*SPOILERS*
Robin Hood (Allan Dwan, 1922) – The Earl of Huntingdon (Douglas Fairbanks), who's ace at jousting but scared of girls, goes off to fight in the Crusades as Richard the Lionheart's (Wallace Beery) second-in-command. Then his new bird (Enid Bennett, who’s a perfect Marian) sends word that replacement monarch Prince John has turned into the most terrible tyrant, inspiring our hero to leg it back to Nottingham – though not before being shot and imprisoned in a tower. Once home, he reinvents himself as the bouncy, proclamatory, green-wearing outlaw of the title, robbing from the rich, giving to the poor, and generally running around imploring people to chase him. This lavish, wonderfully entertaining swashbuckler offers a different and arguably more realistic portrait of the hero than the more well-known talkie versions – not even introducing the "Robin" alter-ego until the 74-minute mark – but myth-makes through moments of spellbinding imagery. The film is set in “the time of faith” and its arresting visual sense draws memorably on Christian iconography, particularly when Robin and Marian are reunited in the grounds of a nunnery under shafts of light streaming through the trees and, later, when she cowers by an altar in Richard’s castle. Such artistry is complemented by a serious sense of fun, with Fairbanks in irresistible form and his usual fondness for a good stunt much in evidence – the scene where he leads John’s men on a merry dance around the castle is a delight, and the climax spotlights both his athleticism and his idiosyncratic swordsmanship. "Five-year-old in the back yard” – that’s all I’m going to say. The music by Victor Schertzinger might not quite match Erich von Korngold’s famous score for The Adventures of Robin Hood (the 1938 film, with Errol Flynn in the lead), but it’s pretty damn great. Old movie nerds will want to know that the costumes were made by cult ‘30s and '40s director Mitchell Leisen, while fellow helmer Robert Florey has a rare bit-part as a peasant. Alan Hale reprised his role as Little John in the 1938 film where, unlike here, he got to fight the hero while standing on a log. (4)
The Black Pirate (Albert Parker, 1926) – A mysterious black-clad stranger (Douglas Fairbanks) with a curious aversion to piratical pursuits joins the gang of plunderers who killed his father, planning to exact revenge. Then a sexy, virginal laydee (Billie Dove, let’s just say tastes have changed) enters the picture, and our hero is forced to think – and climb, and swim – very fast. This staggeringly ambitious silent, the first to be shot entirely in two-strip Technicolor, is gripping, visually opulent and full of devastating stuntwork: including the classic set-piece in which Doug takes a merchant ship single-handed. There's also a bit where he rides to the rescue on a massive fucking longboat. Donald Crisp, sporting some slightly unconvincing glued-on facial hair, is wonderful as his only ally. (4)
See also: I've also written an excited review of Fairbanks's first swashbuckler, The Mark of Zorro.
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Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009) – Audacious, unsettling, deadpan black comedy about a father “protecting” his three grown-up children by keeping them captive in the house, where he fills their heads with nonsense and their lives with bizarre rituals. This Greek film may be tough to like, and its subtext is truly alarming, but it’s disarmingly, outrageously funny – the only other film I’ve seen that walks the horrifying/hilarious high-wire so expertly is Todd Solondz’s Happiness. (4)
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CINEMA: 21 Jump Street (Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 2012) is a post-modern comic update of the ‘80s cop show, from the directors of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – one of the best animated features of all time, and perhaps the only other film to employ YouTube to such hilarious ends. Fresh-faced officers Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are sent undercover to a high school to bust a drug syndicate. There, Hill experiences for the first time what it’s like to be a popular kid, while Tatum gets a crash-course in being an outsider. The laughs are frequent and from unexpected sources (“Fuck you, science!”, eyebrows that snake around a man’s face, a Korean Jesus), Tatum gives an unexpectedly fine comic performance, the relationship between Hill and Brie Larson is nicely realised and there’s even an appearance from Ron Freakin’ Swanson – in perhaps the film’s funniest scene. The only real missteps were Ice Cube’s unfunny supporting part, which just consists of him swearing in various yawn-worthy ways, and the cameos near the end – which stop the film in its tracks. That’s perhaps why it’s not quite as good as The Other Guys. But hey, what is? (3.5)
