Aye-Or-Naw-O-Meter: June 2010

Some quick reviews of some stuff I've watched this month. Should you bother with them, aye or naw?

Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee: Naw (unless you can watch it streaming on Lovefilm)



A spoof documentary shot by Shane Meadows on the fly during The Arctic Monkeys Old Trafford gig with rapper Scor-Zay-Zee (imagine Peter Kay channelling Snoop Dogg) and Paddy Considine improvising his arse off as a roadie who's a total git. Worth seeing for Considine who is, as always, fantastic but it's very slight and feels like something made very quickly. A bit more time put into it and this could of been a gem. As it is it doesn't quite work. Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee's song is hilarious though.

Becket: Naw



Ruud recommended this one to me. It's not really my thing. Everything's a tad to ACTOR-ly and it's clear it's based on a stage play. It's obviously a good piece of filmmaking just not my cup of tea. If you do like this sort of thing make it an aye.

13: Game Of Death: Aye



Well, what the hell is this? Asian cinema has a bit of a habit of trying to blend genres in as seamless a fashion as possible. Anyone who saw the excellent The Host will know it was as much a family drama as it was a horror, with some slapstick and social comment thrown in for good measure. This Thai effort could be pitched as a black comedy take on the Saw series, before itself becoming quite horrific and complex. Basically it revolves around a put upon office worker struggling to make ends meet. After he gets fired his phone goes and he is offered the chance to play a game that can net him an incredible amount of money. There are thirteen rounds and each task becomes increasingly difficult. It's a feverish, strange movie with some hilarious touches, but it also has a lot to say about how far we're willing to debase ourselves for gain, such as those who allow their lives to be plastered all over our TV screens. Quite fitting in this final Big Brother year, although the eating round verges a little closer to I'm A Celeb's munch and spew exercises. The film as a whole is a bit of a mess, but it's an interesting, entertaining and disturbing mess and is well worth checking out.

Where The Wild Things Are: Aye



Speaking of disturbing, unsettling movies, my word. Where The Wild Things Are doesn't feature corpse retrieval or decapitated bikers but it is a mind fuck. Most people will probably just dismiss this as a kids movie and be done with it. It's really not for kids, rather it's about being a kid, and all the fears, insecurities and psychological torment that can bring. It's actually quite a menacing little film, with a genuine sense of threat coming from the wild things that Max may or may not have created in his head. It's a mesmerising, beautiful, fragile tale that doesn't really have much in the way of structure, but then what kid's imagination does?

Harry Brown: Aye



Ruud went and reviewed this as part of his Toronto Film Festival diary and I agree with him totally. A cracking thriller and one that is very relevant with the state of British society and how incompetent the Police have been to deal with it (watch it get worse now that they've been told to slash budgets and meet more dreaded targets). Sure some of the baddies may be a touch overdone but they help to add to the sick fug like atmosphere that hangs over the whole film. And Caine is bloody brilliant. The opening title says Michael Caine is Harry Brown. That says it all really.