Paul Lynch

“So this is the famous Suicide Squad.” The Suicide Squad is a 2021 action comedy written and directed by James Gunn. Not only did Gunn add a “The” to the semi-sequel/reboot/stand alone outing, but he also added everything that now makes this unmissable entertainment (having been given carte blanche by Warner Bros). It’s fun, features a killer cast, a killer soundtrack, and a script that kills (literally) being both hilarious and gruesome. Similar to the emotional feel of Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Suicide Squad creates a lovable band of a-holes that Gunn gleefully plays with your expectations, and revels in the anarchic narrative he has created. All the cast are great fun to watch on screen with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn getting the big stand out action sequence. The less you know going in the better (be mindful of the tagline “Don’t get too attached”). David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man and Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, are exceptional, not only bringing pathos to the proceedings, but also being the instigators of some outlandish surreal moments. The best of the DC films, this demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible and rewards audiences with unhinged carnage, big laughs and real emotional depth. An indie cult classic masquerading as a summer blockbuster, which features the best cinematic shark since “Bruce”. The best fun you’ll have in your local cinema emporium this year. Unless you’re having sex in the self same cinema emporium, and also watching the film Stick around for the two post credits scenes. They are worth the wait.

“I can see you got what it takes.” The Assistant is a 2019 drama written and directed by Kitty Green. The film stars Julia Garner has a entry level assistant working for a film production company in New York. Her job is banal, and the film goes to great length to focus on the minutiae of her day to day life, and the audience see the world through our eyes. Green focuses on her lead character in a repressed environment with a restrained camera focused almost exclusively on leading character. Garner gives an towering performance that’s restrained but so telling. Her character internalising each interaction leaving the audience. As a statement on the #metoo movement, this film tackles the subject head on, almost like a documentary. Many of the characters from the higher echelons of the company are obscured, just characters passing through the scene. The film’s strength is the devil is in the details. The dialogue feels perfunctory, but what is etched into the characters’ faces is stark, revealing and disturbing. Then the odd murmured joke, snide aside, made all the more impactful in their acceptance by others who believe what’s happening is permissible. These seemingly innocuous exchanges make the film deeply unsettling. A pivotal scene with the company’s HR is the finest piece of cinema this year. It explodes on the screen and will be remembered by anyone who sees this film. This is an brave thoughtful piece of cinema by Green, who handles a delicate subject with sensitivity and intelligence. This deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

“Damn! We’re in a tight spot!” The Coen Brothers deliver the first great odyssey film of the 21st century, based loosely on Homer’s The Odyssey, which follows Ulysses Everett McGill, along with companions Pete and Delmar, escaping a chain-gang in the search for treasure. What follows is a journey full of folk, bluegrass and gospel music, frogs, bibles, floods, sirens and Dapper Dan hair cream. The story is basically a series of vignettes, but they doesn’t stop it being entertaining. Roger Deakins treats the eyes to stunning cinematography. George Clooney, John and Tim Blake Nelson are a terrific trio, but Clooney has movie star written all over him, channeling the greats of old like Cary Grant, Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart. His scenes with Holly Hunter are endearing. A real feel good film. Something we really need right now.

“I think you people need a new sheriff.” The Sergio Leone directs (and co-writes) the second in the Dollars trilogy, 1965’s classic For A Few Dollars More, which is the film that made Clint Eastwood a star, and also describes his paycheck, which increased from $15,000 for A Fistful Of Dollars to $15,000 for this film. This time around around our hero is hunting down criminal El Indio, played superbly by Gian Maria Volonté (who has the distinction of being the first marijuana smoker in a mainstream film) and teams up with another bounty hunter (Lee Van Cleef) in this darker, more compelling chapter. Despite being only five years older than Eastwood, “old man” Van Cleef he had fallen on hard times due to excessive drinking, and after Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson both turned down the role, it went to Van Cleef and became his comeback film, and he too is terrific here finally in a starring role. He also is the first character to shoot a horse dead (the horse didn’t really die, if you look carefully). Ennio Morricone had composed the soundtrack in pre-production on Leone’s instruction and it was played on set during filming. There was only seventeen minutes of music recorded. The Man With No Name is called Manco in this film. In the previous film he was Joe, but that’s a different story, and a different lawsuit. Werner Herzog regular leading man, Klaus Kinski can be seen in a supporting role. The language barrier still proved an issue so again, Leone directed Eastwood using mime, and kept saying in broken English, “Watch me, Clint! Watch me!” Worth noting there is plenty of religious iconography throughout the film, but subverted by Leone. The plan for the heist is given from the pulpit of a church, and there’s a last supper reference while the gang are drunk.  Loane acknowledges that he homages two Hollywood westerns in For A Few Dollars More. Robert Aldrich’s Vera Cruz and Henry King’s The Bravados (the chiming pocket watch and Lee Van Cleef are both featured in this film).