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50/50 (Jonathan Levine, 2011) – Powerful comedy-drama about a 27-year-old radio journalist (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who’s diagnosed with spinal cancer and muddles through the next few weeks with the varying support of his overbearing best friend (Seth Rogen), stressy mum (Anjelica Huston), sympathetic counsellor (Anna Kendrick) and fixed-smile girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard). It’s well-written, with some remarkable moments, if not without its flaws – particularly the subplot featuring Howard – but what really makes it are the beautifully-judged performances from Gordon-Levitt (arguably the best young actor on the planet), Rogen and Huston. The latter only gets two significant scenes, but boy does she make the most of them. (Just to clarify: yes she does.) The original ending was junked after negative test screenings, but it’s on the DVD and is seriously strong stuff. (3.5)
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Sunshine Cleaning (Christine Jeffs, 2008) - Unusual indie drama about two sisters - each with their fair share of problems - who establish a crime scene clean-up business and begin to appreciate one another's contrasting characters as their fortunes start to look up. It's a slow-burner, with an interesting story, memorable characters and an emotional pull that increases as it develops. Leads Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are both excellent in their well-scripted roles, and the film has an amusing, offbeat sense of humour - though that takes a back seat towards the end. It reminded me a little of Gas, Food, Lodging - one of the most interesting indies of the '90s - and it's actually somewhat more articulate and well-rounded than that film, if lacking in Fairuza Balk's emotional pyrotechnics. (3.5)
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Hall Pass (Bobby and Peter Farrelly, 2011) is essentially the anti-Old School, as a pair of restless married men get permission to live the Frat Boy dream for a week... only to find out they're not very good at it. It's the usual Farrelly Bros cocktail of genuine sweetness and boring, gross-out excess, though at least the latter isn't quite as prevalent as usual: there is just the one instance of a drunk woman pooing up a wall. The story reminded me a bit of One Hour with You, the old Lubitsch musical, which deals neatly (if datedly) with the question of adultery - though I doubt that was intentional. There are some good jokes, appealing performances from Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis, and a more subversively mature outlook than you might expect from what looks like a typically laddish affair, with the leads' sexist bantering repeatedly undercut by their partners. Richard Jenkins - who gave one of my favourite ever performances in the superlative Thomas McCarthy drama The Visitor - is somewhat wasted as a wrinkly lothario with a Sherlock-like ability to read strangers. If you do see it, hold on for a post-credits sequences that's the funniest scene in the film, with Stephen Merchant imagining what would happen if he was given a hall pass. (2.5)
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Semi-Pro (Kent Alterman, 2008) - This is a below-par Will Ferrell vehicle, set in the world of basketball: a strange mixture of silliness and sincerity, with his usual shouty schtick coupled to a story about bruiser Woody Harrelson enjoying a final shot at success. Harrelson is very good, but his segments really don't fit here. He is essentially just doing the film Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg, and that's not terribly funny. There are plenty of minor pleasures: Ferrell telling a burnt-out druggie that he needs "a big bank" to cash his oversized cheque, or lying in a skip eating an old pancake, or performing the worst novelty song of all time: Love Me Sexy. The pay-offs to the caged animal-wrestling scene - a joke that's at least 67 years old, as it's in Road to Zanzibar - are nicely delivered ("Your refund is getting out of here alive") and he does that usual bit where he runs around in a circle, while the commentators, a nervy, weirdly-bantering host and an underused Will Arnett, are worth a few laughs. But the story is essentially uninteresting and there are long stretches between laughs, with entire scenes that add nothing: like an accidental shooting in a bar that seems like it's only there to pad out the running time. These Ferrell sports comedies have thrown up the odd classic of sorts - Blades of Glory is a very funny film - but they're a mixed bag and overly samey. This one's also quite a lot like Dodgeball, which is not a compliment. (2)
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