reckon if I'd watched it back in the 80s I would have really liked it. There's a steady flow of comedic moments that really work well, and Chase is in absolute top form. There's a decent neo-noir plot (it has a novel to thank for that I think) - and I can't help wonder if fans of the character in literature hated the fact that Chase and co were heightening the comedy to the extent they did. Anyway, I enjoyed it and in doing so it's softened my stance on the comedian a little.
7/10
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Vacancy - (2007)
This was a quick 82 minute horror/thriller with a great set-up and suspense. It revolves around a motel that murders people who stay there, and records the gruesome killings so the results can be sold as snuff films. It's working at it's absolute best when David Fox (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale) first discover the tapes and watch the grueling and scary contents - realising that they're next. It can't quite sustain that freaky tone throughout - but it has enough going for it to be a recommendation for fans of the genre.
6/10
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Nicotina - (2003)
This low budget Mexican film takes a lot of inspiration from Guy Ritchie's gangster films and Quentin Tarantino amongst others. You notice this when there are scenes featuring highlighted trivial banter - and when serious can suddenly become slapstick and then change back moment by moment. I was put off a little by how cheap it was at first, but this won 6 Ariels (Mexican Film Awards) for a reason - it's a nice little tangle of fate and circumstance and entertains, with a young Diego Luna featuring as a peeping tom who gets discovered, has his bank-stealing information swapped and thus gets into big trouble with Russian gangsters - leading to a chaotic game of cat and mouse. I liked this.
6/10
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The Forgiveness of Blood - (2011)
Albanian film (I don't see many of those)
The Forgiveness of Blood gives you something of an education as to how their society still follows along codes which dictate how a family should behave when a serious crime has been committed - quite separate to the legal ramifications. Nik (Tristan Halilaj) has a father who has stabbed and murdered his neighbour - who he has been feuding with. This means that all the male members of the family must stay in their house, for there's a blood debt now and there are almost religiously guided rules and regulations as to how things should be mediated and negotiated. This can take years - and poor Nik is 17, on the verge of having his first serious girlfriend. The fact that he's housebound leads to conflict with his own family, and desperate attempts to solve the impasse. This film was a little slow, but interesting in how you get a sense of Albanian culture and their unique lifestyle.
6/10