“Incidentally, did you know that you are talking to an artist? I sometimes do special things to my victims: things that are creative. Of course, it takes knowledge, pride in your work. For example, a decapitated head can continue to see for approximately twenty seconds. So when I have one that's gawking, I always hold it up so that it can see its body. It's a little extra I throw in for no added charge.” The Exorcist III - Legion is a rare sequel. It plays against most conventions in horror films. There is nothing explicitly horrific onscreen, but what is being said by the characters makes the film unnerving. Several years later David Fincher’s Se7en would take a similar approach. The Exorcist’s original writer, William Peter Blatty both writes and directs here. His screenplay is exceptional, with dialogue veering effortlessly from light, witty, and warm, to daring to go darker than most screenplays in this genre. Blatty is exceptional at planting visual imagery in our minds, and knows how to manipulate that image. George C. Scott’s towering performance as Kinderman is a joy to behold. He is a character full of extremes, charming, full of rage, with an acerbic wit, playing a detective who resigns himself that evil is prevalent in the world. Jason Miller returns for a cameo from the original Exorcist, and his inclusion brings an emotion to the film that elevates the material. Brad Dourif is exceptional as The Gemini Killer, restrained in a cell, his character is drenched in evil. The interplay is every bit as good as The Silence Of The Lambs prison scenes. The film was reshot due to studio interference, and in this case it works better for the climax. Samuel L. Jackson has a blink or you’ll miss it cameo. The critics weren’t kind to The Exorcist III upon its first release, but no its rightly seen as a masterpiece of the genre. The film is one of the greatest psychological horrors to have been on the big screen, and features the best jump scare in cinema (sorry, Jaws).

“I want my opera house!” Fitzcarraldo is a 1982 film written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski stars as Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman who wanted to build an opera house in the jungle. Kinski cuts an ironic figure with his shock of blonde hair, white suit and Panama hat against the background of the rain forests of South America, one thousand miles from civilization. The natives believe him to be a “white god” and he instructs them to help him in his dream. Originally Jason Robards starred, and with half the film completed, Herzog’s star became sick with dysentery and couldn’t return. Mick Jagger also felt the production when Robards left, Herzog believed he was too unique to replace, and with shooting resumed, now starring Kinski, the production team became caught in the middle of a border war between tribes of Indians. The whole production had to be moved over a thousand miles, where the crew then endured plane crashes and attacks by unfriendly Indians, not to mention disease. Kinski clashed with the locals, the crew and, of course, Herzog. To the point a local offered to murder Kinski. The behind the scenes story of the film, as famous for its trails and tribulations as Apocalypse Now, can be found in 1982’s “Burden Of Dreams” a documentary made by Les Blank and Maureen Gosling. Herzog and Kinski’s relationship is the stuff of legend. In one story Kinski’s dog saved him by attacking Herzog as broke in to set fire to the actor's house. Herzog also pulled a gun on Kinski during filming. Kinski, too, has sought revenge. The steam boat featured in the film was pulled up a steep incline was done for real. Weighing in at 360 tons, and pulled up using some basic mechanics and a lot of muscle power. The real Fitzcarraldo (named as such due to the natives’ inability to pronounce his name) couldn’t successfully achieve this feat. Herzog did, but it proved such a risk that the engineer ultimately walked off the set fearing someone would be killed performing this stunt. Stories of other mishaps on set include Herzog’s cinematographer, having his hand cut open by the steamboat and had to be stitch without anesthesia. Another crew member when bitten by a snake, cut off his own foot with a chainsaw in order to avoid a cardiac arrest. Herzog films have always aimed high and felt epic, but feature deeply personal characters. This film, like moving a ship over a mountain, is a triumph.

“I got some bad ideas in my head.” 1975’s Taxi Driver is a dark thriller directed by Martin Scorsese that has troupes usually associated with film noir, but spins the genre on its head, and delivers an unforgettable journey into hell. Featuring cinema’s great antihero, Tarvis Bickle. Bickle is an ex-marine who served in Vietnam, and now suffers from depression and severe insomnia, and takes a job working the graveyard shift as a cab driver. Robert De Niro’s performance is oft imitated, but never bettered. It truly is a tour-de-force in acting. 12 year old Jodie Foster is a revelation in this film, but like the film it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. This isn’t a film that asking you to love it, but it does ask you some important questions on where we are at in society, and what the nature of violence is. This film has never felt so timely. If Woody Allen portrayed New York in the seventies of a place of wonder, beauty and hope, Scorsese paints his landscape like a depiction of a living and inescapable hell. Paul Schrader's masterful script is drenched in memorable quotes, and characters that you never want to meet in reality. Bernard Herrmans final score (he died two days after completing it) is dark and brooding, and at times menacing, much like Bickle. Scorsese filmed his cameo sitting on a folded blanket so he was able to be seen over the seats of the cab. The events in Taxi Driver inspired John Hinckley, Jr.'s to try impress Jodie Foster by attempting to assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981.

