THE KILLER INSIDE ME

Another review from the keys of Mark Brennan, this time taking the maverick auteur Michael Winterbottoms's adaptation of the famous pulp crime 1950s novel, and a controversial film it proved to be:

A very slick, jarring and unforgiving film from Michael Winterbottom. The Killer Inside me is the story of a small town sheriff who one day begins to unleash the darkest side of his human nature - something you suspect has been brewing for a long time.

We've barely met our lead, Casey Affleck, before we see him thrown into the middle of a heated altercation with out-of-town hooker, Jessica Alba. As the tagline for the film says, 'nobody sees it coming'. Up to this point Affleck seems like a well-mannered, clean-cut officer of the law. Winterbottom wastes no time ensuring us this is not the case.

Kate Hudson plays the role of the legitimate girlfriend, unaware of Alba, and Elias Koteas also stars as a union boss out to protect his own interest when the bodies start piling up. There is also a welcome turn from Ned Beatty as the big shot who has a hand in most of the towns dirty dealings.

Whilst reminiscent of American Psycho, The Killer Inside Me is a much harder film to watch. Bale's version of the killer hiding in plain sight has a much more comedic tone to it -even the violence somehow draws a chuckle in it's over-the-top delivery - but whilst there are moments of humour here, the violence is far from comedic. It is sudden, vicious and shocking, leaving your eyes glued to the screen in breathless anticipation of what Affleck will do next.

It is this focus on the character, however compelling, that in a way will make some viewers lose track of the pacing and the plot of the story. At some point all of Affleck�(TM)s motives and plans becoming blurred into the background, as all you really want to see is what Affleck does next. You stop caring about to whom or why - you just want to see more.

There is something very voyeuristic about this film that forces the viewer to not only observe the killer inside our main character, but also the possibility that such raw brutality may also exist within themselves.

FOUR LIONS review

Has written by a good friend of mine..a self-confessed film freak like yours truly but insightful musings nonetheless by a man who knows his stuff:

With a film containing as contentious a story as this, I was unsure what to expect from Four Lions. Chris Morris has a sense of humour that often courts controversy as it is, adding that to a story surrounding suicide bombers in the UK and the resulting press attached to the film was inevitable.

Whether that helped or hindered the film as a success, I am still unsure. What I am certain of, however, is that Four Lions is very, very funny.

Yes, some of the stupidity of the characters often seems a little implausible, but each is performed with such commitment and often excellent comic timing that they are a joy to watch - and at the end of the day, I think it would some of the harsher critics of this film to remember that is first and foremost a comedy.

I have read many articles about claiming that Morris seems to have been to fearful in really tackling the arguments surrounding suicide bombers and their Jihad against the West in greater depth. However, just because it is against this backdrop that Morris is telling his story, I don't think that automatically makes it his responsibility to provide a piece of cinema that explores the rights and wrongs of religious motivation and action, terrorism and the destruction of Western infidels.

This film is about 5 men that come together and through their own incompetence, stupidity, stubborn pride and complete ignorance that the results of their embarking on the usually spiritual journey to Allah becomes hilarious.

That comedy, however, does not serve to trivialise the sacrifice made by such men when they are true believers nor the devastating impact that their actions have on many innocent people. Four Lions simply stays true to the characters within the story and leaves the political debate about it's content for others to argue. It is simply a well-written, brilliantly executed and very funny film.

Thank you Mark Brennan, for this review and for wanting to share it with my followers