RocknRolla

Great Britain, 2008

Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Tom Wilkinson
IMDB: 7.5

"A real rocknrolla wants the fuckin' lot"

Fans of director Guy Richie (Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver) will be happy to know that he has not strayed from the style and substance of his previous movies.

Lenny, considering himself the top dog in the London underworld, is doing a deal with the Russian Mafia who are paying him handsomely to grease the appropriate channels and get approval for construction of a new arena. Unfortunately, the 7 million euro commission fee gets stolen en route causing major headaches for them both.

Along the way we meet Mr One-Two (Gerard Butler), the head of 'The Wild Bunch' and his merry band of crims for hire, Johnny Quid the druggie Rock star who may or may not be dead, and a couple of extraordinarily persistent Chechnyan mercenaries.

I won't go into the story any further, as there is a lot going on in its almost 2hr running time, with many different characters and side-stories. Suffice to say that the story moves quickly, and is pure entertainment from start to finish.

The usual British gangsters, thugs and druggies are here, counter-balanced this time by the ever gorgeous Thandie Newton as femme fatale Stella, who adds a welcome sexy dimension to the film. Its a huge and impressive cast of characters too - all turning in top performances in what is a very polished film. The cinematography and visuals are equally impressive.

Guy Richie has certainly made the British gangster flick genre his own, and this latest movie is typically excellent, and highly recommended.

Rating: 8/10

Screenshots - click to enlarge

The Business

UK, 2005
Director: Nick Love
Starring: Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan, Geoff Bell, Georgina Chapman
IMDB: 6.5

Having reviewed a drug dealer movie from Brazil just a few weeks back (My Name isn't Johnny), this is the UK version based in sun-soaked Gibraltar in the 1980's.

While movies about drug-dealers seem to follow a fairly predictable storyline, they're almost always a good watch, and this is no exception. There are limey gangster types, rampant drug use, overt sexuality, brutal violence, explicit language, drug-deals, and a quite astounding soundtrack. All good adult stuff!

The film benefits from not being overly slick and glamorous like Hollywood movies can be, which results in believable characters and situations. Whether this realism is due to design, budget restraints or the inimitable lo-fi British acting style is up for debate - but it works here.

Frankie, played by Danny Dyer, is a rather unlikely gangster, who gets introduced to playboy and dealer Charlie (Tamer Hassan) through a friend. Charlie is in partnership with his old school buddy, and raving psycho Sammy (Geoff Bell), who has a hot (and hot to trot) girlfriend Carly (played by model Georgina Chapman).

As Frankie becomes more trusted by Charlie, he starts playing a bigger role in the business, earning the enmity of psycho Sam. It doesn't help that his girlfriend Carly is making it fairly clear she's keen for a fuck. A dangerous prospect at best. And as they progress from weed to cocaine deals the stakes become higher and more volatile.

The film moves along at a good pace and is constantly entertaining, moving seamlessly between action, suspense and humour. Although the humour is of the ironic British style, and a knowledge of british colloquialisms would be a bonus - like when the middle-age wives see the sexy, young Carly walk past ... "Uh look at it. CUNT. Ain't got a bit o' class. Thinks she's the bollocks ..."

But what I am truly astounded by is the soundtrack. How on earth did they get this many great songs into one movie? Wouldn't that have cost more than the movie itself? Sure, its all British music from the 80's - as befits the film's time and location - but the selection is impressive. Maybe because its a British film, the British musicians gave 'em a deal. If so, good work, because if there is one trump card the British film industry holds, it is the wealth of great British music they can draw on.

Just check out some of the songs included ...

David Bowie "Modern Love"
Roxy Music "Avalon"
The Cult "Wildflower"
Simple Minds "Don't you forget about me"
The Knack "My Sharona"
Blondie "Heart of Glass" and "Call Me"
Frankie Goes to Hollywood "Welcome to the Pleasuredome"
Duran Duran "Planet Earth"
Talk Talk "It's My Life"
Flock of Seagulls "I ran"

Rating: 7/10

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Eight Miles High

aka Das Wilde Leben
Germany, 2007

Director: Achim Bornhak
Starring: Natalia Avelon, David Scheller,
IMDB: 6.2

Eight Miles high is the true story of German supermodel/groupie Uschi Obermaier, played by uber-hottie Natalia Avelon. A love of rock music and dreams of bigger things lead her to hitch-hike from home and shack up in a Berlin commune in the late 1960s.

Soon she's modelling, and before you know it she's shagging Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, living the free-sex ethos of the times.

 
 

Unable to limit herself to any single man, she goes from touring with the Stones to touring the world in a bus with a German playboy prince. An interesting life to be sure, and of course great material for a movie.

Natalia Avelon is the undisputed star of the film, strutting, pouting, and generally being undressed for most of the movie. I haven't seen her in anything else, but her performance here is superb. Interestingly she also co-sings the excellent signature track of the movie, Summer Wine.


 

If you ever wondered what it was like to live the life of the hip and famous in the golden age of late 1960's era Europe, you can't go too wrong here. The soundtrack is mostly excellent, and the atmosphere/costumes/locations seem authentic and true to reality. A true slice of life film from the psychedelic era of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll !

Twisted rating: 6.5/10

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Trailer

My Name Isn't Johnny

Brazil, 2008
Original title: Meu Nome Não é Johnny

Language: Portuguese
Director: Mauro Lima
Starring: Selton Mello, Cleo Pires
IMDB: 7.4

This is the true story of João Guilherme Estrella, a cocaine dealer in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1990s. He likes to party, starts doing drugs, gets into dealing, gets introduced to a big dealer, lives the high life, gets busted, goes to jail.

If this sounds somewhat familiar then you've seen 'Blow' too. Cos yeah, it's pretty much the same story.




I guess that's the reality of reality ... it's predictable. Or is it? Maybe the only movies made about drug dealers are the ones where they get caught. Just so we send the right message to the kids you know?

What I'd really like to see is a movie about a drug dealer that didn't fuck up! Lets' see a guy beating the system ... partying hard, making stacks of cash, cavorting with supermodels and rock stars, finding ingenious ways to foil the D's. Now that would be an interesting take on the drug-dealer genre. (If you know of such a film let me know.)

However this movie isn't it. This version is based in Brazil, and the dealer is fairly small-time. The highlight is Selton Mello's believable performance as Joao, and Cleo Pires is gorgeous as his wife Sofia. There are also some great support actors - especially the crazy dude in the asylum.




I guess what this movie brings to the party, so to speak, is a view of coke culture in Brazil in the 1990s. But at its heart, this is just a biopic of one guy and his life.

Its a very good film ... but its main letdown is that Blow was there first. If you liked Blow and are into realistic film portrayals of real-life drug dealers, and would like to see the Brazilian version, it'd be worth a look.

Twisted rating: 6/10