“There are two kinds of spurs, my friend. Those that come in by the door; those that come in by the window.” 1966’s The Good, The Bad And The Ugly rounds off Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, and it’s the very definition of a masterpiece. Though seen as a loose sequel, some quarters regard this film as a prequel, a theory I agree with. The evidence? Eastwood gets his iconic poncho during the course of this film. Worth noting that the poncho was never washed during the production of the three films. Set during the Civil War, two men, Blondie and Tuco (Eastwood and Wallach), form an uneasy alliance whilst hunting for fabled treasure. Also a lone gunman called Angel Eyes, is after the same loot. What follows is a dark operatic epic, with some exceptional fine gallows humour (quite literally in places). Eastwood, Wallach and Van Cleef all have incredible chemistry onscreen. The film is notable for many of its behind the scenes exploits. Wallach was nearly hung for real during a misfire during filming. He also nearly lost his head during Tuco’s head on the train track, and to top it off, Wallach mistakenly took a sip of acid thinking it was his favourite soda. Luckily he wasn’t hurt. There are varying stories about the famous exploding bridge scene, but the story goes, hundreds of Spanish soldiers to stand in for Civil War fighters, and Leone had set up several cameras to film the moment. The signal to blow up the bridge was the keyword “Vaya,” but unfortunately, a crew member said the word too early and too loudly, and up the bridge without one camera rolling! The special effects expert who pressed “the big red button” fled the set, while Leone is alleged to have said, “Let’s go eat.” After wok wrangling and apologies, the bridge was rebuilt, and the scene was re-shot. This time the cameras were rolling. The score is one of the most memorable in cinema history, and that climax is much imitated but never bettered. This film is unforgettable.

Tonight’s film: “If you can't see the angles no more, you're in trouble." Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) turns his back on crime after being released from prison, but the past isn’t done with him yet. Brian De Palma, for me, is one of cinema’s most underrated film directors. Regarded by some critics as a soft imitation of Hitchcock. But he’s not! De Palma initially didn’t want to return to a crime thriller after Scarface, but the material proved to good to ignore. De Palma is a master at creating tension and this film is packed full of tense set pieces. Basically the whole third act is a tour de force in filmmaking, a series of complex shots that never once leaves the viewers confused as to the geography of the vast canvas De Palma is working with (which originally was planned to be set at the World Trade Centre). The film has the aesthetic of a seventies crime drama. David Keopp (Jurassic Park) adapted the book After Hours but changed the name to Carlito’s Way (which was the title of the first of two books about Carlito Brigante) due to Martin Scorsese’s 1985 comedy bearing the same title. This film may contain Pacino’s finest two and a half hours on screen, and if you consider his track record, Dog Day Afternoon, Cruising, The Godfather and DePalma’s Scarface to name but a few, this goes to show just how good Pacino is in this role. Sean Penn’s Kleinfeld was based on actual attorneys, including experiencing similar situations. Penn had an altercation with DePalma on set, demanding 30 takes for a shot, whereas the director was happy and wanted to move on. Penn didn’t and demonstrated to the director the level of rage he could produce. Penelope Ann Miller and Pacino have some serious chemistry on screen that spilled into real life. John Leguizamo as Benny Blanco (which became a name for bags of heroin in New York afterwards) is also of note. Also features the late, great James Rebhorn. Carlito’s nightclub is called El Paraíso, which is the same name used for Tony Montana’s food stand in Scarface. This is an exceptional crime thriller. A contender for one of the very best in cinema.

“Vagrancy wasn't it? That's gonna look real good on his grave stone in Arlington: Here lies John Rambo, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, survivor of countless incursions behind enemy lines. Killed for vagrancy in Jerkwater, USA.” 1982’s First Blood features Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a former US soldier with PTSD from the Vietnam War, who runs foul of a small-town sheriff, played the late, great Brian Dennehy. What follows is a thrilling action film that owes more than a little debt to the Western. Stallone is a great physical actor and he imbues a vulnerability to his tragic character. The widescreen vistas are breathtaking and you really feel what Rambo is going through. Jerry Goldsmith’s exceptional score flips from soulful to furious, and humanises Rambo plight is a way action films rarely do. First Blood is a dark subversive anti-war, anti-Vietnam film. An idea somehow the filmmakers lost in the increasingly cartoonish sequels. Stallone is reporter as hating the first cut so much that he attempted to buy the film so he could destroy it. The film’s length was cut essentially in half and helped shaped future action movies. As part of that edit there is less Rambo and the rest of the characters feature more prominently. This proves to be one of the film’s strength, with Richard Crenna getting to sink his teeth into the scenery, giving a terrific performance as Colonel Trautman. With its muted final scenes (changed from the original novel by David Morrell) that genuinely has something interesting to say, this is a cut above most action films. On a personal note, my Dad took me to see a re-release on the big screen, our first trip together, and so this film immediately this brings back such very fond memories. Apparently my father looks like Dennehy. I disagree. He’s way more handsome! Oh, and Stallone still owns the makeshift canvas poncho.